East Ultima Company

The East Ultima Company is a conglomerated partnership of several Rogue Traders operating in Ultima Segmentum. It was founded in latter M41 on the Hive World of Corinthe where the company still maintains its headquarters and primary facilities. The East Ultima Company operates factories, warehouses, and administrative facilities across multiple sectors of Ultima Segmentum, making them the de facto ruler over several planetary systems and stellar areas.

Early history
The origins of the East Ultima Company lie in the Treatise of Cooperation; a commercial & diplomatic agreement signed between several prominent Rogue Trader dynasties operating in the same broad area of Ultima Segmentum in mid-M41. The agreement demarcated certain exclusive territorial areas and trading routes to prevent conflict between the dynasties, whilst also creating a basic framework for houses to request military & logistic assistance from each other when required.

This agreement continued to develop over time until circa 843.M41, when a group of Rogue Traders met on the Hive World of Corinthe and - having petitioned and received approval from several sectoral commanders of the Adeptus Administratum over the previous five decades - finally signed the Articles of Incorporation that formed the East Ultima Company. Each dynasty would maintain a set of voting shares in the partnership, allocated based on the value of their commercial activities and adjusted annually to reflect the expansion and contraction of their operations. Dynasties would maintain the monopolies previously established under the earlier treatise, but new contracts and territories would be negotiated by a joint committee and exploited using the resources of each dynasty. This accomplished the preservation of previous commitments whilst ensuring a minimum of destructive competition between dynasties in future operations.

Post-Great Rift
The opening of the Great Rift left the East Ultima Company on the Imperium Nihilus side of the galaxy. The organisation struggled at first to maintain its cohesion and its territories, spending several decades consolidating and stabilising its footholds across the nearby sectors. With the discovery of the Temporary Rift Corridor and the arrival of Indomitus Crusade forces from nearby Ultramar, the company has managed to solidify its power base and return to operations. The East Ultima Company now plays a crucial role in defending and supplying these south-eastern areas of Imperial territory against the constant hordes of daemons and xenos threats spilling from the Great Rift, often working alongside Astartes starships and Imperial Navy battle groups to ensure the line is held against this existential threat.

In a macabre twist, the East Ultima Company may ultimately benefit from the appearance of the Great Rift, with their position as the pre-eminent interstellar logistical force in the region resulting in greater power and control being ceded to company officials.

Member dynasties
The East Ultima Company currently consists of the following member dynasties:

House Dahler

House Dahler is the largest of the member dynasties. Its forty-seventh patriarch - the late Lord Edwinius Dahler - was the original proponent of the Treatise of Cooperation that eventually led to the creation of the East Ultima Company. House Dahler has the largest fleet amongst all the member dynasties, and the red & black livery of their fleet is a common sight amongst the capital ships of an East Ultima Company task force.

House Helligdorfer

House Helligdorfer is a relatively new dynasty established in early M41 after a victorious campaign by its first patriarch, Lord Manfred Helligdorfer. As a Commodore in Battlefleet Ultima, Helligdorfer commanded a light cruiser group that was instrumental in defeating a major Ork incusion. House Helligdorfer specialises in small, fast vessels carrying high value cargoes for an elite clientele; these vessels comprise the bulk of the East Ultima Company's escort-class starships.

House Makirovich House Makirovich has been providing private military services to the south-eastern Ultima Segmentum for over two millennia. They have ensured the survival of several Imperial systems when local Planetary Defence Forces have been unable to counter the scale of a threat. Boasting a large contingent of airborne and land-based military assets, House Makirovich provides the substantial majority of the East Ultima Company's sub-orbital & planet-based warfighting capability.

Inter-Dynastic Relations
Although the member dynasties of the East Ultima Company are obligated by honour and treaty to cooperate and assist each other, occasions still arise where rivalry and conflict erupt. The member dynasties have sometimes held grudges dating back millennia before their alliance was formed, and some details of the dynastic regional monopolies have never been fully settled. It is uncommon but not unknown for regional commanders aligned to different member dynasties to engage in open warfare over a perceived insult or a historic grievance. These conflicts are often quelled in short order by a multi-dynasty reprisal force, thus occasionally leading to confusing engagements between commanders nominally aligned to the same dynasty.

Relations with other Imperial organisations
As a long-standing partnership of Rogue Traders, the East Ultima Company has courted and developed relationships with a large number of regional Imperial organisations in order to ensure that their operations are carried out as smoothly as possible across multiple Imperial jurisdictions. Chief amongst those relationships are the Imperial Governors who command those planets and star systems within which the East Ultima Company carry out their activities.

These relationships vary dependent upon the commercial value and military strength of the territory under a Governor's control; those who command the more populous and powerful star systems in the region are treated in terms expected by the most important of diplomats or emissaries, whilst some lesser-populated territories are effectively controlled by the East Ultima Company and their Imperial Governors are treated as mid-level functionaries in the organisation's employ.

Since the opening of the Great Rift, the significant military power at the disposal of the East Ultima Company has resulted in the organisation becoming one of the key de facto Imperial defensive forces in the region, allowing them even more power and influence than ever before.

Another key group with which the East Ultima Company ensures a good relationship is the nearby Astartes chapter known as the Sons of Orar. In return for aiding the chapter with fleet logistics and providing an uninterrupted flow of supplies to their homeworld, the Sons of Orar have pledged a tactical squad from their 5th Company to the service of the organisation.

The East Ultima Company has also been known to assist the Inquisition on a number of occasions, although the details of these encounters are strictly controlled and not officially acknowledged beyond the highest levels of the company's leadership.