Independent Research Engineering / IRE

Forming from the doctoral training centres of the 21st century it is one of the UEEs oldest corporations. Doctors of engineering turned out to have not only the brains to change the world, but the business acumen to realise the profits in doing so. Never a large company it has always existed on the fringes guiding other corporations to success through consultancy and research and development, it also holds patents on and sells some of the highly specialised technologies used every day in exploration, manufacturing, construction and energy fields. This nets IRE a not insubstantial profit margin, others would have used this to grow to gargantuan proportions and dominate business, but IRE realised that it was easier and more profitable to keep things lean and maintain its independent status and reputation for discretion. IRE invests heavily in R&D and scholarships for the best and brightest of the universe every year in keeping with its roots and original ethos.

Over the long years IRE has expanded to cover almost every field of science and technology and has both openly and secretly funded the careers of many famous and infamous scientists. The dedication to science and R&D and the pay off from successful patents allows the company broad range and it is one of the most diverse companies in the UEE embracing almost every field and every research with a “crazy idea”. Its strong ethos of responsibility and service that results in the extensive scholarship program also results in its large and efficient charitable arm, IRE teaching materials are commonly found in struggling schools around the universe and its “wider world” program brings hundreds of thousands of young people to cultural and academic exchanges throughout the galaxies. Also in times of need the exploration arm of the IRE are often the first to mobilise bring aid to disaster zones along with carrying the IRE engineering corps who have helped save many lives preventing further disasters with innovative engineering solutions.

The diversity and ethos of IRE has made it strongly independent, it has also made it a fast friend to almost every corporation in the UEE and beyond. While it will dabble in other enterprises in small ways it always maintains its ethos of consultancy and research. It’s links and impartiality have made IRE one of the main arbiters between many industrial disputes and it is rumoured that this extends even to the lawless pirate organisations.

One of the byproducts ot IRE ethos and methods has been the development of IRE Exploration, acting as both the transport logistics and scientific exploration arm of the company it has grown to be the largest part of the company. The Exploration arm also provides the military support for IRE and it often acts as a test platform for IRE developed military technology, many an unsuspecting rogue has tried to take on an “lightly” armed IRE exploration vessel and had a nasty surprise.

While also one of the most public “small” companies operating in UEE space it is also one of the most secretive. The nature of its R&D department and numerous contracts with other companies means that behind closed doors it is often shrouded in secrecy. This has resulted in very few people knowing the true scale and numbers of the company. At times it will often appear to be a one horse show with only the eccentric CEO being seen wandering the verse, at other times they will be seen in force rivalling and other large corporation.

When it comes to the CEOs the public face of the company has remained within the same family since its inception. There have been rumours that it is not one family, but one man with a life extended by IRE’s earliest research, its secret nature means IRE always answer “no comment” to this question. The current CEO is known as something of an eccentric, known to himself be a brilliant engineer and scientists his sense of adventure often means he is seen out exploring the universe or engaging in small time commerce, when asked why he often explains that he likes the challenge of getting back to his routes. Other more cynical people will often comment that his brilliant academic career started and ended with his succesful doctoral thesis “ Lessons learned from the construction, commissioning and decommissioning of large stations towards design of ultra massive stations”, and that he is actually scouting and researching how to actually build an ultra massive station. When asked this he often chuckles and laughs and points out that everyone knows that its “impossible” . Even more cynical people will point out that the IRE developed the technology behind many of the best automated repair and manufacturing droids, and that rumours of a follow up paper by the CEO “The decommissioning of stations using autonomous self replicating micro drones” could not only make it possible to build such stations, but that self replicating micro drones could very well destroy the universe if used. These people are of course ridiculed, but as is the norm IRE have always answered “no comment” when it comes to business activities or the lives of its CEO.