Cathedra
The paramilitary auditing arm of the Benerit Group, Cathedra have been operating behind the scenes of the Earth Sphere to keep science crime within the corporations of the Earth Sphere ‘manageable’. Since Benerit President Delling Rembran took charge of the organization, Cathedra has taken a special interest in stopping the production of mobile weapons that could kill the pilot.
Following the Singularity-1 incident of 0096, Cathedra’s remit expanded into shutting down Cyber-Newtype and unregulated Psychoframe projects, making both completely illegal in the Earth Sphere.
Since NUNE’s ascension, Cathedra has been the primary anti-science crime organization operating within the Earth Sphere. As such, they have formed an agreement with the Grand Glorious Guard to allow the latter to operate globally against science crime organizations such as BioNet, in exchange for their own ability to operate in the OAC and OCU - the only NUNE organization with free access to the independent blocs.
By and large, Cathedra is a corporate entity first and a police organization second, and its Dominicus Corps carry out most combat action for the Benerit Group. A number of private organizations have been pulled under the Cathedra corporate umbrella: the VTX Union, Strategic Naval Research Institute, the Paradigm Corporation, and the former Nergal/G-Hound joint venture that was the Dreikreuz.
Additionally, Cathedra has found itself bolstered by several former members of the Shuffle Alliance who joined in the wake of the organization’s collapse, people who still want to do good and maybe help keep the Federation’s replacement on the right track - or at least as best as they can under their corporate masters.
Major Characters
Rajan Zahi - The head of Cathedra’s Dominicus Corps and Delling Rembran’s right hand man, Rajan Zahi shares Rembran’s belief that soldiers should not be sacrificed on the altar of stronger weapons. He has spent the past two decades suppressing technology that would lead to weapons that kill the pilot, no matter what other benefits they could bring. To Zahi, no benefit outweighs that cost.
Leina Ashta - Cathedra’s anti-psychoframe ace in the hole, Leina Ashta has a special arrangement with Cathedra that lets her refuse any mission given to her in exchange for piloting the RX-0 Banshee Norn against weaponized Psychoframe incidents. Despite this, Ashta regularly deploys for Cathedra - taking any step she can take to stop others going through what she did.
Mitsuba Greyvalley - Commander of the Dreikreuz, Mitsuba Greyvalley is a woman devoted to peace in the Earth Sphere. Assigned to the Cathedra following the dissolution of G-Hound, Greyvalley will face whatever enemy she needs to to protect the Earth Sphere - and has no compunctions bringing absolute force against any threat to peace.
Alex Rosewater - A power-hungry and ruthless man, Alex Rosewater is the chairman of Paradigm Corporation, a new admission to the Benerit Group in deep talks with the Britannian government. Alex Rosewater is a man who has been insulated from the wars of the last twenty years, with Paradigm City only appearing on Earth after Getter Robo’s destruction of New Yark- but despite having a different timeline from the rest of the Earth, he has no problems using the outside world to gain power and wealth for himself, stepping harshly on anyone beneath him.
Dominant Featured Themes
Ad Stella Gundam - Cathedra/Benerit Group
Banpresto Originals - Dreikreuz
Banpresto Originals - VTX Union
Key Questions
- Is serving a corporation any better than serving a government?
- Is a contract a cause?
- Can you really make the world better with a for profit motive?
Tension Points With Other Factions
Gaia Sabers: Gaia Sabers's mode of warfare includes Mobile Dolls, psycommu, and eventually Innovade suicide bombs. Cathedra remains committed to an understanding of the world in which war is conducted by humans in which the weight of a life is a human thing to take, rather than taken by machines.
Space Assembly League: In theory, Cathedra and the Space Assembly League have a cozy relationship, as Cathedra is functionally a semi-governmental organization operating within mostly-SAL-participating territories. In practice, however, the SAL would benefit significantly from a chance to break Cathedra's power, and -- while it *is* an integrated force -- Cathedra does retain some residual anti-spacenoid sentiment within its ranks even as the Orbital Ring participates in the Space Assembly League.
NERV: Cathedra and NERV are both NUNE-friendly organizations oriented on similar problems. While they remain friendly at the moment, however, that relationship could rapidly sour if NERV accumulated more power -- especially if that power were dangerous to the pilots in the way the Evangelion units can be.
Grand Glorious Guard: The relationship between Cathedra and the Grand Glorious Guard is tense but not unfriendly in the least. The Grand Glorious Guard-Cathedra partnership is one of the last chances either organization has to reach into the other's territory or share intelligence, and they share similar understandings of the world. A lot could break down, however, if the NUNE were to start aggressing more against the OCU and former OAC.
Terminal: In practice, these organizations don't know a whole lot about each other yet. While Cathedra does retain some residual Blue Cosmos/LOGOS participation (inevitable in a Ringer-dominant organization), most of those people went to the Gaia Sabers; this neutrality largely comes from lack of intelligence or open relations. The relationship between Cathedra and the Three Ships Alliance does provide some mutual knowledge of the individuals at play and even proof that cooperation remains possible, but whether that survives a shift in priorities is an open question.
Dawn of Fold: The conflict between Dawn of Fold and Cathedra is straightforward. Cathedra represents the indifference of Ringer power, and Dawn of Fold represents the most overtly hostile terrorist acts in the Earth Sphere and is utterly unafraid to use weapons that risk the pilot. Reconciliation is all but impossible, short of significant leadership change in one organization or the other. (Admittedly: this is on the table.)
Satellicon: While not overtly hostile yet, Satellicon uses a lot of unfamiliar technology with a high overall threat index. Were this technology to become more inherently dangerous or unstable, relations could go south quickly. As with many organizations, Cathedra's relationship to the other NUNE organizations could rapidly put a thumb on the scale of the dynamic.
BioNet: Mutual kill on sight. BioNet is exactly what Cathedra exists to blow up without hesitation.
Anti-Earth Cooperative Federation: Mutual kill on sight. The leadership of Cathedra overwhelmingly has a background with the known elements of the AECF that precludes dialogue.
Yaman Rebellion: While dialogue between the Yaman Rebellion and Cathedra isn't impossible, especially if the rebellion chooses to seek weapons or funding from Cathedra, there's not a lot that suggests the two would meet each other with a terribly warm welcome. Too many unknowns exist for Cathedra, and they probably look too authoritarian for a lot of the assembled rebel allies.