Backstory:
The Interstellar Commerce Guild traces its roots to a small shipbuilding company on the 
planet Palanthar. Through the sales of spacecraft (and the discovery of a rare mineral 
deposit), the company gained wealth, eventually making its own line of capable starships. 
With the rise of piracy in the galaxy (through organizations like THUG and the Space Pirates)
, the company went into the business of protecting shipments through ambush-prone
 territories. From there, they moved on to providing financial aid for those star systems in an
 economic crisis (on the account that the system then pay a part of their yearly revenue to the
 company). With the rise of John Van Buroon, the name was changed to the Interstellar
 Commerce Guild. Today, the company still provides protection (in the form of escorts) for
 shipments through all faction territories, but also has a large share in the commerce of a
 handful of star systems.