NSMC — Nadir Sentosa Mineral Combine
Also called “the Combine.” Created at the table by Keegan, the player of Muktar. The corporation holds nominal control of Knight City’s Under Sector.
Name meaning per Keegan’s own explanation at the table: “Nadir” (Latin, the lowest point) + “Sentosa” (Indonesian for peaceful) — “tranquility at the lowest point.” Bot transcription of the middle word varied (“Sonatus”/“Sintosa”); “Sentosa” is confirmed correct since it matches the “peaceful” meaning Keegan gave on-mic.
Overview
NSMC holds the contract to mine the Under Sector for black salt, a rare-earth mineral critical to modern cybernetics and “wetware.” The catch: their monopoly agreement requires them to send all mined black salt up to the corps above — they’re not supposed to keep any of it. In practice, nobody fully honors the compact. NSMC skims salt for its own (unofficial) cybernetics production, and rival corps run covert agents down in the Under Sector despite the exclusivity deal. It’s an open secret everyone pretends isn’t happening.
Aesthetic comparison used at the table: a cross between Necromunda and Hutt Space — total local control, minimal accountability.
Muktar laid out the arrangement in more detail in Session 2. NSMC provides the other corporations with the black salt used in electronics and cyberware, but is itself barred from using it — NSMC must procure the finished product back from the corps it supplies. In exchange, those corps are supposed to have no presence at all in the Under Sector. Muktar knows firsthand that they operate there anyway, in a limited and deliberately deniable way.
He also notes the Under Sector is as deep as Knight City is tall, that it is cold rather than hot (“in the Under Sector, wealth is measured in warmth”), and that it holds mining and research operations broadly mirroring what exists above.
The Arenas
NSMC runs (or profits from) underground blood-sport arenas in the Under Sector, feeding them a mix of willing fighters and people NSMC wanted to disappear — effectively forced/indentured combat. Muktar fought under the arena name Ora (Indonesian for the Komodo dragon) before escaping topside.
The Wetware Program
NSMC secretly partnered with VYRAL to field-test wetware capable of remotely controlling human fighters, disguised as an underground “extraction shooter” esports scene (see Session 0’s recapped previous job). The stated end goal, per the crew’s read on it: prove the tech works well enough to sell to military corps for controlling conscripted or captured combatants — or, further down the line, ordinary civilians.
Known Facts
- Exclusive (if unenforced) mining rights to Under Sector black salt.
- Runs Under Sector arena fighting, source of Muktar’s backstory.
- Covertly tied to VYRAL in the wetware mind-control test program exposed during the crew’s previous job.
- Aware the crew is responsible for exposing the wetware test — the crew is “on their radar” going into future sessions.
- Barred by the accords from using the black salt it mines; must buy finished cyberware back from the corps it supplies.
- Runs restricted-access tunnels connecting the Under Sector up into the Switchback. Mara Sato got in and out of them.
- Operates its own camera network, separate from the corps whose sites it overlaps. An NSMC-tagged camera captured the crew’s previous raid at a site where every other camera was Kessauer-tagged — that footage became the data stick at the center of Session 2. Per Neon Drift, NSMC’s cameras run on wetware.
Relationships
- VYRAL — covert partner in the wetware test program.
- Muktar — former arena fighter (“Ora”), escaped the Under Sector with help from Kestrel.
Open Questions
- Who specifically within NSMC ordered/oversees the wetware program?
- How aggressively will NSMC retaliate against the crew now that they’re aware of them?
Appearances
- Session 0 — Established during corp pitches; recapped previous job revealed as an NSMC/VYRAL wetware test.
- Session 1 — The video file Bullfrog pulled for his mystery contact was NSMC-encrypted.
- Session 2 — Its Under Sector tunnels are where Mara Sato went; its camera footage of the crew’s previous job is the session’s central object. Accords and Under Sector conditions detailed by Muktar.