Sector 13 Cartel

Sector 13’s chemical business uses a shop like yours as a front. When the Cartel moves in, its handler makes the terms plain: your store is under the Cartel’s protection, no thief will touch it, and you owe them Dream Dust every week.

The weekly quota

• Setup: the handler leaves supplies to get you started and names next week’s quota: an amount of Dream Dust at a minimum purity.
• Collection: each week the handler asks you to put the Dream Dust on the counter. Meet the quota and it’s fine; beat it and the handler is pleased.
• Falling short: miss part of the quota and you get a warning. Deliver nothing and the handler takes you for a walk.
• Running or snitching: the handler warns you not to try, because the Cartel has eyes everywhere. A Security officer may still ask whether you have anything to report.

The Cartel also pays you a weekly stipend.

Raising standing

The Cartel does not shop. All six of its visits are handler business — the introduction, the weekly collection, check-ins, and the Security probe — so ordinary counter trade barely touches Cartel standing.

What moves it	Effect
The weekly Dream Dust quota	the handler’s check-in raises standing when you meet it and more when you beat it; short deliveries bring a warning
The Cartel Wounded Soldier	×3 — the only Cartel customer you actually trade with

An Alarm Transmitter Module broadcast cannot reach the Cartel, and none of the report, inspection or shooting figures apply to it either. The quota is the relationship.

Note also what is missing from the perk list below: the Cartel has no minor penalties. There is nothing between ordinary standing and Forced Retirement at −100.

See Reputation & factions for the shared rate and the multipliers that apply to every trade.

Standing and perks

Perks switch on as your standing reaches each value: good ones at or above a positive number, penalties at or below a negative one.

Standing	Perk	Effect
+100	Authorized Exit	Your handler will start to process your authorized exit from the Cartel.You're lucky, not many get to leave without a body bag...
+50	Reliable Chemist	Requesting additional Materials now costs 50% of the usual Reputation.The Cartel will reward consistency, and service.
+25	Increased Stipend	Your weekly stipend now scales with your Cartel Reputation.Don't mistake it for kindness, it's an investment.
−100	Forced Retirement	A Cartel Hitman has been dispatched to eliminate you.Sometimes what is best for the dog is to put it down.

There are two ways out. At +100 (Authorized Exit) your handler starts processing your departure. At −100 (Forced Retirement) a Cartel hitman is sent instead, and you are retired from the business.

Faces of the Cartel

Cartel handlers are drawn from the same faces as Black Market customers.

Sources: the game’s localization tables (ClientName, Dialogue, Mechanic, RepPerkTable) and code (StoreClientListCartel, StoreClient.GetTradeRepMultiplier, StoreReputation, SpriteDict), demo build 049-Rev3-L.