When the Administratum dropped its charges of high treason and reinstated him in the navy with full honors, Steiner was ironically left in a new difficult position: that of a successful, still-young man with little to do. His life's mission was fulfilled: the truth of the Battle of the Conflagration had been revealed; his father's name was cleared, and the disgraced Admiral Gedderren had been convicted of cowardice in the face of the enemy and executed. After so many cycles on a life-and-death struggle in the most conflict-sundered parts of the Sector, the prospects of holding flag rank in a rare period of peacetime was a difficult adjustment to make. For a while he took leave to put his family's estate back together, a task which kept him occupied while it lasted, but soon that too was accomplished and he was left again to ponder what to do with his restored life.
Once again it was his old friend Hartford Lawson who helped him out, this time simply by making an idle comment: "Say, why don't you start your own charity like all the other rich families?"
The Mark Steiner Foundation provides various services to new starfarers setting out for the first time, aiding anyone without fear or favour. Its free insurance service is perhaps the best well-known, protects traders and bounty hunters alike from potentially crippling financial losses.
The Foundation store at the organization's headquarters on Lawson's Point in the Jangala system offers high-quality, military-grade ships at a discount. Available for purchase is a wide range of vessels suitable for first-timers, whether as personal ship, escort or logistical auxiliary.
(More ships are available with Ship/Weapon Pack)The Foundation's efforts are kept going by contributions from well-established traders and commanders. Veterans are requested to give back to the next generation of adventurers.
(Foundation representatives can be found on Lawson's Point, or on any market of at least size 5 whose faction is not hostile to the independents)