Mass Effect - Tripping the Verge
The Skyllian Verge is a largely undeveloped patch of space situated along the borders of Systems Alliance and batarian space. As such, there is intense competition between humans and batarians to colonize, develop and exploit the worlds. While this competition has never escalated to outright war, there have been a number of minor conflicts in the Verge.
It is seen as a somewhat lawless area, with pirates and slavers both being known to operate freely, and a large number of "private security organizations" (mercenary groups) as well as freelancers, operate in the area. The area is known to be patrolled by the Systems Alliance military. However they do not have enough ships to adequately police the area, so in many instances by the time they arrive at a colony in trouble it is already too late.
