
Emerald: History & Culture
--------------------------   

   Emerald is one of five worlds of the Jewell Cluster, straddling the
   Regency/Zhodani border in the Jewell Sector. Fortified for centuries
   against the threat of Zhodani invasion, the system is still the site
   of considerable military activity, despite improvements in relations
   with the Consulate. Emerald is also an important link between the
   Regency advance naval base at Quar (Chronor: Spinward Marches/0807)
   and naval forces operating in the Jewell and Regina subsectors.
   
   Emerald was settled in 308, by the followers of disgraced Sylean
   nobleman Aklas Ecannis. Ecannis, the Duke of Ecan (2316/Core), was
   executed for cowardice in 306, following the Battle of Concorde during
   the Aslan Border Wars. Stripped of title and privilege, Ecannis'
   family was permitted to emigrate to the Spinward Marches. By calling
   in old favours, the newly widowed Eritrea Ecannis was able to secure a
   charter to settle Jewell. About two hundred family and retainers
   arrived in late 308, and founded the first settlement at Eritrea.
   
   Although self-sufficient, the colony grew only slowly. Periodically,
   labourers and craftsmen would be recruited from Jewell and Regina, but
   settlement remained largely confined to the area around Eritrea.
   Although a part of the Imperium, Emerald remained unrepresented to the
   Imperial Court (by decree in 306, no member of the Ecannis family was
   permitted to hold title). As the imperial presence in the area grew,
   Emerald began exporting agricultural products to the rapidly growing
   Jewell (already emerging as a major industrial world).
   
   Nonetheless, contact with offworlders remained confined to the small
   'E' class starport at Masand Caldera, and Emerald remained
   isolationist. The Ecannis family allowed no further settlement, and
   restricted offworlders to the starport compound. This self-imposed
   isolation was to be stretched to breaking point as tensions between
   the Imperium and the Zhodani Consulate rose, and ultimately shattered
   by the outbreak of the First Frontier War.
   
   From 510 onwards, Imperial Navy fleet elements deployed to the Emerald
   system from the naval base on Jewell for maneuvers. The Navy
   established a small service facility in the outer system, although
   craft did occasionally land on the mainworld. In 540, Grand Admiral
   Severin Gouden appointed a legate to the small settlement, mainly to
   coordinate the requisition of foodstuffs, and keep an eye on the
   politically suspect natives (as early as 460, Imperial Naval
   Intelligence suspected Zhodani sympathies in the Ecannis family).
   Emerald's starport was also upgraded to 'D' class, over the protests
   of the planet's rulers.
   
   With the Zhodani invasion of Imperial space in 591, martial law was
   declared on Emerald. Members of the Ecannis family thought to be
   'unreliable' were interned on Jewell as Imperial forces were pushed
   back from their original defensive positions. The Zhodani attacked and
   captured Jewell in 592, and were to remain in possession of the world
   almost until the war's end.
   
   During the Zhodani occupation, the world was used as a prison camp for
   partisans captured on Jewell, and the world was forced to endure the
   presence of large numbers of Zhodani ground troops.
   
   Following Admiral Plankwell's recapture of Jewell in 603, Zhodani
   forces evacuated Emerald and fled into Consulate space. Imperial
   troops liberated the world shortly afterwards, but a large garrison
   was kept in place beyond the war's end. In 606, the Ecannis family was
   allowed to return to Emerald. Limitations on offworlder-native contact
   remained, but were increasingly hard to enforce. This was illustrated
   by the decision of the Ecannis heir, Sar Valain Ecannis to apply for
   the Imperial Naval Academy in 608. His decision outraged his
   relatives, but they were powerless to stop him after he received the
   somewhat unexpected support of the Imperial legate.
   
   Sar Valain went on to distinguish himself in the Second Frontier War,
   and as a squadron commander for Admiral (later Empress) Arbellatra
   Akhalikoi during the later stages of the Civil War. Sar Valain
   returned to Emerald in 626, as the new Imperial legate, and was
   instrumental in persuading the Ecannis family to restrict the most
   stringent of their isolationist practises. On becoming head of the
   Ecannis family in 630, Empress Arbellatra rescinded the decrees
   against the Ecannis family issued by Empress Porphyria in 306, and Sar
   Valain was named Baron Emerald. The office of Imperial legate to
   Emerald was dissolved.
   
   Sar Valain's descendants concentrated on developing Emerald's export
   economy. Large tracts of land were cultivated, using increasingly
   sophisticated agrotechnology. By 900, Emerald was supplying large
   amounts of grain to Jewell, despite its small population. The starport
   facilities were progressively upgraded to their current capabilities
   as the Imperial (and later Regency) Navy increased its presence in the
   system. This pattern has been uninterrupted since, despite occupation
   by the Zhodani in the Third and Fifth Frontier Wars.
   
   Emerald's highly automated agricultural industry faced upheaval when
   the first reports of Virus filtered into the Regency. The enforced
   switch from autonomous to supervised robotics was expensive and
   damaging to the world's economy - damage which is still felt by many
   on Emerald. Production is once again approaching pre-1130 levels, but
   further progress is hampered by an acute labour shortage on this
   isolationist world. Emerald's leaders, reluctant to hire offworlders
   to enlarge their labour pool, took the unprecedented step of allowing
   Zhodani refugees to settle. The decision was the subject of long and
   bitter debate, but the first Zhodani were finally admitted in 1201.
   The arrival of nearly thirty thousand Zhodani refugees is likely to
   have profound effects on the social structure of Emerald. The
   long-term result of these effects will be, to say the least,
   interesting to observe.
   
   Only a small proportion of refugees arriving on Emerald are allowed to
   stay; the rest are sent on to the holding camps on Jewell. Those that
   do stay are absorbed directly into Emerald's rather stratified
   society. The Ecannis family still rules on Emerald, as the Five
   Families. Each of the Five Families is responsible for an area of
   activity on Emerald, and is largely independent of both the other four
   families and the ruling Head. The current Five Families are:
   Ecannis-Astrakhanna (starport facilities, energy production),
   Ecannis-Shtabul (food production and export), Ilike (mineral
   production and export), Farsi-Ecannis (construction and
   infrastructure) and Ecannis-Valain (communications, information and
   administration). Smaller branches of the Ecannis family control other
   activities, normally under the guidance and direction of one of the
   Five. Baron Emerald (also known as the Head) comes from the
   Ecannis-Valain branch, succession is passed through the male line.
   
   Below the level of the ruling families, rank and position is largely
   based on merit. Particularly powerful, skilled or successful
   individuals are often rewarded with marriage or adoption into a
   Family, giving them effectively 'noble' status. At the bottom of the
   ladder are the workers, although given the small population and high
   technology of the world, even these are skilled, rather than unskilled
   workers, and enjoy a good standard of living. It is among this class
   that the labour shortage is most acutely felt. The shortage of skilled
   workers has placed severe constraints on the Families' ability to
   export food and mineral products, but the inherent isolationism (which
   can cross the line into xenophobia) of the world makes solving this
   problem difficult. Newly arriving Zhodani refugees are 'adopted' into
   a family and its vassals, depending on their skills.
   
   When entering the system, travellers will normally find themselves
   exiting j-space near Phantome (orbit 1, large gas giant). A beacon at
   the regular jump exit point directs incoming ships to the Regency
   Quarantine Station on Mitchell, a smallish moon orbiting Phantome.
   Standard quarantine procedures will be followed (see the Jewell and
   Ruby papers for further details) by Regency Quarantine Service staff
   before the incoming vessel will be cleared to travel in-system to
   Emerald.
   
   Approaching the mainworld, it is quickly apparent that Emerald lives
   up to its name. Much of its land surface is covered in uncleared
   vegetation, and its generally shallow seas also have a greenish tinge.
   Emerald truly is an inviting world when viewed from orbit - only its
   presence near the Zhodani border prevented further settlement. Emerald
   Starport (Masand Caldara) is a small 'B' class facility closely tied
   to the Scout base. Its small repair facility is not normally available
   for public use, although emergency repairs are possible. Refined fuel
   is available at the public facility, but is expensive (Cr 6,500/ton)
   as are berthing fees (Cr 200/day).
   
   The starport lies some 50 km southeast of Eritrea, the oldest and
   largest town with a population of about 14,000. Travel by air/raft
   takes about 15 minutes, or about 30 minutes in extreme weather
   conditions. There is a road link to the starport, but its use is
   mainly confined to freight haulage. As the passenger approaches
   Eritrea, he/she will notice the walled compounds just outside the
   town's edge. These are private estates belonging to the Families and
   their servants, and are off-limits to visitors without an invitation.
   The larger Families maintain a number of compounds, near to their
   major concerns.
   
   The common folk of Emerald are polite, if somewhat reticent. Contact
   and conversation with offworlders is not encouraged among the general
   population. The Ecannis-Valain family maintains a Liaison Centre in
   Eritrea, where younger members of this family are on hand to interface
   between visitors and the locals. The Liaison Centre can be found in
   the Carpaty Plaza, next to the offices of the Jewell Embassy.

