
Pequan: History & Culture
-------------------------

   Beyond the Imperial/Regency border, Pequan lies at the rimward edge of
   the Jewell Sector. Pequan's major interest to the outside universe is
   it's status as the primary supplier of agricultural products in the
   Federation of Arden, and the site of a rather ugly insurgency against
   the ruling government.
   
   Pequan was believed to have been initially settled by Daryen colonists
   travelling in sublight starships circa -1800. The colony failed
   sometime afterwards, for reasons that have never been determined. The
   only remaining legacies of Daryen settlement are the colony ruins in
   the southern hemisphere, and the Daryen nomenclature of system
   contents in some charts.
   
   The next wave of settlement took place around 100, when a group of
   agrarian colonists from the Massila Sector established a colony on the
   Armament Islands. The colony has never been a member of the Imperium,
   and was largely bypassed by the ebb and flow of events in the Spinward
   Marches. The Zhodani Consulate attempted to subvert the world into
   it's sphere of influence before the Third Frontier War, but these
   overtures were subsequently rejected. Pequan did not assume any
   importance on the galactic stage until after the Fifth Frontier War
   (1107-1112). During the peace talks that concluded the war, Pequan's
   government refused to become a part of the Federation of Arden.
   
   Pequan's ruling council of landowners was overthrown after a civil war
   in 1124. The new rulers nationalised all major land and industrial
   holdings, and set out to build their version of the worker's state.
   The unseated rulers fought back, initially without success. They
   enlisted aid from the Federation of Arden, and after much bloody
   fighting, toppled the Pequan Worker's Party in 1130. The Federation
   annexed Pequan, but reinstated the landowners as the ruling class on
   the world. They continue to rule today, despite a continued guerilla
   and terrorist campaign by the PWP aimed at their overthrow. Local
   military forces are re-inforced by Arden Army and mercenary units.
   
   An automated beacon provides navigational information for starships
   jumping into the Pequan system. This is one of the few concessions to
   space travel provided by the Pequani, starport facilities are
   primitive. The Arden Federal Navy conducts irregular sweeps of the
   system, but travellers are advised to look to their own defenses -
   piracy is not unheard of, and the Arden Navy is rather inneffectual.
   
   Pequan Starport (a facility hardly deserving of the title) is located
   on Black Powder island, on the southernmost tip of the Armament
   Archipelago. There are no repair or refuelling facilities at the
   starport - refuelling is performed by skimming fuel from the adjacent
   ocean. The landing pad consists of two hectares of cleared and packed
   dirt. A customs and administration building provides the government
   representation. The other buildings include representative offices for
   merchant concerns, barracks for the starport security contingent and a
   small bar (the 'Pequan Down'). Starport security is handled by
   government troops armed for the most part with indigenous TL-4
   weaponry. On landing, the starport security personnel will conduct a
   search of arriving starships, aimed primarily at heading off the
   steady inflow of arms sold to the PWP rebels.
   
   Travellers should note that the Regency Credit is not legal tender on
   Pequan. The local currency is the Ardeni Scrip, officially valued at
   0.32 Cr. The black market exchange rate is more accurate: one Regency
   Credit will currently buy 6 Scrip. Dealing in Regency scrip outside
   the starport compound is illegal, and punishable by a lengthy prison
   term. Nonetheless, the Credit is popular with the locals. The carriage
   of any form of weaponry outside the compound is also illegal - and can
   be punishable by death.
   
   Merchants seeking to do business on Pequan really don't need to leave
   the starport area. The co-operative offices routinely arrange the sale
   and transshipment of cargo, and are easier to deal with than most
   government officials, who have a dislike of foreigners.
   
   The Pequan Air Transport Corporation maintains a weekly air service
   between the starport and the capital city on Six Pounder Island (400
   km northeast of Black Powder Island). The aircraft lands and departs
   from a grassed airstrip at the edge of the starport compound. The ride
   takes about 100 minutes, and costs AS500 (Cr 160). Travellers are
   advised to swallow their pride and take the airplane - local
   authorities have an intense dislike for privately operated grav
   vehicles, mainly due to their risk to local security. Local and Arden
   military patrols have been known to 'confiscate' vehicles.
   
   As the aircraft descends towards Pequan City Commercial Airfield, one
   can't help but notice the generally decrepit state of the city. Pequan
   City (pop. 115,000) is the capital and administrative centre of
   Pequan, and is also a centre for what manufacturing industries exist
   on this non-industrialized world. On most days, a dirty haze hangs
   over the city, pollution caused mainly by coal burning and the exhaust
   from petroleum-fuelled ground cars. The city still bears the scars of
   the civil wars that swept then toppled the PWP, many buildings are
   only roughly patched or repaired. A rail service links the airfield to
   the city centre, some 8 kilometers distant.
   
   Don't expect to be welcomed with open arms. The locals are wary of
   outsiders, an attitude enforced by officialdom. In the cities
   especially, the government keeps a close eye on it's subjects, and an
   even closer eye on offworlders. Before you leave the airfield, you
   will have picked up a 'tail' - an operative from the Bureau of
   Internal Affairs assigned to keep watch on your movements. Despite the
   Federation's reputation as 'neutral ground' for offworlders, the local
   rulers have a deep distrust of offworlders, especially those from the
   Regency.
   
   The local law level is harsh, banning weapons outside the home, and
   all firearms and energy weapons. An active paramilitary police force
   patrols the streets of every major town. It's members are armed (with
   TL-4 equipment), if not particularly well trained. The police have
   wide reaching powers, including the ability to arbitrarily arrest
   individuals and hold them without trial indefinately. These powers are
   exercised regularly in the face of continued acts of sabotage and
   terrorism by the PWP. Corruption in the legal and judicial system is
   endemic.
   
   The government's control of the countryside is less secure, and some
   'outback' areas are effectively controlled by the rebels. Irregular
   sweeps are made by government security forces, backed by offworld
   aircraft and heavy weaponry when possible - these sweeps generally do
   little more than further embitter an already impoverished peasantry,
   although they are occasionally ambushed by rebel irregular forces.
   Offworlders are advised to stay away from the countryside - hostage
   taking by rebel forces is not unknown. If it were a member if the
   Regency, Pequan would probably be occupied by Regency peacekeepers, or
   at the very least declared an Amber Zone.
   
   Still, Pequan does offer some opportunity - gun running to the rebels
   can be a lucrative, if risky trade. In the authors opinion, the
   potential for loss outweighs that for profit, and there are many less
   potentially fatal ways for a traveller to make a quick credit.

