
[2868-2869  Trouble on Mordante]

Partly due to the antitrust provisions of the Great Compromise of
2830, several of the coalition worlds were able to nationalize
foreign assets and then operate them in the name of the "public
good". What this resulted in, completely contrary to the spirit
of these provisions, was the de facto consolidation of several
planetary conglomerates which, though they operated as businesses
and pursued an expansionary agenda, were not officially
businesses on paper (i.e. no stock was being traded).
Furthermore, because no code of civil rights had been included in
the Great Compromise, these conglomerates could do pretty much
whatever they wished with their respective populations. The
theory back in 2830 was that local democracy would keep the
governments in line, however, democracy was a nebulous concept on
some of these worlds, particularly where only the landowners
could vote and where in excess of 95%-99% of the population
didn't own any land.

   The situation eventually became intolerable on Mordante, where
the landless began a revolt somewhat similar to the farmer
rebellions on Earth nearly eight centuries earlier. The only
difference was that the infrastructure on Mordante wasn't so well
established to protect the ruling class, and by Christmas of '68,
once wealthy landowners were tasting vacuum as they were
forcefully ejected from their subterranean cities without so much
as a vaccsuit for apparel. A few, however, managed to escape, and
in a fit of reprisal, nuked their former cities from orbit before
the rebels could launch their own craft and give chase. By the
time the IPF arrived, it was too late to do anything other than
collect the survivors.

