RICE Paper: Pequan/Jewell

Date: Fri, 10 Nov 1995 02:10:25 -1600
From: Michael Bailey <pd82495@wapol.gov.au>
Subject: RICE Paper:  Pequan/Jewell

This is the first draft.  As usual, any suggestions, corrections or gripes
should be sent to pd82495@wapol.gov.au

Rice Paper #SM-1006 Emerald/Jewell

Pequan (Jewell:  Spinward Marches/1006)
E5656B9-4   Ag Ni       710 Na G5V
G = 0.637, Day = 30:11:21.39, Year = 220d 15:04:43.76
Atmo = 0.95, No weather control
Temp = +15.6 (5/lat +15 to -35) (season +13.2 to -22.0, 40 deg lat)
Daily temp range +7.5 to -15.0
Native life present     
Agricultural, Crystals, Agroproducts, Documents
Reactionary/Indifferent, Unaggressive/Neutral, Discordant/Aloof
Legal:  9-C79AA         Tech:  43-44433-4454-44-F

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.

System Details

Orbit           Name                    UWP             Notes

Primary         Kaller                  G5 V
0               Kaller Alpha            Y200000-0
1               Kaller Beta             Y200000-0       aka Turisyel
        10      Kaller Beta Ay          YS00000-0
        40      Kaller Beta Bee         YS00000-0
2               Pequan                  E5656B9-4       Ag Ni
3               Scripe                  Y100000-0
4               Planetoid Belt          Y000000-0
5               Arbalest                Y400000-0       aka Zlusihld
        25      Arrow                   Y102000-0       Ic
6               Kaller Eta              Y113000-0       Ic
7               Losrandir               YA30000-0       aka Tunen
8               Kaller Iota             Y300000-0
       200      Kaller Iota Ay          YS00000-0
9               Kaller Kappa            Y6A2000-0       Fl aka Thehngubhehn
         7      Kaller Kappa Ay         Y300000-0
        40      Kaller Kappa Bee        Y200000-0
       275      Kaller Kappa See        YS00000-0       

References:  The Regency Sourcebook, World Builder's Handbook
Michael Bailey (pd82495@wapol.gov.au)

"...bunch of degenerate, brain damaged animals..."
attributed to Prime Minister Paul Keating (the Right Honourable)