Cilnodan

Cilnodan is a miserably cold planet huddling close to two dim fires that are no more than mere embers. From a distance, the planet did not appear promising, so it lay unsettled until 973. The fledgling colony founder and first president, Seamus Cilnodan, had the foresight to invest in a full geological survey for the mainworld as well as the asteroid belts. As luck would have it, lanthanum deposits were present in the world and the asteroids were primarily of the nickel-iron variety.

Unlike its neighbor, Dunant (Deneb 1706), the people of Cilnodan were eager to draw the attention of mining corporations. Not being equipped to exploit the wealth of resources at hand, they auctioned off the rights. Ling Standard Products won the mining rights and paid royalties on all ore sold that originated from the Cilnodan system. The colonists were careful to keep track of LSP.

The several hundred colonists on Cilnodan lived comfortably. There wasn't much incentive to strive for development. The royalties coming in from LSP covered the costs of the colony's needs, so there was really no want of anything. Those who were restless, or had anything resembling ambition, departed for more active locations. Crime was unheard of and law enforcement was lax. The inhabitants slipped into a life of leisure. The only real industry that they built on their own was recreation. LSP workers spent their vacation time on Cilnodan taking advantage of the facilities built by the Cilnodanians for the pursuit of their own self-indulgence. Cilnodan soon had a reputation as a laid back world that didn't seem to care what you did, so long as it didn't interfere with LSP's ability to mine and the Cilnodanians ability to party. As such, it became quite the haven for smugglers, fugitives, and other people looking to stay under the radar of law enforcement.

When the Rebellion hit, LSP began to worry about being able to continue to mine without being attacked by the Assemblage of 1116 and other corsairs. They hired mercenaries to supplement their own security force. Some of the mercenaries, doubling as bounty hunters, began to spot ships and personnel they knew were wanted by the Imperium. So, mercenaries began moonlighting after their security details as bounty hunters. They began to capture some of the wanted sapients to collect the bounty on their heads. This upset the smugglers who put pressure on the Cilnodanian government to get the bounty hunters out of Cilnodan.

Not wishing to lose either source of planetary income, Augustus Vuckovich, the president, brokered a deal between LSP and the smugglers. LSP was to fire the mercenaries and channel the money to the Cilnodanian government. The government would then pay the smugglers to broker a deal with any corsairs that felt compelled to raid Cilnodan. What LSP didn't know was that the Assemblage of 1116 was already in on the deal with the smugglers. It was in their best interest to let LSP keep on mining. Everyone kept making money so everyone was happy.

The happy times ended when the Frontier was established and the Abandonment began. Unable to pay off Virus, the Cilnodanian government watched with slack jaws as LSP packed up and moved out. And when the Regency finally destroyed the Assemblage's forces, the smugglers' income dried up too. Cilnodan found itself outside of the Regency, outside of even the Frontier, without any means of income. The party was over.

The Cilnodanians refused to give up and move safeside. Being adjacent to the Frontier, and with Dunant just a parsec away, they figured that they could still manage to get what they needed. How strict could the RQS be? Surely a deal could be made. In the early years of the Quarantine, Cilnodan relied on smugglers to bring in supplies and replacement parts. But as the RQS got their act together, smuggling all but ceased, forcing the Cilnodanians to cannibalize parts in order to keep the whole place going.

In 1141, just when it seemed as if they were going to have to give up and head safeside, a RQS survey team made contact with the world. Craig Nunenmacher, the new president, made an offer to the survey team to take back to RQS command: the Cilnodanians would keep mining lanthanum in exchange for the supplies and parts they needed to keep the place going. It was a deal that the RQS couldn't pass up and both sides were happy. And perhaps it was here that the seeds of corruption took root within the RQS.

Cilnodan's luck took a turn for the worse in 1159. That's when a corsair band, the Ursak A 1116, roughly translated to "Sons of 1116", established themselves as the de facto rulers of Tuedhikhuez (Deneb 1905). Once established, the marauding patrols set out for the Regency Frontier. They quickly overran Cilnodan's meager defenses and received a prompt surrender message from Nunenmacher. They forced the Cilnodanians to hand over anything they deemed of value, especially the fresh supplies and spare parts they received from the Regency for their lanthanum.

Another three years would pass before a victorious Regency task force would revisit the Cilnodan system. By this point, two-thirds of the population had perished and all mining operations had ceased due to neglected machinery. Those that remained were far removed from the lax que sera sera attitude of their ancestors. These people had to work just to keep their power cells going so they wouldn't freeze to death. This fortitude of will required to survive led to the end of their free wheeling society.

A more ordered and focused governance was needed. The new government consisted of a council of five, elected for life. They were charged with keeping the colony alive and were empowered to do whatever it took (note the law level increase from 1 to 7). Cilnodan's self-indulgent days were now gone.

Once relief workers got the colony's environmental systems stabilized, the people went back to work to mine lanthanum. Amazingly enough, the downport was salvageable. In just a few years, the Cilnodanians traded enough lanthanum to acquire the necessary parts and equipment to make it functional again (D). And by 1182 it was worthy of a C-class rating.

Wildside free traders make regular visits to Cilnodan. The marketplace plays host to all sorts of commodities, from scrap metal to produce. As a result, the Cilnodanians have begun to depend less and less on the RQS for supplies. Rather, the Cilnodanians often trade their RQS acquired supply surplus for goods from the free traders. Smugglers have also found their way back to Cilnodan, and it is not uncommon to see Vargr here as well. Rumors have circulated that Cilnodan is an important port for the Pack.

Perhaps it is because Cilnodan is suspected of being a haven for smugglers and the Pack that they were passed over for wildside terminus status. Or perhaps it is because certain members of the RQS don't want to draw attention to their own import/export operation that they've been operating out of Cilnodan. It could be quite simply that memories of the Ursak A 1116 are still too fresh in the minds of the Regency and the Dunant-Cilnodan portion of the Frontier-Wilds border is viewed as weak.

With the announcement of the reopening of the Frontier to outbound traffic, LSP has informed Cilnodan's government that it wants to come back and renew their mining operation. However, LSP has stipulated that they would like to renegotiate the terms of the old contract, citing their diminished status and stiff competition within the Regency as their reasons. The Cilnodanian government has yet to make a decision but council spokesman, Naresh Cilnodan, has stated, "We're confident that a deal can be made."

Back