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[General User]

I think we don't know enough about the planet from which1/3 of our Shepards hail (only that it's a farming colony in the Attican Traverse, suffered a horrific slaver attack, and has a regular trade route to Illium)... 

...so, after reading a bit too much Honor Harrington, I put down a few ideas I've been mulling over for a while.  You could call it a fanfic. 

But these are just my own musings/disjointed ramblings, how do you picture the planet of Colonist Shepard's birth?

Modifié par General User, 09 août 2011 - 07:56 .

[General User]

Astrography

Mindoir is an Alliance colony on the border between the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems. Mindoir is the name of both the system primary, and the system’s habitable world. There are four planets and an asteroid belt in the Mindoir system. 

Mindoir I (called Aodh, after the Celtic god of fire), a stereotypical “heat-blasted rock”, roughly the size of Mars, Aodh is rich several strategic minerals, including Element Zero. The planet is tidally locked leading to the as-yet not fully realized possibility of commercial mining operations on the night-side of the planet.

Mindoir II (Mindoir Prime) is the system’s habitable world. The planet is unusually earth-like, with gravity being slightly higher (1.1 g) and air pressure being slightly lower (averaging approximately 25in. at sea level), though he air is slightly higher in oxygen content. Mindoir Prime is also very similar to Earth in terms of both the length of its day and the length of its year, at 27.5 Earth-hours and .95 Earth-years respectively. Mindoir Prime’s has an extensive hydrosphere with salt water oceans covering almost three quarters of the planetary surface. Island archipelagos are the norm, with the largest land masses being roughly the size of Australia on Earth. The divided nature of Mindoir’s landmass has given rise to an incredible diversity in local flora and fauna.

From the point of view of the original colony planners, however, Mindoir Prime’s most important feature was the planet’s small rotational axis (a mere 12 degrees) stabilized by a single large moon called Andraste (after the Celtic goddess of the Moon). This small, stable rotation combined with the planetary maritime climate makes seasonal shifts on Mindoir a minor affair. The result is a near continuous growing season for most terran food crops over much of Mindoir. It was this feature, more than any other, that lead the Systems Alliance to award final colonization rights to the Mindoir Colony Corporation LTD., who sought to develop the planet as a primarily agricultural colony.

Between Mindoir II and Mindoir III lies the Champs de Pierre Asteroid Belt. While a fairly typical asteroid belt, the Champs de Pierre’s proximity to the system's population centre at Mindoir Prime makes it very attractive for potential deep-space heavy-industry development.

Mindoir III and Mindoir IV, or Freyer and Freyja, are two remarkably similar hydrogen-helium gas giants approximately 1.5 times the mass of Jupiter. While commercial H3 extraction and processing remain limited for the time being, developement is underway.


Population and Demographics

The current population is approximately 500,000 persons, of whom about 95% are human. Of the non-humans, the largest racial group is asari, mainly educated women from Illium brought in by the various corporate interests that do business in Mindoir.

Among humans, the population of Mindoir is ethnically mixed, as is typical in the colonies. The original settlement was predominantly European (mostly French/German/Swiss, from the Basel region, though with substantial British and Russian minorities). However, following 'The Raid', there was a large North American (mainly Texan and French Canadian) and South American (mostly Argentinian, Brazilian, and Chilean) influx. Mindoir has three official languages: French, German, and Standard English.

Mindoinese cuisine is a mix of European and American styles. Barbeque is common, as is seafood, both native and imported terran varieties. The draughts of Brauerei Nouveau Strasbourg are rapidly becoming well regarded is galactic beer drinking circles, while the beginnings of a wine industry seem to be developing in the Nouveau Sonoma region.

On Mindoir, whenever one says or hears the word “batarian”, it is common custom to turn your head to the left and spit. Both the Citadel, and Illium governments have issued travel advisories advising any batarians traveling to Mindoir top take extra precautions while doing so.

Modifié par General User, 11 juin 2011 - 04:09 .

[General User]

History and Military

Mindoir Colony was founded in 2165 as part of the Citadel Council sponsored human expansion efforts in the Attican Traverse 2153 as part of humanity’s earliest deep space colonial efforts. Though Mindoir (being on the very edge of the Attican Traverse) is physically quite distant from Earth, the planet was settled during the pre-First Contact era of human colonization, an era when human explorers thought nothing of reactivating dormant Mass Relays. The planet Mindoir might even be thought of as the fruit (literally, as Mindoir became an agricultural colony) of this policy: a world near to ideal for human life, but completely unclaimed. 

The original sponsor of the colony was the Mindoir Colony Corporation LTD., a privately held corporation created specifically to found a colony in the Mindoir System. Though modeled after the earlier Delta Pavonis Foundation, the MCC LTD. was the first human colonial development corporation whose stockholders were exclusively the colonists who would be settling in and developing the Mindoir System. Private citizens who wished become Mindoir colonists would be required to purchase a stake in the world they wished to colonize.  In return for their investment, colonists would receive a share in the colony that equated land and mineral rights proportional to their investment. At the time (even today to an extent) it was thought almost revolutionary for an extra-solar colony to be founded without a dedicated corporate or governmental sponsor. But the ultimate success of Mindoir has made the MCC a template of sorts for numerous independent human colonial efforts, both in Council and Terminus space.

In 2170 Mindoir colony was nearly destroyed in major raid by batarian slavers. The event, known by locals simply as ‘The Raid’, resulted in the deaths of most of the population, and the enslaving many others. The Systems Alliance carrier SSV Einstein responded to the attack and sent in ground forces in an attempt to rescue the surviving colonists. Unfortunately, the batarians were too well fortified and, after massacring those colonists they could not take with them, the slavers made good their escape, taking few slaves but leaving few survivors.

‘The Raid’ left profound scars on the collective psyche of the surviving Mindoir colonists. Despite the horror of ‘The Raid’, and the public sympathy it evoked, Mindoir was, at the time, too small and isolated for the Systems Alliance to consider placing a major garrison in the system. After the colonists request for such a garrison was turned down by the Alliance Parliament, the Mindoinese then petitioned for the right to charter an official colonial militia as an auxiliary of the SA Navy/Marine Corps, a request that was approved. The newfound Mindoir Colonial Militia’s status as an official auxiliary of the SA Navy/Marine Corps gave the organization access to all the technology and training the Alliance military had to offer. At the same time, the keen awareness MCM members had of the dangers of colonial life made them highly dedicated and professional as a group, if a very small one. Alliance 5th Fleet CO, Admiral Steven Hackett, once referred to the MCM as “one of the best outfits no one’s heard of.”*

As might be expected, the Mindoir Colonial Militia was enthusiastically embraced by the colony as a whole. To this day, all able-bodied Mindoinese are expected to serve in the militia. The MCM’s unique nature and organization, make it markedly different from many other colonial militia or system defense forces in the Alliance, even some which are much larger.

For example, the MCM operates its own N7 team, officially known as SAMC/MCM-N7-1. It’s a small team consisting only of six official members (one from each specialty: Soldier, Adept, Engineer, Sentinel, Vanguard, Infiltrator), and one honorary member (Shepard was made an honorary member following Akuze/Elysium/Torfan). The Mindoir Colonial Government and the Systems Alliance Navy regard SAMC/MCM-N7-1 as a key asset for dealing with military and security threats throughout the Attican Traverse. 

The MCM would prove itself in 2176, during the Skyllian Blitz. While the main batarian force was focused on the Skyllian Verge and Elysium, a smaller pirate group, called “The Sons of Kre’Dosh” was sponsored to attack human interests in the Attican Traverse. The ‘Sons’ spent the first few weeks of the campaign attacking scattered human merchant-ships and deep space stations before moving on Mindoir. This proved to be a fatal mistake as they found the MCM ready and waiting for them. By the time the Systems Alliance had crushed the Blitz and sent a relief force to the Traverse, all that was left to do in the region of Mindoir Colony was to take custody of the few prisoners the Mindoinese had not executed for piracy.

Following the human victory in the Blitz, Mindoir began to take an active, if local, role in colonial security. Mindoir’s success in this area proved to be key in establishing a regular trade route to Illium in 2180. 

The MCM enjoys a close relationship with the Illium Customs Service. Though it is deliberately not often publicized, the Illium Customs Service is actually one of the best funded and most effective anti-piracy forces in the galaxy. It is also one of the most heavily armed.  Many the “customs cutters” of the ICS are in fact fully armed naval frigates featuring officials from the Non-Compliant Inspection Unit, who are differentiated from elite military commandos in name only. The two services have conducted joint anti-piracy patrols along the trade route that connects them on multiple occasions and gone so far as to set up a joint intel liaison office.

Officially the Colonial Government of Mindoir does not work with Cerberus and lists them as a terrorist organization. Unofficially however… there have been numerous instances over the years where the MCM has found itself to suddenly come into possession of intel well beyond their means to gather, intel that has saved human lives and helped to preserve order in the region. Despite data suggesting Cerberus cells may be operating the Traverse, the Mindoinese authorities currently have no open investigations regarding Cerberus activities in their jurisdiction.

No significant action took place in the Mindoir System during the Eden Prime War, the system went on high-alert immediately following the attack on Eden Prime and remained so until well after Sovereign’s defeat.** Mindoir experienced severe economic dislocation during the Collector Crisis, as the Collector attacks forced the cancellation of many regularly scheduled trade runs.

Modifié par General User, 11 juin 2011 - 06:25 .

[General User]

Government and Politics

The capital of the Mindoir System is located on KonstanteStar Station, a multipurpose space station in geosynchronous orbit around Mindoir Prime directly above the largest planet-side settlement of Nouveau Basel.

The government of Mindoir is unique in the Systems Alliance. The original plan for Mindoir colony called for a fairly typical, unicameral, Mindoir Colonial Parliament modeled after the Systems Alliance Parliament (itself based on the English model). However, following ‘The Raid’ and the in light of the subsequent immigrant influx, the government of Mindoir underwent some fairly radical revisions. While fully aware that their colony would likely not survive at all without new blood, the original colonists were nearly as fearful of losing political control of their own colony. The original Mindoir settlers had founded their colony with a specific vision in mind, and were not about to turn it over to any newcomers, no matter how badly they needed them. Even as the first wave of new immigrants from Earth started arriving, the surviving original colonists (who, in total, numbered less than 500) convened a Colonial Constitutional Convention. 

The document they approved reintroduced to human government a concept not seen for between 200 and 300 years: hereditary positions of power. The unicameral Mindoir Colonial Parliament was dissolved and replaced with a bicameral legislature: The Mindoir Colonial Congress, consisting of a Colonial House of Representatives chosen by an electorate composed of all net tax-paying citizens (called Yeomen), and a Colonial Senate whose hereditary membership was made up exclusively by the property owning heads-of-household of the surviving ‘original families’ (called Stadtholders or “estate-holders”).*** 

Contrary to what many off-world critics claim, the Stadtholder/Yeoman system is not actually a closed aristocracy. Any person who feels that their contributions to Mindoir colonial society are sufficient to merit a seat in the Colonial Senate can petition the Colonial President to nominate them as a Stadtholder. Alternatively, the Colonial President may, of his or her own initiative, nominate any person they deem worthy. From there, the prospective Stadtholder must be approved by both Houses of the Colonial Congress, effectively allowing the House of Representatives to veto any potential new Senator of whom they disapprove. Since the inception of the new constitution in 2171, thirty new Stadtholders have been created in this fashion, for a grand total of 145, including one asari. Senator Ms. Yilia T’Ros is currently the highest ranking non-human serving in an Alliance colonial government.

As the Parliament was dissolved and replaced with the Congress, so too was the position of Colonial Prime Minister replaced with that of the Colonial President who, while popularly elected to an unlimited number of ten-year terms, must be a Senator/Stadtholder.   As the Colonial President is elected in his or her own right, he or she is not required to control a majority in either House of the Colonial Congress, and may not be removed from office except through an impeachment proceeding. The current Mindoir Colonial President is Mr. Leonard Prichard, a member of the Conservative Party.

Mindoir has a multi-party political system.  Seated in the Colonial House of Representatives are persons from parties as philosophically diverse as the Socialists and the Libertarians, as well as Representatives from more narrowly focused parties, such as the Citadel Unionists and Mindoir Firma (the local branch of Terra Firma). The two largest parties are the center-left Labour Democrats and the center-right Conservatives, who control about 35% and 40% of the seating in the Colonial House of Representatives respectively. Surprisingly to some (and prehaps because its members do not have to stand for election), the Mindoir Colonial Senate is a decidedly non-partisan institution. Almost 40% of Stadtholders claim no party affiliation, and even those that do frequently “cross the aisle” on individual issues. 


Economics

Mindoir was founded as a primarily agricultural colony, and despite the rapid growth in population the colony has experienced over the past decade, it has remained primarily agricultural, though it seems that may be changing. 

After ‘The Raid’ Mindoir was a devastated border colony struggling to survive. Over the past fifteen years however, the economy of Mindoir has not only recovered, but grown by leaps and bounds. Mindoir has become exactly what its original planners envisioned, a major supplier of both staple and luxury terran food products to both Earth and alien markets (most of the chocolate sold on both Illium and Thessia is made from cocoa grown on Mindoir, and asari LOOOOOOOOOVE chocolate). 

The single most profound influence on Mindoir’s economy over the past 10 years has been the establishment a direct trade route to Illium, giving Mindoir’s farmers and business persons direct access to one of the largest trading networks in the Terminus Systems as well as the direct access to both Earth and the Citadel they already enjoyed as members of the Alliance. The influx of out-system cash brought in by Mindoir’s agricultural products (many of which are considered pricey luxuries on alien worlds) has left many Stadtholders, wealthy Yeomen, and the Colonial Government looking to invest in ventures outside the traditional agricultural fields, including mineral and industrial development in on Aodh and in the Champs de Pierre.

Most tellingly, Cord-Hilsop Aerospace, in partnership with the Mindoir Colonial Militia, has recently begun construction of a small shipyard in orbit around Mindoir intended to become both a regional production facility of the new Cord-Hilsop East Indiaman-class armed merchant ship (meant for the Terminus, and similar markets), and light attack craft such as fighters and corvettes (meant for sale to The SA Navy and SA colonial militias). 

Modifié par General User, 15 juin 2011 - 12:06 .

[General User]

*Have you ever faced an MCM platoon before? Few asari have.

**Mindoir Colony and the Mindoir Colonial Militia, are among  the few institutions in Citadel Space who are wholeheartedly heeding Shepard’s, Anderson’s, and Hackett’s warnings about the Reapers and are actively preparing for the impending invasion.

***This technically makes Colonist Shepard a Stadtholder. Should s/he ever decide to return to Mindoir and reclaim the family estate, s/he would receive a seat in the Mindoir Colonial Senate.

Modifié par General User, 31 mai 2011 - 06:52 .

[General User]

iOnlySignIn wrote...

This kind of 'hard' Sci-Fi with vivid details is what I play ME for. [Applause]

Thanks for a very interesting read! You almost made me want to move to Mindoir. :-)

Thank you kindly.

If you do go to Mindoir, might I recommend a stop at Bubba J’s Bar-B-Q on KonstanteStar. The kitchen (which you can tour) includes a room with a three meter deep sunken floor filled with top-soil from Mindoir Prime and then excavated to create an authentic, American-style barbeque pit. For my money it’s as good as anything you’ll get planet side, plus it’s the only space-based real-pit barbeque in the known universe!

Modifié par General User, 31 mai 2011 - 08:11 .

[jamesp81]

iOnlySignIn wrote...

This kind of 'hard' Sci-Fi with vivid details is what I play ME for. [Applause]

Thanks for a very interesting read! You almost made me want to move to Mindoir. :-)

Agreed.

[jamesp81]

OP, being a fan of Weber's older works, including many of the Honor Harrington books, I'm pretty sure we're looking at a Mass Effect adaptation of Grayson, just without the quasi state sanctioned religion.

Modifié par jamesp81, 31 mai 2011 - 08:32 .

[General User]

jamesp81 wrote...

OP, being a fan of Weber's older works, including many of the Honor Harrington books, I'm pretty sure we're looking at a Mass Effect adaptation of Grayson, just without the quasi state sanctioned religion.

Absolutely.  The Stadtholder/Steadholder thing gives it away.  There's also a bit of a similarity with Manticore herself, since it was a major tragedy in that planet's early colonial history, and the subsequent need to "bring in new blood" that lead to Manticore to reintorduce a landed aristocracy to their otherwise democratic system of government.

I thought: "if Manticore reacted that way, why not a world from my other favorite sci-fi franchise?" 


It's a Mass Effect version of Grayson and Manticore. It’s a "Masseffever o’Grayticore!!!"

Modifié par General User, 31 mai 2011 - 09:00 .

[General User]

Post Edit

Modifié par General User, 01 juin 2011 - 06:09 .

[Sylvianus]

Great, thanks for a very interesting read too !
I hope, you'll try to describe something else.

Modifié par Sylvianus, 03 juin 2011 - 01:09 .

[General User]

Thank you.  I'll look for another planet or faction to write about.

You know, I’ve never considered myself to be that great at writing “character-based” fan-fiction. But… if anyone else would like to used my vision of Mindoir as a background or setting for one of their own stories, I’d be more than thrilled to read it.

As a "down payment" on your request…


The Shepard Family Estates

The Shepard family was among the very first wave of settlers on Mindoir and was among the first to invest (and to do so heavily) in the original Mindoir Colony Corporation. As such, the Shepard’s had legal title to both some of the best agricultural land on Mindoir as well as some of the potentially most lucrative unexploited natural resources throughout the system. Colonist Shepard, as the lone survivor of the original Shepard family, is the legal inheritor of these properties.

-ph. moved to the "economics" section upthread-

Other than a few minor land sales while attending university, and the donation of a small parcel of land around Nouveau Basel to the municipal government for the construction of a new primary school, Shepard hasn’t been particularly involved in managing his/her inheritance (and understandably so). 

I think ol’ Shep. would be surprised just how much the family estates have appreciated in value over the years.

Modifié par General User, 04 juin 2011 - 01:21 .

[General User]

More from Mindoir

The same pleasant climate that made Mindoir attractive as an agricultural colony has made the planet attractive as a port of call for naval vessels. Mindoir was one of the 20 colonies the Destiny Ascension visited during its victory cruise in 2185, and played host to Admiral Hackett and the 5th Fleet during their tour of the Attican Traverse. 

Major fleet visits like these were the primary impetus behind the Alliance’s construction of the original H3 extraction and refinement facility in orbit around Freyer. 

Technically the Alliance built the facility under contract and leases the “land it sits on” (or space it flies through, as the case may be). Like most other natural resources in the Mindoir System, the atmosphere of Freyer is owned outright by one or more Stadtholders, in this case Marie St. Pierre, Simon Rosenberg, and George Bayern are the three largest stakeholders in Freyer’s atmosphere, though there are about 2 dozen other (including Shepard) smaller stakeholders.

Eldfell-Ashland Energy has expressed an interest in purchasing and expanding the facility with an eye to being able to sell fuel at a premium to the commercial and military starships that increasingly frequently stop at Mindoir. However, Mindoir’s foreign investment laws (originally enacted to prevent large transtellar corporate conglomerates from overwhelming local interests) require all profit making enterprises in the system to be a minimum 51% local owned. 

Eldfell-Ashland originally tried to satisfy all parties by offering to purchase the Stadtholder’s mineral claims with a 51% stake in the facility to be built. Needless to say, the Stadtholders held out for a better deal, and the rest of the colony seemed to get behind them. 

The Alliance, eager for the project to go forward, offered to mediate.  From these talks a deal emerged. A new company is to be created, Eldfell-Ashland Energy of Mindoir, with 51% of the new company’s stock guaranteed to be sold to Mindoir citizens, Stadtholders and Yeomen alike (thus “spreading the (potential) wealth”). EAoM would continue to lease the mineral rights from the Stadtholders involved (so they get paid no matter what, even if they never invest a single credit). Meanwhile, Eldfell-Ashland gets to sell their fuel, and the Alliance Navy and MCM get access to fuel for their ships. Everybody wins!

Modifié par General User, 07 juin 2011 - 08:13 .

[thompsmt]

Really nice!

I've had some of the Mad Wizard's ideas floating around for how I see ME. Oh, and I figure Honor as a major influence in how I play FemShep.

[General User]

News from Mindoir

Mindoir welcomed some new colonists today as 100 lysenthi salarians, led by their senior Dalatrass, the Dalatrass Lappai. These newcomers are the first wave of the 1000 strong Alo’keth clan, late of Omega, and disembarked at KonstanteStar from the star ship AML Akabak.

Colonial President Prichard, as well as several prominent Stadtholders and business leaders, were on hand to greet the newcomers. After a brief photo opportunity, President Prichard and Dalatrass Lappai issued a hope filled joint statement expressing mutual gratitude and admiration.

Dalatrass Lappai stated in her remarks. “Two hundred years ago my clan was driven from Sur’Kesh. Against impossible odds we’ve held our clan together and struggled for survival in some of the darkest places in the galaxy. Now, standing here, in orbit of our new home, a real home, where we can live, work, and worship as we wish, without having to beg leave of anyone.  I feel as if we are finally coming into the Light.”

President Prichard expressed similar sentiments. “This is what Mindoir is all about: the promise of the frontier, the idea that no matter who you are or where you come from, anyone can make something of yourself here. That the pettiness, hatreds, and oppressions of the past can be overcome, and a bright future awaits here for anyone willing to work for it.”

The lysenthi are a sort of outcast division of salarian society. Though why exactly they were cast out isn’t exactly obvious. The lysenthi themselves are highly reluctant to speak of it, and the Salarian Union Consulate on Elysium responded to our request for information with the terse statement: “If a human colony is foolish enough to allow lysenthi to settle on it, that is their own concern.”

En masse immigration is not uncommon for salarians who are organized under the matriarchal rule of their Dalatrasses, more so for lysenthi salarians who live in tight-knit clans. The Alo’keth clan plans to build a largely self-sufficient community on a large island in the Shepard Sea that they purchased from Stadtholder René LeClerc. And to support their community by being the first on Mindoir to produce traditional salarian agricultural products for both the domestic and export markets.

[General User]

The most recent major action the Mindoir Colonial Militia participated in was the campaign against the Tai’ Danni pirates in response to that pirate clans believed involvement in the destruction of the salarian starship Kalenhai. 

The raid itself on the hitherto powerful pirate faction’s headquarters in the Terminus Systems was executed by Council forces.  With Alliance N7 teams and asari commando units providing the ground strike teams, the Turian 63rd Cruiser and 35th and 154th Frigate Squadrons providing the deep space combat element, and a still classified contribution by the salarian Special Tasks Group, the ‘Tai’ Danni Raid’ has been justly praised by military and political minds the galaxy over as a model of interspecies military cooperation.

While the ‘Tai’ Danni Raid’ was a fantastic success, killing or capturing most of the Tai’ Danni leaders and destroying most of their resources (effectively crippling the organization) it was not an unqualified one.  A few Tai’ Danni ships and crews escaped destruction simply by virtue of their being out “a’piratin’” at the time. These unaccounted for Tai’ Danni warships quickly became independent marauders and scattered throughout the galaxy, including into the Attican Traverse, near Mindoir.

This consequence of the ‘Tai’ Danni Raid’ was unfortunate, but not unpredicted, and thus not beyond a measure of control*; prior to the operation, the Citadel powers stepped up their general readiness states. As a part of this effort, the Alliance tasked the Mindoir Colonial Militia with helping to bolster the defenses, not only their own system, but  those of multiple other smaller Alliance installations (research facilities, deep space stations, etc.) throughout the Traverse. The MCM did well in this task. The highlight of the campaign was the MCM’s N7 team’s capture from the Tai’ Danni of the Kues’ Sus, a fifty year-old salarian frigate. 

The ship, though old, is still more than serviceable (the pirates, perhaps not surprisingly, kept their ships relatively up to date in terms of fighting capability). In a somewhat surprising move, the Alliance has opted to place the ship into service with the MCM, it is currently undergoing a  refit at the naval dock at KonstanteStar. When finished (scheduled for late 2185) the vessel will be rechristened as the MCSV (Mindoir Colonial Space Vehicle) Citadel, and will be the largest (in terms of tonnage) purpose-built combat vessel serving in an Alliance colonial militia.

Despite the success of the Mindoir Colonial Militia over the years, the Alliance’s use of a colonist militia for duties falling outside their strict prevue is not without controversy; chiefly the concerns center on the possibility that the MCM may choose to “take things into their own hands” when it come to dealing with matters such as piracy and, especially, slavers. Former Councilor David Anderson summed up the concerns best when he said: “I’m not worried about what the Mindoinese will do to slavers they take prisoner. What worries me is the possibility that, when it comes to slavers at least, the Mindoinese might not bother taking any prisoners.”**


*From “The Matrix”
** A near direct quote from Admiral White Haven

Modifié par General User, 11 juin 2011 - 07:19 .

[General User]

Ah, good catch. Thanks!

I went with 2165 because that was the year the Citadel Council started actively supporting human colonial efforts in areas of conflict with the batarians.   I guess I need to change that.

How about this:
Mindoir Colony was founded in 2165 as part of the Citadel Council sponsored human expansion efforts in the Attican Traverse 2153 as part of humanity’s earliest deep space colonial efforts. Though Mindoir (being on the very edge of the Attican Traverse) is physically quite distant from Earth, the planet was settled during the pre-First Contact era of human colonization, an era when human explorers thought nothing of reactivating dormant Mass Relays. The planet Mindoir might even be thought of as the fruit (literally, as Mindoir became an agricultural colony) of this policy: a world near to ideal for human life, but completely unclaimed.

Modifié par General User, 11 juin 2011 - 12:58 .

[General User]

The colony being founded in 2153, and Shepard being born in 2154 would make Shepard one of the first, if not the very first human being born on Mindoir. Contributing greatly to the special place Shepard holds in the hearts of the Mindionese.

[Sylvianus]

Awesome, again, thanks.

I have a question. In your opinion, when Mindoir was attacked and destroyed, how many settlers had been kidnapped or killed ? And how many pirates were there ?

[sponge56]

This is insanely well thought out and imaginative, awesome read!

[General User]

Sylvianus wrote...

Awesome, again, thanks.

I have a question. In your opinion, when Mindoir was attacked and destroyed, how many settlers had been kidnapped or killed ? And how many pirates were there ?

Hmmmm… I figure that the original colonist expedition had at least 100,000 persons in it. Depending on how much immigration the planet got from Earth during the 2150’s and 2160’s that could put the population at the time of ‘The Raid’ anywhere from 120,000 or even over 500,000. Since I’m just making up numbers anyway, I’ll say the batarian force that attacked Mindoir numbered about 1000. Like all raiders they relied on speed, violence, and surprise to be successful.

The batarians came in four ships, three frigate-level vessels to provide the heavy firepower to overwhelm the colony, and one large “ark-ship” not dissimilar to the Purgatory, with which they intended to transport their captured human cargo.

Now, my version ‘The Raid’ was actually a very unsuccessful slaving operation, thanks largely to the intervention of the SSV Einstein. The Einstein’s fighter wing was able to destroy the ark-ship before any colonists could be loaded on board, as well as one of the batarian frigates (the one that remained in orbit). But the Einstein couldn’t use those same fighters on the frigates that had landed on the planet, since they were surrounded by captured colonists.

The Einstein’s commanding officer decided to send in a Marine force to attempt to rescue those colonists. The batarians responded by loading any humans they could take onto their two frigates (which would not be very many) and slaughtering the rest, all while holding off the Einstein’s Marines, before making good their escape (the Einstein was unwilling to engage ships full of captured slaves).  It would have been impressive, if it weren't so horrific.

It was, at the same time, one of the least successful and most horrific slaving incidents in history.

Modifié par General User, 11 juin 2011 - 12:56 .

[Sylvianus]

Ok thank you. I've always wondered how it had happened.I like your version. Your answer is a big help.

[General User]

Mindoir’s Relations with Other Planets and Races 

Elysium – Mindoir has a very close relationship with Elysium. The two worlds are natural allies. Mindoir has an economy based on the supply of food and natural resources, while Elysium (as a hub system) has an economy based on commerce, industry, and financial services. Bekenstein may be often referred to as “the human’s Illium” but I think that descriptor fits Elysium just as well, if not better, in some regards. One could say that most Mindoinese think of Elysium, with its developed economy and cosmopolitan society, as the local “big city”. There is also a strong sense of solidarity between the two worlds stemming from the fact that both planets suffered major batarian attacks. 

As Elysium is a hub system with a major Alliance garrison, the Elysium Colonial Militia assumes the much more traditional role of a colonist militia; that of a purely defensive, local auxiliary force, in contrast to the rather active role the Mindoir Colonial Militia plays. Nevertheless the Mindoir and Elysium Colonial Militias often conduct joint training exercises.

If Shepard has the “Colonist/War Hero” background, the relationship between the two worlds takes on an interesting flavor as the two planets compete in what can only be described as a friendly ‘Shepard rivalry.’ For example, when Elysium renamed the hills where War Hero Shepard famously held off the batarian raiders as the Shepard Hills, Mindoir responded by officially dubbing the largest mountain chain on Mindoir as the Shepard Mountains (even though Colonist Shepard never actually set foot in the region).  To date, neither colony has named an entire planet after Shepard, though President Prichard has more than once expressed the thought that Freyer and Freyja "sound a little too similar" and renaming one or the other is "not out of the question."  

The only real sour note in relations between Mindoir and Elysium occurred in 2183 when Shepard was believed to have died.  Immediately following reports of Shepard having been killed in action, Mindoir built a small but dignified memorial on the site of the Shepard family estate. At the same time, Elysium constructed the truly magnificent Shepard Memorial Plaza, this rubbed a lot of Mindoinese the wrong way, as they felt the Elysians were trying to “one-up” them regarding Shepard’s death. Relations between the two colonies were largely soothed over when Elysian Colonial Prime Minister Liu Han made a personal visit to Mindoir to lay a wreath at Mindoir’s Wall of the Taken, a memorial to those killed or enslaved in 'The Raid', and Mindoinese Colonial President Prichard made a similar visit to Elysium to lay a wreath at Shepard Memorial Plaza.


Earth and Eden Prime – Mindoir is a major supplier of agricultural products to the Earth. Prior to the attack on Eden Prime, the main products Mindoir shipped back to the home world were high end luxury foodstuffs, while Eden Prime mainly supplied staple products. 

Both Mindoir and Eden Prime were settled as agricultural colonies, but while Mindoir was colonized by independent settlers, Eden Prime received the patronization of some of the Earth’s largest corporate entities.  The corporate agribusinesses that sponsored Eden Prime did so with the express interest of dominating the Earth food markets, a goal at which they succeeded. It was Eden Prime’s success in this regard that forced Mindoir to seek out alien markets in which to sell its products.

Mindoir has increased its collective market share on Earth as Eden Prime rebuilds, but it is uncertain how long this will last.


Illium – A major trading partner, Mindoir has a closer relationship to Illium than any other colony in the Alliance, except perhaps Elysium. Many of Illium’s powerful corporate interests increasingly see Mindoir as a burgeoning source of raw materials and are actively sponsoring and encouraging a closer relationship between the two worlds.

As stated above, the Mindoir Colonial Militia enjoys a close relationship with the Illium Customs Service. The military relationship between Mindoir and Illium  extends to education and training. Illium has offered to allow gifted Mindoinese biotics to train at the Illium Customs Service Academy Tactical Biotics Program.


Asari and Turians – In what may be a case of seeing what they want to see; both asari and turians are inclined to look on Mindoir with favor, mainly due to the Mindoir Colonial Militia. Asari see the MCM as being similar to their own system of locally supported territorial military units, while turians note that Mindoir requiring a term of service in the MCM for all citizens is markedly similar to their own culture.


Salarians – Though many salarians are inclined to see the Mindoinese Stadtholder system as being similar to their own landed aristocracy, the recent decision by Mindoir to allow lysenthi to settle on the planet has left most salarians unfavorably inclined toward Mindoir.

Modifié par General User, 11 juin 2011 - 05:53 .