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Astrography and Geography
Mindoir is an Alliance colony on the border between the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems. Mindoir is the name of both the system's star, and the system’s habitable world. There are four planets and an asteroid belt in the Mindoir system. The planet and system are named after their discoverer; Dr. Claude Mindoir, an early deep space scientist and explorer who made his fortune helping to unlock the secrets of the Prothean cache on Mars, and was later instrumental in the activation of the Charon Relay.
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 (also called Mindoir Prime or just Mindoir) 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), thought 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 two 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. While Element Zero has been discovered on Mindoir, it is only present in small and isolated quantities. Consequently the “biotic animals” commonly seen on other life-bearing worlds where eezo is found, are vanishingly rare on Mindoir, human biotics are also uncommon (though far from unheard of).
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). The climate on Mindoir is particularly stable, due to the small rotational axis. Seasonal shifts are a relatively minor affair with the difference between mean summer and winter temperatures averaging less than 10 degrees Celsius in most places. 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.
Like the Earth, Mindoir is a tectonically active planet. Its most remarkable feature is hands down the spectacular Shepard Mountains (formerly the Gran Alps). Caused by plate subduction, the Shepard Mountains rise dramatically out of the Wilhelm Ocean to a height of nearly 8,000 meters before gently fading into the Basel-Rhine river basin.
As on many worlds humanity has settled, the colonists on Mindoir tended to name regions on their new home world after similar regions on Earth. As ANN recently reported, there are no fewer than 14 “New California’s” scattered throughout the colonies. Though lacking a “Nouveau California”, Mindoir does have a Le Nouveau Philippines, a Le Nouveau Shetlands, a Nouveau Cuba, and a Nouveau Hawaii. Mindoir decided early on to use the French “Nouveau” as opposed to the Standard English “New” specifically to distinguish regions on Mindoir from regions on other colonies.
In terms of overall climate, Mindoir features approximately the same range of temperatures as on Earth. Permanent ice caps cover both poles, wet tropical jungles dominate the equatorial regions, and temperate forests and grass lands dominate the middle latitudes. The only biomes that Mindoir lacks in comparison to Earth are the Great Deserts. Mindoir has no equivalent of the Sahara, or the Gobi, or the deserts of Western Australia. That’s not to say Mindoir lacks deserts entirely. Portions of the coastline at the base of the Shepard Mountains bear a striking resemblance to Earth’s Atacama, while a few of the larger landmasses have regions where a resident of New Mexico or Arizona might feel at home.
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 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. Freyer in particular is noted as a potentially lucrative source of H3 fuel.
Population, Demographics and Culture
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, Nouveau Basel.
The current population is approximately 550,000 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. In 2183 a clan of 1000 lysenthi salarians officially immigrated to Mindoir from Omega.
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, 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 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.
After the colony was founded, the very first human being born on Mindoir was none other than the famous [INSERT YOUR SHEPARD'S FIRST NAME HERE] Shepard. The Commander is little less than an icon on Mindoir. Publicly insulting Shepard, while by no means illegal, is a good way to get your nose broken.
One of the easiest ways for the Mindoinese to spot an off-worlder is clothing made from artificial fabrics. Mindoir is an agricultural colony and, in addition to food, the colony produces a large amount of high-quality natural fabrics and natural clothing. In contrast to places like The Citadel, clothing made from wool, cotton, linen, silk, or leather is the rule rather than the exception on Mindoir.
On Mindoir, whenever one says or hears the word “batarian”, it is common custom to pat your sidearm, or if unarmed, to pat your hip where one would normally carry a sidearm. Almost surely as a consequence of the batarian attack, firearms on Mindoir are as common as omni-tools. Over the past few decades, what began as a response to a very real danger has evolved into a unique social phenomenon: guns on Mindoir have become fashion accessories. Persons on Mindoir typically own two personal sidearms: a military grade pistol (such as the M3 Predator, M6 Carnifex, or M5 Phalanx) which they carry with they as they go about their day meant to serve practical defense purposes and an elaborate, antique-style (but still very lethal) "lead-spitter" almost always adorned with sophisticated etching, carved wood or ivory handles, etc. suitable for more formal occasions.
It should go without saying that batarians are not welcome on Mindoir. Both The Citadel and Illium governments have issued warnings to any batarians traveling to Mindoir to travel in groups, stay in well-lit public places, and not to venture outside the larger settlements unless absolutely necessary.
History and Politics
Mindoir Colony was founded in 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 War 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 of this policy: a world near to ideal for human life, but completely unclaimed.
Mindoir was also the first human colony to be founded with no purpose other than to serve as a home for humans who no longer wished to live on Earth. The original sponsor 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 stockholders of MCC LTD. were composed exclusively by 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 not to a share in collective profits (as Mindoir would have no "collective profits"), but rather lands and mineral rights proportional to their investment. The idea being to both raise the capital necessary to settle the system while at the same time creating a colonial society that would not be dependent on external patronage. At the time (even today to an extent) it was thought almost revolutionary for a major extra-solar colony to be founded without a dedicated corporate or governmental sponsor. But the ultimate success of Mindoir has made the MCC LTD. a template of sorts for numerous independent human colonial efforts both in Citadel and Terminus space.
The original colonist expedition had just over 100,000 persons in it and steady immigration form Earth during the 2150’s and 2160’s meant that there were over 350,000 people living on Mindoir in 2170, when the batarian slavers attacked the colony. The event, known by locals simply as ‘The Raid’ nearly destroyed Mindoir Colony. The batarian force, estimated to number about 1000, came to Mindoir 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.
‘The Raid’ was actually a very unsuccessful slaving operation, thanks largely to the intervention of the Systems Alliance carrier 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’s CO, Captain Rajampet was unwilling to use those same fighters on the frigates that had landed on the planet, since they were surrounded by captured colonists. Instead he decided to send in a Marine force to attempt a rescue. The batarians responded by loading any humans they could take onto their two frigates and slaughtering many of 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.
‘The Raid’ left a profound mark on Mindoir Colony and led them to adopt a system of government 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 leaders of the surviving original colonists (who, in total, numbered less than 10,000) convened a Colonial Constitutional Convention.
The document they approved has been praised by supporters as a model for human colonial governments to follow, taking the best ideals and practices of humanity's past and adapting them to the Mass Effect Age, and derided by detractors as a throwback to the elitist politics of Earth's pre-industrial past. 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 membership is chosen exclusively by persons who are both native-born and able to prove sufficient wealth and/or property (called Stadtholders or “estate-holders”).*2 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 Stadtholder.
Contrary to what many off-world critics claim, the Stadtholder/Yeoman system is not actually a closed aristocracy. There exists a constitutional shortcut in the form of "The Knights of Mindoir", a meritorious order modeled after both the French Legion of Honor and the British Orders of Chivalry. Any person who feels that their contributions to Mindoir colonial society are sufficient to merit entry into the Senatorial political/economic class can petition the Colonial President to nominate them as a Knight. Alternatively, the Colonial President may, of his or her own initiative, nominate any person they deem worthy. Should approval from both Houses of Congress be forthcoming, the new Stadtholder is both inducted into The Knights of Mindoir and granted properties out of the public demesne sufficient to ensure that they meet the wealth requirements to vote for or serve in the Senate. Since the inception of the new constitution in 2171, twenty new Stadtholders have been created in this fashion. The new Stadtholders have been military leaders, inventors, and entrepreneurs. One of the new Stadtholders, Ms. Yilia T’Ros, an asari, went on to be elected as the Senator of Nouveau Sonoma and is currently the highest ranking non-human serving in an Alliance colonial government.
Ms. T'Ros' election has become something of a contorversy in the Alliance. While some maintian that an alien serving in an Alliance colonial government is illegal, the Mindoir Colonial Constitution is written using non-race or gender specific language. In other words, there is absolutley nothing preventing a non-human from being elected to public office on Mindoir. As Senator T'Ros herself said in an interview with Westlund News' Khalisa bint Sinan al-Jilani, "I was not elected to the Alliance Parliament, I was elected to the Mindoir Colonial Senate. If the Alliance has a problem with how Mindoir chooses it's Senators, the time when they should have said so is long past." Colonial President Pritchard express similar sentiments saying, "Yilia T'Ros IS the duely elected Senator from Nouveau Sonoma and a hero on this colony. One of the greatest honors of my life has been to welcome her into our Senate. She WILL take her rightful seat whether Arcturus Station likes it or not!" Yilia T'Ros is indeed considered a national hero on Mindoir due to the extensive work she did helping the colony recover from the batarian attack.
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" Progressives and the "center-right" Conservatives, who control about 35% and 45% of the seating in the Colonial House of Representatives respectively. Surprisingly to some (and perhaps because its members are all of the same genteel social class), the Mindoir Colonial Senate is a decidedly non-partisan institution. Almost 60% of Senators claim no party affiliation, and even those that do frequently “cross the aisle” on individual issues.
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 their request for such a garrison was turned down by the Alliance Parliament, the Mindoinese 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 gave the newfound 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.
As might be expected, the Mindoir Colonial Militia was enthusiastically embraced by the colony as a whole. To this day, virtually all Mindoinese are required to serve in the militia. Even those suffering from physical disabilities are expected to serve in whatever capacity they are able. The MCM’s unique nature and organization make it markedly different from many other colonial militias 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 the Mindoir Colonial Militia as a key asset for dealing with military and security threats throughout the Attican Traverse. Alliance 5th Fleet CO, Admiral Steven Hackett, once referred to the MCM as “one of the best outfits no one’s heard of.”*3
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 by the Batarian Hegemony 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 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 2179.
No significant action took place in the Mindoir System during the Eden Prime War, the colony went on high-alert immediately following the attack on Eden Prime and remained so until well after Sovereign’s defeat. Mindoir experienced major economic dislocation during the Collector Crisis, as the Collector attacks forced the cancellation of many regularly scheduled trade runs.
The most recent major action the Mindoir Colonial Militia participated in was the campaign against the Tai’ Danni pirates in response to that pirate clan's involvement in the destruction of the salarian starship Kalenhai. The campaign against the hitherto powerful pirate faction’s headquarters in the Terminus Systems was executed by Council forces. With Alliance N7 and asari Serrician 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*4, 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 Ketvan, a fifty year-old turian 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 2184) the vessel is intended to be rechristened as the MCSV (Mindoir Colonial Space Vehicle) Citadel*5, 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 its strict prevue is not without controversy; chiefly the concerns center on the possibility that the MCM may choose to “take matters into its own hands” when it comes 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 MCM might not bother taking any prisoners!”*6
Because of Mindoir’s close relationship with Shepard, it never even occurred to Mindoir’s leaders NOT to believe in the Reaper threat. When the Council and Alliance leadership started making public pronouncements that Sovereign was a geth construct and not a Reaper, the Mindoinese reacted with outright shock and dismay. There was even some belief on Mindoir, still not entirely discounted, that galactic leadership had already been indoctrinated! Since Eden Prime, and especially since the Battle of the Citadel, the government of Mindoir has been doing everything in its power to prepare for the coming invasion. It's a task made an order of magnitude harder by the fact that, making preparations openly will likely draw at best indifference, most likely ridicule, and at worst active resistance, from mainstream Alliance and Council leadership.
Mindoir’s leaders, after conferring with Shepard and Admirals Anderson and Hackett, have developed a plan they believe to be their best bet. The plan calls for Mindoir to divide its resources between three forces, Task Force Alamo, Task Force Hornet, and (perhaps most importantly) Operation Gravy Boat.
Task Force Alamo’s job is the fortification and defense of the Mindoir system. Currently they are; constructing survival bunkers, securing supply caches, training in counter-husk and counter-geth tactics and deploying the innovative “SpaceNet” sensor system. Most of this activity has been sold to the Alliance Parliament as a general "colonial security" initiative, in order to get them to pick up the check.*7 As the name suggests, TF Alamo harbors no illusions about their ability to ultimately defeat the Reapers, should they attack in force. That’s not to say they don’t have a few tricks up their sleeves…
Task Force Hornet is intended to be Mindoir’s main combat contribution to the war effort. The force consists of multiple small strike teams based out of modified versions of the Alliance’s Columbia-class*8 corvettes/gunboats and capable of operating either independently or in concert with a larger force. In other words, Task Force Hornet is organized in a very similar fashion to the anti-piracy forces the MCM has been fielding for years. Mindoir has neither the human nor industrial resources to construct major combatant vessels like cruisers or even frigates, let alone dreadnoughts or carriers. But no group of people who watches Shepard as close as these people do could fail to note that small teams of highly trained commandos can be extraordinarily effective against the Reapers when used properly. Like Task Force Alamo, Task Force Hornet is basing its training programs off Shepard’s experiences fighting known Reaper allies.
As the Alliance and the Council officially deny the Reaper threat, Admirals Hackett and Anderson have been unable to fully utilize official channels for even something as simple as stockpiling supplies. One of the ways they are attempting to sidestep these restrictions is to funnel as much materiel as possible to the Mindoinese, as an “off the books” way to stockpile supplies and munitions. Operation Gravy Boat is the joint MCM/5th Fleet plan to distribute these supplies once the invasion begins. The most surprising feature of Operation Gravy Boat is that the vessels the Alliance will be using to distribute their caches aren’t even Alliance ships! Over the past few years, the MCM’s active anti-piracy campaign in the Traverse has led the organization to come into possession of a number of small (crews of between 10 and 20 persons) pirate vessels. Officially, after their pirate crews are killed, executed, imprisoned, or extradited, these starships are impounded by the Mindoinese/Alliance authorities and are awaiting being either sold or scrapped. Unofficially however, many of these ships are being converted to serve as small, fast supply ships, “blockade runners” if you will, able to move soldiers and supplies back and forth across Reaper lines. Though not the equal of modern warships, many of these former pirate vessels are also capable enough combatants in their own right, especially when upgraded with modern Alliance hardware.
Mindoir’s Relations with Other Planets, Races, and Factions
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.
After Shepard famously repulsed the batarian raiders during the Skyllian Blitz, the relationship between the two worlds began to take on an interesting flavor as the two planets began to compete in what can only be described as a ‘Shepard rivalry.’ For example, when Elysium renamed the hills where Shepard famously held off the batarian raiders as the Shepard Hills, Mindoir responded by officially dubbing the largest mountain chain on their world the Shepard Mountains (even though 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 angered many on Mindoir, 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'.
Earth and Eden Prime – Like 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.*9
Both Mindoir and Eden Prime were settled as agricultural colonies, but while Mindoir was settled 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 resident 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 a result of this sponsorship, the Mindoir Colonial Militia 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.*10 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 have gone so far as to set up a joint intel liaison office.
This relationship is highly controversial on Mindoir itself, which is home to one of the most strident anti-slavery factions in the Alliance. Most Mindoinese are prone to look none too kindly on Illium’s system of “indentured servitude.”
Asari – Through Illium, Mindoir has major economic ties to a number of asari republics. In 2181 the value of products Mindoir exported to asari worlds exceeded the value of products exported to other Alliance worlds for the first time.
Asari are also the single largest non-human population group on Mindoir and comprise almost 4% of the colony's population. Asari on Mindoir can be divided into two groups: those that have officially immigrated and taken Mindoinese/Alliance citizenship and the asari expatriate community. In most all cases the asari on Mindoir are educated upper-middle-class professionals or business owners. This is tantamount to the asari "putting their best foot forward" in terms of emigrating, accordingly asari in general are well regarded on Mindoir.
Turians – In what may be a case of seeing what they want to see, many turians note that Mindoir requiring a term of service in the MCM for all citizens as being markedly similar to their own culture. Despite the fact that Mindoir is an agricultural colony and thus has little in the way of economic ties to the dextro-DNA turians, the Hierarchy has, more than once, made its general approval of the planet Mindoir, and the inhabitants thereof, known.
For example; an interesting incident occurred in 2179 when the turian military apprehended a human criminal named AJ Bakir who was wanted for “participation in the slave trade” on several Alliance worlds, including Mindoir, but had no outstanding warrants outside the Alliance. The turians specifically chose go out of their way and turn Mr. Bakir over to Mindoinese authorities rather than anyone of a half-dozen much closer Alliance worlds or to the Alliance proper. The turian CO explained his decision by saying, “Most humans are too soft to give slave traders what they really deserve. Not Mindoir.” True to form, the Mindoinese tried and executed Mr. Bakir.
Salarians – Though many salarians are disinclined to look upon Mindoir with favor due the recent decision by Mindoir to allow lysenthi to settle on the planet.
Cerberus – Officially the Colonial Government of Mindoir, like any other member of the Systems Alliance, 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.
Economics
Mindoir was founded as a primarily agricultural colony, and 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 settlers 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 LOOOOOOVE 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) has left many Stadtholders and wealthy Yeomen looking to invest in ventures outside the traditional agricultural fields, including mineral and industrial development on Aodh and in the Champs de Pierre Belt.
Small to medium scale starship repair and maintenance services have been growing industries on Mindoir even before the regular trade route to Illium was established. The industrial sector on Mindoir has now developed to the point that Mindoir is poised to make the transition to actual manufacturing. Recently, Cord-Hilsop Aerospace, in partnership with the Mindoir Colonial Militia, has 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 the highly advanced Volga-class corvettes (meant for sale to The SA Navy and SA colonial militias).
Industrial development is also underway in the energy sector. 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 2184, and played host to Admiral Hackett and the 5th Fleet during their tour of the Attican Traverse.
These fleet visits were the major 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 though there are about 2 dozen other smaller stakeholders (including Shepard).
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. A process made a great deal more difficult by Mindoir's strict foreign investment laws (originally enacted to prevent the colony from becoming dominated large trans-stellar corporations) which require all profit making enterprises in the Mindoir System to be a minimum of 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 in question held out for a better deal, and the rest of the colony (who themselves waste little love of "foreign" mega-corporations) seemed to be firmly 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 a minimum 51% of the new company’s stock guaranteed to be sold to Mindoir citizens, Stadtholders and Yeomen alike (thus “spreading the (potential) wealth”). EAEoM would continue to lease the mineral rights from the Stadtholders involved (so they get paid even if they never invest a single credit). Meanwhile, Eldfell-Ashland gets to sell their fuel, and the Alliance gets access to fuel for their ships.
No. It's just a ****hole.
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