LOCATION -1,5 POPULATION 996,000 POLICING Better than average. Piracy only in deeper space. EQUIPMENT Most equipment types available JOINED 3237

ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION

  Faceze is a ternary system, consisting of three type M, main sequence, flare stars. Faceze A and B orbit each other as a binary, and Faceze C orbits the pair. Faceze C is only just classified as a flare star, with generally low flare intensities. Faceze A is an extremely violent flare star, and Faceze B is somewhat more moderate.

  The system contains two brown dwarf substellar objects which are considered to be failed stars - they glow dimly and produce significantly more radiation than they receive.

  Due to the low flare activity of Faceze C, it wasn't too challenging to terraform Faceze Cb, now known as Scunthorpe.

HISTORY AND NOTABLE FEATURES

  Faceze was initially a Federation outpost when it was first colonized in 2786. At the time, this region of the galaxy was very sparsely populated. The system gained its independence by peaceful means only ten years later. The Federation simply lost interest in this part of space.

  As an independent system, moderate success was to be had, but this didn't stop the system from falling into an anarchic state during the early 2800's. Piracy became rife, and the traders that were the lifeblood of the industrial economy melted away. As such, a sullen, economic depression beset the system.

  The system's fortunes improved when a wealthy entrepeneur named Jethro Marks decided to set up shop in the system. Terraformation of Faceze Cb was initiated, and Marks renamed the planet "Scunthorpe", after his home town on Earth. The planet proved easy to terraform despite the light flare activity of the star. It soon became apparent why Marks had entered the system - an exploration team had found rich deposits of platinum deep beneath the surface. The value of platinum was at an all time high, being a major component of hyperspace drive emitter arrays.

  Marks is of course long dead, but his legacy lives on. The Marks Mining Corporation still employs some 20,000 people, by far the largest employer in the system. Scunthorpe is nowhere near mined out, the estimates being several thousand years worth of platinum within the planet's structure. The system has had a civilian government since 3096, and met all the criteria for Alliance membership before the Alliance was even created. It was to eventually join in May 3237.

CUSTOMS INFORMATION

  The Faceze Customs and Excise department take their jobs quite seriously. There are several types of products that are illegal to trade in the system:

• Narcotics
• Live Animals
• Nerve Gas
• Slaves
• Battle weapons