• Andceeth boasts a bustling starport in the city of Diamond, and travellers from a host
of worlds come to stay in the splendour and luxury of its hotels. These date back to the early
days of the Federation, when Diamond was the major centre for commercial transactions
between planetary governments. Before the days of the Universal Bulletin Board and
guaranteed transfer, the worlds of Andceeth were the banking centre for the Federation.
• The mineral reserves for the largest companies of the Federation and many planetary
governments were stored in an enormous vault built on Trouble, Andceeth 2. The violent
surface storms, constant electrical discharges and corrosive atmosphere were intended to deter
would be raiders. The actual banking and commercial centres were established on the more
congenial world of Capitol (not to be confused with the heart of the Empire).
• Despite the harsh conditions of Trouble, there were several recorded attempts to raid
the vault and make off with the biggest haul in the history of crime. None of the raids ever
succeeded, although Hari van Dryuver managed to penetrate all of the outer defences before
dying of a heart attack brought on, so it is said, by the sight of so much wealth in one spot.
Even if Hari had managed to leave the planet, it is still doubtful that he would have escaped
the enormous police presence maintained at the time.
• The most audacious attempt on the Federation reserves was launched by Colonel
Maximillian Wrekcht, one-time commander of the Empire's fifth fleet. Embittered by a series
of defeats at the hand of the Federation he attempted to destroy the vault by means of an
asteroid bombardment, from an orbit just outside that of the sixth planet. He entered the
system with a modified and heavily stealthed cruiser and managed to deflect three planetoids
towards Trouble before he was detected. The Federation were able to destroy two of the
missiles and shunt the last into the sun. Maximillian was subject to court martial in his
absence, but most people believe he dicd trying to ram the vault with his own ship in a final
defiant gesture at the Federation.
• When the system of guaranteed transactions and Universal Bulletin Board trading was
introduced, the commercial heart of Andceeth was destroyed. There followed a very turbulent
period and fortunes were made and lost in minutes in the chaos surrounding the change. The
world suddenly plunged from being the banking capital of the explored worlds to relatively
anonymous dot in most computer star banks.
• Capitol now preserved a jealously guarded independence of both Federation and
Empire, relying on agriculture and mineral exploitation to support its inhabitants. The vault on
trouble was seized by the planetary government two months after the conversion to guaranteed
transfer, and although much depleted from its initial state, the mineral wealth contained there
has been enough to finance the colony towards complete self sufficiency. The colony now
runs on a democratic system and is a popular trading stop for the communities of the
surrounding star systems.
Entry by David Massey
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