System: Ziliang

An otherwise unremarkable world, Ziliang gained prominence during the last decades of the Third Succession War. For centuries it had been an isolated interior Capellan Confederation world; mining and mineral extraction was this harsh world’s only significant industry. Its inhabitants were largely uneducated (except for the political prisoners sent there to work and die in the mines) and poor. Those that weren’t working in the mines or imprisoned in one of the several prisons and “re-education facilities” came to escape the rampant Capellan oppression on the more prominent and prosperous worlds. On Ziliang, they could disappear into the difficult wilds.

During the latter half of the Third Succession War, the AFFS made slow advances into the Confederation on two axes aimed directly at Sian: one through the St. Ives Commonality and the other cutting through the Sian Commonality, the final pushes of which ultimately liberated Ziliang. At first, New Avalon considered it just another backwater world, but as the push through St. Ives faltered, the AFFS High Command saw Ziliang as the perfect position for a forward operating base from which to launch deep raids into the Confederation. Since then it has been the permanent home of the premier raiding force in the AFFS — the First FedSuns Armored Cavalry.

Life on Ziliang today is better than it was under Capellan rule, though in many cases not by much. The mining industry has been largely automated, significantly increasing the output of raw materials while similarly decreasing accidental injuries and deaths. The prisons are still open, though they now house the worst criminals in the Capellan March, and the reeducation facilities now serve other functions. Education is still a problem, however, as are many other social issues; were it not for the AFFS facilities, which provide advanced medical care and other services for those who need it most, Ziliang would be on par with some of the worst of the Outback worlds.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.