IS Atlas / System / Detail

Description:

A water-rich world with a host of natural resources, Syrma was a dream world for colonial developers when it was first discovered during mankind's early exploration of deep space. Ironically enough, the first settlers to set foot on this world would not be industrialists or commercial entrepreneurs, but pilgrims from various anti-technology cultures and religious beliefs. Including representatives from Amish, Native American, and African cultures, these pilgrims established several agricultural communes throughout the arable interiors of Ezera, Lothair, Quan, and Rashida - Syrma's four main landmasses.

In the wake of the Terran Alliance's fall, these colonists suddenly found themselves cut off from contact with Terra, but their industrious nature made it possible for them to survive as an independent world for a time. The rise of the seemingly aggressive Terran Hegemony, however, soon prompted the community leaders of Syrma to seek outside help in maintaining their independence, and so they sought aid from the nearby Federation of Skye. When Hegemony ships arrived over Syrma, mines and "smart" missiles, planted at the jump points by the Federation, smashed much of the Hegemony fleet.

The Syrma Disaster, as the Hegemony citizens called it, cast into question the viability of the McKenna family as a ruling line, and inevitably led to the foundation of the Cameron dynasty. As for Syrma, its alliance with Skye led to the opening of the world to increasingly modernized industries, though the anti-technology sects retained their own sizeable enclaves. By the Star League era, this planet had become a jointly administered border world between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Terran Hegemony, with a curious mix of primitive and technocratic lifestyles. Because of the ample resources here, Amaris' troops landed hard on Syrma, executing much of the government - Lyran and Hegemony alike - after brutally seizing control.

Their efforts to enslave the anti-technology sects as laborers for the mines and factories ultimately led to some of the greatest atrocities of the Amaris Crisis. Syrma would not be freed until Kerensky's return years later. After the fall of the League, the Lyran government claimed Syrma and invested heavily in the reconstruction of its industrial infrastructure, but largely overlooked the descendants of the planet's original settlers and their agro-communes. This trend, continued over the centuries of warfare, eventually led to the near extinction of these simpler communes. Even today, the few remaining settlements left over from the original pilgrims are little more than tourist attractions in Syrma's outback; a mere handful of surviving communities from a bygone era.

Syrma's capital, Skopje, is located on Lothair's southern reaches, and is home to the planet's largest spaceport-two others may be found in the cities of Scottsdale and Strausborg, on Ezera and Rashida, respectively - as well as the headquarters of DePaik Resource Solutions, a mining and refining company owned by the planet's ruling family.