System: Scarborough

[3029] During the Forth Succession War, Captain-General Janos Marik was more than willing to sit back and let the other Houses destroy one-another. However, neither of the Captain-General’s Concord of Kapteyn allies cared much for this attitude. Strongly worded communiqués from Chancellor Liao and Coordinator Kurita convinced Janos Marik that he had no choice but to help both states. With great reluctance, the Captain-General set in motion what became Operation Dagger, aimed at pulling House Steiner units off the Draconis front.

Hugely successful, this operation netted Marik five Lyran worlds for very little cost. Things started going wrong when a clash occurred on Scarborough, between Marik forces and Capellan units taking refuge on the world. The Duchy of Andurien, always a volatile and rebellious member of the League, immediately declared war on the Capellan Confederation. In less than a day, the Captain-General went from successful conquest of several hard-won worlds, to fighting a desperate two-front war.

Ultimately, this clash cost the Free Worlds League fourteen worlds that might have been saved, as well as seriously damaging the Concord of Kapteyn partnership.

[3067] Once the home of Scarborough Manufacturing, the Whitby industrial complex was shattered in the First Succession War and in the years since has been home to little more than a scattering of light industries that use the workshops within the factory shell. Management of the facility lies in the hands of Scarborough Licensing, PLC, all that remains of the once-powerful manufacturer. For a fee, Scarborough allows small companies to use its facilities (and to display the Scarborough logo on products made there).

The licensing corporation also provides mail-forwarding and business registration services for companies that wish to use Scarborough as their legal base of operations — including no small number of foreign companies seeking to win coveted “FWL Company” status and avoid import taxes. One such company is the Scarborough Corporation in the Draconis Combine, whose legal headquarters are in the League, but which has its main factory complex on Al Na’ir.

The legal pretense allows the Combine-based corporation to maximize its profits in the League — its largest client — without having to physically relocate. This practice remains legal in the Free Worlds, if somewhat dubious. Some large companies such as IrTech have called for tighter regulation of “shell shops” like Scarborough, while companies in direct competition — such as the Exeter Corporation — have proposed an outright ban.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.