Very Brief History of the Leclerc System


The Leclerc system was first surveyed in 2253 by Commander Camille Lasant Said, a descendent of le maréchal Philippe Leclerc, and the crew of Melodie Chromatique. The French ensured a small colony was created in 2254 at present day Varennes. The French hoped to claim primacy of their position as the Japanese and Texas governments learned of Bayard. Shortly thereafter, a planetside explorer by the name of Charles de Vanteaux discovered what he believed to be a significant tantalum deposit on the continent of Renal.

The French government, anxious to preserve the tantalum for themselves, sent a Legion etrangere company to set up a camp (Camp de Seeger) to establish a primary claim. Additionally, they colluded with the Japanese and Texans in violation of the Melbourne Accords to keep the presence of Bayard a secret from the other nations--which lasted for a period of 40 years.

In those intervening years, those three nations built a sizable presence on Bayard, all agreeing that the continent of Renal—where the tantalum was present would remain solely for mining operations, which the Legion etrangere would police. The build up of the planet was kept secret by contracting with Industries Aérospatiales Cosmos (IAC). They recruited employees, had iron-clad NDAs, and populated the colonies: Varennes, Ishonodu, and San Andrade. The French also established a new colony, Nouveau Mallac, intended for the site of a space elevator, which is currently undergoing construction. IAC also controlled the interface from the planet to station spatiale Durandal--nominally a French-government controlled high orbit station, but in practice, operated by IAC at their whim.

The secrecy of Bayard, however, was doomed to be exposed--a fact understood by the colluding governments. Once the presence of Bayard became publicly known, the Australian, German, and United Arab governments protested and took their claims to the International court, which claims are still in legal proceedings. They also established fledgling colonies themselves beginning in 2295.

Meanwhile, the colonies have been working on establishing outposts and camps as close to Renal as legally possible to take advantage of the mining that will inevitably swing into high gear. Nouveau Mallac was established by the French for the location of a proposed space elevator and connected to Varennes via a hyperloop rail.

The Texans found themselves in an unexpected, profitable location unrelated to tantalum, the so-called dragon gem horde. Dragon gems or pearls are created in the guts of dragon snakes, native to the continent of Mathilde. These native creatures ingest thousands of kilograms of Mathilde's extensive desert, and through its four stomachs these highly prized gems are eventually created. Harvesting them is a dangerous enterprise, for the deadly snakes must be killed and the gem harvested immediately before the acids of the beast destroy the gem.

Varennes was set on the Mer Vert--the sea turns a luminescent green from an algae-analogue. Varennes, the seat of the French government on Bayard, is also becoming increasingly a tourist destination for those looking to see the needle grass bloom, which occurs every 128 Terran days.

More about needle grass, dragon gems, dragon snakes, and so on in the future.

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