Meric's Keep System

> *"We didn't really want anyone poking around our home system, so we came up with a little fun work around..."*
> - Mathias Croft, narrating the history of Mericia
>
>

The **Meric's Keep System** is a star system of the Merician Freehold. Originally intended to act as a stepping-stone to more distant Drift-rich star systems, the system was largely abandoned following the disappearance of a colony expedition in the Great Merician Exile of 0053 PCU. The Mericians successfully returned to the system in 0210 PCU and re-established contact with the rest of the Tantalus Cluster, establishing the trading post of Meric's Keep in an asteroid in the system. For a long period, the Meric's Keep System was the only link between the Merician Freehold and the rest of the Cluster.

## Description

The Meric's Keep System is a major trading post managed and operated by the Mercian Freehold. Until the establishment of the Mericia-Keeper's Dance Drift Lane, the Meric's Keep System was the Freehold's only contact with the rest of the Tantalus Cluster.

Guarded by Towershield Station, Meric's Keep is a major asteroid-based trading port, with the system's Drift Gate embedded directly into the asteroid. Beyond its role as a major shipping port for trade in and out of Merician space, Meric's Keep is also a large population hub, and is dotted with large perpendicular centrifuge habs that provide constant artificial gravity for Merician citizens.

## History

The system later known as Meric's Keep was first discovered by Keeper's Dance Fleet Yards. Consisting of little more than rocks and dust, the system had little to recommend it for colonisation except as a stepping stone to more distant, Drift-rich systems. Having reached the system, KDFY chose to construct a second Drift Gate in the hopes of reaching a system viable for exploitation of colonisation. In 005c PCU, a large construction fleet was sent through the Gate, but in what later became known as the Great Merician Exile, suffered heavy losses on its arrival and was unable to construct a return Drift Gate. After a year of silence, KDFY gave up the expedition as lost and largely abandoned the system.

Unknown to the rest of the Tantalus Cluster, most of the expedition had survived: under the leadership of Adam Meric, the survivors established a new society in the system they christened the Mericia System in his honour, founding the Merician Freehold. In 0210 PCU, the people of Mericia managed to repair their damaged return gate and established a Drift Lane to the system they had departed from over 157 years earlier.

Communications between the long-isolated Mericia and the Centrum Assembly were quickly re-established. However, wanting to preserve the freedom and privacy of their home system, the Merician Freehold decided to turn the Drift Gate leading to Mericia into a trading post, lodging it into an asteroid that they named Meric's Keep. Towershield Station would later be built to provide security and order around the system.

While travel to the Mericia System is possible via Meric's Keep, it is restricted to outsiders by the Merician Freehold. For a long period, the Meric's Keep System was the Freehold's only external link to the rest of the Tantalus Cluster. Some years later, however, a new Drift Lane was established between the Mericia System and the Keeper's Dance System for ease of trade. The route is heavily policed by the Mericians, but less so than the route via Meric's Keep, as the Keeper's Dance-Mericia Drift Gate is located in KDFY-controlled corporate space and cannot be easily accessed by the public.

## Layout

### Planetary bodies

* Little Brody
* The Pebbles - Asteroid belt
* Evelyn's Planet

### Other

* Meric's Keep - Trading Post
	+ Towershield Station - Security Station

### Drift Gates

* Meric's Keep-Axius Drift Gate
* Meric's Keep-Mericia Drift Gate

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Meric's Keep and the Merician Reemergence | Official Lore Short | The Sojourn
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Merician Freehold | The Sojourn Lore
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Confirmed by Daniel Orrett in a Discord message
4. ↑ Confirmed by Daniel Orrett in a Discord message.

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