The purging of Van: The Monlock Monarchy and the nightmare worlds
- Xi Shan
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
The system of Van in the Anama constellation of Aridia was known throughout Empire space for its concentration of lush, habitable worlds, full of forests and nutrient rich soils. It is rare in Eve to find a system with five verdant temperate planets in stable orbits. They were dubbed the garden worlds of Van and attracted tourists from all factions across the Empire.
Though nominally under Amarr control, the real dominance rested with an inbred, powerful, and thoroughly corrupt monarchy known as the Monlocks whose centre of power resided on Van I, the most beautiful of the garden worlds. They had held sway for nine generations, by deceit, intrigue, assassination, and skirmish.
The local hegemony was not total, however; and an Amarr administrative outpost located in orbit of Van III Moon I strived to keep the excesses and independence of the Monlocks in check as much as they were able. There was little to be done though beyond bureaucratic rebukes and official audits. The Van system is remote, heavily populated at the time, and in the unlikely event an Amarr fleet could be spared, what would it do? Any military action or deposing of the monarchy would simply plunge a fragile yet acceptably stable system into anarchy and strife. Better to tread lightly and tolerate the eccentricities of the Monlocks in return for token obedience was the Amarr doctrine at the time.
It was 67 years after the Yoiul Conference that the first tourists began to vanish. The Monlock forces did scant little except proffer excuses, conspiracy theories, and reluctance to investigate, and even in Amarr offices it was assumed merely to be an uptick in local crime. The disappearances continued and it was only when a famous singer called Pilly G, known throughout Aridia vanished, that the uproar forced Amarr command to dispatch an Imperial Legate to investigate.
Imperial Legate Vostus Kodrore the Third arrived in system onboard an Abaddon class battleship called Mors Rebellibus, supported by six Omen class cruisers, each with a unit of Imperial arbitrators for anticipated combat and execution duties. An Imperial Legate possesses the authority to override any in-system court and decide themselves, without trial, any and all forms of punishment. It was assumed at the point of dispatch that the likely cause was the criminal gangs of one of the Van worlds, and violent hab block to hab block fighting was expected.
No such combat came to pass. Upon investigation it was discovered that disappearances among residents had been occurring for over a decade, and the true extent of the problem was only fully revealed when the tourists began vanishing. Criminal connections proved unlikely at such scale, and the sinister and surprising conclusion was that mutated ‘biota’ was the culprit. Deformed plants and trees possessing mouths and teeth were discovered in the forests, rats with poisonous tentacles and abominations dubbed Tiger rabbits killed many of the investigating imperial arbitrators, swarming them en masse, deploying intelligent ambush techniques.
Suspicion fell upon the Monlock Monarchy, mostly caused by their evading and squirming answers. Detailed and persuasive Amarr interrogation techniques revealed that the Monlocks were employing a rogue team of geneticists from the Society of Conscious Thought to enhance the beauty of the flora and fauna, constantly trying to make ever rarer and more exotic looking specimens to attract and sustain the hugely profitable tourist trade. At some point the planned mutations had gained independent freedom, or been stolen, and vanished into the vast wilderness expanses, free to mutate unhindered.
A swift mission saw the genetics team summarily executed after handing over all their data, although an Apotheosis shuttle did escape the cordon. An assessment was conducted on the civil strife and rioting likely if the monarchy were arrested and removed for trial on the Amarr homeworld, and it was deemed the Amarr forces were not plentiful enough to counter this. As such Van I was annihilated entirely from orbit by Reaper bombs. A sterile monument, warning other rulers of the consequences of unauthorised genetic meddling. No warning was given to the residents.
For the other Van worlds the populations were spared, although vast quantities of a chemical termed Brown Gomba was dropped across all wilderness areas. It was designed to counter the genetic mutations and was based on the data recovered from the executed team.
It did not have the desired effect, and Brown Gomba combined unfortunately with the mutated life forms causing acceleration and further mutations, this is the cause of the notable browning seen from orbit. All local populations were hunted to near destruction by the mutant forms, a thousand million nightmares taken solid and biting form. The planets were deemed too valuable to entirely destroy; possessing lumber, minerals, metals, gases, and chemicals useful throughout Aridia and beyond. The Nightmare worlds were left as they were; the populations abandoned to their grim fates and warning beacons positioned in orbit around each planet. Industrial extraction is now generally achieved via robotics with the occasional heavily armed drop team to set up a new extraction system. These activities are routed through Van III Moon I Amarr Standard Station Constructions Warehouse.
Despite this history, private individuals on skiffs and pleasure yachts have occasionally entered the atmosphere and landed. Teenagers showing off on brave adventures, and secret lovers trying to find a beautiful and remote beach for liaisons. The logs for many such travellers have been found on board their abandoned vessels, the endings invariably the tales of living nightmares. On several occasions some of the crew returned to their vessels with infected hosts attached. All have been located and purged.
Be warned, gentle citizens.
Gloria in immenso caelo
Xi Shan
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