Ord Mercek

"It's a bit far from the Core, but you can't argue with what it has to offer."

- Rowen Halomek on choosing Ord Mercek as the new HQ for REC.

The planet of Ord Mercek enjoys an excellent location just off of the Corellian Run and on the cusp of the Mid Rim before it becomes the Outer Rim. This highly desirable location led to it being designated as an Ordnance/Regional Depot by the Galactic Republic. Even after the Ords fell out of use, Ord Mercek remained a prosperous locale thanks to its location on the galactic map and the fact that it had no nearby neighbors who were major players in galactic commerce.

It became, and remains, a major stop for all manner of beings going to or coming back from the Outer Rim. As such, Ord Mercek has long had a robust series of shipyards in orbit for the purposes of refueling and repairing spacecraft. When Rowen Halomek decided to make Ord Mercek the new headquarters for the Republic Engineering Corporation, the shipyards were greatly expanded to include heavy manufacturing and construction. The independent businesses remain to service spacers and traders, but now a significant portion of space above Ord Mercek is restricted to REC business only. This is considered a fair trade-off by the residents since REC's presence funnels even greater wealth to the planet and provides better security against pirates.

The planet is ruled by a small aristocracy of wealthy business owners that has been in power for over 3,000 years. In order to do any business on Ord Mercek, one must get their blessing and pay a small stipend to the government every year based on the relative size of the business. The businesses owned by the aristocracy are exempt from the stipend. Becoming a member of the close-knit aristocracy is considered difficult to near impossible and a high honor. This was achieved by Rowen Halomek before he moved the headquarters of REC to the planet.

The system of law on Ord Mercek is an interesting jumble. Even though the government provides its own police force and local military to maintain order, if a criminal is caught by a security force belonging to one of the local companies first, then that criminal is considered to be under that company’s jurisdiction. All security forces are expected to comply with the laws set down by the aristocracy, however, and the companies are subject to the government if they break those laws.

=Behind the Scenes= Mercek is a combination of “mek” (from Halomek) and REC (the initials of the Republic Engineering Corporation).

The moon of Zero Two is named in honor of the space western Moon Zero Two.