Meakar

While several illegal settlements had already emerged on Envis, Meakar was the landing zone for the first colonial expedition of the New Terran Republic in 280AC. It followed two centuries of fierce competition for a colonial charter. Most of its earliest residents were migrants from the nearby world of Anfieden, already a leading planet of the New Terran Republic.   The city was strategically placed on the shores of the Mirrowmere Ocean, with a planned central district travelling along the south bank of the River Torrain. Migrants flowed rapidly from Anfieden, and soon Serdica, with the New Terran Republic's Colonial Initiative attracting thousands of new colonists. Such rapid growth had become synonymous with early Human colonial endeavours, and Meakar soon began to experience the harsh turbulence inherent to early settlements.   Suffering economically, and soon exhausting its closest deposits of minerals that had sustained an export industry, Meakar was overtaken in importance by the five Ouric Cities, especially Alenris and Postela. It was only through colonial subsidies that Meakar was able to survive this early period, and the city remained fairly stagnant for centuries. While its population grew steadily, multiple attempts to recreate the initial rush were unsuccessful, with the Ouric Cities and other planets within the modern Sector of Iomhare proving far more attractive to immigration. Postela would even become the capital city of the planet in 640AC, evaporating what little power Meakar still held.   Meakar was largely considered a backwater for hundreds of years, and few even considered it a city. It survived only thanks to its central position between the major cities of Postela, Alenris, and Glaskar. Although the strong aerial tolls the city enforced left a bitter taste for many travelling convoys, and soon the convoys began taking longer routes around Meakar to avoid the tolls.   The city wouldn't become relevant until the end of the 1st Galactical War in 2306AC and the 1st Imperial Republic of Jerace's occupation of Envis. The planet thrived under Imperial rule, with a shipbuilding industry led by Envis Galactic Shipyards soon becoming a major Galactic player. While Glaskar reaped most of the rewards, Meakar grew powerful thanks in great part to its previous irrelevance. While the biggest cities resented Jerace and even openly rebelled against it, Meakar was opportunistic, and leveraged Imperial favour into renewed strength.   Postela's ill-fated rebellion in 2357AC would allow Meakar to become the Planetary Capital, allowing it to return to the forefront of Envien cities. In lieu of natural resources, the city was artificially turned into a marketfront for the entire planet, with the more resource rich cities providing goods for Meakar to sell. Even as Envis was granted independence during the Final Imperial Interregnum, Meakar continued to serve as a planetary market, and it grew rich.   Even as Tradara became the Planetary Capital with the arrival of the Andisien Bloc, Meakar's influence could be felt across the planet. It soon attracted numerous organisations that had once been headquartered on Anfieden, especially a range of financial institutions, including the Federal Bank.   Since then, Meakar's rise has been constant and unstoppable. While politically, Tradara-Read was the dominant force on the planet, Meakar was the centre of all commerce, and across the centuries billions would pour into the city. It was the initial focus of the Encassing of Envis, that turned the city into an ecumenopolis, and is now widely regarded as the 'Beating Heart' of Envis, and indeed the Federation itself.