Wei

Wei
Wei 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates63.844 : -119.184[e]
Star namesOne
Spectral classG3IV[1][2]
Recharge station(s)Nadir[1]
Planet(s)9[2]

The Wei system was home to at least one habitable world, Wei III, and as of 3151 was located in the Sarna Commonality of the Capellan Confederation.[3]

System Description[edit]

Wei is located near the New Athens and Zaurak systems[4][5] and consists of a class G3IV primary orbited by nine planets. During the thirty-first century a recharge station was in place at the system nadir jump point.[6]

System History[edit]

The Wei system was settled during the First Exodus from Terra and was a member of the Sarna Supremacy prior to the formation of the Capellan Confederation in the mid-twenty-fourth century.[7]

Political Affiliation[edit]


Wei III[edit]

Wei III
Wei Orbital View.jpg
Astrophysical
System positionThird[1][2]
Jump Point distance9 days[2]
Moons1 (Arlis, Arils)[2]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.0[2]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Breathable)[2]
Equatorial temperature45°C[2]
Surface water76%[2]
Highest native life10%, Reptiles[1]
Landmasses1 (Province)[2][47]
History and Culture
Population2,920,000,000 (3025),[1]
1,630,000,000 (3079),[47]
1,765,358,000 (3130)[48][2]
Government and Infrastructure
Noble RulerLord Narik ben Noen (3025)[1]
Political LeaderPlanetary Governor
Military CommanderLegate Dingane Ramirez (3111),[49] Legate Mina Parta (3130)[48]
CapitalVandannis City[2]
HPG ClassB[1]
HPG RepresentativePrecentor Hildegard von March (3025)[1]

Wei III, more commonly known simply as Wei, is the third planet of nine in the Wei system and has two moons named Arlis and Arils.[2]

Planetary History[edit]

Early History[edit]

After its founding, Wei became an agricultural world that supplied the worlds near it with the necessities of life.[2] Having been a member of the Sarna Supremacy for some years, in 2304[7] the inhabitants of Wei and the neighboring system of Palos rebelled against the heavy-handed taxation and economic exploitation of the Supremacy government and declared themselves to be independent worlds. The Supremacy immediately sealed its borders and began measures to recapture Palos, but within weeks the Capellan Hegemony had declared war on the Supremacy in support of the rebelling worlds.[8] Whilst the Hegemony proved incapable of preventing the recapture of Palos, the Fourth St. Andre Task Group successfully defended Wei against forces from the Supremacy.[50]

Star League Era[edit]

It was discovered that some of the plants on Wei contained chemicals that when combined, produced a nerve gas. These plants were found in the southern reaches of Province, and the nerve gas would come to be given the military designation UrbStryc-A.[2]

Succession Wars[edit]

In the mid 3020s, information obtained by intelligence sources pinpointed Wei as the location for a facility dating back to the Star League that acted as a repository for nerve gas agents. The nature of the repository was treated in a somewhat contradictory manner by the Capellan government and intelligence agencies; the Capellan government didn't acknowledge the existence of such a repository. In contrast with the government's denial, the military intelligence community viewed the repository as a potential military advantage due to the threat of seeing the nerve agents unleashed if needed. As a result, intelligence operatives leaked rumors of the repository's existence, in defiance of government denials.[1]

Fourth Succession War[edit]

When Federated Suns forces invaded Wei during the Fourth Succession War they discovered that the rumors of a nerve gas repository were true; the facility was located in a secret base at Bonganville, and while the gas was designed to kill immediately and be easily cleaned up, the gas could be trapped in the air filters of BattleMechs and Combat Vehicles only to evaporate later, entering the air circulation systems of contaminated equipment as minute particles. Before Wei was conquered the Federated Suns lost 2 battalions of troops to the deadly substance.[2] The AFFS used mercenary forces to capture Wei, having debated at length the best way to tackle the threat of chemical weapons and the defending forces on the planet, which were headed up by Sung's Cuirassiers, a heavy 'Mech regiment. MIIO operatives had been dispatched to Wei to obtain more information on possible locations for the rumored chemical weapons stockpile, but had only been able to identify three possible locations, rather than a definitive location. When the Fourth Succession War began three Rabid Foxes teams were dispatched to destroy the three locations identified, but two teams failed and the one team that did destroy its target was unable to confirm that chemical weapons had been stored there. Contracting mercenary forces to conquer Wei was a compromise within the AFFS High Command, and the AFFS was honest in detailing the likely hazards involved. The Twelfth Vegan Rangers accepted the contract - offered at triple their normal fee - along with the guarantees of the best AFFS mobile medical facilities to care for casualties.[26]

The Twelfth Vegan Rangers deployed their Delta Regiment and two battalions from Gamma Regiment, along with three armored regiments and four infantry regiments. The Rangers deployed in scattered drop zones across the southern continent, surprising the defenders, who had anticipated an attack in Vandannis Valley. The defenders began using chemical weapons on the 3rd of July, initially inflicting heavy casualties on one of the mercenary regiments, the First Stygian Heavy Infantry Regiment, but giving the AFFS forces an opportunity to gather important information on the poison used and its treatment. The Rangers spent two weeks encircling Vandannis Valley and the capital city in the face of further chemical weapon attacks before meeting the heavy defenses near Bonganville.[26]

After taking casualties the senior Ranger officer, Colonel Mitch Nelson, gathered his forces and launched an attack using all of the Ranger battalions, three regiments of infantry and two armored regiments. The defenders responded with artillery fire - including shells loaded with the UrbStryc-A nerve agent - followed by a charge from Sung's Cuirassiers that gained momentum against the infantry and armor forces, only to be broken by a frenzied countercharge from the Rangers, who knew that they had a limited window of time to defeat their opponents and have their equipment scrubbed down and air filters changed before the poison would claim more victims. After a ferocious half-hour battle Sung's Cuirassiers retreated, leaving Wei on the 19th of July. The planetary government surrendered shortly after the Cuirassiers left, leaving Wei in Federated Suns hands. In addition to the casualties among the conventional forces the Rangers had lost two battalions of troops.[26]

Capellan/St. Ives War[edit]

Thuggee cultists made use of the UrbStryc-A from Wei during the Capellan-St. Ives War, attacking major population centers on Indicass and St. Ives with the nerve gas; the targets chosen by the cultists included Milos, the capital city of St. Ives.[2]

Sent to reclaim Wei for the Confederation during the War, the First McCarron's Armored Cavalry lost an entire Battalion of its troops to a "rebel" nerve gas attack. The CCAF responded by sending the feared Death Commandos to take over the assault, allotting them just seven days to complete their mission.[51]

Infiltrating Wei without BattleMechs, the Commandos seized control of a major communications center to demand the planetary government's complete surrender within thirty minutes or they would make the demand again in exactly one week. When they did not receive a response, the Death Commandos set about enacting a brutal terror campaign, systematically eliminating the highest-ranking members of the planet's government and military forces and destroying the planet's military and government infrastructure, ignoring the frantic planet's attempts to now surrender. Just as they promised, the Death Commandos finally answered the frantic planet's request for surrender exactly seven days from their initial demand.[51]

The Jihad[edit]

Wei was incorporated into the Word of Blake Protectorate after a brief campaign during the first two weeks of December 3069.[40] During the last week of July 3075 the CCAF launched a campaign against the Word of Blake Protectorate garrisons on Menkar, Pleione, and Wei. The civilian population of the three worlds took tens of thousands of civilian casualties during the offensive, as the Capellan forces used nuclear weapons to defeat the Blakists.[52][53]

In response to the recent raids and assaults on worlds within the Word of Blake Protectorate, the Blakists launched raiding parties against various worlds around the Protectorate border in early September 3076. Making use of weapons of mass destruction to augment the damage inflicted, the raiding parties - few of which were larger than a single Level III - struck at the worlds of Algorab, Alnasi, Amity, Bordon, Connaught, Hunan, Kessel, New Hessen, New Kyoto, Ronel, St. Andre, Styk, Tsitsang and Wei. Of the worlds hit, the Capellan Confederation worlds - including the recently liberated Wei - took the brunt of the fighting.[54][55]

During the course of the Jihad the UrbStryc-A from Wei would be used on dozens of worlds, resulting in deaths numbering in the tens of millions. Use of the gas wasn't limited solely to other worlds, however; the major cities on Wei were also hit with the gas, and half the planetary population was killed.[2]

In 3079, Wei was the site of a CCAF Duchy Regional Training Facility.[47]

Post-Jihad[edit]

The horrors of the Jihad were keenly felt on Wei, just as they were on the nearby world of Kansu; when Devlin Stone called for Wei to be incorporated the Republic of the Sphere, the surviving population offered no protest.[2]

Dark Age[edit]

Following the Blackout, one of the smaller anti-Republic groups that emerged - the all-female Daughters of Kali - arose on Wei.[56]

Wei was one of the first Republic worlds to fall to the Capellan Confederation after Operation GREAT FLOOD began in May 3134. A popular pro-Capellan uprising—including the resurgent Thuggee cult—began before the invasion and resulted in the downfall of the Republic's government, enabling the CCAF to swiftly secure the planet. Wei's solid loyalty to the returned Confederation ensured its place as a supply hub for the advancing CCAF soldiers, and made it a target in August for the Republic's attempted blockade of Capellan staging worlds.[57][45][58][59][60]

In the aftermath of the Capellan reclamation, Ki-linn Liao - great-granddaughter of Kali Liao - was granted landholds on Wei.[61]

Military Deployment[edit]

2305–2306[edit]

  • Fourth St. Andre Task Group[50]

3025[edit]

3038[edit]

3050[edit]

3054[edit]

3063[edit]

3085[edit]

- The unit was at 55% strength, with 95% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology.

Geography[edit]

Wei is dominated by a single continent named Province that covers almost a third of the full surface of the planet. This supercontinent extends southeast from the northern hemisphere down into the southern hemisphere.[2][47]

Planetary Locations[edit]

  • Bonganville: site of a Star League–era nerve agent storage or manufacturing facility[2]
  • Vandannis City: the planetary capital city, located in the Vandannis Valley[2][47]
  • Vandannis Valley: a very large valley in the center of the Province continent[2][47]

Image gallery[edit]

Notes[edit]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 72 systems (69 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Zaurak 9.8 New Athens 11.5 New Macao 14.1 Palos 14.3
Menkib 15.2 Tsitsang 15.9 Shipka 18.4 St. Andre 18.6
Matsu 22.4 Sakhalin 22.6 Achilles 23.0 Hunan 24.4
Mandate 25.5 Shensi 28.5 Second Try 29.7 Sichuan 30.3
Styk 30.7 New Aragon 31.5 Foot Fall 32.1 Foochow 33.2
Kaifeng 34.1 Heligoland 34.1 Ulan Bator 34.5 Highspire 36.4
Sarna 36.8 Yunnah 37.5 Quemoy 37.7 Poznan 38.0
Menkar 38.2 Remshield 39.5 Bell 41.4 Pleione 41.4
Algot 42.5 Truth 42.7 Halloran 43.1 Jonathan 45.0
Gan Singh 45.3 Sarmaxa 45.5 Corey 45.7 Elnath 46.0
Bora 46.0 Snailzar 46.3 Tsingtao 46.5 Manennaia 46.8
Moravian 47.1 Suzano 48.4 Plataea 49.4 Tianamon 49.7
Undra 49.8 Conwy 49.8 Buchlau 50.8 Ashkum 51.4
Algol 51.4 Minnacora 53.2 Ningpo 53.3 Kek 53.4
Ilmar 53.5 Aosia 53.5 Lhasa 53.6 Bhaktapur 56.6
Randar 56.6 Demeter 56.8 Phact 56.9 Raballa 57.1
Cynthiana 58.6 No Return 58.7 Capella 58.9 Valexa 59.5
Kansu 59.6 Lee 60.4 Zion 60.4 Ventabren 60.6

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 149: "A Brief Atlas" – Wei entry
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Shattered Fortress, p. 103: "Inner Sphere - 3151" (Map)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Handbook: House Liao, p. 12: "Timeline: Capellan Zone"
  8. 8.0 8.1 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), pp. 14–15: "Blood and Gold"
  9. Handbook: House Liao, p. 17: "Capellan Confederation Founding - [2366]"
  10. Handbook: House Liao, p. 13: "Timeline: Capellan Zone 2367"
  11. Handbook: House Liao, p. 25: "Capellan Confederation after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  12. Handbook: House Davion, p. 48: "Federated Suns after Age of War - [2571 Map"
  13. Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  14. Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  15. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  16. First Succession War, pp. 24–25: "Inner Sphere - [2786] Map"
  17. Handbook: House Liao, p. 31: "Capellan Confederation after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  18. Handbook: House Davion, p. 54: "Federated Suns after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  19. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  20. First Succession War, pp. 112–113: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  21. Handbook: House Liao, p. 39: "Capellan Confederation after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  22. Handbook: House Davion, p. 60: "Federated Suns after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  23. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), foldout: "Capellan Confederation Map - [3025]"
  24. Handbook: House Liao, p. 40: "Capellan Confederation after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  25. Handbook: House Davion, p. 70: "Federated Suns after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, pp. 42–43: "Wei"
  27. Handbook: House Liao, p. 49: "Capellan Confederation after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  28. Handbook: House Davion, p. 72: "Federated Suns after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  29. Historical: War of 3039, p. 133: "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  30. Handbook: House Davion, p. 76: "Federated Suns after War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  31. Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  32. Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  33. Era Report: 3062, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3057] Map"
  34. Handbook: House Liao, p. 60: "Capellan Confederation after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  35. Handbook: House Davion, p. 78: "Federated Suns after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  36. Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere - [3063] Map"
  37. Handbook: House Liao, p. 68: "Capellan Confederation after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  38. Handbook: House Davion, p. 82: "Federated Suns after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  39. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 43: "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  40. 40.0 40.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 48: "The Jihad In Review"
  41. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  42. Field Report: CCAF, p. 21: "Capellan Confederation Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  43. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63: "Inner Sphere - [3081] Map"
  44. Field Manual: 3085, p. 126: "Inner Sphere - [3085] Map"
  45. 45.0 45.1 By Temptations and By War, ch. 8 (ebook version)
  46. Era Report: 3145, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  47. 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 Objectives: Capellan Confederation, p. 15
  48. 48.0 48.1 Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere, p. 12: "Prefecture V"
  49. Operational Turning Points: Capellan Crusades, p. 3: "Atlas"
  50. 50.0 50.1 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), pp. 14–15: "The Capellan-Supremacy War"
  51. 51.0 51.1 Field Manual: Capellan Confederation, p. 68: "Death Commandos Profile"
  52. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 17: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  53. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 54: "The Jihad In Review"
  54. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 22: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  55. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 56: "The Jihad In Review"
  56. Era Report: 3145, p. 14
  57. By Temptations and By War, ch. 7 (ebook version)
  58. By Temptations and By War, ch. 12 (ebook version)
  59. By Temptations and By War, ch. 33 (ebook version)
  60. Era Report: 3145, p. 15
  61. Era Report: 3145, p. 88
  62. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 105: "Unit Deployment Table"
  63. Historical: War of 3039, p. 138: "Deployment Table"
  64. 20 Year Update, p. 24: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  65. Objective Raids, p. 17: "FedCom Deployment Table"
  66. Field Manual: Capellan Confederation, p. 119: "Capellan Confederation Deployment Table"
  67. Field Manual: 3085, p. 186: "RAF Deployment Table - 3085"

Bibliography[edit]