Cartago

Cartago
Cartago 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates139.836 : -10.127[e]
Spectral classF3V[1]
Recharge time174 hours[1]
Recharge station(s)None[1]

The Cartago system is home to at least one habitable world, Cartago XIII, and as of 3151 was located in the Robinson Operational Area of the Draconis March within the Federated Suns.[2]

System Description[edit]

Cartago is located near the Kentares IV and Waycross systems[3] and consists of a class F3V primary orbited by at least thirteen planets.[1]

System History[edit]

The Cartago system was colonized at some point during or shortly after the First Exodus from Terra[4] and was the subject of the Cartago Conflict in the early 2400s. It had been incorporated into the Federated Suns by the end of the Age of War[5] but was one of a number of systems jointly controlled by the Federated Suns and Terran Hegemony.[6]

Political Affiliation[edit]


Cartago XIII[edit]

Cartago XIII
Astrophysical
System positionThirteenth[1]
Jump Point distance17.36 days[1]
MoonsNone[1]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.25[1]
Atmospheric pressureHigh (Breathable)[1]
Equatorial temperature42°C (Tropical)[1]
Surface water70%[1]
Highest native lifeMammal[1]
Landmasses5 (Cartago, Jiménez, Oreamuno, Paraíso, Turrialba)[1]
History and Culture
Population3,697,431,000 (3079)[1]
Government and Infrastructure
Noble RulerCount of Cartago
CapitalCartago[1]
HPG ClassB[1]

Cartago XIII, more commonly known simply as Cartago, is the thirteenth planet in the system.[1]

Planetary History[edit]

Early History[edit]

Cartago was marginally suitable for colonization when it was originally discovered; the world was one of those to benefit from the concept of jointly owned worlds developed by a young planetary engineer named David Ocrassa during the reign of Director-General Margaret Cameron. Recognizing that the Hegemony had only a limited number of worlds within its borders that could be colonized or terraformed, and that going to war with the Great Houses for territory would ultimately be futile and self-destructive, the Hegemony negotiated agreements with the neighboring Houses to use the Hegemony's advanced technology to make previously uninhabitable worlds in their realms habitable, in return for ownership of half each planet's mineral resources and a say in the planet's government. While this would still result in the loss of some closely guarded technologies, the focus specifically on terraforming rather than even more valuable military systems outweighed the disadvantages.[52]

Cartago was one of the worlds to benefit from this reciprocal arrangement, but tensions on the world erupted in 2411 between the bulk of the population, who originated in the Federated Suns, and the Hegemony scientists and technicians. The Hegemony claimed that sanctions put in place by the planetary government on Cartago violated the terms of the agreement over jointly owned worlds; the population of Cartago responded by alleging that the Hegemony factories responsible for producing atmospheric oxygen on Cartago were actually stripping oxygen out of the atmosphere in retaliation for the sanctions. The Hegemony seized full control of Cartago, forcing the Federated Suns to respond in kind, and the Hegemony Armed Forces and Federated Peacekeeping Forces spent the next twenty years striking back and forth at each other as a result.[8][9]

In 2431, Director-General Richard Cameron lost patience with the constant back and forth struggle for control of Cartago, and ordered the HAF to seize the Kentares system from the Terran March as an object lesson. While the HAF had less combat experience than the FPF, it was more adept at fighting under the conditions of the Ares Conventions, and captured Kentares after a six-month campaign.[8][9][53] The Prince of the Terran March, convinced that he could deal with the threat posed by the Hegemony alone, insisted on continuing to attempt to recapture Kentares, spending eight years on futile attacks before admitting defeat and calling for assistance from the First Prince, but by that point the Hegemony was already fielding its first BattleMechs, dominating the battlefield.[53]

The Federated Suns wouldn't give up its claim to Kentares or Cartago, and another major effort was made to recapture the lost worlds in the late 2440s, with FPF forces fighting on a number of worlds including Kentares[54] and Basalt[55] but Cartago would merely return to what it had originally been - a world jointly controlled by the Hegemony and Federated Suns. That wouldn't change until the end of the Star League era.[6]

Star League Era[edit]

The Federated Suns and Terran Hegemony would share control over a number of worlds in the border region between themselves throughout the Star League era, and Cartago was one of those systems. When Stefan Amaris seized control of the Hegemony and turned it into the Amaris Empire he also seized full control of Cartago, along with the other previously jointly owned systems of Elbar, Mirach and Schedar. At first, he attempted to use his control over these four systems and other jointly administered systems as leverage with House Davion, hoping to persuade the First Prince to ally with him, but none of the House Lords succumbed to this attempt to influence them. Amaris promptly changed tack, looking to use Cartago and the other systems as "free trade zones" through which he could sell Hegemony products, and he subsequently moved military forces onto each world, fully annexing them.[6]

Cartago was still a relatively minor world at this point, in comparison to the richer, better-developed worlds of the Hegemony, and the population suffered during this period; Amaris was unwilling to assign the resources needed to develop Cartago, and First Prince Jon Davion was unable to help. The Amaris Empire Armed Forces garrison on Cartago was correspondingly a minor garrison, and when the Star League Defense Force launched Operation CHIEFTAIN in mid-2772, the Fourth Army captured all four disputed systems in a matter of weeks, although the SLDF troops had to remain in place for months performing relief work until aid from the Federated Suns could arrive.[6]

First Succession War[edit]

In May 2787 the Draconis Combine launched a massive invasion of the Federated Suns. The invasion was so swift and targeted communications and JumpShips so effectively that many border systems didn't have a chance to transmit warnings or alerts, leading to widespread confusion on the part of the AFFS. Three days after the initial attacks another large wave of attacks was launched by the DCMS, based around two salients; one, under the overall command of Coordinator Minoru Kurita, struck into the Clovis Combat Region, beginning with invasions of Cartago, Clovis and Olancha. By the end of May almost all of the Clovis Combat Region was in Kuritan hands, along with half of each of the Robinson and Dahar Combat Regions and a chunk of the Fairfax Combat Region; Minoru Kurita himself stood on Cartago at the head of the Third Sword of Light.[17]

In February 2788 First Prince John Davion launched Operation SOLAR SHIELD, a desperate plan to try and disrupt the invasion of the Federated Suns launched by the Draconis Combine in May 2787. Prince John had been preparing to invade the Capellan Confederation when news of the Combine invasion reached him, and the forces he drew together for SOLAR SHIELD were based on those three 'Mech regiments nearby earmarked for the abortive invasion of the Confederation plus some six assorted regiments of armor and infantry provided by regional militias within the Marlette Combat Region. Prince John divided his forces into three groups and launched strikes at three occupied worlds on the Terran flank of the invasion, hoping to disrupt the thrust being led personally by Coordinator Minoru Kurita.[56][57]

SOLAR SHIELD proved to be flawed from the outset; the units assembled lacked time to train together, Prince John's forces were limited in number, and he had only a handful of WarShips available to use to escort his forces. Senior officers advised against the operation, but Prince John felt that speed was of the essence, and ordered that the operation go ahead. Cartago was one of the planets targeted by SOLAR SHIELD, and Prince John led the First Davion Guards to the system himself, escorted by the Davion II-class destroyers FSS Duke Henry and FSS Edmund Davion. The strike initially appeared to go well, with the First encountering a small naval picket consisting of two Baron-class destroyers in orbit above the planet that only briefly contested the Guards' landing before retreating.[56]

In the belief that his forces held the upper hand, Prince John landed in the valley near the capital city's spaceport along with the Guards, but became suspicious as soon as his troops had disembarked, just five kilometers away from the spaceport. When he observed that the majority of the DropShips sitting at the spaceport were civilian vessels in obvious disrepair, rather than DCMS military transports, he quickly ordered the Guards to fall back - barely ahead of a nuclear explosion that consumed the site. The Guards lost a company of 'Mechs and a squadron of aerospace fighters to the blast, but Prince John was able to board a DropShip before the blast hit, ordering his troops to evacuate rapidly. As the Guards and their supporting conventional forces lifted off, hostile fighters swept over the landing area, attempting to down the Guards transports, while above the planet the two Barons returned to attack the Duke Henry and Edmund Davion again, this time with the addition of the DCS Omodaka, a Narukami II-class destroyer that had been lurking in hiding on the far side of Cartago.[56]

The presence of the Omodaka turned an orderly retreat from Cartago into a bloody pursuit that only broke off after the Duke Henry and Edmund Davion managed to destroy the two Barons - an action that cost Prince John the Duke Henry. Operation SOLAR SHIELD was an abject disaster that cost the AFFS men and equipment it couldn't afford to lose, and the action on Cartago alone nearly saw the First Prince lost in action not once, but twice.[56]

Cartago was liberated by the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns in 2805-06 during the first major AFFS counteroffensive of the First Succession War against the Draconis Combine.[19]

FedCom Civil War[edit]

The various continents on Cartago are covered by vast tropical jungles filled with dangerous wildlife. While the local flora and fauna has always done its best to reduce the life expectancy of the planet's human population, the jungles have also produced a wealth of different pharmacological compounds responsible for hundreds of medical breakthroughs since the planet was first colonized. As a consequence, numerous interstellar biopharmaceutical companies have their research and development departments based on Cartago, and the average citizen of Cartago enjoys one of the longest life expectancies to be found anywhere in the Federated Suns.[1]

Military Deployment[edit]

3038[edit]

  • Clovis Draconis March Militia[63]

3050[edit]

  • Clovis Draconis March Militia[64]

Geography[edit]

Cartago has five continents named Cartago, Jiménez, Oreamuno, Paraíso, and Turrialba.[1]

Planetary Locations[edit]

  • Cartago: the planetary capital city, located on the continent of Cartago.[1]
  • San Rafael: the location of the Joint Equipment Systems plant on Jiménez.[1]

Industrial Centers[edit]


Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 52 systems (52 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Kentares 10.1 Waycross 12.7 Elbar 13.3 Tallassee 15.7
Edwards 23.5 Johnsondale 24.6 Schedar 24.6 Logandale 26.1
Mara 26.1 Olancha 27.6 Raman 29.1 David 29.4
Avawatz 31.7 Mallory's World 32.6 Caselton 33.2 Alnadal 35.0
Mirach 35.3 Sonnia 35.7 Marlette 37.4 New Rhodes 37.9
Goderich 39.6 Xhosa 42.0 Clovis 42.4 Barstow 43.5
Fellanin 43.6 Ronel 44.8 Rosamond 45.4 Tawas 45.9
Proserpina 48.1 Rio 48.2 Chota 48.3 Exeter 48.6
Cylene 48.8 Tikonov 49.0 New Florence 49.2 Sanilac 49.4
Tybalt 50.9 Sadalbari 53.0 Markab 53.4 Klathan 54.6
Galatia 54.8 Tedibyhr 55.4 Mira 55.5 Wroxeter 55.6
Ozawa 56.6 Okaya 57.2 Mesartim 57.8 Listowel 58.3
Angol 59.4 Scheat 59.4 Skat 59.4 Beecher 59.5

References[edit]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 Objectives: Federated Suns, p. 22: "Cartago"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Shattered Fortress, p. 103
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  5. 5.0 5.1 Handbook: House Davion, p. 48: "Federated Suns after Age of War - [2571] Map"
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  66. Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 109

Bibliography[edit]