Rocky

Revision as of 18:12, 20 December 2023 by BrokenMnemonic (talk | contribs) (Added some early history (WIP))
Rocky
← 3135
3151
Rocky 3151.svg
Rocky nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates-16.688 : 24.716[e]
Spectral classK8V[1]
Recharge time199 hours[1]
Recharge station(s)None[1]
Planet(s)10[1]

System Description

Rocky was one of the systems close to Terra that was colonized early in the history of the Inner Sphere.[1] The system prospered through the Star League era until it was devastated by the use of nuclear weapons during the early First Succession War.[2]

Political Affiliation

Rocky II

Rocky II
Astrophysical
System positionSecond[1]
Jump Point distance3.47 days[1]
Moons1 (Wrinkle)[1]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.03[1]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Tainted)[1]
Equatorial temperature12ºC (Cold)[1]
Surface water64%[1]
Highest native lifeMammal[1]
History and Culture
Demonym(s)Rockers[1]
Population2,262,000,000 (2765),[1]
24,000 (3150)[1]
Government and Infrastructure
HPG ClassB (2765),[1]
None (3150)[1]

Planetary History

Early History

Rocky was identified by telescopes as being a promising candidate for colonisation, located within the Goldilocks zone of the local sun; within a few years of being identified, the planet was confirmed as being rich in mineral and biological resources, fresh water and arable land by the TAS Pathfinder. This quickly lead to the planet being claimed by a consortium claiming the world for colonisation. The consortium was a mix of corporations and wealthy investor families drawn predominantly from Canada and the United States of America, and the acquisition of Rocky was similar to the way the wealthiest Terran settlers claimed the most idyllic colony worlds during this era. The first settlements on Rocky were mining outposts set up in the 2150s, and the settlers came to name the various continents and major landmasses after the mountain chains from their home nations on Terra after seeing the magnificent mountain chains that stretched across Rocky.[1]

By the time the Terran Alliance conducted the first Grand Survey the settlers - dubbed "Rockers" - had already established four major cities and established highly profitable industries across such diverse areas as food exports, heavy equipment manufacturing and precious metals extracted from Rocky's mines. The established planetary government was notionally democratic, but so heavily influenced by the wealthy and corporations that it was effectively an oligarchy. The political corruption endemic to the Terran Alliance during this era was very much present in Rocky as a result of the influence of the oligarchs; Rocky traded predominantly with the richest Terran Alliance worlds, with only marginal trade with less fortunate worlds, becoming increasingly elitist - both economically and socially.[1]

As independence movements began to appear on other colony worlds and tensions rose between Terra and its restless colonies, the rulers of Rocky initially took little interest in events other than continuing to voice their continued support for Terra. The spread of support for those seperatists on other worlds amongst the greater population of Rocky quickly led to the appearance of populist candidates in elections across the planet, at which point the rulers very quickly found themselves having to react very quickly. The oligarchs managed to maintain their control of Rocky even as open warfare began on Freedom, Ryde and Sevren by employing mass pro-Alliance propaganda across the planetary media and pulling every trick they could come up with to portray the seperatists as destructive anarchists. Despite managing to stay in control, the ruling class became increasingly paranoid, a sense of paranoia that became full-blown paranoia when the Terran Alliance's final response to the Outer Reaches Rebellion, the Demarcation Declaration, was announced.[1]

Rocky would would become one of the worlds within the Alliance Core region of the Terran Hegemony[8] after profound social change following the Declaration in 2242. The Declaration left Rocky still a member of the Terran Alliance, but the Alliance was much diminished and despite the outward appearance of peace and prosperity, civil unrest was still roiling within the planetary population. The risk that the Alliance government might contract the state borders even further, or that a full-fledged revolt might erupt amongst the population, much of the planetary elite chose to leave Rocky, with many relocating back to Terra. As the wealthiest fled and a new generation of politicians were elected to fill the gap, the major corporations on Rocky also began to move their money and investments off-world, and by the end of the Twenty-third century Rocky was a more egaliatarian world - and a much poorer one, with increasing levels of unemployment. A planetary recession was made worse by the increase in banditry in the region fuelled by struggling and desperate independent worlds that had been abandoned by Terra.[1]

It remained a part of the Terran Hegemony up until the collapse of the Star League; in the final wave of annexations of former Hegemony planets in 2789, forces from the Federated Suns clashed with the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces over control of Rocky and other planets. As the use of weapons of mass destruction by all sides escalated during the First Succession War, Rocky was one of several planets where the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces resorted to the preemptive use of such weapons, and the conflict rendered Rocky uninhabitable.[28][29][9][16]

Star League Era

In January 2775, Stefan Amaris redeployed large numbers of Amaris Empire Armed Forces to a dozen worlds, including Rocky. AEAF units had used weapons of mass destruction regularly against Star League Defense Force units throughout the Hegemony Campaign, predominantly to either damage the SLDF units targeted or to strike at civilian targets to prevent the SLDF from obtaining resources and supplies. In this case, Amaris' orders were different: he intended to create scorched wastelands that Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky would have no choice but to try and clear, whilst saddling the SLDF with huge numbers of sick and starving civilians. The AEAF units deployed to Rocky and the other eleven worlds due to be abandoned by Amaris launched large-scale WMD attacks with one purpose: to ravage the worlds, preventing them from sustaining either their human populations or their various industries... to create wastelands.[30]

The AEAF tactic was both brutal and brutally effective. Kerensky deployed twelve corps of SLDF personnel into Amaris Empire space, and each discovered the same horrific situations. Forced to deploy the SLDF reserve into action, by February Kerensky had almost a hundred SLDF divisions either on the twelve ravaged worlds or en route to them, trying to provide aid to the populations and to clear up what damage they could.[30] Rocky fell within the operating area of Task Force Commonwealth, and the Fifteenth Army Group deployed forces to try and assist the population.[31] The devastation wreaked across Rocky and the other worlds bought Amaris time; for several months Kerensky was unable to resume offensive operations because of a lack of resources, and ultimately the Commanding General had no choice but to call on the Capellan Confederation, Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns to provide relief where they could.[30]

First Succession War

The Lyran Commonwealth had annexed Rocky in 2785, but subsequently learned from the local population that a contingent of troops from the AEAF were in hiding on the planet. The Republican forces had been hiding amidst the ruins of Cavingwood, a seaport city, and had been living as bandits, preying on the towns nearby. The local population had no military forces of their own and no way to stop the bandits, so with the arrival of Commonwealth troops the locals were happy to point the LCAF at the bandits. The Lyran garrison promptly began hunting down the AEAF forces when the AFFS troops arrived[15] in late 2789.[32] With the failure of Operation BRASS RING - the AFFS attack on Hesperus II earlier in 2788[2] - the Federated Suns troops were keen to gain revenge for their previous failure.[15]

The LCAF forces on Rocky decided quickly that the AFFS attackers posed far more of a threat than the Republican bandits, and moved to engage the Federated Suns forces in what turned into a number of savage battles in the region around the planetary capital city, approximately 100 km from the remains of Cavingwood. The surviving Republican troops took the opportunity to launch an attack of their own, striking directly at the Commonwealth command center on Rocky; this proved to be the blow that sealed Rocky's fate, as it convinced the Lyran commander that the Republicans were in league with the AFFS. Determined to end the bandit activity, to rebuff the invasion and - in no small part - panicked by the insurgent attack, the Lyran commander ordered a bombing mission against the AFFS landing zones near the capital and a tactical nuclear strike on Cavingwood. The AFFS WarShips above Rocky retaliated with their own nuclear weapons, striking the Commonwealth positions on Rocky.[15]

The nuclear exchange was devastating and fatal for Rocky. Already badly damaged as a result of the Amaris Civil War and with almost no surviving infrastructure to support the population, the combination of ash-filled skies and fallout from the nuclear weapons brought on the beginnings of a premature ice age,[15] in addition to the strikes devastating several major cities and fatally damaging the environment.[33] Both the LCAF and AFFS managed to evacuate roughly a battalion's worth of their own troops each from Rocky; the Republican forces that had been hiding on Rocky when the Lyrans arrived were never seen again.[15]

Planetary Locations

  • Cavingwood: a seaport city on Rocky, destroyed during the First Succession War[15]
  • Obsidian Coast[34]
  • Obsidian Sea[34]

Map Gallery

Nearby Systems

Closest 80 systems (80 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Yorii 9.4 Zollikofen 13.4 Muphrid 14.3 Lyons 15.4
Killbourn 16.4 Imbros 17.4 Thorin 18.1 Ko 19.2
Asta 20.8 Menkent 21.7 Tau Ceti 22.1 Chara 22.2
Lipton 25.1 Nusakan 25.9 Rigil Kentarus 26.1 Atria 26.9
Dyev 27.6 Altair 27.8 Summer 27.8 Alkalurops 28.1
Lone Star 28.4 Zavijava 29.2 Haddings 29.4 Sol 29.8
Xi Ursae Majoris 30.4 Dieron 30.5 Sabik 32.6 Denebola 33.8
Skondia 34.3 Athenry 34.8 Oliver 35.2 Sirius 35.5
Graham 35.8 Procyon 37.6 Mizar 38.1 Galatea 38.3
Caph 38.9 Pike 39.6 Keid 40.1 Chaville 40.7
Dromini 41.6 Zebebelgenubi 42.2 Fomalhaut 42.3 Styx 42.5
Pollux 42.9 Alioth 43.6 Syrma 43.7 Saffel 44.2
Afleir 44.3 New Home 44.4 Devil's Rock 44.5 Lambrecht 44.6
Moore 45.3 Cor Caroli 46.5 Carver 46.8 Castor 47.7
Alphecca 47.9 Bryant 48.3 Skye 48.3 Zosma 48.5
New Stevens 49.7 La Blon 50.5 Hechnar 50.8 Nai-Stohl 51.0
Nirasaki 51.3 New Britain 51.4 Milton 52.5 Unukalhai 53.9
Kervil 55.1 Tabit 55.5 Alchiba 56.0 Alrakis 57.3
Kuzuu 57.7 Epsilon Eridani 57.8 Deneb Algedi 57.8 Northwind 57.8
Alcor 58.2 Marcus 58.4 Kessel 59.1 Brownsville 59.2

References

  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 1.22 1.23 1.24 Touring the Stars: Rocky, p. 4
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 First Succession War, p. 61: "The War of Raids: House Steiner's Succession War"
  3. ↑ Handbook: House Marik, p. 16: "Free Worlds League Founding [2271]"
  4. ↑ Touring the Stars: Rocky, p. 5
  5. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 13: "Lyran Commonwealth Founding [2341]"
  6. ↑ Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 18: "Rim Worlds Republic after Age of War [2571]"
  7. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 25: "Lyran Commonwealth after Age of War [2571]"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - 2596"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 25: "Rim Worlds Republic at the Fall of the Star League [2750]"
  10. ↑ Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - 2750"
  11. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - 2765"
  12. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 104: "Rim Worlds Republic - [2767] Map"
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 138: "Operation LIBERATION Wave 1 [July 2772 - December 2774]"
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Touring the Stars: Rocky, p. 6
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 First Succession War, p. 109: "The Battle of Rocky"
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 36: "Lyran Commonwealth after First Succession War [2822]"
  17. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 40: "Lyran Commonwealth after Second Succession War [2822]"
  18. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 47: "Lyran Commonwealth after Third Succession War [3025]"
  19. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 56: "Lyran Commonwealth after Fourth Succession War [3030]"
  20. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 59: "Lyran Commonwealth after War of 39 [3040]"
  21. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - 3050"
  22. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 61: "Lyran Commonwealth after Clan Invasion [3052]"
  23. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - 3052"
  24. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 70: "Lyran Commonwealth after FedCom Civil War [3067]"
  25. ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere [3075]"
  26. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 11: "Inner Sphere Map - [3135]"
  27. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere Map - [3145]"
  28. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 35: "Total War"
  29. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 37: "Timeline: The Commonwealth and the First Succession War"
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 33: "Planets on Fire"
  31. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 40: "Task Force Commonwealth"
  32. ↑ First Succession War, p. 114: "Timeline of the First Succession War"
  33. ↑ First Succession War, p. 63: "Holding Hesperus"
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Forgotten Worlds, Book One: The Hunt for Jardine (Prologue)

Bibliography

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