The Five

The Five, also occasionally called The Hidden, are five secret worlds (or facilities) that played a key role in the Jihad.

Overview

The scarce information available about them suggests that ComStar, or possibly a hidden cabal of Clan Wolverine descendants within the ComStar organization, deliberately hid the existence of these five worlds and maintained them in secrecy. They were used, in some form or another, for preparations against a Clan invasion long before the Inner Sphere ever learned about the Clans.

On 15 October 2869 one of the Hidden Worlds was accidentally found by a JumpShip. ROM covered up the find and killed the ship's captain. Subsequently, Clinton's Cutthroats were hired to guard these worlds, and some descendants still guard them as of 3072.

One hidden world supposedly lay in the territory of each of the five Successor States. One report indicated that one world, most likely the one in the Draconis Combine, was dead even before the Jihad began.

Following the breakaway of the Word of Blake from secular ComStar, the Five came under Word of Blake control while the ComStar remnant remained largely unaware of their existence.

The known worlds are

• The Ruins of Gabriel (Lyran Commonwealth space) turned out to be a shipyard complex hidden in the Lyran system of Odessa. Gabriel was found and attacked by a coalition battle fleet.
• Jardine (Free Worlds League space), previously also known as Herakleion. Apparently a center for cybernetics and presumably the homeworld of Precentor Apollyon and the Manei Domini. Thomas Marik was brought here to be treated for the injuries sustained in the bombing that killed his father. His double (Thomas Halas) was trained on Jardine. Brooklyn Stevens found Jardine during the Jihad, but her team was hunted down and terminated. Later, an expedition sent by Thomas Halas found that the planet Jardine had succumbed to a natural disaster known as a traps volcano, and had become totally uninhabitable.
• Mayadi
• Obeedah
• Taussen

Notes

While the existence of the Five is Canon, significant portions of the background about them released to date comes from so-called Canon Rumor sources which complicates and clouds their true history, at least until later sources are released to corroborate or dispute them.