Thule

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Thule
← 3135
3151
240px
Thule nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates93.055 : 455.16[e]
Spectral classA8V[1][2]
Recharge time169 hours[1][2]
Recharge station(s)Nadir[1][2]

Note: X and Y are coordinates (light years on XY plane) relative to Terra at (0, 0)

Template:InfoBoxPlanetStandard

Political Affiliation

Planetary Info

Thule was located on the Periphery border. The planet was divided into three large continents. Vik with capital city - the Thule city - and planet's primary starport was also known from Fresdon Plain, Fresdon Desert, and the Great Fresdonian River. Akranes, located near the equator, was the planet's agricultural center. Husavik, the northern continent, was mostly frozen wasteland with several research stations and the Thulian bears.[1]

The planet was valued during the Succession Wars for its water resources.[35]

Planetary History

Colonists from the Federal Democratic Republics of Finland, Norway and Sweden emigrated in significant numbers after the end of the War Damage Tax payments levied on them as a part of the international rebuilding effort following the Second Soviet Civil War. Choosing a world far from Terra and the oppressive bureaucracy that went with it, the first colonists left in the mid-Twenty-third century and within sixty years had settled Rasalhague and eight other nearby worlds[3] including Thule.[4] In the late Twenty-third century these worlds created a joint government to oversee the development of the worlds, creating the Rasalhague Consortium. Contact with other interstellar nations led to the Consortium evolving into the short-lived Principality of Rasalhague, prior to the Principality being conquered by the Draconis Combine in the early to mid Twenty-fourth century.[3]

Because of its isolation the world wasn't considered as a strategic target, and so it avoided any victims during the Succession Wars and later on the Ronin Wars. The first real conflict happened in 3050 when Clan Ghost Bear captured the planet during the first wave of Clan Invasion of 3050.[1]

Succession Wars

During the 3rd Succession War, Thule's frozen and valuable watery climate was used as bait to trap the pirate Helmar Valasek and his raiders. House Kurita used the Black Widow Company during their contract to House Kurita to surprise the pirates and destroy them.[36]

Clan Invasion

First Wave

Thule was the first planet invaded by Clan Ghost Bear as part of Operation REVIVAL, launching their invasion in March 3050. In accordance with Ghost Bear tradition, a vote was held to determine which of the Ghost Bear's three participating Galaxies - Alpha, Beta or Delta - would have the honor of being first to conquer the planet. After a week of wasted time debating the matter, saKhan Theresa DelVillar finally decreed all three would participate, with one assigned to each of the planet's continent.[37]

The First Hussars' commanding officer, Överste Joannie Swigard, refused to respond when the Ghost Bears announced their presence with a batchall, instead massing her troops in the Fresdon Desert where they had trained extensively to defend their world. As Ghost Bear ships enter the planet's atmosphere, Khan Karl Bourjon decided that each of the three Galaxies would be represented upcoming battle. In the resulting bidding war three Trinaries, one of which was a Supernova, emerged to face off against the Hussars: one each from the 50th Striker Cluster of Alpha Galaxy, the 304th Assault Cluster of Beta Galaxy, and the 3rd Bear Striker Cluster of Delta Galaxy.[37]

As they landed on the hot plains of the Fresdon desert, the Clan warriors expected a swift victory. Unfortunately they had failed to account for the Hussars' greatest advantages: terrain and artillery. In the hot climate many Clan OmniMechs suffered from heat overload and were forced to shut down after firing their initial salvo, leaving them vulnerable to Hussar artillery strikes. An entire Trinary's worth of equipment was lost before the warriors could get their machines working again, and in response the Hussars began hit-and-run attacks with their lightweight BattleMechs to try and force them to overheat again.[37]

Star Colonel François Cote was the first to break his initial bid and call in the rest of his 3rd Bear Striker for assistance, against which the Hussars launched AeroSpace Fighters to strafe the approaching Ghost Bear forces. In response to these attacks, Star Colonel Stephan Huntsing of the 50th Striker broke his bid by calling in his aerospace forces to provide overhead support as his forces moved in to surround the Hussars. When the defenders were fully enveloped however the Ghost Bear forces held off their attack, preferring to wait until nightfall and cooler temperatures. Överste Swigard responded by striking at the enemy's northern flank, maneuvering her troops away from the heavier Ghost Bear units and successfully achieving a breakout. By this point the Ghost Bears had achieved aerial superiority, but the Hussars' artillery continued to punch huge holes in their rear lines. Star Colonel Paul Vishio of the 304th Assault was the last to break his bid and called in aerospace reinforcements to finally silence the guns.[37]

Now on the run, the Hussars made for the large river which bisected the Fresdon plain, sacrificing an entire company in an effort to successfully rendezvous with their naval assets and flee upriver aboard massive cargo ships. As the defenders made their escape, the Ghost Bear warriors found themselves in in a quandary: should they use their aerospace assets to sink the ships and so finish the Hussars off, or simply have these units track them to their final destination and resume battle when the Hussars disembarked? Concluding that sinking the ships went against Clan honor, aerial units were dispatched to follow them until they landed. With the Hussars largely out of the picture, the planet seemed to accept Ghost Bear rule and the Khans declared it conquered, leaving behind the the 3rd Bear Striker's 312th Assault Trinary to garrison the world and destroy the Hussars when they finally landed.[37]

Second Wave

Disaster occurred in May 3050 when the First Hussar's survivors emerged and managed to wipe out the Clan garrison forces, reasserting Ralashagian control of the world. Seemingly responding out of proportion to the situation, saKhan DelVillar led the entire Alpha Galaxy back to Thule to put an end to its resistance. When they arrived, they discovered the regiment had taken refuge in the planet's frigid southern lands, where they were busy preparing fortifications. The battle was over almost before it began as Elemental forces easily swept through the Hussar's prepared positions, with saKhan DelVillar reported to have stated "How polite of you to spare us the effort of digging your graves." Överste Joannie Swigard was taken as a bondsman during this battle.[38]

Post-Invasion

The Ghost Bears hoped to make Thule an industrial center, and began establishing factories on the world.

A substantial pirate attack was launched against Thule in September 3060. Defending Thule at the time was the Fifty-fourth Provisional Garrison Cluster, a Cluster noted for acting as a training cadre for warriors freshly deployed from Ghost Bear sibkos. A pirate force almost a full regiment in size appeared at a pirate point within the Thule system that the Ghost Bears were unaware of and launched a heavy attack on the Fifty-fourth, threatening to overwhelm the Cluster. Fortunately for the Fifty-fourth, one of the Star Captains within the Cluster noticed that rather than being a cohesive force, the bandit regiment actually appeared to have been formed from numerous smaller bands. some of whom were actively hostile towards other elements of the formation. That Star Captain was able to broadcast antagonistic messages that prompted some of the pirate sub-units to turn on each other, giving the Fifty-fourth a chance to regroup. The attack was rebuffed, but almost two-thirds of the pirate forces managing to escape.[39]

Jihad

The Pirate Band named Barllow's Boys conducted a raid against the planet in 3070. They encountered a binary of 'Mechs from the Clan Ghost Bear's Hind Paw Sibko. The cadets only having their light-weight Bear Cub training 'Mechs, were still able to defeat their heavier opponents in a hard-fought struggle. The survivors of the cadets hung its survivors of Barllow's Boys when the elements of the 54th Provisional Garrison Cluster arrived on the scene.[40]

In August 3073, Thule was the site of a three-way battle between Clans. During a Clan Hell's Horses raid on world's spaceport, an unidentified force of Clan Star Adder arrived began fighting with both Horses and Bears in brutal fight.[41] At one point the world boasted a Fire Moth production plant, but this was destroyed in 3073.[42]

In October 3080 the Kappa-4 factory complex was destroyed as part of a wave of terrorist attacks known as the Bloody Tricentennial.[43]

Military Deployment

3050

3060

3061

  • Fifty-fourth Provisional Garrison Cluster[45]

3079

3085

3145

Industrial Centers

Nearby Planets

Planets within 2 jumps (60 light-years).
Closest planets first:
Planet Distance (LY) Jumps 2750 3025 3030 3040 3052 3057 3062
Jarett 15.34 1 DC DC DC DC CGB CGB CGB
Damian 20.76 1 DC DC DC FRR CGB CGB CGB
Porthos 21.06 1 N P P P CGB CGB CGB
Constance 27.26 1 DC DC DC DC CGB CGB CGB
Santander V 30.28 2 N P P P CGB CGB CGB
Pinnacle 32.54 2 DC DC DC FRR CGB CGB CGB
Skallevoll 32.71 2 DC DC DC FRR CW CW CW
Richmond 38.07 2 DC DC DC DC CSJ CSJ DC
Holmsbu 39.01 2 DC DC DC FRR CGB CGB CGB
Idlewind 40.50 2 DC DC DC DC CSJ CSJ DC
Susquehanna 54.03 2 DC DC DC FRR CGB CGB CGB
Trondheim 54.40 2 DC DC DC FRR CGB CGB CGB

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction, p. 75, "Thule Planet Profile"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Objectives: The Clans, p. 39, "Thule"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 20 Year Update, p. 44, "Origins"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Handbook: House Kurita, p. 18, "Draconis Combine Founding - [2319] Map"
  5. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 31, "Draconis Combine after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  6. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 159, "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  7. ↑ Era Report: 2750, p. 37, "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  8. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. vii, "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  9. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  10. ↑ First Succession War (Source Book), pp. 24-25, "Inner Sphere - [2786] Map"
  11. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 43, "Draconis Combine after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  12. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 122, "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  13. ↑ First Succession War (Source Book), pp. 112-113, "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  14. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 53, "Draconis Combine after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  15. ↑ House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. vii, "Draconis Combine Map - [3025]"
  16. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 64, "Draconis Combine after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  17. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 66, "Draconis Combine after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  18. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 133, "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  19. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 68, "Draconis Combine after War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  20. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  21. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 23, "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  22. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 71, "Draconis Combine after Operation REVIVAL - [3052] Map"
  23. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 10, Inner Sphere - [3057] Map
  24. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 29, "Inner Sphere - [3063] Map"
  25. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 74, "Draconis Combine after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  26. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 42, "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  27. ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 64, "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  28. ↑ Field Report: Clans, p. 27, "Ghost Bear Dominion & Kungsarmé Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  29. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63, "Inner Sphere - [3081] Map"
  30. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. vii , "Inner Sphere - [3085] Map"
  31. ↑ Map of the Inner Sphere 3130
  32. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  33. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 39, "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  34. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. VI, "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  35. ↑ Tales of the Black Widow Company, pp. 22-23 - Pirates lured to planet due to its water resouces.
  36. ↑ Tales of the Black Widow Company, pp. 22-23, "The Chill of War"
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 Invading Clans, p. 19-20
  38. ↑ Invading Clans, p. 20-21
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 98, "Pi Galaxy"
  40. ↑ Technical Readout: 3075, p. 132 Bear Cub - 'Mech's information includes pirate raid on Thule.
  41. ↑ Technical Readout: 3075, p. 122 Corona - Battle Armor's fluff includes fight on Thule during the Jihad.
  42. ↑ Objectives: The Clans, p. 32
  43. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 113, "Clan Industry"
  44. ↑ 20 Year Update, p. 51, "KungsArme Deployment Table"
  45. ↑ Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 164, "Warden Clans Deployment Table"
  46. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 127, "Deployment Table - 3085"
  47. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. 172, "Clan Force Deployments - Rasalhague Dominion"
  48. ↑ Objectives: The Clans, p. 39, "Bergan Industries"

Bibliography

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