Luthien

This article is about the planetary system. For other uses, see Luthien (disambiguation).


Luthien
Luthien 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates167.621 : 250.493[e]
Spectral classG0III[1][2][3][4][5]
Recharge time181 hours[1][3][4][5]
Recharge station(s)Zenith, Nadir[1][2][3][4][5]

The Luthien system is the location of at least one habitable world, Luthien IV, and as of 3151 was the national capital of the Draconis Combine, located in the Kagoshima Prefecture of the Pesht Military District.[6]

System Description[edit]

Luthien is located near the Chatham and Kilmarnock systems.

Political Affiliation[edit]


Luthien IV[edit]

Luthien IV
Luthien flag.png
Astrophysical
System positionFourth[1][2][3][4][5]
Jump Point distance10.43 days[1][3][4][5]
Moons4 (Tsu Shima, Orientalis, Hikisaku, Occidentalis)[1][5]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.0[1][3][4][5]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Tainted-Pollution)[1][3][4][5]
Equatorial temperature35°C (Temperate)[1][3][4][5]
Surface water70%[1][3][4][5]
Highest native lifeAmphibian,[1][3][4][5] 10%[2]
Landmasses4 (Aichi, Hokkaidō, Sakura, Shizuoka)[1]
History and Culture
Colonized2276[2]
Population5,203,000,000 (3025),[2]
7,268,000,000/7,939,000,000 (3067),[1][5]
7,267,000,000 (3076),[3]
7,268,000,000 (3079)[4]
Government and Infrastructure
Noble RulerDuke of Luthien
Political LeaderDaimyo Guilen Yokosama (3076)[3]
CapitalImperial City[4][5]
HPG ClassA[1][2][3][4]
HPG RepresentativePrecentor Tayless Gromminger (3025)[2][5]

Luthien, as well as being the capital of the Draconis Combine, is the state's largest industrial world, with large tracts of land devoted to huge industrial complexes, the housing necessary to support those facilities, and the infrastructure required to maintain it, as evidenced by the sheer amount of ferrocrete and asphalt. Due to the massive amounts of environmental decay resulting from the industrial growth, the planet has earned the nickname "Black Luthien." The world is orbited by four moons: Tsu Shima, Orientalis, Hikisaku, and Occidentalis. An aerospace fighter base was known to be on Orientalis, the farthest moon from Luthien, in 3052.[1][5][43][44]

Imperial City has been described as the "crown jewel" of the planet. It is the home of the Kurita family and is surrounded by gardens and forests, unmolested and serene until the Black Dragon coup in late 3067.[43]

The largest of the planet's numerous industrial complexes is located less than ten kilometers from the center of the capital city, on a series of manmade islands. Luthien Armor Works (LAW) has established its OmniMech production plant on Guthry Island and its headquarters complex, as well as LAW City is found on Tokyo Island. This facility fully covers ten square kilometers of the surface, as well as existing underground. It accounts for a significant degree of the planet's gross domestic product and provides income for millions of the planet's citizens.[43]

The continent of Aichi is devoted largely to mining, primarily in the Fukui Wastes. Buda Weapons established its headquarters and facility at this location and the continent also hosts an example of the Environmental Reclamation Program, with over 500 hectares of forest transplanted in 3059.[43]

The early history of the Combine, as well as the first Star League, is honored with numerous museums and memorials built in various locations around the planet. The largest is the Dragon's Tears Plaza, which has an army of samurai replicas depicting each warrior who died in defense of Luthien in 3052, during the Clan Invasion.[43]

Planetary History[edit]

Early History[edit]

Luthien was a low population farming world settled by colonists in 2276.[2]

By the early twenty-fourth century, in the absence of central control from the Terran Alliance the world of Luthien had not only survived as an independent world, but had also managed to put itself in a position to exercise control over several neighboring worlds. When Director Shiro Kurita of the Alliance of Galedon conducted a year-long tour of worlds near the Alliance in 2309-2310, he included Luthien on his tour; he brought with him evidence purporting to show that one or more of the other small states nearby had designs on conquering Luthien, and offered to mediate between Luthien and its opponents. He also offered to protect Luthien by allowing Junction and its client worlds to join the Alliance, thereby allying itself with a stronger power.[7]

The rulers of Luthien accepted this proposal, not realizing that Director Kurita had invented the evidence and deliberately played a number of small states based around the worlds of Benjamin, Dieron, Junction, Pesht, and Worrell against each other, dramatically expanding the Alliance's size.[7]

Star League Era[edit]

Coordinator Sanethia Kurita selected Luthien as an industrial site in 2619. It became the Draconis Combine's largest industrial world within 200 years of that decision.[43] The Coordinator arranged the evacuation of the farmers to the unsettled though habitable world of Yumesta.[2]

With the rise of Luthien, as the capital of the Draconis Combine and an industrial powerhouse, the Star League Defense Force positioned a sizable garrison on world.[45]

First Succession War[edit]

In March 2787, the Lyran Commonwealth launched a couple of daring raids against the Draconis Combine, one of which was aimed at Luthien. Escorted by the Potemkin-class cruiser LCS Nightwind, the elite Tamar Tigers regiment mounted a daring deep-penetration raid against the Combine capital. The raid involved making a series of challenging jumps before emerging at a jump point in the Luthien system, at which point the Tamar Tigers dropped onto the surface of the planet to attack and destroy a trio of factories. As the Tigers hit their targets the Nightwind attacked and destroyed Luthien's orbital shipyards,[46] having already destroyed Luthien's naval picket. The LCAF had anticipated that Luthien would be heavily defended, and as a result all twenty-five of the Nightwind's hardpoints were in use, giving her a full complement of assault DropShips and fighter carriers, but the actual defending forces were minimal at best - a single Naga-class light destroyer named the Blue Lotus - and while the Blue Lotus was joined by a half-complete Narukami II-class destroyer that was under construction in the shipyards when the Nightwind arrived in the Luthien system, neither ship could halt the vengeful Lyran forces.[47]

In addition to the loss of the orbital shipyards and two WarShips, the Lyran attack destroyed a Luthien Armor Works satellite BattleMech factory near the city of Obuchi, an ammunition factory on the outskirts of Skytower City and a food processing plant in Galileo, an agroindustrial city.[47]

As a consequence of the raid and the resulting psychological damage inflicted the Combine would ensure throughout the remaining Succession Wars that at least four regiments of BattleMechs would be assigned constantly to the defense of Luthien;[46] the two defending units at the time of the attack had been the Sun Zhang Military Academy Cadre located in the Imperial City and the Third Pesht Regulars assigned to defending the main LAW factories, leaving both units half a world away from the Tigers' drop zone on the Aichi continent.[47]

In 2850, Luthien was also the site of the assassination of Yoguchi Kurita by his concubine Snow Fire. After returning from the defense of Tishomingo he came back to the planet, only to be put down in his sleep.[48]

Clan Invasion[edit]

In January of 3052, Luthien was invaded by the Clans as an offshoot campaign of Operation REVIVAL. The Battle of Luthien, referred to by the Clans as Operation DRAGONSLAYER, was an attempt by Clans Smoke Jaguar and Nova Cat to weaken the national resolve of the Draconis Combine and the regional defense capability of the Pesht Military District by taking the Combine's capital world. Spanning a little over two days of fighting, the battle involved twenty-five Clusters of Clan 'Mechs, Elementals, and aerospace fighters against thirty regiments of both House and mercenary 'Mechs, Armor, and aerospace fighters.

Though hard-fought with both sides taking significant casualties, the invaders were ultimately unable to take the Imperial City and forced off world in disgrace.

As a part of the Environmental Reclamation Project, over 500 hectares of forest were transplanted to the continent of Aichi in 3059.[43]

Jihad[edit]

Imperial Palace on Luthien

The HPG on Luthien stopped transmitting on 19 December 3067,[49] and late December the Kokuryu-kai (Black Dragons) initiated their coup of the ruling Kurita family with an assault upon the Imperial City.

Traitorous elements in the Second Sword of Light and the mercenary unit Sathen's Snipers overwhelmed the Otomo, the Izanagi Warriors, and other loyalists. Neither side gave an inch. In the end, the Black Dragons succeeded in wresting control of the capital.[50] By the end of the last week, the Voice of the Dragon compound had fallen and on New Year's Day 3068, so had the Imperial Palace,[51] though a small number of loyal defenders escaped with their lives thanks to the efforts of the First Genyosha, and they would continue to serve the Dragon against the traitors until the world was liberated.[50]

The Word of Blake began an attack on Luthien with both spaceborn naval and ground forces on 1 January 3068,[49] and later in January, the Word of Blake's Ninth Division landed on-planet, intending to make a show of force, stop the fight and help House Kurita, but everybody else on the planet saw them as enemies, and this[52][50] promptly sparked a three-way conflict between the Blakists, Black Dragon forces and Combine loyalists.[49]

Precentor Alice Phuong then attempted diplomacy to rectify the situation. Trying to secure a ceasefire with the loyal DCMS, he led the Blakists to the main Luthien Armor Works facility, but Black Dragon agents, using secured codes from a high-level traitor, navigated the secured tunnels underneath the massive complex and set off a trio of nuclear devices. This destroyed the factory and put the blame on the shoulders of the Word of Blake. Even though Phuong attempted to prove she had not brought nuclear devices, as nobody believed them, and from then onwards, resistance against the Blakists was galvanized.[50]

In response to the ongoing battles on Luthien one of the first decisions made by Warlord Kiyomori Minamoto directed that New Samarkand would serve as the capital of the Draconis Combine, both administrative and military, for as long as the crisis continued on Luthien.[53]

For the better part of two years, no one could claim absolute control of the world, though the Blakists held the most important territory and the few remaining factories.[50]

The Black Dragons provided reinforcements via the Sixth Benjamin Regulars in June.[54] In February 3069, additional Black Dragon support arrived with the understrength Fortieth Dieron Regulars.[55] By May, the Word of Blake countered with the arrival of the Forty-second Shadow Division.[56]

The Word of Blake WarShip fleet and Luthien's retasked BattleSat system greeted the Nova Cat arrival. Though the Clan destroyed two Word of Blake WarShips, the engagement cost them one of their own and left their rest of their fleet severely damaged.[50] On 21 July 3072, the vengeful Xi Galaxy of Clan Nova Cat arrived on-planet.[57][58][59] On 21 August, in the Nagasaki community zone of the Crane district, a combined-arms battle occurred between Clan Nova Cat and Word of Blake forces, with the Clan withdrawing from the planet shortly thereafter.[60][57] The 3072 campaign for Luthien would see the two of the Blakist destroyers recovered from the Ruins of Gabriel and elsewhere destroyed in the system, the Baron-class WoBS Light of Hope and the Carson-class WoBS Sword of Promise.[61]

The Word of Blake's Thirty-second Division landed on the planet in February 3073, in order to assist the Ninth and Forty-second Shadow divisions in defending the Imperial City, following the departure of the Sathen's Snipers mercenary unit due to battle fatigue.[62]

The rest of 3073 and 3074 passed in a stalemated blur. The lack of imports and exports slowly strangled the world, bringing disease, malnutrition, and famine increases among the populace and exacting a heavy toll. Those who supported the Word's troops saw an influx of supplies and assistance, as the Word controlled the space and skies above Luthien. During these time, both Loyalists and Black Dragons ambushed as much as possible the WoB forces.[50]

In December 3074, the Alpha, Omega, and Rho Galaxies of Clan Ghost Bear swept onto Luthien, intent on wiping out all Blakist forces.[63][64][65][66] Having landed on both Luthien and Pesht on the 15th of December, the Ghost Bear forces never once offered zellbrigen to any of the Word units on either world, and effectively eradicated the Word forces on both worlds by the 20th of December. Very few survivors from the Word of Blake managed to flee or become captives, and the Ghost Bear forces destroyed any DCMS forces that attempted to interfere in the Ghost Bear campaign against the Word.[67][68] When the Black Dragons attacked Dominion forces out of contempt, Omega Galaxy singularly destroyed the Sixth Benjamin and Fortieth Dieron.[50] The Ghost Bear assault also claimed another WarShip from the Blakists core fleet, the Vincent Mk. 39-class corvette WoBS Blade of Righteousness,[61] and in 3075 the Blakists lost another ship, the Aegis-class heavy cruiser Vision Quest, one of only three Clan-tech WarShips to have been captured by the Word of Blake during the Jihad.[69]

As suddenly as they had arrived, the Ghost Bear forces left Luthien at the end of January, leaving the DCMS to frantically redeploy forces to fortify the world; the relief units began arriving two weeks later on the 14th of February, only to find no sign of any Blakist troops in the wake of the Ghost Bear withdrawal.[68][70] The destruction of the Forty-second Shadow Division on Luthien at the hands of the three Galaxies of Ghost Bear troops represented the first instance of a Shadow Division being destroyed completely.[71]

After the fight, the few Black Dragons who surrendered were soon executed. As the Jihad wound down, Luthien would once again be recognized as the capital of the Combine, but the devastation there would be decades in recovery.[50]

Post-Jihad[edit]

As the Combine began to rebuild in the wake of the Jihad, the industrial sector on Luthien was the focus of reconstruction efforts; while the Luthien Armor Works facilities were all effectively a complete write-off following the destruction meted out at the hands of the Blakists, the Black Dragons and even the liberating forces, the remainder of Luthien's industry had suffered lower levels of damage. In an impressive effort, the Combine had managed to restore the bulk of the surviving industry back to full operating capability by mid 3081 with the exception of BBP Industries, and it was anticipated that even BBP Industries would be back to full working order within a few months.[72]

Military Deployment[edit]

2764[edit]

2765[edit]

2786[edit]

2787[edit]

2821[edit]

  • Third Pesht Regulars[75]
  • Second Sword of Light[75]
  • First Sun Zhang Academy Cadre[75]

3025[edit]

3038[edit]

3040[edit]

  • First Sword of Light[78]
  • Seventh Sword of Light[78]
  • Otomo[78]

3050[edit]

  • Otomo[79]
  • First Sword of Light[79]
  • Seventh Sword of Light[79]

3054[edit]

3054[edit]

3067[edit]

  • First Genyosha[81]
  • Otomo (2 Battalions)[81]

3058[edit]

3059[edit]

3062[edit]

3067[edit]

3069[edit]

3073[edit]

  • Sathen's Snipers[85]

3079[edit]

- The First was operating at 15% strength, with 100% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology.

3085[edit]

- The unit was at 60% strength and had 100% upgraded equipment.
  • Otomo
- The Otomo were at 55% strength and had 100% upgraded equipment.

3145[edit]

Luthien World Map

Geography[edit]

Planetary Locations[edit]

  • Copper Sea
  • Diamond Sea
  • Emerald Sea
  • Obsidian Sea
  • Seiyo Sea
  • Shizuoka (continent)

Industrial Centers[edit]

Image gallery[edit]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 24 systems (24 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Chatham 13.3 Kilmarnock 13.6 Leiston 17.2 Avon 17.5
Yumesta 25.5 Cyrenaica 25.9 Bicester 29.5 Kagoshima 33.8
Corsica Nueva 35.3 Port Arthur 36.4 Ulsan 36.5 Braunton 40.6
Yardley 40.7 Tarazed 41.5 Omagh 41.8 Asgard 43.9
Shimonoseki 44.9 Irece 45.1 Caripare 45.8 Philadelphia 48.0
Juazeiro 51.4 Dyfed 55.4 Meinacos 55.8 Teniente 59.9

References[edit]

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  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 House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 179: "Luthien profile"
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 26: "Luthien"
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Bibliography[edit]