Pleione

Pleione
← 3135
3151
Pleione 3151.svg
Pleione nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates51.435 : -79.668[e]
Spectral classM8VI[1]
Planet(s)9[1]

System Description[edit]

Pleione is located near the Gan Singh and Poznan systems.

Political Affiliation[edit]

Pleione III[edit]

Pleione III
Pleione.jpg
Astrophysical
System positionThird[1]
Jump Point distance2 days[1]
Moons1 (Caran)[1]
Geophysical
Surface gravity0.98[1]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Breathable)[1]
Equatorial temperature58°C[1]
Surface water84%[1]
Highest native lifeFish[1]
Landmasses1 (Jezrael)[1]
History and Culture
Population718,462,000 (3130)[1][40]
Government and Infrastructure
Political LeaderPlanetary Governor
Military CommanderLegate Gordon Weymuller (3130)[1][40]

Planetary History[edit]

Early History[edit]

One of many worlds to be colonized in the early exodus from Terra, Pleione became a stepping-stone for further colonization efforts in the systems beyond. Barely capable of growing agricultural products, Pleione was always required to import the majority of the agricultural products needed to support the population. Prior to the formation of the Capellan Confederation Pleione was one of the worlds that comprised the proto-state known as the Tikonov Grand Union.[1]

The Star League[edit]

During the era of the Star League the Star League Defense Force used Pleione as a military supply world and a headquarters. The SLDF constructed a massive fortress atop the largest rock formation on Jezrael—a rock formation the native Capellan population named Thunder Rock—and used the fortress as a regimental supply depot and their headquarters on the planet.[1]

Succession Wars[edit]

Pleione was conquered by the Federated Suns during the Fourth Succession War; the defending Capellan forces fought at Thunder Rock against the mercenary troops assigned to conquer Pleione before the planet was conquered.[1]

The world remained in the hands of the Federated Suns and then the Federated Commonwealth until the implosion of the Sarna March in 3057 as a consequence of Operation GUERRERO. During the popular Xin Sheng movement in the Capellan Confederation Pleione and the nearby worlds of Ningpo and Poznan rejoined the Confederation, and the mercenary unit Little Richard's Panzer Brigade was assigned to protect Pleione and to reinforce the Capellan forces on Ningpo and Poznan.[1]

Little Richard's Panzer Brigade left Pleione during the FedCom Civil War when the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces assigned the mercenaries to capture the worlds of Arboris and Genoa in 3066. After a substantial defeat on Genoa that cost the Brigade two-thirds of its strength the mercenaries were reassigned back to Pleione again.[1]

The Jihad[edit]

Having been bled dry by the FedCom Civil War, Pleione was largely ignored by the Blakists until the dispatch of the Thirty-fifth Division[41] to conquer the planet during the first two weeks of December 3069, and was subsequently incorporated into the Word of Blake Protectorate.[41][32] The Blakist attack had caught the defending Little Richard's Panzer Brigade whilst it was still attempting to rebuild after the losses on Genoa;[1] the mercenaries fought a desperate defense from Fort Thunder Rock,[41][1] but the Blakist forces wiped the command out, killing them to a man. The destruction of the Brigade prompted the government of Pleione to surrender to the Blakists.[1]

Having secured control of Pleione, the Word of Blake built substantial defenses on Pleione and throughout the system, turning the world into one of the cornerstones of the "Maginot Line" defenses developed by Precentor Martial Cameron St. Jamais to defend Terra. Early warning systems were installed throughout the system to allow the various Pocket WarShip squadrons in the system to strike swiftly and precisely at any intruders, while Pleione's single continent was turned into a defensive bastion.[41]

During the last week of July 3075, the CCAF launched a campaign against the Word of Blake Protectorate garrisons on Menkar, Pleione, and Wei. The civilian population of the three worlds took tens of thousands of civilian casualties during the offensive, as the Capellan forces used nuclear weapons as a part of their attempt defeat the Blakists.[42][43] Having caught the Blakists by surprise bombarded and devastated fortifications, various industrial targets and a number of cities the CCAF failed to launch any landing operations, leaving Pleione still in the hands of the Blakists; the ruthlessness displayed by the CCAF in their attack led to a dramatic increase in recruitment for the Protectorate Militia forces on the planet, which had already numbered three divisions in strength before the attacks.[41]

Of note is a news broadcast issued by LPN on Pleione on 23 May 3077 announcing that Pleione had been liberated by the CCAF, including commentary on plans for a memorial in monument form to those Capellans who fell during the liberation, a monument which was to be installed in the Gina Fields outside the planetary capital; the broadcast also announced the execution of Joseph Larsus, the planetary governor, along with a link through which the execution could be watched.[44] This was contradicted by Federated Suns intelligence documents released to the media on Chesterton in 3078 and highlighted in a broadcast by the New Avalon News Service on the 7th of June 3078 detailing two further assaults conducted against Pleione by the CCAF.[45]

The first of these attacks was launched by the Capellans on 2 May 3078 and saw Warrior House Ma-Tsu Kai virtually eradicated by Pocket WarShip attacks.[41][45][46] Less than half the Ma-Tsu Kai forces managed to make landfall on Pleione after the heavy damage taken during the planetary approach, and those survivors who did manage to reach the surface were ground down piecemeal by the defending Blakist forces as the beleaguered Capellan troops attempted to regroup.[41] Following the destruction of House Ma-Tsu Kai Precentor Martial St. Jamais withdrew the Blakist naval support from the Pleione system, redeploying the naval assets for the defense of Terra, but he ordered various small mercenary units including Grandin's Crusaders to support the Pleione Protectorate Militia. Grandin was able to use his position as the senior commander on Pleione to take on a leadership role in the defense of the planet, securing an equal partnership with the Militia.[47]

The third attempt to seize Pleione was launched on the 30th of May, and this time the Capellans used WarShip support[45][46] in the form of the Feng Huang-class cruiser CCS Ilsa Hyung[48] as well as extensive orbital bombardment as a part of their battle plan.[45][46] Pierre Grandin convinced the various defending forces to follow his plan of allowing the Capellan forces to enter New Jericho, the planetary capital city, before engaging them at close range, thereby discouraging the Ilsa Hyung from firing on them. The defenders followed this plan when the Fifth Confederation Reserve Cavalry and the Fifteenth Dracon landed, supported by fire from the Ilsa Hyung; the two CCAF commands entered the approaches to New Jericho before being hit by a ferocious, desperate assault by the mercenaries and the Militia. The battle consisted mainly of brutal, close-quarters fighting in the New Jericho suburbs, with the brutal slugfest pushing up casualties on both sides.[47]

Grandin's Crusaders timed their entry into the battle carefully, launching a sudden attack from the hills outside the city that shattered the Capellan advance and which gave the Crusaders an opportunity to break through and race for their DropShips, even as the Capellan forces in orbit began a heavy orbital bombardment. The Crusaders managed to reach their DropShips and escape, leaving House Liao in possession of the ruins of the city. The battle for New Jericho would later be detailed in the book "The Pierre Grandin Story", published by Galatean Press Limited in 3089.[47]

Despite the orbital bombardment, the fall of Pleione's capital and the public execution of the pro-Blakist leadership on the planet at the hands of Capellan troops, the fighting continued until the 10th of June.[45][46] As a part of their May/June attack the CCAF deployed a substantial ground force, which according to the Capellan media consisted of Warrior House Hiritsu, the Harloc Raiders and Roman's Mounted Fusiliers.[49]

The last major battle before the Blakists effectively conceded control of the planetary capital was fought at Gina Fields, and the Blakists threw the last of their tactical nuclear weapons at the CCAF troops there before dispersing. The Capellan forces declared the world secure on the 15th of June and retaliated for the Blakist use of nuclear weapons by executing Joseph Larsus and more than two and a half thousand collaborators. The execution field used for the mass executions was located near Lake Placid, and the blood runoff from the killing field into the lake stained the water so extensively that it led to the lake being renamed Lake Scarlet. Despite the executions and the proclamation of victory, the actual area on Pleione secured by the CCAF at that point amounted to the planetary capital and main spaceport, two key industrial centers and a number of small settlements; Blakist cells remained active on the rest of the continent for months, intermingling with groups opposed to Capellan rule. Although the active unrest died down over time, as late as 3087 there were still bursts of unrest around various Confederation-sponsored holidays.[41]

In 3080, the Capellan Confederation hired a mercenary force to investigate an illegal mining operation that they had detected on Pleione, which was already one of the worlds Devlin Stone was looking to incorporate into the nation he was building. The Capellans hired a mercenary unit associated with Stone, Gannon's Cannons, commanded by Gannon Derer, claiming that the operation would be a joint operation and that a Capellan unit would be on Pleione to guide the mercenaries to the mining operation and provide support as needed in the "spirit of cooperation." Stone was suspicious of the Capellan motives and was anticipating a strike to grab territory, including Pleione, and offered Derer's command a side contract to observe what they saw on the ground and report back after the operation.[50]

The Capellan information saw the mercenaries deployed to the Ba Bing Bien Mountain region of Pleione, where they discovered that the supporting Capellan forces consisted of elements of Warrior House Hiritsu, commanded by Pai-zhang Shen. This in and of itself was inherently suspicious, given House Hiritsu's reputation as an elite command, and Shen was angry and confrontational when dealing with the mercenaries, insisting that his command accompany the mercenaries to the illegal mining site. The mercenaries had prepared contingency plans in advance and were anticipating trouble when, partway through the engagement with the illegal miners found at the site, House Hiritsu received a coded transmission, a transmission that saw the Capellan forces begin attacking both the illegal operation and the hired mercenaries. The illegal mining operation security forces were a disparate but skilled collection of forces hired as corporate goons, and were somewhat less skilled than the Capellan forces; unfortunately for both, the failure to achieve surprise over the mercenary forces and the experience those mercenaries had at fighting three-sided battles saw both forces defeated. The mercenaries applied concentrated, massed firepower on both hostile forces until the corporate forces retreated, at which point the mercenaries turned their full forces against the Hiritsu 'Mechs, who fought to the death. At least one of the mercenaries was a Wolfnet agent, and intelligence on the events on Pleione was duly passed to Wolfnet in addition to Stone.[50]

Dark Age[edit]

On 5 May 3146, Clan Sea Fox's Tiburon Khanate invaded Pleione on behalf of Julian Davion. While the Foxes initially declared a formal trial for the resources they sought, the local Home Guard's decision to respond with threats lead the Clan warriors to utilize their full force while striking their targets.[51]

Military Deployment[edit]

3025[edit]

3028[edit]

3063[edit]

3067[edit]

  • Little Richard's Panzer Brigade[55]

3069[edit]

  • Little Richard's Panzer Brigade (until December)[41]

3070[edit]

3078[edit]

  • Pleione Protectorate Militia[41]

3079[edit]

- The unit was operating at 55% strength, with 100% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology.
- The unit was operating at 50% strength, with 75% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology.

Geography[edit]

Pleione is a planet with a relatively small landmass; less than twenty percent of the surface of the planet is dry land, concentrated in a single continent named Jezrael. Despite the abundant amount of water present on the planet Jezrael itself is a largely featureless and inhospitable desert. Occasional large rock formations are the only significant feature on Jezrael, and Pleione supports barely any agriculture.[1]

Planetary Locations[edit]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 80 systems (78 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Gan Singh 9.8 Poznan 11.2 Shensi 13.1 Ningpo 13.2
Algol 17.9 New Aragon 20.0 Styk 20.1 Cynthiana 20.4
Buchlau 21.6 Halloran 21.6 Genoa 23.5 St. Andre 25.3
Hunan 25.6 Manennaia 25.7 Kansu 25.7 Bhaktapur 27.0
Conwy 27.5 Slocum 28.2 Azha 28.3 Tsitsang 28.9
Arboris 29.4 Aldebaran 30.7 Sichuan 32.8 Algot 34.5
Zurich 35.4 Zion 36.4 Snailzar 37.4 Hamal 38.6
Bex 38.7 Bharat 38.7 New Hessen 39.6 Second Try 40.0
Nanking 40.0 Menkar 41.2 Demeter 41.3 Wei 41.4
Foochow 41.5 Shipka 42.2 Acamar 42.8 Yangtze 43.1
Woodstock 43.5 New Canton 43.7 Alrescha 44.8 Palos 45.1
Nopah 46.4 Tianamon 47.4 Saiph 48.2 Zaurak 48.5
Suzano 49.5 New Macao 50.0 Kyrkbacken 50.2 Kawich 50.2
Jonathan 50.9 New Athens 51.0 Asuncion 51.2 Belluevue 51.5
Menkalinan 52.2 Tall Trees 52.3 Hsien 52.3 Almach 52.6
Foot Fall 52.7 Basalt 52.8 Achilles 52.9 Yunnah 53.2
Alpha Eridani 53.9 Terra Firma 54.4 Angol 54.7 Menkib 54.9
Tigress 55.3 Fletcher 56.3 Ruchbah 57.2 Mesartim 57.2
Chisholm 57.6 Elnath 57.8 Capolla 57.9 Mira 58.9
Sheratan 59.1 Mandate 59.4 Kristiandsund 60.8 Bell 60.8

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 Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130), p. 113: "Pleione"
  2. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 17: "Capellan Confederation Founding - [2366]"
  3. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 13: "Timeline: Capellan Zone 2367"
  4. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 25: "Capellan Confederation after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  5. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - 2596 Map"
  6. ↑ Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  7. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  8. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  9. ↑ First Succession War, p. 95: "Federated Suns Counteroffensives 2801–2818"
  10. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 31: "Capellan Confederation after First Succession War - [2822 Map]"
  11. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 54: "Federated Suns after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  12. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  13. ↑ First Succession War, pp. 112–113: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  14. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 39: "Capellan Confederation after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  15. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 60: "Federated Suns after Third Succession War - [2864] Map"
  16. ↑ House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), foldout: "Capellan Confederation Map - [3025]"
  17. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 40: "Capellan Confederation after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  18. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 70: "Federated Suns after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  19. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 49: "Capellan Confederation after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  20. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 72: "Federated Suns after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  21. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 76: "Federated Suns after War of 3039 - [3040]"
  22. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 133: "Inner Sphere - [3040]"
  23. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  24. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  25. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3057] Map"
  26. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 60: "Capellan Confederation after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  27. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 78: "Federated Suns after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  28. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere - [3063] Map"
  29. ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 68: "Capellan Confederation after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  30. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 82: "Federated Suns after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  31. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 43: "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 48: "The Jihad In Review"
  33. ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  34. ↑ Field Report: CCAF, p. 21: "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  35. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63: "Inner Sphere - [3081] Map"
  36. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere - [3085] Map"
  37. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  38. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  39. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere, p. 12: "Prefecture V"
  41. ↑ 41.00 41.01 41.02 41.03 41.04 41.05 41.06 41.07 41.08 41.09 41.10 Total Chaos, pp. 74–75: "Pleione"
  42. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 17: "Timeline Of The Jihad"
  43. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 54: "The Jihad In Review"
  44. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 42: "Pleione Surrenders"
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 45.4 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 73: "News From Pleione"
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 59: "The Jihad in Review"
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Total Chaos, p. 191: "Pound of Flesh"
  48. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 89: "Chaos Eternal: Pound of Flesh"
  49. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 77–78: "Pleione Secured"
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Total Chaos, p. 240: "Roadblock"
  51. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 18: "Backyard Raids"
  52. ↑ House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 106: "Unit Deployment Table"
  53. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 13: "Operation RAT"
  54. ↑ Field Manual: Capellan Confederation, p. 120: "Capellan Confederation Deployment Table"
  55. ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 66: "Mercenary Deployment Table"
  56. ↑ Field Report: CCAF, p. 9: "Warrior House Regimental Status"
  57. ↑ Field Report: CCAF, p. 19: "St. Ives Sentinels Regimental Status"
  58. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 19

Bibliography[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.sarna.net/wiki/index.php?title=Pleione&oldid=1128751"