Skye

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Skye
← 3135
3151
Skye 3151.svg
Skye nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates-57.009 : 51.376[e]
Star namesTwo
Spectral classG8V, M0V[1][2]
Recharge time191 hours[2]
Recharge station(s)Nadir, Zenith (3025–3067)[1][2]
Planet(s)Six

The Skye system was the location of at least one habitable world, Skye IV, and as of 3151 was located in the Wolf Empire.[3]

System Description[edit]

Skye is located near the Zebebelgenubi and Syrma systems.

Political Affiliation[edit]

Skye IV[edit]

Skye
Skye.jpg
Astrophysical
System positionFourth[1][2]
Jump Point distance4.48 days[2]
Moons1 (Luna)[2][42]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.03[2]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Breathable)[2][42]
Equatorial temperature30°C (Warm-Temperate)[2][42]
Surface water70%[2]
Highest native lifeMammals (30%)[1][2]/Birds[42]
Landmasses1 (New Scotland)[43]
History and Culture
Population4,351,000,000 (3067),[2] 4,347,780,000 (3076),[42] 3,012,000,000 (3130)[43][44]
Government and Infrastructure
Noble RulerDuke of Skye
Political LeaderPresident of Skye
Planetary Governor
Chief Minister
Military CommanderLegate Stanford Eckard (3130)[43][44]
CapitalNew Glasgow (3067),[2] New London (3134)[38]
HPG ClassA[1]
HPG RepresentativePrecentor Dane Alknaur (3025)[1]

Planetary History[edit]

Exodus[edit]

Skye was originally colonized by settlers predominantly from the region of Terra known as the British Isles, who were drawn both by the mineral and metal wealth and by the similarity between the climate of New Scotland and their native homes. These settlers were predominantly of Irish and Scottish descent and were keen to not only make a new start on Skye but also to ensure that Skye escaped the devastation and damage that rampant industrialization could inflict. Strict zoning laws were put in place, limiting both commercial development and heavy industry in the interests of preserving Skye's unspoiled beauty; less than fifty percent of New Scotland's landmass was opened up to commercial and industrial exploitation, and while this left vast resources untapped, Skye was such a rich world that industry and trade on Skye grew dramatically.[43]

With the exploitable land on Skye strictly limited by law, those regions that could be exploited were swiftly bought up by various corporate concerns and wealthy individuals and families. This soon gave rise to a class of planetary nobility that became locked in geopolitical stasis that lasted for centuries.[43]

During the Exodus from Terra in the years following the Demarcation Declaration, many of Terra's best and brightest left the strife and intolerance present on Terra behind and took passage on JumpShips destined for colonies outside the boundaries of the diminished Terran Alliance. One such person was Ian McQuiston, the son of a man who owned a merchant-shipping company based in Great Britain. Forced to leave because of a combination of his outspoken nature and his aggressive trade dealings, McQuiston made for Skye because he heard that Skye of all the colonies most resembled his homeland, Scotland. After arriving on Skye McQuiston began his own trading company, acquiring three of the largest trading companies on the planet; in 2282, the population of Skye elected him President of Skye, despite him not having sought political office.[6]

McQuiston continued to expand his trade empire until he had managed to combine and consolidate several disparate interplanetary merchant fleets into a single company, Skye Traders, which went on to become the dominant trade company in the region of space demarcated by the border of the Terran Alliance and the worlds of Ford, Clinton and Sakhalin by 2296. McQuiston continued to build on his political and mercantile success by announcing his intention to form an interstellar government in 2299, a nation known as the Federation of Skye.[6]

Following the coup launched by Robert Marsden in 2375 that saw him installed as sole ruler of the Lyran Commonwealth, 22 worlds including Skye were still opposed to his rule in 2378 and had withdrawn their support of both him and his new government. Many of these worlds were cowed into line through naval blockades that starved them into submission, but eight self-sufficient worlds - again, including Skye - continued to hold out, and as a result were subject to full and bloody military invasions by Marsden's forces.[45]

Skye remained the heart and soul of the Federation of Skye long after the creation of the Lyran Commonwealth; the Federation had been a proud nation possessed of prosperity and influence, and that pride continued to remain a part of the psyche of the population of Skye for centuries.[43]

Star League Era[edit]

The era of the Star League saw Skye reach perhaps the most glorious period in its history, in terms of commercial and industrial significance; a major hub within the Commonwealth, Skye was a source for everything from native produce and raw materials to advanced industrial products including DropShips, WarShips and both civilian and military aerospace craft. It was also the chosen home of Sanglamore Academy, one of the very few Star League Defense Force military academies to be built outside of the Terran Hegemony.[43]

This concentration of economic wealth and defense oriented infrastructure was protected by a Star League Defense Force garrison during the final years of the Star League.[46]

Raid of 2895[edit]

Skye's metaphorical star began to wane with the passing of the Star League. Her people remained fiercely proud, despite the gradual decline in prosperity, however.[43] In 2895, DCMS forces attacked Skye in some strength. The Skye Militia was mobilized, with one particular militia unit—the 348th Reserve Detachment, a unit equipped with a dozen Sea Skimmer hydrofoils—was charged with reinforcing the Lyran forces defending the city of Inverness and securing the Manty River Delta. The 348th hadn't faced a serious threat or exercise in some time, training largely consisted of once-a-week sailing parties thinly disguised as exercises, and acquitted themselves surprisingly well during the initial stages of the defense.[47]

When a battalion of Kuritan 'Mechs broke through the defending lines and moved directly towards the city of Inverness, the 348th were the only mobile unit left to engage them, and the 348th was down to just two operational Sea Skimmers. The commander of the Inverness defenses initiated a desperate plan to defend the city; each Sea Skimmer was equipped with a 1-kiloton nuclear demolition charge and ordered to destroy a dam located ten kilometers behind the Combine front lines. With the Manty River in full flood, the dam held back water that would otherwise have inundated local farmland. Both Sea Skimmers made a full-speed charge for the dam, attempting to avoid the Kuritan forces through sheer speed. When the Sea Skimmers met enemy 'Mech forces, one was destroyed but the second manage to escape, and despite being heavily engaged by defending Kuritan infantry at the dam, initiated the nuclear device, destroying the dam and causing widespread flooding.[47]

The Kuritan forces were finally routed after being defeated in battle in the Bannockburn Bogs outside the capital city, New Glasgow, but Skye had taken heavy damage during the attack. The 2895 raid was far from the only raid to be launched against Skye, and both the Shipil shipyards and the manufacturing facilities of Cyclops Incorporated were common targets due to their prominent role in military manufacturing. Both suffered a dramatic loss of production capacity as a result of the repeated attacks, becoming mere shadows of their former selves.[43]

Perhaps more damaging to Skye than the attacks made by hostile powers was the separatist movement that waxed and waned on Skye over the centuries. Several rebellions against Lyran rule were made, resulting in damaging upheavals; the last of these was launched during the chaos of the FedCom Civil War.[43]

The Jihad[edit]

The Eagle-class WarShip FWLS Percival went rogue in early February 3068, and on the 4th of February the Percival launched a raid on Skye. Accompanying the Percival were troops in the colors of the Second Sirian Lancers from the Sirian Lancers who launched a ground assault on the planet, battling the local Skye forces for two days before withdrawing. This prompted the Duke of Skye, Robert Kelswa-Steiner to call on all Lyran Alliance units loyal to the Isle of Skye to come to the defense of the Isle, and to declare war on the Free Worlds League in retaliation for the raid.[48][49]

On 4 October 3069, a Word of Blake strike force last seen assaulting Summer the week before appeared in the Skye system and assaulted the planet. In contrast with the attack on Summer, the Blakist task force of Pocket WarShips and aerospace fighters found their attack contested by the LAAF WarShip LAS Fylgia, the Mjolnir-class ship having traveled to Skye after the bombing of Alarion. Despite being hit by a nuclear attack, the Fylgia and an accompanying group of Skye DropShips and fighters were able to rout the Blakist forces.[50]

On 20 July 3071, the Fylgia received orders Lyran Alliance Armed Forces to leave Skye along with its escort. Its direction was towards Tharkad. The office of Duke Robert Kelswa-Steiner called the Fylgia's withdrawal "a criminal weakening of Skye's defenses in light of continual threat by Marik and Word of Blake forces".[51]

On 26 December 3073, after the assassination of Archon Peter Steiner-Davion, the resistance leader Devlin Stone managed to convince the government of Skye to accept assistance from the allied forces which had met at Tukayyid earlier.[52][53] As a result, three regiments of allied troops landed on Skye on 25 March 3074.[53][54] The inevitable Word of Blake invasion came a few months later, on 27 June 3074 when Word's Third and the Eighteenth Divisions supported by two regiments of mercenaries, four WarShips, and a score of nuclear weapons.[55] The conflict soon ground into a stalemate that lasted weeks. In space Coalition WarShips moved to drive the Blakists from orbit, and the Word retaliated by deploying several WMDs with deadly result. Clan Wolf-in-Exile's Cameron-class flagship Ulric Kerensky and Clan Wolf's Texas-class Nicholas Kerensky fell to nuclear assaults. On the ground, the stalemate was finally broken when Devlin Stone led an ad hoc battalion of allied forces in a flanking action that struck at the command center of the Blakist Third Division, capturing the Third's Commanding Officer, Precentor Craig Callen, and forcing the suddenly leaderless and thinly stretched Word of Blake forces to withdraw. Of the two Word of Blake divisions that invaded Skye, only two Level IIIs escaped, and the Blakists lost multiple DropShips and other naval assets before abandoning the system.[55]

The success on Skye led Stone to declare that the next target for liberation would be Hesperus II.[56][57]

The Dark Age[edit]

Skye joined the Republic of the Sphere after the signing of the Republic Formation Treaty, and brought the bulk of the former Skye Province with it. This was in large part due to the lobbying performed by Robert and Gregory Kelswa-Steiner, and was a significant boon to the Republic given the highly industrialized nature of the Skye worlds. The military industries on Skye itself survived the Jihad with only minor damage, making them major producers for the Republic in the years after the Jihad, although as a part of the conditions for releasing the worlds of the Skye Province to the Republic, the Lyran Alliance insisted that a share of the production from the Skye plants go back to the Alliance.[58] Under the Republic—and thanks in part to aid that had been received from the Lyran state, in addition to that which came later from the Republic—Skye rebuilt from the damage inflicted during the Jihad, but many amongst the population chafed at having finally escaped rule by House Steiner only to fall under the flag of another nation. The resettlement directives issued by Devlin Stone saw an influx of new inhabitants that helped to mute somewhat the "Free Skye" fever that had been endemic to Skye over the centuries, but the population largely remained as traditionally rebellious as it had ever been.[43]

Falcon and Sphere[edit]
Main article: Battle of Skye (3134)

In August 3134,[36] Clan Jade Falcon dispatched three Galaxies to seize several worlds from the disintegrating Republic. This desant saw several systems around Skye fall to the Falcons, and only the combined efforts of Tara Campbell, Skye's native defenders, and the Steel Wolves of Anastasia Kerensky blunted the first Falcon assault upon Skye itself.[59][60] The Republic Armed Forces had dispatched Tara Campbell and Paladin David McKinnon to assist with the defense, but Campbell's decision to pardon Anastasia Kerensky and the Steel Wolves in exchange for their assistance was controversial.[61] The death of her sibmate Aleksandr in this battle spurred Galaxy Commander Malvina Hazen to make a second assault upon Skye; this time the Falcons were successful in conquering the world,[62] defeating the defenders in November[36] despite efforts by the Stormhammers to prevent Skye's capture[60] and the deployment of an LCAF WarShip to assist the Stormhammers.[63] Hazen and the Jade Falcons tolerated no threats to their control over Skye, but otherwise ruled the population with a light hand.[64]

After an extract mission by RAF forces that took Base Shetland in early June 3135, refresh troops were sent by the Republic led by Knight Castor Hobbes. All the wins done by the previous assault were lost, and all their forces had to retreat.[65][66][67]

Wolf and Falcon[edit]
Main article: Battle of Skye (3150)

On 2 March 3150, Clan Wolf assaulted Skye with three Clusters of Beta Galaxy. Khan Alaric Ward issued a batchall to saKhan Ryan Pryde, who defended with Turkina Keshik and the 124th Falcon Striker Cluster. After nearly two weeks of brutal fighting the Falcon forces retreated off world, discovering too late that Khan Ward's batchall had been a recording designed to make the Jade Falcon's overcommit. Following the defeat of the Jade Falcons, envoys from the Republic of the Sphere requested that Skye be returned to them. Khan Ward replied "if the Republic wishes to reclaim Skye from the Wolf Empire, they are welcome to challenge me." This battle also saw the capture of Noritomo Helmer.[68][69][70]

Military Deployment[edit]

2764[edit]

2765[edit]

2786[edit]

  • Third Skye Rangers[72]

2821[edit]

  • Third Skye Rangers[72]

3028[edit]

3038[edit]

3050[edit]

3054[edit]

3061[edit]

3067[edit]

3079[edit]

- At this time the Skye Guards were operating at 40% of full strength, with 70% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology.

3085[edit]

- At this time, the VIII Hastati was at 80% of full strength, with 90% of their equipment featuring upgraded technology.

3134[edit]

3145[edit]

Geography[edit]

The planet Skye is dominated by a single supercontinent that reaches into more than one hemisphere. Skye is a rarity, in that it is a habitable planet within a Binary star system; when Skye was discovered by explorers it was an unspoiled world; the supercontinent—which was named New Scotland—had cool climates in its northern and southern reaches and combined deep green valleys, fog-wreathed hills and moody rain. Skye was also discovered to have vast mineral and metallurgical reserves buried under the surface.[43]

Planetary Locations[edit]

Industrial Centers[edit]

Image gallery[edit]

  • Planetary Flag from Skye

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 60 systems (59 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Zebebelgenubi 6.1 Syrma 12.3 Alphecca 14.7 Kochab 15.8
Galatea 17.6 Unukalhai 21.3 Alkalurops 22.0 Nusakan 23.7
Skondia 25.5 Seginus 27.8 Summer 28.3 Alcor 28.6
Mizar 30.8 Carnwath 31.6 Glengarry 32.4 La Blon 33.1
Menkent 34.0 Lyons 36.3 Cor Caroli 36.3 Alkaid 37.3
Alioth 37.5 Dromini 39.0 Ko 39.6 Haddings 39.6
Atria 41.0 Carsphairn 41.1 Balkan 41.4 Ryde 42.0
Zollikofen 42.6 Laiaka 43.7 Gladius 43.9 Zebeneschamali 44.0
Sabik 44.7 Izar 46.1 Komephoros 46.6 Muphrid 46.7
Alrakis 48.0 Rocky 48.3 Marfik 49.1 Milton 49.1
Chaffee 49.4 Vindemiatrix 50.1 Gacrux 50.2 Lipton 50.6
Alchiba 50.8 Lone Star 52.4 Kimball 52.9 Chara 52.9
Kessel 54.5 Afleir 54.7 Thorin 54.8 Phecda 55.8
Denebola 56.4 Freedom 56.8 Zavijava 57.5 Yorii 57.6
Imbros 57.6 Nekkar 58.0 Konstance 58.2 Wyatt 60.6

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 167: "Skye" planet profile
  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 2.12 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 87: "Skye"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shattered Fortress, p. 103
  4. ↑ The Periphery, p. 15: "Birth of the Rim Worlds Republic"
  5. ↑ Handbook: House Marik, p. 16
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 10
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 13
  8. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 25
  9. ↑ Historical: Reunification War, p. 159
  10. ↑ Era Report: 2750, p. 37
  11. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  12. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11
  13. ↑ First Succession War, pp. 24–25
  14. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 36
  15. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123
  16. ↑ First Succession War, pp. 112–113
  17. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 40
  18. ↑ House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 77
  19. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 47
  20. ↑ House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 132
  21. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 56
  22. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 59
  23. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 133
  24. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 11
  25. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 61
  26. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 23
  27. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 11
  28. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 30
  29. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 70
  30. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, pp. 42–43
  31. ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 64
  32. ↑ Field Report: LAAF, p. 21
  33. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63
  34. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere Map - [October 3085]"
  35. ↑ Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 12
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 10: "Dark Age Timeline"
  37. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 11
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 A Rending of Falcons, ch. 5
  39. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 39
  40. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - 3145"
  41. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 101
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 42.3 42.4 Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 94: "House Steiner Key Worlds"
  43. ↑ 43.00 43.01 43.02 43.03 43.04 43.05 43.06 43.07 43.08 43.09 43.10 43.11 Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130), p. 226: "Skye"
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere, p. 20: "Prefecture IX"
  45. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 13: "Marsden in Power"
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 255: "SLDF - Lyran Commonwealth Military Command Map"
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Technical Readout: 3026, Revised Edition, p. 28: "Sea Skimmer Hydrofoil"
  48. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 45: "The Jihad in Review"
  49. ↑ BattleCorps: INN Newscast (Solaris Broadcasting Co. section), news item published [13/02/3068]: "Skye Declares War on League"
  50. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 47: "The Jihad in Review"
  51. ↑ BattleCorps: INN Newscast (Solaris Broadcasting Co. section), news item published [20/07/3071]: "LAAF Seizes Fylgia, Strikes Skye Defenses"
  52. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 38: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 52: "The Jihad in Review"
  54. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 48: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Total Chaos, pp. 54–55: "Skye"
  56. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 52: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  57. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 53: "The Jihad in Review"
  58. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 107: "Lyran Alliance"
  59. ↑ Flight of the Falcon
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 9: "Important Military Actions of 3134"
  61. ↑ Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 9: "3134: Breaking Point"
  62. ↑ Blood of the Isle
  63. ↑ Era Digest: Dark Age, p. 19: "Stormhammers"
  64. ↑ A Rending of Falcons
  65. ↑ Dark Age: 3135 PDA Journals, p. 190: "01 June 3135"
  66. ↑ Dark Age: 3135 PDA Journals, p. 192: "06 June 3135"
  67. ↑ Dark Age: 3135 PDA Journals, p. 204: "13 July 3135"
  68. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 84: "The Assault of Skye"
  69. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 85: "The Skye is Falling"
  70. ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 117: "Touchpoint: Skye"
  71. ↑ Field Report 2765: LCAF, pp. 18–19: "Skye Rangers" - Regimental Status
  72. ↑ 72.0 72.1 First Succession War, p. 139: "First Succession War Deployment Table - LCAF"
  73. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 44: "Operation GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG"
  74. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 45: "Operation GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG"
  75. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 137: "Deployment Table"
  76. ↑ 20 Year Update, p. 27: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  77. ↑ Objective Raids, p. 86: "Unit Note"
  78. ↑ Shattered Sphere, p. 48: "Lyran Alliance Deployment Table"
  79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 79.2 79.3 79.4 Field Manual: Updates, p. 177: "Lyran Alliance Deployment Table"
  80. ↑ Field Report: LAAF, p. 15: "Skye Rangers Regimental Status"
  81. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 187: "RAF Deployment Table - 3085"
  82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 Flight of the Falcon, ch. 15
  83. ↑ 83.0 83.1 Field Manual: 3145, p. 168: "Clan Force Deployments - Clan Jade Falcon"
  84. ↑ Shrapnel Issue 2, p. 154
  85. ↑ 85.0 85.1 85.2 85.3 Shattered Fortress, p. 84
  86. ↑ Shrapnel, Issue 2, p. 155
  87. ↑ A Rending of Falcons, prologue
  88. ↑ Handbook: House Steiner, p. 118: "Raina University on Skye"
  89. ↑ A Rending of Falcons, ch. 1
  90. ↑ Flight of the Falcon, ch. 9
  91. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 80: "Fifth Army - Command"
  92. ↑ Shrapnel Issue 2, p. 156
  93. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 141: "Other Major Commonwealth Industries"

Bibliography[edit]

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