Zosma


Zosma
Zosma 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates-50.158 : -10.386[e]
Spectral classA4V[1][2]
Recharge time165 hours[1]
Recharge station(s)None[1]
Planet(s)4[2]

The Zosma system is the location of the inhabited world Zosma III and as of 3145 was located in the Wolf Empire.[2]

System Description[edit]

The system primary of the Zosma system, a class A4V star, is a blazing-hot white sun twice the size of Sol that occasionally pulses in size due to its inherent gravitational instability. Four planets orbit the star, accelerated to breakneck speeds by the gravitational instability of the star.[2] Zosma is located near the Afleir and Marcus systems.[3]

System History[edit]

The Zosma system was settled during the First Exodus from Terra, having stunned the scientific community with the discovery that the system not only had four planets but that one of those planets was at least marginally capable of supporting human life. Scientists had long assumed that the instability of the star and the effect that instability would have on any bodies in the system made it impossible for planets to form around the star, let alone a life-supporting planet, and the subsequent discovery of four rocky worlds orbiting the star shocked the interstellar community. The system was subsequently colonized during the era of the Terran Alliance.[2]

The world was though barely habitable and with no relevant industrial capacity.[4]

Political Affiliation[edit]


Zosma III[edit]

Zosma III
Zosma Flag.jpg
Astrophysical
System positionThird[1][2]
Jump Point distance36.09 days[1]
MoonsOne (Brandeis)[1][2]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.21[1][2]
Atmospheric pressureThin (Breathable)[1][2]
Equatorial temperature67°C (Arid)[1][2]
Surface water22%[1][2]
Highest native lifePlant[1][2]
History and Culture
Population292,135,000 (3067)[1]
404,000,000 (3130)[57][2]
Government and Infrastructure
Political LeaderJoshua Catall, Mayor (3067)[1]
Planetary Governor
Military CommanderHadassah Sadira, Legate (3130)[57][2]
CapitalDuhr Prime[2]
HPG ClassB[1]

Zosma III - more commonly referred to simply as Zosma - is the third planet of four in the Zosma system.[2]

Planetary History[edit]

Early History[edit]

The colonists who settled on Zosma were forced to live in sealed habitats to protect them from the solar radiation produced by the system primary, and those habitats provided only limited protection against the planetwide earthquakes that struck periodically when the system primary underwent periods of instability. It was almost impossible for the colonists to grow enough food to support themselves, making the colony heavily dependent on supplies of food from off-world and deliveries from iceships, both of which the colonists obtained by trading with the abundant metallurgical resources they extracted from Zosma's interior.[2]

Life on Zosma was harsh enough thanks to the environment and constrained resources that the colonists imposed harsh laws to both control population numbers and growth and to regulate resources; the severity of these laws increased after the collapse of the Terran Alliance, with the government devolving into a military dictatorship that would remain in place for centuries.[2]

Having become independent as a result of the Demarcation Declaration, Zosma was subsequently added to the resurgent Terran Hegemony; whilst some worlds joined the Hegemony during its early years as a result of diplomatic and trade incentives, many more were conquered in "campaigns of persuasion" launched by Director-General James McKenna, the first of which began in 2316 and ended with the capture of Towne in 2317. Zosma was one of the worlds added to the Hegemony during or around the time of this first military campaign.[58][5][6] By the end of the Reunification War, Zosma was a member of the Tyrfing Province of the Terran Hegemony.[13]

Succession Wars[edit]

Zosma became a part of the Border Protectorate of the Free Worlds League and spent the Succession Wars on constant alert against incursions from the Lyran Commonwealth. The military government was primarily concerned with defense, and attempts at internal dissent brought a swift response, with each instance being considered a sign of potential treachery. This resulted in a reign of terror that lasted until the Fourth Succession War.[2]

Fourth Succession War[edit]

Following the sudden invasions of several League worlds by the Tikonov Free Republic and a daringly successful invasion of Callison by mercenaries employed by the Lyran Commonwealth in mid-3029, Captain-General Janos Marik found himself in the midst of an unanticipated crisis. In addition to the conquest of Callison, LCAF communications traffic and movements had spiked sharply, creating the impression of an impending offensive against the League. Faced with what he believed to be the plausible threat of a large-scale attack aimed at the region of the League near Terra, Janos was more concerned with saving the six or seven assorted BattleMech regiments present within the region than he was with retaining the worlds, as he believed that the offensive would most likely be aimed at snipping off the corner of the League closest to Terra - and to both the Federated Suns and the Tikonov Free Republic. Zosma was one of the systems abandoned by Janos, who would learn later that he had been deceived by an effective campaign of smoke and mirrors arranged by the Commonwealth General of the Armies, Edward Regis, to deter the League from launching an invasion of the Commonwealth while the LCAF was heavily committed to its invasion of the Draconis Combine.[59][30][33]

The Federated Commonwealth attempted to boost the economy of Zosma and loosen local restrictions after the Fourth Succession War, but these efforts met with only limited success.[2]

Operation GUERRERO[edit]

Zosma was invaded in the second wave of Operation GUERRERO by the Ninth Marik Militia. The defending Planetary Militia were no match for the invading Marik forces.[60] The reclamation of Zosma by the Free Worlds League saw the minor improvements to life on Zosma made by the Commonwealth vanish.[2]

Jihad[edit]

In late June 3070, the planetary government and military forces on Zosma switched their allegiance to the Word of Blake, bringing the world into the Word of Blake Protectorate; Zosma was one of six worlds to declare for the Blakists in the space of a week, pushing the Protectorate into Free Worlds League space.[46]

In 3076 the Word of Blake deployed one Level III of the First Zosma Protectorate Militia Division to Dyev as part of a counterassault against invading forces from Clan Ghost Bear while the rest of it was assigned to defend Chara. The apparent destruction of the various Divisions assembled on Dyev by the Word of Blake[61] may explain why, when the Seventeenth Arcturan Guards attempted to raid Zosma in the second half of 3077, they found the planet to be almost undefended. As a result, the brief raid turned into an all-out conquest in which the Guards quickly crushed the defending forces, the all-volunteer Corporate Security Protection Force (CSPF),[4] an unanticipated success for the Lyran front of Operation SCOUR.[62]

The Dark Age[edit]

Little had changed on Zosma from its pre-Blakist status when the system was ceded to the Republic of the Sphere. Even as late as the mid-thirty-second century visitors to Zosma were subject to restrictions and a heavy security presence imposed across the population by the planetary government to ensure continued planetary balance and control and sustain the scarce resources available. All offworld visitors had to access the planet through Duhr Prime, the capital city, although the planet had a second suborbital transit hub, located at Fort Amadeus.[2]

Planetary Rulers[edit]

3067[edit]

  • Mayor Joshua Catall[1]

3130[edit]

  • Planetary Governor Chavah Areef[2]
  • Planetary Legate Hadassah Sadira[2]

Military Deployment[edit]

2821[edit]

3025[edit]

3059[edit]

3067[edit]

3076[edit]

3145[edit]

Geography[edit]

Zosma is a rocky, arid world with a thin atmosphere; subject to brutal levels of year-round heat from the system primary and possessing nutrient-poor soil, there are few species of native flora on the planet. The planet is subject to occasional planetwide earthquakes precipitated by contractions in the system primary but possesses abundant metal and mineral resources. There are two micro-oceans on the surface of the planet; the larger of the two is named the Scalding Sea, while the second, smaller micro-ocean is named the Shallow Sea and is located in the southern hemisphere.[2]

Planetary Locations[edit]

  • Duhr Prime: the planetary capital city, located on the shores of the Scalding Sea and the only legal point of entry to Zosma for outworlders in the thirty-second century.[2]
  • Fort Amadeus: suborbital transit hub located near the Shallow Sea.[2]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 76 systems (75 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Afleir 7.5 Marcus 10.2 Castor 11.6 Callison 13.2
Devil's Rock 14.8 Denebola 15.1 New Dallas 15.8 Wyatt 17.2
Oliver 18.7 Pollux 19.3 Milton 19.4 Zavijava 20.9
Dubhe 21.2 Alchiba 21.4 Lipton 23.4 Tabit 24.7
Wing 25.1 Haddings 25.1 Chertan 25.1 Alioth 25.8
Phecda 25.8 Bordon 26.4 Xi Ursae Majoris 26.5 Graham 26.6
Chara 26.8 Cor Caroli 28.6 Talitha 29.1 Dieudonné 29.5
Connaught 30.3 Mizar 31.3 Thorin 32.3 Alhena 32.6
Muphrid 34.2 Menkent 35.4 Van Diemen 35.8 Zollikofen 36.5
Hechnar 36.8 Summer 36.9 Remulac 37.0 Shiloh 38.4
Tau Ceti 40.1 Acubens 40.4 Gacrux 42.0 Aquileia 42.1
Nathan 42.4 Alphard 44.3 Galatea 44.6 Procyon 45.1
Carver 45.9 Irian 46.2 Alcor 46.3 Savannah 46.7
Sirius 47.7 Miaplacidus 48.2 Catroxx 48.3 Rocky 48.5
Rigil Kentarus 49.0 Hall 49.6 Syrma 50.1 Killbourn 50.8
Sol 51.2 Yorii 52.6 Outreach 53.0 Keid 53.3
Wasat 53.6 Pliska 55.2 Zaniah 55.5 Nusakan 55.8
Lyons 56.1 Kalidasa 57.0 Alkalurops 57.4 New Home 57.4
Zebebelgenubi 57.9 Blue Sava 58.9 Brownsville 59.9 Mandal 61.6

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 Handbook: House Marik, p. 76: "Zosma 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 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130), p. 205: "Zosma"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Total Chaos, pp. 88–89: "Zosma"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Handbook: House Marik, p. 16: "Free Worlds League Founding [2271]"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Handbook: House Kurita, p. 18: "Draconis Combine Founding - [2319] Map"
  7. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 13: "Lyran Commonwealth Founding - [2341] Map"
  8. Handbook: House Liao, p. 17: "Capellan Confederation Foundation [2366]]"
  9. Handbook: House Liao, p. 25: "Capellan Confederation After Age of War [2571]]"
  10. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 18: "Rim Worlds Republic after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  11. Handbook: House Marik, p. 24: "Free Worlds League after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  12. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 25: "Lyran Commonwealth after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  14. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 25: "Rim Worlds Republic at the Fall of the Star League - [2750] Map"
  15. Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  16. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  17. Field Report 2765: Periphery, p. 38: "Rim Worlds Army Deployment Map - [2765]"
  18. Field Report 2765: LCAF, p. 25: "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces Deployment Map - [2765]"
  19. Field Report 2765: FWLM, p. 25: "Free Worlds League Military Deployment Map - [2765]"
  20. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 104: "Rim Worlds Republic - [2767] Map"
  21. 21.0 21.1 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 138: "Operation LIBERATION Wave 1 [July 2772 - December 2774]"
  22. First Succession War, pp. 24–25: "Inner Sphere - [2786] Map"
  23. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 36: "Lyran Commonwealth after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  24. Handbook: House Marik, p. 34: "Free Worlds after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  25. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  26. First Succession War, pp. 112–113: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  27. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 40: "Lyran Commonwealth after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  28. Handbook: House Marik, p. 38: "Free Worlds after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  29. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), foldout: "Free Worlds League Map - [3025]"
  30. 30.0 30.1 Handbook: House Marik, p. 42: "Free Worlds after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  31. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 47: "Lyran Commonwealth after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  32. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 56: "Lyran Commonwealth after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  33. 33.0 33.1 Handbook: House Marik, p. 51: "Free Worlds after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  34. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 59: "Lyran Commonwealth after War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  35. Historical: War of 3039, p. 132: "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  36. Era Report: 3052, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  37. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 61: "Lyran Commonwealth after Clan Invasion - [3052] Map"
  38. Era Report: 3052, p. 22: "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  39. Era Report: 3062, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - [3057] Map"
  40. Handbook: House Marik, p. 54: "Free Worlds League after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  41. Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere - [3063] Map"
  42. Inner Sphere, p. 61: "Free Worlds League Map"
  43. Handbook: House Marik, p. 56: "Free Worlds after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  44. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 70: "Lyran Commonwealth after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  45. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 42: "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  46. 46.0 46.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 48: "The Jihad In Review"
  47. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  48. Field Report: Clans, p. 29: "Terran Corridor/Clans Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  49. Field Report: LAAF, p. 19: "Lyran Alliance Armed Forces Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  50. Field Report: FWLM, p. 17: "Free Worlds League Military Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  51. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 62: "Inner Sphere - [3081] Map"
  52. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere - [3085] Map"
  53. Era Report: 3145, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  54. Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  55. Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  56. Shrapnel, Issue #5: Voices of the Sphere: What Would Have Been and What Is Now
  57. 57.0 57.1 Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere, p. 18: "Prefecture VIII"
  58. The Star League, p. 16: "Terra's Errant Flock"
  59. NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, p. 87: "Conclusion"
  60. Shattered Sphere, p. 75: "Operation Guerrero, Second Wave"
  61. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 126: "Word Of Blake Militia"
  62. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 64–65: "3077: War In Review"
  63. First Succession War, p. 139: "First Succession War Deployment Table - LCAF"
  64. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 109: "Unit Deployment Table"
  65. Field Manual: Free Worlds League, p. 113: "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"
  66. Field Manual: Updates, p. 161: "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"
  67. 67.0 67.1 67.2 Field Manual: 3145, p. 170: "Clan Force Deployments - Wolf Empire"

Bibliography[edit]