Benet

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Benet

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

Benet
← 3135
3151
240px
Benet nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates262.877 : 58.113[e]
Spectral classM5V[1][2]
Recharge time206 hours[1][2]
Recharge station(s)None (3079[1] - 3096[2])
Planet(s)8[3]

The Benet system was the location of at least one habitable world, Benet III, and as at 3085 was located in the Robinson Operational Area of the Draconis March within the Federated Suns.[4]

System Description

The Benet system is located close to the Crossing and Harrow's Sun systems. Benet was consistently displayed as Benet III on maps.[4]

System History

The Benet system was colonized in 2261, having been surveyed in 2239, by a survey whose captain allegedly named the system for the target of his unrequited affections, and who committed suicide after filing the paperwork required to register the name. In later centuries, Benet was pronounced with a hard "T" at the end, but when first named, the name was pronounced in the French fashion.[2] Benet vanished from maps during the Dark Age[4][5] after a natural disaster made it impossible for humans to live sustainably on Benet III.[2]

Benet III

Template:InfoBoxPlanetStandard Benet III is the third planet in the Benet system. Lacking any moons, Benet III has a high-pressure atmosphere and has been home to a manufacturing facility operated by the defense company Johnston Industries.[1] The Benet system had a small safe jump radius.[6]

Planetary History

Early History

The colonists who first settled on Benet III were all employees of an industrial conglomerate, which was looking to exploit the rich mineral resources identified on the planet.[2] These minerals included quantities of platinum and related metals.[1] The settlers established the first settlement, Morningside, close to the eastern coast of Sierra, near the equator. Hamish McClaugherty, a colonist from Robinson, was appointed the first governor of the new colony, and his family would continue to play a major part in the planetary administration for centuries. As the colonists were drawn from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, Benet III didn't inherit the cultural traditions of any one group, and as a result those traditions that did form over the following centuries were largely local in nature. The northern reaches of Sierra were home to a string of active volcanoes that stretched across the continent, and much of the central and northern regions of Sierra consisted of Badlands that made settlement difficult; both the volcanoes and the many fissures found in the Badlands would periodically and randomly spew forth toxic gases in an unpredictable fashion. Rebreathers were needed whenever anyone entered the foothills around the volcanoes, and those who lived close to the southern borders of the Badlands usually carried rebreathers as a precaution. These constraints meant that as the population expanded, new settlements were usually founded on or near the coast of the southern regions of Sierra, other than some settlements on the narrow northern coast.[2]

Star League Era

During Operation SMOTHER a large SLDF supply dump was established on Benet III; after the operation ended, the Benet III supply dump was the largest to be kept in service by the SLDF, and was in active use during the final years of the Star League. It was replenished periodically to support units in the Star League Defense Force.[7]

Succession Wars

During the First Succession War Benet III was recaptured by the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns in 2816 as part of the third and final major AFFS counter-offensive of the against the Draconis Combine.[8] The Star League-era supply bases in the Kehl County region of Benet III were maintained and used by the AFFS for large-scale operations during the Succession Wars, and the presence of military bases in the region also acted as a defense for both the supply bases and the various industrial facilities located in the same region - which made up most of Benet III's heavy industry, but also the strategically important Johnston Industries factories.[2]

During the Third Succession War a severe gas eruption forced the government to evacuate and abandon Morningside, and Donner - a major city in the Donner Administrative District - became the new planetary capital. Donner had been a primarily administrative city before becoming the capital, and four of the seven spaceports located on Benet III were spaced around Donner, stretching for hundreds of kilometres; this was due to the need to handle the massive quantities of food needed to be imported onto the planet because of the lack of the inability of the native agricultural industry on the planet to feed the planetary population. Extensive rail lines stretched out to help move the foodstuffs around, although the amount of traffic through the four spaceports was dwarfed by the traffic handled by the Martine and Rohan spaceports in Kehl Country, through which raw materials and the manufactured goods exported from Johnston Industries and the other factories. It was during the Third Succession War that the Ducrimmon-Davion family rose to prominence, becoming the planetary ruling family.[2]

Clan Invasion

During the 3050s, the large-scale gas eruptions on Benet III began a noticeable increase in both size and frequency, coming to be coined as the "Death Mists".[2]

FedCom Civil War

During the FedCom Civil War the forests of western Kehl County were the location of a number of major engagements between the Fifth Donegal Guards and the Forty-first Avalon Hussars.[2]

Jihad

The Draconis Combine retaliated to deep raids across several Combine worlds by Federated Suns commandos and Draconis March forces seeking POWs from the FedCom Civil War in early August 3068[9] by launching a series of raids and attacks against Federated Suns worlds. The retaliatory attacks took place in the second week of September, and Benet III was one of the worlds hit by a raiding force.[10]

The First New Ivaarsen Chaussers intercepted the Seventh Ghost outside the planetary gravity well on 12 September 3068, chewing up much of the attacker's air cover. Contested the entire way in, the Seventh Ghost managed to capture Martine and the Browning ammunition plant but were been mired by the Chaussers continuous hit-and-fade defense. The DCMS forces finally left the planet considering the raid a success.[11]

By the end of the Jihad, Benet III was considered an unremarkable world, and the stubbornness of the population was cited as the main reason for the planet's continued inhabitation.[1]

The Dark Age

During the early 3080s two of the largest outgassing events in the recorded history of Benet III occurred, forcing almost a million people to need evacuation from northern Kehl County. Even with assistance from both the planetary militia and the Twelfth Vegan Rangers, tens of thousands died, and the scientific community on Benet III became extremely concerned over the increase in the severity and frequency of the gas eruptions. The corporate community on Benet III opposed the line taken by the scientific community, declaring it to be nothing more than "alarmist fear-mongering"; Johnston Industries commissioned a study in 3086 that came to the conclusion that the recent eruptions actually fell within the historical parameters for previous events on the planet, and placed responsibility for the deaths on a combination of poor leadership and a lack of adequate government services.

Despite the corporate communities attempts to downplay the risks associated with the outgassings, by early 3093, the entire northern half of Kehl County had been evacuated; the government claimed that the evacuations were only temporary, but officials were increasingly concerned about the situation. Johnston Industries continued to downplay the situation to the public, but began shifting assets away from Benet III to facilities on other worlds such as Addicks, something that would later come to light as records were released - some in response to lawsuits against the company.[2]

In 3094, Benet III was struck by a week of sustained seismic activity that would prove critical in the planet's history. Thousands of gas vents across the planet, spreading toxic clouds southwards. Some regions were hit relatively lightly - a few hundred people in the Beaux Pawl region died, and most of two other major regions, Maquis County and the Donner Administrative District escaped the initial eruptions almost completely. Kehl County, in contrast, was devastated. Massive clouds of gas swept out of the Badlands and cross Kehl County, and millions were trapped without shelter or rebreathing equipment.[2]

While the bulk of the population took shelter and attempted to ride the clouds out, the government issued HPG messages to Robinson - the Draconis March capital - to New Avalon, and to nearby worlds, requesting assistance, while the planetary militia worked to provide as much assistance as they could. Many of the shelters that had been constructed during the Succession Wars had been neglected, and the poor maintenance had deadly consequences... many of the shelters suffered from catastrophic failures, condemning tens of thousands of people to slow, lingering deaths from suffocation. After the first week, DropShips landed at the Martine and Rohan spaceports... but to the shock of many, the DropShips weren't there to help the local population; instead, they were guarded by corporate security troops backed by mercenaries, and had been deployed by Johnston Industries to relocate as many of their manufacturing operations as possible off-world. Although the population was largely isolated in shelters across the planet, the local airwaves were soon full of recriminations, accusations, and demands for someone to blame for the situation; firefights broke out between the Johnston Industries corporate security forces and elements of the local militia.[2]

Assistance from Robinson arrived on the twelfth day after the message, as Jerome Sandoval deployed elements of the Robinson Draconis March Militia and the First Robinson Rangers to assist in supporting and evacuating as much of the population as possible. The evacuation was relatively smooth, although initially slow, but three days after the troops landed, a new surge in volcanic activity in northern Kehl County unleashed another major toxic outgassing, forcing both the population and the relief forces to take shelter. This pattern of activity was repeated several times over the next two weeks, while the death toll continued to climb. DropShips formed an almost constant flow of traffic between the planet and JumpShips - some of which had been hired by Jerome, while others had been coerced into assisting - but the number of people evacuated remained very small in proportion to the total population.[2]

Duke Tancred Sandoval arrived in the Benet system in the second week of July, almost a month after the initial eruption, intent on observing the relief efforts. His presence was greeted with anger by much of the population, as rumours had been circulating that he was conspiring with elements of Johnston Industries' management to downplay the effects of the crisis. Four days after the Duke arrived, more relief forces arrived - from the Draconis Combine. The Fifth Ghost and the Seventh Sword of Light arrived in-system with a relief fleet, broadcasting peaceful intentions to assist with the evacuation efforts. The Duke welcomed the DCMS forces and gave them permission to land, badly misjudging the mood of the local population. Whipped up to a frenzy by rumors that the Combine had deployed its forces to take control of Benet III once the population had been evacuated, the civilian population rose up against the Combine aid workers and troops - assisted in some cases by local militia forces, leaving the relief forces trapped on DropShips with the few civilians who had already embarked.[2]

For three days, the Combine personnel were kept under siege, while the AFFS troops kept their distance, working to evacuate outlying communities. The Duke was eventually forced to revoke his acceptance of the Combine offer of aid, and the Combine DropShips left without a single evacuee aboard. The Duke returned to Robinson after sending a message of support to the local population, intent on discussing the events on Benet III with his cousin. Those talks would later lead to what some dubbed the Sandoval Civil War.[2]

For four months, relief efforts continued, and all the while the planetary atmosphere became steadily more toxic. The slow pace of the evacuation led to outbreaks of violence, adding to a death toll that was already in the millions. The last DropShip to lift off from Benet III left from the Mount Sheppard spaceport near Donner, and the last person to leave the planet was Jessika McClaugherty - the last mayor of Donner, and a direct descendant of the first governor's younger brother. A series of scientific conferences held in 3096 to discuss the disaster that had claimed almost ninety percent of the population of Benet III saw reports from environmental scientists published that stated that the atmosphere had reached a tipping point; the concentration of toxic gases was such that it would be centuries before Benet III would be habitable to humans again - if ever. When the conferences closed, the Draconis March government formally declared Benet III an abandoned world, placing it off-limits. Shortly after the announcement, ComStar removed Benet III from astrogeographical charts.[2]

Political Affiliation

Planetary Rulers

2261

  • Governor Hamish McClaugherty[2]

Military Deployment

2764

2786

2821

3028

3050

3061

3067

3085

Geography

Benet III has a single continent named Sierra.[1][2][58] The continent was dominated by the Aurora Badlands, which formed the heart of the continent, with a number of mountain chains running from northeast to southwest across them, including the Angry Mountains and the Iron Mountains. The colonists divided Sierra up into several regions, including Gakken County, which contained much of the Badlands, Marquis Country, located in the south west, the Donner Administrative District which covered the most southerly regions of Sierra, and the Kehl District (also sometimes referred to as Kehl County) which lay along the Waddi River between Marquis County, the Donnner Administrative District and the Badlands.[2][58]

A major island chain named the Scitte Isles divided the oceans of Sierra into two major seas, the Eastern Sea and Western Sea; the Scitte Isles were so inhospitable that native wildlife could barely survive on them, and were never settled by human colonists. Smaller groups of islands lay closer to Sierra, with the October Isles clustered off the east coast of Sierra close to the first human settlement, Morningside, while the Hylene Isles lay off the southewest coast of Marquis County. While there were several major rives on Sierra, including the Xocchel River in the northwest region and the Waddi River running through Kehl Country, the only major inland body of water was Lake Torment in Gakken County. While Sierra had numerous volcanos, two of the most notable were located in the Angry Mountains; Mount Miasma and Mount Kauhu.[2][58]

Planetary Locations

  • Beaux Pawl: a city of less than one million people with a spaceport located on the northern coast of Sierra, to the east of Fanshaw.[58] Beaux Pawl was the largest settlement in Gakken County, and was home to the main orbital tracking station for Benet III, which made it a target for raids during the Succession Wars. The tracking station was also used as a research facility for astronomy, and a number of the staff who worked there earned awards. Beaux Pawl's main purpose was to act as a supply hub for the various facilities dotted across the Badlands - primarily either military bases or research stations - and the bulk of the goods that arrived through the spaceport were supplies for these outposts, although mineral shipments were dispatched from Beaux Pawl in small quantities.[2]
  • Chunchucmil: a city of less than one million people located on the northeastern coast of Sierra near the Xocchel river.[58]
  • Donner: the planetary capital city, located on Sierra.[1]
  • Fanshaw: a city of less than one million people located on the northern coast of Sierra.[58]
  • Firebase Rossyln: a military base located on the western coast of Sierra, north of Rohan in the Kehl District.[58]
  • Fort McCoy: a military base located south of Rohan in the Kehl District, on the western coast of Sierra.[58]
  • Keener: a city of more than fifty million people located to the northwest of Donner on the southern coast of Sierra, in the Donner Administrative District.[58]
  • Marquis Falls: a city of less than one million people, located on the southerwestern coast of Sierra in Marquis County, near the Hylene Isles.[58] Marquis Falls was the centre of the Marquis County, and the center of what passed for a resort and tourism hub on Sierra. The wealthiest people on Benet III owned large estates in this area, particularly on the Hylene Isles, and there were several resort towns on the coast nearby.[2]
  • Martine: location of the Johnston Industries factory on Sierra and also of the Browning ammunition plant.[1][11] Located on the southern coast of Sierra.[58]
  • Morningside: the first settlement on Sierra and capital city until its abandonment during the Third Succession War.[2] Located on eastern Sierra near the sea.[58]
  • Rohan: a city of more than fifty million people located at the mouth of the Waddi River in the Kehl District, with a spaceport.[58]
  • Terminus Station: a spaceport at the most northwestern point of Sierra.[58]
  • Verlanta: a city of less than one million people located in the Donner Administrative District on the southeastern coast of Sierra.[58]
  • Waupaca: a city of less than one million people located on the Waddi River in the Kehl District.[58]

Industrial Centers

Native Fauna

Image gallery

  • Benet III Planetary Map.JPG

    Planetary map of Benet III

  • Benet III Planetary Flag.JPG

    Planetary flag of Benet III

Nearby Systems

Systems within 60 light-years (distance in light years)
Closest systems first:
Harrow's Sun 13.0 Crossing 14.5 Bergman's Planet 17.1 Tallmadge 21.0
New Aberdeen 21.0 Hoff 21.5 Nouveau Toulouse 21.6 Glenmora 23.1
Elidere IV 24.7 Wapakoneta 27.0 Lima 27.4 Sakhara V 27.7
Fairfield 28.9 Misery 29.2 Bettendorf 32.4 Thestria 35.5
Gandy's Luck 37.1 McComb 40.6 Marlowe's Rift 41.0 Dahar IV 41.4
Barlow's End 41.9 Royal 42.6 New Ivaarsen 42.9 Ballentine 45.0
Swales 45.8 Franklin 48.8 Goldlure 50.4 Deshler 50.5
Allerton 50.9 Turkalia 52.6 Oldsmith 53.1 Tishomingo 54.1
Udibi 54.5 Marduk 54.6 Harpster 55.3 Lucerne 55.3
Westfield 56.6 Courtney 57.2 Huan 58.0 Cassias 58.9

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Objectives: Federated Suns, p. 22, "Benet III"
  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 Touring the Stars: Benet III, p. 4-6. "Benet III"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Touring the Stars: Benet III, pp. 4-5
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Field Manual: 3085, p. 127, "Inner Sphere Map - [October 3085]"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Map of the Inner Sphere 3130
  6. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 182, "Logistics"
  7. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 182, "Logistics"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 First Succession War, p. 98, "The Davion Counter-Offensives"
  9. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 45, "The Jihad In Review"
  10. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 46, "The Jihad In Review"
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 BattleCorps: INN Newscast (Solaris Broadcasting Co. section), news item published [21/09/3068]: "Combine Forces Assault March Worlds Without Provocation"
  12. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 18, "Federated Suns Map at their founding [2317]"
  13. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 18, "Draconis Combine Founding" - [2319] Map
  14. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 31, "Draconis Combine after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  15. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 48, "Federated Suns after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  16. ↑ Era Report: 2750, p. 37, "Inner Sphere - 2750"
  17. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  18. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  19. ↑ First Succession War (Source Book), p. 25, "Inner Sphere - [2786] Map"
  20. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 43, "Draconis Combine after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  21. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 54, "Federated Suns after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  22. ↑ Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 122, "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  23. ↑ First Succession War (Source Book), p. 113, "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  24. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 60, "Federated Suns after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  25. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 53, "Draconis Combine after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  26. ↑ House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 87, "Military Revival"
  27. ↑ House Davion (The Federated Suns), "Federated Suns - [3025] Map"
  28. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 70, "Federated Suns after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  29. ↑ House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), "Draconis Combine Map - [3025]"
  30. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 64, "Draconis Combine after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  31. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 66, "Draconis Combine after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  32. ↑ Historical: War of 3039, p. 133, "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  33. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 76, "Federated Suns after War of 3039 Map"
  34. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 68, "Draconis Combine after War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  35. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  36. ↑ Era Report: 3052, p. 23, "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  37. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 71, "Draconis Combine after Operation REVIVAL - [3052] Map"
  38. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 11, Inner Sphere - [3057] Map
  39. ↑ ">Handbook: House Davion, p. 78, "Federated Suns after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  40. ↑ Era Report: 3062, p. 29, Inner Sphere - [3063] Map
  41. ↑ Handbook: House Davion, p. 82, "Federated Suns after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  42. ↑ Handbook: House Kurita, p. 74, "Draconis Combine after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  43. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 42, "Inner Sphere - [October 3067] Map"
  44. ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65, "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  45. ↑ Field Report: AFFS, p. 21, "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  46. ↑ Field Report: DCMS, p. 21, "Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  47. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63, "Inner Sphere Map - [March 3081]"
  48. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  49. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 39, "Inner Sphere Map - [3145] Map"
  50. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, p. VI, "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  51. ↑ Field Manual: SLDF, p. 256, "SLDF - Draconis Combine Military Command Map"
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 First Succession War (Source Book), p. 137, "First Succession War Deployment Table - DCMS"
  53. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 65, "Wolf's Dragoons", the Tenth Deneb is moved to Benet III as a reserve force
  54. ↑ 20 Year Update, p. 19, "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Shattered Sphere, p. 28, "FedCom Deployment Table"
  56. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 140, "Federated Suns Deployment Table"
  57. ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 160, "Deployment Table - 3085"
  58. ↑ 58.00 58.01 58.02 58.03 58.04 58.05 58.06 58.07 58.08 58.09 58.10 58.11 58.12 58.13 58.14 58.15 Touring the Stars: Benet III, p. 12, "Benet III"

Bibliography

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