Caph

This article is about the planetary system. For the WarShip, see Caph (Individual McKenna-class WarShip).

Caph
← 3135 3151
Caph nearby systems (Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates	12.917 : -0.564
Spectral class	G5V
Recharge time	186 hours
Recharge station(s)	None
Planet(s)	7

The Caph system was the location of at least one habitable world, Caph III, and as of 3151 was located in the Capellan Confederation.

System Description

Caph is located close to the Fomalhaut and New Stevens systems and consists of a class G5V primary orbited by seven worlds.

System History

The Caph system was colonized during the First Exodus from Terra.

Political Affiliation

• 2271 - Terran Alliance
• 2316 - Terran Hegemony
• 2319 - Terran Hegemony
• 2341 - Terran Hegemony
• 2366 - Terran Hegemony
• 2571 - Terran Hegemony
• 2596 - Terran Hegemony
• 2750 - Terran Hegemony
• 2765 - Terran Hegemony
• 2767 - Terran Hegemony
• 2771 - Amaris Empire
• 2774 - Amaris Empire
• 2786 - Terran Hegemony
• 2787 - Federated Suns
• 2791 - Capellan Confederation
• 2797 - Capellan Confederation
• 2822 - Capellan Confederation
• 2864 - Capellan Confederation
• 3025 - Federated Suns
• 3030 - Federated Suns
• 3040 - Federated Commonwealth
• 3050 - Federated Commonwealth
• 3052 - Federated Commonwealth
• 3057 - Federated Commonwealth
• 3063 - Chaos March
• 3066 - Word of Blake Protectorate
• 3067 - Word of Blake Protectorate
• 3075 - Word of Blake Protectorate
• 3081 - Republic of the Sphere
• 3085 - Republic of the Sphere
• 3098 - Republic of the Sphere
• 3135 - Republic of the Sphere
• 3145 - Republic of the Sphere
• 3151 - Republic of the Sphere / Capellan Confederation (from March) / Third Star League (no later than December)

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Caph III

Caph III
Astrophysical
System position	Third
Jump Point distance	7.47 days
Moons	1 (Caph's Stone)
Geophysical
Surface gravity	1.0/1.01
Atmospheric pressure	Standard (Breathable, 3067), Standard (Tainted, 3130)
Equatorial temperature	30°C (Warm-Temperate, 3067), 41°C (3130)
Surface water	20%
Highest native life	Reptiles
Landmasses	3 (Caph Prime, Brunnel, Steam)
History and Culture
Population	3,000,000,000 (2766), 1,000,000,000 (3025), 1,150,500,000 (3067), 62,085,000 (3130)
Government and Infrastructure
Noble Ruler	Duke of Caph
Political Leader	Planetary Governor
Military Commander	Legate Kalvin Gustafson (3130)
Capital	New Brunnel (2309), Aswan (3067)
HPG Class	B
HPG Representative	Precentor Lawrence Gelbart (3025)

Caph III, more commonly known simply as Caph, is the third of seven planets in the Caph system and has a single moon named Caph's Stone.

Planetary History

Early History

Caph was among the first worlds to be settled from Terra by the Terran Alliance. The planet had large swath of tropical rainforests, fertile lands and considerable amount of mineral wealth. However, early settlers were terrorized by the large reptiles, sometimes known as dinosaurs, which frequently destroyed entire settlements.

The Terran Hegemony & Star League eras

Caph was one of the worlds that remained a part of the Terran Alliance following the Outer Reaches Rebellion and the Demarcation Declaration of 2242. After the fall of the Terran Alliance, the leader of the newly formed Terran Hegemony, Director-General James McKenna, deployed Hegemony armed forces to recapture Caph, which had initially refused to join his new nation. Caph became one of the worlds within the Alliance Core region of the Terran Hegemony.

As a means of combating the dinosaurs menace, electronic barriers were constructed around urban centers to guard against their attack, with later reinforcements coming in the form of BattleMechs.

As the Star League era progressed, Caph became famed for its renowned research complexes. One such school, the Caph Institute of Technology, was responsible for much of the original work that went into creating the first BattleMech. The planet was also home to several major drug and chemical companies, such as Pfizzler Chemical and DB Bowin Pharmaceuticals.

Amaris Civil War

When Stefan Amaris launched Operation APOTHEOSIS, his takeover of the Terran Hegemony in December 2766, special forces teams were activated on every one of the member worlds of the Terran Hegemony. Their mission was to seize control of every HPG station in the Hegemony an hour before APOTHEOSIS began. Caph was one of just three worlds where the attempt by the Rim Worlds Republic to capture the local HPG transmitter saw the transmitter destroyed, due to heavier than anticipated local resistance.

Caph was a prime target for the Rim Worlds Republic forces when Amaris launched his coup; one of the gems of the Terran Hegemony and just a single jump from Terra, Caph was one of the most heavily populated worlds in the Inner Sphere and one of the longest settled. Caph had perhaps the strongest academic research system in the Hegemony—and by extension, in the Inner Sphere—as well as an extensive technology industry; the SLDF considered Caph to be an important world and had constructed four Castles Brian across Caph, as well as building numerous other smaller SLDF bases. While Caph itself strongly resembled Jurassic-era Terra, the ever-increasing industrial and urban development had pushed the jungles back, although many outlying cities and communities had special barriers in place around them to keep the more aggressive and unpleasant local fauna away.

The Rim Worlds military had already begun to take control of Caph prior to the launch of APOTHEOSIS, with a mercenary unit named Salazar's Irregulars sneaking onto the planet to lay the groundwork for APOTHEOSIS in secret and the 118th Amaris Dragoons taking control of the Castles Brian in November 2766 under the command of Colonel Orestes Tomasevi. The Republicans viewed Caph as being an easy conquest, masking the buildup to APOTHEOSIS with a series of training exercises beginning on the 26th of December.

What the Rim Worlds forces were unaware of was the deployment of five battalions of SLDF personnel to Caph in early December for training exercises prior to a planned deployment into the Periphery. Three of the battalions were recently graduated SLDF infantry, but two of the battalions were newly formed but extensively trained Special Forces Battalions, the 3378th and 3381st. The various battalions had deployed in company and battalion-sized groupings around Caph for training, with formations swapping locations every couple of weeks; the Special Forces personnel had remained largely outside any of Caph's major cities, but Major Derjan Sefik, commanding officer of the 3378th, had brought the entire 3378th into New Brunnel for a brief furlough as the Rim Worlds troops began mobilizing.

Major Sefik viewed what was supposed to be a training exercise on the part of the 118th Amaris Dragoons as an opportunity for his battalion to gain some additional field experience, and quickly tasked his people to shadow the Republican forces, creating simulated ambushes and strikes against them; as the Special Forces teams reported back that the Rim Worlders were taking up increasingly critical posts within New Brunnel, Major Sefik grew concerned that something was amiss. Sefik adjusted the deployment of the 3378th to quickly counter any threatening moves that the Republican forces might make, and it was this deployment that saw members from the 3378th witness and thwart the attempted takeover of Caph's HPG facilities by the Republicans. The 3378th went beyond disrupting the attempt to secure the HPG, not only countering the attack but also blocking attempts by the Republicans to move reinforcements into New Brunnel. This led to a day-long battle in the streets and buildings of New Brunnel as the elite Special Forces commandos inflicted heavy damage on the Republican forces, particularly the Rim Worlds-affiliated mercenary forces hired to provide security and clean up after the planned seizure of the HPG.

The 3378th received very little support from the native population, and the support they did receive dwindled after Duchess Micha Confalonieri, the planetary ruler, announced that the Republicans were "liberators" and instructed the population to lay down their arms and end any resistance to the occupation. Where the 3378th did receive critical support was from the New Brunnel police force, although this wasn't enough to prevent the Rim Worlds forces assuming at least nominal control over New Brunnel by the 28th of December.

Initially, the campaign to capture New Brunnel was the most difficult aspect of the occupation of Caph for the Republican forces, with relatively little resistance being encountered elsewhere on the planet. That soon changed, however; after several days, the SLDF units which had been deployed out in the field began to hit Republican targets, destroying bases and ambushing small Republican units. This prompted a cycle of attack and counterattack that quickly escalated in scale; believing that the SLDF troops were receiving support from the native population, Colonel Tomasevi ordered the destruction or deactivation of many of the barrier systems that made up the Large Fauna Containment Systems in place across Caph, the barriers that kept the bigger, more dangerous local fauna away from inhabited areas. Tomasevi believed that this would not only deny the SLDF a number of previously safe regions to hide in, but that it would also punish the local population for sheltering the SLDF resistance; Tomasevi subsequently declared that Caph had been pacified in late January, but the reality was that the battle for Caph would continue for years.

The planet was subsequently attacked by Rim Worlds Republic Military during the Amaris Civil War, an attack which gutted the Caph Institute of Technology. Republican forces also used chemical and biological weapons in their attack, which were believed to have wiped out the native "dinosaur" species.

The Succession Wars

After the collapse of the Terran Hegemony and the Star League, Caph had become a hotly contested world. In 2787, in the Fifth Battle of Caph, three different Great Houses fought at the same time for control of the planet. Eventually, it became part of the Federated Suns at a terrible cost. The world, once was known for its research in BattleMech technology, was smoldering ruins. The world soon again changed hands to the Capellan Confederation midway through the Succession Wars.

In 2930, during the Third Succession War, Caph was the target world of Marshall Peter Davion's offensive into the Confederation, codenamed Operation Roland's Horn. In last phase of the Operation, Caph fell again to House Davion forces. The world became part of the Draconis March. The planet was devastated from onslaught of the early Succession Wars. Nearly all buildings on the planet had been destroyed, with two of its three continents irradiated by atomic bombs.

During the reign of First Prince Hanse Davion, the Federated Suns moved its Ministry of Foreign Relations to Caph due to flow of information regarding Lyran Commonwealth which normally comes through this world. This was done when first alliance between House Steiner and House Davion was first signed. Also, by 3025, the planet was slowly rebuilding its population and factories. The world was on the road to recovery during the 3030s and 3040s, becoming part of the Sarna March.

War of 3039

During the War of 3039 a counter attack by the Draconis Combine was surprised to find prepositioned Federated Commonwealth forces secreted away on Caph. The resulting battle was a victory for the Commonwealth.

The Chaos March

In 3057 Free Worlds League & Capellan Confederation invaded the Sarna March, cutting it off from Federated Commonwealth. During the conflict, Caph had a single mercenary unit, the Gustafson's Grenadiers, as the only defense force on the planet. They were at the time training with what became a Lyran Alliance-affiliated militia unit, the Denebola FTM.

By the second wave of the Liao-Marik Invasion, Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao activated insurgents among the planet's population, which helped shatter the planet's government into warring factions among Caph's few cities.

The Word of Blake Protectorate

In 3066, the planet requested military aid from the Word of Blake, due to the continuing instability of the Chaos March. The Blakists helped to end the civil war between the multiple factions which had popped up after the creation of the Chaos March. After stabilizing the planet's political situation, they began cleaning up the wastelands of the planet. As part of their efforts to bring the world further into an alliance with them, the Blakists restarted many of Caph's industries that had been lost in the Succession Wars.

Their efforts were rewarded when the planet joined the other neighboring worlds of Keid, Epsilon Eridani and Bryant to help form the Word of Blake Protectorate. By the 1st of August 3068 the Word of Blake had secured full control over the government of Caph via these nonviolent means.

Jihad

The Word of Blake did much in rebuilding much of Caph's former glory: they cleaned up several radioactive hot zones and reducing some of our planet's dangerous fauna, not to mention the new world-spanning maglev network. They repaired, decontaminated and restored to working order the Browning-Corning Limited plant.

After the beginning of the Jihad, the Blake Protectorate in 3068 was solidly under the control of the Word of Blake. This led to the formation of the Protectorate Militia, with each world protected by at least one division's worth of combined-arms troops. The formation of the First Caph Protectorate Militia Division was touted as a new source of jobs, where planet had been previously suffering from high unemployment. The Word of Blake's 1st Division was used to train the planet's First Caph Protectorate Militia Division.

In October 3068, a Clan warrior named Drago stalked and killed almost all of two Level IIs of Blakist forces near the mining settlement of Dallas, fifty kilometers from Aswan. Fighting over the course of several days, Drago and his matte-black Nova Cat OmniMech tracked and killed one Level II before engaging the second when it came to investigate a day later. Under the overall command of Demi-Precentor Alice Haywood, the surviving Level II withdrew after losing a 'Mech to Drago, studying salvaged information to try and learn Drago's identity before attempting to ambush him a day later. While the ambush didn't work as planned, Haywood was able to fight and kill Drago - but not before most, or possibly all, of the other personnel in her Level II were destroyed.

Caph did experience a brief insurrection attempt on its sitting government. In 3070, these insurrectionists attempted to storm Caph's parliamentary buildings, but were stopped by local Word of Blake troops, particularly a Magi tank nicknamed, Force of Wisdom. Individuals on Caph had been noted their resentment of their treatment of their world by the rest of the Inner Sphere, siding with Word of Blake was justifiable.

In April 3075, a strange signal was detected and the WoB militia sent an Interdictor-class DropShip to intercept an unknown object that turned out to be the Champlain III probe, sent from terra in 2066. The probe was emitting standard radar emissions, but a communication was also sent in an ancient computer code. It promised "no harm on the part of humanity" and was transmitting information back to Sol. Terran officials will be on the lookout for the results in 3088.

Caph, officials had not yet decided whether to retrieve the ancient probe or see how it attempted to carry out its mission first. The probe was put into the system traffic computers, removing it as a hazard to system travel for now.

On 6 June 3075, the Caph Protectorate Militia was attacked by "mercenaries", allegedly the One-Eyed Jacks. This force allegedly damaged the Caph Protectorate Militia in their raid. However, Intelligence reports and captured Word of Blake communications between Precentors Apollyon and Cameron St. Jamais discussing Apollyon's Shadow Divisions indicated it was one of these that attacked a number of Protectorate Militias, including Caph's.

ilClan

When news reached Chancellor Daoshen Liao that Clan forces had found a way through the Fortress Wall to assault Terra while the Capellan Confederation still struggled to solve that obstacle, he was determined to capture any fleeing Republic of the Sphere forces in hopes their interrogation would solve the puzzle of the Wall. He reasoned that Republic troops would retreat to Sirius and Caph, both ancestral Capellan worlds. The assault on Sirius began in February, while the Caph operation began the next month. Due to the Skobel MechWorks and Martinson Armaments factories, the Confederation anticipated a fierce battle and the Fifth Sian Dragoons were given the honors because of their specialization in siege warfare. After the Dragoons landed unopposed on 3 March, it was soon discovered that the Republic garrison troops of the XIV Triarii Protectors had relocated to Terra some months prior in preparation for the Battle of Terra, but not before rendering the industriplexes inoperable through careful sabotage. Estimates to return the factories to operation were measured in years

The Confederation's conquest of Caph was short lived, at some unknown point, ilKhan Alaric Ward ordered the Fifth Battle Cluster of Clan Jade Falcon to occupy the planet. It is unknown if the Dragoons were still present but given the strategic importance of the world to the Confederation that is likely. On 22 December the First Kearny Highlanders in the employ of the Duke of Tybalt landed to probe what they beleived to be Confederation defenses. Despite taking nearly forty percent losses, the Highlanders were able to escape with this valuable intelligence.

Military Deployment

2766

• 118th Amaris Dragoons (from November)

2821

• Sixth "Zion Lancers"

3025

• Third Crucis Lancers RCT

3038

• Third Crucis Lancers RCT

3050

• 111th Division
• Second Davion Guards RCT

3055

• Eleventh Division

3058

• Lindon's Battalion
• Gustafson's Grenadiers (2 battalions)
• Denebola SMM
• Stealthy Tigers
• Always Faithful

3059

• Always Faithful
• Stealthy Tigers

3061

• Denebola FTM

3067

• Devil's Advocates (Company)
• Simonson's Cutthroats
• Carson's Renegades

3068

• Simonson's Cutthroats
• First Caph Protectorate Militia Division
• Carson's Renegades

3073

• Carson's Renegades
• First Caph Protectorate Militia Division

3075

• First Caph Protectorate Militia Division

3145

• XIV Triarii Protectors

Geography

Caph has three continents named Brunnel, Caph Prime, and Steam. Steam is covered by heavy jungle, and despite Caph being devastated by atomic weapons in the mid-twenty-eighth century some of the original native giant creatures known as the "Dinosaurs of Caph" continued to survive deep in the jungle as late as the ilClan Era.

Planetary Locations

• Aswan: The modern capital of Caph, located in the surviving portions of Brunnel that remained habitable following the Star League Civil War. The city experienced an economic boom when its Cretaceous zone opened.
• Caph Institute of Technology: an ancient Star League era institute noted for helping to develop the theory of the BattleMech & test the Jamerson-Ulikov Water Purifier It is located near its original Caph planetary capital on Brunnel, it was destroyed in the nuclear attack by Amaris troops.
• Cimmeron: a notable trading center on Brunnel that survived into the thirty-second century
• Cretaceous Zone: Created in 3064, this area of jungle is located on Steam, and was home to dinosaur-like reptiles, thought lost during the Star League Civil War. This became the source of revenue for the planet in the 3060s, prior to the Jihad. The zone's creation also led to the entire continent of Steam being turned into a preserve for these surviving native species.
• Dallas: a mining settlement located fifty kilometers from Aswan, at the edge of a contamination zone; site of a notable battle during the Jihad
• New Brunnel: Originally the capital city of Caph, it was located on the continent of Brunnel. The city, along with much of the planet's Star League-era population centers & industries, was lost to the nuclear attacks by Amaris forces.
• New Derry: the second largest city on the planet, by 3130; located eighty kilometers east of Aswan and is home to the planet's largest and most active spaceport
• New Zevon: a notable trading center on Brunnel that survived into the thirty-second century
  • New Zevon Interstellar Spaceport: main planet DropPort
• Rehope: a notable trading center on Brunnel that survived into the thirty-second century

Companies and Industries

• Browning-Corning, Limited: A manufacturer of Support Vehicles whose main plant was destroyed during a Draconis Combine raid in the First Succession War after the Combine raiders mistook it for a BattleMech production facility. The Combine raiders also killed all of the plant staff and numerous civilians when they deployed a pair of chemical weapons. The plant was repaired, decontaminated and restored to working order by the Word of Blake and was producing new vehicles by 3068. After that, the first Oppie HazMat recovery vehicle roll off their assembly line in decades.
• Holden Planetary Engineers
• General Systems: This corporation had a 'Mech manufacturing plant on Caph, when it started which produced the Exterminator BattleMech in 2630 for the SLDF. The plant was lost in 2793 at the start of the First Succession War.
• Lang Industries
• Martinson Armaments: a new facility opened by the Word of Blake during the late 3060s.
• New Earth Trading Company
• Nirasaki Computers Collective
• Pfizzeler Chemicals, DB Bowins Pharmaceuticals, and WOD Interstellar were ancient companies which operated on Caph prior to Star League's Civil War.
• Skobel MechWorks: Terran based BattleMech producer, the corporation had a branch complex on Caph during the Star League. The Caph complex was not destroyed but rather rendered unusable due to biological and other environmental hazards. The Word of Blake invested a considerable amount of cash into the company which allowed the Caph complex to be refurbished and decontaminated for use once more.
• Stormvanger Assemblies, Unlimited: This corporation was the original producer of the Javelin and the Cyclops BattleMech was destroyed by Amaris forces.

Local Flora and Fauna

• Salutaris Rex: a native four-meter-tall dinosaur-like reptile
• Tristefluer: a native flower that became a popular export

Notes

• In Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130), the entry for Caph shows the planet as having two moons named Lupus & Fellis. The Writers confirmed that entry for Caph in Republic PDF is incorrect.

Nearby Systems

Closest 88 systems (85 within 60 light-years) Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Fomalhaut	10.0	New Stevens	10.9	Bryant	12.7	Sol	12.9
New Home	13.4	Keid	13.7	Altair	14.9	Dieron	15.5
Rigil Kentarus	16.1	Sirius	17.1	Saffel	17.7	Procyon	20.8
Northwind	21.3	Epsilon Eridani	21.4	Epsilon Indi	22.1	Killbourn	22.6
Tau Ceti	25.6	Carver	27.3	Lockdale	27.5	Asta	27.5
Styx	29.1	Nirasaki	29.3	Brownsville	29.9	Yorii	30.2
Athenry	31.9	Terra Firma	34.4	Sheratan	34.9	Quentin	35.5
Thorin	37.4	Xi Ursae Majoris	37.5	Outreach	37.7	Graham	37.7
Imbros	37.7	Deneb Algedi	38.8	Rocky	38.9	Hechnar	39.2
Small World	39.3	Errai	39.8	New Britain	40.4	Pike	40.5
Ingress	40.9	Fletcher	40.9	Capolla	41.1	Dyev	42.0
Chara	42.7	Muphrid	43.3	Zavijava	44.7	Oliver	45.2
Helen	45.8	Zollikofen	46.4	Acamar	46.4	Pollux	46.9
Lipton	47.3	Chaville	47.7	Woodstock	47.8	Nashira	48.7
Bex	49.5	Ruchbah	49.7	Kawich	50.1	Denebola	50.8
Kervil	51.1	Devil's Rock	51.3	Telos	51.3	Hall	51.3
Chisholm	51.7	Nanking	52.1	Pokhara	52.4	Deneb Kaitos	53.2
Lyons	53.2	Tabit	53.8	Lone Star	53.9	Ko	54.2
Hsien	54.3	Nopah	55.2	Castor	55.7	Menkent	56.3
Al Na'ir	56.9	Towne	57.0	Talitha	58.1	Lambrecht	58.2
Addicks	58.5	Haddings	58.8	Arboris	59.2	Mandal	59.5
Atria	59.7	Basalt	60.4	Van Diemen	61.5	Bharat	61.7

Bibliography

• 20 Year Update
• BattleCorps Solaris Broadcasting Co., 12/08/3068: "Arboris, Caph, Capolla Join Word"
• BattleCorps Solaris Broadcasting Co., 19/04/3075: "Unexpected Visitor to Caph Creates a Stir"
• Chaos March
• Chaos Theory (short story)
• ComStar
• Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere
• Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)
• Dawn of the Jihad
• The Dragon of Caph
• Era Report: 2750
• Era Report: 3052
• Era Report: 3062
• Era Report: 3145
• Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 1
• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League
• Field Manual: Lyran Alliance
• Field Manual: Mercenaries
• First Succession War
• Handbook: House Davion
• Handbook: House Kurita
• Handbook: House Liao
• Handbook: House Marik
• Handbook: House Steiner
• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1
• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2
• Historical: Reunification War
• Historical: War of 3039
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• IlClan
• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3072
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3076
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents
• Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers
• Mercenaries Supplemental
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1
• The Running Man (short story)
• Shattered Fortress
• Shattered Sphere
• The Star League
• Technical Readout: 3039
• Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade