Andiron

Andiron (Helbrent)
Andiron 3151.svg
Andiron (Helbrent) nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates−424.484 : −47.393[e]

The Andiron system—also known at various points in time as the Helbrent system—is the location of at least one habitable world, also known as Andiron, and (as of 3145) was an independent system in the Periphery near the border between the Free Worlds League, Lyran Commonwealth and Marian Hegemony.[1][2] The system is approximately 427 light-years anti-spinward of Terra.

System Description[edit]

The Andiron system is located near the Diedre's Den and Son Hoa systems.[1][2] As of circa 3067, Andiron was described as a "breadbasket" world.[3]

System History[edit]

Originally appearing on maps as the Helbrent system, the system was colonized at some point prior to the end of the Age of War and formed a part of the Timbuktu Province of the Rim Worlds Republic.[4][5] At the height of the Star League era the Helbrent system was a part of the new Erdvynn Province of the Republic,[6][7] but was conquered by the Lyran Commonwealth during the 2773-2775 Republic-Commonwealth War.[8]

The Helbrent system vanished from maps during the Second Succession War,[9][10] indicating that the system had been depopulated, abandoned, or rendered too insignificant for Inner Sphere nations to continue reporting its location. The system subsequently reappeared on maps during the Third Succession War, but had been renamed the Andiron system, and appeared as a part of the Bandit Kingdom known as the Circinus Federation.[10][11]

Political Affiliation[edit]

Andiron[edit]

Andiron

Planetary History[edit]

The Reunification War[edit]

By 2582 the Rim Worlds Republic had been in a state of civil war for six years. Located on Helbrent were the Sixth Amaris Legionnaires, a formation that had remained loyal to First Consul Gregory Amaris. The Star League Defense Force had initiated Operation MAILED FIST, the Star League intervention to restore Amaris to power, in mid-2581, but the SLDF plans had been forced to change after a deep raid by the Fourth Amaris Fusiliers had managed to strike the Lyran Commonwealth interior world of Alarion.[47]

The result was the reorganization of the SLDF forces and their auxiliaries into three battlegroups, each responsible for the pacification of one of the three provinces that made up the Rim Worlds Republic.[48] Helbrent and the Sixth Legionnaires were the first targets of the battlegroup assigned to pacifying the Timbuktu Province, and the SLDF deployed IV Corps - which actually consisted of little more than the Eleventh Royal Division at the time - to the battle for Helbrent.[47]

Combat operations began in July 2582, and proceeded far more quickly than the Eleventh had planned for, thanks to the Sixth Legionnaires choosing to deploy their heavy armor to contest the Eleventh's landing, a poor decision that led to the Eleventh quickly defeating the bulk of the Sixth. By the end of the third day after landing the Eleventh had notionally secured Helbrent, but the Royal Division found itself faced with another problem; the Eleventh's infantry forces were six weeks away from deploying, making keeping control of Helbrent difficult until there were enough boots on the ground to exercise effectively control of the captured territory.[49]

Civil War Era[edit]

Apocryphal Content Starts

The information after this notice comes from apocryphal sources; the canonicity of such information is uncertain.
Please view the reference page for information regarding their canonicity.

According to the (apocryphal) German-only novel Blutige Jagd, Andiron as of 3067 was thought to have a population of some 200,000 people, with only one major city, Port Saul, that also holds the presidential palace and the only spaceport. There are hundreds of smaller farming settlements across the planet, including Corrington (near Port Saul) which was firebombed during local fighting in 3067.

LAAF officer Hans Grüner all but purchased Andiron as a personal fief from the Circinus Federation in 3062, and ruled it from afar through his brutish local right-hand man, Major Pavel Wolkov. Through Wolkov, Grüner surreptitiously took total control of the entire world over the next years by gradually replacing militia officers with people loyal to himself, and by getting the local Circinus Federation garrison (the mercenary unit Gray's Ghosts) transferred off-world. His total control of Port Saul and the spaceport, and the absence of an HPG on Andiron, allowed Grüner to sideline his Federation liaison officer.

As the FedCom Civil War drew to a close, Grüner fled Tharkad to Andiron on 2 April 3067 with his followers and several DropShips full of military hardware and treasures. He subsequently cached two entire battalions of BattleMechs and sought to recruit loyal academy-trained professional soldiers to man them, hoping to use this secret army in a decapitation strike against Circinus to take control of the entire Federation. However, in July 3067 a combined Kell Hounds/Clan Wolf-in-Exile force appeared at Andiron and, after initial setbacks, captured Grüner, returning him to Lyran space to stand trial. The Gray's Ghosts mercenaries resumed garrison duty on the planet in early September of 3067.

Apocryphal Content Ends

The Jihad[edit]

While the last major strongholds of the Word of Blake were being scoured by the Principality of Regulus the Lyran Commonwealth took the opportunity to launch a raid against the Blakists on Andiron, hoping to secure as many samples of advanced technology as possible. The Fourteenth Lyran Guards were assigned to the mission and began by dropping two companies of troops into a hilly region north of the main planetary spaceport. The Blakist forces attacked the Fourteenth, but could find only conventional units and infantry in the area; nevertheless, battles between the Fourteenth and the local garrison continued for two weeks before the BattleMech and fast vehicle elements of the Fourteenth struck directly at the Blakist main repair depot, which was also serving as their main staging area. The Fourteenth managed to enough equipment to equip almost two companies as well as tons of assorted supplies and parts before leaving Andiron.[50]

The Forty-ninth Shadow Division bombarded Andiron from orbit on the 30th of November 3080. The attack - for which no reason has yet been uncovered, despite the Circinus Federation evidently being a Blakist ally during the Jihad - destroyed Andiron's capital city, spaceport and planetary water purifiers.[51]

Military Deployment[edit]

2581[edit]

2765[edit]

3067[edit]

Local Fauna[edit]

Notes[edit]

It was officially confirmed that Helbrent and Andiron were one and the same by the Catalyst Game Labs writing staff. (dead link)

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 24 systems (23 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Son Hoa 11.4 Iolas 16.6 Himmels 19.8 Althastan 22.7
Madiun 26.3 Choex 30.0 Teyvareb 35.1 Shahr Kord 36.8
Green Stone 37.5 Erdvynn 39.0 Stantsiya 40.0 Khon Kaen 40.1
Circinus 40.8 Hardisey's Haven 45.4 Thadora's Land 47.3 Poulsbo 51.7
Starshine 51.8 Calvados 53.4 Sarikavak 55.7 Nightwish 56.3
Rajkot 56.4 Ilzra 56.4 Yidtall 59.2 Al Jafr 60.6

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Era Report: 3145, p. 38: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  3. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 171
  4. 4.0 4.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 18: "Rim Worlds Republic after Age of War - [2571]"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 25: "Lyran Commonwealth after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 25: "Rim Worlds Republic at the Fall of the Star League - [2750] Map"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Era Report: 2750, p. 36: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  8. 8.0 8.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 37: "The Republic-Commonwealth War"
  9. 9.0 9.1 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 36: "Lyran Commonwealth after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 40: "Lyran Commonwealth after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  11. 11.0 11.1 Handbook: House Steiner, p. 47: "Lyran Commonwealth after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  12. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 13: "Lyran Commonwealth at their Founding - [2341] Map"
  13. Handbook: House Marik, p. 24: "Free Worlds League after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  14. Historical: Reunification War, p. 158: "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  15. Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  16. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 10: "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. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 104: "Rim Worlds Republic - [2767] Map"
  20. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  21. Handbook: House Marik, p. 34: "Free Worlds League after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  22. Handbook: House Marik, p. 38: "Free Worlds League after Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  23. The Periphery, First Edition, pp. 156–157: "Maps of the Periphery"
  24. Handbook: House Marik, p. 42: "Free Worlds League after Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  25. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 56: "Lyran Commonwealth after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  26. Handbook: House Marik, p. 51: "Free Worlds League after Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  27. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 59: "Lyran Commonwealth after War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  28. Historical: War of 3039, p. 132: "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  29. Era Report: 3052, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  30. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 61: "Lyran Commonwealth after Clan Invasion - [3052] Map"
  31. Era Report: 3052, p. 22: "Inner Sphere Map - [3052] Map"
  32. Era Report: 3062, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - [3057] Map"
  33. Handbook: House Marik, p. 54: "Free Worlds League after Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  34. The Periphery, 2nd Edition, p. 110: "Rim Collection & Circinus Federation"
  35. Era Report: 3062, p. 28: "Inner Sphere - [3063] Map"
  36. Inner Sphere, p. 98: "Near Periphery Kingdoms"
  37. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 169: "Circinus Federation - [3067] Map"
  38. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 70: "Lyran Commonwealth after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  39. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 42: "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  40. Handbook: House Marik, p. 56: "Free Worlds League after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  41. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 64: "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  42. Field Report: LAAF, p. 19: "Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  43. Field Report: FWLM, p. 17: "Free Worlds League Military Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  44. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 62: "Inner Sphere - [3081] Map"
  45. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere Map - [3085] Map"
  46. Era Report: 3145, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  47. 47.0 47.1 Historical: Reunification War, pp. 132–133: "Alarion (December 2581)"
  48. Historical: Reunification War, p. 133: "Island Hopping (2582-2590)"
  49. Historical: Reunification War, p. 133: "Helbrent to Nightwish (July 2582 - November 2584)"
  50. Field Manual: 3085, p. 101: "Fourteenth Lyran Guards"
  51. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 61: "The Jihad in Review"
  52. Historical: Reunification War, p. 128: "Reunification War: Rim Worlds Republic Front Deployments (2581)"
  53. Field Report 2765: Periphery, p. 19: "Republican Guards - Divisional Status"
  54. Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 65: "Mercenary Deployment Table"
  55. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 180: "Creatures"

Bibliography[edit]