Independence

Independence
Independence 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates58.611 : −504.98[e]
Spectral classG4V[1]
Recharge time185 hours[1]
Recharge station(s)None[1]

The Independence system was home to at least one habitable world or construct and (as of 3145) was located in the Fronc Reaches.[2][3] It was approximately 508 light-years from Terra in the rimward direction.

System Description[edit]

Independence is located near the McEvans' Sacrifice and Rockwellawan systems.[2][3]

System History[edit]

The Independence system was either colonized during the joint colonization efforts of the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat during the mid-thirty-first century,[4][5][6] or was an already-inhabited system that became significant enough during this period for Inner Sphere nations to begin recording its location on maps.

Political Affiliation[edit]


Independence IV[edit]

Independence IV
Independence Planetary Flag.jpg
Astrophysical
System positionFourth
Jump Point distance7.96 days[1]
MoonsNone[1]
Geophysical
Surface gravity0.98[1]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Breathable)[1]
Equatorial temperature29°C (Temperate)[1]
Surface water57%[1]
Highest native lifeMammal[1]
Landmasses3 (Maltin, Merigo, Norton)[1]
History and Culture
Population74,759,600 (3088)[1]
Government and Infrastructure
Political LeaderPlanetary Governor
HPG ClassB[1]

Independence IV, more commonly referred to simply as Independence, was the fourth planet in the system. Independence was host to a small defense manufacturer, Hilltopper Engineering.[1]

Planetary History[edit]

Independence became home to large groups of expatriates from the Inner Sphere nations during the Jihad, with entire cities formed from enclaves of the disparate expatriates by the late 3080s. The various communities of expatriates often had positions and attitudes ideologically opposed to each other, and the Colonial Marshals had to get involved in intervening in the problems between communities that Force Commander Dirk McEvans arranged for the second-largest Marshal base in the Fronc Reaches to be established on the planet. Built on Maltin in an extinct caldera, the base was deliberately constructed with the capacity to house more troops than the usual garrison.[1]

Rumors spread in the late 3080s that the contingent from the Holt's Hilltoppers located on Independence, a team of technicians and engineers who had set up in a warehouse in the Marshals' base that became known as Hilltopper Engineering - were actually manufacturing battle armor for the Marshals. That the rumor was able to come into being was an unusual breach of operational security for the Marshals.[1] The rumor had actually been started deliberately by Force Commander McEvans, as bait in a trap intended to lure one or more of the pirate bands infesting the Fronc Reaches into an ambush where the Marshals would be able to engage them decisively. The pirates had been raiding the Reaches with increasing frequency following the end of the Jihad, and were actively coordinating with each other. McEvans' plan was successful, and in 3088 a number of pirate bands attacked, each believing that they were the only group possessing information about a new and secret industrial facility. The Marshals had forces on Independence and in space, located between Independence and the primary jump points. One of these units stationed in space detected the arrival of the pirate band known as Calderon's Commando, and successfully captured the Commando JumpShip while the pirates were transiting to the planet.[30]

On the surface of Independence the Marshals were able to use prearranged traps and weight of numbers to inflict heavy damage on Calderon's Commando, only to then suffer heavy damage in return when a second pirate band, Shen-sè Tian, joined the battle. Shen-sè Tian had arrived unnoticed at the zenith jump point while the Marshals that had been in space were traveling to the surface of Independence to reinforce the detachment there. A third pirate band, known as the Abominari, had based themselves on Independence in secret - ironically, in an abandoned caldera not far from that the Marshals' base was located in. The Abominari quickly joined the battle, which only came to an end when the Marshals aboard the captured Commando JumpShip discovered that the JumpShip was fitted with a Lithium-Fusion Battery and used it to jump to a pirate point near Independence and deploy to reinforce the Marshals engaged in battle.[30]

All three pirate forces were eventually forced to retreat - the remnants of the Abominari aboard their own JumpShip, while the Commando and Shen-sè Tian reached an agreement that allowed the Commando to travel using the Shen-sè Tian JumpShip - but McEvans' plan was a success, as all three bands left the Reaches to look for easier targets elsewhere. The Marshals took heavy damage, however; among those injured was McEvans' deputy, Deputy Force Commander Marvel Dillon, who suffered neurological injuries that required months of hospital treatment before he could return to duty. In addition to driving off three well-organized and dangerous pirate units, the Marshals were able to use the captured JumpShip to create a quick-reaction force, increasing their capabilities.[30] The Marshals lost more than a battalion in strength, with so many personnel killed that less than a battalion were still alive after the battle, and the buildup the Marshals had been planning had to wait until enough recruits had been trained by the Marshalry Academy. The Marshals did recover a considerable amount of salvage though, ensuring that their new recruits had 'Mechs available when they took up active duty. The secret battle armor facility was relocated as part of the construction of a replacement Marshal Base Beta.[31] The Independence Militia also took heavy losses, particularly among their armored units, despite making a heroic effort against the Commando.[32]

The rumors about battle armor being built on Independence were also true; the Marshals were building a new unit to add to their ranks, the TinStar Brigade, which at the time of the pirate raid consisted of a company of battle armor. Two-thirds of the suits deployed were some of the oldest suits available on the interstellar market, but a third of the suits were a new design, the TinStar battlesuit, constructed in secret at the small Hilltopper facility.[33] Following the battle on Independence and the factory's relocation to a new site, it took a decade for enough TinStar suits to be produced to equip the TinStar Brigade at the desired level.[31]

Geography[edit]

Independence is a large world with three continents named Maltin, Merigo, and Norton. Of the three continents, Maltin is the most centrally located.[1]

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.

This was a lush world filled with vast oceans and jungle-covered volcanic islands. Governed by a plutocracy and with its inhabitants regulated by a strict caste system, the planet's income was generated by their recreational tourism industry.[34]

Apocryphal Content Ends

Planetary Locations[edit]

Caldera Fields: a combined desert and mountain region where the Colonial Marshals inflicted heavy losses on several pirate bands[35]

Industrial Centers[edit]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 20 systems (15 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Highwater 10.1 Contrilla 17.2 Tiburon 17.6 McEvans' Sacrifice 22.2
Rockwellawan 23.3 Don't 26.6 Portland 32.8 Appian 41.0
Chandan 41.2 Polybius 44.4 Sacromonte 46.3 Coromodir 51.1
Spencer 55.4 Tarragona 58.9 Bellerophon 59.8 Nuncavoy 60.9
Fronc 61.0 Mandalas 61.8 Detroit 65.7 Cygnus 65.9

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 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches, p. 4
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  4. 4.0 4.1 The Periphery, 2nd Edition, p. 112: "Magistracy of Canopus & Tortuga Dominions"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Inner Sphere, p. 98: "Near Periphery Kingdoms Map""
  6. 6.0 6.1 Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere Map [3063]"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 93: "Magistracy of Canopus after Age of War [2571] and fall of the Star League [2750]"
  8. Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  9. Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  10. Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  11. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  12. First Succession War, pp. 24–25: "Inner Sphere - [2786]"
  13. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  14. First Succession War, pp. 112–113: "Inner Sphere - 2822"
  15. Second Succession War, pp. 18–19: "Inner Sphere - 2830"
  16. Second Succession War, pp. 78–79: "Inner Sphere - 2864"
  17. 17.0 17.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 96: "Magistracy of Canopus after Third Succession War [3025] and after FedCom Civil War [3067]"
  18. The Periphery, First Edition, pp. 156–157: "Maps of the Periphery"
  19. Historical: War of 3039, p. 133: "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  20. Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  21. Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  22. Objective Raids, p. 46: "Magistracy of Canopus"
  23. Era Report: 3062, p. 12: "Inner Sphere Map [3057]"
  24. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 43: "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  25. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  26. Field Report: Periphery, p. 20: "Magistracy of Canopus Region Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  27. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63: "Inner Sphere Map - [March 3081]"
  28. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere - October 3085"
  29. Era Report: 3145, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches, pp. 8–9: "Periphery Pirate Plague"
  31. 31.0 31.1 Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches, p. 37: "Touchpoint: Suffer Not the Pirates to Live"
  32. Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches, p. 28: "Touchpoint: Whose Idea Was This Anyway?"
  33. Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches, p. 11: "Colonial Marshals (Front Reaches)"
  34. BattleTech (video game)
  35. Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches, pp. 28–36

Bibliography[edit]