New Vandenberg

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New Vandenberg
New Vandenberg 3151.svg
New Vandenberg nearby systems
(Map Legend)
System Information
X:Y Coordinates155.862 : -405.627[e]
Star names1[1]
Spectral classF5IV[1][2]
Recharge time176 hours[1][2]
Recharge station(s)Zenith[1][2]
Planet(s)9[3]

The New Vandenberg system is the location of at least one inhabited planet, New Vandenberg VI,[2] as well as of least one orbital training facility near the planet New Vandenberg IX.[3] New Vandenberg is located in the Taurian Concordat as of 3145.[4]

System Description[edit]

New Vandenberg has a single class F5IV primary and is home to at least one world of logistical and industrial importance, New Vandenberg VI.[2] The New Vandenberg system has at least nine worlds, and the ninth planet in the system is a gas giant.[3] The New Vandenberg system had a recharge station in place at the zenith jump point which was still active during the thirty-first century.[1][2]

System History[edit]

The New Vandenberg system was settled prior to the Age of War.[5]

Political Affiliation[edit]


New Vandenberg VI[edit]

New Vandenberg VI
New Vandenberg Flag (2).jpg
Astrophysical
System positionSixth[1][2]
Jump Point distance14.94 Days[1][2]
Moons2 (Jefferson, Locke)[1][2]
Geophysical
Surface gravity1.10[1][2]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Breathable)[1][2]
Equatorial temperature31°C (Temperate)[1][2]
Surface water68%[1][2]
Highest native lifeAvian[1]
Landmasses3 (See Geography)
History and Culture
Population1,312,000,000 (3028),[50]
2,510,000,000 (3067),[1]
2,650,000,000 (3079)[2]
Government and Infrastructure
Noble RulerFyodor Malvena (3028),[50]
Callina Malvena (3067)[1]
CapitalNew Vandenberg[1]
HPG ClassB[1][2]
HPG RepresentativePrecentor Gregori Havellack (3025)[50]

New Vandenberg VI, more commonly known simply as New Vandenberg, is the sixth planet in the New Vandenberg system and is home to a significant level of heavy industry, hosting at least four major manufacturing companies as well as two military academies.[2]

Planetary History[edit]

New Vandenberg (sometimes written as New Vandenburg) was home to the largest Taurian industrial center outside of the Hyades Cluster. The planet was also home to a fantastic and diverse population of native avians. These avians were prized and cherished so much that the southern continent of New Vandenberg had extensive nature preserves for these species.[50]

Reunification War[edit]

During Operation BULL RUN—the Star League invasion of the Taurian Concordat—the conquest of New Vandenberg by the Star League Defense Force was one of the bloodiest campaigns to be waged. Under the command of Field Marshal Amos Forlough, the SLDF dispensed with even the rudimentary efforts at reducing bloodshed when it launched the planetary attack on 12 January 2588. Whereas other worlds had been given a thirty-day period in which to surrender, Forlough ordered the First and Second Fleets to commence an immediate and continuous orbital bombardment of the planet. For forty consecutive days, SLDF WarShips bombarded the surface of New Vandenberg. The second most important world in the Concordat, New Vandenberg had a population in excess of a billion, along with a huge Taurian Defense Force garrison in comparison to other worlds, and a massive manufacturing base. During the first forty days, as SLDF WarShips saturated the planet with weapon strikes, SLDF aerospace fighters dropped a total of more than two hundred thousand tons of ordnance on the planet—the majority of it incendiary weapons. After the first twenty days, not only was the population continuing to hold out, but it was also obvious that the garrison had left the bases the SLDF knew about and were waiting for Forlough's forces. Forlough responded by expanding the SLDF navy's actions to include the defoliation of the entire continent of Brittain, using a mixture of WarShip bombardment, incendiary bombs and chemical defoliants, but by day forty, New Vandenberg continued to resist.[10]

With little choice other than to put troops on the ground, Forlough ordered the SLDF I, II, and IV Corps into action, deploying all three corps to cleared landing zones across Brittain, with targets assigned across the continent. I Corps landed on the 23rd of February to seize the city of Harmony and immediately came under attack. Harmony was the location of the massive BattleMech production facilities operated by Vandenberg MilTech, the predecessor to Vandenberg Mechanized Industries, and the Taurians used the factories as cover to attack the SLDF troops with an asymmetric mix of elite anti-'Mech jump infantry, hovercraft, VTOLs and conventional aircraft. Despite being reinforced by the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Striker Regiments, the First Royal Division was only able to hold their position for twelve hours before having to retreat. When a second attack failed after a week of fighting, despite being reinforced by the Third Division, Forlough ordered the entire factory complex destroyed via orbital bombardment.[10]

The senior Taurian Defense Force officer on New Vandenberg, Colonel Alana Bar'Dyness, had done everything she could to prepare her world for the inevitable SLDF attack. Massive underground bunkers had been constructed across the planet, both to house the garrison and millions of anticipated refugees; while some bunkers were military fortifications, others held entire factory complexes, hospitals, schools and shelters, and the garrison was ready for a year-long siege. While I Corps was bogged down around Harmony and taking far higher than anticipated casualties, II Corps and IV Corps were faring little better—giving Forlough more cause for concern. Forlough had planned on a quick victory on New Vandenberg to bring a swift resolution to the war, and responded in a similar fashion to that he'd used in other campaigns; he ordered his troops to inflict massive casualties on the people of New Vandenberg, in an attempt to break their will to resist. Under Forlough's orders SLDF units deployed chemical weapons and nerve agents across New Vandenberg on the 3rd of March, while launching nuclear attacks at key targets. Several days later, the TDF retaliated in kind, and both side took massive casualties, although the SLDF was better prepared to live and fight under such conditions than the civilian population.[10]

By the end of March, Forlough's troops controlled the majority of Brittain, and he brought in XI Corps as reinforcements to fuel a push against the continents of Saille and Vandrae. Both were long, brutal and bloody marches, and by the end of May SLDF casualties were so high that Forlough pressed the available forces from the Federated Suns Auxiliary Corps—consisting of three regiments of the Avalon Hussars and three regiments of the Syrtis Fusiliers[51]—into action as soon as they arrived. By this point, the battle for New Vandenberg already resembled a disaster recovery operation as much as it did a military campaign; half of the assault troops were manning refugee camps, while the other half was digging through the remains of destroyed cities, trying to find TDF bunkers and garrison forces. Forlough tried to keep morale up among his forces as replacements arrived from Terra, but thousands were dying, thousands more were being evacuated as casualties, and the new recruits were little more than lambs to the slaughter as the TDF continued to resist.[10]

News of reinforcements from the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns arrived in mid-June, and Forlough planned to put these experienced reinforcements into battle quickly; then the reinforcements arrived—three 'Mech regiments from the Davion Brigade of Guards accompanied by five veteran infantry regiments—Forlough discovered that they were under the command of General Elias Pitcairn, a veteran AFFS and Davion Guards officer who had led the pseudo-mercenary AFFS forces that had so ably assisted the Outworlds Alliance in resisting the SLDF for years, both during and after Forlough's tenure as commanding officer of Operation UNION HOLD. Hot-tempered at the best of times, Forlough ordered the immediate arrest of Pitcairn and all of the Davion Guards forces, something he lacked the resources to actually accomplish, leading to a tense standoff as the SLDF and AFFS fleets in orbit maintained a careful distance from each other while Pitcairn attempted to assure Forlough that he was committed to supporting the SLDF operations against the Concordat. On the 7th of July, Pitcairn withdrew from the New Vandenberg system, leaving his troops as reinforcements for the AFFS Auxiliary Corps, but Forlough continued to send angry demands to both Commanding General Dangmar Lee, commanding officer of the SLDF and First Lord Ian Cameron demanding the arrest and execution of Pitcairn—and First Prince Alexander Davion of the Federated Suns.[10]

While Forlough was distracted by Pitcairn, his subordinates continued to prosecute the campaign against the TDF, with more success than when Forlough had been directing day-to-day operations. The SLDF continued to grind down the defending forces, fighting the final major battle of the campaign on the 23rd of August, when the First and Third Striker Regiments surrounded and captured the last few surviving companies that constituted all that was left of the 122nd Concordat Chasseurs near New Vandenberg's south pole.[10] For the SLDF, the conquest of New Vandenberg was the single costliest operation of the war to date; more than five thousand troops had died in direct combat against the TDF, with many more dying as a result of attacks using weapons of mass destruction, and more than five times as many had suffered wounds so severe and debilitating as to prevent them ever returning to combat duty, and many died from wounds during the following months. I, II, IV and XI Corps could only muster approximately forty percent of their preconquest combat strength, while the AFFS Auxiliary Corps was at approximately sixty percent strength, having joined the battle later.[52]

As severe as the SLDF casualties were, the consequences of the invasion were far worse for the population of New Vandenberg. Every major city was in ruins, as was every industrial center that hadn't moved underground. Somewhere between fifty and a hundred million civilians were dead, while hundreds of millions more were homeless, and the population had been rendered absolutely incapable of supporting themselves due to the devastation wrought by Forlough's forces. The Bureau of Star League Affairs had to take over administration of the planet as the population lacked the resources to operate their own government, and the thousands of relief workers and tens of thousands of tons of supplies the Bureau had arriving within weeks paled into insignificance in the face of the desperate needs of the population. Forlough's actions on New Vandenberg left the population of the planet undergoing decades of rebuilding, work that continued well into the twenty-seventh century.[52]

Forlough didn't escape unscathed from New Vandenberg; although he put off complying with recall orders to Terra issued by Commanding General Lee for as long as he could, knowing what those orders portended, he returned to Terra in January 2590, by which time his replacement had arrived on New Vandenberg. Faced with the likely prospect of humiliation at the hands of First Prince Alexander Davion and the Star League Council, Forlough chose to retire.[52]

Reign of the Star League[edit]

During the Star League era New Vandenberg remained a significant world within the Concordat. In addition to being the site of the headquarters of both the Taurian Defense Force LVI Corps and the Star League Defense Force Nineteenth Army, New Vandenberg was also home to the Taurian Naval Institute, a major TDF training academy. The Institute had facilities located on the surface of New Vandenberg and in geosynchronous orbit above the ground facilities as well as distributed throughout the rest of the system.[3] New Vandenberg was the central world involved in the New Vandenberg Uprising that later triggered the thirteen-year Amaris Civil War.[50] Having been the first world to be involved in what would become the Periphery Uprising, New Vandenberg was also one of the last to be conquered by the SLDF prior to the end of operations in the Periphery in the wake of the coup performed by Stefan Amaris on Terra. New Vandenberg was conquered by the SLDF on 7 January 2767, just over three weeks before news of the coup arrived and a ceasefire would be ordered by General Aleksandr Kerensky.[53]

New Vandenberg is one of several Concordat worlds that had extensive pillboxes and other military strongpoints constructed to defend it. This planet was especially dear to the Taurians, and they were frenzied in its defense. New Vandenberg maintained extensive constant garrisons and fortifications.[50]

Jihad[edit]

During the thirty-first century the Vandenberg Mechanized Industries plant on Hoyt was the center of a city that had sprung up around the plant, and the local economy was entirely based around the production of matériel from the plant, with the local currency being corporate scrip used to purchase supplies from company stores, leaving the entire city resembling a mining town.[2]

In addition to Vandenberg Mechanized Industries a number of other significant installations on New Vandenberg survived the Jihad, despite the damage done to other elements of the Concordat's industrial base. Concordat Telecom and TransStellar continued to operate from their facilities within the capital city, New Vandenberg, producing Quasit MilitiaMechs, and Paulina Weapons was still producing Cyrano Gunship VTOLs from their plant at Ariane on Hoyt.[2]

The Taurian Naval Institute was running programs training officers and crew for DropShips, JumpShips, and WarShips from their surviving facilities at University City on Hoyt, with the Institute itself continuing to resemble an annex to the University proper, although the Institute continued to make extensive use of the flattened top of Aerie Butte near the University as a DropPort for training. The New Vandenberg Taurian Academy continued to provide high-quality training to the New Vandenberg Militia; although the Academy was largely centered on Almatuff City, the southernmost city on Hoyt, the Academy had dispersed bases and training fields scattered across New Vandenberg, including in the wildlife sanctuary of South Holme, which was off limits to others. This focus on training in all of the environments available on New Vandenberg was conducted to ensure that the fierce but defensively minded militia were prepared to deal with invaders landing anywhere on the planet. The Militia itself was primarily located in Zathus on South Holme.[2]

Military Deployment[edit]

Geography[edit]

New Vandenberg has three continents: Hoyt, South Holme, and Suissen.[2] At the time the planet was conquered by the Star League in 2588 these landmasses were known as Brittain, Saille and Vandrae.[10]

Planetary Locations[edit]

  • Aerie Butte: flat-topped geographical feature used as a DropPort by the Taurian Naval Institute[2]
  • Almatuff City: southernmost city on Hoyt[2]
  • Ariane: location of the Paulina Weapons plant on Hoyt[2]
  • Fort Gorki: militia base
  • Industrial City: the city on Hoyt that grew up around the Vandenberg Mechanized Industries plant
  • New Vandenberg: the planetary capital city, located on Hoyt[2]
  • University City: location of the planetary university and the Taurian Naval Institute[2]
  • Zathus: located on South Holme and home to the planetary Militia[2]

Industrial Centers[edit]

Local Fauna[edit]


New Vandenberg IX (Lompoc)[edit]

Lompoc
Astrophysical
Also known asNew Vandenberg IX
System positionNinth[3]

New Vandenberg IX, more commonly known as Lompoc, is a Neptune-like gas giant.[3]

Planetary History[edit]

During the Star League era Lompoc was home to the Vandenberg Shipyards, which were located in orbit above the planet, and to a low-gravity training station incorporated into the Shipyards that formed a part of the dispersed campus of the Taurian Naval Institute.[3]

Industrial Centers[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • New Vandenburg was the normal spelling in earlier products, New Vandenberg in more recent products. Sometimes both spellings will be used in the same product, even on the same page; Objectives: Periphery is one example.

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 52 systems (50 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Brisbane 6.9 Laconis 13.2 Girondas 16.3 Aea 20.5
Brinton 22.0 Landmark 22.5 Rollis 22.9 MacLeod's Land 22.9
Pinard 24.3 Flaum 28.3 Bromhead 28.4 Qalzi 31.8
Menion 33.1 Burton 33.2 Umgard 34.3 Zangul 36.2
Ishtar 36.6 Regis Roost 36.7 Kern 36.7 Corodiz 36.7
Enkra 36.9 Non Diz 37.6 Taurus 38.4 Hyades Cluster 38.9
Parian 39.0 Jansen's Hold 39.2 Larsha 39.5 Smithon 39.9
Samantha 41.0 Megaris 41.5 Jamestown 42.9 Merlin 43.6
Maldive 44.7 Paf 44.8 Ina 45.5 Katinka 45.8
New Vallis 46.9 Mechdur 46.9 Bergtatt 49.3 New Ganymede 50.3
Horsham 50.7 Mangzhangdian 52.1 Ichlangis 54.4 Bringdam 54.5
Zanzibar 54.6 Muridox 54.7 Midale 54.9 Illiushin 56.6
Tyrlon 57.2 Yuris 59.0 Mendham 61.3 Camadeierre 62.0

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 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 125: "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 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 Objectives: Periphery, p. 7
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Field Report 2765: Periphery, p. 8: "Academies and Command Centers"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Handbook: House Liao, p. 17: "Capellan Confederation Foundation - [2366] Map"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 121: "Taurian Concordat after Age of War [2571], Fall of the Star League [2750] and End of the Third Succession War [3025]"
  7. Handbook: House Davion, p. 48: "Federated Suns after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  8. Handbook: House Liao, p. 25: "Capellan Confederation after Age of War - [2571] Map"
  9. Historical: Reunification War, p. 64
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 Historical: Reunification War, pp. 89–91: "Charon's Express"
  11. Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere - [2596] Map"
  12. Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - [2750] Map"
  13. Field Manual: SLDF: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  14. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [2765] Map"
  15. Field Report 2765: Periphery, p. 37: "Taurian Defense Forces Deployment Map - [2765]"
  16. Field Report 2765: CCAF, p. 23: "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces Deployment Map - [2765]"
  17. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 96: "Taurian Concordat - [2767] Map"
  18. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  19. Handbook: House Davion, p. 54: "Federated Suns after First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  20. Handbook: House Liao, p. 31: "Capellan Confederation After First Succession War - [2822] Map"
  21. Handbook: House Davion, p. 60: "Federated Suns After Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  22. Handbook: House Liao, p. 39: "Capellan Confederation After Second Succession War - [2864] Map"
  23. House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 12: "The Rimward Periphery"
  24. House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), pp. 14–15: "3022 Interstellar Expeditions. IAAS-349-SIFNM97-MMMXXII"
  25. The Periphery, p. 151: "Maps of the Periphery"
  26. Handbook: House Davion, p. 70: "Federated Suns After Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  27. Handbook: House Liao, p. 40: "Capellan Confederation After Third Succession War - [3025] Map"
  28. Handbook: House Davion, p. 72: "Federated Suns After Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  29. Handbook: House Liao, p. 49: "Capellan Confederation After Fourth Succession War - [3030] Map"
  30. 30.0 30.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 127: "Taurian Concordat after modern colonization drive [3040] and after FedCom Civil War [3067]"
  31. Historical: War of 3039, p. 133: "Inner Sphere - [3040] Map"
  32. Handbook: House Davion, p. 74: "Federated Suns After War of 3039 - [3040] Map"
  33. Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3050] Map"
  34. Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - [3052] Map"
  35. Era Report: 3062, p. 11: Inner Sphere - [3057] Map
  36. Handbook: House Davion, p. 78: "Federated Suns After Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  37. Handbook: House Liao, p. 60: "Capellan Confederation After Operation Guerrero - [3058] Map"
  38. The Periphery, 2nd Edition, p. 111: "Taurian Concordat and Tortuga Dominions"
  39. Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere Map [3063]"
  40. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 43: "Inner Sphere - [3067] Map"
  41. Handbook: House Davion, p. 82: "Federated Suns After FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map "
  42. Handbook: House Liao, p. 68: "Capellan Confederation After FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  43. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 65: "Inner Sphere - [3075] Map"
  44. Field Report: Periphery, p. 23: "Taurian Concordat Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  45. Field Report: CCAF, p. 21: "Capellan Confederation Armed Forces Deployment Map - [August 3079]"
  46. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63: "Inner Sphere - March 3081"
  47. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere - [3085] Map"
  48. Era Report: 3145, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - [3135] Map"
  49. Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - [3145] Map"
  50. 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 50.4 50.5 The Periphery, p. 84
  51. 51.0 51.1 51.2 51.3 51.4 51.5 51.6 51.7 Historical: Reunification War, pp. 145–147: "Taurian Concordat Front (2586-2596)"
  52. 52.0 52.1 52.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 91: "The Reaper Is Relieved"
  53. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 99: "New Year, New War"
  54. Historical: Reunification War, p. 64
  55. Field Manual: SLDF, p. 258: "SLDF - Taurian Concordat Military Region Command map
  56. Objective Raids, p. 158: "Defending Units (On Planet)"
  57. Field Manual: 3085, p. 150: "Deployment Table - 3085"
  58. Field Manual: 3145, p. 201: "I Corps"
  59. Technical Readout: 3075, p. 294: "Dromedary Water Transport"
  60. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 178: "Creatures"

Bibliography[edit]