Phecda

Phecda
Phecda 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates-74.451 : -1.595[e]
Spectral classA0V[1]
Planet(s)4[1]

System Description[edit]

Phecda is located near the Alchiba and Wing systems.

Political Affiliation[edit]


Phecda III[edit]

Phecda III
Astrophysical
System positionThird[1]
Jump Point distance52 days[1]
Moons2 (Vondra, Xanthippe)[1]
Geophysical
Surface gravity0.98[1]
Atmospheric pressureStandard (Breathable)[1]
Equatorial temperature20°C[1]
Surface water86%[1]
Highest native lifePlants[1]
Landmasses3 (Gamurmaj, Kuld, Phreezi)[1]
History and Culture
Population2,015,000,000 (3130)[1][37]
Government and Infrastructure
Political LeaderPlanetary Governor
Military CommanderLegate Vladislav Durko (3130)[1][37]

Planetary History[edit]

Phecda's orbit has slightly shifted, taking it further away from the system star. This means that Phecda's surface temperature has been dropping for the past few hundred years and more and more of its surface water is being hidden underneath growing polar icecaps. The elongated orbit also makes traveling to Phecda very time consuming. As Phecda relies on interstellar trade for everything it needs to support human life, reducing this travel time is critical. During the Star League the people of Phecda placed four stations between the world and the jump points, which allowed traders to transship their cargo more quickly. The trader would drop off his cargo at the first station and pick up his outbound cargo of water purifiers built on Phecda, returning to the jump point. The cargo that was delivered to the first station would then be shuttled to the next station, where it would be dropped off and a new group of water purifiers would be taken to the first station. The second station would then deliver materials to Phecda and return with a load of water purifiers. This let the interstellar traders make more of a profit and allowed the Phecdans to survive.[1]

Unfortunately these stations were destroyed in the Succession Wars. As a result, Phecda's population slowly dropped and by the end of the Succession Wars Phecda was little more than a military outpost whose only value lay in its position.[1]

First Succession War[edit]

Phecda was one of a number of Lyran Commonwealth border worlds to be struck by a devastating cross-border raids by the Free Worlds League between 2786 and 2790, as the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces began to crack under the pressure of continuing efforts to annex the Bolan Thumb while also attempting to maintain a defensive posture against both the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery and the Free Worlds League Military.[38]

Third Succession War[edit]

In 3024, the mercenary unit—and noted treasure hunters—Snord's Irregulars discovered the remains of a Colossus-class DropShip on Phecda. The DropShip had been buried, but had retained its structural integrity despite the length of time the vessel had been buried; Snord's Irregulars managed to salvage a stockpile of spare parts and 'Mechs from the DropShip, and the Lyran Commonwealth later cannibalized the DropShip itself.[39] Snord's Irregulars had been assigned to Phecda because of raids launched by the Free Worlds League Military; the Commonwealth had been attempting to construct a large water purification plant on the planet, but the League kept attacking and destroying the plant while it was being built. Snord's interest in the battles on Phecda were based around information he had obtained indicating that a Colossus-class DropShip that had crashed in fairly intact shape on the planet during the fall of the Star League. Aware of League spies on Phecda, Snord gave the impression that his unit, true to their reputation, was more occupied with chasing lost treasures than defending. A mock "water purification plant" was built in the place of the previous one, while the efforts were made to construct the real plant in secret a few kilometers away, at the site of the Irregulars’ supposed treasure hunt. As Snord had anticipated, the spies did not look for a second plant when one was apparently being built in plain sight in the usual spot. As expected, a FWLM company attacked when the plant was reportedly near completion, but the false compound turned out to be a trap filled with explosives. What remained of the League force was mopped up over the next two days, and according to Snord’s official report he estimated that only three to five enemy 'Mechs made it back to their DropShip. It was during the battle that an Irregulars' scout 'Mech found something metallic under the ice that turned out to be the lost DropShip. The Irregulars recovered a fortune in items including many functional BattleMechs and well-preserved supplies from the derelict. All of the superior weapon systems and sophisticated lostech was secretly moved to the Irregulars' base on Clinton for investigation. An appropriate share of the findings, stripped of all advanced technology, was handed over to Archon Katrina Steiner in recognition of the support she had given the Irregulars over the years[14][15] - although Cranston Snord had secretly been ordered by Colonel Jaime Wolf to hold back any advanced technology, and to add only one additional company of 'Mechs to the Irregulars.[15]

Fourth Succession War[edit]

In October 3028, Phecda was targeted by the Free Worlds League Military as a part of Operation DAGGER, the offensive planned by Captain-General Janos Marik to seize valuable industrial worlds in the Federation of Skye. Thirtieth Marik Militia arrived in-system on the 1st of October as League invasion forces were jumping into other systems nearby as part of an offensive intended to isolate and then destroy two Lyran line regiments, the Eleventh Lyran Guards and the Seventeenth Arcturan Guards, both stationed on Wyatt.[17] Although the plan to destroy the two Lyran regiments was unsuccessful, the League did capture Phecda.[18]

The Jihad[edit]

Following the invasion of the Free Worlds League by the Skye and Bolan Provinces of the Lyran Alliance in what was termed Operation ÜBERSCHATTEN, Marshall Jeremy Brett took command of the local FWLM and launched a counteroffensive, under the name Operation BROKEN FIST. BROKEN FIST went beyond simply attempting to recapture worlds that the Lyrans had seized, striking into Lyran space at numerous worlds. Phecda was one of the worlds hit and was captured by the League on 1 September 3068.[40]

The Word of Blake occupied Phecda later during the Jihad, incorporating it into the Word of Blake Protectorate. Forces fighting on the Lyran front of Operation SCOUR liberated Phecda in January 3078, although the commanding officer on the Lyran front, Duke Robert Kelswa-Steiner, took critical injuries during the battle for Phecda and had to transfer command of the Lyran front to Gregory Kelswa-Steiner.[29] On the 14th of February, after Group IV had completed the conquest of Phecda, Duke Kelswa-Steiner gave an interview to Marlena Stockheart of SBC; the Duke made a point of highlighting that Gregory Kelswa-Steiner's performance to date and his grasp of matters such as logistics and strategy as a part of Operation SCOUR had attracted praise from many quarters, including saKhan Ivan Kerensky, the Duke's second in command.[41]

Military Deployment[edit]

Geography[edit]

Phecda has three continents named Gamurmaj, Kuld, and Phreezi.[1]

Map Gallery[edit]

Nearby Systems[edit]

Closest 68 systems (66 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Alchiba 7.5 Wing 9.3 Wyatt 9.9 Milton 11.0
Chertan 14.0 Shiloh 14.1 Dubhe 15.0 Alhena 15.2
Gacrux 17.2 Callison 18.0 Marcus 20.9 Cor Caroli 20.9
Alioth 21.9 Afleir 23.2 Dieudonné 24.3 Zosma 25.8
Zaniah 29.7 Aquileia 29.8 Mizar 29.8 Alcor 30.5
New Dallas 30.8 Bordon 33.8 Haddings 34.2 Denebola 36.6
Castor 37.2 Remulac 37.8 Kalidasa 38.0 Vindemiatrix 38.2
Catroxx 38.4 Devil's Rock 40.6 Summer 40.8 Galatea 41.2
Lipton 41.4 Rochelle 41.8 Zavijava 42.7 Oliver 43.0
Algorab 43.2 Connaught 43.7 Menkent 43.7 Syrma 44.0
Pollux 45.1 Savannah 45.3 Chara 45.9 Carsphairn 46.0
Nathan 48.1 Solaris 48.2 Tabit 49.2 New Hope 49.8
Alkes 49.8 Muphrid 50.0 Zollikofen 50.1 Xi Ursae Majoris 50.2
Alphard 51.2 Graham 51.7 Thorin 51.8 Talitha 52.2
Alkaid 52.4 New Kyoto 53.0 Zebebelgenubi 53.9 Acubens 53.9
Skye 55.8 Miaplacidus 56.6 Gniezno 56.9 Van Diemen 57.8
Adhafera 58.4 Nusakan 59.9 Tania Borealis 60.3 Alkalurops 60.6

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 Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130), p. 195: "Phecda"
  2. Handbook: House Marik, p. 16: "Free Worlds League Founding [2271]"
  3. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 13: "Federation of Skye world after at their founding in [2341]"
  4. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 25: "Lyran Commonwealth after Age of War [2571]"
  5. Historical: Reunification War, p. 159: "Inner Sphere Map [2596]"
  6. Era Report: 2750, p. 37: "Inner Sphere - 2750"
  7. Field Manual: SLDF, p. xi: "Inner Sphere - [2764] Map"
  8. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - 2765"
  9. First Succession War, pp. 24–25: "Inner Sphere - [2786] Map"
  10. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 36: "Lyran Commonwealth after First Succession War [2822]"
  11. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 122–123: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  12. First Succession War, pp. 112–113: "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  13. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 40: "Lyran Commonwealth after Second Succession War [2864]"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Cranston Snord's Irregulars, p. 7
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Rhonda's Irregulars, p. 7
  16. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 47: "Lyran Commonwealth after Third Succession War [3025] Map"
  17. 17.0 17.1 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 62: "Operation DAGGER"
  18. 18.0 18.1 NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 63: "Operation DAGGER"
  19. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 56: "Lyran Commonwealth after Fourth Succession War [3030] Map"
  20. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 59: "Lyran Commonwealth after War of 3039 [3040] Map"
  21. Historical: War of 3039, p. 133: "Inner Sphere - 3040"
  22. Era Report: 3052, p. 11: "Inner Sphere - 3050"
  23. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 61: "Lyran Commonwealth after Clan Invasion [3052] Map"
  24. Era Report: 3052, p. 23: "Inner Sphere - 3052"
  25. Era Report: 3062, p. 11: "Inner Sphere Map [3057]"
  26. Era Report: 3062, p. 29: "Inner Sphere Map [3063]"
  27. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 70: "Lyran Commonwealth after FedCom Civil War - [3067] Map"
  28. Jihad: Final Reckoning, pp. 42–43: "Inner Sphere - October 3067"
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"
  30. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 63: "Inner Sphere - 3075"
  31. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63: "Inner Sphere Map - [March 3081]"
  32. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii: "Inner Sphere Map - [October 3085]"
  33. Era Report: 3145, p. 10: "Inner Sphere - 3135"
  34. Era Report: 3145, p. 39: "Inner Sphere - 3145"
  35. Field Manual: 3145, p. VI: "Inner Sphere - 3145"
  36. Shrapnel Issue #6: "Voices of the Sphere: The Republic Armed Forces"
  37. 37.0 37.1 Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere, p. 18: "Prefecture VIII"
  38. First Succession War, p. 62: "The War of Raids: House Steiner's Succession War"
  39. Technical Readout: 3075, p. 198: "Colossus"
  40. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 45: "The Jihad in Review"
  41. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 65–66: "Phecda: Tragedy And Triumph"
  42. Field Report 2765: LCAF, pp. 18–19: "Skye Rangers" - Regimental Status
  43. First Succession War, p. 139: "First Succession War Deployment Table - LCAF"
  44. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 117: "Unit Deployment Table"
  45. Historical: War of 3039, p. 137: "Deployment Table"
  46. 46.0 46.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 141: "Deployment Table"
  47. 20 Year Update, p. 27: "Federated Commonwealth Deployment Table"
  48. Objective Raids, p. 19: "FedCom Deployment Table"
  49. Shattered Sphere, p. 47: "Lyran Alliance Deployment Table"
  50. 50.0 50.1 50.2 Field Manual: 3145, p. 170: "Clan Force Deployments - Wolf Empire"

Bibliography[edit]