Oberon Confederation

The Oberon Confederation was a Periphery state located on the coreward rim of the Lyran Commonwealth, between the Greater Valkyrate and the Elysian Fields. Besides the fairly well industrialized capital world of Oberon VI, which even held a class B ComStar station with a functional Hyperpulse Generator, the Oberon Confederation included the worlds of Blackstone, Crellacor, Drask's Den, Ferris, Gustrell, Paulus Prime, Placida, Sigurd and The Rock, plus a varying collection of others most of the time.

Location: Outside of the Lyran Commonwealth; formerly part of Rim Worlds Republic

Number of Worlds: Ten

Current Ruler: Hendrik Grimm III

Military Strength: 2 Regiments

Technology Level: Good

Literacy Level: Poor

Capital: Oberon Vl

Star Type: F5III

Position in System: 6

Time to Jump Point: 14.93 days

Recharging Station: None

Political Ruler: Hendrik Grimm III

ComStar Facility Class: B

ComStar Representative: Precentor Damien Hope

Population: 43,000

Percentage and Level of Native Life: 20%, Mammal

Description:

Oberon Vl is a warm, temperate world rich in natural re- sources, particularly gold and coal. Since the late 2900s, Oberon has been heavily industrialized to include factories able to produce pharmaceuticals and electronic components, as well as small arms and energy weapons. Though much of the planet remains unexplored, Oberon's population exceeds 40 thousand inhabitants, many of whom are skilled technicians and scientists.

Originally an outright Bandit Kingdom, it had slowly risen to become grudgingly respected as a minor Periphery power around the year 3025. By this time Hendrik Grimm III, whose family had been ruling Oberon VI since the year 2840, was leading a loose coalition of 12 other former bandit kingdoms. Possessing several water-rich planets, the Oberon Confederation was not actually dependant on raiding its neighbours and Hendrik III chose to hire out his troops to the highest bidder instead. This gave the Oberon Confederation a veil of legitimacy, although it would seem that behind the scenes the piracy continued unabated.

The Oberon Confederation was not a very stable state. It frequently gained and lost worlds through conquests or shifting alliances. However, many of these were insignificant Periphery worlds with only a few thousand inhabitants and little if any industry; their value was negligible compared to Oberon VI and the aforementioned core of the confederation, and gaining or losing them had little consequence.

The infamous pirate king Redjack Ryan was a renegade from the Oberon Confederation. He made his first apperance in the Inner Sphere commmanding one of Hendrik III's mercenary units. In 3017, while hired out to occupy the Free Worlds League world of Fianna, he and his men wrought utter destruction on the world including, among other atrocities, the destruction of a fusion power plant which contaminated the world's atmosphere. Before either Hendrik III or House Marik could assemble a force to deal with him, he fled and established himself as bandit chieftain on the world of Butte Hold, adjacent to the Oberon Confederation. In the wake of Ryan's expulsion, his lover Maria Morgraine, a lieutenant in Hendrik III's forces, also broke away from the Oberon Confederation with five ice planets and founded yet another ministate, Morgraine's Valkyrate. They would later merge with Butte Hold to form the Greater Valkyrate, a Periphery power powerful enough to curb the Oberon Confederation.

Mercenary forces from the Oberon Confederation, including Sigurd native Lori Kalmar, were involved in the intrigue that led to the destruction of the mercenary unit Carlyle's Commandos on Trellwan in 3024; this event in turn sparked the creation of the famous Gray Death Legion.

In 3049, Phelan Kell was captured by Clan Wolf forces while leading Kell Hound troops during a punitive raid against pirates on the Oberon Confederation world of The Rock. The Kell Hounds aborted their mission and fled from the unknown enemy, providing their employers with first-hand information about the invaders where previously only sketchy rumours had been known (and dismissed as Periphery gossip).

All contact with the Oberon Confederation was subsequently lost when it was overrun by the invading Clan forces with blinding speed, probably having been the very first target attacked by the Clans. A small group of mercenaries and Oberon bandits managed to escape from Clan captivity during the first wave of attack in the Leopard-class dropship "FireStalion" [sic] and flee to the Free Rasalhague Republic, where the unlucky bandit crew was summarily executed for piracy.

Given the Clan attitude towards pirates, it seems likely that they did not only occupy the Oberon Confederation but conquered it, ending its existence as a political entity for good. Its actual fate and that of Hendrik Grimm III is unknown, however. As of 3054, a ComStar report lists a unit called the "Oberon Guards (Disarmed by Clans)" as an independent regular military unit based on Oberon VI, with "Reliable" loyalty and under the command of one General Johann Grimm. Although the unit can be assumed to be only a planetary militia to garrison/occupy the planet for the Clans, the report features the insignia of the Oberon Confederation (a lizard's eye).

Of the many pirate holdings in the Periphery, the Oberon Confederation comes the closest to being a miniature Successor State. The first Colonel Hendrik Grimm was an officer in the Lyran Commonwealth military, whose regiment was battered by Marik troops on Graham IV. Believing that the Lyran high command had left them to die, the surviving members of the 65th Lyran Regulars made for the Periphery, eventually settling on the warm temperate world of Oberon Vl. Soon after, many Inner Sphere soldiers who were weary with the endless warfare traveled to Oberon in search of an alternative.

During its early years, the people of the Oberon state conducted pirate raids against both the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine, usually in search of spare 'Mech parts and electronics. For the most part, however, the descendants of Hendrik Grimm I have been concerned primarily with the welfare of their subjects rather than with plunder for its own sake. Expanding outward from Oberon, the citizens of the Confederation have managed to colonize their neighboring star systems. Of all the Bandit Kingdoms in the Periphery, the Oberon Confederation alone is self- sufficient. On a social level, a limited form of democracy has brought about educational systems for the young, training facilities for MechWarriors and technicians, and even a modest pension plan for officers and enlisted personnel who have served the Confederation.

The recent development of Oberon into an increasingly stable, diversified state is due mainly to the vision of Hendrik Grimm III. Where Grimm's grandfather founded the state as a mockery of a government, and his father simply continued the family business of brutality, King Hendrik III takes the duties of his office seriously.

Another sign of Oberon's growing political maturity is Grimm's attitude to the nearby Elysian Fields. Though Oberon seems to be approaching the stage that Circinus reached two centuries ago--that of a viable nation-state supported in part by piracy--Grimm appears to be seeking the respectability that standard interstellar trade will bring. Thus, Grimm's pirates are not allowed to raid the Elysian worlds. Indeed, Hendrik has entered into trade and territorial agreements with them, the most important of which offers Grimm's navy docking rights in return for military protection against the many other Bandit Kingdoms in the area. As the Elysian Fields continue to develop, and thus become more tempting targets, ties between the two realms can be expected to grow closer. The potential for provincial unification-- similar to that which led to the foundation of the Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation seven centuries ago--may become irresistible to the leaders of both realms.

Recognizing the utility of social stability on their borders, representatives from both House Steiner and House Kurita have approached Hendrik III with offers of formal alliance. To date, Grimm has been reluctant to commit his peoples one way or the other, remaining cautiously neutral

See also

• Bandit Kingdom#Pirates of Butte Hold
• Bandit Kingdom#Morgraine's Valkyrate