Rochelle

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Rochelle
Rochelle 3151.svg
System Information
X:Y Coordinates-113.791 : -15.815[e]
Spectral classK7V[1]
Planet(s)6[1]

Note: X and Y are coordinates (light years on XY plane) relative to Terra at (0, 0)

Template:InfoBoxPlanetStandard

Rochelle is a rainy world with violent thunderstorms.[2]

Political Affiliation

Planetary History

Early History

One of the first worlds settled by humans, Rochelle featured a large amount of mineral resources that could be easily exploited, abundant surface water, and rich soil perfect for agriculture. Though after the fall of the Terran Alliance it joined the Federation of Skye, eventually Rochelle would become part of the Free Worlds League.[1] Captain-General Peter Marik captured Rochelle in 2417 or 2418 as part of a military campaign against the Lyran Commonwealth in response to Lyran efforts to capture the world of Dieudonne. Peter Marik intentionally went against the wishes of the Free Worlds League Parliament when he seized control of Rochelle; the Parliament was attempting to create an armistice, but Peter felt that the mining operations on Rochelle outweighed the concerns of Parliament, and was able to capture Rochelle in part because of how lightly defended the planet was. Peter's actions in capturing Rochelle brought him into direct conflict with Parliament, resulting in Parliament producing the War Powers Act, severely limiting the authority given to the Captain-General.[5]

The Succession Wars

During the first two Succession Wars, Rochelle was the victim of strikes by nuclear and chemical weapons, which poisoned most of the world and destroyed its industrial infrastructure.[1] During a lull in the conflict in 2863 that presaged the eventual armistice ending the Second Succession War Captain-General Philippa Marik - who had assumed the title after the death of her brother Gerald in 2861 - came under increasing pressure to disband part of the Free Worlds League Military to allow funding to be redirected to reconstruct the League's damaged industrial base, and to relinquish the powers available to her under Resolution 288. Philippa resisted both calls, but did dispatch some of her surviving enclaves of scientists to Rochelle to help rebuild the industrial base there, as well as to the worlds of Andurien, Danais and Ryerson. Unfortunately, the scientists found Rochelle to be virtually unsalvageable.[32]

The Free Worlds League government attempted to evacuate Rochelle,[32] but despite this a hardcore group of inhabitants remained behind to mine the ores needed by the Free Worlds League. Despite the best effort of local and regional governments and citizens, the population continued to decline and the economy continued to falter. Alongside these downward trends was the loss of more and more infrastructure, thus perpetuating the cycle of decline.[1]

In 3007 the Lyran Commonwealth attacked Rochelle, and the Free Worlds League defended with mostly small mercenary commands. The fighting was drawn-out and inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, destroying many mercenary commands in League employ. One of the notable combatants was the mercenary command McFinney's Manglers, under the command of Cranston Snord who had won it in a poker game. The unit fought under the League banner for a year in exchange for debts they owned being written off; the Manglers managed to weather the campaign in good shape, even expanding somewhat in size through absorbing 'Mechs and their pilots from shattered mercenary commands. The League subsequently betrayed the surviving mercenary commands on Rochelle in the aftermath of the invasion; Captain-General Janos Marik's lawyers attempted to use unclear salvage clauses in the various mercenary contracts to confiscate the equipment belonging to the mercenaries, so that it could be used to rebuild damaged FWLM commands. The League's actions led to a mercenary uprising led by McFinney's Manglers, culminating in a fight to escape off-world, with the mercenaries successfully breaking out through the exhausted League forces via the planetary spaceport located at the decaying planetary capital, Arzenburg. One of the casualties in the battle was Melvin McFinney, securing Cranston Snord's hold over the Manglers. The unit would famously reform into Snord's Irregulars.[14][15]

Snord's Irregulars returned to Rochelle after a few years, to search for antique photographs in the city archives of Trivis. The raid encountered much more resistance than anticipated, tangling with a League 'Mech company in the vicinity of the Trivis city hall while recovering the photographs from the vault below the city hall, but the Irregulars managed to escape after detonating a building filled with petrochemicals.[2]

The Jihad

During the Jihad the Lyran Commonwealth raided the world in retaliation for attacks they thought came from the FWL. These raids smashed more infrastructure and destroyed the capital city, accelerating the world's decline. Only after the world was ceded to the Republic of the Sphere and large numbers of new colonists arrived has the planet's situation started to reverse. The planetary capital, New Arzenburg, expanded significantly during the Dark Age, with a major expansion to the spaceport being completed in the early thirty-second century, allowing ores mined on Caredon to be shipped more widely. Despite the resurgence of economic activity and industry on Rochelle, the southern continent of Martinasia stayed largely abandoned during the Dark Age because of the combination of lingering radiation and environmental hazards such as acrid rain, the lasting effects of the First and Second Succession Wars.[1]

Military Deployment

2764

2786

3050

3054

3059

3067

3079

3145

Industrial Centers

Geography

Rochelle has two continents, Caredon and Martinasia. Caredon lies in Rochelle's northern hemisphere, while Martinasia is in the southern hemisphere.[1]

Planetary Locations

  • Arzenburg: the planetary capital city prior to the end of the Jihad.[1]
  • New Arzenburg: the planetary capital city during the Dark Age.[1]
  • Trivis: a city on Rochelle.[2]

Nearby Systems

Closest 56 systems (53 within 60 light-years)
Distance in light years, closest systems first:
Kalidasa 10.8 Solaris 12.2 Alkes 15.0 Gniezno 15.1
New Hope 17.1 Amity 21.3 Uhuru 25.5 Zaniah 26.1
Shiloh 27.8 Aquileia 28.1 Algorab 29.6 New Kyoto 30.1
Catroxx 30.8 Alhena 31.3 Kolobrzeg 34.0 Concord 35.0
Adhafera 36.4 Stewart 36.5 Tania Borealis 37.4 Pardeau 37.4
Rahne 37.7 Gacrux 38.1 Wing 38.9 Chertan 39.1
Dieudonné 39.9 Phecda 41.8 Danais 42.2 Dubhe 43.2
Vindemiatrix 44.3 Fianna 45.7 Savannah 46.0 Helm 46.8
Merak 46.9 Remulac 46.9 Wyatt 47.1 Alchiba 49.3
Callison 51.2 Hyde 51.9 Lamon 52.5 Milton 52.8
Caledonia 53.5 Launam 53.5 Bordon 53.7 Grobin 54.5
Marcus 54.9 Tania Australis 55.8 Bondurant 57.2 Nathan 57.3
Carsphairn 57.6 Nestor 57.7 Alcor 59.4 New Dallas 59.6
Sarpsborg 60.0 Cor Caroli 60.2 Alphard 60.4 Alioth 62.4

References

  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 Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130), p. 193, "Rochelle World Profile"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cranston Snord's Irregulars, pp. 22-23 (Scenario "Return of the Snord")
  3. Handbook: House Marik, p. 16, "Free Worlds League Founding [2271]"
  4. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 13,
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 15, "Struggle Between Marik and Parliament"
  6. Handbook: House Marik, p. 24, "Free Worlds League after Age of War [2571] Map"
  7. Historical: Reunification War, p. 159, "Inner Sphere - 2596"
  8. Era Report: 2750, p. 37, "Inner Sphere - 2750"
  9. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 11, "Inner Sphere - 2765"
  10. First Succession War (Source Book), pp. 24-25, "Inner Sphere - [2786] Map"
  11. Handbook: House Marik, p. 34, "Free Worlds League after First Succession War [2822] Map"
  12. First Succession War (Source Book), pp. 112-113, "Inner Sphere - [2822] Map"
  13. Handbook: House Marik, p. 38, "Free Worlds League after Second Succession War [2864] Map"
  14. 14.0 14.1 Cranston Snord's Irregulars, p. 2
  15. 15.0 15.1 Twins
  16. Handbook: House Marik, p. 42, "Free Worlds League after Third Succession War [3025] Map"
  17. Handbook: House Marik, p. 51, "Free Worlds League after Fourth Succession War [3030] Map"
  18. Historical: War of 3039, p. 133, "Inner Sphere - 3040"
  19. Era Report: 3052, p. 11, "Inner Sphere [3050] Map"
  20. Era Report: 3052, p. 25, "Inner Sphere [3052] Map"
  21. Era Report: 3062, p. 11, "Inner Sphere [3057] Map"
  22. Handbook: House Marik, p. 54, "Free Worlds League after Operation Guerrero [3058] Map"
  23. Era Report: 3062, p. 29, "Inner Sphere [3063] Map"
  24. 24.0 24.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 159, "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"
  25. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 64, "Inner Sphere [3075] Map"
  26. Field Report: FWLM, p. 17, "FWLM Deployment Map [3079]"
  27. Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 63, "Inner Sphere Map - [March 3081]"
  28. Field Manual: 3085, p. vii, "Inner Sphere Map - [October 3085]"
  29. Map of the Inner Sphere 3130
  30. Era Report: 3145, p. 10, "Inner Sphere - 3135"
  31. Era Report: 3145, p. 39, "Inner Sphere - 3145"
  32. 32.0 32.1 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 36, "Last Chance For Peace"
  33. Field Manual: SLDF, p. 254, "SLDF - Free Worlds League Military Command Map"
  34. First Succession War (Source Book), p. 138, "First Succession War Deployment Table - FWLM"
  35. 20 Year Update, p. 57, "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"
  36. Objective Raids, p. 39, "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"
  37. Field Manual: Free Worlds League, p. 115, "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"
  38. Field Report: FWLM, p. 14, "Regimental Status"
  39. Field Report: FWLM, p. 16, "Irregular Forces Status"
  40. Field Manual: 3145, p. 171, "Clan Force Deployments - Wolf Empire"
  41. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 131, "MediQuick Services"

Bibliography