Nightwish
Star Type: K8V
Charge Time: 199 hours
Transit Time: 3.47 days
Position in System: 1st
Diameter: 14,500 km
Gravity: 1.47
Day Length: 23 hours
Satellites: 8, plus extensive ring system
Atmospheric Pressure: High
Atmospheric Composition: Habitable (Breathable)
Surface Water: 74%
Equatorial Temperature: 44.85 C
Highest Native Life: Mammal
Population: 77,000,000
Government: Socialist Democracy
HPG Class: Class B (nonfunctional)
Recharge Stations: None
USILR Classification:
Technological Sophistication: D
Industrial Development: F
Industrial Output: F
Agricultural Dependence: B
Raw Material Dependence: B
Surveyed in the last days of the 22nd century, the star system PL-391 was not orginally targeted for colonization. Nearly five hundred lightyears from Terra, PL-391 was at the maximum operational range for the survey ships of the era (requiring a round trip of roughly a year and a half), and well beyond the range possible for any properly supported colonization effort at the time. Even if a group could be found willing to mount such an expensive expedition, the sole habitable planet, though teeeming with life, possessed a surface gravity well above Terran normal, too high to support healthy living among the colonists of the day. The planet also bore numerous scars from recent impact events, and the vast populations of asteroids, dwarf planets, and comets in the system made it abundantly clear that this could be considered a regular event. Because of this, after tagging the system Nightwish (for reasons lost to history), the survey teams filed the star system away as unsuitable, no followup required and left it to be forgotten. Even as the first permanent colonies began to appear in the region, the star system remained largely ignored, aside from the occassional passing ship tapping a comet for additional reaction mass.
Conflict back on Terra would eventually decide the fate of Nightwish, as the Outer Reaches Rebellion saw the collapse of the Terran Alliance's expansionist party and brought the Liberals to power, who in turn solved the problem of rebel worlds by cutting off the Alliance from most of humanity with the Demarcation Declaration. This notion of solving problems by handing them off to someone else became something of a bad habit, as subsequent leaders of the increasingly unstable Terran Alliance made shipping disidents beyond the Alliance's borders standard government policy. In one particular case in 2263, thousands of nationalist disidents in southwest Asia, who had been a thorn in the side of the Alliance since before it became the Terran Alliance, were loaded aboard a fleet of by now obsolete Ark class jumpships, often at gunpoint, and escorted by the Alliance navy out of Alliance territory.
These somewhat unwilling colonists would find themselves wandering steadily anti-spinward for a number of years, occasionally landing at an existing colony or uninhabited world to put down roots, only to then find themselves either unwilling to assimilate into or rejected from joining an existing colony, or pushed off of a new colony by larger, better equipped expeditions. Over time, their numbers gradually dwindled as members gave up on the hardline aspects of their ideology to be accepted on other worlds or struck out on their own, but eventually, four years after being forced out of the Alliance, they found Nightwish and declared it their home, for the very reasons it had been rejected for colonization in the first place. Their expulsion from the Alliance, as well as four hard years of journeying through space had turned a general distrust of outsiders into a hardened rejection of the rest of the universe, and Nightwish, at the very edge of inhabited space and unlikely to be targeted for colonization by anybody else, seemed an ideal place to hide from those who might yet again victimize them. And it worked pretty well for a while. The Nightwish colony flourished, despite the high gravity and a general lack of exploitable mineral resources, expanding to a complex, highly developed agricultural settlement home to a few million content residents by the early years of the 25th century, when the outside world once again came calling. Traders and explorers from the Lyran Commonwealth came first, and while their visits could be considered the definition of the "hard sell" extoling the virtues of Lyran consumer goods and the benefits of membership in the Commonwealth, they at least (eventually) left when refused. Visitors from the Rim Worlds offered no such courtesy. Offers of alliance turned to threats, and in 2421, invasion. Though the locals had only a few heirloom weapons brought from Terra and the Rim Worlds was able to field a large, professional army, the war quickly became a bloody quagmire for the invaders, as the locals contested every meter of ground using whatever improvised weapons and explosives they could get their hands on. Even as Rim Worlds troops managed to finally secure the world's major cities (built partly underground due to the risk of impact events), they continued to face years of guerilla war as rebels struck at their garrisons and supply lines from within the world's dense jungles. Rumors that Lyran smugglers were beginning to deliver modern weapons to the rebels, proved the last straw and, hoping to salvage at least something from this military disaster, Rim Worlds commanders sat down with rebel leaders to negotiate a permanent peace treaty. After six months of negotiation, a final deal was reached that saw Nightwish incorporated into the Rim Worlds Republic as an autonomous protectorate. Though this treaty ended the fighting and granted the world full control over all planetary affairs, for the more radical elements of the population, any degree of surrender (especially the regular taxation that would be paid to the Rim Worlds Government for their protection from outside forces) was deemed unacceptable, and low level resistance continued for over a century afterwards, forcing the Rim Worlds to permanently station forces on planet to ensure the safety and regular delivery of tributed resources. Even so, life under Rim Worlds rule was surprisingly peaceful, even given the occassional excesses of their Rim Worlds Overlords or those who opposed them. The unique hands off approach the Rim Worlds took to maintaining their authority even spared the world most of the unrest that plagued the Republic in the years leading up to the Reunification War.
It did not, however, spare them from the Reunification War. Nightwish suffered from particular infamy when it was targeted by the Combine contingent assigned to battlegroup Timbuktu. Citing the suspension of the Ares Convention, Combine forces savaged the planet, openly targeting civilian population centers and relying on torture to extract information. By the time the world was declared secured, thousands of civilians had become casualties, and Nightwish had become a rallying cry that saw Republic troops and civilians stiffen their resistance on every front, something that the people of Nightwish took little comfort in. The Reunification War had a dramatic affect on the people of Nightwish, however. Where before all outsiders were regarded with distrust and even hatred, the shared experience of fighting alongside Rim Worlds troops during the war against the brutal troops of the Combine contingent seemed to bind them closer to the Rim Worlds as a whole. Though the locals still retained their distinct culture, over time they began to see themselves as not just as citizens of Nightwish, but of the Rim Worlds Republic as a whole. Following the rise of Richard Amaris to the throne, for the first time the Rim Worlds Banner was hoisted over Nightwish's house of parliament, and by the time Stephan Amaris came to power, the citizenry of Nightwish could be counted among his most loyal followers. This loyalty (born both out of a shared hatred for the Star League and the isolation Nightwish had from the Republic's excesses) led to Amaris using the world as a linchpin in the buildups for the Amaris Coup, establishing vast storehouses for material, as well as recruiting heavily among the population for the Republican Guard divisions.
This loyalty makes it easy to tar the planet with the same Evil brush one might use on Amaris and his ilk, though it's important to remember that Nightwish, even at this point, still remained largely isolated from the goings on of the Republic. It was never directly ruled by Republic officials, and the populace's rejection of outside influences caused them to also reject outside media. Nightwish grew up in a bubble where the worst excesses of the Republic; slavery, corruption, human rights violations, state sponsored terrorism and piracy, never reached them. While their soldiers serving far away with the Rim Worlds Military might know differently, for those back home, Stephan Amaris was another in a long line of revolutionary icons striking back against tyrants seeking to enslave the world, and it wouldn't be until after the SLDF came to Nightwish that they would learn just how wrong they were. Compared to prior invasions, the SLDF's campaign against Nightwish was mercifully brief, with elements of 14th army quickly securing strategic points around the capital and repulsing a quick counter attack by the world's lone battlemech battalion. Rather than pursue the retreating defenders, the SLDF troops instead held their positions and called for negotiation. These negotiations were eye opening, to say the least, and ended with SLDF forces withdrawing unmolested, after receiving a pledge of non-agression from the world, which was maintained for the rest of the war.
The collapse of the Rim Worlds Republic had no immediate affect on Nightwish, as it was already effectively self governing. Unfortunately, the world was not yet done suffering. During the first succession war, Both the Lyran Commonwealth and the Free Worlds League targeted Nightwish relentlessly, launching numerous raids to recover materials left over from Amaris' hidden army. Though they often turned up little, these constant attacks caused tremendous damage to the world's infrastructure, especially the spaceborn infrastructure established to support asteroid mining during the Star League era. As the First Succession War spun out of control in the Inner Sphere, these attacks became more and more desperate and violent, leveling cities and towns in search of caches that had been long depleted. The planetary militia attempted to fend off these attacks, only to be gradually ground down to virtually nothing, leaving the planet completely defenseless as pirates replaced the house troops as agressors following the end of the First War. That the locals had almost nothing left to take did nothing to help, as pirate raiders quickly decided that the locals themselves were a sufficiently lucrative property. Even today, tasteless traders are known to remark that people are Nightwish's biggest export, and among slave trading circles, natives of Nightwish remain highly prized due to the perception that the world's high gravity makes them tougher, stronger, and better suited for manual labor. These centuries of victimization have turned a former distrust of outsiders to outright hatred, with the locals adopting a "shoot on sight" mentality that claimed the first exploratory team sent to the world, and has limited further contact exclusively to orbit to surface radio.
This is itself a tragedy, as through it all, Nightwish has maintained a vibrant, highly complex culture, with its roots in the pan-Arab nationalism of its ancestors. Its cities are practically stone and timber works of art, the streets lined with statuary depicting individuals recognized as cultural and revolutionary icons. Their temples function as both centers of religion and education, and though they have few modern technolgies remaining to them, the citizenry still enjoy near universal literacy and extensive education in the natural sciences (astronomy is especially popular). The shear artistry of the buildings and sculptures that decorate the cities is especially noteworthy due to both the pirate raids and meteor impacts that regularly leave their scars on populated areas. The local craftsmen excel at the constant repair work necessary to keep their cities beautiful, and their skills would command enormous fees almost anywhere in the Inner Sphere. Technology and healthcare lags well behind the inner sphere, but only for want of resources. The population and government is primarily secular, functioning as a representative democracy supported by socialist policies intended to ensure the well being of all, at least to the best of the government's abilities to do so. Religion remains a major part of the local culture, and some residents of the galaxy's more liberal societies (such as the Taurian Concordat or Magistracy of Canopus) might regard that culture as somewhat backward. In general, however, the population enjoys about as comfortable a life as could be hoped for.
Militarily, Nightwish has little to protect itself with. During the later days of the Rim Worlds Republic, the planet boasted its own mech battalion, composed entirely of Scorpion battlemechs (their quad frame made them ideal for high gravity operations). After generations of conflict, however, this force no longer exists (the last functioning Scorpion is believed to have broken down sometime during the mid 3050s). All that remains are small militia forces equipped with personal weapons and whatever improvised traps and explosives they can rig. Even so, these troops can be surprisingly effective, especially against battlemechs, which have to struggle against the high gravity and can sometimes be brought down by simple traps. Once they have the mech on the ground, the locals are quick to swarm the machine and atempt to breech the cockpit with an explosive device. It is rumored that mechs downed in this matter are dragged off and hidden away for later use, which only tends to bring more trouble to the planet, though it is noteworthy that the locals apparently no longer have any trained pilots of their own to man such machines.
The world itself is lush and beautiful in its own way. Every continent is covered with hardy life evolved not only to thrive in the high gravity, but also quickly recover from the occasional extinction level impact event (estimated to happen roughly every six thousand years). Regular extinctions means large creatures have failed to evolve on the planet, making the wilderness appear deceptively safe, however there remain several different swarming species, both vertibrate and otherwise, that have proven extremely dangerous to humans due to their large numbers and their voracious appetites. While the locals know the tricks and chemistry necessary to keep them at bay, outsiders usually have no such luck, thus allowing the Jungle itself to serve as Nightwish's first line of defense. Even beyond the directly dangerous species, however, nearly every lifeform poses its own risks, even if they're only ecological. During the Star League era, surveys by the Burea of Star League Affairs took the unprecedented step of declaring every native species on Nightwish as potentially invasive species and banned their export to other League worlds.
Interstellar Expeditions continues to monitor the system, though for the time being, any ground based surveys are limited to areas well away from known population centers to avoid further conflicts with the locals. Regular attempts at contact through radio are made, with some success, and the company is confident that eventually we will be able to make a face to face meeting.
Gamemaster's Section:
Characters from Nightwish use the Independent:Generic affiliation with the following modifiers. Primary language is changed to Arabic, while secondary language becomes English. In addition, the character receives -200 xp to Compulsion/Xenophobia, +100 xp to strength, and +100 xp to willpower. On Nightwish, any equipment of a tech level higher than A has its costs doubled and its availability code increased by one (availability F becomes X and the item is not available), due to the general scarcity of manufactured goods.
As stated above, in the current era outsiders are shot on sight. On the tabletop, the troops on Nightwish should be limited to rifled infantry (foot or mechanized/wheeled), or the mobs or insurgents described in Historical: Reunification War. Before the Clan invasion era, these forces can be supplemented with a small number of light, ICE powered vehicles or one or two SCP-1N Scorpion battlemechs.
If one wants to go all the way back to the Star League Era, at the height of the Star League Nightwish maintained its own battalion of Scorpion battlemechs (also the SCP-1N configuration) as well as supplying personnel for the Rim Worlds Army's Republican Guard divisions. These battlemechs were chosen primarily because their quad frame made them easier to handle in the high gravity, and their speed allowed them to retain some mobility. Because the gravity slowed everything down and kept them from using speed to avoid damage, these mechs were also usually equipped with smoke munitions for their SRM launcher, using it to provide extra cover on the move rather than extra damage capacity. Troops in service with Amaris would be similarly equipped, since the unique Scorpion is what they are most familiar with, and served primarily as skirmishers. Nightwish personnel were common enough to make up the majority of a Republican Guard Division (composed primarily of Scorpions and mechanized infantry), as well as being scattered among other units.