The Deep Periphery and the secrets that lie within it

[tekteam26]

The Deep Periphery has so many possibilities for roleplaying and exploration. I wonder how many hidden groups of humans live out there, far from the conflicts of the Inner Sphere and the Clans? I could easily imagine a colony of refugees from the Rim World Republic, having planned well ahead of the retribution of the SLDF but not part of Amaris' madness, having traveled far into the Deep Periphery and set up a colony on a rich world. Only these people will have chosen to isolate themselves from the outside. Their population would have continued to grow with proper planning. Also their technological levels would not have diminished because of the extensive data base that they brought with them.

Of course, there is that small issue of a handful of missing and presumably derelict Pinto class corvettes. This colony could be in the possession of one...and have the means of keeping it operational. (or one of those 'extinct' Trackers)

Food for thought....

[Hawkeye Jim]

During the rapid expansion of the Human shpere, it's possible that a number of worlds were settled, then contact was lost. Perhaps by design, perhaps not. I should think that there would be plenty of room for some of them to "reappear".

[AirmanR]

I love the concept of the Deep Periphery as well... and what secrets lie out there. Somewhere, a jump ship comes out of jump, floating serenely at the jump point above a star. And, there, floating in space is a large black obelisk...

[Medron Pryde]

I see stars...

[Dirk Bastion]

The "Deep Periphery" is really strangely defined. You have the ass end of nowhere, worlds just big enough to be mentioned off-hand and forgotten star empires just waiting to be rediscovered. This is the interesting part, which I feel drawn to (I blame latent shades of Star Trek).

Then you have states like the Jarnfolk or the Chainlane Isles (okay, kinda stretching it here) which by all rights should be on Inner Sphere maps - especially the Isles.

[durant]

perfectly the chainelane must be on the inner sphere map, it's without doubt an uncontrolled region of space with a lot of little nation and a perfect hide place for the pirate. and may be (it's my hope) some amaris remmant... }:)
But if this portion of space was on the sphere map, the low tech warfare in this area would disappear, with the comming of carpet bagger, the great and powerfull house could invade it at this point or more probably use it for a test ground for new weapons and so keep them in instability state. Without speaking that with all this new technology the clans will not hesitate this time to destroy this little worlds and take them for themself...  :'(
And fot the ironfolk/Jarnfolk I think that if an obscure map agency want this cluster on her map, the martial guild will explain this system on the map can be a problem for you and your family... :-X

wonderfull mysterious and mortal periphery

[tekteam26]

Survey ship from Interstellar Explorations jumps into a previous unexplored star system in the Deep Periphery. Launches a DropShip and several shuttles to begin scanning the system.

"Captain. We are getting some very interesting readings here. Small red dwarf star, two gas giants, two asteroid belts, one planet right in the middle of the 'Goldilocks' band....wait a second...getting more data on that world. It's just about eighty nine percent of Terra mass and diameter. Lots of water, maybe even more than Alarion. Plenty of green on the land masses there. It's got a bunch of moons too. One's about the size of Ceres but there are at least five others that are in the same orbit. It's kind of strange too...they are all equadistantly spaced around that planet and all range between ninety and two hundred and sixty kilometers in diameter."

"Send in the Bloodhound for a closer look, Lieutenant"

"Yes, Sir......We are getting evidence of extensive settlements but very few electronic emissions....Whoops, we are getting a ton of interference on our communications and sensor bands.
   Sir, we're getting something on long range IR and optical sensors.....there are ships coming out of those moons.... Maybe DropShips, but they are very big....and very fast...."

    "Any word from Bloodhound?"

    "No, Sir.....Just a sudden flash of light from where she was supposed to be...and one last image of what appeared to be a shark."

I wonder what they have just found out there.

[IndyRI]

Count me among those who love the idea of the Deep Periphery. It's the last true "frontier" in Battletech. If you want to party in modern times, but keep things simple tech-wise, the DP give you a locale to do so. If you want to keep things at Star League levels even well into the Succession Wars, the DP lets you do that. If you want a way to pull a metaphorical rabbit out of your hat with a big new threat to the Inner Sphere, the DP lets you do that. It's a great location to explore new possibilities and angles specifically because it is so poorly defined.

And durant, I am currently working on a fairly expansive AU splitting off from canon Post-Jihad, and RWR remnants play at least a not-inconsiderable part in it. Keep your eyes peeled. As soon as I get some free time, I'm planning on posting it up on the fan boards.

[Nerroth]

I for one would like to see more info about the Hansa, and their own long-range efforts to exploitexplore the coreward DP.

[IndyRI]

I for one would like to see more info about the Hansa, and their own long-range efforts to exploitexplore the coreward DP.

Agreed. The Hansa were one of the few DP powers who really have been fleshed out and like a distinct faction in and of themselves. The idea of a faction of space merchants running a deeply ingrained feudal culture feels like the (un)holy lovechild of the Sea Foxes and SW-era Fedsuns.

[Nerroth]

Although, in the eras when Terra isn't cut off from the rest of known space, I'd wonder if the future version of the modern Hansa might feel uppity about having the name re-appropriated...

[Drufause]

And you can always have advanced tech green mechs visit.

[IndyRI]

Although, in the eras when Terra isn't cut off from the rest of known space, I'd wonder if the future version of the modern Hansa might feel uppity about having the name re-appropriated...

Well, even though the IS is certainly aware of the existence of the Hansas through C* and I believe Lyran exploration and trade, they are a minor enough entity in IS life that even the Terran Hansa likely would never have even heard of them.

[Nerroth]

Unless the Terran Hansa are the DP Hansa!

(Maybe the founders of the League left that portion of Terra for Lyran space, only to move on to the DP later on.)

Or, at least, the DP Hansa founders might have swiped some of the cool ceremonial robes and such when they left... which, naturally, the Terran Hansa might want back.

Presto, a reason for an obscure corner of the Terran populace to care about people out in the Deep Periphery! Or an excuse to run a post-Jihad campaign about a Terran ship in Hansa space.


At this point, I'm thinking we should probably just start a Hansa thread, lest they take over this one entirely.

[Minemech]

Whilst I am a Nueva Castile fan, I have always thought the Rimward deep Periphery to be a place with more interesting possibilities. That is not to say there is not anything spinward or anti-spinward, I just got the idea that there is probably a descent deal of things there. Worlds like Champoleone reinforce this view. Imagine a state where a small Blakist unit escaped to create a similar situation to that which the Nueva Castile faced, an enemy who brings war back, but who simply does not have enough machines to overrun it all at once causing an arms race and war.

[Nerroth]

The big advantage a rimward DP realm would have is being on the far end of human space from the Clans; the impact across the coreward DP from Clan space hasn't been too prominent just yet, but there have been signs of trouble here and there.

Maybe a Far Looker-founded agency could be the rimward equivalent of the Hansa's CPFs; jumping into the outerdark looking for new worlds and lost colonies to contend with?

[IndyRI]

Whilst I am a Nueva Castile fan, I have always thought the Rimward deep Periphery to be a place with more interesting possibilities. That is not to say there is not anything spinward or anti-spinward, I just got the idea that there is probably a descent deal of things there. Worlds like Champoleone reinforce this view. Imagine a state where a small Blakist unit escaped to create a similar situation to that which the Nueva Castile faced, an enemy who brings war back, but who simply does not have enough machines to overrun it all at once causing an arms race and war.

Never really cared for Nueva Castile, but it really was an interesting concept which interestingly enough closely parelleled the Clan invasion in both style and tone. A small, greatly outnumbered group of people arrive from far beyond your borders, using technology far more advanced than yours, quickly establishing themselves in your space but are too small to truly do more than establish a permanent foothold. Sound familiar?

[durant]

And durant, I am currently working on a fairly expansive AU splitting off from canon Post-Jihad, and RWR remnants play at least a not-inconsiderable part in it. Keep your eyes peeled. As soon as I get some free time, I'm planning on posting it up on the fan boards.

My emperor I'm with you !  [drool]
I must confess that too in my alternate universe the amaris house despite her destruction have a lot of remmant, by exemple I use the Samoyedic, saint andreas, axum and trentwash (and some other) to disturb my lyrian and pirate player... and help my lovely wobs to hide from the wrath of the sphere...
And since there is no more LAM In the sphere I'd give to them the exclusivity !  }:)

And to tekteam 26, I like your rim fortress republic... a good harbor for fellow rim people.  ::)

[Medron Pryde]

To the Rim there lies the Vandenberg White Wings...beware Will Robinson, beware...

 }:)

[IndyRI]

My emperor I'm with you !  [drool]
I must confess that too in my alternate universe the amaris house despite her destruction have a lot of remmant, by exemple I use the Samoyedic, saint andreas, axum and trentwash (and some other) to disturb my lyrian and pirate player... and help my lovely wobs to hide from the wrath of the sphere...
And since there is no more LAM In the sphere I'd give to them the exclusivity !  }:)

And to tekteam 26, I like your rim fortress republic... a good harbor for fellow rim people.  ::)

Oh the Amaris family has died out long ago.... it's the Rowe family that survives. Keeps the House going without feeling like too much of a retcon of existing canon.

[tekteam26]

Oh the Amaris family has died out long ago.... it's the Rowe family that survives. Keeps the House going without feeling like too much of a retcon of existing canon.

My Rim Worlds colony was established by refugees from the RWR who weren't necessarily Amaris loyalists but who saw the writing on the wall very early on after the beginning of the Amaris Coup. They've been keeping quiet in their nice distant cubby hole. It is kind of curious how their world has all of these little 'moons' orbiting around their world in such convenient orbits.

Who knows what is inside of those 'moons'.....and what a group with a Star League data base, no conflicts and three hundred plus years can manage. Oh, by the way, they have very few Mechs....but they did bring vehicles, fighters and a handful of 'acquired' Nighthawks with them during that long trip into the Deep Periphery those many years ago.

[Shirotora]

Personally, I'd like to explore the forgotten/lost OA worlds and see what happened to them. There's nearly a hundred worlds that simply fell off the radar after the Reunification War.

[IndyRI]

Personally, I'd like to explore the forgotten/lost OA worlds and see what happened to them. There's nearly a hundred worlds that simply fell off the radar after the Reunification War.

Well thus far the canon explanation has simply been they died off without support, same as the lost RWR worlds. It's never been a very firm answer though. I wouldn't mind seeing some exploration of just how that happened, and to what extent.

[Dirk Bastion]

Thirded. 100 worlds just up and die like that, someone still has to be there. I'd expect a sprinkling of two or three dozen isolated world-communities at best, though. Maybe a whole lot of pirate bases.
Exploring that still would be exciting.

[tekteam26]

Originally, the Star League/Terran Hegemony suppressed the development of the Periphery colonies' ability to be self-sufficient by making each colony focus on only one industry so that they would have to trade with each other in order to survive. ie one colony grew all of the food, another colony mined all of a certain mineral, a third had all of the manufacturing facilities to make that widgets that the other two colonies needed to survive.

Now, what if one or more of those Deep Periphery colonies developed without the interference of the Terrans, developing all of the industries and resources needed for a human colony to survive and even grow? This is especially true if they found a world that was relatively close to Earth in its environment and resources and could obtain otherwise needed minerals from a nearby asteroid belt. Add to that a decent technological database.

You could find one of those worlds sitting out there in the Deep Periphery, minding its own business, keeping nice and quiet, but spending its time making sure that anyone who decided to 'drop by', especially with malicious intent, would receive a very short and unpleasant reception.

"There's something very odd about all of those small moons orbiting that world.....like they weren't natural....."

Now

[Medron Pryde]

"Those aren't moons..."

[IndyRI]

"They're space stations!"

[SLDF_Spector]

Personally, I'm toying with the idea of a "lost planet" with the same level of technology that we have today.  21st century stuff.  Maybe a colony or world that was nuked into a dark ages scenario but later discovered a hidden cache of SL tech.  Nothing powerful, maybe a half functioning 'Mech and a few odds and ends.

[Atlan]

I'm remembering a line from Jihad Conspiracies: Interstellar Players 2

In just a few decades (forget centuries!), dozens of “leftover”
Republic worlds vanished from the star charts, many supposedly
due to “extreme population decline” (a euphemism old navigators
used to describe a world that wasn’t worth the fuel it cost to
get there).

Which I always thought summed up the dissaperance of worlds pretty well- no-one bothers to go there any more, so they are just written off.

I always liked the deep periphery too. Not because of the huge empires that could be waiting there (like the clans), but because of the single planet mysteries.
Like LiamGhost's Denizens of the deep Periphery
http://www.classicbattletech.com/forumarchive/index.php/topic,50362.0.html

[tekteam26]

"They're space stations!"

Think six Camelot Commands instead.......with added SDS installations as well.