GHOST BEAR DOMINION

OVERVIEW
The Ghost Bear Dominion is another name for the Ghost Bear Occupation Zone.

Clan Space Planets

One of the original five worlds settled by the Exodus fleet in 2786, Arcadia superficially resembles its namesake. Though water covers only 50% of its surface, the planet supports considerable dense vegetation and a fully developed ecosystem. Many analogues to Terran flora exist on Arcadia, including the Arcadian mammoth, a large hairy herbivorous mammal with huge tusks and an extended snout, and the Arcadian russet, a mahogany-like hardwood. The world's colonists also introduced a number of Terran species, modified to survive Arcadia's environmental conditions. Most notable of these is the cloud cobra, which soon carved out a niche for itself in the misty equatorial jungles. The colonists also attempted to introduce the cobra to the temperate grasslands, but the native steel viper decimated the cobra nests within months of the cobras' release.

The presence of a harmful virus in the atmosphere caused many deaths among early colonists before the development of counter-agents. Some areas of the planet suffered earthquakes and intense volcanic activity; these were a source of many valuable minerals, prompting the establishment of extensive mining camps. Some particularly beautiful areas, such as the southern islands, became vacation resorts, while the rich soils of the Aeschal Plateau were ideal for growing genetically modified foodstuffs. Arcadia's relative abundance of resources had its downside, however. Considerable fighting took place on Arcadia in the Exodus Civil War, devastating most of the planet's cities and industrial centers. As farmers and workers were drafted into the armies of the petty warlords, the planetary economy collapsed, causing widespread famine and death.

Reconstruction took many years. As with Inner Sphere worlds devastated in the Succession Wars, the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons rendered many cities uninhabitable for centuries. The ruins of cities and military enclosures dot the Arcadian countryside. The planetary capital of Rivera was spared such destruction, and today serves as neutral ground for the three Clans present on Arcadia. A forth Clan, the Blood Spirits, withdrew to their colony world of York in 3059. Administrative and mercantile facilities occupy most of Rivera, along with the Hall of Arcadia. Made of local iron-rich granite, it serves as a meeting hall and houses the command mechanisms for the planetary SDS system. Aerospace bases on the world's single moon provided additional protection against attack.

Inner Sphere Planets

Alshain is a fair-sized planet with enough natural resources to support a BattleMech factory and various lesser industries. Beyond that, the world is not large enough to support anything larger than light industry. The general climate of the world is temperate, and it possesses large pine forests, which were started by the original settlers.

Silverdale is the capital of Alshain. A large city, it clusters around the planet's spaceport. In addition, the city has a large, European-influenced ukiyo, complete with beer halls and red lights. There is also a growing underground movement that worries the ISF.

The head of the Alshain People's Movement is a shadowy figure called the Silver Fox. As a result of their latest terrorist action, 20 workers were killed at the BattleMech factory. The metsukes have brutally executed suspected members of the groups to quell the growing movement, but to no avail.

[3054] When Alshain was overrun, the Kuritan's attempted to destroy their factories rather than surrender them to Clan use. Most of the Alshain factories were levelled, but the Clans managed to salvage and rebuild the Locust line. The Ghost Bears are using the Joint Equipment systems facilities reluctantly. Even by Inner Sphere standards, the vehicles produced here are considered poor quality.

Rasalhague has an ancient history going back into pre-Hegemony days, when a large group of Swedish and Northern Europeans left a war-torn Terra. They found a large world orbiting far from its huge sun and possessing abundant water and natural resources. Rasalhague was so similar to their former countries that the colonists ignored its few bad qualities, such as a deadly local virus.

Since that time, large industries have sprung up to take advantage of the plentiful natural resources, including the various exotic fruits and animals from the jungles of the planet's torrid tropical zone.

The wishes of the people to stay free and independent were dashed when the Principality of Rasalhague fell to the Draconis Combine. Although sometimes brutal, the Draconis Combine has respected the independence of Rasalhague and has not destroyed the large and solemn Palace Hall, the government building located in Reykjavik, the capital city of Rasalhague.

The capital city of Rasalhague is Reykjavik. It has three major continents. The northern continent contains the capital. The central tropical continent is named Ystad, and the southern frigid, polar continent is named Hammerfest which contains vital industrial centers.

Every July, a new strain of the Fenris flu emerges from the Rasalhague tropics. This flu, a constantly mutating strain of the deadly Fenris plague, is always debilitating, though usually not fatal.

Rasalhague was captured by Clan Ghost Bear sometime during the Federated Commonwealth Civil War.  By 3067 Rasalhague was under their control.

System Name: Altenmarkt
Coordinates: 13.82, 225.85
Time to Jump Point: 10.00 days
Description:

An ice age is currently unfolding on Altenmarkt. Massive glaciers make land movement treacherous, but 'Mechs do not have much of a problem with overheating.

The small continent of Frosha is the site of Altenmarkt's industrial and political centers.

[3052] No information concerning events on Ardoz has been available since the Ghost Bears captured the world in February 3052. Rumors abound that the Bears discovered a Star League base on the planet, but these rumors cannot be confirmed. The destruction of Ardoz's HPG facility in the initial attack has resulted in a total information blackout from the planet; the Ghost Bears are refusing to let any ComStar representatives rebuild, and they have said nothing about the situation on the world.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Casere in September 3050. Defending the world were the KungsÁrme's Second Husars. The fanatical Husars used their light elements to harass the Third Bear Guards and draw the Bear into an old industrial sector where the Husars' heavy elements lashed out from reinforced positions. The close-quarters fighting neutralized the Third's advantage in weapons range, but their firepower compensated for that loss.

Despite their habit of taking as many bondsmen as possible from their enemies' ranks, the fierce fighting forced the Ghost Bear Cluster to destroy the Husars to a man.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Constance in April 3050. Facing them was the Honor Guard - 5 assorted companies of 'Mechs, and 2 armor regiments. In this savage campaign, both sides resorted to ambushes and devious tactics. The Honor Guard went as far as to poison the general water supply, wrongly assuming that the Bears did not have their own reserves.

The Ghost Bears labelled the Honor Guard dezgra after this incident; Star Colonel Chou Vong used it as an excuse to call down his entire 68th Striker Cluster, and finish the battle quickly. The Honor Guard, however, used hit-and-run guerrilla attacks to deny the Bears a swift victory. The 68th chased the Honor Guard's elite armor regiments for five days, whittling down their forces through attrition.

[3063] Courchevel was the site of the final battle of the Ghost Bear's "Test of Vengeance".

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Damian in March 3050, and had high hopes of finishing off the defenders in short order, but after six days of fruitless searching they decided that the Black Omen mercenary company must have left before the Bears arrived. The Ghost Bears left a small garrison on the planet, and then moved on. Two months later, the Black Omens came out of hiding and overran the garrison forcing the Bears to retake the planet during the second wave of the invasion.

The Black Omen's "treachery," as the Ghost Bears see it, accounts for much of that Clan's well-known hatred of mercenaries.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Eguilles in March 3052. Facing them was the Forth Arkab Legion. The Bears 155th Striker Cluster landed just north of the Forth Arkab's main encampment and immediately launched a series of stinging raids. Using the flexibility of the OmniMech to its fullest potential, they thwarted all enemy attempts to determine the number and composition of the Clan forces. Because the Forth had not responded to the batchall, its warriors could only assume that they were vastly outnumbered. Tai-sa Sajulam Kosiridam and his officers opted for a suicide charge into the center of the enemy lines; much to their surprise, the 155th broke and retreated under the weight of the assault.

The Ghost Bears turned and made for the Carstairs Plains, where Star Colonel Romano Tseng engaged in one-on-one combat against two members of the Forth while her cluster kept the rest of the defending unit busy. In the second one-on-one battle, the Forth's commander destroyed Tseng's 'Mech. The death of their Star Colonel demoralized the embattled 115th Strikers; leaderless and perilously low on ammunition, they ran before the Forth's furious assault all the way back to their Dropships at Rockclift.

There, they reconfigured their 'Mechs for laser weapons and awaited their pursuers. The Forth caught up with the 155th and surrounded them, expecting victory, but the Legion's second battalion collapsed under a heavy Bear counterattack. Choosing to live to fight another day, the Forth ran for their Dropships and lifted off, their retreat largely unchallenged by the exhausted Ghost Bear force.

Engadin is a manufacturing planet with only one major industry - the manufacture of inferno rounds. Clan Wolf landed on Engadin in late August 3050. Led by Star Colonel Ramon Sender, the Wolf forces had to suffer through a seemingly endless barrage of infernos from SRM's, LRM's, artillery, tanks and infantry. The First and Third Engadin Home Defense Brigades managed to hold Clan Wolf at a standstill for almost two weeks until their stockpiles ran out, after which the planet was captured within four days.

This delayed victory caused considerable embarrassment to Star Colonel Sender, who had bragged that taking the planet would be quick and easy. After the planet was secured, Clan Wolf began stockpiling supplies in several secure locations on the planet's surface to use in their invasion supply lines.

The capital of Engadin is Yonkers.

Engadin was briefly ceded by Clan Wolf to Clan Hell's Horses, who then lost possession of the planet to the Ghost Bears in 3063.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Goito in October 3050. Facing them were the 2 armor battalions of the Hunting Revelers. The relentless advance of the OmniMechs of the Supernova Command, First Bear Guards Guards, broke the morale of the green Revelers, whose clumsy retreat into Apache Canyon sealed their fate.

[3025] Gunzberg is a nightmare world of murky swamps and deep tropical rainforests. Terraforming plants built during the Star League-era had once dotted the planet, but now only two remain. Gunburg is also home to Birnheart's Fever, a crippling, though curable illness.

[3051] The biding for the well defended world of Gunzberg, in December 3051, was fierce. The final bid was between Khan Natasha Kerensky and her Wolf spiders, and Star Colonel Marcos Radick and the Heel Snappers. Star Colonel Radick, still stinging after being low-balled by Natasha Kerensky at Memmington, hoped to return the favor. Radick and all the observing Khans were stunned into silence when Kerensky offered to take the whole planet with just one man, star Commander Phelan Wolf. Phelan had been stationed on Gunzberg as part of the Kell Hounds and knew the planet's leader, General Tor Miraborg, very well, though he did not remember him fondly.

Tor was not only the charismatic leader of Gunzberg, but commander of all the Rasalhague forces in the Radstadt Province. He was also the father of Kapten Tyra Miraborg, the pilot whose suicide run against the Dire Wolf at Radstadt, resulted in the death of ilKhan Leo Showers. The idea that he could be won over by just one man seemed ludicrous, but Star Commander Phelan had the ability to tell the truth simply and without flinching. He told General Miraborg that his Gunzberg Eagles, Armor Regiment, and First and Second Mechanized Infantry Regiments would gain great glory if they chose to fight the Clans, but that they could not hope to win and would certainly be wiped out. He asked General Miraborg to weigh the glory against the pain and suffering that the battle would inflict on Gunzberg. Star Commander Phelan's appeal to Miraborg's concern for his people succeeded, and Gunzberg became part of the Wolf Occupation Zone without a shot being fired.

Shortalar City is the capital of Gunzburg.

Clan Ghost Bear took possession of Gunzburg in 3063 to punish Clan Wolf for manipulating Clan Hell's Horses into attack them while they were in the middle of their "Test of Vengeance".

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Halesowen in January 3052. Facing them were the Halesowen Protectors, consisting of 1 'Mech company and a regiment of infantry. Striking at high noon, the Bears swept over the entrenched infantry and headed straight for the 'Mechs. The retreating Protectors turned the tables briefly by luring both Alpha and Tango Star, 104th Striker Cluster Trinary Command, into a well set-up ambush. The defenders' infantry regiment attacked from both dies of the Clan force, downing seven OmniMechs before the Bears extricated themselves from the trap.

At their commanders' order, the rest of Trinary Command dropped onto the planet and encircled the ambush site. The Protectors, trapped in turn, called in an artillery strike which distracted the Bears long enough for the 'Mechs and infantry to slip past the Clan blockade. Determined not to lose, Star Colonel Jorgensson broke his bid and called down his own air units. The Bear fighters strafed the Protectors and forced them to retreat into the wide-open Corlene Steppes, where the Bear 'Mechs easily defeated them.

System Name: Holmsbu
Coordinates: 58.16, 443.62
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Holmsbu in March 3050. Defending the world were the Seventh and Eighth Corrugated Lancers - 2 armored regiments supported by infantry. The Lancers were ill-prepared for a fight with battle-armored Elementals and fell quickly to the Clan troops' superior weapons and training. The Ghost Bears readily accepted the Lancers' surrender.

Jarett became the the third target of the Minnesota Tribe, in early 2826. The Tribe took what they they needed before moving on, this time thwarting efforts to stop them when a large group of their AeroSpace Fighters intercepted and kept two battalions of Kurita 'Mechs out of the battle.

[3050] When Clan Ghost Bear Khan Theresa DelVillar announced her batchall for Jarett in May 3050, Tai-sa Sonia Zev of the Ninth Alshain Regulars did not understand what response the Ghost Bear Khan expected to receive. She did know that she had an inexperienced unit under her command, and she had no intention of revealing here troops' lack of experience to the Clan. Unfortunately for Zev, Khan DelVillar had already learned from ComStar officials that the green Ninth regiment was spread out in three battalions over the northern part of the planet.

Khan DelVillar dropped her units in a standard combat formation and immediately faced the determined warriors of the Ninth. The battle began with Khan DelVillar challenging a Commando. The Khan's Elemental Point quickly shredded the Commando, but the 'Mechs pilot refused to give up, continuing to fight even against the Clan's massive battle-armoured troopers. The Khan captured this feisty young warrior and made him her bondsman - the rest of the Ghost Bear warriors followed her lead by attempting to capture their opponents rather than kill them. This made the survival rate of the Ninth impressively high.

The main battle for Jarett was fought in the lush foliage of the Solun Jungle. The Ninth's lead battalion made excellent use of the cover allowed by the trees, a lesson that Kanrei Kurita would borrow for himself later in the invasion. For nearly a week the Ninth survived by fighting on the run, but the Ghost Bears followed this fox hunt to its inevitable conclusion - the Ninth eventually succumbed to Clan Ghost Bear nearly ten days after the Golden Bears landed, but not before the defenders were able to gut the Gorton, Kingsley & Thorpe Enterprises 'Mech plant.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Jezersko in September 3050. Facing them was the First and Second Jezersko Brigade, consisting of 2 armor regiments. The Bears 310th Assault Trinary stormed the Jezersko Brigades as soon as they spotted the defenders' tanks. Using their weight to their advantage, the Bears picked their opponents apart. The Brigades attempted to outmaneuver the Bears, but the Clan forces moved too swiftly for them.

The Brigades scrambled to the Pleasure Grotto, where they had set up remote-firing weapons and vibrabombs. The pursuing Bears easily side-stepped most of these, but found it more difficult than they expected to rout the defenders. They finally resorted to aerial bombardment, forcing both defending units into the open where the Ghost Bear 'Mechs dispatched them.

System Name: Kaesong
Coordinates: 60.24, 299.40
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

[3051] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Kaesong in December 3051. Jumpship trouble had stranded the Blue Lightning mercenary company on Kaesong just before the Ghost Bears' invasion of the planet. When the Bears arrived in-system, the Kaesong government pleaded with the mercenaries to defend their planet, but the mercenaries' agreement did more harm than good.

Knowing that his troops would face dezgra mercenaries, Star Colonel Dane Jorgensson skipped the bidding process and simply sent in the elite Trinary Command, 14th Battle Cluster, to deal with the Lightning. Outgunned and outnumbered, the mercenaries retreated into the streets of Vedsan City, where the Ghost Bears rooted them out and destroyed them.

[3051] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Kempten in December 3051. The Border Legion, a collection of aging warriors in ancient 'Mechs and armored vehicles, face the Clan invasion with the bleak knowledge that the Rasalhagian government could spare no troops to aid them. The warriors of the 712th Assault Trinary, Twelfth Bear Chevaliers, having heard of the Smoke Jaguars' defeat on Wolcott, were apprehensive when the Legion engaged them in batchall, but nonetheless agreed to a stand-up fight in Precious Plight, an amusement park.

The Bears landed in the middle of a disorienting carnival of light and sound. Legionnaires had hung mirrors at all angles to confuse the Clan 'Mechs' scanners, and the 712th initially had difficulty spotting the enemy forces. Firing from cover, the Legion's Devastator battalion inflicted considerable damage on the stunned Bears in its opening volley. Recovering quickly, the 712th fanned out and destroyed the Legion's less-mobile tanks, then pursued the remainder of the Legion to Sacrifice Mound and destroyed them.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Krenice in March 3052. Defending the world was the Fifth Amphigean Light Assault Group. The Fifth Amphigean attacked the Ghost Bear forces from concealed positions amid the natural crags of Bellow Canyon, unleashing a devastating rain of fire as the Bears touched down. They then scattered throughout the rock formations and raided the Clans's supply lines, disrupted communications, and even launched an occasional assault. The Twelfth Bear Chevaliers heavy 'Mechs spent most of their time chasing the lighter, swifter machines of the Fifth, and eventually flushed them from hiding using their air assets.

The Bear 'Mechs herded the fifth toward the city of Hasnorvan, in the opposite direction from the Fifth's Dropships. Making the best of a bad situation, Tai-sa Helen Cassidy ordered small number of troops to detach from the Fifth's main body and engage in hit-and-run assaults against the pursuing Bears. In one evening raid a company of the Fifth led the Twelfth on a merry chase through LightDraught Woods for two hours, until the Bear warriors got lost and called on aerospace observers to guide them out of the trackless forest.

Just outside of Hasnorvan, the Twelfth took the Fifth by surprise. Star Colonel Douglas Silva had ordered the 63rd Assault Trinary to march toward the city ahead of the Bears' main body and dig in, and so the 63rd was waiting as the Fifth approached the city's outskirts. As soon as the Fifth came within firing range of the dug-in Clan 'Mechs, all the Clan forces opened up on the defenders. The web of interlocking fire decimated the Fifth within hours.

Prior to their destruction, the Fifth were able to carry out the Combine's newly instituted "scorched earth" policy. So thorough were the Fifth, it is hard to believe this ruined planet was once the site of much of House Kurita's industry. The Ghost Bears were glad to gain Krenice, nonetheless, because it makes an excellent base from which to raid into a densely populated portion of Combine space.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Last Frontier on the 23rd June 3050 to face off against the First Freemen, the defenders of last frontier. The outcome of the short, brutal fight was a forgone conclusion. The green Rasalhague regiment fought bravely but offered no real opposition to the elite Clan force, though the repercussions of the battle would change the face of Clan Ghost Bear.

When the Ourse Keshik, led by Khan DelVillar, raided a Freemen ammunition dump of the 24th June, Överste Knute Kurita's defending company opened fire on the charging Clam 'Mechs and, surely by chance rather than design, scored a direct missile hit on Khan DelVillar. Her Point scrambled to remove her from the battlefield, but the damage was done. Khan DelVillar slipped into a coma from which she would never emerge.

Khan Bourjon secured Last Frontier, then immediately convened a meeting of all available Bloodnamed warriors to vote for a new Khan. MechWarrior Aletha Kabrinski, the Clan's current Oathmaster, earned the title of Khan by defeating stiff competition. Her first official statement as saKhan was to suggest to the assembled warriors that Khan Bourjon, while a competent warrior, was not leadership material. Her statement echoed the sentiments of many Bear warriors, whom felt that the Clan's poor performance to date could accurately be blamed on the Khan's lack of competence. She called for one of the warriors present to challenge Khan Bourjon for his position, and nominated Star Colonel Bjorn Jorgensson for the honor.

Caught completely offguard by this show of no confidence, Khan Bourjon called for a vote to determine the extent of his warrior's discontent. The warriors voted unanimously to choose a new Khan, then voted to elect Star Colonel Jorgensson as Clan Ghost Bear's new Khan. When Khan Bourjon called for a Trial of Refusal, Khan Jorgensson choose to accept personally. Because he was a poor hand-to-hand fighter, Khan Bourjon chose to fight augmented, even though to do so gave Khan Jorgensson the advantage of his aerospace fighter. The battle took place in the tropical jungles of Last Frontier's equator, and ended with Khan Bourjon accepting Jorgonsson's offer of hegira.

[3050] Clan Wolf landed on Leoben in May 3050. Defending the world were the First, Eighth, Eleventh and 14th Leoben Provisional Militia Regiments. The militia, many of them veterans of the Ronin Wars, used guerrilla tactics to take advantage of the planet's extensive network o rivers to harass the Clan warriors. Trinaries First Striker, Second Striker, and Fighter (of the 352nd Assault Cluster) had no concept of this type of warfare, and so were unable to anticipate the militia's actions. Though the world has officially surrendered, guerrilla activity still occurs sporadically.

Clan Wolf lost Leoben to the Ghost Bear in 3061.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Mannedorf in March 3052. Facing them were The GoldMiners, a mercenary 'Mech company. The Bears bid fiercely for the right to destroy the mercenaries, who made their stand in the Silvermain Mines. The Miners packed explosives into every nook and cranny they could find, intending to bury the OmniMechs of the 72nd Assault Trinary under a ton of rubble. When the Bears entered the mine, the mercenaries triggered the explosives, and rejoiced in apparent victory - prematurely.

Unknown to The GoldMiners, a Star League base had been built beneath and behind the mine shafts, the 72nd, overhearing the mercenaries pan via an intercepted transmission, had sent the First Elementals Support Binary ahead of the 'Mechs to open the doors to the base's tunnel network. Just before the explosives went off, the 72nd slipped through the hidden entrances to the Star League base. The GoldMiners emerged from the rear exit of the mine to find the 72nd waiting for them.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Marawi in January 3052. Expecting little serious opposition from the green 41st Dieron Regulars who defended the world, Star Colonel Seija Harlow prepared for a short campaign. The 332nd Assault Cluster dropped east of the 41st, straight into a barrage of artillery. As the Bear 'Mechs sought cover, Star Colonel Harlow unleashed her fighters to find the guns. A wing of old-style fighter planes intercepted the Clan aerospace units, but the Bears blew the defenders out of the sky within 20 minutes. They then sought out the gun emplacements and razed them to the ground.

No longer trapped by artillery fire, the 322nd slammed into the 41st from the left flank, rolling up the green unit as it went. The Bears made short work of the 41st, pursuing the retreating unit to the town of Hull along the roads leading to it from Brossard Woods. The Bear aerospace fighters caught the defenders just shy of the town and crushed them.

Maule is a hard world, yielding many gemstones but little plant life. The deserts of this planet are growing steadily, as the biting winds slowly grind all exposed rock into gritty sand.

[3052] Though the Ghost Bears easily wiped out the planet's defenders outside the town of Billowing Leaf in February 3052, the people of Maule initially made life miserable for the occupying Clan forces. As soon as the 433rd Supernova Trinary departed, leaving behind a Provisional Garrison Cluster, local people began staging round-the-clock protests at the Clan administrator's headquarters.

Realizing that they could not imprison everyone on Maule for "treasonous activities," the Ghost Bear authorities heeded the people's grievances and agreed to give the citizens a limited degree of freedom, even allowing them to travel under Clan supervision.

Because Maule is currently one of the few planets in Clan-held space that regularly trades with the Inner Sphere, the 304th Assault Cluster defends the world from the possibility of attack by Inner Sphere forces.

The world of Nox, with its many gem deposits, was the site of the first full-scale 'Mech-versus-'Mech battle in 2475, the so-called Battle of Beckvern Hill. Archon Michael Steiner's company of 'Mechs and heavy tanks moved against an equal number of House Kurita's 'Mechs from a Sword of Light regiment. In a three-hour engagement against the notoriously tenacious Kurita forces, the Archon's troops fought their way into the enemies rear areas. They then fanned out into lance-sized units to cause as much damage as possible to in the enemy's supply and communication centers.

Michael Steiner's command lance fought its way to the enemy's regimental headquarters. There, the former Archon managed to destroy the HQ, killing the commanding officer and staff before being killed by Kurita 'Mech reinforcements.

Though this Kurita attack was neither successful nor strategically significant, it marked a major turning point in armed warfare. The few confrontations in military history that compare to it include the Monitor-vs.-Merrimack engagement in March, 1862 and the Battle of Coral Sea in May, 1942.

Nox is also the headquarters of Metals of the Earth, based in the city of Jassen. Dating back to the Star League era, when it was a medium-sized mining firm, Metals of the Earth now also manufactures mining equipment, chemicals and synthetics, including myomers.

Metals of the Earth has always been closely tied to the Kurita family. One of the original founding partners was a Kurita, and there has always been at least one Kurita on the Board of Directors. It is no surprise that Metals of the Earth gets the majority of valuable government contracts.

[3052] Clan Wolf landed on Nox in February 3052. Defending the world was the First Nox Tank Regiment, and the First and Second Nox Infantry Regiments. The militia surrendered to Gamma Galaxy's Eleventh Battle Cluster soon after the battle for Bolson.

Nox was captured by Clan Ghost Bear in 3061 as a consequence of (the then) Clan Jade Wolf's attempt to trick the Ghost Bears into a feud with Clan Smoke Jaguar by framing the Jaguars for the theft of the genetic legacies of Clan Ghost Bear's founders.

System Name: Pinnacle
Coordinates: 72.50, 434.75
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

[3050] The Ghost Bear OmniMechs overran The Pinnacle Guardsmen, within hours of landing in March 3050. The Alpha and Bravo Assault Stars of the 71st Assault Trinary, easily booted the regiment of mechanized infantry out of its hardened positions.

[3050] On Polcenigo, the victorious 304th Assault Cluster (the Howling Bears) actually freed the population from the grip of a tyrannical government. The ComStar briefing on the planet's defenses also mentioned, almost as an after thought, that the planet's governor had long been engaged in the illegal spice trade and had avoided the watchful eye of the ISF only by ruthlessly controlling every aspect of its citizens' lives.

The Howling Bears received no response to their batchall in July 3050, and landed on the planet smack in the middle of a popular uprising. The government's battalion of new 'Mechs and a full regiment of augmented infantry found themselves under attack from two sides: the locals gained enough courage from the appearance of the Ghost Bears to launch guerrilla actions against their government's troops and supply caches, and the Ghost Bears quickly sized up the situation and concentrated their assault directly on the battalion.

The defending troops retreated to a specially dug network of tunnels that extended into the mountains, and though the grateful populace made valiant efforts to aid the 304th in rooting them out, the Clan failed to account for nearly 30% of the renegade troops. The citizens gladly accepted the Clan way and the Ghost Bears' administration, and the Bears in turn protected their new caste members by posting a substantial garrison of front-line troops to Polcenigo.

System Name: Pomme De Terre
Coordinates: 56.85, 366.16
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

[3025] Billings City is the headquarters of the Pomme De Terre Foods corporation. Producing food products that are simpler and sometimes tastier than Surinami's, this is possibly the result of the corporation's location on the most productive Kurita agricultural planet.

Among Pomme De Terre's products are canned fruits and vegetables in almost recognizable forms. Their food is not as widely distributed as Surinami's and is more expensive, but is very popular wherever available. Pomme de Terre has recently begun a chain of fast food stands that has taken off like a firecracker.

[3050] Several of the planet's prominent politicians had heard reports of high civilian casualties during battles against the seemingly unstoppable Clans. Because only a small planetary militia defended the planet, the politicians appealed to the ruling council of Pomme de Terre to surrender without a fight, reminding those who wavered of Clan Ghost Bear's equitable treatment of occupied populations.

After days of debate, mere minutes before Star Colonel Stephan Huntsig issued his batchall in September 3050, the Council made its decision. Pomme de Terre surrendered unconditionally to Clan Ghost Bear, and the Clan left only a small garrison on the world.

[3049] After serving with distinction in the War of 3039, Uchi Tikimodo retired to Porthos, where he lived peacefully until the Clans came in September 3049. Porthos had no defenses, and Clan Ghost Bear expected no resistance. Much to their surprise, they were met upon landing by Tikimodo in his Archer. He offered the Bears the chance to fight for possession of the world and the Bears immediately excepted the challenge.

Star Captain Ian DelVillar won the right to the DCMS MechWarrior, squaring off his Blackhawk against the Archer. The fight was a mismatch, but Tikimodo's tenacity in the face of impossible odds so impressed Star Captain DelVillar that he agreed to employ Tikimodo as a liaison between the planetary government and Porthos's new Clan rulers.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Predlitz in September 3050. Defending the world were the 17th, 20th, and 31st Rasalhagian Free Divisions, consisting of 1 'Mech battalion and 2 armor regiments. In the face of overwhelming opposition, the Rasalhagians fought a mobile defense, dashing from supply cache to supply cache with the Bears in hot pursuit. Each Free Division made a separate stand, and the Clan forces overran the defenders each time.

Near the craggy cliffs known as Billy's Tears, the Bears discovered a supply cache that no Free Division had yet reached. Rather than take it, the 2133rd Striker Trinary hid in the crags and waited for the Free Divisions to come and get their supplies. When the Rasalhagians appeared, the 2133rd pounced and wiped them out.

[3050] The Twelfth Rasalhagian Dragoons Free Company refused to respond to the Ghost Bears batchall in July 3050, and the insulted Bears hunted them down for three days. Tired of the chase, the Bears showed the planet's defenders little mercy when they finally caught up with them.

Alpha Nova Star, of the 115th Striker Cluster, saturated the field with weapons fire and refused all offers of surrender until they had destroyed all four lances of Rasalhagian 'Mechs. Only then did the Bear's accept the surrender of the rest of the Free Company. For this undisciplined action, Star Captain Marielle Hawkins received an official reprimand and served two months on garrison duty getting to know the people she had conquered.

Radstadt has the dubious distinction of hosting one of the largest prison complexes in the Draconis Combine. The Lotus Flower Correctional Institution is a sprawling facility the size of a small city and is located just outside Munich, the planetary capital. The most dangerous criminals, those insane enough to openly rebel against the Kurita government, are held in the Black Tower, a huge windowless, concrete building. Surrounding the building is a ring of fences and minefields to deter anyone leaving.

The rest of the planet is nondescript. There is a thriving fishing industry, and the timber industry specializes in Radstadt Pine, a tree whose wood (if treated) literally shimmers as if it were flecked with gold.

Rubigen has a dark, cold atmosphere, with over half its surface covered in ice. Its two small seas are perpetually filled with icebergs. Navigating on Rubigen's seas requires great skill and precision, which may explain why 15 percent of the officers in the Draconis Combine Admiralty are from Rubigen. Furs from this world, particularly that of the Rubigen red wolverine, are highly prized.

City Rubigen is the capital of the planet as well as the seat of the prefecture. It is near the Bassers Glacier, which has been creeping toward the city at the alarming rate of one and one-half meters a year. It is expected that the glacier will overrun the city's spaceport within the next decade.

System Name: Santander V
Coordinates: 78.50, 485.35
Star Type: K4
Position in System: 5
Time to Jump Point: 4.00 days
Recharging Station: None
ComStar Facility Class: None
Population: 7,500
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 99% Plant

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Setubal in February 3052. Defending the world were the 21st Benjamin Regulars. The 21st Regulars spilt their forces and deployed the two halves about two kilometers apart, hoping that the Bears would do likewise. Against a divided Clan force, the Regulars could slowly close the gap between the two halves and destroy the Bears with their combined strength.

Star Colonel Stephan Huntsig, however, massed the entire 50th Striker Cluster against half of the defenders. As he had hoped, the green warriors cracked and charged toward the other half of their unit for help with the Bears in hot pursuit. The other half of the 21st, not knowing who was charging over the hill toward them, began firing into the pack, hitting as many friendlies as enemies. The 50th Striker Cluster hit the rest of the 21st at full steam and plowed straight through them. Soon thereafter, the green 21st surrendered.

[3051] Clan Wolf nearly captured the Gorton, Kingsley, and Thorpe plant when it was located on New Olso. The Free Rasalhague Republic managed to relocate it just in time to Satalice, a world of vast volcanic plains and harsh weather changes. The Republic was preparing to relocate the factory a second time when Satalice was overrun. The chances of such a large-scale operation succeeding a second time were slim in any case. Clan Wolf was now bypassing planets in order to strike at choice targets such as Satalice more quickly, and the people of the Republic had lost much of their fighting spirit by this time. The fact that the elite Wolf Spiders and Forth Guards Cluster were chosen to take the planet shows that the ilKhan was determined to capture this factory intact.

Clan Wolf forces landed on Satalice in November 3051. Defending the world were the fanatical Third Drakøns, and the First and second Satalice Armored Divisions. The commanders of the Forth Wolf Guards and Wolf Spiders dispensed with traditional bidding in favor of wagers based on which unit would bring back the most "trophies" from a battle. These were defined as the unit insignia ripped off the body of an enemy 'Mech. During the first few skirmishes Överste Adrian MacGalliard, commander of the Drakøns, deduced that the two Clusters were not co-operating and shaped his strategy accordingly. He used his 'Mechs as bait to lure Clan warriors into ambushes. This strategy did not work for long because the ambushes had no effect against aerospace fighters.

The action on the Blue Lava Fields, north of Hamntrakt, was of great importance, though it was not immediately obvious. The Wolf Spiders chased a Drakøn company into the huge lava and geyser fields in the arctic region of the planet. There, Star commander Phelan Wolf defeated the Drakøn company commander in one-on-one combat. The name of the defeated Drakøn was Ragner Magnusson, son of Elected Prince Haakon Magnusson. The news of the Prince's capture sent the rest of the Drakøns into retreat offworld to Skandia.

Satalice was captured by Clan Ghost Bear in 3062 as a consequence of (the then) Clan Jade Wolf's attempt to trick the Ghost Bears into a feud with Clan Smoke Jaguar by framing the Jaguars for the theft of the genetic legacies of Clan Ghost Bear's founders.

System Name: Sheliak
Coordinates: 64.94, 292.62
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

Hearing of Clan Ghost Bear's imminent arrival over Sheliak in December 3051, the planetary government panicked. As a minor planet with few resources and little strategic value to the Draconis Combine, they had no military to defend them. In an all-night session with the terrified governors, football commissioner Jimmy "Straight Jim" Lorne proposed a bold plan. Confident that the Clans new nothing of the game of football, he suggested that the Sheliak Professional Football League challenge the invaders to a game. If the Clans won, they could claim the planet; if they lost, Sheliak would remain free of Clan occupation. Because it was the only chance they had, the governors agreed to Straight Jim's plan.

To their surprise, the Clans agreed to play. Straight Jim, however, had not counted on facing a team of eight-foot-tall Elementals, nor had he expected the Clans to know the rules of the game (few citizens of the Inner Sphere even suspected that the Clans would continue to play the sports common to 20th century Terra.) The dismayed leaders and people of Sheliak could only watch as the Ghost Bear team devastated the Sheliak All-Star team, 84 to 3. The planetary government handed Sheliak over to the Ghost Bears during the postgame show.

[3052] The defeat of the Third Drakøns, who had twice faced Clan Wolf and escaped, was given top priority by the Clan warriors. They were particularly interested in the unit because they hoped that the destruction of one of the few remaining Rasalhague 'Mech regiments, accompanied by the news of Prince Ragnar's capture, would demoralize the rest of the Free Rasalhague Republic.

The bidding for the right to take Skandia, the homeworld of the Drakøns, was intense but restrained. The task fell to the Bronze Keshik, and the Seventh and 16th Battle Clusters of Gamma Galaxy commanded by Galaxy Commander Mikel Fury, in February 3052. Defending the world were the Third Drakøns and the First, Second, and Third Skandia Royal Militia Brigades.

The fight for Skandia was tough and unforgiving. Names of individual battles mean nothing; they only represent convenient ways of dividing up what was essentially one relentless fight, from the moment the Wolves set foot on the planet, until the destruction of the last Drakøn 'Mechs two weeks later.

Skandia was captured by Clan Ghost Bear in 3062 as a consequence of (the then) Clan Jade Wolf's attempt to trick the Ghost Bears into a feud with Clan Smoke Jaguar by framing the Jaguars for the theft of the genetic legacies of Clan Ghost Bear's founders.

System Name: Soverzene
Coordinates: 87.89, 320.00
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

[3050] The world of Soverzene demonstrated to Clan Ghost Bear what Inner Sphere forces could do when truly motivated. The Second Alshain Regulars, the planet's usual defending force, had received reinforcement from the Twenty-seventh Dieron Regulars. The commanders of both units were determined to make the Clans pay dearly for this world, which supplied many of the district's raw materials. Tai-sa Jasick Yoshiro and Tai-sa Ano Tars planned a mobile defense in order to take advantage of the supplies they had stashed in various caches on the world's main continent. When the Bears arrived insystem in October 3050, Khan Jorgensson skipped the bidding process and committed the whole of Beta Galaxy to take the world.

The Dieron Regulars were assigned to protect the city of Averti and so moved to head off the Twelfth Bear Chevaliers and Fourteenth Battle Cluster, as the Clan forces lunged toward their objectives. Using air strikes, the Twenty-seventh herded the two Clusters toward the Killimangero fjords near Averti. Aware they were being manipulated, the Bears approached cautiously. The Twenty-seventh sprung their ambush at the edge of the narrow waterways. Using jump-capable 'Mechs to bait the trap, the detonated explosives sending most a Trinaries worth of 'Mechs tumbling down into the fjord.

Unfortunately for the Twenty-seventh, few Omnis were actually destroyed. To make matters worse, the Fourteenth Battle Cluster had flanked them to the east. Escaping through rough-hewn tunnels, the Twenty-seventh emerged on the far side of the fjord and detonated explosives in the tunnels, atop the pursuing Bears. They returned to Averti believing themselves victorious, only to lose the city to the Bears later that night in a nearly bloodless surprise attack. The Ghost Bear commanders had sent Elementals into the tunnels during the fighting in the fjord, and those troopers had disarmed the majority of the Combine's planted explosives.

The Second Alshain Regulars fared even worse against the 304th and 332nd Assault Clusters. The Bears hounded the mobile Second and forced them to retreat to their ammunition supply base, by doing so allowing the Bears to get a fix on the base's location and destroy it with aerospace assets. Now running out of ammo, the Second retreated north with the 304th in hot pursuit. Clan aerospace elements forced the Second into a forest where the 332nd awaited their opponents' arrival. Trapped between two full-strength Assault Clusters, the Second Alshain Regulars took heavy losses.

Those soldiers who managed to escape destruction staged a rescue mission at Averti, freeing the Combine's captured soldiers and equipment from the Twenty-seventh. The Bears spent nearly two weeks hunting down the renegades, but gave up the search when their Bloodnamed warriors were recalled to Strana Mechty to elect a new ilKhan. Elements of the Twenty-seventh and Second managed to escape the planet, but both suffered devastating losses.

[3050] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Spittal in September 3050. Defending the world were the 3rd and 4th Spittal Knights, consisting of 2 'Mech companies and 1 battalion of infantry. The Bear forces chased the Knights' 'Mechs into Rutger's Pass, where the Rasalhagians had set up a vibrabomb field. When the vibrabombs failed to explode, the Knights were forced to retreat to their fallback position in Swerve Pass.

The Bears Alpha Striker Star, 141st Striker Trinary, followed them straight into the firing line of the Knights' infantry battalion. The Bears used their jump jets for the first time, rising out of the pass onto the ledges from which the infantry troops were firing at them. With the infantry's defeat, the remaining 'Mech forces fell quickly.

The Ghost Bears were not impressed with the prize they won on Spittal. The vehicles produced at the Benson and Bjorn plant are crude by Clan standards, even discounting the fact that the vehicles still use internal combustion engines.

The Bears are continuing production here, but they have no plans to upgrade the plant, considering it not worth the effort. Most of the vehicles produced here are used in 'Mech training runs as high-tech targets.

[2621] Though the economies of the six member states prospered under the Department of Economic Relations, it was not enough for First Lord Nicholas Cameron. Following his father\'s vision, Nicholas announced in 2621 his intention to finish uniting the member states\' economies by creating the Star League Dollar. This became the standard currency everywhere. The member states were allowed to print the new currency for their own realms under close supervision, but the Star League government determined the amount.

First Lord Nicholas also set up the central Stock Exchange (CSE), which allowed ten regional exchange businesses to trade shares in foreign companies. In addition to aiding the economy, the exchanges were supposed to promote peace between the realms, as having economic interests in neighboring states made war less attractive.

The Central Stock Exchange was located in the Terran city of London. The other stock exchanges and the Star League mints were set up on border worlds between the member states. They were grouped into commerce cities built by the Star League for the use of economists, brokers, and company executives. The cities\' protection came from the SLDF, which usually had a major military base nearby.

Profitica on Stanzach, was one such city; it\'s mint produced currency for both the Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine. With collapse of the Star League, the border world locations of the commerce cities proved to be their downfall, as they soon became targets. Proftica was destroyed early in the First Succession War.

[3050] Clan Wolf landed on Stanzach in October 3050. An important economic center of the FRR, Stanzach should have been a difficult world to conquer. Fear of the Clan invasion, however, reawakened old hatreds between the planet\'s Scandinavian and Oriental populations. Though the tanks and soldiers of the First Stanzach Armored Division showed flashes of the true strength, the unwillingness of the two factions to bury their grievances for the duration of the conflict caused frequent \"miscommunications\" and some outright mutiny.

Kirund is the capital of Stanzach.

Stanzach was briefly ceded by Clan Wolf to Clan Hell's Horses, who then lost possession of the planet to the Ghost Bears in 3063.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Sternwerde January 3052. Defending the world were the Seventh Alshain Regulars. The First Bear Guards dropped from heavy cloud cover and engaged the Seventh in a running fight, surging along the Seventh's first line of defense. Upon reaching the center of the line, the Bears punched through it and spread out to take down as many opponents from behind as they could.

Tai-sa Gerber Shazil, however, foiled this tactic by swiftly ordering his troops to turn and charge through the Bear lines. The Regulars smashed. Through the Bears and marched into the waters of Dearborne Lake. The First Bear Guards followed and chased the Regulars out of the water, but briefly lost the fleeing unit in a blinding rainstorm. In the final showdown near the Regulars' Dropships at dawn the next day, elements of the Seventh sacrificed themselves to ensure the escaped of the bulk of the unit.

System Name: Susquehanna
Coordinates: 52.68, 424.32
Time to Jump Point: 0.00 days
Description:

[3025] The temperate world of Susquehanna has become one of the centers of the old Scandinavian culture, as Rasalhague and Radstadt are both too overrun with Kurita operatives. Two years ago, Kurita troops broke up a Leif Erikson Day celebration sponsored by the Sons of Knute and the Chrysanthemum Cross-Cultural Appreciation Society on Susquehanna. This action fanned the flames of discontent, but no coherent response has surfaced.

Prefect Cory Andrews was not notified in advance of the raid, nor did he receive official notice from Luthien afterward. Andrews is justifiably nervous, and has made few public appearances or statements since.

[3050] When the Ghost Bear\'s 96th Battle Trinary landed in May 3050 at the location agreed to in the batchall, they discovered tat the Regal Death mercenary company had failed to show. Remembering the vanished Black Omen mercenaries on Damian, the 96th went hunting but expected to find no opposition. Bravo Star walked straight into an ambush in the Vernaw Woods, where the mercs had retreated to prepared positions upon detecting the Bears\' arrival in-system. Pit traps and minefields destroyed three of Bravo\'s OmniMechs; concentrated weapons fire took down a forth and seriously damaged the fifth. Fortunately for the lone Ghost Bear survivor, the other two Stars of the 96th arrived in time to make short work of the mercenaries.

The Bears fought with such ferocity that no Regal Death soldiers survived the assault. After this engagement, many Ghost Bear commanders declared all mercenary units dezgra, unworthy of honorable treatment and fit only for immediate destruction. Upon encountering mercenaries after the battle for Susquehanna, Ghost Bear leaders rarely bothered issuing a batchall and almost never claimed bondsmen from mercenary ranks.

Thessalonika is a resource-poor world; only petroleum deposits and a few gemstone veins give this planet any industry. The real worth of the planet lies in its abundant life-forms. Although possessing only one small ocean, the planet somehow manages to maintain a number of types of life. The larger animals, such as oxen and Pesht butcher beasts, do quite well on the large, open, grassy plains on Thessalonika.

Tyrsis is the capital city. Located there is a major museum, the Tyrsis McNeil Museum, which is devoted to the preservation of military technology.

[3050] When Clan Ghost Bear announced its batchall for Thule in March 3050, the defending First Husars of the Rasalhague KungsÁrme refused to respond. Though she had no idea what a Galaxy represented, Överste Joannie Swigard massed her troops in the Fresdon Desert, a treacherous terrain for which her troops had been selectively trained, and prepared to do battle.

A force of three Trinaries dropped onto the desert plain anticipating a swift victory, but the Clan force failed to take account for the incredible heat of Thule's noonday sun. Many Clan 'Mechs shut down after their first volleys, leaving them vulnerable to the Hussar's artillery. Before the Bears could restart their machines, they lost a full Trinary of equipment. The First then began a running battle, using their light 'Mechs to draw the Ghost Bear fire, move out of harms way, and then return to attack their overheated opponents.

Star Colonel François Cole broke his bid first, ordering the remainder of his Cluster to approach the Husars from the east. The Husars had anticipated this strategy, and sent aerospace fighters to strafe the Third Bear Striker Cluster on its approach. In response, Star Colonel Stephan Hustig broke his bid and called in his aerospace elements. As the fighters danced overhead, the Fiftieth Striker Cluster (the Black Bears) advanced. The two Clan forces surrounded the First Husars but did not engage the enemy. Suspicious of the sudden calm, the Husars sent out recon units. When these units failed to return, Överste Swigard realized that the Bears had not given up, but were waiting for nightfall.

Rather than waiting for the Clans to gain the advantage, the Husars decided to push at the Ghost bear lines while the sun was still high in the sky. Using an artillery barrage to cover its movement, the Husars struck at the Bears northern flank. When the Bears attempted to stem the tide by setting their lighter elements against the Husars, Överste Swigard simply maneuvered her troops away from the Bears heavier elements. Meanwhile the Husars infantry continued to tear huge holes in the Ghost Bears rear lines. Star Colonel Paul Vishio broke his bid next by calling in aerospace forces to silence the Husar's long-range guns.

Deprived of their artillery, the Husars could do little but run. They made for the large river that bisected the Fresdon plain to meet their naval assets. An entire company sacrificed itself in the final push that allowed the Husars to board the massive cargo ships and head upriver. Unwilling to simply sink the cargo ships - a vote amongst the warriors present concluded this went against Clan honor - units were dispatched to follow the ships until they landed. With the majority of the Husars out of the picture, the Ghost Bear Khans declared Thule pacified, and left the 312th Assault Trinary behind to garrison Thule.

The First Husars finally reappeared two months later and destroyed the 312th, forcing the Ghost Bears to re-pacify the world. The Golden Bears returned to Thule and caught the remainder of the First in the planet's frigid south lands. The Bears easily swept through the Husar's prepared positions, the Elementals taking control of the narrow trenches that the First had intended to use as fortifications. The battle ended almost before it began, and certain proof indicates that Joannie Swigard has already risen to warrior status from bondsman.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Tinaca in January 3052. Facing them was the First Sun Zhang Academy Cadre. Knowing that the warriors of Bravo Supernova, 115th Striker Cluster, faced mere cadets, Star Captain Edore DelVillar ordered them to capture as many opponents alive as possible and make them bondsmen. The cadets, however, disregarded their own orders to surrender and threw themselves at the Bear 'Mechs as soon as the Clan force landed, engaging in death-from-above attacks and other desperate tactics in an all-out assault.

The Bear warriors had no choice but to respond in kind, quickly turning the battle into a bloodbath. Star Captain DelVillar ordered her Elementals to enter the fray and pry the cadets from their 'Mech cockpits, an ordered her MechWarriors to aim at the legs of the enemy 'Mechs. Using these tactics, Bravo Supernova captured almost a full battalion of cadets.

Toffen is a mostly self-sufficient agricultural world. It has three continents, one of which is a small, barren wasteland covered with rocks and sand. The second-largest continent, Jacobitz, is the center of industrial activity, most of which is civilian in nature. Almost all the large cities are there, as well as extensive mining operations. Jacobitz is mountainous and has a rough weather pattern, no matter what the time of year.

Graham is the largest of the three continents. The southern expanses are on the equator and are hot jungles and deserts. To the north, they give way to vast, rolling plains from the center of the continent to the western shores. The plains flood in the spring and are burned off by the locals during the summer. The eastern side of Graham is heavily forested. It is mountainous, with four major ranges and countless others. The largest city on Graham is Pied, which is only 30,000 strong. The rest of the population is spread throughout numerous farming communities.

[3052] Clan Ghost Bear landed on Toffen in March 3052. Defending the world were the Third and Eighth Toffen Guards, comprised of 2 'Mech companies and regiment of infantry. The major metropolitan centers of Toffen lay beneath Dell Reservoir. Gambling that the Ghost Bears would not use their aerospace strength in order to avoid damaging the cities they had come to conquer, the Third and Eighth made their initial stand at Dell. Facing the 469th Assault Trinary, the defenders moved forward, confident of victory against a mere fifteen 'Mechs. The Bears, however, had others ideas. They easily routed the green defenders and followed the retreating units to the abandoned Longueil power plant, three kilometers away.

There, the Guards' infantry elements used the abundant large metal cylinders as excellent cover while they sowed the plant with explosives. While the frustrated Ghost Bears opened every old generator and looked inside for the enemy, the troopers of the Third and Eighth slipped a few at a time out of the building. Scenting an Inner Sphere trap, Star Captain Pinter Hall led the 469th out of the plant just before it detonated. The angry Ghost Bears hunted down the remainder of the defenders, but many of the Guards escaped and went to ground. The planetary garrison is still dealing with occasional flare-ups of violence from the surviving Toffen Guards.

An old SLDF base is also situated on Graham. By 3062, this had been reactivated by Clan Ghost Bear.

In late 2825, Trondheim became the second target of the mysterious Minnesota Tribe. Because it was a prefecture capital, the 20th Rasalhague Regulars were stationed there. The ensuing battle was striking for the way the mystery 'Mechs dealt with the Kurita 'Mechs in strict Regular Army formations and tactics. Once again, the mystery group refused all attempts at communication, to the point that pilots of destroyed Tribe 'Mechs killed themselves to avoid capture. The mystery fleet then jumped from the system, apparently headed for some uninhabited star system near Trondheim.

Trondhiem is a big world scarred by several active volcanoes. There are three currently errupting, and two of them having been erupting for the past three years. The ash thrown into the atmosphere disrupted the planet's climate, ushering in very hot summers broken by extremely cold winters. Until the volcanoes cease erupting, the population will have to contend with the quirky weather.

The volatile nature of the planet does allow easy access to rare metals and minerals. Several major companies have been mining the planet for centuries. In addition, Amau Electronics, one of the largest electronics firms in the Draconis Combine, has its factories here. Headquartered in the city of Silvaton, Amau makes electronics for consumer use, with products ranging from microwave ovens and music chip players to home automatic hair stylers and holo displays. Kurita consumer products have long been known for their low quality because most first-class materials are routed to the military rather than for frivolous consumer vanities.

Nevertheless, there is currently a vogue on Kurita planets to acquire electronic toys, a vogue probably fed by recent exposure to Davion and Steiner goods on occupied worlds. At the moment, this buying frenzy is beneficial to the economy. If that trend should reverse for any reason, the government is expected to denounce decadent, foreign-influenced luxuries.

The people of Trondhiem seem to be as volatile as the world they inhabit. Over the centuries, there have been many protests, rebellions, and attempted revolutions. Most disturbances require the Arm of the Dragon to be put down. Currently, the people of the planet are quiet, but the ISF has not reduced its sizeable force of agents.

[3050] Trondheim fell to Clan Ghost Bear in May 3050. The Bear's stationed on this world reject the Clan custom of referring to all Inner Sphere worlds as paradises.

Utrecht surrendered to the Ghost Bears without a fight in 3052, and Khan Jorrgensson personally signed the treaty of occupation. Among the planet's resources is a large supply of natural alloys that the Clans find particularly useful in the manufacturing ferro-fibrous armor, and so the Bears have set up a large-scale mining operation to extract the ore.

Utrecht's rocky surface and dry plateau's make for rugged terrain. The capital city of Naragajan is located on the Labbie Plateau.

[3060] Toward the end of 3060, Khan Phelan Kell took his forth Wolf Guards to Utrecht, and challenged the Bears for the contents of one newly arrived Ghost Bear "ark ship." The prefab buildings and equipment it contained included resources for building entire factory complexes, which the Wolves (in exile) very much needed. The Ghost Bears accepted the challenge and even allowed the Wolves safcon. Star Colonel Ranna Kerensky led the main drive, while Star Captain Ragnar led a flanking maneuver that met heavy resistance from the elite Trinary command of the third bear Guard. Though the Trial was ultimately successful for the Wolves, Ragnar's Trinary fell after hard fighting, and Ragnar was claimed as bondsman by Ghost Bear Star Colonel Sarah DelVillar.

[3050] The 22nd Rasalhagian Free Company attempted to fight with honor, challenging the Ghost Bears to a stand-up fight in August 3050. The chosen sight for the battle was the Lion's Den, a massive rock outcropping far from Vipaava's cities and towns. The Bears, suspecting a trap, approached the sire cautiously. To their surprise, they found the Free Company arranged as promised in the batchall.

Alpha Nova Star, of Beta Galaxy's 76th Supernova, engaged the defenders first, decimating the unit and forcing the Rasalhagian's to surrender. This engagement helped convince Rasalhagian commanders that they could not win a straight fight against Clan forces, and would have to develop new tactics.

[3051] The government of Vorarlberg sued for peace in November 3051, after the Red Keshik and Eleventh Wolf Guards decimated the defending Vorarlberg Royals battalion of 'Mechs and three regiments of infantry. The Two battles were only notable for the Royals' dogged determination and unflinching stupidity.

Vorarlberg was briefly ceded by Clan Wolf to Clan Hell's Horses, who then lost possession of the planet to the Ghost Bears in 3063.

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