World Name: Terra
Star Type: G2V
Position in System: 3
Time to Jump Point: 9 days
Recharging Station: zenith, nadir
Present Afiliation: Word of Blake
Population: 12,000,000,000 during Star League; 7,000,000,000 today
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 100%, Mammal

����������Terra was, without doubt, the most beautiful planet in the universe when the Star League was in full flower. By the 26th century, technology had eliminated pollution. This, coupled with the exodus of more than three-fourths of the planet's population over the years, allowed Terra to regain some of her natural beauty. Forests grew back over abandoned farms; streams and rivers washed themselves clean; and the air became sweet once again.

����������Because so many people left Terra for the colonies, many cities were abandoned and were eventually reclaimed by Mother Nature. The cities that remained, usually ones with great historical significance, were restored and improved to take advantage of modern transportation and sanitation. Heavy industries were confined to parks outside the cities.

����������During the years of the Star League, there were two capitals on Terra. The capital of planetary and Hegemony politics was Geneva, on the continent of Europe. It had little industrial importance but was the center of the Hegemony bureaucracy, with more than 100 government buildings. The seizure of Terra by troops of Stefan Amaris in 2766 caused extensive damage to the city, especially to the government buildings and their precious records. Today it is the location of Earth University, a major liberal arts college.

����������The war to liberate Terra from Stefan Amaris did not damage the planet as extensively as it did some Hegemony worlds. Every crater, every crushed city, every defacing of a Terran landmark seemed twice as upsetting because it was a wound against the Cradle of Humanity. All five continents were touched in some way by the Amaris occupation or the fight to liberate the planet. North America suffered the most damage, especially around the capital of the Star League. The Court of the Star League, once called "the brightest jewel worn by Mother Earth," was turned into a city of ghosts by the coup. The initial fighting caused considerable damage to the city. Once there, the conquerors became more systematic in their destruction. Buildings were demolished on a whim, or left to stand, only to be desecrated in some foul way.

����������After its liberation in 2780, the city could still support thousands, but those who had fled did not return. The few who had been in the city during the Amaris occupation left soon after the shooting was over. They said that too many evil things had happened in the city, that the city had to be haunted.

����������It is easy to see why they thought this. The buildings' soaring architecture contrasts uneasily with the horrors that went on inside them. Now, only the curious, criminals looking for sanctuary, and our archaeologists willingly venture into the Court of the Star League. Over the years, the removal of artifacts from the city has produced many discoveries. Soon the city will be left empty.

����������Other places of major importance are the 20 HRAD (Hegemony Research and Development) facilities scattered across the planet, the 10 known HMSL (Hegemony Military Science Labs), the 20 Castles Brian, and the 500 SLDF bases.

����������In recent years, however, ComStar has managed to restore Unity City and the Court of the Star League to their former glory. The cities have been repopulated and are used by ComStar as museums and administrative buildings. Unity City has been restored as the diplomatic center of the Inner Sphere and a place where all states can meet to resolve their problems.

����������Primus Mori and Precentor Martial Focht's reforms have done much to improve living conditions on Terra and in our Order, and releasing the bonds formed by the heavy religious overtones of the past has allowed the population and members of ComStar to work that much more effectively in restoring Terra to its rightful position as jewel of the Inner Sphere and precious cradle of the human race.

3058 Update

����������Of the newly formed minor powers within the March, only the Terracap Confederation has allowed the Word of Blake to take control of its HPG stations. As far as can be confirmed, ComStar retains its ownership of the HPG stations in the Sarna Supremacy, the Styk Commonality, and the Saiph Triumvirate. At this point, no one knows for certain who controls the HPG facilities within the Sirian Holds.

����������On several of the Chaos March's independent worlds, ComStar and the Word of Blake are engaged in running conflicts, with forces from one side or the other taking a facility one week and then losing it to their opponents the next. This low-level warfare has severely disrupted offworld communications on these planets, further isolating them from outside influences. Offworld communications from these disrupted worlds, when such communication exists at all, functions through a "pony express" system in which a JumpShip collects messages and then jumps to the nearest star system with a stable HPG facility. This facility then transmits the messages to their destinations.

����������Of particular interest to mercenary commanders looking for a berth, reliable rumor has stated the Brion's Legion recently left ComStar's employ on Terra to accept a rather lucrative contract on the planet Pleione and become one of the key units in the Tikonov Reaches. Of all these events occurring in the late 3050s, this was the one which led most directly to the Word of Blake conquest of Terra.

����������After skirmishing with the Second FedCom Regimental Combat Team on Hsien, the 21st Centauri Lancers seemed to need a chance to rest and recover from that bloody battle. After recruiting new personnel to fill their losses and arriving on Terra, the Lancers drilled with ComStar's Terran Defense Force. Impressing Precentor Lisa Koenigs-Cober, charged with the defense of Terra, as being more skilled than the new recruits would have suggested, the stage was set for the Word of Blake's conquest as the new recruits proved to be Word of Blake agents.

����������On February 28, 3058, the Word of Blake struck. The day was a rather symbolic one, being the 276th anniversary of Jerome Blake being given control of Terra and what would become ComStar. It was also the 38th month since the official naming of Sharilar Mori, and Jerome Blake had a 38-year reign, a terribly complicated matter and bound up in the malignant theology of the Word of Blake terrorists. The Word of Blake and 21st Centauri Lancer forces attacked and destroyed Hilton Head and the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, inflicting considerable losses on the ComGuard 201st Division. As the attack continued, Precentor Koenigs-Cober destroyed everything of value which could not be taken and retreated offworld with Primus Mori, the First Circuit, and remaining ComGuard forces.

����������As the news reached Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht as he was on his way to a strategy session with the St. Ives Compact, Federated Commonwealth, and Draconis Combine on Tukayyid, it was decided not to contest the Word of Blake conquest at that time, leaving them the trouble of defending Terra should the Clans break the truce. With three Word of Blake regiments burning in to bolster their forces on Terra, the decision seemed a wise one, especially in light of rumors that the Word of Blake is in the process of hiring mercenaries to further strengthen their garrison force. With this conquest of Terra, ComStar has moved its base of operations to the Free Rasalhague Republic world of Tukayyid, where it prepares to once again defend the Inner Sphere when the Clans continue their invasion.