Name: Star's End
Location: Outward of the Draconis Combine,
near Santander's World
Number of Worlds: One
Current Ruler: Morgan Fletcher II and Susie
Ryan
Military Strength: 2 Battalions
Technology Level: Good
Literacy Level: Fair
Name: Novo Cressidas
Start Type: M5V
Position in System: 3
Time to Jump Point: 2.44 days
Recharging Station: None
Political Ruler: Morgan Fletcher II and Susie
Ryan
ComStar Facility Class: None
ComStar Representative: None
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 30%,
Mammal
Description:
Novo Cressidas is a barren, desolate world shielded by a ring of
global asteroids and rocked by frequent ion storms that make
orbital navigation hazardous. Because of its inconspicuous
appearance and the danger in transiting the system, this small
rock of a world was an ideal base for the collection of space
marauders known as the Belt Pirates, under the command of Morgan
Fletcher. Indeed, Novo Cressidas has proven to be a blessing in
disguise to its owners. Beginning in the mid-2800s, massive
deposits of germanium, which is essential to starship
construction, were reported in locations under the planet's
southern ice cap. In the decades since, there have been rumors of
vast underground mining and industrial complexes that stretch
from the polar cap to the equator, and that point to a major
center of hyperdrive ship construction. Such rumors remain
unconfirmed, however, because the inhospitable local terrain and
the equally inhospitable pirates have maintained the strictest
silence about whatever secrets Novo Cressidas may hide.
The original Belt Pirates came into being just after the
Reunification War, when the survivors of the brutal conflict
between the Star League Defense Forces and troops of the Rim
Worlds Republic fled the conquered Republic rather than bow to
the Star League's authority. Bent on vengeance against the Inner
Sphere, these Rim Worlds soldiers settled on the planet Star's
End and lived off the spoils of raids against the two Star League
member states closest to them -- the Lyran Commonwealth and the
Draconis Combine. Over the years, these men and women embraced
piracy as a way of life.
After the Star League fell and the Succession Wars began, the
Belt Pirates raided even deeper into the Inner Sphere. The
Pirates of Star's End have not been above lending a hand to
either the Lyran Commonwealth or the Draconis Combine in their
frequent clashes in the Succession Wars. In each instance,
however, pirate involvement was nominal and purchased at a high
price in hard cash and equipment. This notwithstanding, the
pirate bands lodging in the asteroid fields of the Star's End
system have been known to break their contracts without warning
when an employer presents the least sign of weakness.
These pirates have confined their activities to neighboring
Jump Points with an eye toward capturing valuable machinery and
spare parts for their vessels. The Star's End system contains
several starship construction facilities fully capable of
repairing and building new vessels at a modest annual rate. The
present leader of the pirate coalition was then Morgan Fletcher,
a swarthy, swaggering woman whose actions were motivated as much
by her hatred of men (especially those of the Inner Sphere) as
from a genuine love of wealth. Beginning in the 3030s, some
Successor States even began limited trade with the Belt Pirates,
offering foodstuffs and luxury items in exchange for germanium.
[Prepared by Major C.G. Toho, Periphery expert for Wolfnet, Military Intelligence Division, Seventh Kommando]
Morgan Fletcher of the Star's End Pirates, has recently shown
up far from her stronghold, as have smaller pirate groups.
ComStar has been effective at countering this surge within the
Inner Sphere, but this has mostly just shifted the problem to
Periphery realms.
The arrival of the Clans in 3049 had vastly different
consequences for the Greater Valyrate than for the Belt Pirates.
In only a few battles, Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon made short work
of Ryan's Rebels; Wolf Clan forces shattered the Rebels' First
Battalion on The Rock, and Jade Falcon warriors routed the Second
and Third Battalions on the planets Last Chance and
Gotterdammerung. According to initial reports, the Jade Falcons
destroyed the Second and Third Battalions of Ryan's Rebels;
recently discovered evidence, however, points to a face-saving
cover-up on the part of the Jade Falcon leadership. The Second
Battalion was indeed destroyed on Last Chance, but most of the
Third Battalion survived the attack on Gotterdammerung.
The Falcon assault on the Valkyrate's capital caught Susie
Ryan and the Third Battalion completely off guard. The bandit
MechWarriors, soon realizing that the enemy troops had them
vastly outgunned, managed to retreat with slight losses -- with a
little unwilling help from their antagonists. Expecting little
resistance from mere bandits, Jade Falcon commanders initially
used their forces with less than complete effectiveness; this
momentary blunder allowed Maria Morgaine and a few MechWarriors
to dig in and fight long enough to let Susie escape with the bulk
of the Third Battalion. Susie Ryan and two companies of Rebels
fled deeper into the Periphery, away from the invasion path of
the Clan enemy.
Meanwhile, Clan Wolf forces ran into scattered units of Belt
Pirates during their march through the Periphery. The first band
they encountered they easily destroyed; the second, they followed
until it disappeared into the asteroid field surrounding Star's
End. The difficulties of navigating the field made the Wolves
disinclined to pursue a lowly pack of pirates. In addition, their
sensor scans showed that several of the asteroids had been fitted
with a battery of laser weapons, a cowardly way to protect a
world by Clan standards. Judging the Belt Pirates neither
honorable nor dangerous enough to fight, the Wolf Clan bypassed
Star's End in search of worthier foes. Between 3050 and 3052,
occasional bands of Belt Pirates ventured beyond Star's End to
raid Clan-held planets; Wolf Clan garrison units easily fended
off the raiding parties, regarding them as excellent target
practice. Most of the pirates foolish enough to take on Clan
troops were obliterated. The Belt Pirates' leader, Morgan
Fletcher II, eventually declared a temporary moratorium on
raiding and ordered her remaining fighting forces to study Clan
Wolf battle tactics.
Shortly after the battle of Tukayyid, Susie Ryan and
MechWarriors landed on Star's End with somewhat exaggerated tales
of their "victories" against Clan troops. Almost
immediately after their arrival, Susie made Morgan Fletcher a
proposal -- she and her forces would unite with the remaining
Belt Pirates, and together the two battered bandit kingdoms would
give the Clans "a taste of their own damned medicine."
The only condition Susie Ryan asked was to command her own troops
and to share overall command with Morgan Fletcher. Though wary of
shared command, Morgan badly wanted to strike back at the Clans,
and using the Rebels' experience seemed her best hope of doing
it. She agreed to the proposal and the New Belt Pirates were
born.
The New Belt Pirates are currently believed to be operating
behind Clan lines, causing whatever problems they can.
The New Belt Pirates, a merger of one of the oldest and one of
the newest bandit kingdoms in the Periphery, are a small but
irritating thorn in the Clans' side. They are composed of the
remnants of the Belt Pirates of Star's End and the survivors of
Ryan's Rebels from the Greater Valkyrate. From the
asteroid-shrouded world of Star's End in the Wolf Clan occupation
zone, this pirate band launches regular raids against Clan-held
worlds. They know they are temporarily safe from retaliation
because of the ongoing disarray among the Clans caused by the
divisiveness between the Warden and Crusader factions following
the Truce of Tukayyid.
In the six years since Tukayyid, Star's End has become a
hotbed of bandit activity within the Wolf Clan occupation zone.
Various small pirate bands, rogue mercenary units, and even the
occasional battered remnant of an Inner Sphere military unit cut
off from its fellows have turned up on Star's End, eager to join
any force that might give them an opportunity to strike back at
the Clans. Initially, the Wolf Clan paid Star's End little heed;
they regarded the gathering pirate bands as pathetic excuses for
fighters, and contended themselves with destroying a unit here
and there on its way through Wolf-occupied space. In the last two
years or so, however, pirate raiding from Star's End began to
grow serious enough to attract greater notice. IlKhan Ulric
Kerensky dealt with the stepped-up raiding by sending out units
of Crusader warriors to deal with the pirates, and was reportedly
contemplating sterner measures when the Refusal War intervened.
This fratricidal conflict was an enormous stroke of luck for
the New Belt Pirates, removing at least temporarily the greatest
threat to their survival. With the armies of Clans Wolf and Jade
Falcon shattered, the bulk of the Wolf survivors fled into the
Inner Sphere, and the remaining Crusader Wolves still in
disarray, the New Belt Pirates have the opportunity to raid
Wolf-controlled worlds with minimal opposition. Attacks on worlds
near Star's End have greatly increased in the past few months,
and several of the assaults were reportedly led by Susie
Morgraine-Ryan. According to the rumors, Susie and Morgan
Fletcher have captured Clan 'Mechs intact, though these rumors
cannot be proved. A few wild stories even claim that the two
pirate leaders captured a WarShip from Clan Ghost Bear - a highly
unlikely story.
How long the New Belt Pirates can keep their raiding spree
remains to be seen. Though the Refusal War greatly diminished
Wolf and Jade Falcon forces, enough viable Clan units remain
intact to pose problems for the raiders. Individual Crusader
warriors hungry for action have recently begun pirate hunting, to
hone their skills in readiness for the breakdown of the Truce of
Tukayyid that they consider to be inevitable. In addition, once
the two battered Clans rebuild their fighting strength, they will
undoubtedly tighten military control over the Wolf Clan occupied
zone, and they may even move in force against Star's End. There
is also a distinct possibility that the New Belt Pirates will
destroy themselves in a power struggle between Susie Ryan and
Morgan Fletcher II.
Unit Name Experience Regiments Homeworld Susie's Rebels Veteran 0.66 Star's End (CO: Colonel Susie "One-Eye" Morgraine-Ryan)
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