Star Type: G4V
Position in System: 3
Time to Jump Point: 7.98 days
Recharging Station: Zenith
Political Ruler: Various family leaders
ComStar Facility Class: B
ComStar Representative: Precentor Adrien
Clothos
Population: 190,000
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 15%,
Mammal
Description:
The center of the Illyrian Palantinate, Illyria supports a small
shipbuilding center on its southern continent. The population,
largely individuals of Scandinavian ancestry, spend much of their
time scavenging for stores of Star League equipment thought to be
on the planet. To date, some modest amounts of equipment have
been recovered, and there is evidence that Illyria may once have
hosted a Star League 'Mech repair facility. Reports of stashes of
serviceable BattleMechs along the northern territories remain
unsupported, however.
The Illyrian Palatinate is a collection of four worlds lying
between the Circinus Federation and the Lothian League. Ruled by
an oligarchy of rich trading families, the Palatinate survives
through modest trade with the Free Worlds League, primarily in
iron ore and processed steel. The Scandinavian descendants of the
original 24th-century colonists maintain a precarious hold on
their star systems against continued depredations by the Circinus
Federation. At present, their military consists of a minuscule
trading fleet and several companies of BattleMechs, mostly
mercenaries and officers who have fled the Inner Sphere for one
reason or another. Supplementing the Palatinate's revenues are
large sums of cash earned from staging annual MechWarrior games,
in which contestants battle to the death for salvaged BattleMechs
and spare parts.
Ruled by an oligarchy of rich trading families, Palatinate
citizens lived a relatively tranquil existence until the 3030s,
when traders of the nearby Circinus Federation began to make
belligerent noises about conquering the small realm. The Circians
attempted to annex the Palatinate in 3034, but ran into
unexpected opposition from the mercenary unit Thor's Arms, with
whom the Palatinate had signed a multiyear contract. The
mercenaries' two battalions of assault 'Mechs easily matched the
Federation forces, quickly routing them from the realm.
Over the next seven years the Circinian president continued to
plot the Palatinate's downfall, but domestic troubles fortunately
prevented "Little Bob" McIntyre from making good on his
threats. Unwilling to trust indefinitely in their enemy's ongoing
bad luck, however, the Palatinate took steps to safeguard against
invasion. In order to earn funds with which to hire more
mercenary troops and finance small local militias, Administrator
Ernest Wick expanded his nation's trade with the Free Worlds
League. He also forged stronger ties with the Palatinate's
closest neighbor, the Lothian League, in hope of using Lothian
scientific expertise to bolster his planets' defenses. As the
3040s went by and the Circinus Federation launched no assault,
the Illyrian people cautiously began to hope that the threatened
invasion might not occur.
Trouble came soon enough, but from an unexpected source - a
sudden, vast influx of refugees fleeing the Clan invasion.
Between 3049 and 3051, the Clan war machine devastated the Free
Rasalhague Republic. Throughout those years, and especially after
the battle of Tukayyid, the Palatinate became the favored
destination of thousands of Rasalhagian refugees. Drawn to the
Palatinate as much by its predominantly Scandinavian culture as
its prosperity, the refugees arrived in droves. Throughout the
latter half of 3052, cargo ships carrying fleeing Rasalhagians
arrived almost daily. This sudden population increase nearly
overwhelmed the tiny Palatinate; housing and food shortages
became commonplace even among Illyrian natives. Desperate for
revenues, Administrator Wick increased trade shipments of
processed steel to the Free Worlds League beginning in 3051. The
League gladly obliged its trading partner, needing as much steel
as it could get in order to meet the Inner Sphere demand for
BattleMechs and refit kits. The trade revenues, however, were
insufficient to meet the refugees' growing needs. In addition,
Marian Hegemony raids on the Lothian League in 3052 and 3053 came
close to crippling the Lothian economy thereby depriving the
Palatinate of its only other major market.
In early 3054, Administrator Wick appealed to the Successor
States to send refugee aid, pointing out that Rasalhagian
citizens unable to find homes in the Palatinate would surely move
on to the Inner Sphere. The Federated Commonwealth and the
Draconis Combine took the hint; each of them sent sizable grants,
earmarked for refugee aid, to the Illyrian government. The influx
of new moneys enabled Administrator Wick to set aside and even
larger portion of general revenues to continue beefing up his
realm's military security, a particularly pressing problem in
light of the Marian Hegemony's conquest of the Lothian League in
early 3055.
Unit Name Experience Regiments Homeworld Right Arm of Thor (1 Batt) Regular 0.33 Illyria (CO: Overcaptain Gustaf Narder) Left Arm of Thor (1 Batt) Regular 0.33 Illyria (CO: Overcaptain Hassie Menker)
Fearing that Caesar O'Reilly of the Marian Hegemony would
target the Palatinate next, Administrator Wick made an
unprecedented public declaration. In order to resist the expected
assault of the Marian Legions and guarantee the safety of every
Illyrian citizen, Wick asserted, the Palatinate must gear up for
total defense. As part of this effort, the Administrator
announced, the Palatinate government would begin construction of
bases on all Illyrian worlds. Modeled on the Castles Brian of the
Star League era, these bases would be used to stockpile supplies
and house several platoons of guerrilla fighters. As an added
inducement for the citizens to agree to build the bases,
Administrator Wick announced that all construction workers would
be provided with free housing for themselves and their families -
longhouse-style dormitories on site at first, and permanent homes
as fast as Palatinate contractors could build them.
Legions of citizens - both natives and former Rasalhagians -
took the Administrator up on his offer. By the end of 3057, the
bases were complete, and construction of residential housing was
proceeding slowly but steadily, financed largely by money from
the Combine and the Commonwealth.
Militarily, the Illyrian Palatinate is in somewhat better
shape in 3058 than it was five years ago. Thor's Arms remain in
Illyrian employ, with each battalion rotated to every Palatinate
world in turn. A second mercenary company, Cavanaugh's Cavalry,
serves as a home guard for the capital planet of Illyria.
Finally, ex-soldiers from the Free Rasalhague Republic's
KungsArme have joined planetary militias and are training
increasing numbers of Illyrian citizens in the arts of war.
Relations between the Palatinate and the Free Worlds League
remain friendly, as the trade links between them are vital to
Illyrian prosperity and security. Administrator Wick has also
made a point of courting the Taurian Concordat and the Magistracy
of Canopus, knowing that his nation may need al the help it can
get if the Circinus Federation manages to launch its
long-threatened invasion - or if the Marian Hegemony follows up
on its recent threats. The Hegemony, relatively untroubled by
domestic strife, may well beat the Circinus Federation to the
punch and invade the Palatinate before the Circinians do. The
Concordat and the Magistracy have responded warmly to Illyrian
overtures, though neither state has yet made any specific
promises of military aid.
In its search for allies, the Palatinate government has also
attempted to contact the nearby Niops Association, a three-planet
state long isolated from the other nations of the Periphery. The
Association's leaders have expressed guarded interest in
"exploratory talks" with the Palatinate, but so far
remain vague about what they expect the substance of such talks
to be.
Unit Name Experience Regiments Homeworld Right Arm of Thor (1 Batt) Regular 0.33 Illyria (CO: Overcaptain Gustaf Narder) Left Arm of Thor (1 Batt) Regular 0.33 Trasjkis (CO: Overcaptain Hassie Menker)
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