Location: Outside of Lyran Commonwealth, near
Oberon Vl
Number of Worlds: Five
Current Ruler: Dominatrix Maria Morgraine
Military Strength: 1 Battalion
Technology Level: Poor
Literacy Level: Poor
World Name: Gotterdammerung
Star Type: M2V
Position in System: 2
Time to Jump Point: 2.83 days
Recharging Station: None
Political Ruler: Dominatrix Maria Morgraine
ComStar Facility Class: None
ComStar Representative: None
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 10%,
Mammal
Description:
A cold world (in keeping with the temperament of its ruler),
Gotterdammerung is typical of the worlds held by Maria Morgraine.
Much of the surface is covered with layersof Cice and snow: the
only habitable region is a thin belt of tundra near the equator.
The population of just over a thousand have managed to scratch
out a meager existence by hunting the small herds of
reindeer-like animals.
The newest of the pirate clans to populate the Periphery,
Morgraine's Valkyrate is a collection of five ice worlds beyond
the border of the Lyran Commonwealth. Originally a lieutenant of
Hendrik Grimm, Morgraine broke with her master after her lover,
Redjack Ryan, was expelled from the Oberon Confederation.
Denouncing the "male-dominated" rule of the Grimm
pirate dynasty, Morgraine and her female followers established
their own pirate outposts, from which they have begun to raid
Lyran space. Within this female pirate haven, males are accorded
rights and privileges according to their abilities, but all
command decisions are reserved to Morgraine and her valkyries.
Much of the Valkyrate's social order mirrors that of Cancient
Terran Norse mythology. Given time, this veneer of Nordic
tradition will continue to evolve. Morgraine currently holds
forth in her court on Gotterdammerung, ruling with an iron hand
over an estimated five to six thousand inhabitants scattered over
her various holds. Due to Morgraine's xenophobia, attempts to
place ROM agents in this region have all failed.
[Prepared by Major C.G. Toho, Periphery expert for Wolfnet, Military Intelligence Division, Seventh Kommando]
The major event affecting the balance of terror among
Periphery pirates was the union of Maria Morgraine and Redjack
Ryan. The merger of Morgraine's Valkyrate with the Pirates of
Butte Hold has created the Greater Valkyrate, a potent entity
with a fearsome military unit, Ryan's Rebels. This has had the
beneficial effect of curbing the Oberon Confederation and the
bother of creating a growing nest of vipers on the border of the
Federated Commonwealth. Ryan and Morgraine's oldest child, Major
Susie "One Eye" Morgraine-Ryan, have proven to be
capable and vicious military leaders, boding ill for civilized
worlds in the area for the foreseeable future.
The arrival of the Clans in 3049 held grave consequences for
the Greater Valyrate. 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.
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.
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