Periphery (BattleTech)

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Niops Association

Forgotten

Society

Still, Niops provided a safehaven during the turmoil of the first Succession War. The Association government also has provided several stabilizing forces. Although every worker, the may not have much political say or chance for economic advancement, is assured a comfortable minimal standard of living. Also, the Association had military stability provided by the Star League garrison in system. Furthering the goal of military security, the Association government pursued a build up in aerospace fighters, capable of engaging hostile forces before they even hit the ground. The strength of Niops military has kept pirate raids to a minimum, as most pirates are more comfortable looking for an easier target to hit.

Another factor in the development of the Niopian technocracy is the lack of a means to communicate with other states since its only HPG station brokedown due lack of spare parts. The government prefers to remain isolated from outside influence, partly from fear of attack and partly from the want to keep the lower-class population in check. With no evidence that life could be better, the lower-class citizens of Niops have largely remained docile.

The technocracy itself has evolved into a sort of semi-religious organization. The goal of preserving and furthering Star League era technology has become known as the "Master Plan."

Problems

Niops' main problem is that it no longer has the resources to be self-sufficient. Since the turn over of the thirty-first century, Niops resources have shrunk considerably. Most notably, mineral reserves are almost exhausted. The extraction of these reserves was a large portion of the Niops Association's economy, and the agricultural industry has failed to compensate for its loss. This loss has led to a cascading effect in Niops budget, which could possibly cause extreme problems in the longrun. The government is no longer able to guarantee a certain standard of living to the lower-class, and tension is rising rapidly.

This situation has led to Niops first foray into the world of foreign affairs for centuries. Niops lack of diplomatic experience has clearly shown through in its first shaky efforts at diplomacy. Used to complete and utter control, the Association's leaders are finding it hard to compromise and barter with outsiders. Further complicating matters is the government's fear of foreign influence leading to a social revolution within the nation. This has led to a strange situation in which the Niops leadership is trying to negotiate with neighbouring nations to save itself from economic ruin, while at the same time trying to keep its population oblivious to the existence of those neighbors.

Niops is at a crossroads. It no longer has the ability to remain isolated, and unrest among the general populace is increasing as economic woes worsen. Unless the government manages to miraculously restore the economy through international trade, it is likely that Niops will have a political, and possible military revolution in the near future. This is similar to the situation faced by the Soviet Union, although Niops seems aware of the threat of the free spread of information to their dominance. In essence, the government of Niops wants to pull off the perestroika without the glasnost.

Diplomatic Issues

The major threat to Niops Association sovereignty is the Marian Hegemony. The Marians have been on the warpath, conquering the Lothian League and Illyrian Palatinate. Niops has not revealed itself to the Hegemony, but the Marians might have learned of its existence through the conquest of the Illyrian Palatinate.

Outworlds Alliance

The Outworlds Alliance is an interstellar nation in the fictional setting of BattleTech.

Origins and History

The founding father of the Outworlds Alliance was Admiral Julius Santiago Avellar. As a junior naval officer in the closing years of the 2300s, Avellar was appalled by the ease with which the states of the Inner Sphere sought to settle their differences through increasingly destructive wars. Withdrawing to the world of Alpheratz in 2413, Avellar devoted the rest of his life to literary denunciations of the warmongers of the major Houses.

Though he may have planned to live out his life in obscurity, Avellar became the leader of a virtual cult. His compassionate pleas for an end to war created the Omniss, a new philosophical sect. Advocating the rejection of any technology that did not contribute to the preservation of life, followers of Omniss flocked to Avellar's agrarian haven in the Periphery, much to the chagrin of the hermit-like Avellar.

Before long, people from every social order began to descend on his home on Alpheratz. As the hundreds quickly became thousands and the thousands became tens of thousands, Avellar's homestead was quickly overrun with political and social dissidents. Expanding outward from Alpheratz in all directions, Omniss farmers and their supporters began to colonize neighboring star systems in a frenzy, persuaded by Avellar's writings that galactic doomsday was just around the corner. Faced with the growing problems of managing and caring for the well-meaning but technologically inept multitudes on his doorstep, Avellar was forced to do the one thing that he hated most: to create a government able to provide for the needs of his newfound followers. The result was the Outworlds Alliance, a union born more of necessity than actual desire.

Since the beginning of the 31st century, the situation in the Outworlds Alliance has become particularly grim. With the general loss of technology, Alliance worlds have suffered from declining population and literacy levels. Though protected by a strong military, many of these planets are unable to feed their own people. The people feel that their government has betrayed them, and there have been many riots and demonstrations against the hereditary Avellar regime in recent years. Although no one has yet seriously challenged the right of House Avellar to rule the Outworlds, armed rebellion is likely if the deteriorating situation does not reverse itself.

Sphere of Influence

The Outworlds Alliance is the second largest Periphery state and the weakest of the major alliances both politically and economically. Lying at the juncture between the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns, it consists of 38 inhabited worlds in a volume of space approximately 55 parsecs in diameter, which is one-fourth its former size. Its attempts to hold onto these few remaining worlds have created serious economic and political problems.

The threat of rebellion stems not so much from political dissent as from the Alliance's inability to feed and care for its multitudes. In recent years, renegade mercenary bands have staged frequent raids on Alliance worlds, seriously disrupting commerce and trade. With less than 40 serviceable JumpShips, the Merchant Marine cannot hope to protect its outermost worlds. Numerous Planetary Parliaments have criticized the Avellars' commitment to maintain the Alliance military, particularly the AeroSpace Arm, at the expense of the industrial base. Barring a major change in the policies of the Executive Parliament, the military will continue to receive the lion's share of the Alliance's meager resources.

Sociopolitical Structure

The Alliance Charter created the framework for a streamlined representative government. While acknowledging the right of House Avellar to hold executive power, representatives of the Alliance citizenry must agree unanimously on legislation before it can become law. Likewise, the charter allows for the establishment of planetary representative bodies (known as planetary Parliaments) and judicial courts of appeal, which protect the rights of citizens from governmental abuse. When the Alliance military was established in the mid 2800s, the Alliance Charter was amended to include a fourth government organ, the Alliance Military Review Board.

Government Structure

Executive Parliament

The Executive Parliament is charged with the conduct of all foreign and internal affairs, subject to a unanimous vote of all members present. This last, rather awkward requirement reflects the desires of Alliance citizens to prevent any individual from imposing a dictatorship on the majority. Such a provision makes it difficult to pass any but the most conservative policy directives.

The Executive Parliament is also responsible for military affairs within the Outworlds. Traditionally, a four-person executive subcommittee handles such matters. With the rise of a standing army, however, the Executive Parliament created the Alliance Military Review Board, which can veto this sub-committee's operational directives whenever the Board judges such directives to be contrary to the best interests of the Alliance. The President can override the Board's decision, but such action is considered politically dangerous.

Planetary Parliaments

For every five thousand people, there is a five-member Court of Appeals. The purpose of the Court of Appeal is twofold: first, to enforce local laws with powers of prosecution; and second, to review the directives handed down by the Executive Parliament. It is entirely possible that one or more Courts of Appeal may decide that an executive directive is unconstitutional, and may subsequently rule that the directive is null and void within its jurisdiction. Once every three years, representatives from each Court of Appeal meet on Alpheratz to confirm or reject nominations to the Executive Parliament and the Military Review Board for the next session.

Military Review Board

The primary political objective of the Outworlds Alliance is survival. More than two centuries of isolationism have left it with little economic and scientific vitality. Faced with an industrial decline to pre-Star League levels, the Alliance has recently opened its borders to immigration from the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns. Within the last decade, it has also begun to offer trade agreements permitting outside interests to mine Alliance worlds in exchange for technological contributions. President Neil Avellar hopes that the influx of new people and technologies may improve the economy, though many have argued that the influx of foreign concerns may threaten the Alliance's independence.

Interstellar Relations

Federated Suns

There can be no question that the culture and political ideals of the Outworlds Alliance are more compatible with those of the Federated Suns than with the Draconis Combine. At any point during the Succession Wars (including the present time), it would have been infinitely preferable to them for the Davions to emerge triumphant in their battles with the Kuritans. However, at no point during the Succession Wars have the Outworlders had the option of joining the Davions in any form of formal alliance, nor even of helping them covertly, as Kuritan intelligence is far too efficient for it to be worth the risk. The Coordinator's agents have made every effort to uncover even the slightest hint that the Avellar family has violated Outworlds neutrality, which evidence they could use as an excuse for an invasion. It is for this reason that ComStar believes that the Kuritans may have more agents on Alpheratz than on either Tharkad or New Avalon.

Draconis Combine

Taurian Concordat

ComStar

The average Alliance citizen, however, seems to view ComStar as a brotherhood of magicians at best, or a grand coven of witches and warlocks at worst. Because the average Alliance farmer or shepherd lacks even rudimentary education, he often views with sincere alarm anything that smacks of ComStar.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Religion and Philosophy

Of the many philosophical doctrines in the Alliance, the Omniss creed predominates. Omniss is similar to the cultures of the Mennonite and Amish religious groups of Terra during the 19th and 20th centuries. Forswearing the evils of technology in even its simplest forms, the Omniss advocate an agrarian, close-knit, and decidedly anti-militaristic lifestyle. This last facet of the Omniss culture has had a major impact on Alliance society. At the height of the Outworlds Alliance, over two-thirds of its citizenry were members of the Omniss creed, and thus in a position to prevent the creation of standing Alliance military. The lack of a military almost proved the Alliance's undoing in the Reunification War. Though the Omniss are less influential today, their continued opposition to military appropriations still has an effect on both government and society.

One of the newest religious groups to emerge are the Gregorians. Named after the founder of the Order of Dominant Selection, Mathias Gregory, the Gregorians advocate a lifestyle in which multiple marriages are not only the rule but a fundamental necessity. As a general decline in population threatens this state's existence, the creed has gained substantial acceptance in all levels of society. An estimated 30 percent of all Outworlders belong to, or support, the Gregorian creed.

Despite the wide diversity of philosophical and religious creeds in the Alliance, there has been a surprising lack of conflict between these groups. Due in part to planetary segregation, this tolerance is also due to the basic philosophy of Outworlders, who feel that religious bigotry is a mental disease of the Inner Sphere that must never be permitted to infect the Alliance.

Military Forces

In the years since the beginning of the Succession Wars, the Alliance Military Corps (AMC) has been based on a citizen militia force, albeit one well-trained and well-equipped. The Alliance has made AeroSpace Fighters its primary offensive and defensive arm, because Outworlders disdain BattleMechs as a symbol of Inner Sphere destructiveness and a tool of petty tyrants. Though the Alliance maintains BattleMech troops, these Warriors have neither the high status nor the high wages they command in most other armies.

The Alliance military is unique in its total lack of mercenary units. The Alliance Charter specifically forbids the use of such troops within the Outworlds.

Uniforms

The exception to this rule is the AeroSpace Arm. Because AeroSpace fighter pilots enjoy a prestige that the ground forces lack, their uniforms are of better quality. The traditional uniform consists of a white blouse with bright green piping and sky-blue trousers. In flight operations, pilots wear an all-white flight suit with a green collar and cuffs, and such personal equipment as may be available.

The Alliance navy does not exist as a separate combat arm. The few merchant DropShips in the Outworlds have been refitted to carry weapons, in keeping with their role as privateers in time of conflicts. Therefore, naval dress is generally the same as that of the Alliance merchant marine, which is at the discretion of individual ship captains.

Ranks

Enlisted Ranks

Defender

Protector

Guardian

Preceptor

Officer Ranks

Supervisor

Section Leader

Director

Chairman

Structure of the AMC

Receiving the lion's share of annual fiscal appropriations, the AeroSpace Arm is charged with first-line defense of all Alliance homeworlds. It consists of four fighter regiments, which in turn are composed of three wings each. A wing is composed of three combat flotillas of three air lances, which consist of two Fighters. A separate command wing brings the total number of Fighters in each regiment to 60, for a total of 240 AeroSpace Fighters of various types. Though many of these craft are the salvaged remnants of previous conflicts, some 40 percent are less than two generations old.

The Aerospace Arm also commands twelve JumpShips and two dozen DropsShips, which deploy the AMC's Mechanized Corps forces when not engaged in aerospace support.

Alliance Ground Defense Arm

Alliance Service Arm

Weapons Industries

Strengths and Weaknesses

Culture and Arts

Unlike many other Periphery states, the Alliance bestows few titles of nobility. With the exception of minor appellations (largely hereditary titles reserved for members of the Avellar family), most people regard the presumption of nobility as proof of an individual's desire to gain power at the expense of his neighbors.

The average Alliance citizen is a hard-working, if superstitious, individual who values personal loyalty and has a strong work ethic. Less than 10 percent of the Alliance's population can be classified as well-to-do, and even these have very little in comparison with their Inner Sphere counterparts.

Socioeconomics

Despite recent efforts to encourage foreign industry, the economy of the Alliance continues to stagnate. The situation is so bad that many worlds have reverted to the barter system to meet the needs of their populations. The establishment of a central reserve bank and a planetary stock exchange have failed, largely because such institutions are regarded as tyrannical inventions of Star League dictators. Even the introduction of ComStar C-Bills as a means of exchange has done little to reverse this process. Unless drastic reform takes place in the next decade, the Alliance could easily suffer total economic collapse.

3050 Update

The Outworlds Alliance, like many of the Periphery independents, has been seeking greater trade with the Inner Sphere. President Avellar has lately granted favorable trade terms in return for help against increased pirate activity.

Neil Avellar, who became president in 3015, ruled his people reluctantly - and his lack of enthusiasm for the task showed. Low in self-confidence, he consulted endlessly with his advisors before making each decision. Though he proved adequate to the job, the Outworlds Alliance failed to grow economically or in any other way during the early years of his reign. This lack of growth could be laid directly at the president's feet, for the Outworlds Alliance offered worthwhile returns to any party willing to invest in extracting its plentiful natural resources. But because many of its early colonists were against technology in most of its forms, the Alliance devoted its assets to agricultural pursuits, never even attempting to take advantage of the planets' mineral reserves. By the time the nation's leaders recognized that their natural resources could be the key to economic recovery, they no longer had the assets necessary to exploit those resources.

In 3034, nineteen unhappy years after he assumed the presidency of the Outworlds Alliance, Neil Avellar married Rebecca DeSanders, a Federated Suns diplomat with close ties to the Davion rulers. Though his marriage made him happier in many ways, not the least of which was the opportunity he now had to father a child to replace him as president, his choice of partners was an unpopular decision both within and without his realm. The Draconis Combine objected to the marriage as an obvious ploy by the Federated Commonwealth to subsume the Periphery realm, and the Kurita ambassador refused to believe any other explanation of the partnership. Unfortunately for President Avellar, a certain number of Alliance citizens felt the same way, afraid that their nation would follow the path taken by the Tikonov Free Republic several years earlier. What little internal resistance existed to Avellar's rule polarized around this issue, and the Outworlds Alliance remained on cool terms with House Kurita for many years.

When Neil and Rebecca's son Mitchell arrived in 3035, he represented a beacon of hope for all the people of the Outworlds Alliance. Finally, it seemed a better tomorrow might be possible with a generation, and early evidence that Mitchell possessed genius-level intelligence - he spoke in complete sentences and understood basic math skills much earlier than the average infant - gave the Alliance citizens even more reason to hope for a brighter future. The nation soon realized, however, that hope was not enough.

3056 Update

Although the Federated Commonwealth had begun operations to extract the Outworlds Alliance's natural resources in return for favorable trading terms, the returns were too modest for them to fully invest in such a course. Every time Houses Davion and Steiner went to war, their attention would stray from their Periphery operations, and the Inner Sphere realms sometimes went so far as to pull the military assets assigned to the Periphery back to their own borders. Every time the Houses went to war, the bandits returned in force

The daring raids perpetrated against Davion mining and manufacturing operations in 3037 forced the House lord to choose between repairing and restarting those facilities, or reserving his nation's assets for the war he planned to begin in 3038. The bandits, but luck or design, managed to cripple and/or destroy many key facilities, and the Federated Suns neither retaliated nor rebuilt. Lacking the technology necessary to restart operations on its own, the Alliance lost its fragile hold on economic growth and unemployment began to grow alarmingly.

The Avellars produced a daughter, Camillo, in 3037, and another girl in 3038, whom they named Patrice. Though they took great joy in both events, those happy occasions were insufficient to offset their desperate struggle to keep the Outworlds Alliance afloat. ComStar Arrives

As the War of 3039 lurched to an end, President Avellar renewed his efforts to persuade other nations to invest in the Outworlds Alliance. Disrupted trade and communications between the Draconis Combine, the Federated Commonwealth, and the Alliance made these appeals difficult, but Davion did devote new resources to reopening and rebuilding that realm's existing mining and manufacturing facilities. It was also at this time that Kurita began negotiations for subsidizing Alliance aerospace production, though those plans only came to fruition years later.

In marked contract to the Successor States, ComStar took a genuine, vigorous, and lasting interest in the Outworlds Alliance. We invested in a strong relationship with the Alliance government, offering favorable terms on HPG transmissions and agreeing to use local Alliance physical and human resources to build and staff new facilities. In return, the Alliance agreed to the construction of HPG facilities on several worlds and granted the Com Guards use of massive expanses of land as training grounds. The arrangement was satisfactory for all sides.

ComStar's presence initially received some negative public reaction. Most likely because our level of technological achievement reminded the citizens of the Star League and the privations suffered in their struggle against that force, our landings often met with demonstrations and protesters. We soon determined, however, that those who opposed us represented the minority. Most Alliance citizens welcomed the jobs our presence created and our requirements even gave rise to one or two cottage industries in each location where we built an HPG. Our most valuable contribution to Alliance society, however, was the outstanding work of our education teams, which spread out to all Alliance worlds and taught young and old alike.

Though recruitment to our ranks was not a primary, or even secondary, goal of our presence in the Outworlds Alliance, we received an extraordinary number of requests from that realm's citizenry to join our Order. Part of the attraction, to be sure, lay in the heavily mystic nature of ComStar at the time - a nature that appealed to the fundamentally pious background of the citizens' ancestry. The more likely explanation for this overwhelming response, however, was that ComStar members enjoyed a significantly higher standard of living than most members of the Outworlds Alliance. This latter explanation also supports the current, continuing high level of enrollment from the Alliance even after the split between ComStar and Word of Blake.

Beginning of the End

Increased communication between communities also served to consolidate an increasingly large faction calling for Neil Avellar's resignation. Though the Alliance's basically pacifistic outlook prevented this unrest from breaking out into armed rebellion, the biggest stumbling block to choosing a new president was a lack of qualified candidates for his replacement. Dissatisfied as they were with Avellar's performance, the citizens of the Alliance had no desire to jump from the frying pan to the fire by throwing their existing government into upheaval merely for the sake of change. Only the most unreasonable factions refused to admit that the Alliance's deep-seated, long-standing economic woes could be more accurately blamed on the realm's founders than its current administration.

The Clan invasion offered only one bright spot for the Outworlds Alliance. As soon as the Inner Sphere realized the strength of the enemy they faced, the House Lords immediately diverted all their energy and available resources to dealing with this threat. The Periphery bandits wasted no time in abandoning their raids against the poorer Periphery realms and devoting their efforts to plundering the richer, underdefended planets of the Federated Commonwealth and Draconis Combine. While the Outworlds Alliance lost even the sketchy economic support of those two realms, they also found themselves nearly free of the regular perdition threats of bandits. The Alliance economy did not improve, but it also did not decline.

The Truce of Tukayyid heralded a return of the bandits to the Periphery, and renewed hope in the Outworlds Alliance for economic recovery. Unfortunately, the apparently permanent presence of the Clans in the Inner Sphere continued to distract Houses Davion and Kurita from resuming their economic initiatives in the Alliance. President Avellar's popularity sank to an all-time low, and even the good news that the tiny Outworlds Alliance military was posting victories against bandit attacks could not redeem him.

A New Start

True to his word, President Mitchell Avellar returned to his people two months later with a series of governmental initiatives and trade packages known as the Long Road Program. Designed to gradually reverse the nation's economic decline and breathe new life into its minimal industrial base, the Long Road Program addressed multiple solutions simultaneously. Building on the increased level of education and literacy fostered by ComStar's work toward an agreement that would allow Alliance-owned business groups to rebuild, reopen and/or improve existing Davion mining and manufacturing enterprises with the goal of creating new jobs for Alliance citizens, who were now better qualified to perform those roles. Though each Davion company may work out the specific details of its individual agreement, the main provision of the settlement between the governments calls for the Federated Commonwealth companies to provide sufficient capital to jump-start the operation and to sacrifice a minor percentage of the business's output. In return, the Alliance partner provides the work force, operating capital, and delivery to all purchasers.

Determined to give his people a tangible sign of his commitment to raising their standard of living, Avellar arranged to mint new currency. He declined to uses his own likeness as the central image, however, choosing instead a picture of the sun emerging from a cloud to remind the citizens of the realm that there was hope for their future. Mitchell also pledged a substantial percentage of his family's personal fortune to funding government-run manufacturing and mining concerns. He intends for this initiative to create new jobs and foster a national income, another effort to improve the nation's economy. Several other factors also currently serve to boost the income of the Alliance: the recently issued currency named the escudo is gaining wider-spread use; the BattleMech games on Lushann enjoy growing acceptance as a less expensive but equally entertaining alternative to the Solaris games; and several spices unique to Alliance worlds have come into greater demand throughout other Periphery realms and the Capellan Confederation.

Though President Avellar's business principles are sound and his advisors and the Executive Parliament agree with his proposed solutions, much of what he is trying to do has been repeatedly delayed by the Alliance's painfully slow democratic process. Because the Parliament must approve all internal and foreign policies by unanimous vote, even the smallest reform requires lengthy deliberation and debate - and Mitchell Avellar's suggested reforms are substantial. President Avellar also blames himself for some of the delays, admitting that his relative youth has caused some to question his credibility and the wisdom of his plans. His only effective response to such naysayers is to point out that he was raised practically from the cradle to assume leadership of the Outworlds Alliance, and there is no one better suited to do so. Though he hopes that his people will eventually accept his leadership on faith and on his good record, he recognizes that he might be forced to accept the assistance of media coaches to establish his credibility outside his realm. Continuing Opposition

Even though Mitchell Avellar has barely held the office of president long enough to demonstrate competence or incompetence, he faces strong opposition from a group known as the Separatists (who also opposed his father's rule), and he must answer the concerns of several factions that believe the military should receive a larger share of the available resources.

Led by Barnabas Hyard, chairman of the planet Baliggora, the Separatists believe that the Alliance can no longer exist as a cohesive state. This group advocates dissolving the realm and allowing the settled worlds to succeed or fail on their own, obviously trusting that individual planets will conduct their own affairs more efficiently than a central government. Though this organization boasts a devoted following of the disaffected, Huard himself lacks the charisma and leadership skills necessary to forge the Separatists into an effective political force. Until such a leader rises to the fore, this group will remain nothing more than a very vocal club of dissatisfied citizens.

In marked contrast to their traditional views, a growing number of Alliance worlds currently believe that President Avellar's reformation policies do too little for the Alliance Military Corps. Probably as a result of their exposure to our Order's philosophies regarding the deterrent value of a strong defensive force, these worlds are calling for a rapid military build-up and for immediate acquisition of Star League technology. Though counseling the wisdom of establishing a solid economic base before investing in a stronger military, Avellar's words seem to be falling on deaf ears.

Interstellar Relations

Because the Outworlds Alliance never gave much effort to maintaining communications with Inner Sphere powers other than those directly on its doorstep, Katherine Steiner-Davion's move to separate the newly christened Lyran Alliance from the Federated Commonwealth has had very little effect on the Periphery state. If not for Victor Steiner-Davion's willingness to authorize others in his administration to conduct negotiations with the Periphery realms, however, this internal problem could have seriously delayed President Avellar's recovery plans.

Offering another major boost to the Outworlds Alliance's meager industrial base, the Draconis Combine recently began to subsidize increased production of aerospace fighters. The one military asset the Alliance continually supported regardless of the competence of the realm's leader, the aerospace industry remained in place and ready to implement renewed and expanded production schedules as soon as opportunity allowed.

Other Periphery Realms

Unable to offer much in the way of economic aid at present, the Magistracy of Canopus nonetheless has pledged to provide such support as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Magestrix gladly schedules the Canopian pleasure circuses for regular stops in the Alliance, events which always boost the local economy and raise the citizen's spirits.

Of the other nearby Periphery worlds, only the tiny Mica Majority possesses what can kindly be called an organized government, and Alliance merchants regularly stop at this three-world realm to trade for the precious metals mined on the asteroids orbiting all three planets.

The nearby world of Antallos, more commonly known as Port Krin, poses a major problem for the Outworlds Alliance. President Avellar would like nothing more than to establish diplomatic relations with this pirate haven, for doing so would eliminate his realm's most constant and damaging enemy. Needless to say, no single person or band of pirates has been able to gain the upper hand on this brutal, corrupt world, and so Port Krin continues to serve as a convenient base from which bandits conduct their devastating raids against the planets of the Outworlds Alliance. Though the Alliance Military Corps is willing to mount an attack against Antallos, the probable consequences of their failure to subdue the entire planet are too terrible to risk.

The populations of Dneiper, Milligan's World, and Prinis Prime, the three Alliance worlds closest to Antallos, have gradually abandoned their holdings in the face of repeated bandit raids. The people who stubbornly refuse to give up their homes and lands are nearly self-sufficient and long ago ceased to feel any loyalty to the Alliance government.

Pirate attacks continue to represent the greatest source of trouble, both political and economic, that the Outworlds Alliance faces, and at the moment they must try to conquer that particular challenge alone.

ComStar and Word of Blake

Steady enrollment figures and the marked lack of Word of Blake factions in this Periphery realm may be traced to the same reason - the people of the Periphery have always been independent thinkers. We have always assumed that a certain percentage of our members were not true believers in the words said to belong to Jerome Blake, and though willing to follow the rules of our Order, members who came to us from the Periphery often fell into that pragmatic percentage. ComStar personnel stationed in the Periphery were chosen specifically for their ability and willingness to take initiative when necessary and for their flexibility when dealing with native populations. Even if they adhered to former ComStar doctrines to the letter, they were eminently sensible and better able to adapt to the new direction than other adepts and acolytes.

ComStar's Periphery outposts have taken on new importance since the Draconis Combine has invested in revitalizing the Explorer Corps. The HPG stations in the Outworlds Alliance, like similar stations elsewhere in the Periphery, now serve as launching points for ships in search of Clan homeworlds. This increased activity, of course, provides new jobs for locals living near the ComStar stations.

Rim World's Republic

Taurian Concordat

The Taurian Concordat was founded in 2253 by settlers fleeing the Terran Hegemony. They entered the resource-rich and easily defensible Hyades Nebula, which forms the nucleus of the modern day Taurian Concordat. The leader of the settlers was named Samantha Calderon, who became Protector (Monarch) of the newly formed Taurian Concordat. It fought border wars with House Davion and House Liao during the Age of War.

In 2573 a squadron of Taurian warships misjumped into the Pollux system that was being jointly administered by the Taurian Concordat and the Federated Suns. The Federated Suns destroyed the Squadron. The misjump led to the passing of the Pollux Resolution, which would bring the Periphery states "despite their reluctance, for the good of all," into the Star League. What began as a 6-month campaign ended in the 19-year Reunification War.

The Reunification War was a bloody struggle for supremacy. The "Taurians" fought tooth and nail, using weapons of mass destruction. The war finally ended when the Star League finally pierced the Hyades Nebula, and the last remnants of the Taurian Concordat Surrendered. The war ended in 2596.

The Taurian Concordat's military is called the Taurian Defence Force. It is made up of seven corps and four fleets. All citizens in the Concordat are required to serve a 2-year term with the TDF following their 18th birthday. Major military actions that they were involved in are: various (unnamed) battles during the Age of War, the Reunification War, the Vandenburg Revolt, the St. Ives War, and the Pleadies War.

Recently, in the years leading up to the Word of Blake Jihad, the Taurian Concordat has splintered into two realms: One named after the original, and the other calling itself the Calderon Protectorate.

Minor nations

• Lothian League
• Herotitus
• Illyrian Palatinate
• Elysian Fields
• Antallos
• Santander's World.

Significance in BattleTech

External links

• Periphery article at the Battletechwiki
• |http://www.kerensky.ultraforce.org/index.html