BattleTech Welcome to the Nebula California

Theodore Ketchum (order #7087026)

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NEBULA

CALIFORNIA

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Welcome to theWelcome to the


connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/INTRO 01

STAR LEAGUE ERA CLAN INVASION ERA JIHAD ERA

SUCCESSION WARS ERA CIVIL WAR ERA DARK AGE ERA

creditsProject Development: Herbert A. Beas IIBattleTech Line Developer: Treyhang Liaos Manicurist

Assistant Line Developer: Ben H. RomeWriting: Herbert A. Beas II and Paul SjardijnProduction Staff

Cover Design and Layout: David KerberCover Art: Matt Cross and David KerberGraphic Presentation: Matt Cross and David KerberRecord Sheets: Johannes Heidler, Sebastian Brocks, and David KerberCatalyst Game Labs Art Director: Brent Evans

Factchecking/Playtesting: Whats That?

Special Thanks: To Everyone who loves that we do this kind of thing every year. If it werent for you, well, we probably wouldnt be doing this anymore

Welcome to the Nebula California

Summation: Nothing of significant interest here. Returning to Base.

Official ComStar Explorer Corps report on Stellar Object NGC 1499 (California Nebula), ca. 3056

Let me just get this out of the way: ComStars Explorer Corps are filthy liars. We should really stop taking their archives for granted, and do all our explorations from scratch. No hand-holding!

For example, according to their mid-3050s reports, the EC rummaged around the rimward edge of the Inner Sphere in their search for the Clans Homeworlds, signs of the long-lost Wolverines, and a host of other holy grails, getting as far as penetrating the Perseus-Cepherus Cloud Complex that dominates the rimward expanses. According to those reports, they went as far as NGC/SLSC 1499, a.k.a. the California Nebula, and described that as the farthest extent of their explorations.

Yeah, right! Id say, And Im a covert Canopian cat-girl!If ComStar really made it this far at alland, yes, I do mean if,

because Im honestly at the point where Im willing to believe they called the whole thing off after passing through more than 200 light-years of nothingnesstheir crews probably didnt do more than a telescopic look at the region from three jumps away and said nothing to see here before turning back. Either that, or those bastards fully scanned these worlds, found out what was going on here, and thought they could save it for themselvesbefore forgetting entirely about it!

Alright, enough on that. Im starting to get a bit heated nowThe attached file recounts the findings of the first CalNeb

Expedition, launched out of IEs staging areas on Farhome. Many of the teams assembled for this survey were drawn equally from the various departments of the University of Past and Future, and thus enjoy the financial and administrative blessings of the Mutual Exploration Network (MEN), Millennium Foundation, and Star Groupall under the united umbrella of Interstellar Expeditions. While the expedition is nominally under my principle author, it has been agreed prior to our outset that multiple teams would be established as needed, with all such teams given free rein to explore what we thought would be a set of largely lifeless worlds that may have served as secret waypoints for the Amaris-backed operations that led to the fall of the first Star League.

What we found instead were several stars teeming with human settlements or their remainsall very much active, and unique in ways far more exceptional than any of us ever dreamed. As I do not wish to steal anyones thunder with this cover paper, I will allow the separate reports enclosed within to delve into the details.

Rest assured, the California Nebula is home to surprises that could revolutionize life in the Inner Sphere.

Dr. Pankaj Rani, PhD, Senior Mission Director, IE Deep Periphery Expedition CalNeb I, 3105

EXPLORERS REPORT: CALIFORNIA NEBULA


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Explorers Report: California Nebula is a special setting companion set in the far fringes of the BattleTech setting, presenting unique new worlds and environs that may be used to spice up your BattleTech campaigns, whether they are role-playing adventures using the rules found in A Time of War (AToW), or the tactical combat rules found in Total Warfare (TW) and Alpha Strike (AS).

Of course, given the fact that we are releasing this puppy on the first of April, a day we tend to reserve for mischief, it should be obvious to all that the material and rules presented in this electronic volume are provided purely in the interests of fun, and may be considered non-canon. No, really; as much as we would love to claim that what you find inside this book is really happening in the BattleTech universe, its really not.

[Authors Note: Well, actually, it could all be canon; were not sure. It seems that something surrounds the California Nebula that allows JumpShips in, but prevents them from leaving its boundaries. These poor IE folks youll be hearing from? They can jump out any time they want, but they can never leave! Its a real

wonder how their reports are even making it into your hands, in fact Are you a spy or something?]

[Developers Note: The developers would like to apologize for the authors rant above! Rest assured, that he is clearly delusional, and will be sacked. Nothing to see here! Move along!]

Anyway, canon or no, basic rules covering the use and effectiveness of the technologies, techniques, and equipment for your BattleTech games can be found at the back of this volume. As unconventional as they might be, they may be introduced to games based on the core rules found in TW, TO, AToW, and their various companions. For the benefit of players who concern themselves which such things, the data for all of the featured units and material in this book are the very definition of Experimental-level rules, regardless of their era of play.

[Writers Note: Even future eras?][Developers Note: Especially future eras! Now, go box

your stuff!]So, you know, read on and have fun!

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK


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THE MONSTER OF IRON AND FIRE

With a thunderous roar, the creatureunlike any that Uraguan, son of Lord Arugula of the Riverden Barony, had ever seenopened its dragon-like maw, revealing rows of glinting metal teeth, and spewed forth a golden fan of pure fire. Holding his mystical shield high in an effort to stave off the heat, the ranger bolted back over the wall of boulders and felled valley oak trees that had been his cover only moments before.

Yet even though his shield might have spared his flesh from the intense wash of demonic wrath, he found the lower half of his cloak had bet set alight. In a frenzy, he jammed his bastard sword into the soft green earth, reached up for his throat with his now-freed gauntlet, and yanked away the clasp that kept the garment in place. A quick toss sent the smoking ruin away, but he was already too busy retrieving his sword to care where it landed.

What in the Nine Layers is this monstrosity? demanded the short, hairy wall of muscle, encased in armor of chainmail and leather, who now huddled there with him. Grimely Thundershield clutched a notched, war-worn, double-edged battle axe in his meaty hands as if it were the most precious thing in his life. His eyes were wide with the closest thing to fear that Uraguan had even seen in a mountain dwarf.

He was about to tell Grimely that he had no idea what it was, when he realized that the question wasnt aimed at him.

Largoles Woodstrider, fair of hair and boyishly slender, shrugged helplessly. His cool blue eyes betrayed far less panic than Grimelys, but his lips were a thin line. The usual jibes and witticisms that colored most of his interactions with the dwarf had failed to emerge. The experience of countless adventures told Uraguan that this was how the elf expressed his true fear, concealing his worry behind a veil of stoic silence.

The earth shuddered as the monster stomped onward, moving off with great strides, but far from in a hurry.

Uraguan dared to twist himself around, and glanced over a low point in the smoldering rocks that even now continued to radiate the heat of the beasts fire.

Through the haze of drifting smoke, he saw the great bulk of the monster, hunched forward and pounding the earth on four mighty legs. Its broad tail swayed easily a mans height above the valley floor, moving back and forth almost lazily now. With the creature faced away from him as it was, Uraguan could see sunlight gleaming off of the broad, segmented metal plates that covered it from head to toes. Spikes rose about its gigantic body, forming a ridge of death around its fore-shoulders. Beneath all those plates of metal, the human ranger had glimpsed an underlying hide of the darkest black, but the constant, grinding movement of the beasts surface plates as it moved about had denied his elfin companion an effective target for his enchanted arrows.

Where are the others? he asked in a low tone, satisfied that the great lumbering hulk was far enough away for the moment.

Grimely blinked and gazed back toward another of cluster of bouldersone that still managed to look like the ancient castle wall it had once been. His eyes narrowed on the area, but it was Largoles who finally spoke.

The gnomes and Grando are back there, he said. I havent seen Beanomir since our last attack.

A frown twisted Uraguans scruffy, unshaven features. For all his arrogance, Beanomir was a fine warrior, and it would be terrible to lose him so soon in this quest, especially against this metallic mountain of hate that nobody had even warned them about before they set out. Sure, the mission at hand was perilous, what with the ork-men that the Dark Lord of the Dragon Lands and the Traitor Mage Salamain kept sending their way. But the oracles and wise men who plotted their path through the Misty Valley never mentioned the possibility that an armor-clad, fire-breathing monstrosity bigger than a wizards keep and armed with flaming, stone-throwing horns, would appear in these pastoral lands.

And now, it looked like their fellowship was down its best fighter. Two gnome rogues, two healers, two rangers, and a dwarven berserker were no match for this gargantuan beast.

And the mage, thus far, had yet to even come up with an idea that worked against it!

Archmage Grando the Golden, his gray eyes intense and his heart racing, held open his great tome of creatures with one shaky, withered hand, while the other frantically flashed through the pages. Decades of intense research into the arcane arts, the study of the natures and the magical weaves of this world, had never prepared him for the creature that thundered across this valley with such wanton abandon.

Originally, he thought they had stumbled upon one of Salamains latest abominations, a flightless dragon perhaps, bereft of its wings and covered in plates of polished metals for protection against spell and sword alike. Or maybe it was a clockwork golem, he had mused, a blending of gnome and dwarf engineering given life through the means of the Dark Lords necromancy. Yet nothing in this venerable monster catalog fit what they saw here today.

Grando? a trembling voice penetrated his frustration. The wizened, long-bearded mage looked up to find himself nose-to-snout with a rogue in studded brown-leather armoreven though he was seated, and the gnome was standing. A pang of regret that he had led these tiny folk into this dangerous crusade struck himbut the notion of entrusting of this worlds most dangerous artifact with the adventurers least likely to be taken seriously by the Dark Lord seemed like such a good idea at the time!




Frody? he asked, arching an eyebrow. Panic or no, the golden-robed archmage knew better than to let his fears show. The hallmark of the mage class, after all, was to at least appear as if everything in the world was known to them, that there were no surprises, no mysteries too dark for them to enlighten. Between them and the clerical healers, theythe gifted magic usershad spent generations cultivating the trust of the mundane peoples across these misbegotten lands.

The beast is moving off, Wise One, Frody Braggins told him, his dark gnomish eyes darting upward as if to confirm his own assurances. In his hand, he still clutched his silver, magically-sharpened short sword, but he had yet to go anywhere near enough to the monster to use it.

Good, good! Gando exclaimed thoughtfully. And how fare our taller friends?

Sammi Grammarchek, himself looking around the side of the ruined castle wall, turned his curly-haired head back to them both. I see Larg, Grime, and Urag over there, but Sir Beanomir is...

Grando arched his eyebrow as Sammis voice trailed off and he peeked around the wall again. The second of their partys rouges, Sammi prided himself on his stealth and his keen senses to scout the lands and track his prey. Now those senses were being used to find the self-styled warrior-knight who wasnaturallythe first one to try and attack this beast when they encountered it.

That foolish act had brought the monsters wrath down squarely upon all of them!

I I dont see him, Sammi finally finished.Tragic, Grando said, hoping that none of the others heard the

sarcasm in his tone. This was hardly the time to let his contempt for the simpleton to bleed out.

Have you figured out what our foe is? a third gnome joined in. Mary was one of their clerical healers, a female whose pink hair and pony tails made her look somewhat comical, but which belied the fact that she might have had the keenest mind of them alloutside of Grandos own, of course.

Why, I believe I have, young lady, he said confidently, as he flipped another page in the catalog and found I believe we are facing a magically altered terraskasaur.

Inwardly, Grando thanked the Fates that he had turned to a page indicating a creature so rare on this world that the descriptions of its appearance rarely went beyond big, four-legged, and breathes fire. It was said to be one of the largest of the saurian monsters in all of the lands, but virtually never seen or heard from far from coastal areas.

And thus, his theory leapt toward magically altered. The more he thought about it, the less his words sounded like

a desperate stretch of all reason. The sketchy description certainly fit what he had observed of this ironclad monster, especially

considering the powers of the Dark Lord and Traitor Mage combined. Indeed, if anyone could harness such an unholy terror and unleash it as a behemoth of metal and magic, it would be them!

It made so much sense to Grando that he decided it had to be providence that he found the answer in a flash of insight. He turned his attention back to the page, satisfied that he had it now, his mind intent on trying to find out how to kill it.

Beanomir, Hero of the Lands, and Warrior-Heir to the Throne of the Kingdom of Gordon, found himself at the base of a tree, rubbing his head, which throbbed painfully. His plate-mail armor, dented and scuffed, was otherwise intact, and he had surmised (after a brief test of his limbs and digits) that the man inside it was as well. Finally daring to stand, he looked around, brushing back a lock of his own wavy brown hair. By divine providence, he found what he was looking for quicklythe gleaming two-handed sword of his forefathers, imbued with magical might, lay only a dozen strides away.

He allowed himself a sigh of relief at that; a non-magical warrior hero without a sword waswell, a ranger, he supposed. Or maybe a rogue. He shuddered at the thought of either, as the images of Uraguan and Frody popped into his mind, unbidden.

As he stood to retrieve his fallen weapon, he sniffed the air, quickly detecting the scent of burning wood, and the strange, acrid stink of the beast. The memory of his failed attack flooded back to him. He had slid in close, quite proud of his own ability to use rogue-like stealth without all the shifty training the gnomes had. Of course, it helped that the monster itself was loud as the Nine Hells, but that would be left out of the tales hed have after this was over.

As huge as it was, and covered as it was in such thick plates of exotic armor, he found it easy to scale the thing, climbing from its lazily swaying tail to the base of its armored spine before the rest of his companions even realized he had left their side. Grando had identified it as a dragon that the Dark Lord or his minions had ripped the wings from and strapped with the magical metal in order to create an unstoppable siege mount.

Well, a lifetime of serving his kingdom and its vassals as a warrior-heir had long since taught Beanomir how to handle any battle mount, no matter how immense:

Kill the rider, and the beast becomes harmless.Simple!That was, until Beanomir made it to the broad plates where

he figured the great beasts shoulder blades would be, and he still could not see a rider. Indeed, all he could see were metallic spikes flaring out from its shoulder flanks, and a pair of huge, metal tubes that extended forward, beyond the things draconic-like head. The tubes almost seemed like tusks to Beanomir, but he had never seen tusks extending from just inside a beasts shoulders before.




Still, he proceeded. Maybe the rider was veiled somehow. Or maybe he had dismounted and stood someplace below the monster, just out of sight. The reins and saddle would be empty then, and perhaps the creature would easily accept a new master just as a common equine mount might.

As he carried onward, he heard a sharp hiss from off to the side, in the thick trees near the remnants of a castle so long forgotten that even Beanomir didnt know its name any more. He glanced that way and saw the others, still cowering in the shadows. Uraguan had a wild-eyed look on his face, and was shaking his head, while the elf Largoles was trying to motion him back.

But Beanomir hadnt come this far for nothing. He moved forward, coming to base of the monsters neck, where he foundnothing but more armor. No saddle. No reins. And certainly no veiled rider (unless the bugger was particularly patient). Well, there was always one final option: kill the beast itself. Beanomir had slain draconic mounts before. He had even slain mastodonian siege mounts single-handed. If the others wanted to play it safe, that was all okay by him. His was a magical sword that could cleave through some of the finest armors in the land.

He raised his zweihander blade high overhead and, with a powerful downward thrust bounced harmlessly off the beasts armor.

The monster barely flinched.What in the Nine Hells was that?He glanced back to see the rangers were finally moving

forward, probably hoping to join the fight before all the real damage was done so they could share in Beanomirs glory.

Well, hed just have to hurry, then!He repositioned himself, looking for a gap in the armor

plates. In doing so, he found himself just above the back of the beasts armored head, where he saw a leathery-looking expanse of blackness. Perfect! This would reach the brain stem for sure! He smelled a rank odor from the gap, something that reminded him of burning pitch. He idly hoped nothing foul would be exuded when he struck.

But as he once more tried to jam his powerful sword into that gap, the monster lifted its head up, partially closing the very opening Beanomir was aiming for. His blade clanged off the bronze-hued metal that protected the back of its skull.

Loudly.There was a deafening roar, and the monster lurched.It was the last thing he recalled before waking up at the base

of a valley oak, with only his sword in sight.But now he heardand feltthe powerful thumping of the

monsters feet. With the clarity of his situation restored, Beanomir looked down at his familys ancestral blade.

Time to finish this fight! he said.

Piper Merryweather let out a gasp of alarm as Beanomir suddenly burst from the woods behind her, sword held high. Amazed that the human had managed to slip so far behind them, she took a moment to process that fact before turning to alert the others that their partys fighter was, in fact, still among the living.

The others had regrouped by this point, moving forward from the castle ruins to the rocks where the rangers and dwarf had stood. Grando had just finished explaining that the beast they were facing was something so rare, so powerful, and clearly so well armored by the Dark Lord, that their weapons would be useless against it.

Stab with all the steely blades you have, he had intoned, his voice resonating with deep meaning, but you just cannot kill this beast.

But, there might yet be a way to defeat it without a fight, he then added. The terraskasaur is said to be an intelligent creature, with a gentle soul, capable even of speech. If I can reach that soul, I might be able to break the Dark Lords control over this one!

They were still working out how he would do that when Piper finally found her voice, and screamed to Beanomir, who was even now racing straight toward the monster, somehow managing to miss the rest of the partys presence less than a towns square away!

She did catch Grandos gaze for just a moment, while her finger pointed nervously at the raging warrior. The old humans eyes followed her finger, and blinked slowly as they took in the sight.

Nine Hells! he groaned.

Seeing the pompous warrior pounding across the field, toward the armored monsters backside, while holding his useless sword aloft and hollering like a village idiot, dashed all of Grandos hope of coming up with a clever stratagem. The monster, quickly becoming aware of Beanomirs incoming attack, turned itself about with massive, ponderous strides. The tube-like horns on either side of its head now tuned toward the pathetic glory hound. Horns that had unleashed a hail of flaming stones just moments after the fighters first attack and leveled an entire copse of trees perilously close to the rest of their bandbut which the fighter never saw in action.

Grando almost hoped they would unleash their flaming hell anew and put Beanomir out of their misery, but instead he sighed. He could not allow one of the fellowship to die through his inaction, even if it was the one with, as his colleagues often put it, the lowest intelligence score.

He turned to the others, and directed them to the castle ruins behind them once more.

Flee, you fools! he commanded, as, on shaky legs, he stepped around the boulder before them, and summoned a sonorial spell.

He would need to get the monsters attention before it unleashed its dark magic




Creature of iron! he bellowed, channeling the magic within to magnify his volume until it felt as if the earth around him shuddered from the sheer force of his words. Beast of fire and darkness! Who sent thee to threaten our lands?

Abruptly, the monstrous creation paused, its massive legs grinding to an earth-gouging stop in mid-stride. Its long, toothy visage swung around, and its body followed, dragging along a tail that now twitched more like that of an agitated house pet. The eyes that faced Grando were wide slits that glowed an angry red, and lacked any visible pupils, but he knew with every fiber of his ancient being that it now focused all attention on him.

And yet, while his words somehow resonated enough to stay its wrath, the monster made no further response. Could it not speak, he wondered? Or had it merely failed to understand his words properly? These lands were abundant in kingdoms and counties where the common tongue of Man competed with other languages.

He switched to the language of the Eisengard: Was ist ihre Herkunft?

The beasts head tilted slightly to one side, and Grando imagined a blank stare from its glowing, red slits.

Of course! He realized. Chiding himself for missing the obvious, he tried Draconic. SoHvaD ngeH Iv?

Yet once again, the metal-clad beast stared blankly at him.Puzzled more than ever, he went for High Elfish: Qui vous

a envoy?Still nothing? Maybe the language of the Seafarers De

dnde es usted?The beasts head now tilted to the other side, but still did

nothing else.Well, this was starting to become frustrating.It was at that point that Grando muttered, somewhat louder

than hed intended, Brilliant! How can I reach your soul if you cant even communicate, you foolish beast?

Beanomir, so startled by the archmages bellows that even he stopped dead in his tracks, now watched the strange monsters behavior closely. Whatever the old gray wizard was doing, it was keeping the thing distracted. Whether it was confusion that froze it in place, or another clever spell, he sensed that an opening had finally presented itself. He could see those gaps in the beasts armored hide, openings in its joints easily wide enough for a well-placed sword strike.

Black, inhuman skin peeked through those openings, below whichBeanomirs long career as a fighter told himwould surely be veins, muscles, tendons, and perhaps even a major artery. When the beast was in motion, those gaps were nigh impossible to reach and strike effectively.

But now Now, Beanomir could be the hero of this epic encounter! Felling this titan would seal his legacy to allgnome, elf, dwarf, and human alike. Even the draco-worshippers would know his name.

Yes, they would sing songs of Beanomir, Slayer of the Dark Lords Greatest Beast, for generations to come!

Empowered, Beanomir raised his zweihander, shoved aside the last of his doubts, drew in a deep lungful of air, and charged!

What happened next stunned all those who beheld it.A mighty growl issued forth from the mountain of a monster.

Its rear legs stomped down, one after the other, as if anchoring themselves in place, and its thinner forelegs pushed against the ground while its head dipped forward for but a moment. It reared up on those mammoth legs almost like a startled equine mount, but instead of kicking its fore hooves in attack, or lowering itself back down, it rose still higher. The clanking and grinding sounds of metal on metal mixed with an otherworldly groan as its forelegs spread outward, shifted back, and grew fingers, then hands!

Its animalistic legs swiveled in place, grinding earth into mud, and extended, as its spine drew itself upward, and back. The wide tail forked in two, and swung into the back, while the massive shoulder horns tilted downward, even as the head between them swiveled and opened up, revealing a face that still bore the glowing red eyes of before, but now took on the look of a barbarian knights helm.

As the giant completed its metamorphosis from that of a beast to the appearance of a man-like colossus, one of its arms separated still further, andas its audience watched in horrorappeared to grow a sword that easily took on the length and width of the greatest valley oaks.

Grando stared at the giant, his eyes drawn to its angry red slits, now almost twice as high above the ground as they had been before. The last of the beasts roar echoed away.

And then, with a deep, roaring voice, surely driven from the pits of the netherworld itself, it finally spoke:

Me no fool! it snarled, fixing the elderly wizard in place. Me Grimdark! Me king!

As if to emphasize its point, it thrusted its impossibly large sword high in the clear blue sky, and emphatically slammed a mighty foot forward

.Right on top of Beanomir, Hero of the Lands, and Warrior-Heir to the Throne of the Kingdom of Gordon!

The titan, instantly sensing something amiss, looked down suddenly, and withdrew its foot from Beanomirs thoroughly pulped corpse.

Oh, it said, its booming voice now somehow managing to sound almostsheepish? Me, Grimdark, sorry


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The following is a summation of our findings in system SLSC G4V.1499-02a (Lawrence/Toreel). This system is centered on a yellow G4 main-sequence star, which is comprised of eleven planetary bodies and an asteroid belt. Five of the worlds here are gas giants (fourth, seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh from the parent star), one is a giant rocky terrestrials (second from the parent star), and four are rocky bodies of conventional terrestrial size (first, third, fifth, and sixth from the parent star). The asteroid beltlikely a proto-planet that broke apart from tidal stresses early in the solar systems formationlies between second and third planets. Beyond this, an assortment of cometary bodies and rogue asteroids are apparent, consistent with a system of this composition.

Of these bodies, the inhabited worldand, as a consequence, the one that has drawn the majority of our focusis the third from its sun, with an orbital distance roughly 0.95 standard AU. Transit time to the planet from the local zenith/nadir jump points at 1 G standard thrust takes an average of 7.96 days. The planet possesses one natural satellite.

[Its one thing that HQ wants us to put Pankajs astronomy blurb at the head of each report, I just wish they werent so dry!]

Contact ReviewAfter 7.96 days or so, we entered orbit, and started to map

the place. Lucyd won the naming lottery, hence why Im now obligated to refer to this planet as Lawrence for a while, and in most previously filed reports. Complaints are best directed to the happy newlyweds; I hope they get divorced soon.

Lawrence has a surprisingly pleasant environment despite its low 0.69G gravity, and a mere 54 percent surface water. We quickly determined that there were multiple human settlements on planet, and nearly as quickly determined that all of them are stuck at a thoroughly pre-industrial tech level. Theres some trivial bickering going on about whether its more thirteenth or fourteenth century equivalent. Still, the anthropologists began salivating so much, we had to permanently assign a janitor to their department. Yes, that will be hitting their budget, not mine.

The human population seemed fairly small, and we elected to set down a shuttle craft on Lawrence, several kilometers from one of the first major population centers we detected. Job One was to determine if we had to worry about biological or chemical threats that were not immediately obvious from orbit, but they had leave to reach out to the locals if the opportunity presented itself.

Which it did, but only after a large reptilian showed up, and started to torch the nearby settlement. We havent figured out how yet, but some species of the local reptiles can actually ignite flames from their maws. Its very impressive, and about as effective as rolling an angry Firestarter through a pile of hay. Stupid thatched roofs.

Team lead for this first mission was Ivanwho you may recall from such prior mission reports as Sub-Orbital Vehicle Deployment/Bombardment and They Really Hate it when you Shoot at Them. Ivan decides he wont stand idly by as the locals get roasted by this thing, and applied an SRM to its hide. This apparently pissed off the lizard, which was also not a huge fan of SMG bullets. Oh, and it flies, like a branth. Ivan and some of his

THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS OF TOREEL


connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/ THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS OF TOREEL 08

team managed to get back to the Mark VII shuttle, which allowed us to learn that these flying lizards do not co-exist with medium pulse lasers, if you use enough of them. It did manage to get some decent gashes into the armor

Contrary to the opinions of some in the DropShip, the locals were quite impressed with Ivan and his teams activities. They spoke a derivative of German, so first contact was easy. This regard increased when we got our first BattleMechs unloaded: given the potency of a single flying reptile, we decided to place at least two BattleMechs with every independent expedition. The locals couldnt decide what the Mechs were; constructs, golems, giants all passed the review, until one of the MechWarriors dismounted for a break. Now theyre stumped, but clearly were wizards of some sort.

Which brings us to the interesting part. Usually, pre-industrial worlds are pretty miserable places to be. Some of the food can be good, but what else do you do all day, unless youre one of those Buddha-forsaken anthropologists? I have no answer, but the locals inform us that for dispatching the truly ancient great wyrm Balagash (or Balagirsh, I cant tell), we were owed our pick of their most ancient magic artifactsitems with incredible powers and capabilities. We were lead to one of their less-charred palaces, and they were not lying! Staves that shoot flames, bows that shoot lightning, swords that cut through any metal. (Well, any of theirs, anyway.) Devices that provide portable hologram emitters to create anything you want: thats right, it even has a neuro-interface to discern the desired intent! Some truly high-quality lostech.

Because thats what were dealing with: a colony of humans who set down here possibly as long ago as the 22- or 2300s. Their own knowledge of history barely dates back 200 years with any

degree of certainty, a victim of disinterest, war, local fauna, and the relatively frequent and disruptive emergence of pieces of lostech. None of these devices really resemble our weaponry, but the locals didnt even think our weapons were particularly noteworthy until we fired a few; odds are that anything that doesnt look like a sword just gets tossed around here.

But the really interesting part is that we havent yet figured out how theyre powered. There are no obvious detachable power supplies on any of these, yet the power draw they have to achieve their performance is pretty substantial. Percival reckons its some kind of wireless power network, which is a cool theory, though not substantiated by any sensors weve brought. Vanessas theory is even more interesting: she reckons the devices have some sort of clathrate network of receptors that tap into an external power supply, in some ways similar to how K-F cores work. This way, it doesnt matter where you take the devices, its always plugged in, since it draws power on a constant basis. That idea is based on some (particularly-poorly supported) work by one Julius Bertrand shortly after Fuchida kicked the bucket. His overall premise supposed that the K-F cores dont actually lens up K-F fields in a useful manner, but that theyre tapping into hyperspace itself to get the jump done. That might still be bonkers, but the mechanism he described would explain how these magic items do what they do. Because we cant figure them out, and weve cracked open several of them. Most disintegrate, or are otherwise totally indistinguishable from mundane items once broken (a task itself far from easy).

Next layer of interesting: a handful of locals seem to be able to pull off this magic without any artifacts! Vanessa reckons were dealing with some implants, as the tap in to hyperspace (or wherever) theory doesnt have a known ratio between the amount of material required to tap, and the amount of power drawn or converted.

Ive given the command: over the next few months, well collect as many items and local magic users as we can, so we can figure out what makes this all tick. Could be the next big thing!

Historical AnalysisTricky, since the locals dont have much in the way of recorded

history. They claim the local dragons have a better history, which is, of course, completely insane. From what we can tell, theres talk of a major global catastrophe that occurred about seven or eight centuries ago. The phrasing suggests a major impactor stripping the western continent of Toreel (their name for the planet) clean of life, and generally making things unpleasant, which eventually caused the survivors to wage war on each other with everything at their disposal, including nuclear, chemical and biological agents. Its this that we have to thank for some truly amazing mutations! I know that Marcel and most of the rest of the pack are drooling over this magic nonsense, but theyve failed to recognize the significance of these persistent humanoid sub-races, colloquially referred to as elves, orcs, dwarves and gnomes (or hobbits, whatever). I mean, seriously, it breeds true! Thats some next-level stuff right there!


STAR: SLSC G4V.1499-02a (TOREEL)

Location: Approximately 529 LY rimward of Farhome (inside California Nebula)

Planetary Information:

Star Type (Recharge Time): G4V (185 hours)

Position in System: 4

Number of Satellites: 1 (Selene)

Surface Gravity: 0.69

Atm. Pressure: Thin (Breathable)

Equatorial Temperature: 26C (Temperate)

Surface Water: 54 percent

Highest Native Life: Reptiles

Population (3105): 789,000,000 (est.)

ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA


Even cooler: some of the local fauna has taken on humanoid features as well! I dont think anyone has ever seen that anywhere before, ever! Ever! This is the first time! The locals call them gnolls and trolls and so on, I call them amazing! And sapient! Yeah!

Erm, sorry, yes, back to the history.So, theres a cataclysm, almost everything dies, and amazing

new mutations emerge. As humanity is wont to do, these separate races quickly began segregating across racial lines, and now everyone presumes its always been this way. Most organized societies have taken on monarchy as their mode of government, and without better communication and education, I think the only other mode that might work is republic, but were not aware of any of those yet. Theres literally hundreds of these kingdoms, if not thousands. Theyre always churning their alliances and wars. Its really a lot like medieval Europe in that way, but with a bit less genocide. It does mean that the individual accomplishments of a given kingdom are rather irrelevant, so this concludes the history portion. Send archeologists if you want more.

Present AnalysisNowadays, the majority of these kingdoms seem to mostly

keep to themselves, from what we can discern. Wars occur, but less frequently now, which will permit some growth. This will no doubt result in one kingdom or another venturing forth to create a unified realm or empire within a decade or two. Fine with me; theyd need less borders and more common currency to get anywhere.

They do seem pretty interested in acquiring more lostech though, which will help Marcel along quite a bit. Theyve been nice enough to share a lot of intel on these various artifacts, so well be sending Mechs to and fro to collect. Once that source of information runs dry, well see about collecting some magic-using volunteers. Well start with rival realms, so the locals have an interest in providing us targets. Should be easy, though time-consuming. Theres been talk about actively getting involved with some empire building, since our Mechs just win whenever they show up. I think itll take too long to be worth the hassle.


connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/ THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS OF TOREEL 09


The following is a summation of our findings in binary system SLSC G4V.1499-07a/07b (The Star Empire). This binary system is centered on a yellow G4 main-sequence star, which itself is orbited by nine planetary bodies, and a second solar system centered on a red M1V star with six planets and an asteroid belt. Between the two systems, only two planets (the fourth from the G-type star, and the second from the M-type star) are gas giants, two more (eighth from the G-star, and sixth from the M-star) are ice giants. The remaining worlds are rocky terrestrials, including two of dwarf size, and two of giant size (all of which orbit the yellow sun). The significant asteroid belt lies between the red sun and its first planet, and likely is the remnants of a planet that broke apart due to a planetary collision soon after the solar systems initial formation. Beyond this, both stars appear to have a complex series of far-orbital objects that make up a truly massive Oort cloud complex, and an irregular, semi-interlocking pattern of Kuiper Belt debris that suggest the outer star was drawn into its present orbit only after both systems had fully formed.

More remarkable, of course, is that fact that an impressive number of the planets and moons in these twin solar systems have either proven sufficiently hospitable to human life to allow for colonies, with several more of the terrestrial bodies actively transformed by later settlements. Between the primarily inhabited worlds of Stedenwereld, Woestijnwereld, and Waterwereld, and the nearly one dozen populated moons, we have estimated that over fifty billion people call this binary home.

Of the worlds that have drawn our main focus, Stedenwereld (apparently Dutch for World of Cities) is by far the most populous, and orbits its G4 sun at a distance of approximately 1 standard AU, with a 1G transit time of 8.53 days from the local zenith and nadir jump points. The second-most populous world is the arid planet of Woestijnwereld ( Desert World), which orbits its M1 sun at a distance of just 0.12 standard AU, and has a 1G transit time just under 3 days from its local zenith/nadir point. The mean orbital distance of the beta star in this pair comes in at roughly 70 to 75 standard AU.

Contact ReviewSome real brown pants moments in this one!Our little detachment jumped in to the nadir of the G4, a

destination elected using the typical method (coin flip). Soon after our arrival, we became aware of some curious facts:

Drive signatures indicating thousands of capital ships, all pushing along at low-G.

No JumpShips anywhere at the jump point with us. One planet was 100 percent luminescent from its night side.

Ill leave it up to you to decide which of those causes more pantular emissions, but suffice it to say that all breeches were burdened on our bridge.

Once we composed ourselves, it became clear that one particularly large vessel was lumbering in our general direction. It hailed us, demanding for us to prepare to be boarded. We politely declined, and were accused of being rebels. (I love making

THE STAR EMPIRE

connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/THE STAR EMPIRE 10

STAR: SLSC G3V.1499-07a (STEDENWERELD WORLD OF CITIES)


Planetary Information:Star Type (Recharge Time): G3V (184 hours)Position in System: 3Number of Satellites: 1 (Ondergangmaan Doom Moon)Surface Gravity: 1.09Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)Equatorial Temperature: 24C (Temperate)Surface Water: 78 percentHighest Native Life: MammalsPopulation (3105): 5,589,000,000

STAR: SLSC M1V.1499-07b (WOESTIJNWERELD DESERT WORLD)


Planetary Information:Star Type (Recharge Time): M1V (202 hours)Position in System: 2Number of Satellites: 2Surface Gravity: 0.68Atm. Pressure: Thin (Tainted)Equatorial Temperature: 38C (Hot Arid)Surface Water: 43 percentHighest Native Life: BirdsPopulation (3105): 720,000,000

(WATERWERELD WATER WORLD)

Planetary Information:Position in System: 4Number of Satellites: 3Surface Gravity: 0.74Atm. Pressure: Thin (Tainted)Equatorial Temperature: 19C (Cold Temperate)Surface Water: 83 percentHighest Native Life: FishPopulation (3105): 2,050,000 (est.)




new friends.) The back and forth continued for a bit until the ship entered our operational range. We launched a pair of fighters, which made an approach. The opposing ship launched a couple of its fighters in response, but never engaged ours despite numerous threats, allowing them to get in to almost pointblank range. Thats when the ship did open up, taking out one of our Huscarls. The incoming hostile fighters likewise decided to open up at the same time; a well-timed attack.

A brief moment of panic set in, and we began preparations for an emergency jump-out. But we soon realized that Regina Lincoln, pilot of the remaining Huscarl, was decimating the squadron of fighters sent after her. She also seemed to have no trouble staying clear of the capital ships incoming fire. After dealing with the final hostile, most of whom seemed unable to withstand even a single impact from her weapons, Regina began taking shots at the capital vessel.

Well, after youre declared a rebel, and after theyve killed one of your fighters, theres not too much room for diplomacy. The ship seemed to weather Lincolns shots well enough, without having any response of its own. It did launch several dozen more of its fighters, but since wed launched a few more of our own, the skies were cleared in no time at all. Meanwhile, our JumpShips were able to maintain a respectable distance under their own power until we could jump out in good order.

We went in to the Oort Cloud, presuming it fairly safe. Still, we found dozens of vessels roaming about! None came near us this time, until we were hailed by a member of the Peoples Rebellion about a day later. Theyd received word of our engagement with an Imperial Star Destroyer (rather optimistic name, that), and wished to learn more.

Historical AnalysisIt looks like this system was colonized in 2205, if the stories are

to be believedquite an accomplishment! The attractiveness of the system is pretty obvious: three habitable worlds, and multiple other semi-hospitable entities within the same system.

Its unclear what happened to their JumpShip(s), or even what the original configuration of the expedition was, but humanity apparently prospered within this system, today numbering well in excess of about fifty billion. Theyve been through numerous governmental cycles in that time, the most recent referred to as the Star Republic, which encompassed all the populated worlds, moons and settlements within the solar systems. As is typical for any republic, it eventually collapsed under the weight of its bureaucracy and corruption, giving way to a charismatic emperor who rose to power some twenty or so years ago. Allegedly, this emperor is still in charge, even now.

At any rate, the dictators whims were not universally appreciated by those who have been taxed but not represented, and a rebellion broke out, which has been ongoing for more than a decade now. The numbers both sides throw about against each other are truly enormous. A typical invasion of a small settlement can include dozens of capital ships on both sides, plus several million(!) ground troops.

THE STAR EMPIRE



Present AnalysisNeedless to say, a military used to thinking in hundreds of

ships and millions of troops is a problem for the Inner Sphere. Even if their weapons tend to suck really hard; quantity is its own quality, and Im sure salvage will be reverse engineered sooner or later.

But heres the good news: theres no sign of significant germanium deposits anywhere in the whole binary systemand weve looked really hard, both in the records provided to us by the local rebel alliance, and the old-fashioned do-it-yourself way. Its definitely strange, and the extent to which even the Oort Cloud is being plied for trade and mining does suggest theyll

stumble across a deposit of consequence sooner or later. Another potential worry is, of course, the JumpShips they used to get here. While theyre likely inoperable (wherever they are), theyd still count as a significant source of germanium. Thats almost like a ticking time bomb

THE STAR EMPIRE

T-FIGHTER

Mass: 8 tonsType: Aerospace FighterPower Plant: Fusion 10 (Max Acceleration: 2.5 G)Structure: Military Standard Armor: 0.5 tons, Titanium (BAR 5)Typical Armament: 2 Laser CannonsNotes: Built to enable quantity over quality, the Star Empire

apparently has hundreds of thousands of these little guys. Not sure if thats just propaganda, but itd be the only way that they make sense. Theyre maneuverable, if slow by our standards, pack a decent (if inaccurate) punch for their size, but they absolutely cannot take a hit. This seem just fine by the Empire, whose SOP seems to be to swarm a single target with twelve of these or more at a time. Of course, theres just never a good reason to let them get that close. Still, they should be respected in case they decide to engage in any ground support attacks, because their twelve-at-a-time policy persists there as well.

X-FIGHTERMass: 30 tonsType: Aerospace FighterPower Plant: Fusion 30 (Max Acceleration: 2.5 G)Structure: Military Standard Armor: 2 tons, Titanium (BAR 5)Typical Armament: 4 Laser Cannons 2 Proton Torpedo Launchers (6 shots total) Fighter Deflector ShieldNotes: The preferred fighter of the Peoples Rebellion.

These craft are substantially more durable than their Imperial counterparts, but are presumably more costly as they tend to themselves itself heavily outnumbered in almost every engagement, so its a bit of a wash. The X-Fighter has a lot of firepower in a small package, and the deflector shield makes it an interesting craft, despite its low acceleration rate. Weve tried to modify a few with our own medium lasers, but getting their targeting gear up to spec has proven elusive.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

SCOUT WALKERMass: 12 tonsType: Scout MechPower Plant: Fuel Cell 75

(54kph walk speed, 86kph running speed)Structure: Standard Armor: 1.5 ton, StandardTypical Armament: 1 Dual Small Blaster Cannon 2 Large Blaster Cannons 1 Vehicular Grenade LauncherNotes: The typical Imperial scout Mech is built with a

similar philosophy to the T-Fighter, and is likewise deployed in numbers. Its decent in an anti-infantry role, but any main combat units tend to eat them for lunch. BattleMechs can afford to ignore them, or use them as target practice.

ASSAULT TRANSPORTMass: 120 tonsType: Armored Troop TransportPower Plant: Fusion 360

(32kph walk speed, 54kph running speed)Structure: Superheavy Industrial Standard Armor: 7 tons, IndustrialTypical Armament: 2 Laser Cannons 2 Large Blaster Cannons 2 Infantry Compartments (21 troopers each) 5 Speeder Hover-Bikes Cargo (1 ton)Notes: This slow contraption seems to take the roles of

an armored APC and BattleMech in one. Most ground assaults have anywhere from a company to a battalion of these things lurching about. Fortunately for us, they can be easily dispatched by almost any modern BattleMech. This really irritates the Imperials, but in their defense, their military is all about air superiority.

The Star Empire sends these in to go after dug-in enemies that have already weathered a storm of a few hundred T-Fighters. In that context, its nearly impervious to incoming weapons fireapart from laser cannons, that is (and even those need a bit to cause serious damage). Of course, under Imperial theory, their T-Fighters and T-Bombers would have cleared any vehicles or emplacements that carry guns of that size long before these transports arrive.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS


connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/THE DRONES OF SYBERIA 13

The following is a summation of our findings in system SLSC A6V.1499-05a (Syberia). The Syberia system is centered on a white A6 main-sequence star, and contains eleven planetary bodies. Four of these are gas giants (fifth, sixth, eighth, and eleventh from the parent star), four are giant rocky terrestrials (second, third, ninth, and tenth from the parent star), and three are rocky terrestrial-scale bodies (first, fourth, and seventh from the parent star). An assortment of cometary bodies and rogue asteroids are apparent, but all objects classable as dwarf terrestrial and smaller have been captured by the resident planets, or spend the majority of their orbital cycles in the systems relatively sparse Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud.

Of these bodies, the primary world for which we have named the starSyberialies fourth from its sun, orbiting at a distance of roughly five standard AU. Transit time to the planet from the local zenith/nadir jump points at 1 G steady thrust takes an average of 32.76 days. The planet possesses two small natural satellites, but it was the detection of several active man-made satellites that drew our attention here.

Contact ReviewAs our DropShip closed in, we detected scores more satellites

in geosynchronous orbit above the worldmost of which were inertas well as a ring of metallic debris suggestive of many more man-made satellites and/or spacecraft destroyed in orbit. Spectrographic analysis also determined that, while the planet possessed an atmosphere, it was one that was light on oxygen, and tainted by high concentrations of particulate metals and other toxins. We also found that the equatorial temperate was particularly high, given the worlds orbital position on the outer edge of the life zone, which was attributed to high concentrations of greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere, and a below-average surface albedo. Water was detected across just below one quarter of the planetary surface, with most of it restricted to small oceans in the northern hemisphere.

At this stage, and given the indecipherable nature of the signals we gleaned from the active components of the satellite network, we surmised that any human settlements we found below would be subterranean or otherwise environmentally contained.

What we did not expect was to be hailed by a quartet of what appeared to be aerospace fighters, demanding our identity and what our business was on Syberia. The hails came over all our conventional radio frequencies, were phrased in English (with a slight, indeterminate accent), and were firm and insistent. But, more to the point, the hails came in several voicesand all of them were non-human.

Quickly realizing that we were being hailed by a heretofore unknown class of robotic drone, we broadcast our identity on the same radio frequencies, hoping that the messages we sent would be received by the drones human operators, but then we were surprised by the follow-up questions:

The first asked if we were Auto-bop or Demo-con.

The secondmere seconds later, before we could even reply to the firstasked if we were human.

When we assured the drones that we were, in fact, humans, the drone squadron immediately moved to encircle our vessel, and we were ordered to follow them to a designated landing area on the surface below for our safety. As our DropShip lacked sufficient armaments to repel a force of unknown fighter craft, we complied. Our next surprise of the day came when we penetrated the yellow-brown cloud layer above the landing site and were greeted by a sprawling urban center positively buzzing with activity.

The drone fighters bid us to make our landing on a metallic-gray platform deep inside the city, just as a foreign ILS system targeted our vessel to guide us in. Our sensors detected a number of surface-to-air defense weapons targeting us as we moved in for the landing, as well as a significant formation of BattleMechs in the designated area. The drone fighters circled once as we set down, then landed themselves on a shimmering black air strip adjacent to the landing pad. Seeing four drone craft landing simultaneously, on the same runway, in such tight formation, came as a pure shock to us; even the finest aero-show teams in the Inner Sphere could not have performed such a maneuverand yet, here were unmanned fighters doing it like it was routine.

Then came a new voice, tight-beamed to our ships comm array from one of the Mechs on the ground:

Attention, human vessel, it began, once again in the slightly accented English, and once again in tones that were distinctly synthetic in naturethe voice of a machine: Please depower your systems and present your crew for reception. You have arrived in the city of Primus, the rightful capital of the Autonomous Barony of Primus, and the world of Syberia.

THE DRONES OF SYBERIA

STAR: SLSC A6V.1499-05a (SYBERIA)



Star Type (Recharge Time): A6V (167 hours)


Number of Satellites: 2 (Syberluna I, Syberluna II)


Atm. Pressure: Thin (Toxic)

Equatorial Temperature: 48C (Very Hot)


Highest Native Life: Insects

Population (3105): 0




With what appeared to be the guns of an entire city and more than a dozen BattleMechs trained on us, we began to depower as instructed. Mid-way through the process, one of the bridge crewmen spotted a new lance of Mechs approaching from the runway. A closer look revealed that they bore the same colors as the fighters which guided us in. Whoever these people were, they seemed to possess Star League-grade technology, complete with Land-Air Mechs, and yet none of us could recall LAMs ever being built as drones in any historical records.

We decided that we would leave half of our crew on board, ready to send a distress signal or even attempt an emergency blast-off if things turned violent. Meanwhile, the remainder of our contact and analysis teamfourteen of us in allwould disembark after donning appropriate environmental protections. Given the toxins and taints, it was determined that light enviro-suits would suffice for the local climate and temperature.

I led our disembarking party.We were greeted at the end of the ramp by a trio of Mechs in

unfamiliar configurations. The lead machine, painted in a striking

mix of red and blue, and bearing a red and white insignia I had never seen before, advanced toward us. My knowledge of BattleMech models and makes is sketchy, but I guessed it to be about the size of a BattleMaster or Zeus at the time, humanoid in shape, with broad shoulders and walking upright on legs with forward-faced knees. Stylistically, it seemed somewhat knightly, evocative of medieval warriors. Baker, one of our tech experts, said it looked almost like a modified Grand Titan, a Clan-era Free Worlds League chassis.

The Mech bore a massive, double-edged axe in one hand, and what looked like a large-bore cannon in the other. A mere glance was enough to convince me that a single blow from either weapon would be more than enough to annihilate our entire party. As it drew near, its shadow draped over all of us, and its head tilted forward, favoring us with a fair look at a face plate that looked almost human-like, with two blue-tinted canopy eyes, and the hint of a nose vanishing into a wedge-shaped chin.

After a few tense moments, the hulking machine lowered itself down on one knee andto our amazementdisengaged its hatchet from its hand actuator. The massive hunk of metal shook




the pockmarked ferrocrete tarmac around us. I must admit that I nearly jumped out of my own skin myself.

A voice sounded from the things speakers: Welcome to Primus, it said. My name is Primus Optimal, guardian-leader of the Autonomous Barony of Primus. We have not seen humans here in centuries; have the Creators sent you?

My god, Baker suddenly gasped as he watched the other Mechs step cautiously closer, all seemingly moving more to get a better look at us than to attack. Theres nobody driving this thing. Its alive!

Historical AnalysisFrom what our team learned in the months since arriving

here (from a combination of careful observation, investigations of local ruins, andmost bizarrelyinterviews with the resident machines), the world of Syberia was colonized at roughly the same time as the other worlds in the California Nebula region. At the time, it was a metal-rich planet at the tail end of an ice age. It had an extensive biosphere at the time, roughly analogous to Terras mid-Mesozoic era, circa 150-165 million years ago.

The colonists hailed from the Terran Hegemony, and likely operated as a corporate enterprise, rather than under a state-run effort. Evidently determined to harness the systems considerable mineral resources (including several of its other middle- and large-sized terrestrial bodies), these colonists set out to turn their world into an industrial powerhouse, possibly with the intent to service the needs of the other colonial efforts in this region. This task was aided by the deployment of drones for all manner of industrial functions: mining, construction, agriculture, demolitions, even defense and self-manufacture (the use of drones to assist the building of other drones).

At some point, roughly forty years after their arrival, one of these colonists R&D teams made a breakthrough in artificial intelligence theory that led to a new wave of drones designed for maximum adaptability. Though not truly sapientand certainly not derived from the same technology that made the SLDFs Caspar drones possiblethe enhanced engineering and software architecture made it possible for them to create a generation of drone Mechs that could perform tasks given to them by verbal commandtasks that these machines could even adapt on the fly in the event of environmental changes. In short, they basically built a new form of robotic servitor, capable of using its own judgment to resolve problems and learn from them while following the directives of their human masters.

The records and details become badly fragmented soon after this. Whether because of an influx of new colonists and laborers, some internal strife, or a natural disaster that we have yet to identify, the Syberian colonists began fighting among themselves. Inevitably, they modified their drones to take up their causes, and wage war in their name. With tireless, self-manufacturing armies of automatons unleashed for the purposes of war, the conflict spun out of control, and in the process, the planets ecosystem

became hopelessly compromised. Some evidence even suggests the use of nuclear and biological weaponry took place, though it is impossibleand virtually irrelevant nowto determine which factions resorted to such WMDs first.

What seems clear is that, within a little over a century after the planets settlement, all human life on Syberia was extinguished, as was a vast majority of the planetary environment. Today, scattered wilderness, inhabited mainly by the hardiest of Syberias flora, and a collection of native insects and microbes, are all that remain of its natural denizens. The polar icecaps have long since melted away as the planet-wide temperatures rose out of control, and we suspect that several of the shallower seas and lakes were evaporated by nuclear strikes. The planets dominant inhabitants now are the drone Mechs that have apparently gone on harvesting resources to repair and maintain their now-depopulated cities, while simultaneously seeing to their own needs. In addition, laborer drones have also continued to seek out, mine, and process a wide range of industrial raw materials for export operations that have long since ceased, creating an immense stockpile of resources ready for a wide array of applications. Periodically, these machines will even resort to building and programming more of their own kind, to offset losses or meet any new demands on their infrastructure.

Present AnalysisDedicated to the memory of their creators, these drones

have also continued to wage the war that likely ended them. Our studies here have suggested that special commands and radio signals may be able to override these robots by convincing them that we are their creators, thus enabling us to order them to stand down. Unfortunately, in the absence of these protocolslost now to the devastation of the planets history, and security encryptions that appear to be hardwired into them from manufacture, these autonomous Mechs seem doomed to fight their eternal war in the name of factions that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exist.

For the time being, these robot factions have identified us as neutral parties, and in many cases we have been able to hold conversations with individual machines that could easily fool a Turing test. This, in fact, is how we learned of several locations on planet, including cities and colonial ruins, as well as much of the history that followed their creation. We have also learned that some off-world settlements of these robots exist throughout this solar system, having apparently been established from expeditions aimed at identifying and harvesting the systems more attainable resources. These settlements, like those on Syberia itself, are void of human life, and some may never have known actual human presence, as the drones were in widespread use even during these times.

What they could not explain fully was the preponderance of alternate mobility modes most of them now possess. Similar to first-generation bimodal Land-Air Mechs, these machines incorporate mechanisms that enable them to switch from Mech




forms into alternate vehicular forms. Unlike LAMs, however, they have also conceived units that convert between motive forms other than aerospace fighters. We have observed drones capable of switching to all manner of ground vehicles (including wheeled, track-based, and hover-type mobility), VTOLs (including tilt-rotor planes and helicopters), and even watercraft.

More bizarre than those are the drone Mechs that convert from bipedal to quadruped forms, and still others that convert from Mechs into stationary emplacements. The utility of many of these alternate configurations are questionable at best (even to Baker, Mech nerd that he is!). The fact that our hosts could

not explain them either suggests that these conversion types predate the development of their pseudo-sapient programs. That, or there are simply none of these robots around now that were present when these ideas first came into use.

To emphasize the nature of Syberias inhabitants, I will close out the rest of this report with an examination of some of the more common or prominent machines we have observed in use by the two main warring factions (the Autonomous Barony of Primus, and the Democratic Industrial Conglomerate). These summaries are compiled by Doctor Leonard Baker, who Ive mentioned earlier.


The following specs were determined via careful observation of the warring factions on Syberia. In our time here, we managed to determine the capabilities of the two primary leader units (Primus Optimal of the Autonomous Barony of Primus faction, and MechaTankus of the Democratic Industrial Conglomerate faction). Also noted are four other prominent unit types favored by these factions, and notes on any related analogs from their opponents.

Including all observed variants, there are simply far more distinct models than those defined here; I suspect that one could find thousandsperhaps even tens of thousandsof individual variants, all scattered across hundreds of chassis types. That these smart machines even use color schemes and proper names to tell each other apart suggests a truly massive population and progeny of equipment that one could spend years cataloging! (And I thought the number of distinct Marauder variations was impressive!)

SEEKER-CLASS FIGHTER MECH

Mass: 50 tonsType: Fighter MechPower Plant: Fusion 250

(54kph walk speed, 86kph running speed)Jump Jets: 6 Improved-type

(180m jump in Mech form; 4.5G maximum thrust)Structure: Military Standard Armor: 7 tons, StandardTypical Armament: 2 Medium Pulse Lasers 2 Medium Standard Lasers

Notes: The Seeker serves as the primary air/ground soldier model favored by the Democratic Industrial Conglomerate (DemoCon) army. Indeed, one of the elite models of this chassis typea scarlet and gray Mech identified by the designation Star Seekerhas apparently risen to the status as commander of all Seeker units in its factions army. This is especially interesting as Star Seeker shows a propensity for erratic behavior verging on what any human state would call treason. And yet, inexplicably, this behavior is tolerated by its master, a Tankus unit named MechaTankus. I suspect this is a paradox created by a core piece of the drones programming code, intended to safeguard against friendly fire between allied drones; no matter how much these two might want to destroy one another, they simply cannot carry that impulse to its final conclusion.

Other DemoCon Seekers that have been identified by name (and unique color schemes) include Sky Seeker (black), Thunder Seeker (dark blue), Acid Seeker (teal), Sun Seeker (yellow), Ram Seeker (bone white), Thrust Seeker (magenta), Dire Seeker (brown), and Slip Seeker (light blue). Like all of the high-ranked drones observed to date, each one of these Seekers demonstrates a distinctly different personality, and appears to be assigned the command of its own squadron-sized formation for combat operations. Alternate weapon loads between each of these machines indicates that each one specializes in a different tactical role.

The Autonomous Barony of Primus (AutoBoP) faction has an analog to this chassis type known as the AeroMech, which appears to differ only in a cosmetic sense from the Seekers. Named AutoBoP AeroMechs identified to date include Aero Bolt and Aero Raider, and Aero Diver.

SELECTED SYBERIAN DRONE UNITS



SOUNDER-CLASS WHEELED MECH

Mass: 60 tonsType: Wheeled Vehicle MechPower Plant: Fusion 240

(43kph walk speed, 65kph running speed, 86kph max speed in wheeled mode)

Jump Jets: NoneStructure: Military Standard Armor: 9 tons, StandardTypical Armament: 1 Extended-Range Large Laser 1 SixTtube SRM RackAdditional Mission Equipment: Guardian ECM suite Beagle Active Probe 2 3-ton Cargo BaysNotes: The Sounder class is a semi-rare officer model that

seems primarily devised for reconnaissance and field support. The DemoCon forces apparently use Sounders as a kind of command and communications unit, and the highest-ranked model of this chassis typea blue and silver drone identified by the designation Wave Sounderappears to double as a kind of confidant and political officer for MechaTankus.

Other DemoCon Sounders that have been identified by name and unique color schemes include Blast Sounder (gray and red), and Cast Sounder (blue and white), while an AutoBoP Sounder has been identified by the name Com Blaster (red and yellow). When serving as officers, Sounders are rarely fielded in groups of the same model, but instead are often placed in charge of other ground-based drones, or paired up with higher-ranked combat units.

The AutoBoP faction also has a secondary support analog to this chassis type that trades the electronics for more cargo space or industrial equipment as needed. This model type, known as the VeeMech, otherwise differs little from the Sounders. Named AutoBoP VeeMechs identified to date include Ferro-Vee, Vee-Wrencher, and Vee-Hoister.

BEETLE-CLASS WHEELED MECH


(65kph walk speed, 97kph running speed, 118kph max speed in wheeled mode)

Jump Jets: NoneStructure: Military StandardArmor: 6 tons, StandardTypical Armament: 1 Extended-Range Large LaserNotes: The Beetle class is an example of a ground scout

model, primarily used for eyes-on recon and message courier duty.

The AutoBoP forces favor Beetles far more than the DemoCons appear to, which suggests that the DemoCons have either lost the ability to produce their own fast ground scouts, or simply elected to rely on aerial reconnaissance via their extensive Seeker fleet.

AutoBoP Beetles that have been identified by name and unique color schemes include Beetle Bee (yellow and black), Beetle Jumper (red and black), Beetle Blurry (light blue and silver), and Beetle Prowler. Because they mainly serve as scouts, Beetles are rarely fielded in groups of the same model, but when they are, they favor swarm tactics or are used to harry mobile enemy forces.

The DemoCon factions Beetle analog is known as the Ender chassis in their ranks, but their differences from the Beetles are almost purely cosmetic. Rarer, as indicated above, we know of only a few named Ender officer units: Swine Ender, Dead Ender, Wild Ender, Down Ender, and Barrier Ender. Perhaps because there are so few of these machines in the DemoCon ranks, or because of their scout role, the personalities for these DemoCon units are notoriously more anti-social than most of their kind.

GRIMDARK-CLASS BESTIAL MECH

Mass: 100 tonsType: Bestial MechPower Plant: Fusion 200

(22kph walk speed, 32kph running speed)Jump Jets: NoneStructure: Industrial StandardArmor: 18.5 tons, Heavy Industrial Standard, with CASETypical Armament: 2 Heavy Class-10 Autocannons 1 Flamer 1 Large Anti-Mech Vibrosword Spikes TailNotes: The Grimdark class is an example of the most bizarre

of the convertible drone oddities we have encountered in our time of Syberia (though far from the most bizarre). This chassis type is designed to convert from bipedal mobility to quadruped form. This seems a dubious design choice at best, but it is one favored by a few of the minor factions seen on this world (including the AutoBoP-aligned Dynamic Barony of Grimwho we believe originated the Grimdarksand the Inter-Sect Confederacy, who have aligned with the DemoCon group). More intriguing is how these machines were built as BattleMechs with what appears to be an industrial-grade structure, suggesting that these minor factions are lacking in resources or sophistication (or merely that they became desperate somewhere along the way).

The Grimdark class is modeled to look particularly monstrous, for some reason. In Mech form, its a devastating close fighter, with spikes, a vibrosword, and a fusion-fed flamer capable of coming into play the moment the shoulder cannons run dry. In quadruped mode, the melee capability lost as the vibrosword tucks itself




away is replaced by an odd, mechanized tail that can be used to whip any targets that try to take advantage of the units lack of torso-rotation capability and get close in behind it. Meanwhile, the flamer and autocannons remain in play regardless of the configuration used.

We have identified a few distinct Grimdark variants in play, most sporting the red and gold livery of the DynaBoG faction as they fight alongside the AutoBoP army. Most are cosmetically different, but otherwise functionally identical, with names like Grim Slagger, Grim Slugger, and Grim Snarler. The existence of some lighter modelsincluding a Seeker-like fighter drone using the same color scheme, visual style, and prominence of physical attack weaponrywas what made us realize the DynaBoG units were, in fact, a separate (but allied) faction from the AutoBoP forces.

As mentioned, the Inter-Sect Confederacy mini-faction also uses bestial drones similar to the Grimdark, but these machines tend to be much lighter and faster, built more for speed and stealth than the heavy-hitting force the DynaBoG faction clearly favors.

TANKUS-CLASS TRACKED MECH

Mass: 100 tonsType: Tracked Vehicle MechPower Plant: Fusion 300

(35kph walk speed, 54kph running speed, 54kph max speed in tracked mode)

Jump Jets: 2 standard-type (60m jump in Mech mode)Structure: Military Standard Armor: 18.5 tons, Standard, with CASETypical Armament: 1 Extended-Range Particle Cannon 1 Assault-Grade Class-20 Autocannon 1 Wrecking BallNotes: The Tankus classes of Syberian drones dominate

the ground-level assault forces. In the DemoCon faction, one in particulara two-toned gray machine named MechaTankushas served long enough to reach hyper-elite status and now functions as its factions supreme military commander (and is thus cataloged alternately as a Leader class). Possessing a particularly ruthless personality, MechaTankus demonstrates superior tactical and strategic cunning, but is periodically compromised by a tendency to favor brute force over subtlety.

Though few hold a candle to the powerhouse that MechaTankus has become, other DemoCon Tankus models we have identified by name and unique color schemes include Galvan Tankus (gray and orange), Shocker Tankus (purple and gray), Blitzer Tankus (gray and tan), and Brawler Tankus (green and brown). AutoBoP Tankuses are slightly rarer, but two in particular have been identified among their officersan all-red model known as Warp Tanker, and an olive green machine named Bulk Tanker. These officer-grade tracked vehicle drones often lead lance-sized groups of the same model into battle.

LEADER-CLASS WHEELED MECH


(35kph walk speed, 54kph running speed, 65kph max speed in wheeled mode)Jump Jets: NoneStructure: Military Standard Armor: 14.5 tons, StandardTypical Armament: 1 Gauss Rifle 1 Large Pulse Laser 1 Anti-Mech HatchetNotes: Designated the Leader class simply because the first

of its kind that we met identified itself as the guardian-leader of the AutoBoP faction, this drone appears tailored for ground-level assault operations like the Tankus class, but is far more road-friendly, and also handy for the towing of additional freight, via specialty trailers that can be attached to the tail end of its vehicle form. The AutoBoP faction favors Leader-class units, and one in particulara red and blue machine named Primus Optimalhas reached hyper-elite status as the factions supreme military commander. Blessed with a personality that sounds downright inspiring even to human ears, this drone displays a strange sense of honor and compassion toward its teammates in battle, and has often been witnessed risking itself to rescue damaged comrades even when doing so would put it at a tactical disadvantage.

Stranger still is how this drone is dealt with by its opposite number. A curious fixation on this particular Leader by its DemoCon Tankus counterpart has often been seen as the only reason Optimal has not been gunned down by a random Seeker. It appears the standing orders for all DemoCons is that a drone designated as the AutoBoPs Primus (guardian-commander) can only be destroyed by MechaTankus itself.

Beyond Primus Optimal, other AutoBoP Leader models we have identified by name and unique color schemes include Magnum Ultra (blue and white), Sentinel Ultra (blue and gold), and Convoy Paxus (blue and red). The DemoCon faction also has a couple known Leaders that have reached officer status: an all-black model known as Master Nemesis, a gray and purple machine named Master Motor, and an olive drab one named Master Onslaught. Regardless of their side, these officer-grade Leaders often command lance-sized groups of lighter wheeled-vehicle drones into battle.



connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/THE SUPERIOR HUMANS OF EARTH 19

The following is a summation of our findings in system SLSC F8V.1499-08a (Earth).

[I cannot stress this enough: the Earth system in the California Nebula is not to be confused with New Earth, Terra, Terra Firma, or any of the other derivations known to the Inner Sphere. The locals here have named their world Earth, conjuring an archaic name for humanitys home, and it is unclear when or why they did so. The planet doesnt even look like Terra, and the solar system is all wrong. So are the locals, but Ill get to that in a bit. I just wanted to emphasize: This Earth is NOT TERRA!]

Earth orbits a yellow-white F8 main-sequence star, as the second of only five planetary bodies in the system. There is only one gas giant in this system (fifth from the parent star), one dwarf terrestrial (third from the parent star), and three rocky terrestrial-scale bodies, including Earth itself (first, second, and fourth from the parent star). The usual assortment of cometary bodies and rogue asteroids are apparent, with an extensiveand uncommonly denseasteroid belt orbiting between Earth and the systems third planet. This belt was likely formed by the relatively recent collision or explosion of two or more large planetary bodies on the order of at least medium-terrestrial size, and is home to an unusually high concentration of radioactive matter, heavy metals, water ice, and some weird chemical composites that we have yet to fully analyze. [This debris may be worth closer examination, but Id advise against it, given the denizens of Earth.]

As is typical in most mature solar systems, all other objects classable as dwarf terrestrial and smaller have been captured by the resident planets, or spend the majority of their orbital cycles in the systems relatively sparse Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud.

The primary inhabited world for which we have named the starEarthshares the stars Goldilocks zone with both the asteroid belt and the dwarf terrestrial. Earths orbital distance averages roughly 1.16 standard AUs from the star. Transit time to the planet from the local zenith/nadir jump points at 1 G steady thrust takes an average of 12.01 days. The planet possesses one large natural satellites, which the locals have named the Moon [again, not to be confused with Terras Luna], but a robust network of active man-made satellites (and a few tiny space stations) were also detectable here.

Contact ReviewSuch a pretty little globe, despite what has been done

to it. Those were my thoughts as we entered Earths orbit, and could see the scars left by war. I realize now that such scars are a common motif for the inhabited worlds in this nebula, but I think thats less a symptom of the surroundings, and more a confirmation of human nature.

Some of the scars were obvious; nuclear wastelands like those we can still find across the Inner Sphere even to this day. Other scars would take us a bit to discover, but showed that there had been no restraint. All of mans ingenuity had been utilized

to end all life here. But they had failed. Man survived, even if it effectively wiped out more than 2,000 years worth of human progress in the bargain.

So, here Earth was now, its societies attempting to recover, with technology returning to roughly the levels achieved in Terras twentieth or twenty-first centuries. The wars fought sinceso far as we could tellhave been far more conventional, allowing many of the planets smaller scars to heal.

And with that, we might have run out of interesting notes about this place. Earth, so far as it looks from orbit and satellite chatter, could pass for dozens or even hundreds of planets like it across the Inner Sphere and the Periphery. But here, we would soon find that this one still contained some interesting surprises!

When we finally set down in a relatively remote area on one of the northern continents, we were very quickly met by a single individual, dressed in a uniform that included all of the primary colors. He referred to himself as The Upariman, Protector of Earth. (Upari? Weird; why not just say Super?) He wanted us to explain what we were doing, and subject ourselves to the local laws. At least, that was my interpretation, so I told him we didnt come here to take orders from anyone.

Apparently, thems fightin words. (He actually said that!) Then he punched one of our security details Waspsactually managing to inflict damage on it in the processand things were on. [There are some claims within my team that I ordered Brachias Wasp to open fire first, but any reasonable, civilized human being would pay such vicious rumors no heed.] I dont want to waste too much time discussing events, but we finally broke contact with this Upariman at about 200 kilometers above the planetary surface, and went to set down on one of the southern continents. [Note: Mech losses

THE SUPERIOR HUMANS OF EARTH

STAR: SLSC F8V.1499-08a (EARTH)



Star Type (Recharge Time): F8V (179 hours)


Number of Satellites: 1 (Moon)


Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)

Equatorial Temperature: 24C (Medium)


Highest Native Life: Birds

Population (3105): 7,150,000,000



connection/CALIFORNIA NEBULA/THE SUPERIOR HUMANS OF EARTH 20

can be found in Appendix C. Our chief engineer has reported that a shipyard is needed to fix all the damage to the DropShip, but I think hes just trying to set the stage for the impending repair miracles hell produce from thin air.]

In the few weeks that have followed since then, my crew and I are ready to conclude that we should leave and not come back. We keep running in to these Superior Humans, and, apparently, we have some sort of reputation now. Frankly, the repairs are growing tedious, and were running thin on security assets as it stands.

Definitely no Wolverines here.

Historical AnalysisFrankly, we are not entirely sure what the story of this

Earth is, but it seems like this place was lit up by some truly exotic nuclear weapons after the first settlers came here. However the locals managed to bounce from it so well in what must have been just a few centuries at least is beyond us, but more remarkable than their aberrant population growth are the random mutations that seem to happen here with surprising regularity, even now. This is especially odd, since the background radiation on Earth is fairly normal.

Most of these mutations are fairly harmless, but theres an almost literal one-in-a-million shot that the recipient ends up with a complex series of genes that the locals refer to as the Y-gene, in which case youre dealing with a Superior Human. If you check the math on that, and note that we estimate that some seven billion people live here now, youll find that this means there are thousands of these genetic freaks around here! And most of them are raging egomaniacs!

Fortunately, these Superiors spend a lot of time fighting each other, but it only takes a couple of them to ruin someones day. Since theres nothing else of strategic, material, or historical value hereand since these super-mutated people have proven far less than cooperative to any worthwhile medical studiesmy recommendation is to leave this planet, and not come back until we bring enough nukes to sterilize up to asthenosphere depth. You know, to be thorough.

Present AnalysisWho cares? Were outta here! Id recommend warning buoys,

if we had any.

THE SUPERIOR HUMANS OF EARTH

BattleTech Welcome to the Nebula California

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