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The Human Sphere is a BattleTech universe set in 3100. The Jihad has come and gone, leaving in its wake dozens of small realms in a perpetual cycle of raids and small wars. Will you seek money or defend your nation? Or both? You decide.
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science." - Agatha Heterodyne - Girl Genius
Taurian Concordat
HistoryThe Taurian Concordat’s history has been long and rocky, from the days of its formation to the heady days of power and influence before the coming of the Star League. That organization’s invasion and subjugation of the Old Periphery left the Taurian Concordat unable to publicly educate its children outside of Star League-sponsored reeducation camps, and forced it to move military construction underground.
The collapse of the Star League did even more to bring the Concordat low than the centuries of “benevolent rulership” had. As spare parts for critically needed machines that had only ever been built in the League were used up, civilization in the Old Periphery all but disappeared. Only a handful of places held onto that civilization by bootstrapping themselves back into space or by holding on to what little they had been able to keep. The Hyades Cluster, with Taurus at its heart, was one of those areas.
As the Succession Wars ravaged the Successor States, the Concordat fought to maintain control of the remains of its once great realm, rebuilt its educational system to pre-Star League levels, and slowly rediscovered itself. The thirty-first century would be the time in which centuries of work by Taurians would finally be realized. Explorers found new colonies and old Star League bases, and their educational system began to output scientists capable of not only maintaining but also understanding and researching higher technologies.
By the 3050s in fact they had begun to take their technological base past anything they had ever enjoyed, even before the Star League imposed a technological dark age on them. A trade alliance with the St. Ives Compact and a full alliance with the Magistracy of Canopus cemented this rebirth of the Concordat. The Magistracy had an economy that the Taurians could only dream of, and the Compact had the highest technologies the Inner Sphere had developed. Technologies they were willing to help the Taurians understand and build in exchange for military aid.
But if the 3050s promised to shine on a new and brighter history for the Concordat, the 3060s and 3070s proved how far into the darkness it could fall. First St. Ives found itself under attack by the Capellan Confederation and the Taurians sent aid to protect their friends. Casualties were heavy and when St. Ives fell and the Compact surrendered, the remnants of the Taurian regiments returned home to rebuild with numerous St. Ives loyalists who refused to live under Capellan rule. They brought with them more examples of new technologies though and the Concordat began working to replicate them.
The 3060s also saw the “loss” of the New Colony Region, but the rise of the Fronc Federation under the leadership of President Maltin would prove to be good in the end for the new Trinity Alliance. They also saw the utter defeat of the pirates of the Haven Star Cluster. On perhaps the brightest note of the decade though, Janice Calderon, beloved by everyone in the Concordat for decades, was cured by the NAIS of the debilitating Brisbane Virus in 3067. Everybody thought that the fortunes of the Concordat could go nowhere but up after that, and the euphoria of her return to Taurus from the NAIS lasted for two months. It would have lasted longer, but fate intervened to remind the Taurians the depths of evil that lay on Terra, the homeworld of mankind that they had fled centuries before.
Naomi Centrella, Jeffrey Calderon, and the recovered Janice Calderon had been working for nearly a month on plans to further strengthen the alliance when the Word of Blake struck. Nobody knows how the asteroids passed through the Taurian sensor network or evaded detection by the elite Special Asteroid Support Forces to this day, but many theorize that the Erinyes system utilized a form of stealth technology to hide the asteroids until they were at terminal velocity above Taurus. The Taurians now realize that the asteroids can be a weapon as well as a defensive measure, and have since greatly increased their tracking and detection systems to stop another similar assault. But on 15 December, 3067 none of those enhanced stealth-detection systems existed and a rain of DropShip-sized asteroids shot down towards Samantha City with little warning.
The close naval defenses did what they could, and more than half of the asteroids exploded into smaller pieces that burned up in the atmosphere, courtesy of defense stations, assault DropShips like the new Super Leopards, and swarms of fighters hastily launched. Ramming attacks designed to deflect or destroy the asteroids forced more off Samantha City as the Concordat Constables tried desperately to evacuate over a million civilians in a matter of minutes.
Over two hundred thousand Taurians died under the rain of the surviving asteroids, and the capital of the Concordat simply ceased to exist as the asteroids hit the planet with enough force to bring molten lava bubbling up to the surface. Another half million Taurians, trapped in the remains of shattered buildings or in bomb shelters, burned alive when the lava found them. But over three hundred thousand Taurians survived, mostly on the outskirts of the city where the devastation was less catastrophic.
Unfortunately, those survivors had to deal with a nuclear winter that would last for over a year and sent the average temperatures of the colonized regions of Taurus well below freezing. The polar regions reached temperatures that no living being could survive and only recently has life begun to return to them. Taurus bares the scars of the Word of Blake assault to this day, a reminder to the Taurians that Terra can never ever be trusted to do anything but kill them.
Naomi Centrella and Jeffrey Calderon, in conference when the attack began, evacuated the city as quickly as possible, but Jeffrey’s escape craft never cleared the city. The Concordat Constables found the craft later, partially burned by a small lava flow, and Janice Calderon was forced to take over the role of Protector of the Concordat. Naomi Centrella survived and returned home to Canopus as Janice tried to rally her people. Initial evidence pointed to the Davions, and the Pleiades regiments first requested, then demanded the ability to punish the Federated Suns.
When Janice refused their requests and demands they tried to take over the ships necessary to launch their punitive raids, but she had already been successful at locking down the JumpShips and calling them away from those regiments. Governor Shraplen of MacLeod’s Land publicly questioned her actions and support began to grow, especially amongst those who waited for The Return to the stolen worlds, for her removal. The Magestrix sent her best investigators to help the Taurians and in a matter of months they found the evidence they needed to prove the Word of Blake and not the Davions performed the assault, dismantling much of Shraplen’s support. But the Pleiades regiments have never forgiven the Calderon family for her “betrayal” and continue to be listed as questionable in loyalty to the Concordat while being fanatically loyal to the Shraplen family. Unofficially, they are considered just this side of being traitors to the Concordat at large, but of course the Concordat military is politic enough not to say so officially.
St. Ives sent aid to their former allies and Janice eagerly accepted it, happy to have another friend in the suddenly much more dangerous galaxy. The St. Ives and Magistracy aid did much to help the Taurians begin to build New Samantha City, at first little more than tents and then simple bunkers to protect the survivors from the deepening winter. And as aid flowed to help the civilians, the military siphoned off even more desperately needed funds to build more machines of war to protect them. Across the Concordat citizens built makeshift fortifications and small defense satellites began to appear over the most important worlds as many Taurians continued to protest that Janice wasn’t punishing the Davions for their murderous assault. Only decades of adoration kept them from taking her down by force, but few believe her rule could have lasted through the end of the decade if the Word of Blake had not shown its hand.
When they struck Detroit on 10 June, 3069 and destroyed a full regiment of Magistracy BattleMechs and over a decade of new factories, that brought the majority of Taurians around to the truth and they hunkered down as always in war. Throughout the rest of 3069 and 3070, the Word of Blake began to burn the Taurian Concordat to the ground, smashing planet after planet into the Stone Age in an attempt to destroy the most powerful of the Old Periphery realms. But the Taurians fought back with everything they had, even when hideously outnumbered. Civilian DropShips rammed the Word fleets rather than surrender, forcing the Word to destroy everything that moved. Orbital bombardments of entire islands and continents were the only way to pacify worlds, and the sheer expense of munitions proved to be their undoing.
On 12 July of 3071, low on munitions and with their latest supply shipments sent to more important conflict zones, the Word fleet assaulted Illiushin with the intention of using its factories to fabricate what they needed. But the Magistracy had placed spies in the fleet and the Taurians knew the Word was coming. Every ship and regiment that could make it had jumped to Illiushin, including the pride of the Taurian fleet, the TCW Vandenberg, and took up position to catch the Word with their proverbial pants down. The Word jumped right into the trap and the Taurians mobbed them with everything they had, nuclear-tipped rockets, civilian ships packed with explosives, and their greatest collection of dedicated ships of war. The three-day battle over and on Illiushin lacked any mercy from either side as they fought to the death in ruined ships and BattleMechs that should have been retired from battle. In the end, the ruins of the Taurian fleet and army had stopped the Word but few called the battle a victory. It would take five years for the TCW Vandenberg to fly again, and the rest of the fleet was effectively non-existent. The army was little better, shattered to a tithe of its original size.
The Taurian Concordat was out of the Jihad with nothing left to send to fight the Word, billions dead, and billions more homeless or in need of aid. By the end of the year communications with the rest of the Trinity Alliance showed them to be in similar circumstances, but St. Ives aid continued to flow into the realms and the Taurians gratefully accepted it. Taurian, St. Ives, and Magistracy resources flowed into rebuilding the shattered Concordat economy, never the strongest of the Old Periphery to begin with, and the military spent most of its time building shelters and homes for the civilians. Every able-bodied citizen served during the years of the Jihad and the Rebuilding, either performing civil works or training for the next war they somehow knew the Inner Sphere would drag them into.
They helped rebuild the Colonial Marshals and the factories of Detroit, began building the new Fronc-developed ProtoMechs, built New Samantha City into a proud statement of the Taurian ability to survive, and expanded factories throughout the Concordat, putting massive complexes on Hellespont, Erod’s Escape, in the Haven Star Cluster, and on numerous other worlds to act as central nodes to protect and supply the military and civilian populations in the event of another catastrophic war. If the Concordat were denied the factories of Taurus again, those satellite worlds would be capable of supplying the remnants of the Concordat.
Then on 15 November, 3078, with the Concordat once again on the road to recovery, Janice Calderon stepped down from the Protectorship in favor of her nephew, Erik Calderon. In the next year Magestrix Emma stepped down to Naomi Centrella and a new generation of leaders ruled the most powerful realms of the Trinity Alliance. It was a bright new era that promised peace and continued growth. An era that would soon prove to be further away than many hoped.
In 3079, Prince George Hasek of New Syrtis assaulted the St. Ives Compact and the Taurians sent their forces to aid the allies that had saved so many of their people. After three years of fighting the Federation for little gain though, the Taurians finally requested military aid from the rest of the Trinity Alliance. The fresh Fronc and Magistracy forces spilled across the border, shattering tired Federation regiments, and the front collapsed, allowing the Trinity Alliance to capture vast tracks of systems that had been Taurian before the Star League assaulted the Old Periphery. In March of 3083 the smashed shipyards of Panpour and the systems around it, undefended by any major nation, fell to the Taurian’s V Corps and the Concordat began pouring money into the system to rebuild the yards as the bulk of their military moved back to hit the Federation.
Then in August III Corps engaged the Capellans on Mendham in the first act of the Trinity War. III Corps was pushed back but Protector Erik Calderon wanted the factories of Mendham and poured I and II Corps into the fray for Mendham and the surrounding systems as IV Corps Finally jumped into the Pleiades Cluster. III Corps soon fractured, with the Pleiades Hussars following the Lancers into the Cluster, and the Protector was forced to send the Taurian Velites to support the drive against Mendham. The Capellans fought back, driving them from the system again and again while sending forces to claim the nearby systems. The Taurians struck back, and the systems around Mendham became one of the hottest war zones since the First and Second Succession Wars.
Protector Erik sent every spare spaceship, ’Mech, vehicle, or infantryman into the meat grinder around Mendham, and the Magistracy and Fronc Federation supported him fully. The Pleiades regiments on the other hand were nearly ignored by Taurus, and were forced to find their supplies in other ways. Grover Shraplen was one of those ways, and he redirected numerous weapons and men to the Cluster and surrounding systems where the Syrtis Federation was collapsing even against what remained of the Taurian assault.
By late 3084, the Federation front had completely collapsed, except for their dug-in resistance in the Pleiades Cluster where the remains of five regiments fought to stop the Taurians from reaching New Syrtis. The Federation considered the Cluster to be the final defensive line around their capital and refused to give it up easily, but the Pleiades regiments continued to grind them down, sapping strength away from the Capellan front to do so. In 3085, the Cluster’s governments bowed to popular outcry and officially seceded from the Federation, joining the Taurian Concordat. With that official support the Pleiades regiments finally drove the Federation troops from the Cluster and then stopped, unable to move any further.
A one-year investigation had finally found and neutralized Shraplen’s conduit into the Concordat’s supply chain, and orders to arrest Shraplen for betraying the Concordat were issued. He and his family fled to the Pleiades Cluster with all the wealth they could carry and the Pleiades regiments have protected them ever since, refusing to ship Grover to Taurus. The Shraplen family has held the governorship of Merope numerous times in fact, playing on the fact that Grover helped liberate them from Federation hands.
With the resources pulled away from the Pleiades regiments and back where the Protector thought they belonged though, the Trinity Alliance military finally pushed the Capellans out of Mendham and began to send deep raids further into the Confederation, especially after Andurien entered the war. But with the St. Ives War finally over, the Capellans struck them hard and the front once again began to move back and forth across the stars. Years went by and the Trinity Alliance pushed everything it could into defeating the Capellans once and for all, and by 3088 actually achieved complete technological superiority over them as the Capellan economy and scientific establishment simply collapsed. New WarShips from Panpour joined ships built in the Hyades and Haven Clusters, but the Capellans fought back with a bloody-mindedness that gave even the Taurians pause.
The Trinity Alliance and the Confederation continued to trade Mendham and the surrounding systems back and forth, neither able to hold the region for more than a few months, and the years passed as other nations looked on while they rebuilt. The Concordat pushed itself to the brink, rationing everything that didn’t directly affect the war effort, and its economy fell to levels that even the old Thomas Calderon would have blanched over. By 3093, the Concordat was beyond exhaustion, but Erik refused to surrender Mendham to the Confederation. The reduced Colonial Marshals were finding themselves stretched thin fighting reinvigorated pirates, and the Corps Marshals were sending reports showing their inability to hold or take the lines. But reports showed that everybody else involved in the Trinity War was in the same boat and Erik knew if he could just break the Capellans one more time he could hold Mendham. He thought that the last time they’d broken Capellan defenses, and the time before that as well, but he knew sooner or later they simply wouldn’t be able to come back swinging. The Corps just had to hold out long enough.
Then the Raven Alliance sent a squadron of WarShips to support the Trinity Alliance and he had the victory he needed. The Capellan Second Fleet effectively ceased to exist over Mendham as the Trinity Alliance and the Ravens hit the defenders in a single strike that shattered all resistance. Then the Ravens reminded Erik quietly of the “promoting peace” section of the Treaty of Taurus and said that the war had to end immediately or the region could be seriously destabilized. Nobody could afford to continue fighting and it had to come to a stop. Erik on the other hand thought that if the Ravens helped them they could destroy the Confederation once and for all and tried to talk them into doing so. The Ravens wanted nothing of that though and Naomi’s twenty-five year old daughter Kossandra was instrumental in persuading Erik to give up that dream. He accepted the Raven’s terms and agreed to send his aunt Janice Calderon to negotiate a peace treaty with Treyhang Liao. On 3 December, 3093, the Trinity War ended and all three sides returned to what would be many years of rebuilding.
The last decade has seen the Taurian economy, ravaged by the long bloody wars, slowly recover as both St. Ives and the Magistracy have once again pushed massive amounts of aid into its worlds. The Concordat has returned that aid by given them access to one of the largest surviving military industriplexs in the Human Sphere. Their economy continues to lag behind their allies, but the Taurians have built enough factories to support an army and fleet more than three times their size, an impressive redundancy level. Much of their current production is sold to mercenaries and to friendly governments, but the modern factories of the Concordat average little more than sixty-five percent of their theoretical maximum production. The Concordat can’t afford to increase production, but they have taken the long road view of making every sector capable of surviving on their own even if every other sector is destroyed. Every sector can build and maintain its own army and navy, and has its own command and control for military and civilian matters, even if they answer to Taurus in the end.
The Taurians have also expanded further into the Outer Sphere, claiming many more colonies further away from the Inner Sphere. The official Taurian policy is that the future of the Taurian people is out there, away from Terra and the evil that comes from it, and membership in the Far Lookers has skyrocketed. Colonists looking for a better life continue to land on any moderately-habitable world explorers find, keeping the Colonial Marshals and the New Colony Lancers busy protecting against pirates.
The Concordat of today is constantly expanding, swallowing up tracks of space as quickly as possible, but this has helped to cause further friction. The Pleiades and Panpour sectors do not appreciate the large amount of money sent to the “backwards sectors” rather than to help improve “real civilization” while the Hellespont and Erod sectors call themselves the future of the Concordat and can’t abide those they consider holier than thou Spheroids. Taurus has been forced into a delicate balancing act where it supports new colonization but keeps foreign aid money flowing into Pleiades and Panpour. Many point to the vast divisions in the political, military, and cultural structures between Pleiades, Panpour, and the Far Looker regions further out as a taste of things to come though. Already each sector looks to itself first, even during the Trinity War, and since that war ended local politics and concerns have become the standard.
Only time will tell, but for now none can dispute that the Taurian Concordat is the heart of military production, if not technology, in the Trinity Alliance, or that no matter what happens there will be a Concordat in some form for some time to come.
Military
The Taurian military is a diverse force, with each sector commanding its own defense. Mercenaries are still considered a very important part of the military, with most of the Corps supported by at least one such regiment, and the Pleiades Sector sees the largest numbers of those units. Unsurprisingly Pleiades and Panpour resources almost exclusively maintain those militaries. While being technically under the command of Taurus, they are the least reliable and have long since shifted to only accepting orders from their own capitals. The Hellespont and Erod sectors are much more loyal to Taurus, but are still look to local concerns before following “requests” from Taurus.
Ground Forces
Most frontline regiments are known for using the Commando, Shadow Hawk, and Warhammer OmniMechs, as well as the Omnitanks that support them. Standard BattleMechs and tanks still make up the majority of the military though, and especially dominate the noble regiments. The Marauder II is the primary design used in their rare assault companies. Matador ProtoMechs and Picador BattleArmored troops support their heavier brothers. Space Cowboy BattleArmor protect most space installations from boarding. Maultier, Rommel, Fulcrum, and J. Edgar Omnitanks are the main armored units in the Taurian militaries.
Hyades Sector
The Hyades Sector makes a larger use of BattleMechs than other sectors, primarily as an effort to keep existing BattleMech manufacturers in operation. Hunter and Vedette tanks make up the bulk of their armored units, but they purchase as many Omnitanks as they can from the other sectors to give them better assault and scouting capabilities. In general, designs built throughout the Taurian Concordat can be found in the Hyades Sector.
Erod, Haven, and Hellespont Sectors
These sectors use the standard OmniMechs, ProtoMechs, BattleArmor and Omnitanks in their main formations. They also make special of use of the Gunslinger OmniMech, a light design based off the old Brigand once built at Haven Locust, Stinger, and sometimes Wasps can be seen in most noble regiments, and also fill out specialty scout and hunter-killer lances in the main military. Vedette tanks and SRM and LRM Carriers are also seen in many cases, especially in cash-strapped units and noble regiments.
Panpour and Pleiades Sectors
The Panpour military uses the locally-produced war machines nearly-exclusively, avoiding the staple Taurian designs at all costs. Pleiades purchases designs from their factories as well, echoing Panpour’s distrust of the core Taurian Concordat. Centurion, Thanatos, and Sunder OmniMechs make up their primary battle lines, while they reluctantly use Locust and Stinger BattleMechs in their light lances. They use the standard ProtoMech and BattleArmor units, though they are reportedly working on new designs to replace them. Manteuffel Omnitanks and Manticore and Typhoon tanks make up their armored units. In general, they look much like the nearby Filtvelt Coalition, and in fact they have cooperated in a number of areas in the past.
Naval Forces
Hyades Sector
Home of the core Concordat, the Hyades fleets have the greatest diversity of any fleet. Commanded by the Vincent-class TCW Vandenberg, it is also the most powerful Taurian fleet. Wagon Wheel frigates make up the majority of the Hyades fleet, though a large number of squadrons made up of Winchester-class cruisers commanding Destrier-class frigates make a strong roving defense. Magnum and Remington frigates purchased from Panpour also can be seen here, but are rarer.
Any number of DropShips can be seen in the Taurian fleet. New Mustangs and Colts can be seen flying beside Unions, Leopards, Union Ts and Super Leopards in the Taurian fleet. A modification of the Super Leopard released in the last few years carries stealth armor that makes it hard to detect and is used only by special forces and Constables.
Fighters are equally eclectic, though the Thunderbird and Lightning OmniFighters are the most numerous. Detroit-designed Charger OmniFighters are also often seen. Militias heavily use Seydlitz fighters, while Chippewa stealth fighters are primarily used by special forces and Constables and are most often used to track and trap pirates.
Erod, Haven, and Hellespont Sectors
These sectors are more regimented than Hyades. They use a large number of Winchester-cruisers purchased from Hyades, and build their own Wagon Wheels and Destriers. They avoid using Panpour designs though, considering them as questionable as Panpour itself.
The Mustang-class DropShip have become their primary military vehicle, supported by Super Leopards and Union Ts from Taurus, though many others can be seen that have been in space for centuries.
Thunderbird, and Lightning in Haven's case, OmniFighters are their primary fighter ships. Sabres can be seen in militia forces in any of the three sectors but are most common in Haven.
Panpour and Pleiades Sectors
Distrustful of the central Taurian government, these sectors have made an effort to maintain an independent identity. They both use Winchester-cruisers when heavy guns are needed, but they try to limit how many Outer Sphere designs they use in their main fleets. Pleiades builds both Wagon Wheels and Destriers but sells most of them to anyone with the funds to purchase them, often buying other Inner Sphere WarShips with their profits. Panpour-designed Magnum and Remington frigates are far more common in both fleets than the core-Taurian designs are.
Both sectors make heavy used of the Mustang DropShip as it is best at carrying the companies that make up a standard Taurian strike force, but reports say that they are trying to engineer a replacement for that quintessential "Taurian" design. Union Ts and Super Leopards left over from the St. Ives and Trinity Wars are also used, but once again they try to forget about them.
They also use Thunderbird OmniFighters in their main strike formations as they really are good at what they do, but both use as many Panpour-built Sabres and Sparrowhawks as they can. Reports suggest that design has begun on a new heavy OmniFighter that they hope to use to replace the Thunderbird formations within the next decade.
Mobile Reserve and Raiding Force
Hyades Light Infantry: Taurian Nomads
Hyades Heavy Mechanized: Taurian Wanderers
Hyades Sector
Taurian Guard
Hell’s Heart Regiment
Concordat Commandos: By the Horns
Taurian Velites: Limp Sword Terrors
I Corps
Concordat Jaegers: Strength Through Pain
Red Chasseurs: Bright Flame Regiment
II Corps
Protector’s Pride: Defenders of the Realm
Haven Sector
III Corps
The Concordat Cuirassiers: Pirates’ Bane
The Haven Cuirassiers: Pirates’ Wrath
IV Corps
First Taurian Lancers: Battlefield Brethren
Second Taurian Lancers: Starbright Regiment
Pleiades Sector
Pleiades Hussars
First Pleiades Hussars: Brinksmanship Refined
Second Pleiades Hussars: Terror of Syrtis
Third Pleiades Hussars: Federation’s Bane
Pleiades Lancers
First Pleiades Lancers: On the Warpath
Second Pleiades Lancers: Merope’s Guardians
Panpour Sector
Panpour Lancers
First Panpour Lancers: Panpour’s Pride
Second Panpour Lancers: Fontana’s Edge
Macintosh Rangers
First Macintosh Rangers: Apple Power
Second Macintosh Rangers: Weippe’s Rangers
Erod Sector
V Corps
Third Taurian Lancers: The Edgewatchers
First Gaul Legion: Pirate Hunters
VI Corps
First New Colony Lancers: Taurian Pride
Second Gaul Legion: Gemini’s Watch
Hellespont Sector
VII Corps
Second New Colony Lancers: The Border Guards
The Hellespont Commandos: Death by Degrees
VIII Corps
Fourth Taurian Lancers: The Dirt Soldiers
The Carthage Sacred Legion: The Guilded Warriors
Factories
Trinity Alliance
Detroit – Alliance Consolidated – Marshal and Ranger BattleMechs; Deputy and Sheriff ProtoMechs; Constable BattleArmor; Charger and Sabre ASFs; Mustang DropShip; Destrier frigate
Hyades Sector
Brinton – O/P Computer Electronics – Electronics systems
Girondas – Taurus Territorial Industries – Locust and Wasp BattleMechs
Hyades Cluster – Taurus Territorial Industries – Shadow Hawk OmniMech; Marauder II and Ranger BattleMechs; Deputy, Matador, and Sheriff ProtoMechs; Constable, Picador, and Space Cowboy BattleArmors; Charger Omnifighter; Mustang DropShip; Samantha JumpShip; Destrier frigate; Winchester cruiser
Illiushin – Vandenberg Mechanized Industries – Commando OmniMech; Griffin, and Stinger BattleMechs; Colt, Mustang, and Union DropShips
– Taurus Territorial Industries – Wagon Wheel frigate
Laconis – Taurus Majoris Mining – Various armors
MacLeod's Land – Pinard Protectorates Limited – Locust and Stinger BattleMechs
New Vandenberg – Vandenberg Mechanized Industries – Archer, Marauder, and Stinger BattleMechs; Hunter tank; Chippewa ASF
Pinard – Pinard Protectorates Limited – Marauder BattleMech; Plainsman hovertank
– Pinard-Dicolais Electronics – electronics
– Vandenberg Mechanized Industries – Warhammer OmniMech; Thunderbolt BattleMech; Vedette tank
Sterope – Sterope Defense Industries – Lasers, Autocannons, Missiles, and Flamers
– Taurus Territorial Industries – Maultier Omnitank; APCs and Hunter tanks; Seydlitz ASF; Colt, Mustang, and Union DropShips
Taurus – Taurus Territorial Industries – Warhammer OmniMech; Locust, Marshal, Marauder, Musketeer, Thunderbolt, and Wasp BattleMechs; Lightning and Thunderbird Omnifighters; Super Leopard DropShip
– Magna – ICE and fusion engines; Lasers and Particle Cannons
Haven Sector
Haven Star Cluster – Haven Stormworks – Commando and Gunslinger OmniMechs; Matador ProtoMech; Constable, Picador, and Space Cowboy BattleArmors; Lightning Omnifighter
Organo – Pinard Protectorates Limited – Sabre ASF; Mustang DropShip; Samantha JumpShip; Destrier and Wagon Wheel frigates
Perdition – Alphard Trading Corporation – Fulcrum and J. Edgar Omnitanks
– Pinard Protectorates Limited – Shadow Hawk and Warhammer OmniMechs; Locust, Stinger, and Wasp BattleMechs; Maultier, and Rommel Omnitanks; SRM and LRM Carriers, Vedette tanks; Thunderbird Omnifighter
Pleiades Sector
Horsham – Pleiades Defense Limited/Challenge Systems – Magnum and Remington frigates
Mendham – Pinard-Dicolais Electronics - Electronics
Pleiades Cluster – Alphard Trading Corporation – Fulcrum and J. Edgar Omnitanks
– Pinard Protectorates Limited – Locust and Stinger BattleMechs; Rommel Omnitank; Thunderbird Omnifighter
– Pleiades Defense Limited – Commando, Shadow Hawk, and Warhammer OmniMechs; Matador ProtoMech; Constable, Picador, and Space Cowboy BattleArmors; Maultier Omnitank; Mustang DropShip; Samantha JumpShip; Destrier and Wagon Wheel frigates
Panpour Sector
Basantapur – Basantapur Fine Metals – Centurion OmniMech chassis
Macintosh – Apple Computers Interstellar – Electronics
Panpour – Alphard Trading Corporation – Fulcrum and J. Edgar Omnitanks
– Pinard Protectorates Limited – Locust and Stinger BattleMechs; Rommel Omnitank; Thunderbird Omnifighter
– StarCorp/Jalastar Industries – Centurion, Sunder, and Thanatos OmniMechs; Manteuffel Omnitank; Manticore and Typhoon tanks
– Jalastar Aerospace – Sabre and Sparrowhawk ASF
– Challenge Systems – Mustang DropShip; Monolith and Samantha JumpShips; Magnum and Remington frigates
Erod Sector
Erod's Escape – Alphard Trading Corporation – Fulcrum and J. Edgar Omnitanks
– Kithrong Industries – Commando, Shadow Hawk, and Warhammer OmniMechs; Matador ProtoMech; Constable, Picador, and Space Cowboy BattleArmors; Maultier Omnitank; Mustang DropShip; Samantha JumpShip; Destrier and Wagon Wheel frigates
– Pinard Protectorates Limited – Locust and Stinger BattleMechs; Rommel Omnitank; Thunderbird Omnifighter
Hellespont Sector
Hellespont – Alphard Trading Corporation – Fulcrum and J. Edgar Omnitanks
– Pinard Protectorates Limited – Locust and Stinger BattleMechs; Rommel Omnitank; Thunderbird Omnifighter
– Poseidon Metalwerks – Commando, Shadow Hawk, and Warhammer OmniMechs; Matador ProtoMech; Constable, Picador, and Space Cowboy BattleArmors; Maultier Omnitank; Mustang DropShip; Samantha JumpShip; Destrier and Wagon Wheel frigates
Systems
Hyades Sector
Brinton – A cool, temperate world located on the border of the Taurian Concordat with the Confederation, it is a major producer of a number of advanced electronics. It has been the target of raids for centuries and the Concordat has maintained a strict “no visitors wanted” policy over the system for generations to combat them. Several WarShips patrol the system at all times and all arriving ships are given a full search immediately. Only those ships with legitimate business are allowed into the system and all others are “encouraged” to leave immediately.
Brisbane – Home of the once-feared Brisbane Virus, this world is prized for its abundance of fresh-water sea life as much as for the water purification plants dotting the southern hemisphere. It exports both food and water to nearby systems via a space elevator constructed in 3095, and has become a major contractor of iceships that bring ice-laden asteroids to the planet, taking the long view that maintaining the planetary water levels is important enough to sink some profits from sales into taking care of. With over 80 percent of its landmass in small island chains, it is home to the oldest Concordat-maintained naval force.
Bromhead – A nondescript and arid world with very little to offer except a strategic position, its position along the Capellan border has kept the world garrisoned with a significant offensive and defensive force. It has two continents, one located in the northern and one in the southern hemisphere, covering more than half the planet. Zanzabar, the northernmost continent, has the more temperate of climates and is home to the majority of the world's population. Brom's Home, located on Zanzabar, is the capital of the planet, serving as the center for all commerce on the planet. The southern Salazaar is a vast wasteland of desert divided by a large mountain range. The Salaam-Zurkan range is so high that few have ever attempted to climb it, with many peaks higher than the famed Mt. Everest on Terra. Salazaar has become a major desert and mountain environmental combat training ground for the Taurian Corps.
Camadeierre – Taurus Majoris Mining has major holdings in this system, and devotes substantial resources to defending it with mercenaries at all times.
Coromondir – An oil-rich world with a large refinery complex, this world was raided by the Magistracy in 2896 but has seen little action since then.
Hyades Cluster (Flannagan's Nebulae) – Long considered the final line of Taurian defense, the Hyades Cluster is one of the most heavily defended regions in space. Asteroid fields dot the cluster, making navigation difficult for those unused to their presence, and defense stations and naval fleets protect it at all times. The Taurians have also spread new construction factories and yards throughout the cluster, making it difficult for outside agencies to find them, and use those systems to continue to improve the numbers and quality of their military.
Ishtar – Deep inside the Hyades Cluster, this world is the best-known exporter of foodstuffs in the Concordat. Is also the only world in the Concordat to not have any military presence, a fact which saved it from Word of Blake assault during the Jihad. An Idyllic world of lush natural environments, only basic farming and low-impact mining machinery is allowed on world.
Laconis – A world of lightly forested plains, its capital and site of Taurus Majoris Mining’s primary industrial center is heavily defended by gun batteries for use against both ground and orbital targets, as well as impressive trench works, and minefields. TMM commands a large fleet of JumpShips, DropShips, and mobile refineries that they use for prospecting and for acquisition of mineral resources throughout the Concordat.
MacLeod's Land – Since the fall of Grover Shraplen from power during the Trinity War, the powerful MacLeod clan has regained much of the influence and riches it lost to his family. They are now minority owners in the Pinard factories on planet and have helped to expand the major Taurian university here to accept more students. Most of its students come from the Pleiades Sector now, consisting of people turned away from the Pleiades universities because they are full.
New Ganymede – A barren desert world, New Ganymede lies in the interior of the Taurian Concordat near the edge of the Hyades Cluster. Swept by high winds and frequent dust storms, this bleak and unattractive world is valuable for its enormous deposits of radioactive ores. Its few fresh water sources are in the southern hemisphere while a major Taurian desert-training area is at the northern pole where the storms are less severe.
New Vandenberg – Considered by many to be more important than any of the sector capitals, with the possible exception of Taurus itself, New Vandenberg was the object of a harsh occupation by the Star League. Its locals continue to tell tales of it, expanded upon over the ages of course, and a defensive network of both orbital and surface fortifications that is easily the match of any seen on a sector capital protects the world. The Taurian Naval Institute, the largest and most prestigious naval academy in the Concordat, has long called New Vandenberg home, and possibly the best civilian university in the Concordat crowns the capital. The New Vandenberg University helped spur Taurian technological renaissance in the thirty-first century and has hired skilled instructors from throughout the Human Sphere to help expand and train the minds of the Taurians’ next generation of scientists and technicians.
Pinard – A mineral rich world that feeds the many factories it hosts, this world is also famous for its wines that are taken throughout the Human Sphere by Magistracy and Sea Fox traders. It is also home to a major Taurian university and Pinard-Dicolais Electronics, one of the largest privately-owned and operated industries in the Taurian Concordat. The return of numerous systems lost to the Inner Sphere during the Star League invasion of the Periphery has allowed this company to reintegrate a large number of stolen complexes back into their operating system, though most of those were destroyed in the Succession Wars or allowed to be run down until they were little more than worthless. The factories on Mendham were the most visible and powerful return, and have helped PDE to expand into a new era of high-tech and quality systems.
Rollis – During the Succession Wars, the Jihad, and the Trinity War, the ruling family of Rollis has been nearly wiped out numerous times. That they survive at all is a testament to their stubbornness, fully seen in the current head of the family, Maxwell Rollis. Named for his uncle who was killed in a Taurian raid in the early 3040s, he is no friend to Taurus but accepted the Taurian occupation force during the Trinity War at gunpoint. Since then, the increased rights given to the world under Taurian laws as compared to the severely limited rights under Capellan rule have helped him to accept Taurian rule, but a sizable Taurian defense force is kept on Rollis at all times, officially to defend it against Capellan raids. Unofficially, many believe it is to keep Prefect Rollis in line.
Samantha – Named after Samantha Calderon, the leader of the expedition that colonized Taurus and mother of the entire Concordat, this world is a center of learning in the Taurian Concordat. The Concordat AeroSpace Flight School is the most prestigious military academy of its kind in the Outer Sphere, except those in the Raven Alliance. It hires instructors from the Alliance to this day, as it has for decades, and unlike the Alliance universities it is open to foreign nationals, for a fee of course. It is also home to one of the Concordat’s major universities, also open to foreign enrollment for a fee that helps to bring needed monies into the Concordat.
Sterope – Often called “New Taurus”, this world was once one of the largest centers of military production outside the Hyades Cluster. Now eclipsed by the complexes of Panpour, the Pleiades and Hyades Clusters, Erod’s Escape, and Hellespont, it is still considered an important part of the Taurian infrastructure though it still lacks a permanent Taurian garrison. Sterope’s permanent defenses include orbital and ground fortresses manned by the local Noble Armed Forces, troops hired by what passes for a Taurian nobility to protect the state. These forces have so far held out against attackers, even during the Jihad, long enough for reinforcements to arrive, but many outside analysts believe their luck will run out sooner or later.
Taurus – Named after Victor Taurens, second husband of Samantha Calderon, this world has long been the center of Taurian power. Surrounded by the Hyades Cluster and its asteroid fields, it was long been considered to be invulnerable to outside attack, but the Word of Blake proved those thoughts wrong when it bombarded Samantha City with DropShip-sized asteroids. New Samantha City has been rebuilt within sight of the ruins of Old Samantha City, and the Concordat has spent impressive amounts of money and effort to make it a testament to their stubbornness.
Haven Sector
Dicallus – The primary military hub of the Haven Sector, this world hosts massive supply depots, a constant military presence, and a large enough transport fleet to move the supplies and war machines to any threatened world in the sector easily. Dicallus has lost importance over the years as the front with the Federation has moved far beyond its influence and as the Haven Star Cluster has become the primary naval base that protects the newer colonies, but its centrally-located position in the sector keeps its bases operational. Often times leaders too powerful to demote but too inept to be trusted on the front lines are sent to this world, the Concordat trusting that no one will move so far into their interior to hit that world.
Euschelus – Boasting an education system that many other nations in the Human Sphere have used as a model, the universities are free for any Taurian citizen able to pass the entrance exams, but foreigners have to pay for their schooling. The University of Euschelus is the equaled only be Norman’s World’s university in the Haven Sector and is heavily protected at all times by both a local cadre and substantial Taurian Defense Forces.
Haven Star Cluster (50) – Captured in 3064 by a major Taurian invasion force, the Taurians have taken to using the Haven Star Cluster as a major naval base to sortie from. They have heavily defended all of its approaches, as they do with all the stellar clusters they control, and made it into a virtual fortress capable of defending itself against nearly any attacker. Rumors suggest that they are trying to build naval yards there in addition to the planetary factories, but so far the heavy gravity shear of the close-packed stars has stymied all efforts, making the cluster reliant on outside production of large spacecraft to defend it for now.
Norman's World – Though the military supply center of the Haven Sector was built on Dicallus, the Norman family immediately saw the opportunity that Jeffrey Calderon had given them in creating the original four sectors. By 3066, the Norman family had financed the construction of an elaborate complex of beautiful offices and parks designed for a civilian government, and then donated them to the agency that would later become the official civilian sector government. They made back everything they lost in donating the complex by building various support services around the complex, such as fast food restaurants, recreational facilities, and other support services that a government needed. It is now one of the richest worlds in the Concordat and houses the largest and best university in the Haven Sector.
Perdition – A water-rich world, Perdition’s landmass is separated into numerous small islands, none of them large enough to completely house major factory complexes. Because of this the factories of Perdition are spread out across the islands and Perdition’s wet navy has become their primary defense. Trained to be able to rain fire down on any point of the planet, as well as to transport defending ground elements as needed, the wet navy also owns several ships armed with lasers powerful enough to hit ships in orbit when needed. More than once over the years a raiding DropShip has been brought crashing down into Perdition’s seas after being hit by one of these ships, causing raiders to become sneakier when attempting a raid.
Pleiades Sector
Flintoft – Situated near the Pleiades Cluster, this mining world has proven invaluable by shipping much-needed materials to the new factories in the cluster, helping to bolster the defense units of that sector.
Horsham – Site of a major Taurian naval construction yard prior to the Star League, this was simply one of many former-Taurian worlds that suffered under the Star League and the Succession Wars. Forced to watch as other systems got all the attention and monies, the industries the Star League captured failed over the centuries, but after the Trinity War ended in 3093 Challenge Systems and Pleiades Defense Industries cooperated to rebuild the long-decayed yards and they now produce WarShips for the Concordat again.
Mendham – A major producer of electronics since the Star League stole this world from the Taurian Concordat, its capture was a major goal of the Trinity War. The Protector refused to end the war until his hold on the world was secure in fact, a stance that many other nations in the area eyed with trepidation as the destruction of the Trinity War continued to expand. In 3093 the Raven Alliance finally acted and sent a naval squadron to support the Taurians and their claim to the world, before “suggesting” that the Concordat end the war before it became further out of hand. Since then, the electronics factories have been reintegrated into Pinard-Dicolais Electronics, one of the largest privately-owned and operated industries in the Taurian Concordat, their original mother company. Though Capellan raids are common, the world has flourished under Taurian rule and the locals are happy to see something close to peace after the long and chaotic wars that followed the Jihad.
Merope – The capital of the Pleiades Cluster and Sector, this is one of the most heavily defended worlds in the Taurian Concordat. Traders from the Federation are required to travel through the cluster under the guns of Taurian naval units to Merope where they are searched for contraband before being allowed to fly deeper into the Concordat. This guarantees Merope’s local businesses constant traffic and a major influx of monies. The University of Merope is the largest university in the Pleiades Sector, but has to turn many applicants away to the older universities in the Hyades Sector because it lacks the room for them. Hermion Shraplen is the current governor of the system and official civilian leader of the entire sector.
Pleiades Cluster (100) – The gateway to Taurian space, it is against the law for foreign ships to enter anywhere other than through the Cluster’s capital of Merope. Heavily defended, the Cluster is home to a large number of factories spread throughout the hundreds of planets and thousands of moons that move through it.
Robsart – A provincial capital of the Taurian Concordat before the Star League invasion, the titanic Battle of Robsart pitted over two hundred WarShips between the Taurian and Star League navies against each other in the largest naval battle of the invasion. Enraged at her losses in the battle, the Star League admiral bombarded the capital from orbit, ending all hopes of peace with the Concordat until the Hyades Cluster itself was threatened. Since recovering Robsart, the Taurians have spent much money rebuilding the shattered capital but have no plans of making it a sector capital at this time. They have rebuilt the stripped University of Robsart though and it accepts applications from any Taurian citizen, though many are transferred on to the University of Merope or the universities of the Hyades Sector because of space issues. Interestingly, Robsart is a staunch supporter of Taurus and is the center of pro-Taurian movements in the Pleiades Sector. Each year, on the anniversary or the Star League bombardment, it officially requests to be accepted into the Hyades Sector. Taurus has so far denied each request, but there is no doubt where Robsart will fall if the disagreements between Taurus and Merope ever become more serious.
Panpour Sector
As Samik – Basantapur Fine Metals, who specialize in the production of rare alloys, have several large foundries on As Samik.
Basantapur – The city of Jupaipur is home to the head offices of Basantapur Fine Metals, who specialize in the production of rare alloys and have several large foundries on Basantapur and As Samik. This has made the company extremely important to the Taurian Concordat military since Basantapur’s capture, as its metals are needed for the internal framework of 'Mechs. Bad management hampered the company’s ability to live up to its potential until Marshal Brad Wolf used his family fortune, and some incriminating photographs, to take over the company. It has performed well since then, building Centurion OmniMech structures on site for completion at nearby Panpour, though no full ’Mech is completed there at this time.
Keuterville – A world of wide-open grasslands, it is known for its foodstuffs that are seen throughout the Concordat.
Macintosh – This system is home to the headquarters of Apple Computers Interstellar, an ancient company with roots extending clear back to the 20th century. Since its birth, the computer company has gained a reputation for always being slightly ahead of its stodgier rivals. During the days of the Star League, the company grew so fat and contented that it actually bought the planet Drekos in the Federated Suns and renamed it Macintosh after one of their legendary computer models. When the Star League fell, most of the company's factories and secrets were lost in the mayhem of the Succession Wars. Only the small personal computer factory on Macintosh survived. Apple continued to manufacture small computers of near-Star League technology throughout the Succession Wars, and helped to revitalize electronics technologies after the Fourth Succession War. Now a member of the Panpour Sector, its computers are used on most of the machines built in that region and are seen throughout the Concordat in both civilian and military roles. The University of Macintosh is known throughout the Concordat as the best place to go to learn about and research new computer technologies.
Malagrotta – Site of the battle that triggered the Reunification War, between the Star League and Periphery states, Malagrotta was a source of conflict between the Federated Suns/Commonwealth and the Taurian Concordat until the Jihad. The valuable titanium mines of Grex-Dex on the moon of Fontana were the principal target of Taurian raiders until the world defected to them as Federation power waned. Now a valuable Taurian system, it is protected at all times by substantial forces to stop pirates from doing what the Taurians once did.
Panpour – The civilian capital and military headquarters of the Panpour Sector, this world houses the primary industrial complex of the sector and is heavily defended at all times. It also houses a major university that specializes in teaching naval engineers and technicians. Both Jalastar Aerospace and Challenge Systems donate large sums of money to the University of Panpour and usually siphon off the best and brightest graduates for their R&D centers.
Tentativa – Home to a former Davion slave labor camp, liberated by the Taurians, the mines of this world have become fully utilized by the Taurians since they conquered it and remain important to this day.
Weippe – An agricultural world, it is known for the many grains and wheats it grows and ships throughout the Concordat and beyond.
Erod Sector
Belle Isle – Originally settled during the Taurian Concordat's expansion programs of the 3020's and 30's, this is a productive agricultural world that ships foodstuffs to many nearby worlds in the Taurian Concordat. Some of its products are also shipped throughout the Trinity Alliance and even into the Inner Sphere proper, bringing much-needed revenues into the continually cash-strapped Concordat
Erod’s Escape – When Marshal Cham Kithrong moved to Erod’s Escape in 3065 he dedicated his fortune to building a new factory complex that would make the world self-reliant and capable of protecting the other worlds around it. By 3066, the Taurian government had begun to flow money into the project as well and Erod’s Escape became one of two major industrial sites in the outer reaches of the Taurian Concordat. Now war machines from Erod’s Escape patrol the new outer reaches of the Concordat, alongside Colonial Marshals, fighting pirates and other menaces to civilization. Erod’s Escape is also home to a top quality Taurian university devoted to educating the best and brightest of the Erod Sector.
Gemini – A system with two habitable worlds orbiting a common gravitational null point, the larger of the two worlds has an oppressively dense atmosphere and a powerful gravity field. The smaller world is much more Terran and is a comfortable place for people to live. Discovered between Randis and the Taurian Concordat by ComStar shortly before the Jihad, the Taurians arrived in 3064 to claim the system as their own. ComStar has maintained their presence in system though, building a large base there that now administers all Rimward Explorer Corps expeditions.
Lastpost – A harsh world only colonized for its raw materials, this was once the last in a line of colonies stretching far away from the core Taurian systems. It is now the last major military base short of Gemini and its ships and warriors patrol much of the outer colonies. The local businesses are primarily organized around providing for whatever the military personnel want when they return from long duties in the hinterlands of space.
Mirfak – A hot, dry world rich in germanium and radioactives, major defenses surround this world and its valuable materials at all times.
Hellespont Sector
Celano – Settled early in the thirty-first century, this warm, temperate world has proven to be a major boon for the Concordat. Originally home to a Star League division, this world on the outskirts of Star League power was used to help watch the Taurians for signs of rebellion. After the Star League fell, most of the remaining Star League troopers left with Kerensky and those that remained soon faded away. When the Taurians colonized it, they soon began to find signs of its former use and rumors ran rampant about it. Numerous small bases have been found in the last century, helping the Taurians recover lost technologies, and the Concordat continues to send teams to comb over the world. They have also placed a bounty on Star League artifacts, enticing many private citizens to come to the system and help in the searching, which helps the local economy by bringing in outside money. The small University of Celano is focused around studying Star League artifacts and its professors are considered the foremost experts on Star League history and technology in the Taurian Concordat.
Hellespont – This watery world rich in numerous valuable resources was once the headquarters of ComStar’s Rimward Explorer Corps expeditions before the discovery of Gemini. Now the major central production center for military technologies for an entire Taurian sector, it is heavily defended at all times. War machines from Hellespont travel throughout the outer reaches of Taurian space, patrolling the new colonies and protecting them from pirates alongside Colonial Marshals. Numerous families of Magistracy lineage live on Hellespont, having moved there with a large number of Merfolk when it was a young colony. It is also home to a major Taurian university devoted to training the best and brightest of the sector in advanced subjects. The free wheeling Magistracy culture has greatly affected Hellespont, making this university the best “Party College” in the Taurian Concordat.