Star Type: G4V
Position in System: 3
Time to Jump Point: 7.98 days
Recharging Station: Zenith
Political Ruler: Various family leaders
ComStar Facility Class: B
ComStar Representative: Precentor Adrien Clothos
Population: 190,000
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 15%, Mammal
Description:
The center of the Illyrian Palantinate, Illyria supports a small shipbuilding center on its southern continent. The population, largely individuals of Scandinavian ancestry, spend much of their time scavenging for stores of Star League equipment thought to be on the planet. To date, some modest amounts of equipment have been recovered, and there is evidence that Illyria may once have hosted a Star League 'Mech repair facility. Reports of stashes of serviceable BattleMechs along the northern territories remain unsupported, however.

Origins and History

The Illyrian Palatinate is a collection of four worlds lying between the Circinus Federation and the Lothian League. Ruled by an oligarchy of rich trading families, the Palatinate survives through modest trade with the Free Worlds League, primarily in iron ore and processed steel. The Scandinavian descendants of the original 24th-century colonists maintain a precarious hold on their star systems against continued depredations by the Circinus Federation. At present, their military consists of a minuscule trading fleet and several companies of BattleMechs, mostly mercenaries and officers who have fled the Inner Sphere for one reason or another. Supplementing the Palatinate's revenues are large sums of cash earned from staging annual MechWarrior games, in which contestants battle to the death for salvaged BattleMechs and spare parts.

3056 Update

Ruled by an oligarchy of rich trading families, Palatinate citizens lived a relatively tranquil existence until the 3030s, when traders of the nearby Circinus Federation began to make belligerent noises about conquering the small realm. The Circians attempted to annex the Palatinate in 3034, but ran into unexpected opposition from the mercenary unit Thor's Arms, with whom the Palatinate had signed a multiyear contract. The mercenaries' two battalions of assault 'Mechs easily matched the Federation forces, quickly routing them from the realm.

Over the next seven years the Circinian president continued to plot the Palatinate's downfall, but domestic troubles fortunately prevented "Little Bob" McIntyre from making good on his threats. Unwilling to trust indefinitely in their enemy's ongoing bad luck, however, the Palatinate took steps to safeguard against invasion. In order to earn funds with which to hire more mercenary troops and finance small local militias, Administrator Ernest Wick expanded his nation's trade with the Free Worlds League. He also forged stronger ties with the Palatinate's closest neighbor, the Lothian League, in hope of using Lothian scientific expertise to bolster his planets' defenses. As the 3040s went by and the Circinus Federation launched no assault, the Illyrian people cautiously began to hope that the threatened invasion might not occur.

Trouble came soon enough, but from an unexpected source - a sudden, vast influx of refugees fleeing the Clan invasion. Between 3049 and 3051, the Clan war machine devastated the Free Rasalhague Republic. Throughout those years, and especially after the battle of Tukayyid, the Palatinate became the favored destination of thousands of Rasalhagian refugees. Drawn to the Palatinate as much by its predominantly Scandinavian culture as its prosperity, the refugees arrived in droves. Throughout the latter half of 3052, cargo ships carrying fleeing Rasalhagians arrived almost daily. This sudden population increase nearly overwhelmed the tiny Palatinate; housing and food shortages became commonplace even among Illyrian natives. Desperate for revenues, Administrator Wick increased trade shipments of processed steel to the Free Worlds League beginning in 3051. The League gladly obliged its trading partner, needing as much steel as it could get in order to meet the Inner Sphere demand for BattleMechs and refit kits. The trade revenues, however, were insufficient to meet the refugees' growing needs. In addition, Marian Hegemony raids on the Lothian League in 3052 and 3053 came close to crippling the Lothian economy thereby depriving the Palatinate of its only other major market.

In early 3054, Administrator Wick appealed to the Successor States to send refugee aid, pointing out that Rasalhagian citizens unable to find homes in the Palatinate would surely move on to the Inner Sphere. The Federated Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine took the hint; each of them sent sizable grants, earmarked for refugee aid, to the Illyrian government. The influx of new moneys enabled Administrator Wick to set aside and even larger portion of general revenues to continue beefing up his realm's military security, a particularly pressing problem in light of the Marian Hegemony's conquest of the Lothian League in early 3055.

Interstellar Relations

Relations between the Palatinate and the Free Worlds League remain friendly, as the trade links between them are vital to Illyrian prosperity and security. Administrator Wick has also made a point of courting the Taurian Concordat and the Magistracy of Canopus, knowing that his nation may need al the help it can get if the Circinus Federation manages to launch its long-threatened invasion - or if the Marian Hegemony follows up on its recent threats. The Hegemony, relatively untroubled by domestic strife, may well beat the Circinus Federation to the punch and invade the Palatinate before the Circinians do. The Concordat and the Magistracy have responded warmly to Illyrian overtures, though neither state has yet made any specific promises of military aid.

In its search for allies, the Palatinate government has also attempted to contact the nearby Niops Association, a three-planet state long isolated from the other nations of the Periphery. The Association's leaders have expressed guarded interest in "exploratory talks" with the Palatinate, but so far remain vague about what they expect the substance of such talks to be.

3058 Update

Fearing that Caesar O'Reilly of the Marian Hegemony would target the Palatinate next, Administrator Wick made an unprecedented public declaration. In order to resist the expected assault of the Marian Legions and guarantee the safety of every Illyrian citizen, Wick asserted, the Palatinate must gear up for total defense. As part of this effort, the Administrator announced, the Palatinate government would begin construction of bases on all Illyrian worlds. Modeled on the Castles Brian of the Star League era, these bases would be used to stockpile supplies and house several platoons of guerrilla fighters. As an added inducement for the citizens to agree to build the bases, Administrator Wick announced that all construction workers would be provided with free housing for themselves and their families-longhouse-style dormitories on site at first, and permanent homes as fast as Palatinate contractors could build them.

Legions of citizens - both natives and former Rasalhagians - took the Administrator up on his offer. By the end of 3057, the bases were complete, and construction of residential housing was proceeding slowly but steadily, financed largely by money from the Combine and the Commonwealth.

Militarily, the Illyrian Palatinate is in somewhat better shape in 3058 than it was five years ago. Thor's Arms remain in Illyrian employ, with each battalion rotated to every Palatinate world in turn. A second mercenary company, Cavanaugh's Cavalry, serves as a home guard for the capital planet of Illyria. Finally, ex-soldiers from the Free Rasalhague Republic's KungsArme have joined planetary militias and are training increasing numbers of Illyrian citizens in the arts of war.

Illyrian Palatinate Force Listing

(Deployment as of 3058)

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld
Right Arm of Thor (1 Batt)       Regular       0.33      Illyria
(CO: Overcaptain Gustaf Narder)
Left Arm of Thor (1 Batt)        Regular       0.33      Trasjkis
(CO: Overcaptain Hassie Menker)