KufsteinStar Type (Recharge Time): F5V
Position in System: 4
Time to Jump Point: 14.94 days
Number of Satellites: 1 (Festung)
Surface Gravity: 1.0
Atm. Pressure: Thick (Breathable)
Equatorial Temperature: 40° C (Tropical)
Surface Water: 61 percent
Recharging Station: Both
HPG Class: A
Highest Native Life: Avian
Population: 65,000,000
Socio-Industrial Levels: C-D-B-D-B
Technological Sophistication: Moderately advanced world
Industrial Development: Low industrialization
Raw Material Dependence: Mostly self-sufficient
Industrial Output: Negligible output
Agricultural Dependence: Moderate agriculture
Defending Forces: 1st Rasalhague Bears
Land Masses (Capital City): Tyrol (Altstadt)
Importance: Economic
Kufstein is a mostly swampy, loamy, muggy little world orbiting a bright F-class star. It was originally settled by a conglomerate of Lyran and Star League corporations in 2646; Kufstein occupied a perfect spot one jump out from Tamar, reducing by almost a full day the length (and therefore the costs of) the well-plied Tamar-Rasalhague route that previously went through Hohenems. Star League subsidies combined with the groundbreaking terraforming technologies of the era were making planetary colonization extremely attractive, so the conglomerate built two lavish recharge stations at the standard jump points and an enormous dropport on the lone planet in the star's life zone. Kufstein quickly became the first stop for the JumpShips of Tamar's merchant clans eager to do business with Rasalhagian trading fleets. By the late 27th century the vast warehouses and sprawling markets around the dropport had morphed into a full-fledged metropolis, dubbed Altstadt due to the way the atmosphere made most common building materials rapidly appear ancient despite not damaging their integrity. The Star League Defense Force built a Port Castle near the planet's south pole and nearby units often rotated through to conduct arctic warfare exercises here.
The DCMS rapidly captured Kufstein just weeks into the outset of what would eventually be called the First Succession War. Driving out the Lyran garrison from the old SLDF Port Castle, they left behind a garrison to enforce the taxes that House Kurita intended to levy on the trade that took place there and effectively left Kufstein to its own devices, preferring not to interfere with a proven revenue stream. Unfortunately, border trade in the region rapidly reached a nadir relative to its zenith during the Star League, and Kufstein soon found itself among the many planets experiencing the long, slow downward slide of the Succession Wars. When the nearby world of Bushmill was forced to be abandoned in the wake of multiple nuclear strikes by defending Kuritan soldiers during the Second Succession War, most of the refugees fled to Kufstein; many of them were central to the enormous luxury liquor business on Bushmill, and they re-established their operations on Kufstein (imported water from the bogs of Kufstein was a lucrative commodity for whiskey distilleries). This gave a much-needed shot in the arm to its economy, allowing it to limp through to the 31st century. When the Free Rasalhague Republic was formed in the wake of the War of 3039, Kufstein was among the founding worlds, though again little changed except the polar garrison and possession of the recharge stations.
In August of 3050, the JumpShips of Clan Wolf appeared. After disgorging a single DropShip, the Wolves issued their
batchall to the local militia, comprised of two battalions of tanks backed by six of infantry. One week later, the militia had been scattered at the hands of just two Trinaries of Wolf warriors, having inflicted only a single casualty. Thus began Kufstein's long years under the auspices of the Clans. For nearly a century, Clan Wolf retained possession of the world; the merchant castes of the various Clans simply stepped in where the old Tamar and Rasalhaguian trade syndicates had once stood. Kufstein now sat at a near-perfect centerpoint between Csesztreg, Rasalhague, Alshain and Sudeten, and thus nearly all inter-Clan trade in the Occupation Zones passed through the system. When Clan Wolf abandoned its OZ in 3137, the Rasalhague Dominion reclaimed Kufstein as one of the founding worlds of the old Republic, and transferred the illustrious 1st Rasalhague Bears to guard the warehouse complexes of Altstadt, a tempting target for Trials of Possession by neighboring Clans.
While not exactly able to achieve wealth
per se under the Clan system, Kufstein has at least achieved a level of stability not seen since the halcyon days of the Star League. German is the primary language spoken by most Kufsteiners, although they are all fluent in Star League English due to Clan-provided primary education. Roman Catholicism was long the dominant religion on Kufstein prior to Kuritan and then Clan rule, and still exists in small pockets in the present day. Due to the high level of JumpShip traffic in this system and the fact that it serves as a meeting point for the merchant caste of several Clans, the various Watches regularly deploy agents here; Trials of Possession stemming from intelligence gathered here are a frequent occurrence.
Author
Topic: Operation Masada (Read 5680 times)