STELLAR DATA Catalog # NSC D 6-507-438 A/B (binary) Star: Orpheus (A) Type: F5V Mass: 1.30 Sol Luminosity: 2.70 Sol Radius: 1.24 Sol Estimated Time Remaining on Main Sequence: .9 begayear Star: Eurydice (B) Type: F7V Mass: 1.24 Sol Luminosity: 2.07 Sol Radius: 1.19 Sol Estimated Time Remaining on Main Sequence: .9 begayear PEOPLE Population: 12,675,693; Population Density: .14 person per sci km; Urbanization: 25%; Ethnic Groups: Central European (59%), North American (21 %), Black (all) (14%); Others (6%); Languages: League Anglic (100%); Religions: Church of Blake (62%), Protestant Christian Sects (10%); Neo- Buddhist (10%); Universal Catholic Church (10%). Capitol and Largest City: Port Erebus; Other Major Cities: None. SYSTEM DATA Binary System Type: Close Double Planetary System: 9 major bodies, 1 asteroid belt PLANETARY DATA Planet V: Weisau Common Name: Brimstone Mean Orbital Radius: 2.74 AU Orbital Eccentricity: .0120 Periastron Orbital Distance: 2.7126 AU Apastron Orbital Distance: 2.7674 AU Period: 8.099 standard years (2,958.1 standard days) Mass:.5 Earth Equatorial Diameter: 8322.0 km Mean Planetary Density: 9.9 g/cm cubed (1.8 Earth) GOVERNMENT Allegiance: Associate World of the Draconis Combine; Government: Aristocratic Fief; Head of State: Duke Heinrich von Altdort; Head of Government: Freda Massenberg, Ducal Steward for Brimstone; Local Administrative Districts: 5. ECONOMY Natural Resources: Ores, Radioactives; Processedl Manufactured Goods: None; Arable Land: .01%; Labor Force: Agricultural (.005%), Industrial (18.75%), Resource Extraction (74.99%), Service: (6.25%). Mean Surface Gravity: 1. 1750 Escape Velocity: 12.9 kps Rotational Period., None; tidal lock with satellite. Day/night cycle due to mutual orbit with satellite is 55.1 hours. Axial Inclination: 1 degree 22' 14.8" Atmosphere: Marginal Earth Type Composition: N 2 -83%; 02-1 1.3%; H 20(mean)-0.6%; sulfur and sulfur compounds-2.3% hydrographics: 14% of the surface covered by liquid H20/H 2SO4 tainted by other sulfur compounds Temperature Range (Port Erebus): +10 degrees C. (winter, night) through +66 degrees C. (summer, day). Equatorial temperatures can exceed 125 degrees C. GENERAL PLANETARY INFORMATION SATELLITES: 1 (Common name: Fire) Mean Orbital Radius: 162,298.5 km (39 Brimstone radii); Eccentricity: .0204: Period: 55.1 hours; Mass: .4 Earth; Equatorial Diameter: 12,756 km; Mean Density: 2.2 g/CM cubed; Mean Surface Gravity: .4 G; Escape Velocity: 4.39 kps; Rotational Period: None (tidal lock with primary), but day/night cycle alternates by period of 55.1 hours; Axial Inclination: 3 degrees 18'34.7"; Atmosphere: Inhospitable; Surface Pressure: .17 atm; Composition: various inert gases; Hydrographic Data: no liquid hydrosphere on planet. PLANETOGRAPHY Radius: 4161.5 km; Circumference: 26,147.508 km; Total Surface Area: 217,625,000 sq km; Land Surface Area: 187,157,000 sq km; Inhabited Surface Area: 1,871,570 sq km. Surface Topography: Ocean/Sea/Lake 14%; Valley/Rift/Basin 12%; Rising Ground 11 %; Lowlands 16%; Steppe/Plain 21 %; Low Hills 8%; High Hills 6%; Low Mountains 7%; High Mountains 5%. FINANCE Currency: Altmark (1 altmark = Clb 0.592); Per Capita Income: Cb 80; Gross Domestic Product., Cb 1.014 billion; Imports: Natural Agricultural, Petrochemicals, Armaments, Heavy Manufactured Goods, Light Manufactured Goods; Principal Sources: Schirmeck (23%), Senorbi (161/6), Valentina (12%), Waldheim (10%), Kaznejov (7%), Budingen (5%), Delacruz (5%); Exports: Mineral Ores, Radioactives; Principal Markets: Delacruz (23%), Valentina (16%), Waldheim (13%), Altdorf (10%), Schirmeck (5%), Goubellat (3%), Kaznejov (2%). TRANSPORTATION Chief Ports: Port Erebus; Ott-Planet Facilities: Orbital: none; Deep Space: none; Enclaves: none; Merchant Fleet: JumpShips: 0; Freighters: 0; Shuttles: 2; System Jump Point: Distance: 19.20 AU; Travel Time (typical): 284 hours (11.8 std. days). HEALTH Life Expectancy at Birth: 54 years; Birth Rate: (3024) 5%; Mortality Rate: (3024) 7%; Population Growth Rate: decreasing at 2% per year. EDUCATION Literacy: 12%; Technicians/100 population: 4; Universities: 3. ARMED FORCES Defense Spending: 30% of GDP; Military Manpower Potential: 3,897,774 (35%); Aerospace Forces: Orbital Facilities: 0, Deep Space Facilities: 0, JurnpShips: 0, DropShips: 3, AeroSpace Fighters: 6, Escorts: 0, Monitors: 0, Cruisers: 0; Battalions: Infantry: 3, Armor. 0, Air: 0, Mech: 0; Warrior Training Facilities: none; Hiring Data: J/N/T.  THE PLANET The binary star system of Orpheus/Eurydice lies in the cis-Alpheratz region of the Draconis Combine, less than 30 light years from the Federated Suns border. It is a part of the six-planet fiefdom of Duke Heinrich von Altdorf and is important chiefly for the great mineral wealth of Brimstone, the only world even marginally habitable by Man. Geology Brimstone is rated at Class XIII on the Eriksson Scale, indicating extremely active geological conditions. Vulcanism and severe seismic stresses result from the massive tidal influence exerted by the planet's satellite (more a twin world than a moon). Tectonic instability has produced a wide variety in surface features, dominated by rugged mountains and high, relatively flat upland plains. The major areas of volcanic activity and mountain-building are centered at the world's equator, where the tidal effect is strongest, but no part of Brimstone is completely free of quakes, volcanic eruptions, sulfurous gas clouds, or lava flows. Ecology Native life forms are scant and totally incompatible with Terrestrial types. All species discovered to date are non-motile chemosynthetic types which flourish in the regions of greatest volcanic activity. They extract a variety of chemicals from the soil and metabolize gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO2), releasing pure oxygen as a by-product. The harsh conditions have limited the feasibility of introducing off-world flora or fauna, except in climate-controlled hydroponicsdomes in the areaaround the human settlement. Persons planning to visit the planet should note the marginal qualities of the atmosphere, which is heavily tainted by sulfur compounds. Though breathable, the air is noxious-breathing masks are not essential but are certainly important to comfort and good health-and may occasionally be contaminated with dilute gaseous sulfuric acid. This can have a highly corrosive effect on equipment and people exposed for prolonged periods of time to clouds of this acid steam. Persons bringing 'Mechs or other fusion-powered vehicles to the planet should take precautions against the extreme heat, which complicates ordinary heat buildups out of all recognition. History Weisau was discovered by the Fourth Interstellar Survey in 2235 but was never exploited due to the retreat of Terrain colonial interests a few years later. In 2640 the Draconis Combine, interested in tapping the recently re-discovered resource potential of the planet, threw it open to settlement. Roughly 100,000 settlers, most of them miners of European and North American extraction from the Kurita frontiers worlds of Misery and Barlow's Folly, were established in that year at the north polar region that later became known as Port Erebus. The first 60 years of the colony's history were marked by hardship and suffering, and for a time it seemed likely that it would fail entirely. It was during this period that the popular local name "Brimstone" came into common use. Fortunes began to pick up around 2700, and thereafter the colony enjoyed a lengthy period of slow but steady growth. The misfortunes of the war touched Brimstone during the Second Succession conflict; a Davion invasion force occupied Port Erebus as part of a general offensive in the area. In the Second Battle of Port Erebus in 2858, the Davion forces were dislodged, but Federated Suns General Ferdinand Rico's scorched-planet tactics in the withdrawal period resulted in the loss of 65% of the colony's hydroponics domes. The years of famine and plague that followed were brought under control through massive Combine relief efforts, but it was over 125 years before population figures rose to preinvasion levels. Almost immediately, in 3015, fighting erupted again in the area with similar results; Brimstone today remains in Kurita hands but suffers from severe limitations in available food supplies and medical facilities. The current population is at its lowest ebb since before the Second Succession War. GENERAL NOTES Brimstone is most notable for its high density (still a puzzle to Combine scientists, particularly in comparison to the light silicate composition of the planet's companion world, Fire) and for its high degree of seismic activity. In combination these two factors make the planet a miner's treasure trove, with large deposits of heavy metals, ores, and radioactives exposed regularly by tectonic action on and beneath the surface. However, the planet is only marginally habitable at best, and colonization remains limited to the area of Port Erebus and outlying mining camps in the north polar region. Ruled in the name of Duke von Altdorf by a steward appointed from his personal household, Brimstone is treated by the Duchy as something approaching a personal minerals storehouse. Since 3015 and the Third Battle of Port Erebus, regular Kurita forces have been stationed on Brimstone to supplement the three battalions of regular infantry and small AeroSpace defense wing that is the total locally-maintained military force. Because it lies in the region between the Davion/Kurita frontier just to rimward of the Outworlds Alliance, Brimstone has strategic value in the ongoing Succession Wars that outweighs its purely economic worth. The Commandant of the Combine garrison on Brimstone is known to be seeking mercenary troops to supplement the forces under his command. However, note should be taken of the fact that the local defense budget is low, and conditions on the planet even in the absence of combat are so dangerous as to make this a poor choice as a potential place of employment. Recent rumors suggest that Davion forces may be shifting on the offensive in this areaof space again soon, which suggests the probability of fresh operations around Port Erebus in the near future. ABOUT WORLDBOOK Worldbook is a BattleTechnology feature drawn from the computer files of The Navigator's Guide to the Inner Sphere, the 32-volume compendium of explored worlds published by ComStar Press Interstellar, Terra. Brimstone was firstprinted in Volume 8, The Cis-Alpheratz Sector, and is used here by permission of the publisher. Back to BattleTechnology Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com