=Kailash=
Role: Fortress world, boron mining.
Circumference: 22,121 miles
Population: ~880,000
Orbital Path: First.
Rotational period: 0.77
Orbital period: 93 days.
Primary Function: Hyperlane defense.
Retention Index: 4
Times are dire on Kailash, a world renowned for its vast boron mines. Currently facing an Arachnid invasion due to its strategic placement along a hyperlane chokepoint, the people of Kailash have grown steadfast, and increasingly common within the Mobile Infantry.
History
Named after an Earthen mountain range with deep spiritual meaning thought to cleanse sin and bring good fortune to its travelers, Kailash sits on a hyperplane isthmus into what is now the Arachnid Quarantine Zone, or AQZ. Kailash was colonized to serve as a way station to further Federal colonization efforts, to which it had dutifully served, but now stands as the last and only planet bordering the AQZ in its sector.
Following the destruction of Buenos Aires, the Arachnid menace invaded, destroyed and conquered the planets beyond Kailash. It no longer had a purpose as a way station, especially when the same Arachnids used those former planets as a stepping stone onto Kailash.
Currently, Kailash is undergoing Arachnid invasion. It is not known exactly when the first spore capsule infested the planet, nor is the size of the Bug force within reasonable suspicion by any indicator other than the total destruction of all fauna and flora outside Planetary Defense Force, or PDF, controlled sectors.
Intense bombing campaigns have razed the planet’s surface, initially with extreme effect towards Arachnid casualties as a result of previously undiscovered pockets of a gas lethal to them, releasing their vapors far and wide from direct strikes. First thought to be of little consequence considering its effectiveness, soon Troopers began to litter triages with intensely painful, and oftentimes lethal, blisters after coming into contact with the gas. Following the bombing campaign, earthquakes have become increasingly common.
Since then, the bombing campaigns have been restricted to counteroffensive purposes to prevent further spread. This gas’ current effectiveness on Arachnids is in question in the face of renewed vigor, and a new solution is being tried by way of a heightened Psychic presence in PDF controlled sectors to keep the Bugs at bay. All of whom are restricted to their respective sectors, due to sheer workload and extreme casualty rates outside of the wire.
Economy & Government
Shortly after colonization its crust was found to have large concentrations of Boron, an element essential to control rods utilized in Nuclear reactors. An explosive mining industry was ushered in, and became the primary socioeconomic drive of the colony.
Before the invasions, Kailash was the capital planet of its sector, Vega Majora, a prominent hub of trade, commerce, and various civilian industries due to its logistical importance in the Colonial effort of its area. Now it has turned its manufacturing to arms & munitions, proprietary protective equipment, and increased its export & production of boron following the crisis. The mining business is, ironically, booming with the exception of a high rate of attrition in the workforce as more and more mines venture closer to Arachnid sectors.
Originally founded and run as a Citizen republic from its Colonial-Civilian body, its 272 representatives have since unilaterally passed an emergency act establishing a triumvirate from the PDF’s officer corps and has been acting with total authority since. Kaiba Kei, Aida Fidalgo, and Axel Marken are the three acting authorities - all prior PDF brass.
Culture & Planetary Defense Force
Being the exiled capital planet, Kailash was once a planet of rising bureaucratic & political elites with an ever-rising blue-collar workforce. However, almost all of its white-collar workers emigrated elsewhere following the war while blue-collars, like miners and shipyard cargo workers, have continued to steadily rise. There are some Elites & white-collars who remain, whether out of true Kailash patriotism or sheer lack of market competition is up for debate.
Over the course of the war on Kailash, its common people have proven to be, or become by way of conflict, resolute, firm, and steadfast. Many have also become cruel, abrasive, or stubborn as a result of the war’s lasting effects on one’s spirit. Many are patriots, either of Kailash itself or the Federation and are quick to answer calls to arms.
Kailash’s Planetary Defense Force and its members have proven to be aggressive, adaptable, free-form leaders in a battlefield that is always changing. However, they’ve also been molded into an impatient leadership style that often lacks clear long-term goals, and effective communication on an organizational level. Despite this, it has become a sense of pride for most senior leaders within its PDF to be distinguished as someone who is quick to act - often worrying about operational level details last in favor of results on individual fronts.
Some theorize this is a result of massive communication breakdowns in the opening phases of the Arachnid invasion, leaving most PDF units in the fate of their own leader’s skills and intuition as individual fronts failed to effectively communicate with each other - even when directly adjacent. As a whole, Kailash’s PDF is still known for its operational-level communication screw ups, but communications between adjacent fronts has drastically improved enough to allow for success.
As a result of the order of Kaiba Kei, a restructuring of the planet’s MIPOD corps has seen Psychics taken to a role more befitting to National Guards, or Sector Guards. Depending on individual operative skills, each individual front typically has an element of 14-22 psychics dedicated entirely to the constant defense of its equipment & personnel - and do not act offensive with the Infantry except where directed by a member of the triumvirate. The reasoning behind the enactment of this order in the months following the war is subject to speculation, but is said to be due to the former high casualty rate.
A unique component of the mechanism which the PDF conduct warfare on Kailash involves sending PDF ‘Tunnel Jumper’ reconnoitering troopers into tunnel networks of areas which have been struck by bombing campaigns in order to primarily assess the level of lethal gas, secondarily to map its tunnel networks, and thirdly, assess the size of the Arachnid force inhabiting it. They are used as direct tools in operational planning and intelligence gathering, and have no psychic component.
Points of interest
Kailash’s capital, Bagan is surrounded by Ninlae, its last rainforest while the remainder of the planet remains subtropical within PDF confines.
Oneida, a mountain which was a part of the Aquila Mountain Range, was one of the first targets of combined orbital and strike craft bombardment. Initially thought to be the landing site of the Arachnids, after flattening the mountain into a new valley, Kailash PDF were proven wrong. Its sister mountain Onandaga now stands tall and peacefully alone, derelict of any bug presence, as reported by Tunnel Jumpers.
Malaki, the largest spring geyser known on the planet. An extremely popular tourist attraction before the war, its vacational resort was short-lived, but was also the highest rated on the planet. It has since been bombed to rubble following the second Battle of Malaki Spring.
Rinpoche, the third tallest peak on Kailash. It is riddled with natural caves and caverns, and was an initial target in the bombing campaigns. It also is now the most poisonous peak on the planet, with lethal gas stretching for miles in all directions at its base as a result of the bombing. However, Bug sightings are increasingly common here despite this. No PDF trooper has ever had the opportunity to come close to this mountain since.
Aquito rainforest, a strip of rainforest settled in the saddle of Aquila mountain range for over 40 miles. Its entire length was subject to extensive bombing and PDF assault, and was the first recorded site of PDF troopers coming into contact with the lethal gas in the assault of Aquila’s mountains. It’s said thousands of PDF troopers succumbed to their blister wounds over the course of the next few weeks. It is the only rainforest left partially intact in Arachnid territory after full-scale PDF withdrawal.
New Baron Dockyard, Kailash’s largest dockyard. Located just sixty miles from Bagan, New Baron accounts for just over sixty percent of its Boron exports, twenty percent of its civilian goods imports, and 110,000~ workers.
Nophin valley, known to inhabit the Nophin, a modestly sized reptilian species destined to become an esteemed household pet across Kailash. Considered bright for a reptilian and affectionately dispositioned with a positive temperament that does not require caging.
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