Verthandi is a world populated by peoples of almost pure Scandinavian descent. It was settled, not directly from Terra, but from a number of other Rasalhague worlds by refugees seeking to escape the growing Combine. In time it became part of the Commonwealth. It is a small and unimportant place in a distant corner of the galaxy, so the inhabitants have been mostly left to their own devices.

Verthandi is a warm and wet world, dominated by great seas, soaring mountains, and vast jungles and swamps. The population is in the mid hundreds, but much of it is spread across the planet. There are few truly metropolitan areas, and only the capital boast a population of over a million and a decent spaceport.

The planet is currently under attack/occupation by the Combine. At least a battalion of mechs, maybe slightly more, backed by ISF security troops are on the ground and have secured control of the capital of Regisport and surrounding areas. The force is said to be led by Mohammed Ricol, head of the Ricol clan.

Kaesong has quite a bit in common with Casere - both are heavily populated industrial worlds where the environment has suffered because of pollution. But unlike Casere, Kaesong has little in the way of military value - its factories are geared towards private consumption. It's not the needs to the Dragon that has ruined the planet, nor the necessities of war, but the kind of greed you normally associate with Lyran merchants.

Kaesong's factories produce a good portion of tradable consumer goods for the district and beyond. It is helped by its shallow gravity well and well-known pirate points. The system is always alive with dropship traffic, and the Combine has largely given up policing it. After all, if an enemy wants to sneak in, what is he to do? Kill civilians? Blow up some worthless factories?

Nevertheless the Dragon maintains a military presence here. The current DCMS mech garrison has been scaled down, but there is said to be at least a battalion's worth, maybe more, of mercs on the planet. These merc are from at least two different companies - and may not be deployed in the same locales.

Casere was a marginally habitable world settled by peoples from Italy. It was never part of the Principality of Rasalhague, but was annexed by the growing Combine. It was brought into full bloom by Star League terraforming. It was the target of mass bombardment during the 1st War, and changed hands several times, with devastating consequences.

Some industries did survive, however, relocated deep into the underground to avoid the falling bombs. These remaining industries have been both a boon and a bane to Casere: centuries of mining and pollution, combined with radioactive fallout, has caused catastrophic deterioration of the planets weather patterns and climate. Hurricane winds, flooding and droughts are more common than not. Soil erosion has reduced agricultural output to about a tenth of what it was. Rising sea levels have turned the coast-lands into stinking mires. But the world continues to churn out essential war matériel, so there will be no respite.

Casere has quite varied terrain, but currently most of the inhabitants have been relocated to hastily built hillside cities, overlooking the once-prosperous coastlands. Here they are protected from the worst ravages of the weather by thick concrete walls, while they either toil in the factories or try to survive on government vouchers.

Casere has a potent militia guarding the three key urban areas (Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona) with their adjourning factories and spaceports. Each is located at least 2000 kilometers away from each other, and the garrisons are lacking in redeployment capability. Casere is through to be the base of the 3rd Sword of Light.

The "core" of the Rasalhague Military District, other industrially and militarily. Military high command is located on Radstadt. Many of the worlds along the border once belonged to the Commonwealth, but were conquered by the Dragon in this war or that. More recently Alessandro Steiner's many campaigns have reclaimed some of these worlds, such as WEINGARTEN, MORTIZ and but more remain within the Combine. A major offensive is currently underway on KANDIS, but seems to have become bogged down. At any rate the Commonwealth has managed to relieve pressure on the key world of TAMAR, and is poised to either push deeper into Radstad prefecture or expand the bridgehead.

RASALHAGUE is the economic and cultural heart of the long-defunct Rasalhague realm, but it's still a political and economical powerhouse in the region. It is in a curious position in that it is allowed certain freedoms and liberties not found elsewhere in the Combine, but also watched more closely by the ISF (yet a bit more gentle than usual) than any other world outside Luthien. Attacking Rasalhhague is other militarily unwise - and a political disaster, as it would rally the normally independent-minded people of Rasalhague behind the dragon banner.

RADSTAD, deep in the heart of the prefecture, is the headquarters of the district navy and the largest strategic reserve. Any attack here would be sheer folly, as would any attempts to hit worlds within 1-jump range of Radstadt.

SKOKIE and VOLDERS are Lyran worlds still held by the Combine, right on the flanks of the Tamar pocket. They are well defended, both by mech forces and conventional (not militia but DCMS) regiments. There is nothing subtle about attacking these worlds - mech on mech action is virtually guaranteed.

Located closest to the core along the Steiner border. It is awash with military activity. So close to Terra distances are short, with most worlds no more than 1 or 2 jumps from a major garrison. There exists ample transportation capacity, with both mech and aerospace assets in high readiness. Rubigen contains several systems that were once part of the Commonwealth. The prefecture has been on the receiving end of Alessandro's campaigns, but he has made relatively little headway here.

ORESTES on the Steiner border is a former Lyran world, captured by the Combine many years ago. It bears the scars of war, but it is also both heavily populated (and strictly controlled), a major manufacturing center, and a key logistics waypoint. It is also one of the most heavily defended planets in the Combine.e

RUBIGEN is a small, dark and icy world in the heart of the prefecture. Formally it is the military headquarters of the local Tai-Sho, but in practice he directs operations from Orestes, which is located right on the front lines. Rubigen is also famous for its naval officers - abotu 15% of all Combine flag officers hail from this unassuming planet.

The worlds or NOX and THUN have been pointed out as potential targets for battalion-level raids, mostly because the Lyrans feel they have decent intelligence which rules out the presence of massive defending forces. The presence of smaller mech garrisons cannot be ruled out, however. Furthermore, rapid response by mobile reinforcements (aerospace interceptor elements included) is to be expected.

The world of SKANDIA deserves special mention: it is currently in a state of open rebellion against the Combine. Intel indicates the Skandians have amassed a small (battalion?) level mech force, and have hired a number of smaller merc companies as well. There is "at least" a full regiment of DCMS mech on site, hunting the rebels. Lyran intelligence fully expects the Combine to crush all opposition. According to reports the commanding officer is Takari's brother, Tai-Sa (Colonel) Kuma Tanida, although it may be he's subordinate to an unknown Sho-Sho (Brigadier).

Marawi is a bitterly cold and windswept place, only marginally suitable for human colonization. Only in the equatorial areas along the southern shores of Lake Lanao is the planet habitable at all - elsewhere the people are forced to live in domed or underground settlements called "barangays". The world was originally settled by the Maranaos, a Muslim ethnic minority from the Philippines. For lack of funding they were forced to accept Marawi as their new home - anything better within range was essentially out of their economic reach.

Marawi is largely self-sufficient and able to feed its quarter-billion population. Taxation, however, has placed a great strain upon the economy, and there is a large group of very poor and very desperate people on the planet. Much of the economy has collapsed, to be replaced by black market barter as a means of avoiding taxation and government "regulations". Anti-Kuritan sentiment is very high, but without any outside allies or funding the "rebels" are nothing more than ill-equipped and disorganized terrorists.

Located in the heart of Rasalhague, Marawi is not an important world, but it does fall under the protection of Tai-Sho Tanida. It's mech garrison was recently shipped to the Kirchbach prefecture, more specifically the world of Harvest. Only a token force remains, backed by garrison of ISF troopers and conventional militia.

The resource-rich world of Csesztreg is a sparsely populated world in the Kirchbach Prefecture of the Rasalhague District. Settled almost exclusively by peoples of Hungarian ancestry, Csesztreg had generally poor relations with neighboring worlds. Marginalized, it developed rather slowly, and did not attract much outside influence, which kept its culture relatively uniform. It became part of the Lyran Commonwealth early on, attracting significant investments into the mining and manufacturing industries once it became known the planet was rich in valuable metals and rare minerals.

Csesztreg was a post-garden world upon discovery, a place turned dry and cold, with only a shadow of its formerly vibrant ecosphere. The first settlers lived around the remaining inland seas and waterways. During the Star league days terraforming techniques allowed the Commonwealth to at least temporarily reverse many of the climate changes, adding vast amounts of water in the form of icy comets to the ecosphere. In a few tens of thousand of years - the blink of an eye on a planetary scale, but a long time for a human colony - the man-made changes will have disappeared and the slow death of the planet will continue.

The world was the target of nuclear bombardment during the 1st War, then was conquered almost without opposition by the Combine in the 2nd. It has not been an easy world to assimilate into the Five Pillars. In their own way they are as independent and set in their ways as their Scandinavian neighbors. Only the core urban areas and the main resource mining operations are truly controlled by the Combine. The rest of the sparsely populated world is home to a Hungarian-speaking folk who desire nothing more than to be left alone.

Csesztreg is comprised of vast open savannas, majestic deserts, and great mountains. It's geology is old, with heavy erosion clearly visible everywhere. It is well suited for all sorts of mech warfare, except for the mountains and badlands, where only lights and jump-capable mediums should operate.

The Zala region is the key to Csesztreg. It contains about 35% of the total population of 145 million, the capital of Zalaegerszeg, the main aerodrome, much of the best agricultural land, and access to the main rail networks that connect to the mining districts. It is reported to be defended by a reinforced company/short battalion of Kuritan mechs, plus a small militia mech force (two lances at most, mo mech above 55 tons). A number of militia regiments are located in and around the capital, but Lyran intelligence does not expect they will put up more than a token fight unless civilian centers or key installations are directly attacked.

Centrally located, well away from any border, Alshain is far smaller in size and population that Radstadt or Rubigen, but contributes positively to the overall economic and military strength of the Combine. It's worlds are orderly and loyal, with substantial industrial and agricultural output, and do not normally require massive garrison forces.

The current Tai-Sho (General/Sub-Warlord) of Alshain Prefecture is Takari's father, Shirou Tanida. He presides of the DCMS from his headquarters on Alshain, which is also the seat of civil administration, and if the rumors are true, a major ISF base. As befits such an important world it is heavily defended. It alos enjoys a central and strategically valuable position within the prefecture, and indeed the entire western reaches of the Combine.

The world of MARAWI is currently lacking a proper mech garrison, the resident regiment having been moved to the Kirchback prefecture. While not the most valuable of targets, it could prove to be a suitable target for a show of force mission. The Tai-Sho would lose much face, was one of his worlds to prove defenseless.

More conventional targets include CASERE and CAESONG. Both are prosperous worlds, loyal to the Dragon and properly defended, but not so heavily fortified as to be impregnable. CASERE is thought to be a staging ground for the 3rd Sword of Light, which is acting as a mobile reserve. If the 3rd can be drawn away, a regimental drop group should be able to do good work. CAESONG is less well defended, but Lyran intelligence suspects that it has recently been reinforced by a mercenary company of unknown size.

Located rimward and beyond Kirchback, the Trondheim district is both remote and peaceful. Targeted primarily by strategic strikes in the 1st and 2nd Wars, Trondheim has largely escaped the ravages of the 3rd Succession War. It remains remote and underdeveloped. It is probably too distant to be a good target, but on the other hand resistance should be lighter, and a greater degree of surprise could be achieved. Lyran intelligence has few reliable assets in this region.

The world of RICHMOND is a pleasant terrestrial world that serves at the main military base along the frontier. A line battalion of Kuritan mechs provide a thin red line against the treacherous denizens of the Periphery. Taking out this garrison would expose the Combine to raids and pirate activity from the Periphery. The prefecture capital is located on TRONDHEIM, which is said to be well defended by mech and conventional regiments. Anything less that a 3-regiment drop will probably amount to very little.

Other worlds, such as PINNACLE and IDLEWIND, are thought to have only light - if any - mech forces present, and the local conventional units are not thought to be high quality. Battalion-level strikes against these targets may have some merit, in that they would be low risk despite the great distance for Commonwealth space.

The world of GARSTEDT is a heavily defended military staging area and logistics waypoint. It commands a key position on the route towards the Combine's heart, including the world of Luthien. A raid here is highly dangerous, but could thoroughly unsettle the Dragon's offensive spirit.

Located rimward on the Commonwealth border, Kirchbach is less heavily fortified than Radstad or Rubingen, but still well defended. After the events on Harvest the prefecture is on high alert, and has received substantial reinforcements from the Pesht district. Still, it is a region well known to Lyran intelligence, and not every world can be heavily garrisoned. Kirchbach is sometimes the target of Periphery pirate raids, but is more frequently the target of trade with the Hanse (Deep Periphery traders).

Key worlds include HARVEST, (formerly) the site a mechwarrior training cadre facility and the target of the Lancer's first raid, and RODIGO, the seat of House RICOL, a samurai clan of some renown. Harvest has received a "substantial" garrison of mechs, and the Ricols are said to command an "entire legion" of mechs, whatever that means (Lyran intelligence is poorly informed about affairs on Rodigo). The prefecture capital is located on KIRCHBACH, a world of little importance, save for its role as administrative and military center. As prefecture capitals go its lightly garrisoned, except for a truly massive aerospace presence.

Other possible raid sites include the former Commonwealth worlds of NEW CALEDONIA (old battleground, Terran), CSESZTREG (resource rich, rugged) and VERTHANDI (agriculture, jungle). Lyran intelligence has particularly accurate surveys and reports from these three worlds. All three seem suitably for attack by reinforced companies or battalion-level commands.

The world of ST. JOHN is suggested by the WOLF as a good raiding target. It has a potent mech garrison of one battalion, guarding one of the Combine's infamous reeducation gulags. The Lancers already have detailed nav charts (pirate points included) for this particular world.