The White Reach Incident Plot in White Reach | World Anvil

The White Reach Incident

Overview

During the Fourth Succession War, a number of mercenary outfits seemed to find themselves stopping on a planet called White Reach. Most of them officially claimed to be stopping over for rest and resupply, but the planet lacks a significant weapons manufacturing presence. It was believed the mercenaries had specific reasons to stop there, which brought to surface old rumors of a Star League cache. It was rumored there could be secrets of advanced technology, weapons and materiel of superior quality, or anything else which would be of exciting value. After the war ended, many people in charge took notice of the concentration of mercenaries in the region and wanted answers. In the year 3031, the tension and interest broke out into open conflict; two mercenary outfits landing on the outskirts of the capital began a pitched battle for control of the battlefield, and many other combat actions began to erupt as there was suddenly no qualms about shooting first.

According to official records, most of the events fell under "unsanctioned contracts" offered by mid-level bureaucrats to those outfits or "unauthorized offensive actions" by House units who became drawn into the conflict. The truth has been buried under many layers of classified reports, and history would record it as little more than a single line among many other conflicts happening between the Successor States in bids for dominance over the Inner Sphere. "The incident", as it was called, became quietly swept under the proverbial rug as surviving mercenary outfits either were broken up or took contracts well away from the place of the incident. Some even retired to Solaris to become gladiators and minor celebrities in the BattleMech arenas there.

Rumors persist, of course, about the supposed Star League cache and several controlled demolition projects done by the new Baron of White Reach. Publicly, the new Baron was installed to help the planet stabilize and recover after the events. Privately, it was said his new function was to thoroughly ensure everything which happened during "the Incident" became entirely a matter of past-tense. Through great effort, and a great amount of bribery, battle reports and information gathered from local sources have pieced together the majority of what happened.  

Battle Reports

The Battle Reports are semi-fictionalized accounts of tabletop game sessions where two or more battle forces met and fought each other. As such they are written largely in a specific manner to describe the setup, the different battle forces, the goals, and the events which took place from a high-level in-universe perspective. These are the primary focus of the campaign, being the major driver behind what unfolds as far as the plot is concerned.
 

Campaign Turn Reports

The Campaign Reports begin in Act Two, and describe every turn of actions taken by the player forces. These also include links to the battle reports relevant to each campaign turn, and the repair logs as noted inside spoiler tags (to reduce clutter). What is covered here will give an idea what the player forces are up to, and give a limited amount of information (based on what information the players can gather) concerning what the non-player forces are witnessed doing. For further information, please review About The Reports.

Plot points/Scenes

Act One

Plot Overview
August 2, 3031
White Reach is an odd planet, precisely because it has little of note about it throughout the years since it was settled. In the last two rounds of the Succession Wars, the system was targeted only once as a means to reach a more strategic target. There are no factories developing weapons, and very little of interest otherwise. Regardless, the presence of several mercenary outfits has gone unexplained until a sudden intense series of conflicts. The focus of the records being discussed is, however, on two of the outfits where were among the last to arrive in 3031. The Harbingers were a battered outfit being offered a chance to rebuild again, while Priam Company was a successful (if unknown) outfit which had drawn the attention of Lyran Intelligence.

Both outfits arrive on White Reach with contracts on file, but soon discover a number of other issues which complicate matters. The communications grid has been rendered inoperative, due to an odd interference compromising its operation. Automated systems were present instructing all inbound orbital traffic to stand by and not attempt landing, which the Harbingers ignored. Priam Company's command noticed this, and the other reported troubles on the planet led them to make the decision to land anyway. This led to the first severe conflict involving BattleMechs on the surface of the planet.   Forces
There are a number of forces present on White Reach at the beginning of August when the Harbingers and Priam Company arrive. Pryde's Crucible has already settled in and built themselves a small base of operations on the Orenn continent, the Oathkeepers have some facilities scattered across the planet, and there are other loosely collected forces which have been prowling around and trying to start trouble across Pelea continent. As of yet, no identifications have been made on them.  
Player Forces
Non-Player Forces
 
The Reports
Campaign Beginning
Mission 1: The Third Ward Invasion
Priam Company
Harbingers
  Aftermath
After the final missions and the communications becoming restored, most of the forces still present on White Reach go to ground. By and large, their focus is to recover from the rapid expenditure of supplies. The Harbingers quietly settled into Calderon Firebase, restructuring it and instituting refits to take care of sabotage left behind when Pryde's Crucible departed. Priam Company negotiated permission to construct their own facilities, and began to focus on the considerable number of repair tasks. Other forces either departed the planet or dispersed so they could avoid being ripe targets for reprisals. Many more factions in the Inner Sphere became aware of the situation, and rumors, concerning this apparently uninteresting planet which had become a battlefield. During the next few months, deployment orders and instructions were handed down to military commanders and hidden agents regarding White Reach. Nothing more major happened until late Janurary 3032.  

Act Two

Plot Overview
Date: January 25, 3032
When the new year began, numerous DropShips began to converge on the planet and settle into locations from which to conduct operations. Priam Company and the Harbingers receive communication from their employers, and start drawing up plans. Priam Company is advised there is indeed a cache of equipment which must be found and secured before any other faction can find it. The Harbingers are tasked with securing a beachhead for arriving forces loyal to House Sandoval, and supporting them once the serious action begins. Other forces belonging to the Successor States have also begun operations for their own purposes.   Forces
By January, four new forces landed with the intent to begin operations against others on the planet. The Legion of Vega and Sanglamore Training groups are at battalion-level strength, far outnumbering any other forces on the planet. The Robinson Training group is smaller, but devoted to their commander and intent on striking against the Legion of Vega to make it clear they are not welcome. Smaller mercenary commands on the planet now are stirred to action, realizing they could not simply try to sit out on the sidelines and pick at the weakened victors in the battles. Auburn's Lancers land with the sole interest of attacking The Harbingers and killing the officer cadre who survived previous encounters with the membership.  
Player Forces
Non-Player Forces
 

The Reports
Priam Company
Harbingers
 
Campaign Turns
 
Aftermath
Priam Company and the Harbingers begin making serious efforts to dig in, while two of the mercenary outfits are reduced to disbanding due to casualties sustained in the events of February. As March opens, the Legion of Vega and Sanglamore Training Batallion begin pondering serious action to dislodge the two outfits which have proven capable and willing to stand in their way. All the while, other influences have begun slowly setting the chaos to spin further out of control for their own ends.  

Act Three

Plot Overview
Date: March 2, 3032
As March opens, two inevitable major conflicts set the tone for what is to follow. Priam Company begins bracing itself for a strike from the Legion of Vega, while Kommandant Valdane has assigned a company of her Sanglamore forces to assault Calderon Firebase and crush the Harbingers. After this brutal pair of battles, the successive conflicts become far more vicious, stakes begin rising further in the process. Many of the outfits begin dissolving and splintering into pieces, and the political arena begins to spill onto the battlefield as well. Population centers and major industries become targets, while hidden forces begin to stir and make their presence known.   Forces
As the battles rise in scale, more forces make their presence known or rise to try to seize something out of the chaos for themselves. Pirate bands mobilize with a little more organization, rebellions spark into open conflict, and higher-ranking Commonwealth officials finally arrive to take control of the battle front. Through it all, Priam Company and The Harbingers build up their forces in an attempt to weather the storm and avoid becoming crushed under the relentless attacks.  
Player Forces
Non-Player Forces
 
The Reports
Priam Company
Harbingers
Campaign Turns
 

Act Four

Plot Overview
Date: April 12, 3032
With Priam Company in control of "the Anomaly", they begin to draw attention from every group wanting to get their hands on it. Their problem is not having a bottomless budget of C-Bills or time to keep the predators from pouncing, and being keenly aware there is a time delay between getting the message to Lyran Intelligence and any relief arriving. This is without including how there was yet another unidentified force of 'Mechs present during the battle for the anomaly.

The Harbingers are riding the high of success after taking artillery from the Twenty-Second Skye Rangers, and are aiming to keep pushing back against the Lyran forces. As well, Commander Dupree has a contract to wrap up with Elisanne Kreiss before turning his attention to a new wrinkle of information. While he had been assuming Kreiss represented the interests of the Free Worlds League, she had been instead funneling funds and equipment to the Duchy of Andurien. An actual representative from the League reached out to Commander Dupree to discuss... an alternative arrangement.   Forces
With the stakes rising, most of the forces remaining are adept with their 'Mechs, and starting to get desperate. The Fourth Legion of Vega and Twenty-Second Skye Rangers have been battered and yet are not ready to admit defeat. The Oathsworn have joined with the Ouroboros Sun, merging into their forces as the discovery of Albreicht Base has become an opportunity too good to pass up. And through this all Elizabeth Wallings is still pushing to secure rule over the planet with whatever she can make use of. Whatever, or whomever, can be useful in doing so will be put in the field to make it work.  
Player Forces
Non-Player Forces
 
The Reports
Priam Company
Harbingers
Campaign Turns

Table of Contents

Completion Date
June 1, 2023
Plot type
Campaign: "The White Reach Incident"
Related Locations
BattleTech is owned by Topps, with tabletop game development licensed to Catalyst Game Labs.

Entry for Summer Camp 2018

Answering: "Outline a brief plot of a story that could take place in your world."
Visit Kereminde's Competition Page Check all other answers to this prompt Competition Homepage
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Article template
Plot
World
White Reach
Category
White Reach Incident
Author
Kereminde
Publication Date
8 Apr, 2020
Creation Date
4 Jul, 2018
Last Update Date
6 Sep, 2023
Visibility
Public
Views
1171
Favorites
1
Comments
1
Work In Progress

Comments

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Kendallonian
Aug 24, 2019 16:59

"a number of mercenary groups abruptly began descending on the planet of White Reach searching for something..." sounds ominous... what are they looking for? If randos like me aren't supposed to know for spoilery reasons what are the local's theories?

Venerable Grandmaster Kereminde
Aug 24, 2019 17:31

Heh. It's a copy-paste from the old campaign introduction I gave to the other player involved. So it's not been revised since we started it several years ago, and certainly not since I started writing the fiction and "fanfic-level" lore around it.   I'm working on format revamps right now, rewriting this article is on my "To-Do" list. I should have that done later today, though, at the pace I'm going.

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