Triton is a Fourth Sphere planet and was the battleground for Operation Heracles
About
Located in the Fourth Sphere of corporate expansion, along the Sagittarius galactic arm, Triton is a planet seemingly at war with itself. Clouds of ash and ionized gas choke the sky from horizon to horizon. Calderas flooded with toxic water hiss and spit in the simmering heat of subterranean volcanic activity. Magma flows hot within the planet's thin crust, breaching the surface as scorching rivers of fire or deafeningly explosive eruptions. It is a dangerous and unstable place, but not without value.
Beneath the fractured surface lie extensive seams of precious metals. The volcanic crucibles generate a ready supply of unusual alloys and mineral compounds. Even the caldera-lakes are home to primitive microbial life – and therefore the potential manufacture of valuable biotic products. Despite its perilous landscape, Triton promised another lucrative venture to the corporations of the GCPS, and Intergalactic Futures paid a handsome sum to acquire the lease for the planet.
A business conglomerate with expertise in mineral processing and planetary reduction, Intergalactic Futures' executives were unfazed in capitalising on a turbulent world like Triton. United by the optimistic corporate slogan "What IF?", they immediately dispatched a construction fleet to begin operations. Terraformers adjusted the atmosphere for human respiration; mining encampments grew into townships as the workforce swelled. The stripping of Triton's assets for export might have continued unabated for generations were it not for the discovery of a single, fist-sized chunk of grey ore.
Drill team E-23 retrieved the sample from a survey bore running two kilometres deep beneath the Northern Belt, a string of three hundred volcanoes encircling the northern hemisphere. Since on-site analysis proved inconclusive due to the material's interference with high-frequency scanners, the ore was simply warehoused and the data transmitted back to IF’s headquarters for later study.
How the Forge Lords of the Star Realm obtained that data is the subject of much speculation.
The diligent approach to the Forge Fathers galactic conquest means the Star Realm expands very slowly, staking claims on distant worlds that their fleets may not begin colonising for centuries and lending a certain predictability to their movements. Their sudden arrival on Triton, well beyond the Star Realm's borders, was something nobody could have predicted.
As IF freighters delivered further mining equipment and personnel to Triton’s surface, the colossal Ward ship Bruderheim appeared without warning, accompanied by an armada of smaller vessels and supply ships. The dwarf fleet battered past any vessel caught in their flight path, sparking panicked distress calls from the marooned human colonists as troop landers made their descent into the storm-wracked atmosphere.
A Call for Aid
The Council of Seven, supreme ruling body of the GCPS, receives countless requests for aid and cannot, or will not, answer them all. The pleas of corporations like Intergalactic Futures are often simply lost, tied up in labyrinthine bureaucracy and tertiary government chambers designed to keep such problems away from the Council’s ears as much as to resolve them.
But within days of appealing to Core Command for military intervention, IF was informed that an Enforcement Protocol Group – code-named Heracles – was already en route to the warzone. Its mission would be "to defend corporate interests on Triton by eradicating all threats to the correct exploitation of legally acquired assets in the system". As the first Enforcer ships arrived in orbit, IF's executives were left to wonder what price they might pay for the Council’s unusually swift aid…
The Primordial Metal
According to the Forge Father legend, before the birth of the universe, Farangir was the greatest and richest of all dragons. In his possession was an ingot of elemental ore, known as the ‘primordial metal’, which he guarded with untold jealousy. But Farangir was fooled into breathing fire onto his ingot, melting it and creating all the known elements in doing so. In a rage he scattered the new material out into the cosmos, forming the galaxy we see today.
While undoubtedly a fanciful explanation for the Big Bang, the existence of primordial metal (known to GCPS scientists as trutonium) is indisputable. It is the most coveted form of wealth in Forge Father society, with most Forge Lords possessing a hoard in their most secure vaults, and more ostentatious Lords even gilding their armour with trutonium adornments. The heat tolerance and gravitic properties of the material also make it highly sought-after by artificers constructing heirloom-quality forge hammers.
How the Star Realm obtained the survey data from Triton's mining colony is a mystery known only to a select few. But to uncover not only a deposit of primordial metal, but a seam over three kilometres long, was to stumble on a treasure trove so enormous no Forge Lord could possibly resist staking a claim upon it.
Enforcement Protocol
Unearthing the trutonium deposits on Triton represents a golden opportunity for the Council of Seven. Securing such a concentration of mineral wealth would not only pay for swathes of new Enforcer armour, it would give them unprecedented leverage into the secretive internal politics of the Forge Fathers, purchasing not only their technology but their loyalty. Perhaps Triton could be the key to the eventual incorporation of the Star Realm under their rule.
The plan for the liberation of Triton (from both the Krestursson clan and Intergalactic Futures) would require considerable commitment from the Enforcer Corps. The bulk of EPG Heracles assembled from several fleets in close proximity to the system, chiefly the Sagittarius Second and Perseus North Fifth strike forces, both experienced in battling Forge Fathers from previous campaigns. As Heracles' capital ships engaged the Bruderheim's escorts in orbit, Accuser Interceptors and Stallion Dropships made the dive into Triton's atmosphere, ready to do whatever necessary to enact the Council's will...
This was the beginning of Operation Heracles.
Gallery
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Triton Map
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Triton Planet
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