Affiliation: Commonwealth
Topography[]
Kukulak is a world of island chains and hurricanes. Most of the islands are not habitable, but several have developed a range of industrial output and processed foods that equal the standards set elsewhere in Shannedam County. Six main islands, as well as hundreds of smaller islands and archipelagos, are surrounded by a massive salt sea. Kukulak is often considered a tropical paradise, despite its gruesome past. Like many tropical regions, it has a hurricane season, this one lasting half the year. Despite advances in weather-tracking, the storms kill many people because they can form so suddenly that fishing fleets and entire cities are caught off guard.
Bastion[]
Bastion is the largest and most populous island, its broken western ridges rich in copper and aluminum. Its southern areas are so fertile that crops can be grown year-round.
Ringwall[]
Ringwall, the second-largest island, lies directly west of Bastion. Crescent-shaped, with mountains in the north and south, Ringwall is the industrial heartland of Kukulak. the world's capita, Carmel, is here.
Angel's Keep[]
The third-largest island is Angel's Keep. This island has only one major city, Squall, which is situated on a single peak. A narrow strip of tropical jungle runs along its northeastern coastline. Angel's Keep supports Kukulak's largest commercial and military spaceports.
Angel[]
Angel, the fourth-largest island, is out of place on this otherwise industrialized world. Occupied by tribal Humans who survived the Snow Plague, Angel's residents have retreated from society. Their primitive city, Beksha, shows a heavy Naram influence, with pyramidal temples and other similar structures.
Pilgrim[]
Pilgrim supports a thriving fishing industry. South of Angel's Keep, the fifth-largest island is famous for a series of caverns, long considered one of the wonders of this world, under the present-day city of Wing Tip. The sixth island, Lone Man Out, is being rebuilt after having been destroyed during the KessRith occupation.
Early History[]
The first Baufrin explorers discovered the remains of a previous civilization on Pilgrim, near today's Wing Tip. An archaeological team investigating the caverns near that site found evidence of a thriving city that had apparently been devastated by a natural disaster. The settlement appears to have been either Human or Naram, though this theory has not been verified.
A religious sect founded Kukulak's first colony, giving the world a reputation as a refuge from religious persecution. Soon, any group seeking religious freedom fled there. Over the years, many of the small sects were absorbed into the larger ones, until one sect overshadowed all the rest.
By 4639 this sect had launched a secret plan to overthrow the Grand Duke on Shannedam IV. The sect built several factories to manufacture weapons, and gathered an army of conscripts.
When the Grand Duke found out about the plot, he sent the Royal Navy and the CAF to put down the insurrection. For five months the cult fought vainly against superior Commonwealth forces. In the end, more than half of the colonists were dead and most of their cities either burned or looted.
The Commonwealth was willing to make amends, offering financial support to the survivors, but the cult would accept no help. They migrated to Angel, where they waited for the wrath of Heaven to fall on their enemies. Instead, they lost their place on Kukulak as thousands of new immigrants, eager to make an honest living, landed there.
The planet was once again beginning to thrive when the Snow Plague struck. Kukulak was one of the first worlds infected. The Plague wiped out much of the Human and Naram population, killing more than 90 million in less than 20 years. At that point, the KessRith conquerors came on the scene. The KessRith struck at Kukulak from the air, planning a ground campaign for later. KessRith warships bombarded Carmel in 5011, killing thousands. Twelve years later, they returned with troops to secure what was left of the population.
Settling on the island of Lone Man Out, the KessRith began using the rest of Kukulak as a weapons testing ground, with slaves as their targets. Many of the weapons were standard infantry-issue, while others were biological agents that left their victims brain-dead. Still others were nuclear or anti-matter devices that destroyed entire islands.
The KessRith weapons-testing seriously stunted Kukulak's population growth. In fact, slaves had to be brought in from other conquered worlds in order to continue the tests. For the Human and Baufrin colonists, survival became the primary goal.
The survivors of the religious cult on Angel were convinced that the KessRith had been sent by the Great Satan to destroy them. They reacted by rejecting science, technology, and law, descending into barbarism.
In 6567, the KessRith decided to pull their troops and equipment off Kukulak after eliminating all sentient life on the planet. Not wanting to leave evidence of their weapons testing, the KessRith sought to destroy all traces by bombarding the world into barrenness in less than 30 minutes. Several thousand people survived this furious bombardment, though many were diseased and near death when CAF relief forces arrived eight months later. The Commonwealth wanted the survivors to abandon Kukulak, but they refused to leave. Reluctantly, the Commonwealth pledged assistance, despite the poor odds of success.
Rebuilding has been slow and painful for this abused planet. Several persistent viruses created during the KessRith occupation continue to plague its people. Surprisingly, Kukulak's greatest growth comes from refugees of other war-torn worlds. The planet offers little besides a place to live and grow food, but that is an improvement for most new arrivals.
Recent Events[]
According to Lictor intelligence, full flight of Gaul heavy fighters operates in the Salvador system.
Carmel, rebuilt as the capital, functions more as a military garrison than a seat of power. With TOG legions advancing deeper into Shannedam County, the CAF assigned both a second-line infantry legion (Renegade 29087th) and a B'ekkal infantry legion (CAF 122903rd) to Kukulak. Both legions have concentrated their forces on Ringwall, Bastion, Angel's Keep, and Pilgrim.
Squall, the major importing and exporting city, has also taken on a more military look in the past tow decades. In 6827 the Commonwealth assigned the 9043rd Fighter Wing (Hibbings Pride) to Kukulak. Since their assignment, the unit has been engaged constantly in defense of the planet. A small base outside of Squall serves as home to several squadrons on a rotating basis.
TOG has yet to mount a full military strike against Kukulak. The TOG Navy has, however, conducted more than a dozen raids in the system, attempting to knock out the N-space sensor system. The TOG commanders will probably hold off launching a ground invasion of Kukulak until the situation on Wuj has been resolved. The Renegade 29087th Air Mobile Legion may be raised to front-line status and rotated to Wuj to help drive off the TOG ground forces, but these are still only rumors.
A peace movement calling for the withdrawal of all CAF forces has begun on Kukulak. Spokesmen for the group state their desire to prevent another bloodbath like that inflicted by the KessRith. Several protests have turned into riots when an opposition group, calling for more military spending, has also shown up. Neither side has a large following, but the streets of Carmel, Ping, and Squall have begun to look like occupied military territory, with CAF troopers on every street corner. It is suspected, but cannot be proven, that the Lictors are behind either or both movements.
Planetary Timeline[]
4639
Kukulak insurrection.
5011
KessRith bombard system.
5023
KessRith occupy system.
6567
KessRith bombard world to destroy it, then pull out to reinforce other systems.
6568
CW arrives, gives survivors assistance.
6827
9043rd Fighter Wing (Hibbings Pride) assigned to defend Kukulak.