Rilus V is a water world, a shimmering blue orb when seen from space. It has three main islands, where the population is concentrated, and several small island chains.
Ramus, the largest island, has four major cities. These include Rilus V's capital, Silver Lagoon, and the old KessRith military fortress Sabo-Benz (Inner Hold). Its climate ranges from temperate to tropical.
Hort, the next-largest island, has three major cities and is the industrial heartland of an industrial world. Its older factories have been operating for centuries. Hort is also religiously significant to its native Humans and Naram, who call it the Island of Salvation.
The smallest major island is Dominique, the scientific and technological hub of Rilus V. New Born is a vast university, where invention and innovation are the rule, not the exception. New Born's military research facilities are among the most heavily reinforced and guarded locations in the County.
Rilus V is the scientific and industrial leg of the Tiven-Rilus-Ope'Diar Megaplex. When the world lacks in natural resources, it makes up for in industrial capacity to transform raw materials into useful goods.
Early History[]
Rilus V was discovered and settled by Baufrin explorers in the late 30th century. By the time Humans arrived in the wake of the Human-Baufrin treaty, more than half a million Baufrin were living on the world's islands.
In these early years, a group of rebellious university professors established a small school, named New Born, on Dominique. The school's independence attracted such fine scholars that it soon became one of the prime learning and research institutions in the region. By the time Rilus V joined the Commonwealth in 3833, New Born was not just a university town, but Rilus V was a university world.
Research soon became Rilus V's chief export. The Commonwealth, recognizing New Born's value, moved to strengthen the system's naval and planetary defense. The people of Rilus did not oppose the naval plans, but vigorously protested the installation of ground garrisons or fortifications. They feared that turning their world into an armed camp would only create enemies.
They lobbied instead for tan innovative civil defense project that would use defense bunkers able to hold more than ten thousand people apiece. The bunkers would be fully outfitted with living quarters, hydroponic food banks, research facilities, hospitals, schools, seeds, and survival gear for long periods of time. If the prototype shelter was successful, hundreds could be built across Rilus V to house its citizens in time of war.
Eventually, the prototype bunker, Hidden Phoenix, was approved and work begun. It took over ten years to complete, at a staggering cost. When it was completed, the CAF refused to continue the project, citing cost overruns and misuse of funds. Hidden Phoenix was sealed and forgotten by the CAF.
The People of Rilus V did not forget it, however. When the Snow Plague struck Shannedam County, Rilus V's most most prominent officials and scientists made their way to the Hidden Phoenix facility to discuss their future. Only a few could be saved, and they were chosen by lot. The winners, plus a staff of researchers specializing in plague symptoms, retreated into the bunker.
The Snow Plague and the KessRith had their expected effect on the rest of Rilus V's population. Those in Hidden Phoenix, however, managed not only to survive, but to find a cure for the Snow Plague. The community lasted in secret for almost a century before the KessRith accidentally discovered it. They feared the bunker facility was actually a hidden military outpost and decided to use HELL munitions against the would-be aggressors hidden there. The bunker and its people were destroyed.
Hidden Phoenix sent ripples of fear through the garrison command on Rilus V. The thought of other buried bunkers filled with a million militant Humans and Naram was disturbing. Thus Sabo-Benz, an armored command city, was constructed in the Ramus interior. Today it is considered a monument to paranoia, even among the KessRith now in Shannedam County.
The resurgence of mankind in the Orion Arm forced the KessRith to decide what worlds were worth defending. Rilus V was a pleasant world, but it had few resources to contribute to their war effort. The KessRith left in 6570 to reinforce their other worlds.
Suddenly, the oppressive KessRith were gone. The rejoicing was soon followed by looting and rioting. When advance elements of the resurgent Commonwealth entered the system prepared for a fight, they found the population out of control instead. They quickly restored order and authority until the people of Rilus V regained their senses.
As the survivors of the KessRith era rose from their despair, they decided to rebuild the university of New Born, which had long been abandoned. They also rebuilt the site of Hidden Phoenix, maintaining it as a historical monument.
The master stroke for Rilus V was the formation of the Tiven-Rilus-Ope'Diar Megaplex in 6711. Tiven was designated as the food producer of the triad. Ope'Diar was its source of raw materials, and Rilus V would process those materials. In a secret trade agreement backed by Grand Duke Massus, the members of the Megaplex dropped all trade restrictions between them.
Suddenly, the formerly idle production facilities on Rilus V could not keep up with the demand for goods. Raw materials flowed into the system and finished goods flowed out, bound for Tiven, Ope'Diar, and elsewhere. Rilus V soon became one of the key industrial worlds in Shannedam County.
The Grand Duke's backing has held the Megaplex together, and the group has thus far refused special trade agreements with other Shannedam County worlds.
New Born's reconstruction was completed in 6730, returning Rilus V to its former prominence as a center of learning and innovation in Shannedam County. The CAF has again funded extensive defenses for the research world, according to specifically contracted terms.
Recent Events[]
As TOG pushed deeper and deeper into the county, the need for a firm defense of Rilus V became more and more obvious. The 44590th Fighter Wing (Shield of Shannedam County), the 55669th Commonwealth Marine Regiment, and the 22212nd Commonwealth Infantry Legion were all raised on Rilus V within two years of the Ancona invasion.
The TOG Navy has struck at Rilus V's VLCA on four occasions, always with a fast light carrier group. TOG may be planning to escalate its efforts against the world, but so far it has not done so.
A recent fire in the New Born library resulted in extensive damage to the library's main computer and some backup storage devices. An investigation showed that arson was responsible, and Commonwealth Intelligence believes that some Rilus V citizens are sympathetic to TOG. This belief has dramatically increased the number of intelligence operatives on the planet.
The only other major change on the world is the conversion of Hidden Phoenix into a refugee center. More than a quarter-million refugees make this facility and the surrounding countryside their temporary home, until the housing can be completed for them elsewhere on the planet.
Planetary Timeline[]
3833
Rilus V has become a university world, joins CW.
5017
KessRith take world already devastated by Snow Plague, but Hidden Phoenix house research team that will discover cure for Snow Plague.
6570
KessRith abandon world.
6711
Megaplex formed.
6730
New Born university complex completed.