User:07 Contrite Witness/Falkirk

Falkirk, designated as Gaelic II in its system, is one of three colonized planets in the Gaelic System. A standard-sized terrestrial world known for its vast array of environments which house an equally-impressive level of biodiversity, Falkirk was settled in 2338 by an assortment of colonists of Gaelic descent, ranging from Irish, Scottish, and Welsh. The planet was quickly developed into an economic powerhouse, using its successful tourism and manufacturing industries to secure itself at the center of many trade routes. Additionally, the planet serves as the administrative heart of its system.

Those days of success were long-gone by the time the Great War began, with Falkirk gaining a reputation as a rebel hotspot. It was a major battleground in the Inner Colony Wars, and later partook to the Falkirian War for Independence, a system-wide rebellion that became one of the bloodiest conflicts in all the Insurrection.

History
Falkirk had already been identified since the twenty-first century, when it was studied in detail by the United Nations' Astrographical Survey Agency. Already promising due to the presence of two earth-like planets in the system's habitable zone (the other being Ffyniannus), follow-up surveys suggested that the planet had a thriving ecosystem - published papers reported the detection of strange patches of color and organic molecules, discoveries that greatly excited xenobiologists. However, as time passed, the mainstream scientific community began criticizing the data, and instead suggested that it was caused by unknown geological activity instead.

Following the invention of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, the Gaelic system was initially ignored in favor of the much closer 70 Ophichi system. However, in 2312 the legendary Slipper Roshan Anand followed a faint sliplane that led directly to Gaelic. In the process, he took the first low-orbit images of Falkirk, revealing vast stretches of forests, reefs, and scrubland flora that in no uncertain terms revealed the planet as a garden world.

Ecology

 * Attracting significant media attention in recent years, the Radixus Estuansus is an uncommon species of tree which occupies the arid grasslands of the main continent. Usually capable of growing to a height of 5.7 metres, although in ideal environment venerable members can grow much higher, Estuansus is also known as the "Falkirian Firewood." It has rightfully gained this name because of its bulbs of sap which can ignite into flames, believed to be caused when the tree feels stressed. Safe to say, the growth of this species is tightly controlled, and are routinely culled when settlements encroach on their forests.
 * Stirling Royal Flower: A small bush with portruding stems of blue-yellow flowers. National flower of Falkirk.
 * Falkirian Tìgear: Native big cat, apex predator. Lives in sparse forests and scrublands. Can run fast for short period, but its main asset are venom-filled teeth that contains a neurotoxin. Typically hunts at night - has infrared vision?
 * Some sort of domesticated native species. Intelligent like dogs, easy to train, but not native to Earth. Think it had six legs

Military force
Has a number of unique assets:
 * Black Watch were their most elite special forces unit, equivalent to ODST Special Purpose Forces. Consisted of both an infantry and air support component. Extensively trained in night fighting.
 * Navy relied on retrofitted ships salvaged from the orbital decommissioning yards. Massive carriers were turned into heliocentric stations for resupply purposes. At its core it had a couple of obsolete cruisers, probably of the Mirata-class.
 * Army was fairly modern and well-trained, having seen action away from Gaelic. Had a service rifle (Ferreiro Arms' F48) which fired duplex (twin) rounds for better hit probability, a mobile mass driver for counter-spacecraft work, and at least two native-built tank models.

Economy

 * Has a large manufacturing sector, which took a big hit during the ICW.