Chaco History Lesson

The planet Chaco in the Racimo Cluster has known tumultuous times, from the early '20s up through the present day. What few know is that even in ancient times, Chaco was a crucible of fire and chaos.

Early Settlement

Taking advantage of the technological advances granted by the Martians in the early 1920’s, the América Latina Iniciativa De la Exploración (the Latin American Exploration Initiative) gathered several nations of South and Central America with the intent on exploring space and colonizing the resource-rich worlds they found there. The human expansion back into space, spearheaded by the League of Nations, predictably focused on the largest and most powerful nations of the world. While the second and third world nations were not exactly prevented from participation, certain bureaucratic delays were built into the system to keep these nations from reaching the stars on their own. Of course, nations such as the US and the Soviet Union were always amenable to funding and, more importantly controlling, exploration by the lesser nations, but the fiercely independent countries of South America rebuffed these overtures.

When ALIE began its journey, however, they found that the League of Nations bureaucracy extended even into the newly settled star systems. So, they continued going, further and further until they settled their first colony in what is now the Independent Territories. More ALIE ships followed, and by 1926, the Initiative had settled tens of Earth-like worlds in several systems in what came to be called the Racimo (the Cluster – now referred to redundantly as the Racimo Cluster).

Fated to always be contentious neighbors, the Bolivian Free Trade Group and the Paraguayan Collective came to war over a small, hot world called Chaco. Originally claimed by Bolivia, but never settled, Paraguay used the tropical world as a refueling jump to their small holdings in a nearby system. Here Paraguayan freighters would swamp fuel from the continent spanning jungles and mine what few minerals existed in the equally large rocky deserts. Always a tense situation, Bolivia haphazardly enforced their claim by warning off Paraguayan vessels, but never developed a coherent policy for surveying or settling the seemingly worthless world.

The Trouble Starts

Trouble came in 1928 when an American engineering vessel arrived at Chaco conducting surveys for Standard Fuel and immediately discovered large deposits of radioactive compounds in the Great Desert. This discovery along with the sheer bio-mass of the Chaco’s jungles prompted Standard Fuel to apply to the planet’s claimant for mineral leases. Bolivia, believing that their possession was finally going to pay off, stepped up their aggressive stance. The Paraguayans used de facto law to appeal to the ALIE, since the Collective had been living and developing resources on the world for several years. The ALIE, however, had taken a backseat to governance after the Racimo Cluster was firmly established, and though legally powerless, issued an edict that seemed to support the Paraguayans. Bolivia, not waiting for clarification began hostile action against the Paraguayans on Chaco, culminating in a full brush war by 1932.

Immediately, other powers took notice since supplying conflict was good business and a foothold in the Independent region would serve as leverage against enemies and access to more resources. Though cash-poor, the Paraguayan’s French-trained armies appealed to the Monarchists and their allies, the White Russians for aid, advisers and equipment. They also received arms and advisers from Roma near the end of the conflict. The Bolivians, long allied with the Germans, were well supplied by the German Star Empire, in addition to bringing in a Czech Special Corps and a Chilean tank battalion for mercenary support. Their seemingly endless funding came from the Americans using lucrative Standard Fuel lines of credit and development mines on Chaco.

Each side suffered massive losses, a surprise to everyone, since Bolivia was so well supplied and seemingly well advised by the Nazis. The Paraguayans, however, had a secret weapon in the vast numbers of Guarani natives brought to their stellar holdings as raw labor. The Guarani were natural guerrilla warriors back home in their jungles, and their understanding of the climate, Spartan living and hit-and-run tactics proved the tipping point in the war against the more modern equipment and warfighting strategy of the Bolivians. After three years, both sides had exhausted men, machines and coffers and submitted to binding arbitration by the ALIE in 1935. Paraguay was granted the entirety of the Chaco, with only the small area of the Great Desert granted to the Bolivians since they had developed and leased the rights to Standard Fuel.

Aftermath

The grand irony of the conflict was Standard Fuel determined that the radioactive deposits in the Great Desert were not only very limited, they were also not of sufficient quality to warrant the expense of mining and eventual development of refining and refueling facilities. This, taken with the high price Paraguayans placed on access to the bio-mass of the jungles for fuel conversion sealed the deal, and Standard Fuel quickly abandoned the Chaco. Bolivia, wracked by political turmoil, turned her attention away, as well.

Paraguay has since set up refining facilities in the jungles and in areas of the desert where radioactive elements are most plentiful. Their facilities are state-of-the-art, but as with Standard Fuel’s findings, the desert pickings are slim and even the strange flora of the jungles has proved to produce a low-quality fuel.

Recent History

When the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay ended in 1935, a collection of odd events led to the formation of the Western Black Sun Society. On the losing side, the Bolivian wartime government was deposed, leaving many of the German 'advisors' without jobs. Most notable among these was Hans Jundt, son of a WWI German general. Jundt had been sent to the region specifically at the bequest of Himmler to investigate various unnatural phenomenon experienced by German mercenary pilots during the early years of the Chaco War. Jundt, a novice in the Thule Society, brought the famous mystic Traute to help him in his research, both believing that the planet held strong ties to Aldebran and the Vril.

After the war, Jundt contacted General Juan Belaieff, a White Russian staff officer in the Paraguayan military and also a noted occultist, to share notes on the project. Belaieff, recently unemployed amid the financial devastation in the Paraguay, accepted. Belaieff's own spiritual advisor, the Russian Orthodox monk Vladimir Porfenenko, also became involved, as his recent visions led him to believe that some great nexus of otherworldly power might lurk in the jungle regions of the strange world.

While their research yielded little proof, both groups are in the process of gathering their considerable resources, both local and intergalactic, to begin uncovering the secrets of Chaco. Already they have the remnants of the 5th Air Wing of the Paraguayan Space Forces, as well as the cooperation of the Bolivian mercenary Goni Colque, and a small contingent of SS troops on loan from the German Star Empire.

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