Epilogue
“While the events set in motion by the Clan Invasion of 3043-3044 have still yet to fully play out in the Inner Sphere, a few things are certain: the end of the Successions and the rebirth of the Star League chief among them. To understand how this came to be we must examine the state of affairs as they existed in the Inner Sphere at the end of the 4th Succession War and the impact of the news that the Star League Defense Force of Aleksandyr Kerensky had survived wrought upon the leaders of the Five Great Houses. We must look at the events which took place in the Clan Homeworlds leading to the decision to Invade the Inner Sphere—and we must acknowledge that it was the impetus of those Clans that forced the warring Great Houses to set aside their differences and unite.â€
“This volume has been difficult to write. The wounds and heartache of the Invasion War have receded over the past decade, although they have not vanished. Many of our people still grieve for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in this War; still others refuse to accept that the Clans have been part and parcel of our society, exchanging ideas and traditions and customs as we slowly learn to accept each other for who and what we are. We have seen this in the movement to settle disputes in ‘clean combat’ eerily similar to Clan trials and honor duels, inspired by the Three Clans which serve as part of our new Star League Defense Force.â€
“And yet, there are new warning signs on the horizon, as tensions have once again begun to rise. Not all are willing to forget and to forgive the costs of the war—in people and in treasure and in planets. Separatist movements have gained strength, led by the Federation of Skye, but now spread to all five of the Great Houses. These movements call for a renunciation of the Star League Reborn—and a new war to drive out the Clan invaders. And on the Clan side of the Treaty Zone, calls from the new generation of Warriors are also made, calls for a march anew upon Terra.â€
“Wiser heads have so far prevailed, but if the history of mankind teaches us one thing, it is that if humanity has a choice between an action that is wise and well-considered and one that is foolish but emotionally charged, we will many times (but not all) respond with our emotions.â€
—Misha Auburn, Author’s Introduction to The Dragon, The Fox, the Scorpion, and the Wolf: A Parable for Our Modern Age Tharkad Free Press (3053)
The Guns Fall Silent . . .
To say that the Clans of Kerensky were furious at the defection of the Cloud Cobras, Goliath Scorpions, and Stone Lions was a massive understatement. The farewell address of Nikolai Djerassi to the Grand Council was met with utter disbelief at his breaking of the unity—but it was the stalwart nature of the ilKhan, supported by Khan Kerensky of Clan Wolf (a Warden), and Khan Truscott of Clan Star Adder (a Crusader) who managed to channel that outrage, anger, and fear into a consensus to forge a peace treaty with the Star League. Not even the most ardent Crusader Khan could continue to insist on resuming the Invasion—for the odds had shifted dramatically against the Invading Clans.
That consensus did not stop the Clans from holding a Trial of Abjuration in absentia against the Cloud Cobras, Goliath Scorpions, and Stone Lions, however. With a unanimous vote of all the remaining Clans, they stripped the defectors of their rights as part of the Clans under the Martial Code—declaring them bandits and outlaws, forever exiled from the unity of which they had once been part. It was, in practice, a formality, nothing more—and then communications were at last reestablished with the Homeworlds.
The true depths of the planning for Operation Destiny was revealed—and the Invaders were distraught at the lack of isorla awaiting them. The Scorpion holdings had already been handed over; the Stone Lions had been absorbed piece by piece—but the handful of former Mandrills who survived made for a poor haul. And the Cobras had stripped their worlds of all usable military supplies; civilians they gained in vast numbers, but the every volatile Tanite Worlds erupted in rebellion and it would take the Adders, Falcons, and Jaguars ten years to once again subjugate those worlds to Clan rule.
A call was made to Reave the genetic legacies of the defectors—but the Invaders were unable to acquire the unanimous decision to make it a reality. In the meantime, the Ravens—their Fleet in the Inner Sphere annihilated—laid claim to the naval caches of the defectors, and the ilKhan granted that claim.
Talks between First Lord Focht and ilKhan Tseng took place between March of 3044 and August of that same year. And then, on September 4, 3044, the two leaders met in person on the surface of Tukayyid. Bearing witness to the Signing of the Treaty of Tukayyid were the Primus of ComStar, all five Lords of the Great Houses, the Commanding General of the SLDF and his Fleet Admiral, the three Khans of the Loyal Clans, the thirteen Khans of the Invaders, and the leaders of the three major periphery states.
The Treaty was a compromise which fully satisfied no one—but in the end, the desire to put an end to this War proved too great to resist. Melissa Steiner and Takashi Kurita accepted—not easily, but they accepted—the loss of many worlds; and since the remnants of the Free Rasalhague Republic had no leader, no army, and no moral remaining to them, they split the as yet free worlds of that once-proud realm between them in partial compensation.
And as part of the Treaty, the Invaders insisted upon a clause that not one member of the Clans which defected would be permitted to set foot on Terra, a clause to which the First Lord and the Primus both agreed.
As the borders were ironed out, and the agreements prepared, the Clans and the Great Houses began to use each other to keep their troops honed for action. Abiding by the rules of Clan Trials, minor skirmishes took place on the border worlds—nothing major, but each honorable combat, tried according to the Clans own rules of zellbrigen slowly began to gain respect for their opponents in the heart and soul of the Clan Warriors.
Trade began to resume, and work—mighty work—began within the Treaty Zone to industrialize their worlds and transform them into high-tech paradises. Of course, some Clans succeeded at this more than others. The Sharks and Ravens were stunned when they were informed by the First Lord that Khan Nelson Elam would return their Potemkins and Monoliths which Nikolai had leased—and slowly, oh so slowly—the Invaders began to once again talk with their cousins serving the Star League.
Ryan Steiner, as Melissa had predicted, was furious at the sudden loss of seven of his worlds to the Loyal Clans—and in October of 3044, he organized a force of mercenaries and Skye troops to drive them out, declaring his independence from the Lyran Commonwealth—but not the Star League. First Lord Focht was disinclined to award his duplicity, and both he and Melissa Steiner-Davion decided to allow the Loyal Clans to answer for them. Khan Kerensky met his forces with Clusters from all three Clans and handily repulsed him—and in December of that same year, Star Colonel Jason Scott killed Ryan on Skye, bringing the overt rebellion to an end.
The people of the Asta Union, although initially at odds with their new rulers, quickly discovered that these Clans were different. These Clans intended to build a nation—not condemn them to castes. Industries and factories demolished in the long years of the Succession Wars were rebuilt; atmospheric processors were erected on four worlds to cleanse the tainted atmospheres, the standard of living of the people within the Asta Union soon rivaled that of the Old Hegemony.
But not all within the Star League Reborn was well although no one at the time was aware of the rising threat.
