From the Rim Collection my thanks to James Tanaga
Royal Passing, Steiner Palace
Arcturus, Arc-Royal Theatre
Donegal Province, Lyran Commonwealth
1st March 3098
Filled with grief following Archon Peter Steiner-Davion's death and unable to continue without her husband Duchess Isis Steiner passes away peacefully on Arcturus. Isis' body joins Peter's as the Lyran Commonwealth continues to mourn their loss. Archon Jessica Steiner takes up residence in the Steiner Summer Retreat on Arcturus.
Targeted Strike
Preston, Wolf Empire
13th March 3098
The Bounty Hunter sat concealed on a rooftop overlooking the Preston spaceport with a large barrel sniper rifle. The Wolves had been quite methodical to a point on most planets. They had landed on Preston like most other worlds they had captured the planetary spaceport and evicted all of the workers replacing them with their own. They had then disarmed what militia was present on Preston the local population had forced the MechWarriors and tank crews to surrender their equipment without a fight then took control of the planetary HPG disabling it. After that the Wolves had sat in their spaceport leaving the locals to their own affairs. This was fine for the Wolves who knew they could control the people and the planet by controlling the communications and travel in and out. Unfortunately they couldn't control everything in and out of the system she had inserted into the planet using a small craft slipping into the atmosphere before parachuting to the planet. She'd moved only at night she knew that the locals didn't want a fight, they'd disarmed their own armed forces, instead she'd avoided the locals as much as she'd avoided the Clanners.
Walking across the tarmac of the spaceport she saw three Wolves “pop, pop, pop†the Bounty Hunter said as she took three head shots. Across the spaceport people began running around in panic “pop, pop†she said cutting down two more as a Timber Wolf stepped into view “now that's cheating.†She said looking over the spaceport seeing two others intentionally she took three more shots dropping three more targets. The Timber Wolf turned in her direction raising its weapons marching towards her position. “Come to mommy†she said targeting the Timber Wolf's head striking the seventy-five ton OmniMech with three shots. None of the three had a chance to penetrate the armoured cockpit but it got the attention she wanted stepping back from the ledge she tossed the rifle down beside two a Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey tent and equipment that could be traced back to the Tamarind military. She ran through the equipment making it look like they had broken the camp quickly. Leaping off the rooftop she cut in the suit's jump jets cushioning the fall before running into the night.
The Wolves would find her “sniper nest†and hopefully pin the strike on Tamarind it was the first step in the right direction to completing this contract. Not exactly the public Bounty Hunter display but it was effective. The Wolves soon found what she had left behind their Watch organization tracing the manufacturing data to companies in the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey just as was planned but surprisingly the Wolves remained where they were, with not a single BattleMech moving from its post.
Sphinx Raptor Office, Presidential Offices
Gillfillian's Gold, Rim Collection
Periphery
20th March 3098
The leader of the Sphinx Raptors Khan Dante Truscott nodded to himself in satisfaction as he watched the monitors, gladdened to finally have found his clan their much-needed place within the Collection other than as expendable troops. His clan, desperately needing a way to attach themselves to the Collection, yet having really nothing to offer for itself besides a few hundred civilians, four exhausted and battered clusters, and an equally battered warship on two backwater worlds which had limited resources of note other than being perfectly habitable. They had bid there time as they watched and studied the relationship between the periphery nation and their fellow Kerensky Clan, hoping to discover a niche to make themselves useful like the Fire Mandrills had.
Dante had started to lose hope when the attack on the Able family on Timbuktu occurred the other nations around them were hostile or did not respect the Rim Collection. It was then he realized two things. First, while the Monkeys and Collection both understood logistics and war, they did not know how to conduct them to their full potential, at least not to the level of his former clan did. And second, their intelligence and information gathering abilities, yet alone espionage corps, was sadly underwhelming.
He had struck on gold and at a time the Collection needed them the most, he well knew, for these two areas the Raptors, as mainly former Star Adders, were very well proficient in intelligence gathering, analysis and protocol. And it showed, for after half a year of investigation and studying the resources and equipment the assassins had, the Raptors had finally located who wanted the Able family dead.
Michael Sherris, the eldest son of the dezgra Lyran Duchess Cantrelle Sherris, worked for Defiance Industries as an executive at its Hesperus II facilities. He wanted to strike that company and make it pay for harboring the dezgra. The nearest planet the company had offices on, Kwangjong-ni, was oh so tantalizing close, only one jump from the nearest Rim Collection worlds and a highly valued target to boot, what with its industrial and BattleMech facilities. And yet, Dante knew, the man and Defiance Industries were untouchable, for now even with Clan Wolf's recent actions which had the LCAF distracted any open strike at Kwangjong-ni or at Cantrelle Sherris would bring an instant retaliation against the Rim Collection with more firepower that they could withstand.
The entire situation breathed in new life for his beleaguered clan, however, an area that he could focus and mold his people onto. Quietly the Raptors had begun to transform themselves into the much-needed intelligence arm the Rim Collection needed them to be they would find the information and the threats that they needed to survive. The Rim Collection's other intelligence arm, which they had named the Watch in honour of the organizations used by the Clans had initially taken the Sphinx Raptor's decision badly pointing out that Truscott's people did not have the personnel, resources or communication links to complete the task however Jerry Able, had seen promise in the idea and could see that Dante Truscott wanted to focus his people, had agreed. Instead the Watch would re-purpose itself as the protector and investigatory arm of the Office of the President of the Rim Collection.
The other nearest internal rival within the Collection in the intelligence niche lay with the Rim Collection Security Service, a primarily law enforcement and investigatory component of the Rim Collection's Army they were military police units and military law enforcers. That agency’s actions during the attempted assassination attempt on the Ables had shown their effectiveness in that area as well, quickly ferreting out the assassins without much help from the Rim Collection Touman or Watch and locking down the city quickly and efficiently while securing suspects faster than he'd expected. Dante knew that in the future his people would have to work with both the Watch and the Security Service.
As things began to calm down Dante Truscott had traveled here to Gillfillian's Gold meeting with President Able providing him and his daughter with the evidence and analysis that his Sphinx Raptors had been working on. The work seemed to impress the President he agreed with Dante that the Sphinx Raptors had skills and capabilities that the Rim Collection sorely needed and for his people to continue to work on what they had started. Dante didn't know exactly where this would end up Intelligence was not exactly the Clan's strong point the Star Adders had always been excellent at gathering and analyzing information but covert operations, special forces strikes... assassinations against others they knew little to nothing about. From here on Gillfillian's Gold Dante could speak to the leaders of the Watch and the Security Services and perhaps set up some training operations for his Raptors the quicker they learned how to operate the more use they would be.
Border Raids
Capellan March, Federated Suns
23rd March 3098
Low intensity but continuous fighting occurs along the Capellan Confederation/Federated Suns border as the Capellan Confederation raids several former St Ives Compact worlds. The AFFS retaliate by striking back at worlds that were once part of the St Ives Commonality before the St Ives Compact was formed. With the SLDF distracted by Clan Wolf's actions in the Former-Free Worlds League their main local forces were concentrated within the nearby Kittery Prefecture.
Federated New Service, News Report
Kennard, Bryceland PDZ
Draconis March, Federated Suns
26th March 3098
“I am Tony Holt today I am on Kennard where a Snow Raven raid was turned away from the planet by a unit no-one knew existed. When I arrived on Kennard people raved about an AFFS unit that had swooped in and defended them when the local militia had fallen to Snow Raven guns. With heavy anti-aircraft and aerospace support they were able to drive back the Clan aerospace fighters then the ground forces engaged. What followed were nearly eight straight hours of heavy engagement at least two Snow Raven Cluster, possibly three, faced off against the defending unit. Through smart use of artillery, long range weapons fire and by suppressing the Snow Raven's ability to dominate the air the defenders who I can reveal call themselves the Dragonlords successfully defended the people of Kennard driving them off the planet. Local officials have remained quiet over how badly damaged the Dragonlords were during the battle however given them amount of enemy forces they were against the damage must heave been heavy.†He said pausing looking at his notes “this reporter has been unable to find records of a currently active unit on the AFFS rolls known as the Dragonlords however before the Succession Wars there was a brigade strong unit formed by warriors from the worlds of New Avalon, Argyle, Belladonna, El Dorado and Torrence, the Federated Suns five golden worlds. From what I have learned these new “Dragonlords†were raised on none of the five golden worlds and although there has been no comment from the AFFS High Command so far no AFFS unit has been deployed to investigate this unit. With the First Prince en-route to Tharkad to pay his respects for his brother's death it may be sometime before we find out exactly who these Dragonlords are. I'm Tony Holt on Kennard for the Federated News Service.
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Topic: Alternate Timeline with Thanks (FULL) (Read 160004 times)