Funny thing I did stumble across today that I haven't seen talked about yet regarding the Republic.
At the end of Surrender Your Dreams, they flash forward to some point after the Fortress walls come down. Now I know the BT forum has talked to death about the Republic potentially taking back a bunch of their worlds (I'm not convinced of that, since the flag flown on the planet that gathering meets at is noted as a flag not seen before). What was interesting was that there was a passing reference to Damien Redburn (Exarch prior to Jonah Levin and one of the key people who managed the Fidelis operations outside the Fortress walls) not making the meeting due to a case of being all kinds of dead. Roosterboy brought this up on the BT forums and it really fascinated me.
Levin and Redburn seemed to have a friendship, though strained due to the events involving the Fidelis. Redburn later dies in "one such battle" to reclaim these lost worlds, and apparently this battle strained the friendship between him and Levin even further. This leads me to ponder that yes, maybe the Fortress does allow what some fans fear (the Republic to build up with total security), but it isn't exactly the Republic that comes out of the Fortress. At least, not Stone's Republic. Stone made a number of mistakes, but his idea was built upon this idea of assuring peace through any means necessary. I think Levin broke that dream, and that's what Redburn was pissed about. Let's say the Republic builds up forces, and comes out under a different name. Something a bit more Terran centric, as they use the resources of Terra to make this reconquest possible. Perhaps Levin even takes a few more shortcuts to assuring "the security of the Republic", like using a few more Blakist toys or war plans? Again, this leads to Redburn burning his bridges while still doing his duty.
What's that all lead to? A massive army, taking back long forgotten worlds, an army that may just be flying a new flag...maybe a Terran inspired flag? This new army uses superior force to insure its security, all while parroting themes of peace. Starting to sound familiar yet? There are some hints there, very tantalizing hints, that you could see a Terran power again. Something more Terran-centric, but something that can still fit in the reduced military size and paradigm of the post-Star League BT universe. Lacking perhaps the "I killz it wif my battleships" capability, you get a very nice blend of post-Succession Wars focus on ground combat, all while bringing back some taste of the Hegemony. A slightly militaristic faction, smack dab in the center of that map we've known for so long, with all kinds of new factions on its borders (two Clans, for example). Three spin off factions (Wolf, Falcon, and the Republic) that have all spun drastically off-course from the Star League, taking on very different views of what Terra should be in the BTU. Oh...I like the possibilities. I like the possibilities very much.
