OBT Forum

But for now I have many holes.

We will see how it turns out.

I'm looking forward to it!

As promised.

My main two sources are House Steiner Sourcebook (HSSB) and Handbook House Steiner (HHS)

Jennifer Steiner was born in 2725 and became Archon at the death of her brother Robert in 2781.
She reigned for 10 years before being killed in action in 2791 on Styx leading the 4th Royal Guard.
She had a son Richard born in 2769.

What about her formative years?
Nothing is known.
She was trained as a 'MechWarrior since she died piloting one “Using Viola Steiner Dinesen’s own Warhammer, the Archon rushed the doors of the stronghold.” (HSSB)
There is no indication that she received any specialised Headquarters training since she let her other brother Paul lead the LCAF and did not seem to take part in the strategical decision made for the LCAF.
It is likely that she might be the “eldest” female alive in her generation, since she wrote a “fantasy” book Castle Matra in 2760, which according to the following tradition could make her the storyteller of her generation, “One of the most curious family traditions required that the eldest female teach  the sons and daughters of other family members to speak  German.
This matriarch was also a storyteller, who amused the  younger family members with tales of family history as well as with folk and fairy stories. ” (HSSB)
As most Steiner were educated “Most Steiners have received at least a university  education, and many went on to collect advanced degrees.” and she also wrote a political/bibliographical book, Descent: my Life at the Helm of the Commonwealth in 2790, an educated guess is that she studied in an university either in Tharkad University or in the Chekswa School of Literature on Donegal or that she went for diplomatic studies.

She took control of the Lyran Commonwealth at a difficult time since the non support of General Kerensky by her brother had cost much to House Steiner in terms of popularity “Though her brother’s death had relieved some of the pressure that had been building, she still had to face the brunt of widespread criticism of Robert Steiner’s decisions over the past decade, which the public believed were motivated by a desire to bring down the Star League.” (HSSB).
However she did well or the war did the job well as this matter seems to have disappeared quickly.

She managed to approach and convince several new mercenary units to sign for the Lyran Commonwealth, showing her skills at negotiating “Her approach must have been successful, for in 2785, she  had managed to sign five heavy regiments to long-term contracts. [...] The Archon had also managed to sign the 23rd Republic Light Lancers, nicknamed the Stealths, formerly of the Amaris military.” (HSSB)
She also oversaw the pacific occupation of several former Terran Hegemony worlds.

Her approach to warfare was more a defensive one but one that seems based on a good assessment of the LCAF capabilities at that time as Jennifer Steiner could stop any plan that seemed unrealistic “In the meantime, she considered various plans for evacuating civilians and industries from the border worlds. For a military and an economy  already under strain, the cost of transporting so many people and machines was exorbitant, and so the Archon regretfully laid the plans aside.” (HSSB)
This is probably why she wait as much as possible before going to war and although she dislike them, don't hesitate to allow her Generals to use WMD “Though officially the Archon did not approve of LCAF troops resorting to similar tactics, she permitted her commanders to act as they saw fit in battle. This prompted many to adopt a “get them before they get us” mentality in which LCAF officers on worlds like Rocky and Caldrea resorted to first use of weapons of mass destruction, later justifying their decision by stating an emphatic belief that the enemy would eventually have done the same.” (HHS)
She also tried to reform the LCAF to allow it to better fight its opponents “Archon Jennifer Steiner orders a shake-up of LCAF battlefield tactics to counter mobile warfare.” (HHS) but after looking at the results of the LCAF in the 1st and 2nd Succession Wars, she probably failed to reform it enough.


Now that we know a little more about herself and what she did, what can we learn from it?
As always, the lines below are merely my opinions and can be wrong, ignored, criticized...

I think that Archon Jennifer Steiner is a complex personality and that my explanations might miss something due to the lack of info on some parts of her.

At first, Archon Jennifer Steiner seems to be a sheep among wolves as there is no mention she was prepared to lead a nation in  a time of major crisis and she would prefer peace over anything else.
This shows most when she learns that the Exodus took place “Leaving? What do you mean ‘leaving’? To where? He can’t leave.” (HHS)  but she is also quite realistic about the consequences of the war “Who is going to pick up the pieces after we beat each other into oblivion?” (HHS) and she never let her own principles get in the way of the survival of her people (cf. the authorization given to use the WMD).
She is quite knowledgeable in the art of political speeches and irony, like in her reply to Lord Kurita's claim of the First Lordship “To assert brazenly that he is somehow better and more  fitted to rule than any of the rest is the act of an egotistical man, a man hardly fit to rule over his own realm, let alone over us all.

I, Jennifer Colley Steiner, 17th ruler of the Lyran Commonwealth,  have as much a claim to rule the Star League as Minoru Kurita  or any of the others.

Unfortunately, all this talk about who should rule the Star  League is moot. There is no Star League, it left with General  Kerensky, and we should realize that fact. Now our focus must  be on creating peace among our realms until we have something to replace the Star League.

I dream of peace. Though some of you may consider me  weak for saying that, you must also remember that I am the Archon sworn to protect these lands. No matter how much I cherish peace, I will defend this realm, at any cost, even if it be the terrible price of war.” (HSGB)
Her efficiency in the dealing with mercenaries and the occupation of former Terran Hegemony worlds is another sign of her political talents.

As shown in her declaration, she cares about her people but probably has come to think that the survival of most might make the sacrifice of a few necessary although I think she might fight this feeling until the end of her life (see her intent to plan the evacuation of civilians and industries from the border worlds and her order to use most of the commercial freighters and transport ships for military use).

She might also have a liking of the past (perhaps because of her position as the eldest female of the family and/or her study) that shows in her use of Archon Viola Steiner-Dinesen's Warhammer, probably still one-armed, and of the same “tactic”: being in the front of the attack.
The circumstances of her death are also strange, she attacked the door of a stronghold without noticing the booby traps around her. Did she go berserk? Or did she think that now that her son had gone through his formative years and that the Lyran Commonwealth had a potentially new leader she could “pay” for the years during which she had sacrificed her ideals?

I will finish with her stats in The Succession Wars.
With Combat 1, Military 2 and Administration 2, she appears as a not gifted 'MechWarrior but a decent general and administrator.
I am not sure this is a fair assessment of her capabilities.

No it just means I haven't had time to give it a detail look over. Skimmed it last night and the eldest Steiner female teaching German to the family was something I didn't know. An interesting insight into the family.