Topic: State of the Union (Read 53604 times)

drakensis · « **Reply #60 on:** August 23, 2021, 12:11:54 PM »

Chapter 35
Government Hill, Wotan
Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, Federated Commonwealth
18 February 3068

Connor had braced for the worst when the Word of Blake’s First Division led the way into Borealtown. He’d have preferred to secure the town with his own battalion but the logic was fairly simple: his light, fast ‘Mechs could chase down the withdrawing Clan frontline forces, while the Blakists’ heavier equipment just couldn’t keep that pace. And that meant clearing Borealtown of any holdouts went to the First Division.

As he walked his Wolfhound into the city, escorting the APCs carrying captive Clan warriors, he kept looking for property damage.

There was some - he’d have been surprised at anything else, to be fair. But entire blocks hammered flat? No, not that. The worst he saw was the caved-in entrance for a shopping mall, but that wasn’t the Blakist’s fault. He knew that because the cause was quite evident - no one had removed the clan-variant Jenner still sprawled in the glass and steel construct. A clearer case of a ‘Mech tripping over its own feet trying terrain that the mechwarrior couldn’t handle he had never seen.

And that was odd too. A Clan mechwarrior that inept? Even in a secondline formation that would be extraordinary. He could believe that for a backwater militia somewhere deep in the Federated Commonwealth where there was little to no actual threat. (Although even there, the poor putz would probably have been drilled hard just to avoid expensive property damage). But the Clans? The ruthlessly meritocratic warrior society where literally any issue could be referred to trial by combat?

Are we actually winning this? For all Conner’s adult life and a good chunk of his childhood, the Clans - and particularly Clan Jade Falcon - had been the bogeyman. The bloody edge of the axe that had smashed the AFFC aside as if it was fielding children’s toys rather than actual BattleMechs.

And now this was what they were throwing into battle?

It wasn’t glorious. It was almost… sad.

Adept Marina Shawnee’s Fury was parked outside a government building that had clearly been subjected to bombardment - as had most of the neo-classical buildings on this hill - and she must have been waiting for him because the moment that he saw the tank, his comm panel lit up, indicating someone trying to contact him.

“This is Major Sortek.”

“I want you to know, Major, that the buildings were like this when we got here,” the Adept declared defensively. “We only fired our artillery twice, and we weren’t firing anywhere near here.”

Conner examined the damage and the way some of it was overgrown with plantlife. “I believe you.”

“You can check our Battle-ROMS,” she continued. “I swear this wasn’t… you do?”

“You’ve been maintaining very tight rules of engagement since we arrived here,” he observed - positive reinforcement was important. The First Division had learned their lesson on Coventry - Third and Fourth Division had arrived too late for that and were reportedly not as careful. Thankfully Adam Steiner had flatly rejected orbital bombardment and assigned the mixed squadron of Blakist and FedCom warships to ensure the Jade Falcons’s small remaining fleet kept withdrawing towards the Zenith jump point. “It’s been a great improvement over our first meeting. Besides, if the local kudzu could start visibly spreading through a building in less than six hours, I like to think our briefing would have covered it.”

Shawnee’s voice sounded much less tense. “You make a good point. But who did bombard it? And if it’s been left like this, why? The Clanners aren’t much for leaving buildings derelict, as loathe as I am to give them credit for anything.”

“It’s a good question,” Conner admitted. “Have you asked any of the locals?”

“They seem to have a distinct reluctance to speak to anyone who arrives in ‘Mechs or armoured vehicles. Understandable but frustrating.”

Conner nodded inside the cockpit. “Well, there are probably records somewhere. Did you have any difficulty clearing the city?”

“Not especially.” Shawnee shook her head. “Most of the Clanners here were more police than warriors. A few of them forted up in their headquarters armoury, but they surrendered when I had my artillery fire warning shots into the river nearby and told them I’d do the same to the armoury rather than waste lives rooting them out.”

“Good thinking.” Although again, not really characteristic of the Jade Falcons. “I’m dismounting, let’s compare notes.”

He powered down his ‘Mech, strapped on his sidearm - it was still technically hostile territory until the civilians took over - and climbed down, the cool air welcome after the heat of his cockpit. While Borealtown sounded like a cold place, it was summer right now and it was only temperate in comparison to the more equatorial regions of the continent.

Shawnee was waiting for him outside the back hatch of the Fury. “How can I help you?” she asked.

Conner looked around. “Let’s see if we can find any explanation of what happened here.”

She gave him an odd look, but handed command of her unit over to another adept, retrieving a laser rifle from a rack inside the armoured fighting vehicle. “We don’t know there aren’t holdouts,” she told him when he looked at it.

“Fair.” He patted his own sidearm and then gestured towards the centre of the complex. They wordlessly made their way in through a colonnade of broken pillars. Conner waited until they were out of earshot of anyone else before continuing: “I don’t want to get any of the troops overconfident, but the Falcons don’t seem to be fighting as hard here as they did on Coventry.”

The Adept nodded in understanding. “I haven’t really run into their frontline forces since we landed, but some of these garrisons… I mean, they’re not bottom of the barrel, but compared to the ones who went guerrilla on Coventry… it’s like night and day.”

Conner nodded. “Even the ones with first rate gear are… more risk averse, perhaps. I’m used to the Falcons having a certain willingness to commit. But now… this is new. It’s making our lives easier, but I keep feeling like the other boot is about to drop.”

“So it’s not just me.” Shawnee paused and then pointed. “Is that a plaque?”

Shading his eyes, he stared in the direction she was indicating and saw light reflecting off something. “Could be. Let’s have a look.”

It was, in fact, a bronze plaque, well-polished and set on a pillar of rough marble.

“‘On this spot, Khan Vandervahn Chistu was slain by a warrior of Clan Jade Wolf’,” Shawnee read. “What in Blake’s name is a Jade Wolf?”

“I’m not sure.” Conner shook his head. “Maybe some made a mistake, but if you’re going to put a sign up, surely it would be checked? It’s not as if bronze like this is all that expensive - they could have replaced it if it was wrong.”

“There’s another.” The adept crossed the open space amid the buildings and found a second pillar.

“‘On this spot,’” Conner read out. “‘Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky was slain by warriors of Clan Jade Falcon’. Huh. But Ulric Kerensky was the ilKhan, not a Star Colonel.”

Shawnee nodded. “He was killed in the Jade Falcon occupation zone though - about ten years ago. If this is their memorial to him…”

“Some posthumous jab, I guess? Chistu was a Jade Falcon Khan at the time, I think. The current Khan was his successor…”

“Perhaps the Falcons felt they should erect something, but didn’t pay much attention because it reminds them of a defeat?” she suggested after a moment’s thought. “They did lose a Khan here.”

“It’s as good an explanation as anything I can come up with.” Conner shook his head. “This is a waste of prime real estate though, right in the middle of the city. I can practically see the redevelopers drooling at the prospect of rebuilding here.”

“I hope the monuments are left alone though.”

He glanced at her. “You want a Clan monument preserved?”

Shawnee gave Conner a wry smile. “Dead clanners are good clanners, major. And they spared us the trouble of killing them ourselves.”

“Ah, of course.”

“And a monument to Clanners killing each other is -” Her comm pinged, sparing Conner any continuation of the conversation.

Then his comm pinged as well.

Both of us at once? Conner pulled his personal comm from where it was strapped in a more or less ‘thigh-pocket’ position on his shorts and activated it, turning away slightly from Shawnee who was also politely distancing herself as she responded in a low voice to the voice on her headset. “This is Major Sortek.”

“Major, this is Colonel Watson. You’re in Borealtown, I understand?”

“Yes sir.” He looked at the pillar. “Right where ilKhan Kerensky died.”

“Really?” The colonel sounded impressed. “How can you tell?”

“There’s a monument.”

“Be sure to pass that on to the admin team. It might make a good spot for a war memorial of our own,” Watson mused. “But back to my reason for calling. The Jade Falcons have called for a ceasefire - news reached us both independently that Khan Pryde was killed on Sudeten a few days ago and since their other Khan is also KIA, there was apparently a spirited exchange of views as to who was in command.”

Conner was reminded of Adept Shawnee’s unfinished thoughts about Clanners killing each other. “So who is in charge, sir?”

“Unless she winds up getting offed, we’re dealing with Galaxy Commander Lisabet Danforth. Obviously, don’t lower your guard but we’re going to hold positions and resupply. If Falcons approach under truce, you’re authorised to discuss local concerns but don’t take any chances. Danforth seems to be a realist - she knows the Falcons are beaten and wants to salvage what she can rather than see them destroyed. But we all know that others in her Clan are significantly less practical.”

“Understood.” He wasn’t sure that that was true, but… it was good news, right? “I believe my counterpart with the Word of Blake is probably receiving the same instructions. I’ll coordinate with her.”

Shawnee was now leading the entire Level III, at least until her superior caught up - he’d been caught outside of his ‘Mech by a Jade Falcon determined to go down fighting. The clan warrior had been entirely unarmed, while the Precentor had been armed only with his ceremonial sabre while he crossed from a temporary hangar to the barracks. The result was that the Jade Falcon had got what he wanted, while the Precentor had suffered a shattered jaw, numerous contusions and a temporary loss of vision in one eye. By all accounts the man was healing well and would probably have reached Wotan by now if shipping wasn’t so disrupted.

“That would be good. And try to keep her from levelling more of the city.”

“I can honestly say that Adept Shawnee’s command have caused only minimal collateral damage,” Conner responded. “Significantly less than the Jade Falcons did, in fact.”

“Major, is there still a city?”

Conner sighed. “Yes sir. Most of the Jade Falcons surrendered.”

“Remarkable,” conceded the armor officer. “Carry on, major.”

Shutting down his comm, Conner turned to Shawnee and saw she had caught the end of the conversation. Well, that was diplomatic… after a fashion. “I’ve just had orders to hold position in Borealtown, Adept.”

“Ah… the same,” she confirmed in a disappointed voice. “Do you think the truce will hold?”

Conner considered the question and then shrugged. “My guess is that it depends on how much of a grip this Danforth has on her command.”

“She has little to bargain with.”

The Major scratched his chin. He should probably shave now that he had the chance, Conner realised. “We’re riding the ragged edge of our supplies,” he pointed out to Shawnee. “And there are a lot of jumpships tied up pushing forces into the Wolf Occupation Zone. I don’t think the Generalfeldmarschall would be happy calling it quits here, but realistically… we’ve done well. Really well. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Archon-Prince decided it was best to halt the offensive here and regroup. Six months from now, we’ll be in a much stronger position.”

“So will the Falcons.”

“Stronger than they are now, yes. If nothing else, they’ve got the rag tag remains of four galaxies fighting here, but their actual numbers were at… half their paper strength when we landed? And even less than that now. Much less.”

Shawnee nodded in agreement, but her eyes were distant. “The Star League will only be secure once the Clans are driven from the Inner Sphere, never to return.”

“Well, ten years ago we managed to score a technical victory at Coventry,” he pointed out. “Four years ago we took a few worlds back. This year… most of their Occupation Zone is recovered and at least half their frontline forces are shattered. By the time they’re in any position to try again, the odds are that we’ll be even stronger.”

“Perhaps.”

Conner looked at the Blakist and then shook his head. There was a gulf of understanding between himself and the Tukkayid veteran, one he couldn’t quite bridge. “Besides, this Danforth has more immediate concerns than continuing to fight us.” He pointed back at the nearer of the two pillars. “Clanners prey on each other… and right now the Jade Falcons look weak. My guess is, she’ll be doing well if there’s anything left of her Clan twelve months from now.”

*

Chapter 36
St Crispin, New Exford
Donegal Province, Federated Commonwealth
24 February 3068

In theory, New Exford should have been a cakewalk. What was left of the once mighty forces that had invaded Arc-Royal had splintered upon the retreat. Intelligence reports suggested that small forces belonging to Vladimir Ward’s Alpha Galaxy and Marialle Radick’s Beta Galaxy were trying to return to their occupation zone, to regroup and elect new Khans in place of their dead leaders.

It might not be a realistic goal, but it was a goal. It was even possible that some of them would reach occupied worlds before the AFFC or various allied forces arrived. Leutnant Colonel Michael Searcy wouldn’t have put any serious money on that though - and he’d lost fifty sovereigns betting on Annette “Atomic” Leyland making it into the finals on Solaris VII the previous year. (He’d not really expected the disgraced AFFC officer to manage it; but if she had, he’d have won a month’s salary.)

The largest group of the Crusader Wolves - predominantly members of their Delta Galaxy - had regrouped here on New Exford though, securing the supplies and such reserves of personnel as were available.

To root them out, retaking the last world captured by Vladimir Ward, the AFFC had their own Galaxy of Wolves, led by Marcos Hall, backed up by the Fifth Royal Guards and by the freshly arrived Gray Death Legion. The odds did not favour the Crusader Wolves, and their commander was even said to be one of the very few pro-Wardens not to have joined Phelan Kell in exile.

But by god, they were fighting, Michael thought as he provided overwatch for a crew of salvagers and medics. The city of St Crispin had been the Wolves’ primary base and they’d ordered a civilian evacuation before making their stand there. If it wasn’t raining so heavily, a good chunk of the city would be on fire now, and if half the city had been retaken, the other half - separated by a dozen bridges and tunnels across the river - was holding firm against the allied forces.

“Any update on sweeping mines out of the river?” he asked, half-rhetorically.

“Not a chance, sir.” Tracker’s Mackie was two blocks away, on the edge of a park. “The Wolves have a clear line of fire on any one trying that from the surface - and they managed to get Elementals in among the Gray Death Legion’s own battle armour when they tried to get at the mines underwater.”

Searcy winced. He didn’t need to ask how that went. Elemental suits were called that because they were adapted to fight in all elements - including underwater - without hampering their effectiveness. Inner Sphere battle armour wasn’t useless in non-standard environments, and it was much better than nothing, but without all of the technology behind the Clans’ arsenal, it was optimised towards more common battlefields to close the margin of superiority there. “Understood.”

“Sir?”

One of the engineers was waving his hand for Searcy’s attention. “Sir, there’s a trooper buried under what’s left of this Nova. We could do with some help moving it - if we just use the winch then we could kill them.”

“Got it.” Searcy’s own ‘Mech had no hands though. He considered his options. “Cooke, get that brute of yours over here. The engineers need the muscle.”

It took three minutes for the lumbering, skull-faced Atlas to arrive. Cooke and other ‘Mechwarriors whose rides had battlefists were in demand for this sort of work. Searcy spent his time checking sensors. There were too many Missing-In-Action on the battlefield - before withdrawing across the river, the Wolves had turned this half of St Crispin into a chaotic melee, with Stars slipping past each attempt to cordon them in to hit comparatively soft targets like supply trucks or headquarters units. Jamming transmitters within buildings had hampered coordination and each company - sometimes each lance - had had to fight almost alone until enough of the transmitters had been disabled.

Even with the jammers down, casualties on both sides were still being tracked down. The Fifth Royal Guards RCT alone was missing four command vans and their primary salvage teams, which was why the engineers Searcy was supporting were drawn from the Gray Death Legion.

The Nova was in a sorry state - one leg was severed just below the knee and had already been pulled away by the salvage team. Cooke pinned the other with the foot of his Atlas and tried to use it as a pivot as he pulled one of the arms. The smaller ‘Mech started to shift and then the arm’s myomers began to part under the strain.

With a curse, the mechwarrior shifted his grip, seizing the Nova’s shoulder instead. It took the combined might of the Atlas’ triple-strength myomers and two winches to pull the OmniMech up and away from the soldier buried beneath it - far more complicated than simply dragging it across the ground and up onto the ramped rear of a heavy truck.

There had been two suits of Cavalier battle armour underneath it, Searcy saw. One was obviously a lost cause when it came to the occupant - part of the Nova had crushed the helmet flat when it fell on them - but the other was less damaged.

A squad of battle armoured troopers moved in and quickly started clearing space around the suit for the medics. The contrast between their Gray Death Standards and the Cavalier was visible even from up in a cockpit. The mechwarrior bit his lip and hoped for the best.

“We have a live one,” the leading trooper reported, backing up from the space to open a way for medics. “By Royal Guard markings, looks like a senior officer. Are you short any?”

Searcy blinked. “Yes. Yes, we are.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be right or wrong about this though - on the other hand, finding one of their lost command staff would be good, but on the other… even he could see that the suit had been chewed up to the point that the occupant couldn’t be in good shape.

Dropping the Sagittaire to a crouch, he focused his cameras on the suit just in time to see one of the medics try to carefully move one arm. Blood poured out of the shoulder joint and frantic action ensued as the man jabbed injectors into the bared flesh before forcing a wad of bandages to soak up the blood.

The battle trooper moved in and expertly worked clasps around the helmet. The face revealed when he removed the helm was pale but recognisable.

Searcy was tempted to demand that the medics do everything they couldn. But their efforts made it clear that they already were… all he’d be doing was distracting them. Instead he thumbed his ‘Mechs comm onto the command channel. “General Davion, we’ve found Brigadegeneral Sortek.”

“What’s her status?” Lucy Davion demanded. Background noise suggested that she was in a command centre - probably an improvised one well back from the action. Someone had to stay out of the line of fire.

“I’m not a doctor, sir. But she looks critical.”

“Blake’s blood…”

The two women had been friends since they met after the Battle of New Avalon, Searcy recalled. He hadn’t really been in the same social circle, even if he’d technically been with the Royal Guards longer than either of them. “Medics are working now.” He could see them working with the battle armour to remove Terias Sortek’s armour, so that she could be moved. Checking the location of the nearest field hospital, he was pleased to see that it was only a few moments drive and there was a straight route marked as cleared for traffic. “My best guess is they’ll take her to field hospital twelve for immediate surgery.”

Davion sighed heavily. “At least she’s not dead. Right… Michael, I need someone to back me up in a conference. Without Terias, you’re the next most senior officer available.”

“I knew there was a downside to this promotion.”

“Yes, it’s called responsibility,” she told him tersely. “Get yourself secure and connect to the secondary command channel. You’ll be voice only, don’t worry about looking presentable.”

“Understood, ma’am. Who is the conference with?”

“Katya Kerensky has requested a parley,” Davion told him in a flat voice.

“What… now?”

“On the hour, so you have a quarter hour.”

Searcy rubbed his face. “Understood. I’ll let the troops know.” Hopefully this wasn’t a trap. The Clans didn’t usually go in for that sort of thing, but with their backs to a wall, who knew?

It only took a few moments to inform the other two battalion commanders - Searcy’s promotion made him acting commander of the ‘Mech regiment, taking one of the still-absent Peter Steiner-Davion’s roles, but it hadn’t provided them with a replacement commander for his battalion yet - but a little longer to make sure all four of his company commanders knew he was out of contact, under what circumstances they should interrupt him and who to go to if something less urgent arose that needed someone more senior than the four hauptmanns.

As he spoke to them, Searcy kept one eye on the scene outside. He watched as Sortek was finally lifted onto a stretcher. Two of the battle armoured infantry picked it up and carried her carefully while one of the medics carried a bloodbag that was trying to keep up with the still visible flow from her shoulder.

His final communication was to the lucky officer who’d be covering for him across the sector - for tactical reasons, it would be the senior Gray Death Legion officer in this part of the city. To his amusement, he saw that it was the leader of the squad he’d been watching that straightened when he opened the comms. So he wasn’t the only one wearing multiple hats!

“This is Carlyle,” the man responded.

“Major, this is Searcy. I’ll be out of contact for a command conference.” He didn’t mention the enemy leader, not sure how widely that fact was circulating. “Until that’s done, my company commanders have been told to report to you.”

“You’re putting a lot of trust in a mercenary.”

“Well, you were a Royal Guard once.”

Major Alexander Carlyle snorted. “Right up until I got my own equivalent of Sortek’s wound.”

Searcy winced. “That bad?” Carlyle had taken a head injury on Tharkad that prevented him from piloting a ‘Mech again. He’d retrained for battle armour, joining his family’s mercenary outfit rather than remaining with the Royal Guards.

“I’ll be impressed if they save that arm. There are alternatives, of course…”

“I guess we’ll see.” If the mercenary had stayed with the Royal Guards, he’d probably have had a battalion or even regimental command within the Second Royal Guards, Searcy thought. He might have even been Sortek’s equivalent: commander of an RCT’s entire infantry brigade.

Backing his Sagittaire up against a building that would give him at least some cover if there was a surprise attack, Searcy locked the legs and then connected to the secondary command channel.

“Just barely in time, Leutnant Colonel.”

Searcy decided not to pay any attention to the chiding. He was on time, General Davion had to know he had to prepare, and she hadn’t asked him to be early. “Brigadegeneral Sortek has been taken to the field hospital,” he reported instead. “I don’t know the details of her condition.”

Lucy Davion’s voice eased. “Thank you, Michael.”

“Terias Sortek is not seriously injured, quineg?” asked the surviving Khan of the Wolves. Marcos Hall had only been the junior Khan - saKhan was the specific term - of the exiled Wolf Clan; but now, of all four Khans across the divided Clan, he was the only survivor. The Clan Council had not yet convened to confirm his ascent to senior Khan and appoint a junior, although Evantha Fetladral, one of Kell’s inner circle, was informally handling many of the duties and she was assumed to be assured of the position.

“Bad enough. Might need a new arm.”

“Ah, I lost my own once. An unfortunate injury, but recoverable.”

Searcy blinked and then remembered that the Clans had the capacity to clone organs and limbs for their wounded. Terias Sortek’s brother had mentioned negotiations over sharing that technology with the AFFC’s medical service. Perhaps the loss would be less damaging to her future than Carlyle assumed.

“Game faces on, gentlemen.” Lucy Davion’s voice was cool and professional. “Kerensky has requested access to the channel.”

Activating a secondary monitor; Searcy was pleased to see that, while he was voice only, the other participants were all transmitting video traffic. All three appeared on the monitor in head and shoulder view. Katya Kerensky was a startlingly attractive blonde with cool grey eyes - if it wasn’t for the leathers she wore, it would have been easy to mistake her for a member of the extended House Steiner.

“Greetings, Marco Hall,” she began the meeting.

“Katya Kerensky,” the khan confirmed. “I am joined by General Lucy of House Davion. Also present in audio only, is Leutnant Colonel Michael of House Searcy.”

That sounded really jarring to Searcy - it wasn’t entirely inappropriate for the general, but his own family weren’t nobles. Hall probably wasn’t entirely comfortable with the way the Inner Sphere tended to handle family names - or he thought that Kerensky wouldn’t be.

“The slayer of Vladimir Ward,” the enemy commander recognised. “An impressive accomplishment. For all his errors, our Khan was a deadly warrior.”

“And a hypocrite,” added Hall sharply. “He killed Khan Kell’s gene-sire in the same manner that Chistu murdered Ulric Kerensky.”

“And a hypocrite.” Kerensky repeated the description without any particular disagreement.. “I am not unaware of how my ancestor perished. In this and other ways, Khan Ward had stepped off the honour road.”

“You are his loremaster,” accused the leader of the exiles. “You should have -”

Kerensky gestured dismissively. “I acted in the ways that I was able. If you feel you could have done better, why did you not stay?”

“I had my orders from Ulric Kerensky.”

“As did I.” She shook her head. “Vladimir Ward’s survival was not part of the late ilKhan’s plan.”

“Anyone who thinks they can plan far past their own death is stepping into megalomania,” Lucy Davion cut in. “You called for this meeting, Galaxy Commander. What do you want?”

“I want the same thing most of Clan Wolf’s leadership have wanted for a decade: to reunite our Clan.” Kerensky appeared unoffended by the bluntness. “The question is whether or not it is available on terms I can lead my warriors to accept.”

“I’d point out that your alternative is pretty much being skinned once we take the rest of the city,” pointed out Searcy. “You do realise you’re surrounded, right?”

“We have dropships,” Kerensky responded calmly. “And I have a warship - the Provider - hidden behind the moons, while your own fleet is dispersed to support the AFFC’s logistics. If your terms are unacceptable, I will lead my warriors and as many others as I can back to the homeworlds.” Her tone implied ‘to salvage something from this debacle’, but she didn’t actually come out and say it.

Lucy Davion’s eyes narrowed at the revelation. “Provider?”

Hall hesitated and then told them: “A Volga-class transport. About the size of a frigate - it could carry our best estimate of what remains of Delta Galaxy without difficulty.”

“Neither of those outcomes involves further losses to my forces,” the general concluded after a moment. “The floor is yours, Khan Hall.”

Hall leant forwards, thrusting his face into the screen. “What sort of welcome do you expect to find in the homeworlds, Katya?”

“A warm one,” she replied tersely. “Silas Kufahl has challenged for unrestricted use of the bloodlines of Andery Kerensky by his bloodhouse.”

Searcy could make nothing of that, but Hall bared his teeth. “Scavengers.”

“Quite. Every warrior will be needed to defend what remains of our Clan. What can you offer that is better? I assume that you do not propose to be the Federated Commonwealth’s lapdogs as Ward liked to represent you.”

“You understand that we cannot live as if we are surrounded by other Clans, nor maintain the sort of dominion as the Ghost Bears?”

Kerensky nodded wordlessly.

“Our enclave on Arc-Royal will be a template: distinct territories for us to live in under our own customs and laws, but alongside the Federated Commonwealth. There will have to be some changes, largely in greater freedoms for our civilian castes. If we are to retain their loyalty we will have to show ourselves to be a worthy choice, otherwise they are at liberty to depart our enclaves.”

“They are our clansmen, not our slaves.”

That sounded like agreement, Searcy thought.

“And do you fight as the Archon-Prince commands, and stay in your enclaves if not?” the Galaxy Commander asked, something that might be a smirk on her lips.

“So long as we do not turn our weapons against the Star League or the Federated Commonwealth, we may choose our own causes and our ships are free to travel within both.” Hall met her gaze directly. “We are part of the Martial Alliance, sharing a seat upon the Star League Council with other warriors - the Wolf Dragoons, the Nova Cats, other notable military forces who do not serve any Great House directly. Had it not been for the war, it is likely that Khan Kell and his gene-sire would have represented that alliance last year.”

“I see.” Kerensky looked thoughtful. “Arc-Royal as a template, but where else will we be… permitted such enclaves?”

“We have already been offered lands upon the third world of the Odessa system,” Hall revealed. “Preparations are underway there. Beyond that, I have been invited to suggest three worlds from those we have occupied to retain enclaves upon.”

“Five worlds… a new pentagon?”

“Not quite so geographically convenient, but essentially.”

She nodded at Hall’s words. “And you feel we can trust the Archon-Prince?”

“If you didn’t think he can be trusted,” Searcy cut in, “Then why even talk about this?”

There was a pause and then Katya Kerensky smiled. She really was strikingly beautiful when she did so, and Searcy was glad his camera was off. “A good point,” she admitted.

“I also have a question.” Lucy Davion sounded irritated. “Convincing you is one thing, but how do I know you will not simply be killed by someone taking grievance with this change of allegiance?”

Hall looked reluctantly approving. “That is an issue.”

“It is not.” Kerensky’s smile faded. “I know who in my Galaxy doubted Khan Ward’s path. As the loremaster, I was the natural choice for them to confide in. I also knew who had no such doubts, and they were all stationed within the half of this city that you control. There will be no rebellion within the eighty-three points remaining of Delta Galaxy… or the thirty-eight that I can add to that within the next three days.”

Searcy bit back a sign. Two clusters, more or less - less than Hall commanded now, but if those repairs were done then Kerensky might even have an edge in numbers over her counterpart. But that would be the core of a second galaxy added to the Warden Wolves if agreement could be reached.

“And bloodnamed?”

“From what I know of your own numbers? Enough to make any election of a Khan interesting,” Kerensky told the other Wolf frankly. “It would be better for us to work together, quiaff?”

drakensis · « **Reply #61 on:** August 25, 2021, 01:00:05 PM »

Part Seven - Sudeten

There is a city that this darkness can't hide.
There are the embers of a fire that's gone out,
But I can still feel the heat on my skin.
This mess we're in, well you and I,
Maybe you and I,
We can light up the night.

Light Up The Night - Protomen, Act II

Chapter 37
New Starburg, Rodigo
Clan Wolf Occupation Zone, Federated Commonwealth
16 March 3068

New Starburg was an entirely adequate drop-port for the typical activity a world on the fringes of the Inner Sphere saw, but Rodigo’s self-proclaimed ‘Gateway to the Stars’ (according to a sign) was badly overloaded at the moments, with dozens of military dropships setting down. Colonel Alys Rousset-Marik’s dropship had necessarily had to land outside the port, using land Clan Wolf had cleared for eventual expansion, but never got around to.

“How was St John?” she asked Reinhardt Steiner when the latter brought three coffee mugs to the table they’d laid claim to in a coffee shop, not far outside of the port proper. There was a thin dusting of soldiers from three different militaries in the shop but most of those seeking to use their off-duty hours went a little further, to streets accommodating to businesses that would likely empty their pockets in entertaining fashions.

The blond Skye Rangers officer pushed one mug towards Alys and seated himself. “The garrison wasn’t a huge problem. A few of them went to ground rather than fight or surrender, but we had a trickle of them coming back to lay down arms until the Ghost Bears arrived.”

Alys nodded, glad that Reinhardt seemed to have recovered from the black mood their correspondence had been coloured by ever since the news of his grandmother passing away. “About what I found for myself - and that turned into a flood when we announced our departure.”

Clan Ghost Bear had sent a jumpship in a week or so after the Krushers had taken Alleghe off the tiny Wolf garrison, politely queried what was going on and then left without any contest of the occupation. About a month later, instructions had come in to withdraw: negotiations on Orestes had been concluded with an agreement that worlds beyond the old Star League-era Lyran-Draconian border would be handed over to the Rasalhague Dominion. And thus, the SLDF had withdrawn from Alleghe, St John and Bruben after little more than skirmishing and some counter-guerilla work.

“I bet they did.” Reinhardt shook his head. “Most of the garrison were from old FedCom worlds, they wouldn’t have had a lot of local sympathy among the population for a guerilla war. Perhaps enough to put up a fight against ‘outsiders’ but against Bears claiming to be acting as the righteous warriors of a restored Rasalhague?”

Alys lifted her mug and sipped the black-blood-of-the-earth within. Ah, that was the stuff. “I wouldn’t have given them a week. What will your people do with them?”

“Detention camps and civics lessons,” the Steiner informed her. “Getting done with the classes should be almost as motivational as the prospect of getting to stop making large rocks into small rocks. They’re young and healthy, for the most part. After that… Well, the Wolves may accept some of them back, or the AFFC can find room for those willing to take the oath… Tickets to Solaris VII, Galatea or Outreach don’t cost much on a government scale. And for the really intransigent, a nice little colony on some outlying world with enough resources to set up a self-sustaining low tech community well away from any neighbours and we’ll check again in a generation.”

“Does that happen often?” she asked.

Sabine Steiner slipped into the third seat and picked up the mug of coffee waiting for her. “For the first half of the Succession Wars, the DCMS wasn’t big on prisoner-exchanges. The Suns and the Commonwealth both had to come up with solutions for that. Solutions other than mass-murder, that is.” She took a gulp from the mug. “Ah, you remembered how I like it, Reinhardt.”

“I asked for the most snobby blend they had,” he told his cousin with a shrug.

“Ha! Is that how you handle your father’s coffee?”

Alys shook her head at the pair and decided to change the subject. “I can’t help but feel that we came a long way for nothing. I mean, a month or two later and your Twentieth Avalon Hussars could have done what our troops ended up doing, Sabine.”

The general shook her head. “But when you did it, my RCT was scattered across two worlds. We didn’t have the supplies or shipping to get here. Deploying you here saved us the most valuable resource we have: time.”

“For worlds you wound up giving to someone else.”

Reinhardt nodded, but not in agreement. “Worlds that we could choose to give up, having established that doing so wouldn’t cause us problems down the road. I don’t know exactly what was being looked for - and if I did, I probably wouldn’t be allowed to tell you - but the LIC teams we got sent in with did their job.”

“It was about the sibkos, right?” Alys asked.

Sabine arched an eyebrow. “Sibkos?”

“We were told to prioritise recovering them,” her cousin told her.

“Hmm. I don’t recall that being an issue when we were hitting the Falcons,” Sabine muttered.

The three exchanged looks in silence and Alys was the first to give up. “Alright, I guess I won’t get a straight answer. I’m not going to waste our time trying to dig it out of you.”

“It’s appreciated,” Reinhardt told her. “Besides, you’re going to be able to rebuild your lost battalion with the salvage you were granted, so it’s not like you’re coming off badly for a couple of months of light action.”

“...yes, I was going to ask. Why the generosity? I mean, I appreciate our losses were indemnified, but between my Krushers, the Thirteenth and Nelson’s Genyosha, the Archon-Prince is giving up a hundred Clan Omnimechs in repairable condition. That’s a huge concession. I appreciate he doesn’t want to make it look like he’s taking advantage of his position as First Lord, but that’s…”

Reinhardt sipped on his coffee. “It’s not as generous as you think.”

“Really? Alright, what’s the catch? Or are you not allowed to tell me, again?”

Sabine chuckled. “It’s all about logistics: remember, the ‘Mechs don’t just need to be repaired, they’ll also need to be maintained. The ComGuards are getting designs dating back towards the original SLDF because they still operate a lot of ‘Mechs of the same models - along with parts and equipment. But Clan technology is still in limited production in the Inner Sphere and their OmniMechs don’t generally accept hardware built here. It’s not that the AFFS doesn’t want it, but how many of the ‘Mechs you’re getting are Mad Dogs, Hellbringers, Summoners or Timber Wolves - the most common heavy ‘Mechs among the Wolves and Jade Falcons?”

“Uh…” Alys frowned. “None, now that you mention it.”

“Figures. I guess you got Linebackers and Night Gyrs?”

“Which are less common and presumably harder to get the parts for,” she realised. “Dammit.”

“It’s still better than having none - and you’ll have a less diverse selection, making it easier to support them.” Reinhardt opened a capsule of cream and poured it into his mug. “It’ll be the same for the other weight brackets - the Wolves and the AFFC are holding onto the most common designs for their own use, and providing their allies with chassis that they have in smaller numbers.”

“Actually the Wolves get a higher proportion of OmniMechs,” added Sabine. “They have more techs trained to handle Clantech, and should find it easier to keep the reserves of Clan weapons to arm them with. The bulk of salvage claimed by the AFFC will be going into units stationed near factories that can support them. It’s a logistical struggle.”

“I had a Warhawk when I was with the Tenth Lyran Guards,” Reinhard reminisced. “It was a beast of a machine, and easy for the techs to work on… as long as they could get the parts. And that was in the Revenants, who had a very high priority for parts suitable for advanced machines. There’s a reason I traded it for my Black Python when I joined the Skye Rangers. It was harder for the ‘techs but at least they had less variation of parts to work with. And fortunately most of the armament is a little easier to get now.”

Alys nodded, thinking of the expensive Clan ER PPCs fitted to her Perseus. “Ah yes, with Sudeten added to Twycross, I’m guessing there are going to be more Clan weapons available to you.”

“It shouldn’t hurt,” Sabine agreed sweetly.

She chuckled. “Alright, you’ve allayed my suspicions, at the expense of taking some of the shine off the First Lord’s gifts. I know Sabine’s staying around here so she’ll be near those factories - are you allowed to tell me if you’ll have the same good fortune, Reinhardt?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know where exactly, but I’m probably headed to a garrison somewhere in Skye - we’ve been away for a while. A lot of the brigade-sized commands are being prioritized to be moved back to other stations since we’ll need less shipping.”

“Makes sense.” She finished her coffee. “And if it means keeping a lot of RCTs in place - just in case the Ghost Bears want more worlds than they’ve been ceded so far - that’s probably something that Peter Steiner-Davion is happy with.”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Sabine drained her mug. “My turn for refills?”

“I’m alright,” Reinhardt told his cousin, but Alys handed her own mug over.

She waited until the tall blonde was out of sight and then confided: “Between you and me, I’m glad not to be staying here. If Rasalhague pushes, it’ll be two Star League members going at each other, and we’ve got enough problems on our borders at home, without bleeding out over local greed.”

“But not when it comes to fighting the Wolves?” asked the man.

“They picked that fight, and they weren’t part of the Star League. Different situation. Sun-Tzu would have kept us here, just to force us to take his side. It’s what he did with St Ives.”

Reinhardt nodded. “And that’s why Peter isn’t doing it. He’s got a lot of prestige out of this war and being elected as First Lord. I’m sure he has ways to spend it, but making himself look like he’s just trying to wring what he can out of the Star League won’t be one of them.”

“So what does he want?” Alys asked. “He’s a politician. He must be after something.”

“I said he wasn’t just trying to wring what he could out of it, not that he wasn’t trying at all.” The blond smirked slightly. “The FedCom still needs allies, and we’re still making up grounds for all the damage Kathrina did to us by betraying everyone as if she was filling out a bingo card.”

The scion of House Marik thought of her alleged uncle: “Do you think she’s really dead?”

Reinhardt’s smirk died. “I really hope so. If I was Peter, I’d have buried the fake we captured at Summer with a stake through her heart just to be sure.”

*

Chapter 38
Castle Resarius, Tharkad
Donegal Province, Federated Commonwealth
20 March 3068

Peter Steiner-Davion had withdrawn to Resarius Keep for a respite from the business of state. He’d thought that with the war over, his workload might begin to scale back, but instead there was a stream of petitioners with ideas and hopes for the liberated world.

Now he was being besieged even here, or that was how it felt.

Robert Kelswa-Steiner was out of uniform as he entered the lounge where Peter had chosen to receive him: a choice that was in keeping with the informality of the setting, but his blue tunic and white pants were of military cut, blatantly harkening back to the uniforms of the Lyran Alliance - and before that, of the Lyran Commonwealth. “Your highness, I ask that we speak as cousins, not as liege and lord.”

Oh this was going to be good. “We aren’t at court, cousin. You have my ear.”

“What have I done that you should steal half of my mother’s legacy from me?!”

Peter rubbed his jaw - he was tempted to ask if his scheming cousin wanted a list, but that would be ill-advised. “I don’t recall stealing anything from you, Robert. Perhaps you could scale back the hyperbole, since we’re speaking in private.”

The dark-haired Steiner stalked to the window and looked out at the garden beyond. It was what passed for late spring on Tharkad and the snow was gone - although grey clouds loomed overhead with the threat of rain. “I am speaking of Tamar!”

“I can hardly steal what you’ve never had.” He and Robert had been mere boys when Clan Wolf took the world. The then-duke, Selwin Kelswa had died fighting for his beloved world, sending his daughter to join her husband Ryan and their son Robert on Porrima, their world in the Isle of Skye. So far as Peter knew, Robert had never spent much time on Tamar.

Robert spun on his heel. “I am the Duke of Tamar.”

And of Porrima, since his father’s death. And Skye, by marriage to Hermione Aten. How many worlds do you want, Robert? All of them, no doubt. What was the old claim: that only human stupidity and the universe were limitless? Add avarice to that list. “In title, yes,” Peter reminded him cruelly. “And now, through no effort of your own, you will have the bulk of the world as your inheritance.”

“I have served you loyally…”

Peter couldn’t help but laugh and he saw Robert’s face colour at the derision. “Oh thank you, cousin. You have brought some humour to my day. Served me loyally? You?” He laughed again.

“I did not come here to be humiliated.”

“I’m really not sure why you came here, Robert. You’re not without ability - far from it,” Peter admitted, sobering. “Your military service was cut short, but so was mine. You’re a competent administrator and your political support would be invaluable. If you were, in fact, my loyal servant; you would be prized and rewarded. But instead you cling close to the dream your father was fed by Alessandro Steiner: of overthrowing my grandmother’s line and seizing power for yourself.”

He wasn’t even being untruthful. The new province being carved out of the occupied worlds would demand hundreds of capable officials to govern it and officers to defend. Just at the highest levels of the military, he’d need a permanent Field Marshal there to replace Victor, and at least three Marshals. A loyal duke - a Steiner, a proven planetary governor and with a heritage that tied him to one of the most important worlds - in the region would have been ideal. If only Peter could trust him.

“So you claim,” Robert sneered. “And yet you strip lands from my rightful inheritance to grant estates and wealth to the bastard children of Kerensky that have ravaged the Commonwealth for a generation. It seems as if you’re more eager to reward our enemies than you are loyal Lyrans.”

Peter shook his head. “Let me take you back a little in history, Robert. In 3029, grandmother had led an unprecedented revival of our fortunes. Dozens of worlds that had fallen to the Draconis Combine had been brought back to the Commonwealth. Your grandfather petitioned for civil authority over those worlds, bringing them back under the leadership of the Tamar Pact.” He paused. “Within five years, almost every world we’d regained had been so alienated that they joined the Rasalhague Republic, essentially under the protection of House Kurita once more.”

“That was your grandmother’s weakness,” spat Robert.

“If Katrina Steiner was weak, what does that say of those who failed many times to depose her, cousin? No. I will learn from her error in trusting House Kelswa to win back the loyalties of occupied worlds. Your birthright is Tamar, and you will have all but the continent of Amirani. I’ve granted that to the reunited Wolves - if nothing else, the logistics of evacuating their civilian castes across an interstellar distance is a burden I don’t need with the AFFC redeploying to cover our other borders.”

“Then I demand the assignment of my Tamar Cavaliers to their homeworld, so that they can guard against the predations of your so-called tamed Wolves.”

Peter rested one arm on the mantlepiece over the room’s fireplace. “Oh very well,” he agreed heavily - as if he’d ever planned to put them elsewhere. They might be under the operational control of the AFFC, but Robert had raised the Tamar Cavaliers and staffed them with men and women loyal to him. “However, Tamar will remain an important world so it’ll require an additional command to defend it. The Third Sudeten Lancers will be stationed there to help keep the Ghost Bears from getting ambitious.” And to provide a counter-balance if you provoke a clash with the Wolves.

His cousin paused, visibly running through lists of the AFFC’s regiments in his mind. “I am... unfamiliar with that regiment.”

“The formal announcement is still pending,” Peter admitted with a smile. “We.ve built up a huge stockpile of salvaged Clan equipment with our victories over the last year. Rather than disperse it and invite a logistical nightmare, much of that will be used to form four Battlemech regiments, manned by a mix of veterans and of graduates from the cadet cadres that were protecting the Free Worlds border during the war. The Sudeten Lancers will be stationed on Tamar, Wotan, Twycross… and Sudeten, of course, to help the Olivettis defend their new province.”

“The… Olivetti’s province?” Robert’s voice was unsteady.

“Yes. Sudeten is centrally placed among the liberated worlds, while Tamar is - if you’ll excuse me for saying so - still rather close to the border. Fine for a theatre command world, but not for an entire province. And even trapped behind enemy lines for more than a decade, Janna Olivetti’s loyalty never wavered. I was considering instating her as the new ruler of Odessa III after House Fisk’s treason, but better to let the Duchess resume their rule of Sudeten - after all it is her ancestral holding.”

Robert marched towards the fireplace and stood facing Peter. “The Tamar Pact was one of the founders of the Lyran Commonwealth, your highness. And Tamar is its heart. If you think that you can steal its position for a jumped up technician and her family then…”

“Oh, are we back to formalities?” asked Peter, trying to sound disappointed. From the look on Robert’s face, he hit the right note. “I was rather enjoying the chance to speak to you as a kinsman, Robert.”

The duke all but snarled. “You will regret this, cousin Peter.”

“It’s possible. That is the nature of leadership, after all. We make decisions and then we have to live with the consequences. That would be why Richard is currently enjoying the hospitality of the Commonwealth’s judicial system as we investigate his involvement in treason.”

“A charge that I dispute.”

Peter snorted. If that was where Robert wanted to stake his position, it was his funeral. The evidence went well beyond a blood test now. “I’m sure it’s reassuring to Richard that someone believes that. But I have let the conversation go adrift. We were speaking of Tamar and its future. Have you considered your son’s part in that?”

Robert frowned, perhaps seeing this as a threat. “Gregory is doing very well at Sanglamore, your grace.”

Peter nodded. “I am glad to hear it. Would you like him assigned to the Tamar Cavaliers when he graduates? It would give him a chance to get to know the world - I assume you mean him to inherit there, since Skye would be the legacy of any children you have with Duchess Aten.”

The dark-haired man didn’t - quite! - let his composure crack at the implicit awareness of that crack in his relationship with his wife. Gregory Kelswa-Steiner was illegitimate, born before Robert’s marriage to Hermione Aten. Even if that marriage produced an heir to Skye, their elder sibling would pose a potential division within Robert’s fledgeling dynasty. “A son is a very great blessing, Peter,” he parried - striking at the Archon-Prince’s own lack of a direct heir.

“So my brother tells me. I hope to find out for myself one day soon,” Peter acknowledged cheerfully.

He took a certain dark pleasure in watching Robert twitch at that. A Steiner-Davion heir would be a huge threat to the man’s ambitions, and he must now be frantically trying to wonder if Peter had been hiding a relationship and perhaps even a child of his own.

Not yet, Robert, he mused. But I can’t leave it much longer - and truthfully, I don’t want to. I only hope that my marriage can be more than merely political.

“If you have further concerns about Clan Wolf’s enclave upon Tamar, please feel free to contact their Clan Council directly,” he circled back to the original point. “They’re convened to elect new Khans and debate the revised treaty we have with them, so this is an excellent time for you to begin bridging the gap.”

“It seems that I have little choice in the matter,” Robert accepted stiffly. “If you will excuse me.”

“Of course.” Peter stepped away from the mantlepiece to walk Robert to the door. “And please feel that you can call on me in future. We are family, after all.”

The redhead waited until Robert’s ground-car had left before calling for a stiff brandy so he could wash the taste of those words out of his mouth. He still had to reply to Adam Steiner’s petition to push on and retake his homeworld of Somerset, although the Field Marshal knew full well how stretched they were at the moment - particularly in warships, while the Jade Falcons still had half of their fleet to guard their remaining territory.

*

Chapter 39
Castle Davion, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
20 March 3068

It was a gloriously sunny spring morning on the Isle of Avalon. Looking down from Castle Davion, Yvonne Sandoval-Steiner-Davion could see sunlight glittering off the rivers that flanked Avalon City. There was no comparison to the weather on Tharkad - as she sat on the balcony outside the office suite that Catherine had used when she served as regent, the youngest Steiner-Davion considered requesting that she switch positions with her sister on a more permanent basis.

On the other hand, it would mean being further from Donegal, she reminded herself.

Yvonne had rather enjoyed her time on her grandfather’s homeworld. The prospect of spending more time there, with Tancred and perhaps someday soon with children, was appealing to her. While it was warmer than New Avalon, the larger oceans moderated the impact of that in some way that she was sure had been covered in her high school classes - only for that theory to be filed away as something she’d never need to know once she passed her exams. It was also wetter, but overall she was happy with that.

“Do you think I could serve as Regent from Donegal?” she asked her husband as she opened the message from Victor. “Just… go to Tharkad two or three times a year for formal occasions and spend the rest of my time on Donegal.”

“Only if ‘two or three times a year’ means months each time,” Tancred Sandoval advised thoughtfully. “But you could probably pick a three month block of time away from Tharkad if you pick the right time - not the Royal Court season for example.”

Yvonne made a face. “That would be the perfect time,” she mused. Royal court traditionally started in September and ran for a couple of months - and now one year in three on Tharkad it would stretch into the Star League Council. “And we’ll need to arrange time on Robinson.”

“If we get back to a regular schedule, you can probably get a year or more away from Tharkad while Peter is there.”

“True.” She scanned the opening of the letter. “Well, Victor’s guardedly optimistic about Catherine’s condition.”

“That seems rather out of line with Peter’s opinion when we left,” her husband noted cautiously.

Yvonne shook her head. “Not in the sense of thinking she’s ready to resume her office; but she’s managed a couple of low pressure public appearances. He’s considering whether or not to suggest to Peter that Cat go to Odessa IV for the relaunching of the Lucien Davion at the end of the year.” The Avalon-class cruiser wasn’t all that damaged by its forceful capture from Kathrina’s confederates in the Word of Blake - it had certainly been in good enough condition to make it to the shipyard at Odessa - but it was being gone over with a fine-tooth comb there. Partly to check for any hidden systems or traps left by her fanatics, partly to give the yard some experience working on the class. Once it was recommissioned as the FCS Arthur Steiner-Davion, the Gabriel yards would be starting work on constructing an entirely new ship of the same class. They’d already begun laying down the first new warship to be built at Odessa - FCS Curtana would be a variant on the Durandal-class, with larger engines as an experiment.

Tancred stretched slightly. “Victor wants to send Catherine to the same system as Clan Wolf’s new enclave? I think I can hear Peter’s shouted objections from here.”

She paused and looked at him, then smiled. “I can almost hear them myself.” She scrolled down. “Particularly as it seems negotiations are still ongoing with them. Victor’s getting caught in the middle, I think.”

“I’d say that no one forced him to involve himself in the discussions, but just mentioning them near him was probably enough…”

“You know him so well,” Yvonne agreed. “And he is a useful buffer. It seems that the Diamond Sharks have approached Marcos Hall and offered to trade him ‘Mechs on favourable terms if he’d help them begin discussions to join the Martial Alliance.”

“What are they selling?” asked Tancred, the mechwarrior sounding genuinely interested.

“Uh… Mad Cat II and Mad Cat III.” She frowned. “I thought that Mad Cat was just a nickname for the Timber Wolf.”

Her husband walked over and looked at the letter over her shoulder. “The Mad Cat II is an assault ‘Mech loosely based on the Timber Wolf,” he told her. “The Diamond Sharks have sold a few in the Inner Sphere before - there’s some suggestion that they picked the name to fit that market. It’s not an OmniMech, but it’s pretty good. I don’t know what a Mad Cat III is, but I’d guess something broadly similar - the Sharks might be trying to get a longer-term trade arrangement in place.”

Yvonne nodded in understanding. “Shall I ask him for details about it?”

“I’m sure that the Ministry of Information will have a report making its way here,” Tancred assured her. “I’ll put a request in.”

She scrolled down the letter and then shook her head. “Oh dear. They really don’t grasp Peter’s priorities, do they?”

“Ah… apparently not.”

Khan Hall had offered to share this supply of new Clan ‘Mechs with the AFFC in exchange for easing some of the more contentious points being negotiated over the exact judicial boundaries between Federated Commonwealth law and the customs of Clan Wolf. He didn’t seem to understand that Peter wasn’t enthused about buying ‘superior Clan technology’ that he’d be dependent on outside sources to maintain.

“I see where Peter’s coming from,” Yvonne continued, “But he’s pushing the Wolves rather hard on that. They are our allies - we’re going to have to make some compromises or they might decide that enclaves in the Federated Commonwealth aren’t worth it.”

Her husband went back to his own desk and his own work. While it had mostly been to justify his return to New Avalon without his Regimental Combat Team (neither the politics nor the logistics would have supported bringing the Fourteenth Federated Commonwealth RCT with them right now), he wasn’t holding a merely honorary role. Marshal Alistair Venger had finally retired, formally handing the leadership of the entire corps to Tancred, and to mark this transition, orders had gone out to begin forming the Fifteenth Federated Commonwealth RCT in turn - now that supplies were no longer pouring through the Terran Corridor to supply the fighting.

At the moment, Tancred’s new command was a skeletal staff and a bare two regiments of infantry that had been reassigned to New Avalon as a starting point, but he was engaged in the bureaucratic battles necessary to obtain the additional personnel and equipment that would eventually bring it up to full strength.

“I suspect he’s thinking of Outreach and Northwind,” he told her. “Your father made some rather hasty decisions in granting them to the Dragoons and the Highlanders during the Fourth Succession War. Certainly the right decisions at the time, but rushed through such haste that Victor wound up tripping over some dangerous grey areas once he took over. It’s understandable that Peter doesn’t want to pass that legacy onwards.”

Yvonne paused. It was hard to think wrong of her father. Hanse Davion was the charismatic genius who had half-destroyed the Capellan Confederation during the Fourth Succession War, the dynamic leader of the Federated Commonwealth. She knew intellectually that it was her maternal grandmother who had laid the groundwork for the alliance and led her half of the war with equal brilliance against a far more formidable opponent… but Katrina Steiner had died when her youngest grandchild was only a baby while Hanse loomed large in her childhood.

“Perhaps you’re right,” she allowed at last. “It would explain why he wants them to have enclaves that don’t extend to an entire world - this way they’re forced to co-exist with us.”

“He may be pushing too hard though. Why not take a look at what’s being proposed and send some suggestions of where he might be able to offer concessions,” Tancred proposed gently. “We’re too far away for him to decide that you’re volunteering to join the negotiations directly, but you have been his Regent on Tharkad. You may have a better idea of what will be politically palatable there than he does.”

“Ah, more work,” Yvonne said with a sigh, but she made a note to herself. Giving the right of appeal to Clan Wolf’s civilian castes made sense in general, but she had a feeling that anyone who did so would be better leaving the enclaves if they did. The Wolves were a proud folk - perhaps just giving them the right to seek asylum would suffice. It would encourage more people to enter the enclaves and try life among the Clans if they also knew that they couldn’t be forced to stay if it wasn’t for them. The numbers willing to remain in the proposed enclaves were surprisingly high, but those willing to relocate in order to stay within the Clan’s governance were just as low as projections stated.

“You did raise the matter, sweetheart,” he reminded her. “Worst case, the Wolves will be looking for sanctuary with another of the Star League members. They don’t have a lot of options there - Sun-Tzu Liao is no friend of theirs, Theodore Kurita already has one Clan to accommodate and finding little joy there, the Taurians and Canopians would be a poor fit...”

Yvonne cringed. “They’d head into the Free Worlds League, wouldn’t they?”

Tancred smiled. “There’s a certain appeal to the notion of them having to deal with a Clan Invasion after all these years of charging us for the weapons we needed to keep the Clans from their door.”

“I’m not sure Peter would appreciate the possibility of having a hostile Clan - and the Wolves would be very much hostile if they’re aggrieved enough to depart - on two of our long borders. No, three since we can now count the Falcons as being on the periphery side of the old Lyran worlds.” She closed the letter. “I’ll read the rest later and then put together a proper reply. One that isn’t wall-to-wall complaining about Peter making me worry about both halves of the Federated Commonwealth.”

“To his mind, that may well be one of your strengths,” her husband said fondly. “That you - like Catherine - can see the whole as one thing, all our traits combined, and less as so many warring factions.”

“‘We are all fighting together’, as she puts it,” Yvonne agreed. “Now if we could just all fight on the same side…?”

She gave the sun-drenched landscape of Avalon City a look, tempted to play hooky and carry out a sudden visit to its shops - donning some disguise and pretending to be just a simple civilian out shopping. But it would be cruel to her security to do that without giving them ample warning.

When Yvonne lifted her noteputer again, she had a new message at the top of her queue, marked as priority. Opening it, she scanned the contents and frowned. “Tancred?”

“Yes?”

“What the Taurians call a Corps, it’s three ‘Mech regiments, right?”

“It used to be. These days more like two reinforced regiments and maybe another of mercenaries… More because they’re spread thin with their new colonies and supporting Liao’s ambitions than because of losses.”

Yvonne shook her head. “According to agents inside the Concordat, Protector Shraplen is calling up jumpships sufficient for four Corps and moving them towards the border with us. There’s apparently been talk about how we should respect traditional Taurian borders the way we do those of Rasalhague. And he’s been making noises about how they ‘need not fear the Davion warships’.”

“I would assume he’d mean nuclear weapons.” Tancred shrugged. “It’s always been Taurian policy that if they even thought that we might send warships across the border that they’d start issuing tactical warheads to frontline commands. But why draw attention to it until…” He paused. “They couldn’t have hidden a warship of their own?!”

“Salvage?” suggested Yvonne. “The Word of Blake helped the Free Worlds League recover several ships, they might have done the same with the Taurians. Wasn’t there some cruiser or battleship that the Taurians almost managed to salvage sixty or seventy years ago?”

“The Tripitz,” he remembered. “Yes. Is George the one reporting this?”

“He passed it on as a priority, but it didn't come from him originally,” she admitted. George Hasek had a squadron of six warships at his disposal, but that was about enough to keep the Capellans honest. He might need more if the Taurians were planning something. Gathering warships like that could signify an invasion. “Do you think Shraplen would really be that stupid?”

“He was a close friend of Thomas Calderon, and we know he was paranoid. I don’t know how close Grover’s triggers are,” her husband admitted.

Yvonne nodded decisively. “I’ll instruct the Fox’s Den to issue orders to FCS Kilbourne and FCS June to carry out an unscheduled patrol that’ll take them out to the border,” she decided. “The entire Outer March is bare right now when it comes to that level of cover - and they may have the Snow Ravens to worry about soon if the reports about their contacts with the Outworlds Alliance are right. And we’ll need more troops. Who should I ask for?”

“Second and Third Davion Guards,” Tancred responded promptly. “They’re a little nearer than some of the other RCTs in Sudeten Province right now, they’re crack troops and if he does do something, the two of them combined would tear any Taurian Corps I can think of apart.”

drakensis · « **Reply #62 on:** August 25, 2021, 01:01:35 PM »

Chapter 40
Little Paris, Dieudonne
Silver Hawks Coalition
1 April 3068

Little Paris was being rebuilt as it continued to be adapted for the needs of the Silver Hawks Coalition’s government. Among the completed sections were discreet meeting rooms, surrounded and separated by trees, jamming and sophisticated security. Isis Marik would prefer that she was heading to one of them with Galen Cox for privacy with him, but besides being an abuse of her access to them (she would hardly be the first to use them for personal matters, but as one of the triumvirs she was held to a higher standard) she wasn’t particularly keeping their relationship a secret.

“You have one guest,” the guard warned. The obvious guard, that was. There were others hidden away. “No obvious weapons but he could have anything under those robes. Set off the metal detectors like you wouldn’t believe, your grace.”

Isis nodded in understanding. “I believe it, but this particular emissary would not be sent as an assassin. And I shall have Colonel Cox to protect me.”

Galen smiled at the sceptical look. “I’m not entirely defenseless outside of my ‘Mech; but I’m also not too proud to hit the alarm if it is needed,” he promised the guard as they went past the man.

The building inside this particular security perimeter was a tiny chalet, the downstairs serving as an antechamber with modest kitchen and bathroom facilities attached, to support extended discussions. Isis didn’t think she’d need them. Inside she went up the stairs to the room above, the meeting room proper.

The lights inside were dim, but a robed man awaited them at the table. He rose when he saw Isis but paused when Galen came up the steps behind her. “I had hoped to meet with you in private.”

“Had you?” Isis asked him blandly. Galen went around her to draw a chair back for her, which she accepted. “Could you get the lights?” she asked her lover and he adjusted them upwards until she nodded her satisfaction. Then he seated himself next to her. “You asked for a meeting,” the Triumvir reminded her guest. “Where would you like to begin?”

He began by throwing back his hood, revealing a face familiar in shape but not identical that she had seen in pictures. One eye was mechanical and wires were visible beneath the skin of his face and the bare right side of his head… also beneath the flesh of his hands, she realised with distaste.

“You have reached out to the Word of Blake,” her biological father began. “Does it surprise you that we would reach out in return?”

“I reached out to certain elements of the movement. Not yours, I think.” She hoped her voice didn’t tremble as she saw Thomas Marik - the real Thomas Marik - for the first time.

Thomas Marik smiled, something that made his face more horrible than it already was. “If a leader in their youth does not lean towards moderation then they have no heart. But if they do not recognise the need for firmer measures in their maturity, then they have no brains. There are many viewpoints in the Word of Blake, but they are views of how we should reach our goals, not of what they are.”

Isis shook her head. “And you think that everyone will come around to your methods? The Toyamaists are terrorists.”

“Some of them.” The man shook his head. “Terrorism is a tool and those who don’t recognise its constraints are also tools - useful for some purposes but limited. Those who learn better can be valuable.”

“And is that what we are to you? Tools?”

“We’re all levers and fulcrums to someone, it circles around. I’m travelling to Terra for the first time in decades because there are those who think that I’ll be useful leverage for them, in discussion over the paths we’ll take in the future; but in inviting me, those same people are allowing me to have my say. We use each other to our mutual benefit. Sometimes it’s more lopsided and adversarial, but that’s rarely ideal for a long term relationship.”

“So who was using Kathrina?” Galen asked flatly.

Thomas Marik looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. “Myndo Waterly, originally. I assume you know something of Operation Scorpion.”

“I lived through it,” the colonel pointed out. “ComStar’s damp squib of trying to take occupied worlds back while the ComGuards and the Clan’s best warriors were all on Tukkayid.”

“Yes… Waterly never understood the long view.” The cyborg shook his head in annoyance. “And she hated the Federated Commonwealth. Her endgame involved dividing the realm again with puppet rulers on each side. Frederick Steiner on the Lyran throne, Katherine Steiner-Davion on the Suns… or Anastasius Focht and Kathleen Madison, if you prefer those names.”

Isis hid her surprise at the revelation that the retired Precentor Martial was apparently a Steiner. She noted that Galen didn’t seem to be surprised and made a mental note to ask him later. For now though, it could be taken as evidence that the man in front of her was probably telling the truth about it. “And then?”

“Rule the Inner Sphere from the shadows, I suppose. Waterly was always ambitious but not very bright. It was only a matter of time before one of her puppets strangled her - as Focht proved almost immediately. Even if it had worked, the entire scheme couldn’t have lasted very long. Puppet masters never do, in my experience - people resent being kept on a string, partnerships are almost always more rewarding in the end. It’s why Ian Cameron managed what no one else ever had.”

Galen was still focused on his earlier question: “So Waterly had Catherine replaced by Kathleen Madison?”

“Yes, on the first day of Operation Scorpion. She was promptly rushed into security, well away from the rest of her family, just in case someone tried to take out all the Steiner-Davions on New Avalon at once. You never met the real Catherine Steiner-Davion.” Thomas paused and then shook his head. “I’m not sure what happened after that, precisely. The operation falling apart meant that my only source of information became Kathleen herself, and she claimed that the real Catherine was killed after the first few days. Tidying up the loose end.”

“Obviously she was lying,” Isis pointed out. “We have met Catherine, on Tharkad last year.”

“Probably, she was lying,” the older Marik allowed. “Probably. And assuming that I’m right that Madison attacked the real Catherine over Summer, and assuming that the Steiner-Davions are telling the truth about killing that imposter, then she’s not going to be available for further enquiry.” His lips quirked into a macabre smile. “Certainties are hard to come by for some matters.”

Isis leant back in her chair and steepled her fingers. “Why are you confiding in us?”

“Because I want you to do something,” he replied with an appearance of forthrightness. “Not because of a deal. Because with the information I give you, I expect that you’ll be motivated to act in ways that benefit us both.”

“To make me your puppet? The way Thomas Halas was?”

“He was never my puppet. Waterly thought he was hers, but that was her error. It was always a partnership. I had a capable leader at the head of the Free Worlds League, developing it into a realm that the Federated Commonwealth couldn’t simply devour, Thomas got the chance to be the leader he believed he could be - he lacked the bloodline and connections to rise to power himself, but as you yourself admitted: he was an able Captain General for thirty years. More than most Mariks manage. I’m proud of what we accomplished together.”

“And then you betrayed him?”

“Never!” The Blakist’s one flesh eye was sharp, the denial of Isis’ accusation instant and if it was not heartfelt then he was an amazing actor. Of course, he probably was. “But Thomas had done all that he could there. I ensured that he was able to escape with his family - the same outlet you tried to convince him to take.”

“Except that you wanted him to continue the civil war,” Isis concluded. “I suspected as much. Corinne would never have botched the coup.”

“She wanted the power but wasn’t willing to do what was needed to gain it.” The cyborg shrugged philosophically. “I’m not forcing her to fight anyone. Thomas could have accepted his defeat. And no one had to push Kirc Cameron-Jones to put forward his claim.”

And yet there is an implicit threat against Corinne’s daughter, and her own life. Isis decided not to call him on it. There was no need for him to know she knew.

“It benefits me, of course,” Marik admitted. “But I’m certainly not managing the war.”

Galen murmured: “How very Lucifer-like of you.” He was evidently having to restrain himself.

Against her better judgement, Isis put a restraining hand upon Galen’s knee. “Was it your hand in the Federated Commonwealth Civil War as well?”

“Some of my allies took a hand. Kathrina was becoming too much of a problem,” her… the man who had once been her father admitted. “Or Kathleen as it turned out. At the time we didn’t know for sure if she was Madison or if the entire doppelganger plot had failed miserably. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised - Hanse Davion would have been on guard for such a thing, but of course he conveniently wasn’t around long enough to be a factor. I do wonder if she had a hand in that…” He shook his head. “Not that it matters now.”

Galen’s hand was clenched into a fist, beneath the table and out of sight of the Blakist.

“Anyway, breaking the Federated Commonwealth in two was good for us, but her reuniting it - in fact if not in name - was not. It was clear she intended to tighten her grip, take the First Lordship and transition that into permanent control of the Star League. Utterly unacceptable from my point of view.”

“Are you telling me that you supported Victor?” she asked incredulously.

“I was hardly the only one. As much as I’d like to say that I had Immortal Spirit sent to Coventry just to keep you alive when Kathrina sent a warship to destroy Victor’s campaign, my personal sentiments wouldn’t have been enough to divert quite that level of resources. Broadly speaking, many of the Word see his willingness to work with other realms to battle the Clans as admirable. We rather expected that a victorious Victor - please excuse the alliteration - would have led to a permanent separation of the two halves of his parents’ realm. He certainly didn’t want to rule either.” Thomas Marik’s face showed some chagrin. “And then Peter Steiner-Davion returned and everyone’s plans went out the window.”

Isis snorted. “Well, we agree with that point.”

The Blakist shook his head. “At that point our plans for the Federated Commonwealth were all obsolete. It’s impressive, in a frustrating sort of way.”

Galen narrowed his eyes. “And then Kathleen Madison made it back to Terra.”

“It answered a lot of questions.” Thomas smiled ruefully. “If she’d arrived sooner we might have sent her to Tharkad to try to spin things out, but by that point the war was essentially over. Her ship had mis-jumped terribly, which just goes to show you can’t rule random chance out as influence. She and the crew were incredibly lucky to be alive, much less near enough to a star system that they could be rescued.”

Thinking back, Isis had to admit that the imposter reaching Tharkad probably would have made things challenging. Victor had pushed ahead to hit the Lyran capital sooner than was really wise expressly to try to avoid it. “What did you want to happen - just a division into two halves doesn’t seem like enough for you.”

“It would have been acceptable. My best case scenario was five distinct factions - an independent Skye, the Federated Suns divided between Hasek, Sandoval and some rump Davion realm in the Crucis March. We needed a relatively intact Lyran Alliance to continue holding back the Clans - Victor might have clung to power there if he was so inclined.” The elder Marik shrugged. “Not how it worked out, so we’ll have to outlast Peter’s influence. I won’t live to see that, I imagine, but it’s likely the next generation will have its own trials.”

“Your substitute felt that the Star League would constrain the Federated Commonwealth,” she told him.

Thomas Marik shook his head sadly. “That’s a knife that cuts both ways. So long as Peter Steiner-Davion controls the largest economy and the largest military - so long as he rules half of the Star League’s population - it won’t matter that he has but a single vote. He is the strongest member of the Star League Council and should the other other members vote for measures that would weaken the Federated Commonwealth… well, what would happen if he withdrew from the League?”

Galen scowled. “Peter is a reasonable man, he wouldn’t do that.”

“Peter Steiner-Davion has nothing to gain at the moment by being unreasonable.” The Toyamist leant forwards. “He will stand down as First Lord in 3070 and lose nothing. The Federated Commonwealth will have hegemonic power within the Star League. The membership will be fragmented and weaker than ever. The Capellan Confederation is facing an internal power struggle that could see Kai Allard-Liao upon the Chancellor’s throne - the brother of Peter’s spymaster. Hohiro Kurita has no heir that we know about. If he and his brother do not provide them, then Theodore Kurita’s successor might well be one of Peter’s nephews. But to misquote Mark Antony: Peter Steiner-Davion is an honourable man, a reasonable man, someone that you can do business with.”

He shook his head again. “He wields that like that a knife, so sharp you don’t even notice when it’s thrust into you. Even members of the Ruling Conclave buy into that. He took Odessa away from them, led them into the Star League and now they’re even negotiating with him over building new HPGs, competing with ComStar for a contract to link the major worlds of the Federated Commonwealth together with double-links of stations. What other nation since the Star League has planned on that scale?”

“He needed our help against the Clans,” pointed out Isis. “Without the rest of the Star League he…” She saw Galen’s face. “Didn’t he?”

“It helped,” he admitted. “And if the war had expanded, say if the Hells Horses had fully engaged, then we might have been needed - but as it was, the most I can say is that we cut a few months off the war. The ComGuards, the Word of Blake Militia, the SLDF and Nova Cats all fought battles, but we didn’t fight even half as many as the AFFC did. There were more Federated Commonwealth forces deployed against the Clans than anyone bar the Draconis Combine can field in total right now.”

“If Peter Steiner-Davion - or some less reasonable successor - decided to apply the same sledgehammer to the Silver Hawks Coalition,” Thomas pointed out. “You wouldn’t stand a chance. It’s possible the rest of the Star League would rally to your defense… but how well did such an alliance work out forty years ago?”

Isis pinched the bridge of her nose. “Are you trying to maneuver me into thinking of the Federated Commonwealth as an enemy? Because I have no intention of making the same mistake that Grover Shraplen is making now.”

Her… for want of a better word, father… smiled approvingly. “Oh very good. You are staying well informed. And no, that’s foolishness. I want you to do what you think is in the best interests of the Silver Hawks Coalition. Nothing more, nothing less. I have nothing against Peter - a surprising number of his goals are ones that I share. In a few cases, we even seem to have the same methods in mind. There are some obvious exceptions -”

“The continued existence of the Federated Commonwealth?” Galen suggested sharply.

“Obviously, yes.” Marik shook his head. “I’m probably not going to be leaving Terra for a long time - given how tumultuous our politics can be, I may never leave again. That being the case, it seemed best to at least settle a few unresolved matters.”

“Meeting me for the first and last time,” Isis deadpanned.

“That’s one of them.” He rested his hands on the table before him. “I’d hardly have been able to offer you any sort of childhood, Isis. It’s no excuse, but it is a reason. And as a grown woman you don’t need me. If the Terran sect does decide to kill me, I doubt it’ll impact you at all.”

“You think they will?”

“Someone killed their predecessors,” the man wearing precentor’s robes observed. “Would you believe me if I denied involvement?”

She thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“Nor do they. Peter Steiner-Davion will probably be equally sceptical if I protest innocence over his cousin’s scheming to create an independent Skye with their mutual kinsman as his figurehead.” He shook his head. “Maybe there’s something about my face that leads people to distrust me. How sad.”

“More about your life choices,” Isis told him. “Do you have anything else to say to me?”

Thomas Marik shook his head. “You?”

Isis rose and gestured to the stairs. “Leave, and never return.”

He laughed, not merrily and raised his hood. “Very well. I can give you that, at least.” Standing, he walked - more limped really - to the head of the stairs and then paused. “One thing I would say to you, Colonel Galen Cox.”

“I’ll give it all the credibility I give everything else you’ve told us.”

Thomas Marik’s head nodded within the hood. “For all my failings as a father, I am proud of Isis. If you break her heart, I have a very long reach. Remember that.”

Galen snorted. “Why did Sun-Tzu Liao get a free pass then?”

The master of the Toyama Sect looked back at them and the expression beneath the hood was that of a monster. “My dear boy, who do you think introduced his sister to Cameron St Jamais?” And then he was gone.

*

Chapter 41
Castle Resarius, Tharkad
Donegal Province, Federated Commonwealth
5 April 3068

It was a rare warm evening at Castle Resarius. Peter Steiner-Davion found that the windows had been opened, letting an anaemic breeze cool the dining room as he escorted his guest to the table.

“It’s a long way from Old Connaught,” she murmured as he held her chair for her. His mother would have spun in her grave, if he’d not shown any lady that courtesy. Particularly this one.

“And a rather different ambience. Unfortunately, I can get away with less here than I could on Arc-Royal.”

Terias Sortek gave him a sympathetic look. “You have bags under your eyes. I didn’t see that even when the Wolves were halfway to Arc-Royal.”

Peter snorted, taking his own seat across from her. “Now that’s unfair. You can comment on my condition, but it’s a major breach of etiquette for me to comment on yours.”

“I may be missing an arm; but, once the surgeons are ready, I’ll be symmetrical again,” Terias answered. “And you’ll still be busy working yourself into an early grave.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“You’re turning into more of a workaholic than your brother.”

He forced a smile. “At last, I’m better than him at something!”

“You’re not quite there yet,” she told him in a deflationary tone.

The soup course was served, and the wine - a very recommended vintage for reasons that Peter couldn’t have remembered for the life of him - poured. He raised his glass as the serving staff withdrew discreetly. “To your full recovery.”

“And to yours.” She clinked her glass against his and they both drank. “So who was harassing you today?”

It was pretty good wine, Peter thought as he considered what to tell Terias. She wasn’t really cleared, but he’d decided that he could trust her with bigger secrets than this if it came down to it, so what was the harm? “Adam Steiner is disinclined to take no for an answer when it comes to liberating his homeworld.” If it wasn’t that, it was James Sandoval about the Combine or George Hasek eager to take back more of the Sarna March from Sun-Tzu Liao.

Objectively it was possible to do what Adam wanted. Not today, but the Jade Falcons were a shadow of their former selves. Adam wasn’t being unrealistic when he asked for a commitment to an operation six or twelve months from now when the troops had recovered and the shipping wasn’t needed elsewhere. It could be done, particularly if the Blakists agreed to commit their warships again. ComStar wouldn’t, not for a purely offensive war, but they had already helped considerably. It would be rude to act as if they owed him more.

All that Peter would have to do was break his word to James Sandoval and George Hasek about sending regiments back to reinforce their respective Marches; and discard a peace treaty for his own convenience. Then he could have a dozen or so worlds returned to the Federated Commonwealth - alongside gaining the hostility of the Hells Horse and distrust of everyone else.

“Ah…” Terias shook her head. “I remember that Kathrina controlling New Avalon was hard for those of us who call it home. And Victor must have felt the same way about Tharkad.”

He shrugged helplessly. “Can I afford wars along other borders? Do the costs there outweigh benefits for those living on the worlds still occupied?”

His companion looked thoughtful. “It would still be demanding in shipping, but the Jade Falcons must have people scattered across the Occupation Zone who would prefer to remain under their rule. Collaborators and those who prospered under them. Could you offer an exchange - let those who wish to leave for the Jade Falcon’s do so; in exchange for them releasing those who wish to come back to the Federated Commonwealth?”

Peter put his spoon down for a moment and frowned as he estimated reactions to the proposal. “I’m not sure how many there would be,” he admitted. “Perhaps not as many in the latter category as I might wish to think - it’s been almost two decades after all. But it can’t hurt to try. And if nothing else it’s something else I can tell Adam besides ‘wait for the Falcons to give us an excuse’.”

“I’d like to think that they’re not so foolish as to think that attacking us again would have a better result than it did this time…” Terias paused and laughed lightly, “But human hubris being what it is…”

“I’d be satisfied if it can at least be forestalled until I’m no longer the First Star Lord. For a title that’s supposedly honorary, it seems to come with no small amount of correspondence.” He shook his head. “I’m really at a loss as to why Robert Steiner II and John Davion wanted the post so much.”

“It was a little different back then. And wasn’t it Jennifer Steiner who claimed the title for House Steiner?”

“Only because Minoru had declared himself First Lord,” Peter explained. “Or at least that’s what her diaries claim. It’s possible there was a degree of revisionism but as far as we can tell, it was handwritten at the time and her thoughts were rather cynical about the entire matter.”

They finished the soup talking about comfortably distant history, but once the main course was in front of them - a rich stew that contrasted with the thin soup served earlier and considerate of the fact that Terias would be feeding herself with one hand - she hesitated, fork still skewering a cube of potato and a chunk of beef. “I may be asking too much here…”

“Go on?” he invited her.

“I don’t question why the Fifth Royal Guards went to New Exford,” she qualified, brow furrowed in thought. Picking the right words, rather than over what she hoped to learn - or so it seemed to Peter. “But other than retaking that world, why did you choose to focus on the Wolves rather than the Jade Falcons for the final attacks? It’s plain that even with the allied forces, it wasn’t possible to finish both off. But I’m not clear what the reasoning was behind one rather than the other.”

There were several ways to answer that, but one of them led to matters he had intended to disclose to her. “Officially, I was concerned that focusing on the Jade Falcons would leave them fighting a fanatical last stand, lacking the resources to flee and therefore going out in a blaze of glory, causing us severe losses. The Wolves, in contrast, had the possibility of surrendering and rejoining their brethren among Phelan’s… pardon, among Marco Hall’s Wolves.”

Terias met his gaze. “And unofficially?”

Ah, she’d not backed down. Good. “Unofficially, I was faced with a prediction that left unmolested both Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf would pose a terrible threat to the Federated Commonwealth in the future. Threats that I’ve tried very carefully to disarm. In that prediction, the Jade Falcons were a savage menace… but Clan Wolf posed a threat that might be existential.”

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t follow.”

“His name would be Alaric Wolf. Crafted by Clan scientists using DNA taken from Kathrina and from my brother Victor.”

Terias dropped her fork. “WHAT?”

“You heard me, Terias.”

“What sort of prediction is that?!” she exclaimed. “You’re saying Vladimir Ward had created some kind of… of incest baby? Why?!”

“That’s a longer story.” He laid down his silverware and steepled his hands before him. “What do you know about Catherine’s mental condition when she returned with me from Zaniah?”

Terias gave him a perplexed look. “She was… scatter-brained. Very bright when she could focus, but she got lost in mid-sentence as often as she managed that. And impulsive. Honestly, I was worried that you wanted to put her into a cockpit, but it seemed to help by giving her something to focus on.”

Peter shook his head. “I meant before that - but since you met her on Addicks and don’t know more, that speaks well of our security around the matter.”

“Is something wrong with her?” She looked concerned. “I mean, more than what happened to her in the Summer system.”

“Wrong would be a strong word.” He looked for terms to explain this. He’d been planning this for a while but now that he was faced with it the words seemed not to fit. “When we were reunited on Zaniah, she was incoherent.”

“I’m going to be honest, Peter. That sounds worse.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Your honesty is appreciated. Catherine was talking about Arthur’s death. New Avalon being fought over at least three times. Nuclear weapons being used…”

“It sounds,” Terias said after a moment, “as if Arthur’s death came as a terrible shock to her.”

“Arthur wasn’t dead yet,” Peter explained. “Or at least, the news hadn’t reached us by then. There was no way she could have known about it. Or about the cache on New Dallas… or of Bishop Sortek’s campaign on New Avalon. She knew Victor would be wearing an AFFS uniform when he declared he was returning to remove Kathrina from power. Knew it before she could possibly have seen that transmission.”

The woman across the table stared at him. “Are you telling me your sister is some kind of… prophet?”

“I’m aware of how crazy it sounds.”

“Oh, at last, some good news. I thought you were telling me that you were making policy decisions based on astrology.”

Peter laughed. “No, although this wouldn’t be a lot better if the media got hold of it. Particularly here. Robert Kelswa-Steiner’s namesake - the first Robert Steiner, not the one we spoke of earlier, overthrew an Archon who surrounded herself with diviners, charlatans and astrologers. I can imagine what he’d be saying if he knew anything about this.”

“So why did you pay attention to it at all? I wouldn’t have thought you’d put faith in it.”

“As I said, she was right about enough to be convincing. And the possibilities she described were too awful. So I grabbed a possibility that seemed to hold a chance of changing things.” He looked away, remembering one thing he’d not changed. Or not changed enough.

After a moment, Terias picked up her fork from where it had fallen and set it down neatly on her plate. “So how does this work?” she asked. “Does Catherine take some medication? Does she speak in voices…?” Her voice tried and failed to sound flippant.

He shook his head. “It isn’t an ongoing thing. She remembers what she saw, although not always with context. The worst of her visions didn’t come to pass, which we’re both very happy about. It seems that predestination is no match for active intervention.”

The one-armed woman leant back in her chair. “I see. Father told me that you had had some warning that our cousin was planning to move against Kathrina - I assumed some informant or backchannel communication, but it was Catherine who predicted it?”

“Yes. She predicted a failure - the bulk of the First Davion Guards would have died fighting, a few others fading into the population to carry out a guerilla campaign for another four or five years, until Victor finally reached New Avalon.”

“Four years… well, I suppose he would have reached Tharkad first, given where he started from.”

“No,” Peter corrected her. “Victor’s campaign in the Lyran Alliance would have stalled badly. Ultimately Morgan Kell would have been the one to lead us to victory on Tharkad, at about the same time Victor stormed New Avalon. Although in that future, he had the courtesy to drag me out of St Marinus to be a figurehead.”

“I see how that would bother you.”

“Honestly, the war lasting five years was more of a concern. I didn’t really expect that Victor would still be planning to chuck it all in once we did get to Tharkad. I thought with Omi alive and the war over sooner that he’d be more willing to resume leadership, but… he wasn’t and there I was.”

Terias snorted. “I can see that. Actually, I was there so I did.” She picked up her fork and started on the stew again. “So where did the incest baby come in?”

“One of the things Catherine foresaw was that Kathrina would have taken refuge with the Clan Wolf-in-Name-Only after she lost the Civil War. And at some point she raised and tutored a child created from her DNA and that of Victor. I don’t know exactly how she got that but it wasn’t soon. But he would apparently have grown up to carve a sizable empire out of Lyran space, very nearly taking Tharkad and claiming the Archonship.” Peter shrugged. “It couldn’t have happened exactly like that - I’ve changed too much and the Wolves weren’t in a great state by the time I decided to focus on finishing them off. But even so, I didn’t want to leave a Wolf with a claim on the throne.”

“I’d imagine not. Do I want to know what else she foresaw?”

“How many nightmares do you want to have?”

Their eyes met.

Terias was the first to look away. “I do have to ask,” she managed after a moment, “And I know it’s not fair, but my father…”

“Ah.” For a moment, Peter was back on New Avalon, outside the gates of Castle Davion. “That…” He went for his water glass.

She gave him time to gather himself.

“In Catherine’s visions,” he said at last. “Ardan would have died doing much what he did. Saving my brother, rather than Catherine and I, but last year not in ‘63. A little further from Castle Davion but in much the same circumstances: among the last to die before the castle fell.”

Terias had tears forming at the corner of her eyes. “So neither prophecy nor active intervention could change him.” She picked up her wineglass. “My father.”

“Your father,” Peter agreed and they clinked the crystal against each others’ before drinking to the memory of Ardan Sortek.

“Before we parted on Addicks,” Terias told him when they had emptied their glasses. “The last time I spoke to him…”

Peter was vividly reminded that between Ardan arriving on New Avalon and his death, he’d apparently neither slept nor eaten. There had been little time and the aged Marshal had apparently wanted to make the most of it. So he’d apparently not felt he had time for the son and daughter who were with the Fifth Royal Guards. Presumably, he’d expected to have time later.

“...he told me that he didn’t think Victor would take the throne again,” she continued. “He was fighting for Victor’s cause; but when it came to who would rule afterwards, he wasn’t as sure. But he did tell me to keep an eye on you. He thought you had something of your father in you.”

“I’d hope I have something of him, genetics being what they are.”

Terias gave him a serious look. “He thought you might be the leader that we would need. I’d say that the last few years might bear that out.”

“I get by with a little help from my friends,” Peter told her, hoping that his tone conveyed his sincerity. “I hope you’ll be willing to continue keeping me in line once your arm is back.”

“Well since you let Conner leave, that leaves me the only Sortek available.”

He paused and then reached into his pocket. “That isn’t quite what I had in mind, Terias. I’m probably making a mess of this.” He stood so he could get the little box out. “But I was hoping for a slightly different partnership.”

Peter Steiner-Davion put the small jewelry box on the table and opened it, letting her see the diamond ring inside. And then he dropped to one knee and said the four words that were harder than any since the oaths of his coronation.

“Will you marry me?”

drakensis · « **Reply #63 on:** August 27, 2021, 10:40:10 AM »

30 Years Update

3068

End of the War of 3068 and establishment of the Sudeten Province of the Federated Commonwealth. Clan Wolf is reunited under the leadership of Marcos Hall and Katya Kerensky.

Kali Liao and Cameron St Jamais depart Highspire two days before the arrival of a company of Death Commandos sent to arrest them and deport St Jamais back to Terra. While there are no confirmed sightings for several years, Sixth of June and Thuggee terrorist attacks begin to take place in their names, with no clear pattern to their targets.

Grover Shraplen is ousted as Protector of the Taurian Concordat when Marshal Cham Kithrong launches a coup, headed by military officers who recognise Shraplen’s goal of reclaiming the Pleiades as suicidal. Kithrong is appointed regent for Erik Martens-Calderon.

Peter Steiner-Davion announces his engagement to Terias Sortek at the Royal Court on Tharkad, to take place on New Avalon the following year.

Low-level insurgency activity on Terra is linked to Word of Blake ‘Shadow Divisions’ formed by extremist Toyamists. Precentor Martial Laura Chung discreetly begins efforts to win over the loyalties of the Manei Domini elements within Word of Blake Militia Divisions, blaming the Terraist and Toyamists for the low level of forces deployed against the Clans.

The Tamarind Alliance takes advantage of internal disruptions within the Word of Blake to contract with ComStar to take over their HPGs. The majority of the HPG stations within their territory are faced with a combination of armed troops and ComStar technicians, forcing the staff to stand down. Casualties are low, with significant damage to only two stations, and the vast majority of the Word’s personnel are repatriated to Gibson by the end of the year.

Peter Steiner Davion travels to New Avalon to celebrate Christmas with his sisters.

Clan Snow Raven calls for a Trial of Absorption against Clan Jade Falcon.

3069

The Star League agrees to an arms embargo against the three factions currently competing for the position of Captain-General.

Clan Jade Falcon’s homeworld forces are defeated in their Trial of Refusal. The Jade Falcons still in the Inner Sphere refuse to accept defeat, as they were bid for the Refusal and have yet to be defeated. Clan Snow Raven does not appear ready to commit resources to reach them.

With the Third Royal Guards now expanded to full RCT strength, if organised more along the lines of an understrength ComGuards Division, the First Royal Guards RCT is expanded to include a fourth ‘Mech battalion and additional infantry and armour. This will form a distinct sub-brigade which will, along with a similar detachment of the First Davion Guards, be responsible for the security of the Archon-Prince and core members of the Royal Family whenever they are away from New Avalon and Tharkad (with the exception of active military service).

Clan Wolf is formally abjured by the Grand Council. Their homeworld territories are largely absorbed by Clan Coyote and Clan Goliath Scorpion. Much of their gene-stocks are destroyed or evacuated in time, but the two Clans do secure some. The remaining Jade Falcons are also abjured, with Clan Snow Raven authorised to use or reave the bloodlines of those who refused to surrender.

Wedding of Peter Steiner-Davion and Terias Sortek at Notre Dame Cathedral, at the height of the Royal Court season on New Avalon. Elements of the First Davion Guards, First and Fifth Royal Guards, and of the SLDF’s Royal Black Watch provide the honour guard.

Insurgencies break into localised revolts on Terra reported as sparked by conflicts between factions of the Word of Blake. The Word of Blake Militia is deployed in a peace-keeping role with several units purged for joining factional actions. Four warships are destroyed attempting to provide orbital support for an attempt to seize Geneva from loyalist forces.

Execution of Richard Steiner for high treason.

Clan Blood Spirit trials against the Snow Ravens for several Jade Falcon bloodlines as well as resources and civilian castes. They win enough of the trials to arouse suspicion that the Ravens did not seriously contest the claims. However, this also unearths that the Snow Ravens do not possess all the legacies supposed to be in the bloodchapels they took over following the Absorption of the Falcons.

3070

The third Mjolnir-class battlecruiser is officially named FCS Morgan Kell, with the christening ceremony carried out by his daughters Megan and Caitlin.

Clan Wolf refugees from the Homeworlds arrive, mostly settled in their new enclave on Odessa III. Their presence here and on other worlds is eased with the announcement that they’ll be sharing both medical and terraforming technologies with the Federated Commonwealth. The Archon-Prince announces a grand survey of previously abandoned worlds within the Federated Commonwealth’s borders, to see if recolonisation is feasible.

Peter attends Royal Court on Tharkad, concluding with the Fifth Whitting Conference. The previous temporary measure of a joint delegation from the neutral regions of the Free Worlds League is continued for this meeting of the Star league Council. The Marian Hegemony and Martial Alliance receive full membership. Rim Collection takes provisional membership.

It’s agreed that future Whitting Conferences will take place on a more central and neutral world. Northwind is selected over Outreach and Terra. His term of office as First Lord is extended 48 hours when the Star League Council’s last meeting is deferred so that he can attend the birth of his first son, Hanse Ardan Steiner-Davion.

Magestrix Emma Centrella is elected as First Star Lord. Her primary focus over the next three years is re-organising and expanding the Star League’s Trade and Culture bureaus.

Yvonne Steiner-Davion returns to Tharkad as Peter’s regent, replacing General of Armies Caesar Steiner, who has held both offices for over two years.

3071

Peter Steiner-Davion returns to New Avalon for what would prove to be a two year stay. En route he visits Deneb Kaitos and meets with the now full-strength Fifth Deneb Light Cavalry and Fifteenth Federated Commonwealth RCT.

Birth of Joshua Cox-Marik, the acknowledged child of Galen Cox and Isis Marik. While the two aren’t married, Joshua’s parentage is clearly stated. There is surprisingly little concern in the Silver Hawks Coalition that their foreign minister is in a long-term relationship with a Federated Commonwealth national. Other Free Worlds states are less sanguine about the matter.

Daniel Allard retires as commander of the Kell Hounds, passing command to Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Kell after Colonels Akira Brahe and Scott Bradley both decline the position.

The Circinus Federation breaks into a low-grade civil war between the Black Warriors and mercenaries hired by President McIntyre. The core issue is Michael Cirion’s attempt to join the Martial Alliance, while the President wishes to enter the Star League directly as a member-state - although many other issues underlie the division.

Elements of Clan Wolf and Clan Coyote agree the Winson-Kerensky Accords with the Coyotes receiving access to bloodlines of the two Winson and two Kerensky bloodhouses for patrilineal use - except the use of Andery Kerensky’s bloodhouse which is permitted for matrilineal use and thus access to the Kerensky bloodname, although only for the seven bloodrights not currently claimed by living Wolf warriors. In exchange, the Coyotes surrender several Wolf legacies they obtained during the abjuration. It’s later discovered that they also returned several Jade Falcon legacies to the remains of that Clan, in return for unspecified considerations.

First Lord Emma Centrella brokers a tripartite agreement between the Word of Blake, ComStar and the Federated Commonwealth after the latter establishes their own Federated Communications HPG network connecting key worlds inside the Archon-Prince’s realm.

A Toyamist revolt on Gibson attempts to secure the world and purge it of ‘heretic elements’ - essentially the True Believer and Counter-Reformist factions.

Birth of Harrison Sandoval-Steiner-Davion, the future Duke Harrison Sandoval of Robinson.

3072

The Silver Hawks Coalition, Tamarind Alliance, Duchy of Andurien and Commonality Defense Pact are each nominated by Peter Steiner-Davion for provisional membership of the Star League starting from the Sixth Whitting Conference.

Precentor Martial Laura Chung leads a major battlegroup of twelve warships and seven Divisions from Terra to Gibson. The Silver Hawks Coalition provides free passage, as does Captain-General Corinne Marik. The price for the latter is the removal of most Word of Blake troops from the Marik-Stewart regions of the Free Worlds League.

Short on supplies, Pro-McIntyre mercenaries raid Sierra to obtain munitions and spare parts to keep fighting. To disguise their origin, their ‘Mechs are painted in Marian colours. Caesar Julius O’Reilly denies responsibility and requests Star League arbitration.

The AFFC begins a planned programme of adding twenty RCTs to their frontline strength over the next ten to fifteen years. It’s decided to focus these efforts on expanding the Arcturan Guards and Avalon Hussars by reactivating disbanded commands.

Emma Centrella arrives on Sierra, escorted by the Royal Black Watch. Evidence is provided (by Captain Suthorn of Trinity Intelligence) that the raiders were actually Circinian forces, leading to a redirection of effort.

The Blackstone scandal breaks, with evidence that proves that with the connivance of the Duchess of Inarcs, military supplies are being funnelled to the Regulans by the manufacturer. Significant fines are imposed by the Star League, bankrupting the company.

Reinforced by troops that had been supporting Corinne Marik, Laura Chung smashes open resistance on Gibson and begins a methodical clearing of Toyamist hold-outs on the planet. Limited chemical and nuclear attacks are reported, with most intelligence reports suggesting that Chung’s offensive only barely managed to forestall much more widespread use of the weapons.

3073

Blackstone’s factory is purchased by a consortium backed by Archenar BattleMechs and Bowie Industries. The Achernar-Bowie Corporation covers the bulk of the imposed fines but are also required to hand over much of Blackstone’s intellectual property to the governments of Marik and Oriente. The factory begins a two year refit process as it is no longer allowed to manufacture Blackstone’s previous designs.

A concerted invasion of the Circinus Federation takes place, spearheaded by the Royal Black Watch but supported by Marian, Trinity and Clan Wolf forces. Michael Cirion forms an alliance with the invaders, but the Federation is severely reduced by the defeat with Thadora’s Land and Zorn’s Keep ceded the Marian Hegemony; while Clayborne II and Hardisey’s Haven are both handed over to the Trinity Worlds. As the president of the four remaining worlds, Michael Cirion gets his wish and the Black Warriors are allowed to join the Martial Alliance.

Field Marshal Bishop Sortek retires from active military service, leaving the post of Archon-Prince’s Champion. General Lucy Davion of the Fifth Royal Guards, who is considered the most likely successor, also retires from military service, however this is to serve as Regent of New Avalon. Victor Steiner-Davion becomes the new Champion.

Clan Diamond Shark and Clan Hells Horses both break off the Inner Sphere possessions of their Clans as rising pressures within the Homeworlds move towards isolation. The new Clans, respectively Clan Sea Fox and Clan Stone Lion, are both abjured by the Grand Council by the end of the decade.

Agatha Rousset-Marik is born to Alys Rousset-Marik.

The Sixth Whitting Conference takes place on Northwind. The Silver Hawks Coalition, Tamarind Alliance, Duchy of Andurien and Commonality Defense Pact all receive provisional membership. The Rim Collection becomes a full member of the Star League. A Martial Olympiad was announced, to take place on Outreach in 3075. The prospect of a permanent capital is raised again by the Word of Blake but unrest on Terra, where they want it to be sited, deters this. However, Precentor Martial Laura Chang of the Word of Blake Militia is elected as the next First Lord after a close vote.

3074

The new First Lord engages in visits to Oriente, Regulus, Atreus and Marik to try to bring an end to the Free Worlds League’s ongoing civil war. These meetings only manage to lead to a formal treaty recognising Gibson’s neutrality and the withdrawal of Word of Blake support outside of communication purposes.

Kirc Cameron-Jones offers the Northwind Highlanders a generous contract for the services of their full forces. After negotiation a more limited five year contract (with rolling renewals) is agreed for the two Kearny Highlanders regiments.

Unable to sustain their military budget, ComStar consolidates the ComGuards forces and sharply reduces their field strength to only six Armies, although this brings some of these armies up to a full six Divisions for the first time since Tukayyid. Many former ComGuards enlist in the armies of their birth nations, including several who travel to Terra and join the Word of Blake. Slightly more than half of those departing elect to transfer to the SLDF, leading to another rapid expansion of their organisation to accommodate this influx. Serious consideration is given to selling part of their warship fleet, but uncertainty over Word of Blake naval strength deters this - however, the ComGuards do place their Second Fleet under SLDF control with shared support for its operation.

Birth of Artoria Sandoval-Steiner-Davion, the future Duchess Artoria Luvon of Donegal.

The Silver Hawks Irregulars, the armed forces of the Silver Hawks Coalition, reorganise as the Silver Hawk Defense Force, with the Sirian Lancers confirmed as a distinct brigade (and adding the Fourth Sirian Lancers to their line-up). The remaining ‘Mech regiments are divided between the Marik Defenders (primarily drawn from Free Worlds Legions and Marik Militia units) and the Silver Hawk Irregulars (mostly the original Irregulars and former mercenaries).

Refounding of the First Avalon Hussars and First Arcturan Guards. The two RCTs are assigned twelve months garrison duties on New Avalon and Arcturus respectively, before taking more exposed postings. This becomes the pattern for the refounding of their sister units over the following years.

Birth of Morgan Arthur Steiner-Davion, second son of Peter and Terias.

Theodore Kurita suffers a major stroke, leading Hohiro Kurita to resign as Commanding General in order to take up more of his father’s duties. Without any clear consensus on a successor within the Star League Council, Laura Chang asks Victor Steiner-Davion to take over as interim Commanding General until the next Whitting Conference. This requires him to step down as his brother’s Champion. Field Marshal Nathaniel Hasek, the serving Marshal of Armies, becomes Archon-Prince’s Champion.

3075

Clan Steel Viper begins major harassment of Clan Cloud Cobra, specifically targeting warriors of Bloodhouse Steiner. This is in hindsight considered the start of the Serpent War.

Refounding of the Second Avalon Hussars and Second Arcturan Guards.

Theodore Kurita dies after a second stroke. Hohiro Kurita becomes Coordinator of the Draconis Combine.
The former Blackstone factory on Inarcs begins production of the Dervish and the Archer for the AFFC and planetary militias.

Clan Sea Fox invades the Jade Falcon’s remaining occupation zone, taking most worlds by Trials of Possession and absorbing what remains of the Jade Falcons. Field Marshal Adam Steiner personally leads the invasion of the one exception, his homeworld of Somerset.

The Third Kearny Highlanders are reformed with salvage from fighting against Oriente. These are added to the contract with the Principality of Regulus.

Victor-Steiner Davion oversees the Martial Olympiad on Outreach. No one military force emerges as dominant, but most secure some wins in the contests. Military intelligence is noted as highly active but the publicity is too good to pass up.

Clan Goliath Scorpion launches a Trial of Possession for the Star League’s embassy upon Huntress. After a short skirmish, the embassy staff and garrison are permitted safcon and depart the Clan Homeworlds. Clan Star Adder arrives before the Star League jumpship departs, with communication indicating that they also intended a take-over of the embassy site and are displeased to have been preempted.

3076

Birth of Sabine Rousset-Marik, younger daughter of Alys Rousset-Marik.

Precentor William Blane informs Archon-Prince Peter Steiner-Davion that the Sixth of June movement had possessed a major base on a world named Taussen, previously a Federated Suns colony called Agmond, and that a Word of Blake Militia attempt to capture the base had led to use of chemical and nuclear weapons. MIIO investigation confirms that a fortified and industrialised colony had existed, but that the area would be unapproachable for at least a century due to chemical contamination and the use of cobalt-jacketed nuclear weapons. The Archon-Prince warns the Ruling Conclave that any future military activity by the Word of Blake within the Federated Commonwealth without his consent will lead to his informing the Star League Council of the incident and calling for their expulsion from the Star League.

Birth of Melissa Sandoval-Steiner-Davion, the future Countess of the Isle of Avalon.

Reports from limited sources remaining in the Clan Homeworlds advise of a major conflict between Clan Star Adder isolationists and Clan Goliath Scorpion and Clan Cloud Cobra, who advocate continued engagement with the Inner Sphere. Clan Steel Viper appears divided, fighting Trials against both sides.

With assistance from Clan Wolf, the Circinus Federation lays claim to Choex and Erdvynn, allowing Clan Wolf to establish a large enclave upon the latter world - their first enclave outside of the Federated Commonwealth.

Refounding of the Eighth Avalon Hussars and Eighth Arcturan Guards.

At the Seventh Whitting Conference, Galen Cox is promoted to serve as Commanding General of the SLDF. The four provisional members from the Free Worlds League’s space all receive full membership. Cham Kithrong, regent of the Taurian Concordat, is elected as First Lord.

Precentor Martial Laura Chang stands down as commander of the Word of Blake Militia. She receives the post of Precentor Hilton Head, which formally replaces the Toyamist seat on the Ruling Conclave now that the more extreme sects within the Word of Blake have been substantially diminished in their numbers and importance.

3077

Technicron Manufacturing lays down its first new warship since the start of the Free Worlds League Civil War, an upgraded Impavido-class destroyer, for the Tamarind Navy.

Refounding of the Ninth Avalon Hussars and Ninth Arcturan Guards.

Birth of Peter and Terias’ third child, Tabitha Catherine Steiner-Davion

The Fourth Kearny Highlanders are reformed with salvage from fighting against the Marik-Stewarts. These are added to the contract with the Principality of Regulus.

Alys Rousset-Marik becomes Marshal of the Silver Hawks Defense Force.

The Martial Alliance places the majority of their warship strength on permanent loan to the SLDF, in part to save themselves the ongoing costs of maintaining the vessels. Shipyards across the Inner Sphere are commissioned to repair, upgrade and standardise the warships over the next four years.

3078

End of the Serpent War, with the involvement of Clan Coyote on the side of the Isolationists. The final conflict among the involved Clans is a Trial of Refusal after Clan Coyote orders the Abjuring of the entirety of Bloodhouse Steiner, both blooded and unblooded. Clan Cloud Cobra loses the Trial of Refusal and both the Cobras and Clan Steel Viper begin a gradual withdrawal to their sharply reduced enclaves. Clan Goliath Scorpion appears to emerge relatively unscathed.

Refounding of the Thirteenth Avalon Hussars and Third Arcturan Guards.

Cham Kithong resigns as regent of the Taurian Concordat, passing full authority to the young Protector Erik Martens-Calderon. He continues to serve as the First Lord of the Star League until the following year, residing on Northwind so as to let the new Protector visibly lead the Concordat without him.

Sun-Tzu Liao terminates the Word of Blake’s contract to operate the Capellan Confederation’s HPGs. The First Circuit of ComStar is delighted until they realise that the Capellan government hasn’t contacted them to replace them. After three weeks transition, the Chancellor offers reciprocal protocols for communications in and out of the Confederation. This confirms his intention to maintain direct control over HPG communication within the Capellan Confederation.

Technicron Manufacturing of Savannah begin laying down the first vessel of the Hawkwing-class of frigates for the Silver Hawks Navy. The class is based upon the Eagle-class frigate.

Conflicts arise between settlements founded by the Federated Commonwealth and the Rim Collection in the former Rim Worlds Republic region, most especially on Synsstad and Seven Lands where both nations have founded colonies without noticing each other until now. First Lord Kithong deploys SLDF peacekeepers, implicitly to ensure that the AFFC doesn’t intervene.

3079

Hohiro Kurita announces the existence of his sons Shinjiro (a junior officer in the First Sword of Light) and Vincent (a cadet at Sun Zhang Academy), having raised them under false identities in order to protect them from the political violence endemic to the Draconis Combine.

Refounding of the Fourteenth Avalon Hussars and Fourth Arcturan Guards.

Second Martial Olympiad takes place. Melissa Allard-Liao wins the gunslinger trophy, piloting the Rifleman ‘Legend-killer’ to represent the Capellan Confederation.

Naiad Pryde becomes saKhan of Clan Sea Fox.

Peter Steiner-Davion travels to Northwind for the eighth Whitting Conference. Sun-Tzu Liao claims ill-health and appoints Duke Gregory Liao to represent the Capellan Confederation. The ongoing colonial disagreement with the Rim Collection is settled with an agreement to divide the two disputed worlds with each nation ruling one hemisphere and SLDF garrisons remaining in place. The Federated Commonwealth agrees to halt any colonial development rimwards of the two worlds, in exchange for the Rim Collection’s agreement not to found additional colonies corewards of them.

Public pressure supports the election of a Marik to the First Lordship. With the agreement that all other member houses are now eligible for election, Reginald Brett-Marik nominates his cousin Isis Marik, who is elected unanimously by the Council.

3080

Reports from Nueva Castile determine that they have formed an alliance with Clan Steel Viper against the Umayyad Caliphate.

Refounding of the Sixteenth Avalon Hussars and Sixth Arcturan Guards.

Tricentennary memorials of the fall of the original Star League. First Lord Isis Marik announces a permanent capital for the Star League is being established on New Earth, on the site of the former SLDF headquarters.

Catherine Steiner-Davion is appointed as New Avalon’s senatorial representative.

The Syrtis-class, an update of the New Syrtis-class carrier, is approved for construction for the FCN. Three ships are to be built at the New Syrtis shipyards.

Kitsune ‘Kit’ Kurita and Calvin Bernstein-Marik enter the Focht War College as future SLDF officers.

The Umayyad Caliphate forms an alliance with Clan Cloud Cobra. It becomes apparent that the Cloud Cobras and Steel Vipers are withdrawing entirely from the Clan Homeworlds and settling in enclaves within the two embattled Periphery Realms.

Negotiations begin between ComStar and the Word of Blake, in an attempt to reconcile their differences. While reunion is considered unlikely, some normalisation of relations is considered possible.

3081

Isis negotiates revised trade agreements across the Star League, including expanded trading opportunities for Clan Sea Fox.

Coordinator Hohiro Kurita contracts with the Word of Blake for a chain of HPGs connecting Alshain to Galedon, via Luthien and Pesht. This is intended to operate in parallel to the main ComStar operated chain.

Refounding of the Twelfth Avalon Hussars and Fifth Arcturan Guards.

The warriors of Bloodhouse Steiner - apparently having escaped the Clan Homeworlds after their abjuration - seek refuge within the Federated Commonwealth, ultimately joining Clan Wolf. They provide updates on the developing power balance within the Homeworld Clans. Clan Snow Raven, Clan Star Adder and Clan Coyote appear to be dominant, with a loose agreement that they should remain isolated from the Inner Sphere to expand their toumans, resources and populations, as well as advancing their technology before resuming contact. What form that contact might be is still under debate.

Caesar Steiner and Nathaniel Hasek both retire, leaving the three senior positions in the AFFC vacant. The Archon-Prince’s consort, Terias Sortek, is named Archon-Prince’s Champion. Jon Davion is named Marshal of Armies, Adam Steiner as General of Armies. Having been planned for over a year, the transfer of offices is orderly and there are few problems.

Former Precentor-Martial Anastasius Focht dies. He is buried in the crypts of the Focht War College’s new campus, co-located with SLDF’s headquarters on New Earth and part of the larger Whitting Complex that will host future Whitting Conferences and the permanent offices of the Star League’s administration.

3082

A terrorist attack aiming to deface Focht’s tomb on the anniversary of Tukkayid is foiled with only minor damage caused. A second attack on the shared Bloodchapel being constructed by Clan Wolf, Clan Nova Cat and Clan Ghost Bear is more successful, setting back the project significantly. The Sixth of June movement, now believed to be a synthesis of Toyamist-extremists and Kali Liao’s Thuggees, claims responsibility for the attack and promises future actions ‘until justice is done’.

Refounding of the Twenty-Third Avalon Hussars and Tenth Arcturan Guards. There is significant concern that with very little major military activity, the experience of the AFFC is declining so the newly formed RCTs’ first activities are as parts of the rival sides in Operation Gawain, a major military exercise carried out in Alarion and Bolan provinces. Operation Gawain lasted for six months, with more than twenty AFFC commands participating, as well as elements of Clan Wolf and (by invitation) Clan Diamond Shark. While the rest of the Star League is concerned, at best seeing this as the Archon-Prince flexing his military might and at worst fearing it was a cover for invading the Tamarind Alliance, AFFC command considers the results mixed and Terias Sortek requests a additional budget over the next five years for additional training by frontline commands, as well as the formation of a roving opposition force of mixed AFFC, mercenary and Clan Wolf forces to provide greater diversity in the opposition for such training efforts.

Funding approved to expand the SLDF substantially against the possibility of a new Clan Invasion in the future.

Ninth Whitting Conference takes place, the first to use the new Whitting Complex on New Earth. The Rasalhague Dominion is pushing for the Federated Commonwealth to cede worlds historically part of the Free Rasalhague Republic - a goal few of the council consider realistic. Khan Santin West of Clan Nova Cat, representing the Martial Alliance, is elected in hopes he will be able to negotiate effectively with the Ghost Bears. As part of the formal ceremonies of the event, Focht War College cadets and faculty arrive at their new campus.

3083

The Grand Council of the Clans sends a formal declaration to the Second Star League, preemptively denying Santin West the status of ilKhan, and Clan Nova Cat the status of ilClan. As no such claim had been put forward, this causes no issues with the Star League and the First Lord attends the opening of the Whitting Complex’s Bloodchapel the same day.

Third Martial Olympiad takes place. Clan Nova Cat, perhaps inspired by their Khan, win the most events out of the participating teams; but Melissa Allard-Liao wins the gunslinger trophy for the second time.

The Dominion-Commonwealth War breaks out with Ghost Bears striking into Sudeten Province. The AFFC is able to stall the invasion and shifts its reserves into Donegal and Sudeten provinces, threatening to launch a massive counter-invasion. First Lord Santin West negotiates a stand down with Trials of Possession over two Federated Commonwealth worlds and one Rasalhague Dominion world. Face is saved when the original border is maintained.

Hohiro Kurita formally confirms his elder son Shinjiro as the Heir-Designate of the Draconis Combine, at the age of twenty-seven. Shinjiro’s first public duty in the role is to negotiate with the Word of Blake over a new HPG chain from Luthien to Dieron.

Duke James Sandoval dies at home, having been in semi-retirement for ten years. Tancred Sandoval becomes Duke of Robinson and Field Marshal of the Draconis March.

3084

Refounding of the Twenty-Sixth Avalon Hussars and Seventh Arcturan Guards, delayed by the Dominion-Commonwealth War. This concludes the proposed expansion of the two brigades and the AFFC high command recommends against continued expansion until their supply and training capabilities have fully caught up. In addition, the Star League Council has twice debated potential arms limitations and it’s not clear if a vote may pass banning members from further expanding their military power - or how the Federated Commonwealth should respond if they do.

Concerned that the SLDF would not be able to restrain the AFFC effectively on even a local level, Khan Santin West directs Galen Cox to revise the SLDF budget for an expanded warship fleet. After consideration, an order was made for twelve upgraded Dante-class frigates to be built for the SLDF at the Titan shipyards over the next two decades.

Kitsune ‘Kit’ Kurita and Calvin Bernstein-Marik both graduate Focht War College and are assigned as lance commanders in the SLDF’s First Royal BattleMech regiment.

The construction of Feng Huang-class cruisers is ended at Necromo, to be replaced by the new Xin Sheng-class cruisers. While the new design is considered better, Capellan warship numbers lag considerably behind those of the Federated Commonwealth and only the fractured nature of the former Free Worlds League leaves the CCN dominant on that front.

3085

Cameron Victor St. Jamais-Liao is captured along with a Sixth of June cell responsible for the murder of Shonso Hurtong Liao. The Chancellor authorises immediate execution of his nephew, declaring the attack on his political supporter to be treasonous.

Loremaster Ranna Kerensky is killed by a chance cockpit hit while participating in a Trial of Position for new Clan Wolf warriors. Ironically, the shot was fired by Cadet Anastasia, a trueborn child created with her genestock and that of Phelan Kell. Anastasia defeats a second opponent and graduates as a Star Commander.

Federated Commonwealth naval construction slows to a crawl as the fleet begins cycling older warships through their yards for refits to bring them up to the standards of their newer sister-ships and deal with long-standing gripes where possible. In particular, their two Baron-class destroyers and Pinto-class corvettes are scheduled for massive rebuilds to fit Lithium-Fusion batteries.

Harrison Sandoval-Steiner-Davion enrolls in Robinson Battle Academy under the pseudonym Caleb Arthurs.

The Outworlds Alliance sends representation to the Tenth Whitting Conference, requesting provisional membership - which is granted. Santin West stands down as First Lord, with Hohiro Kurita elected as the next First Lord.

3086

Hanse Steiner-Davion enrolls in the Nagelring for his military education.

The Northwind Highlanders decline to renew their contract with the Principality of Regulus and withdraw from House Cameron-Jones’ service. Given the declining fortunes of the Principality, this is considered a wise decision. Despite their efforts, several Regulan worlds had been lost over the last two years.

Eager to colonise the once resource-rich mining world of Derby, the Rim Collection requests an amendment of the previous colonial treaty with the Federated Commonwealth. The world becomes the third jointly-owned world between the two realms.

Operation Gawain II takes place in the Draconis March, causing concern in the Draconis Combine. Clan Nova Cat is invited to send two Clusters to participate, one on either side. The exercise is slightly smaller than the previous one, with thirty-five AFFC commands involved. The results are considered an improvement over the last exercise, but not yet fully satisfactory.

Arthur Kurita enrolls at NAIS under a false identity (Arturo Fuchida) to study engineering.

After the launch of three Syrtis-class carriers, the Courageous, Glorious and Furious; two additional ships of the class are ordered: Audacious and Tremendous. The Federated Commonwealth Navy considers the vessels a success, but considers five such vessels sufficient for their needs - one for each major border area and one in repair or reserve.

Wedding of Janos Halas and Giselle Marik, uniting the Oriente and Marik-Stewart claims to lead the Free Worlds League. First Lord Hohiro Kurita attends and opens negotiations to eventually bring the worlds back into the Star League.

3087

Regulus and Atreus are seized by invasion forces led by Janos Halas and Giselle Marik respectively. At the conclusion of the battles, the Star League formally removes the ban on selling arms to the Free Worlds League. Significant shipments from Capellan and Draconian factories are received by the reunited FWLM before the end of the year.

Fourth Martial Olympiad takes place. Melissa Allard-Liao loses the gunslinger trophy in the final round, defeated by Star Commander Anastasia of Clan Wolf. Following the final ceremonies of the Olympiad, Khan Katya Kerensky convenes the first Trial of Bloodright within Bloodhouse Kell. Anastasia becomes the first bloodnamed member of House Kell in twenty years.

Alys Rousset-Marik stands down as Marshal of the Silver Hawks Defense Force and retires from military service.

After a fraught discussion within the Prefectorate, the childless Sun-Tzu Liao abruptly declares his abdication and retires to Liao. Duke Gregory Liao is elected as the new chancellor, with the support of the aged Candace Liao. Her nephew Treyhang succeeds Sun-Tzu as Duke of Sian.

Terias Sortek steps aside as Archon-Prince’s Champion, recommending the commander of the Avalon Hussars, Marshal Sabine Steiner, as her successor. The reason for this decision is much debated but no official answer is given.

Several older Fox-class corvettes are renamed after they complete refits, notably those sharing names with historic vessels. This is believed to be a step towards a standardised naming scheme for warships, with corvettes to be named after planets, as has been customary with more recent construction.

3088

Hanse Steiner-Davion starts an exchange year at Albion military academy.

Facing financial difficulties without a contract for much of their forces (a not uncommon issue in the mercenary trade with the end of the Free Worlds League Civil War), the Northwind Highlanders offer the SLDF the use of all four Kearny Highlander regiments for a twenty year contract, in place of the current two regiment loan. The contract is approved, grouping the Highlanders into a distinct RCT. Their place in the Second SLDF RCT is taken by the Blue Star Irregulars, who formally rejoin the SLDF on a permanent basis. The Kearny RCT is deployed to Derby, Seven Lands and Synsstad to provide anti-pirate coverage and block military action over the three divided colony worlds.

Corinne Marik and Thomas Halas formally abdicate their claims to be Captain-General, retiring in favour of Captain-General Giselle Marik.

Khan Kerensky retires from active service within Clan Wolf, but takes the unusual step of seeking election to the Federated Commonwealth senate. Her campaign is successful and she is the first Clan warrior to serve as a senator.

The Outworlds Alliance elects to remain only a provisional member of the Star League rather than joining fully as expected. Hohiro Kurita seats Giselle Marik in the Star League Council as a provisional member representing the Free Worlds League. The new Captain-General requests that the other factions that broke away from the Free Worlds League rejoin her realm. However, none of the realm’s leaders are prepared to agree at this time and Photon Brett-Marik is elected as a tacit confirmation that the Star League won’t support reconquest by Marik’s forces.

3089

Aggressive negotiations between Giselle Marik and the Commonality Defense Pact end poorly and the pact elects Reginald Brett-Marik as their new leader, effectively joining the Tamarind Alliance.

The Silver Hawks Coalition vote decisively to remain independent from the Free Worlds League.

Operation Gawain III takes place, relocated from Donegal Province to Skye on short notice, although there’s some suggestion that it may have been intended from the beginning in order to challenge AFFC logistics. Unlike the previous exercises, the operation pits twenty AFFC frontline commands against a similar number of mercenary units, reinforced by planetary militias in the exercise area. While the AFFC is reportedly still not fully satisfied, most outside analysts believe this is simply to avoid complacency. Other Star League members increase their training expenses in an attempt to keep up.

‘Caleb Arthurs’ graduates from Robinson Battle Academy and his identity as Harrison Sandoval-Steiner-Davion is publicly confirmed. He enters the First Federated-Commonwealth RCT as a sub-altern.

President Gavilian Camacho of the Trinity Worlds and President Michael Cirion of the Circinus Federation agree to unite their small worlds into the Trinity Federation.

Although not all FCN vessels have been refitted, new construction begins picking up again.

Birth of Allison Marik, the first child of Giselle Marik and Janos Halas.

3090

Hanse Steiner-Davion graduates from the Nagelring and is assigned as a deputy lance commander in the Third Davion Guards.

Brigades of the Marik Militia in service with the Tamarind Alliance and Commonality Defense Pact rebadge as a new brigade, the Tamarind Regulars.

Harrison Sandoval-Steiner-Davion formally changes his name to Harrison Caleb Sandoval upon his promotion to leftenant and formally being named as heir to Robinson.

Morgan Steiner-Davion and Artoria Sandoval-Steiner-Davion enter NAIS as a military cadets.

Duchess Yvonne Steiner-Davion retires from regency on Tharkad. She is replaced by Duke Reinhardt Steiner of Furillo.

Alys Rousset-Marik is elected as Interior Minister of the Silver Hawks Coalition as a compromise candidate after deadlock over filling the recently vacated position. Speculation that Isis Marik will one day stand down and pass her post as Foreign Minister to her cousin, allowing Alys to serve in all three Triumvir roles is met by dismissive comments from both of the involved Mariks.

3091

FCS Invincible returns to Odessa for a major overhaul and examination in order to prepare for potentially constructing additional vessels based on the Tharkad-class.

Fifth Martial Olympiad takes place. The second Kell Trial of Bloodright takes place in the aftermath.

Hanse Steiner-Davion is promoted to Leftenant and given command of his own lance.

Arthur Kurita is awarded a doctorate in engineering at NAIS, in his own name. This proves a minor scandal and while he isn’t officially refused permission to teach at NAIS, he accepts a professorship at the University of Saso and departs for New Syrtis almost immediately. Lucy Davion suppresses a ‘tell all’ expose by the girlfriend of ‘Arturo Fuchida’, who had broken up with him on learning he was a member of House Kurita. The young woman in question returns home to Conroe in the Draconis March rather than continue studying on New Avalon.

Photon Brett-Marik completes the reintegration of the Free Worlds League into the Star League before standing down. Gregory Liao, seen as a pro-Star League voice within the Capellan Confederation, is elected as First Lord.

Establishment of the Fourth Ceti Hussars.

Kitsune Kurita becomes a company commander in the SLDF.

3092

Anastasia Kell becomes the Khan of Clan Wolf.

Upswing in tension between Andurien and Tamarind over worlds along their border. Gregory Liao assigns SLDF forces as peacekeepers, reinforcing them with McCarron’s Armored Cavalry.

Death of Candace Liao as a result of cancer. Kai Allard-Liao abdicates his claims on St Ives to his son David, continuing to serve as a senior officer in the CCAF.

FCS Invincible completes its overhaul. The construction of a modified Tharkad-class (the Arcturus-class) is approved, with funding approved for four such vessels. These vessels will initially be named for Tharkad-class ships lost during the succession wars, all of whose names had been relinquished by refitted Fox-class ships in 3087.

Morgan Steiner-Davion transfers to Sanglamore to complete his military education.

The Trinity Federation officially comes into being, with its capital on Circinus.

3093

Kitsune Kurita succeeds to command of his battalion in the SLDF following an ambush by local insurgents.

Hanse Steiner-Davion is promoted to Captain and given company command.

Reports indicate that McCarron’s Armored Cavalry are actively assisting Andurien forces. After a tense conversation with First Lord Liao, Galen Cox orders them out of the area of operation. When Gregory Liao discusses removing the Commanding General, a majority of the Star League Council cast informal votes against doing so and suggest that they might be willing to impeach Liao for repeating the tactics Sun-Tzu Liao used against St Ives thirty years earlier.

Melissa Sandoval-Steiner-Davion enrolls at the Nagelring.

Tabitha Steiner-Davion enters the naval officer’s course at the Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan.

3094

Establishment of the Fifth Ceti Hussars. Harrison Sandoval transfers to the Hussars with a promotion to company commander.

Morgan Steiner-Davion graduates from Sanglamore and is assigned to the Tenth Lyran Guards with the rank of Fahnenjunker, assigned as aide to the commander of the ‘Mech regiment

Artoria Sandoval-Steiner-Davion graduates from NAIS and is assigned to the Fourteenth Donegal Guards. She follows her elder brother’s example and changes her name, specifically to Artoria Luvon, upon being formally confirmed as heiress to Donegal.

Melissa Sandoval-Steiner-Davion begins an exchange year at NAIS.

Gregory Liao resigns at the start of the Whitting Conference, rather than waiting until the end as was customary. Giselle Marik is nominated as the First Lord but falls one vote short. Protector Erik Martens-Calderon is elected as the thirteenth First Lord of the Second Star League. The Trinity Federation applies for provisional membership of the Star League and is granted this, exiting the Martial Alliance. Hanse Steiner-Davion meets Agatha Rousset-Marik for the first time during the Conference.

3095

Gregory Liao dies suddenly and is replaced as chancellor by David Lear, Duke of St Ives. Erik Martens-Calderon attends the coronation as the first stop of a tour visiting every national capital within the Star League, as well as dozens of other worlds. This tour is credited with redeeming the reputation of his office after Gregory Liao’s behaviour.

Artoria Luvon and Morgan Steiner-Davion are both promoted to leutnant and given command of lances in their respective units.

Sixth Martial Olympiad takes place. Melissa Allard-Liao and Kitsune Kurita face off in what is considered the most impressive battlemech duel of their generation. After both ‘Mechs are disabled, the victory goes to Kitsune on points. He receives permanent promotion to Major in the SLDF after commanding his battalion as a brevet-Major for two years.

Hanse Steiner-Davion is transferred to serve in the Fifth Royal Guards as a company commander.

Galen Cox begins evaluating candidates to replace him as Commanding General of the SLDF.

3096

Visiting Alpheratz, Erik Martens-Calderon negotiates a new associate status for the Outworlds Alliance rather than their continued provisional membership. He participates in a SLDF anti-pirate operation in the area - one of several he had ordered. Captain Calvin Bernstein-Marik is appointed as the First Lord’s aide.

Tabitha Steiner-Davion graduates her academy and is assigned to serve on the Fox-class corvette FCS Tabitha Steiner as a Fahnenjunker.

Melissa Sandoval-Steiner-Davion graduates from the Nagelring and is assigned to the First Nagelring Cadet Cadre as a Fahnenjunker and acting lance commander.

3097

Tabitha Steiner-Davion is promoted to Leutnant in the Federated Commonwealth Navy. Melissa Sandoval-Steiner-Davion is promoted to Leutnant, still with the First Nagelring Cadet Cadre.

Professor Arthur Kurita is shot and seriously wounded by a cadet at the Warrior’s Hall who was taking a course at the University of Saso. A formal request is made in Duke George Hasek’s court that the professor be stripped of tenure and fired. The Duke responds with a flat refusal, supported by the majority of students and staff at the University, and dismisses three officials in his service for attempting to punish the victim. The shooter is formally dismissed from the academy and faces trial for attempted murder. Elements of the New Syrtis March Militia and the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers are required to keep order in Saso after the guilty is declared, with political marches both supporting and decrying the decision.

Hanse Steiner-Davion meets Agatha Rousset-Marik again on New Earth, surprising their parents with the revelation that the two have been in regular but discreet correspondence. It’s plain that they’ve built a close friendship. There is intense private discussion between the two and their immediate families as any hint of a romance might have profound political impact.

At the Fourteenth Whitting Conference, the Trinity Federation receives full membership of the Star League. Giselle Marik once again fails to be elected as First Lord and Khan Jordan Jorgenssen is also put forward, but doesn’t receive enough votes. Peter Steiner-Davion elected as the First Lord for the second time. Due to the increased burden of the office, he asks his heir Hanse Steiner-Davion to take a three year leave of absence from his military duties to serve as regent on New Avalon, replacing Lucy Davion.

3098

Agatha and Sabine Rousset-Marik quarrel privately over the former’s friendship with Hanse Steiner-Davion. Faced with her younger sister's claim that this betrays their dead uncle, aunt and grandparents who died in the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, Agatha departs Augustine and enrolls at Focht War College for a transition course building on her previous military training.

Commanding-General Galen Cox declares his intention to retire at the next Whitting Conference, leaving the Council more than two years to select a successor to lead the SLDF.

Calvin Bernstein-Marik resigns from the SLDF and accepts a commission in the Silver Hawks Coalition’s Krushers regiment. He also becomes an outspoken proponent of the Coalition remaining independent from the Free Worlds League; contrasting his cousin, Joshua Cox-Marik, who has a more moderate stance on relations with their neighbours.

First Lord Peter Steiner-Davion visits Atreus and personally signs the final repayments to clear the Federated Commonwealth’s war loans from 3051, settling the balances several years ahead of schedule. Who will be elected as his successor in two years is already under quiet discussion and it’s claimed Giselle Marik attempts to negotiate a price for the Archon-Prince’s vote at the Fifteenth Whitting Conference. In addition to Khan Jordan Jorgenssen, it’s believed that Magestrix Naomi Centrella and Duchess Evelynn Humphreys are actively seeking the office.

Janos Marik leaves Atreus to visit Andurien, Tamarind and Dieudonne in attempts to renew ties with the Free Worlds League’s lost provinces. Expectations are low but he believes any progress would be a start, and if Joshua Cox-Marik succeeds his mother as Foreign Minister of the Silver Hawks Coalition then the richest of the three may be favorably inclined.

Melissa Sandoval-Steiner-Davion is reassigned to the New Avalon March Militia as a lance commander. She is formally named heir-apparent to the County of the Isle of Avalon by the unmarried and childless Catherine Steiner-Davion. In addition to her own military duties and supporting her aunt’s political and financial activities, Melissa spends considerable time with her cousin Hanse, although the two differ considerably on some policy issues.

masterarminas · « **Reply #64 on:** August 28, 2021, 10:41:23 PM »

Does this mean the story is done?

drakensis · « **Reply #65 on:** August 29, 2021, 03:08:43 AM »

It does.

Takiro · « **Reply #66 on:** August 29, 2021, 10:43:02 PM »

Will you be putting this together in one or more pdfs/ print out?

drakensis · « **Reply #67 on:** August 30, 2021, 03:11:58 AM »

Probably not, but it's on my ff.net account

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