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C'mon, Victor is soo obviously Luke.... Hanse is Ben

"Aren't you a little short to be an Elemental."

ComStar First Circuit Compound
Hilton Head Island, Terra
17 November 3028

Villius Tejh watched the sun rise over the Atlantic from the patio outside his Terran residence. It felt very symbolic of the new era that the Inner Sphere was on the cusp of. With the League now in alliance with the Federated Commonwealth states, there was no doubt in the Precentor's opinion that the previous balance of power between the Successor States had been shattered.

If nothing else, the Capellan Confederation was clearly doomed and by extension the importance of Precentor Sian, the voice of ComStar to one of the Successor Lords, was going to go into a steep decline. No one on the First Circuit was so crass as to equate revenues from their respective sectors with political power, but with Tiepolo clearly blind to the likely outcome of the war and Waterly reduced to almost hysterical raving, a shake up was evidently due.

Perhaps giving up being Precentor Sian might simply involve taking up a higher position. Tejh smiled slightly and sipped from his tea. He'd taken a liking to ginseng after being served it once by the Chancellor.

"The sun would seem to be rising for certain powers."

Tejh turned and saw that Ulthan Everson was standing on the other side of the wall that seperated the patio from the beach. There was a path there, used mostly by security staff. "And it sets for others," he replied, setting aside his cup and walking towards Precentor Tharkad.

"That is always the way, while humanity continues to fight over the scraps of the Star League," Everson observed somewhat primly. "A zero sum game, if you will."

"The Blessed Blake gave us the keys to break that paradigm," answered Tejh. "When the time is right."

Everson rested one hand on top of the stone wall. "Just because we have the keys does not mean that someone else cannot force the door open," he pointed out. "Have you spoken to Huthrin lately regarding Davion's Institute of Science?" Huthrin Vandel, Precentor New Avalon, among his other responsibilities was keeping as close an eye on that development as was possible.

"Yes, although we were mostly discussing Xiang's theories on a secret BattleMech facility located somewhere in the Capellan March. Something we both hope doesn't actually exist."

"Hope is one thing," Everson returned. "The possibility is very good. Designs such as the Hatchetman and Wolfhound could be just the beginning."

Tejh's lips parted to reply but an electronic bleep from his waist interupted him. "Excuse me, please." He pulled a small device - the senior representative of ComStar to House Steiner recognised it as a secure communicator, probably a relay from the offices in the mansion that reared above them - out of a hip pocket and walked back towards the table, studying the small screen. "I see."

"What happened?"

Precentor Sian closed the device up and returned it to his pocket. "ROM have finished analyzing reports from several worlds in the Capellan March to New Avalon. It seems that Chancellor Liao's grand counterstroke has misfired - critically." The man lifted his tea and drained his cup before retracing his steps towards his colleague. "Fortunately, it doesn't seem that there was anything of substance on Axton after all."

"Well that counts as good news." Everson glanced along the shore to where the rest of the compound was waking up. "The question is, what will he do now?"

Tejh smiled. "I believe Chancellor Liao is increasingly irrelevant to our calculations. It may be time to start thinking about a future without the Capellan Confederation." He reached over and clapped the surprised Everson on the shoulder. "Please convey my apologies to the rest of the First Circuit."

Everson blinked. "What? Why?"

"I need to see a man on Elgin," Tejh told him, turning to walk back towards his residence.

Very nice, thought I was reading a canon novel. Seems to stick to what actually happened.

High Orbit, Bentley
Sian Commonality, Capellan Confederation
7 December 3028

The planet Bentley looked remarkably peaceful, Ardan Sortek thought. Looks, of course, could be deceiving. The FWLM had been remarkably accomodating to the newly arriving liason officer, including giving him a full and he would guess fairly uneditted summary of the tactical situation down below.

The arrival of Janos Marik and his Task Force had been followed by fanatical resistance in some areas and near collapse of the planet's defences in others. While the 1st Free Worlds Guards and the 1st Atrean Dragoons had dealt with the first problem, the 3rd Oriente Hussars had made a rapid sweep of more accomodating areas, taking control of more than half the planet at a walkover. The easy days had come to an abrupt end when Archibald McCarron arrived on planet with three of his five regiments, managing to place his landing zones neatly around the Hussar's positions.

Cornered, the Hussars had made the smart call and punched through the lines of The Wild Ones, the least capable of the three regiments, but there was no doubt that they'd taken a severe beating. It had been a reminder that no matter how savaged it might be, the Capellan Confederation was still capable of striking back.

Since then, the offensive had been stalled, with no clear advantage emerging - something that was quite an achievement given that McCarron's regiments had carved a long path of destruction through the Federated Suns a few years before, with no one succeeding in stopping them before they made a triumphant return to the Confederation.

Around Ardan a pair of technicians finished connecting the airlocks of the dropship he was travelling on to the jumpship that they had been directed to dock with. With a hiss of air, the door slid aside, followed shortly afterwards by a second door, this one belonging to the jumpship. With a nod to the crew, Ardan bounded forwards through the doors, drifting in zero gravity into the other vessel.

Waiting in the small compartment, alongside three armed guards and a lone spaceman who had been handling the airlock, was Janos Marik.

The Captain-General's face was lined more heavily than it had been only a few months before at Hanse's wedding, but he seemed still possessed of the same vital energy as he reached forward to grasp Ardan's hand. "Welcome to the Capellan Confederation," he boomed triumphantly. "Didn't have any trouble getting here, did you?"

Ardan shook his head. "None at all. We share a border now and following your supply lines through Oriente brought me most of the way here."

Janos grimaced. "Well that's a resource that's dried up," he said. "Not that I'm surprised."

"I hadn't heard that there was trouble between you and the duchy?" Ardan asked in surprise.

"Oh, there isn't. But victory has a surfeit of fathers and they want their supplies for another thrust into the Confederation." The Marik waved his hands expansively. "Now that they know it's possible, the provinces are falling all over themselves to get in on the action. Can't very well say no."

Ardan considered what he knew of the League's Capellan border as Marik led him out of the compartment and towards the front of the jumpship. "Where are they hitting?"

"You'd do better to ask where they aren't hitting. Andurien's making a grab for Betelgeuse, Oriente and Orloff are making a push towards Capella - although I don't rate their chances at getting that far frankly - and you've probably heard that the Sirians grabbed Sirius and are now fighting on Procyon." He paused and grinned, looking years younger. "Zion - Zion for god's sake! - managed to cobble a brigade of Mercs together and are talking about taking Tall Trees, Saiph and New Canton. I'd tell them to go for Aldebaran if you hadn't taken it already."

"My god. The border's on fire from end to end." Ardan paused and then chuckled. "Mind you, much the same has happened to us according to Hanse's last message. The Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers got unleashed on Ares and if they keep going then there's talk of cutting St Ives off from the rest of the Confederation."

"Huh." Janos started counting off on his fingers. "Tikonov. Aldebaran, Ares and St Ives on your side. Betelgeuse, Sirius and Sian on ours." His grin grew, if anything, wider. "Well now. Pull that little scheme off and once I've taken Sian there'll only be one BattleMech factory left in the Capellan hands. That'll put a crimp on Max's little games, assuming he makes it off Sian to begin with."

"Well, that's why those worlds are military targets." Ardan looked around as Janos led him into the command deck of the jumpship. "How long do you expect it to take to reach Sian?"

The Captain-General smirked. "The planet or the system?"

There was the brief, brutal nausea of a jumpdrive activating.

"Goddammit, if they'd waited one damn minute that would have been a hell of a punchline," Janos grumbled.

Ardan looked over at the navigational display, which had clouded with static. As it cleared, helped by a thump to one side by one of the officers, what was revealed was evidently not Bentley's local space. If he was reading the icons correctly the ship had emerged at the nadir jump point of an entirely different star system. It looked awfully lonely there. "Let me guess. This is Sian?"

"Close enough."

"From your reports I'd rather thought that you were bogged down on Bentley."

Janos shrugged his shoulders, sending the tassels and other ornamentation of his uniform swaying impressively. "Archie McCarron's stalled two of my task forces - Bentley and Krin if you want to be specific. The other two should be here shortly and with the provinces weighing in."

This time the universe decided to give the Marik a proper timing for dramatic statements.

"Jumpships arriving!" called out a crewwoman and icons on the tactical plot began to spring into existence, white at first and then popping into purple detail as their IFF systems were read and recognised.

"Jos' Kimbolton and his task force arriving from Preston," Sortek heard the Marik murmur as he perused the details. "RhoneGard is with the 9th Militia so that must be - ah, there he is." The old man pointed at one of the jumpships. "Monty Van Castille's command ship, so the troops from Castrovia are jumping in as well."

Ardan thought back to his briefing. "Second Free Worlds Guards, the Atrean Hussars and four regiments of the Marik Militia? It's an impressive force, my lord, but if Liao manages to pull the Big Mac off Bentley and Krin to reinforce him then it won't be enough."

"Five regiments - the 13th Marik Militia are coming out of reserve," Marik corrected. "But yes, you're right. That's why the rest of the reserves are going to Langsdorf and Alacàla with orders to pin McCarron's boys d-" He paused. "Dammit. Of all the lousy..."

On the tactical plot, one of the white icons turned green instead of purple.

"Enemy jumpship!" shouted the grey-haired woman wearing the bars and braids of a naval commodore. "Battlestations, launch all fighters.

No but it is on life support.

Quote from: Rainbow 6 on March 13, 2010, 02:35:16 PM

No but it is on life support.

You know when an animal/human is more dangerous?
When it/he/she is cornered, hence Sun Tzu's advice to always let a way out to any enemy to let them run away.

There's always the Periphery.

ComStar First Circuit Compound
Hilton Head Island, Terra
7 December 3028

Myndo Waterly's eyes flicked around the First Circuit. "Has Precentor Sian provided any justification for his absence?"

I seem unable to keep my proteges upon my own path, the Primus sighed. First Myndo's defective ideals take her away and now Vilnius has simply departed, I know not where. "He has not," he replied out loud. "And while it is within his remit to come and go as his duties require him, unless such a reason his provided, he comes close to ending his tenure in that office." Tiepolo raised his hand to subdue the triumph rising in Waterly's eyes. "I am sure you recall, Precentor Dieron, that the First Circuit must account for themselves to the Primus only monthly, even if more frequent communication is the custom. If Vilnius Tejh believes that he has nothing of note to report then he has until the seventeenth of this month before he must confirm this to me."

"If I may satisfy, to some extent, Precentor Dieron's curiousity, sir." Tojo Jarlath stepped forwards. His stock with the First Circuit had not been high, given the twin shocks of Davion's bold assault and Marik's decision to turn his coat against his Kapteyn Pact. Still, thus far the head of ROM had managed to hold onto his position. "It is known that Precentor Tejh has visited Colonel Pavel Ridzik's command centre on Elgin and that he then embarked aboard one of our Order's ships, jumping in the direction of Sian. If that is indeed his destination then it is likely that he has been there for two or three days now, and a report would be on its way here to confirm that."

"Then we will wait for that message, or for Precentor Sian to prove derelict in his duties," Tiepolo observed. "Now, if Precentor Dieron will permit that we return to the purpose of these proceedings...?" Waterly looked away. "Good. Precentor ROM, your reports?"

"It would appear that Precentor Sian is heading directly for the centre of events." Jarlath clasped his hands behind his back. "Despite being heavily engaged by Archibald McCarron's regiments on two worlds, Janos Marik is moving troops forwards. Given that he is in easy range of Sian, I must assume that he is preparing for a final push in the near future. For first time since the 2790s, the capital of a Successor State is in real danger of falling. Also en route to the same destination are Duchess Candace Liao with all three regiments of the St Ives Lancers and Michael Hasek-Davion. The former, combined with Sian's existing garrison, may be enough to halt Marik. The latter's prospects are less promising."

"I would expect Hasek-Davion to promise to pull the Capellan March out of the Federated Suns and into alliance with the Maxmilian Liao. He has little else to offer." Huthrin Vandel shrugged his shoulders. "I'm unsure if he could succeed, but it is likely that even the attempt would force Hanse Davion to cease his offensive in order to prevent it from sparking a civil war within his realm."

"Fragmentation." Tiepolo nodded his head. "Just as the Blessed Blake foresaw, the Successor States begin to collapse."

"You see collapse." From her place in the circle, Waterly remained unconvinced. "I see Hanse Davion going from strength to strength. With Hasek-Davion on Sian, the First Prince has everything he needs to disgrace his rival once and for all. And if you think Lestrade's games will unseat Katrina Steiner then you are dangerously optimistic."

"Let me guess. You want an Interdiction of the Federated Suns." Vandel shook his head. "We all agreed that we would do so only if Sarna was to be attacked, something that is far from being the case."

Waterly's eyes flashed with anger. "If Sian falls then Sarna becomes irrelevant. Davion and Marik will divide the remaining Capellan worlds between them and not even an Interdiction would halt them. Do not forget, Janos Marik is a direct descendant of Charles Marik. Interdiction weakens a state, but alone it is not enough to break them."

"Then what would you have us do, Precentor Dieron? At this time we would have difficulty justifiying an Interdiction and you think we should go beyond it?"

"The danger we face is the union of three Sucessor States. We have to break that unity. Janos Marik and Katrina Steiner can commit their forces freely against their enemies because their mutual border is peaceful. That must change. There is enough hatred on either side that once raids begin, they will be impossible to stop. Additionally, distrust must be sown between Davion and Marik. A strike at one, disguised as the actions of another. Preferably by Marik units against part of Davion's damned NAIS. ROM can execute such actions easily."

All eyes turned to Jarlath, who frowned. "We have that capability. If -" He raised his hand and repeated himself for emphasis. "If it is the will of the First Circuit to do so."

Tiepolo looked very calmly at Waterly. "You are letting your emotions get away from you. Perhaps Vilnius has the right idea." He clasped his hands. "At this time, we will do nothing. We will wait. We will listen. For now." His eyes narrowed. "Return to your respective postings and observe. Precentor ROM, ensure that you have assets ready for the operations that have been suggested. If they prove desirable, the window of opportunity will be short."

"Window -"

"The decision is made, Precentor Dieron." Their eyes met across the chamber, Waterly's furious and her one time mentor's unflinching. "The Blessed Blake's predictions will come to pass. If not at this time then at another."