The Other Option KFS Book 1

THE OTHER OPTION
KAPTEYNS FIRST STRIKE

BOOK 1 Plans within plans
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WritersNote:Thisisanalternatetimelinestorysetin3022,whichrewritestheleaduptoo, andoutbreakofthe4thSuccessionWar.Itisbasedfirstlyonthesidebaronpage57ofthe original House Marik Sourcebook, but quickly diverges into an alternate reaction by ComStar and the Kapteyn powers. The results of the invasions will be gamed out and the story of the alternate war slowly written as I progress the results of the war, using my own highly detailed version of Succession Wars/Inner Sphere in Flames. Dont think Im VSD hateroranythinglikethat,IamastaunchLyran andknowtheywillhaveeventualmastery over known space. Its just that I wanted to see what would happen if the Kapteyn powers hadmannedupalittle.
THEOTHEROPTION:KAPTEYNSFIRSTSTRIKE Book1:PlansWithinPlans
Book1 PlansWithinPlans
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Chapter1 Elmau,Bavaria,Terra. 15September,3022. TheoldestSuccessorLordintheInnerSphereseemedbowedoverbytheweight of his bitter experience, bowed by Civil War, the betrayal of siblings and the loss of children. Although apparently still strong, his ever growing burdens were readily apparent to the other man in the room, a man whose bolt straight stature and strong physique bespokeofamaninhisprime,whobelievedinnotonlyinhiscurrentself,buthispersonal visionofhisowndestiny. TakashiKuritaextendedhishandtograspthatoftheother,thetiredone,andfor a moment, two of the most powerful men in existence stood toe to toe, one in the rose pleated, long sleeve jacket, with buff striped white stirrup pants, of a member of the Free Worlds Guards, whilst the stronger of the two wore a garb consisting of a high collared white tunic with orange stripes down its arms and centre, set against red striped black pantsandhighleatherboots. CaptainGeneral Marik, it is a good to meet you at last. We have much of importancetodiscuss. The man in purple, CapitanGeneral Janos Marik, thought for a moment before breaking their grip and replying. Yes Coordinator, we have much to discuss and many problemstoresolve,althoughIamsureourmeetingswillbeproductiveandbeneficial. Takashi turned his head, showing the grey that was slowly encroaching upon his jetblacktemplesandlookedoutacrossthevistathatthespartanandlittlefurnishedroom provided. I trust your journey here was as pleasant as the vistas our destination provides. Yes Lord Kurita, a most pleasant journey. It has been many years since I last visitedmyancestralhomeland.Imustthankyouforchoosingthisregionforourmeeting;I have many pleasant memoriesof it from my youth. Will you be visiting your own peoples landwhilsthere? Takashi paused before answering. Should I visit the Land of the Rising Sun, I would be compelled by honour and duty to pay my respects to the Emperor, something that I am sure would become public knowledge in a small amount of time. I do not wish eithertheSteinersorDavionstolearnofourmeetingsoeasily. Abruptly, Kurita turned, and, fixing the Marik with an expression that was half wry humour and half sadistic amusement, said, "It is probably time that we welcomed our third partner." Before Janos Marik could reply, the pair of oak doors at the rear of the room swung wide, and Maximilian Liao walked into the room, his perfectly tailored uniform ablaze with military ribbons and decorations, some of them clearly from the long warbetweentheCapellansandtheFreeWorldsLeague. MarikglaredatKurita,thenatLiao,thenbackatKurita."Whatishedoinghere?" hefinallyasked.
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"Heisheretonegotiatepeace,ofcourse,"Kuritareplied,extendingahandtothe small Capellan. "He is here because he is an enemy of our enemy, Hanse Davion." He dropped Liao's hand and turned to face Marik once more. "He is also a loaded gun, friend Janos. It is better to take such weapons in hand and point them away from ones self, then to leave them for an enemy to pick up. I'msureyou agree." Liao flinched at the metaphor, butsmiled,showingarowofperfectteeth. "Youwouldmakethisanecessaryconditionofourownalliance?"Marikasked. "Iwould." "AndifIdonotchoosetonegotiatewithsuchashim?" Then your realm will bear the brunt of the coming war and there will be little I candotosaveyouoryourpeoplesaidanewvoicebehindJanos. The Marik spun around to see the red robes of a ComStar Precentor and the visageherecognisedasthatofMyndoWaterly,PrecentorDieron,hergoldhairframingher facelikeaniridescenthalo,aneffecthewassureshehadtakenmuchtimetocreate. Save my realm? How do you propose to undertake such an action and more importantly still, what makes you think my realm will bear the brunt of any attack Precentor? Should our noble friends here today, negotiate an alliance between each other, our mutual enemy, Hanse Davion will be hemmed in and his courses of action limited. He wouldthenbeforcedtocompeltheLyranstoconsummatetheirnewalliancewithastrike into, and through, your Terran holdings in an effort to unite the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns. I am also most sure, that given such a tempting situation and with no treaty as a break on his actions, Chancellor Liao would have little compunction in finishing youoff. ThePrecentorsmiledbenignlyattheCaptainGeneralandthepredatorysmileon the face of Maximillian Liao only emphasised her point. That little Liao bastard would do anything to reclaim what we have taken from his realm over the centuries. Precentor Dieroniscorrectanddammherforbeingso. JanossmiledandbowedhisheadinMyndosdirection.Asalways,ComStarsees to the heart of the matter at hand with clarity that is ever omniscient. Please excuse my rudeness,Ididnotexpectsomanytobepartofourdiscussion. MyndobowedinreturnPleaseCaptainGeneral,youhavecommittednowrong, my vehemence is fuelled only by the great threat that confronts us all. Should Hanse Davion and Katrina Steiner pull their alliance together, we are all in grave danger, hence whythePrimushasdirectedmetoseethatthesenegotiationsareasfruitfulaspossible. The Precentor extended a hand to take in the stuffed couches that surrounded the low table in the rooms centre Please gentlemen, make yourselves comfortable, we havemuchtodiscussandonlysomuchtimetodoso. The four sat themselves at the cardinal points of the table, none wishing to be too close to a neighbour. Marik and Liao sat facing each other, something to be expected giventhecircumstances. Myndo began speaking once all four were settled, slowly moving her gaze from one Successor Lord to the next. I wish to take some time to explain the course of action
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which must be followed by all here to ensure our survival in the coming years. Should we falter on this path, our ends at the hands of thenascent Federated Commonwealth will be swiftindeed. Takashi Kurita responded as the other two Lords nodded Please Precentor, take allthetimenecessary. Thankyou Lord Kurita. As you are all aware Hanse Davion and Katrina Steiner have concluded an alliance between the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth, which has been dubbed the Federated Commonwealth Alliance. Each of you will already haveseensomeresultsofthisalliancethroughthetradeandintelligenceexchangeswhich havestrengthenedbothrealms?Allthreenoddedinagreement. Whatyoumaynotbeawareofarecertainsecretclauseswithinthe FC Alliance document that could spell the end of the balance of power in the Inner Sphere.Thethreemen,despitethemselves,allleanedforward,eventhestoicKurita. When the Alliance was signed in May, it provided for more than just trade and intelligence. Secret clauses provide for the merger of the two realms into a single super statethatwillbecementedbythemarriageofHanseDavionandMelissaSteineruponher reachinghereighteenthbirthday. This would mean disaster! Exclaimed Liao. We would be exterminated one by one. Whyhas ComStar waited this long to tell the otherpowers of theseprovisions? Have youtakensidesagainstus? ComStar still has not told you of this. I have told you of this, and at great personalrisk.ThePrimusdoesnotbelieveyouyetneedtoknow. Silence fell across the table. You mean to tell us that your organisation has allowed the greatest threat to the Inner Spheres future to come to fruition and then decided to take no action to counter it? Kurita asked leaning across the table a skewering Myndo with a look that she was sure presaged the death of any other it could have been directedat. Myndopaused,tosteadyherself.Yesandatthesametimeno. I sense there are deep factional politics at work in your organisation, are there notPrecentorDieron?askedJanos. Yes CaptainGeneral, there are. There are many, like myself, who believe Primus Tiepolo has lost site of Blakes blessed vision and is leading us down a path to disaster. This faction has appointed me to be their head and ensure that your states are informed of events and provided with the means and methods to counter this coming storm. That is all well and good Precentor, but how do you propose to live past this meeting? I am sure the Primus will view your actions and those of your allies dimly? said TheMarik. I will survive because he will not here of it. ROM is loyal to Precentor ROM and PrecentorROMisloyaltome. I see you ensured your path was secure before taking it, and if your intelligence apparatusisloyaltoyouthroughPrecentorROM,thenyoucanreportwhatyoulikeofour meetings.Ifeelsomeconfidenceinwhatweplanherenow.SaidtheLiao.
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Takashiimmediatelyretorted,DonotbesoquicktogloatMaximillian,shortofa couporthePrimussteppingdownforsomereason,thiswillcometoaheadandwhenthat happens,shouldPrecentorDieronsfactioncomeouttheworseforit,wewillbeleftoutin thecold. You are correct Lord Kurita, that what you speak of is a possibility. However, measures are being taken and can be enacted that will assure you will receive the full supportofourorderinyourendeavours. Very well, I will accept your word for now. However, should at any time I believe you have been compromised, I will ensure that the Combine will take no further partinyourefforts.So,whatofyourplan?WhatdoyouproposethatwillhaltthisSteiner Daviondemon?askedKurita. Myndo smiled gracefully and looked up In January of 3025, twentyseven months from now, with assistance in the form of transport, intelligence and mercenaries from ComStar, your three realms will launch a coordinated invasion of the Terran regions of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth, ensuring that they have no chance of everphysicallyunitingtheirrealmsandshowingtheirallianceforthefictionitis.
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Chapter2 Elmau,Bavaria,Terra. 16September,3022. Janos Marik stared out over the pristine vista of the Bavarian Alps as he awaited theotherstojoinhimforthedaysmeetings.Heenjoyedthetimeherebyhimself,soaking in Terras fundamental beauty.There wassomething about humanities mother world that brought peace to him when he visited. Others had spoken of the same phenomena, with doctors coming to the consensus that despite humans having been settled on other stars fornearly1000yearstheirbodies,controlledbytheirgeneticcodeandshapedbyabillion yearsofevolutiononTerra,knewwhentheywerehome.ThePeaceofTerrawasthename forthephenomenon.Itwasagreatironyindeed,thatwhilstfeelingthisinnerpeaceJanos andtheotherSuccessorLordspresent,wereplanningforwar. Precentor Dierons announcement the day before had effectively ended the meetingassherequestedeachofthemtothinkontheproposalofpreemptivewar.Janos was against it, against it until his own son Thomas, still part of ComStar and his secretly designated heir, visited him and convinced him of the necessity for the war and certain measures that could be taken to ensure the Free Worlds Leagues future safety and the Marik families hold upon power in the League. Thomass plan was not only bold, but would force the ever bickering League Provinces to fully support the CaptainGeneral in their own enfeeblement. That still left Liao, that scheming monster who had turned Janoss own brother Anton against him in 3015, tearing the League apart in yet another Civil War. Unless Precentor Dieron could hobble the little wretch, Janos had resolved that theLeaguewouldtakenopartinthewar. The oak doors opened behind Janos and he turned to see Maximillian and Takashi enter. Greetings were exchanged, forcibly with Liao, formally with Kurita and all three bowed as Precentor Waterly entered the room. All four sat quickly and the SuccessorLordslookedtoMyndotostartproceedings. I trust you have all had time to digest what I presented yesterday and again I apologise for startling you with the boldness of my plan, but again I must stress that dangeroustimescallfordangerousmethods. Marik spoke I am sure we all agree with you Precentor, but I must make one thing plainly clear. If I am to launch a war of aggression I must ensure certain conditions aremet. Myndo nodded, causing the hood of her robe to fall from her head Please fell freetoairyourconcerns. Thankyou Janos began The Free Worlds League is, as you well know, technically ruled by a Parliament composed of Representatives of the multitude of Provinces of the League. I must either neutralise Parliament in some fashion, or gain sufficient additional forces and supplies to make their support irrelevant. My son Thomas hasaplan,oneIcanenactquicklyonmyreturn,butIwillstillrequireadditionalsourcesof supply and quite possibly additional mercenary troops to either support a full scale
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invasion of Steiner space or protect League worlds whose garrisons are at the front. Secondly, due to seven centuries of mutual distrust, I need more than a paper agreement withtheCapellanConfederationtoprotectmyback.IdonottrusttheChancellorandIam suretheChancellordoesnottrustme. The half smile, half sneer on Maximillians face was enough to conform Janoss theory. Perhaps you should crush your Parliament and behave like a true Successor Lord?snappedLiao. And give you an excuse to take advantage of the chaos that would ensue my Lord?Notlikely!Marikshotback. Enough bickering declared Kurita I am sure the esteemed Precentor Dieron hasthoughtaheadtosuchmattersandcanexplainherthoughtstous? Thankyou Lord Kurita, I can. ComStar will ensure that, should all three realms launch a coordinated strike, supplies be furnished in a timely fashion that will allow for extended combat operations. Eyebrows around the table were raised at this. Additionally, ComStar will provide mercenary troops to garrison vacated worlds on the Capellan/Leaguebordertomaintainthestatusquo.Anyaltercation,startedbyeitherside on the border, will see both realms suffer the effects of a border long communication interdiction, effectively placing the region in limbo. We will encourage the smaller more belligerent Periphery powers to step up their own raids and assaults and lastly, but most importantly, ComStar will provide the means for all three realms to raise additional line regimentstosupportanyassault. WhatdoyoumeanbyComStarprovidingforcesandsupplies?Wherewillthese come from? We all know you have a small military arm, but nothing that can conceivably supportwhatyouplan.WhatdarksecretsdoyouhidehereonTerra?GrowledTakashi. Myndo centred herself. Now for the great lie. Although like any lie it is based on a truth. As you know, when General Kerensky took Terra, many Rim Worlds troops surrendered were they stood. It was never made public exactly how many surrendered or what equipment was taken from them. Kerensky had the Rim Worlds material placed in storage, a storage that was left behind in favour of more modern equipment when he departed on the Exodus. Seventyfive years ago, this cache of equipment was discovered in Antarctica by ComStar science teams and it formed the basis for equipping our small forceofComGuards.However,thesizeofthecachewas,andis,beyondanythingComStar requires. I propose to use this underutilised resource to equip your armies to a level that will enable you to conduct effective offensive operations. The equipment is roughly analogoustowhatyourtroopspossessnow,Kerenskyhavingstrippedanyhightechnology items from the cache, and the limited support facilities here on Terra, such as munitions factoriesandthelike,thatsurvivedtheUsurperswarwillbeusedtosupplyyourforces. A bold plan Precentor muttered Liao and what will your Primus, not to mentiontherestofyourordersaywhenyoudropthatbombshellonthem?Youexpectus tobelievethatyoucanarrangefortheFirstCircuittoswallowthisnonsense. Theywillbecauseyouwillenablemeto.ShotMyndo
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And how so, little Precentor? By first invading the Terran system perhaps? Or would you like us to assassinate the Primus for you? If you have brought us here to tell us fairytalesIwillreturntoSiantonight!ShoutedLiao. Myndos voice dropped to a whisper. Do not mock me Chancellor. The Primus and the First Circuit will join us one way or the other, I will see to that. The information I asked you to provide me will ensure my plan for this war will be followed. With Precentor Sian eliminated as a rival it will be easy to discredit Precentors Tharkad and New Avalon. My vision protects ComStar by following the basic tenants of Blakes blessed vision; this is apparent to any in our order who follow his word. When Precentor Sian falls, the Primus willhavenochoicebuttobackme,orhetoowillfall. WhatisthisinformationofwhichyouspeakPrecentor?AskedJanos. Precentor Sian has been using his access to the HPG network to dabble in insider trading on the Sian stock exchange so that he can enjoy the comforts to which he believeshimselfentitled.IaskedtheChancellortousehiscontroloftheexchangetobring information regarding Precentor Sians activities to this meeting in exchange for ComStars help.AsPrecentorSianwasappointedbyPrimusTiepoloandhasbeenastaunchbackerof him recently, the Primus must distance himself or fall with his man. I will inform the Primus in advance of my intentions and ensure that not only does he allow my nominee the rightful place of Precentor Sian, but that he provides a whole hearted backing of our plan. You seem smugly confidant that the Primus will back your play. He can merely washhishandsofPrecentorSianandchoosetoblockyourplanshouldhewish. No Lord Kurita, he cannot, for he has been the recipient of several rare and precious gifts from Precentor Sian, all acquired through his elicit dealings. The Primuss hands are dirty and he will know it. He will have only two options: back me; or go down withPrecentorSian.
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Chapter3 HiltonHeadIsland,NorthAmerica,Terra. 20September,3022. Primus Julian Tiepolo looked across his desk, his dun coloured robe seeming to mergewiththewood.YouhavebeenplayinggamesMyndo,haveyounot?Myndofroze. What does he know? How appropriate that you make it appear that you can merge with theverysceneryitself. IdonotplaygamesPrimus,mytimeisfartoovaluableforthat. Oh but you do Myndo and you always have. You are a master of the games of politicsandpoweranditwasforthatveryreasonthatItookyouasmyprotge.Itseems oflatehowever,thatyouhavebeguntoplaydirectlyagainstme.Ialwaysexpectedyouto get to this point; in fact I would have disposed of you eventually if you had not. I had not expected you to be so bold so quickly, but of course, you have never been one for tolerating that which you disagree with. The Primus placed his elbows on the desk and interlaced his fingers, resting his chin upon them as he stared over the top of his old fashionedglasses,hisbaldheadshininginthehalflightofhisspaciousoffice. If my actions are like games to you Primus then we are in graver danger than I believed! Myndo snarled. How many times have I tried to warn you of the danger of the Federated Commonwealth Alliance? You continue to try and justify your actions as a balancing act, but you have overbalanced the scales and they require ComStars firm hand tobringthembackintoorder. The Primus immediately retorted, his own voice growing in volume Precentor, your tirades on this subject are beginning to grate. Your vision of ComStar is one I am beginningtobelieveisdangerousandonethatgoesagainstthewordsoftheBlessedBlake himself. Myndo steadied herself. I go against Blakes teachings? How can you even insinuate that? I am not the one who has allowed the two most powerful states in the Inner Sphere to unite. The same two states who view our order with more disdain than anyothers. The Primus stood, fixing Myndo with a harsh stare. I took the action I deemed necessary as Primus to ensure the continued survival of our order. This alliance would have happened regardless of our actions. I saw it in our interest to have a hand in its formation so that we were fully informed of the Steiners and Davions intentions. What wouldyouhavepreferredmetodo?WouldyouhavepreferredthatComStarstoodidlyby whilstthissuperstatecameintoexistence? Myndo spoke with a forced and measured calm as she pointed a finger at the Primus. I would have preferredyou to act like the Primus of our Blessed Order, instead of HanseDavionslapdog! The Primuss face grew red as he answered I am no mans lap dog! He paused. Igrowtiredofyouaccusations.DoyouwishfacemedownintheFirstCircuit?Isthetime
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of our confrontation at hand Myndo? If it has then I think your ambition has finally overreacheditself. So you force my hand old fool. How narrow your view of my capabilities. Myndo smiledIthinkitistimewediscussthegamesIhavebeenplaying. I see no need now Precentor. I know you have informed Marik, Liao and Kurita ofthemarriage clause.Nodoubtitgalvanisedtheirsupportfor thealliance we wishthem to form. Of course, the need to use this information so soon shows me that you are not the negotiator you would have us all believe you are. The Primus sat, obviously planning togoon.Myndohoweverspokebeforehecouldcontinue. That was merely one action I took, and the one of least concern to you. The actionItookregardingPrecentorSianisoffarmoreimportance. ThePrimusseyesnarrowed.WhatofPrecentorSian.ItrustVilliustoundertake hisdutiesinthecorrectmannerashealwayshas.Iappointedhimtohispositionbasedon hisstandingandhissupportforthetruepathwemustalltake. Thankyou Primus. You have made my task so much easier. I have Primus, in my possession, certified records from the Capellan Confederation that prove, beyond a shadow of doubt, that, as you put it, your most trustworthy Man in Sian, has been interferingintheCapellanstockmarketforhisownpersonaladvantage. The Primus quickly stood again What it this outrage you have fabricated? You have never liked Precentor Sian for his support of my polices, support that has often hinderedyourownplansoflate. Myndo took great pleasure in the course the conversation had taken for she knew she held all the cards in this little game This is no fabrication on my part Primus. These documents come from the Chancellor himself. We are lucky that the Chancellor is more circumscribed than Villius Tejh, as this outrage could stain the credibility of our Blessed Order for years. A Precentor interfering with the working of a sovereign stock exchange.WhatwouldtheotherGreatHousesmakeofthis? The Primus moved to the ceiling length windows of his office and looked out across the view towards the sunset, contemplating his reply. It seems, if this information is correct, that we must cut Precentor Sian loose. Quietly of course. Myndo nodded. How quickly you move to cover yourself Primus As Primus I will have to find a suitable replacementforhim.WhatdoesChancellorLiaowantinreturn? Myndo smiled inwardly as she prepared to pull the rug out from under her old mentor Primus, the Chancellor simply wants that which I want. The Primus turned to facehisPrecentorChancellorLiaoishappyforComStartodealwithPrecentor Sianinany waywewish,aslongasyoudotwothings. The Primus nodded to Myndo And pray Precentor Dieron; what might his requestsbe? Myndo crossed her arms into the sleeves of her long robe before answering. Firstly, the new Precentor Sian will be someone he can trust, someone selected by me Myndo held up a hand as the Primus prepared to interject And secondly; ComStar will support Houses Liao, Kurita and Marik in their impending preemptive strike upon the LyranCommonwealthandFederatedSunsinanywaywecan.
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The Primuss eyes widened as he drew a deep breath Are you mad Precentor? You think that you can dictate ComStar policy to me? You will face me in the First Circuit tonight and I will see that you are stripped of your rank and excommunicated for encouragingsuchoutrageousdemandsfromHouseLords! MyndoapproachedthePrimusuntilshestoodwithininchesofhim,loweringher voice to a whisper. You will do no such thing Primus. Unless of course you wish to fall withPrecentorSian? Sweat broke out on the Primuss forehead before he spoke What do you insinuatenowPrecentor? Myndo smiled at her superior I also have information and evidence that clearly points to you being a direct beneficiary of Precentor Sians actions. I merely have to mentionthisintheFirstCircuitandyourreignasPrimuswillbefinished.Iwillbehailedas a saviour who stood up to ensure our orders purity when our own Primus had sold his soul. The Primus lowered his head. So you wish to be Primus and see the end of me? MyndostoodbackastepIwishnosuchthingoldfriend. Thenwhatisityouwant? You will back my candidate for the position of Precentor Sian, Alethea Lynch, andyouwillpresenttheplanthatIandthethreeHouseLordshavecomeupwith.Youwill receive our support and you can declare that this is just another step in your plan to keep the Houses at war and in balance until we are ready to lead mankind back to salvation. There will be opposition, probably from Everson and Vandel, but you will maintain your dignity as Primus as they will believe you ordered this and have the support of my faction. Additionally,youwillplacemeinchargeoforganisingthesupportforthethreeHousesand subordinatePrecentorsSianandAtreusdirectlytomeinregardstothis. ThePrimusmovedtohisdeskAndifIdonotagree? YourreignasPrimuswillendtonight. The Primus sat back, his shoulders sagging slightly as he massaged his left shoulder with his right hand Very well Myndo, you will have your way. But remember this:WestandapartnowandIwillnolongertakeactiontoprotectyoufromyourpeers. MyndosneeredIneednoprotection.IamprotectedbytheWordofBlake! With that Myndo turned and left the room striding down the hallway from the Primuss office. Dont worry old fool she thought to herself I still need you for now as my baseofpowerisnotsufficienttowinthePrimacyshouldyoufall.However,whicheverway thiswarturnsoutitwillbethelastactofyourtermtoseeitsconclusion.AnysuccessIwill makemyownandanyfailurewillbethatofyourofficealone.
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Chapter4 HiltonHeadIsland,NorthAmerica,Terra. 20September,3022. Primus Julian Tiepolo looked across the First Circuit chamber where each member of the First Circuit stood behind their crystal podiums, resplendent in their red robes of office. Resplendent,apartfromthelooksofopenshockonmostoftheirfaces. The Primus spoke I ask you again Precentor Sian. Can you deny the charges of corruptionIhavelaidbeforetheFirstCircuitheretoday,regardingyourillegalinterference inthestockexchangeofasovereignpowerforyourownmaterialbenefit? Precentor Sian, Villius Tejh looked stricken. Part of the Primus felt sorry for his old friend. Another part held nothing but contempt. Contempt for his actions, and yet more contempt for being stupid enough to get caught and place the office of Primus in such danger. Old friend, you are finished. Please go with dignity, at least that way we can belenient. Precentor Tejh looked the Primus in the face and spoke as though from a thousand miles away No Primus I cannot. There was not a sound in the chamber as he continued, I would tender my resignation immediately and throw myself upon the mercy ofmypeersinjudgingme. Before the Primus could reply Precentor Dieron spoke Excuse me Primus for interrupting, but this news is deeply shocking and goes against all that Blake teaches us. I foroneacceptPrecentorSiansresignation,ashehasdemonstratedthatheinnowayfitto any longer hold his office. However, Precentor Sian was long a dedicated servant of ComStarbeforehiswaywardactionsandIbelievethatthatserviceshouldberecognised.I would suggest, and of course the First Circuit may not agree with me, that in light of his previous service and background, that Villius be permanently exiled to the Explorer Corps to serve out the remainder of his days in useful service expanding our knowledge of the knownuniverse. Precentor Sian was not the only one to look at Precentor Dieron in surprise. All knew her dislike of the man but only the Primus knew the true reason for her action. You seek to make yourself appear a moderate here tonight and your actions just now will give you space to manoeuvre in the debate to come over your plans. My plans now. I must find some way, some hole in your plan, through which I can undo you and remove your new powerfrombehindmythrone. Precentor Tharkad, Ulthan Everson spoke next If Precentor Dieron wishes to makeherstatementamotionIwillsecondit.VilliuswaslongafaithfulservantofComStar andshouldbegiventhechancetoserveouthisdaysatoningforhismisdemeanours. MyndospokeupIdosomakeitamotion. AndthereforeIdosecondit. ThePrimuslookedaroundthechamberArethereanydissentingvoices?When no one spoke he continued. Villius Tejh, for your action in interfering with a sovereign power for your own material ends you are striped of your rank as Precentor and demoted
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to Adept. The usual sentence for such action would normally be death, but due to your previous sterling record of service within our Blessed Order, you are hear by exiled to the Explorer Corps Exploration Arm for active service beginning immediately. Villius merely nodded his head, his figure drained of all its once powerful presence. Guards, escort the Adepttohisquartersandassisthiminpreparingforhisjourney. Nothing was said as the former Precentor was lead from the room. Each person thererealisinghowcloseeachstoodtooblivionshouldtheirpeersturnonthem. OncethedoorsclosedthePrimuslookedacrosstheroomNowforthenextfarce IwouldthrowopentheroomtonominationsforPrecentorSian. Tiepolo had hardly finished when Myndo spoke up. I would first like to place into nomination the name of Alethea Lynch, currently my deputy on Dieron. Her record andacumenspeakforthemselvesandIcanthinkofnobettercandidatefortheposition. There was a pause before Precentor New Avalon, Huthrin Vandel spoke up. I would place the name of Arkady Simonivich, deputy of New Avalon in nomination. He too is of remarkable character and unimpeachable integrity. He would bring honour and dignitytothepostofPrecentorSian. Myndo smiled to herself. Already you seek to cement what you believe as your rightfulplaceas heirapparenttothethrone.Youalwayshavebeenalittletooenamoured ofyourselfHuthrin.Yourhumiliationshouldbemostenjoyabletowatch. After a minute the Primus spoke again. As there are no more nominations I would place the names of Alethea Lynch and Arkady Simonivich to you all to vote. Those supportingLynchneedraisetheirrighthand,thosesupportingSimonivichtheirleft. As the Primus looked at the raised arms of those before him he saw his nightmarescenariocometolight.Adrawnvote. HuthrinVandel,anunholygrinspreadingacrosshisfeatureslookedtothePrimus YouhavethecastingvotePrimus.Whodoyoubelievewillbethebestinthisrole. Damm you Waterly! I have eliminated one supporter tonight and now you force me to alienate another. I believe that, having known both candidates for some time that theonemostsuitedtothepositionofPrecentorSianisAletheaLynch. ItwasallMyndocoulddotonotlaughatthelookthatcontortedVandalsface.I willrememberthisnightforever,ithasbeensuchapleasure. The Primus stood to his full height. I have had enough of this. We will adjourn untilthemorningwhenPrecentorSiancanjoinus.Mattersfordiscussionthenwillrequire theentireFirstCircuit.ThePeaceofBlakebewithyouall. The Primus hardly heard their return I need to rest, to think. I must gain control ofthisdisaster.
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Chapter5 HiltonHeadIsland,NorthAmerica,Terra. 21September,3022. You plan to do WHAT!? shouted Precentor New Avalon. Primus, have you gonecompletelymad?YouseektoembroilourorderdirectlyintheSuccessionWars.This goesagainsteverythingBlaketeachesus. Myndo looked across at the red face of Huthrin Vandel The Primus is the only one here not mad Precentor New Avalon. Think on this: Where have our actions got us in the last 100 years? We are further from our goal now than we were at the end of the Second Succession War. The Primus seeks a way in which to completely hobble the Great Houses and put them in such a position of debt to us and in such a state of disarray that they will need all our help just to survive. Do you not see the brilliance of his plan? The Great Houses will hammer each other into the ground, each alliance too strong to fall but toweaktoconquer. Vandel answered I see no such thing. Others in the room nodded. You seek to openly support one faction. Our credibility will be gone and we will be open toassaultfromallsides. MyndospokewithscorninhervoiceYoufoolishblindoldman.Ifwedonotact soon the SteinerDavion Alliance will become a direct threat to us. Already they do not trust us despite their use of Terra for their negotiations. Davions NAIS is the greatest threat I can imagine and we have allowed to become allied with the mercantile pragmatismoftheLyrans.Wemusttakeactionorwewillfall! The Primus thought to himself quietly as the debate went back and forth for what seemed like hours This is just going in circles now, time to end this nightmare sequence. As he massaged his now ever sore left arm with his right under his robe he began to speak. You have all debated this plan long enough and I place it as a motion before the First Circuit. We will vote on it now and accept the verdict. He began going aroundthechamberoneatatime,askingeachPrecentorfortheirvote. Eventually he came around to Precentor Sian with the nays being one vote ahead.NowweseehowloyalyouaretoyoursponsorPrecentorSian,howdoyouvote? I vote for the motion Primus We are all going to hell because of your mistress girl.Ihopeyoufinditwarmthere. The Primus paused as the last act in his humiliation by his protg reached fruition.HowdoyouvotePrecentorDieron? Ivoteforthemotion.
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Chapter6 Elmau,Bavaria,Terra. 23September,3022. Janos could not help but continue to be amazed and not a little taken aback by the speed at which matters had developed. The more he came to know Precentor Dieron themoreherespectedherandthelesssurehewasofevertrustingher.Thiswomanisthe most accomplished politician I have ever met. I cant ever trust her and I must make sure I never cross her. Unless of course I have her alone and I have a loaded gun. A very big loadedgun. He looked across the table at Precentor Waterly and Takashi Kurita who sat opposite Maximillian Liao and the new Precentor Sian, Alethea Lynch. Precentor Sian was theantithesisofLiao.WereLiaowasthinandpossessedalookofcunningandguile,Lynch was,toputitpolitely,portlyandsomewhatdulllooking.Shehadhowever,provedherself to be anything but dull in the ongoing conversations regarding the coming war and its organisation. Her true test would no doubt be that of keeping Maximillian Liao on a leash and it was for this reason that Janos has sought to cultivate her acquaintance and friendship as much as was possible, much as Max was trying with Precentor Atreus, who satatJanossright. PrecentorAtreus,BernardWoolley,wasaplain lookingmanwithapleasantface thatbespokeofafriendlyattitudewhichwastoppedbyshortdarkhair.Hisapparentgood natured and somewhat bumbling manner hid a razor sharp intellect and instinct for intrigue that had done great service for ComStar during his time dealing with Free Worlds politicsonAtreus. Precentor Dieron began to summarise their basic plan so far before the meeting brokeup.Soweareagreedthen?TheDCMSwilllaunchaninitialassaultagainstboththe Galtor and Moresby Thumbs to draw FC forces away from the Terran region. Following this, FWLM and CCAF forces will launch feints against the outer half of the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns respectively to draw off further forces. Once the allied forces have reacted to these attacks, a strike en masse against the Terran regions of both realms will be undertaken utilising the remaining forces of the DCMS, supported by ComStar hired mercenaries and newly raised troops and by the FWLM and CCAF using forcesstrippedfromtheirmutualborder. Takashi nodded That is the basic plan yes, but it remains to be seen what our highcommandswillmakeofitandhowreadilyimplementabletheplanwillbe. Maximillian continued Of course the plan can only be successful if ComStar provides the promised supplies, Mechs and transport assets as well as additional intelligence on our targets. And what of the Periphery realms? You have spoken of involvingthembeforePrecentor,butyouhaveaddedlittletothatoverthelastweek. MyndonoddedherheadatbothmenIdonotthinkitprudenttoencouragethe Peripheryrealmsuntilwearereadytomove.Theirintelligencenetworksarenotassecure
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as ours and a preemptive strike by the FC Alliance is the last thing we would wish for as yourtroopsareintransit. JanoslookedatPrecentorDieronIagreewithyourassessmentofthePeriphery. However, I still do not believe we will gain complete surprise. The LIC, DMI and MIIO will determinesomethingisamissandbothrealmswillreinforcetosomedegree.Althoughmy esteemedcolleaguesbelievethatwecantakemostoftheFederationofSkyeanddrivethe FederatedSunsbacktoMarlette,Istillthinkwearebeingoverlyambitious.Weshouldset ourselves more limited goals that can be exploited later if we are successful, instead of overreachingandopeningourselvestoadangerouscounterattack. Maximillian Liao looked over at Janos and muttered If you had behaved more boldlybefore3015,perhapsyourbrothermightstillhaveremainedloyal. Janos shot to his feet You wretched cur! How dare you call my reason into disrepute with your poisoned barbs. One day you will receive the reckoning that you deserveforthedamageyouhavedonetomyrealm! PrecentorWoolleystoodaswellPleaseCaptainGeneral,youmustremaincalm. Heseekstoangeryou.Donotstooptohislevel. Liao looked at Woolley Never forget your place Precentor. I am the Celestial Paragon of the Capellan Empire. No one can lower themselves to my level as none are aboveme! MyndostoodandraisedhervoiceabovethedinENOUGH!Thisbickeringserves but one purpose That of the SteinerDavion alliance. Unless you can see reason and decencyinyourconversationsandinourplanning,thereislittlehopeforthefutureofany ofyourrealms. Takashi, impassive throughout the exchange, spoke up Perhaps, Precentor Dieron,itistimewerecessedfortheday? Perhaps you are right Coordinator. Myndo looked to the others who nodded their assent. Until tomorrow then gentlemen. Pleasantries were exchanged as the Successor Lords and Precentor Atreus departed. Myndo looked at Precentor Lynch Alethea,wouldyoupleasesendinColonelHamiltonwhenyouleave? Precentor Sian bowed as she answered Yes Precentor. She paused Do you really believe these bickering children will cooperate long enough to make this plan succeed? The plan has only to partially succeed Alethea. The fighting will bog down and allfiverealmswillexhausteachother.LiaowilleventuallyturnonMarikandintheendwe willbethatmuchclosertooureventualgoalofunitingmankindunderourbanner. As you say Myndo. I will send in Colonel Hamilton. May the Peace of Blake be withyou. And with you Precentor Sian. Myndo mulled over the myriad outcomes the coming war would produce and most placed ComStar in an unassailable position of strength.Andnowtoensurewecanbackupthatstrengthwithforce.
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Chapter7 Elmau,Bavaria,Terra. 23September,3022. Colonel Hamilton, the technical commander of the ComGuards and Terran Defence Force, was an impressive looking man of 55, whose twenty years of service in various mercenary commands had given him a weathered look that suited his role as a commander admirably. He was tall, well over six feet in height and built strong, like someone who worked himself hard on a daily basis. His bearing was reserved and composed, but there seemed to be a slight hint of mischief in his eyes, something that caughtPrecentorWaterlybysurprise. Good evening Colonel. Began Myndo I am glad you could make the journey overfromSandhursttomeetwithme. It is a pleasure Precentor. The current class of cadets graduated yesterday and they are still celebrating. Much as I would like to join them I must admit to not being able toenjoymyselfintheirmannerthewayIoncecould. Precentor Dieron smiled in return I understand entirely Colonel. I myself am taken with more leisurely pursuits as Iaccumulate years. Myndo stood before continuing and crossed to the Colonel, taking his hand. I must confess to one piece of information that intrigues me about you, Colonel Hamilton. Why do you call yourself Colonel and not Precentor? ColonelHamiltonlaughed,aratherloudbutaltogetherunforcedsound That was not entirely of my doing. For many years my Executive Officer Pat Millray and I jokedaboutbecomingColonels ofourownmercenaryregiments.Afterwesignedonwith ComStar and were eventually accepted into the ComGuards, it seemed that dream would never happen. When I was promoted to Precentor last year, Pat gave a speech at the ceremony a said that since Precentor was about as good as a Colonel and that I had reached that rank first, he would just have to call me Colonel to fulfil our dream. He kept calling me that and the troops seem to have caught on. Before I knew it everyone, even thePrimus,wasaddressingmeasColonelandnomatterwhatIsaid,itstuck. Myndosmiledwarmlyinreturnandretookherseat,indicatingfortheColonelto do the same. It must be quite a mark of respect for your men to embrace your informal titleinsuchaway.ShesuddenlyturnedseriousDoyoubelieveyouaredeservingofsuch respect? The Colonel though for a moment As I have not been tested in my new command as yet I cannot answer that question. However, I would like to think the experience I have gained over the years will stand me in good stead when the time to be testedcomes. Myndo looked the Colonel directly in the eyes Well then General Hamilton,letsseehowyoufacethattestnowshallwe? Colonel Hamilton looked at Myndo quizzically Test? What test do you speakof?AndalsoPrecentor,myrankisColonel,Generalisdreambeyondmyscope.
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The test I speak is the formation of a new ComGuards Army, one that can effectively protect Terra and strike out preemptively in force should the need ever arise. I have been appointed by the Primus to coordinate this rebirth of the ComGuards andyouwillassistmedirectlyinimplementingit.IalsoassureyouGeneralHamiltonthatI will have no mere Colonel in command of such an organisation. I had selected the title of PrecentorMartialforyou,andofcoursethiswillbeyourofficialtitle,butIhavelittledoubt after hearing your story that the ComGuards will start referring to you as General when wordofyourpromotiongetsout.
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Chapter8 AtreusCity,Atreus, MarikCommonwealth,FreeWorldsLeague 28October,3022. CaptainGeneral Janos Marik walked quickly down the long corridors of the Free Worlds League Militaries main administration building. He would have to move fast, as Thomas was introducing the new Acts in a little over two hours. Walking ahead, Janoss aideopenedadoorlabelledCorpsandRegimentalAdministrationColonelJamesHudson. Janos entered the room where a Colonel and three sergeants stood at attention, saluting. The grey haired man, who was obviously Colonel Hudson spoke first Captain General,itisanhonourtomeetyousir. Janos saluted and took the Colonels hand Thankyou Colonel, do you have the paperworkIrequestedready? Yes sir, all that remains is for signature in several places for each document and theregimentalgroupsbecomeactive. Thankyou Colonel, you have done the League a great service today. Where are thedocuments? In here, in my office sir. They are arranged in order and ready for you. Please take as long as you need, you will not be disturbed. The Colonel pointed the way into a smallofficethathadobviouslyseenaveryrecentandverythoroughclean. Thankyou Colonel, I wont be long. Marik entered the office, closed the door and sat at the small utilitarian, pressboard desk. Staring up from a pile was the first folder with its title emblazoned above the Marik Eagle: Commissioning/Recommissioning Instructions for the 4th Free Worlds Guards. Marik smiled to himself. The first step in humbling Parliament and ensuring the survival of the League and my family. Thankyou for thinkingofthisThomas,youhavereaffirmedwhyIchoseyouasmysuccessor. Janos opened the document at the first tag and signed his name and title to the document. He did so at seven other places. Continuing on to the next folder labelled: th Commissioning/Recommissioning Instructions for the 5 Free Worlds Guards he smiled again. He continued on through the twelve folders: 6th Guards, 3rd, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th, and16thMarikMilitias,2nd,3rdand4thAtreanDragoonsandthe2ndAtreanHussars. As he signed the final place for the activation of the 2nd Hussars he laughed and stood, drawing an envelope from his breast pocket. He walked to the door and opened it. Colonel, please have one of your men have these filed and inputted into the LCCC system immediately. Yes CaptainGeneral. Sergeant Cho, see to it straight away. One of the sergeants saluted and quickly moved past Janos to collect the folders before hurrying out of the office and off down the corridor. They should be in the system within thirty minutessir.SaidHudson.
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Janos looked at the clock. With an hour to spare. Now it is up to you Thomas. Colonel Hudson, you were once a line officer before being shunted into your current position.IbelieveyoutoldasuperiorofficerwhatyouthoughofhisplanataGeneralStaff meetingandeffectivelyendedyouractivecommandcareer? The Colonel looked somewhat glum as he replied. Yes sir, I was a little too opinionatedandcostmyselfthechancetoeffectivelyleadaregimentoftheLeague. Janos smiled and handed the envelope he was holding to the Colonel. I think you have served a sufficient penance in this office and your record prior to that event was exemplary. The Colonel took the envelope. Contained in that set of orders is your transfer to an active command. Additional orders will arrive tomorrow and then we shall seejusthowgoodyoureallyare? The Colonel looked stunned Reactivation Sir? To what unit? The currentpromotionscycleisonlyhalfwaycomplete? Janos stared at the Colonel hard For your services in strengthening the League, nd Colonel Hudson, you are to be the first commander of the newly commissioned 2 Atrean Hussars.CurrentlytheyhaveastrengthofonemanYou.Thatwillchangequicklyandwill bethefirstchallengeofyournewcommand. **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** An hour later Thomas stood before the fully assembled Parliament of the Free Worlds League to speak on behalf of his father. The myriad costumes of the various Provinceswerelikeawildrainbowgonemad.Hewouldsoonbringordertothischaosand havethemalldancingtohistune.HelookedacrossattheDukeofOriente,the onlyother manwhoknewhisplanandnoddedonce.Herewego Thomas began Esteemed Members of Parliament, I have been asked by my Father,JanosMarik,CaptainGeneraloftheFreeWorldsLeague,ashisactingdeputyinthis matter, to bring before Parliament two pieces of legislation that, it is hoped, will assist in further healing the rifts that have existed between the office of CaptainGeneral and the Parliamentinthepast.Speaker,ifImaypresentthefirstbilltothehouse? The Speaker of Parliament, Hector Stewart, his long hair swaying as he spoke, lookedquizzicallyatThomas.ThisishighlyirregularThomas. Thomas looked to the speaker But not unprecedented Speaker and I am sure theHousewillwelcometheBill. Weavers small eyes narrowed as he thought Very well Thomas, but tread cautiously. Thomas bowed his head slightly Thankyou Speaker. Esteemed members of the House, you will find in the documents being handed to you at the moment a document entitled Affirmation of the Home Defence Act. This document seeks to end the strife that has existed between Parliament and the CaptainGeneral over the use of Provincial forces. Basically it states that all Provincial forces, barring the Fusiliers of Oriente, he nodded again to Duke Halas will be allowed to return home over the coming twenty four month
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period and to be replaced on the borders with Federal troops. Any Province that cannot meet its defence needs will be provided with Federal troops to assist in the defence of the border. Thomass announcement was greeted by silence and then a moment later by uproar, mainly from the Marik benches as they began to shout that the Mariks had sold outtheiroffice. As the speaker shouted for silence Thomas continued Please allow me to finish andallyyourfears.HesaidashefacedhissupportersbenchesWedonotseektosellout the League. The second bill before you is entitled the Temporary Diversion of War MaterialsBill.ThisBillstatesthatoverthecomingtwentyfourmonths,astheprovisionsof theAffirmationoftheHomeDefenceActcomeintoeffect,warmaterialswillbedivertedto bring existing Federal forces up to full strength as they will be required to shoulder a greaterburdenofthedefenceoftheLeague.Thisbillonlyhasalifeoftwentyfourmonths anditsprovisionswillendthen,restoringthestandardLCCCresupplymethods. Dame Catherine Humphries of Andurien stood and was recognised by the speaker.TheolddameskeweredThomaswithherpiercinggazeSoboyWhatstopsyou and your father from raising additional regiments and creating an army to dominate the Provinces? TheActDuchess,specificallyforbidstheraisingofnewregimentsbytheFederal Government during that period, unless the unit was destroyed or disbanded during that time. The only actions the LCCC can take are those to bring existing Federal units up to strength. Catherine continued So you want to give the Provinces their armies back and takeontheburdenofdefencethroughtheFederalforces?Why? Because that was the intention of the original FWLM, something we have all forgotten over the years. My father and I see the coming alliance of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth as a grave threat. We wish to ensure that when the alliance moves, it is against a united and peaceful League that is prepared to meet the threat on bothaProvincialandFederallevel. Catherine nodded and sat. Thomas sat as well and Parliament began debating theprosandConsofthebills.Itbecamereadilyapparentthatselfinterestwouldwinthe day, as the Provinces believed they would gain more autonomy. With Thomas and ChristopherHalasbackingthebillandReguluseagertohavegreatercontroloverittroops, thebillsweresuretopass. Three hours later both bills did pass with an overwhelming majority, in time for theMembersofParliamenttoseetheeveningnewsbriefsthatannouncedtherestoration orformationoftwelveFederalBattleMechregimentsthatverymorning.
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Chapter9 ImperialCity,Luthien, PeshtMilitaryDistrict,DraconisCombine 1November,3022. Coordinator Theodore Kurita stared at the doors at the end of the throne room, waitingforthemtoopenandadmithisguests,allthewhilemullingoverthemadseriesof eventsthathadbroughthimtothisexultedposition.Hisfatherwasdead,deadasaresult of the catastrophic impact a speeding chunk of space rock had caused when it struck his Dropshipwithincredibleforce.Thepowerfulimpactwasstrongenoughtosetofachainof sympathetic detonations that tore the Coordinators Dropship apart shortly after its arrival in the Luthien system. There was nothing that anyone could do but stand helplessly by as theshipblewitselftopiecesandendedthereignofTakashiKurita. Well father, we never have to clash again. I instead, will have to clash with your legacyasIseektoestablishmyown.Uponhearingofhisfathersdeath,andinaneffortto stymieanyeffortshistreacherousrelativeMiesKuritamightmakeinapushforthethrone, Theodore used his Yakuza contacts within the Legions of Vega to ensure that a command circuit of merchant DropShips was in place within days of his fathers death to speed his journey to Luthien and to arrive before anyone could have realistically expected him. Two days later, a little over three weeks ago, he had been confirmed as Coordinator of the DraconisCombine.Thatwaswhenthesurpriseshadreallybegun. The visit from Myndo Waterly, ComStars Precentor Dieron, was confronting to say the least. His fathers actions had committed the Combine to a bold move, one he agreed was necessary. His fathers initial planning was, however, far too conservative, stuck in outmoded methods, incorrect assumptions and outdated planning techniques. Changes will need to be made and they start here today. The Warlords of the Dragon had arrived on Luthien quickly after he summoned them, as had his other guests, and all were nowabouttobegintoappreciatehisvisionfortheDragon. The large doors at the end of the room swung open, pushed aside by two membersoftheOtomo,thehouseholdguards.Leadingtheprocessionintotheroomwere the five Warlords of the Draconis Combine. Fat, abrasive and arrogant as ever, Vasily Cherenkoff, Warlord of Dieron, led the procession, followed closely by Ivan Sorenson, the balding Warlord of Rasalhague. Behind these two was Grieg Samsonov, Warlord of Galedon, his ever present sneer readily apparent as he glared at Cherenkoffs back. EnteringtogetherweretheWarlordsofBenjaminandPesht;HirushiShotogamaandKester Hsiun Chi, both men carrying themselves with far greater reserve than the three Warlords infrontofthem. Behind the Warlords came four others, the first two entering with a presence that was awe inspiring. Yorinaga Kurita, Theodores second cousin, grave of visage as always and dressed in a simple black kimono entered at the side of a black man Theodore recognised as Minobu Tetsuhara, the highly successful liaison officer assigned to Wolfs Dragoons who had begun the process of creating the Ryuken, the DCMSs clone of the
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Dragoons. With these two men were Generals Fydor Markt and Sotei Ganacheho, both appearingoutofplaceinsuchagathering. All nine men bowed to Theodore and he returned the gesture. Once all had arrangedthemselvesbeforetheDragonThronehebeganspeaking.Asyouallnowaware, my father has committed the Combine to a war against the FC Alliance. The planning so farconductedhasbeenoflittle valueandismiredinthemisconceptionsofoldtheoriesof war. I require this plan to be changed so that The Dragon can unleash the full potential of itspower. Warlord Cherenkoff sneered before speaking What do you know of strategy Theodore.Youthinkthatbyremovingyourboyishlocksandmoustacheandsittingonthat throne you have the right to disparage the plan your father and his best Warlords created? Ah Vasily, your arrogance will be your undoing. You always underestimated me as you thought I was just a Princely fop, but you forget your history. Oda Nobunaga was seen as a fool as well, yet when he emerged from his disguise he became the founder of a new and powerful order, much as I intend. Theodore sat back into the throne and spoke quietly I can question whatever I wish, for I am The Dragon and my word is law. I exist to protect the Combine from threats both within and without. This plan, this mockery of proper military science is a threat to the future security of the Dragon. You seek to divert the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth with direct assaults against the thumbs. Any planner with sense would see that attacking in a manner which seeks the cut these salientsoffwouldelicitafargreaterresponsefromourenemies. Grieg Samsonov answered You wish us to slink around behind the enemy like cowards. True Samurai face their enemy front on, with honour; they do not hide behind shadow strategies. This plan was your fathers plan, created with the advice ofmyself and Warlord Cherenkoff in the true tradition of The Dragon. We served his vision then and we serve him now. We will not let some puffed up young whelp tell us how to command the armiesoftheDragon! Youservemyfatherstill?TheodorelookedatCherenkoffandSamsonov. BothstoodforwardWedo. Theodore smiled Then it is best you move onward so you can serve him all the moreclosely. CherenkofffalteredMmoveon? Theodore voice dropped low and menacing Yes you coward, move onwards. RemoveyourselfandWarlordSamsonovandshowyourtrueloyaltytomyfather,anything lessandyouwouldnotbetrueSamurai. Both Warlords stood stunned as Theodore looked up and called to the Otomo at the ends of the room. Otomo, escort the Warlords of Dieron and Benjamin to the Inner Garden and provide them with all the necessary assistance to commit seppuku. They intendtoshowthearmiesofTheDragonwhattrueloyaltyis. As the Otomo moved down the hall and emerged from behind the throne, both officersbeganprotestingbutwerecutoffbyTheodore.ComportyourselfaswarriorsorI willhaveexecutedastraitorsandyourheadsdisplayedbeforetheImperialPalace!
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The guards quickly moved the two stunned men from the room as another man moved from behind a small alcove behind the throne. Subhash Indrahar, known as the smiling one, the head of the Internal Security Force, was dressed in a simple red and gold Kimono that hid his physique and made him look somewhat monkish. A creative option my Lord. You surprised me. I had believed it would take more than that to lead those two totheendyourequired.IftheywerethatsimpletomanipulateitisofgreatbenefittoThe Dragonthattheyaregone. Theodore nodded, Yes Director, now we can deal with more serious matters. Warlord Sorenson. Theodore looked at the now nervous Warlord of Rasalhague You had a part in this plan. Do you wish to support it or are you willing to revise your input to ensureitssuccess? Sorenson bowed deeply to Theodore I live to serve The Dragons will Coordinator. Theodore smiled at Sorenson Your dedication is a fine example to all Samurai Ivan. ThankyouCoordinator,IwilldowhatIcantoassistwiththenewplan. TheodorethenlookedacrossathiscousinwhobowedasTheodorespokeIthas beenalongtimesinceyouhavewalkeduponthesoiloftheBlackPearlcousin.Iapologise fordisturbingyouinyourretreatonEchoandforbeingforcedtodenyyourrequesttotake yourlife,butTheDragonisinneedofonesuchasyourself. Yorinaga straitened and answered The Dragons will is my own Coordinator, but youplacetoomuchfaithintheabilitiesofasimplehermit. Too little faith has been placed in you by others, to the great detriment of the Combine. Your action on Mallorys World should have been used as an example to all in the Combine that personal honor can be sacrificed for the greater good of The Dragon. What was forgotten is that the Dragon must return that honour to the warrior for his actionsandnotcasthimaside. Yorinaga bowed again You pay me too much respect Coordinator. My honor waslostwhenKelldefeatedme;thereisnopathbackfromthatdisgrace. TheodorestoodanddescendedthestepsbeforetheDragonThroneTheDragon owes you a debt of honor Yorinagasan that cannot be repaid in simple ways. I will refuse anyrequestforyoutocommitseppukuasIbelieveyouhavenothingtoatonefor.Willyou acceptmydecisionastoyourfateandtothedutiesIwishforyoutoundertake? YorinagabowedlowagainIwilldoasTheDragondirects. Very well then. There is a title, a position, which goes back to the very earliest daysofournation.Thispositionwasheldbyonlyoneotherandisoneofgreathonorand prestige. Its holder has the power to shape the Armies of The Dragon as he and the Coordinatorseefit.Iwishforyou,KuritaYorinaga,toacceptthepositionasmydeputy,as GunjinoKanrei. You will help me reshape the DCMS into the weapon it needs to be to assurethesafetyofourpeople.Indoingso,youwillalsoformanewunit,drawnfromthe best of the DCMS to be the symbol for all in our armies to aspire to. Each warrior is to be moulded in your image and trained to be like you yourself in battle. Do you accept this smallattemptathonouringtheDragonsdebttoyou?
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AnyhonortheDragonbestowsuponmeismorethanIdeserveCoordinator,but Iwillaccept.Ihavehowever,butonequestion.WhatofKell? Theodore thought for a moment Once your duties are complete and our armies reforged,shouldyoustillwishit,Iwillreleaseyoutofaceyourpast. Thankyou Coordinator. Said Yorinaga as he bowed again and Theodore returnedthegesture. Theodore turned slightly to his right and looked at Minobu Tetsuhara Your actions regarding Wolfs Dragoons and your previous service have made you stand out amongstyourpeers.However,theyseemnottohaverecognisedyourabilities. Minobu bowed low My abilities are of little worth my lord, I have only ever soughttoserveTheDragoninwhatsimplewaysIcould. Theodore moved to the front of Minobu. Your attributes and abilities are greater than you realise. You too understand the need for greater thought in our military processes and the need to consider plans that others may think do not garner sufficient honor in the traditional way. You understand the need to respect all those who serve The Dragon. My people, and those of Director Indrahar, have watched you for some time and greatlyrespectyourabilities. Minobu,stilllookingdownstraightenedYouhonormeCoordinator. I have a duty for you as well Minobu. You will replace Samsonov as Warlord of Galedon.TheodorewavedawaytheprotestthatwasformingAndyouwillcontinueyour work with Wolfs Dragoons. You will work with Kanrei Kurita to modify our plans and ensurethatyourRyukenregimentsarereadyandabletotakepartinthecomingwar.You must also ensure that Wolfs Dragoons remain happy in the service of the Combine as we willneedtheirexpertisewhenthetimecomes. Minoru was hard pressed to conceal his shock You ask too much Coordinator. Promoting a mere Chusa to this rank is unheard of. What of the Generals, what will they say? Theodore looked Minobu straight in the face They will do as I, and you, order them.IamTheDragonandmywordislaw. MinobuboweddeeplyagainYouhonourmemorethanyouknowCoordinator,I willnotfailyou. Theodore then looked at the two other Warlords Warlord Shotogama, your serviceinBenjaminhasbeenamarkofhonourtoyou.Irequireyoutoremaininyourpost and prepare your district in accordance with our plans. Shotogama bowed deeply as Theodore continued Warlord Hsiun Chi, you will move to Dieron to take up command there.Itrustthiswillbeachallengefinallyworthyofyourabilities? The old man bowed to Theodore You honor an old mans fading abilities my lord,Iwillserveyouasbestmylimitedskillsallow. TheodorethenfacedtheothertwomenGeneralMarkt,youwilltakecommand of the district of Pesht as Warlord, your service to date merits this. General Ganacheho, youwillbepersonalaidetotheKanrei.Youhavedisplayedapenchantforunconventional thinkingthatwillbeofbenefittoourplanning. BothmenbowedlowandansweredtogetherTheDragonswillismyown.
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Theodore then cast his eyes across the entire group Let us eat together now before we begin forming our plans. Plans to give our beloved Combine the new strength thatisworthyofitsgreatname.
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Chapter10 ForbiddenCity,Sian, SianCommonality,CapellanConfederation 2November,3022. Yes father, I would be honoured to provide Senior Colonel Ridzik with the operational room he requires to launch the strike against the Terran regions. Said Candace Liao as she stood beside her father looking out across the Palaces vast gardens I am not sure what my sister will say to this. Shewill believe she is deserving of the right to commandsuchforces. MaximillianLiaolookedathiseldestdaughter,turningfromtheviewthebalcony provided of the gardens surrounding the palace. Your sister will serve under the Senior Colonel, both need to be watched and they can watch each other. I see no reason for her to complain of your independent command. You will lead a diversionary strike, intended towinwhatyoucanforSt.IvesandSian.Meanwhile,shewillbepartofourmaineffortto crushDavionsforces. Candace shrugged, in a lopsided way due to her damaged and scarred right shoulder. She will not see it so. She sees slights where there are none and will oppose anythingshefeelsmakeshersubordinatetome. Maximillian, his patience thin at the best of times regarding his daughters bickeringsnappedbackShewilldoassheisorderedorshewilltakenopartinthisplan. Very Well father. Candace knew she had pushed far enough. What of Tormana, will he have any part to play? Candace knew she was pushing another button butwishedtoknowherfathersplansforherbrother. Hecandoashewishes,Inolongercare.Maximillianturnedbacktotheviewof thegardens. Candace pushed again, as the breeze blew up blowing her dark hair about in a haphazardwayMayheserveonmystaff? Ifyouthinkyoucanfindauseforthedisappointment,youcandoasyoulike. Thankyoufather.Itwashightimetochangesubjects.Shechoseonesheknew would humour her father What of McCarrons strike against the Federated Suns? How doesheprogress? Maximillians face changed remarkably as it lit up with a huge grin So far McCarron has struck successfully at Muskegon, Marlette, Kathil, Farwell and Tawas. His lastmessagehashimheadingbackonhistrailforGoshenandBetenKaitos.Ifonlymyline forceswoulddisplaysuchdaringandcommitmentasthesemercenaries. Of course, the new regiments we raise with ComStars aid may be what you seek? Maximillian continued to smile Yes, perhaps you are right. We need fearless soldiers who hold daring in their heart. McCarron will not be back in time to undertake theirtrainingthough.
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Candace leaped on the opportunity Perhaps I might be of assistance father. I have studied McCarrons methods in detail and believe I can not only instil them in our newforcesbutalsoimproveuponthem.Iwouldcreateaforceloyalanddedicatedtoyour vision,loyaltoyoufatherandtheavatarsofyourwillonthebattlefield. Maximillian turned with a look of predatory glee on his face that unnerved Candace. Taking her hand he said. Yes beloved daughter, that would be a wonderful gift indeed. You will have these troops ready for my needs when the time comes. They shall betheChancellorsOwnGrenadiers,madeinmyhonorandinMcCarronsimage. Candace watched as her father turned and left the balcony. Yes father, I will create a counterweight against Rizdiks loyal Tikonov forces and my sisters Thuggee followers. With these new regiments and my own forces in St. Ives so close to Sian, any developmentintheheartofourrealminthefuturewillbedeterminedbyme.
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Chapter11 SandhurstMilitaryAcademy, England,Terra 5November,3022. Nice birthday joke ColonelIm sorry, I meant General Hamilton! Pat Millrays bright face lit up like the glossiness of his bald head as he smiledat his old friend. Where inthislittlejokedoesComStarhideallthesefancifultoysyousaytheyhave? General (Precentor Martial) Hamilton kept his face passive, even though he wanted to smile at his old friend, an action that would make Pat think it really was all a joke.ItsforrealPat.ComStarreallydoeshaveallthishardwarelyingabout. Pat stared at the information in his hands, his half open mouth showing the hole where the front tooth he lost fighting on Loric once was. This is a whole bloody army. Mechs, Fighters, Tanks and enough infantry gear to start a fair sized revolution. Where did allthiscomefrom? The General satback in his highbacked chair and smiled as he rememberedhow his own reaction was almost identical. You ever hear the tales of the lost Divisions? ThoseSLDFunitsthathistorianslosttrackofduringtheExodusera? Pat looked up Yeah, I think so. Arent they the ones that a lot of historians reckon were actually lost taking Terra from the Usurper, but were hushed up to make Kerenskylookbetter? Yeah, those ones. Well they survived and decided to not follow the General out of known space. They stayed to help protect Terra and over the years were demobilised and their equipment mothballed. The current units we command come from part of that haul,butasyoucanseetheyareonlyamerefraction. Pat stood up and walked across to the wall map of Terra and began marking depots with pins. So why are they telling us this now? They want us to build them an armyorsomesuch? TheGeneralsmiledagainPrettymuch. Pat stopped putting pins in the map and leant his head against the wall. Got anythingtodrink? Youknowwhereeverythingiskept. Pat walked across the small office and rummaged around in the small bar fridge tucked away inside a cabinet and came out with two bottles of Terras own Chimay Rouge fine Belgian beer. Pat looked at the bottle, I always liked your taste in ales. So what are wemeanttodo? Angus stood up and took the offered beer from his friend and took a swig of the strong dark beer. God this stuff is good. Precentor Dieron is to oversee us undertake the supply of Kurita, Marik and Liao forces to the tune of approximately twenty plus BattleMechregimentsbetweenthem,alongwithadditionalsupportingassets.Wealso,at thesametime,havetobeginarapidexpansionofComStarsownmilitaryarm.
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Pats dark face crinkled as he frowned Expand their military arm? By how much? Totheequivalentoftwentysevenregiments. Youreoffyourhead. Intwoyears. Haveyoubeendrinkingheavilylately? PrecentorDieronwantedfortyeightregimentsinthesametimeframe. Sheshouldbecommitted. Imanagedtoconvinceherthattwentysevenwasmorerealistic. Arentyouasaint? The Generals smile broadened Cmon Pat, its not impossible. Besides, its not myproblem;itsyours. Pat flopped himself into the chair opposite his old friend. My problem? What areyoutalkingabout?PatseyetookonashrewdlookashestaredhardattheGeneral. GeneralHamiltonstoodtohisfullheightatattention.Asofthismoment,Demi PrecentorIVPatrickNathanMillray,youarepromotedtofullPrecentorasaidedecampto thePrecentorMartialandgivencommandofSandhurstRoyalMilitaryAcademyinorderto begintherecruitmentandtrainingofthenewComGuards.HappyBirthday. Pat stared long at his friend, his face expressionless. You complete and utter bastard! Angus sat, taking great pleasure in his friends shock. You always wanted command Pat. Now its time to see if you can put your money where that enormous mouthofyoursis. Pat took a long swig from his beer before responding. Im not going to forgive you for putting me through this and just so we are clear, if you try and interfere in my trainingschemeIlltellyourwifeaboutthattimewewereonSirius. Angus sat back and nodded, Alright you have a deal. But Ill need you have somethingreadytopresenttomyselfandPrecentorDieroninthreeweekswhenshevisits Sandhurst. Patlookedathisfriendwithsomethingakintovenomousmalice.Itjustdoesnt stopwithyoudoesit?MaybeIlljusttellyourmissusaboutSiriusanyway. TheGeneralputhislonglegsup,restinghisdarkbootsonthedesktop.Playnice Pat. Why?Yournot.Hesuddenlyturnedserious.Whyus?Therehavetobeother, moreindoctrinated,soldiersabouttogivethisto. Angus put his beer down. I asked Precentor Waterly the same thing. She said becausewewerethebestComStarhas.Shesaidshewascomfortablewithusbecausewe were born on Terra and both returned home. ComStar knows of our open distaste for the Successor States from our time as mercenaries and there is no one else with the experience the two of us have. She did say she would prefer us to have a little more obviousfaithinComStarsvision,butunderstandsthatthirtyyearsassoldiershasprobably causedustobecomesomewhatcynical.
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Pat snorted Cynical is just the half of it. You and I best make sure that these technopriestsdontgettoouppitywhenwestartwhippingthisarmyintoshape.Theypay well,ImbackhomeandIlikethework,butIhaveneverreallyfeltcomfortablearoundthe higherups. TheGeneralpickeduphisbeeragain.OhcomeonPat,youveneverbeenhappy aroundthehigherupsofanystripe. Pat looked thoughtful for a second. Probably explains why I never could stand you.Bothmenlaughed.
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Chapter12 Triad,Tharkad, DistrictofDonegal,LyranCommonwealth 12November,3022. Simon Johnson looked across the desk at Archon Katrina Steiner as he repeated himself Yes Archon, it would appear that the Free Worlds League is in somewhat of an uproar. Janos Marik and his son Thomas have pulled off something of a coup. A coup incidentally, that could threaten us directly once the effects of their actions begin to be felt. Additionally, Theodore has rearranged the power structure of the Combine in a way thatismostalarmingtooutGenerals Katrina, radiant as always and dressed in her uniform as a General of the LCAF, flicked through the intelligence documents before her. Janos is going to have something akintoaCivilWaronhishandsagainifheisnotcareful. SimonJohnsonfrownedWecanonlyhope,butIthinkthatiswishfulthinkingon ourpart. Explain. My experts on the League, and the intelligence we are getting from there, indicate that there is nothing Parliament can realistically do. The General population have respondedwell,tooboththeirownunitscominghomeandanoverallstrengtheningofthe Federal forces for duty against the Leagues foes. Janos and Thomas were also very clever with how they played this one. They followed procedure properly, albeit in a truncated form, but that is not unprecedented. Parliament voted unanimously to support their efforts and cannot try and overturn the ruling, as they have long cried out for the Captain Generals to be more dedicated to following the dictates of Parliament. Even if Janoss opposition did try and strike down the bill with new legislation, he has enough support from Marik, Oriente and many of the smaller Provinces to ensure it does not happen. Andurien and Regulus can scream all they like, but he has given them what they wanted andtheyarejustgoingtohavetoswallowit.Itsquitemasterful. Katrina tossed the folder down on her desk. Im glad you approve. How long untilthenewregimentsareallonline? Johnson thought for a moment as his amazing mind sifted through the myriad of memorised reports that were held in there. His ability to commit material to memory and recall it at will is frightening. Thought Katrina. I would guess, with the Leagues current production levels, and if their losses remain constant, that it would take at least six years for these regiments to come on line. That is of course a variable number depending on circumstance. It does present us with an opportunity. The Provincial forces will be within their home territories in two years, giving us a valuable two year window to exploit before allthenewregimentsareactive. Katrina folded her hands in her lap. True. But why would Janos expose himself likethat?Hemustknowwewilltakeadvantageofthis?
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Perhaps he feels the freedom he gains from Parliament is worth the loss of a few worlds. Or worse, he has new production facilities or storehouses we are not aware of. Katrina made a decision. Find out Simon. Either way we need to ensure we can keeptheLeagueincheck.TheCombineisstillthegreaterthreat,especiallynowwiththeir newcommandarrangements. Simonlookedgraveasheanswered.ItismoreseriousthanthatArchon. Itmustbetogiveyoupause. Johnson put another folder on the table. The rearrangement of the High Command of the DCMS is serious enough. The men now in charge are all noted for their ability to think outside the Samurai box. All, apart from perhaps Ivan Sorensen, have an aptitude for detailed and innovative planning and are now in positions that will allow that skill to permeate the DCMS. But that is not all. The Coordinator has authorised the formation of eight new regiments. One in honour of his father and based on his fathers old guard. They are to be known as the Dragons Claws. Another, perhaps the most dangerous,isbeingformedbyKanreiYorinagapersonallyandistobecalledtheGenyosha, the Black Ocean. The other group will be more of an issue for Hanse Davion in the short term but may prove a threat to us as well. The new Warlord of Galedon, Minobu Tetsuhara, is overseeing the formation of a six regiment group called the Ryuken, the DragonsSword,basedon,andtrainedby,WolfsDragoons. Katrina felt a hollow open up on her insides. We could be facing up to ten new regimentsonourbordersinthenextfiveyears,perhapsmore,allledbynewlyinvigorated commandsinbothrealms. Yes. KatrinathoughtoutloudWestilloutstripourfoesinsheerproductionofMechs, but our plans for expanding aerospace and armour production to begin the formation of AFFS style RCTs is still in its infancy. The Lyran Guards are only just beginning to expand and it will be three years at least before the Royal, Arcturan and Donegal Guards begin to build up. I need to speak with Davion, face to face. See that is arranged as soon as possible. Simon Johnson stood and bowed to his Archon I will see to it immediately. ThereisoneotherthingyoushouldknowofaswellArchon. What else Simon? She had had enough bad news from the head of the Lyran IntelligenceCorpsforoneday. Morgan Kell has returned to the Kell Hounds. It appears the news of Yorinagas appointmentasGunjinoKanreihasbroughtKelloutofthemonasteryonZaniah. Morganhasreturned?Katrinasheartskitteredasshethoughtofheroldfriend backfromhisselfimposedandstrangeexile.DontyoudoanythingrashMorgan. He appears to be reforming the Kell Hounds into their former regimental size. I haveitongoodauthoritythatheplansareckoningwithYorinaga. Katrina stood I will compose a message to Morgan straight away. I need him here so I can explain the situation to him and reign him in if necessary. I cannot have one ofmymercenariesstartingabloodfeudwiththecommanderoftheDCMS.
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Johnson, his face still the impassive mask it always was, collected up the folders. Ifyoucomposeitnow,IwillseeitgoesoutwithmymessagetoQuintusAllardwithinthe hour.
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Chapter13 AvalonCity,NewAvalon, CrucisMarch,FederatedSuns 23November,3022. Hanse Davion looked worried, due to the fact that his Intelligence Secretary, Quintus Allard, looked worried as well. You are trying to tell me Quintus, that we have a leakintheMIIOthathasledtothevirtualeliminationofourabilitytomanipulatetheFree Worlds League at the same time as both the League and Combine rearrange their power structureandtheCapellanshisuswiththatbastardMcCarron? Quintus Allard, his large frame blocking most of Hanses view out of the far window of the hover limousine as he turned his body to face the Prince replied. Yes my Prince. It would appear the SAFE have pulled of a miracle operation and crippled our network.Ibelievethattheiroperationwaspartlyresponsibleforthesuccessoftheoverall plan Marik had for his new regiments. I have an investigation underway to find the leak butsofarnothinghasturnedup. Hanse lent backand closed hiseyes I did not expect my enemiesto act so quickly to my alliance with the Lyrans. I cannot afford a war yet, the Lyrans are too unprepared. ThishasKatrinaworriednodoubt? Itdoes,shehasrequestedafacetofacemeeting. Arrangeitthen.Whatelse. McCarron is in line to hit Goshen, Emerson, Smolensk and Beten Kaitos in the nextmonth. Hanse opened his eyes and smiled. The Heavy Guards are on Kaitos. That shouldbearudesurpriseforMr.McCarron. I trust it will be. More importantly the Capellans may be trying to form new unitsaswellbuttheIntelligenceisfragmentaryandIshouldknowmoreinamonth. HanselookedoutthewindowatthetrafficspeedingtheotherwayThatsallwe need right now to cause problems on the Capellan front, that along with the possible loss ofMichael.Hansestreacheroushalfbrother,MichaelHasekDavion,hadfallenillwithan unbefore encountered virus after visiting the world of Sirdar. The loss of Michael would remove Hanses biggest internal threat but would also effect operations against the Capellans. Michael had also betrayed the Federated Suns by giving information to the Confederation. To counter this, Hanse had been using Michael as a conduit for false information,informationthathadcosttheConfederationdearlyonseveraloccasions. Hisconditionisstillfailing;thedoctorsbelievehehasamonthatmost. HansestilllookingoutsideaskedWhatofMorgan?Canwereallytrusthim? Quintus thought for a few moments before answering. Yes, I believe we can, andwehavelittlechoicebuttoinstallhimastheleaderoftheCapellanMarch. True. Hanse nodded. Make arrangements for a command circuit to get Morgan to New Syrtis. He has the right to be with his father in his last days. Send Arden alongasmypersonalenvoytokeepaneyeonthingsaswell.
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I will see to it today. This also means that Justins planned operation may be a nogo.WithoutMichaelscontinuingfalseintelligence,thechanceforsuccessislimited. I agree and I do not wish to loose your son on a fools errand. There is another useforJustin. Quintus looked at Hanse quizzically, caught of guard, something that happened rarely.Whatdoyouhaveinmind? If Michael dies and Morgan becomes head of the Capellan March, he will need an experienced and respected aide who also has access too, and experience evaluating, criticalintelligencedata.IthinkJustinwouldbeperfectlysuitedtosuchatask. Heisalittlejuniorinrankforthat,dontyouthink? Hanse laughed. From anyone else Quintus, I would think they were fishing for a promotion for their son. But you are right, we best make him a Colonel, anything less wouldbeimproper.
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Chapter14 SandhurstMilitaryAcademy, England,Terra, 25November,3022. Precentor Martial Hamilton, he would use that rank today, was about to meet a man he was informed was called Precentor Naval Grahame Neville. What the hell is Precentor Naval and why am I only learning of his existence now? Precentor Waterly sat serene and unreadable at the head of the short mahogany conference table. The room wasdecoratedbywoodenboardsdetailingthewinnersofvariousprizesatSandhurstover the years and the glass shelves arranged between them held a myriad of trophies and shields,somedatingbackoveramillennia. SittingtothePrecentorsright,withPatonhisleft,hewatchedasthedooratthe far end of the room opened, admitting a short, stocky looking man, whose full beard hid part of the pallor associated with long periods in space. Both the bearded man, who the Precentor Martial assumed was the Precentor Naval, and his aide, a young well groomed officerwhoseemedjustalittletoobrighteyed,weredressedinstandardComGuardrobes, incontrasttothefieldfatiguesbothheandPatwore. Precentor Dieron stood, as did the two officers with her as she began introductions. Precentor Martial Angus Hamilton and Precentor Patrick Millray, may I present Precentor Naval Neville Grahame and Precentor Julia Brighton. All four saluted each other and hand shakes were exchanged all round as Myndo continued. Please, will youallbeseated? The Precentor Martial and his aide took their seats to the right of Myndo with the two naval officers seating themselves to her left, Precentor Naval opposite the Precentor Marital. I have asked you both here to brief each other and myself, regarding your ongoing operations to meet the requirements we agreed upon for ComStars participation in the alliance. You will each find the briefing documents the other provided inthefoldersbeforeyou. The Precentor Martial looked down at the folder before him emblazoned with the ComStar logo and opened it, much as Precentor Grahame and the two aides were doing.Allfourofficersread,stoped,andlookedhardattheiroppositenumber. Precentor Naval spoke first, Quite a force you are assembling Precentor Hamilton.Ihadnoideaweheldthisamountofmaterial. AnguslookedacrossathiscolleagueAndIhadnoideathatComStarmaintained afleetofeightyWarships. Precentor Grahame answered with a wry smile. Hardly Precentor. Of that list, only twelve are operational and most of those are just Destroyers and Frigates. The rest are either in mothballs or orbiting various systems, with some little more than floating wrecks. Hell, nearly a dozen of the floaters are simply support ships; no more than jump capableyardships.Whatyouseethereispotential,notactualstrength. Hamiltonnodded.Justlikeourfigures.
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Pat spoke up But our figures cant melt a planet. I must admit Precentor that yourideathattheshipsyouhaveincommissionarejustDestroyerandFrigates,makesme alittlenervous. Precentor Brighton spoke up. No need to worry Precentor Millray, we do have oneBattlecrusieroperational.Patblanchedatthat. Myndo spoke up. Now that we are all acquainted, should we begin our discussions? Receiving their assent Myndo continued Precentor Martial, please outline your plans for the support of the three allied states and the progress of the new ComGuards. The Precentor Martial began Certainly Precentor. As you are aware, we have begun the opening of the old SLDF store houses and begun the stripping out of advanced technologies from units designated for the House Lords. Currently, we have three teams assigned to assure nothing slips through. The first team strips out the machines and backfits current House technology. The second team goes over the work of the first looking for missed items and the third team does the same for the seconds work. Of the nearly six hundred Mechs so far backfitted, only seven have had high technology items remaining by stage three. The first shipments of materials will begin in January, allowing the allied forces to begin equipping their new units, in addition to stockpiling additional supplies, from their own and our sources. As Precentor Millray is in charge of the reorganisation and training of the new ComGuards, he is best equipped to brief us on that area.Sufficetosay,hisprogresssofarhasbeenextraordinary. Precentor Waterly looked up before Pat could speak. How sure are you PrecentorMartialthatnoadvancedtechnologyisbeingpassedon? Hamiltondecidedtoplayhonest.SurePrecentorDieron.Iamnotsure.Infact, small items of advanced technology are probably making it through. Nothing major, but advanced circuit boards, the likes of which the second and third teams pick up and other suchitemshaveprobablyslippedthrough. Myndos face darkened You are telling me Precentor Martial that high technologyitemsarebeingsenttotheHouseArmies. Yes.Butnothingofrealvalue. This is unsatisfactory. I did not appoint you to provide unsatisfactory outcomes. HamiltonlookedWaterlystraightin theeye.Ididnotacceptthisposition inthe beliefthatIwouldbeexpectedtoperformmiracles. PrecentorWaterlysvoicedroppedintoiceWhatmiracle?Youweredirectedto ensurethatnotechnologyofvaluewouldbepassedtotheHouseLords. The Precentor Martial allowed his voice to rise. If you wish to ensure that every last little scrap of technology is accounted for you best either countermand your plans to assisttheHousesorprovidemewithtentimesthemanpoweryouhavesofar.Mypeople are working harder than I can ask and leaving less behind than I thought possible. What wouldyouhaveusdo? Precentor Waterly appeared about to answer back but then stoped. I am sorry PrecentorMartial.Mytrainingattimesskewsmyperspectives.
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The Precentor Martial knew an olive branch when he saw one. As has mine PrecentorDieron.Thereisnothingtoapologisefor.Weallworkforthefuture. Myndosfacesoftened,HowtrueyourwordsPrecentor. Precentor WaterlyseemedtothinkforamomentandthenlookedatPat.Ifyou wouldbesokindPrecentortoappriseusofyourefforts? Pat bowed his head Certainly Precentor. He paused to gather himself. When wewereinstructedtotakeovertheenlargementoftheComGuards,wewerefacedwitha dilemma. Many of these formations will end up masquerading as mercenaries, units that invariably use the standard Lance, Company, Battalion and Regiment style of organisation. The ComGuards, as you know, have been experimenting with a formation that relies on multiples of 6. Not the standard four, three, three, three, etcetera. We decided early on, that having our troops trained in the sixformat and then trying to masquerade on the standard format, in addition to using a different ranking system, would not work. For expediency, operational security and the need to maximise our forces potential, we have dropped the experiment with the sixformat, despite its merits, and gone with standard organisationusingintegratedBrigadeGroupsasourmain,lineformations. PrecentorNavallookedup.BrigadeGroups? Pat continued. Yes Precentor, Brigade Groups. Each consists of a BattleMech Regiment and a combined armour/infantry Brigade, all supported by an Aerospace Wing. ThisallowsustomaximisetheComGuardsfamiliaritywithcombinedarmstacticsaswellas ensureourtroopscanpassthemselvesoffasstandardMercsshouldtheneedarise. Myndospokeagain.Cantyoutraintheminboth? If I had six years instead of two, maybe. But considering how fast the new soldiersneedtogothroughourtrainingprogramtomeettargets,thereisnowayhumanly possibletodoso.Itwouldjustcreateconfusionandderailtheentireprogram. MyndolookedtoHamilton.YouagreewiththisassessmentPrecentorMartial? Hamiltonnodded.YesPrecentor,wholeheartedly. Myndo seemed to accept, although there was visible tension in the way she sat. Howarethelineforcescomingthen? Pat continued. The eightexisting ComStar Divisions have been restructured into st nd th th th th five of the new Brigade Groups numbered 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 9 and 11 . This way we maintain the ComGuards unit ordering system. Over the next two years we will have to form another twenty oneBrigade Groups to meet the required targets. Todo so, we have reopened the old SLDF training centres at Fort Lejune, Duntroon, Frunze and the Ecole Militare, in addition to expanding Sandhurst to full operational capability. These facilities will provide us with the space we need for training, as the incentives program you authorised Precentor is working miracles for recruiting. It still remains to be seen what sort of soldiers we can produce. We have the best we could gather from ComStar hired mercenaries and targeted hiring from the Successor States and other places such as Galatea for training staff, but this remains a crash program and there will be shortfalls, no matterwhatwedo,giventhelimitedtimeavailable.
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Myndo flipped a page in her briefing documents. This all seems to meet requirements, but what of ComStar teachings? You mention none of the standard instructionsacolytesgothrough? Patbracedhimselfforthecomingblast.Weareunabletoeffectivelyincludethe standard ComStar indocI mean, ComStar required basic awareness training. We simply donthavethetime. Myndos voice took on a dangerous edge. You will find the time Precentor, it is notanoption. BeforePatcouldanswerthePrecentorMartialspokeup,savinghisoldfriendthe need to face down the powerful Precentor. Precentor Waterly, if you wish us to institute the full acolyte training program, we can. You will have to make a decision though. You can either have troops who can quote Blakes Word and be annihilated in their first engagementoryoucanhaveanarmythatwillprotectTerraandensurethesuccessofour alliesandcanbefullytrainedfollowingthewar. Myndo looked ready to explode, but Precentor Naval interjected. Precentor Waterly, I must agree with my colleague. We are experiencing the same issues in our trainingprogramsatAnnapolis,KureandTitan.Weonlyhavetimetodooneortheother, notboth.Youmustforgiveus;wearemilitarymenandlookatproblemsinapracticaland mundane way.We have no wish to send our young soldiers and sailors to their deaths, so we have chosen to give them the skills to survive so that they may later have the time to fullyappreciatetheTrueWordofBlake. The Precentor Martial breathed a deep sigh ofrelief at the Naval mans ability to speak ComStar to ComStar. I owe you and your silver tongue a debt for pulling us out of that. Precentor Waterly, seeing the military minds at the table in unison, bowed her head.Iacceptyouradvice;Imerelywishtoensureoursoldiersarepreparedspirituallyas well as physically. Please draw up plans for their proper training and for its implementationoncethetroopsotherdutiesarecomplete. The Precentor Naval smiled. Certainly Precentor, I am sure our aides can have something drawn up for your perusal next week. Both Pat and Brighton both seemed to deflatealittleatNevillescomment. Myndo seem placated by the Precentors comment and decided to continue. If youwouldbesokindastoilluminateusofyourownprogress,PrecentorNaval. Nevillebowedhisheadslightly.YesPrecentor.Asthebriefingdocumentsshow, ComStar has maintained a fleet of one Battlecrusier, our flagship, the Invisible Truth, two cruisers, six destroyers and three corvettes. These ships will continue to form the core of our fleet. Currently six are in various positions within the Terran system, organised in two squadronsofthreeships,withtheothertwosquadronsatRossandLyuten. Anguslookedupfromhisnotes.RossandLyuten? The Naval officer nodded. Yes Precentor Martial, Ross and Lyuten. Both are uninhabited star systems within a jump of Terra. Both have active fleet facilities hidden in out of the way places. As you have directed, we are pulling out of mothballs a host of Drop and JumpShips with the assistance of the Belters and their yards. The task of
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bringingthirtytransportgroupsonlinewillbetoughinthetimeremaining,butwewillget very close. What we cant reactivate we will take from the large ComStar merchant fleet. Precentor Martial, these assets will first assist in the supply of the allied powers and then beavailableforusewithyournewformations. Hamilton felt some relief Thankyou Precentor Naval, I was wondering where I wouldfindsufficienttransportassets. Youre welcome Precentor Martial. Our other effort is the reactivation of Warship assets. We can realistically bring online anything up to twenty more warships using the Ross, Lyuten and Titan yards over the two years we have by focusing on those in the best state of repair. This will give us an additional one Battleship, one Battlecrusier, five Cruisers, eight Destroyers and five Corvettes. We can also activate two mobile repair yardsaswell.Othershipscancomeonlineafterthat,butwillnotbereadyforoperational requirementsby3025. Patlookedshocked.SweetLord!Youretellingmeyoucanhaveafleetofover thirty warships in two years and you are giving apologies. Nothing could get near this planetwiththatarmadafloatingabout. ThePrecentorNavalnodded.Sothetheorygoes. An acolyte entered the room, bowed and whispered into Waterlys ear. Very well. I must leave, something has come up that requires my attention. Thankyou all, we willmeetagainsoon.
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Chapter15 KellHoundsCompound,ArcRoyal, DistrictofDonegal,LyranCommonwealth, 17February,3023. Morgan Kell summarised what had been decided As long as youre happy with this arrangement Patrick? His brother nodded. OK then, Pat and I will take combined command as we did before. Pat will be lead at first until I can get back up to speed. Salome has First Battalion, Scott, you and your Bravos become Second Battalion and Third BattaliongoestoDanAllard.Imstillnotsure Danisuptoitthough.Battalioncommands abigjump. Salome, still looking somewhat fazed by the return of Morgan, as they all were afterhisselfimposedexilethatalsosawthereductionoftheKellHoundstooneBattalion, answered. Dan held the Battalion together when you left and we all lost our way. Dan managed that feat straight out of the academy and has had a lot of time to fine tune his skills.IfItrustanyonewiththisitsDan. Salomes double meaning did not go unnoticed as Morgan replied. OK, if you guysarehappysoamI.Weneedtogetthevariousgroupswehaveworkingasaunit.We need to get out in the field for extended training operations so we can all get familiar with eachotheragain.HopefullyIllbebackfromTharkadintimetotakepart;Ineeditasmuch asanyofus.Still,whentheArchoncallsyouhavefrontup. Cat,quiteaseversmiledatMorgan.Hopeyouenjoytheslaponthewrist. More like the leash she will put on you. Said Patrick. Theres not a chance in the world that Katrina is going to let you go crashing off through the universe after YorinagaKurita;especiallynowthathestheCOoftheDCMS. Morgan leant back in his chair and played with a rouge hair that stuck out of his still somewhat shaggy beard. Youre probably right Patrick, but the fact remains that YorinagaandIwillbedrawntoeachother,nomatterwhatanyoneelsetriestodo. SalomelookedatMorganwithamixofhopeanddespairinhereyes.Youmight havetostaychainedtotheregimentforawhilethen? Morgan seemed to become distant. I suppose I will. No doubt this ever extending period of relative quite will just precede a new round of fighting. What is there onthecontractfront? Thats what I think Katrina wants to talk to you about. Rumour mill is that KatrinawantstosendustoHesperus.AnsweredScottBradley. Catgroaned.Notthatdump.Idontcarewhatanyonesaysabouttheplace.Its toodrytobecomfortableandhastoofewpeopletobeanyfun.Addinthefactthatevery man and his Mech wants a piece of the place and Im more than happy to stay here and wetnursecadets. EveryonehadagoodlaughuntilPatrickcommented.Couldbewhatweneedto bring the regiment back together. Besides, if we can get on the good side of Defiance, we couldgetourhandsonallsortsoffuntoys.
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Salome looked across at Patrick from her prone position on the couch under the window. Just what we need a regiment full of assault Mechs so we can look like proper Lyrans.MaybeKatrinaisplanningonmakingMorganaSocialGeneral? Cat, with a straight face added, We will have to clean him up first. They wouldntevenlethimintoaTharkadslumlookinglikethatatthemoment.
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Chapter16 TheCave,Saso,NewSyrtis CapellanMarch,FederatedSuns 16May,3022. Colonel Justin Xiang Allard, he still could not get used to the new rank his father and Hanse Davion had thrust on him, stared at the holographic representation of the Capellan March and theborderareas of the Crucis March and Capellan Confederation spin slowly in the air before him. The Cave, the command centre of the Capellan March, was quite at the moment. The many data terminals and map tables were sparsely populated thisearlyinthemorning,withonlyafewAFFSpersonneltypingawayorexaminingreports ofraidsandsmallstrikes.Theonlytablewithanylifetoitwastheoneatwhichheandthe other officers had gathered. Justin stood there with Morgan HasekDavion, the new Commander of the Capellan March, his face still drawn following the slow and hideous death of his father, Michael. The unknown virus that had taken Michaels life was one of the nastiest things Justin had ever seen. By the end, the once powerful and forceful man hadbeenreducedtoaskeletonlikevisageofskinandbone.Ifthatwasntbadenough,the virushadalsoattackedhisskin,makinghimlooklikethevictimofahorrendousfire.Justin rememberedseeingcorpsesontheBattlefield,stuckinexplodingvehicles,whichhadbeen burnt down to something that looked like Michael. How Morgan was able to stay by his fathers bed, day after day was something that Justin was moved and impressed by. The man has steel within him. If my father is right, he will bring the Capellan March back into Hanses camp rapidly. But if Hanse Davions deepest fears are proved correct, then the FederatedSunsandHouseDavionareinmortaldanger. Standing next to Justin was the always recruiting poster proper Ardan Sortek, Hanse Davions oldest and most trusted friend. Sortek, like Justin, was here to assist Morgan in his new position and to try and limit the influence of Michael HasekDavions advisors. Those men had been poisoned against Hanse Davion and represented the best chance for Morgan to slide into his fathers way of doing things. Ardan and Justin were theretopreventjustthat. Funny how things work out. If Michael had not fallen ill we would all be in other places right now. Ardan on New Avalon with Morgan. And I would be planning to end my lifeasIknewit. It was the simplest of mistakes that had first led to the MIIO discovering Michael HasekDavions treachery, though at the time, no one knew it was Michael at all. Early in 3020, a detailed discussion paper, which was known only to the highest officers in the Capellan March, regarding the reorganization of the Marchs defences, fell into Capellan hands. The nature of the haul, that the document was little changed and that it had to havecomefromoneofonlytwodozenpeoplesetalarmbellsringingonNewAvalon.The MIIO new of the document thanks to their placement of an operative high in the Maskirovkasorganisation.Theoperativealsoreportedlaterthatbettermethodswereput placethatrewordedlaterdispatchesfromthespy,makingithardertodeterminethepoint
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of origin of documents. Justins father, Quintus, had set in motion a detailed plan, where each of the twenty odd suspects were briefed on a secret plan, for their eyes only, requiring each officer to take specific actions in the event of a major invasion of the realm or of the death of Hanse Davion. Each officer briefed was given the name of the plan as a colour. Case Blue, was Michael HasekDavions colour. Two months later, although the original document was now much changed afterthe Maskirovka had instructed Michael to be more careful, Case Blue came across the desk of the MIIO operative on Sian. Two revisionstoCaseBluefollowedoverthenextfivemonthsandQuintushadfoundtheleak. AllthatsetinmotionaplantoplantJustininChancellorseyeandexilehimfrom the Federated Suns on a mission of great personal danger. Justin would use the information Michael provided as his way into the Confederation and then work to cover any deficiencies from the data whilst on Sian. The plan was audacious and Justin had accepted, even though he believed it was a pipe dream of sorts. However, with Michels death a year before the plan was to begin its initial phase, it had been called off as too dangerous. Now Justin was in a place no less dangerous as his half Capellan background made him a focus of hate for those short sighted officers of the Capellan March who seemedtocrawloutfromundereveryrockonNewSyrtis. JustinlookedupasMorganbroughtthepathofMcCarronsArmouredCavalryup ontotheprojection.Thosedisreputablemercenaryregimentshadhitsystemaftersystem. They had suffered losses, but had done plenty of damage along the way as well. Goshen andEmersonhadrecentlyfelttheirbiteandthencametheambushofMcCarrononBeten Kaitos by the Davion Heavy Guards. Morgan would have been there if not for his fathers illness and some believed that was why the mercenaries escaped. The new Major of Morgans old Battalion had let the mercenaries slip away. All five regiments of the mercenarieswerenowontheirwaytoBristol,wheretherewaslittletostopthem. Morgan spoke up. There is little we can do at the moment. Our forces are closing the net, but it will be six weeks before we can realistically present McCarron with the options of withdraw or die. I know that gives him time to hit more worlds, but the strategy so far undertaken was too hit and miss. We have tried to take him straight out instead of strangling him. This has allowed him to move his units around and avoid heavy losses. Marshalls Angerstand and Steadman, commanders of the Alcyone and Kathil PDZs bristled at the rebuke, but it was the old Marshal, Tamara Hasek, commander of the 5thSyrtisFusiliersthatspokeup.YourfatherlookedtoendMcCarronsmenaceonceand for all, he behaved like a man. You seem to want to dance our forces around, avoiding a real battle and allowing McCarron to do as he will. The 5th Crucis Lancers are near enough toBristoltogettherebeforeMcCarroncananddelayhimuntilhelparrives. Morgan shook his head. The 5th is just an overly large Mechanised Combat Command. Without a Mech Regiment, they have little hope in pinning McCarron down. McCarron could welltryandripthemapartifheoutmanoeuvredthem.Idonot wantmy first action to be the loss of an entire RCT. We will wait until the other forces detailed to theencirclementareinplaceandthenstrike.ThereisalsothechanceMcCarroncouldjust runwhenheseesuscoming,whichisjustaswell.Wedrivehimoffwithoutfurtherloss.
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TamaraHasek,herfacedcrinkledbymanylinesfrommanyworldsandnumerous battles, could not keep the contempt from her voice. You are a coward Morgan. Your time on New Avalon has softened you. Youre strategies are those of Hanse Davion, strategies that allow the Capellan March to be pillaged, whilst you and Hanse watch from afar. Ardan moved to Morgans aid. Marshall Hasek, youre new Field Marshalls plan is sound. Either we overwhelm and destroy McCarron or we drive him off without loss. Youre efforts so far have resulted in numerous losses, little damage to McCarron and severalbatteredAFFSregiments. Justin added his own weight to the argument. I agree, the General who wins withoutfightingistoberespected. TamaraturnedonJustin.YouwouldbehappytoseeourMarchsuffer,wouldnt youhalfbreed? Morgans loud voice silenced everyone. ENOUGH OF THIS! I have made my decision and you will follow your orders as befitting officers of the AFFS. Either that or, if theordersaretobitterforyou,youcanresignyourpositions. Tamara looked at Morgan in defiance for a moment, and then relented. Very well, I will do as ordered. You will see however, that the people of our March will not be happywithdancingsoldiers.Theywantfighters! Morgan stared at Tamara for a moment before switching his gaze to Justin. Justin,canyouappriseusofthenewplansfortheTrainingBattalions? Justin was glad for the change of topic. Yes Sir. Due to apparent build up of forces in Galedon, Dieron and the rumours we are getting from Sian that there are new forces forming in or near St. Ives, the First Prince has decided to expand the existing AFFS Training Battalions, not the NAIS or Albion units however, into full RCTs that will maintain a secondary training function. Effectively one third of each RCT will be composed of recruits,withthosepassingthroughjoiningthenewRCTsmainlineunitsorgoingtoother commands as required. The High Command believes this will give young soldiers a better feel for combined arms operations before going on to their first assignment. Additionally, as the structures to support the training battalions are already in place, they can be expandeduponinsteadofstartingfromscratch. Marshall Steadman snorted. Thats all we need. More hicks in the line. Those training Battalion have hardly done a thing since they were formed and now the Prince wantstoturnthemintofullblowncircuses. Morgan, his voice becoming stained, answered, We already know your view on the Training Battalions Marshall. This is a done deal. The orders are from the High Commandsowewillcarrythemout.Whatarethenewformationstobecalled? Ardan answered before Justin could. The Federated Suns Light Cavalry. Looks st nd rd like the Kittery Battalion will form the core of the 1 Cavalry; Bell the 2 , Brockton the 3 th andConroethe4 .Othersmayformovertime. Morgan nodded. A decent name. Justin, Ardan. You will see to the requirementsoftheseunitsthatwillcomefromourMarch.
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Justin looked across at Morgan. Yes sir. There is one other thing that may help inthat.TheresaguyIwanttobringacrossfromKitterytohelpushere.Hehasbeenwith the Battalion for a time and knows how they work. His insight into how they operate will be very helpful in getting the RCTs off the ground. The guys gota good head, good insight andIthinkyouknowhim;AndrewRedburn? Morgan smiled, the first time Justin had seen him do so since arriving on New Syrtis. Andrew and I were at the Warriors Hall together, hes a good man. If Andrew knowswhatwillhelp,gethimonboard.
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Chapter17 ForbiddenCity,Sian, SianCommonality,CapellanConfederation 11April,3023. RomanoLiaohowledathersisterinanger.Howdareyouthinktogetawaywith such an attempt on the throne sister. I know you seek to place those new units father wantsinapositionofloyaltytoyousoyoucanremovehimandturnonME! Herewegoagain.ThoughtCandace.HerdearsisterRomanokeptamentaltally in her head of what she believed the score was between them. When she scored points shebecameinsufferable,whenCandacescored,shebitched.Inthissituation,Candacehas scored big, very big. Dearest sister, Candace began, Perhaps father simply wished to ensure that the new regiments would be trained in proper tactics and strategy and not turnedintoapackofravingreligiousfanatics.Thatshouldkeephergoinguntilfathergets here. Romanos face went through several shades of red before here top completely blew. YOU INSUFFERABLE WHORE! Romano screamed It is MY right that those regiments be moulded in MY image, the image of power and strength that is the hallmark of MY people. You seek to strengthen St. Ives until you have your own little empire but a jump from fathers throat. I know your plan and I will never let you complete it. Stupid Tormana may think you the darling of family, but I have known your ways since I was born. It was at this point the Maximillian Liao, well groomed and assured as ever, and PavelRidzik,hisuniformlitupwiththemanyawardshehadgainedovertheyearsentered, toseeRomanoinfullfury.Candacechosethatprecisemomenttosmileathersisterinthe mostvacantwaypossible,drivingRomanostillfurtherintoarage,asshehadnotheardher fatherenterbehindher. Romano continued, her voice getting louder and louder. I know you seek to supplantfatherandremovethatidiotRidzik,mayKalisendhimtohell.Youwouldenslave ouridiotbrotherandseemeofftoensureyourownpathtothethrone.Iwillnothaveit.I WILL SEE YOU DEAD! Romano punctuated her last outburst by hurling one of the small jade carvings that adorned the centre of the large oak meeting table that dominated the roomathersister. The carving tumbled lazily through the air, missing Candace by inches and smashing through a window of one of the rooms many display cases, each of which was filled with priceless Han antiques. An interesting take on our future little daughter. I wonderwhatSeniorColonelRidzikthinks?SaidMaximilianinavoicelikeasnake. Romanospunquickly,hertightlybraidedhairwheelingoutbehindher.Father?I was merely protecting your future against my sisters machinations. She did not even lookatRidzik. Interestingthatheractionswereatmyorder.DoyoudisagreewithwhatIhave doneRomano?
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Romanosawthedangerimmediately.Nofather,Ihavealwaysbelievedinyour visionfortheConfederation.ImerelyacttoensureallfollowyourwillaskeenlyasI. Deceitful little wretch, you are out for yourself, like me, like Ridzik and like our father.Weallstandaloneinthisplace.ThoughtCandace. I can return later should you wish Excellency? Ridzik said, looking as impassive asever.Themanknewwhentoputhisheadinthesand,askilllearnedovermanyyearsin servicetotheLiaofamily. Maximillian turned his head slightly. There will be no need, Pavel, we will discuss what we came her to discuss and my daughters can have their little spat at a time that suits us all better. He turned to face his daughters. All of you sit. Everyone quickly arranged themselves at the table, Max at the head with Ridzik to his right, Romano to his left and Candace at the foot. Romano smiled with her success at beating Candace to her fathersside.Smallvictorysister. Maximillian wasted little time in starting proceedings. Candace, what of the CapellanGrenadiersandyourplansforthestrikefromSt.Ives.? Father, Candace began, the first three of the six planned Grenadier regiments andtheirsupportingformationshavebeenformingupandtrainingtogetheronHexare.To date the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grenadiers are at 75%, 60% and 50% of their authorised strength th th th respectively, and will be at full strength by years end. The 4 , 5 and 6 will form during 3024. Thus far their drive and dedication has been exemplary and they are coming together as units quickly. As per your orders, I have taken temporary overall command until you decide on a commander for the entire Corps. Romano sneered as Candace continued. With these extra regiments, and those of St. Ives, I will the launch strikes as requested from January of 3025 aimed at taking the Kittery Thumb. Initial forces will land onShoreham,Royalston,Happajarvi,CorellaandHadnall.Theseforceswillbetaskedwith takingtheseworldsanddiggingin.SecondwaveforceswilllandonWeekapung,Mentasta andBeid,furtherisolatingthetipofthesalient.Fromthere,anyreserveforcescanactasa ready strike force to assist against any Davion counterattack. Over time, the remaining worlds of Kittery, Scituate, Gurnet and Spica will be reduced by Death Commando strike units; Maskirovka led uprisings and whatever forces can be spared from worlds already taken. Maximilian smiled like and angel as he looked at his daughter, his expression mirrored perfectly in its negative by Romano. How many BattleMech regiments will you requiredaughter? Twelve, plus three to five regiments in reserve and standard supporting forces. All told approximately forty eight regiments with nine to fifteen in reserve and four to six fullaerospaceregiments. Youwouldstripourheartlandbearyoufool!SnarledRomano. She will do no such thing. Returned Maximillian. Senior Colonel, what do you thinkofthisplan? The as to now quite Colonel thought for a moment, as if weighing the risks. The plan is acceptable and achievable, but as Romano points out, the realms heartland will be
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left vulnerable, even more so should you wish me to carry out the strike from Tikonov, six newregimentsnotwithstanding. Maxsmiledlikeacatinthecream.Therewillbenothreat,asIwillmoveatleast a dozen to eighteen regiments from the Marik border to reinforce you Pavel as well as providing Candace with enough force to mount a similar operation against the Ziliang Salient. TherewassilenceforamomentaroundthetableasRomanoandPavelabsorbed what Candace already knew. Of course she did not yet know how her father planned to protecttheFreeWorldsborder.ThenRomanoexploded.WHATAREYOUDOINGFATHER. You will see the end of us all, of the Celestial Throne, of our entire House. How can you leaveustotheEaglestalonslikethis?YouareMAD! Maximiliansfacegrewstern.Questionmeagaindaughterandyoucanreturnto Highspire permanently. Do you think I would be so foolish as to leave us open to the Mariks? ComStar is providing us with the materials we need and the forces to garrison both sides of the border whilst we fall on Davion and Steiner. Should Marik or, and I warn you most pointedly to the extent that should you disobey me you will die, you yourself take advantage of the situation to strike out at your blood foe, then ComStar will interdict both states. We are safe as long as we focus on Davion. Once we have reclaimed those systemslostsincetheStarLeagueera,wewillturnonMarikandgivehimhisdue. Romano was dumbfounded, something Candace had to admit was as rare as a quintuplestarsystem.ColonelRidzikspokeup.NowCelestialWisdom,Icanplantheend of our foes. From Tikonov, Jonothan and Ronel I will strike out in your name and reclaim the Terran systems we once held and restore Chesterton to the Confederation. Perhaps the Lady Romano would do me the honour of leading the Chesterton strike from Jonothan? You rat bastard, she just said she would see you dead and now you play up to her.SothisiswhereyoustandColonel.ImayhavetodealwithyoubeforeIeventakethe throne.Despiteherinneranger,Candaceheldhertongue. Romanos eye glowed as she saw herself becoming the one to return the long lost Chesterton Worlds to the Capellan fold. She grabbed her fathers arm and begged. Oh father, you must allow me to fulfil this destiny, my destiny. A Liao must walk upon ChestertonasasaviourfromtheDavionyoke. Maxsmiled,awildlightcomingintohiseyes.YesRomano,aLiaomust.Youwill doastheColoneldirects,butyouwillbethefirstonChesterton,inmyname. Candaces insides dropped. Damm you wretch. With Rizdiks stupid idea you becomefathersdarling.EvenifyoutakebackjustoneChestertonWorld,youwilldomore inhiseyesandtheConfederationsthanI canbytakingtwenty worldsfromthe Kitteryand Ziliang Salients. This must end soon little sister, very soon, or else your cold soul will sit on ourancestralthroneandIwillenduprottinginaholeonSt.Ives.
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Chapter18 LionessTrainingRange,NewOlympia, MarikCommonwealth,FreeWorldsLeague, 27April,3023. Colonel Hudson was quietly satisfied by his troops performance so far. Not bad for a bunch ofwhat did Colonel Carver call usa bunch of green horned hopefuls who could only bring further shame to the name of the Atrean Hussars. Arrogant Prick! Now to tearyourregimentinhalf. Hudson watched the display of the exercise on his Mechs primary screen. It nd showed Falcon Battalion, the 2 of the Regiments three Mech Battalions, beginning to crumbleor so it would seem. The Colonel had learnt to trust that pattern in exercises as Force Commander Carolyn Romalo played her battlefield tune again. Six weeks ago, the Force Commander had asked the Command Company, a unit of twelve heavy and assault Mechs to go up against her Battalions 2nd Company of twelve mediums and heavies, to providethemwithexperienceagainstthebestintheregiment.Dontgoeasyonus,make us work for our money. She had said. So the Command Company went on the front foot and looked to be giving the new Company hell as their centre collapsed. The command unitexploitedthisgapandfellrightintoanenvelopmentthatcostthemthebattle. Romalo had trained her Green troops to act like it, not to actually be like it. She drew in an experienced force that expected such a reaction and hammered them. Sufficetosaythatthedebriefinghadledtosomebruisedegosandafewbetsbeingsettled th to long odds. Now Romalo was suckering the better part of the 4 Oriente Hussars into a placetheyshouldneverhavebeen. The4thHussarswerealightregimentandshouldhavetriedtoforcethestillnew nd 2 Atrean Hussars into an open field engagement where their medium and heavy Mechs wouldbeatadisadvantage.However,despitesomenastylossestothereconelement,the 2nd Atrean had drawn the 4th Hussars onto themselves. The 4th, thinking to force the 2nd nd into a rash action, had immediately attacked the main body of the 2 , which under Romalos command had appeared to crack under the pressure. The light units of the 4th werenowpouringintotheshallowdepressionthatlaybehindtheAtreansoriginalline.At one end of this depression was Hudson and his Command Company and Falcon Battalion, now just turning to counterattack. Hawk and Eagle Battalions were swinging inwards to formathreeedgedkillingzonethatthe4thwasonlynowrealisingtheywerein. Hudson decided the time was right. All Blue Eagles, this is Blue Eagle Actual. CommenceFire. Hudson brought up the arms of his Warhammer that sported 2 PPCs. Dropping the targeting reticule over a Stinger that was moving quickly from left to right across the battlefield he let fly with two beams of simulated blue lighting. Although only one connected, hits from other Atrean Mechs caused the simulated dismemberment of the small Mech. With no other targets near by, or shielded by his own Mechs, Hudson looked th at the display again. The point of the 4 Hussars attack had folded in on itself within
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minutes as the flanks recoiled inwards. Chaos was raging in the Oriente lines, with only their rearguard offering any real opposition as they tried to stabilise the open end of the boxsotheircomradescouldextricatethemselves. Hudson spoke to his regiment again in clipped commands, deep voiced manner that was the reason for his nickname amongst the regiment as The Voice. All Blue Eagles, thisisBlueEagleActual.CommenceGeneralAdvance. Surging down from the hills, the heavy Mechs of the Atreans created further chaos as the Oriente Hussars tried desperately to disengage. Mech after Mech was ruled destroyedbytheexercisescomputersystemasthe4thfellapartattheseams. Hudson had been told by the CaptainGeneral that the newly formed nd 2 AtreanHussarsweretoturnaroundthehistoryoftheirCorpsandbeanexampletothe other new units that they could take their place in the line and know success in the name of the League. So nice that it is at the expense of that self righteous prick in the 4th. ThoughtHudson,ashistroopsbeganageneralpursuitofthe4th.Itwouldnotlastlong,as nd the 2 could not catch its lighter opponent once they disengaged, but the damage was done. From the rough count he could make, there were over fifty disabled Oriente Mechs in the depression and a little over a dozen Atrean Mechs. Not bad for a first time out on therange.ImsurethiswillmakeyouhappyJanos;Isureashelloweyou.Nowtoseeifwe can have a crack at a few other units and maybe get ourselves posted somewhere where we can do some real damage. It was Hudsons fervent hope that he would see service against the Lyrans. He still owed them for Loric and McAffe, and Dixie and a dozen other nd worlds.Iwillmakethe2 AtreanHussarsanametheLyranswillfear.
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Chapter19 SandhurstMilitaryAcademy, England,Terra 16May,3023. This lot better be worth the effort. The first of the ComGuards new Combat Brigadeswasreadytobeactivatedafterflyingthroughtrainingandequipping.Christ,how did Pat manage this? The reorganising of the standing forces, with a liberal poaching of the Terran Security Forces went smoothly, but all and sundry had expected the new units to have all sorts of issues in during their creation. Pat however, had done his level best to channel Satan and become what many were referring to as the Terror of Sandhurst. Soldiers were too scared to fail and several quartermasters had learned the hard way that thewordNowasuptherewithafulldeclarationofwarasfarasPatwasconcerned. Pat, at his parade ground best, hollered at the assembled troops. ComGuards, Thirty First Combat Brigade, Dismissed. As one, the assembledofficers and men saluted, facedrightandbeganmarchingofftheparadeground. Once Angus had lowered his own salute he moved forward to stand just behind Pat, so he could speak quietly in his ear. Whats it worth to you for me not to tell that story about the time I got lost in the brothel on Mentasta right now? You know that one that just about makes you wet your pants when I tell it? Hamilton asked in a quite voice, hismouthbarelymoving.Hejustcouldnothelphimself. Your continued ******* life and good health is what! Pat growled back in a voicefromthecrypt. As the last of the new recruits left the field Pat tuned to face his commander. AngusspokebeforePatcouldsayanything.YouvechangedPrecentor.Itusedtobeabout themusic. Pat could no longer help himself and started laughing. Once he had finished he answered. Ive changed PrecentorMartial? I still get to stomp on newbies and slap around training officers whilst you swan around with the First Circuit. Whats got you in suchagoodmood? Hamilton turned and began to walk off the viewing platform once the other officers had departed before answering, the cool late afternoon wind blowing his ComGuard robe about. You have Pat. You are becoming something of a miracle worker. The new units are forming up on time and with their full compliment and you are scaring the buggers straight. The First Circuit and Precentor Dieron think the sun shines from my ass. Whenallthatshinningfromitisme.AddedPat. Yeah, thats what I keep telling them. Pat heard the altered tone in the PrecentorMartialsvoice. ItakeitPrecentorDieronstilldisapprovesofmymethods?
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Pat, you give atheism a bad name. You hardly give the heartsand minds moba chance in the classroom and your little slip of the tongue at the first briefing has not been forgotten. Pat stopped and pulled his friend up with a hand on his arm. They wanted results and damm it and Im getting them. I dont give a rats arse what the spiritual needs of a toaster are or how praying to it might make my breakfast taste better. I dont trust Waterlyandneithershouldyou.HaveyouevenseenthePrimusyet? Hamilton leant back against a tree before answering. No. It seems the Primus may be somewhat cloistered from what I can gather. Waterly has something on him and its given her carte blanche with the military. I dont trust her, she is the oiliest, slipperiest politician I have ever met, but I do have to work with her. That means you have to make my life easier. Keep the troops marching out and keep your opinions to yourself. I cant havehergettingridofyouwhenyouarekeepingmeinajob. Pat snorted. Be a real shame for people to see how incompetent you really are without me around. Ill try andbe nice, but Imnot going to start kissing myholovid player goodnight. Angus laughed and began to walk back to the main building again. Fine with me. Bothmenwalkedinsilenceacrossthelawnandintothemainbuilding,returning salutes as required. Eventually they arrived back at Anguss office and entered the room. Both men stopped in the door as the thin figure at the window turned to face them. The mans wane face and long nose lent him an almost rodent like air, but anyone who dismissed him as vermin did so at their own peril. Good afternoon Precentor Martial Hamilton, Precentor Millray. It is nice to finally make your acquaintance. Said Leyland Belov,PrecentorROM.MaythePeaceofBlakebewithyouboth. BeforeAnguscouldevenanswer,Patshotoffhismouth.Likehellitiswhenyou letyourselfinunannounced. Angus put his hand on Pats arm. Its fine Pat, let it lie. The Precentor Martial extended his hand to Precentor ROM. The Peace of Blake be with you Precentor. Both men shook hands before Belov extended his hand to Pat. Pat accepted as the Precentor ROM apologised. You must forgive me Precentor Millray, I was sent directly from Hilton Head. Precentor Dieron said she would inform you of my visit. Both men shrugged. Perhapsnot.Maywetalk? Like you refuse Precentor ROM an afternoon chat, even if youre the Precentor Martial.ThoughtAngus. Precentor ROM seated himself in on of the three old battered green leather chairs that sat around the bay window that formed an alcove off the main section of the office and looked across Sandhursts extensive grounds. The other two joined him, sitting oneithersideofthePrecentorROM,whotookthecentralposition. The small man, Angus was sure he could throw him a good ten meters on a bad day, began talking in a measured, almost slow tone, with a slight Russian accent as he folded his hands in his lap. I would be happy to sit here in this warm spot and talk about
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simplepleasuresandotherplaces,butIwishedtomeetyouanddiscussPrecentorDierons latestrequest. WhatdoesthehonouredPrecentorwishofus?AskedPrecentorHamilton. Due to the hurried nature of the ComGuards expansion, despite its obvious success, he bowed his head to Pat, Precentor Dieron feels that the ComGuards could be served well by the assigning of ROM personnel to the command and intelligence sections oftheComGuards. Patsmiledawrysmile.SpiesintheHighCommand,Precentor?Hardlyuptoher usualsubtlety. Strangely enough, Precentor ROM smiled back. I said the same thing, though of course she denied it. My long time support of the Precentor sometimes blinds her to the fact that my first concern is the proper functioning of ROM, all other considerations are secondarytothat. Something clicked. Something many years later Angus would still look back on and wonder about. He would often wonder how he came to the decision he did and why. Atthetime,asPatwouldpointoutlater,hewasgettinginbedwiththedevil,butthisdevil held many of the keys to the kingdom and an ally like that could not be passed up. Angus would look back and see this meeting as the real beginning, the genesis of the rest of his life. Without this one meeting, that sudden decision, his life would have been very different. Hs spoke up. Precentor Belov, Itake it Precentor Dierons plan does notsuit the currentrequirementsofROM? Noitdoesnot.Averylevelstarewasshared. Theprimaryissuebeing? Manpower. Recent efforts by the First Circuit, following incidents with a previousPrecentorROM,haveseenourmanpowerandresourcesdrawnbacksomewhat. Angus thought for a moment. The manpower requirement of her plan must be largeindeed. Itis. Howlarge? The complete acquisition of the ComGuards battlefield and command intelligencearmstoberunbyROMstaff. The Precentor Martial smiled at Pat. And Precentor Millray and the Precentor Navalaredoingtoogoodajobatexpandingthemilitary.Youcantkeepupcanyou?The manpower requirements would cripple ROMs other operations. Succeed at one task and you fail at the other and you become easy prey. Which leads me to the question, what did youdotocrossher? Precentor ROM leaned back in his chair. Firstly, yes you have been too successful in expanding your forces and the growth in numbers will outstrip anything I can do with ROM in the same time period. Secondly, I opposed the expansion of the ComGuards. Pat leaned forwards. So first you didnt even want us and now you want to controlus.
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Wrong on both counts Precentor Millray. We need the ComGuards, just not in such numbers so quickly. My opposition was purely based on the diversion of resources and manpower I could have otherwise had access to. I also have no wish to control the ComGuards. Few in ROM have military experience and we have neither the time nor peopletoacquireit. The Precentor Martial decided now was the time. There is a solution. A solutionthatwillsatisfyusboth,andwhenpresentedtoPrecentorDieronasajointeffort, onethatwillhavetobeaccepted. PrecentorROMcockedhisheadtooneside.Whatdoyoupropose? We dont want ROM running battlefield intel, it just wont work, and you need the bulk of your people elsewhere. Instead, you assign a ROM liaison team, a small group of analysis specialists, who can collate and interpret data quickly to assist the Brigade Commanders. They can work fist in glove with the Staff Intelligence officers who, I must admit,needthehelp.Manyjustdonthavetheexperienceweneedyet.Thiswaywefulfil the spirit if not the letter of Precentor Dierons request. The ComGuard command structuremaintainsitselfandyouarenotdrainedofmanpower. Precentor ROM smiled; an altogether frightening visage. Yes, I see your way of thinking. We need more to convince her however. I will see to it that the liaison teams havepriorityaccesstomilitaryintelligencegeneratedbyROMfromourothersourcesboth on planet and from other systems to assist them and your officers in planning. This way, weappeartobehappilycooperating,providingPrecentorDieronwithwhatshewantsand bothmaintainingcontrolofourassets. The Precentor Martial stood and extended his hand, with Precentor ROM doing thesame.Iwillhavemystaffdrawupaplanforyourpeopletoimplement.Wewillneed themtoundertaketraininghereatSandhursttofamiliarisethemselveswithourprocesses. Willourpeopleneedtrainingatyourend? IcanprovideROMofficerstocomehereifyoulike,tocentralisethetraining? Excellent.Ononecondition. PrecentorROMlookedsurprised,butnodded.Verywell,whatisit? YoupresentthisplantoPrecentorWaterly. Precentor ROM laughed, a sound almost a frightening as his smile. Very well Precentor Martial you have a deal. I must return to Cairo first, before heading back to Hilton Head. It has been a most enlightening conversation Precentor Martial, Precentor Millray.BothmenbowedslightlyasPrecentorROMstoodandwalkedfromtheroom. Pat looked at his old friend with a look of pure disbelief. Well done. Now we haveriddledourforcesandSandhurstwithinformants. Yes we have. Informants, who moonlight for us, provide us with strategic intelligence and who we know the faces of. This might just be an alliance of convenience, butithasturnedoutbetterthanIcouldhavehoped.Thiswasalwaysgoingtohappenand atleastthePrecentorROMwillbewelldisposedtomynextoffer.
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Chapter20 SkyeGardens,NewGlasgow,Skye, FederationofSkye,LyranCommonwealth, 17May,3023. Katrina Steiner stood upon the speakers platform that looked out across the enormous botanical gardens of New Glasgow, the ancient plantings from many worlds providingherlistenersshadefromthehotnoonsunaswellasgivinghersecuritydetailfits, astheywereforcedtowatchwhattheycalledtoomanydeadspotsandpotentialhides. Katrina knew it was a calculated risk, yet by the days end she would be hailed as an Archon who backed her word and was a friend of Skye. No one, not the people gathered before her, not the commanders of the Skye Rangers, the nobles of Skye and most satisfactorily, Aldo Lestrade and Frederick Steiner, could oppose her for her actions thisday.Lestrade,morethananyotheropponentintheCommonwealth,evenAlessandro Steiner, was the bane of Katrinas rule. The self appointed leader of the disaffected Skye nobles had manipulated her cousin Frederick and many others into opposition through all kinds of propaganda, but it was all for his own power, not for the people of Skye as he claimed.ShouldKatrinafall,FrederickandAldowouldtrytopreventherdaughterMelissa ascending to the throne to ensure Frederick would become Archon. What Frederick failed torealisewasthathewouldbecomeAldospuppet. ThesurprisethatwascomingwouldbeallthesweeterasAldo,hiscrippledframe held in a pose of haughty contempt, and Frederick, ever the picture of military bearing, were on the platform with her. Their presence, along with many others of the Skye nobility, lent unknowing support to her plans for the day. Not all those behind her were against her however; General of the Armies, Edward Regis, his drawn face seemly as melancholy as ever; and Duchess of Skye Margret Aten, the dark skinned, forceful and forthright adopted daughter of the last Duke and Duchess, stood in full support of Katrina. DuchessAtenwasaparticularlyvaluableallywhosepoororigins,radicalsocialreformsand supportoftheArchonhadcausedanuproarintheupperclassesofSkye. Katrina breathed in deeply to bring her speech to its conclusion, the small light on the solid wooden podium before her blinking now, warning her that her surprise was only minutes away. Long have I, and those who held the Archonship before me, been accusedofignoringthepeopleofSkye.AsKuritaandMarikmarchagainstyourborders,as yourworldsfalltoforeigners,asyourindustriesarebrokenandthrowndown,asyoursons anddaughtersaresenttodistantfrontstofightforworldstheyhaveneverheardofandas your industrial and output and personal wealth are taken and taxed for the benefit for the rest of the Commonwealth, nothing is done for Skye. I have been accused of all these things, whilst doing nothing for Skye, whilst forgetting you, the people of Skye. This is an untruth of the highest order. Long have I thought of the people of Skye, as people of the Commonwealth, as those who it is my responsibility to protect, something I think on day and night. I know the importance of what you do for the future of all the Lyran peoples.
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WithoutSkye,wewouldnotbeLyrans,yetwithoutDonegalandTamar,therewouldbeno Skye. IhavelongsupportedyournewDuchess,MargaretAten,intheprogramofsocial improvementforallthoselivinginSkye.Thisprogramisonedesignedtobenefitthemany, not the few, the few who would seek to maintain their iron grip upon the wealth of Skye and prevent her people from gaining their fair share. It is these few who lead the calls against me, who seek to have the Commonwealth government driven from Skye for their own enrichment. I oppose these few, on your behalf, to help your Duchess make a better Skye for all. Katrina could fell the platform begin to shake a little as her surprise approached. Now Frederick, Aldo, you will see my actions, actions you must support or ostraciseyourselffromthepeopleyousayyouspeakfor.IfonlyIcouldseeyourfaces. To show the people of Skye that I can and will continue to make concrete actions to strengthen Skye against both internal and external threats, I present to you todaythefirstofthese.Katrinaoutstretchedherarms,forcingthecrowedtoturn.Arising over a hill at the rear of the gardens, along the wide granite paved road that ran strait to the podium, two BattleMechs, an Atlas and a new model Banshee, strode towards the platform, the area through the centre of the crowed cleared of onlookers preventing any chance of an accident. Both BattleMechs were painted in the colours of the Skye Rangers, redwithblackarms.Forthosewithaneyefordetailandtherequisiteknowledge,thetrim colours of the two Mechs were highly unusual. The Atlas sported an iridescent emerald green trim, whilst the Banshee was trimmed with gleaming silver. Both wore the Steiner fist and the Skye Rangers emblem of the yellow sun breaking through white clouds. The Atlas also bore the personnel emblem of House McQuiston, the planet of Skye on a green shield, surrounded by seven white stars. The Banshees unique emblem was one of a BattleMechintherobesofaTemplarKnight. Before you stand the first of two formations, long lost from the roles of the sworndefendersofthepeopleofSkye;theSkyeRangers.TheGeneraloftheArmiesandI, today, have signed the documents reincorporating the First and Second Skye Rangers. Theroarfromthecrowdwasintense.Itwaslikeawavethathitthepodiumasthecrowed began screaming and cheering. It felt magnificent; it always did when a crowed cheered Katrina. It was addictive and today even more so. Aldo and Frederick would be forced to clap and support and tow the line. Any support they gave strengthened her, any oppositionweakenedthem. The reformation of these two ancient regiments by the LCAF, at my express order, are meant to firstly assure the people of Skye that Tharkad has not and never will forget you;andto ensure that those who seek to injure Skye will have to doso against the bestwe,asLyransstandingtogether,canoffer. The crowed continued to cheer and holler as Katrina held her hands above her head for quite. Although the crowed continued to murmur, the sound diminished to a levelthatshecouldbeheardover.Thisisnotall,however,astheCommonwealthismore thanjustSkye.Nextyear,againatmyorder,theLCAFwillreformtheTamarTigersandthe nd 2 Brigade of Winfields Brigade, to show the same commitment and support to Tamar, thattodayIhaveshownforSkye.
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Katrina stood back from the podium as the crowed again cheered and yelled, turning to smile at the others on the platform and finally see the fixed, and no doubt agonised, smiles that Aldo and Frederick wore. Katrina bowed to the assembled nobles, who returned the gesture, some more deeply than others. Katrina then turned and descendedfromthesteps,followedbyGeneralRegisandDuchessAtenandaswarmofLIC security agents. Katrina proceeded to walk along the barriers, greeting members of the crowed before getting into her hover limousine where Simon Johnson, head of the LIC, awaitedherandhertwocompanions. Once all four were settled and the car, Johnson spoke. An impressive performanceArchonandoneIamsureDukesLestradeandSteinerdidnotenjoy. Thankyou Simon. I must admit, it was the highlight of this tour to do so. I am suretherewillbesomeopposition,butwecanonlygainfromthis.Shefinishedtalkingas shewavedatthecrowdsasthelimomovedpastthemassedonlookers. We also gain four combat commands in frontline regions over the next two years that will go some way to countermanding the expansion of the FWLM and DCMS. SaidtheGeneralinhislowvoice.Awaythatwillhavegeneralsupportfromthepeople. Katrina nodded. There is not much I can do beyond these two gestures, what with the expansion of the aerospace and conventional arms to meet the requirements of the new RCT program. We are going to be a little stretched for the next two years if we see major action. Which reminds me Simon, have you determined what is going on in the DCMSandFWLM? Johnson shook his head. Not in the DCMS. However, the my operatives in the FWLM have determined that despite the formation of three regiments early this year and three more scheduled for July, the FWLM depots are still full. This concerns us as either someoneissupplyingtheLeague,theyhavemanagedtostockpilefarmoreefficientlythan anyonethoughtpossible,ortheyhaveanewandunknownproductioncapacity. Katarina looked grim. Any of which is off extreme concern to the Lyran state. Spare no effort or resource. This now becomes a priority. We must know what our enemies are doing, or we will be caught flat footed when the time comes. We cannot match, even with our industrial output, the formation of six BattleMech regiments a year bytheFWLM,letalonewhattheDCMSisproducing. It will be as you command Archon. I will see what I can work in with MIO and DMIaswell,weneedalltheinformationwecanget. Duchess Aten lent forward, a frown on her face. I apologise for changing the topic Archon, but the two new regiments will soon be overrun by Sanglamore Academy graduatesfromhereonSkye,manyofwhomwilllistentoLestradebeforeyou. Katrina smiled at her ally and placed her hand upon the other womans. Thankyou for your justifiable concern. I agree that these two regiments cannot become nd weapons for Lestrade. As part of their formation, and that of the Tigers and 2 Winfield, each regiment will have a third of its people drawn from Donegal, Tamar and Skye, with theofficersbeinghandpickedbyGeneralRegisandSimonhere.Therewillbelittlechance st of using these units against us. I also intend to assign the 1 Rangers as your personal
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regiment, so you will have a hand in selecting its people. I want these regiments loyal to theCommonwealthanditspeople,notthenoblesofLestradesdisaffectedfollowing.
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Chapter21 SystemCDSISS00827,DeepPeriphery 15July,3023. The Captain of the ship looked out across the vista of stars before him before loweringhiseyestotheplanetthatspunpastwellawaybelowhisJumpShip,lookinglikea small grey coin. The planet, designated CDSISS 00827d, was largely inhospitable, unless onehadtheresourcesandbloodymindednesstoreallywantacolonytosuffer.Likemany of the planets in many of the systems that his ship and others like it, from both their own fleet and that of their allies, had surveyed, it was worthless. The only real value to having surveyedthesystemwouldbeifitwaseverrequiredasasupplybase. Seven months the Captain and his ship had been out here. Seven long lonely months, with just the crew as company. Four more months until he was home. Well, not somuchhomehasasinsurveyedspace.Homewasanothersixweeksfromthere.Despite all that, he was happy for the solitude. He never really fitted in back at home, never had, never would. All parties were happy to see him out here, himself included. Here with his ship and his books, he could while away the hours as the scientists on board took their measurementsanddidtheirtests. He has seen some beautiful sites and seen some terrible accidents in his years in space. Gleaming nebulae, the results of ancient Super Novas, triple star systems, their planets and stars weaving intricate dances, ships shattered by the effects of space travel andthehumanlossesofthosetragedies. Whether it was all worth it was beyond him, he did not think in those terms. He was just happy to explore, happy to look about and see what was out there. Sometimes they met new people, many who had forgotten their origins, some who did not. The worlds where people were encountered were important. Many were more than moderately habitable and some were abundant in natural and easily accessible resources. Thesewerewhathewasreallyafter,thoseandthetraces. There were two sets of traces he looked for, for those who passed through and for those who were, like him, looking. Those who passed through were a curiosity, an important curiosity nevertheless, but still a curiosity. Those who explored, who looked, were the problem. His people did not like competition, they dealt with it forcefully. They also treasured their privacy and their isolation. That one day would be lost, unless they travelledfurtherafar,butfornow,itwashisjobtomakesuretheotherexplorerswerenot heardfromagain.
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Chapter22 ComStarFleetBase,Ross248 NearTerra, 1September,3023 NOTE TO THE READER: I like WarShips, being a student of naval history for most of my life. The return of the beasts in BattleTech was a great addition and their shattering losses in the Jihad are, in my mind, a loss to the game universe. This chapter is in a way a justification for their continued use in my alternate universe in a way that I think is believableandallowsthemtoremaintheheartofanygreatfleet.Theywillnotbepractice targets for any nuke armed fighter jock with a cranky on. They will reassume the place of prideatthecentreofanyfleet,justastheyonceheldduringtheStarLeagueera. Precentor Martial Hamilton was as giddy as a school child. He stood on the observers area within the bridge of the ComStar Battlecrusier CSS Invisible Truth. He had never, in all his long years, ever thought he would see, let alone be on, a Warship. The Truth was enormous. He had no real appreciation of the ships size until his DropShip had begun its close approach. It was at that point that the massive size and bulk of the huge shipbecameapparent.Neverbeforeinhiscareerhadhebeensoterrifiedofthepowerhe commanded, especially now since Precentor Naval had been made subordinate to him by Precentor Dieron. He had protested, not seeing the need for having command over the fleet and not wishing to jeopardise the relationship he had with Precentor Neville. Thats why he was here, to assure the naval man that his province would remain his own. Hamilton was wise enough to know he knew precious little of naval warfare and was best toleaveittotheexperts.Thatsaid,hewouldlearnallhecouldwhilsthewashere. The Naval Precentor turned to Angus. Would you like to give the order to fire Sir? Angus looked down across the ships bridge, feeling surprisingly nervous. Are yousure? Certainly Precentor Martial. Please, if would join me. The Precentor Naval gestured to where he was standing and Angus descended to the Precentor Navals position.Thiswasthelastofthegunnerypracticefiringfortheday.Thisoneagainstareal targetdroneinsteadoffloatingspacerock. When he arrived next to Precentor Neville he asked quietly, The Fire Control Officersname? AdeptNonu. The Precentor Martial turned to the young officer. Mr Nonu, engage target drone,fireatwill. The young manresponded quickly and set about his task.Engage my target and fire at will, Aye Sir. He then turned to the technicians in his section, each of which was seated at a terminal that controlled part of the ships weapons. Mr Aloysius, lock starboardmainbatteriesontargetandfire.
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Aye Sir, engage target with starboard main batteries. One of the techs answered as he punched first one button that caused the icon representing the target on thevariousscreensaroundthebridgetoflashred.Asecondbuttonunleashedthefullfury of the Cameron class Battlecruisers centrestarboard firepower. Four massive naval auto cannon and three enormous naval lasers disgorged a torrent of fire that the Precentor Martialwasinaweof,evenmoresosincethiswasbutafractionoftheshipstotalarsenal. The target, an old and decrepit Overlord class DropShip, was ravaged by the fire. Great scars were seared through the side armour of the vessel by the lasers before the arrival of the stream of heavy shells from the autocannon. The lasers would have crippled the Overlord in normal circumstances, but the following arrival of the massive autocannon shells ripped the heart out of the old ship before smashing out the other side. The old vessel seemed to collapse in on its self as the impact from the hits spun it off into space trailinganevergrowingcloudofdebris. Mr Nonu looked to the two officers as the icon representing the DropShip faded togrey.Targetengagedanddestroyedsir. ******************************************** PrecentorMartialHamiltoncontinuedtoplaythedestructionoftheoldDropShip overinhisheadastheInvisibleTruthmadeaoneGburnforfourhourstorendezvouswith several other ships for the upcoming fleet exercise. The flagship, a Cameron class Battlecrusier, would be joined by the three ships of the Ross squadron; the Aegis class Cruiser Avenging Sword, Lola III class Destroyer Blake's Vision and Essex class Destroyer Brandenburg Crusader, the Dante class Frigate Bordeaux from the Lyuten base and the EssexclassDefenderofVersaillesandtheVincentclassCorvetteAlacrityfromTerra.These seven ships were to practice what Precentor Naval Neville had called antiship missile defence. As the exercise approached, the Precentor Martial returned to the bridge and approached the naval man. Precentor, what exactly are you planning for the days exercise. The Precentor Naval turned and gestured towards his little fleet as it was displayed on the screen. Precentor Martial, the possibility exists, albeit remotely, that the fleet may have to engage in the defence of Terra at some stage or another. In such a circumstance we would be assaulted, more than likely, by swarms of aerospace fighters and assault DropShips. As you are aware, we do not have enough fighter carrying DropShips to match the massed fighter wings of a Successor State and their attendant DropShips, so we have refitted and are refitting all our vessels with a standard antifighter defence system. It not the best we could do, but it makes attacking the fleet that much harder. Whatisthefitout?AskedthePrecentorMartial. Each ship, dependant on class will have from eight to forty PPCs and a similar number of LRM and Medium Laser batteries. This gives us a layered defence against fighters and also for close approaching DropShips that the capital weapons could not
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engage. The fit out has been costly, time consuming and there are glitches and problems in several ships, but all in all its been worth the effort. Most ships have dropped cargo tonnage, but some have been forced to loose a capital weapon or two. Considering the opposition we will face, it is considered a fair compromise. With our own fighters and those of the escort wings, we can now have reasonable confidence in the security of the fleet. Angusbecamealittleconfused.Sothenwhyisthisantimissiledrill? Becausewehavebecometootoughanuttocrack.Oneofour younghotshots down in tactics, when looking over the defences, made the wise remark: You know the HouseLordswilljustusenukesgetridofus.Astupidasitsounds,hewasright.Wehave run multiple simulations and a few liberally applied nukes would make this fleet a radioactivecloudinnotime. Hamilton shuddered. It would be bad enough to be caught on the ground in a nuclear exchange, but stuck in space, with nowhere to go on a massive floating target, wouldbesomethingtodefinitelymiss.Whatwasyoursolution? Extend the refit. Its all we could really do. We have decided to install a twin layer missile defence system on each of the ships. The point defence system consists of antimissile systems on all arcs to engage missiles that get past the outer defence. The outer defence is something new, or old, depending on your point of view. There was an oldSLDFprogramthatnevergotthefundingitneededastheSLDFaerospacearmsawitas athreattotheirdutyoffleetdefence.ThesystemwasfirsttestedduringtheReunification Warbutneverputintoservice.ItwasdustedofduringthePeripheryuprisingattheendof the Star League era and was installed on eleven ships towards the end of the conflict, but again, other programs and fleet construction and maintenance got priority. The Fleet MissileInterceptorDefenceSystem,FMIDS,wasshowntobeuseful,butneverreallygota chance to prove itself. Luckily, one of the mothballed ships we have access to, the Aegis classCruiserSLSOlympic,wasfittedoutwithFMIDS. Hamilton had listened quietly, absorbing as much detail as possible and impressed with the naval mans own, and his troops ability to foresee potential threats and act decisively to incorporate countermeasures into an already intense Warship reactivationprogram.WhatisFMIDS? The Precentor Naval pressed a button on the console before him, bringing up a picture of the ship showing sixteen points on the hull that flashed. FMIDS is an interlinked series of class two autocannon that are slaved into a dedicated targeting system that is tasked solely with the interception of antiship missiles. The system is autonomousandissmartenoughtoignoreaerospacefighters,althoughitcantargetthem as required in an antiair mode. The systems failing is its radar and weapon combination. Itcantlockontolargetargetsastheradarcantdeterminetherangetoalargetargetasit becomes over whelmed by the targets size and just keep recycling as it tries to determine range. Also, due to the AC2, it cant engage targets that get in too close. Hence the need fortheCWISmounts.However,withbothofthesemissiledefencesystems,thenewanti fighter defences, our decent fighter cover and the ability of the ships capital weapons to
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keeps DropShips at bay, we have a layered defence that should be capable of ensuring the safetyofthefleet. The Precentor Martial nodded, seeing the integrated defence for what it was; a simpleyeteffectiveblendofthestrengthsofvariousweaponssystemstocreateanetwork that used each systems strength to cover the weaknesses of others. I take it we are testingtheFMIDStoday?Hamiltonaskedwithawrysmile. Yes. The seven ships here and our on board complements of seventy fighters are going to engage five of our Terran defence wings and their assault DropShips; about 200 plus fighters and over a dozen assault ships. The attackers will seek to score hits on our warships with dummy nukes, each of which would be equivalent to a 50 kiloton hit. EventheTruthcantsurvivemanyhitslikethatandthesmallershipswillbeoutofthefight after one such hit. The aero squadrons will be testing various methods throughthe day to seehowtheycanbreakthrough. This should be an interesting day at the office. Having a bunch of hotwired fighterjockslob nukesatusforshitsandgiggles.Ilookforwardtothedemonstration.Ill letyougetonwithorganisingit. ******************************************** Precentor Martial Hamilton watched as the Invisible Truths fighter wing and thoseoftheotherwarshipsmovedtobreakuptheoncomingattack.Hehadneverseenso many fighters in the air at once. Nearly three hundred of the buggers. Heres hoping they dont start smacking into each other. The oncoming fighters had several formations, each having at its core a squadron of six fighters that moved together in a tight group, apparentlyescortedbytheothers. The fighter battle began as the attackers fighter sweep engaged the outlying CombatAirPatrolofthefleet.ThesmallCAPcoulddolittleagainstthemassedsweep,but did force a slight change in the attackers formation. Three minutes later the full force of theremainingsixtyplusfightersfromthefleetarrived,halftaskedwithinterceptionofthe bombers,theotherhalfincoveringtheinterceptors.Outnumberedalmostthreetooneby the attacking escorts, the fleets fighters nevertheless scored hits on and disabled several oftheincomingnuclearstrikeaircraft.Thecost,ifthebattlehadbeenforreal,wouldhave been terrible, as losses mounted past twenty fighters within five minutes. Soon enough theTruthsandtheotherfleetshipscapitalweaponsbeganfiringatenemyDropShipsthat got too close; two being disabled before they pulled back. Then the strike aircraft began launching. Thirty five missiles were launched and almost at once the FMIDS system came tolifeandbegantrackingtargets.Tocreatehavocforthesystem,enemyfightersbeganto interposethemselvesinfrontofthemissiles.Thepilotsranstraightatthewarships,trying to take hits for the missiles, but the ships own antifighter defences and the flak pouring from the seventy fleet FMIDS system autocannon shattered the fighter screen. The F MIDS rapidly acquired targets and began to eliminate the fast moving missiles. The number dropped from thirty six, rapidly past thirty, then twenty and down to ten. As the missiles entered the inner defence envelope, where the FMIDS was ineffective, the CWIS
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antimissile systems opened up. Two missiles had gotten through the Truths FMIDS and both were engaged by several CWIS that shattered them before impact. Likewise, across the fleet, the CWIS were effective in crushing the attack in all cases except that of the Dante class Frigate Bordeaux. The missile that got through her defences hit the Frigate broadsideontheportandthesimulatedexplosionwashorrendous.Theshipbegantoroll and twist as the simulated damage gutted the centre of the ship. The engines shut down and the information being received showed that simulated fires were ranging in some compartmentsasotherventedintospace. Two hours later the drill was over and the costs tallied. The attackers had lost twoDropShipsandseventyfightersforthedestructionofaFrigateandthirtysixdefending fighters. Precentor Naval summed up the feeling in the fleet as he and the Precentor Martial discussed the days events long into the night. We did well in engaging their fighters, but letting just one missile through was too costly. The shield their missile escort fightersprovidedwasadaringandunexpectedployandwasenoughtolettenmissilesget too close. In future, we will have to have a number of fighters tasked for close escort and missileescortintercept. AsyouthinkbestGrahame.AnsweredthePrecentorMartial,stilloverwhelmed somewhat by the days events. He was bewildered at first by the firepower the fleet commanded and then at the ease at which a massive ship, like the Bordeaux, could be broken.

The Other Option KFS Book 1

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KAPTEYNS FIRST STRIKE

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