Tell The World That We Tried (Battletech CYOA) (Complete)

[B_omega]

I'm only interested in if Katrina ends up so many title that she ends up using both side of her business card just to write it all.

We also read that she is gratefull to Asha and will enoble her. Just how much money, land and nobility are we talking here...

Edit: clarification on to whom i wonder will get the money and title.

 

[Jonen C]

I'm only interested in if Katrina ends up so many title that she ends up using both side of her business card just to write it all.

We read that she is gratefull and will enoble her. Just how much money, land and nobility are we talking here...

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Not sure if I am parsing you correctly, but I am pretty sure Katrina Steiners business card only has one word (Katrina) and a Steiner Fist on it.

 

[VhenRa]

As for changes on the makeup of the First Circuit, we know from the FRR it can be done since Myndo added Precentor Rasalhague after a majority vote. Now whether or not Precentor Sian can block his demotion, or even if Tiepolo pushes for shrink the First Circuit is totally unknown.

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We especially know it can be done because the original first circuit did not include Sian, Tharkad, New Avalon and Atreus. It instead had stuff like New Earth, Procyon and Dieron. Core Hegemony worlds.

 

[VhenRa]

Not sure if I am parsing you correctly, but I am pretty sure Katrina Steiners business card only has one word (Katrina) and a Steiner Fist on it.

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Well, we know BT rulers seem to collect various titles and honors. Remember when Morgan busted in on a meeting and insisted they use a full listing of his shit.

Baron von Arc-Royal, Member of the Order of the Tamar Tigers, Knight Defender of the Draconis March, Regimental Holder of the Order of St. George, Colonel Morgan Kell of the Kell Hounds.

 

[Jonen C]

Nobility collect titles like party favors, yes.
What I was saying is Katrina is the type to be fairly stylish and minimalist. Yet also a Steiner and therefore about as subtle as an armored fist in the face.

 

[SisterJeanne]

Well, we know BT rulers seem to collect various titles and honors. Remember when Morgan busted in on a meeting and insisted they use a full listing of his shit.

Baron von Arc-Royal, Member of the Order of the Tamar Tigers, Knight Defender of the Draconis March, Regimental Holder of the Order of St. George, Colonel Morgan Kell of the Kell Hounds.

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Party at the Triad actually. Morgan needed to talk to Katrina and also suspected that the treacherous noble who got his brother killed and unit shot up was present. So he pulled out his "Do what Morgan says-Katrina" letter and crashed said party, including ordering the doorman to read off all his titles and honors.

Katrina snarked at him a little for doing that once they were in her office and she was pouring the booze.

Not sure if I am parsing you correctly, but I am pretty sure Katrina Steiners business card only has one word (Katrina) and a Steiner Fist on it.

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Well Katrina also tends to be very much 'cut the bullshit' in her preferred means of rule, although if she has to throw the titles around she will as a political tool.

She's probably "Katrina Steiner" just to distinguish herself from the other Katrinas in the Commonwealth and a holographic Steiner Fist in the card since if you know anything, you know who she is.

We especially know it can be done because the original first circuit did not include Sian, Tharkad, New Avalon and Atreus. It instead had stuff like New Earth, Procyon and Dieron. Core Hegemony worlds.

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Yeah the question if Sian gets kicked off the First Circuit is a political one since whatever faction Precentor Sian is on won't want to lose his voice and vote.

On the other hand, that strengthens everyone else on the First Circut by making their votes carry more weight. I think the argument Sian would deploy is 'we need to see if the Capellans get out from under the Davion boot heel and become independent again' and try to broker a decision to reexamine whether or not the conquest of the CC sticks in five to ten years or so.

Now, what this also might do is block Myndo Waterly if Sian gets fired (and is a radical), since Tejh or whoever Precentor Sian currently is would be the natural replacement as an experienced and powerful Precentor when Dieron opens in the next few years. Note that Waterly is early 20s, so she might be overlooked for that opening and told to wait her turn since she (and Aziz) are very young.

 

[B_omega]

One thing of note.. comstar numbers will swell.

You cannot serve the celestial wisdom and refuse to serve the Davion overlords? Your option either sell yourself to Marik, go pirate, emigrate to the Reach, Cannopus or TC.

Or, you can resign your commision and join comstar.

How open is comstar's recruiting policy?

 

[theoreticalchaos]

Taking Terra is actually pretty easy, especially at this point in time. Even later, when ComStar gets the ComGuard all properly spun up, it is only 'less easy', it's not actually hard. ComStar simply does not have the strategic depth or industry to do more than slow down any of the Successor States. The problems for invaders come soon afterwards. I very seriously doubt that there is any sort of HPG Master Switch on Terra. Interdictions are not turned on and off there. Instead, they simply issue the order to the HPG precentors, and they enact the interdiction. So either that order goes out before an invasion fully succeeds, or the HPG station precentors hear about the invasion later (and they will hear about it), and enact the interdiction per emergency procedures. And then you're fucked. The only way to pull it off, is to also capture all the HPGs in your state more or less simultaneously (otherwise...sabotage).

And that's not even counting in the fact that all the other Successor States will probably pile in to take Terra from you too.

Man, a monopoly on interstellar communications is a godawful messy nightmare. I just do not see any way to win this scenario without either vastly increasing the effectiveness and numbers of the Black Boxes, and/or the unprecedented cooperation (and secrecy) of all the Successor States on this one specific issue.

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Taking Terra is not easy at this time. While there are less Com Guards to greet a landing there is still very much a SDS ready to remind you why the Star League Defense Force Navy was cut to pieces securing the initial landings and they had hundreds of Warships.

The ComGuard Navy is also smaller at this time but Luyten is either in the Terran System or a single jump away and Comstar does have active Warships at this time smaller at this time still beats non-existent like all of the Successor States.

And say you think of all of that and brought enough Nukes to deal with Comstar's naval supremacy, there is the fact you had to use nukes in space just to get the opportunity to land (and get lucky doing it). Comstar is not a third tier power technologically they will be able to respond with nukes of their own in short order either against your forces enroute to Terra or at their landing sites. And can even say "What we never signed the Ares Conventions of War and the Blessed Founder was quite clear on what an invader of Holy Terra could expect.".

This is all I might add with your invasion being a complete surprise because some how ROM was doing it's best SAFE impression.

 

[consequences]

Taking Terra is not easy at this time. While there are less Com Guards to greet a landing there is still very much a SDS ready to remind you why the Star League Defense Force Navy was cut to pieces securing the initial landings and they had hundreds of Warships.

The ComGuard Navy is also smaller at this time but Luyten is either in the Terran System or a single jump away and Comstar does have active Warships at this time smaller at this time still beats non-existent like all of the Successor States.

And say you think of all of that and brought enough Nukes to deal with Comstar's naval supremacy, there is the fact you had to use nukes in space just to get the opportunity to land (and get lucky doing it). Comstar is not a third tier power technologically they will be able to respond with nukes of their own in short order either against your forces enroute to Terra or at their landing sites. And can even say "What we never signed the Ares Conventions of War and the Blessed Founder was quite clear on what an invader of Holy Terra could expect.".

This is all I might add with your invasion being a complete surprise because some how ROM was doing it's best SAFE impression.

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Do you remember the entire sequence of events on Terra during Warrior: Riposte, and how it buried the concept of ROM's competence upside down at a crossroads with its feet cut off? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.

Okay Snark mostly aside, the precise status of the Warship fleet is unknown. What is known is that the interventionist faction of Comstar has been soundly and repeatedly humiliated in the last two decades, that the Dantes were originally commissioned because of the issues with manning the existing fleet, that Comstar's focus for the last fifteen years has been on skullduggery to crack the secrets and security of NAIS and Wolf's Dragoons, and that eight years from now after six years of public FC alliance in OTL Comstar was in such a miserable state that they were relying on reeducated periphery pirates for security around the VIP compound at Hilton Head on Terra itself, and that the leader of the 'kill all Davions now' faction after seducing Precentor ROM to her side could only use a single battalion of utter garbage in her effort to destroy NAIS.

I'm sure in some universe where an SI possessed Tiepolo the moment he became Primus that Comstar could fulfill your vision, but that is very unlikely to be this one.

 

[Jonen C]

Apropos of naught, playing Roguetech (mod for HBS Battletech), set in 3039->.
Raselhague and Kurita in a War, ComStar intervenes on Raselhague side, as both sides start getting a but exhausted.

"Draconis Combine took Terra from ComStar.

Draconis Combine Surrendered."
(They returned Terra to C*, 14 systems to Raselhague, and Raselhague took 10 of theirs.)

 

[Couch-Gamer]

Katrina has a secret weapon doesn't she? Her secret weapon is Asha Blackwing who the author dropped hints of being made into a duchess.

 

[Night]

I'm only interested in if Katrina ends up so many title that she ends up using both side of her business card just to write it all.

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This is probably true already. The Steiner main family is relatively small at the moment and only a couple of them are trustworthy, so the others are probably short some of the usual titles.

 

[SisterJeanne]

This is probably true already. The Steiner main family is relatively small at the moment and only a couple of them are trustworthy, so the others are probably short some of the usual titles.

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Wait, what?

Katrina has a daughter (Melissa), younger sister (Nondi), three nieces and nephews off Nondi, a first cousin (Frederick), nephew once removed (Ryan is Freddie's nephew), and two uncles (Hermann and Alessandro) from the main 'ruling' line present and accounted for in 3027 (plus potentially an aunt, and Frederick's younger sister Donna). That also does not count the Iris Steiner/Caesar Steiner cadet branch, or Roman and Sarah Steiner on another branch, or the Somerset Steiners, or CO Nagelring General Beckley Winston-Steiner....

Leaving trustworthiness aside (and the bulk of these are trustworthy), a lot of these have their own titles that have nothing to do with the Archon. So Katrina won;t have a lot of extra titles cluttering her feudal responsibilities.

The ones who don't have a lot of known warm bodies right now are the Davions with Hanse, his half-sister Marie Hasek-Davion, Marie's son Morgan Hasek-Davion and then you have to go back pretty far up the tree (about a century) to get to the nearest cadet branch in Yvonne Davion and the Victoria/Argyle Davions.

 

[Night]

Wait, what?

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The way the subsidiary titles of royals work is very different from what you think. There will traditionally, for example, be a whole set of titles and holdings for siblings of the current ruler...but Katrina has only the one sibling. Similarly, a whole set for children of the current ruler, but again, only one child. Her uncles might have traditionally reserved titles and holdings, but Alessandro almost certainly doesn't have whatever he should considering his status. The heads of the cadet-branch families probably have a traditional title, but it's unlikely anyone else would rate a title that's a direct subsidiary of the royal family.

Thus, there are probably at least four to eight extra titles that are being held by Katrina or possibly Melissa which would usually be held by immediate relatives of Katrina or her children. Depending on how extensive the royal family is or has been it could be a lot more.

 

[EFW3]

For comparison sake, here is Queen Elizabeth's 2nd full title:
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

So that bit in there about other realms, teritorries, and the Commonwwealth, is summing up the fact that she has the lawful title of Queen of the following: Canada, India, Australia, Queensland, and 50 other countries . And that's just for one planet.

Insert Rule Britannia here
Girl's got game.

 

[The Bushranger]

Insert Rule Britannia here
Girl's got game.

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It's good to be the Queen.

 

[VhenRa]

The ones who don't have a lot of known warm bodies right now are the Davions with Hanse, his half-sister Marie Hasek-Davion, Marie's son Morgan Hasek-Davion and then you have to go back pretty far up the tree (about a century) to get to the nearest cadet branch in Yvonne Davion and the Victoria/Argyle Davions.

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Yvonne is Victoria Davions [So its weird that her decendants seem more connected to Argyle... my suspicion is she married one of her distant cousins, a member of the Argyle branch of the family]. Victoria Davions split off from the family in the 2520s. [Vincent Davion, secondborn of Alexander Davion]. The most senior cadet branch is the Argyles, who are the decendants of of Peter Davion, younger sibling of Paul Davion [Grandson of John Davion, Paul and Peter were born in 2778 and 2782 respectively]. Then the Rand-Davions of Abbeville, then the Davions of Beaumont and then finally the Victoria Davions.

But its a bad sign you have to go back to someone born before the SLDF ragequit the Inner Sphere to find the closest cadet branch for the FedSuns.

 

[reaver]

I'm kinda surprised that everyone is assuming c* is going to be antagonistic from the get go. Cause if I remember the timeline right they haven't really done anything to be overtly hostile to either the Lyran's or the FedSun's. At this point I could see them planning on supporting the fledging alliance with the long term plan of either the star league reborn or having them win then create large scale civil war. Recreate the first succession war but with a hundred factions rather then 5 major ones.

 

[pheonix89]

I'm kinda surprised that everyone is assuming c* is going to be antagonistic from the get go. Cause if I remember the timeline right they haven't really done anything to be overtly hostile to either the Lyran's or the FedSun's. At this point I could see them planning on supporting the fledging alliance with the long term plan of either the star league reborn or having them win then create large scale civil war. Recreate the first succession war but with a hundred factions rather then 5 major ones.

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Holy. Fucking. Shroud.

They've been at war with the IS for centuries. The IS just hasn't noticed.

 

[consequences]

I'm kinda surprised that everyone is assuming c* is going to be antagonistic from the get go. Cause if I remember the timeline right they haven't really done anything to be overtly hostile to either the Lyran's or the FedSun's. At this point I could see them planning on supporting the fledging alliance with the long term plan of either the star league reborn or having them win then create large scale civil war. Recreate the first succession war but with a hundred factions rather then 5 major ones.

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The absolute best you are going to get with Tiepolo is waiting before taking precipitous action, while making every effort to infiltrate organizations in preparation for taking carefully considered action.

Now Comstar probably hasn't realized that their ongoing antagonism and skirmishing with the Lyrans is slowly preparing to turn into a very short, very hot war, so they probably think they still have time to slow roll Holy Shroud 33 and a 3rd, the final straw.

 

[bookmonkey786]

The thing is if/when the Hanse and Katrina calls for a vote and declares the SL reborn, how will the individuals members of the Order react? Certainly some HPGs will follow the lead of Terra but if those orders contradict the order of the "Star League" how likely are some station will just follow the lead of the "Star League" or just surrender to whoever comes in. AFAIK the rank and file midlevels are mostly true believers in the dream of the Star League reborn right?

 

[Hazard]

The thing is if/when the Hanse and Katrina calls for a vote and declares the SL reborn, how will the individuals members of the Order react? Certainly some HPGs will follow the lead of Terra but if those orders contradict the order of the "Star League" how likely are some station will just follow the lead of the "Star League" or just surrender to whoever comes in. AFAIK the rank and file midlevels are mostly true believers in the dream of the Star League reborn right?

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More or less.

But it won't matter much. Unless ComStar's higher ranks bow down to a reborn Star League all this'll mean is that the phone company at best is quietly uncooperative with the Star League while stoking the other Successor Lords, who will not yield without first getting their arses kicked. It would be far better if neither Hanse nor Katrina nor Melissa declare a new Star League unless and until at minimum the Combine and the League have either retracted their claim on the position of First Lord (not happening for the Combine) or they effectively cease to be a problem (which might happen for the Free World League actually, but for all its flaws the Combine's not going to fall apart that easily).

And then you still have to deal with the question of the Periphery States, who are not stupid and well remember the previous incarnation of the Star League and will support ComStar or any other organisation that quietly or not resists the Star League.


Getting a stable Star League is largely a matter of time and good governance, because it'll be basically the most powerful thing in human explored space so nobody will mess with it once it's stable. But it will need to prove its stability, strength of arms and its ethics first. The Star League is remembered as the best government there ever was, and for good reasons, but there's been built an entire mythos around it as a result. It's a sword that cuts both ways. You'll find idealists joining up, but at the same time, if the Star League doesn't live up to those ideals? There's going to be a whole lot of problems with disappointed idealists demanding better.

 

[nocarename]

Passing thought: The Star League fell, but was it actually formally dissolved?
What happens if Katrina and Hanse take their three votes and declare the game over without winner?
You don't get Terra and any remaining League apparatus like C*, and that's a hell of a prize to give up, but what else would it do the logic of the setting?
It'd sure be a hell of a twist at least.

 

[Night]

Passing thought: The Star League fell, but was it actually formally dissolved?

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Yes. The Star League Council formally dissolved itself in its last meeting. Minoru Kurita declared himself First Lord some period after this, launching the First Succession War. While it's sort of assumed everyone else also declared themselves First Lord, only Minoru gets mentioned.

 

[nocarename]

Yes. The Star League Council formally dissolved itself in its last meeting. Minoru Kurita declared himself First Lord some period after this, launching the First Succession War. While it's sort of assumed everyone else also declared themselves First Lord, only Minoru gets mentioned.

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Ah. OK cool.
Shame that particular table can't be flipped, but still cool.