The Lords of Ruin -- Battletech/Killzone

[X] Plan: Factory Recall
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-lords-of-ruin-battletech-killzone.52819/page-1089?post=31966899#post-31966899

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The Pyrrhus Game
[X] Bring Them Back
Presented to the ORDI as a fait accompli, the Neo-Jacobinists' declaration that they had captured spies originating from an as-yet-unknown Inner Sphere state had generated substantial buzz from Helghan's allies within minutes of its announcements. Eager to get their hands on the prisoners and heavily invested in determining if another nation was responsible for the region's recent chaotic goings-on, the Confederation, Concordat, and Magistracy all made clear that they were willing to fight for the honour of breaking the spies' security; carefully worded boasts flying thick and fast over intra-ORDI comms channels. Caught between a rock and a hard place by the possibly canny, possibly sincere actions of the Jacobins and alarmed at the thought of its agents mistakenly ending up in unfriendly—albeit allied—hands, Q3's first few days saw the Malkiewicz government decide to go to the mat for its captured spies; all reasonable measures approved for use, even the admission of their origin.

Wading into the fray with a diplomatic shock and awe campaign, Helghan diplomats barraged their counterparts with a smorgasbord of arguments as to why the Republic should be the one to break the spies; everything from the nation's impressive penetration of the Federated Suns to its overriding interest in a stable buffer state thrown into the ring. Over wine and dinner and coffee and cakes, arguments as fierce as any battlefield raged as government priorities were translated into soft-sounding diplomatic niceties, the outcome of a dozen conversations swinging back and forth as each side sought to triumph over the other. Armed with a slew of apparent reasons for wanting the agents for itself bolstered by a far superior truth, Helghan found its allies' resolve slowly worn away until, by mid-July, only the Taurian Concordat held firm. Finding the Taurians more than willing to fight tooth and nail for the spies—who, they quickly made clear, they suspected belonged to the Federated Suns—and with time steadily running out, Helghan diplomats reluctantly went for the nuclear option.

In a one-on-one meeting between the senior diplomat Ella Vlahović and her counterpart from the Concordat, the Republic privately admitted to the spies' origins and purpose for being in the United Rimward Collective, the half-hour it took for the Concordat's envoy to relay the meeting and receive orders from the Blue Palace reportedly the longest and most awkward Vlahović's career. Following the highly embarrassing conversation, the Taurians quietly agreed to retract their claim on the operatives and made good on their word mere days later. Falling into Republic hands by default, the spies quickly vanished into a finely crafted intelligence black hole—those not in the know assured that the Republic would do whatever it took to find out where the spies hailed from.

Effect

• Spies collected by the Republic and vanished.
• Only had to admit their true origins to the Taurian Concordat.

The Helghan Way
[X] Analyze and rebuild the production line and eat the build cost (this will auto-lock in the construction action this turn)
[See Subsequent Action]

Temp

• Look, there's no actual point to me writing anything for this one

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[X] Expand FedSuns intelligence network: Having placed a large number of agents within the lower levels of FedSuns society, now would be a good time to capitalize on the effort and expand the Republic's reach.
Eager to capitalise on last quarter's success reconnecting with agents once thought lost and desperate for a glimpse at the inner workings of the Federated Suns' highest levels of government, early July saw Helghan intelligence services start pursuing an aggressive infiltration policy against the Suns. Within weeks of the decision, well-established Republic operatives throughout the Inner Sphere nation found new messages awaiting them in digital dead drops, the curt notes ordering them to gain access to the First Prince's network of palaces however they could. The cream of the crop of the Republic's intelligence community and, by now, extremely well versed in the ins and outs of FedSuns culture, dozens of operatives threw themselves into the task of being recruited by the First Prince's extensive network of palace personnel, mid-August seeing a handful of them succeed after numerous false starts and near paranoiac background checks.

Present in only the lowest roles employed by the First Prince's various palaces and lacking much in the way of security credentials, the sheer presence of these agents in Morgan Davion's palaces nonetheless granted the Republic a hitherto unknown level of access to the daily goings on of the Palaces' inhabitants and their unguarded conversations. According to messages that have wound their way back to Helghan in fits and starts, overheard conversations and glimpses of top-secret documents have indicated that the primary concern of the First Prince and his inner circle has, for the past few months, been the rapid and continued rise of far-right politics throughout the Federated Suns. Though only able to hear second or third-hand rumours on the matter, the First Prince and his allies at court are reportedly greatly worried about the speed at which the various right-wing groups have grown, the most common concern being that they might force a second confrontation with the ORDI before the AFFS is ready.

Meanwhile, the second most common concern among those in the highest halls of power in the Federated Suns is, understandably, the Clan Invasion. Located on the opposite end of the Inner Sphere from the Clans and with the AFFS having yet to face them in battle, fear of the quasi-alien MechWarriors appears ever-present but muted throughout the palaces. While all involved in the overheard conversations agree that the Clans are a threat the Suns must prepare for, most discussions revolve around a planned expansion to the trade deals organised with the Lyran Commonwealth and the deployment of an AFFS expeditionary force to support the Lyrans, garner more Clan salvage, and develop a corp of troops experienced in Clan warfare. Meanwhile, discussions on the Draconis Combine range from hoping the Suns' historic rival continues to block the Clans' progress to, though surprisingly unpopular, hoping that it explodes such that the Suns can consume a large chunk of their shared border.

Of perhaps the most interest to the Republic's government is the fact that few within the palaces appear interested in the events occurring in the United Rimward Collective. Though the strife between the Neo-Jacobins, Marxists, and Maoist-Gaullists has been noted in the palaces several times, the civil conflict appears relegated to the sidelines of most conversations, and many seem to hope that it becomes a sucking wound that drains the ORDI of material wealth and governmental support for interventionism. A surprising revelation by all accounts, the news that the political strife in the region has been received somewhat cooly by the Federated Suns has left some torn between wondering if the First Prince is keeping his actions secret from his government or if he even had a hand in it at all.

Effect

• Republic succeeds in planting several agents in the First Prince's network of palaces, though they have little access.
• Republic learns a little of the nation's priorities

[X] Fate of the Trinity League: With the former rulers of the Trinity League either deposed or enjoying a relaxing vacation with their newfound wealth on the planet of their choosing, the question remains "What does the Republic wish to do with the systems of the former Trinity League?"
-[X] Start the process of organizing local governance to the degree that plebiscites can be held regarding bringing the former Trinity League worlds into the Helghan Republic. In terms of eventual bait to lure them in with, we can pledge to solve major issues and sell the benefits of our already extant development programs for our planets, such as the latest one we've introduced to bring places up to spec in both technological capability and industry, as well as various mega-projects and initiatives we've conducted to improve planetary conditions elsewhere.
Surprising very few, early July saw a fraction of the Helghan Republic's attention again turn to the half-dozen worlds lying on its coreward border, the issue of what to do with its millions of inhabitants rising to the forefront of many minds. Once forged into a bandit kingdom dubbed the Trinity League by the Capellan deserters who had created it, the League had been an aggressive, if largely harmless, power in the region for several years; its rulers restraining their activities to the handful of independent systems that remained following the formation of the ORDI. Eventually destroyed by the Helghan Republic's Operation Telemachus—most of the leadership bought off, and the worst of the worst otherwise dealt with—the inhabitants of the short-lived state found themselves temporarily ruled over by Helghan peacekeepers and administrators. Fortunately for the Republic and former Trinity League alike, a combination of adroit decisions and good fortune ensured that months following the disbandment of the League passed smoothly; issues such as landgrabs by planetary nobility, food distribution disruptions, etc., dealt with swiftly and effectively: the chaos and death many feared at the start of the operation avoided entirely. Ever wary of being outcompeted by their allies thanks to their far larger populations and easy access to resources and unwilling to provide for tens of millions of people for the indeterminate length of time it'd take for each system to regain its footing, the Republic's government determined to square the circle and take a third route.

Having already invested a great deal in the former Trinity League and with goodwill towards the Republic at an all-time high in all systems, the first weeks of July saw Gemini Malkiewicz's government decide to invite all six of the quasi-independent star systems to join the Republic as member-states. With the decision made and each system more or less self-governing—local governments already pieced together by the efforts of Helghan administrators—the Republic immediately began making its case to all who would listen. Inviting the respective leaders of the systems to take their time in considering whether to put the invitation to a referendum, Helghan simultaneously launched a media campaign unparalleled in the region's history: millions of Marks and hundreds of messaging specialists turned to the task of convincing the public that joining the Republic was in their interest.

Carried over the airwaves of hundreds of cities, written on pamphlets handed out to tens of thousands, and talked about in the living rooms, workplaces, schools, and bars of countless millions, the Republic's message to the region played again and again. Speaking plainly and without restraint, the Republic's messengers told of bread for all and roses, too; promises made of food and drink and health and leisure and a host of other things that were rare at best in a backwater area of the galaxy. The Republic, it was intimated without a word of a lie, had everything for everyone.

To no one's surprise, this campaign proved its worth almost immediately, with mid-August seeing an overwhelming majority receptive to its messages. Unable to refuse the mounting pressure and, frankly speaking, disinclined to do so anyway, planetary leaders gave in to the inevitable. Announcing their decision in September's final weeks, referendums on whether or not systems would accept the proffered invitation were declared by all six planetary governments, the earliest vote planned for November to ensure that every citizen could have their say.

Effect

• All six governments agree to host referendums to join the Republic.
• Public support to join the Republic is high in all six planets, and analysts think it likely that the votes will likewise succeed.
• Votes planned for Q4

[X] Make inquiries to the Taurians about what they need most in their Outback reconstruction efforts, then promptly purchase and donate the equipment or materials. While additional Horus Mk IIs are, for example, something we'd be happy to provide at a tremendous discount or simply as a type of subsidy, the other information they provide us will likely inform on what form more large-scale aid from us will take, or if visible Helghan assistance would even be appreciated by the locals or just cause more problems.
Having grown concerned over the increasing discontent in those former FedSun systems now claimed by the Taurian Concordat—discontent, it must be said, driven primarily by slow industrial development and the continued lack of supposedly guaranteed rights—early July saw the Helghan government reach out to its spinward comrades with a generous offer of assistance. Carefully worded so as not to offend the famously independent Taurians or be seen as diminishing the state's prodigious capabilities, the Republic dispatched a message to its longtime ally offering substantial discounts on all manner of industrial goods and machinery: Horus class mobile factories, construction automata, armoured spacesuits, and many other items heavily subsidised and offered at almost subterranean rates compared to the norm. Though ultimately only a fraction of the resources undoubtedly required to turn systems like Corodiz or vast clusters of stars such as the Pleiades into emblems of the Taurian Dream, these items represented the mere tip of the iceberg of aid the Republic was willing to offer; Edward Calderon's Protectorship invited to elucidate as much or as little as they wanted.

Arriving at Taurus mere days into the month, it took a week for the Concordat to respond formally; the Republic's generous subsidies accepted almost without question, and a laundry list of goods and materials proffered in response. From subsidies for fibre optic cables to the outright delivery of common vaccines to those planets that needed them most, the aid requested by the Taurians ran the gamut of industries and types, the comms network between Helghan and Taurus set groaning under the weight of the Concordat's requests. Quickly determined to be only a fraction of what the Taurians' plans for the region called for, it became clear equally rapidly that it would be the work of a decade (or more) for the Republic to fulfil the Taurians' needs, the sheer scale of the problem so vast that not even the Republic's gargantuan industrial might could provide the high-tech materials in a lesser timeframe.

Effect

• The Taurians accept, but their need for high-tech materials is as colossal as the population they're trying to develop.
• Decision next turn to lock in peacetime AP to support the Concordat for a decade +

[X] Auto-locked: Battle Armor Factory rebuild.
With the first few days of Q3 having seen the Helghan government make the difficult decision to scrutinise the battle armour production lines that, last quarter, had proven so flawed and to rebuild them no matter the cost, it came as no surprise when subsequent days saw the Republic do just that. Reluctantly handing over many millions of Marks and rather more energetically making clear just how interested the Prime Minister and their colleagues were in restoring production, Helghan's government immediately ordered a thorough analysis be carried out, a team assembled in a matter of weeks given full authority to investigate the top secret facilities. Comprised of some of the best analysts and industrial investigators in the nation, the team—most of whom ordinarily work for the Zulim Taw Battlemech and Jezero Nuclear Weapons factories—all but turned the battle armour facilities on their heads, every inch of the small batch high-tech manufacturing centres placed under intense scrutiny.

Despite some within the Gemini government fearing that the problems experienced with battle armour production might prove inherent to the designs, the intense scrutiny provided by the investigators soon picked out a small but critical number of flaws in the manufacturing processes used. For example, nanometer-scale errors in the seed crystals used to construct the semi-crystalline armour plates of the battle armour designs resulted in brittleness throughout the entire structure that left them vulnerable to a well-placed strike, and the vagaries of quantum teleportation saw a line of control chips rendered useless. With the errors responsible for the production failures so identified, it proved simple to redesign said processes to avoid the flaws: a new method of creating seed crystals devised by Republic chemists in record time and a less capable but substantially more rugged line of processors substituted.

Though delayed by the manufacturing flaws of last quarter, September's final weeks saw the first set of Helghan-produced battle armour step off the line to much acclaim; dozens more exactly like it and just as capable waiting just behind it.

Effect

• Production processes analysed and factories rebuilt. Helghan is now building its own version of (very basic) Battle Armour.

[X] Deploy Spy Ships: Though not as effective as they would be within, say, the Federated Suns, deploying Hyde-class surveillance vessels to Clan-held regions will improve the ORDI's ability to gather information substantially.
Keen to build on the earlier successes enjoyed by Operation Santiago's intelligence division, Q3 3050 saw Commodore Ostergaard argue for and receive a substantial force of additional spy ships—more than a dozen of the stealthy vessels leaving Helghan slipways and making for the distant site of the Clan Invasion. Transported to their destination thanks to the Command Circuit established through ComStar-controlled space, mid-August saw the fourteen vessels arrive in the region with studiously little fanfare. Quickly shuffled onto those same vessels that had so successfully deployed spy satellites sometime earlier, the subsequent weeks bore witness to a litany of successful insertions in a wide array of Clan held systems—the wealth of data already flowing back to Santiago Command only increasing as ship after ship deployed their sensors and drank deep from the well of insight, the Clans' would-be hunters seemingly none the wiser.

Effect

• Additional spy ships deployed to the Clan invasion front.

[X] Establish a continuing effort to provide propaganda relating to the Clan war effort (lock 1 AP to propaganda)
To the great relief of the Helghan government—members of which had seen public support for Operation Santiago decline in almost perfect opposition to the rising number of bodies returning home from the front—the July-September period saw a slight stabilisation of popular sentiment towards the conflict. Though notoriously difficult to pinpoint an exact cause for the change in attitude, random polls combined with more sophisticated analysis tools suggest that the principal driver of this stabilisation has been a combination of the cessation of Clan offensives and the small but noteworthy success of their Inner Sphere counterparts. These successes, combined with an ever-shifting media campaign engineered by some of the best message makers and communicators in the Republic, appear to have driven the human cost of the war from the minds of many ordinary citizens; excitement over the hard-won victories wrenched out of the hands of Clans Wolf, Jade Falcon, Coyote, et al., somewhat reinvigorating the original energy that drove Helghan's intervention.

However, to the great distress of those who hoped (and continue to hope) for a complete 180 change in attitude, an end-of-quarter analysis conducted by those same media teams responsible for the Republic's ongoing propaganda campaign has suggested that this attitude adjustment may be as fragile as spun sugar. According to the analysis in question, the multiple conflicts the Republic has involved itself in over the years, the distance to the frontline, the currently minimal threat to the ORDI, and the overall cost of the conflict in terms of lives have resulted in a steadily growing exhaustion among even those ideologically inclined to support Operation Santiago. Should the Clan assault become reinvigorated, something Helghan military figures have indicated is probable if additional Clans join the invasion, the recent sentiment gains would likely be wiped out overnight.

Effect

• Republic propaganda eeked out a stabilisation in war exhaustion for this quarter.
• Analysis of the data suggest that a renewed clan assault on the Inner Sphere could destroy this gain, however. That said, as the Clans threaten the ORDI more and more, people would likely support the war effort more.

[X] Lothan Factory Complex Construction: As expensive as it will be, constructing a factory complex on Lothan will provide ORDI forces with an additional source of spare parts. [Progress: 0/10] [Locked Until Completed] [+1 AP from Capellan Confederation]
With negotiations with the Free Rasalhague Republic's parliament having concluded more than satisfactorily from the point of view of its Helghan counterpart, early July saw the Republic order the construction of a factory complex in the Rasalhagian system of Lothan as part of an effort to provide further aid to the eternally resource-starved forces of Operation Santiago. Located at the end of a lengthy supply chain—one whose transports were almost entirely dedicated to the transfer of expendables such as munitions, spare parts, and more—the Lothan Complex was well understood to pose a tremendous challenge to those tasked with its construction from its very conception, the huge number of workers and vast quantities of resources required merely the most obvious of the problems Helghan logisticians faced. Undoubtedly cursing their bosses all the while, said logisticians nonetheless rose to the occasion, and mid-July saw the first battalions of Helghan workers shipped off to Lothan to join their military brethren.

Arriving a little over a month later—their transport vessels having stopped only to pick up Capellan-manufactured machinery forwarded to Tsitsang—this small force of workers immediately threw themselves into laying the factory's foundations. Envisioned as a manufacturing centre comparable to that built on the Lyran planet of Fort Loudon, work proceeded apace despite the small number of workers devoted to the task. Working feverishly, workers from Helghan and Rasalhague alike pushed themselves to heroic extremes to keep on schedule, late August seeing a highway leading from the planetary spaceport to the provisioned land completed on time, while September's final days were closed out with the sinking of a colossal ferrocrete plug into the soft earth to serve as an anchor for the planned assembly lines.

[Progress: 0/10] → [Progress: 2/10]

Effect

• Work starts on the Lothan factory

[X] Operation Santiago
-[X] Continue the standard rotation of fresh forces and equipment via Command Circuit as practical and necessary to account for losses faced in the last quarter.
-[X] Begin digging in on the recaptured worlds. Given the strategic realities of the day, that the Clans cannot push closer to their goal in Sol without eliminating the threat posed by ORDI's Navy, encourage the Lyrans to help reinforce this part of the invasion corridor as opposed to resuming a counter-offensive that's just going to get reversed in six to nine months. If the Clans are aiming to concentrate enough force to overwhelm the largest fleet on the Inner-Sphere's side before sweeping past everyone else like a tide toward Terra, what's the point of grinding your troops to dust against Clanner garrison forces who have mostly been so suicidally stubborn as to prefer death to surrender?
-[X] Anticipating that the Lyrans will likely ignore our warnings, we instead focus our energies on those who are directly threatened or directly involved enough that they can't ignore our requests out of hand. To the Wolf Dragoons, encourage them toward raiding activities, with an aim toward low traction, and high impact, something their aggressive maneuvers and battle wheeling slash dealing seem to be built for. We'll provide the minimal amount of support necessary to ensure their efforts aren't wasted (warship support that can be spared, some amount of units with preference given toward who the Dragoons think they'd work best with or could make best use of).
Entering the new quarter with a growing sense that the other shoe was bound to drop sooner rather than later, mid-3050 saw a marked change in tack from previous months for ORDI's Operation Santiago, Commodore Ostergard ordering the forces under his command to cease offensive operations and begin preparing for a renewed Clan assault. Left bruised and battered from earlier battles but ultimately unbroken by the losses sustained, forces across the systems recaptured during the ORDI's recent counterattack rushed to obey the Commodore's orders—field fortifications sprouting up and down the lightyears-long front as engineering units dug vast fields of trenches, poured oceans of ferrocrete, and otherwise constructed an uncountable array of depots and other hardpoints. Though by no means equivalent to the Gunzburg Line, each passing month saw allied troops across the ten recovered systems entrench themselves ever deeper into their respective planets; the pause additionally allowed ORDI troops time for much-needed recovery. Primarily driven by the man's instincts as a military officer and supported by reports derived from the POW camp on Cassilda and comments from Star Commodore Eva Sukhanov—the woman one of a handful of Clan prisoners kept nearby due to their value as intelligence assets—the move earned Ostergaard no small amount of ire from the alliance's more militant politicians and a substantially greater deal more relief from those concerned with rising casualty rates and the vulnerability of exposed units.

Meanwhile, as fortifications rose, ORDI's diplomats reached out to their Lyran counterparts in the hopes of convincing the state to end its counterattack against the Clans. Ordinarily not concerned with the fates of Inner Sphere states and more than happy to see the Clans losing systems, the same instincts that had impelled Commodore Ostergaard to cease offensive operations in Q3 had similarly blossomed throughout the militaries of the interstellar alliance and led to much unease throughout the five governments. Greatly concerned over the dear cost of the LCAF's ongoing counterattack and fearing that the losses had left the LCAF brittle, the ORDI's governments found themselves unexpectedly worried that the resumption of the Clan invasion could shatter the Lyran defences entirely and render the coreward state ripe for the Clans' picking.

Unfortunately for those who judged the ORDI's diplomatic influence to be a potent draught, though the Lyran government proved willing to hear the alliance out, the mighty state nonetheless declined to halt its coreward offensive. In a private meeting between senior diplomats, the Lyran representative reluctantly made clear that while the LCAF and Archon agreed with the ORDI analysis, public morale and simple security concerns meant that neither could stop the assault yet. An ill-omened response, all things considered, the Lyrans' refusal to halt the coreward attacks was tempered by subsequent reports of engineering units constructing fortifications aplenty in the wake of the continuing vanguard and on vital strategic and industrial hubs.

Perplexed by the sudden return of a defensive mindset in the wake of multiple glorious victories, the leader of Wolf's Dragoons, Jamie Wolf, proved notably less understanding of the change toward a defensive stance; reports of heated arguments between the ex-Clanner and Samuel Ostergaard making their way back to Helghan in record time. Rarely one to let emotions cloud his judgement, the mercenary commander's outbursts provoked more than a little concern for the working relationship between the alliance and the mercenaries, something about the invading Wolves evoking great distaste in their would-be spies and catspaws. Meanwhile, reports on the Dragoons' mood as a whole suggested that Jamie's anger was not merely shared by those under his command but typified the more restrained reaction; the famed Natasha Kerensky responsible for at least one bar room brawl thanks to her incendiary comments on the bravery of ORDI troops. Fortunately for all involved, an off-the-cuff comment from a headquarters clerk soon provided the answer to the conflict between Wolf and Ostergaard—the idea to have the Dragoons harry Clan Wolf forces rapidly seized by both parties and put into action.

More than eager to fight their erstwhile brothers and sisters in arms, the three-month period saw a spate of raids launched by the Dragoons against their chosen foe; what forces Ostergaard could spare accompanying them to provide fire support. Easily on par with their Clan opponents in skill, if not better, the five raiding parties dispatched by Jamie Wolf crashed down upon the still-listless invaders in a series of Trials of Possession and took them for all they were worth. Fought according to Clan traditions and with scrupulous fairness, the Dragoons won duel after duel after duel against the invaders, the quarter's close seeing four out of five of the raiding parties making out like bandits and the fifth losing nothing that couldn't be easily replaced.

Effect

• Change in strategy works well given rising fears of a counter attack. Troops begin to dig in pretty readily; various field fortifications rising all over the recaptured territories. More work will be needed later, but ORDI forces are hella dug in.
• Arguments ensue with the Dragoons, but they eventually agree to switch to a raiding tactic, the mood improving substantially on both sides when someone suggests looting as much clan equipment as possible via challenges. Raids go from okay to very well on all but one system. One system sees Dragoons eat shit
• Lyrans kind of reject the recommendation to stop the counter attack. They make clear that it's a necessity for morale to do. Nonetheless, rear line units are spotted digging in all over the place behind the vanguard

[X] Ask ComStar for more help with holding the line. What form that takes we're not sure, but at this point, it's blindingly obvious that either we stop the next wave of attacks in the Free Republic, or they'll be looking at occupiers.
With anxiety over the resumption of the Clan Invasion growing almost daily across the Inner Sphere and reports from military analysts painting a grim picture of the Free Rasalhague Republic's ability to fend off the Clanners even with the aid granted to it by the Republic, mid-3050 saw the Helghan government riven with arguments over what to do; back-and-forth debates raging throughout Parliament and Pyrrhus' countless other halls of power as politicians and civil servants sought a solution to their problems. With some factions unwilling to withdraw troops from the front lines out of fear of what the Clans would accomplish without the bulwark of the ORDI blocking them, others equally unhappy at the thought of Clan MechWarriors rampaging through the green formations and almost all wary of shifting into a war economy, the quarter's first few weeks saw Helghan all but paralysed on the matter, no side able to do much more than irritate its opponents and shore up support among its proponents. Initially seeming little more than a means to burn off anxiety among the Republic's more skittish parliamentarians to those watching from the sidelines, the debates swiftly grew in scope and hostility as each side drew up their battlelines and dug deep their trenches until, at long last, some canny members brought up ComStar's recent actions.

Seizing the mention of ComStar like a lifeline, Gemini Malkiewicz quickly moved to stifle the debate before it could grow even hotter, a message dispatched to the quasi-religious communications organisation asking for it to intercede on the Inner Sphere's behalf. Leaving the nature of said intercession up to interpretation—the more optimistic members of parliament reading into it a call for military action and the more pessimistic nothing but a sop to quieten the former—the message arrived on Terra mere days after dispatch, the high price charged for priority transmission more than worth it in the eyes of the government. Alas, much to the disappointment of those who hoped for an answer to all their problems, one did not prove forthcoming.

Responding to Prime Minister Malkiewicz's request with a politeness no doubt perfected over decades of leadership, a recording of Primus Everson regretfully reported that ComStar would make no move to assist the ORDI in waging war against the Clans. Furthermore, the recording made clear that ComStar's reputation as a neutral party and its origin as a descendant of the Star League was all that prevented the Clans from seizing control of HPGs in the region and that the organisation would do nothing to jeopardise this reputation. Delivered by hand to the Office of the Prime Minister and categorically rejecting the idea of assisting the Inner Sphere in its defence against the Clans in spite of ComStar's recent moves to secure arms and troops, the message would have left the Republic's leaders simultaneously despondent and enraged were it not for the hidden message contained with the missive's audio.

Uncovered by a routine scan of the recording's audio track prior to being played for the Prime Minister, ComStar's secret message—once provided to those who needed to know—proved rather more interesting than its public one. Promising nothing but hinting at something, the hidden text asked the Republic to bide its time for the next few months as ComStar prepared... something. Warning the Republic that the Clan Invasion was bound to restart momentarily, the message, signed with the Precentor-Martial's name, asked only that the ORDI buy as much time as it could for the Free Republic.

Effect

• ComStar responds with a message saying that it cannot breach its neutrality for fear of Clan retaliation
• ComStar's secret message, meanwhile, asks for the Republic/ORDI to buy as much time as it can.

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Design and Requisition

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News and Rumours
Helghan
As with past months, September 3050 saw refugee numbers continue to climb in the Periphery, with two million additional people entering ORDI compared to last quarter.

Predicted Refugee Acceptance Breakdown For 3050 (+-5%)
Helghan Republic: 26,950,000
Aurigan Coalition: 2,200,000
Capellan Confederation: 12,000,000
Magistracy of Canopus: 5,500,000
Taurian Concordat: 3,900,000


To the great interest of military and governmental figures throughout the nation, the continued rotation of experienced soldiers back to the Republic from the frontlines of the Clan Invasion has paid dividends in terms of tactics, training, and military engineering; reports from the military suggest readiness is at an all-time high. Having developed an understanding of Clan psychology and tactics in the crucible of war, veterans of the Invasion turned training officers have been relentless in drilling their trainees in the dos and don'ts of Clan warfare, the lessons lending Republic soldiers a keener understanding of the Clanner mind and an insight into what they value. Somewhat more prosaically, these soldiers have also provided much-needed feedback on equipment used throughout Operation Santiago, their suggestions, personal modifications, and robust opinions on design decisions since taken into account by manufacturers.


In news from the civilian sector, Q3 3050 saw the release of Helmut Brecht's historical epic Triumph! to much acclaim. Set in the mid-21st century and showcasing the slow spiral of human civilization towards WW3 in the face of a worsening climate and an oil crisis, Triumph! proved both a critical darling and a success with audiences throughout the Periphery. Following Captain James Mallory as he commands the ballistic missile submarine USS Colorado and his family in the conflict's lead-up, the film ends with the launch of the submarine's nuclear weapons against Russian and Chinese targets.

Competing with a Taurian reimagining of H.G Wells' War of the Worlds that saw alien invaders strike against ORDI states from the rimward edge, Triumph! proved unexpectedly successful among Helghan audiences. Earning back its budget in under a week via Helghan ticket sales alone, the success of the film within the Republic compared to the War of the Worlds' more standard fare has suggested to some that Helghan audiences are seeking something of an escape from the present.


Aurigan Coalition
Of substantial interest to the galaxy's spacecraft enthusiasts, September 3050 also saw the launch of the Aurigan Coalition's Wa'a Kaulua class exploration vessel Wa'a Kaulua. Named for the type of double-hulled exploration craft used by Polynesian explorers in ancient times, the Wa'a Kaulua is a purpose-built long-range exploration vessel theoretically capable of travelling more than 1,500 lightyears without taking onboard supplies from external sources; hydroponics bays and manufacturing facilities allowing it to extend this time even further. Launched from Mechdur's JumpShip yard, the first example of the 200,000-ton design passed its initial evaluations with flying colours and much acclaim before making for the system's zenith point. According to info sheets distributed by the Arano government to all who witnessed the ship's launch first-hand or tuned in to watch it via the ORDI's ever-growing WarpComm network, the Wa'a Kaulua will spend the next year or so travelling from Mechdur to the Taurian system of Gaul and from Gaul to the Canopian system of Thraxa without external support—followed, of course, by a companion craft in the event of an incident.

No doubt seeking to either take control of or create an emerging market, mid-August saw a conglomerate of aerospace manufacturers in the Aurigan Coalition reveal a new type of civilian freighter intended for the private market. Named for the region of space it is expected to operate in and designed to fill the gaps left behind by their bigger state-owned siblings, the Borderworld Series YX Dromedary is relatively small for a faster-than-light spaceship at only 150 metres in length but makes up for its diminutive stature with a sizeable cargo capacity, robust structure, and fuel-efficient warp drive. Massing only 25,000 tons and capable of landing on prepared cargo pads or in bodies of water, the Dromedary can deliver up to 5,000 tons of cargo to the surface of undeveloped worlds and support its crew of 53 for up to 6 months without trouble. Priced low enough that private actors such as major corporations can afford to operate them, Dromedary freighters to the open market could trigger economic growth throughout the Periphery as previously non-viable trade connections develop. However, their paltry armament and almost non-existent armour render the design unsuitable for use in regions without reliable space patrols, and some on Helghan have already commented that this will prove the vessel's downfall.


Capellan Confederation
As in prior quarters, late September saw the Republic's coreward ally unleash a number of warships on the galaxy; an astounding sixteen Carson II class frigates joined the ten already operated by the state. More than doubling the size of the Capellan navy, the sixteen vessels immediately underwent shakedown cruises across the nation's borders with the Free Worlds League and the Federated Suns, and what few issues were discovered quickly resolved. Seemingly satisfied with the production capabilities of its planetside shipyards—at least, for now, anyway—the quarter saw no additional 500-kt slipways opened. However, work on 1-mt orbital slipways seemed only to increase, and estimates by Helghan's analytics corps suggest that two will be completed by the year's end.


In a sign of blossoming inter-ORDI relationships, the July-September period also saw the Capellan Confederation dispatch a select group of orbital engineers to the Taurian Concordat to tour the nation's capable civilian shipbuilding industry. According to the itinerary handed to the Republic and its allies, the Confederation's engineers will spend the next twelve months touring the Concordat and visiting everything from dropship manufacturers to private spacecraft manufacturers. Though rather mundane in the abstract, the month-long block in the itinerary devoted to visiting the still-under-construction O'Neill cylinder in the Burton system has proven of interest to the engineer's Helghan counterparts; suggestions that the Confederation may look to construct similar habitats reaching the ears of politicians throughout the Republic.


To the dissatisfaction of many of the Republic's industrial leaders and industry-leveraging politicians, August 3050 saw the Capellan Confederation announce the creation of a state-owned enterprise dedicated to manufacturing ultraheavy vehicles for civilian purposes. Written into existence as the Sarna Enterprise for Ultraheavy Manufacturing and based, understandably, in the Confederation's Sarna system, the SEUM inherited several formerly-state managed factories and a solid cadre of workers, designers, engineers, and associated figures. Not, on the face of it, a move that would annoy figures within the Republic, the enterprise's subsequent announcement that its first product would be a mobile factory with capabilities equivalent to the Horus MK I proved somewhat worrisome to a nation that had so successfully leveraged the use of such for diplomatic purposes. While so far playing the ultimate design of the proposed mobile factory close to its chest, SEUM has thus far intimated that it will be akin to earlier generations of Helghan mobile factories in overall design; the vital factory core situated atop a tracked base capable of crawling over most kinds of terrain.


Magistracy of Canopus
Shocking no one, September 3050 saw the Canopian navy welcome three additional Canopus class frigates into its order of battle, the three 500,000-ton vessels bringing the total number of such frigates in the Canopian military to twelve. Equipped with energy shielding thanks to the generosity of the Helghan Republic and capable of undertaking a wide range of mission profiles, the new Canopus class have since been spotted undergoing extended shakedown cruises across the Magistracy's rimward border. Similarly, September also saw the completion of three additional planetside slipways for the Magistracy, Canopian workers completing their labours in impressive time and bringing the total number of such slipways to twelve.

Somewhat more surprisingly, the Canopian military has, at the explicit request of Magestrix Emma Centralla, also informed the nation's allies that it is interested in developing a Kearny-Fuchida drive-equipped warship for production within the next few years. An extreme divergence from the warp drive-equipped designs that have thus far typified ORDI warships due to their utility in the high-speed, short-distance conflicts the ORDI has almost exclusively fought to date, such a vessel would be worse in all regards bar one: long-range endurance. While the Magistracy has placed few restrictions on what such a vessel should feature beyond it being able to outfight warships of a similar tonnage and travel a comparable distance to the Aurigan's Wa'a Kaulua class exploration vessel, the mere fact that the state has raised the matter has left many within the alliance—the Republic included—confused.


In news of particular interest to Helghan geneticists and somewhat lesser interest to Helghan ethnologists, the same period saw preliminary results from those Canopian geneticists working on Cassilda arrive in the Republic. Though limited in their findings due to the short period available for them to work, Canopian scientists involved in sequencing, identifying, and cataloguing Clan genetics have nonetheless produced several fascinating insights into the genetics of Clan warriors and civilian castes; breakdowns of common genes poured over by geneticists throughout the ORDI. Considered the most complete due to the relative availability of sources, the genetic structures of Clan MechWarriors and Elementals are perhaps the most well-understood of those studied, and Aerospace Pilots and Technicians the next most.

Far from inhuman—the genetic alterations made by Clan scientists reportedly limited in the minds of the Magistracy's more ambitious scientists—said alterations are nonetheless wide-ranging and well-implemented. According to those in the Republic who specialise in such matters, Clan scientists have not only implanted genes associated with reduced lactic acid buildup into the genomes of Clan Warriors but also improved the functioning of their immune system, cardiovascular system, kidneys, and liver through the same route. Unsurprisingly, these same genes have appeared in the sequences of those few civilian Clanners available to the Canopians, though some show signs of sexual inheritance rather than artificial insertion. While far from producing colossal improvements over ordinary humans—the genes themselves entirely sourced from humans, though not naturally present in this particular configuration or quantity—they nonetheless work to make Clan bodies more efficient in many regards and, when combined with the Clans' bloodthirsty treatment of those who fail to measure up to their supposed genetic potential, an appalling commitment to eugenics.

Somewhat interestingly, the addition of these genes has had the side effect of spawning previously rare receptors in the cells of Clan bodies; said receptors regulate various processes and either reduce or increase the uptake of substances. Shared with populations throughout the known galaxy, primarily those that experienced periods of isolation that allowed said genes to become ubiquitous or semi-ubiquitous before contact was reestablished, the presence of these receptors has garnered the interest of the Republic's security services. Included as a final hurdle in the battery of tests and checks run by such services to catch spies, a test for these receptors could help the Republic's intelligence service guard against infiltration by the Clans, though not even they consider it a silver bullet.


Taurian Concordat
Echoing prior months, September 3050 has seen the Taurian navy welcoming nine Auroch class Frigates into its ranks, the heavily armed vessels joining those already patrolling the rimward Periphery. Simultaneously, Taurian workers completed efforts to convert the nation's remaining two 200,000-ton slipways into their bigger siblings; their labours brought the total number of planetary slipways to fourteen. Increasingly viewed as an unnecessary expenditure by those within the recently absorbed and impoverished Outback region, the news of both has resulted in a handful of minor protests within the Pleiades Cluster and its surrounds and mild critique by the less militant sections of Taurian media.

Understandably, the mood in the region has continued to sour over the quarter, and rumblings of discontent have grown ever more frequent from those who view the Concordat as either backtracking or simply not delivering on promises made following the Outback intervention. To combat this rising tide of disquiet, the Concordat has, to the irritation of some Helghan politicians, begun publicising the nation's recent aid offer. While this has reportedly served to somewhat cool tempers within the region, it has proven far from halting the rise of discontent and left the Republic in an awkward position should it find its industries taxed by the war effort.


In much more positive news from the Republic's spinward ally, late Q3 saw the superstructure of the still-under-construction O'Neill Cylinder in the Burton system completed with much fanfare; champagne and other drinks flowing in copious quantities. Started in January 3045 by a conglomerate of companies that have since been discovered to be closely associated with the Concordat's Far-Looker movement, the completion of the habitat's shell represents a significant step toward completion and is undoubtedly the reason for the recently organised visit by Capellan engineers and associates. Beginning life as little more than a collection of scaffolds attached to an M-type asteroid, the half-decade since its conception saw the habitat—since named Corinth as an ode to the neighbouring Sparta habitat—swell in size until it became a cylinder three kilometres wide and twelve long. Constructed out of a nickel alloy sourced from its host asteroid and the swarm of asteroids manoeuvred into position following the exhaustion of said host, tens of thousands of Taurian workers laboured around the clock to construct the vast edifice.

Massing over 2,500,000,000 tons and featuring three mirrored arms designed to reflect sunlight into the interior via transparent windows—each a compound window constructed from numerous panes of multi-metre thick glass—Corinth has become an emblem of Taurian accomplishment despite its status as a work in progress. Two kilometres wider and five kilometres longer than the Star League's O'Neill Station, citizens across the Concordat have received the news of Corinth's good progress with much celebration, a vast upswell of interest emerging alongside reports of the shell's completion. Intending to open the megastructure's interior to pioneers by the end of 3052, the conglomerate responsible for Corinth's construction has taken a leaf out of the Republic's book and manoeuvred a series of chondritic asteroids near the habitat to use as feedstock for the interior landscape and to fill both the atmosphere and circumfluous sea/salt-water resolver.


Clan Invasion (Varied)
In line with their statements to the Helghan Republic, the year's third quarter saw the Lyran Commonwealth continue its counterattack into Clan-held systems, mercenaries and regular troops alike lancing forth to strike at those systems rendered vulnerable by prior efforts. The greatest effort yet attempted by the LCAF, the assault crashed down upon the Fire Mandrills and Coyotes like a tsunami of steel, the flotilla of dropships involved kept safe from harm by the nation's newly produced Thor-class frigates and the Republic's own Nocti. Fought by veteran troops supported by unblooded reinforcements from the nation's core, the multi-pronged assault saw vicious fighting across a front more than seventy lightyears wide and forty lightyears deep, nine of the ten targeted systems falling by September's end. Though the price exacted by the Clan defenders proved high—reports indicating that some Lyran units sustained upwards of 40% casualties—the overall success of the counterattack was met with jubilation by a fearful populace; impromptu celebrations held and those on what had previously been the frontlines letting out a collective sigh of relief.


Likewise, the Draconis Combine continued its counterattack throughout the same period, multiple regiments of the nation's most experienced and best-equipped troops thrown at the frighteningly effective Jade Falcons in the hopes of pushing the Clanners away from the soon-to-be-completed shipyards at Luthien, Avon, and Asgard—Asgard's shipyards, of course, having been preserved by the Falcons during their assault and recaptured soon after. Supported by ORDI warships lest the Clans try to intercept the forces when they were at their most vulnerable, DCMS troops landed on Mualang, Yamarovka, Itabaiana, and Caripare within days of one another, the fighting that followed reportedly reaping a terrible toll. Though information on what exactly occurred proved challenging to find, analysis of the subsequent rumours and the Combine's propaganda output painted the picture of furious fighting and heroic efforts from MechWarriors on both sides, Falcon resistance so staunch that it took until late August for the last Clanners to surrender or die and for the DCMS to move on to Soverzene and Thessalonika.

No doubt hoping to replicate their earlier successes, the DCMS quickly found Falcon resistance even more immovable than it had proven on Mualang or Itabaiana; Falcon aerospace fighters willing to engage in nigh-suicidal strikes against descending dropships and scoring several vital kills in the process. Though fighting would continue for several weeks as the two sides sought out areas of weakness, late September eventually saw the DCMS conduct an organised withdrawal from both systems. While information as to why the normally aggressive Combine military might do such a thing is understandably scarce, what few experts in the Combine the ORDI can boast have suggested that this is nothing more than the influence of Coordinator Theodore Kurita at work, the man well-known for his views on the DCMS' traditional ways of waging war.


Federated Suns
As has become almost rote, the July-September period saw the Federated Suns launch four additional Reynard class destroyers from its planetary shipyards on Augusta and Numenor. Concluding their shakedown cruises without incident, the four warships have joined the sixteen already present in carrying out anti-piracy patrols in the nation's spinward expanse; Helghan spies within the Suns reporting that they've seen good results in their efforts thus far.

Meanwhile, the same period has seen the Federated Suns complete work on four 500,000-ton capacity slipways, one slipway located on Augusta, Numenor, Markesan, and New Avalon. Likewise, FedSun workers on Augusta and Numenor have finished the effort to complete two additional 200,000-ton capacity slipways. However, talk within the Palace has made it abundantly clear that the Federated Suns will convert all eight 200kt slipways to 500kt slipways to take advantage of the latter's greater shipbuilding utility.


Free Worlds League
Of interest to many throughout the Outer Rim Defence Initiative, the July-September period saw the launch of a quarter of warships from the Free Worlds League's shipyards on Alterf, Atreus, Hellos Minor, and Regulus, ORDI spies losing track of the vessels shortly after they departed for their shakedown cruises. Announced to be Valor class frigates by the Captain-General in a speech broadcast via the nation's continually expanding FTL comms network and ComStar's own HPG system, images recorded by what spies the ORDI has within the League have been poured over relentlessly by the alliance's various intelligence agencies. While information on the vessels is scarce, a rough outline of the class' capabilities has been determined.



Lyran Commonwealth
As in prior quarters, Q3 3050 saw the Lyran Commonwealth launch four more Thor-class frigates to join the eight already plying the space lanes. Representing a 30% increase of the forces available to the Lyran navy, the quartet of warships was quickly dispatched to guard key industrial sites in the path of the clan invasion; Helghan analysts predicted that the vessels would receive first rights to the bomb-pumped x-ray lasers the Lyrans have been busy purchasing from the Federated Suns. Still a long way from matching the Clans' supposed blackwater capabilities, the addition of so many warships to the Lyran order of battle is sure to slow the Clans' thus far incredible rate of advance through the Inner Sphere.


To the great relief of Helghan decision-makers and Lyran citizens alike, the three-month period has seen the Lyran state devote incredible resources to fortifying those systems recently recaptured from the invading Clans. All across the expected route of follow-up assaults, LCAF engineer units and Lyran labourers have worked around the clock to dig trenches, build hardpoints, and pave runways into existence; the sheer amount of liquidity flowing from state coffers to the lower class counting as a roundabout form of social stimulus and prompting a surge of spending among members of said class despite fears of war. Though most such efforts have focused on those industrial planets previously staring down the barrel of Clan attacks, the LCAF has included the recently retaken systems of Graceland, Dustball, A Place, Morges, Babaeski, Antares, Graus, Sudeten, Dompaire, and Parakoila in the plan given the likelihood of clan units targeting them once more. While not particularly ambitious in their scope thanks to the time available, the sheer amount of fortifications built and their utility to local forces will no doubt hamper the Clan assaults that many within the Republic consider inevitable, said frustration hopefully proving the difference between victor and defeat for the Commonwealth.


Draconis Combine
Continuing trends from prior months, the June_September period saw the Draconis Combine continue to pull DCMS troops away from the nation's border with the Federated Suns; the undamaged units shovelled into the Clan frontline in job lots to fill gaps and bolster the nation's defences. A bold move considering the historic rivalry between the Combine and the Federated Suns—a rivalry punctuated with massacres and other atrocities, it must be said—the fact that First Prince Morgan Davion has yet to exploit the Combine's soft underbelly for the Suns' advantage has left many within the Republic and beyond puzzled as to why. Despite the access to the First Prince's Palace that the Republic currently enjoys, little information regarding the inaction on the AFFS part has reached the ears of the nation's spies, and so Helghan analysts have been left to speculate that a deal was reached between the Combine and the Suns sometime before the infiltration of the palace network. While such a deal would not last long, the mere fact that one would be signed—if one was signed—speaks to either the seriousness with which the First Prince is taking the Clan invasion or a newfound uncertainty in the AFFS's abilities.


Appearing to reach the same conclusion as the Helghan Republic, Q3 3050 saw the Draconis Combine begin a massive effort to fortify its frontline with the Clan against assault; early July saw an army of civilians put to work constructing a wide array of defensive structures. According to propaganda broadcasts made by the Combine's media outlets, the hundreds of thousands of workers employed in the measure are, to person, all volunteers who willingly picked up tools after school and after work to do their patriotic duty and defend their homeland from the vicious invaders. While the Republic naturally has its doubts about the truth of such claims—especially when they portend to those prisoners claimed to have signed up for especially dangerous work—the effort's efficacy cannot be doubted; bunkers and hardpoints spotted springing up throughout the nation's coreward region.

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Operation Santiago (Clan Invasion Response)
Note: The Naval and Ground Capacities will improve as the Clans approach, so keep that in mind as you're making plans.

Note: Thanks to the Parthian-class Mobile Shipyard, ships can now make semi-major repairs in the field (this is intentionally left vague because I'm not simulating each ship)


Q3 Casualty Estimates

Casualties To Date


Map of the Inner Sphere (End of September, 3050)

Link to full size image here