[X] Plan Arsenal of The Sphere
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-lords-of-ruin-battletech-killzone.52819/page-1036?post=30031096#post-30031096
Concerned that the Rasalhague Republic would be unable to fend off the Clans on its own and already planning to offer the state weapons and equipment by way of aid, the Helghan government seized on the Republic's request to the ORDI for arms sales and voted to break the tie. Bound by the ORDI's strictures regardless of their own opinions, the five member-states of the Periphery alliance swiftly moved to make good on the result —production orders flitting across the Rimward Periphery as logisticians moved to fulfil the planned trade. Informed of the vote's successful conclusion, Rasalhaugian diplomats greeted the news with great enthusiasm; so great, in fact, that when the Republic requested assistance establishing housing and supply programs for Operation Santiago, those same diplomats promised that they'd be supported wherever they deployed within the state.
Concurrently with efforts to negotiate with the Free Rasalhague Republic and the major powers of the Inner Sphere, ORDI delegates reached out to their compatriots from the Tikonov Free Republic to secure passage through Tikonov space. A minor state established by the Federated Suns in the wake of the Fourth Succession War, the Free Republic is, in all honesty, little more than a corrupt playground for Supreme Lord Pavel Ridzik and the man's family; much of the state's wealth derived from arms sales to non-ORDI states. Formed out of territory seized from the Capellan Confederation, the diplomatic concerns of the nation's leadership have naturally revolved around the fear of reconquest by the Confederation and a boundless desire for C-Bills.
Well aware of both facts, the ORDI delegation reached out to the Free Republic with an offer for passage through Tikonov space for the ships of Operation Santiago. Authorised to offer everything from last-gen manufacturing technology to cash deals to straight-up bribes, ORDI diplomats spent many long nights in talks with their colleagues from the middling state until, at long last, they had struck a deal. In exchange for everything the ORDI had on last-generation manufacturing and warp communication systems and hundreds of millions of C-Bills worth of goods and money, the Republic's Supreme Leader gave his assent for ORDI vessels to pass through Tikonov space. Moreover, the Free Republic also rented a handful of state-owned Jump Ships to aid the ORDI, albeit with the caveat that they remain under the command of Free Republic crews.
Effect
- -1 wartime AP until the command circuit ends
While accepting that the ORDI's deal with the Draconis Combine would assist the state in resisting the Clan invasion and potentially even frustrate the Federated Suns over the coming years, domestic political concerns combined with the Republic's political philosophy meant that —when it came time to vote on the Combine's offers— the Republic found voting against both deals. With the vote in question enjoying support from each of the Republic's four allies, the ultimate result was a foregone conclusion, the Helghan Republic serving as the lone dissenter in the negotiations. Bound by the rules and procedures of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative and with little ability to contest the result, the Republic naturally acceded to its allies' demands and cut orders to begin assembling the required goods at logistics hubs throughout the nation; similar activities occurring across the Rimward Periphery.
Receiving news of the vote's successful conclusion, though not the exact breakdown of votes involved, the Combine's delegation to Terra publicly thanked the ORDI as profusely as their honour system permitted. To sweeten the thanks, the Combine also authorised the first payment to the ORDI states, money and less tangible items landing in the pockets and black books of the Periphery alliance. Soon after, Hohiro Kurita echoed the response in a private meeting; the son of the Combine's heir promised that the nation would uphold its end of the secret bargain as soon as the first shipment landed in Combine territory —a date sometime in late Q1 3049.
Effect
- +10 influence
- +100,000,000 C-Bills
- Will gain TSM tech and pulse laser samples after Q1 3049
To the ORDI's surprise, the Federated Suns' delegation to the Terran Conference responded to calls to make bomb-pumped lasers available throughout the Inner Sphere by agreeing almost immediately. Echoing the language used by ORDI states during prior technology trades, delegates from the Federated Suns announced that the state is more than willing to sell both examples of the weapon system and the underlying technologies involved to any Inner Sphere state. Intended to be something of a dig against the alliance's rival given the historic views of Inner Sphere states towards technology exchanges, the sudden lurch by the Federated Suns has badly undercut the intended outcome of the ORDI's call, as has the lack of a call for Petrusite technologies to receive the same treatments.
Understandably, the sheer effectiveness of bomb-pumped lasers has already drawn representatives from numerous nations into talks with the Federated Suns. While delegates from the Lyran Commonwealth, Draconis Combine, and Free Worlds League have all been seen speaking with their FedSun counterparts, the lack of intelligence assets in Hilton Head has prevented the ORDI states from learning the exact details of their discussions or even the price of the items. Meanwhile, the ORDI's attempts to purchase working examples have been rebuffed by the Federated Suns, who claim that states in the path of the invasion have priority.
To the great relief of the ORDI and its plans to secure passage through Free Worlds League space, the League's government proved highly receptive to a decade-long non-aggression pact with the Outer Rim Defence Initiative when offered. Mediated by ComStar due to its neutral nature, talks between the two powers progressed swiftly even without the use of less-than-ethical means of swaying influential figures within the League, the Inner Sphere nation eager to secure its rimward border in these uncertain times. So swiftly did talks progress that, by the end of January, the leadership of both powers publicly announced the formation of a non-aggression pact similar to that between the ORDI and Federated Suns to much rejoicing from doves across the Rimward Periphery. Somewhat less publicly, the League also agreed to permit ORDI vessels to cross the Sirius gap to Lyran space and even assisted the ORDI in renting League-owned JumpShips for the crisis's duration —albeit with the caveat that they could just as easily be taken away should circumstances demand it.
Effect
- -1 wartime AP until the command circuit ends.
In contrast, negotiations with the Lyran Commonwealth's diplomatic party proved complicated in the extreme; the ORDI's efforts to secure a source of supplies, lines of travel, access to Clan technology, troop deployments, and more introduced countless areas of negotiation. While the ORDI as a whole agreed to the Lyran Commonwealth's proposed arms deal and, in doing so, secured a vast supply of C-Bills, the Republic's proposal of a lend-lease program for aerospace assets met with vastly more scrutiny from the Commonwealth due to the concessions the Republic hoped to attain. Though the Commonwealth proved eager to accept the proffered warships and their included compliments of aerospace fighters, they countered the Republic's request to deploy combat troops to Lyran space with a demand that the LCAF hold strategic command rights over any units so deployed —the Commonwealth content to allow ORDI units to fight however they wish, so long as they do so as part of the LCAFs grander strategy.
Similarly, while the Commonwealth agreed to pressure the Federated Suns to share the technology behind bomb-pumped lasers —something that must have influenced the Suns' government given their agreement to sell the technology to Inner Sphere nations— and even agreed to allow the Republic to utilise production lines on Fort Loudon, the nation only provisionally agreed to host a yardship above the world. Concerned over the security risk such a spacecraft poses, the Lyran government demanded that any such vessel boast no more than 200 tons of weaponry and carry only enough troops to maintain security from saboteurs. The topic of tech salvage saw a similar reticence displayed by the Archon's government, the Lyran Commonwealth only agreeing that the ORDI would have the right of first refusal for any items recovered by the LCAF that the Commonwealth decided to sell.
Meanwhile, ORDI efforts to rent JumpShips and secure passage through Lyran space met with no resistance from the Commonwealth's government. Business-minded and under threat by the Clans, respectively, the Lyran government not only okayed privately-owned companies to transport ORDI troops and equipment and allowed both through their territory but even agreed to subsidise the rent of privately-owned JumpShips, dramatically lowering the cost of such rentals. Finally, the Lyran Commonwealth not only agreed to recognise the Rimward Periphery states as not being part of the Star League but, much like the Federated Suns, even agreed to say that they never had been.
Effect
- -9 Damascus-class light carriers and associated airwings
- Spare parts line will be established on Fort Loudon, though there's a risk the Commonwealth will glean some technical secrets over time
- -50,000,000 C-Bills/quarter while renting the jumpships
- +200,000,000 C-Bills from the arms trade
- LC counters ORDI demand with: Demands command rights on a strategic level (I.E they get to order the units to guard certain systems), agrees to pressure the Federated Suns, makes provisional agreement to a yardship depending on its exact design (few weapons allowed and only those troops needed to protect it), agree to offer the Republic the right of first purchase should they decide to sell any tech they recover.
Operation Santiago (Clan Invasion Response)
-[X] Negotiations with ORDI: Immediately share the designs for the Forge Class supply superheavy unit to provide in-theater logistical support. Lift all export restrictions for Helghan technology for use to fight the Clans with. Offer to refit all deployed WarShips with shield generators to permit enhanced operations against the Clans and sign over as much Petrusite as needed to maintain them for the foreseeable future.
-[X] Request that the CC permit us to stand up manufacturing enterprises on Tsitsang to assist with logistics, and ask ORDI as a whole to chip in to help get manufacturing running ASAP there. Similarly, we will ask them to assist with our ammunition and non-critical spare production in the LC. Request assistance forming a logistical Command Circuit from CC space to (relatively) close to the front.
-[X] Deployment Plan: Four Noctis-class Frigates. Two Hecatoncheires Carriers. Carry what Commissar-class Pocket WarShips can be supported. First Division, First Army (0.5 weight), two veteran BattleMech regiments (0.2 weight), and cyborg special operations brigade (0.05 weight).
-[x] Commodore Joel Ostergaard - Taurian Logistician
Hoping to stack the deck in the ORDI's favour as much as possible, the Helghan Republic responded to the cavalcade of planning for Operation Santiago by opening its technological treasure trove and offering its allies technologies previously restricted to Helghan hands. Eager to avoid war support-destroying casualties and well aware that ORDI forces would need to maximise their advantages wherever possible, the Helghan government offered to install current-generation shielding systems in those warships deployed to the operation by its allies, the months-long delays required by the refits considered an acceptable bargain in exchange for the boost to survivability offered by shields. Lacking the technology and encouraged by the Republic promising a guaranteed supply of Petrusite for the vessels, every ORDI member deploying naval assets to Operation Santiago accepted the offer without complaint; the five warships planned to accompany the Helghan contingent entering drydock mere days later. With the first step of their plan completed, the Helghan Republic quickly moved on and shared plans for the colossal Forge-class Production Cruisers with all five of its allies.
A superheavy hovercraft massing 50,000 tons, the Forge-class Production Cruiser was developed by Helghan design bureaus to help lessen the strain of logistics for forces serving on distant battlefields. Sharing a great deal with mobile factories like those that rebuilt Phyrrus, Forge-Class hovercraft serve as mobile logistics hubs for Helghan forces, their advanced manufacturing and maintenance equipment lessening the burden of maintaining warfighting gear. Always happy to receive designs and technology all but free of charge —and with almost all of the ORDI's members now boasting experience working on vehicles of a similar scale— all five of the Republic's allies accepted the proffered design without rancour or debate, statements from all five stating that they began work on examples of the class immediately upon receipt.
Similarly, the Republic's request to use the Capellan world of Tsitsang as a logistics hub, combined with its offer to improve the planet's industry and its request to the rest of the ORDI to assist the Republic in doing so, met with approval from all corners. No doubt loathe to leave their troops without the necessary support, and, presumably, figuring that today was the best time to get the measure of the Clans, the Republic's allies also agreed to share whatever spare parts may be necessary
and establish a command circuit to the front from Tsitsang —years of JumpShip manufacturing combined with the shift towards inter-alliance trade leaving the ORDI with a surprising amount of slack when it came to JumpShips. No doubt hoping to keep its allies sweet, the Republic capped off this diplomatic effort by forwarding a rather unexpected nominee for the position of task force leader: the Republic suggesting that Commodore Joel Ostergaard be placed in command of the operation.
A member of the Taurian Defence Force, Commodore Joel Ostergaard made his name in military circles by quite literally writing the book on deep space commerce raiding for the Taurian Navy; the man displaying a generational talent for naval tactics despite their near eradication in the Inner Sphere. A talented logistician to boot, Ostergaard also played a noteworthy role in supporting the ORDI advance into the Celestial Mandate during the Mandate Intervention, his command advancing further, faster than any other Taurian unit. Though boasting only theoretical ground and large-scale naval combat skills, the man's background and skillset meant that few within the ORDI proved willing to argue against the appointment, the Commodore taking charge of the task force in mid-January.
How does the Republic respond to the Lyran Commonwealth's counter-offers?
Note: Arguing with the Lyrans will delay the launch of Operation Santiago such that ORDI forces will only arrive in Q2 of 3049.
In addition, it's worth keeping in mind that warships from non-Republic ORDI members will be delayed until Q2 3049 as they're having shielding installed.
[] Accept the Lyran terms
[] Write-in counter arguments
