0t4n1z3r019
Member of the HAFPTG
- Location
- Philippines
[X] Plan: Autocrats... Assemble!
The Lords of Ruin -- Battletech/Killzone
- Thread starter prometheus110
- Start date
- Crossover
Omega-Chris
The Friendly Ghost
[X] Plan: Autocrats... Assemble!
- Location
- SEAsia
- Pronouns
- Thou
The Dragoons should have a few elementals with them, no? I wonder if we should consider giving them access to a teleporter and beacon. It's not a loan ofc. The tech stays with a Helghan formation stationed together with the dragoons.
0t4n1z3r019
Member of the HAFPTG
- Location
- Philippines
Elementals and teleporters suddenly reminded me of Space Marine Terminators teleporting into an enemy formation.
Omega-Chris
The Friendly Ghost
I am very much against using teleportation tech at all at the moment. It's not a good idea to tip off anyone that the tech is possible yet (like until it was proven by our own investigations into it teleportation was considered pseudo science at best) while it's still in the early stages as others will take notice and try to develop teleportation tech themselves preventing us from getting a substantial lead like we did with shields and warpdrives.
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prometheus110
Join Cayman-Global & be part of the 1E-9 percent!
- Location
- La Ballena City Raft
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Your URC and Operation Santiago actions are too long. You'll need to reduce the former by 80 words and the latter by 95 (there's a 200 word limit to make it reasonable for me to process them as actions). You're good on if-statements for now, but make sure there are a max of 2 when you edit the actions.
Otherwise, I can't see anything wrong with them.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
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[X] Plan: Autocrats... Assemble!
prometheus110
Join Cayman-Global & be part of the 1E-9 percent!
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It actually might have been. I might have gotten my wires crossed. 😬
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Well in that case, have the extra several dozen words back.
- Location
- Auckland
[X] Plan: Autocrats... Assemble!
Blacktiger1977
your friendly neighborhood feline, Meow!
- Location
- bavaria, germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan: Autocrats... Assemble!
Vote closed
prometheus110
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The Clan Invasion -- January-March 3051 Results
prometheus110
Join Cayman-Global & be part of the 1E-9 percent!
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[X] Plan: Autocrats... Assemble!
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-lords-of-ruin-battletech-killzone.52819/page-1096#post-32499784
[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.
Pardon the slight blurriness of the images, but if you direct your attention to the image on the right and compare it to the Feddy's existing design, you'll notice the marked difference in shape and size of both the missile bus and its warhead; initial analysis suggesting that this new design of bomb-pumped laser represents a significant leap forward in capital-scale directed-energy weapon design. Most obvious is, of course, the missile bus's elongated body compared to earlier designs, the changes suggesting a substantial reworking of the bus's internals to accommodate a more sophisticated propulsion system or increased fuel capacity. Needless to say, this will make interception by the point defence systems of warships much more difficult due to improved kinematics and higher closing velocities.
Less obvious, but potentially more important, are the differences in the design of the lasing cells mounted to the warhead's nose. Given the difference in colour and shape of the elements within the cells, it's likely that the NAIS has devised a new lasing medium since the Outback conflict, most probably to improve the efficiency of X-ray production and maximise the amount of energy delivered on target. Additionally, you'll note the increased actuator count and changes to their positioning in image two. The working group suspects that these changes allow each cell to direct its output to a specific target within a substantial arc in front of the missile, though how wide that arc is and how accurate the cells will prove remains unanswerable without combat data. - Dr. Ivana Petrovic, Senior Weapons Systems Engineer, OMEN (Oruzheinyye Modernizatsionnyy - Energeticheskikh Nauk), Briefing to Selected Officers.
Hoping to deepen penetration into the various entities that, combined, make up the Federated Suns, the January-March period saw the Helghan Republic's intelligence service order agents within the rival state to expand their networks of catspaws, extortion victims, and ideological allies, vast sums of money and a great deal more energy given over to the task. Expecting only a gradual expansion of intelligence assets—if that— the agents' handlers instead found themselves handed an intelligence coup when one cell managed to turn numerous unknowing AFFS officers and enlisted service people to the Helghan cause... shortly before they were tapped for deployment to the Lyran Commonwealth as part of the FedSuns' then-upcoming expeditionary force. Sympathetic to the Republic's ideology despite disliking the Republic itself thanks to the Outback Conflict and its associated casualties, these unknowing patsies nevertheless fed Helghan a wealth of information regarding the size, composition, and armament of the First Prince's expeditionary force in the weeks before they set off for the Commonwealth, the assembled dossier drawing the interest of government and military personnel alike.
Very likely the largest force the Federated Suns can dispatch to the other side of the Inner Sphere on such short notice and support effectively, the naval component of the expeditionary force is composed of one of the Suns' two Reeve Frigates, a single Chevalier frigate, and four Reynard Corvettes. Commanded by Commodore William 'Husker' Tye—one-time captain of the FFS Intrepid and the man who destroyed Detroit's shipyard and defence station in March of 3048—these six vessels have been well-supplied with bomb-pumped lasers; inventory data furnished by the Republic's latest assets detailing a host of the weapons sitting in the warships' magazines. More importantly, analysis of that same data and images surreptitiously taken of the devices has revealed numerous changes compared to known BPL designs; Republic scientists theorising the Federated Suns has made multiple improvements to earlier designs. Likewise, video footage provided by those same catspaws revealed most of the flotilla's docking collars were taken up by the AFFS's latest assault dropship design, the slender vessels given the reporting name 'Peregrine' after one reached an acceleration of 6 gravities while serving as an inter-system courier.
Meanwhile, carried aboard ordinary JumpShips and estimated to arrive a month after the naval component, the ground component of the Federated Suns' expeditionary force seems almost humdrum by comparison, the 4th Crucis Lancers and 11th Avalon Hussars RCTs given the dubious honour of fighting the Clan on Lyran soil. Elite units by any measure of the word and representing a potent ground force, the fact that the First Prince has seen fit to dispatch the two RCTs has been seen as significant by multiple Republic politicians, with some claiming it speaks to great concern over the progress of the Clan Invasion, others suggesting it is merely an attempt by the Federated Suns to curry goodwill with Archon Steiner, and yet more suggesting some combination of both. However, regardless of why the First Prince is dispatching the expeditionary force, all who have seen the reports about the expeditionary force, its makeup, and its commander agree that it represents a much-needed addition to the Inner Sphere war effort, the estimated late February arrival date of its warship contingent privately welcomed by many high-ranking officials within the Republic.
Effect
[X] URC Actions
-[X] Seeing the URC's own rebuilding and development efforts stonewall because of the continuing political instability in the region, the Helghan Republic sends a representative to deliver a proposition to the URC member states, that the nation be split in 2 by primary political alignment of each URC planet, with the world of Firgrove being integrated into the FAS if they agree to the transfer as it's political alignment is closer with them than any of their URC neighbors. Plebiscites will be held, with an informal expectation that the Neo-Jacobists and Maoists will focus their outreach and messaging efforts on planets that can be integrated into stable interstellar nation-states. Failure to come to a long-term agreement with each other and continued instability will make the following agreement with ORDI partners fall through / be considered reneging.
-[X] Each new state will be supported by either the Helghan Republic or Capellen Confederation (us finally calling in that extra support deal) which should allow rebuilding to continue at the same pace as before the political instability, with no sanction or acrimony from ORDI as a whole regarding the security situation or offers of continued support going forward.
-[X] However, should this proposal be refused and political instability continue to mount, make it clear that should conflict erupt in the nation that Helghan will redistribute its rebuilding and development effort in the Outback until political stability is achieved in the URC, out of concern for its highly skilled personnel coming to harm. Helghan will however continue its humanitarian efforts and aid refugees who seek assistance at locations our Peacekeepers maintain, but this is reasonably the most we can promise if conflict should break out.
It took thirteen months of negotiation to get everyone to accept this design. Thirteen. I had to go through fifteen committees, eight subcommittees, and forty-three revisions—it was like getting blood from a stone. And now you're telling me I need to do it again? Twice? - Alyona Gomułka, United Rimward Collective National Identity Taskforce, Flag Division.
Responding to the slow-motion disaster that was the United Rimward Collective's ongoing political crisis with a remarkable degree of insight and mental flexibility, early January saw the Malkiewicz government concede to what was swiftly becoming inevitable and make an about-face on prior policies of peaceful unification. Though initial discussions on the matter focused on using the Republic's prodigious military to suppress bad-faith actors and enforce unity between the three major ideological groups within the state, cooler heads—not to mention those concerned with the blood price such an act might charge—soon prevailed over their more hot-headed compatriots. Labouring over January with all the fervour they could muster, politicians and bureaucrats worked hand in hand to devise a plan that would break the coreward state into three parts—one for the Marxists, one for the Neo-Jacobinists, and one for the Maoist-Gaullists—and cut through the gordian knot of internal political struggles entirely, the final result approved by parliament and dispatched to the relevant parties by mid-February.
Something of a betrayal of the utopian ideals that had guided the early formation of the URC and inspired in some ways by the plebiscites posed to the Trinity League's satrapies, the Republic's plan called for the nation to be split in two along lines determined by referendums carried out by the Maoist-Gaullists and Neo-Jacobinists under the Republic's watchful eyes. Predicted to be roughly even in size and population, the Helghan Republic or Capellan Confederation would support one of the derived states each as per the original agreement with the URC—the withdrawal of said support in the event of intentionally provocative acts by either party an unstated but potent threat. Meanwhile, the Marxist-dominated Firgrove would either join the Federation of Autonomous Systems or become an independent world in its own right should the FAS prove unwilling to take on the system, the Republic making clear that it would brook no complaints in the matter from other parties in the URC.
Fully expecting that it would need to threaten and cajole the URC's various members to go along with the plan—or, at the very least, the Neo-Jacobinists—the Malkiewicz government found itself taken aback when first the Marxists, then the Neo-Jacobinists, and finally the Maosist-Gaullists accepted the deal. Already boasting a sizeable pro-independence faction before the plan arrived in-system, Firgrove's Marxist government underwent a seismic shift within days of its arrival, the system's independence movement securing control of the government after the plan leaked to the local press and a series of snap elections saw those opposed replaced in all levels of governance. Meanwhile, though less enthusiastic towards the plan than the Marxists, the Neo-Jacobinists throughout the rest of the URC met the idea with broad approval, discussions concluding by early February. By comparison, the Maoist-Gaullists proved the most dubious of the plan, with internal debates raging throughout the rural movement until mid-March before, with some reluctance, the various groups agreed to abide by it.
Not expecting such rapid agreement to a deal that would see the nation split in half and only halfway through negotiating with the Capellan Confederation to expand its earlier commitment, the Republic found itself forced to burn through goodwill and favours in equal measure to expedite the effort. Launching—or perhaps 'lunching' given the weapons of choice—a blitzkrieg against their counterparts in the Confederation within a day of the three parties agreeing to the plan, Republic diplomats called in every favour they were owed over food and drinks to secure a critical mass of support for the Malkiewicz government's plan. Grumbling all the while but ultimately conceding to the inevitable, March's close saw the Confederation quietly agree to support one of the two derivative nations, the ultimate dismemberment of the URC expected to occur over the coming year.
Effect
[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: 4/10] [Locked Until Completed] [+1 AP from Capellan Confederation]
You know what? For a bunch of weirdos who go around wearing robes and worshipping toasters all day, these ComStar guys really came through for us. I mean, when you thank them, don't tell them I called them a bunch of weirdos who go around wearing robes and worshipping toasters all day, but they really did, huh? - Irina Lafrenz, Project Manager, Private Conversation with Personal Assistant.
Moving with unseemly haste thanks to pressure from above and without, Q1 3051 saw Helghan and Capellan labourers work day and night to complete the Lothan mega factory; ships from the homeworlds delivered a steady supply of construction materials, manufacturing equipment, and additional personnel on a daily basis. With on-site workers now old hands at the task and the basic distribution infrastructure assembled, this river of resources was integrated into the construction effort with barely a ripple made in the program's timetable, the steadily growing forest of factory structures given a profound shot in the arm by the supplies. Rapid by any measure of the word, construction of the warehouses and assembly halls that made up much of the planned complex grew more and more rapid until, halfway through the quarter, the last piece of the last structure was bolted into place; the once featureless foundation slab covered in a blanket of colossal sheds.
With the protective structures in place and the factory nearing completion, the nature of the joint Helghan-Capellan construction effort soon shifted from bulk construction to precision assembly; the stream of goods flowing to Lothan likewise changed from prefabricated building components to cybernetic manufacturing equipment. Though expensive to make, fragile to handle, and difficult to install, the quantity of qualified ORDI personnel in the system and their sheer experience at the task meant that the project's planners unexpectedly found themselves facing a shortage of machines to install by late February, the multifarious components seated and tested as quickly as they arrived and incidentally causing an unseemly bottleneck. However, fortunately for all involved, ComStar proved itself the project's greatest and most unexpected ally after negotiations between the quasi-religious organisation and the ORDI saw the telephonic prelates dispatch a host of desperately needed parts to the eager workers, cynical security sweeps done by the Capellan contingent revealing nothing of concern among the myriad pieces.
[Progress: 4/10] → [Progress: 7/10]
Effect
[X] Establish a continuing effort to provide propaganda relating to the Clan war effort (lock 1 AP to propaganda)
With that last meeting with General Bolton out of the way and my leadership of the propaganda effort finalised, I sat alone in my office and pondered. How could I mount a counterattack against the Clans? How could I keep alive our will to resist the self-styled master race when each day saw more and more coffins arrive home draped in the rose and wreath? Focusing on what would happen if the Clans won had been tried, and with them on the other side of the Inner Sphere, most people had grown numb to the message.
Then, it struck me. I needed one basic, powerful idea. An idea that would catch like wildfire. An idea from which all ideas flowed.
Like a bolt from above, the half-remembered words of an old Terran politician came to me as if from the silent shores of eternity itself: 'Those who have tasted freedom can never be slaves again.' - Hohenberg, Karl (3055), Time and Chance: An Autobiography, Mir: Novotver: Vanguard Editions.
Continuing the comparatively successful strategy begun at the end of 3050, the first quarter of 3051 saw the Republic's more hopeful and sentimental propaganda campaign achieve impressive results in improving public opinion in regards to the distant conflict, a cavalcade of footage, quotes, and images flooding the airwaves and doing much to wash the prior AgitProp from people's minds. Far from a silver bullet or magic wand, the campaign's architects were nonetheless rewarded with a noticeable uptick in support for the Republic's intervention by January's end, the first such improvement the Republic has seen in a long time. Welcoming the response with great enthusiasm—and substantially more relief, all things considered—the managers of the Republic's anti-Clan propaganda effort spent the first weeks of February preparing a tweaked version of the campaign featuring a 50/50 mix of positive and negative messages to run in Q2... only for mid-February to see the Clans to steal a march by launching their long-awaited offensive.
Effect
[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.
I can see two possibilities for the sudden upswing in Clan successes. Either someone in this room has decided to forsake all oaths of loyalty and throw their lot in with a band of marauding eugenicists against the rest of humanity, or else Clan scientists have kludged together a Black Box detector. Frankly, the latter scares me less. - Col. Pawel Aleksander, Republic Military Intelligence. General Staff Briefing, 11/02/3051.
With Operation Santiago having benefited immensely from the ongoing spy program against the Clans, 3051's opening saw the Republic double down on the effort and dispatch a fresh wave of the purpose-built spy vessels to the region—two score vessels leaving Helghan berths and making a beeline for systems across the coreward expanse. Prepositioned at Tsitsang and given priority access to supply shipments being carried to the front by JumpShips, it took the host of vessels only until the end of January to arrive at their destinations, the tell-tale burst of EM radiation given off by their arrival at Lagrange points within the target solar systems rendered undetectable to sensors deep within said systems thanks to sheer distance. Equipped with the most advanced SIGINT and observation equipment the Republic could manufacture and boasting Black Box communication equipment, it came as no surprise to Operation Santiago's myriad intelligence officers when Black Boxes throughout the Headquarters building began chattering wildly, detailed reports on the state of Clan shipping and intercepted radio signals spilling into their hands—and computers—like a cup runneth over.
However, in marked contrast to the successes enjoyed elsewhere in the galaxy, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Clan dropships engaged in long-range patrols began altering course and burning hard for the spy vessels within hours of the Black Box broadcasts starting. An about-face that could only signify the detection of the spy vessels, the dropships' change in course forced the spy vessels to abandon their activities as they approached, the most fortunately positioned vessel able to wait a week before being forced to warp to an uninhabited star four lightyears distant. Disruptive to the program in the extreme, the sudden posture change by so many patrols within hours of the spy vessels' arrival saw debates rage within Operation Santiago's upper echelons and the Republic's own halls of power, the speed of the change too significant a change to overlook. Initially convinced that the Clan dropships had undergone extensive sensor refits to improve their ability to detect the energies associated with hyperspace travel, such hopes were swiftly discarded after spy ships and observation platforms emplaced last year began reporting similar changes in behaviour by patrolling dropships, each change always preceded by the arrival of a JumpShip a week or more before. Forced to ponder other possible causes for the sudden improvement in Clan counter-spy efforts, Helghan analysts found themselves forced to conclude either one of two things had happened: Either the Clans had penetrated one of the most secretive projects in the entire ORDI effort or the Clans have developed some manner of Black Box detector, most preferring to believe the latter.
Making matters worse, the same period saw Clan jamming grow in scale and sophistication in the systems surrounding Pomme de Terre and Trell, Black Box messages growing distorted at best and utterly unintelligible at worst. So strong was the effect that, for the first time since the spy program began, Republic intelligence officers found their access to information reduced rather than expanded; reports from ComStar's news service and local guerilla fighters slowing the decline, but not stopping it.
Effect
[X] Operation Santiago Phase 9
-[X] New guidelines for the operation are three-pronged, in order of priority.
--[X] Part 1
---[X] Recognition of the Clan fleet presently based near Pomme De Terre as an existential threat-in-being. Intelligence assets must maintain sight of this fleet. Commodore Ostergaard will utilize the limitations of enemy KF drives and advantages of Warp drives to refuse battle to any naval force that ORDI captains are not confident they can defeat until sufficient forces can be gathered to destroy them, and if possible catch them out of position and eliminate them in totality before they can pose a threat to allied worlds.
--[X] Part 2
---[X] Ensuring the military readiness of the Wolf's Dragoons and the further strengthening of defenses of worlds in the invasion corridors of Clan Wolf and Clan Ghost Bear, intending to make it as difficult as possible for them to move forward and if at all possible do more than merely blunt their momentum. Build kill zones, fortifications, and depots. If they refuse battle, we stage raids and disorganize them with saboteurs in their backlines, otherwise, stop them cold.
--[X] Part 3
---[X] Press the Lyrans to bring the Suns to the field.
---[X] Open negotiations with the Free Worlds League for an expeditionary military force to be sent to the FRR, prioritizing elite MechWarrior units. The value of Clanner technology salvage should be fairly obvious.
---[X] Negotiate with ComStar for assistance with the Lothan Factory Complex. Priority and access to it for supplies for completely hypothetical ComGuard units operating in the region will be baked into the agreement (we should have some parts commonality).
---[X] Ask Jamie Wolf if he has another Clanner secret weapon or miracle in his back pocket.
With the discovery of Clan fleets amassing in the systems Trell and Pomme De Terre at the tail end of 3050, the watchword for 3051 became fortification; Commodore Joel Ostergaard and the leadership of just about every military in the multinational alliance immediately pushing for massive defensive works even as planners pulled warships from the frontline in preparation for the inevitable assault. All across Operation Santiago's anti-spinward border, ORDI personnel were thrown into the renewed fortification program with wild abandon, demands for everything from extra engineers to vast quantities of spare parts and equipment frantically dispatched homeward where Ostergaard's allies in government fought like lions to see them fulfilled. Working night and day with every tool at their disposal—Automata, earthmovers, and even purloined shovels—ORDI regiments toiled alongside their Free Republic comrades to prepare for what all felt would be the defining battle of the nation, trenchworks dug, bunkers raised, minefields laid, and countless other preparations made as the Invasion Corridors of Clans Wolf and Ghost Bear quickly transformed into one vast defensive work.
Even as these fortifications arose and ORDI warships and aerospace assets began departing the systems to prepare for perhaps the largest naval action in modern history, the cream of the ORDI's military armaments flowed to units in the region, the calculating minds of the Republic's General Staff and their counterparts throughout the alliance agreeing that the spinward fight would be decided by naval and not ground weaponry. Primarily aimed at the ORDI's units, a comparatively small quantity of the supplies were diverted to Wolf's Dragoons in recognition of their effective service, the support received eagerly by the multi-regiment force. Quite to the surprise of later historians—chasing up rumours and stories from personnel present at the time for myriad reasons—this same diversion saw a sizeable quantity of Petrusite-based equipment quietly delivered to the mercenaries, Commodore Ostergaar demonstrating an apt understanding of the old Earth phrase "Heaven is High and the Emperor Far Away" when he authorised the delivery on his own recognisance.
Simultaneously, the Republic turned its attention to diplomatic measures across the Inner Sphere; members of the Republic's diplomatic corps flocking to the Lyran Commonwealth, the Free Worlds League, Terra, and Wolf's Dragoons as part of a plan to form a united front against the Clans.
Meeting with the Archon mere weeks into the quarter—and with little knowledge of the ongoing assembly of a FedSun expeditionary fleet—Helghan diplomats swallowed their hard-earned pride and asked the Commonwealth to pressure the Federated Suns into sending an expeditionary force in the Republic's stead, the nation having recognised that the galaxy's states will either hang separately or hang together and made the unpalatable decision. Informed that the Lyran state had already made just such a request, it initially seemed to the Republic's leaders that the Federated Suns was willing to slow-roll their expeditionary efforts... until reports from Helghan spies revealed the warship contingent's departure date had been suddenly and inexplicably brought forward. Attributed to the Lyrans informing the Suns' of the Republic's request, a realisation which led to much grumbling from within the Republic's government, the sudden change nonetheless ensured that mid-February would see AFFS support arrive in the embattled states, something that would give many cause to celebrate come mid-February.
Even as Republic diplomats met with Archon Melissa Steiner, others met with her counterpart in the Free Worlds League, the Republic trading on its reputation to secure a thirty-minute meeting with Captain-General Thomas Marik. Eager to secure more forces for the fight, Helghan negotiators did all they could to argue their case with the man; favours, technology, resources, and a host of other things dangled before him if he would only agree to send forces, preferably elite battlemech forces, against the Clans. Despite these offers, however, the Captain-General could not be drawn into agreeing to send such aid to the rival nation, the man, according to the team's report, baldly stating that such a move was politically impossible given the history between the two in spite of his recent successes organising arms trades. Unwilling to leave the meeting empty-handed and demonstrating remarkable perspicuity, the diplomatic team nonetheless secured a pledge to expand said arms sales and drop their price to near-rock bottom, the best of a terrible situation leaving its negotiators feeling cold even in their success.
Similarly, those diplomats dispatched to Terra to secure support for the Lothan factory complex found their negotiations with ComStar's Anastasius Focht equally challenging. In a frank exchange reminiscent of the one held within the Free Worlds League, the man revealed the organisation had been stretched almost to breaking point in its attempt to form a military response to the Clans, an unstated but assumed-to-be-vast horde of weapons and warriors assembled by the quasi-religious organisation. Hoping to secure an ongoing deal to supply Lothan with precision parts and fellow workers in exchange for a portion of the factory's output, the Republic's negotiators found themselves forced to accept a contribution, the Precentor-Martial driving a hard bargain in exchange for half a year's worth of supplies from Terra's handful of high-tech factories.
Finally, Republic personnel sent to treat with Jamie Wolf at his headquarters on the frontline—almost entirely as a hail mary by a nation desperately seeking easy answers to their problems—succeeded only in learning that the wolves considered themselves a secret weapon, the self-aggrandising answer at least somewhat paid for by the merc unit's proven skill. Pledging to fight against the invading wolves until either the invasion was halted or Jamie and his fellow commanders killed in the struggle, the Dragoons' commitment did much to offset the disappointment of Republic politicians at their lack of superweapons. Then, as early February gave way to the middle of the month, mere weeks after the confirmation of the Wolves' commitment to the struggle, the Clans' hammer blow finally landed.
First Blood
Alerted to the presence of the Clan fleet over Trell by an ORDI generous with information and its own intelligence gathering apparatus, the Lyran state had not been idle as the year ground on; legions of LCAF soldiers ordered to dig in across the coreward front while its navy ceased its dispersed defensive efforts. Composed of fourteen Thor-class frigates armed and nine Damascus-class carriers generously loaned to the state by the Republic, the Lyran fleet was ordered to gather in Esteros in preparation to block the Trell fleet, the LCAF's high command gambling that they'd caught sight of the Clan Warships before they had finished final preparations for their assault into the Inner Sphere. Unfortunately, this hope proved misplaced when, with Lyran warships still on their way to the assembly point, sensors throughout Babaeski were suddenly deafened by an electromagnetic storm so powerful it was detectable by civilian radios; hastily aligned telescopes revealing a swarm of Clan warships over the system's primary and no defenders in sight. Boasting weapons capable of boiling lakes, melting mountains, and scouring cities, the Clan host hung over the heads of every man, woman, and child in Babaeski like the sword of Damocles, their mere presence turning the sun's light grey in the minds of many millions. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, the fleet vanished, a burst of EM radiation signifying their departure for systems deeper in the Lyran Commonwealth even as Clan dropships burned hard for the planet.
Again and again, the Clan fleet appeared over Lyran stars, each jump seeing the titanic assemblage of metal venture deeper and deeper into the Commonwealth and planting the seeds of destruction behind them in the form of Clan Warriors. Seeking answers as to their ultimate goal and refusing to take no for an answer, analysts throughout the galaxy poured over every report from every source imaginable, maps akin to storm forecasts appearing in the halls of power of every nation in the Inner Sphere and then some as supposition and fact were mixed to form something approximating the truth. Unsurprisingly, by early February, it became apparent to all watching that the Clanners' goal was the Commonwealth's vital manufacturing capabilities, experts across the galaxy coming into alignment and agreeing that the capture or destruction of Arc-Royal's factories was the fleet's primary objective. Assembled in the nearby system of Dukambia, the Lyran fleet—accompanied by its ORDI allies—found itself only a single jump away from the goal of the massive Clan armada, its personnel torn between leaping into action and holding back for a better opening. Undoubtedly chosen by Clan war planners since its loss would badly hurt the Commonwealth's ability to supply troops in the region and its factories could prove a vital resupply hub to the Clans, the threat to Arc-Royal placed Archon Steiner and her government in an unenviable position; the nation's leader forced to pick between the rock of abandoning the planet's defenders to their fate and the hard place of committing the state's navy in a pitched-battle against a powerful foe.
Her mother's daughter, Melissa Steiner chose to fight.
In a burst of radiation detectable from the Kuiper belt, the joint Lyran-ORDI fleet arrived over Arc-Royal's star without warning or prelude; blooded crews readying their weapons with practised ease as their steely-eyed sensor operators scanned space them for any hint of hostile forces. Launching swarms of aerospace fighters and assault dropships and taking on a defensive posture, the twenty-seven-strong fleet made for the emergence point of the Clan fleet with all due haste, the EM signatures marking the zone already burning bright against the backdrop of endless night. Tens of thousands of kilometres and many minutes later, with the emergence signatures blazing ahead of them, the joint fleet had a front-row seat to the Clans' arrival, the sixteen vessels arriving in Arc-Royal like the horsemen of the apocalypse. Traditionally short, sharp affairs fought between only a handful of ships seeking to disrupt enemy shipping or seize control of the skies above a world, little in the past decade of naval combat could have prepared either side for the conflict that followed; the forty-three warships and their countless escorts soon burning hard towards one another with murder on their mind. Armed with weapons barely imaginable during the heady days of the Star League's dominion and guarded by technologies that once lay in the realm of science fiction, a curt order and the push of a button was all it took for the battle to be joined and for the void to fill with crackling lightning, thundering artillery, and flashing nuclear bombs.
Fifty million kilometres above Arc-Royal's Sol-like star, high above the forever-changing and blindingly bright sea of plasma that bathed the system's namesake planet with life-giving energy, soldiers loyal to governments and Clans died screaming in fury and pain as they fought to kill one another; weapons great and terrible vaporising steel and flesh with equal indifference. Blazing in all the spectrums of light as their sensors and weapons scoured the heavens, starships more advanced than any that had come before them and whose construction represented the theft of bread from the hungry, heat from the cold, and medicine from the sick went up like matchsticks one after another, each flare signifying the deaths of hundreds and filling the void with the plaintive wail of SOS beacons. The most powerful fleet the Inner Sphere had yet seen assembled, the Lyran-ORDI alliance fought like lions to protect the factories and people of Arc-Royal from the Clans' predations, no inch of ground given up without a fight and no gun allowed to grow cold; each passing moment seeing them reap a terrible toll among the forces of their foe as they warred to the knife.
An hour later, with a final terrible flash, the last warship of the Lyran fleet went up like a bomb as its fusion core lost containment, the storm of shrapnel that followed the Mjolnir's death slicing through those escape pods that waited a hair too long and rattling off the armoured hulls of crippled ships. Though defeated by the Clan invaders and their shielded battleships, the soldiers of the defending fleet had sold their lives dearly and brought the Clanners to the edge of ruin through their actions; a single McKenna and an accompanying Volga were all that remained of the once mighty Trell fleet. Though badly battered during the struggle and with its shields all but shattered, the Honor's Shadow spent a day recovering what dropships and ASF it could from among the surviving Clan forces even as civilian JumpShips bearing yet more dropships began arriving in the system. Watching the tableau from an AU away, it seemed to those on Arc-Royal that it was only a matter of time before the Clan McKenna was overhead and Clan troops marching down the streets, everyone from Lyran civilians to Helghan soldiers praying for aid against the coming of the Clans.
Quite to their surprise, it was the Federated Suns who answered.
Arriving from hyperspace without warning and catching the Clan vessels with their metaphorical pants down, the Federated Suns' expeditionary warships did not fight the enemy; they slaughtered them. Firing bomb-pumped lasers within minutes of arriving in the system, the FedSun fleet under Commodore Tye tore into the Clanners with wild abandon, warships, dropships, and fighters alike exploding under the independently targeted beams of sleeting radiation as pure-fusion nukes transmuted matter to energy and crystal lenses transmuted energy to hard x-rays. Faster than fighters and vastly better armed, FedSun Peregrines danced through the wreckage of a hundred murdered spacecraft, butchering Clan ASF in job lots as they went and dodging past or shooting down their attacks with contemptuous ease.
Within minutes of their arrival, the Clanner dragon in Arc-Royal was left broken and slain and the Federated Suns had become the heroes of the hour. For the first time in their lives, Republic troops on the planet and aboard the countless crippled and wrecked vessels found within themselves gratitude for the Federated Suns; the Commodore's decision to immediately begin Search and Rescue operations only further endearing him to them.
The Second Battle of Skandia
A mere week later, crews aboard ORDI warships within the Free Rasalhague Republic and its extremes found themselves receiving orders to redeploy to Skandia; fragmented intelligence reports suggesting that the rump state's wartime capital was the primary target of the vast Pomme De Terre fleet detected last year. The site of Clan Smoke Jaguar's last great push against the Inner Sphere's defenders, home to the Free Republic's ruling Prince and government, and serving as Operation Santiago's headquarters, Skandia's capture by Clan forces would not merely represent a morale victory but decapitate both the state and its ORDI defenders in a single blow. Well aware that Skandia's loss would all but guarantee the Free State's collapse and lead to countless ORDI deaths along with it, the captains and crew of Operation Santiago's warship contingent acted with remarkable alacrity, warpdrives across the coreward expanse pushed to their limit as ORDI warships raced the Clans to Skandia, the skies above the chilly world soon filling with the sight of Helghan Nocti, Capellan Carsons, Taurian Aurochs, Aurigan Halcons, and the Magistracy's lone Canopus class Frigate.
Keeping one eye on the skies above and another watching over the planet's second major defensive program in under a year, the Operations headquarters personnel did all they could to prepare the civilian population for the inevitable assault—survival shelters repaired, reinforced, and restocked, and a voluntary evacuation of the planetary capital seeing a river of self-made refugees flee the presumed target. Never-ending and all-consuming though it was, the task of preparing Skandia nonetheless proved unable to dampen the shock of the Clan fleet's arrival when it came, the electronic screech that accompanied their appearance so powerful that ships the next system over would be able to hear it when the wavefront finally reached them. Made up of a full forty warships of various classes and masses, the addition of so many vessels brought the total warship count in the system to a staggering one-hundred-and-eight, the ORDI holding the advantage thanks to its forty-two Commissar-B Pocket Warships. Glowing like spits of fire in the reflected light of the sun and caressed by delicate coronal streamers, the four-score warships shed dropships as a mangy dog does fleas; a dense knot of glowing plasma forming around the fleet courtesy of so many fusion drives firing in proximity.
Having expected the attack for several days by this point despite the Clans' variably effective counterintelligence strategy and surprisingly deep bag of tricks, the ORDI flotilla responded without hesitation to the move; a new constellation birthed in the night sky below as nigh on seventy warships made to intercept the would-be conquerors lest a stray shot kill thousands of innocents. Accelerating towards their foe on spears of star stuff, ORDI crews readied arsenals sufficient to scour worlds of life—lasers, railguns, Petrusite Cannons, and nuclear weapons a mere handful of the death-dealing machines aboard, similar checks given to every small craft and aerospace fighter within the vast force. Able to see the alliance's vessels from across the solar system, the Clanners did not hesitate to react, the glowing plasma that signified their position on most scopes brightening instantly as a hundred or more fusion drives kicked on at once and sent them hurtling forwards. Agonisingly slowly as a human reckons but blisteringly fast by cosmic standards, the two fleets approached one another and merged.
At 13:21 local time on the 2nd of March, 3051, the appropriately named Clan Ghost Bear Nightlord Ice Breaker fired the first shot of what would soon become known as the Second Battle of Skandia. A snapshot by an unknown and unknowable gunner, the brace of M-Naval Gauss rounds crossed the distance between the two decelerating fleets in the blink of an eye and splashed off the HNS Gaspar's shields with a flash of light and a spray of molten metal. As if shocked into inaction by the strike, both sides seemed to hold their breath, and then, all at once, they opened fire.
Clawed at by ravening Petrusite beams, the Talon's Edge died screaming; the guts of the once proud vessel strewn through space for all to see. Raked by lasers and peppered with gauss rounds, the MCS Luxen's armoured hull shuddered and groaned like a submarine from ancient Earth, each mournful howl triggering a fresh wave of prayers from the warriors within her even as they filled the space around them with streamers of autocannons shells and pillars of pulsing lasers. Bashing through a field of debris that was once a Guardsman, its shields flaring wildly at the assault, the Wolf's Call bared its teeth and howled, the battleship's dozen NPPCs spitting artificial lightning in all directions as it fired at targets seen only with electronic eyes. Holding at the outer edge of the battlespace—its snow-grey hull now charred a darker slate by the flash of allied nukes—the CCS Victoria launched White Shark after White Shark into the ever-growing dogfight at its centre; ugly spurts of fire marking the death of fighter and missile alike.
For hours, the battle between the two sides raged with a singular fury as fleets larger than any that had fought in the past few centuries vied for dominance over one another. Elite by any standard and united as never before in their history, the invading Clanners fought, lion-like, against the snapping jaws and braying weapons of their ORDI foes, stories as heroic as any in the Remembrance—the Clans' own Poetic Edda—written in their hundreds by gunners and pilots and fighters and battleships only to be lost in fire as their witnesses and writers died. Ferocious fighters and valiant vanquishers, the Clanners fought and fought and died.
Outnumbered and outgunned by the system's defenders, the primitive shields of the Clan battleships slowly cracked under the strain of a hundred separate guns, and the blazing light of their obsolete Petrusite cannons went dark as circuits exploded and generators melted. Slowly at first and then all at once, Clan warships fell, and their ORDI counterparts pressed in; numbers and technology writing the story of the Clan's failure across the very heavens themselves as swarms of ORDI fighters drove their Clanner counterparts yelping from the field. Brutalised by the battle but standing on the cusp of victory with a superior force bearing down on the Clan remnants without mercy, it seemed to those watching the battle's final moments that the ORDI fleet had triumphed over the Clans all but completely; the fifty vessels and countless dropships and fighters lost in the fight a terrible but necessary price to pay to shatter the Clans' hopes for domination of the Rasalhagian state. Alas, it was then that the Clans revealed their final trick.
Rocketing from a field of debris that was once a Helghan Nocti, the Snow Raven Sassanid leapt towards the ORDI fleet with a vengeance as they tore into the last of the Clanners; its bridge wrenched open to the void of space early in the fight and its command crew killed in the process. Venting a trail of atmosphere and debris behind it as it made its death dive for the allied fleet, the grievously wounded dropships shuddered and groaned as some suicidally brave fool pushed its engines to their limit and sent it hurtling forwards at 4-gravities, threat boards across the region lighting up as command staff and digital guardians alike noticed the craft. Acting at some unspoken word, operating at the behest of some ancient instinct, fighters across the region immediately made to intercept the accelerating craft, a dozen fractured squadrons wheeling around and burning hard for the approaching threat as conscious minds played catchup and whispered word of nuclear weapons. Seventy kilometres from the rearmost ORDI ship, five kilometres from the nearest fighter, a button on the Sassanid's bridge registered a press, and an electrical impulse flowed from the targeting computer to a single purpose-built chamber at the ship's core.
There was a radio howl.
There was a magnetic quake.
There was an emerald flash.
Popping like an overfull balloon, the Sassanid detonated, streams of Irradiated Petrusite exploding from the spherical dropship in a jade-green wave of pseudo-matter. Spilling forth too fast to dodge, the glowing deluge smashed through the cloud of would-be interceptors as if they were nothing, death coming for their pilots too quick to feel. Writhing and churning like the sun's surface, the sea of ferocious green hate swept through space before draping itself upon one ORDI warship, and then another, and then another, each vessel bursting like a fruit too long in the sun. Frenzied and boiling, its fury unrelenting, the green tide swept over wrecks and lifeboats and escape pods from both sides, the lucky ones dying instantly as monstrous physics reduced them to discorporated particles. Again and again, this pattern repeated, a howling death descending on countless people all in the time it took for a heart to beat and beat again. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the viridescent fire vanished, the dead and dying left in its wake, the last Clanners surrendering rather than risking the ORDI's wrath.
Taking advantage of the distraction provided by the attacking fleets and the chaos following those brutal engagements, the 3051's first few months saw Clan assault forces strike out across the invasion's varied frontlines—the devastation wrought on defending aerospace forces permitting Clan jumpships and the occasional sub-500 kt warship to jump into a system, disgorge a load of dropships, and vanish again without challenge. Echoing the fate of the warships that preceded them, these assault forces initially saw great success against the forces arrayed against them, with multiple systems falling over a period of weeks. However, within days of the pyrrhic victories in Arc-Royal and Skandia and with guerilla groups roaring to life across rear-line worlds, the Clans' momentum began to falter, and each passing day saw fewer and fewer attacks launched against Inner Sphere forces.
No doubt hoping to regain the initiative while naval opposition remained absent from the battlefield, late March saw the Clans launch a second wave of attacks against select targets across the Commonwealth, Combine, and Free Republic. Delivered similarly to the year's first assault, Clan dropships raced towards their prey only to find them far better defended than expected, local forces having wisely spent the time bought by allied naval forces preparing defences and calling in reinforcements. In Irece, the Nova Cats found their invasion stopped dead in its tracks before it could begin by Coordinator Kurita's Legion of Vega, the famously honourless warriors taking full advantage of their skills to frustrate Nova Cat MechWarriors and bog them down in an endless meat grinder. Likewise, reports from spies within the Lyran Commonwealth have revealed that an LCAF resupply craft proved critical to the defence of Summit after its crew tricked a Ghost Bear invasion force into leaving through the jury-rigged launch of a genuine but unarmed Bomb-Pumped Laser. And finally, in Hyperion, Jaime Wolf's Dragoons proved superior in every way to Clan Wolf's raiders, the Wolves' Silver Keshik annihilated in an honour duel by the ORDI's very own wolves.
Their noses bruised by the failed series of attacks, the quarter's end saw the Invading Clans pause to catch their breath, assault forces stood outside the capitals of the Draconis Combine and the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Lyran Commonwealth's industrial heartland under direct threat. Doubtlessly planning to restart their attacks once additional warship assets arrive within the Inner Sphere, many across the Inner Sphere have begun to wonder what it will take to stop the Clans once and for all, some going as far as to suggest that it will not end until the Inner Sphere strikes back against the Clans' home territories.
Effect
Design and Requisition
-[X] Emergency Teleporter: Developed in secret by a team probing some of the stranger interactions between Petrusite and the rest of the universe, this wearable device allows those equipped to teleport up to 200 meters away… with no control over their landing point and a lengthy recharge period. Difficult to manufacture and terminally hostile to automata, this technology can only effectively be used by a small number of personnel who consider a random exit point less dangerous than wherever they currently are—requirements that fit Republic special forces to a T.
-[X] Teleport Beacons: Affectionately known as Spawn Beacons by the Republic's rather macabre special forces, teleport beacons serve as anchors for the newly developed teleporter technology, arcane and rather scary physics allowing them to attract the exit points generated by any teleporters within range of the beacon. Primarily useful for large-scale teleporters, teleport beacons allow for the rapid and precise deployment of special forces personnel to the target location, though only after the fragile beacon is set up in a time-consuming process.
News and Rumours
Helghan Republic
Coming as the opposite of a surprise, a review of refugee numbers in the new year saw the number of refugees arriving in the Periphery hold steady at well over fifty million people. Equivalent to the population of an entire nation on pre-spaceflight Earth arriving every year, the number is so large, and the Republic so open, that many predict the formation of substantial Lyran, Rasalhagian, and Draconian communities over the coming decades as refugees lay down roots and become citizens. How these communities will interact with those already present in the Republic and its allies remains to be seen. However, there's little question that it will happen sooner or later, given the population numbers involved.
Predicted Refugee Acceptance Breakdown For 3051 (+-5%)
Helghan Republic: 27,300,000
Aurigan Coalition: 2,565,000
Capellan Confederation: 12,350,000
Magistracy of Canopus: 5,730,000
Taurian Concordat: 4,075,000
Cementing the value of the Republic's TULIPS program, the January-March period saw public opinion of the Republic within the former Trinity League territories maintain its astronomically high rating—few, if any, finding fault with their new government. Though no doubt buoyed by the fact that the Republic has yet to have anyone shot out of hand, doesn't steal food from hungry mouths, disappear people into secret police headquarters, etc., adjusting for such a boost nonetheless reveals that the population consider joining the Republic an almost unalloyed good, the slightly higher taxes they will begin to pay in the coming years seemingly seen as worth in it exchange for all the Republic guarantees its citizens. While it is expected that this lustre will eventually fade as people grow used to the situation, Gemini Malkiewicz's government can rest assured that the region's population remains firm supporters of its mandate.
Coming as a rather brutal shock to opinion modellers and policymakers alike, it appears that the recent engagement between ORDI and Clan forces in Skandia has pushed public opinion into a hitherto unknown state of frenzy; the views of Helghan citizens towards the Clan Invasion and Operation Santiago, in particular, becoming all but unreadable. A victory for the Outer Rim Defence Force, albeit one that cost the alliance a great deal in terms of resources and personnel, the price paid has set minds within the Republic at war with themselves and rendered polls as to public support completely useless. The single worst loss of life in any battle fought by the Republic, the deaths of three thousand Helghan soldiers and the injury of many times that number over only a few hours have left the question of whether the ruling government will win the upcoming election impossible to answer; only time able to tell if the Helghan public will come to support or reject Operation Santiago, and, with it, the Malkiewicz government. Whatever the public decides, however, it will do little to assuage the pain of those families who, even now, are receiving their loved one's remains from the government—assuming, of course, that there were any remains to recover from Skandia in the first place.
Aurigan Coalition
Providing a welcome respite from reports of the dead from Skandia and the increasingly dicey-looking election, late March saw the crew aboard the Wa'a Kaulua officially pass the halfway mark of their shakedown cruise; interest in the long-range exploration craft's progress growing slowly but steadily with each system visited. Temporarily stumped by a hydroponics problem that saw a tenth of the ship's hydroponically grown herb crop turn bitter thanks to a nutrition issue, analysis by the crew saw the cause identified and a replacement component manufactured within a week. Only one jump from the Canopian border and expected not to stop for the local offerings to prove that the ship's facilities are sufficient for a long-range mission, jokes about the crew's situation have come to dominate social media feeds across the ORDI, and several semi-serious crowdfunding campaigns have begun to fund an R&R trip for the Wa'a Kaulua's crew once they've finished their long journey.
In less jovial news, March's close saw the Aurigan Coalition complete work on the last three of its 500,000-ton slipways, the total number of such slipways in the nation standing at an impressive eighteen. Sufficient for the nation's current needs, the Coalition has cancelled plans to construct more military slipways and shifted funding towards civilian-grad slipways to cultivate a capable domestic shipbuilding industry. With the Wa'a Kaulua serving as a precedent, it's likely the Coalition's civilian shipbuilding industry will focus on exploration and support craft over the freighters favoured by the Taurian Concordat and Capellan Confederation, the Coalition appearing willing to bet that the area will be a growth market over the coming years.
Capellan Confederation
A welcome development considering recent losses among ORDI forces, the end of March saw the Capellan Confederation Navy reinforced with an eye watering sixteen additional Carson-II class frigates, the horde of vessels clearing their shakedown cruises with few issues. Equipped with energy shielding systems provided by the Republic and heavily armed thanks to Capellan factories, many vessels have already been readied for deployment against the Clans, and the first will arrive early next quarter.
To the great happiness of many a Helgahn, the Capellan Five Rights Society has seen an explosion of popularity among the nation's lower and middle classes in response to Tormano Liao's seeming indifference to its growth; the former appealed to by the movement's pro-labour policies and the latter drawn in by promises of further curtailing the Capellan nobility's power. While some remain concerned that Tormano Liao will eventually move to suppress the movement, peacefully or not, others have pointed to Chancellor Liao's marriage to Hanya No Cha and the Confederation's close relationship with other ORDI nations as proof that he will not oppose the movement. Though the exact crimes that Hanya committed to earn the title of dissident remain unclear, conversations between the partner of the Helghan Ambassador and the Chancellor's wife have hinted at an appreciation for democratic ideals and processes, as well as a fantastically sharp mind. Understandably, many hope this combination will convince the Chancellor to actively support the Five Rights sometime soon instead of merely ignoring the movement.
Magistracy of Canopus
As with the Aurigan Coalition, late March saw the Magistracy of Canopus complete work on three 500,000-ton capacity slipways, the additional slipways bringing the total number in the nation up to an impressive fifteen. However, quite unlike the Aurigan Coalition, the Canopians appear committed to constructing additional slipways and warships for the foreseeable future, with Canopian labour teams immediately starting work on the next trio of slipways and six Canopus-class frigates leaving dock.
According to reports from analysts and intelligence operatives tasked with watching such trends, the destruction of the MCS Luxen during the battle of Skandia has somehow managed to turn Canopian sentiments toward the Clans even more negative than they already were; protests erupting across the nation and protestors burning the Clans leaders in effigy, their main demand seeming to be that the Magistracy of Canopus invest even more in the nation's navy. The third ship ever launched by the Magistracy this side of the year 3000 and constructed alongside the MCS Canopus and MCS Marantha, the MCS Luxen's loss appears to be a major pain point for the Canopian people, one welcomed by Helghan AgitProp composers, but one that has left some in the ruling government worried. Quite whether the Magestrix will bow to the protestors' demands and increase funding to the navy remains to be seen, as does how she might afford this increase, but Republic personnel are watching the matter closely.
In a move that has raised eyebrows within the Republic government despite the upcoming election and the ongoing Clan Invasion, intelligence operatives within the Republic's embassy on Canopus have reported on a series of meetings between representatives of the Canopian government and the ambassadors from other ORDI states. Ordinarily not newsworthy considering the regularity with which such things happen between nations, what has elevated the matter to something worthy of the Republic's attention is the fact that these meetings appear on no public calendar, and the ambassadors and their staff have thus far kept quiet as to the purpose of these meetings when asked by embassy staff. Rather intriguingly, pro forma surveillance has also revealed that immediately following the meetings, the Aurigan, Capellan, and Taurian embassies all chartered high-speed courier flights to their respective homeworlds and that the Aurigan ambassador cancelled her engagements for the night. Concerned that this could be an attempt by the Canopians to carry out an end run around Helghan on some upcoming ORDI matter—though they couldn't figure out what it could be—the Republic embassy staff were thrown even further off balance when, on the night of April 1st, the Canopian government informed it that a VTOL was on its way to pick up the Republic's Ambassador, Kastor Orlock, for a high-security briefing.
Effect
Taurian Concordat
Finalising the last of its naval build-up for the foreseeable future, Q1 3051 saw the Taurian Concordat finish work on fourteen Auroch class frigates, all fourteen of the vessels departing from their planetside slipways and carrying out shakedown cruises across the edge of Concordat space. Bound to serve as anti-piracy vessels for the time being—the Clans not substantially closer to ORDI territories than they were last year—the Concordat has nonetheless promised to commit them should the Republic request their presence; the heavy losses at the battle of Skandia seeming to have spooked them.
In positive news from the Taurian Concordat's most recently absorbed systems, the launch and deployment of several Nightingale class hospital ships has been met with great enthusiasm by the region's inhabitants, Protector Calderon rising substantially in the public esteem. Equipped with all manner of advanced medical equipment, large crews of dedicated doctors, and the latest in warp drive technology, these multipurpose hospital ships offer services previously unavailable to the ordinary person and, in doing so, have measurably improved the lives of many thousands already. Currently numbering less than five ships for the entire region, the Concordat government has reportedly ordered another ten such vessels and organised patrols that should see one present in a system once every three months or so. Though there remains a long way to go before systems in the former FedSun Outback reach a standard of living remotely comparable to the Concordat's core, these hospital ships have done much to close the gap in the short time they've been active and available.
ComStar
In a move almost purpose-built to raise the Republic's interest, March's end saw ComStar invite the Republic government and its allies in the ORDI to participate in a brief diplomatic meeting scheduled for early April. Planned to be held via HPG—at ruinous expense, it must be said—and involve all four Inner Sphere governments, ComStar has thus far succeeded in keeping the reason for the meeting close to its chest, but most within the Republic assume it has to do with Anastasius Focht's long-awaited military campaign against the Clans. Though tardier than most would like, the idea of a friendly party entering the conflict has received quiet approval from Republic military officials and Operation Santiago's leadership, no matter how inexperienced the force might be.
Effect
Clan Invasion
Of interest to the terminally obsessed with the Aurigan Coalition and the Republic's intelligence service, among the many reports on Clan attacks received before their offensive halted was news of Timehri's fall to Clan Goliath Scorpion in the Lyran Commonwealth. A backwater system to end all backwater systems and one that primarily relies on agriculture for economic survival, Timehri's claim to fame and the sole reason it has risen to Helghan's attention is that it is also known as the homeworld of Lady Darya Laredo. Though the reason for Lady Laredo's self-imposed exile remains unknown, Helghan's intelligence services suspect that it has something to do with the system's intensely parochial and religiously driven conservatism, people in neighbouring systems none too kind when describing the system's ruling nobility nor its peoples' views towards anything or anything seen as queer—in any sense of the word.
Attacked late into the Clan offensive, Timehri's local militia proved no match for Clan Goliath Scorpion MechWarriors despite receiving additional equipment and training from the LCAF, the system falling after only a few days. Previously ruled by Baron Sigurd Magnusson, Darya's father and one-time liege, prior to the Clan's arrival, reports from ComStar officials on the planet claim that the man's family have either vanished into the planet's wild hinterlands, fled the system entirely, or both. Unsurprisingly, especially when one considers the reason for her exile, the Duchess of Ward has displayed zero concern regarding her family's fate, though has expressed sympathy for the planet's people.
Interestingly, while looking into the system's goings-on for Republic intelligence, Helghan operatives in the Lyran Commonwealth discovered hints that the system's history is not quite as clear-cut or flattering towards the ruling nobility as the planet's government claims. According to the official history endorsed by Lady Laredo's family, the house gained its mandate to rule following the system's abandonment by the Terran Alliance in 2242. A young colony reliant on monoculture crops for food and not regularly visited by JumpShips at the time, Timehri's agricultural sector was devastated by a blight shortly after the system became independent that saw hunger stalk the land. Per the official history, Darya's family—at the time wealthy ranchers—and several other landowning families proved instrumental in keeping the populace alive by banding together and rearing large cattle herds whose products kept people more or less fed until crops could be harvested from seeds purchased off passing JumpShips. However, research into the historical records in neighbouring systems and histories published by discontents on Timehri suggests that the initial effort to save the planet's population began with a series of smallholders and subsistence farmers who banded together to collectivise their farms and increase the grazing area for their herds and, in doing so, produce enough food to supply their communities. Seeing the success these moves enjoined, the Duchess's family and those like it reportedly used numerous methods, including force, to subsume the smallholder's land into their own, driving them from the land and exacerbating the famine's effects in the short term to maximise their profit. Unsurprisingly, the works which suggest this version of history are rejected by the planet's nobility and often go unpublished except by underground presses.
According to ORDI spies operating within the Lyran Commonwealth, the Screaming Eagle's mercenary company was hit particularly hard by the Clans during their initial push against the Commonwealth—the unit deployed in support of LCAF forces on Graceland. Ordered to defend a vital choke point near Regaton, the Screaming Eagles, led by Colonel Paul Hokola, suffered heavy casualties in an engagement with multiple combined arms stars. With the Colonel killed at the hands of Ghost Bear elementals during the second of three engagements, Lieutenant Colonel Victoria Espinosa took command of the battered merc regiment, ordering the survivors to retreat while she provided cover in the form of a Trial of Possession for the town. Somehow conspiring to convince the Ghost Bear commander that both sides should fight the trial without their targeting computers active, the resulting duel saw Espinosa win by the skin of her teeth; the Aurigan exile beat the opposing Thor into the ground after running out of ammo for her King Crab's four RAC/5s
While ultimately having to retreat from both Regaton and Graceland, Espinosa's victory over the Ghost Bear commander and her succession to the rank of Colonel has seen her become the head of a storied and dangerous merc company, one that has reportedly begun rebuilding its strength on Donegal. What Colonel Espinosa will do with such a unit, and whether she harbours any desire to return to the Coalition, remains unknown. However, the mere fact that she controls a potentially dangerous military asset like the Screaming Eagles has worried some within the Republic, and the same is likely true within the Aurigan Coalition.
Coming as an unpleasant surprise to all Clanners involved—or, at least, so goes the hope of ORDI planners—February 3051 saw revolts burst into life throughout the Clans' backlines as stay-behind troops and local guerilla forces acted against the Clans in earnest. Armed with all manner of military-grade equipment from support lasers to high-explosives and coordinated via Black Box comms, these units blew up bridges, assassinated Clan officers, burned down warehouses, and countless other actions, all of it designed to tie up Clan resources and drain the momentum of their assaults. While judging the effectiveness of such acts is difficult, Helghan officials are confident they contributed to the rapid cessation of Clan hostilities this quarter. However, much to the confusion of intelligence leaders in the Republic, the Coyote-held world of Pasig has seen a similarly violent but substantially more effective spate of sabotage occur against occupying forces, the most notable of which has been some manner of fast-acting and intensely lethal gas deployed against a Coyote barracks that has reportedly killed a Star and a half worth of MechWarriors. While such an act would ordinarily be presumed to be the work of Lyran saboteurs or local forces, the lack of similar actions on other worlds and the sheer effectiveness and complexity of the attack has left the ORDI puzzled as to who could be responsible.
In a disastrous turn of events for the Draconis Combine, late February saw Clan Nova Cat land on the regional capital in force; multiple trinaries worth of mechs, vehicles, infantry, and aerospace fighters deployed against the planet's defenders. Facing off against multiple entrenched regiments of line troops augmented by hastily raised civilian units, it initially seemed as if the battle for Pesht would be one of slow, grinding warfare like Irece. However, much to the shock of all involved, a series of stunning tactical victories combined with sheer good fortune permitted the Nova Cats to dismember Pesht's defenders piecemeal, the planet falling under the Nova Cats' sway within weeks of the attacker's arrival. While the Combine is almost assuredly gathering forces for a counter-attack, the mere fact that a world as vital as Pesht could fall to the Clans so quickly and so easily has doubtlessly shaken the foundations of Coordinator Kurita's rule, something the Draconis Combine can ill afford at the current time and which has sparked a frisson of concern among the Republic's ministers.
In welcome news from Operation Santiago's scientific and military intelligence divisions, salvage operations on Clan vessels in Skandia have begun to uncover a wealth of information from the variously damaged ships. Though physically fragmented by battle damage or purged by crews during their abandonment, the sheer number of computer systems aboard Clan vessels combined with the inexact nature of purge protocols have left ORDI data retrieval specialists with a vast but unindexed library on spaceflight within Clan society. Only nominally interesting given its unchanged nature compared to spaceflight operations during the Star League, hints of surviving astronavigation programs and navigation logs uncovered during initial surveys have garnered the attention of those in the ORDI interested in taking the fight to the Clans—the thought of counter-invading the Clans appealing to many. While these hints exist only as fragments and memory pointers leading to null values, the number and density of memory systems yet to be searched suggest that a route to the Clans' homeworlds could be pieced together with sufficient time and energy.
Similarly, March's close saw the same salvage teams finish surveying the wrecks of those ships destroyed during the battle of Skandia. Ranging from the catastrophically damaged to merely dead in the (black) water, the vessels could conceivably return to service in ORDI hands with sufficient work. Though outdated in many ways compared to the warships already used by the ORDI, Naval personnel within the Republic have advised that the warships' size and mass render them almost unique within the Inner Sphere and could serve as potent weapons platforms. Meanwhile, others in the Republic's state department have pointed out that those same vessels could be sold on behalf of the Free Rasalhague Republic to help fund the nation's war effort and eventual recovery.
Federated Suns
In news met either happiness or concern depending on who was asked, March saw the Federated Suns add another four 500,000-ton capacity slipways to its count; the systems Augusta, Numenor, Markesan, and New Avalon all beneficiaries of the First Prince's construction program. Unsurprisingly considering the demonstrated effectiveness of FedSun warships against their Clan counterparts and the 500-pound cyborg Gorilla that is the Outer Rim Defence Initiative sitting nearby, the same period saw the FedSuns start work on additional shipyards on Robinson—the Draconis March's capital—and Kathil—already home to a dropship shipyard. While the exact slipway count of these shipyards remains in the air, spies within the Federated Suns have confirmed that they expect to open by 3053's end and feature at least two slipways each.
To no one's surprise, the news that the AFFS' expeditionary force to the Lyran Commonwealth has not only won a great victory against the Clans but defanged what might have been the gravest threat the nation faced in the war to date has met with supreme approval from the Federated Suns' public and government. Previously in the doldrums—according to reports from Helghan spies, anyway—the AFFS's public approval has skyrocketed due to the tremendous victory won by Commodore William Tye, as has support for the first Prince himself. Not ones to let a good excuse for a lie go to waste, far-right movements within the state have latched onto the news like parasites and used the victory as an opportunity to suggest that such a triumph shows the state was betrayed by some nebulous other during the recent Outback conflict. While said lies have failed to penetrate the consciousness of the FedSun public overly much—FedSun media proving suspiciously unwilling to carry water for said groups—spies within some of these movements have enjoyed a slight increase in recruitment rates regardless.
Lyran Commonwealth
In a ceremony broadcast throughout the Lyran Commonwealth and the wider galaxy, Q1's end saw Archon Melissa Steiner and her consort, Thomas Bradford, personally oversee the simultaneous launch of six Thor-class frigates from Tharkad and Donegal, respectively. Crewed by a mix of veteran survivors of Arc-Royal and new recruits from the LCAF's much-expanded naval training division, the six vessels rose into the skies of both worlds with much fanfare and pageantry before departing the systems to join the AFFS expeditionary force in patrolling the frontlines. A no-doubt carefully crafted piece of theatre organised in haste following the ruinous damage done to the Lyran navy post-Arc-Royal and designed to assure everyone watching that the Commonwealth is still in the fight against the Clans, the simulcast has reportedly done a respectable job at buoying the Lyran public's at-times frayed nerves; public commentators and ORDI spies alike reporting on the calming effect it has had on peoples' fears. While only time will tell if this broadcast will prove more than idle propaganda, many within the Republic have found themselves unexpectedly barracking for the coreward monarchy to build vastly more warships, an unexpected turn of events, to say the least.
In a mirror image to the Federated Suns, March brought with it reports from the Republic spies and ComStar's news service that the arrival of FedSun warships in Lyran space has been met with much rejoicing by the Lyran public; videos of their heroic arrival in Arc-Royal playing on every television and graffiti artists spray-painting portraits of the fleet's commander on every available surface. Not normally ones to celebrate the Federated Suns' victories or the growth of ties between it and other states, the fact that said arrival saved many hundreds of Helghan lives and prevented the Clans from having free reign over the Lyran heartland has bought the state and its military some leeway from the Republic; some going so far as to offer grudging respect for the Fedrats. While a long way from having any long-term impacts on FedSun-Lyran relations, the victorious actions of the warships and the arrival of FedSun ground troops in late March may presage closer ties between the two states—a matter of some concern for the Outer Rim Defence Initiative.
Free Worlds League
Surprisingly no one with any understanding of the galaxy's current state, the January-March period saw the Free Worlds League complete work on an additional six Valor-class frigates; the total number of vessels serving in the Free World League's navy now standing at fourteen. While limited in number and capability compared to ORDI warships, these fourteen vessels make the Free Worlds League the second most powerful nation in the Inner Sphere—excluding the Capellan Confederation—and have reportedly played a key role in educating League naval officers. Equally unsurprisingly, reports from the Marik system suggest that the League is seeking to expand naval production to the Marik family's ancestral landhold, with multiple ships seen delivering highly specific construction equipment to Chavalet's main spaceport.
Draconis Combine
According to broadcasts from the famously difficult-to-read Draconis Combine, personnel working in Luthien and Avon have completed work on two additional 500,000-ton rated slipways for the state; round-the-clock labour seeing the vast construction sites completed despite the shortages imposed by the Clans' successes. Likewise, and to the mixed relief of the Inner Sphere's inhabitants, those same broadcasts have boasted of the launch of four frigate-class warships from Luthien's slipways, the only details made public about the design being that it masses 500,000 tons and is known as the Kyoto class.
In contrast, the shipyards in Asgard have been destroyed outright by the Draconis Combine despite the vast quantity of money and effort spent trying to construct them, a nuclear device used to vaporise the spidery constructs following the system's loss to Clan Jade Falcon. An incredible sacrifice to make, the decision to destroy Asgard's shipyards was doubtlessly made to deny them to the Clans and prevent said Clans from supporting warships deep within the Inner Sphere. Meanwhile, Avon's many slipways have yet to produce anything of value for the Combine, the system supposedly gifted to the Word of Blake as payment for services and, more practically, to prevent its valuable shipyards from falling to the Clans.
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 )
Support Modifiers
Navy:
Ground Support Capacity:
Q1 Casualty Estimates
Casualties To Date
Map of the Inner Sphere (End of March, 3051)
Link to bigger image here.
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-lords-of-ruin-battletech-killzone.52819/page-1096#post-32499784
[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.
Pardon the slight blurriness of the images, but if you direct your attention to the image on the right and compare it to the Feddy's existing design, you'll notice the marked difference in shape and size of both the missile bus and its warhead; initial analysis suggesting that this new design of bomb-pumped laser represents a significant leap forward in capital-scale directed-energy weapon design. Most obvious is, of course, the missile bus's elongated body compared to earlier designs, the changes suggesting a substantial reworking of the bus's internals to accommodate a more sophisticated propulsion system or increased fuel capacity. Needless to say, this will make interception by the point defence systems of warships much more difficult due to improved kinematics and higher closing velocities.
Less obvious, but potentially more important, are the differences in the design of the lasing cells mounted to the warhead's nose. Given the difference in colour and shape of the elements within the cells, it's likely that the NAIS has devised a new lasing medium since the Outback conflict, most probably to improve the efficiency of X-ray production and maximise the amount of energy delivered on target. Additionally, you'll note the increased actuator count and changes to their positioning in image two. The working group suspects that these changes allow each cell to direct its output to a specific target within a substantial arc in front of the missile, though how wide that arc is and how accurate the cells will prove remains unanswerable without combat data. - Dr. Ivana Petrovic, Senior Weapons Systems Engineer, OMEN (Oruzheinyye Modernizatsionnyy - Energeticheskikh Nauk), Briefing to Selected Officers.
Hoping to deepen penetration into the various entities that, combined, make up the Federated Suns, the January-March period saw the Helghan Republic's intelligence service order agents within the rival state to expand their networks of catspaws, extortion victims, and ideological allies, vast sums of money and a great deal more energy given over to the task. Expecting only a gradual expansion of intelligence assets—if that— the agents' handlers instead found themselves handed an intelligence coup when one cell managed to turn numerous unknowing AFFS officers and enlisted service people to the Helghan cause... shortly before they were tapped for deployment to the Lyran Commonwealth as part of the FedSuns' then-upcoming expeditionary force. Sympathetic to the Republic's ideology despite disliking the Republic itself thanks to the Outback Conflict and its associated casualties, these unknowing patsies nevertheless fed Helghan a wealth of information regarding the size, composition, and armament of the First Prince's expeditionary force in the weeks before they set off for the Commonwealth, the assembled dossier drawing the interest of government and military personnel alike.
Very likely the largest force the Federated Suns can dispatch to the other side of the Inner Sphere on such short notice and support effectively, the naval component of the expeditionary force is composed of one of the Suns' two Reeve Frigates, a single Chevalier frigate, and four Reynard Corvettes. Commanded by Commodore William 'Husker' Tye—one-time captain of the FFS Intrepid and the man who destroyed Detroit's shipyard and defence station in March of 3048—these six vessels have been well-supplied with bomb-pumped lasers; inventory data furnished by the Republic's latest assets detailing a host of the weapons sitting in the warships' magazines. More importantly, analysis of that same data and images surreptitiously taken of the devices has revealed numerous changes compared to known BPL designs; Republic scientists theorising the Federated Suns has made multiple improvements to earlier designs. Likewise, video footage provided by those same catspaws revealed most of the flotilla's docking collars were taken up by the AFFS's latest assault dropship design, the slender vessels given the reporting name 'Peregrine' after one reached an acceleration of 6 gravities while serving as an inter-system courier.
Meanwhile, carried aboard ordinary JumpShips and estimated to arrive a month after the naval component, the ground component of the Federated Suns' expeditionary force seems almost humdrum by comparison, the 4th Crucis Lancers and 11th Avalon Hussars RCTs given the dubious honour of fighting the Clan on Lyran soil. Elite units by any measure of the word and representing a potent ground force, the fact that the First Prince has seen fit to dispatch the two RCTs has been seen as significant by multiple Republic politicians, with some claiming it speaks to great concern over the progress of the Clan Invasion, others suggesting it is merely an attempt by the Federated Suns to curry goodwill with Archon Steiner, and yet more suggesting some combination of both. However, regardless of why the First Prince is dispatching the expeditionary force, all who have seen the reports about the expeditionary force, its makeup, and its commander agree that it represents a much-needed addition to the Inner Sphere war effort, the estimated late February arrival date of its warship contingent privately welcomed by many high-ranking officials within the Republic.
Effect
- Succeeds in gaining an intelligence coup by placing numerous agents throughout the AFFS force dispatched to assist the Lyran Commonwealth. Before setting out, spies manage to report that the vessels are being equipped with the best gear in the FedSuns including a new type of BPL they haven't seen before.
[X] URC Actions
-[X] Seeing the URC's own rebuilding and development efforts stonewall because of the continuing political instability in the region, the Helghan Republic sends a representative to deliver a proposition to the URC member states, that the nation be split in 2 by primary political alignment of each URC planet, with the world of Firgrove being integrated into the FAS if they agree to the transfer as it's political alignment is closer with them than any of their URC neighbors. Plebiscites will be held, with an informal expectation that the Neo-Jacobists and Maoists will focus their outreach and messaging efforts on planets that can be integrated into stable interstellar nation-states. Failure to come to a long-term agreement with each other and continued instability will make the following agreement with ORDI partners fall through / be considered reneging.
-[X] Each new state will be supported by either the Helghan Republic or Capellen Confederation (us finally calling in that extra support deal) which should allow rebuilding to continue at the same pace as before the political instability, with no sanction or acrimony from ORDI as a whole regarding the security situation or offers of continued support going forward.
-[X] However, should this proposal be refused and political instability continue to mount, make it clear that should conflict erupt in the nation that Helghan will redistribute its rebuilding and development effort in the Outback until political stability is achieved in the URC, out of concern for its highly skilled personnel coming to harm. Helghan will however continue its humanitarian efforts and aid refugees who seek assistance at locations our Peacekeepers maintain, but this is reasonably the most we can promise if conflict should break out.
It took thirteen months of negotiation to get everyone to accept this design. Thirteen. I had to go through fifteen committees, eight subcommittees, and forty-three revisions—it was like getting blood from a stone. And now you're telling me I need to do it again? Twice? - Alyona Gomułka, United Rimward Collective National Identity Taskforce, Flag Division.
Responding to the slow-motion disaster that was the United Rimward Collective's ongoing political crisis with a remarkable degree of insight and mental flexibility, early January saw the Malkiewicz government concede to what was swiftly becoming inevitable and make an about-face on prior policies of peaceful unification. Though initial discussions on the matter focused on using the Republic's prodigious military to suppress bad-faith actors and enforce unity between the three major ideological groups within the state, cooler heads—not to mention those concerned with the blood price such an act might charge—soon prevailed over their more hot-headed compatriots. Labouring over January with all the fervour they could muster, politicians and bureaucrats worked hand in hand to devise a plan that would break the coreward state into three parts—one for the Marxists, one for the Neo-Jacobinists, and one for the Maoist-Gaullists—and cut through the gordian knot of internal political struggles entirely, the final result approved by parliament and dispatched to the relevant parties by mid-February.
Something of a betrayal of the utopian ideals that had guided the early formation of the URC and inspired in some ways by the plebiscites posed to the Trinity League's satrapies, the Republic's plan called for the nation to be split in two along lines determined by referendums carried out by the Maoist-Gaullists and Neo-Jacobinists under the Republic's watchful eyes. Predicted to be roughly even in size and population, the Helghan Republic or Capellan Confederation would support one of the derived states each as per the original agreement with the URC—the withdrawal of said support in the event of intentionally provocative acts by either party an unstated but potent threat. Meanwhile, the Marxist-dominated Firgrove would either join the Federation of Autonomous Systems or become an independent world in its own right should the FAS prove unwilling to take on the system, the Republic making clear that it would brook no complaints in the matter from other parties in the URC.
Fully expecting that it would need to threaten and cajole the URC's various members to go along with the plan—or, at the very least, the Neo-Jacobinists—the Malkiewicz government found itself taken aback when first the Marxists, then the Neo-Jacobinists, and finally the Maosist-Gaullists accepted the deal. Already boasting a sizeable pro-independence faction before the plan arrived in-system, Firgrove's Marxist government underwent a seismic shift within days of its arrival, the system's independence movement securing control of the government after the plan leaked to the local press and a series of snap elections saw those opposed replaced in all levels of governance. Meanwhile, though less enthusiastic towards the plan than the Marxists, the Neo-Jacobinists throughout the rest of the URC met the idea with broad approval, discussions concluding by early February. By comparison, the Maoist-Gaullists proved the most dubious of the plan, with internal debates raging throughout the rural movement until mid-March before, with some reluctance, the various groups agreed to abide by it.
Not expecting such rapid agreement to a deal that would see the nation split in half and only halfway through negotiating with the Capellan Confederation to expand its earlier commitment, the Republic found itself forced to burn through goodwill and favours in equal measure to expedite the effort. Launching—or perhaps 'lunching' given the weapons of choice—a blitzkrieg against their counterparts in the Confederation within a day of the three parties agreeing to the plan, Republic diplomats called in every favour they were owed over food and drinks to secure a critical mass of support for the Malkiewicz government's plan. Grumbling all the while but ultimately conceding to the inevitable, March's close saw the Confederation quietly agree to support one of the two derivative nations, the ultimate dismemberment of the URC expected to occur over the coming year.
Effect
- -10 influence spent convincing the Capellans to agree to support a breakaway state since it's way more than what they agreed to, but they agreed.
- Marxists wholeheartedly agree to the proposal even before someone leaks it to the public and they demonstrate great support for it.
- Neo-jacobinists prove more resistant by comparison, but not much so objectively. They agree to the move pretty quickly.
- Maoists are the most hesitant, but they relent after intense internal debate and agree to the deal.
- It will likely take a year for everything to shake out. Nobody in the ORDI is super happy about this conclusion, but they broadly agree that it's better than an armed intervention.
[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: 4/10] [Locked Until Completed] [+1 AP from Capellan Confederation]
You know what? For a bunch of weirdos who go around wearing robes and worshipping toasters all day, these ComStar guys really came through for us. I mean, when you thank them, don't tell them I called them a bunch of weirdos who go around wearing robes and worshipping toasters all day, but they really did, huh? - Irina Lafrenz, Project Manager, Private Conversation with Personal Assistant.
Moving with unseemly haste thanks to pressure from above and without, Q1 3051 saw Helghan and Capellan labourers work day and night to complete the Lothan mega factory; ships from the homeworlds delivered a steady supply of construction materials, manufacturing equipment, and additional personnel on a daily basis. With on-site workers now old hands at the task and the basic distribution infrastructure assembled, this river of resources was integrated into the construction effort with barely a ripple made in the program's timetable, the steadily growing forest of factory structures given a profound shot in the arm by the supplies. Rapid by any measure of the word, construction of the warehouses and assembly halls that made up much of the planned complex grew more and more rapid until, halfway through the quarter, the last piece of the last structure was bolted into place; the once featureless foundation slab covered in a blanket of colossal sheds.
With the protective structures in place and the factory nearing completion, the nature of the joint Helghan-Capellan construction effort soon shifted from bulk construction to precision assembly; the stream of goods flowing to Lothan likewise changed from prefabricated building components to cybernetic manufacturing equipment. Though expensive to make, fragile to handle, and difficult to install, the quantity of qualified ORDI personnel in the system and their sheer experience at the task meant that the project's planners unexpectedly found themselves facing a shortage of machines to install by late February, the multifarious components seated and tested as quickly as they arrived and incidentally causing an unseemly bottleneck. However, fortunately for all involved, ComStar proved itself the project's greatest and most unexpected ally after negotiations between the quasi-religious organisation and the ORDI saw the telephonic prelates dispatch a host of desperately needed parts to the eager workers, cynical security sweeps done by the Capellan contingent revealing nothing of concern among the myriad pieces.
[Progress: 4/10] → [Progress: 7/10]
Effect
- Steady progress is made on the factory despite the ever encroaching threat of the Clans.
- ComStar negotiation in Santiago action partially comes through and grants +1 AP
[X] Establish a continuing effort to provide propaganda relating to the Clan war effort (lock 1 AP to propaganda)
With that last meeting with General Bolton out of the way and my leadership of the propaganda effort finalised, I sat alone in my office and pondered. How could I mount a counterattack against the Clans? How could I keep alive our will to resist the self-styled master race when each day saw more and more coffins arrive home draped in the rose and wreath? Focusing on what would happen if the Clans won had been tried, and with them on the other side of the Inner Sphere, most people had grown numb to the message.
Then, it struck me. I needed one basic, powerful idea. An idea that would catch like wildfire. An idea from which all ideas flowed.
Like a bolt from above, the half-remembered words of an old Terran politician came to me as if from the silent shores of eternity itself: 'Those who have tasted freedom can never be slaves again.' - Hohenberg, Karl (3055), Time and Chance: An Autobiography, Mir: Novotver: Vanguard Editions.
Continuing the comparatively successful strategy begun at the end of 3050, the first quarter of 3051 saw the Republic's more hopeful and sentimental propaganda campaign achieve impressive results in improving public opinion in regards to the distant conflict, a cavalcade of footage, quotes, and images flooding the airwaves and doing much to wash the prior AgitProp from people's minds. Far from a silver bullet or magic wand, the campaign's architects were nonetheless rewarded with a noticeable uptick in support for the Republic's intervention by January's end, the first such improvement the Republic has seen in a long time. Welcoming the response with great enthusiasm—and substantially more relief, all things considered—the managers of the Republic's anti-Clan propaganda effort spent the first weeks of February preparing a tweaked version of the campaign featuring a 50/50 mix of positive and negative messages to run in Q2... only for mid-February to see the Clans to steal a march by launching their long-awaited offensive.
Effect
- New strategy started last year sees decent progress in rebuilding war support. However, see Operation Santiago and News and Rumours for why I can't give a good answer as to this event's effects.
[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.
I can see two possibilities for the sudden upswing in Clan successes. Either someone in this room has decided to forsake all oaths of loyalty and throw their lot in with a band of marauding eugenicists against the rest of humanity, or else Clan scientists have kludged together a Black Box detector. Frankly, the latter scares me less. - Col. Pawel Aleksander, Republic Military Intelligence. General Staff Briefing, 11/02/3051.
With Operation Santiago having benefited immensely from the ongoing spy program against the Clans, 3051's opening saw the Republic double down on the effort and dispatch a fresh wave of the purpose-built spy vessels to the region—two score vessels leaving Helghan berths and making a beeline for systems across the coreward expanse. Prepositioned at Tsitsang and given priority access to supply shipments being carried to the front by JumpShips, it took the host of vessels only until the end of January to arrive at their destinations, the tell-tale burst of EM radiation given off by their arrival at Lagrange points within the target solar systems rendered undetectable to sensors deep within said systems thanks to sheer distance. Equipped with the most advanced SIGINT and observation equipment the Republic could manufacture and boasting Black Box communication equipment, it came as no surprise to Operation Santiago's myriad intelligence officers when Black Boxes throughout the Headquarters building began chattering wildly, detailed reports on the state of Clan shipping and intercepted radio signals spilling into their hands—and computers—like a cup runneth over.
However, in marked contrast to the successes enjoyed elsewhere in the galaxy, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Clan dropships engaged in long-range patrols began altering course and burning hard for the spy vessels within hours of the Black Box broadcasts starting. An about-face that could only signify the detection of the spy vessels, the dropships' change in course forced the spy vessels to abandon their activities as they approached, the most fortunately positioned vessel able to wait a week before being forced to warp to an uninhabited star four lightyears distant. Disruptive to the program in the extreme, the sudden posture change by so many patrols within hours of the spy vessels' arrival saw debates rage within Operation Santiago's upper echelons and the Republic's own halls of power, the speed of the change too significant a change to overlook. Initially convinced that the Clan dropships had undergone extensive sensor refits to improve their ability to detect the energies associated with hyperspace travel, such hopes were swiftly discarded after spy ships and observation platforms emplaced last year began reporting similar changes in behaviour by patrolling dropships, each change always preceded by the arrival of a JumpShip a week or more before. Forced to ponder other possible causes for the sudden improvement in Clan counter-spy efforts, Helghan analysts found themselves forced to conclude either one of two things had happened: Either the Clans had penetrated one of the most secretive projects in the entire ORDI effort or the Clans have developed some manner of Black Box detector, most preferring to believe the latter.
Making matters worse, the same period saw Clan jamming grow in scale and sophistication in the systems surrounding Pomme de Terre and Trell, Black Box messages growing distorted at best and utterly unintelligible at worst. So strong was the effect that, for the first time since the spy program began, Republic intelligence officers found their access to information reduced rather than expanded; reports from ComStar's news service and local guerilla fighters slowing the decline, but not stopping it.
Effect
- Attempts to deploy spy ships into the region fail after a few weeks of initial success, with the number and degree of failures such that Republic analysts are convinced that the Clans have figured out a method of triangulating signals from Black Boxes.
- Additionally, the Clans have deployed jamming countermeasures in increasing numbers along the border, further limiting information.
- Republic intelligence actually degrades as a result of this.
[X] Operation Santiago Phase 9
-[X] New guidelines for the operation are three-pronged, in order of priority.
--[X] Part 1
---[X] Recognition of the Clan fleet presently based near Pomme De Terre as an existential threat-in-being. Intelligence assets must maintain sight of this fleet. Commodore Ostergaard will utilize the limitations of enemy KF drives and advantages of Warp drives to refuse battle to any naval force that ORDI captains are not confident they can defeat until sufficient forces can be gathered to destroy them, and if possible catch them out of position and eliminate them in totality before they can pose a threat to allied worlds.
--[X] Part 2
---[X] Ensuring the military readiness of the Wolf's Dragoons and the further strengthening of defenses of worlds in the invasion corridors of Clan Wolf and Clan Ghost Bear, intending to make it as difficult as possible for them to move forward and if at all possible do more than merely blunt their momentum. Build kill zones, fortifications, and depots. If they refuse battle, we stage raids and disorganize them with saboteurs in their backlines, otherwise, stop them cold.
--[X] Part 3
---[X] Press the Lyrans to bring the Suns to the field.
---[X] Open negotiations with the Free Worlds League for an expeditionary military force to be sent to the FRR, prioritizing elite MechWarrior units. The value of Clanner technology salvage should be fairly obvious.
---[X] Negotiate with ComStar for assistance with the Lothan Factory Complex. Priority and access to it for supplies for completely hypothetical ComGuard units operating in the region will be baked into the agreement (we should have some parts commonality).
---[X] Ask Jamie Wolf if he has another Clanner secret weapon or miracle in his back pocket.
With the discovery of Clan fleets amassing in the systems Trell and Pomme De Terre at the tail end of 3050, the watchword for 3051 became fortification; Commodore Joel Ostergaard and the leadership of just about every military in the multinational alliance immediately pushing for massive defensive works even as planners pulled warships from the frontline in preparation for the inevitable assault. All across Operation Santiago's anti-spinward border, ORDI personnel were thrown into the renewed fortification program with wild abandon, demands for everything from extra engineers to vast quantities of spare parts and equipment frantically dispatched homeward where Ostergaard's allies in government fought like lions to see them fulfilled. Working night and day with every tool at their disposal—Automata, earthmovers, and even purloined shovels—ORDI regiments toiled alongside their Free Republic comrades to prepare for what all felt would be the defining battle of the nation, trenchworks dug, bunkers raised, minefields laid, and countless other preparations made as the Invasion Corridors of Clans Wolf and Ghost Bear quickly transformed into one vast defensive work.
Even as these fortifications arose and ORDI warships and aerospace assets began departing the systems to prepare for perhaps the largest naval action in modern history, the cream of the ORDI's military armaments flowed to units in the region, the calculating minds of the Republic's General Staff and their counterparts throughout the alliance agreeing that the spinward fight would be decided by naval and not ground weaponry. Primarily aimed at the ORDI's units, a comparatively small quantity of the supplies were diverted to Wolf's Dragoons in recognition of their effective service, the support received eagerly by the multi-regiment force. Quite to the surprise of later historians—chasing up rumours and stories from personnel present at the time for myriad reasons—this same diversion saw a sizeable quantity of Petrusite-based equipment quietly delivered to the mercenaries, Commodore Ostergaar demonstrating an apt understanding of the old Earth phrase "Heaven is High and the Emperor Far Away" when he authorised the delivery on his own recognisance.
Simultaneously, the Republic turned its attention to diplomatic measures across the Inner Sphere; members of the Republic's diplomatic corps flocking to the Lyran Commonwealth, the Free Worlds League, Terra, and Wolf's Dragoons as part of a plan to form a united front against the Clans.
Meeting with the Archon mere weeks into the quarter—and with little knowledge of the ongoing assembly of a FedSun expeditionary fleet—Helghan diplomats swallowed their hard-earned pride and asked the Commonwealth to pressure the Federated Suns into sending an expeditionary force in the Republic's stead, the nation having recognised that the galaxy's states will either hang separately or hang together and made the unpalatable decision. Informed that the Lyran state had already made just such a request, it initially seemed to the Republic's leaders that the Federated Suns was willing to slow-roll their expeditionary efforts... until reports from Helghan spies revealed the warship contingent's departure date had been suddenly and inexplicably brought forward. Attributed to the Lyrans informing the Suns' of the Republic's request, a realisation which led to much grumbling from within the Republic's government, the sudden change nonetheless ensured that mid-February would see AFFS support arrive in the embattled states, something that would give many cause to celebrate come mid-February.
Even as Republic diplomats met with Archon Melissa Steiner, others met with her counterpart in the Free Worlds League, the Republic trading on its reputation to secure a thirty-minute meeting with Captain-General Thomas Marik. Eager to secure more forces for the fight, Helghan negotiators did all they could to argue their case with the man; favours, technology, resources, and a host of other things dangled before him if he would only agree to send forces, preferably elite battlemech forces, against the Clans. Despite these offers, however, the Captain-General could not be drawn into agreeing to send such aid to the rival nation, the man, according to the team's report, baldly stating that such a move was politically impossible given the history between the two in spite of his recent successes organising arms trades. Unwilling to leave the meeting empty-handed and demonstrating remarkable perspicuity, the diplomatic team nonetheless secured a pledge to expand said arms sales and drop their price to near-rock bottom, the best of a terrible situation leaving its negotiators feeling cold even in their success.
Similarly, those diplomats dispatched to Terra to secure support for the Lothan factory complex found their negotiations with ComStar's Anastasius Focht equally challenging. In a frank exchange reminiscent of the one held within the Free Worlds League, the man revealed the organisation had been stretched almost to breaking point in its attempt to form a military response to the Clans, an unstated but assumed-to-be-vast horde of weapons and warriors assembled by the quasi-religious organisation. Hoping to secure an ongoing deal to supply Lothan with precision parts and fellow workers in exchange for a portion of the factory's output, the Republic's negotiators found themselves forced to accept a contribution, the Precentor-Martial driving a hard bargain in exchange for half a year's worth of supplies from Terra's handful of high-tech factories.
Finally, Republic personnel sent to treat with Jamie Wolf at his headquarters on the frontline—almost entirely as a hail mary by a nation desperately seeking easy answers to their problems—succeeded only in learning that the wolves considered themselves a secret weapon, the self-aggrandising answer at least somewhat paid for by the merc unit's proven skill. Pledging to fight against the invading wolves until either the invasion was halted or Jamie and his fellow commanders killed in the struggle, the Dragoons' commitment did much to offset the disappointment of Republic politicians at their lack of superweapons. Then, as early February gave way to the middle of the month, mere weeks after the confirmation of the Wolves' commitment to the struggle, the Clans' hammer blow finally landed.
First Blood
Alerted to the presence of the Clan fleet over Trell by an ORDI generous with information and its own intelligence gathering apparatus, the Lyran state had not been idle as the year ground on; legions of LCAF soldiers ordered to dig in across the coreward front while its navy ceased its dispersed defensive efforts. Composed of fourteen Thor-class frigates armed and nine Damascus-class carriers generously loaned to the state by the Republic, the Lyran fleet was ordered to gather in Esteros in preparation to block the Trell fleet, the LCAF's high command gambling that they'd caught sight of the Clan Warships before they had finished final preparations for their assault into the Inner Sphere. Unfortunately, this hope proved misplaced when, with Lyran warships still on their way to the assembly point, sensors throughout Babaeski were suddenly deafened by an electromagnetic storm so powerful it was detectable by civilian radios; hastily aligned telescopes revealing a swarm of Clan warships over the system's primary and no defenders in sight. Boasting weapons capable of boiling lakes, melting mountains, and scouring cities, the Clan host hung over the heads of every man, woman, and child in Babaeski like the sword of Damocles, their mere presence turning the sun's light grey in the minds of many millions. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, the fleet vanished, a burst of EM radiation signifying their departure for systems deeper in the Lyran Commonwealth even as Clan dropships burned hard for the planet.
Again and again, the Clan fleet appeared over Lyran stars, each jump seeing the titanic assemblage of metal venture deeper and deeper into the Commonwealth and planting the seeds of destruction behind them in the form of Clan Warriors. Seeking answers as to their ultimate goal and refusing to take no for an answer, analysts throughout the galaxy poured over every report from every source imaginable, maps akin to storm forecasts appearing in the halls of power of every nation in the Inner Sphere and then some as supposition and fact were mixed to form something approximating the truth. Unsurprisingly, by early February, it became apparent to all watching that the Clanners' goal was the Commonwealth's vital manufacturing capabilities, experts across the galaxy coming into alignment and agreeing that the capture or destruction of Arc-Royal's factories was the fleet's primary objective. Assembled in the nearby system of Dukambia, the Lyran fleet—accompanied by its ORDI allies—found itself only a single jump away from the goal of the massive Clan armada, its personnel torn between leaping into action and holding back for a better opening. Undoubtedly chosen by Clan war planners since its loss would badly hurt the Commonwealth's ability to supply troops in the region and its factories could prove a vital resupply hub to the Clans, the threat to Arc-Royal placed Archon Steiner and her government in an unenviable position; the nation's leader forced to pick between the rock of abandoning the planet's defenders to their fate and the hard place of committing the state's navy in a pitched-battle against a powerful foe.
Her mother's daughter, Melissa Steiner chose to fight.
In a burst of radiation detectable from the Kuiper belt, the joint Lyran-ORDI fleet arrived over Arc-Royal's star without warning or prelude; blooded crews readying their weapons with practised ease as their steely-eyed sensor operators scanned space them for any hint of hostile forces. Launching swarms of aerospace fighters and assault dropships and taking on a defensive posture, the twenty-seven-strong fleet made for the emergence point of the Clan fleet with all due haste, the EM signatures marking the zone already burning bright against the backdrop of endless night. Tens of thousands of kilometres and many minutes later, with the emergence signatures blazing ahead of them, the joint fleet had a front-row seat to the Clans' arrival, the sixteen vessels arriving in Arc-Royal like the horsemen of the apocalypse. Traditionally short, sharp affairs fought between only a handful of ships seeking to disrupt enemy shipping or seize control of the skies above a world, little in the past decade of naval combat could have prepared either side for the conflict that followed; the forty-three warships and their countless escorts soon burning hard towards one another with murder on their mind. Armed with weapons barely imaginable during the heady days of the Star League's dominion and guarded by technologies that once lay in the realm of science fiction, a curt order and the push of a button was all it took for the battle to be joined and for the void to fill with crackling lightning, thundering artillery, and flashing nuclear bombs.
Fifty million kilometres above Arc-Royal's Sol-like star, high above the forever-changing and blindingly bright sea of plasma that bathed the system's namesake planet with life-giving energy, soldiers loyal to governments and Clans died screaming in fury and pain as they fought to kill one another; weapons great and terrible vaporising steel and flesh with equal indifference. Blazing in all the spectrums of light as their sensors and weapons scoured the heavens, starships more advanced than any that had come before them and whose construction represented the theft of bread from the hungry, heat from the cold, and medicine from the sick went up like matchsticks one after another, each flare signifying the deaths of hundreds and filling the void with the plaintive wail of SOS beacons. The most powerful fleet the Inner Sphere had yet seen assembled, the Lyran-ORDI alliance fought like lions to protect the factories and people of Arc-Royal from the Clans' predations, no inch of ground given up without a fight and no gun allowed to grow cold; each passing moment seeing them reap a terrible toll among the forces of their foe as they warred to the knife.
An hour later, with a final terrible flash, the last warship of the Lyran fleet went up like a bomb as its fusion core lost containment, the storm of shrapnel that followed the Mjolnir's death slicing through those escape pods that waited a hair too long and rattling off the armoured hulls of crippled ships. Though defeated by the Clan invaders and their shielded battleships, the soldiers of the defending fleet had sold their lives dearly and brought the Clanners to the edge of ruin through their actions; a single McKenna and an accompanying Volga were all that remained of the once mighty Trell fleet. Though badly battered during the struggle and with its shields all but shattered, the Honor's Shadow spent a day recovering what dropships and ASF it could from among the surviving Clan forces even as civilian JumpShips bearing yet more dropships began arriving in the system. Watching the tableau from an AU away, it seemed to those on Arc-Royal that it was only a matter of time before the Clan McKenna was overhead and Clan troops marching down the streets, everyone from Lyran civilians to Helghan soldiers praying for aid against the coming of the Clans.
Quite to their surprise, it was the Federated Suns who answered.
Arriving from hyperspace without warning and catching the Clan vessels with their metaphorical pants down, the Federated Suns' expeditionary warships did not fight the enemy; they slaughtered them. Firing bomb-pumped lasers within minutes of arriving in the system, the FedSun fleet under Commodore Tye tore into the Clanners with wild abandon, warships, dropships, and fighters alike exploding under the independently targeted beams of sleeting radiation as pure-fusion nukes transmuted matter to energy and crystal lenses transmuted energy to hard x-rays. Faster than fighters and vastly better armed, FedSun Peregrines danced through the wreckage of a hundred murdered spacecraft, butchering Clan ASF in job lots as they went and dodging past or shooting down their attacks with contemptuous ease.
Within minutes of their arrival, the Clanner dragon in Arc-Royal was left broken and slain and the Federated Suns had become the heroes of the hour. For the first time in their lives, Republic troops on the planet and aboard the countless crippled and wrecked vessels found within themselves gratitude for the Federated Suns; the Commodore's decision to immediately begin Search and Rescue operations only further endearing him to them.
| Class | Name | Clan |
| Nightlord (w/ shields) | Blood of the Ancestors | Diamond Shark |
| McKenna (w/ shields) | Charybdis | Diamond Shark |
| McKenna (w/ shields) | Honor's Shadow | Coyote |
| Black Lion (w/ shields) | Pride of Kerensky | Ghost Bear |
| Black Lion (w/ shields) | Wrath of the Founder | Goliath Scorpion |
| Potemkin | Warhound | Coyote |
| Essex | Blade of the Khans | Ghost Bear |
| Essex | Dawn of Conquest | Ghost Bear |
| Congress | Voice of the Clans | Goliath Scorpion |
| Fredasa | Void Hunter | Goliath Scorpion |
| Molniya | Flashpoint | Goliath Scorpion |
| Vincent Mk42 | Spirit Hunter | Coyote |
| Vincent Mk42 | Skyfire | Diamond Shark |
| Volga | Ice Serpent | Ghost Bear |
| Volga | Storm Chaser | Diamond Shark |
| Lola III | Silent Reaper | Coyote |
The Second Battle of Skandia
A mere week later, crews aboard ORDI warships within the Free Rasalhague Republic and its extremes found themselves receiving orders to redeploy to Skandia; fragmented intelligence reports suggesting that the rump state's wartime capital was the primary target of the vast Pomme De Terre fleet detected last year. The site of Clan Smoke Jaguar's last great push against the Inner Sphere's defenders, home to the Free Republic's ruling Prince and government, and serving as Operation Santiago's headquarters, Skandia's capture by Clan forces would not merely represent a morale victory but decapitate both the state and its ORDI defenders in a single blow. Well aware that Skandia's loss would all but guarantee the Free State's collapse and lead to countless ORDI deaths along with it, the captains and crew of Operation Santiago's warship contingent acted with remarkable alacrity, warpdrives across the coreward expanse pushed to their limit as ORDI warships raced the Clans to Skandia, the skies above the chilly world soon filling with the sight of Helghan Nocti, Capellan Carsons, Taurian Aurochs, Aurigan Halcons, and the Magistracy's lone Canopus class Frigate.
Keeping one eye on the skies above and another watching over the planet's second major defensive program in under a year, the Operations headquarters personnel did all they could to prepare the civilian population for the inevitable assault—survival shelters repaired, reinforced, and restocked, and a voluntary evacuation of the planetary capital seeing a river of self-made refugees flee the presumed target. Never-ending and all-consuming though it was, the task of preparing Skandia nonetheless proved unable to dampen the shock of the Clan fleet's arrival when it came, the electronic screech that accompanied their appearance so powerful that ships the next system over would be able to hear it when the wavefront finally reached them. Made up of a full forty warships of various classes and masses, the addition of so many vessels brought the total warship count in the system to a staggering one-hundred-and-eight, the ORDI holding the advantage thanks to its forty-two Commissar-B Pocket Warships. Glowing like spits of fire in the reflected light of the sun and caressed by delicate coronal streamers, the four-score warships shed dropships as a mangy dog does fleas; a dense knot of glowing plasma forming around the fleet courtesy of so many fusion drives firing in proximity.
Having expected the attack for several days by this point despite the Clans' variably effective counterintelligence strategy and surprisingly deep bag of tricks, the ORDI flotilla responded without hesitation to the move; a new constellation birthed in the night sky below as nigh on seventy warships made to intercept the would-be conquerors lest a stray shot kill thousands of innocents. Accelerating towards their foe on spears of star stuff, ORDI crews readied arsenals sufficient to scour worlds of life—lasers, railguns, Petrusite Cannons, and nuclear weapons a mere handful of the death-dealing machines aboard, similar checks given to every small craft and aerospace fighter within the vast force. Able to see the alliance's vessels from across the solar system, the Clanners did not hesitate to react, the glowing plasma that signified their position on most scopes brightening instantly as a hundred or more fusion drives kicked on at once and sent them hurtling forwards. Agonisingly slowly as a human reckons but blisteringly fast by cosmic standards, the two fleets approached one another and merged.
At 13:21 local time on the 2nd of March, 3051, the appropriately named Clan Ghost Bear Nightlord Ice Breaker fired the first shot of what would soon become known as the Second Battle of Skandia. A snapshot by an unknown and unknowable gunner, the brace of M-Naval Gauss rounds crossed the distance between the two decelerating fleets in the blink of an eye and splashed off the HNS Gaspar's shields with a flash of light and a spray of molten metal. As if shocked into inaction by the strike, both sides seemed to hold their breath, and then, all at once, they opened fire.
Clawed at by ravening Petrusite beams, the Talon's Edge died screaming; the guts of the once proud vessel strewn through space for all to see. Raked by lasers and peppered with gauss rounds, the MCS Luxen's armoured hull shuddered and groaned like a submarine from ancient Earth, each mournful howl triggering a fresh wave of prayers from the warriors within her even as they filled the space around them with streamers of autocannons shells and pillars of pulsing lasers. Bashing through a field of debris that was once a Guardsman, its shields flaring wildly at the assault, the Wolf's Call bared its teeth and howled, the battleship's dozen NPPCs spitting artificial lightning in all directions as it fired at targets seen only with electronic eyes. Holding at the outer edge of the battlespace—its snow-grey hull now charred a darker slate by the flash of allied nukes—the CCS Victoria launched White Shark after White Shark into the ever-growing dogfight at its centre; ugly spurts of fire marking the death of fighter and missile alike.
For hours, the battle between the two sides raged with a singular fury as fleets larger than any that had fought in the past few centuries vied for dominance over one another. Elite by any standard and united as never before in their history, the invading Clanners fought, lion-like, against the snapping jaws and braying weapons of their ORDI foes, stories as heroic as any in the Remembrance—the Clans' own Poetic Edda—written in their hundreds by gunners and pilots and fighters and battleships only to be lost in fire as their witnesses and writers died. Ferocious fighters and valiant vanquishers, the Clanners fought and fought and died.
Outnumbered and outgunned by the system's defenders, the primitive shields of the Clan battleships slowly cracked under the strain of a hundred separate guns, and the blazing light of their obsolete Petrusite cannons went dark as circuits exploded and generators melted. Slowly at first and then all at once, Clan warships fell, and their ORDI counterparts pressed in; numbers and technology writing the story of the Clan's failure across the very heavens themselves as swarms of ORDI fighters drove their Clanner counterparts yelping from the field. Brutalised by the battle but standing on the cusp of victory with a superior force bearing down on the Clan remnants without mercy, it seemed to those watching the battle's final moments that the ORDI fleet had triumphed over the Clans all but completely; the fifty vessels and countless dropships and fighters lost in the fight a terrible but necessary price to pay to shatter the Clans' hopes for domination of the Rasalhagian state. Alas, it was then that the Clans revealed their final trick.
Rocketing from a field of debris that was once a Helghan Nocti, the Snow Raven Sassanid leapt towards the ORDI fleet with a vengeance as they tore into the last of the Clanners; its bridge wrenched open to the void of space early in the fight and its command crew killed in the process. Venting a trail of atmosphere and debris behind it as it made its death dive for the allied fleet, the grievously wounded dropships shuddered and groaned as some suicidally brave fool pushed its engines to their limit and sent it hurtling forwards at 4-gravities, threat boards across the region lighting up as command staff and digital guardians alike noticed the craft. Acting at some unspoken word, operating at the behest of some ancient instinct, fighters across the region immediately made to intercept the accelerating craft, a dozen fractured squadrons wheeling around and burning hard for the approaching threat as conscious minds played catchup and whispered word of nuclear weapons. Seventy kilometres from the rearmost ORDI ship, five kilometres from the nearest fighter, a button on the Sassanid's bridge registered a press, and an electrical impulse flowed from the targeting computer to a single purpose-built chamber at the ship's core.
There was a radio howl.
There was a magnetic quake.
There was an emerald flash.
Popping like an overfull balloon, the Sassanid detonated, streams of Irradiated Petrusite exploding from the spherical dropship in a jade-green wave of pseudo-matter. Spilling forth too fast to dodge, the glowing deluge smashed through the cloud of would-be interceptors as if they were nothing, death coming for their pilots too quick to feel. Writhing and churning like the sun's surface, the sea of ferocious green hate swept through space before draping itself upon one ORDI warship, and then another, and then another, each vessel bursting like a fruit too long in the sun. Frenzied and boiling, its fury unrelenting, the green tide swept over wrecks and lifeboats and escape pods from both sides, the lucky ones dying instantly as monstrous physics reduced them to discorporated particles. Again and again, this pattern repeated, a howling death descending on countless people all in the time it took for a heart to beat and beat again. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the viridescent fire vanished, the dead and dying left in its wake, the last Clanners surrendering rather than risking the ORDI's wrath.
| Class | Name | Clan |
| Nightlord (w/ shields) | Dire Wolf | Wolf |
| Nightlord (w/ shields) | Ice Breaker | Ghost Bear |
| Aegis (w/ shields) | White Terror | Snow Raven |
| McKenna (w/ shields) | Ursa Major | Ghost Bear |
| McKenna (w/ shields) | Winter Fang | Wolf |
| Texas (w/ shields) | Frost Wind | Ghost Bear |
| Texas (w/ shields) | Wolf's Call | Wolf |
| York | Avian Fury | Jade Falcon |
| York | Storm Talon | Snow Raven |
| York | Glacier | Ghost Bear |
| Sovetskii Soyuz | Voidbringer | Snow Raven |
| Sovetskii Soyuz | Blackwing | Snow Raven |
| Potemkin | Falcon's Claw | Jade Falcon |
| Potemkin | Iron Will | Wolf |
| Potemkin | Storm Bearer | Ghost Bear |
| Liberator | Alpha Strike | Wolf |
| Liberator | Polar Star | Ghost Bear |
| Congress | Sky Sovereign | Snow Raven |
| Fredasa | Talon's Edge | Jade Falcon |
| Fredasa | Shadow Strike | Wolf |
| Lola III | Icehawk | Snow Ravens |
| Lola III | Ursa Major | Ghost Bear |
| Volga | Winter's Fury | Ghost Bear |
| Volga | Swift Wing | Jade Falcon |
| Volga | Seeker | Snow Ravens |
| Molniya | Thunder's Roar | Ghost Bear |
| Corone | Iron Talon | Jade Falcon |
| Corone | Nightshade | Snow Ravens |
| Vincent Mk 42 | Wolf's Howl | Wolf |
| Vincent Mk 42 | Dread Wolf | Wolf |
| Vincent Mk 42 | White Talon | Ghost Bear |
| Carrack | Iceflow | Ghost Bear |
| Carrack | Darkstar | Wolf |
| Carrack | Snowstorm | Snow Ravens |
| Comitatus | Iron Fang | Wolf |
| Comitatus | Stormbringer | Snow Ravens |
| Hunter | Blackhawk | Snow Ravens |
| Hunter | Hunter's Flight | Jade Falcon |
| Hunter | Stealth Prowler | Wolf |
| Hunter | Night Hunter | Snow Ravens |
Taking advantage of the distraction provided by the attacking fleets and the chaos following those brutal engagements, the 3051's first few months saw Clan assault forces strike out across the invasion's varied frontlines—the devastation wrought on defending aerospace forces permitting Clan jumpships and the occasional sub-500 kt warship to jump into a system, disgorge a load of dropships, and vanish again without challenge. Echoing the fate of the warships that preceded them, these assault forces initially saw great success against the forces arrayed against them, with multiple systems falling over a period of weeks. However, within days of the pyrrhic victories in Arc-Royal and Skandia and with guerilla groups roaring to life across rear-line worlds, the Clans' momentum began to falter, and each passing day saw fewer and fewer attacks launched against Inner Sphere forces.
No doubt hoping to regain the initiative while naval opposition remained absent from the battlefield, late March saw the Clans launch a second wave of attacks against select targets across the Commonwealth, Combine, and Free Republic. Delivered similarly to the year's first assault, Clan dropships raced towards their prey only to find them far better defended than expected, local forces having wisely spent the time bought by allied naval forces preparing defences and calling in reinforcements. In Irece, the Nova Cats found their invasion stopped dead in its tracks before it could begin by Coordinator Kurita's Legion of Vega, the famously honourless warriors taking full advantage of their skills to frustrate Nova Cat MechWarriors and bog them down in an endless meat grinder. Likewise, reports from spies within the Lyran Commonwealth have revealed that an LCAF resupply craft proved critical to the defence of Summit after its crew tricked a Ghost Bear invasion force into leaving through the jury-rigged launch of a genuine but unarmed Bomb-Pumped Laser. And finally, in Hyperion, Jaime Wolf's Dragoons proved superior in every way to Clan Wolf's raiders, the Wolves' Silver Keshik annihilated in an honour duel by the ORDI's very own wolves.
Their noses bruised by the failed series of attacks, the quarter's end saw the Invading Clans pause to catch their breath, assault forces stood outside the capitals of the Draconis Combine and the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Lyran Commonwealth's industrial heartland under direct threat. Doubtlessly planning to restart their attacks once additional warship assets arrive within the Inner Sphere, many across the Inner Sphere have begun to wonder what it will take to stop the Clans once and for all, some going as far as to suggest that it will not end until the Inner Sphere strikes back against the Clans' home territories.
Effect
- Fortification efforts in Wolf and Bear invasion corridors proceed apace thanks to the amount of heavy machinery present on the frontlines. Existing fortifications are expanded dramatically and made much more permanent.
- Wolf's Dragoons are given all the equipment they could need in exchange for serving as Ostergaard's tip of the spear.
- Decision to pressure Lyrans seems to pay off with the AFFS expeditionary force setting off earlier than anticipated. Arrive in the Commonwealth in mid-February. Doesn't even take much pressure.
- Efforts to convince the League to dispatch its own expeditionary force fails (-5 influence), but Captain-General Marik does push through a bill to expand arms sales to the Lyran Commonwealth at generous (considering their history) prices.
- ComStar quietly informs the Republic that its resources have been terribly strained due to the need to prepare for the fight against the clans, but Focht/the Primus are able to organise a handful of jumpships and miscellaneous parts that improve progress by 1 AP.
- Jamie says no.
- The Push.
- Late Jan sees Clan warships strike out from Trell and Pomme De Terre aimed at the Commonwealth, and the Free Republic.
- Lyrans are the first to engage the Clans with the allied fleet engaging them Arc-Royal after they tear a trail of destruction through the frontline with the result being a near-mutual kill between Lyran-Republic joint fleet and the Clan invaders. The fight started out strong for the Inner Sphere, but then the Clans sheer mass began to tell and shields began to pop. In the end, it looked like it would be a clan victory… before the AFFS expedition (lead by the same captain who destroyed the Detroit Shipyards) arrived and nuked the shit out of the surviving Clan vessels with highly improved Bomb pumped lasers. In exchange for the destruction of the Clan fleet, 18 out of 23 Lyran warships were crippled or destroyed. For the Republic, 2 Nocti were crippled, 1 Toxotai was destroyed outright, 1 Toxotai was crippled beyond repair. Total casualties for the battle are in the multiple thousands.
- ORDI is next with engagement happening in Skandia (seemingly as part of a decapitation strike). The engagement is well and truly absurd in scope, 108 warships and pocket warships, hundreds of dropships, and well over 2000 ASF engaging one another. Fortunately for the ORDI, despite the highly effective counter-intelligence program launched by the Clans, info gathered by the program before the blinding + Commodore Ostergaard's refusal to engage the clans before his forces were assembled saw the ORDI enjoy a good position. A furious fight followed that cost the ORDI 80% of its fleet in the Rasalhague Republic (either crippled or destroyed), but the Pomme De Terre fleet is gone. Republic casualties are: 8 Nocti destroyed or crippled beyond possibility of repair, 5 Nocti damaged to varying degrees, but repairable, 26 Guardsman destroyed outright or with no possibility of salvage, 15 Guardsman damaged to varying degrees, but repairable, many dropship and ASF losses.
- Interestingly, the simultaneous ground assault was initially harsh, but petered out quickly following the brutal naval combat.
Design and Requisition
-[X] Emergency Teleporter: Developed in secret by a team probing some of the stranger interactions between Petrusite and the rest of the universe, this wearable device allows those equipped to teleport up to 200 meters away… with no control over their landing point and a lengthy recharge period. Difficult to manufacture and terminally hostile to automata, this technology can only effectively be used by a small number of personnel who consider a random exit point less dangerous than wherever they currently are—requirements that fit Republic special forces to a T.
-[X] Teleport Beacons: Affectionately known as Spawn Beacons by the Republic's rather macabre special forces, teleport beacons serve as anchors for the newly developed teleporter technology, arcane and rather scary physics allowing them to attract the exit points generated by any teleporters within range of the beacon. Primarily useful for large-scale teleporters, teleport beacons allow for the rapid and precise deployment of special forces personnel to the target location, though only after the fragile beacon is set up in a time-consuming process.
News and Rumours
Helghan Republic
Coming as the opposite of a surprise, a review of refugee numbers in the new year saw the number of refugees arriving in the Periphery hold steady at well over fifty million people. Equivalent to the population of an entire nation on pre-spaceflight Earth arriving every year, the number is so large, and the Republic so open, that many predict the formation of substantial Lyran, Rasalhagian, and Draconian communities over the coming decades as refugees lay down roots and become citizens. How these communities will interact with those already present in the Republic and its allies remains to be seen. However, there's little question that it will happen sooner or later, given the population numbers involved.
Predicted Refugee Acceptance Breakdown For 3051 (+-5%)
Helghan Republic: 27,300,000
Aurigan Coalition: 2,565,000
Capellan Confederation: 12,350,000
Magistracy of Canopus: 5,730,000
Taurian Concordat: 4,075,000
Cementing the value of the Republic's TULIPS program, the January-March period saw public opinion of the Republic within the former Trinity League territories maintain its astronomically high rating—few, if any, finding fault with their new government. Though no doubt buoyed by the fact that the Republic has yet to have anyone shot out of hand, doesn't steal food from hungry mouths, disappear people into secret police headquarters, etc., adjusting for such a boost nonetheless reveals that the population consider joining the Republic an almost unalloyed good, the slightly higher taxes they will begin to pay in the coming years seemingly seen as worth in it exchange for all the Republic guarantees its citizens. While it is expected that this lustre will eventually fade as people grow used to the situation, Gemini Malkiewicz's government can rest assured that the region's population remains firm supporters of its mandate.
Coming as a rather brutal shock to opinion modellers and policymakers alike, it appears that the recent engagement between ORDI and Clan forces in Skandia has pushed public opinion into a hitherto unknown state of frenzy; the views of Helghan citizens towards the Clan Invasion and Operation Santiago, in particular, becoming all but unreadable. A victory for the Outer Rim Defence Force, albeit one that cost the alliance a great deal in terms of resources and personnel, the price paid has set minds within the Republic at war with themselves and rendered polls as to public support completely useless. The single worst loss of life in any battle fought by the Republic, the deaths of three thousand Helghan soldiers and the injury of many times that number over only a few hours have left the question of whether the ruling government will win the upcoming election impossible to answer; only time able to tell if the Helghan public will come to support or reject Operation Santiago, and, with it, the Malkiewicz government. Whatever the public decides, however, it will do little to assuage the pain of those families who, even now, are receiving their loved one's remains from the government—assuming, of course, that there were any remains to recover from Skandia in the first place.
Aurigan Coalition
Providing a welcome respite from reports of the dead from Skandia and the increasingly dicey-looking election, late March saw the crew aboard the Wa'a Kaulua officially pass the halfway mark of their shakedown cruise; interest in the long-range exploration craft's progress growing slowly but steadily with each system visited. Temporarily stumped by a hydroponics problem that saw a tenth of the ship's hydroponically grown herb crop turn bitter thanks to a nutrition issue, analysis by the crew saw the cause identified and a replacement component manufactured within a week. Only one jump from the Canopian border and expected not to stop for the local offerings to prove that the ship's facilities are sufficient for a long-range mission, jokes about the crew's situation have come to dominate social media feeds across the ORDI, and several semi-serious crowdfunding campaigns have begun to fund an R&R trip for the Wa'a Kaulua's crew once they've finished their long journey.
In less jovial news, March's close saw the Aurigan Coalition complete work on the last three of its 500,000-ton slipways, the total number of such slipways in the nation standing at an impressive eighteen. Sufficient for the nation's current needs, the Coalition has cancelled plans to construct more military slipways and shifted funding towards civilian-grad slipways to cultivate a capable domestic shipbuilding industry. With the Wa'a Kaulua serving as a precedent, it's likely the Coalition's civilian shipbuilding industry will focus on exploration and support craft over the freighters favoured by the Taurian Concordat and Capellan Confederation, the Coalition appearing willing to bet that the area will be a growth market over the coming years.
Capellan Confederation
A welcome development considering recent losses among ORDI forces, the end of March saw the Capellan Confederation Navy reinforced with an eye watering sixteen additional Carson-II class frigates, the horde of vessels clearing their shakedown cruises with few issues. Equipped with energy shielding systems provided by the Republic and heavily armed thanks to Capellan factories, many vessels have already been readied for deployment against the Clans, and the first will arrive early next quarter.
To the great happiness of many a Helgahn, the Capellan Five Rights Society has seen an explosion of popularity among the nation's lower and middle classes in response to Tormano Liao's seeming indifference to its growth; the former appealed to by the movement's pro-labour policies and the latter drawn in by promises of further curtailing the Capellan nobility's power. While some remain concerned that Tormano Liao will eventually move to suppress the movement, peacefully or not, others have pointed to Chancellor Liao's marriage to Hanya No Cha and the Confederation's close relationship with other ORDI nations as proof that he will not oppose the movement. Though the exact crimes that Hanya committed to earn the title of dissident remain unclear, conversations between the partner of the Helghan Ambassador and the Chancellor's wife have hinted at an appreciation for democratic ideals and processes, as well as a fantastically sharp mind. Understandably, many hope this combination will convince the Chancellor to actively support the Five Rights sometime soon instead of merely ignoring the movement.
Magistracy of Canopus
As with the Aurigan Coalition, late March saw the Magistracy of Canopus complete work on three 500,000-ton capacity slipways, the additional slipways bringing the total number in the nation up to an impressive fifteen. However, quite unlike the Aurigan Coalition, the Canopians appear committed to constructing additional slipways and warships for the foreseeable future, with Canopian labour teams immediately starting work on the next trio of slipways and six Canopus-class frigates leaving dock.
According to reports from analysts and intelligence operatives tasked with watching such trends, the destruction of the MCS Luxen during the battle of Skandia has somehow managed to turn Canopian sentiments toward the Clans even more negative than they already were; protests erupting across the nation and protestors burning the Clans leaders in effigy, their main demand seeming to be that the Magistracy of Canopus invest even more in the nation's navy. The third ship ever launched by the Magistracy this side of the year 3000 and constructed alongside the MCS Canopus and MCS Marantha, the MCS Luxen's loss appears to be a major pain point for the Canopian people, one welcomed by Helghan AgitProp composers, but one that has left some in the ruling government worried. Quite whether the Magestrix will bow to the protestors' demands and increase funding to the navy remains to be seen, as does how she might afford this increase, but Republic personnel are watching the matter closely.
In a move that has raised eyebrows within the Republic government despite the upcoming election and the ongoing Clan Invasion, intelligence operatives within the Republic's embassy on Canopus have reported on a series of meetings between representatives of the Canopian government and the ambassadors from other ORDI states. Ordinarily not newsworthy considering the regularity with which such things happen between nations, what has elevated the matter to something worthy of the Republic's attention is the fact that these meetings appear on no public calendar, and the ambassadors and their staff have thus far kept quiet as to the purpose of these meetings when asked by embassy staff. Rather intriguingly, pro forma surveillance has also revealed that immediately following the meetings, the Aurigan, Capellan, and Taurian embassies all chartered high-speed courier flights to their respective homeworlds and that the Aurigan ambassador cancelled her engagements for the night. Concerned that this could be an attempt by the Canopians to carry out an end run around Helghan on some upcoming ORDI matter—though they couldn't figure out what it could be—the Republic embassy staff were thrown even further off balance when, on the night of April 1st, the Canopian government informed it that a VTOL was on its way to pick up the Republic's Ambassador, Kastor Orlock, for a high-security briefing.
Effect
- See next update
Taurian Concordat
Finalising the last of its naval build-up for the foreseeable future, Q1 3051 saw the Taurian Concordat finish work on fourteen Auroch class frigates, all fourteen of the vessels departing from their planetside slipways and carrying out shakedown cruises across the edge of Concordat space. Bound to serve as anti-piracy vessels for the time being—the Clans not substantially closer to ORDI territories than they were last year—the Concordat has nonetheless promised to commit them should the Republic request their presence; the heavy losses at the battle of Skandia seeming to have spooked them.
In positive news from the Taurian Concordat's most recently absorbed systems, the launch and deployment of several Nightingale class hospital ships has been met with great enthusiasm by the region's inhabitants, Protector Calderon rising substantially in the public esteem. Equipped with all manner of advanced medical equipment, large crews of dedicated doctors, and the latest in warp drive technology, these multipurpose hospital ships offer services previously unavailable to the ordinary person and, in doing so, have measurably improved the lives of many thousands already. Currently numbering less than five ships for the entire region, the Concordat government has reportedly ordered another ten such vessels and organised patrols that should see one present in a system once every three months or so. Though there remains a long way to go before systems in the former FedSun Outback reach a standard of living remotely comparable to the Concordat's core, these hospital ships have done much to close the gap in the short time they've been active and available.
ComStar
In a move almost purpose-built to raise the Republic's interest, March's end saw ComStar invite the Republic government and its allies in the ORDI to participate in a brief diplomatic meeting scheduled for early April. Planned to be held via HPG—at ruinous expense, it must be said—and involve all four Inner Sphere governments, ComStar has thus far succeeded in keeping the reason for the meeting close to its chest, but most within the Republic assume it has to do with Anastasius Focht's long-awaited military campaign against the Clans. Though tardier than most would like, the idea of a friendly party entering the conflict has received quiet approval from Republic military officials and Operation Santiago's leadership, no matter how inexperienced the force might be.
Effect
- See next update
Clan Invasion
Of interest to the terminally obsessed with the Aurigan Coalition and the Republic's intelligence service, among the many reports on Clan attacks received before their offensive halted was news of Timehri's fall to Clan Goliath Scorpion in the Lyran Commonwealth. A backwater system to end all backwater systems and one that primarily relies on agriculture for economic survival, Timehri's claim to fame and the sole reason it has risen to Helghan's attention is that it is also known as the homeworld of Lady Darya Laredo. Though the reason for Lady Laredo's self-imposed exile remains unknown, Helghan's intelligence services suspect that it has something to do with the system's intensely parochial and religiously driven conservatism, people in neighbouring systems none too kind when describing the system's ruling nobility nor its peoples' views towards anything or anything seen as queer—in any sense of the word.
Attacked late into the Clan offensive, Timehri's local militia proved no match for Clan Goliath Scorpion MechWarriors despite receiving additional equipment and training from the LCAF, the system falling after only a few days. Previously ruled by Baron Sigurd Magnusson, Darya's father and one-time liege, prior to the Clan's arrival, reports from ComStar officials on the planet claim that the man's family have either vanished into the planet's wild hinterlands, fled the system entirely, or both. Unsurprisingly, especially when one considers the reason for her exile, the Duchess of Ward has displayed zero concern regarding her family's fate, though has expressed sympathy for the planet's people.
Interestingly, while looking into the system's goings-on for Republic intelligence, Helghan operatives in the Lyran Commonwealth discovered hints that the system's history is not quite as clear-cut or flattering towards the ruling nobility as the planet's government claims. According to the official history endorsed by Lady Laredo's family, the house gained its mandate to rule following the system's abandonment by the Terran Alliance in 2242. A young colony reliant on monoculture crops for food and not regularly visited by JumpShips at the time, Timehri's agricultural sector was devastated by a blight shortly after the system became independent that saw hunger stalk the land. Per the official history, Darya's family—at the time wealthy ranchers—and several other landowning families proved instrumental in keeping the populace alive by banding together and rearing large cattle herds whose products kept people more or less fed until crops could be harvested from seeds purchased off passing JumpShips. However, research into the historical records in neighbouring systems and histories published by discontents on Timehri suggests that the initial effort to save the planet's population began with a series of smallholders and subsistence farmers who banded together to collectivise their farms and increase the grazing area for their herds and, in doing so, produce enough food to supply their communities. Seeing the success these moves enjoined, the Duchess's family and those like it reportedly used numerous methods, including force, to subsume the smallholder's land into their own, driving them from the land and exacerbating the famine's effects in the short term to maximise their profit. Unsurprisingly, the works which suggest this version of history are rejected by the planet's nobility and often go unpublished except by underground presses.
According to ORDI spies operating within the Lyran Commonwealth, the Screaming Eagle's mercenary company was hit particularly hard by the Clans during their initial push against the Commonwealth—the unit deployed in support of LCAF forces on Graceland. Ordered to defend a vital choke point near Regaton, the Screaming Eagles, led by Colonel Paul Hokola, suffered heavy casualties in an engagement with multiple combined arms stars. With the Colonel killed at the hands of Ghost Bear elementals during the second of three engagements, Lieutenant Colonel Victoria Espinosa took command of the battered merc regiment, ordering the survivors to retreat while she provided cover in the form of a Trial of Possession for the town. Somehow conspiring to convince the Ghost Bear commander that both sides should fight the trial without their targeting computers active, the resulting duel saw Espinosa win by the skin of her teeth; the Aurigan exile beat the opposing Thor into the ground after running out of ammo for her King Crab's four RAC/5s
While ultimately having to retreat from both Regaton and Graceland, Espinosa's victory over the Ghost Bear commander and her succession to the rank of Colonel has seen her become the head of a storied and dangerous merc company, one that has reportedly begun rebuilding its strength on Donegal. What Colonel Espinosa will do with such a unit, and whether she harbours any desire to return to the Coalition, remains unknown. However, the mere fact that she controls a potentially dangerous military asset like the Screaming Eagles has worried some within the Republic, and the same is likely true within the Aurigan Coalition.
Coming as an unpleasant surprise to all Clanners involved—or, at least, so goes the hope of ORDI planners—February 3051 saw revolts burst into life throughout the Clans' backlines as stay-behind troops and local guerilla forces acted against the Clans in earnest. Armed with all manner of military-grade equipment from support lasers to high-explosives and coordinated via Black Box comms, these units blew up bridges, assassinated Clan officers, burned down warehouses, and countless other actions, all of it designed to tie up Clan resources and drain the momentum of their assaults. While judging the effectiveness of such acts is difficult, Helghan officials are confident they contributed to the rapid cessation of Clan hostilities this quarter. However, much to the confusion of intelligence leaders in the Republic, the Coyote-held world of Pasig has seen a similarly violent but substantially more effective spate of sabotage occur against occupying forces, the most notable of which has been some manner of fast-acting and intensely lethal gas deployed against a Coyote barracks that has reportedly killed a Star and a half worth of MechWarriors. While such an act would ordinarily be presumed to be the work of Lyran saboteurs or local forces, the lack of similar actions on other worlds and the sheer effectiveness and complexity of the attack has left the ORDI puzzled as to who could be responsible.
In a disastrous turn of events for the Draconis Combine, late February saw Clan Nova Cat land on the regional capital in force; multiple trinaries worth of mechs, vehicles, infantry, and aerospace fighters deployed against the planet's defenders. Facing off against multiple entrenched regiments of line troops augmented by hastily raised civilian units, it initially seemed as if the battle for Pesht would be one of slow, grinding warfare like Irece. However, much to the shock of all involved, a series of stunning tactical victories combined with sheer good fortune permitted the Nova Cats to dismember Pesht's defenders piecemeal, the planet falling under the Nova Cats' sway within weeks of the attacker's arrival. While the Combine is almost assuredly gathering forces for a counter-attack, the mere fact that a world as vital as Pesht could fall to the Clans so quickly and so easily has doubtlessly shaken the foundations of Coordinator Kurita's rule, something the Draconis Combine can ill afford at the current time and which has sparked a frisson of concern among the Republic's ministers.
In welcome news from Operation Santiago's scientific and military intelligence divisions, salvage operations on Clan vessels in Skandia have begun to uncover a wealth of information from the variously damaged ships. Though physically fragmented by battle damage or purged by crews during their abandonment, the sheer number of computer systems aboard Clan vessels combined with the inexact nature of purge protocols have left ORDI data retrieval specialists with a vast but unindexed library on spaceflight within Clan society. Only nominally interesting given its unchanged nature compared to spaceflight operations during the Star League, hints of surviving astronavigation programs and navigation logs uncovered during initial surveys have garnered the attention of those in the ORDI interested in taking the fight to the Clans—the thought of counter-invading the Clans appealing to many. While these hints exist only as fragments and memory pointers leading to null values, the number and density of memory systems yet to be searched suggest that a route to the Clans' homeworlds could be pieced together with sufficient time and energy.
Similarly, March's close saw the same salvage teams finish surveying the wrecks of those ships destroyed during the battle of Skandia. Ranging from the catastrophically damaged to merely dead in the (black) water, the vessels could conceivably return to service in ORDI hands with sufficient work. Though outdated in many ways compared to the warships already used by the ORDI, Naval personnel within the Republic have advised that the warships' size and mass render them almost unique within the Inner Sphere and could serve as potent weapons platforms. Meanwhile, others in the Republic's state department have pointed out that those same vessels could be sold on behalf of the Free Rasalhague Republic to help fund the nation's war effort and eventual recovery.
| Class | Name | Clan | Assessed Status |
| Nightlord (w/ shields) | Dire Wolf | Wolf | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Nightlord (w/ shields) | Ice Breaker | Ghost Bear | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Aegis (w/ shields) | White Terror | Snow Raven | Crippled but Recoverable: The ship is heavily damaged but with enough repairs, it could be restored to operational status. Salvageable or repairable. |
| McKenna (w/ shields) | Ursa Major | Ghost Bear | Severe Structural Damage: The ship is crippled beyond repair, but significant parts remain intact for salvage. |
| McKenna (w/ shields) | Winter Fang | Wolf | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Texas (w/ shields) | Frost Wind | Ghost Bear | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Texas (w/ shields) | Wolf's Call | Wolf | Crippled but Recoverable: The ship is heavily damaged but with enough repairs, it could be restored to operational status. Salvageable or repairable. |
| York | Avian Fury | Jade Falcon | Main Reactor Shutdown: The reactor failed but didn't explode. The ship is disabled and heavily damaged but could be repaired. |
| York | Storm Talon | Snow Raven | Crippled but Recoverable: The ship is heavily damaged but with enough repairs, it could be restored to operational status. Salvageable or repairable. |
| York | Glacier | Ghost Bear | Life Support Failure: Life support systems failed catastrophically, killing many crew but otherwise leaving the ship unharmed. The ship remains mostly intact, salvageable with effort. |
| Sovetskii Soyuz | Voidbringer | Snow Raven | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Sovetskii Soyuz | Blackwing | Snow Raven | Life Support Failure: Life support systems failed catastrophically, killing many crew but otherwise leaving the ship unharmed. The ship remains mostly intact, salvageable with effort. |
| Potemkin | Falcon's Claw | Jade Falcon | Main Reactor Shutdown: The reactor failed but didn't explode. The ship is disabled and heavily damaged but could be repaired. |
| Potemkin | Iron Will | Wolf | Crippled but Recoverable: The ship is heavily damaged but with enough repairs, it could be restored to operational status. Salvageable or repairable. |
| Potemkin | Storm Bearer | Ghost Bear | Life Support Failure: Life support systems failed catastrophically, killing many crew but otherwise leaving the ship unharmed. The ship remains mostly intact, salvageable with effort. |
| Liberator | Alpha Strike | Wolf | Core Overload: The reactor exploded, vaporising the ship completely. No debris remains. |
| Liberator | Polar Star | Ghost Bear | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Congress | Sky Sovereign | Snow Raven | Main Reactor Shutdown: The reactor failed but didn't explode. The ship is disabled and heavily damaged but could be repaired. |
| Fredasa | Talon's Edge | Jade Falcon | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Fredasa | Shadow Strike | Wolf | Core Overload: The reactor exploded, vaporising the ship completely. No debris remains. |
| Lola III | Icehawk | Snow Ravens | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Lola III | Ursa Major | Ghost Bear | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Volga | Winter's Fury | Ghost Bear | Core Overload: The reactor exploded, vaporising the ship completely. No debris remains. |
| Volga | Swift Wing | Jade Falcon | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Volga | Seeker | Snow Ravens | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Molniya | Thunder's Roar | Ghost Bear | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Corone | Iron Talon | Jade Falcon | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Corone | Nightshade | Snow Ravens | Crippled but Recoverable: The ship is heavily damaged but with enough repairs, it could be restored to operational status. Salvageable or repairable. |
| Vincent Mk 42 | Wolf's Howl | Wolf | Severe Structural Damage: The ship is crippled beyond repair, but significant parts remain intact for salvage. |
| Vincent Mk 42 | Dread Wolf | Wolf | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Vincent Mk 42 | White Talon | Ghost Bear | Life Support Failure: Life support systems failed catastrophically, killing many crew but otherwise leaving the ship unharmed. The ship remains mostly intact, salvageable with effort. |
| Carrack | Iceflow | Ghost Bear | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Carrack | Darkstar | Wolf | Main Reactor Shutdown: The reactor failed but didn't explode. The ship is disabled and heavily damaged but could be repaired. |
| Carrack | Snowstorm | Snow Ravens | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Comitatus | Iron Fang | Wolf | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Comitatus | Stormbringer | Snow Ravens | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Hunter | Blackhawk | Snow Ravens | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
| Hunter | Hunter's Flight | Jade Falcon | Crippled but Recoverable: The ship is heavily damaged but with enough repairs, it could be restored to operational status. Salvageable or repairable. |
| Hunter | Stealth Prowler | Wolf | Engines Destroyed: The ship's engines are destroyed, leaving it adrift. Salvageable parts available, but no longer spaceworthy. |
| Hunter | Night Hunter | Snow Ravens | Complete Structural Failure: The ship collapsed under stress, shredding apart. Recovery impossible, wreckage largely unsalvageable. |
Federated Suns
In news met either happiness or concern depending on who was asked, March saw the Federated Suns add another four 500,000-ton capacity slipways to its count; the systems Augusta, Numenor, Markesan, and New Avalon all beneficiaries of the First Prince's construction program. Unsurprisingly considering the demonstrated effectiveness of FedSun warships against their Clan counterparts and the 500-pound cyborg Gorilla that is the Outer Rim Defence Initiative sitting nearby, the same period saw the FedSuns start work on additional shipyards on Robinson—the Draconis March's capital—and Kathil—already home to a dropship shipyard. While the exact slipway count of these shipyards remains in the air, spies within the Federated Suns have confirmed that they expect to open by 3053's end and feature at least two slipways each.
To no one's surprise, the news that the AFFS' expeditionary force to the Lyran Commonwealth has not only won a great victory against the Clans but defanged what might have been the gravest threat the nation faced in the war to date has met with supreme approval from the Federated Suns' public and government. Previously in the doldrums—according to reports from Helghan spies, anyway—the AFFS's public approval has skyrocketed due to the tremendous victory won by Commodore William Tye, as has support for the first Prince himself. Not ones to let a good excuse for a lie go to waste, far-right movements within the state have latched onto the news like parasites and used the victory as an opportunity to suggest that such a triumph shows the state was betrayed by some nebulous other during the recent Outback conflict. While said lies have failed to penetrate the consciousness of the FedSun public overly much—FedSun media proving suspiciously unwilling to carry water for said groups—spies within some of these movements have enjoyed a slight increase in recruitment rates regardless.
Lyran Commonwealth
In a ceremony broadcast throughout the Lyran Commonwealth and the wider galaxy, Q1's end saw Archon Melissa Steiner and her consort, Thomas Bradford, personally oversee the simultaneous launch of six Thor-class frigates from Tharkad and Donegal, respectively. Crewed by a mix of veteran survivors of Arc-Royal and new recruits from the LCAF's much-expanded naval training division, the six vessels rose into the skies of both worlds with much fanfare and pageantry before departing the systems to join the AFFS expeditionary force in patrolling the frontlines. A no-doubt carefully crafted piece of theatre organised in haste following the ruinous damage done to the Lyran navy post-Arc-Royal and designed to assure everyone watching that the Commonwealth is still in the fight against the Clans, the simulcast has reportedly done a respectable job at buoying the Lyran public's at-times frayed nerves; public commentators and ORDI spies alike reporting on the calming effect it has had on peoples' fears. While only time will tell if this broadcast will prove more than idle propaganda, many within the Republic have found themselves unexpectedly barracking for the coreward monarchy to build vastly more warships, an unexpected turn of events, to say the least.
In a mirror image to the Federated Suns, March brought with it reports from the Republic spies and ComStar's news service that the arrival of FedSun warships in Lyran space has been met with much rejoicing by the Lyran public; videos of their heroic arrival in Arc-Royal playing on every television and graffiti artists spray-painting portraits of the fleet's commander on every available surface. Not normally ones to celebrate the Federated Suns' victories or the growth of ties between it and other states, the fact that said arrival saved many hundreds of Helghan lives and prevented the Clans from having free reign over the Lyran heartland has bought the state and its military some leeway from the Republic; some going so far as to offer grudging respect for the Fedrats. While a long way from having any long-term impacts on FedSun-Lyran relations, the victorious actions of the warships and the arrival of FedSun ground troops in late March may presage closer ties between the two states—a matter of some concern for the Outer Rim Defence Initiative.
Free Worlds League
Surprisingly no one with any understanding of the galaxy's current state, the January-March period saw the Free Worlds League complete work on an additional six Valor-class frigates; the total number of vessels serving in the Free World League's navy now standing at fourteen. While limited in number and capability compared to ORDI warships, these fourteen vessels make the Free Worlds League the second most powerful nation in the Inner Sphere—excluding the Capellan Confederation—and have reportedly played a key role in educating League naval officers. Equally unsurprisingly, reports from the Marik system suggest that the League is seeking to expand naval production to the Marik family's ancestral landhold, with multiple ships seen delivering highly specific construction equipment to Chavalet's main spaceport.
Draconis Combine
According to broadcasts from the famously difficult-to-read Draconis Combine, personnel working in Luthien and Avon have completed work on two additional 500,000-ton rated slipways for the state; round-the-clock labour seeing the vast construction sites completed despite the shortages imposed by the Clans' successes. Likewise, and to the mixed relief of the Inner Sphere's inhabitants, those same broadcasts have boasted of the launch of four frigate-class warships from Luthien's slipways, the only details made public about the design being that it masses 500,000 tons and is known as the Kyoto class.
In contrast, the shipyards in Asgard have been destroyed outright by the Draconis Combine despite the vast quantity of money and effort spent trying to construct them, a nuclear device used to vaporise the spidery constructs following the system's loss to Clan Jade Falcon. An incredible sacrifice to make, the decision to destroy Asgard's shipyards was doubtlessly made to deny them to the Clans and prevent said Clans from supporting warships deep within the Inner Sphere. Meanwhile, Avon's many slipways have yet to produce anything of value for the Combine, the system supposedly gifted to the Word of Blake as payment for services and, more practically, to prevent its valuable shipyards from falling to the Clans.
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 )
Support Modifiers
Navy:
- +2 (Make-Do Yardships)
- +3 (Tsitsang Fleet Anchorage)
- +5 (Decreased Distance)
- +2 (Parthian-class Mobile Shipyard)
- +2 (ComStar Command Circuit Route)
- -2 (ORDI Donation)
Ground Support Capacity:
- +1 (Tsitsang Ground Facilities)
- +0.75 (ComStar Command Circuit Route)
- +0.25 (Fort Loudon)
- +0.50 (Decreased Distance)
- +1 (Forge Pack)
- +0.50 (Forge Pack)
- +0.25 (Forge Pack)
- -1 (ORDI Donation)
Helghan Contingent
Capellan Contingent
Taurian Contingent
Magistracy Contingent
Aurigan Contingent
Lyran Deployments
Combine Deployments
-
Naval Support Capacity: 13/18 [Base: 6] (use the naval upkeep values)
Ground Support Capacity: 3.95/4.0 [Base: 0.75] (use the transport size value)
Navy (18/18 Naval Support Capacity)
- 3 Noctis Frigates (3 capacity)
- 5 Noctis Frigates (6 Capacity) [Badly Damaged]
- 1 Pilum Battlecruiser (2 Capacity)
- 2 Hecatoncheires Escort Carriers (2 capacity)
- 1 Commissar-B Pocket Warships (0 capacity)
- 15 Commissar-B Pocket Warships (0 capacity) [Damaged. Varying Degrees.]
- First Division, First Army (0.5 weight)
- Second Division, First Army (0.5 weight)
- Third Division, First Army (0.5 weight)
- Fourth Division, First Army (0.5 weight)
- 2 veteran BattleMech regiments (0.2 weight)
- 1 regular BattleMech regiment (0.1 weight)
- Cyborg special operations brigade (0.05 weight).
- 1 MAWLR-II (0.4 weight) [100% health] (Name: Dreadnought)
- 1 MAWLR-II (0.4 weight) [100% health] (Name: Huliaipole)
- 1 MAWLR-II (0.4 weight) [100% health] (Name: Cerberus)
- 1 MAWLR-II (0.4 weight) [100% health] (Name: Beats Walking)
- 3 Forge Packs (0.0 Weight)
-
Navy
- 2 Carson II-class Frigate (4 Capacity)
- 1 Mech Regiment (Death Commandos)
- 1 Mech Regiment (Warrior House Daidachi)
- 2 Mech Regiments (CCAF)
- 6 Armoured Regiments
- 8 Infantry Regiments
-
Navy
- 3 Auroch-class Frigate (4 Capacity)
- 4 Combined Arms Brigades
-
Navy
- N/A
- 4 Mech Regiments
- 7 Armoured Regiments
- 14 Infantry Regiments
-
Navy
- 1 Halcon-class Destroyer (3 Capacity)
- 1 Mech Regiment
- 3 Armoured Regiments
- 4 Infantry Regiments
- 3 Superheavy Gunships
-
Navy
- 2 Damascus (Lend-Leased)
- Fifth Division, First Army
- Sixth Division, First Army
- 3x MAWLR-IIs
-
Navy
- 4 Nocti
- N/A
Q1 Casualty Estimates
| Casualties | Total | Killed | Injured |
| Helghan Republic Armed Forces | 13,332 | 4,143 | 9,189 |
| Aurigan Coalition Military | 636 | 196 | 440 |
| Taurian Defence Force | 648 | 216 | 432 |
| Magistracy Armed Forces | 750 | 227 | 523 |
| Capellan Confederation | 1,236 | 380 | 856 |
| Clan Invaders (Est.) | 21,000+ | 7,200+ | 13,800+ |
| Civilians (Est.) | 15,000+ | 4,000+ | 11,000+ |
Casualties To Date
| Casualties | Total | Killed | Injured | Missing |
| Helghan Republic Armed Forces | 18,689 | 5,583 | 12,533 | 573 |
| Aurigan Coalition Military | 3,200 | 827 | 2,311 | 62 |
| Taurian Defence Force | 4,391 | 1324 | 2,924 | 143 |
| Magistracy Armed Forces | 4,405 | 1231 | 3,016 | 158 |
| Capellan Confederation | 5,897 | 1,689 | 4,100 | 108 |
| Clan Invaders (Est.) | 32,100 | 11,800 | 20,300 | 0 |
| Civilians(Est.) | 130,600 | 40,400 | 90,200 | 0 |
Map of the Inner Sphere (End of March, 3051)
Link to bigger image here.
- Location
- SEAsia
- Pronouns
- Thou
Well, we finally got our Grand Space Battle, and my oh my was it GRAND. 
- Location
- Attempting to cast animate object on a black hole.
Wow, all the Clan-upgrade Potemkins are salvageable-ish. Neat.
Still white whales in a lot of senses, but neat.
Still white whales in a lot of senses, but neat.
- Location
- Northish
We can load them with drone ships loaded with a better version of that Petrusite suicide charge. If we can trade a heavily modified dropship for even a single vessel we come out ahead.
Omega-Chris
The Friendly Ghost
Uff the naval engagement was rooooough. Thankfully we destroyed most of the Clan warships send to the Innersphere and thanks to the investment of building new Nocti during the standard turn we can immediately send ships to replace the destroyed or badly damaged and with the clan having likely exhausted most of their warships we can dictate the flow of battle in our corridor. Also the Feds have upgraded their BPL's which is bad for a future conflict with them. We really acquire them for ourselves so I suggest we try another infiltration of NAIS to try and make stealing it easier.
Also it seems Canopus is going to try and pull out the rug out from under us meeting with other ORDI ambassadors behind our backs. We don't know what they will do but I very much expect their going to try and curtail our influence in ORDI and likely argue for pulling out of the invasion all together. We should prepare for what ever the Canopians have in mind. After all we where supportive of and kind of the master mind for all the conflicts over the last 4 years and ORDI policy overall (though that was mostly because nobody else wanted to take the lead and promote cooperation). Though with them picking up our ambassador with a VTOL for a emergency security meeting whatever is going on or what they discovered has forced the Canopians to take action and likely has to do with the clans.
Also it seems Canopus is going to try and pull out the rug out from under us meeting with other ORDI ambassadors behind our backs. We don't know what they will do but I very much expect their going to try and curtail our influence in ORDI and likely argue for pulling out of the invasion all together. We should prepare for what ever the Canopians have in mind. After all we where supportive of and kind of the master mind for all the conflicts over the last 4 years and ORDI policy overall (though that was mostly because nobody else wanted to take the lead and promote cooperation). Though with them picking up our ambassador with a VTOL for a emergency security meeting whatever is going on or what they discovered has forced the Canopians to take action and likely has to do with the clans.
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prometheus110
Join Cayman-Global & be part of the 1E-9 percent!
- Location
- La Ballena City Raft
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This one, but you'd want to download the release tagged as version 1.5 and you need a bit of technical knowledge to work it.