[X]Plan: Construction and Eyes everywhere modified
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-lords-of-ruin-battletech-killzone.52819/page-1013?post=29615876#post-29615876
Active Goals
Goals close Dec 31st, 3049
Completed Goals
- Habitability Improvement: Improve the general habitability of one of the Republic's less hospitable worlds. [Success: +5 influence. Failure: -2.5 influence]
- Modernize colony ships: Beginning to show their age after a lengthy career shuttling colonists to their new homes, replacing the Bellerophon-class colony ships with a new design could greatly reduce pressure on our maintenance yards. [Success: +5 influence. Failure: -2.5 influence]
- Pride of the Fleet: Construct a naval vessel massing 1,000,000 tons. (Must have a BV at least equivalent to other battleship-class vessels of a similar mass) [Success: +15 influence. Failure: -7.5 influence]
- Expand MAWLR Corps: With memories of war still fresh on people's minds and trouble clearly brewing in the Inner Sphere, a number of concerned citizens and politicians would be put at ease if the Republic were to expand the number of MAWLRs at its disposal. (Must build at least 2 MAWLR packs by Dec 31st, 3049) [Success: +10 influence. Failure: -5 influence] [Progress: 2/2]
- ORDI Expansion: Convince a nation to join the Outer Rim Defence Initiative as either a full member or as an associate member. [Success: +10 influence. Failure: -5 influence]
New Oslo:
-[X] Brotherhood Decapitation Strike: With the Brotherhood of the Righteous riddled with Helghan agents and a thorough map of its planet-wide network sitting in the intelligence service's headquarters, the Republic is now in a position to decapitate the organisation's leadership in one fell swoop. While this will not resolve the problem of the Brotherhood's existence given its origins, it will set the group back years, if not decades.
"The looks on their faces when we came through the door... It was like they'd never expected to get caught. Like we'd broken the rules somehow by tracking them down. After seeing what they did in Kongsvinger, it was like wine." - Trooper Baas, post-raid debriefing.
With New Oslo's Brotherhood of the Righteous having served as a thorn in Helghan's side for many years and also been responsible for numerous heinous crimes in the years since its formation, the advent of 3048 saw the Gemini government ready and willing to consider more permanent means of defanging the reactionary organisation. Though prior efforts to disrupt the group's activities had been broadly successful, with numerous Brotherhood cells broken up and their members arrested, the structure and number of cells involved often meant that some number of the organisation's leaders proved able to avoid capture and go to ground —eventually emerging to rebuild new Brotherhood cells in a planet-wide game of whack-a-mole. Well aware of this fact and unwilling to continue playing along in such a manner, January 3048 saw the Republic make a sea-change in its approach, the January-March period given over to getting eyes on every corner of the organisation's structure in preparation for an overwhelming strike against its members and leadership.
Broadly successful thanks to incredible efforts by Republic operatives and the sheer degree of resources invested into New Oslo previously, the quarter's end saw more than a hundred Brotherhood cells across the planet infiltrated. Among those Brotherhood cells the Republic succeeded in gaining access to were some of the most dangerous terror groups operating on the planet, members of the infamous Black Hand, Iron Arrow, Lund Chapter, and other cells finally identified as a result. With March's close seeing the stage set and all the pieces in place, it came as little surprise to those in the Republic's intelligence services when the Prime Minister finally authorised the long-awaited strike against the Brotherhood.
Obliquely named Obsidian Edge, the operation to defang and decapitate the Brotherhood of the Righteous started at midnight, April 1st, Pyrrhus local time, with security forces across New Oslo swooping into action all but simultaneously. Meticulously planned, guided by detailed intelligence, and featuring several thousand personnel and automata, the synchronised strikes hit the Brotherhood like a hammer blow, tearing apart the vast web of terror cells, paralysing the organisation, and capturing —or killing— scores of members. To the great pleasure of those involved, the operation was so successful that the end of April saw approximately 70% of the Brotherhood's members imprisoned by Helghan security forces and nigh on 80% of its leadership either captured or killed.
However, despite the overall success of Obsidian Edge, sheer dumb luck and the operation's scale conspired to ensure that several targets eluded capture, their escape necessitating the continuation of the operation well into late October. These elusive targets, though individually less well-resourced than the Brotherhood, proved themselves wily and resourceful, exploiting local sympathies and New Oslo's technological backwardness to avoid being identified and tracked. While the following months would see some captured thanks to the diligent work of Republic field agents, 'some' is not the same as 'all', and the operation's failure to round up all of the Brotherhood's leadership left a bad taste in the mouths of many.
However, despite the failure of Obsidian Edge to resolve the Brotherhood problem once and for all, the sheer number of Brotherhood members captured and the amount of damage done to the organisation has left it in an incredibly vulnerable position. Lacking much in the way of resources and personnel any more, the Brotherhood is all but a spent force and will likely remain so for many years. Hesitant to put an exact number on just how long the Brotherhood will remain quiescent, Republic analysts nonetheless believe it will be on the order of years, if not longer.
Effect
- Decapitation strike goes off in April. Proceeds fairly smoothly with 80+% of the organisation's leadership arrested or killed in the subsequent raids.
- Remaining members and leaders went to ground. Many were picked up in the months that followed, but some still remain in the winds.
- Regardless, the overall damage to the organisation should give the Republic and people of New Oslo several years of respite with which to address the underlying problems.
[X] Restore the Soletta Array to Full Functionality: Only restored to partial functionality back in 3037, going back and finishing the job should ease life on New Oslo and buy the Republic some goodwill among those in the equatorial regions. [Progress: 1/3]
With a pained sigh, Anna let her book drop into her lap and massaged her temples, the glow of New Oslo's second sun vanishing as she shut her eyes against its chill brilliance. Wrapped in darkness, the comforting weight of her shawl draped over her shoulders, Anna took one slow breath after another and fought to banish the frustration bubbling within her. Slowly at first and then as inexorably as a snowflake's fall, each exhalation carried with it the heat inside her until, at last, she was once again at peace. Reclined in a chair on her balcony, she slowly opened her eyes —satisfaction filling her at the sight of the newly installed glass windows— and once again raised the book.
Thinner than her thumb and with a cover as white as snow, Klaus had all but thrust the book into her hands the moment he'd returned from Rossön's neighbouring city. A gift, he had claimed with a trembling voice and a face as red as his hair, just one of many. Once upon a time, such a thing would have seen them both punished —her for sinning, him for helping her sin— but now, in Rossön at least, such things were just bitter memories of a time best forgotten.
Opening the book and thumbing its thick, cream-coloured pages, Anna smiled as she remembered the man's overly quick explanation and similarly hasty retreat. Illuminated by the second sun's silver light, a forest of unfamiliar words in unfamiliar forms once again confronted her; their drunken dance stilled with a finger as she began to mouth them silently.
Continuing last year's efforts to complete repairs on New Oslo's soletta array, Helghan work crews began the year fresh and ready to resume their labours. Already halfway to completion at January's start, the station's six spidery limbs were soon covered by a storm of tiny stars as hundreds of personnel and automata threw themselves into expanding them. For twelve entire months, the flicker of welding torches greeted all who turned their gaze upon the soletta array; thousands of tons of silver-white trusses manoeuvred into position and attached until, at last, the snowflake-like station had once again doubled in size.
However, even as countless workers lengthened the trusses, countless more laboured feverishly to lay down mirrors by the million. Built in an ever-expanding number of factories across the Republic and shipped across the lightyears by convoys of freighters, the near perfectly reflective mirrors that made up the array's compound structure caught ever more sunlight as workers laid them down. Already a beacon by 3047's end, December 3048 saw the orbiting megastructure transformed into a second sun in New Oslo's skies, more than a billion mirrors directing a river of sunlight to the planet's frozen surface. With only 600 million mirrors and a few hundred metres of metal trusses left to complete, the project's conclusion was just out of reach when Republic workers stopped for the year; the Republic's parliament pushing for one final effort come 3049.
[Progress: 1/3] → [Progress: 2/3]
Effect
- Work continues on the soletta
Trinity League:
-[X] Expand League intelligence network: Having placed a number of agents throughout the Trinity League, now would be a good time to capitalise on the effort and expand the Republic's reach.
"Oh, shit. They really did it?" - Bureau Chief Williamson on being told the news.
Traditionally seen as the least valuable of the Republic's various commitments, the Trinity League bureau had long served as the butt of jokes within the nation's intelligence community thanks to several high-profile but painless failures. While these failures did little to impact the Republic's influence in the region due to good training and more than a little luck, they naturally fed into the erroneous notion that the bureau was a place to dump the nation's less-than-stellar agents and analysts, a typical punchline being the mistaken belief that the SLDF was returning. Given this view —shared by many within the bureau itself— it naturally came as a complete surprise when, after repeated failures, a handful of agents succeeded in infiltrating parts of the Trinity League government.
Slipping over the border in early May, the first wave of agents dispatched as yet another infiltration wave moved slowly and cautiously, gaining trust and embedding themselves within the fabric of Trinity League's bureaucratic machinery as low-ranking administrators, analysts, and clerks. Facing little resistance from the nation's secret police force and armed with deep pockets, these operatives soon took on roles of great utility for the Trinity League bureau, the false histories and backgrounds they generated allowing the second wave of agents to find purchase within the lowest rungs of the nation's military. Though far from the triumphs enjoyed by the Mandate or Federated Suns bureaus, the sheer fact that the Trinity League bureau finally succeeded in embedding agents within the League's government has left many within the Republic's government excited and has even raised the bureau's profile somewhat.
Effect
- Finally some very good progress is made. Infiltration increases a step.
- Various parts of the military and national administration are infiltrated, but the secret police and highest echelons of power remain untouched.
Capellan Confederation:
-[X] High-Precision Machinery Trade Deal: Eager to improve the sophistication of their own factories, the Confederation is willing to pay top dollar in exchange [+50,000,000 C-Bills, +5 influence]
"Technological advance is an inherently iterative process. One does not simply take sand from the beach and produce a microchip. We use crude tools to fashion better tools, and then our better tools to fashion more precise tools, and so on. Each minor refinement is a step in the process, and each step must
be taken to reach the pinnacle of technological achievement..." - Internal memo regarding the sale of technology to the Capellan Confederation, author unknown.
With the closure of the Outback War and the establishment of two separate nations in what was once the Federated Suns' prime resource extraction zone, the Helghan Republic found itself in dire need of both political influence and millions more C-Bills, both resources it planned to spend in substantial quantities to ensure that the twin nations would prosper over the coming years. Having spent much of the former in the apportioning of the Outback and with C-Bills hard to come by, the Republic naturally turned to its allies in the Outer Rim Defence Initiative in the hopes of meeting both needs —the Capellan Confederation first in the government's sights. While Capellan industrialisation had progressed substantially over the years since its catastrophic loss in the Fourth Succession War, in no small part thanks to the Helghan Republic itself, the sheer number of systems within the nation meant that there was always a need for more and better machinery.
As such, it came as little surprise to the civil servants of the Republic and Confederation when the Republic government proposed a trade deal between the two powers that would see the socialist state sell a selection of its more specialised manufacturing machinery at a generous discount. Ever eager to advance the capabilities of the Capellan state, Chancellor Liao soon seized on this proposal, negotiators hammering out the myriad minor details in a matter of months before delegates from both nations approved and signed the deal. As November shifted into December and the first high-precision machinery landed on Capellan worlds, the Republic's accounts were 50,000,000 C-Bills heavier, and the balance of favours once again leaned toward the Republic.
Effect
- +50,000,000 C-Bills
- +5 influence
Outback:
War Reparations Remaining:
FAS: 21 | -6 AP/turn
URC: 20 | -7 AP/turn
[X] Region-wide Industrial Investment: [Progress: 0/84] [Locked Until Completed] [+1 AP from Aurigan Coalition, +1 AP from Taurian Concordat, +1 AP from Magistracy of Canopus, +1 AP from Capellan Confederation, +4 AP from local systems using War Reparations]
"I say to you here and now, listen well! Stop abusing revolutionary scientific discoveries in the making of a cold, mechanistic, and indifferent world. Use science and technology to wipe out the disparities, not cause them. Break free from the modern savagery and focus your mind on humanitarian industrialisation lest we reap the whirlwind of human inhumanity." - Author Unknown, "We Sow the Seeds." Bull and Crow, 14 June 3047. Accessed 23 May 3048.
A region of space left devastated by the Inner Sphere's numerous wars and later allowed to lie fallow while corporations pillaged its resources and built only the infrastructure they required, the Outback region's industrial development had long suffered under the Federated Suns' yoke. Lacking much beyond the basic industries as a result, the people and systems of the Outback, for centuries, had been forced to import large quantities of goods from the Suns' imperial core; the high costs of which proved a constant drain of wealth from the Periphery systems and only ever allowed them to tread water. This hugely exploitative relationship kept the Outback poor even as companies involved in everything from mining to agriculture made vast sums of money and ended alongside the Federated Suns' ownership of the Outback —billions of people left wondering how their newly formed nations could survive without it.
Having considered the issue extensively before apportioning the region and the foundation of the Federation of Autonomous Systems and the United Rimward Collective, the Republic and its allies swiftly introduced themselves to the problem.
Beginning in late April of 3048, the five member nations of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative immediately moved to ease the region's industrial burden; warp- and JumpShips from all over the Periphery setting out for the newly-made nations bearing cargos of machinery and personnel to resolve their woes. Landing throughout the region less than a month later, the multinational army of workers immediately moved to carry out their labours, nigh on a decade's worth of experience supporting industrial development guiding their actions. Across more than fifty solar systems, ORDI personnel did everything from replacing woefully outdated machinery with new and more efficient versions to running intensive crash courses for technical subjects.
With so many nations supplying so many goods for so many old hands, it came as little surprise when, by the year's end, the first of many new-type factories came online within the two nations; their production lines rapidly spinning up to meet the ravenous demands for equipment, parts, and processed materials.
[Region-wide Progress: 0/84] → +2 from FAS +2 from URC + 5 from ORDI → [Region-wide Progress: 9/84]
Effect
- Work starts on the industrial investments
-[X] Establish National Administration and Rebuild Local Administration (Federation of Autonomous Systems + United Rimward Collective) [FAS Progress: 0/5] [URC Progress: 0/5] [+1 AP From Taurian Concordat, +1 AP From Aurigan Coalition, +1 AP From Magistracy of Canopus, +1 AP From Capellan Confederation]
"We admit no government by divine right; that all are equal, and that the only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power by the people and their unions." - Chairwoman Angèle Labelle, inaugural address to the Aucaran Praesidium.
Having established two minor nations in what had once been the Federated Suns' Outback, the Helghan Republic rapidly got to work ensuring that they would be more than nations-in-name only; countless administrators, lawyers, and other resources dispatched to both the Federation of Autonomous Systems and the United Rimward Collective to help the two nations build functional federal governments. Aware that its resources were limited, especially given the need to invest in so many other areas in the region, and that a failure to establish effective governance would be catastrophic for the ORDI's goals, the Helghan Republic called on its friends and allies to assist it in the effort. No doubt sharing the Republic's concerns, Helghan's fellow ORDI members responded to its requests with pleasing celerity, the Aurigan Coalition, Magistracy of Canopus, Capellan Confederation, and Taurian Concordat all committing substantial resources to the project within the first months of its start.
The less traditional of the two nations, the Federated of Autonomous Systems was nonetheless the first to see ORDI personnel land on its soil, cutters stuffed to bursting with personnel arriving on a round-the-clock schedule in preparation for the challenges they knew would come. Composed of nearly two dozen systems with a combined population of more than 70 billion total, the Federation had been created by the ORDI from a collection of systems either ruled by or supportive of four very different ideologies —those same groups sold on the idea with promises that the FAS would be, as the name suggests, a federation of systems voluntarily joined together rather than a single unified state which would impose its will and beliefs on its member systems. Well aware that they could not backtrack on this matter lest they cause the entire project to fail out the gate, the ORDI instead leaned into the idea, the first task of the lawyers and diplomats dispatched to the region being to devise a national charter that would simultaneously grant individual systems near complete autonomy when it comes to their mode of governance and internal laws while also allowing for federal-level organisation when it comes to subjects like defence, healthcare, and education.
For twelve months, scores of ORDI personnel laboured to devise a charter that would prove acceptable to the nascent FAS's proposed member systems, diplomats extracting the desires of various political groups and lawyers transforming them into obliquely worded but comprehensive legal structures. Aided by many within the region, albeit sometimes reluctantly, mid-October saw the final draft of the charter produced by ORDI personnel, and the remaining months saw it approved. Taking inspiration from as many sources as there are stars in the sky thanks to the international nature of the lawyers and diplomats involved, the final charter organises the nation into a confederal system where each member system elects a single representative to a parliament primarily empowered to manage international diplomacy and trade, national self-defence, and national level programs such as healthcare and education. While unwieldy and slow, especially if it were to somehow grow over the years, the system nonetheless leaves as much autonomy as possible to the individual systems without the risk of instability —or, at least, that is the hope.
Beginning shortly after the FAS, efforts to establish a national administration for the United Rimward Collective proceeded with gratifying speed thanks to the more conventional nature of the work and the enthusiastic support enjoyed by some quarters. Similar in size and population to the Federation of Autonomous Systems, the United Rimward Collective was made by the Outer Rim Defence Initiative out of systems containing only a handful of political groups, Maoist-Gaullists and Neo-Jacobinists the two most dominant schools of thought, and Marxist-Leninist-Kerenskyists coming a distant third. Lacking the political diversity of the Federation and with the primary philosophies all involving some form of traditional statehood, the planetary governments of the Collective were naturally inclined towards membership in a unitary state. As such, bringing the systems on board with the idea proved comparatively simple for ORDI personnel, the ease of designing the Collective's charter offsetting the head start enjoyed by those working in the Federation.
By December's close, the ORDI's personnel within the United Rimward Collective had completed a charter for the developing state that would organise it like a traditional interstellar state and brought the various systems on board with the idea. Though —as with the Federation— the physical infrastructure and procedures for the collective's government had yet to be built, the charter nonetheless gave a detailed description of how the nation would and should operate: the broad strokes being a presidential parliamentary democracy similar to the Republic. Far more dynamic than the Federation in its design, the Collective would be able to react to developments far faster, though achieved this speed by abrogating a great deal of local autonomy.
[FAS Progress: 0/5] → +1 from FAS + 2.5 from ORDI → [FAS Progress: 3.5/5]
[URC Progress: 0/5]→ +2 from URC + 2.5 from ORDI → [URC Progress: 4.5/5]
Effect
- -100,000,000 C-Bills
- All the nitty gritty of the governments have been designed and the systems brought onboard. (Also some local gov infrastructure issues have been sorted, but I'm lazy)
- All the annoying infrastructure work will happen next turn.
-[X] Basic Infrastructure and Housing Development and Repair (Federation of Autonomous Systems + United Rimward Collective) [FAS Progress: 0/10] [URC Progress: 0/15]
"In these homes, we found more than just warmth and shelter; we found our own quiet strength, echoes of our resilience, and the simplicity of a second chance. They are not palaces, but they are foundations for a better world. Built brick by brick from yesterday's struggles and mortared with tomorrow's hope." - Étienne, Ankur H. "Superblocks."
Conversations From the Cafés Along the Rue des Thermopyles, edited by Evgenia Sala, Marauder Manuscripts, 3049, pp. 17-18.
Often caught in the crossfire between loyalist militias, AFFS personnel, ORDI troops, and rebel armies, the years-long Outback conflict had proven devastating to everything from sewage systems to houses; whole planetary states left shattered by the time the Federated Suns sued for peace and withdrew. So terrible was this damage that, in a secret report to the Helghan government published in early February, Republic analysts predicted that a failure to act swiftly could see billions displaced and millions more killed by exposure, disease, and other ills. Alarmed by the report's findings and gravely concerned by the harm such an astounding internal migration could cause, the Republic responded with commendable efficiency, the state's ruling party authorising an immediate and massive effort to repair the worst damage. As March turned to April, the first vessels arrived in the Federation and the Collective, the flotilla of craft bearing hundreds of millions of C-Bills worth of material aid and legions of labourers.
Confronted with images of devastation unseen outside of the Succession Wars —a gift of the years-long, variable-intensity conflict between rebel groups and their opponents— Helghan's reconstruction force immediately got to work doing what it could across the region. Aided by vast swarms of automata and two Horus MKIIs, Republic personnel worked around the clock to carry out their labours; the remaining months of the year seeing innumerable structures demolished and rebuilt, thousands of kilometres of sewage and water pipes patched and repaired, and damaged electrical infrastructure replaced wholesale. Aided by locals and kept supplied via the network of depots established to support Operation Chernobog, the work proceeded slowly but steadily, the Outback's scarred cities and towns slowly transforming as new growth strained through the old.
However, despite the rapid progress made by Republic workers in restoring basic infrastructure, the sheer amount of damage and the sheer number of systems involved was such that years of work remained even by New Year's Eve. While Republic efforts had seen tens of thousands housed in new and rebuilt communities boasting clean water, warm houses, and the myriad other basics of human life, scores more found themselves stuck in refugee camps scattered across the Outback; sprawling carpets of hastily built homes made from salvaged materials present on every continent. Nonetheless, as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, the presence of Helghan repair crews and the knowledge of their homes' steady rebuilding engendered a positivity among the people of the Federation and Collective, the moods of both reportedly buoyant despite the harsh challenges they faced.
[FAS Progress: 0/10] → +1 from FAS + 0.5 from Helghan Republic → [FAS Progress: 1.5/10]
[URC Progress: 0/15]→ +1 from URC + 0.5 from ORDI → [URC Progress: 1.5/15]
Effect
-[X] Energy Infrastructure Development (Federation of Autonomous Systems + United Rimward Collective) [FAS Progress: 0/15] [URC Progress: 0/15]
"I believe that access to electricity and light can radically improve people's lives. Billions across the Outback have no access to electricity, many rely on kerosene lamps for light, oil burners for heat, and muscle-powered pumps for water. These things are expensive, difficult, or hazardous to operate, and all can be rendered obsolete by a single generator." - Salka Heimisson, Helghan-Canopian artist, opening address of the ORDIHCR's 8th meeting of the Standing Committee, Canopus.
Concurrently with efforts to rebuild the basic infrastructure of the Federation of Autonomous Systems and the Unified Rimward Collective, and funded by the same massive infrastructure bill, the Helghan Republic launched a truly colossal program to deliver electricity to the countless millions left without throughout the Outback region. One part necessity to support the vast industrial development sponsored by the Outer Rim Defence Initiative across the region and one part booster shot for the Outback's quality of life, the decision met with substantial local support from the governments and publics of the FAS and URC. Utilising many of the same personnel and equipment as the infrastructure rebuilding efforts, those in charge reasoning that it would not dramatically impact the rebuilding, Helghan's electrification task forces quickly got to work; efforts to spread electrification across more than two dozen planets beginning in late April and only increasing as time passed.
Equipped with an astounding variety of tools and located on planets whose environments differed as wildly as their inhabitants, the solutions envisioned by the electrification task forces to their troubles were as varied as their planets were —a host of potential means of producing and delivering power raised, examined, and either accepted or dismissed depending on local conditions. On the Terran world of Ashley, for instance, Republic work crews and their automata laboured for several months to install vast fields of solar panels and the massive network of powerlines needed to carry their output, a full half of the planet's population able to enjoy the benefits of electricity by December's close. Meanwhile, on the freezing planet of Mandaree, whose sun was a mere spit of light in comparison, Republic warpships delivered fusion reactors of every size and configuration —the majority of the protium-guzzling machines arriving by the start of July, and the remainder of the year spent connecting one isolated hamlet after another to the slowly growing planetary power grid.
Yet, amid this triumph, the vastness of the Outback remained largely untouched by the radiant glow of electricity, the sheer scope of the task rendering the whole of the Republic's efforts frustratingly slow even as individual continents and planets enjoyed rapid change. Though December 31st saw millions upon millions of people able to enjoy electricity for the first time, countless millions more had yet to see it, and estimates suggested that it would be years before the task would be complete. However, despite the overwhelming nature of the effort, those involved in seeing it through reported confidence in their ability to do so, and preparations were already being made for 3049's labours.
[FAS Progress: 0/15] → +1 from FAS + 0.5 from ORDI → [FAS Progress: 1.5/15]
[URC Progress: 0/15]→ +1 from URC + 0.5 from ORDI → [URC Progress: 1.5/15]
Effect
-[X] Humanitarian Aid (Federation of Autonomous Systems + United Rimward Collective) (1 turn)
"There are spectres haunting the galaxy —spectres of war, famine, and disease. Every day, we see stories of refugees escaping violence, discrimination, disaster, massed at often unwelcoming borders, risking their lives in leaky dropships and failing JumpShips for the chance of a better, safer life. Until we can deliver the political solutions that create peace and prosperity, we must implement the humanitarian solutions that create hope. The need is great, but so are the opportunities to make a difference." - Doctor Thisbe Eoin, Keynote Speech, ORDIHCR's 8th meeting of the Standing Committee, Canopus.
Having committed so much to the Outback region already, it came as little surprise when the months immediately following the prising of the region from the Federated Suns' grasp saw members of the Republic's peace party successfully argue for a one-time aid package for the two nations —an astounding 50,000,000 C-Bills earmarked for humanitarian aid. First discussed in early March, debated in April, and finally approved in May, the move saw the Republic split fully half of its C-Bill revenue for the year between the Federation of Autonomous Systems and the United Rimward Collective. Grateful for the influx of liquid currency, a relative rarity in the immediate aftermath of their independence even with the expropriation of so much of the local nobility's wealth, local governments used the money to purchase everything from food to medical supplies, clothing, tents, and sometimes, nothing at all —C-Bills simply given to those in need so that they could purchase whatever they required.
However, despite the immense impact of the aid package, or perhaps because of it, it proved challenging for the Republic to meticulously track the journey of each C-Bill as they moved from local government to those in need —some quiet critiques raised regarding potential corruption. Regardless of these critiques, estimates provided by the Outer Rim Defence Initiative High Commission for Refugees (ORDIHCR) painted a compelling picture of the aid's far-reaching effects, estimates suggesting that many thousands survived the year as a direct result of the package's existence.
Effect
- -50,000,000 C-Bills
- Will auto cancel next turn as requested
FAS Project Tracker
[X] Establish National Education System and Improve Local Education (Federation of Autonomous Systems) [Progress: 0/15] [Locked Until Completed] [+1AP from FAS]
[Progress: 0/15] → [Progress: 1/15]
URC Project Tracker
[X] Bolster Planetary Militia (United Rimward Collective) [Progress: 0/2] [Locked Until Completed] [+1AP from URC]
[Progress: 0/2] → [Progress: 1/2]
Alphard Republic
-[X] JumpShip Yard Development: Having promised to help the Alphard Republic to construct a jumpship yard, it behoves the Republic to get a start on that ASAP. [Progress: 0/4]
"Safety Doesn't Happen By Accident!" - Helghan Republic Health and Safety Warning Poster, Alphard Republic Shipyard Construction Site, 7 July 3049
Having promised the Alphard Republic assistance with the construction of an orbital shipyard capable of JumpShip construction back in 3047, Helghan's Malkiewicz government immediately moved to make good on their commitment come the new year; a quintet of vessels bearing the appropriate materials and workers arriving in orbit by mid-February. Ordered to lay the groundwork for what would eventually be a sizable shipyard, the personnel and their army of automata took only two months to clear out a section of the planet's orbital band and establish a resource depot composed of a cluster of hastily assembled pressure vessels. With the depots complete by early May, a steady stream of freighters arrived from the Republic's core systems to deliver vast quantities of goods and personnel, a veritable river of material flowing from one Republic to the other.
Labouring in the merciless vacuum of space, swarms of automata flying all around them on AG thrusters, workers wearing armoured EVA suits spent the remainder of the year assembling the shipyard's skeleton piece by piece over Alphard, the products of a half-dozen worlds given shape and order according under their watchful eyes. Starting life as little more than an orbiting depot, a year's work saw the pressure vessels swiftly transformed into a vast cage twice the size of a Hasta-class cruiser, its reflected light visible from the surface like a city on the wing.
Though only half-finished by the close of December and little more than an empty prism —the incredibly fragile and valuable assembly machinery still being constructed back in the Republic— no time was wasted when it came to hiring workers. Across spaceport bars and technical colleges throughout the Alphard Republic, recruiters for the newly established State JumpShip Manufacturing Bureau enticed qualified workers to sign contracts with promises of high wages and free training; the flow of signups growing from a trickle to a raging torrent in only a few months. So successful was this effort that, as December finally waned in favour of January, all positions had been filled and a backlog of hirees had formed, every one of them eager to begin work come 3052.
[Progress: 0/4] → [Progress: 1/4]
Effect
- Work begins on the Alphard JumpShip yard. Expected to take ~4 years to complete thanks to purchasing a lot of items from the Magistracy rather than shipping them straight from Helghan.
-[X]Write-in: Request (and or recommend) the Alphard Republic to join ORDI as a associate member.
Hoping to capitalise on the diplomatic cachet of having defeated the Federated Suns in a regional conflict over the Outback systems, the Outer Rim Defence Initiative, or, more specifically, the Helghan Republic, immediately moved to invite the nearby Alphard Republic into the alliance as an associate member. Ordinarily an act that would take extended negotiations with the other ORDI states before coming to fruition, the Alphard Republic's status as an ORDI nation-building project, combined with Helghan's own influence from having supplied most of the military power for Operation Chernobog, conspired to make the outcome a forgone conclusion; all four of the Republic's allies giving their assent within days of being asked. Thus, with the go-ahead given, the Republic immediately ordered its ambassador to extend the organisation's official invitation to the nation's leaders, the man doing so by mid-year.
Surprisingly, despite the immense diplomatic credentials gained from the defeat of the Federated Suns, the Republic's investment into Alphard, and the overall benefits of joining the ORDI as even an associate member, the Alphard government proved hesitant to accept the invitation immediately. Citing the economic restrictions imposed by membership in the ORDI Customs Union —mainly the tariffs placed on goods from outside the ORDI— Alphard's government signalled that it would require assurances that its ongoing development efforts would not be adversely affected by associate membership. Eager to see Alphard in the ORDI and confident that the ORDI as a whole could fulfil any needs the state had, the Republic and its allies quickly dispatched negotiators to see the task through.
Arriving mere months after the invitation, these diplomats immediately launched an extensive lobbying campaign to convince the nation of the ORDI's utility, the diplomatic shock-and-awe campaign targeting key positions throughout the Alphard government. Citing everything from the alliance's industrial might to its technological edge over the Inner Sphere, these diplomats slowly but surely began to worry away at the Republic's resistance until —in 3048's final quarter— the dam finally burst, and the Republic relented. Finally convinced that the benefits far outweigh any potential costs, November 3rd, 3048, saw the Alphard Republic agree to join the ORDI as an associate member; the deal planned to come into effect on January 1st, 3049.
Effect
- Takes a surprising degree of effort to talk them around, in large part due to the ORDI customs union make external trade expensive, but eventually they're talked around.
- AR governments signs treaty and will officially become an associate member on Jan 1st 3049.
Rasalhague:
-[X] Send the Republic Diplomatic core to open relations with the Free Rasalhague Republic using a civilian jumpship owned by the Helghast Republic.
Fresh from its triumphant victory over the Federated Suns and with the Inner Sphere finally forced to take notice of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative's power, the Helghan government began 3048 by capitalising on its newfound notoriety with diplomatic efforts. Having previously attempted to establish meaningful relations with the Free Rasalhague Republic, only to be rebuffed by the nation's Riksdag with a curiously standoffish message, the Republic's government decided that an eight-year wait was long enough and once again offered an olive branch to the coreward democratic state. Dispatching a letter of notice to the Riksdag and one of the Republic's best diplomats, Vasily France, to Rasalhague, the Malkiewicz government could only wait as the months flew by until, in early October, Portland's HPG received a priority message from Rasalhague's capital.
Received with an admixture of trepidation and excitement, the contents of France's letter were both better and worse than had been hoped.
According to Vasily France's communique, the Free Rasalhague Republic proved very welcoming of Helghan's outreach compared to their earlier response; the coreward nation received him and his staff with all the pomp and circumstance their position entitled them to. Arriving after news of the ORDI's victories over the Federated Suns had, France found himself accorded far more respect than he'd been expecting the stark difference between the Riksdag's current response and the response of eight years ago difficult to align. However, despite the greater respect with which they were treated and Rasalhague's more welcoming attitude, the nation's rulers remained somewhat cautious towards the Helghan Republic. According to France, after months of effort, the distant state has agreed to swap embassies with the Republic and should do so sometime earlier next year but has thus far proved resistant to anything more.
While far from an open-arms welcome, the distinct shift in Rasalhague's tone, combined with their cautious agreement to exchange embassies, is a dramatic change compared to events of eight years ago. Moreover, with embassies established, future diplomacy between the Republics will likely prove far simpler and less contentious. However, the vast distance between the two states will ensure such diplomacy remains slow for the foreseeable future.
Effect
- FRR is cautious but slightly positive towards the Republic upon being introduced. Quite a reversal from the previous attempt to forge diplomatic ties with them, but it's likely it's due to your changed status in the Inner Sphere.
Free Worlds League:
-[X] Expand League intelligence network: Having placed a large number of agents within the lower levels of League society, now would be a good time to capitalise on the effort and expand the Republic's reach.
"The hell of it is that I publish 90% of my work as investigative reporting to keep up my cover, and no one is any the wiser. Hell, it's gotten me nominated for an award!" - Codename Sparrowhawk, 3048.
Well aware that knowledge is power and keen to clarify its understanding of events occurring within the famously fractious Free Worlds League, the Helghan government began 3048 by cutting orders to the nation's intelligence services to restart infiltration efforts against the Inner Sphere nation. So ordered, the agencies promptly dispatched operatives to the coreward realm, with dozens of agents arriving in bordering systems over a matter of months before slowly worming their way over the border, aided by those already present. To the great relief of those who feared a repeat of earlier failures, a fortuitous combination of luck, skill, and preparation ensured the operation's success, with dozens of agents arriving in the Free Worlds League free and clear of suspicion, each one primed to infiltrate the nation.
Well-versed in the nuances of League culture thanks to the Republic's existing agents and benefiting from the fact that the League was, at least ostensibly, a democracy, these operatives immediately assumed roles in various legitimate occupations. Adopting the personas of journalists, emigres, skilled labourers, and other valuable workers, these agents quickly embedded themselves throughout League society and, in less than a year, had meticulously fostered contacts throughout the nation. While far from the degree of intelligence penetration achieved against the Federated Suns —the League's federal government still far out of reach— the success of the infiltration effort against the League saw the Helghan in a far better position to observe events occurring within the nation and influence the same.
Effect
- Infiltration goes well. Increase infiltration by a step
Planetary Development
-[X] Orbital Shipyard (Detroit) [Progress: 0/2]
With the destruction of Detroit's orbital shipyard in the final days of the Outback intervention a sore point for many both on Detroit itself and throughout the Helghan Republic, it proved unsurprising when the Malkiewicz government quickly announced an emergency rebuilding program to replace the lost yards and preserve Detroit's shipbuilding industry. Fully funded and authorised by April's end, the rebuilding program immediately got to work, with a flotilla of vessels bearing many hundreds of vacuum-rated workers dispatched to the Detroit system. Arriving in orbit in early May, these workers found themselves posed with the question of how to clean up the orbital band occupied by the remains of the previous shipyard, its shattered bulk growing more dangerous with each passing day.
However, thankfully for the Republic and its rebuilding program, prior experience gained during the process of restoring New Oslo's soletta proved its worth; the same array of lasers and carbon nanotube nets once used to de-Kessler New Oslo's orbits turned to the task of doing the same for Detroit. Aided by automata and dedicated small craft, Republic personnel spent several months sweeping the space above Detroit clear of everything from paint flecks to tumbling boulders; thousands of tons of metal and other substances run through the guts of a Horus and turned back into the usable material. With the smallest and most dangerous pieces of the wreckage cleared by the close of August —larger pieces being both easier to track and slower moving— the start of 3048's final quarter saw the Republic's workers shift gears and make a start on the replacement.
Aided by the sheer amount of material recovered from the wreck of the prior shipyard, work on the new shipyard progressed rapidly, with three embryonic slipways taking shape above Detroit. Though only half-finished by the close of December and little more than kilometre-long hexagonal prisms, the slipways proved a great balm to the people of Detroit, the government's popularity seeing a sharp uptick in response to their appearance.
[Progress: 0/2] → [Progress: 1/2]
Effect
- Work starts on replacements to Detroit's orbital shipyards.
-[X] Fisher Industrial Centre Final Expansion: A final round of investment into the Fisher Industrial Centre will allow the Republic to max out the satellite facility's productivity to 3 battalions worth of mechs per year. [Progress 0/2]
"And he said, I can turn a jack, I can lay a track, I can pick and shovel too
(Can you swing a hammer boy?)
I can. I'll do anything you hire me to." - The Legend of John Henry, Johnny Cash.
Eager to improve the Fisher Industrial Centre's production capabilities as part of an effort to increase the availability of battlemechs throughout the Helghan military, the Republic's parliament began 3048 by authorising a substantial expansion to the FIC's production lines. Hiring a great many of the people previously employed by Detroit's temporarily defunct shipyard, the Republic's construction service began work almost immediately; countless engineers and automata worked tirelessly to carve out vast chambers beneath Detroit's soil. Taking shape under the careful attention of experienced engineers over the year, the cavernous semi-cylindrical chambers that would host the expanded production lines were completed by late September, with final preparations for machinery installation taking until December to complete
Similar in scope to prior expansions of the facility, these new chambers promise to substantially increase the FIC's production capabilities, with initial estimates suggesting an improvement by as much as 30%. While still smaller and less productive than Helghan's Zulim Taw facility, the increase will nonetheless have a noticeable impact on the Republic's overall production of battlemechs and see a further 10,000 people employed once completed.
[Progress: 0/2] → [Progress: 1/2]
Effect
- Work starts on final upgrades to the FIC
Military
-[X] Construct a MAWLR-II pack
Effect
- +1 MAWLR-II Pack
- Complete Expand MAWLR Corps goal
-[X] Construct a military defense station over (Detroit)
Effect
- Detroit gains a small MDS.
-[X] Construct eight Battlemech Battalions: Task Fisher & Zulim Taw with constructing eight battalions worth of mechs.
Effect
- +2 Mech Regiments, +2 mech battalions
-[X] Write in: Army-Navy reorganization (details being written)
As the last representative wrote the final signature on the peace treaty between the Federated Suns and the member-states of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative, the Rimward section of the known galaxy found itself entering what promised to be a lengthy period of peace for the first time in an age; the ever-present need for military readiness reduced somewhat by the non-aggression pact signed in late March. Faced with such an unprecedented turn of events and with their attention no longer consumed by the need to make war, once latent factions within the Helghan's military quickly moved to seize the day; the first request for a committee meeting into proposed changes to the Republic's military received mere weeks after the peace treaty was signed. Met with a bewildering number of factions whose members —ranging from all backgrounds and branches— supported an equally dazzling variety of schools of thought, the Malkiewicz government soon relented to their combined pressure. Establishing a committee to review the various propositions by mid-June, the Republic's ruling government invited its military's various factions to make their case for change, a flood of proposals arriving by mid-April.
For several months, the Republic's Armed Forces Committee met with representatives from more than two dozen separate cliques; proposals major and minor were tabled before it and scrutinised relentlessly. While many of these proposals proved too minor to bother with, such as slight restructurings of strike craft formations, reliant on technology that didn't exist yet, such as the complete automation of Helghan combat forces, or simply too politically thorny to consider, such as the development of Irradiated Petrusite superbombs, one group of officers made a submission that was both meaningful enough and doable enough to be worthwhile. Dubbed the Beehive Plan, the submission tabled before the committee proposed a complete restructuring of the Republic Army's combat elements considering the nation's substantial technological developments and an adjustment to the Republic Navy's operational plans and role-naming conventions.
Having remained unchanged since before Helghan arrived in a new universe, the Helghan Army had long found itself playing a secondary role to the Navy due to the latter's greater utility in preventing piracy and intimidating foes. Relegated to the bench as a result, Army leadership could only watch and wait as the successive governments lavished the Navy with attention —cybernetically augmented troopers the largest shakeup the organisation had seen in well over a decade. However, with the Beehive Plan, this was all about to change.
A wide-ranging and transformational proposal that would impact all the Republic's military branches, the Beehive Plan called for, among other things, Helghan Divisions to be divided into two categories according to their exact makeup: A and B Divisions. Commanded by a Major General, both A and B category divisions would consist of five brigades of mechanised infantry and armour, with A Divisions hosting an additional square regiment of one-hundred and forty-four battlemechs and B Divisions hosting an additional dropship's worth of aerospace equipment. Each brigade would consist of two Regiments (plus VTOLs, heavy artillery, anti-air, and ASFs) that are, in turn, made up of three battalions, themselves made up of two infantry companies and two armoured companies. Designed to be transported by a Halestorm-class transport, both category A and B divisions can split evenly among the Halestorm's six Beehive-class dropships —hence the plan's name.
Easier to transport, more heavily armed than existing units, and easier to plan around on an operational level, the Beehive Plan was scrutinised extensively by the review committee before being kicked upstairs when it became apparent that no lethal flaws were immediately apparent. Failing to find any flaws deeper in the plan, with support for the plan growing throughout the Army, and with the brief interregnum likely to be the only time it would have to make drastic organisational changes to its military, the Republic's ruling government soon found itself unable to do anything but implement the plan's recommendations; formal adoption announced in early September to the merriment of those who developed and proposed it.
Wary of institutional inertia taking hold and stalling the change, the Republic military immediately initiated a phased rollout of the plan across its formations. Beginning with the Helghan 1st Army, traditionally the least active formation, before growing to include the 8th, 3048's remaining months were spent reorganising the formations and running wargames to get all members used to their changed circumstances. Unsurprisingly, while reports from these units in question were broadly positive towards the changes, the extensive changes have somewhat diminished the effectiveness of unit leadership, a trend that will persist until personnel fully acclimatise.
Effect
- Beehive Plan has been approved. Republic military is currently reorganising in a phased manner.
- It will likely take a year or two to change every existing army over to the new structure. Changed formations will take a few months to adapt to the change and leadership will be slightly lower until they get used to things.
- Complete reorganisation plan is here: Helghan 3048 Military Reorganization
[X] Construct Planetary Yards in Portland [Progress: 1/2]
"I like trains. I like their sway and rhythm, and the freedom of being suspended between two places. On trains, all anxieties of life are taken care of, and, for a single moment, I know where I am going." - Anonymous, Portland, 3048.
With last year's efforts having left Portland dotted with half-completed slipways and a vast network of disconnected maglev lines and resource distribution centres, 3048 saw Helghan workers redouble their efforts to expand Helghan's shipbuilding capacity away from the capital world. As the first days of January dawned, citizens of Portland awoke to see vast swarms of automata labour to extend the planet's newly made maglev networks with the mindless intelligence of insects, laser-straight rail lines extending out towards spaceports and dry docks. Growing by kilometres per day under the machines' tender ministrations, these maglev tracks joined as they approached their destinations, the steel paths collapsing again and again until they resembled nothing less than the trunk of a planet-circling river. Powered by Portland's growing number of fusion reactors, each completed rail line saw a commiserate boost in the productivity of workers constructing slipways as they were turned over to shipping materials and their automata reassigned.
Greatly aided by the steadily improving flow of construction materials and components, work on the slipways themselves improved dramatically as the year progressed; the empty shells built last year quickly filled out with construction machinery. Left concerned by the AFFS strike on the Republic's WarpComms connection to the frontline and then wracked with paroxysms of fright after the successful destruction of Detroit's orbital shipyard, each passing day saw the Republic's parliamentarians and General Staff grow increasingly —and paradoxically— worried that a similar event would occur. However, and fortunately for the nerves of both, this was not to be; the final days of the year saw a score of shipyards open across Portland's surface —a far cry from what Helghan-proper could boast but sufficient to shift some of the eggs out of one basket.
[Progress: 1/2] → [Progress: 2/2]
Effect
- Portland can now construct starships.
- +30 upkeep points
Terra Group (Automated):
[x] Mineral Surveys (Highwater): A world with a history of supplying its Periphery neighbours with ore, Highwater could do with another round of mineral surveys. [Progress: 0/2]
[Progress: 0/2] → [Progress: 1/2]
Warp Communications Consortium (Automated):
[X] FTL Comms Expansion. [Progress: 24/80 turns] (+1 AP From Taurian Concordat, +1 AP From Aurigan Coalition, +1 AP From Magistracy of Canopus, +1 AP From Capellan Confederation) [Increased Due To Territorial Expansions]
[Progress: 24/80] → [Progress: 29/80]
Helghan Interstellar Scouting & Survey Service (Automated):
[X] Send out Explorers: The final frontier, one filled with wonder and terror alike, space exploration offers many potential benefits for those willing to risk its hazards.
Effect
- HISSS explorers find only empty systems without life or much value.
- I'm not wasting time on empty systems
Helghan Bureau Of Ship Procurement (BuPro) (Automated):
[X] Hasta-IIIC Magistracy
Effect
- +6 influence (+3 per Hasta-IIIC
Research
-[X] Heavy Shields [Progress: 11.6/12]
[Progress: 11.6/12] → + 2 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) → [Progress: 13.8/12]
The result of feedback from military personnel who found the capacity of existing energy shields lacking during short-duration, high-intensity engagements, Heavy Energy Shields trade production efficiency and material costs for sheer defensive capabilities. 60% tougher than existing energy shields, Heavy Energy Shields offer units equipped with them greater survivability on the battlefield, albeit at the cost of a more difficult and time-consuming construction process and zero improvement to regeneration speed. Currently only available for naval vessels (dropships-sized and up), continued research into the field should result in variants small enough to fit onto Mechs, ASFs, and even power armour.
| Name | Type | Heat/Turn Active | Weight (Tons) | Shield Points | Regen Rate/Turn | Critical Slots |
| Heavy-Duty Energy Shields | Capital | 100 | 1000 | 1400-C | 1-C | -- |
Completed with 1.8 overflow!
Effect
- Can equip naval vessels with Heavy Energy Shields
-[X] Stealth coating [Progress: 3.75/4]
[Progress: 3.75/4] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) + 0.05 (Taurian Engineering Graduates) → [Progress: 5/4]
Initially proposed by the Republic's intelligence service during Helghan's efforts to spy on the then Aurigan Directorate, research into stealth coatings had been put off by successive Republic governments due to the laundry list of more pressing matters that needed tending to first. However, with the resolution of many of these issues and the growing utility of intelligence gathering, thoughts invariably turned once again to materials that would allow Helghan spy ships to operate in hostile space in relative safety. Given a mandate (and funding) to produce said substances only a few years prior, December 3048 saw Helghan scientists report success with the development of Carbon Nanotube-based Radar-absorbent metamaterials.
The material, while as dense as standard aerospace armour, is comparatively brittle and unsuitable for use on war machines. However, it can absorb a wide range of radio frequencies, especially those utilised by spacecraft and aerospace monitoring systems for positioning and tracking, making it a perfect stealth coating for long-range observation platforms. As a happy side effect of the substance's development, Republic scientists have also come up with some interesting theories regarding the properties and manipulation of photons —a subject they are eager to explore in the future.
Completed with 1.0 overflow!
Effect
- Halfway to being able to build the Bug-Eye and similar spy ships
- Gained Normal Stealth Research Bonus (10%) x1
-[X] Long Range Sensors [Progress: 3.6/6]
[Progress: 3.6/6] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) → [Progress: 4.8/6]
-[X] Irradiated Petrusite Enrichment [Progress: 9.91/12]
[Progress: 9.91/12] → + 2 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) → [Progress: 12.11/12]
Originally conceived as little more than an experiment into methods of removing non-irradiated Petrusite from samples of Irradiated Petrusite produced in the lab, interest in the concept of Petrusite enrichment blossomed in response to the subsequent Lab 5 Incident. Though no one came to any serious injury during the incident and repairs were a simple matter, the total vaporisation of a Petrusite Test Apparatus combined with the generally positive results of the experiment convinced many in Helghan's government to fund further and more directed experimentation. Delayed somewhat by the need to build an off-world research lab on one of the moons of Helghan-V, many fearful of a larger incident on Helghan triggering adverse effects across the planet, research into the subject proved highly enlightening; experiments succeeding in producing increasingly pure samples of Irradiated Petrusite with correspondingly energetic interactions.
After experimenting for three full years, Helghan scientists finally settled on a method of purification that used a combination of artificial gravity and precisely controlled magnetic fields to separate irradiated and non-irradiated Petrusite; the substances were sorted into distinct layers by gravity, and the non-irradiated Petrusite was then removed from the surface layer using a magnetic field. While difficult and time-consuming to carry out, the process ultimately produces a highly enriched slurry of Irradiated Petrusite whose behaviour and effects have fascinated many of the researchers involved in the enrichment project. While no practical benefits of the substance have yet emerged, Republic military scientists are confident that the highly reactive substance will form the basis of next-generation tactical and strategic weaponry given time and further research.
Completed with 0.1 overflow!
Effect
- +0.5 research speed for Petrusite Research. Unlock additional research options.
-[X] Capital Missile Countermeasures [3.45/4]
[Progress: 3.45/4] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) → [Progress: 4.65/4]
Faced with an unpleasantly deadly weapon in the form of the Federated Suns' Bomb-Pumped X-Ray lasers, which can strike outside the effective range of traditional point-defence systems, the Helghan government quickly moved to combat the threat to its aerospace forces. Lavishing Republic scientists with funding and labelling the project a top priority, it took only a few years before research into the matter bore fruit. The product of many sleepless nights and simulated engagements, the ER Laser Anti-Missile System was unveiled by Helghan scientists in late 3048 to the great relief of military and political figures alike.
Twice the mass of existing Laser Anti-Missile Systems, more expensive to produce, and less heat efficient, ER LAMS nonetheless offer a substantial advantage over traditional LAMS in the form of a 100% increase in their effective range. Relying on superior focusing apparatuses and fire-control systems to achieve this improvement, ER LAMS can effectively engage targets that an ordinary LAMS would have trouble tracking, let alone hitting, and can do so without reduced effectiveness at close range. Given this improvement, ships equipped with ER LAMS can even cover nearby vessels from missile attack, though this would require them to be only a few hundred kilometres away —practically spitting distance. While the proof of the system's effectiveness will ultimately rely on real-world engagements, simulated engagements suggest that the system could have interception rates as high as 83-85%, a dramatic increase over current interception rates.
| Name | Type | Heat | Damage | Range | Tons | Critical Slots | Ammo Per Ton | Special |
| ER-LAMS | Equipment | 10 | Special Weapon Rules | -- | 3 | 1 | -- | Acts as AMS |
Completed with 0.65 overflow!
Effect
- Can stick ER LAMS on things.
-[X] Swarm Robotics [1.1/8]
[Progress: 1.1/8] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) + 0.05 (Taurian Engineering Graduates) → [Progress: 2.35/8]
-[X] Shielded Smart Robotic Systems [1/2]
[Progress: 1/2] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) + 0.05 (Taurian Engineering Graduates) + 0.5 (50% Helm Memory Core (Copy)) → [Progress: 2.75/2]
Ever eager to improve the effectiveness of Helghan automata and wary of the effectiveness of electronic warfare systems on current versions of the same, the Helghan Republic spent a great deal of time, money, and effort developing systems to counteract the effects of ECM interference. Ultimately succeeding in mid-3048 after years of steady progress, Republic scientists proudly demonstrated their accomplishments by pitting a suitably modified Super Voidseeker Ein against a dumb drone equipped with a Guardian ECM unit. Able to overcome the drone's jamming thanks to the scientists' improvements to the control system's ECCM and internal logic and error-checking systems, the Super Voidseeker proceeded to annihilate the drone to much acclaim from the military representatives present.
Completed with 0.75 overflow!
Effect
- Drones now have Shielded SRCR
-[X] High-Gain Transceivers [0.7/10]
[Progress: 0.7/10] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) → [Progress: 1.9/10]
ORDI Research
-[X] Improved Anti-Gravity Drive [3.6/10]
[Progress: 3.6/10] → + 1 (base research) + 0.2 (20% ORDI Research Agreement) → [Progress: 4.8/10]
Military Requisition And Design
-[X] Pn-83 Anti-Material Beamer
-[X] M-33 'Skyfire' Anti-VTOL Mine
-[X] Pn-100 'Halberd' Anti-Vehicle Mine
-[X] Pn-101 'Bramble' Anti-Infantry Mine
News and Rumours
Helghan Republic
Though early 3048 saw the end of the Outback war, refugees from the region not only continued to arrive in ORDI space but grew in number as the months progressed. While early estimates proved somewhat vague, a post-facto census determined that an additional 500,000 refugees arrived compared to the same time last year. Humanitarian aid to the Federation of Autonomous Systems and the United Rimward Collective, though slowing this increase by providing resources for refugees in situ, proved insufficient to stop its rise. As a result of these factors, the ORDIHCR has only become more strident in its demands for more funding.
Predicted Refugee Acceptance Breakdown For 3048 (+-5%)
Helghan Republic: 6,900,000
Magistracy of Canopus: 2,000,000
Taurian Concordat: 1,300,000
Aurigan Coalition: 400,000
In related news, the ORDIHCR's leadership council has formally petitioned the ORDI for additional funding to support an expansion of activities into the Outback. Predicted to cost many millions of C-Bills per year per ORDI state, ORDIHCR personnel believe such an expansion is necessary to support the region's inhabitants and reduce the number of people seeking a better life elsewhere. While not a particularly controversial move among the public of ORDI states, it would be a substantial expense, and giving money to the ORDIHCR and
not the FAS or URC could weaken the legitimacy of the latter and risk tensions between the organisation and states.
Shocking no one, the advent of peace across the former Federated Suns' Outback territory has met with much rejoicing from the Helghan people —the return of troops to Helghan borders resulting in a collective sigh of relief. Though losses were ultimately light at only 6,000 or so dead, several thousand fewer than had died during the Mandate Intervention, the steady stream of coffins returning to the Republic had slowly begun eating away at public support for the conflict. However, with the conflict's end and its thus far successful result, many are hopeful that it will be some time before Helghan is drawn into another conflict.
As part of the peace treaty that ended the war in the Outback region, the period immediately following the treaty's signing saw the Republic —somewhat reluctantly— hand over those prisoners fated to stand trial for war crimes to the Federated Suns. Forced to do so by the treaty itself, the move has received mixed responses from all sectors of not only the Helghan Republic but also the ORDI as a whole, the Federation of Autonomous Systems, and the United Rimward Collective. While many people accept that such a handover was a precondition of peace that has saved many lives, the more cynical have stated that they believe the Federated Suns will try to take advantage of the deal and have been vocal about it. Though most of those handed over by the Republic are relatively minor figures, and the Suns' government is unlikely to go out on a limb for them and discard its diplomatic credibility, the big one —and the primary cause of criticism— is Duke Michael Hasek-Davion.
Captured towards the end of the conflict and responsible for a great many deaths and even more torment, Duke Michael-Hasek was and is the centre of a great deal of attention domestically and internationally. Imprisoned aboard a Helghan warship for some time and kept under constant surveillance lest he attempt to elude justice as other notable war criminals historically have, the Duke was given to the Federated Suns along with several dozen other prisoners in exchange for a guarantee that he would be kept under house arrest and produced for trial on pain of interdiction. Transported to New Avalon via a Command Circuit, the Duke and his fellow prisoners arrived in mid-July to a mixed response from FedSun citizens; clashes between protestors blaming him for the war and counter-protestors claiming he did nothing wrong reported by ComStar news services. After making it through the gauntlet of protestors, Hasek-Davion was reportedly sent to an unnamed country estate until called upon, while the others were taken to a military base on New Avalon.
In contrast, of the handful of prisoners captured by the Federated Suns and handed back to their respective ORDI states at the war's end, those accused of war crimes are low-level grunts, captured MechWarrior/ASF pilots, and a handful of officers.
In more positive news, agricultural output on Helghan has only continued to flourish thanks to the Republic's terraforming efforts. Still not enough to render the planet self-sufficient foodwise, the growing availability of local products has substantially boosted public confidence in the Malkiewicz government. Having already undergone one renaissance after the swath of trade deals with the Republic's neighbours saw the cost of foodstuffs plummet and their availability increase, the local production of new foods and spices has naturally triggered a second renaissance.
Traditionally featuring braised meats, stewed vegetables, naturally sour ingredients, and a lack of spices —largely due to the difficulty of growing them and the cost of imports— prior visitors to the planet often stereotyped Helghan cuisine as tough, bland, and overly sour. However, with the recent infusion of spices and exotic ingredients, this stereotype has not only shattered, but their newfound availability has triggered a surge in culinary creativity. Helghan chefs, once confined by traditional ingredients, now experiment with a spectrum of flavours, and interest in Helghan cuisine has skyrocketed throughout the Republic's allies.
Rather amusingly, while interest in Helghan cuisine has grown outside of the Republic, Helghan-proper has seen an explosion of interest in fusion cuisine with dishes that are cultural touchstones elsewhere in the ORDI mixed and matched with wild abandon. In the capital of Pyrrhus, for instance, visitors and locals can find a table at the Bierhalle am Revolutionsplatz and enjoy Canopian churrasco, Helghan bratkartoffeln, and Taurian tarte tatin all the while watching the ice skating in Revolution Square below. Similarly, party-goers and red-eye fliers alike often choose to recover from the night's activities with fast food from Capellan Fried Chicken or Aurigan sapa sui.
Aurigan Coalition
As part of a standard, albeit secretive, process designed to ensure ORDI research programs aren't unnecessarily overlapping, the Aurigan government has revealed that its scientists hold substantial knowledge regarding the structure of Petrusite and its unique interactions with hyperspace. While still far from comprehending all the complexities of the substance and the mechanism by which it forms, the development represents the conquering of a substantial stumbling block, and a more complete understanding will be sure to follow.
Begun last year, Kamea Arano's program to clean up Panzyr's junk-filled orbital bands has only accelerated over the past 12 months; tons of debris swept from the skies above the planet every week. Utilising home-grown technologies inspired by those used in other ORDI states, the project has received warm reviews from all corners of the Aurigan Coalition, most especially on Panzyr itself. Though the journey onto Panzyr requires guidance from ground-based tracking stations and will likely do so for many years, the knowledge that every passing day sees more debris cleared has buoyed the spirits of the planet's inhabitants. Further bolstering the mood on the ground has been the Aurigan Government's investment into the planet's industries, a multi-million C-Bill fund established to boost the development of various sectors of Panzyr's economy.
Per the Aurigan Coalition's earlier estimates, 3048 has also seen the nation complete work on two more 500,000-ton naval shipyards. Located on Coromodir and Guldra, respectively, the two shipyards join the one on Mechdur to grant the Coalition a trinity of military production facilities. No doubt intended to form the seed of a much more expansive industry, work has already begun on additional slipways at all three sites.
On a related note, November 3048 also saw the Aurigan Coalition's first-ever home-built warship launch, the Halcón-class Destroyer
Halcón rising from Mechdur's surface and joining the Nafanua in orbit. A well-armed and well-protected vessel, the Halcón represents an incredible accomplishment for any modern nation, and early wargames suggest that it will be very deadly when used correctly. Though the Aurigan Coalition was forced to purchase some of the design's components from its allies to complete the Halcón, it nonetheless places the tiny nation in a respectable third place within the ORDI when it comes to building warships.
Halcón Destroyer
Taurian Concordat
In an interesting move from the Calderon government, August 3048 saw Thomas Calderon appoint his son, Edward, as the Minister for Trade and Colonisation as part of a shakeup in the Taurian civil service. Historically a somewhat neglected ministry due to the Taurian Concordat's abject refusal to engage in meaningful relations with the Federated Suns —its nearest and largest possible trading partner— the Concordat's long-term membership in the ORDI has seen the ministry grow from an entity primarily concerned with domestic trade into one responsible for managing vast financial transactions between the Concordat and its allies. A capable and clever man by all accounts, Edward replaced the outgoing Quintin Sharrow only two months after the 80-year-old retired and has thus far avoided rocking the boat overly much.
While few know the exact reasons why Thomas appointed his son to the position rather than another candidate, many believe that it is preparation for the role of Protector, and speculation has already begun as to when Thomas Calderon may retire. Internationally, the Concordat's allies have adopted a wait-and-see approach in light of Edward's status as something of an unknown factor despite his positive image. Domestically, meanwhile, the move has made few waves, with the Taurian public seemingly busy celebrating the ORDI's victory over their long-time rival and the state's recovery of stolen territory.
With all that said, however, the shakeup has not been without its noteworthy events.
Only a month after the governmental shakeup, Protector Calderon gave a press conference announcing the integration of fourteen wildcat colonies on the nation's spinward border. While the press conference proved light on details, what little was shared described a series of colonies settled by refugees, explorers, and other wanderers, each of which had independently petitioned to join the Taurian Concordat. Recognising this for the flimsy justification that it was and fearing that the Concordat might have used military force, the Republic leaned on friendly figures within the Concordat government who told an altogether more interesting story.
According to the story given to the Republic, Edward's installation as minister for Trade and Colonisation and the overall shakeup in the Taurian government came after select figures informed the Protector —via Edward— that a secret colonisation program had been occurring behind his back. Organised by the Far-Lookers movement and managed publically, this effort was initially supported by the Concordat's colonisation tax breaks. However, after Thomas Calderon ended the tax breaks in 3025, colonisation secretly continued —partly paid for by diverting government funds. While this diversion ended some time ago after Far-Looker investments matured to the point they could handle the costs on their own, a political struggle within the movement combined with the growing difficulty of hiding the colonies led to one faction throwing themselves at the Protector's mercy.
Fortunately for all involved in this grand deception, while Thomas Calderon wished to have everyone involved shot for their crimes, Edward and his mother convinced him to "merely" remove all traces of their influence in the Concordat's government and take over management of the colonies. A very generous deal, all things considered, only time will tell how long it will take the Protector to clear his government of Far-Looker influence and whether it's ever publicly acknowledged.
Lending credence to the rumours that Edward is preparing to take on the role of Protector, late August also saw Edward Calderon and Dr. Thisbe Eoin announce their engagement. Longterm, and often long-distance, paramours, the relationship between the two had been the subject of fascination by Taurian media for many years, with most scrutiny falling on Dr. Eoin's role as head of the ORDIHCR. Either a leading figure in the fight for human rights or a bleeding-heart do-gooder depending on the exact Taurian asked, Dr. Eoin's job has seen her make many demands of the Concordat government in the past, and it's unlikely that marriage to Edward Calderon will change that. Preparations for the wedding, which will take place on Taurus on January 20th, 3049, have already begun, and fighting among Taurian socialites for invitations is reportedly heavy and vicious.
As cautioned during negotiations to apportion the Outback, the Taurian Concordat has found itself heavily burdened by its recovered territories —the systems recently acquired from the Far-Lookers not helping the matter despite their smaller population base. Home to many millions of people and undeveloped for their age, the need to provide the Outback systems with everything from a modern healthcare program to decent education systems has forced the Concordat government to reevaluate its budget for the next few years; drastic cuts at every level of government planned to take place. Though not more than the state can bear, the news of the budget cuts has triggered some grumbling in the Taurian home systems despite the generally ebullient mood of the general public.
However, within the newly acquired systems, the mood remains cautiously positive towards the Concordat, with only minimal conflict between former rebel groups. Seemingly driven by the notable increase in healthcare availability, the lack of repression, and the many other benefits of Taurian citizenship, areas like the Pleiades Cluster have generally been free of the kind of friction one would expect to see in new territories, Protector Calderon allowing the newly installed planetary governments a free hand in how they govern so long as they obey the Concordat's charter. While Republic analysts are too cautious to promise anything, barring any catastrophic errors, they're reasonably confident that the region should only continue to stabilise over the next few years.
As with the Aurigan Coalition, 3048 also saw the Taurian Concordat complete work on two 500,000-ton capacity naval slipways. Joining the Concordat's existing 200k and 500k slipways, these construction sites are a clear sign of the Concordat's desire to become a naval power in the region —likely due to the demonstrated effectiveness of warships in recent times. Not content to make do with merely four 500k-ton slipways, the end of the year saw Concordat companies break ground on two more construction sites. In addition, the Concordat has informed the Republic that it will continue building slipways for the foreseeable future.
Given the Concordat's clearly stated goals, it was no surprise when June 3048 saw the nation launch two representatives of its new Auroch class frigate design. Massing 500,000 tons, heavily armoured, and outfitted with numerous energy weapons, the Auroch class is the most dangerous warship the Taurian Concordat has designed to date.
Auroch Frigate
Magistracy of Canopus
According to the latest viewership figures released by Hardcore's Professional Combat Association, interest in the planet's gladiatorial mech games has spiked dramatically over the past year, with each month seeing an average of 10% growth in viewership. No doubt the result of the 3048 season's larger number of competitors and the larger prize pool on offer, themselves a direct result of Canopian investment, Hardcore's games have drawn in many Solaris fans disenfranchised after allegations of match-fixing and produced a record profit for the PCA. With additional arenas under construction —many of which will feature custom-sculpted terrains designed to recreate real-world battlefields or encourage gladiators to fight in particular manners— the PCA is confident that the 3049 season will be even more popular.
Speaking of the 3048 season, the overall winner of the 3048 Hardcore Games proved to be the Alphard Republic's very own Zephyr Castillon. Piloting an heirloom Shadowhawk and fighting for the Sabertooth Stable, Zephyr defeated the grand championship's other six competitors in a record-breaking, hour-long fight. Winning the Hardcore Belt, the million C-Bill prize pool, and the adoration of millions of fans across the galaxy, Zephyr will no doubt return to defend her title from all-comers next season.
In militarily more relevant news, late 3048 saw the Magistracy of Canopus inform its allies that it cracked the secrets behind null signature technology. First developed by the Terran Hegemony in 2630, the Null Signature System is a complex and highly delicate series of passive and active electronic countermeasures and heat baffles that combine to mask a BattleMech's heat and electromagnetic signature. Though far from being the kind of cloaking system featured in blockbuster holo-flicks like the Immortal Warrior series, now on its tenth film, Null Signature Systems allow equipped mechs to stealthily approach targets and render those same mechs far harder to hit at range. Difficult and expensive to produce for the same reason it is so effective, Null Signature Systems have already generated a great deal of interest among the other ORDI states, and the Magistracy has already unveiled a pair of mech designs making use of the technology —one brand new, and the other a variant of the Marauder II.
Black Heron BLK-RN
Marauder II MAD-5G
Capellan Confederation
No doubt pleased to keep up with its allies, late July saw the Capellan Confederation quietly inform the other ORDI states that its workers had finished work on four additional 500k-ton slipways; the total number of Capellan slipways up to six by the year's close and two 1,000,000-ton capacity shipwards well on the way for a 3049 delivery. Naturally, it was no surprise when the Confederation followed this report by ordering multiple new slipways with a 500k-ton capacity, nor when it informed the ORDI about the completion of its first new warship in centuries.
Equivalent in mass to the Auroch and Halcon, the Capellan Confederation's Carson II Frigate is a warship very much designed to fight other warships. Starting from the well-understood design of a Carson Destroyer, Capellan engineers dramatically shrunk the class's expansive cargo bays to only a fraction of their original size, the logic being that the Carson II would not need to show the SLDF's flag around the known galaxy for months at a time without resupply. With these savings, these engineers proved able to expand the vessel's hanger and add two Barracuda capital missile launchers, a plethora of Helghan-pattern medium lasers and Laser Anti-Missile Systems, as well as the internal bracing for two docking collars.
In addition, the Capellans swapped the design's single heat sinks for doubles and removed the original design's gravity deck —rendered useless thanks to gravity plates— to clear up space for 500 additional heat sinks. Finally, they replaced the entire engine assembly with one that can provide far higher thrust —albeit needing to eat into fuel storage to fit it— lopped off 10,000 tons of excess weight and up-armoured the vessel. Essentially a radically new design at this point, the exemplars of the class, the CCS Sian and CCS Victoria, are currently undergoing shakedown cruises in preparation for deployment on border patrol.
Carson II Frigate 3048
As if to mirror the advances made by the Aurigan Coalition and the Magistracy of Canopus, mid-3048 saw representatives from the Capellan Confederation's bureau for medical prosthesis announce several impressive manufacturing breakthroughs. While nothing the Republic and Magistracy haven't already achieved, these breakthroughs will allow the Confederation to construct high-end cybernetics locally, dramatically lowering the cost of cybernetic limbs for amputees. To the military mind, however, the most important aspect of this achievement is that it will allow the Confederation to make use of cybernetically augmented troops; suspicions only inflamed when October 3048 saw calls put out across the CCAF for volunteers meeting stringent criteria reminiscent of those used in the Republic's cybernetics program.
Federation of Autonomous Systems
In worrisome news from the Federation of Autonomous Systems, early 3048 saw a mercenary company formerly employed by Michael Hasek-Davion attempt to strong-arm locals on the planet of Okains. Badly battered by Helghan-equipped rebels during the Outback conflict and cut loose by the Federated Suns after the peace deal, the merc unit managed to slip through the ORDI's still over-extended anti-piracy patrols and deployed mechs near a major port city on the planet. Apparently seeking to seize trade goods on their way out of the region, the mercenaries attacked the city's port district and captured the warehouses there.
Fortunately for Okains and the Federation as a whole, while the planet lacked a HPG with which to call for help and ORDI warships weren't scheduled to arrive before the mercenary's JumpShip could recharge its KF drive, the planetary militia and their Helghan associates were all veteran warriors and the government willing to lose the contents of the warehouses. As a result, what the mercenaries expected to be an easy skirmish followed by hasty looting proved, in actuality, to be a pitched battle that saw their intended prize turned to ashes. Surrendering after a quarter of their number were destroyed or disabled, another quarter surrounded, and their dropship boarded by a militia Valkyrie, the mercenaries-cum-pirates are currently awaiting trial on Okains. While the outcome is far from certain, many across the FAS expect them to serve many years in the planet's penal system.
While Okains' successful defence means that one less pirate group is out there plaguing the region and is proof of the planet's continuing ability to defend itself, the sheer fact that pirates landed on Okains in the first place is inherently concerning. Furthermore, while the war's end has allowed the Republic to recommit warships to anti-piracy duty and its allies in the ORDI have deployed their warships to assist, the region's size makes preventing piracy difficult in the extreme.
United Rimward Collective
Similarly, though pirates thankfully avoided the systems of the United Rimward Collective, regional and political rivalries on Songgang conspired to create trouble for those attempting to distribute humanitarian aid. According to reports forwarded to the Republic by the URC after the fact, a Neo-Jacobinist militia based in the same city as the planet's primary spaceport temporarily halted the delivery of humanitarian aid to a region home to Marxist-Kerenskyists; the justification provided at the time being that the Kerenskyists were taking the aid for themselves and forcing the poor to do without. Though the system's ruling Maoist-Gaullist government was eventually able to smooth the whole thing over and resume aid deliveries, neither of the sides appears particularly happy with the outcome.
Federated Suns
As expected, the Federated Suns entered 3048 with a bang, the coreward state launching a massive counterintelligence sweep throughout its governmental agencies —particular attention paid to the Department of Military Intelligence and the Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations. Staggered over the year and initially carried out by the security office of the First Prince, whose agents were soon joined by those declared clear of influence, the spy sweep struck all levels of the Federated Suns government and placed many thousands under intense scrutiny. However, forewarned and forearmed about the sweep thanks to its widespread intelligence network, the Republic ordered its agents to go to ground the moment it began; the disparate collection of catspaws, blackmailers, and other espionage aficionados going dark over only a few weeks.
With its agents forced to cut all communication with Helghan and hope that their activities continue to go unnoticed, December 3048 saw the Republic's level of access to the Federated Suns' internal power structure return to a state similar to the one it had before it began spying on the state. Though Federated Suns have yet to make any claims about Republic infiltrators or even give the appearance of major internal shakeups, only time —and an effort to reconnect to Helghan agents— will tell how successful the Suns have been at identifying and eliminating Helghan spies.
On a similar note, although the level of destruction visited on Numenor and Augusta required a substantial investment of time, money, and personnel to repair, 3048's close saw the Federated Suns succeed in restoring the shipyards on both planets to operational order. Despite Republic spies going into hiding due to the Suns' counterintelligence efforts, the shipyards' proximity to major cities and the vested interest of the planets' inhabitants led to many publicly available pictures being shared by ComStar news services. Based on the imagery provided, Helghan military analysts have deduced that both shipyards have restored a 200,000-ton capacity slipway to a functional state. Under the circumstances, they also think it likely that the Federated Suns will soon resume construction of their navy.
'Embattled Duke Michael Hasek-Davion Passes Away; Aged 63'
Printed by the Federated News Services' New Avalon branch on the morning of August 27th, 3048, those words were the first report of the man's death outside of the Summer Palace; reactions running the gamut of emotions all across the length and breadth of the nation and beyond. Released only three days after the Duke had passed, the FNS article —and those produced by the company's competitors— proved extremely cautious both in how they presented the Duke as a man and in describing how he died, few willing to broach the topic of the Outback war or give much detail beyond the fact that his death was sudden and unexpected. No doubt aware the article was coming, if not responsible for its release in the first place, the First Prince's government followed up the next day by releasing a brief statement to the media whose only additions to existing articles were that he died peacefully in his sleep from a stroke and that he would receive a state funeral within the month.
Naturally, the reaction from ORDI states was far more united.
Within hours of the ComStar News Bureau releasing their reports, spontaneous demonstrations broke out on almost every ORDI planet against the Federated Suns, hundreds of millions marching against what they saw as an obvious snow job and social media networks filled with diatribes arguing the same. Differing only in the level of vitriol deployed and the exact words used, the broad strokes of the argument being that the Federated Suns faked the man's death to avoid his prosecution on Terra next year/to avoid him couping the First Prince/to exile him to ComStar. However, and unfortunately for this tidy narrative, neither ComStar nor its news bureau have criticised the Federated Suns on any level; ComStar even sent private assurances to the Republic and its allies that the man was dead and bemoaned the loss of the opportunity his trial would have represented to enshrine human rights. As if this was not enough, mere days after the news broke on Helghan and at the height of the Federated Suns's counter-intelligence program, a message arrived from a spy in the MIIO with an interesting, if hardly inflammatory, report.
Heavily encrypted, accompanied by all the correct signs and countersigns, dated August 24th, and containing an aside explaining that the news was worth the danger to her life, Lark's brief message described how Duke Michael Hasek-Davion had been found dead by a housekeeper that morning. However, where Lark's report differed from the Federated Suns' was in how the man died; the agent explained that the housekeeper had found the Duke's body in the bedroom and that his death was self-inflicted using bedsheets, photo evidence provided. With protests still ongoing throughout the ORDI and the trials for the surviving prisoners planned for 3049, only time will tell how the Republic's government will react.
In a move that has concerned Republic military strategists and lawmakers alike, mid-September saw the Federated Suns and Free Worlds League publically announce the start of discussions between the two nations regarding the use of Petrusite in the military sectors; spokespeople citing the poorly understood but devastating effects of Petrusite exposure as a driving force behind the move. Though the talks will only begin in January 3049, information provided by ORDI spies in the Free Worlds League combined with rumours and international reporting suggests that the nations are foremost concerned with the military applications of Petrusite and may be seeking to ban its use in war under the Ares Conventions. Doubtlessly primarily motivated by their lack of Petrusite and the substantial benefits the Republic enjoys thanks to its monopoly, the League and Suns uniting in banning Petrusite weaponry would not
inherently impact the Republic or pose much of a threat. However, things would grow more complicated if the League and Suns convinced ComStar, the Lyran Commonwealth, or the Draconis Combine to join the talks.
ComStar
To the frustrated relief of those who had to bite their tongues in the wake of former duke Hasek-Davion's death, early November 3048 saw ComStar complete work on the prison facilities, housing, and administration buildings required to carry out the war crimes tribunals agreed upon in the ORDI-Federated Suns peace treaty. Initially planned to open in early September —timing that may explain the reason behind former duke Hasek-Davions' death— construction issues combined with trouble finding qualified legal personnel caused unavoidable delays in the tribunal's opening, according to ComStar. While the exact format and nature of the tribunal remain unknown, ComStar has informed the Outer Rim Defence Initiative and the Federated Suns to prepare their prisoners to arrive on Terra by March at the latest.
Free Worlds League
As per the reports of Republic spies within the Free Worlds League, Captain-General Thomas Marik's plans to develop the nation's industry appear to be proceeding apace. Across the interstellar nation's territories, 3048 saw new factories built, once-unique machinery replaced, Warp Communications satellites deployed, and countless other minor and major improvements; the lack of access to League governments made the improvements hard to track but unmissable all the same. No doubt decades from completion due to the League's sheer size, if it ever does complete, the Captain-General's program is nonetheless a match for Archon Steiner's, with what information Republic analysts could gather indicating that they're neck and neck.
To the dismay and disappointment of many, June 3048 saw the Solaris Civic Council announce the results of its investigation into allegations of match-fixing by the reigning champion Kyle Isaacs. In a solemn press conference attended by representatives of all the galaxy's news services, the council's chairman, one David Glassner, announced that the organisation had found definitive evidence of a conspiracy to throw games in exchange for guaranteed payouts by Isaacs. Stating that Isaacs would be stripped of his titles and banned from ever competing in council-licensed games, Glassner added that all those who took dives would also receive lifetime bans, all seven of them serving as examples. Accordingly, the third-place finisher, Theodore Gross, was awarded the champion prize pool and status —though Solaris gossip rags suggest that he's not too happy to have one by default.
While a punishing blow to the reputation of the Solaris Games, the council's decisive action in response to the match-fixing allegations has seemingly won back a number of disappointed fans. Though not enough to completely reverse the damage, the second half of the Solaris season saw notably higher viewership figures than the first, and the council has received praise for its management for perhaps the first time in its existence. Finally, while former champion Kyle Isaacs has stated that he will dispute the ruling, few imagine he will succeed.
Lyran Commonwealth
With Lyran industrialisation efforts ramping up over the year, so too did militia training in the Lyran Commonwealth's Coreward Periphery. Supplied with large amounts of surplus equipment and training from retired LCAF officers, regional militias across scores of systems are reportedly already seeing substantial improvements from the multi-year program. While hardly a threat to any organised military force —and some of the more robust pirate bands— the increase in militia capabilities and equipment is not to be underestimated; the program's strong start bodes well for its viability.
Draconis Combine
As reported by ComStar and Federated Suns news services, several systems along the shared border of the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine have seen raids launched against them by DCMS and AFFS units, respectively. While details on the scope and nature of the raids remain unclear, in large part thanks to the Federated Suns' counterintelligence sweep temporarily disabling ORDI intelligence gathering, what information Republic analysts have been able to glean from public sources suggests that the raids are something like a return to the pre-4th Succession War status quo rather than the buildup to a major conflict. From what Republic analysts have gathered, it appears that the objectives of these raids have been to gain the measure of each side's respective enemy, units striking out against military bases and briefly skirmishing before retreating.
Given that December 3048 ended without the Federated Suns replacing its lost fleet, the Combine's reluctance to do more than raid is unusual. Lacking any particular insight into the Mustered Soldiery's inner workings or the Coordinator's court, Helghan theorists cannot confidently say why this may be the case. However, the most popular theories among them are: that the Combine fears the Suns' bomb-pumped lasers too much to risk losing a regiment to a lucky shot, that the Coordinator is biding his time building warships, or some factor unknown to the Helghan Republic.
Coreward Periphery
In a worrying turn for 3047's bizarre trend of dropping pirate numbers, 3048 has not only seen piracy from the coreward Deep Periphery drop to zero but all forms of trade and communication. Already uncommon, arrival numbers had plummeted by the end of June and flatlined entirely by September, whole portions of the region dropping out of contact and expected JumpShips failing to materialise. Dubbed The Blackout by the enterprising Lyran journalist who first reported on it —or The Silence, if one wishes to be overdramatic— the Republic would not be concerned with the matter were it not for the completeness of the information void; literally no news received from the Coreward Deep Periphery for three months by the time the year ended. Given the uniqueness of the situation and its localised nature, speculation on events has caught like wildfire across the Inner Sphere and beyond, experts and laymen alike caught up in the excitement.
Among the galaxy's mainstream media —those that wish to speculate, anyway— the prevailing theory is that The Blackout is just a series of natural dips in communication that have coincided in a manner that merely
appears artificial. The next most common theory regarding The Blackout is that the drop in messages and JumpShips is the product of a natural phenomenon preventing HPGs and JumpDrives from operating. Understandably, this explanation has met with equal opposition from governments, experts, and ComStar. Meanwhile, the explanations heard from lurid publications and in spaceport bars range from the overdramatic —such as claims that the Lyran Commonwealth is testing a HPG/KF drive jammer— to the simply ridiculous —such as claims that aliens or the SLDF-in-exile are preparing to invade the Inner Sphere.
Whatever the case may be, The Blackout has people worried. So worried, in fact, that mercenary companies such as the Gray Death Legion, the 17th Recon Regiment (aka Camacho's Caballeros), Markham's Marauders, etc, have all accepted contracts from governments. Interestingly, the galaxy's premier mercenary unit, Wolf's Dragoons, is the only one
not to have taken a contract; the company's six regiments remain safe and sound on Brazen heart —much to the Capellan Confederation's concern.
Faction Popularity and Issue Changes
Technologists: +5% support
Industrialists: +2% support
Influence Changes
-1.25 (ORDI Research Agreement)
+3 (base/year)
+4.2 (factions)
+5 (Expand MAWLR Corps)
+5 (Capellan Tools Trade)
+6 (BuShips)
+10 (ORDI Expansion)
Total: +31.75 influence
One-Time C-Bills Changes
-200,000,000 C-Bills (FAS/URC Infrastructure)
-200,000,000 C-Bills (FAS/URC Energy Development)
-100,000,000 C-Bills (FAS/URC Admin)
-50,000,000 C-Bills (FAS/URC Aid)
+50,000,000 (Capellan Tools Trade)
Total: -500,000,000 C-Bills
National Idea Changes
ORDI Research Agreement: Now includes the Alphard Republic (No more benefits possible)
Advanced Petrusite Theory: gains +0.5 RP for Petrusite research projects
Updated Info Posts
Helghan Republic
Helghan Republic: Current Date: 3050 General Stats: Population: 3.70 Billion Recruitable population: 35.3 million out of 37.0 million. Stability: 99% War Support: 83% Recruitable Pop Percentage: 1% Action Points: 18 (+2 from Spencer and Cassilda joining when High-Gain Tranceivers is...
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Helghan Republic Order of Battle
Helghast Order of Battle: Doctrine: Super-mobile blitzkrieg doctrine based around deploying divisions via ship-based dropships and cruisers. Navy...
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Helghan Republic Systems
Socio-Industrial Levels Chart: {tr} {th}Rating{/th} {th}Technological Sophistication{/th} {th}Industrial Development{/th} {th}Raw Material Dependence{/th} {th}Industrial Output{/th} {th}Agricultural Dependence{/th} {/tr} {tr} {td}A{/td} {td}High-tech world{/td} {td}Heavily industrialized{/td}...
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