The mechanicus is both miserly and oddly generous here. Normal procedure would never let a polity outside the Imperium and vassals get any vehicles or anything beside some kind of lasgun and light weapons. Here they get a pittance of tech and still feel like they at least got SOMETHING xD
"We would need to provide technical assistance to train your people in their maintenance and operation, and certain materials would require you to purchase replacements from the Mechanicum, you lack the gravity furnaces and matter forges to create the alloys needed to replace some parts." He hesitated, "Otherwise. Yes."
Can you call it cheating when the sphere needs 1000+ years of study for some of the basics of the known, flashy observed tech.
The admech would not even be forced to use archeo dark age tech to deal with all factions, including the clans. Time will lessen projected casualties for them, their already in use assets and escalating expansion assures them of almost certain total victory already.
They are also more ruthless as by overall culture and doctrine than the coocoo dictatorial space japanese of the times.
The Clans fell on the Periphery like a tidal wave, tiny independent states with no real military worthy of the name, half maintained battlemechs, tanks and more. The Chainlaine Isles burned as the Crusader clans took to the tip of the spear while the Warden clans flanked the invasion corridor. For the first time in perhaps a century WarShips filled the skies over worlds, dropships fell like rain and without a meaningful whimper of even the slightest meaningful resistance they were swept aside under the wroth of Kerensky's returned children. Those who failed to surrender were forced to bend the knee.
Over a mere two months they advanced past the speedbump of the Periphery and the first invasions of the Inner Sphere proper began in earnest with the entire coreward end of the Draconis Combine falling under total invasion, and coreward of the Federated Commonwealth coming under the same level of assault.
It was then that the first shock was delivered to the Clans.
---
New Caledonia
The Warships filling the skies of New Caledonia were abuzz with activity managing the falling parade of Dropships into the atmosphere. The 328th Assault Cluster detected the anomaly long before it was in range. The curious spatial disrupting coming from outside of the system had drawn eyes and telescopes. And the warnings of the Dragoons echoed in ears and minds. A vessel was coming in accelerating harder than any ship they had.
No. Not one vessel. Two. Drives blazed like unchained suns and it took only a few minutes for the Clan Wolf fleet to identify the craft coming in couldn't possibly be anything they were familiar with. Each of the massive vessels was four kilometres long and massed at least twenty two million tons, almost nine times what the heaviest ship the Clans could field massed. "Star Captain. These vessels do not match the pattern of vessel called Speaker for the Omnissiah." The commentary was useless, but they were professionals and would not refuse to provide information, "Enemy vessels are closing fast."
"Bring about all combat vessels. Prepare to meet the opposition in battle. Open communications, broadcast." He stood facing the screens, though it would only broadcast his voice. "I am Star Captain Marcus Jennings. The Wolves of Kerensky have claimed this world for their own. What tame dogs defend it?" It would take some time for the light, and message to cross the distance. And he ordered for better telescopy of the vessels as he waited. He estimated twenty minutes for them to receive the message. They were monsters, and their wicked prows sported a nasty looking ram. It was studded with weapon systems, though he was more concerned about their significant broadside capability. And nearly an hour passed before a message came back to them. It was not that he had misjudged their distance. They had waited until they were deep in the system to even try.
"I am Archmagos Raziel Kain of the Martian Mechanicum vessel Phobos. Pray to whatever gods your heretic minds cling to, for we are about to deliver you to them." The message was short and Marcus blinked, frowned and leaned back. There was something very much not right about the approach the enemy was employing. There was no subtlety.
"Sensors. What course will their path take?" He asked and the operators studied it and conferred.
"Each vessel will pass on opposite sides of our fleet... they won't come within ten thousand kilometres of us?" The operator said surprised. "Are they just trying to impress us?" It would be a while before they came close enough for any kind of real communication.
He waited, as they all did with bated breath as the range closed. And then they were a light second away and the Star Captain frowned. They had ceased accelerating a while ago, and actually decelerated heavily once they had closed within ten lightseconds. And now... "Are they still on course to miss us?"
"Enemy vessel firing!" Came a sensor operator and he turned to see one of his Cameron class Battlecruisers burned through from prow to stern, the colossal energy beam reaching out from over half a light-second away. His jaw fell open, the sheer accuracy of it was... his own vessel rocked, the McKenna class struck by the other vessel, the more oblique angle saved his ship from being cored entirely and yet the damage alarms were going off as almost a quarter of the midships was burned out and through, the beam lasting almost thirty seconds before powering down.
The Engineers spoke up. "Critical damage. Jump core is destroyed, twenty percent of port and starboard armaments destroyed, power failures on multiple decks..." How long would it be before the enemy ships would be in effective range?
"Open fire. Give them something to think about. Fill space where they should be with as much firepower as we can. Order all ships fire free." He only had half a dozen ships, his own flagship was crippled and the Cameron was burned through. Dead as it could be. PPC, Laser and Autocannon fire erupted from the naval scale weapons, missiles leapt from capital launchers and aerospace fighters spilled into the void in an attempt to engage the enemy vessels.
The enemy ships didn't turn. They didn't alter course. And he saw why. They saw through telescopes and sensors as the fire which was targeted accurately encountered an energy field and ceased to pose a threat to the vessel and...
"Order every ship whose drive is charged. Emergency jump to rendevous." Three of the WarShips engaged their drives with mere moments to spare. The two massive enemy ships were now flanking them and as laser light began to snarl at their aerospace craft. Much more massive laser weapons came to life on the enemy broadsides and cut the rest of them to pieces. It was only through pure chance that he managed to survive, bulkheads slamming into place keeping in the air. Neither enemy ship remained in the battlespace. They moved into orbit over the planet, swinging into a wide orbit over the landing sites for the Clan Wolf, planting their noses towards the planet.
For two hours he watched as sustained energy beams ripped from the noses of the craft towards the surface. Then they came about and... the destroyed Cameron was the first to receive their attention. The belly of the beast unfolding massive cranes and...the vessels began to cut up the ship and draw its parts into the maw.
---
Four days. Four days he waited, watching as the enemy harvested the remains in orbit. The air was beginning to grow stale, attempts to enact repairs failing before finally they turned on his own crippled ship. And...
They didn't. A flash of light behind him forced him to spin, pistol in hand and firing as.. five massive armoured figures, something called Thallaxi, protected their master.
"I am the Archmagos Raziel Kain. You are being granted the honour of surviving to tell the story of what happened here. Ave Omnissiah." Another flash of light and they were gone, leaving in their place a... an oxygen generator.
The Clans are cooked. I do wonder, how effective would a decapitation strike on the Pentagon Worlds and the Kerensky Cluster be? They left minimal forces behind. The Mechanicum could speed over via Warp, Exterminatus a World as an example(read: "Exterminatus Huntress") and then just imply they won´t stop. The Clans could continue...but then they´d return to Ash and Dust. I feel like the Wardens would fold at the least, so they could just clean up the Crusaders.
The Clans are cooked. I do wonder, how effective would a decapitation strike on the Pentagon Worlds and the Kerensky Cluster be? They left minimal forces behind. The Mechanicum could speed over via Warp, Exterminatus a World as an example(read: "Exterminatus Huntress") and then just imply they won´t stop. The Clans could continue...but then they´d return to Ash and Dust. I feel like the Wardens would fold at the least, so they could just clean up the Crusaders.
Unironically, the Pentagon worlds are actually reasonably safe from that for one major reason. The Clans not only didn't backslide technologically, but they continued to progress. They're a good resource to tap. Don't need to burn em all
Maybe if they invade right away they had a chance. But an active shipyard over mars basically means they are doomed. Even a "light" cruiser is a fleet killer.
Unironically, the Pentagon worlds are actually reasonably safe from that for one major reason. The Clans not only didn't backslide technologically, but they continued to progress. They're a good resource to tap. Don't need to burn em all
plus unless they somehow capture the data and co-ords for them its not easy to locate them. The thing people also forget is the pentagon worlds were also a powder keg, while it seemed the clans were united and all fanatical, they really werent. The warriors and tank born were the top of the food chain but most fo the rest really didnt like that, infact in canon the scientiat caste revolted and managed to seize control for a short while until the warriors returned.
Without the science caster, work caster or engineer caste the clans are just techno barbarians take those away and they collapse rather quickly.
