Battletech An SI in the Concordat - GhostRider's Revenants (Battletech CYOA)Rev.2

[paulobrito]

12 Mars 3042, Taurus, Taurian Concordat


The meeting with Comstar representatives was a surprise from the start.


First, they didn’t have the usual robes, but rather expensive business suits. Secondly, they informed us that they were representing the Terran Government, not the extinct (!) ComStar. Apparently Earth was now governed by a Joan Stark, someone that nobody in the Taurian side had ever heard about.






However, their technological advance was still there; the Terran delegation had a permanent HPG contact with Earth, an impressive feat since many of the HPGs in the line of communication were damaged or in the Taurian or FedCom hands, which made this network an unlikely mix of Magellan JumpShips and comsats from the DRUM network, with a few operable HPGs (mostly inside the Capellan Confederation) but one that was still efficient. From what we understood, similar contacts were being established at the same time with the leaders of all the Great Houses. The Concordat was the only Periphery Realm contacted because of their mastery of their “own” HPG network.


Apparently the dispute between the religious / ROM fanatics and the secular / ComGuards had been won by the ComGuard - with a little help from the Comstar Navy, a fact only known later. With the WarShips and a large portion of the military DropShips lined up on one side, the religious fanatics and ROM had stood little chance as soon as ComGuard was able to concentrate its forces.


During the conflict ,both leaders were killed and the emerging faction in control, instead of continuing business as usual, decided in collaboration with other big corporations, and the different factions that formed the Earth government under Comstar, to take a new direction. Under the leadership of Joan Stark, they assumed the control of the Sol system and after a small interregnum to put the house in order, started to contact the other nations.


Initially, they pushed for a return to the old status quo, ie that the Concordat would return control of the stations it had captured so that the HPG service could resume under their control. Obviously, the Concordat representatives responded in more courteous and diplomatic language, hell no.


Honestly, that is what the Terran representatives expected, so they changed the negotiations, to their true objective, ie to try to negotiate inter-state communication protocols and fees, extract as many of the ex-Comstar people (and hardware) that might want to come to Earth and obtain rights for they massive civilian JumpShip fleet to operate inside the Concordat while trying to obtain a trade agreement for several civilian products that Earth apparently was going to start producing.






With my arrival at Taurus, almost at the beginning of negotiations with Earth, the information that Davion had an alternative FTL communications system had an interesting effect.
Claiming he had to confer with Kamea, which gave him the opportunity to delay negotiations whenever he wanted, since there was no working HPG link between Taurus and Coromodir, Thomas discreetly called the ambassador of the Federated Commonwealth, and after informing him that Concordat already knew about his alternative communications system, proposed a joint negotiation of both nations, which would obviously bring advantages to both. And by the way, he gave them all the information that the Commonwealth had about the new Director-General (yes, she had returned to the Cameron era title), Joan Stark, which was close to none.
Ten days later, the ambassador returned with an answer , that was not as good as Thomas expected. It was divided in four relevant parts - a) He informed Thomas that the FC didn’t have any data on the new Earth leader, b) that the FC JumpShips had detected no less than 12 WarShips in orbit around Earth, at least 2 of them being Battle Cruisers or larger, c) he recognized that the Federated Commonwealth was indeed in negotiations with Earth, not including any details and finally d) that obviously if such a strategic technology existed, details for a potential alternative FTL comm system would not be shared with anyone.


When pressed to give a date on their estimation for resuming normal communication activities, and after speaking with Earth, the representatives of the new Terran Government recognized that unfortunately during the fight, the industrial complex that produce HPGs (and parts) had been severely damaged, and that on top of that the few (their words) “fanatics” that had escaped taking with them a considerable part of the existing stock of spares. This meant that the repair of the HPG network was going to take time and would probably not be concluded before the end of 3045 or even later. Since the estimates of the Concordat were that by that time, it would have already repaired its network, no further collaboration was offered from both sides on that particular area.


In a gesture of good will, the Earth representatives informed us that the ex First Circuit had gifted about five hundred ’Mechs of SLDF origin to the CCAF, thankfully none of them (unless handling errors) Royal. So far, Romano Liao had used these forces to bolster his defenses which needed this help and hadn’t not (yet) entered in new adventures. During this time, a deep analysis of the control boards, and software, of captured Comstar's HPGs revealed that they had hidden codes that allowed messages to be sent without registration or even knowledge of the station operators. Another interesting piece of data was that also it was possible to send messages to some addresses, that didn’t exist in the official database of HPGs, and messages send to these ‘hidden’ address were automatically treated without registration also. Comstar secret bases ? So secret that only a small core would know of their existence? So far the mechanism that let the HPGs ‘know’ where to send these messages had not been found.



Because the FedRats had not proposed to share info / use of they alternative FTL comm system, no information on the possible SLDF base near Tharkad, nor the findings of the secret codes in the HPG network was shared and it was decided that a later mission lead by TMI to the location was to be planned.



Over the next years, the ex-Comstar, renamed Earth Communications, ECOM for short, for now operated in all the nations outside of the Taurian+Reach and the Federated Commonwealth. It was observed that the people that had believed in the religious side of the organization had disappeared in great numbers, destination unknown. Several of the ComGuards – now also renamed Earth Defense Force, deserted the organization, but in their case, they mostly turned mercenary, or applied to the armed forces of their former nations.


Earth started to offer high tech products on the market taking advantage of their big and modern industrial capability and commercial fleet, taking a not small share of the most profitable area of the Concordat exports and of mine.


Because of the need for many JumpShips to operate as replacement for HPGs during the crisis, and because a complete change in the production planing of several industries was need to prioritize the replacement / production of parts for the new Taurian HPGs, several new and expansion industrial complexes were delayed in the Concordat + Reach. Including on that list were the shipyard on Mechdur that was delayed by two years at minimum, the new lines of DropShips in Illiushin, the new high tech factories in Coromodir V and several military and civilian production lines all around both nations.


If the objective of Earth was to maintain the control of the HPG network outside of the Taurian Concordat and Federated Commonwealth for a long time, they failed miserably.


By mid 3043 it was known that the fanatics had moved to the Free Worlds League and had been welcomed by Thomas with open arms. The reasons became know very soon, when in early 3045, the League took control of its HPG network and also used several WarShips – all ex-SLDF Navy designs.


By late 3044, the covert mission led by TMI to Odessa had discovered that indeed a repair / mothballed base indeed had existed in the system, but had been emptied recently…


By mid 3046 the Draconis Combine went dark for two full months. When communications were resumed, the HPG network was fully in the Combine hands.


By the end of 3046, this let only the Capellan Confederation, that was too poor and under the reign of Romano Liao, not stable or lucky enough to embark in such long term and expensive research program or to get it from spies and the other Periphery Realms using the Earth HPG network.


It was later discovered that Romano had decided to invest more in rebuilding the nation shipyards, and constructing a new one, capable of producing WarShips in the Sian system, instead on put money and resources in developing they independent HPG network.


So far, all nations had agreed to use ECOM protocols and to talk with each other, but how long this was going to last was anybody guess.


By late 3045, the construction of the Concordat class Frigate had started in Bolthole.

 

[paulobrito]

Between 3042 and 3046 much changed in the Aurigan Reach.
The reconstruction following the damages caused by the civil war and the later Capellan attack was finally completed. Many new industries started their activity, even though the vast majority of them was not even close to state of the art technology, but they provided the necessary services and products for the local economy.
While the big (relatively) industrial centers were Mechdur and Detroit, I had done my best to put as much state of the art technology, both civil and military, on the industries on Coromodir V, which were directly managed by my family, after the civil war and the end of the House Espinosa. For that, after a lot of meetings and a mix of pressure and fiscal incentives, VMI had created a filial in Coromodir V, but not for old products but for top-of-the-line ones.
Thus, the small (compared to New Vandenberg) local production of Freezers and Endo-Steel was made there, as well as the most advanced state-of-the-art electrical components.
A part of the Griffins produced in Mechdur were then modified, with their 12 Heat Sinks being replaced by 10 Double ones and 2 Medium Lasers. It was not much but at the moment we still did not have a local production for the ER PPC, which was initially planned for 3049, due to delays caused by the HPG crisis. Until that date, they had to be imported from the Concordat, for a few upgraded ’Mechs, mostly for the Royal Guards.
In Detroit, we had started the production of the Vali, which was a cheap option to increase the artillery component for various forces and therefore a good option for export, even if the buyer could not buy the Arrow IV guided version, since for now Detroit could only produce the simplest version, leaving the most advanced one to other firms like VMI.
At the other end of the scale, VMI in New Vandenberg began production of the Pantsir, the 50-tons version of the Vali, with fusion engine, network capabilities (like an early version of the C3 tech) and using the SAM version of Arrow IV. Although it was not cheap, it added for those able to pay a much needed defensive capacity against ASFs.
The news that other nations had WarShips and that at least two of them, Earth and the Federated Commonwealth, had built or were beginning to build new WarShips, led the Concordat to review its plans.
Thus, the shipyard in Taurus, instead of increasing the production of Invaders, began a much more ambitious expansion, which in 3052 would allow the Concordat to produce WarShips. In New Vandenberg, after years of studies, the second phase of expansion of the shipyard began. Instead of producing Invaders, the new program (that should be ready by 3055) would be able to produce a modernized version of the Leviathan JumpShip. With the experience gained in the maintenance of the Leviathans belonging to my companies and with the gathered data on the latest versions of the old JumpShips, which had already solved many of the problems of the old lady, a modernized and updated version, would be built in this shipyard. The first batch would be for the service of the Taurian Armed Forces, adding a much needed transport capacity. The only increase in the production of Invaders would therefore be from the shipyard in Mechdur.
These years were also good for the Revenants which expanded during this period while going through an important reorganization. All the elements that were not Taurian or Aurigan had their contracts not renewed, making the force 100% native. Kaneda Arisa, had meanwhile married one of her colleagues and obtained the Aurigan nationality. She was the commander of one of the ’Mechs companies, and continued to be by a wide margin, the best ’MechWarriors of the Revenants. At the moment she was using one of the few Toro II that the RCT had. Yes, a Regimental Combat Team. The unit had grown in number and even though it was from the beginning a combined arms unit, not only the fact that the Taurians were great supporters also of combined forces, but I particularly was a great supporter of that concept, led me to prefer the RCT format used by the Federated Commonwealth instead of following the traditional Taurian model, even if at the moment two of the ’Mech battalions were under-strength, as well as the ASF component. That also gave us the added benefit to help training the TDF against RCTs, in the hypothetical case of a war against the Federated Commonwealth. In the transportation area, unfortunately, they only had the capacity to move about one third of the forces unless they resorted to external JumpShips and DropShips. They had also changed in another area - they had discreetly dropped their mercenary classification to 1st Aurigan Guards RCT, nicknamed the Revenants. With the future JumpShips production in Mechdur and the expansion in DropShips production all around the Concordat, I was sure that in a few years the transport limitation would be over.

 

[Lancelot]

I assume English isn't your first language, but I seriously suggest finding someone wling to edit these chapters. The grammer near completely ruins the story.

 

[Tel Janin Aman]

I assume English isn't your first language, but I seriously suggest finding someone wling to edit these chapters. The grammer near completely ruins the story.

It's not that bad and he's definitely been improving over the course of his story

 

[Tryglaw]

It's not that bad and he's definitely been improving over the course of his story

Yes, I have no problems with the writing.

 

[Lancelot]

It's not that bad and he's definitely been improving over the course of his story

Your right it does improve. Too bad it slowly stops being a personal story and starts to read more like a history book. Hopefully he does the smart thing and forces Wolf to do what he was ordered to do. Warn and prepare the IS for the clans.

 

[paulobrito]

Factory by factory, world by world, the Concordat had been upgrading and expanding their industrial capability in the last decades.


That was helped by the continuous production of Snowden and Snowden-L mine stations, which provided said factories with raw materials and were by mid 40s present in almost all the systems in the Concordat and Reach that had a rich asteroid belt. Some ere even start to appear in Oort Clouds in the Taurus and New Vandenberg systems.


That also led to the expansion of the internal market and the overall growth of the Taurian economy.


While many of the other nations had followed a similar path, the Concordat was still ahead thanks to its early start and having access to almost every blueprints of every factory and products (civil and military) of the Star League, Very few outside the Concordat knew its real economic power, they knew that the Concordat can produce advanced tech since it was selling them on the open market but not the volumes it can produce.


One area in special started to benefit from that – big, advanced DropShips.


While before the Concordat Navy only used standard Union models to reduce costs and improve the availability of spare parts, now after a nasty “war” for securing the defense budget, the Lee was selected as the new standard DropShips for the TDF / Navy. It was an incredibly expensive DropShip (hence the “war”), and very high-tech, but the benefits were also great, mostly because of the different variants available


When compared to the Overlord, the mainstay of almost all other States, the ‘Mech Transport variant could carry 4 extra ’Mechs, about 900 tons more of cargo, had better armor and weapons, all this with a better acceleration.


The ordered variants were ‘Mech Transport, Aerospace Carrier, Vehicle Transport, Cargo Transport and Pocket Warship. Except for the latest one, all others were late SLDF models, and the blueprints are already available.


The Pocket Warship configuration replaced the cargo space that normally carried 40 ’Mechs and 6 ASFs with 6 AR10 tubes in the nose and 78 Killer Whale and 12 Barracuda in the standard load-out but could be any mix of Barracuda (30t), White Shark (40t) and/or Killer Whale (50t) up to 4.260 tons.


The Navy was a deciding factor in selecting the Lee over less expensive solutions in the budget wars as what a Concordat Frigate could do with a pair of PW and another of CV (or any combination of the two types) was a wet dream for all the admirals and all that at for less money and faster production time than any traditional bigger WarShips, something they were eager to explain over and over.


With these expensive DropShips starting production for the TDF / Navy, the production of Unions and Overlords switched to being sold only to foreign powers or to mercenary. With the increasing tension all over the Inner Sphere and the Periphery, the demand was there.


In the civilian market, the long time pet project of Dr. Murad also entered in production in late 3046. The Starlifter, heavily inspired by the massive Mammoth DropShips, had all its components produced by VMI in Illiushin, where the assembly was also done. Like the Lee for the military and the Union before, it was to be produced in several variants, Standard cargo, Heavy cargo, Liquid transport;, Liquid gas transport, Passenger transport and Troop transport (which a more streamlined sub-variant of the Passenger transport one). While each taken individually was expensive , the fact was that with them entering in service the number of needed collars was reduced dramatically.


That the Concordat could start both projects in the mid to late 40s, was a demonstration of both the advanced technology it had mastered as well as power and capability of its industry.


In January 3045 a representative of the Wolf’s Dragoons visited VMI Headquarters in New Vandenberg. His purpose was simple, Jaime Wolf wanted to start the production of the Shogun Assault ‘Mech and proposed this business to VMI. If on the one hand the company was very interested in producing the model, on the other hand the intransigence of the Wolf’s Dragoons that it would be produced exclusively for them killed the deal. Even at best, with 5 regiments and two independent battalions, the number of ’Mechs produced would not be enough to offset the expense. Too bad as I was interested in deepening relations with the Wolf’s Dragoons, but not at the expense of a bad business that would also affect my CEO position.
Between 3045 and 3047, I was involved in two other VMI matters.


The first was related to the prototype of the second assault ’Mech model to be produced by the company and the first totally original of the company. Continuing the 'zombie' ’Mech line that was the signature of the latest VMI original product series, the Hellfire was going to be a scary machine for anyone facing it and a wonder of technology.




HEL-TC2 Hellfire


Technical specifications
Weight: 85 tons
Cost: 8,454,685 C-bills
Movement: 3/5
Engine: 255
Heat Sinks: 20 DHS / Freezers
Armor: 16 tons
Weapons: 2 ER PPC (LT and RT), 2 LPL (LA and RA), 1 TAG (Head), 1 Guardian ECM (CT) and 2 SL (RL and LL).



As usual,it was only proposed to the TDF, which accepted it with open arms after thoroughly testing the prototype.


The following subject had to do with the Tornado PA(L) wreckage captured in the VMI attack in 3041. The Stealth / Adaptative Camo System was very advanced and out of VMI production capabilities. , even though research continued. The models were clearly tailored to the users personally, something that was also considered inefficient if reasonable production and non-astronomical cost were to be desired. In the end, after 5 years of research and testing, a similar model (without advanced camouflage), and slightly less capable in other areas but that could be mass-produced entered testing. Of course, both the TDF and the TMI were very interested in this project.


How did the TC achieve these capabilities ?

For starters, they were the only nation to get the Helm AND New Dallas data cores.

The others got access to the Helm one but would need about 10 years to decrypt it while the TC got it fully decrypt from the start.

The New Dallas Core not only had a lot of Royal / late SLDF blueprints / designs but more importantly (in this universe) was a repository of industrial espionage, with an immense collection of data, blueprints on all kinds of industrial goodies - from factories to tools to final products - military and civilian, from the time of the Terran Hegemony to the late SL days - just before the Amaris Crisis.

Another factor was that like the Terran Hegemony, it invested a lot in space extraction industries - Snowden and alike.

In this universe, Thomas was not that maniac against the Federated Suns and because Edward survived, the relations with FS / FC were much better.

The result was that in the second half of the 40s that they were very advanced and that these advanced industries could produce a lot of shinny things.

It took them about 20 years, but they did it years before other nations.

 

[paulobrito]

January 4th, 3048
Coromodir System
Overlord DropShip Chieftain


On route to Coromodir VI, capital of the Arano Province of Taurian Concordat (three months after the unification)


'Jaime, explain me again why we have to satisfy this little prince's desire and come to a meeting with him in person, for something that could be handled by an administrative official?' asked Natasha Kerensky with a bored look.
'Natasha' Jaime responded with a patient air of long years of experience dealing with the infamous redhead 'first, the proposed business includes several items that are of interest to us, including the production of Assaults that Jamison so badly wants, and which Blackwell cannot supply because they have dedicated a big part of they resources, first to upgrade the factories in Outreach to Clan specs, and later using said factories to produce Omnis, at a very slow rate. While we / Blackwell continue to produce ‘standard’ ’Mechs and equipment, our resources are finite, and the Omnis lines take a big chunk of these. Omnis that we cannot put into service as you well know.' After Natasha acquiesced Jaime continued 'The prince's companies, as you call them, not only do the maintenance to our JumpShips and DropShips but are already one of our largest suppliers of equipment, principally of advanced technology, outside of Blackwell. If he also wants to negotiate a contract for training his forces and asks for our presence, we might as well satisfy the request, don't you think so? So, please don’t accuse him of been a Wolverine, ok? Wolfnet has concluded that the hardware he got was obtained from the Baumann’s cache.’
‘That is why you were chosen to lead our small gang, I do not have the patience for political or palatial games.’ Natasha answered ‘Ok, ok, I promise to behave’.
Upon entering orbit, the Chieftain passed near TCS Zarantha Calderon.
'The Taurians showing their newest toys?' commented Natasha.
‘Considering that this is the first WarShip built in hundreds of years, it is natural that they want to show it, in the capital of their new province’ answered Jaime.
The Chieftain was directed to a military spaceport, landing next to a similar looking, but much bigger DropShip.
‘Why do I get the impression that someone is trying to give us a not very subtle message?' asked Natasha with an ironic look.
‘Or someone important, like one of the Calderons came to pay a visit, which would explain both the WarShips and that one' replied Jaime calmly, looking with an envious look at the huge Lee class DropShip next to his Overlord DropShip. 'I wouldn't mind having some of these in our TO&E.’
A luxurious and discreetly armored limousine was waiting for the pair and took them immediately to the palace.
The protection of the palace was impressive, with several heavy defensive towers, several ’Mechs patrolling the area and battle-armor and PA(L)s at the entrances.
‘Now this is definitely showing off the new toys - that I know nobody outside the Concordat and Comstar uses battle-armor or PA(L)s' exclaimed Natasha.
'Comstar and by association the new Earth government have PA(L)s too, but you are right, ' replied Jaime looking at the defenses, 'and if I am not mistaken some of these ‘Mechs are Royals. There is definitely something going on,' he said.
Without making them wait, they were immediately brought to a large and comfortable office, very well-equipped, but without ostentation with two PA(L) outside of the door . At the desk was a tall man, in his fifties, without a white or gray hair over in his blond mane, and with a military air that the civilian suit he wore, with a comfortable yet good cut, couldn’t disguise, who stood up to welcome them.
'Colonel, Colonel, welcome to Cordia City, the capital of our province. I apologize for the excessive security you saw, but because Edward Calderon is currently in conference with my wife, the security had to be increased. Please sit down, and we have a lot to take care of'.
'It has been a while since we met, your Highness.’ said Natasha ’17 years, if I am not mistaken. That time it was in 'my office', so to speak'.
‘Mantharaka, 3031, good memory Colonel, or should I say Star Colonel Natasha Kerensky of Clan Wolf ? We have a lot to talk about the weather in Strana Mechty and what the Crusader Clans are planning to do, and your position on that, don't you think?’

 

[Tryglaw]

Ah, the good old "how is weather on Strana Mechty", can't go wrong with that one.

We should tempt Ed to join us here on the Sietch.

 

[paulobrito]

What can I say? I love the classics.

 

[paulobrito]

Boy, I had been dreaming for so long to say this to their faces...
The silence then the silent denial, followed by the understanding was going on like I had foreseen it. And I had everything recorded from various angles and in high resolution... unfortunately not in 3D/holographic as the equipment for that was too big to hide well.


A few minutes latter


‘How?' asked Jaime, keeping a calm air, but his eyes and tone of voice indicated that the time for joking was over.
‘It is a damn Wolverine, it has to be with the ’Mech and equipment that he showed more than a decade ago,' Natasha almost screamed with a very dangerous look, forgotten the Wolfnet information that debunked that theory, and almost jumping out of the chair.


‘First, thanks to confirm that information’ I said in a calm voice with a small, tense, smile. ‘How? It is quite simple, after all – after you stopped communicating home in early 3020s, the Smoke Jaguars sent a ship to investigate. Fortunately for us, said ship suffered a misjump and ended stranded deep in the Periphery, with almost all the electronics fried, and all people dead. About two years ago, one of my teams, searching for hidden SLDF bases, found it. Like I said, both the JumpShip and DropShip electronics were fried and all aboard were dead, but the personal data crystals are another story. And in the captain’s cabin we found several heavily encrypted crystals, with a variant of late SLDF codes. A few months ago, the decoded files arrived to my hands, and they told me a very interesting story about your little group. Your mission, your TO&E, including several WarShips that you never showed, a lot about the political and history of the Clans – interesting stuff, Trueborns and Freeborns, Bloodnames, Wardens and Crusaders, and a not-named Clan, that I believe is the Wolverines, by your reaction, - and their mission, finding you to discover why you stopped sending them intel. So, I will ask you one more time, why did you stop send information back, and what are your intentions these days?’


‘And what do you intend to do with that information?' asked Jaime after a long exchange of glances with Natasha without answering my question.


'Good question - in reality what is really of interest to me is what you intend to do, when as I predict, either the Crusaders – that I infer just want to invade - win the majority, and decide to mount a campaign to ‘free’ us, or the Terran Explorer Corps come face to face with one of the worlds of the Clans? From what I know, and from what I got from the Wolverines data, I have a good idea of the location of the Clans worlds and the TEC is getting close. From what I know, the Clans have equipment superior to the best that even the Royals had. So I ask you again, when the Crusaders invade, what do you plan to do, and in case it's helping us, when do you plan to start?’
This was followed by a prolonged silence with several exchanges of glances between the two.
Since they didn't decide to talk, I added 'as far as I know the last time you carried out a resupply mission and received more Clan personnel was almost 30 years ago, so, what happened? You decided to stay, or you received secret orders from your Clan to stop all contact?’
‘Eliminating you will not solve this issue, will it?’ asked Natasha, but her posture and stance made it clear that she didn't intend to do something stupid.


‘Apart from these PA(L)s just outside that door, there is also a WarShip in orbit. Let’s say that if you try something violent, you won't leave this system alive, so spare me the useless menaces, ok?’ after a moment, Natasha acquiesced, and I continued ‘If I understand what I read about the society that the Clans have created - you don't have a future there in case you want to come back, right?’
Again, a prolonged silence with the respective exchange of glances. Finally, Jaime looked at me.
'We have a lot to think about, before making a decision that affects the totality of the Dragoons, can we have a few hours?’
'A reasonable time, yes but not a single minute more.’ was my answer.


‘We will come back to you, before the end of the day’ say Jaime Wolf, and with that they both departed for their DropShip.

 

[paulobrito]

The integration of the Aurigan Reach in the Taurian Concordat was finally concluded on October 4, 3047, eleven and half years after the Agreement in March 3036.


The changes to the Aurigan side were fewer than one would have expected, mostly because the Aurigan legislation was loosely based on the Taurian one and because we were already partly economically integrated..






However, some problems needed to be addressed. For starters, the fact that there wasn’t a ‘Province’ in the whole Taurian Concordat or anything close to that. After that, that said Province was to be governed hereditary by the Arano-Bassot family also needed to be included into the Taurian law. And many other big or small details, all vital for the good and pacific integration of both realms. Thomas took advantages of the need for so many changes in the Taurian laws to add a few of his owns with some of them being discarded after later review by the Concordat Courts. One of the big problems caused by the integration was that the Arano-Bassot were at the top of the power families, just under the Calderons, something the other families didn’t like very much for obvious reasons. A lot of political soft power and a few behind the scenes negotiations were needed to get the legislation to pass, and even then with a closer margin than Thomas liked or would have thought (which probably meant more troubles ahead of us) Thankfully, for Thomas, the status of the rest of the Reach nobles, already left without much power by Kamea, was not touched upon by the new legislation, and they were considered as the equals of the Concordat ones. On the negative side, all these nobles were a group of unhappy people with some power, that sooner or later would need to be dealt with.


While many problems still existed, the decision to advance with the integration was made from both sides and from history, it was known that wanting all the problems to be fixed would mean running the risk of the unification never happening. After all, the Federated Commonwealth merge occurred with plenty of problems to be fixed.


During these eleven years a subtle campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Aurigans (and the Taurians) to the new future was run, with a remarkable success, aided, no doubt by the Aurigan royal family doing everything they could to ease the transaction – they would be governing the province after the unification, had signed the accords, and were not interested in troubles, after all.


The fact that during the past twenty years, first the Bassot companies and in the last decade the Concordat, had invested heavily inside the Reach, also helped. For example the shipyard in Mechdur, that before could barely repair a JumpShip at once, turned before the unification in a full shipyard, starting producing Invaders, while at same time being able to provide maintenance to six JumpShips at the same time. In reality, it had been planed that the first JumpShip should be built before the integration, but the Comstar / HPG Crisis had delayed that. And even if the population of the Reaches might still be lacking the skills to work there, they benefited from all these investments.


With so many things that still needed to be done, it was going to take several decades for the worlds to be fully integrated in the Concordat, but the process that had started eleven years ago, was coming to a new phase.


The ceremony held for this unification was festive in Taurus, and dignified in Coromodir – understandably, the ruling house had less to celebrate as they adjust changed from the supreme rulers of a nation to rulers – with a superior – of a province.


Soon after, the TDF forces and the Taurian diplomats started to ‘visit’ the free / independent worlds in the area that existed near Detroit and Herotitus. These worlds that the Aurigan Reach had in the past considered too poor to annex and that had mostly been abandoned by the Concordat, the Capellan Confederation or the Magistracy of Canopus long ago, were now from a security point of view, to be absorbed.


After all, it wasn’t a good idea to have independent world inside the Concordat, and unlike the Reach or the investment program going on, they could be taken and brought to better standards without crippling the finances.

 

[paulobrito]

As agreed, Jaime and Natasha returned to my office at the end of the day. By the serious, closed expressions, I got the idea that it wasn't going to be an easy conversation, and that it was better to be extremely careful with what I was going to say.
After the usual banalities, I went straight to the point - 'I assume you made a decision, can I know what it is?’
'What the Dragoons are and do, only concern them' answered Natasha with clenched teeth and a bellicose look. This is not starting well was my immediate thought.
'We are not confirming anything, Your Highness but Natasha is right and the Concordat has nothing to do with the internal affairs of the Dragoons.' replied Jaime in a calmer tone, but looking me straight in the eye and with a posture and tone of voice that left no room for doubt that I was on the road to big troubles if I kept on this path.
'Understood' was my immediate response as I processed the position of both.
‘With that, I think it is time for us to leave.' asked Natasha standing up with a challenging look.
'Of course, there is no conflict between the two parties' was my answer to Natasha 'but I think that the initial reason for your coming here could still be discussed, don't you think?' I continued, trying to get something out of this mess.
‘I must say you are not lacking...' replied Kerensky with a laugh, starting to get up in order to leave, but was interrupted by Jaime.
‘He's right, Natasha,' Jaime answered without getting up and with a thoughtful air, 'after all, we came here to discuss contracts and options of equipment production, not politics or loyalties.’
‘You've got to be kidding me,' murmured the famous Black Widow as she sat down again.
'For my part, I'm interested in hiring for six months, Natasha's forces for advanced training' I was interrupted by a short laugh and a funny look from the red hair legend 'and as for the construction of Assault ’Mechs, I see no problem in creating a production line for the Shogun, if the sale is authorized for the TDF, which will make production profitable. For other customers, subject to your permission, of course'.
After an exchange of glances between Jaime and Natasha, Jaime replied 'Unfortunately Colonel Kerensky's forces are unavailable for the foreseeable future' to train the Dragoons in Clan tactics, it was my thought 'however I could give you Zeta or Epsilon for that job.' Jaime replied 'As for the Shogun, I think we can come to an agreement.’
‘Zeta? Please, Colonel, Zeta is the kind of blunt instrument that you aim at a target and say “Zeta, smash”' Natasha laughed at this ' but it is not the kind of unit that is useful in training other forces, Epsilon is acceptable. As for the Shogun, I was thinking of producing an updated version, like the -2H'.
‘The initial SLDF model?' asked Jaime, after I agreed, he continued, 'if the first production run is for us we have an agreement.’
‘I think that access to advanced technology is out of the question?' I asked without much hope 'In your dreams', was the answer in an ironic tone from Natasha, while Jaime more diplomatically shook his head.
‘’And regarding your “findings”, I think you will keep them for yourself? After all, I think I read this sort of crap by dozens by now.’ said Jaime.


‘Why not? After all, we are business partners and it is not as if we were on the verge of being invaded’ was my conclusion.
As I watched the Chieftain heading into space, I thought that I hadn't achieved much with this meeting, this is what you get when you underestimate your opponents. At least I didn't have to give complicated explanations to anyone.




Still thinking about it and even if I had been at first confused by the refusal of Jaime and Natasha to help the Inner Sphere so far, it was not that surprising.

Jaime was a very bitter man at this time as I saw it. He was founded to hate three of the four Houses of the Inner Sphere and this might explain his “refusal” to carry out his orders:
Kurita - for their breach of honor and backstab of both troops and dependents.
Marik - for the death of his brother and maybe his children as well as of innocent civilians, even if it was repaid in blood and fire, the bitterness could still be here.
Liao for hiring the Dragoons off to Marik as shock troops for the rebellion and using them as tools in their little games.


Or he could have had a problem of foreseeing how to do it alone without real proof of the Clans and without the possibility to harm innocent ones back “home” if he told everyone about it.

 

[Tryglaw]

Of course, a real plot twist not seen in fan fiction would be for the Wolf's Dragoons to turn crusader, let the Clans know "we've been had" and "the scavenger lords are unworthy, let us liberate the IS from their yoke".

I just looove the smell of plot twist in the morning...

 

[paulobrito]

Of course, a real plot twist not seen in fan fiction would be for the Wolf's Dragoons to turn crusader, let the Clans know "we've been had" and "the scavenger lords are unworthy, let us liberate the IS from their yoke".

I just looove the smell of plot twist in the morning...

Yes, can be, but, by Lore, the Dragoons don't know how to return to the Clans, so that is a bit difficult.
For now, both sides pretend that this conversation never existed/is a false assumption.

 

[paulobrito]

In 3049 and knowing that all the IS nations - including Terra - had and were building WarShips, and in the case of Terra and of the FWL - thanks to the now Word of Blake - larger and more powerful ones than those owned by the TDF, a new construction plan was decided for the Navy.
The admirals wanted Battleships or at least Battle Cruisers and a substantial modernization of the Concordat Frigates, that were still under construction.
The realities of the budget quickly put an end to these dreams of greatness.
Ships larger than the Concordat were out of the question, not only because they were prohibitively expensive, but they took too long to build, which would lead to very few ships available.
After several heated discussions, a construction plan was decided that would allow a (relatively) versatile Navy with a reasonable number of ships without breaking the Concordat budget.



The Concordat Frigate would be improved to mod.III, even if it was not as much as the Navy wanted.
The armor would be replaced by improved ferrous-aluminum and not by lamelor ferro-carbide - too expensive - and it would not receive a mobile HPG. However, it would receive 24 AMS, 6 Arrow IV SAM, the LRM get Artemis IV, the Large and Medium lasers were upgraded to pulse models, 12 ASF were added and the 7 Naval Lasers would be all of the NL55 model. They also received 2 AR-10 launchers, and the Taurians being the Taurians, every ship would carry some ‘special’ warheads for the capital missiles.


All these upgrades came at the cost of reducing the cargo capacity, the cargo could ‘only’ carry 30k tons, instead of the just over 50k tons on the standard model.


Using the same base design - to save on costs, research, and construction speed - a carrier version would be built. Removing the NAC/20 and the respective ammo allowed it to receive a total of 36 internal Fighters. The modifications also included CAG installations, flagship installations, advanced communications and sensors, and a mobile HPG while armor, naval lasers and defensive systems equaled those of the Mod.III. The fuel capacity was doubled, and spares, ammo and fuel reserves for the ASF greatly increased.
The complement of DropShips would be 4 Lee-CV, which together with the internal ASF would give this carrier a staggering 196 ASF, more than enough to dominate any adversary force. And if that was not enough, you could always add the 36 extra ASF from the three escorting Concordat Frigates. And any ASF that the DropShips loaded in said frigates could carry.





To complement these ships, it was decided that a modernized version of the Pinto class Corvette - with the 80 MG replaced by 24 AMS and the 800 SHS by 600 DHS - would be produced in large quantities.
The main purpose of this ship would be to patrol Concordat systems as it was more than capable of dealing with any pirate or any force not accompanied by WarShips, which would free the other ships for other duties.


The result of Dr. Murad's team ingenuity (in reality heavily based on a design from Nebfer at SB), the Mriya was a fast armed military transport. Incredibly expensive, it was to be only for use by the TDF and took two years to be completed, the first to be delivered in 3052. Because of the price, only a few were ordered, enough to move a quick reaction team the size of a reinforced combined arms brigade.


Mriya JumpShip – Fast Military Transport
Weight: 400,000 tons
Cost: 2,274,159,434 C-bills


Heat Sinks: 142 DHS [284]
Fuel Points: 742 (297.0 tons)
Armor: 100 (Capital Scale) (Improved Ferrous-Aluminum) – 167 tons.


Equipped with lithium-fusion battery system.


Armed with 12 ER LL,8 ERPPC,12 MPL and 12 AMS


Carrying Capacity
Aerospace Fighter (2 doors) - 2 units (2 recovery open)
Small Craft (2 doors) - 4 units (2 recovery open)
Cargo Space (2 doors) - 724 tons


Dropship Capacity: 4
Grav Decks: 1 (100 m)
Escape Pods: 0
Life Boats: 19






With all the changes and alterations needed on the shipyards, none of these new ships – the Concordat Mod.III, the Concordat Carrier, the Pinto and the Mriya – was planned to start construction before mid 3051 at least.


At 200 tons, the Flanker was a replacement for the Tigress, an enlarged, much more advanced one. Using the latest technologies available, it was armed with 3 ERPPC in the nose, 1 Gauss Rifle on each wing, with 2 tons of ammo each, 2 rear facing Medium Lasers and 1 AMS with 2 tons of ammo. It was also equipped with a Beagle Active Probe and a Guardian ECM while being protected by 20.5 tons of Ferro-Aluminum, and using 18 DHS. It could also carry externally, under the wings, 6 Arrow IV AShM/AAM or 2 Alamos.
Its production would start in mid 3049. This TDF only unit would be deployed at the zenith and nadir jump points.

The integration in the Concordat led to the production of Griffins in Mechdur and Jenners in Detroit being modernized.
The Griffin -1N production line was upgraded to the -2N model (Royal) and the Jenner was redesigned with an Endo-Steel chassis, Ferro-Fibrous armor, 10 DHS, its SRM-4 being replaced by 2 Streak-2 and CASE to protect the ammo.
The Leclerc series of vehicles received a new variant. In the fusion engine ones, the AC/5 and LRM15 were replaced by a Gauss Rifle with 4 tons of ammo.



In 3049, although the full production of the PA(L) specializing in infiltration / stealth had not started, some had been built. Like those from Comstar / Terra / WoB, they were extremely expensive and had to be produced manually by specialized technicians, however ours were extensive modifications of the standard models and not personally customized. The main utility of the two built was to be used as OpFor for sensor tests capable of defeating their advanced stealth systems, or for counter infiltration training by organizations that had this technology. At first TMI was very interested in some stealth PA(L), but they balked at the price and maintenance hours. This was a very maintenance intensive ‘toy’, after all. After some complains, they managed to get their hands on some of them, as they were ideally suited for their black ops.
An interesting side of PA(L)s production was that it greatly helped solving several problems affecting other battle armor models. The new Jack-II included several improvements and corrections and it was superior in all aspects to the previous models. Unlike the old one, the Jack-II could to use the new Light TAG that was coming into service on the TDF in 3049.

 

[paulobrito]

Outreach


Harlech City


Early 3051


Office of Colonel Natasha Kerensky






Natasha Kerensky and Elizabeth Nichole were in a comfortable looking sofa, sampling the contents of the well equipped whiskey stock of Natasha.


‘So, Nichole, how is it to train the Reachers?’


‘That depends, Natasha. The former Royal Guards, now the Reach Guards, are a standard battalion of moderately competent fanatics, but lacking in imagination and with standard equipment. They take the punishment and might one day improve’.


‘And the little Prince’s pet troops? Are they a decent adversary?’


‘The Revenants? God, they are a nightmare. They have hardware you don’t find in other forces, Battle Armor, almost a battalion of these buggers, Fighters armed with AAM and AShM variants of Arrow IV missiles, a lot of EW equipment and other things that nobody has. And they are starting to know how to use them.’


‘Well, everyone is starting to produce these new toys, it is just a matter of time before we also get some. I’m confident that you will find a way to overcome these toys.’


‘Well, while everybody is indeed starting production of these, and the key word is starting, the Revenants have already plenty of them and are developing a doctrine to use them and they have used us to test it and train their personnel. They also have another variant of the Arrow IV, the FASCAM one, that deploy minefields on demand. Real nasty, until now I have see that one at ‘home’. On top of that, they also have a new arty smoke shell. This one also messes with IR, Radar and Lidar. Some of my techs think they use a mix of hot, persistent particles, magnetic ones and a new type of aerosol with a real impact on Lidar systems. They successfully mixed all these in a single warhead and when fired in numbers, they turn your forces almost blind. They like to use them just before launching an ambush or to stop a rush.


‘I see I need to arrange some exercises against them, I always liked a challenge. Something more to report?’


‘The troubles begin in space, with these heavy Fighters loaded with their special missiles, they can defeat many invaders there. After that, they have these armed satellites and SDS lite forts with Naval Lasers. I’m telling you, only a force with WarShip support could invade a world like that. And that is just the beginning.’


‘Oh? Tell me more.’ said Natasha refilling the cups.


‘The Revenants have a bigger than normal Aerospace Fighter component. All, even the light ones are armed with these dammed missiles. On top of that, in the atmosphere, they use some modified old cargo planes, with DropShips like sensors and comms, that give them better sensor range and allow for better coordination of the Fighters. Normally they are very fragile, but you can’t get to them. If you try, you end in a trap against Heavy ASF with plenty of these triple dammed missiles. I only was able to win against them a few times.’


‘New toys and new doctrine. I see the Little Prince has been busy.’ commented Natasha.


‘Don’t tell me. As soon as they achieve air domination, they deploy high altitude – out of the range of ground weapons – high endurance drones, with passive sensors, IR and neutrino detectors my techs speculate so that they can detect our forces anywhere.’


‘Have you tried scenarios without them having air domination?’ asked Natasha after a bit.


‘Yes, they are eager to try these also. No good. It is slightly better, because they don’t deploy these radars, but our own aerospace forces couldn’t do much as they deploy a lot of Leclercs in the flak configuration supported by Valis with SAMs. My aerospace forces hates the Revenants by now. They are trounced most of the time.’ said Nichole with a melancholic air.


‘And other than the these bad news, what new surprises do they have in stock?’ asked Natasha, after emptying the cup and with an interested look.


‘Let me see… They love arty. Between these smoke shells and minefields on demand, they can stop any assault very fast. Trying to destroy it is complicated as it is very mobile and always protected by strong forces. They like to use the new Leclerc variants for that, one that is equipped with a Gauss Rifle and can do nasty things to the Light ‘Mechs sent against the Arty. Somehow, they also have a new heavy camo net, that can help conceal the tanks way better than the normal ones.’ said Nichole, taking the bottle and refilling her cup.


‘And on the ’Mechs side? Also bad news?’


‘Apart from the fact that they have a lot of them equipped with Beagle or Guardian ECM units, and that they most of the time refuse decisive battles, not so much. The Prince as you like to call him, prefer to send fast units to deal with our depots and kill us with a thousand cuts strategy. He has modified some of the Maultier hovers to fast carry battle-armor, using them to execute said raids to destroy our depots. The silver lining is that they are just starting using that new doctrine and toys, so, we got them several times because of failed coordination, wrong sense of timing everything that happens when you are not yet proficient in a job.’


‘Ouch.’ said Natasha with a sympathetic look ‘and how did the Arano-Bassot behave on the battlefield?’


‘Only the daughter fought. Kamea is busy ruling the Province, and Jean-Luc is more in the HQ, coordinating his brainchild. But I have seen both in the range and they are good, very good in fact. The young one is not bad for her age and experience, piloting one of these new Toro ’Mechs they started to deploy which is basically an advanced Wolfhound with jump-jets. By the way, my ’MechWarriors want to get some of these.’


‘What I think is strange, is that they are showing you, well us, so much new hardware and their new doctrines. Normally these are state secrets, not show in front of mercenaries, much less ones that are resident in another nation.’


‘Oh, the Prince, wants us to know his ideas, he calls them Air-Land Battle 3050 and he want your and Jaime’s input. In fact, he asked to know what you both think about the results if they were to be used against forces from Home.’ looking intensely at Natasha, Nichole continued ‘I think that the Prince considers a serious possibility that an invasion will take place in the near future.’


‘So, he knows something and is preparing. That makes sense in a way. The Revenants are gearing to a very different kind of warfare and we need to adapt or be left behind.’ Said Natasha refilling her cup again. ‘Any bright-side on that depressing report, Nichole?’


‘Some. For starters, we are a better unit than the Revenants, if you remove the fancy toys and novel doctrine. They are still adjusting / learning to implement it and several times it failed. It is also very expensive to implement and much of that demand that they obtain early air supremacy. My suggestion is that we invest in EW and enlarge our aerospace arm. We also need to advance with our Battle Armor program faster.’

Wolfnet analysis and conclusions – no recommendations at this time





Technologies that started to be produced by several nations.

Battle-armor
AAM Arrow IV
SAM Arrow IV

Technology / designs used by Comstar / Terra / WoB / Taurian Concordat

PA(L)

Technology / designs only used by the TDF / Revenants - The Revenants because of their close association with VMI get almost all the Concordat tech early on


AWACS - cargo plane with DropShips class sensors and comms suit. It is not a factory made conversion, more a field modification, probably made by the V4RU VMI department. Only one observed.
Drones - long endurance not manned drones that fly at altitudes higher than any ’Mech weapon can reach with IR and Neutrino passive sensors. Factory made, only 3 observed. Probably prototypes / first production run for field test. Numbers show not enough for a continuous field survey.
Heavy / advanced camo net - similar to late SLDF Royal models, but apparently a bit more advanced.
FASCAM - minefields deployed by arty / Arrow IV.


Advanced 'smoke' shells - smoke shells with hot particles + magnetic particles and a mix of improved aerosol that do a mess to any laser system (Lidar, rangefinder, or other)
Maultier BA - modified Maultier hover transport modified to move Battle Armours Factory made models.
AShM Arrow IV - very good to destroy DropShips, outside the range of said DropShips weapons.



While other nations use passive deployed sensors, the Revenants use more and more advanced ones.


Note – While the Revenants are integrated in the TDF after the merging of the Aurigan Reach with the Taurian Concordat, they still have a considerable margin of independence.


Wolfnet considers unusual that the Revenants show so much new hardware and doctrine to the Wolf’s Dragoons. It seems that for unknown reason, the decision makers from the Taurian side or the Arano-Bassot regents want this knowledge and their capabilities to be known and understood by us.

 

[paulobrito]

Note: In this chapter, several of the shipyards and WarShips being built have nothing to do with OTL / Lore. The differences are significant. Note that it is the initial phase of construction, of new designs, with the exception of some cases pointed out, which means that the first ones produced are still many years away from being considered operational.


TMI Report regarding the construction of WarShips by other nations.

Federated Commonwealth
New Corvette design in Port Simon Naval Shipyards (Galax) and Ioto Galactic Enterprises (Gibbs).
New Heavy Cruiser or Battlecruiser design in Port Sydney Naval Shipyards (Alarion)
New Heavy Cruiser or Battlecruiser design in Kathil Shipworks (Kathil) - different design from the one under construction in Alarion.

Capellan Confederation
New Heavy or Light Cruiser design in Saroyan Shipyards (Sian).

Free Worlds League
New Corvette design in Illium Shpyards (Atreus).
New Heavy Cruiser design in Illium Shipyards (Atreus and Ionus).

Draconis Combine
New Corvette design in Midway Shipyards (Midway) and Terada Warship Yard (Dieron).
New Frigate design in Midway Shipyards (Midway).
Narukami class Destroyer (Block II / modernized?) in Luthien Naval Yard (Luthien).
Samarkand class Carrier (Block II / modernized?) in Luthien Naval Yard (Luthien).

Earth
New Destroyer design on Titan Yards (Sol).
Dante class Frigate in Titan Yards (Sol).

Apart from the Frigate produced in the Sol system and the Destroyer and Carrier under construction in Luthien, all these are new models, all in the initial construction phase of the first model of their class and it is most likely that they will suffer from delays as well as problems before real production can begin.


TMI estimates that none of theses new designs could be operational earlier than in five years.


In the case of the FWL, the considerable fleet of ex-SLDF WarShips is maintained by a new dockyard in orbit of Gibson, the system gifted to the WoB by Thomas Marik. That said ships are all still crewed by WoB operatives and that none were transferred to the FWLN is a source of tension between both groups.






The race-to-arms in the dark navy explains mostly why we don’t see many new ’Mech designs, the other nations military are content with upgrading the current models with refit kits , or upgrading the lines to include the new technologies for the next production runs.

Addendum – The mystery of the new JumpShips deployed by the Magistracy of Canopus





While not WarShip related, it came to our attention that during the last decade the MoC has deployed several more JumpShips than it is supposed to have. The first ones were old ones, but their origin is still today unknown. In the last two years the MoC started to deploy more brand new Invaders than their only shipyard in the Canopus system can produce. We couldn’t find any link with other nations making a purchase unlikely . TMI postulate that the MoC has a hidden shipyard, somewhere. So far, none of our ships that routinely visit the MoC to deliver goods, has found anything. If you add to it, the six months disappearance of the Second Canopian Fusiliers eleven years ago, it is probable that the MoC has found a lost colony in the Deep Periphery, one with a functional shipyard, and managed to conquer it.

 

[Amir-015]

At the rate they are going they are going to be the most advance mercenary unit outside of the Wolf Dragoons.

 

[paulobrito]

They are not a mercenary unit anymore. Even before the merge, the Revenants stoped the status of 'available merc unit', and with the merge, they assumed the status of a House unit. See chapter 61.