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No, I meant something readily believable -- a plausible plotline that doesn't leave everyone lining up to ask "Just how in Bob's name did this happen?"

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I'm serious about being frivolous.

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Nova Cat Confederation

In January of 3068, the Nova Cat Delta Galaxy, along with saKhan Karl Devalis met their end at the hands of a Word of Blake offensive that shattered the Tabayarna Prefecture of the Draconis Combine. Reeling from that loss, the Word of Blake’s next attack nearly destroyed the Nova Cats. Catching Alpha Galaxy, led by Kahn Santin West, on Irece with a heavy fleet, the Word of Blake had the Nova Cat force on the defensive and about to collapse. Only the timely arrival of the Ryuken-ni and the bulk of the Nova Cat fleet saved Alpha Galaxy, and Kahn Santin West, from death.

From that early time to the end of the Jihad, the Ryuken and the Nova Cats worked together closely, owing each other nothing less than their lives. When an assassin, decided to be Word of Blake by a later investigation, killed Coordinator Theodore Kurita and Duke Hassid Ricol rose to lead the Combine, the Nova Cats began to see the writing on the wall. With Hohiro Kurita killed by the first strike on Luthien, and Lore Master Minoru told his input was not needed, or wanted, the Combine began to drift into the past again.

Long loyal units like the Benjamin, Pesht, and Galedon Regulars quickly received priority supply status, while units more loyal to the Kurita family like the Dieron Regulars, Genyosha, Ghost Regiments, and the Ryuken began to fall as they were ordered to stand their ground against Word of Blake forces without enough supplies. Some Ghost and Ryuken regiments began working with the Nova Cats, taking supplies and orders from Kahn Santin West instead of the new Coordinator, but the Dieron Regulars were effectively destroyed by the Word of Blake assaults.

After the war, the units that were now labeled Ronin by Coordinator Ricol disappeared, most analysts believe into the fractious Proserpina Syndicate. The Nova Cats however, still loyal to the Combine, stayed in place to control what was now known as the Nova Cat Prefecture. Badly damaged by the war, including the loss of the Black Lion-class Severen Leroux to a large Word of Blake fleet in 3072, they still had the ability to defend their systems, but they spent most of their resources in the next decade rebuilding.

In 3087, Lore Master Minoru had a vision of a Nova Cat beset on all sides by enemies and driven to a new land. When Warlord Kiyomori Minamoto brought his forces in to relocate the Nova Cats onto reservations, they met an enemy who was prepared for their actions. Unable to defeat them without heavy losses, Minamoto asked for reinforcements from the Pesht Regulars and the Arkab Legions while Nova Cat messages requesting support flew to the Rasalhague Dominion.

The reinforcements arrived at the same time, but the Arkab Legions turned on the Combine to support the Nova Cats, putting the Draconis forces on the defensive. The arrival of elements of Clan Sea Fox heralded the beginning of a full-scale war as the Draconis Combine pulled in regiments from all parts of the nation to deal with the four forces.

The war went on for three years as they bloodied themselves on the ground and in space, culminating in a massive battle over Meinacos where the Kirishima-class Siriwan, flagship of the Second Draconis Fleet, exploded with all hands to the depleted Nova Cat and Dominion fleet. Khan Santin West had lost many men and women in the fight, but had judged it worth the risk, with the Combine being pushed by the Robinson Republic and the Raven Alliance.

Within a week of the battle, a message requesting a cease-fire came from Luthien. The following negotiations cemented Nova Cat and Azami independence from the Combine, sating their drive for vengeance.

In the last decade, the Nova Cat Confederation has rebuilt their shattered armed forces and has even managed to purchase some new Fredasa-class destroyers, as well as numerous smaller WarShips, from the Dominion to support the York-class Lioness, the flagship of the Confederation navy. Salvaged from the wreckage of the Dieron shipyards, the Lioness has become the symbol of Nova Cat might in former Combine space. Able to build upgraded versions of the Union and Overlord-class DropShips, as well as the Nova Cat OmniMech, the Confederation Armed Forces are growing at a noticeable rate. After over three decades of construction, the Nova Cat is the most common OmniMech seen in the Confederation ground forces.

The Nova Cat Confederation, like the Rasalhague Dominion and Clan Wolf, has achieved full equality in rights between trueborn and freeborn, and has ended the formal practice of discarding older warriors into Solahma units. Like the other Clans and the Draconis Combine, the Nova Cats are far more Spartan than other realms in the Human Sphere, eschewing luxury items in most cases. Their waste-not want-not attitude has contributed greatly to their survival against the Word of Blake and the Draconis Combine, giving them a powerful military force far out of proportion to the number of systems they control.

Recently, clashes with the Smoke Jaguars near Luzerne have reinforced their need to push their economy to increase the strength of their aerospace assets, though. As one of the Clans, they are able to build and maintain technological levels beyond what even the Lyran Commonwealth and Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance can manage, but the question as to whether the Nova Cats can maintain their independence from their friendly, and not so friendly, neighbors remains.

Factories
Avon – Matabushi, Incorporated – Union and Overlord.
Irece – Irece Alpha – Griffin IIC and Shadow Hawk IIC BattleMechs, and Nova Cat OmniMech
– Barcella Beta – Shoden

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Read what we know about it carefully. They did exactly that. Also make sure you forget your assumptions about what the Jihad achieved. A lot of the animosity towards the Jihad results from mistaken assumptions about the Jihad.

I have read it carefully. And thus far, I find it about as believable as an episode of Scooby Doo.

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I'm serious about being frivolous.

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A lot of people share your opinion, and a lot of people don't. There's no need to be rude about it, and the discussion is rather pointless.

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--neko128

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"The cookie told me to!"
"Cookies aren't always right, you know."
"But they're so sweet!"

Ditto.

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Who was being rude? We were politely disagreeing with eah other.

But yeah, the discussion is kinda pointless, and as soon as I saw that this thread had received a reply, I decided I was gonna opt out of that particular debate.

_________________
I'm serious about being frivolous.

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Here is something else for you all to mull over (some additional fuel for your fires)...

THE STAR LEAGUE:
The groundwork for the Third Star League was formed during the Jihad with the coalition formed by Devlin Stone. After the Jihad, the Stone called for the official formation of a new Star League.

One of the key questions that arose with the formation of the New Star League would be who would lead the new Star League. The first Star League had been the tool of the Cameron family and in its final years had been victim to the machinations of the Council Lords. The second Star League had fallen victim to the same machinations and ambitions that destroyed the first Star League.

In order to ensure the survival of the Third Star League, Stone called for the creation of the new office of Regent (as opposed to First Lord). As one of the provisions for the creation of the office, and to maintain impartiality in Star League affairs, the Leaders of the various states were barred from the office. Instead, the Star League High Council would select the Regent from either the BSLA or the SLDF. In order to gain consideration for the office of Regent, one had to be the head of one of the departments of the BSLA or the commanding officer of the SLDF. The Regent would serve in office for a 10 Year term with a two-term limit (There was an addendum added to this provision that stated that if a major crisis should occur at the end of a Regent’s term in office, the Regent’s term could be extended for the duration of the Crisis).

I. The Organization of the Star League

1. The Bureau of Star League Affairs (BSLA) – Unlike the original BSLA, the current Bureau of Star League Affairs tries not to play a “Big Brother” role with the member states and generally lets them run their internal affairs as they see fit. However, the Bureau established the following departments to assist in interaction between the member states.

• Dept. of Administration – The department is responsible for handling the BSLA bureaucracy, which handles the day to day running of the Star League Organization.

• Dept. of Diplomatic Relations – Mediates in disputes between Star League member states and also keeps diplomatic relations open with non-member states.

• Dept. of Economic Relations – This department oversees economic relations between the member states in order to ensure the smooth flow of commerce. It also steps in to mediate trade disputes and to ensure fair trade practices between member states. Additionally, the Department provides and maintains a universal currency, the C-Bill.

• Dept. of Information – This department is responsible for the gathering and dissemination of knowledge in all fields. Also, the department is responsible for seeking out and retrieving information that has been lost as the result of centuries of warfare.

• Dept. of Interstellar Communications - This department oversees and maintains the HPG network in the Star League member states. Also, in conjunction with the Department of Diplomatic Relations, the Department of Interstellar Communications also provides an advisory role for HPG networks run by non-member states.


2. The Star League Defense Force (SLDF) – Originally formed from a hodgepodge of forces that fought for Devlin Stone’s coalition in the Jihad. The SLDF serves as the policeman/fireman of the Inner Sphere, maintaining the peace between member states and serving as a buffer against states hostile to the Star League.


II. Key Star League Worlds

Terra – Capitol of the Star League. The High Council convenes in Geneva, Switzerland, which is also the location for the headquarters for the BSLA. The SLDF Headquarters is located in Sandhurst, England.

Northwind – Home of the Northwind Highlanders, Northwind is also home to a major SLDF Base as well as home to a major military contractor for the SLDF, Cosara Weaponry.

Outreach – Outreach remains the home of Wolf’s Dragoons and also remains the center of the Mercenary Trade in the Inner Sphere. The SLDF, with the Dragoons’ permission, have built a large base on the Remus Continent and use the Tetsuhara Proving grounds to train troops. The Dragoons also serve as the OPFOR for the SLDF (although the Dragoons still hire out their regiments on a regular basis). Also, Outreach has once again become home to the Martial Olympiad.

Dieron – In addition to its large base on world, Dieron is home to the largest SLDF Naval anchorage outside of the Terra System. Also, the Star League is in the process of rebuilding the Terada Naval yards, which were severely damaged during the Jihad.

Liberty (Carver V) – The Star League rebuilt the old Star League facilities on the island of Quantico, and is now home to the primary troop-processing center and boot camp for the SLDF.

Tukayyid – With the incorporation of the Free Rasalhague Republic into the Rasalhague Dominion, the Ghost Bears agreed to let the Star League keep the world as a holding. SLDF Forces currently based on Tukayyid are strategically located to deal with the situation in the Draconis Combine as well as any potential incursions by the Jade Falcons or Wolves.

Atreus – With the collapse of the Free Worlds League and the resulting Civil War, Atreus became a forgotten world as the various factions fought for dominance. This changed during the Andurien Crisis of the 3090’s (Capellans invaded the Duchy of Andurien and the Mosiro Archipelago - I’m still working out the details). In the wake of the crisis, the Star League, with the consent of the various warring factions, set up Atreus as a neutral enclave and a refugee safe haven where the representatives from the various factions could meet under a flag of truce.

Solaris IV – The games world, with its large multinational communities, came under Star League jurisdiction during the 3090’s. The Andurien Crisis ignited riots between Capellans and Free Worlders, and escalated into open warfare between Capellan and Free Worlds Stables.

There might be some other worlds I might include. BTW, I have some theoretical alternative history questions I wanted to run by you guys:

1. What would be the chance that George Hasek (frustrated with his governments' lack of help in fighting off the Blakists and later the Capellans) would take a significant chunk of the Capellan March and defect to the Taurian Concordat (whose government is left with a leadership void after the removal of Grover Shraplen?)

2. Now lets say after having their Toumans depleted by (1) the Jihad; (2) fighting off incursions by the Home Clans; (3) and being ejected from the Clan Homeworlds, that the Crusader Wolves and the Jade Falcons merge into a new Crusader Clan (Clan Jade Wolf, anyone)?

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Happiness = Watching Goose go Mach 3 with his hair on fire...

Interesting information there.

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Azami Caliphate

At first, the Word of Blake Jihad was simply another war for the Arkab Legions to fight, another threat to the Dragon for their loyal allies to exterminate. When the Word of Blake forces spilled over the border of the Free Rasalhague Republic onto Camlann in 3068, Tai-sa Sahalli Odessa’s 2nd Arkab Legion fared badly but fought until a Nova Cat force arrived to support them. During the rest of the war, the Arkab Legions worked with the Nova Cats and the Ryuken, drawing resources from the Nova Cat reserves after the death of Coordinator Theodore Kurita and the ascension of Hassid Ricol.

Having been loyal to the Combine for centuries, the Arkab Legions refused to set aside their vows, but when word reached them that Kurita family members were being hunted down and killed by the Yakuza, they arranged for what was left of the family to have safe haven in the Azami lands. To this day, Kuritas are the only outsiders welcomed in the “Desert Paradise” of Algedi. This quiet rebellion against the new leadership of the Combine did not go unnoticed and a low level war between elements of the Yakuza and the Azami began and wages to this day. The Azami have long thought that the decimation of the 4th Arkab Legion on Ogano in 3071 was because of this war, but have never been able to pin full blame on the Combine.

The last major action of the Arkab Legions on Ashio in 3075 left them in tatters and unable to mount any effective assaults. Their mission was a success though, having forced the Word of Blake to leave behind nearly a battalion of modern BattleMechs as they retreated back to the Terran Corridor to deal with the Star League. The Legions “forgot” to inform the Combine of this capture and moved the BattleMechs to Algedi where they were stored and readied for future action. They no longer trusted the Combine, but centuries of honor did not allow them to simply walk away.

The decade that followed saw the Azami rebuilding their shattered Arkab Legions. They rebuilt the Atlas factory on Al Na’ir using local resources and used that production to build up newer Legions that the Combine knew nothing about. In addition to entire battalions of Saladins, Saracens, and Scimitars, when the Draconis Combine moved to eliminate the “Nova Cat Problem”, the Legions were ready.

Called to support the second wave of the assault, after the Nova Cats proved just as ready, Odessa’s 2nd Arkab Legion turned on the Combine forces in Port Arthur. On the very spaceport where the invasion forces of Operation Bulldog landed during the war to reclaim the system from the Smoke Jaguars, Odessa shattered the 8th Dieron Regulars. Over the next three years, Odessa led assault after assault on Kuritan forces, and even managed, with the support of the 1st Azami Legion that incorporated the captured Word of Blake BattleMechs and a full battalion of Atlas BattleMechs, to smash the 7th Pesht Regulars and help the beleaguered Dragonsclaw Cluster to escape a multi-regiment encircling force in 3089.

Though it took another year, and the shattered remnants of the Second Draconis Fleet fleeing for home, for Coordinator Hassid Ricol to admit defeat, that action on Unity was the final turning point in the war when the warriors on both sides knew how it would end. Every battle after that one, every lost life, the Azami hang squarely on the stubbornness of Coordinator Ricol.

When Sahalli Odessa signed the peace treaty for the Azami and ended the war with the Dragon, he also signed the end of a centuries’ long alliance with the Combine. It was an alliance the Azami will never re-enter until the Kurita family returns to the head of the Combine. Odessa returned home to Algedi, planning on retiring to care for his family, but Algedi had other ideas. After being “persuaded” to accept the position of Sultan, Odessa proceeded to make the new Azami Caliphate into a true interstellar power.

The last decade has seen the Caliphate holding fast to its allies in the Nova Cat Confederation and the Rasalhague Dominion, as well as its newest ally, the Free Tikonov Republic. Azami raiders are often seen on Draconis Combine borders, as well as in the Proserpina Syndicate, and the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance, though as the latter is allied with Tikonov as well, such actions tend to be less visible.

The Azami military is an eclectic mix of old and new technologies, made possible only by the restoration of the Quentin factories that were shattered during the Jihad. Unable to build many of the more advanced systems made possible in the 3050s and 3060s, the modern Azami Armed Forces sport downgrades of the numerous designs built on that world, and on Al Na’ir and Vega.

The Tessen is the primary lighter ’Mech used by the Azami, while the Marauder and Shugenjas form its primary heavy BattleMech forces. Because of the production of Quentin though, the Azami Legions are dominated by assault BattleMechs like the Tai-sho, Akuma, Naginata, No-Dachi, BattleMaster, and Atlas. All Azami Legions are trained in the use of the C3 systems, no longer used by Draconis Combine forces because of their “dishonorable” status, that dominate Quentin’s production, and nearly all BattleMechs not originally designed for C3 have been refitted to use it.

The Azami buy their AeroSpace forces from their allies, being unable to build anything themselves, and so have a small, by modern standards, fleet of Lightning-class destroyers and smaller escorts built on Dieron, as well as a number of DropShips and fighters to support them. The Ozawa-built Dagger OmniFighters dominate their fighter fleet.

The current leader of the Azami Caliphate is Mohammed Odessa, the son of Sahalli Odessa, and many wonder how his ascension to the office of Sultan in 3100 will affect dealings with the Caliphate. The Caliphate itself is primarily Moslem in religion, but each system is effectively independent and decides for itself how strict it will be. Some systems follow more strict Moslem laws, some are more liberal, and others with little or no history of Moslem domination follow completely different religions. As long as they do not break faith with the Sultan, the systems are allowed to rule themselves as they wish. The traditional Azami systems are controlled by an Emir, a prince, who runs the system as his, or in Camlann’s case her, personal monarchy, while the other systems go from being representative democracies to monarchies of their own, or anything in between.

Factories
Al Na’ir – Scarborough Manufacturers – APCs, Pegasus, Saladin, Saracen, Scimitar, and Maxim
– Yori ’Mech Works - Atlas
Nirasaki – Maltex Corporation – The Hatamoto series of BattleMechs
Quentin – Independence Weaponry – Tessen, Marauder, Shugenja, Chimera, Ninja-To, Tai-sho, Akuma, and Naginata.
Vega – Cosby BattleMech Research Firm – Crusader, BattleMaster, and No-Dachi.

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Nice work Medron.
I am half tempted to throw some of my own Non Canon units into this to help you.
(Note to self: Get back to work on Rim Worlds unit)

I won't be writing in any non-canon units into this...well...outside my own Terra's Pryde/Pryde Rock dudes...

Generally, I'm keeping this to official stuff.

I've had problems with people stealing factions from me after I was nice enough (soft headed enough?) to let them put some of their stuff into said faction. I'm a bit paranoid about that happening again so I have no plans to do something like that again.

Now, if you want to write something up that fits in the universe, that is fine by me. I'd love it in fact. But I've learned the hard way that incorporating other people's work into my own, no matter how minimal it is, only gives them an opening to push further and steal it from me in the future. I don't want to go through that again.

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Medron,
Very impressive. I've already written up a lot of details explaining how the Arkab Legions were able to maintain their Star League equipment (as much as 50% of their units) without Combine support. These details will be published along with other Azami background information in the "Footnote" series in the Fanfic forum. Feel free to use any information mentioned.

MB

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[i]And Allah turned back the unbelievers in their rage; they did not obtain any advantage, and Allah sufficed the believers in fighting; and Allah is Strong, Mighty.[/i] from The Koran, 33rd Sura- The Clans

It all sounds ok to me... anything to avoid the dullness of "Dark Ages." Feel free to mix the universe up a bit, but spare me from piloting a loggermech.

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VI VERI VENIVERSUM VIVUS VICI
"By the power of Truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe"

Here is my go at the Free Worlds League...

Free Worlds League

The Free Worlds League fractured as the result of the Jihad. The initial players in the struggle for supremacy in the FWL were: the Duchy of Andurien, the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth, the Oriente Protectorate, and the Principality of Regulus.

A new player, the Tamarind Coalition, was created in the wake of the Jihad. Composed of the Duchy of Tamarind, the Abbey District, the Trinity Worlds, and the neighboring systems, the Coalition formed in response to the Lyran Commonwealth’s conquest of the Circinus Federation as well as aggression by the Marian Hegemony.

The landscape of the Free Worlds politics changed with the Andurien Crisis. In 3092, The Capellan Confederation, taking advantage of the divisions in the Free Worlds League, conquered the Duchy of Andurien and the Mosiro Archipelago. The loss of Andurien served as a wake up call to the remaining factions, who appealed to the Star League for assistance.

In response, the Star League established Atreus as a neutral enclave where the divided factions could meet. The first meeting on Atreus between the factions took place in 3094. Known as the 1st Atrean Conference, it established the Council of Captains-General. The purpose of the Council was to establish a neutral body that could mobilize the different factions to react to external threats to the Free Worlds League.

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Happiness = Watching Goose go Mach 3 with his hair on fire...

Proserpina Syndicate

“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” – Benobi Kenaga

Those words by the ancient Dark Age warrior priest Benobi Kenaga seem prophetic when compared to the Proserpina of today. Wedged between the Azami Caliphate, the Robinson Republic, and the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance, the Syndicate is a collection of ten star systems where Ronin from the Combine, Dark Caste Clanners, Yakuza, and gangs from three thousand systems collect to ply their trade. A dangerous collection of systems to travel to, those in the Syndicate generally fall into three categories. Those too poor to move, those in the various gangs that dominate it, or the rich who come to buy things they cannot get elsewhere. Showing up on few maps as anything more than “unclaimed space”, the Syndicate is recognized by even fewer governments. The Caliphate is one of those few, most likely because of the number of ex-Combine forces loyal to the Kurita family that moved there after the Word of Blake leveled Proserpina during the Jihad.

Many rumors suggest that the Syndicate fought beside the Caliphate during the Nova Cat war, putting further pressure on the Draconis Combine and forcing them to give up. While these rumors have never been proven, many historians do not believe the Robinson Republic alone could have accounted for all of the chaos on the Combine’s southern border.

Historians point to the massacre of Halstead Station early in 3088, when a full regiment of Combine BattleMech pilots were torn apart in their sleep, as a point that suggests Syndicate involvement. Studies of the massacre note that the tactics used fit perfectly with known Yakuza tactics. Whatever the truth of Halstead Station, military records show that the unit was preparing to hit Al Na’ir, an action that would have succeeded based on the forces the Azami had in place at the time. The loss of Al Na’ir so early in the war would have crippled the Azami Legions and given the Combine an advantage in their prosecution of the war against the Nova Cats and their other allies.

It is also generally known that an underworld war has waged between the Ricols and the Azami since Hassid’s ascension to the rank of Coordinator. As the Azami are not, by nature, underworld fighters of the caliber that are seen in this undeclared war, experts on the study of the Yakuza believe the Syndicate is shielding the Azami Caliphate from Combine Yakuza, just as the Caliphate has shielded the Syndicate from Combine BattleMech forces. Not that either organization will admit to this unofficial alliance.

The battle between a full battalion of Azami BattleMechs and two battalions of Combine OmniMechs on the Syndicate world of Matar in 3095 for instance is always noted as being an “aggressive war games situation in which Combine forces regrettably became involved.” How the Azami defeated twice their number of ’Mechs is unknown, but Syndicate involvement is highly suspected. They do not admit to having any BattleMech forces, but too many “forward recon units” from both the Robinson Republic and the Draconis Combine have disappeared in Syndicate space for more than a few to believe their party line.

Whatever the truth of the Proserpina Syndicate and its relations with outside nations, it is a dangerous place to go. All nations have travel warnings in place, telling their citizens not to go to that lawless region of space. Only the rich are safe there, and then only so long as their guards are tough enough not to be defeated by the local riffraff, and only so long as they do not make enemies of the more powerful organizations that no guard can protect them from. Many nobles have disappeared after making either of those mistakes.

For those who can brave the riffraff and keep out of the firing line of the Yakuza though, the Proserpina Syndicate is the place to go when you absolutely, positively, have to get that shipment of illegal bionics. Or the “gene therapies” that are illegal in 2,500 systems. Or those canisters of custom-made chemical warheads when you want to take over a town without destroying the buildings. And without having to clean up the bodies afterwards. Slaves, a night of pleasure beyond your wildest dreams, contract killings, and drugs of more varieties than you can imagine, no matter how good your imagination is, only brush the surface of what you can get there.

If you want it, whatever it is, Proserpina is the place to go.

The internal situation, not known by many outsiders is that it is run by the Ghosts, Ryuken, and other "non-traditional" Combine soldiers that survived the Jihad. Not to mention the Yakuza, Dark Caste, and anybody else who likes to go outside the law.

The former Combine soldiers are the muscle of the place. Nobody messes with them, they get a commission of everything that happens, and they let people do whatever they want. They guarantee that nobody comes in from outside to enforce any foreign ideas like...laws. And everybody else has fun doing and selling anything that catches his or her fancy.

Factories
Proserpina – Bulldog Enterprises – APCs, Engineering vehicle, Bulldog, Manticore, Tokugawa, and Schiltron.
– Bulldog BattleWerks – Strider, Blackjack, and Sunder OmniMechs

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

I'm glad you like it. You gave me some rather nice information I was able to use. Granted, I didn't go into a massive amount of detail, more just trying to paint a general picture and letting people slide their own stuff into that picture however they want.

Also, I like the idea of a system of independent systems like that. I've written stuff like that before, and it lets you do pretty much...well...ANYTHING, all within one small realm. Major honking freedom to do stuff.

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

I like your Syndicate. The BT universe needs a place like that. In past past we've only had individual worlds, not several words that have banded together. (Although I do wish you had described what hold it together a bit better. I guess that is part of the problem with the perspective you used - they don't know enough.)

Yeah, I did it from the outside to keep it a mystery.

Essentially, its run by all the Ghost and Ryuken and other "non-traditional" Combine soldiers that survived the Jihad. And the Yakuza. And Dark Caste. And anybody else who likes to go outside the law.

The former Combine soldiers are the muscle of the place. Nobody messes with them, they get a commission of everything that happens, and they let people do whatever they want. And they guarantee that nobody comes in from outside to enforce any...well...foreing ideas like...um...laws....

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Hey, Medron, you still workin' on this? What's the word, man?

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

Clan Smoke Jaguar

The razing of the Schuyler shipyards and the general bombardment of Albiero in 3069 by Word of Blake forces left the Albiero Prefecture in organizational ruins. When the Word of Blake moved on to Bjarred, assaulted other regions of the Combine near the Periphery, and Theodore Kurita was assassinated, the entire outer swath of the Combine simply ceased to exist as organized entities. At that, the Combine was still the best off of the Successor States, as their core systems continued to remain loyal, but the loss of Schuyler and Qandahar would have far reaching consequences for the Ricols.

The most visible of those was the return of Clan Smoke Jaguar to their old haunting grounds in 3070. Seeing the main powers of the Inner Sphere blasting each other into the Dark Ages, the Osis’ Pride and Streaking Mist, a Potempkin-class troop cruiser and a Black Lion-class battlecruiser, returned to Turtle Bay to make a new start for the Smoke Jaguars. The last WarShips of the Clan, they were horded carefully, only risked a handful of times since their return.

The taking of Schuyler was one of those times. While the main shipyards had been razed by the Word of Blake, the Jaguars felt there could be enough left to rebuild the yards given time and Clan technology. They were right, and the Schuyler yards have become their primary industrial center, building Scout-class JumpShips, DropShips, fighters, small recon corvettes, and even the larger Fredasa-class destroyers to screen their two “true” WarShips in fights against nearby realms.

Outside the rebuilt capital-city of Edo on Turtle Bay, a truly inspiring edifice glorifying Clan Smoke Jaguar, an OmniMech factory builds enough war machines for them to fight on the ground as well. But unlike the Hell’s Horses or the “tainted” Clans (Wolf, Ghost Bear, and Nova Cat), the Smoke Jaguars do not accept vehicles as a standard part of their organizational structure. In all of the Smoke Jaguar territory, there is not a single combat vehicle factory, and their Solahma units must make due with modified civilian vehicles or whatever vehicles are captured on raids other realms perform on them. As few realms use vehicles on the offensive, they have very few dedicated military vehicles in their touman.

Much like Clan Jade Falcon, the Smoke Jaguars consider themselves to be an “untainted” Clan, and fight like true warriors, not the barbarians of the Inner Sphere or the “tainted” Clans. Over the years of raiding though, the warriors of the Draconis Combine have earned their respect. They may rarely win against the better Jaguar pilots, but they fight and die honorably, as a warrior should. The Jaguars consider the “tainted” Clans on the other hand to be little better than Dark Castes. In some ways worse, since at least the Dark Castes accept their dishonor.

The periodic raids between the Rasalhague Dominion, Nova Cat Confederation, and Clan Smoke Jaguar tend to be bloody and dirty affairs, with no quarter given. A notable departure from the much more “civilized” trials that occur between them and the Draconis Combine warriors.

The Smoke Jaguars are able to build advanced Clan technologies with little trouble, but their numbers are still very small and they rely on the lesser castes, mostly made up of Inner Sphere barbarians in their eyes, to support their war machines. While having, warrior-for-warrior, one of the best qualities of MechWarriors across the board in the Human Sphere, their numbers are low enough that they are of little threat to their neighbors. Comparatively.

However, rumors have long run the back streets of their neighbors that the Jaguars have an “understanding” with the Ricol family. That the Ricols see them as a foil to Nova Cat and Ghost Bear power in the area, and that the Jaguars see the Combine as a source of materials. Such rumors could explain why the raids between those two realms are so “civilized”. But most historians suggest it is because of the similarity of their cultures, not some back street rumors with little credibility.

The Cauldron-Born OmniMech, built on Turtle Bay, is the single most common ’Mech found in the Smoke Jaguar touman, while the Schuyler-built Sabutai OmniFighter dominates the aerospace forces. Supporting the ’Mech touman are massed numbers of ProtoMechs. Less materially expensive to build, ProtoMechs have become the primary combat arm of the Smoke Jaguar Clan, only bolstered by OmniMechs when they cannot deal with the opposition alone. As noted above, vehicles do not have any official place within the touman, but many Solahma units have converted many vehicles to their own uses.

Factories
Edo – Edo BattleMech Plant Alpha – Cauldron-Born OmniMech
– Edo ProtoMech Plant Alpha – Siren, Satyr, Centaur, Hydra, Roc, Gorgon, and Minotaur.
Schuyler – Dharma HyperSpace – Scout, Osis recon frigate, Fredasa destroyer
– Galileo Instruments – Achilles, Monarch, and Behemoth.
– Wakazashi Enterprises – Sabutai OmniFighter

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

The Federation Expanse

Federated Suns

The general leveling of the capital buildings and factories on New Avalon was only one of many tragedies to touch that world in the last few years. Arguably, many thought the fighting during the Civil War had actually been worse, but the decimation of the capital was different, even to those who argued it wasn’t necessarily worse. Even during the worst of the fighting on New Avalon after all, orbital bombardment had not been used.

In December of 3067 it was, and the last shreds of innocence the Federated Suns desperately held onto after the Civil War died along with the Lucien Davion and her escorts. Like the implacable hatred of the Draconis March to the Combine, or the New Syrtis March to the Capellans, the Federated Suns now hated the Word of Blake. Or at least the Crucis March, most heavily damaged by the first assault waves, did. They hunkered down, began building weapons in every surviving factory of any kind, and prepared for another long war.

Most historians are surprised that such a war weary people so quickly returned to war. But some suggest it was that very weariness that made it possible. The years of the Civil War had already numbed the people so much, that another war was just that. Another war. The Armed Forces of the Federated Suns moved out and began engaging the Word of Blake wherever they found them.

The loss of the New Syrtis March in 3068 did little to cool their flames. Duke George Hasek, given the choice to see his worlds burn if he sided with a central government he’d long considered less than useful, and going his own way, chose to leave the Crucis March to burn. It was only the first of many polities to leave. Filtvelt, long the whipping boy of the AFFC and AFFS, and more loyal to the Katherine Steiner-Davion because of the resources she sent their way than to Yvonne, accepted the Word of Blake offer quickly and took much of the Outback out of New Avalon’s control.

The Robinson March was another matter though, and for a time it stayed with the Crucis March. Duke Tancred Sandoval would not leave his love alone against the Word of Blake. In the end though, the March was taken from his hands. Literally. With Word of Blake fleets descending on Robinson in 3069, his Aunt, Marshal Katheryn Sandoval-Ito, walked into the capital, took the title of Duchess, and proclaimed the Robinson March neutral in the war. The Word of Blake honored their demands and left the world untouched.

It was the lowest point of the war for the Federated Suns, but the Crucis March, what was left of it, hunkered down further and fought on. During the rest of 3069 and 3070, they lost battle after battle to the Word of Blake fleets, but the survivors of each battle returned to bring more information to the military. More training. Even those too burned out to fight any longer fulfilled their duty and trained the volunteers stepping forward to cleanse the Inner Sphere of the Word of Blake.

The Word of Blake had started a Jihad, but the remnants of the Federated Suns had their own Crusade in return. A Crusade pushed partially by the very war weariness that drove them on, and partially by the fury ignited in their hearts by the bombardment of New Avalon. Some historians say the loss of the Simon Davion and her escorts over Galax, and the loss of the entire yard complex before the ComStar taskforce could destroy the Word of Blake fleet, should have broken what was left of the armed forces.

The best of their young men and women died on or above Galax. It was the final battle over the one system that netted better defenses than even New Avalon. Galax had been considered the one system the Federated Suns could not afford to lose. Even New Avalon was expendable in those days, when the fleet was the only thing that could hurt the Word of Blake fleets. Many say the loss of the yards should have broken the armed forces.

But in the Battle of Delavan in 3072 where the Word of Blake tried to extinguish the last of the Suns’ AeroSpace capabilities, the Melissa Davion and her escorts fought beside the ComStar fleet. The last major battle of the Jihad in the Federated Suns was over, and when the ComStar fleet moved to deal with Terra in 3073, the Melissa Davion and her escorts followed. For the first time since Operation Bulldog, the Star League flag flew over a fleet made up of multiple nations as they fought together. They were repulsed with heavy losses.

Successive battles brought in the remnants of the Free Worlds League and Lyran Alliance fleets to support the Star League fleet, but again and again the Word of Blake fleets fought them off. In the end though, they finally fell in 3076 and Terra was opened to invasion. Two years later the Word of Blake Jihad and the Federated Suns Crusade was over. The Word of Blake was dead.

The remaining soldiers of the Federated Suns returned home, with the horribly damaged Melissa Davion, and set about rebuilding their shattered power. Only to find that they no longer had the power to make the Robinson March and New Syrtis March listen to them. It was a hard pill to swallow, but the war weary people of the Crucis March didn’t want to fight again and they did what they had to do. They went on living.

They began rebuilding their shattered factories. Rebuilding their homes and stores and their lives. But to do that, they needed money. Once the largest hirer of mercenaries, the Federated Suns no longer had the money to support their own shattered military and rebuild their economy at the same time. So, to bring in the money they needed, they formed the Federated Suns Mercenary Corps and hired them out to Robinson, Ozawa, New Syrtis, or anyone else who needed battle-hardened troops.

Even now, twenty years later, the FSMC is considered to be the best force of mercenaries in the Human Sphere, equaling even the vaunted Wolf’s Dragoons. And the money they have sent home gives them the ability to rebuild. Though they have one of the lowest overall technological levels of the surviving Houses, their special forces incorporate advanced technologies from every major faction in the Human Sphere. And the FSMC has become very proficient at incorporating their ’Mechs with any technologies recovered on the field of battle.

The yards of Galax hum with activity again, pumping out Durendal cruisers, Fox, Fox-2, and even Fox-3 destroyers, as well as other smaller ships like the Victor patrol frigates and Davion intercept frigates. Delavon builds DropShips, JumpShips, and Arthur escort frigates for the Federated Suns merchants and military, and even the factories of New Avalon once again push out numerous BattleMech designs for the military.

And then there is the training. Built on the core of the survivors of the Jihad, and then trained in constant warfare in the decades since, the AFFS and the FSMC are the best-trained militaries in existence. Others may be better warriors. But the AFFS and FSMC train soldiers. That is why they are respected throughout the Human Sphere.

Factories
Belladonna - Cal-Boeing of Dorwinion – Ferret, Martin, Wild Weasel, and Boomerang
Delavan – Dynamico Limited – Avenger and Buccaneer
– Universal Air – Invader, Starlord, and Arthur escort frigate
Galax - Federated-Boeing Interstellar – Leopard, Leopard CV, Union, Overlord, Overlord-A3, Conquistador, Durendal cruiser, Fox, Fox-2, Fox-3 destroyers, Victor patrol frigate, Davion intercept frigate, and Capitol
Gulkana - Yeffters Weapons Factory – Various Autocannons
Kirklin – Kallon Industries – Partisan and Challenger
New Avalon – Corean Enterprises – Fireball, Valkyrie, and Centurion BattleMechs, and Musketeer vehicle
– Lycomb-Davion IntroTech – Lightning, Hellcat, and Stuka
Talcott – General Motors - Hellspawn

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Robinson Republic

Stretching from Kentares IV to Pascagoula to Altdorf, the Robinson Republic is one of more stable governments in the Human Sphere. A strong part of the old Federated Suns and the Federated Commonwealth over the centuries, the old Robinson March was dominated by anti-Kuritan fever. During the Civil War, Tancred Sandoval took over the March and used it to support Victor Steiner-Davion against his sister Katherine. The Robinson Rangers fought proudly in the war, both against the Combine and against Katherine.

But the Word of Blake Jihad was another matter. At first held in line to support New Avalon by Tancred, many in the March wondered why they should be bleeding for the Davions. Again. After all, the Word of Blake was only attacking those who sided with the Houses. And the Blakists were correct when they said it was the Houses that brought down the Star League with their bickering and ended the dream of that once great nation.

All so the Houses could fight over who controlled its remnants. And then of course there was the Civil War. What everybody in the March remembered most of all. Why should they fight and die to protect those spoiled brats on the throne? Again? It just didn’t make sense. They did fight at Tancred’s orders though. He was their Duke after all. Until the Word of Blake decimated the Edgeward Combat Theater, Kentares PDZ, and forced the Addicks PDZ to leave the March in 3068.

All the people saw was their brave men and women dying to protect a family that had done nothing but bring them grief for decades. A family that had refused to give them the resources they needed to fight the real enemy, instead of the distant Capellans who were no real threat to Robinson and the March. A family that had failed miserably to protect Robinson in the distant past, and failed to destroy the Dragon in the recent past. And once again, they were dying to protect that family. When the Word of Blake fleet arrived at Robinson, it was the final straw.

Marshal Katheryn Sandoval-Ito, sister to the previous Duke of Robinson, and Tancred’s aunt, had seen enough of sending her people to die. And so she walked into the palace, declared herself Duchess of Robinson, and announced that the Robinson March would no longer be involved in the war. The Word of Blake fleet, content that it could return to destroy the fledgling March after it had dealt with the remnants of the Crucis March, left. After all, at least until the real threats were dealt with, the Word of Blake had to look like it was honoring its offers. Nobody would accept them if the Word of Blake didn’t.

Leaving House Davion to its own wars, the new Robinson Republic began to prey on the Draconis Combine again, the real enemy of the old Draconis March. Unable to fight both them and the Word of Blake, the Dragon lost many systems to the Republic before the Jihad ended, but it stretched the already weakened Republic military to the breaking point. They simply didn’t have enough to finish off their enemy after centuries of sending their men and women to fight in other theaters.

The Republic spent the next decade rebuilding and preparing for the next war against their larger enemy. When the Nova Cat War exploded, they knew it was time, but they still didn’t have enough of a military to really hammer the Combine. They hired several battalions of Federated Suns Mercenary Corps BattleMechs and a full squadron of WarShips to hit the Combine in conjunction with the Robinson assets in the area. By the time the war was over and the wounded Dragon could reestablish its defenses, the Matsuida and Kaznejov Prefectures were effectively shattered. New Samarkand had to take over the defenses of what remained of those Prefectures and the reorganization alone took the Dragon nearly a decade. It was a great victory for the Republic.

The Republic military of the present is dominated by Griffins and Wolverines built on Marduk, as well as Sentries, Watchmen, Sagittaire, and Argus OmniMechs from Robinson. Not a very heavy BattleMech force, outside of the Sagittaire companies in the Argus-dominated assault regiments, the Republic makes up for their lack of mass by using their speed and formations to work in teams. Nowhere near as good as the Federated Suns military when working in formation, they are still better than the samurai of the Draconis Combine. But they have no chance if caught in one-on-one combat against such a warrior. They also have a small WarShip fleet made up old Fox-1 and Fox-2 destroyers, as well as any other small WarShips they can get their hands on. Sufficient to patrol their borders, the fleet is not adequate for an offensive campaign.

Having a general agreement with the Federated Suns, they do not claim any worlds in the old Crucis March, relegating their territory to old Draconis March systems and any systems they are able to “acquire” from the Dragon. Johnsondale and Layover are exceptions to this rule, but only because to this day the Robinson Republic does not technically claim them as theirs. Both of those systems, seeing themselves as targets for the next Word of Blake fleet that flew through, looked across the border to the Republic that was no longer being hammered. They didn’t like the idea of being hammered when safety was so close. So they told the Word of Blake they were leaving the Federated Suns, and asked to become a part of the Republic.

The last twenty thirty years have shown those two systems in a delicate balance between the Republic and the Federated Suns. House Davion will not relinquish its claim on the systems, but does not have the money it would require to enforce said claim. As a part of the delicate balance, Johnsondale and Layover are protected by the Republic military, and sell their goods to both the Republic and the Federated Suns. So far at least, the Federation seems willing to pragmatically accept the situation as it stands. As long as neither the Republic nor those two systems flaunt their position. Many historians believe there will be a conflict over Johnsondale and Layover when the Federated Suns completes their rebuilding program. Other historians believe they never will complete their rebuilding program and that looking ahead so far is simple folly.

Whatever the years hold in store for the delicate balance of general peace, outside the industrial raids that are common throughout the Human Sphere, between the Federation and the Republic, most citizens of each nation see the Combine as a greater threat than their not-so-long lost brothers. The Republic has eyes only for the Combine, creating an odd tunnel vision that has allowed other threats to its existence to grow. The odd Proserpina Syndicate, holding some worlds that were in the Draconis March, has never been properly “handled” for instance. And the Republic has done little to combat the growth of the enigmatic Raven Alliance.

Only time will tell if the Republic will survive these possible mistakes. But for the time being, their relations with the two polities seem to be generally positive. They do not recognize the Syndicate, but that is normal. Most governments don’t after all. And they buy many aerospace assets from the Raven Alliance, including fighters, some DropShips, and even the rare small WarShip, along with Raven technical support programs, from time to time. For now at least, the borders of the Republic look secure.

Factories
Marduk – Norse BattleMech Works – Griffin and Wolverine
Robinson – Robinson Standard BattleWorks – Sentry, Watchman, and Sagittaire BattleMechs. Argus OmniMech.

Protectorate Factories
Johnsondale – Valiant Vehicles – Striker and Pilum
Layover – Salvatore Incorporated – Seeker
– Quikscell Company – APC, Scorpion, Vedette, LRM Carrier, and SRM Carrier.

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Is there some place where they fleshed out the Jihad in official storylines?

I thought the last book was Endgame, then they moved on to Dark Age? Are there sourcebooks coming soon? Novels?

Sorry, I've been in the dark as far as historical happenings... my newest purchases were Project Phoenix and FM: Updates.

Here was my idea:

1- The Blakist Jihad is modified, I decided that saner heads prevailed in the WoB first circut, and decided that the Jihad would more focus on carving a Blakist realm out of the Chaos March. A short bloody purge claims many of the ranks of the Toyama.

2-Their plan centers on the following:

- Causing temporary paralysis of all five neighboring houses
long enough to execute plans to sieze enough worlds to create
a defensable state.

- Destruction of the Allied Mercenary Command.

The plan thus begins with a wave of special operations and covert "dirty tricks" throughout the Inner Sphere. In the Capellan Confederation, an assassin kills Sun-Tsu, and Kali and Kai fight an short, bloody palace fight for control of the throne. Kai wins, but in the end, his mother, Ion Rush and Talon Zahn are all dead.

In the Free Worlds League, an anonymous package is handed to Alys Marik, proving beyond doubt that Thomas is an imposter. Chaos soon breaks out, and things escalate from fistfights on the floor of parliment by 9AM, to firefights all over Atreus by nightfall. The Free Worlds League soon decends into Civil War. In the confusion, Comstar launches Operation Catapult, a desperate plan to capture or render ineffective the FWL fleet. Their efforts are futile and 60% of the fleet is suborned by the Word Of Blake.

In the Draconis Combine, all hell breaks loose as Theodore is killed when the Black Dragon Society launches a civil war, made worse by Davion units being goaded by Blakeist imposters into again assaulting the Combine.

In the Lyran Alliance, the WoB funds another Skye Rebellion, this time well supported by mercenaries and engineers an incident that triggers another Jade Falcon invasion of Lyran space.

In the Perihery, WoB units engineer war between the Taurians and Canopeans, making sure they are tied down with each other in a war neither has any hope of winning.

All in all, the Inner Sphere is left too busy to intervene when the Blakists strike in the Chaos March. Outreach is hit very hard, first bombarded from orbit, then three Blakist divisions and supporting mercenaries are sent in to finish the job. The surviving Dragoons and other on planet mercs make the Blakists pay, but the result is a forgone conclusion. In other parts of the Chaos March, Blakist "revoultionaries" support hired mercenaries and Blakist divisions appearing all over the Chaos March. Freindly powers are give an choice. Join or die.

Worse, the Blakists soon begin to snap up planets from all five neighboring realms..

This is all I have so far, what do you guys think?

Meh. It's all right. But as for Medron's post-Jihad universe:

Give us more! We want more!

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

LOL...I've got the new Addicks, Syrtis, and Filtvelt Coalition to go in the former Federated Suns...I think I'll do Filtvelt next.

New Syrtis is going to be a challenge and will probably come last of them. Let's just say there is a MASSIVE war between them and the Capellan rump states and the TC that went on...

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Awesome! Post more the moment it's ready. I can't wait!

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

yes oh great taskmaster...

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Filtvelt Coalition

The Jihad brought a new future to the Davion Outback, though few can get away with calling it that anymore. Once the home of a Federated Suns military academy, Filtvelt was considered by the rest of the Federation to be on the back end of no where, and its graduates were not considered nearly as valuable as graduates from more gifted places, like New Syrtis or New Avalon.

For centuries the Outback lived alone, visited rarely by Federation JumpShips sent to teach their young and take the smartest of them away for the Davion military. The JumpShip schools fostered a long and bitter resentment that boiled over during the Jihad. Given the choice of dying under Word of Blake guns for the House Davion that had given them next to nothing and taken their best and brightest in exchange for what little they did give, the Outback happily used the excuse to give House Davion the collective finger.

And Filtvelt was the first. After the Filtvelt governor talked with Marshal Carrie Zetso on Broken Wheel, Zetso supported the plan and the entire Broken Wheel Combat Region left the Federated Suns as a generally organized whole. With Zetso supporting it, Filtvelt held onto power and organized the various military units that came over to them from nearby regions into a common defense of the new realm. But as the Jihad raged and pirates began to prey on their borders, Filtvelt soon learned that they would need some way to rebuild their diminishing armed forces. It was simple to build vehicles and recruit infantry. Even the most backwards Outback worlds could slap some weapons on a farm truck or AgroMech and turn it into fighting machine. But true BattleMechs were hard to come by, and as their losses mounted, especially against the organized Tortugan and Pirates Haven pirates, Filtvelt began looking around for help.

They found it in Crofton, a major supplier of BattleMechs and OmniVehicles for the Federated Suns and Federated Commonwealth before the Jihad. Crofton, surrounded by a Word of Blake fleet at the jump points and unable to defend itself with most of the Federation military pulled out of the Outback to protect the inner worlds, had quickly agreed to the Word of Blake demands and cut off all communication with New Avalon. The Federation had assumed it was destroyed and continued to fight on, but Crofton was perfectly fine, and when a Filtvelt recon force under the command of Major Erich LeBeau arrived to see if there was anything left, they found an ally that could rebuild their damaged BattleMech battalions.

Revitalized by the Sunder, Warhammer, Longbow, and Thanatos-class BattleMechs, as well as the Manteuffel-class OmniTank, coming out of Crofton, the Filtvelt Defense Forces began to drive the pirates out of the worlds they’d claimed for their own pleasure. While dominated by large and slow BattleMechs, generally topping at less than 90 kph, the growing power of the Filtvelt Defense Forces showed the pirates that Filtvelt could hurt them. Badly.

The pirates moved to easier prey after a particularly heavy loss on Eustatius, and the raids since then have been no more than the normal raiding all nations have felt. Filtvelt had proven it could stand up against anyone trying to take their land and people, so the pirates turned to stealing money and material. Though the odd person caught out on his or her own is still not out of the ordinary. Usually her.

The Filtvelt Defense Forces are a balanced military organization, with many heavy BattleMechs that move faster than the heavies of other realms because of the technological level that Crofton was able to maintain. The days of the Outback being derided as the hairy backside of the Federation are gone. The average Filtvelt lance is far more advanced than a Federated Suns lance, but the Suns military has still been able to hold its own easily with superior training most of the few times they’ve met in battle.

The last major fight on Wedgefield, an unclaimed and lawless system between the two governments, in 3095 left the more advanced Filtvelt Battalion running with half its number down to a sneak attack. While the Federated Suns force found itself incapable of totally pushing Filtvelt off the world, that battle ended all hopes that Filtvelt could control the world in the foreseeable future.

Oddly, though Filtvelt has an off-again on-again understanding with New Avalon and the two governments rarely fight, the Filtvelt relationship with the Taurian Concordat is far friendlier. Seeing it as a fellow victim of Davion imperialism, President Carrie Zetso sent a delegation to Malagrotta, the nearest Taurian world, shortly after the war between New Syrtis, the various Capellan Rump States, and the Taurian Concordat ended in 3085. The last fifteen years have seen the two realms become friendlier with each other, and they have conducted numerous cooperative anti-pirate sweeps.

Because of this close friendship, numerous lighter BattleMechs like the Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Griffin, Hatchetman, and even the venerable Marshal, all built in the Taurian Concordat, are seen in Filtvelt space sporting Filtvelt colors. In exchange, many Sunder and Thanatos-class OmniMechs are seen in Taurian colors, and the Warhammer factories on Pinard and Taurus now build the same Warhammers that come out of the Crofton factories. And Manteuffel OmniTanks built on Perdition are beginning to supplant many older vehicles as the primary Taurian battle tank. In addition, many Filtvelt JumpShips, and even the small WarShips they use to handle pirate incursions, come from the Taurian Panpour shipyard complex, the largest yard of its kind in the Periphery. The friendship seems to be mutually beneficial to both realms, and there are no signs that it will end any time soon.

Part of the friendship is most likely based on their similar societies. Like Taurian space, the Outback was always an area of space where you looked out for yourself and where freedom was a handgun away. Or a rifle away in some areas. Most worlds in the Coalition lack high-end technology and luxuries, and seem willing to stay that way as long as other people leave them alone. The systems of Filtvelt, Crofton, and Broken Wheel are the center of Coalition technology and culture because of their positions of being the political, manufacturing, and military capitals. Outside of those systems where easy work is easy to find, the Coalition is a hard place to live, with fewer universal government-paid benefits than are seen elsewhere, but many find the openness of the Coalition brings opportunities.

Most of the Filtvelt budget goes into the military, giving the Coalition a militaristic attitude not dissimilar to that taken by House Davion or the Taurian Concordat. The military is ever present on Filtvelt worlds, watching and waiting for enemies to strike. After military spending, the government has little left for social programs or anything else.

Strongly believing in individual rights, the Filtvelt Coalition never wants to see the government stripping the best and brightest away from local systems like when they were under House Davion. They actually modeled many of their rights off the Taurian system, a fact not lost on Protector Erik Calderon. Chief among the notable system, and what possibly makes the Filtvelts unique, is the pure representative form of government they wield. The people of each system elect the system governments, and they elect the representatives to the central government on Filtvelt. And, unlike any other known government, the head of state, the President, is actually elected by the popular vote of the people.

Elected into her fifth consecutive term to the presidency, Carrie Zetso continues to bring resources into Filtvelt from all reputable nearby Periphery powers, and has sent numerous expeditions to the Pirates Haven and Tortugan realms to liberate the pirates of any spoils they may have. These actions have made her very popular throughout the years and all indications are that she will continue to be elected for as a long as she chooses to run, and perhaps even after that.

General Information
Brockton – Filtvelt Training Center
Broken Wheel – Military headquarters. Third richest system.
Crofton – Richest system in Coalition
Filtvelt – Filtvelt Military Academy. Second richest system.
Zolfo – Schools for the people, and mines for the nearby StarCorp Industries in Crofton. The fourth richest system in the Filtvelt Coalition.

Factory
Crofton – StarCorp Industries - Sunder, Warhammer, and Longbow-class BattleMechs; Thanatos-class OmniMech; Manteuffel-class OmniTank

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance

“There are two sides to any coin, but it is always just one coin.” – Daniel Davion.

The unofficial mantra of the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance, that phrase is applicable in more ways than one. The simplest way of taking it would be to say that the Alliance values money. They do. But a more complex, and perhaps more correct, way would be to compare them to Proserpina. On Proserpina, you can buy anything if you have the money. Similarly, the Alliance will sell to anyone who has money. While still a simplistic way of explaining it, the coin analogy works between the two areas of space. Proserpina is one side of the coin, the Alliance is the other. Between the two sides, you can purchase anything.

But while Proserpina is a lawless mass of chaos, the Alliance is an orderly, peaceful place that is friendly to tourists and other outsiders. Owing little more than its name to the old Ozawa Mercantile Alliance, the modern Alliance has not fought a single war, and suffers the least from raiding of any known government. Formed during the fires of the Jihad, Addicks was the first planet of the Alliance to leave the Federated Suns.

Given the choice of burning under Word of Blake guns or going independent, the powerful Johnston family took exactly three minutes and five seconds to come to a decision. At least that is the folk tale. Whatever the truth of the matter is, they called up the local Marshal, Daniel Davion, and “strongly suggested” that he do as the Word of Blake demanded. Some sources say that the Marshal didn’t support the idea of leaving at first, but that when the Johnston Family showed him several pictures of himself and one of their cousins in a “compromising position”, he agreed quickly. Once again, we don’t know if this is true, but the two have been very happily married since 3068.

After going independent, the Johnston family knew they would have to make some allies or risk being taken over by someone else. They found another powerful family more than willing to make a new alliance. The Achernar family of Achernar had lost a fortune when their factories were destroyed during the bombardment of New Avalon, but they had already made another small fortune with the new Achernar IndustrialMechs company on Achernar. Still owning the plans to more than half a dozen BattleMech designs, the Johnstons wanted the Achernars on their side. And their side, the Achernar family was happy to try a new start.

The months that followed found Johnston and Achernar representatives jumping through numerous nearby systems to convince the locals to join in their alliance. By mid-3069, many of the planets that make up the current Alliance were on board for it. Deneb Kaitos was ready, bringing along the 4th and 8th Deneb Light Cavalry with them. The 12th Deneb, more loyal to Robinson than their nominal homeworld, stayed with Robinson and fought well against the Dragon.

Tigress, the old homeworld of the Capellan unit Laural’s Legion also joined up, and sent a message to the Legion saying that new management was more than happy to welcome them home. Tasked with bringing Ningpo under Capellan domination, a task not proving to be easy especially with rumors of collusion between Sun-Tzu and the Blakists firing up the resistance, the Legion found itself unwilling to continue the fight. Doubting their mission, their leaders, and having an open invitation to return to the home the sons and daughters of former Legionaries had always dreamed of, Laural’s Legion didn’t hesitate. They made a mad dash for Tigress.

Finding itself with enough protection to breath safely, the new alliance of worlds began looking to formalize their union. Months of negotiations went on, with various names and political structures proposed and shot down by the systems involved. In January of 3070, the (then) little-known historian David Barclay of Ozawa brought up the name of the ancient mercantile alliance centered on Ozawa. Defeated by Galedon in the opening moves of the formation of the Draconis Combine, the name had not been seen outside of history books for centuries, but it caught the attention of the representatives. It had promise.

After another three months of negotiations, the final treaty ratifying the formation of the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance found itself in the hands of a dozen system rulers. By December 3070, the Alliance was a reality. Ruchbah’s oddly-named Michaelson Heavy Industries built a large number of combat VTOLs that found their way into the Alliance even though it was not officially a part of the Alliance but was still under the rule of New Syrtis. But in combination with Johnston’s Goblin infantry tank and Dagger OmniFighter, the realm was well defended, though they lacked any ’Mech construction capabilities outside the IndustrialMechs Achernar had been building since 3060. They had a good-sized BattleMech contingent, but no way to replace the losses from raiders that were beginning to hit them.

The Achernar family pooled its resources and upgraded the IndustrialMech factory, built on the site of the Star League-era factory they’d owned during Star League days, to produce the Dervish BattleMech they’d built all those centuries ago. As months and years passed, they traveled around the expanding borders of the Mercantile Alliance to check on old factories long abandoned. The Maltex Corporation and Diplyan ’Mechyards on Errai and Ozawa, badly damaged and abandoned when House Davion took the worlds, looked like the perfect places to continue their process of rebuilding their lost fortunes. Achernar BattleMechs acquired the factories and began upgrading them to build some of the other BattleMechs they had plans for.

In the meantime, the Johnston family was busy with pursuits of its own. During the Star League Tybalt’s Jolassa Armored Vehicles had built the Fury, a capable command tank with the ability to defeat BattleMechs. In serious need of a ’Mech killer fast, and wanting a design to complement their Goblin, Johnston Industries acquired the rundown Jolassa factory and refurbished it to build the basic hull of the Fury. In the decades since, they have actually been able to duplicate the Nirasaki-40OX computer system and have been able to expand the facility to build the Glory fire support vehicle that Johnston Industries also still builds on New Syrtis. Companies of Goblins and Glories commanded by Furies are a common sight in Alliance territory. More than one raider force, believing themselves to be safe after eluding BattleMech defenders, have run into an entire company or battalion of Furies working with Goblins and Furies to protect them from lesser threats. Any raiders finding such a welcoming committee have not enjoyed the reception.

The modern Alliance BattleMech forces are dominated by the Achernar designs produced on Errai, Ozawa, and Achernar. The Thug and Ostsol BattleMechs and Argus OmniMech coming out of Errai, as well as the Thunderbolts from Achernar, form the vast majority of their heavy and assault lances, while Phoenix Hawks and Enforcer IVs from Achernar, as well as Wyverns from Errai, fill out their medium lances. Ozawa produces the light ’Mechs of the Alliance, including the Locust, Wasp, Mongoose, and Osiris designs. The Achernar-produced Dervish, Errai Assassins, and Ozawa Jenners are built solely for export, and fully half of each production run of Enforcer IVs are sold to the Federated Suns.

Michaelson Heavy Industries of Ruchbah, an official member of the Alliance since it left the Syrtis Federation during the St. Ives War, dominates the scouting and support services with the wide range of VTOLs they produce, while the Johnston Industries Dagger OmniFighter gives the Alliance AeroSpace arm a major bite. Small WarShips purchased from Tikonov and the Federated Suns, led by the Fox 2-class WarShip David Barclay, give the Alliance the minimal extra security it requires from larger raiders.

Not unsurprising for a realm of its “mercantile” leanings, the Alliance sells its production to anybody with the money to afford it. Producing some of the most advanced fighters, BattleMechs, and vehicles in the Human Sphere, Alliance designs compare favorably even against the various Clan designs seen wandering the stars, a significant achievement for such a small nation. Because of this, they are seen throughout the Human Sphere, piloted by every major and most minor government in at least small numbers.

The amount of money flowing into the Alliance because of this practice makes them, per capita, the richest nation in the Human Sphere. The Achernar family has devoted all of the profits from their Ozawa branch into cleaning up Ozawa, clearing out the hot zones left over from nuclear assaults during the Succession Wars, and rebuilding Prosperity City. The new Alliance Capital Building in Prosperity, finished in 3095, is possibly the most ornate capital building of any nation in the Human Sphere, proudly mixing art styles from the Azami of Ankaa, the Japanese of Ozawa, the Grecian styles of Helen and most styles from every world in the Alliance.

The medical industries on Hean continue to develop some of the most advanced gene therapies in the Human Sphere, while Helen and New Rhodes III bring millions of tourists every year flocking to the Alliance to the see the old “Sunken City” of the Star League or the massive Colosii Chain. The Three Houses touring company, based on Addicks, travels through the Human Sphere, entertaining billions of paying customers in live acts alone, not counting the transmissions that reach even more. They also double as the Alliance’s primary information gatherers on other realms, a task they do well.

For a government made up of a mere twenty systems, the Alliance has a long reach. The Azami of Ankaa give them a line to maintaining friendly relations with the Azami Caliphate, while sales of Daggers and other war machines keep them friendly with the nearby Robinson Republic. Buying WarShips and hiring mercenaries from the Federated Suns maintains friendly relations there, and the Johnston family’s connections in the Syrtis Federation keep everybody above board there as well. Galatia III, working with Outreach and the Federated Suns Mercenary Command on New Avalon, has become one of several major mercenary-hiring hubs in the Human Sphere. Finally, they have cemented peaceful trade with the Lyran Merchant Princes and Clan Sea Fox convoys, giving them a simple way to distribute their goods to all interested buyers.

It is their closest neighbors that have them most worried however. Allied with the Tikonov Free Republic, the Alliance has a strong friend on their border, but actions pursued by the Ridzik brothers in the last few years have them worried. Centuries ago, before the Star League formed, the old Tikonov Grand Union claimed many worlds now in the Alliance, as well as the Chesterton Worlds that are currently controlled by the Styk Commonality. In recent years, Tikonov has begun giving the Chesterton Worlds aid separate from the aid they have also given Styk, and many people have begun preaching on the corners about the virtues of being independent from all flavor of Capellan power.

Believing that Tikonov is trying to swallow the Chesterton Worlds without breaking its alliance with Styk, the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance has begun to find itself wondering when the Ridziks will turn their gaze to the former Grand Union worlds under Alliance control. Not wanting that to happen, the Alliance has begun sending aid to the Chesterton Worlds, as well as selling weapons of war to them at cut-rate prices, while suggesting under the table that a stronger Tikonov would be bad for everybody. Apparently they are not the only ones worried by the Tikonov actions as aid from numerous other nations is also pouring into the Chesterton Worlds, making them a very rich collection of systems.

The Alliance sees the Chesterton Worlds as a shield to protect them from Tikonov adventurism, and hope to keep it around as long as possible. Beyond the small, but present, worry about being swallowed by their friendly ally, the worlds of the Alliance are a friendly collection, with few things to fear. The citizens can afford any luxury they wish, and travel between systems is common.

The Business Council is formed via one representative from each member system, and block voting is common with the Achernar and Johnston families securing the largest blocks of systems willing to align with them. While the two families do not always agree and have butted heads more than once, they value the cooperative nature of their alliance and have learned when to grease palms and when to let something through, with the knowledge that the next time they want something, the other family will let it through. This back and forth arrangement between the two families has seen the Alliance through many disagreements.

The handsome Jonathan Achernar, young at 30 years of age, currently leads the Achernar family, while the slightly younger Samantha Johnston only recently rose to prominence within her own family. Since her rise to power, the two families have begun to work closer than they have since the formation of the Alliance. While there is some grumbling in some ranks of their families, most members of the families see their “friendship” as a very good thing.

General Information
Achernar – Achernar Family
Addicks – Johnston Family and Three Houses, a touring theater
Ankaa – Founded by Sunni Muslems.
Hean – Medical Industries
Helen – Founded by Greeks – Has a “Sunken City” from the Star League and big whales
New Rhodes III – Colosii Chain brings many tourists
Ozawa – Hot Zones cleared and Prosperity rebuilt as the capital of the Alliance. A beautiful world again.

Factories
Addicks – Johnston Industries – Goblin and Dagger OmniFighter
Achernar – Achernar IndustrialMechs
Ozawa – Wunderland Enterprises – Various tracking and communications systems
Ruchbah – Michaelson Heavy Industries – Cavalry, Hawk Moth, Mantis, Sprint, and Yellow Jacket
Schedar – Rander Communications Equipment Inc. – Various tracking and communications systems

Rebuilt Factories
Achernar – Achernar BattleMechs – Phoenix Hawk, Enforcer IV, Dervish, and Thunderbolt
Errai – Maltex Corporation (purchased by ABM) – Assassin, Wyvern, Ostsol, Argus, and Thug
Ozawa – Diplan ’Mechyards (purchased by ABM) – Locust, Wasp, Osiris, Mongoose, and Jenner
Tybalt – Jolassa Armored Vehicles (purchased by Johnston Industries) – Fury and Glory

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Nice write up on the Ozawa-Addicks alliance. FYI, I think that the Mongoose Mech was originially produced on Ozawa (nudge, nudge, hint, hint... ).

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Happiness = Watching Goose go Mach 3 with his hair on fire...

Hey, out of curiosity, Medron, are you going to write up some sort of post-Jihad thing for what's going back in the Clan Homeworlds? 'Cuz I'm kinda curious if you've planned out what they're up to during your Jihad timeline.

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

The Mongoose on Ozawa? If so, I'll add that to one of the "rebuilt" lines. Does anybody happen to know either way?

Also, about the other SL 'Mechs...does anybody know where they were built?

As for the homeclans...I haven't really thought about them. Mainly thinking about the Dark Age line for them...nasty war that plastered them all. But I'm not a big Clan fan and don't much think about them.

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

IIRC, it is mentioned that the Mongoose is produced by Diplan in the TRO:2750. Not sure if it is mentioned that the Mongoose is produced on Ozawa.

_________________
Happiness = Watching Goose go Mach 3 with his hair on fire...

OK, I have just whipped out my copy of the TRO 2750 and the Manufacturer of the Mongoose is: Diplan Mechyards of Ozawa.

_________________
Happiness = Watching Goose go Mach 3 with his hair on fire...

Here's what I could find on Star League Mechs:

Mech, Weight, Factory, Location (NA=Not Available), Year of Production

Mercury, 20, Mitchel Vehicles, Graham IV, 2742

Thorn, 20, Ford Military Unlimited, NA, Late 24th Century

Mongoose, 25, Diplan Mechyards, Ozawa, 2660

Hermes, 30, Irian BattleMechs Unlimited, Irian, After 2632

Hussar, 30, Newhart Industries, NA, Before 2630

Sentinel, 40, Defiance Industries, NA, 2651

Wyvern, 45, Maltex Corporation, NA, After 2660

Crab, 50, Cosara Weaponries, Northwind, 2719

Kintaro, 55, General Mechanics, NA, After 2587

Champion, 60, Bergan Industries, New Earth, 2602

Lancelot, 60, Krupp Stellar Technologies Incorporated, NA, After 2581

Bombardier, 65, Wakazashi Enterprises, NA, After 2735

Exterminator, 65, General Systems, NA, 2630

Guillotine, 70, Newhart Industries, NA, After 2499

Black Knight, 75, Kong Interstellar Corporation, NA, 2578

Flashman, 75, Renault-Prime Industries, NA, 2701

Thug, 80, Maltex Corporation, NA, 2572

Crockett, 85, Blankenburg Technologies, Soul, 2735

Highlander, 90, StarCorps Industries, NA, 2592

King Crab, 100, Cosara Weaponries, Northwind, After 2741

(edit) Okay, add one more:

Mackie, 100, Skobel MechWorks, Terra, After 2439

Cheers,

MB

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[i]And Allah turned back the unbelievers in their rage; they did not obtain any advantage, and Allah sufficed the believers in fighting; and Allah is Strong, Mighty.[/i] from The Koran, 33rd Sura- The Clans

thanks for the info dude...that rocks...hehehe

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Syrtis Federation

Led by Duke George Hasek when it was one of the most powerful worlds in the Federated Suns, New Syrtis has seen much of war in the last two decades. George Hasek pulled the entire Capellan March out of the Federated Suns early in 3078, after the Word of Blake assaults on New Avalon and other core systems showed him what they would do if he remained with House Davion. Having already been pulled into the Civil War by the Davion family, and seen too many of his people die for them, he simply had no wish to see it again.

His actions saved the entire Capellan March, or the Syrtis Federation as it began to be called, from the horrors of the Jihad. Unfortunately, his actions later would bring another war upon those systems. As the Jihad came to an end in 3078 the Capellan Rump States were looking particularly fragile, especially St. Ives with its heavy industrial capabilities. The Capellans, heavily damaged by the Jihad and looking for more construction, were making rumblings about retaking St. Ives (again), and Prince George Hasek decided that there was no way he would allow it to happen.

He ordered troops to the St. Ives Compact to guarantee that the factories did not fall back into Capellan hands. Duke Kai Allard-Liao took exception to the foreign troops landing on his worlds and took steps to remove them. The war that erupted outside the HildCo Interplanetary factory complex on St. Ives would become the single most devastating war since the Jihad.

At first, the Syrtis Federation troops had everything under control. After all, they outnumbered the St. Ives Compact forces handily. But, as time went on they began to lose that advantage. First the Taurians, coming to the aid of their long ally, smashed into the Periphery realms of the Syrtis Federation, and then the Capellan Confederation, smelling blood in the water, sent its fleets into Federation space. The Sarna Supremacy and Styk Commonality began to cross the borders closer to Terra, and the Federation began to the feel the pinch. It continued to fight on, holding off its opponents to only minor gains on minor worlds as they shifted their forces around to face the Capellan Rump States and the Taurian border.

Then, on June 26th of 3081, the Tikonov Free Republic hit Nanking like a hammer blow. With defensive forces out of position to handle the Tikonov push, the Syrtis Federation began feeling the pressure of the war for the first time and began redeploying secondary defensive forces to that front. When Protector Erik Calderon heard of the redeployments, he saw the chance to turn this war into something more than simply supporting an ally. Seeing the opportunity to finally regain the Taurian worlds lost so many centuries ago to Capellan and Taurian aggression, he called on the Treaty of Taurus. Magistracy and Fronc forces soon joined the Taurian forces to spill across the border with the Federation in a massive wave of forces in 3082. That was when New Syrtis began to panic.

No matter what they did, they didn’t have enough forces to hold on all sides. Desperately, they called for aid from the economically ailing Federated Suns, and managed to acquire the best of the new Federated Suns Mercenary Command forces. Sent to hold the Sarna Supremacy, the Suns warriors did their job and stopped the Sarnan assaults cold in January 3083, maintaining Federation hold on Axton. But on the Tikonov front, Styk and Tikonov forces continued to roll over the units in place there. The FSMC was ordered to that region of space as New Syrtis frantically tried to move enough forces to hold St. Ives, the Capellans, and the Trinity Alliance.

By late 3084, the Trinity Alliance had a stranglehold on the Pleiades Cluster, and had driven deep into Federation space on all fronts. The only positive side to that was that Trinity Alliance and Capellan forces had ended up fighting over numerous Federation worlds. Captured in 3080 by an early Capellan offensive, Mendham once again became the center of the war in August 3083 when Trinity Alliance forces arrived to take it in the name of the Taurian Concordat. The fighting for the world would continue until 3093, when a Trinity Alliance battle squadron, supported by a Raven Alliance squadron, shattered the Capellan Second Fleet and sent its remains running home to Sian.

With the Capellans and the Trinity Alliance otherwise engaged, the Syrtis Federation finally had some breathing room, but it had taken heavy losses over the years of the St. Ives War as it is called now. In January 3085, a major Tikonov Free Republic offensive claimed Tikonov, breaking the back of the Federation and FSMC defensive forces in that area. Moving into the vacuum, the Styk Commonality picked up the former Chesterton Worlds with a blitzkrieg assault that shattered what was left of the Federation defenders. The War College of Goshen was the only major victory logged by the Federation in 3085, but it shattered a major Styk push and forced them to fall back, licking their wounds and unable to mount another push.

With Styk busy holding onto the Chesterton Worlds, Tikonov trying to recoup the losses sustained in their campaign to take Tikonov, the Capellans and the Trinity Alliance fighting like cats and dogs, and Sarna unable to push past the FSMC forces on its border, the only remaining threat to the Federation’s survival was, oddly, St. Ives. The place where it all started. Redeploying, once again, to the St. Ives front, Federation and FSMC forces managed to march St. Ives back across a half dozen systems. The final battle in June 3085 on Shoreham ended in Federation victory, but the Federation military was on the verge of collapse. George Hasek knew his military could not take St. Ives and hold it against the Capellans whenever they got over their conflict with the Trinity Alliance.

The only way to keep it out of Capellan hands would be to end the war and let St. Ives remain free. George Hasek traveled to St. Ives under a flag of true to speak with Kai Allard-Liao with the intention of securing a cease-fire. After swallowing his pride and apologizing for starting the war in the first place, he walked out with a peace treaty. And an alliance of sorts. St. Ives would not fall to Capellan domination, but the price the Federation paid for that was appalling. Cut down to half its pre-war systems, and having lost the prolific Tikonov factories, the Federation was in a major bind to rebuild its shattered military. St. Ives however had more military construction capability than they could possibly afford to use. So New Syrtis began buying military designs from the St. Ives Compact to make up for the factory lines lost near Terra, giving St. Ives the much needed funds it needed to pay for the rebuilding of its military, a surprising development to many historians.

The last fifteen years has seen St. Ives and New Syrtis become closer, with small WarShip designs, including the Impavidos from the St. Ives Necromo Shipyards and Fox-2s coming out of the New Syrtis Shipyards, being seen on either side of the border under the colors of either nation. BattleMechs and vehicle sales between the two realms are common as well, making both militaries very well rounded.

They have also seen an odd détente between the Taurian Concordat and the Syrtis Federation. Protector Erik Calderon does not at all trust the Federation, but as long as they are on good terms with St. Ives, a Taurian ally, the Protector is more than willing to keep the Taurians out of another war. Especially since the Taurians have been busy reintegrating the lost Taurian worlds back into the Concordat after centuries of Davion rule. As well as three major factory worlds.

Relations with Sarna and Capella are not so quiet, though Sarna seems mostly worried with Styk while Goshen continues to hold off all comers on the new border of the Syrtis Federation. The greatest worry for Prince George Hasek at this time is the wild card of the St. Ives War, the Tikonov Free Republic. No longer having a single border with Tikonov, Hasek very much wants to keep it that way. With rumors running rampant that Tikonov is trying to pull the Chesterton Worlds out of Styk control so it can swallow them whole, Prince Hasek is sending many resources into those systems. Most analysts believe it is to keep the Chesterton Worlds under Styk control, but some suggest that New Syrtis may want the Chesterton Worlds independent. If not back under Federation control again. Nobody truly knows what is going on with the Chesterton Worlds though, beyond the fact that they seem to be growing very rich with all the resources being funneled into them from a half dozen realms.

One of those realms is the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance, partially dominated by the Johnston family. Johnston Industries of New Syrtis, still owned by the Johnston family, is a major supplier of ’Mechs and vehicles for the Federation, keeping the Federation and the Alliance on very friendly terms.

The Durendal-class WarShip Morgan Hasek-Davion, purchased from the Federated Suns Galax Shipyards in 3087, leads the Syrtis Federation fleet. Escorted by Fox-2, Fox-3, Impavido, and smaller intercept and escort WarShips supported by Dagger OmniFighters, the New Syrtis fleet is a strong deterrent to anyone feeling adventuresome in Federation space.

With the destruction of Salem and New Valencia during the Jihad, Kathil houses the last operating Ajax OmniTank factory, and those powerful vehicles form the core of the primary defensive line of the Federation. Led by Morningstars and supported by Minion, Glory, and Goblin-class tanks, these leave the Federation with a powerful defensive deterrent to invasion.

The BattleMechs built on Kathil, New Syrtis, and Talon(Wernke) are the primary raiders of the Federation, and are called on to fight Capellan Rump State raiders on a daily basis. Raids coming in from the Taurians and the unclaimed systems of the former Crucis March are far less common, but any military commander who grows soft in those areas can expect to be hit very quickly.

General Information
Axton – Primary Aerospace fighter construction complex of the Federation. Most heavily raided world. Most fighters produced there remain at Axton or are sent to Goshen to defend those two worlds from future raids, leaving Johnston Industries of New Syrtis to produce enough Dagger OmniFighters for the rest of the Federation. The Federation must still import many fighters from other realms.
Goshen – War College of Goshen. Border of the Syrtis Federation, only the best recruits go there. One of the heaviest raided worlds in the Federation, schooling there is a trial by fire.
New Syrtis – One jump away from the Taurian Concordat Pleiades Cluster, this is the one of the most heavily defended worlds of the Federation. It is also one of their primary factory worlds.

Factories
Axton – Wangker Aerospace – Corsair, Eagle, and Thunderbird
Kathil – General Motors – Stealth, Cestus, Maelstrom, Marauder, Rakshasa, Nightstar, Morningstar, Ajax OmniTank, and Minion
– General Motors of Kathil – Jeep and Darter
New Syrtis – Johnston Industries – Garm, Axman, Caesar, Glory, Goblin, and Dagger OmniFighter.
– New Syrtis Shipyards – Gazelle, Monarch, Mammoth, Invader, Fox-2 destroyer, and Uhlan frigate.
Talon/Wernke – Kallon Industries – Hornet, Enforcer IV, Griffin, Shadow Hawk, Wolverine, Rifleman, JagerMech IV, Penetrator-class BattleMechs, and Templar OmniMech.
– Mercy Industries of Talon – M.A.S.H. Truck

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Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

[in small, whiny child's voice] Medron, you got any new stuff? Medron? Medron? Please? Pretty please? Huh? Huh? Huh? Please? Medron? Huh? Please?

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

I'm working on it...hehehe

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Ok...I've finished going through the previous writeups and figuring out exactly what each nation builds as far as 'Mechs and jazz are concerned.

Note that the Fox is called a destroyer now, the Durendal a cruiser, and that there are LOTS of little frigates being built all over the place.

Essentially, destroyers are now generally called cruisers because they are the most powerful ships anybody can build now. When you need heavy power, you bring in a cruiser. Old corvettes, at least ones that are worth anything unlike the Vincent, are called destroyers as they are primarily escorting cruisers and are tasked with destroying anybody, no matter the cost, that might threaten a cruiser or the priceless larger ships that survived the Jihad and the other wars. Frigates tend to be anything smaller than destroyers and are generally designed to support larger ships or perform recon and anything like that. The frigates are the eyes and ears of the fleets and tend to go all over the place. The destroyers, cruisers, and what is left of the old larger ships like the Avalon and Kirishima battleships, rarely leave their home ports outside of MAJOR actions.

Needless to say, when reports of a major fleet moving around start filtering out, neighbors start getting nervous.

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
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[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Oh, sweet! I was trying to make this list myself using that older Battletech Industrial page (not Crouton Command), but I see you've done it for me.

Now, of course, my new question is: will you list the military/merc units of each nation soon? Or is that much further down the list, like after you've finished the write-ups for all the nations?

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

Oh, and on another note, are you going to post up some of these new designs you mention on the Design board, i.e. the Enforcer IV and Jagermech IV, or the Uhlan-class frigate?

Worshipfully yours...

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

[in old Chinese man's voice] And one more thing!

Now when you list the production capabilities of the Nova Cats and Smoke Jaguars, I notice you only put that they have the capability to produce, like, three different 'Mechs apiece. Does that mean that's all they can produce, or is that outside of the normal range of Omnis and second-line units that every Clan has the capability to produce?

_________________
"I have vanquished you, lizard slavers. And now, behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie."
- Space Ghost

That's it...hehehe

They have lots of other stuff that they have "acquired" in raids, but those are the designs that they can actually build.

And yes...the Uhlan, as well as the other new ships and designs, will be given stats at some time in the future. It will be a while though...hehehe.

If you look at the names though, many of them are...descriptive of their missions. Or there are reasons for why they were named such.

The Victor patrol frigate for instance is based off a ship salvaged from the final battles over Terra. It entered full production afterwards. The original ship it was refitted from? A Word of Blake Bug-Eye handed over to the Federated Suns by Victor himself.

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
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[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

As for military units...some of them are in the main listing.

But a full military listing is currently not in the plans. At least not for a LONG time...hehehe

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
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[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

Capellan Rump States

Capellan Confederation

The 3050s and 3060s saw the Capellan Confederation picking itself up by its bootstraps under the command of Sun-Tzu Liao, one of the most astute Chancellors in centuries. Operation Guerrero in 3057, the joint League/Confederation invasion of the Federated Commonwealth, was the first major sign of Capellan strength since before the Fourth Succession War. A generation accustomed to living under the shadow of the Davion family had finally found a reason to be proud of their people again.

As Sun-Tzu fanned the flames of Xin Sheng though, repeated attempts to gain an alliance with the Magistracy, most likely an attempt to prepare for the expected end of his close friendship with the Free Worlds League, were rebuffed. But the Capellan Confederation soldiered on, trying to reintegrate the remaining worlds of the new Chaos March, including the Sarna and Styk governments. It proved a difficult task though, and many wondered if the Confederation would be able to finish its plans when the St. Ives War fired up.

Forced to transfer all of its free forces, and many that weren’t, the Confederation responded to the attack of the Blackwind Lancers that nearly killed Isis Marik. The war that followed lasted over three years and brought the two nations to the brink of collapse. But in late 3063, Duchess Candace Allard-Liao, accepted the inevitable and brokered a peace deal with her nephew. Only the help of Anastasius Focht, Former Precentor Martial of the ComStar, made the final peace possible.

Sun-Tzu’s greatest concession was in allowing the Allard-Liaos to remain hereditary rulers of the St. Ives Commonality, while Candace’s greatest was in agreeing to sell the production of the numerous St. Ives factories to the Confederation at cost. The next few years saw the Confederation military rebuilding from the atrocious damage caused by the civil war, and attempting to take more of the Chaos March systems. But while the St. Ives military was willing to garrison worlds in the Chaos March, it refused to take the more drastic measures Sun-Tzu wished performed to give the local systems no choice but to return to the fold.

When the 3067 meeting of the Star League Council elected Thomas Marik to the position of Star Lord, the Confederation was still fighting to control the worlds of the Chaos March. Some like the planet Liao were happy members of the Confederation, but others were less joyful about giving up their newfound freedom from the Great Houses. Especially those that were once a part of the old Sarna Supremacy like Palos and Wei. The Word of Blake Jihad did not help matters.

As reports of the first battles over Atreus, New Avalon, Tharkad, Luthien, and Outreach wafted across the HPG networks, many wondered why Sian had been spared. As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months with no sign of a Word of Blake assault on the Confederation, fifteen years of work by Sun-Tzu began to fall apart. Many wondered, especially in the newly re-acquired systems, if the Word of Blake had given Xin Sheng the power it needed to thrive. They were proud people, and many had been happy to return to the Confederation, but they’d lived a generation under the freedom of Houses Davion and Steiner, and the idea of being allied with a power who was destroying them was repugnant to many.

Entire military commands in the new territories began to leave the Confederation, removing their planets from Capellan control. The Sarna Supremacy and Styk Commonality happily snapped up any systems willing to come over to them, and the Confederation found itself splintering. Protests erupted across the Confederation, especially in the St. Ives Commonality, decrying Sun-Tzu’s support of the Word of Blake. Protesters in the core Confederation systems that had survived the Fourth Succession War were dealt with summarily, but the Allard-Liaos refused to do the same to their people.

Despite all his work, Sun-Tzu was losing control. And despite public opinion to this day, this author believes that Sun-Tzu truly was unaware of Word of Blake plans. Whatever the truth of the matter though, the secession of the St. Ives Commonality in 3069 finished the process of reversing all the gains made in the last 12 years. Back to its post-Fourth Succession War borders, and reeling from internal dissension, the Capellan Confederation was a remnant of the power it fielded a mere two years before. And the Word of Blake had not fired a single shot. In fact, it was the very fact that they didn’t fire a shot that tore the Confederation apart.

When they finally moved in 3070, the Confederation had little to fight them with. The Word of Blake destroyed their main fleet over Victoria and bombarded the factories from orbit. Most considered that Sun-Tzu had gotten what was coming to him. Most thought his allies simply backstabbed him once he was no longer useful, and most think that to this day. Those views were not softened when Kali Liao set off a chemical, nuclear, and biological war against the Word of Blake so atrocious that it even made them look civilized. The Capellan Confederation fought tooth and nail after that against the Word of Blake in a scorched earth campaign that, to this day, is compared to the First and Second Succession Wars. Dozens of worlds burned, and hundreds of thousands of men and women died under the guns of the Word of Blake. Millions more died as “collateral damage” to the assaults of either the Word of Blake or Kali’s cultists.

In the end, few cried any tears when Sun-Tzu and Kali Liao were captured and executed by Word of Blake in a live broadcast throughout the Word of Blake-controlled HPG network in January of 3071. In fact, in one of the few instances where the Word of Blake was almost welcomed, crowds throughout the former Capellan Confederation cheered at their deaths. It was little comfort for those killed by the Word of Blake in the core Confederation worlds, but the citizens living under Sarna, Styk, and St. Ives rule were just happy the traitor and his crazy sister had gotten what was coming to them. At the hands of his own allies. Justice was certainly poetic.

This author believes that the Word of Blake simply took the opportunity to vilify the single leader who was perhaps the best of his time, and one who could have hurt them badly in the Jihad. I have made my views clear in the best selling Sun-Tzu – Traitor or Patriot? The History of Xin Sheng historical holodocumentary. It is an easy record to find. Whatever the truth of his actions though, it was the death of Sun-Tzu Liao that ended the Word of Blake Jihad in Capellan space. With central authority gone, the Confederation simply ceased to exist.

At least that is what many assumed would happen. Some cried out for Candace Allard-Liao to take the office of Chancellor, but such was not to be. Treyhang Liao, leader of the Free Capella Movement, had been fighting along side the Ridzik brothers since 3067 against the Word of Blake. He’d made many waves in the populous of the Confederation when he sent the Blackwind Lancers from the battlefields of the Chaos March to fight the Word of Blake on behalf of the people of the Confederation. They pointedly refused to follow any commands of Sun-Tzu, but fought beside many Confederation units. When Word of Blake cornered and destroyed the Lancers in the ruins of Grand Base mere days before the death of Sun-Tzu, a wave of positive public opinion engulfed Treyhang.

He rode that wave to the Andurien border when the Duchy attacked in 3072, and it was Free Capella fighting beside the remnants of the Confederation military that stopped the Andurien thrust. After two years of fighting the Anduriens, Treyhang was a hero to a Confederation desperately in need of a hero. He road the wave of support to the ruins of Sian and crowned himself Chancellor in 3075.

He spent the next four years rebuilding the shattered armies and factories of the Confederation, while inviting military units back into the fold. Anyone who returned would be considered as loyal to the Confederation as the Free Capella Movement had been. Many returned, bolstering the strength of Confederation Armed Forces until they were powerful enough to defend the realm and retake territory lost during the Jihad. After taking numerous systems back, Treyhang began looking to St. Ives again. Sun-Tzu had considered St. Ives the center of power and the turning point for Xin Sheng nearly two decades ago, and Treyhang knew why.

St. Ives controlled one of the densest concentrations of industrial power in the Inner Sphere. A Capellan Confederation with St. Ives would be powerful enough to force Sarna, Styk, and even the long lost Tikonov worlds back into the Confederation. With St. Ives, the Confederation would be strong again. Chancellor Treyhang Liao wanted the Capellan Confederation to be strong again.

But Prince George Hasek of New Syrtis moved to assault St. Ives in 3079, before Treyhang could finish his preparations and gave the Chancellor two choices. Hit St. Ives in the back while Duke Kai Allard-Liao was fighting the Federation, or assault the Federation directly in support of St. Ives. Treyhang chose to support St. Ives and smashed into the Syrtis Federation with abandon. With the Taurian Concordat already involved, he didn’t have to worry too much about being hit with everything the Federation had after all. When Sarna and Styk jumped in as well, Treyhang knew he’d made the right choice.

It was Kingston’s Rangers that captured Mendham in 3080 and moved deeper into the Federation. And after fighting Syrtis Federation forces for three years, it was Kingston’s Rangers that had to return to Mendham in 3083 to stop the Trinity Alliance from taking it. The fighting on and around Mendham went on for ten more years, long after the St. Ives War ended with St. Ives keeping its freedom.

The decade of fighting against the Trinity Alliance pushed the Capellan military to the brink though, especially when the Duchy of Andurien added its power to the mix. Humbled by its defeat more than a decade before, Andurien forces spilled across the border later in 3085 and forced the Capellan Armed Forces to divide their forces still more. But while the Confederation had been through hell and back, this wasn’t the nearly dead Confederation Andurien and Canopus had fought after the Fourth Succession War. The Capellan Confederation of the 3080s was in bad shape, but they weren’t about to roll over and play dead.

Treyhang refused to use non-standard warfare, not wanting to follow Kali’s road to hell, as re-built factories pushed out a massive number of cheap but operational machines of war. During the darkest days of the war against the Trinity Alliance, the Capellans actually found themselves fighting designs more advanced than anything they could build. The very idea that the Periphery could be more advanced than one of the Great Houses was a shock, but Treyhang took it in stride and continued to send anyone he could to the front lines.

Volunteers from every world in the Confederation streamed to the recruiting offices, ready to fight their enemies with anything they could get. Shipped to every border of the Confederation, but mainly to the Andurien and Periphery borders, those volunteers paid in blood for their willingness to protect the Confederation, and while their BattleMechs, vehicles, AeroSpace Fighters, DropShips, and even WarShips held little in the way of advanced technologies, they made up for that in pure old fashioned bloody mindedness.

They forced the Trinity Alliance and the Anduriens to pay in blood for any world they wanted. By 3092, even the Taurians were ready to stop, but Protector Erik Calderon wanted Mendham and its advanced factories that were still being passed back and forth as each side won or lost a battle. The arrival of a Raven Alliance WarShip squadron over Mendham in 3093, in company with a Trinity Alliance WarShip squadron, broke the back of the Capellan Second Fleet and sent them packing back to Sian in disarray.

The Trinity Alliance and Duchy of Andurien, as weary of the war as the Capellans were, did not follow up their victory with an assault. Instead they sent in a diplomat, Janice Calderon, to speak with Treyhang Liao and secure peace. On December 3rd, 3093, the Trinity War was over.

The last seven years have seen the Confederation rebuilding again, buying production from St. Ives now that the war with the Taurians is over, and reincorporating more advanced technologies into their lower technology designs. A short war in 3097 against the Oriente and Andurien tested those technologies and showed that the Confederation was a foe to be respected, adding several systems to its domain.

The current CCAF still has many of the Trinity War-era designs in their militias, but their front-line battalions see many of the technologies seen before the Jihad. Stingers and Wasps make up many of their lightest lances, often supported by Men Shen and Duan Gung OmniMechs. Other heavier designs continue to be built as quickly as possible as well. The Emperor is the primary assault BattleMech of the Confederation, while the lighter Ti Ts’ang is one of the shining stars of the Confederation. Seen often during the dark days of the Trinity War, even the lower-tech versions of this design seen then found themselves in up close and personal combat against the Periphery or Andurien forces. Following the example of Ti Ts’angs during the Jihad, they fought to the death and made their enemies pay in blood for anything they wanted. Piloting a Ti Ts’ang in the modern CCAF is one of the greatest honors a Capellan can receive.

The Transit and Transgressor AeroSpace Fighters, as well as the Defiance OmniFighters, dominate the AeroSpace forces of the CCAF. Like most of the BattleMech and vehicle designs, the more advanced units have versions mounting Stealth Armor, making them difficult to find. More than once a raider has thought he or she was home free until a squadron of Liao fighters came out of nowhere and taught them the meaning of fear.

The Feng Huang-class Aleisha Kris commands the CCAF navy, and is escorted at all times by several Impavido cruisers and Lungchuan escort frigates. The majority of the frigates however are seen scattered throughout the Confederation watching and waiting for enemies to strike either from within or from without. The Mandarins especially see frequent action on patrol duty against raiders coming in from all directions.

Chancellor Treyhang Liao, still in command of the Confederation after a quarter century, is no longer the young man he once appeared to be. With graying hair and worry lines etched into his face, he is the vary image of the concerned leader, exactly what his people need in modern times. He has built up generally friendly relations with Duke Kai Allard-Liao of St. Ives, and has managed to pull back the worst of the fighting against the Trinity Alliance. The Confederation and the Periphery will never be friends, but at least they are not fighting tooth and nail any longer. The Andurien border on the other hand is in constant turmoil, with raiding going on at all times. The border with the Syrtis Federation is mostly quiet now outside of low-level raiding, but the borders with the Oriente, Styk, and Sarna governments are also on the more hot side.

Like many other nations in the area, Treyhang also uses his many contacts to funnel aid to the Chesterton Worlds, hoping to keep them out of the hands of the Tikonov Free Republic, as well as to weaken the Styk Commonality. Many Phoenix Hawks and Valkyries, designs built on the Chesterton World of Demeter, are seen in Confederation and many believe they come from Demeter rather than from the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance. It will be interesting to see what Treyhang will do if the Chesterton Worlds become independent.

Factories
Betelgeuse – Aldis Industries – Regulator, Zhukov, Demolisher, Schrek, and Behemoth
– Firmir Weaponry – Various energy weapons
Bithinia – Bithinian Ballistics – Various autocannons and machine guns
Capella – Andurien Industries – Avenger, Triumph, and Excalibur.
– Ceres Metals Industries – Vindicator, Ti Ts’ang, Thunder, and Marauder BattleMech. Transit ASF and Defiance OmniFighter.
– Rashpur-Owens Incorporated – Lung Wang, Achilles, Merchant, Invader, Monolith, Impavido cruiser, Lungchuan escort frigate, Yuan Yang intercept frigate, and Mandarin patrol frigate.
Grand Base – Earthwerks, Incorporated – Stinger, Cataphract, and Archer
Menke – Ceres Metals Industries – Po
– McCarron's Trading Company - Emperor
– Menke Armor and Armament – Armor and missile weapons.
Sian – Hellespont Industrials – APCs, Scorpion, Pegasus, Maxim, and Vedette
– Hellespont 'Mech Works – Stinger, Wasp, and Sha Yu BattleMechs. Men Shen OmniMech
– Saroyan Special Projects - Transgressor
Victoria – Shengli Arms – Jinggau, Lao Hu, and Yu Huang BattleMechs. Duan Gung OmniMech
– Trellis Electronics – Various electronics

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
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[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

St. Ives Compact

The three-year Capellan invasion of the St. Ives Compact in the early 3060s taught the Allard-Liaos are harsh lesson when the Federated Commonwealth refused to support them. A lesson reinforced by Sun-Tzu’s alliance with the Word of Blake. They learned that they had to depend on themselves for freedom, and that no one else could be trusted to command them. With the damning evidence showing Sun-Tzu in league with the Blakists, they stepped out of the Confederation after “acquiring” the plans to the Duan Gung BattleMech.

They once again opened up relations with their old allies in the Concordat, and the Sarna Supremacy who had given them supplies during the invasion, and prepared to weather the storm as the Word of Blake continued to hammer anyone willing to stand against them. They sent supplies to help the Concordat in its fight, while also moving in to protect Confederation systems near them, protecting them when the Jihad finally smashed into the Confederation. Necromo and its powerful shipyards was one of their first “acquisitions” they made, and is a valuable part of the Compact to this day, producing many WarShip designs for the St. Ives Navy.

But as the Jihad wound down in the Terran system, the Word of Blake smashed flat by the remnants of the Star League, a new threat began to arise against the Compact. Once again the Capellan Confederation, this time under Treyhang Liao, wanted control of the factories of St. Ives. Unknown to the new Duke Kai Allard-Liao though, the Syrtis Federation under Prince George Hasek wanted them too. Especially the Necromo Shipyards. It came as a surprise to St. Ives, with most of their forces on the Confederation border, when the Federation sent forces to several St. Ives worlds, including Necromo, St. Ives, and Warlock.

Kai led his First and Second St. Ives Lancers to confront the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers in front of the HildCo Interplanetary factory complex on St. Ives where General Serena Thompson-Hasek tried to push the Federation claim to St. Ives. When Kai declined to accept the claim and moved to force her off, tensions escalated until shots were fired. After three weeks of fighting in orbit, air, and on the ground, the Fusiliers were forced to surrender and St. Ives confiscated their surviving BattleMechs and other weapons. Serena sat the rest of the war out, held securely but comfortably in Allard-Liao’s palace on St. Ives. In return for her imprisonment and not wanting to feed the other prisoners, St. Ives sent the rest of the Fusiliers home under the condition that they never return to Compact space under pain of death for themselves and Serena.

As the St. Ives War expanded to encompass all of the Capellan Rump States the St. Ives Military Command found itself able to return the favor, invading Federation territory and “acquiring” numerous systems that had once been a part of the long-gone St. Ives Mercantile Association. During which time the former Duchess of St. Ives, Candace Allard-Liao and Serena Thompson-Hasek spent their days playing chess together, talking about anything that came to mind. In her gilded prison, Serena came to enjoy Candace’s visits and they became close friends. When Kai’s wife Deidre Lear began coming as well, it almost felt to Serena as if she wasn’t imprisoned.

As the other nations found themselves sidetracked in the war and unable to continue, it came back to being just the Federation versus the Compact, and the larger Federation began to slowly push back the St. Ives forces. When the First Lancers were pushed out of Shoreham in June 3085, Serena, Deidre, and Candace knew the war would have to end soon. Both sides were exhausted, unable to continue without taking losses they may not be able to survive.

One of the little-known facts of the St. Ives War, especially in the Federation, is that it was not Prince George Hasek who ended the war. It was Serena, Deidre, and Candace who talked over what needed to be done. They were the ones who wrote the final peace treaty, and they were the ones who “convinced” Kai and George into accepting it. As has happened many times in the past, when the men were too busy fighting each other to see the scope of the changes around them, it was the women who did what needed to be done.

To this day, Serena, Deidre, and Candace maintain a close relationship, often visiting each other on either side of the border where people would swear they have to be blood kin. And while raiding continues back and forth across the borders, the mere presence of any of them has often proven enough to stop the raid in mid-process. On the border between St. Ives and New Syrtis, even BattleMechs fear the wrath of those three, and the Bad Things that Prince George and Duke Kai would level upon any MechWarrior who hurt them.

On other borders though, the raiding continues. Though St. Ives is technically on friendly terms with both Sarna and Capella, selling both war machines at below market price, there continues to be heavy raiding as is normal throughout the Inner Sphere. St. Ives, like many governments, continues to pour heavy resources into the Chesterton Worlds, not wanting them to fall into the hands of Tikonov, and trying to support Sarna against Styk. They trade with the Taurian Concordat, and are also on very friendly terms with ComStar, due to the close friendship between Duke Kai and Precentor Martial Victor.

The modern SIMC is top heavy, with a full eight heavy and assault designs under constant construction. Perhaps the most visible of them are the Marauders, Emperors, and Pillagers, all of which bring fear to any raider meeting them. Most medium lances are made up of either Phoenix Hawks or Blackjack OmniMechs. The Blackjacks are usually used in support of the heavy and assault companies, while the Phoenix Hawk companies are considered the standard sparring forces of the SIMC. Cossacks are primarily used in a harassing mode, especially alongside Phoenix Hawk companies, while the Duan Gung OmniMechs are used for everything from scouting to distraction on up to supporting heavier companies in straight up battle.

The Durendal-class Justin Xiang Allard leads the St Ives Navy, escorted at all times by Impavidos and Fox-3s built by the Necromo Shipyards. The various frigates also built there do most of the work maintaining the borders and fighting raiders though, escorted by St. Ives produced fighters and DropShips purchased from other realms. St. Ives seems willing to buy military and civilian DropShips from others, as long as they have a military powerful enough to make up for that lack in their production capability. They do not wish to become the target of anyone’s avarice again, and so put a great emphasis on the ability to destroy anything that enters their space.

St. Ives never wants to live under anyone else’s rule ever again, and their entire military organization is designed to make any attempt to take them too costly to consider.

General Information
Overton – Quark Motors hovercraft are considered a superior craft.
Necromo – Home to a major DropShip maintenance plant as well as the Shipyards.
New Westin – Laser pistols built here are valued.
St. Ives – HildCo Interplanetary houses another major maintenance plant as well, and continues to make motions about starting up production again. In fact, many ships thought to be unsalvageable have been brought here in recent years where the local engineers repair them.
St. Loris – A major producer of food for the Compact.
Vestallas – This planet is also remarkable for the evolution of a unique architectural style, distinguished by gracefully curved walls and gently curved and sloping floors. These are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, as well as a means of keeping the population in a perpetual state of disequilibrium the natives describe as a "natural high."
Warlock – Once home to the Liao family’s winter resorts, Serena, Deidre, and Candace have taken to making trips there as often as possible. It is a major naval base for the St. Ives Navy, and the southern continent supports a weapon testing facility and specialized arctic training centers. Security-sensitive military research and development centers are located along the planet's equator.
Wright – Lustix Commodities is one of the Compact’s largest manufacturers of drugs, medical support systems, and specialized anti-radiation burn treatments. Formed in 2410, the Lustrix is a major supplier to the League, Draconis Rifts, and Federation Expanse markets (often operating illegally), though their continued development of new and effective biomedical compounds and artificial limbs prompt the authorities to wink at the firm's questionable trading practices. Lustrix has maintained good relations with members of ComStar, and has on more than one occasion assisted ComStar in averting plagues on other worlds. This friendly relationship no doubt adds to the general feeling of immunity many Lustrix executives enjoy.

Factories
Indicass – Ceres Metals Industries – Swift Wind, APCs, Galleon, and Hetzer.
Necromo – Necromo Shipyards – Impavido cruiser, Fox-3 destroyer, Tai Chi escort frigate, Shuang Gou intercept frigate, and Kan Dao patrol frigate.
St. Ives – Ceres Metals Industries – Phoenix Hawk BattleMech and Blackjack and Duan Gung OmniMechs.
– HildCo Interplanetary – Victor, Emperor, and Pillager
– Mujika Aerospace Technologies – Guardian
– Tengo Aerospace – Cheetah, Thrush, and Lightning
– StarCorps Industries – Longbow
Texlos – Texlos Miltronics – Various electronics
– Kajuka (Aerospace Division) – Lasers
– HildCo Interplanetary – Lightning
Warlock – Ceres Metals Industries – Cossack, Helios, Ostroc, Marauder, and Crusader BattleMechs. Blackjack and Duan Gung OmniMechs.

_________________
Medron Pryde - The Great and Terrible
[img]http://faileas.greywolf.googlepages.com/WOTD.png[/img]
[url=http://www.pryderockindustries.com]P.R.I.[/url] - The home of BattleTech programs and files
"I'm gonna Tea Party like its 1776." - Medron Pryde
Who is John Galt?

What about his grandson Kitsune?