The Elders [Late 3019]
Imperator Pax
Talon Master
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Nominal Canon [Pre revision] [Short]
The Elders
In the age of the Star League House Cameron had managed to largely keep peace between the other great houses, perhaps even had been too generous and cautious in brokering peace between the great houses. It had been during this that an unparralled golden age for humanity had existed under Cameronian stewardship. An age which had ended with the betrayal of trust and hospitality.Admittedly, for those who had lived in that time, probably well especially for a young man, the Star League and the stewards of Terra, and rulers of the Hegemony must have seemed like just any other government and any other rulers. The distinction between living in that age, versus this modern and more fraught era surely seemed different, but... well that could be understood, couldn't it?
Such a young man simply did not grasp how far mankind had fallen from the benevolence of the Star League. It was impossible to adequately reciprocate the generosity of the pricelessness of the secrets of Star League era medicine. Not when it came in the format of instruction and documentation from a star league, a university long lost to the predations of the Dragon's unquenchable appetite.
Volgadon had been lost for the dragon's avarice.
So thus they had come out here to the periphery to begin anew when they could no longer bear the hardship of the Dragon's whims... and starting a new colony had only increased the value of such wisdom.
The news of things from the Inner Sphere was slow going. They could not rely on the HPG network it was not secure. The limitations of the 'fax machines' simply made it impractical there was no way to string such a chain out there... so the arrival of word was as in ancient days couriers. The arrival of new colonists required many months journey but even so they arrived largely unannounced. The news that they carried was even more of a surprise.
The elders responsible for the Alamut colony had expected there to be trouble. The Azami were like all people a gathering of individuals and there were differences of opinion, Alamut was a fine example of this break, but they had not expected such a change to ccur in the inner sphere.
"Your arrival is very fortuitous brother." The elder with a promeniently henna treated beard remarked. "And what you have told us of events gives us even more to discuss than I could have scarcely imagined."
"It is more than you know brother." The newly arrived elder remarked, "there have been many changes but it only effects the details, rather than our own service. We come to insure that a forge may produce swords." He stated more formally trailing into an archaic literari dialect, "That is to say that while it is only the beginning we have brought the machinery to see to it that we are able to establish weapons for warriors. Real weapons."
It was now, in the waning months of 3019 that Alamut began to take its first steps to build up its own domestic military industry. The first item of production to be the engines necessary to power the Dervish BattleMech, and of course any of the mechs that shared it. It would take time of course, but they would work hard.
These 'retro tech' machines would take time, and would help shape the future of the Rimward Periphery. As machines that would have been considered vintage before the Amaris crisis these machines would begin to enter the periphery market with little fanfare. Only the eventual notice of the Gladiator , built using machines smuggled out of the combine that should have been destroyed centuries earlier really attracted attention. However even that was quickly dismissed by observers as irrelevant the 'gladiator' was a mech but it had a reputation, and of course it was just likely that these machines were simply rim world salvage and so they too were taken note of and dismissed as irrelevant.
"You must allow me to show you around brother."
Alamut was a mix of varied architecture. Prefabricated buildings used for military, or in the Star League era, scientific structures sprawled across one side of the river. They included of course the community hospital, and many of the places a man could go and eat, or have coffee.. however it had not taken them long after sowing the first fields to begin to construct large classical buildings for more comfortable living.
"You have built a university?" The new arrival seemed surprised, skeptical even "Pardon my question but while learning is of course the gift of the creator that seems extravagant."
The elder showing him around laughed good naturedly, and stroked his henna streaked beard before replying, "Ah, it is in our good fortune that we were gifted a copy of the medical college of New Volgadon in the Terra Hegemony as it was at the end of the Star League's golden age. That is why we do this thing."
"It is a noble endeavor." He agreed, "To be trusted with such a gift. It has been a long journey." There was a pause. Then a continuance as a pair of me npassed them by, "You must understand, the Federated Suns have struck a powerful blow against the dragon, and his greed. They have lost Dieron and Altair, but even I could scarcely believe the footage that came from Dieron, even knowing with certainty that it was unmodified because it came from Azami machines. I watched much a battalion of the sword of light be cut down before they could even hope to reach a single MechWarrior upon a hill, and many of the others fell as they reached range to fight. Another battalion fell to the beserkers from northwind as their Thugs and Highlanders closed ranks."
"The swords forged by Ancient Terra were formidable there is no question to this." That the Azami painstakingly maintained star league era machines like the mongoose were a testament to this. It was one of the great hidden strengths of the Arkab legions.
"No you do not understand... after you left, it is to say that these were not the first great defeats of the dragon's servants. On Elidere, and entire regiment was destroyed. It died to a man, with many of its DropShips. The 19th Galedon Regulars were destroyed in total. The same man responsible is the architect of the destruction wrought upon the sword of light at Dieron."
It was fair to say that he was skeptical. Understandably so. The prupose of this tour was to assure the newly arrived elder that things were wlel in hand and that they could handle the expansion of the colony to accomdate the new arrivals and the following ones... it had not been intended to discus the wars and ravages of the conflicts of the great houses. "If the battles you speak of are so significant... this walk is somewhat premature, I fear we should have addressed such losses to the dragon-"
"No, the dragon has been injured, but what you build here is more important. Medicine and healing are priceless... and we must build up our defenses. We must grow in strength, and arm our warriors for the inevitable conflict to come against the Dragon's servants, because we will have to liberate our cousins we will have to fight in the Inner Sphere, but we must have the ability to provide safe harbor, and goods with which to trade that cannot be sabotaged by those avaricious or duplicitious agents of chaos."
"If what you say of Elidere, and Dieron and Altair are true then the Dragon has been more than just injured we must take this to the others, and we must see this footage. It must be shown."
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Notes: obviously rather obviously we are detailing the founding of the Sword of the Prophet Industries in the periphery here.
This was not originally planned for today, but Luxen II's update is not ready so rather than push that to tomorrow I'm pushing it a week, and posting this short extra now. Tomorrow I will post the 'Smoke Jaguar intro/1' teaser that leads into the mid 3020s 'you want to do what with my genes' series of snippets.
Obviously: The Azami here have a fairly rosy view of the Star League era and House Cameron as both the descendants of a memberstate population and indeed some being descendants of SLDF troops and so on.
and now a joke of sorts
The FIeld Marshal looks at the man who says this is their fault, "What did you do?" She asks.
The Azami man looks sheepish. "It is a funny story. We had thought to tell a man that the Dragon had collaborated with the Satan Amaris, and that this was the reason for which the Dragon's servants pursued us so." He paused, "We did not realize the sword we had unsheathed against the Dragon."
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