Highland Faire
The small retinue of highlanders, plus Kerston, Septim, and Hanzo all stepped a little uneasily through the reinforced bulkhead. "Deja vu," Septim muttered, probably a little louder than he should. The comment seemed to echo in the expansive theater esque main data space. They probably could have done without the comment at all. Whatever the case he did look relieved that things were under control, enough to continue to stick his foot further into his mouth. "I, this didn't happen to play out like last time I guess."
"Its complicated," He replied as he scrolled through the terminal in front of him on a variety of data packets that Dante was flagging as 'read this', 'read that', 'read this too'. It was a long list.
"A wildfire protocol was not necessary." Dante remarked. "General Marlborough held to his responsibilities to the Hegemony, and as an officer of the armed forces." And had died in his mech surrounded by dead republican guard before a Rim World warship had hit the theater defensive cordon's several square mile area with an orbital bombardment and.... "Subsequent access to this facility occurred but has been intermittent since the dissolution of the League Council." and while Dante didn't precisely come out and admit to reading people's comms, or mail, it was probably the explanation, "I am given to understand that House Davion is preparing an offensive against House Kurita that while unrelated to particular details is still aimed at liberating Hegemony worlds."
"Excuse me."
... Kerston was still using SLDF encryption codes. Hegemony AI probably had master lock cipher overrides... but regardless. He sighed. "Captain Alexander has seen the footage.," he remarked, "Play the HPG recording."
"Affirmative."
... and so, Jerome Blake, and Alexander kerensky's credentials authenticating the recording, it wasn't really an intercept, showed Kurita giving up SLDF positions to Amaris. The footage that the 05P had attempted to kill a valuable, highly decorated portion of the arkab legions on the off chance that they might have peaked at it...
... and there were other issues... but that was the situation.
Septim had moved around through the recording. "So like he said, what happened to General Marlborough?"
"They called an orbital strike as his unit was covering civilians making for the shelters here." not here here, but as a part of Tara's defensive zone. "The strike killed most of the regiment," Dante's report stated that only a handful of Smoke Jumpers, the SOG Regiment that had formed the majority of the local CID's presences combat force, had survived to see the liberation of Terra.
"He said somebody had been here when the Davion's took the planet."
"Yeah," Clancy seemed to have spent some time in a stasis tube, "I haven't read all of his reports, but Fortress Dieron is intact, or was in the mid 29
th century. Its a castle brian, a very heavily armed castle. That could be good or bad for the invasion." ... and he wasn't sure he was going to tell Yvvone but ...
Campbell was looking at them. "Cameron?" He asked a little shakily.
Kerston missed the context. "The AFFS colonel, who is attached to your command?" He asked straightening his uniform jacket.
"No Brevet General Kerston." The AI replied.
Septim put two and two together to get four, "There are Cameron survivors?" everyone looked at him, "You asked Tristan about the possibility of survival," He trailed off before mentioning any more. "And then Abner found the Tripitz. Or found out what happened to it."
"Yes," He replied straightening and realizing he had the room. "The SLS Tripitz ran the Republican blockade of Terra and jumped from the system, she was carrying the last members of House Cameron's Terran branch pursuant to a Hegemony security failsafe under the orders of the Black Watch. The plan was that Kerensky was supposed to launch an immediate counter attack, transmit an automated order to defense units and turn the tables on Amaris, and them signal an all clear. That didn't happen. The SLS Tripitz was rediscovered in 2979 by the Taurians, and from them possibly the Capellans, and a third party. Said third party then proceeded to scuttle the warship with concentrated air power sinking her in the gravity well of a gas giant that year to deny her to the Taurians. We do not believe those forces were Hegemony in Exile."
Dante had projected holographic images behind him, because they were staring up and behind him now. Given their expressions they were probably static images rather than video.
"If there were survivors wouldn't they have tried to reestablish contact?" Kerston asked.
"I speculate here, that either they chose not to, either maintaining radio silence, on the assumption that Kerensky had failed, or in recognition that with the destruction of the hegemony... the Star League would follow, or maybe they sent out feelers and saw that that, what had happened after. I have no idea whether or not they were aware of the HPG recording or not."
"I consider that very unlikely colonel. Given the situation, and the sensitivity of such things. I suspect that if they survived they were maintaining radio silence. The lack of fire wall protocols being instituted especially in light of House Kurita's collaboration strongly imply the ignorance of events and isolation of any Hegemony elements within the deep periphery." That was the other thing. Kerensky had probably not told anyone if he'd already been planning to leave Inner Sphere... which spoke to other issues.
"Are you saying you believe the League is at war with the Combine? That the Hegemony Position is that-"
Dante cut Kerston's question off with harsh bark, "Yes." The AI snapped, "That is exactly the position I adopt General." and that was when it struck him... Kerston didn't seem surprised that there was an AI talking to them... he had to have figured out that was what was going on. What Gene hadn't expected was for the deluge of images of Rim World atrocities to start appearing in holographic windows, followed by Kuritan atrocities during the 1
st succession war. "Colonel Shepherd I am committed to assisting in the liberation of Dieron, and any other Hegemony worlds from Combine occupation. In the interest of strategic interoperability I can release resources, and provide limited assistance elsewhere to liberate non Hegemony worlds."
Kerston nodded. "I don't think it is appropriate to hold the combine at fault for the sins of their fathers, but I will obey the lawful orders of a star league chain of command, and in accordance to the regulations of the SLDF."
... Kerston was right... if this had been 2796 ... and the resources available... then Gene could potentially see having to respond by hunting down Jinjiro Kurita, warships and orbital strikes would have been part of the conflict... but now? Even if Dante could magik up a fleet of drone warships from some anchorage, Luthien didn't deserve a Mass Driver strike from a SDS drone built on a Battleship hull.
Kerston's response though seemed to have mollified the AI. "House Cameron?"
"I have no idea, if they survived or not. Septim is right, I knew Tripitz had gotten out, and that there were rumors that they'd run the blockade with survivors of the House, I don't know who they met up or when or how far they got... just that it seemed like they were heading into the deep rimward periphery... and that there were likely black box facilities and castles out there. How many people would have been out there? I don't know. I don't have details, but the orders given were to initiate protocols and not draw the conflict out. Those never reached Kerensky, and Kerensky had to batter through the defenses of hegemony worlds with brute force, and then fight on the ground. Could there be survivors, yes."
"Kerensky went to the periphery."
"He went the wrong direction. He went the complete opposite direction. That isn't to say there might not have been hegemony facilities, but Kerensky," he blinked and swallowed, "Coreward, he went coreward," The galactic 'north' so to speak looking at a map. "I don't think, he was going for actual holds, but rather for unsettled worlds that had been found as habitable by surveys done decades earlier. Tripitz was found by the Taurians rimward as it was, and they didn't send the ship to the Davions, or the Commonwealth."
Kerston didn't protest. "The general," Kerensky, "knew about House Kurita turning over data on the SLDF, and House Kurita then tried to seize the Star Lord's throne." Gene knew that the ELH had had to shoot their way clear of the combine in the 29
th century, and that they had served with at least the FWL, and the Commonwealth. They'd spent time in the periphery too.
Dante seemed to be prioritize, seemed to have come the conclusion that whatever else might be, the real world value of driving the combine off terran soil was a better use of limitted resources than anything else they could do right now. Part of it was probably finding the resources to mount an expedition into the periphery. He thought about the JumpShips that had been mothballed above the elliptical ... of the JumpShip from that number that he legally owned... Pasha knew there were going to be other Azami who would be fleeing the combine and would need passage to the periphery.
Abner was going to need to be told. Pasha was going to need to be told.
Gene tapped the display and navigated to Kerston's credentials. They authenticated out as a brevet general based authorization... to an AI supervising an Outpost Castle on Neu Karlsruh. "Dieron huh, Feet first into hell?" Campbell asked.
"DropShips more likely than orbital drop pods." He replied... and the Highlander's crack about the deployment on Luxen told him that most likely Campbell had pulled whatever data was avaiable from the MRB.
"There is a lot to talk about it, a lot to talk about." Campbell replied.
Septim opined that that was an understatement. Gene leaned back, "Any questions Ishida?"
"No, Colonel. Where you go I'll follow."
"We can only move forward and rebuild, the hegemony is gone, we can take steps to make a better world but that means going forward not longing for what will never be again." He replied. There were nods, and echo of agreement from Dante.
"Yes, and first and foremost means ending the threat posed from malicious actors."
... and of course maybe Dante believed that evicting the Combine leadership from formerly Terran worlds would improve things, and that maybe if there were Hegemony survivors maybe they could still come back... but that was all speculation. They'd go look when they had the resources to mount an exploration of the breadcrumbs that they had to follow... Dieron first.
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Notes: HF5 will go up on the ninth most likely. I may post some scrap content, probably nominally canon stuff , possibly wolf dragoon stuff, since we've got highlanders and eridani.
Dante's ending line was actually going to be something a little more dramatic, but I couldn't find the quote I had planned to use, but effectively 'Yes a better world without the Combine, or at least a much reduced combine'. The Eridani have plenty of reason as it is to not trust the Combine canonically... and I've 'fluffed' their backstory to fit with other lore and stuff for this.
Anyway early update, but notably among other things for the ELH this explains why they have current SLDF credentials as well as why Brevet General, why they can promote upwards, protocols and what not. It also sets the stage for the ELH to in the future rebuild back to the equipment standards that they were at in 2764 down the road.
