Liberty, Equality, Fraternity - An Honorverse Quest

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You are Citizen Admiral Esther McQueen. The one decent person amidst the clusterfuck that is the People's Republic of Haven. Among all the polities of the quadrant, it was Haven that stood as a shining beacon of industry and progress. It was Haven that truly embodied the ideal of a shining city on a hill.

Until the dream died. The populist government took advantage of welfare cuts by previous parties to declare a 'bloodless revolution' of 'equality'. One where the masses were starved of education and information, kept in a gilded cage of welfare payments and cheap entertainment. The government reformed into the Legislaturalists and went to war. After all, how else to pay for our citizens' rightful dues?

One military adventure too many, and the Legislaturalist government fell. It fell to nuclear fire on Presidents' House, to dreadnoughts bombarding the capital, and to traitors from within. The men who killed the Old Republic, and brought hope for a new one. They say every revolution starts with hope and ends in fire, and they were right.

What was the People's Republic of Haven continued the war against the Star Kingdom of Manticore and its allies, and barely fought them to a standstill. Internal purges devastated the military, and the economy was straining to keep up with the expenditure demanded of total war.

You are Esther McQueen, and however ambitious, ruthless and treacherous you may have been, you could not let this go on. You massed your forces, and before State Security could bring you in, you blew up the government. What goes around comes around, after all.

What's left of the government will meet in Haven City in five days' time, and in the mean time you've managed to get Home Fleet to back you. As the new dictator – and isn't that lovely – you're in charge of a losing war, a failing economy and a rebellious population. Good luck, Admiral. You'll need it.

Character Modification:
Pick two military specializations for Esther McQueen:
[X]Strategy: Elastic Defence. You can't defend everything. Retreat when necessary to cut off your enemy and counterstrike.

[X]Strategy: Base Strike. Gambling on the new 'carrier' concept, you're shipping out with carriers, missile dreadnought and minelayers. Appear, alpha strike and disappear. Mass your forces and fight on battlefields of your choosing.

[X]Strategy: Operational Maneuver. All fleets until now have had difficulties coordinating due to the lightspeed limit on communications. Since you've stolen the Manticorans' designs for FTL comms, you're poised to catch up. Use your numbers to break their lines in multiple places, and once in the rear aim straight for supply dumps, agri-worlds, and shipyards.

[X]Focus: Logistics. Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics. You were picked for your ability to manage a war, and you did it through supply.

[X]Focus: Professionalism. The Revolution devastated the ranks of the navy, and you were one of the few who tried to rebuild. The Navy know you as its teacher and guide, and many officers owe you their lives for your teaching.

[X]Focus: R&D. You met a girl named Shannon Foraker, and the galaxy changed. Once you'd put your pet genius in charge of Fleet R&D and made sure you contributed, things got better. Slowly but surely, you're catching up to your enemies even without the spies that the government has managed to plant in the enemy's facilities.

Pick one main domestic faction for Esther McQueen:
[X]Traditionalists: You made contact with the remnants of the Old Regime, and they backed you to the hilt. You may disagree with their policies, but you owe them and they know it. More influential backers, more intrigue, potentially poor policies.

[X]Resistance: Governor Kevin Usher. Admiral Javier Giscard. Rear Admiral Lester Tourville. Names you'd never expected to hear as part of a supposed resistance to the government. They've agreed to help you keep a lid on things, but they want true reform. Fast. More grassroots support in government agencies, less allies when it comes to the higher echelons.

[X]Revolution: The Revolution overthrew a corrupt set of aristocrats and promised freedom, equality and liberty. What we got was tyranny and war. But beneath the ashes the flame still burned, and on Haven and elsewhere the Jacobin cells have turned out in support of your coup. More grassroots support among the people. The Mob loves you. You're viewed as a danger by both other factions.

This is an AU. Much of the Honorverse was..odd. And very Sue-ish. I loved the books, but I still think that Haven should've got a better deal. That deal's name here is Esther McQueen.

I need the above two to continue chargen and give you a look into what drives our MC. Mechanics up after that, and this will be a modified CK2 system.

Please also note that I am the mouli on SV, and I'm running on both forums. I'd like to see where both SV and QQ take this
Reviews and feedback welcome.

 

[molemole]

A gift because I'm bored: (Yes, it's canon)

Interlude: Shooting from the Hip:

State Security was a Frankenstein of a department any way you looked at it. Navy ships appropriated by the department, ground regiments equipped by diverting Marine supplies, and recruited from among the downtrodden and aggrieved. State Security had something to prove, both to its handlers in Haven and to itself.

That was why StateSec Citizen Admiral Alicia Kresnova was currently in Seaford Nine. The largest naval base in Havenite space, it had been stripped bare to cover Esther McQueen's offensives into Alliance space – and State Security had been tapped to reinforce it, seemingly out of the blue. Four battleships, six light cruisers, and twenty modern destroyers formed part of Special Detachment Two to reinforce Seaford, and no-one was happy. The StateSec troops felt they'd lost out on glory, the Navy felt slighted – couldn't they guard their own bases anymore? - and the populace were utterly terrified.

Which, of course, was why Alicia Kresnova was meeting Lester Tourville. Not so much meeting as shouting at, but one had to observe the forms after all.

"Citizen Rear Admiral, as CO of Seaford Nine, I'd like to know why four dreadnoughts are currently on the repair list for false damages."

"I don't know what you mean, Citizen Admiral. I took heavy casualties at Grendelsbane, and the repairs aren't done."
Sitting back and blowing smoke from and enormous cigar, Lester Tourville desperately tried to look confident. At worst...well, best not to think about that.

"Tourville, there are four dreadnoughts capable of fighting in the line simply making rounds of the base. There are two Marine companies drawing warzone pay and ammo fraudulently. There are sixty missing antiship missiles from last month's supply. Don't fuck with me."

"Admiral Kresnova, I have no idea what you're alluding to. Maybe Colonel Kellerman can assist you? As Marine commandant, he surely knows about this. Or perhaps Admiral Theisman, since he's in command of the sector?"
Now Lester Tourville was bloody nervous. They'd hidden the 'lost' equipment well, but he had no idea how StateSec had trawled through the mountain of chaff the resistance had put up to hide paperwork. Goddammit, now this woman had to show up?

"Citizen Rear Admiral Tourville, I place you under arrest. Your capital ships are already boarded, and the base has been secured. We could have done this the easy way, but you're coming with me to Haven, and we'll see what happens then."

Two rather large gentlemen in carapace armor came in and cuffed Lester, before tasing him and carrying him out. Admiral Alicia Kresnova smiles and places a call.

"Hello, Tom? Yes, he's secure. No, he won't go off half-cocked. I have no idea what he was thinking, trying that bull in Seaford. Yes, I'll inform McQueen. I'll need a couple of reliable regiments for the relief, preferably Marines. Kresnova out."

 

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Meeting Your Friends:

The old tennis courts near the Octagon were practically deserted most days. The officers had no time for that sort of thing, and the proles never did bother with 'bourgeois affectations'. That just left it derelict and only secured by a few cameras and the odd police officer. Perfect for a clandestine meeting involving the Secretary of War.

The other party were those you knew all too well. Three representatives. One for the old Citizens' Rights Union, one for the Jacobins, and one leader. One woman, tall and slender, one man, large and ominous, and...is that Erasmus Fontein?
"Fontein, you bastard, I thought you'd been killed in the crossfire! What happened?"

"What do you think, Admiral? I was your People's Commissioner, after all. I was there to prevent you from being a danger to the State, and look how that turned out."
He sounds tired. Not angry, not hateful, though he has every right to be both. Just...tired. Still, he was always a consummate actor.

"I did what I had to do. We're at war, Erasmus. We can't afford the kind of faffing around and constant purges that the Committee went for. I ended that."

"Did you? You'll need to ensure loyalty among your own forces, and while StateSec isn't popular, purges will be necessary. You yourself said it, we're at war. Which is why I'm not going after you. I'll back you for the duration, see if you can hack it. These fine gentlemen have agreed to let me and my stay-behind cell take charge of their active operations."

Stay-behind cell implies a StateSec presence on Haven you're unaware of. You need to prod him a little, see if anything washes up.
"You're in command of the Radicals? You, Erasmus Fontein, who acted the geriatric so well?"

At that point the Jacobin - Justine Rochambeau, you remember - steps forward with a slight smile on her face.
"Admiral McQueen. what Erasmus implied was that we're not sure of your sincerity. Not since the Leveler Uprising. We need assurances. Positions. We can calm Haven down, and we've got StateSec penetrated like a three-credit whore. You need us, and we need you. We are at war, so we do need a fast decision, Admiral."

She's got balls, you think to yourself. From her file, you know she's been decades in the underground, but even then it takes balls to talk like that to someone who's got your life in their hands. She's right though, you need them.
"Which offices? I'm not putting an idiot in charge of the Treasury, or a fanatic in charge of Interior. I want stability, not sweeping changes."

This time, it's the hulking rearguard who replies. He sounds familiar, but you can't quite place it.
"We don't assume anything of the sort, Admiral. We believe that General Fontein would do well at Interior, in command of State Security. He would also lend you a great deal of legitimacy, legitimacy which you lack among the security forces."
He pauses, his smooth baritone sounding significantly less certain now.
"We have prepared a list to follow. Individuals who have proved themselves, in useful positions. I will forward it, should you accept our offer."

Negotiation rolls rely on your Diplo stat.
[X]Accept. Erasmus Fontein, your former commissar will become Secretary of the Interior. He's a pragmatist, and unlikely to turn unless he feels you've betrayed the Republic. Like everyone else, though, he likely has some sort of agenda. Gain Erasmus Fontein, Interior Minister, +1 Intrigue action. More governmental legitimacy. A ruthless, highly capable and pragmatic patriot. Unfortunately, one whose agenda remains unknown.
[X]Decline. Make a counteroffer. Perhaps electoral reform? At any rate, you're not committing right now. You need to sound out other factions first. DC 50/70 - 10(Charismatic) = 40/60 for acceptance/full backing.

"As you will, Admiral. You have our contact details, and we remain ready."

Fontein speaks up at this point, clearly amused. Bastard.
"At any rate, Esther, I'll be seeing you. Let me know if you need anything further."

Relies on your Intrigue stat-
At which point they leave, slipping into the shadows with a Marine Recon team shadowing them. You are concerned for their safety, after all.
[X] Send in the Recon squad. DC 60/80 - 10(Recon Squad) = 50/70 for shadowing.
[X] Call them back. You need to be seen as negotiating in good faith here.

There also remains what to do with your erstwhile allies during the coup. Fontein likely doesn't know that you'd picked up two of the Committee to give your caretaker government some legitimacy. The main question is to retain them or pension them off?

[X]Avram Turner – Treasury Secretary: (+1 Stewardship action if taken)
Avram Turner was hand-picked by former Chairman of the Committee of Public Safety – the old government – to enact the structural reforms needed by the Havenite economy. He was utterly cowed by Oscar Saint-Just, and Esther McQueen can quite likely charm him.
Pros: Excellent stewardship, and an intimate knowledge of the Havenite economy.
Cons: He's cowed for now, but nobody comes this far without some kind of ambition. Additionally, he's a poor speaker, and has relatively poor crisis management skills.

[X]Leonard Boardman – Public Information: (+1 Diplomacy Action if taken)
The replacement for the notoriously fanatical Cordelia Ransom. He's a skilled propagandist, but lacks her fire and originality. Moreover, while a decent fit for his job, he's noted to be utterly cynical and unlikely to be inspired by rhetoric or appeals to sentiment.
Pros: A technically skilled propagandist, with the added advantage of familiarity with his canvas. At present cowed by Esther McQueen's coup d'etat. Excellent for internal propaganda or information dissemination.
Cons: Ambitious and utterly cynical, he'll be swayed by coin, fear or pragmatism. Find out his ambition and you'll have his levers. A poor diplomat, he's all but useless for foreign actions.

Pick one or both. There is no DC to recruit because you dragged them out of the Committee's HQ during the coup and used them to give your caretaker government legitimacy. They are at present cowed by the sheer violence and speed of your seizure of the capital – within six hours, finished 14 hours ago. Time's a-ticking, Esther.