The Aurigan Renaissance [A BattleTech Isekai]

Imperator Pax · Jun 1, 2023

The Aurigan Renaissance
Chronicles of a Periphery Warlord (An Essence story)
The Pirate War Years

1.1 The Darkening Clouds
[September 3016]
Heron Arsacid stared at the holographic display. By design, or by happenstance the frozen image was of a rampaging orion that had had its SLDF camo grafitti-ed with the totenkampf... the grinning death's head. Not that he needed any additional indication that these were the bad guys.

He didn't watch ComStar's news service very often... despite two years in this era, this universe there just never seemed to be time to do so. That was compounded by his distrust of ComStar... and the lack of benefit to their coverage... except that latter caveat wasn't true.. not in this instance.

ComStar had the HPG network, broken, and inefficient as it was they still had a monopoly on Inner Sphere ftl communication linking human space. Thus, they could carry news of things from across light years it was just normally death and destruction that warranted coverage to the periphery were the battles between the successor states. ComStar covering pirate attacks was unusual.

"... Black Jack McGirk continues his rampage..."

That was the headline plastering the main 'screen'. Other holograms bolstered the news headline. The map wasn't the clearest it was obviously showing somewhere on the Davion Taurian border and the pirate was probably hitting both... but this had been going on... he divided the numbers into years and blinked... this had been going on for years.

Years before he'd gotten here... his first thought was that it could have been another person from another world... that was a little concerning given how mad for power Black Jack's rampage seemed to be but... as exploitable as the essence was if that were the case then... well things would have been much worse... and the name was familiar. Canonical, but nothing came to mind other than yeah pirate... and ComStar ... the name Jolly Roger Incident wouldn't click immediately... but it was just a blurb... another example of the supposedly neutral organizations duplicity a reiteration not to trust that he didn't really need... but Black Jack represented a threat in the Rimward periphery.

"You mean to tell me this psychopathic manchild has been running around for over a decade, and no one has been able to pin him on a planet and kill him." Or hell, for that matter not get mutinied by his own pirates... they were a pirate band it wasn't as if Black Jack had started out as some pirate king in the periphery with semi legitimate control over the planet and even then that wouldn't have prevented some enterprising sub captain decided he'd make a better king of the pirates... "I would have expected given his apparent resources," Including what he could tell from the recordings included Royal technology, or late star league experimental tech like snub nosed PPCs, "That the Great Houses might have considered this a pressing concern."

There was a clink, as a crystal wine glass sat down on the granite surface of the table, "They didn't." Lord Karosas remarked simply. "The Lyran Commonwealth was probably just happy he decided to go else where." The old man spared a glance towards the Combine representative, a overly floral dressed young ojou-sama in a very bright kimono, but didn't explicitly call out why the Combine hadn't gone after him. He shook his head, "I believe the Magistracy of Canopus wished to address the development, so I will yield the floor to the ambassador."

Ana Marie Centrella stood up. "Black Jack has temporarily settled in the Tortuga Dominions, we say temporarily because there seems to be some friction between him, and the existing pirates, but he is using it as a base. Given the number of JumpShips that can be linked to his pirates we assume that these raids in the Rimward periphery mean he'll be moving this way."

No one visibly panicked, and no sudden current went through the room... most people must have expected that was coming, either from their own sources, or just from instincts about the situation... he didn't need the elaboration that the recent destruction of the Pirate Clans on Fjaldr or Grim Sybil's forces while preventing Black Jack from recruiting those did also create a vacuum of pirate spheres of influence in the area. Heron had no proof but he suspected that a lot of the itinerant freebooters of the Rimward periphery were not just long ranging commercial tradesmen but might well have dabbled in if not direct piracy than... passing along information to pirates in exchange for a slice of the profits, and fencing the goods.

He couldn't prove that but it was certainly the implication that Sybil and Fjaldr's networks might soon be looking for a new patron to work for. It was obvious that Black Jack had more firepower than the 'Dame Murderess extraordinaire' the pirate ruler of the Tortuga Dominions, and that if Black Jack was moving this way and picking up new followers they were going to be an issue.

Heron surveyed the room. He knew that the Magistracy, and the Taurians had a lot of b ad blood between them. The most likely realpolitik explanation was that the Taurians raiding was that the taurian high command recognized that for all the bluster that if they attempted to raid House Liao, or House Davion, the very probable response of a post Star League 29th or 30th century Capellan Confederation or Federated Suns would have been to salt and burn Taurian worlds in response ... and thus the pattern of habitual raiding canopian worlds over the past century. He doubted the Canopians were entirely innocent but he suspected the Concordat was largely the responsible party... and both of them were present... as were the other diplomatic envoys of other powers.

Transparency and openness weren't exactly what Heron would have described diplomatic relations between interstellar states as. Far from it, secret diplomacy was the norm, and had been for well... since the realities of interstellar travel had become apparent, if not potentially before that.... and yet there was probably a benefit to doing this publicly. A hope, against hope that, common ground could be established and cooperation against a pirate could be... or maybe the intent was to show that the coalition was doing something and that trade was still a viable worthwhile prospect even in the face of such a crisis.

It also explained the insistence of attending in person.... Black Jack McGirk had been active as a pirate for over twenty years but what went rather under emphasized was not so much how he'd gotten started but how he'd struck it begin. The trip he'd made from the Lyran Commonwealth to reach the Taurian border would have taken years given the bastard had gone across the frontier... it wasn't after all like he could have come straight rimward. That explained some of the time that had passed, but it missed the bigger question of where the fuck had he found all that...

... and he supposed that question might well have been obfuscated by the dragoons showing up so soon after he had left the Lyran frontier and starting working his way around.

Lord Espinosa paused to take a sip from his own wine glass, "We have been informed," He remarked in a refined and practiced orator's tone looking around the room, "that Black Jack's core fighting force is a regiments worth of Heavy BattleMechs of Star League vintage. Without wasting time on pointless bluster, I think I speak for everyone that we should be grateful the pirate hasn't massed his forces on any single target, but we must consider what would happen if he were to do that."
--
Santiago Espinosa was holding out hope that Tamati wasn't just being overly optimistic. Fjaldr's destruction had been unilateralist, as had hunting down Grim Sybil... but even the usually obstinate Karosas had recognized that after Katinka the Arsacid probably had just looked at any nearby pirate bases and proceeded to hit them. That might very well have explained the Margravate expanding to take Tarragonna ... Black Jack though was moving into the region, and internal Coalition arguments were pale in comparison to arguments between the Canopians and the Taurians, and the Reach and the Taurians... and neither Santiago nor his sister were ignorant of the Magistracy sniffing around.

... and unfortunately Lady Centrella was presently getting an unfiltered first class viewing of his daughter Victoria ranting about pirates pilfering the tombs of star league soldiers... even though more likely Santiago expected that Black Jack had merely deciphered some sort of ancient computer cartouche that had lead him to a storage depot... or perhaps a derelict jumpship laden with supplies. Not that he wouldn't have put it past the blackguard to loot the dead of a long forgotten battlefield it just seemed like a lot of work and McGirk had entirely too many Star League mechs for such a thing to be plausible. Black Jack's equipment had to have been in storage somewhere before appearing early in the century.

The truth was it was optimistic to assume that the Successor States, the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere were any more inclined to proactively hunted pirates. Though Santiago was entirely assume there were exaggerations it bore in mind that the rumors surrounding the current reigning archon, and the Lyrans were supposed to be the most staid of the old Star League. He expected no help from the Inner Sphere with their problem, but it would have been nice if Tamati could prove him wrong and convince the Taurian and Canopian ambassadors to work together.

More practically though, given the Taurian complaints about Aea and the other margravate worlds springing up on their border.. never mind in theory complaints they might have about other former 'taurian' worlds Santiago expected they would have to settle with cooperation with the Canopians, and working to build an alliance of sorts with the other rimward frontier worlds.
--
Notes: Short introduction. I've got a bunch of links I need to throw up, but I wanted the thread opened, I'll also add tags shortly. What I will probably do for links is when my BT misc thread goes up I will link there so one doesn't have to go searching through the general BT thread, but this is as the title should make clear the Aurigan centric Essence story where for to outward investigators conclusions the Aurigans get an influx of time displaced SLDF and their dependents in 3015 who establish the 'Aurigan March' and join the Aurigan Coalition for trade and civil relations benefits in exchange for providing military protection

CmirDarthanna · Jun 1, 2023

Uh, which Essence did he pick? The Strategist? Commander? One of those that grants superhuman charisma and force training quality?

Imperator Pax · Jun 1, 2023

Cimbri said:
BATTLETECH ISEKAI CYOA

You and three of your friends are stuck in the ass-end of nowhere in the Periphery in 3015. Normally this would be a short trip to ignoble poverty and death but you're lucky. So lucky that you are all Isekai protagonists! This means that fate is on your side and gently tips the odds in your favour. By using some metaphorical Fate points to adjust things in your favour! Well its not all in just your favour. The more Fate is changed the more opposition to this change appears in the form of luck and abilities of others native to that Universe. So your little intrepid group of friends start with Two Fate Points and may earn more in the progress of choosing your starting position and opposition.

You wake up in what appear to be Star League Cryo pods in an abandoned base. It was in the past a:

[ ] A ruined bunker. There's nothing there aside from the pods and your rides and some food. Enough for a week. Make sure you're able to pilot the mechs by then. Have fun! +1 points.

[ ] Listening outpost. 0 Points. It has the bare bones needed to stay hidden and resupplied with a hangar that can fit a shuttle and four mech bays. There is living space for up to a dozen people with enough MREs to last a good while. It also comes with sensors capable of passively watching almost everything that occurs in the system.

[ ] Star League Intelligence Supply depot. 1 point. The main difference is in the size of it with the hangar now being capable of welcoming a Leopard and a small craft or two. It also has twelve mech bays ready for use. The barracks can hold up to a hundred people in relative comfort with four apartments for officers or VIPs also present. The depots warehouse is sadly empty but can hold roughly ten thousand tons of cargo. Aside from that it retains every capability the Listening outpost possessed.

[ ] Outpost Castle. 2 points. It is a facility capable of holding a mech battalion with the facilities to match. Its hidden hangars holds room enough for at least three Aerodyne Dropships and six small craft bays stand ready for use. The well appointed living spaces are enough for not just the hypothetical battalion and its support personnel but also a fair amount of possible VIPs and perhaps dependants. The mech bays also comes with a well appointed workshop capable of machining almost anything under two metres in length (If someone competent is there to do the work at least). Its sensor coverage are comparable to some of the best in the Inner Sphere.

[ ] ~~Castle Brian.~~No sorry not sorry.

You somehow managed to die out of reach of Truck-kun and as such we failed to retrieve your body. Luckily we still have your DNA on file and can make you a new one free of charge! But we can always tweak you a bit if you feel that those points you have are starting to burn a hole in your pocket... Still these are mostly cosmetic changes so maybe save your points for more important stuff. Or pick as many choices as you want, as long as they don't contradict each other its fine. Well you can skip this if you remember Truck-kun hitting you.

[ ] Vanilla clone. What it says on the tin; just your original body although without that old football injury that slowed you down. 0 points.

[ ] A famous face. This is the choice if you want to look like Sean Connery or whoever. Kinda creepy in a way but its not like they'll be around to sue for using their likeness. 1 point.

[ ] Minor corrections. Use this option to fix your eyesight, allergies, asthma or similar problems. Its a way to start fresh although most of these are fixable in one of the better hospitals on Canopus. 1 point.

[ ] Idealised body. Pretty self-explanatory this is the choice to be the best version of you: As if you'd had coaches looking over your diet and exercise schedule your whole life. Well its a kind of all-rounder body so it doesn't excel in any one thing and its up to you to keep it trim. This choice doesn't fix any underlying faults though... 1 point.

[ ] Gender-bender. Okay so you want to walk a mile in someone else's shoes? See how the other side manages things? I guess it can be accommodated we'll even make sure that there's no body-dysphoria! 1 point

[ ] Narcissus. This just makes you into a ten out of ten nothing else. But with that said there's a power in that; beautiful people are both catered to and allowed to get away with more. It also makes you into a target and not really in any way forgettable. People will remember seeing you anywhere you go. 1 point

Fate would have liked to give you powers for free but sadly Fate is a bitch (Wait what?). So pick four powers for your little group. Those unpicked will go to someone else who might or might not end up as your enemy. Although she does give all of you the equivalence of basic mech training raising you to the same level as "Green" pilots.

[ ] The "Phantom Mech Ability" You may use this in any vehicle you pilot to disappear from any and all sensors. It doesn't work on the mark one eyeball sadly. It can be used at will and will remain as long as the user is conscious and wills it so.

[ ] "Luck of Heroes" This ability simply makes its owner very lucky. It could manifest as finding great finds in antique shops and markets or your enemy stumbling just as they're about to finish you off. To explain it in nerd terms you get a plus ten on loot rolls and a reroll if you're about to bite it. Or want to stay hidden etc. Probablitity is on your side and you always win at games of chance. Of course there are times when all the luck in the world can't help you...

[ ] "Precognition" A truly terrifying ability where its wielder can see the future and all his possible actions. Luckily its restrained to one minute into the future and no further. Use it to become a discount Jedi.

[ ] "Empath" You can feel the emotions of those around you in a radius of five kilometres. An excellent way to determine friend from foe. It can even be used to predict the actions of others in a general way if its user trains it enough.

[ ] "Telekinesis" The wielder of this power can move anything below five hundred kilograms in a two hundred metres radius around themselves. Its only weakness is the ability to concentrate and lasers. Mostly lasers.

[ ] "Telepathy" You can send and receive thoughts from those around you within fifty kilometres as well as sense those within range in general. But you cannot read minds, you need only to concentrate on who you wish to send your thoughts to and a connection is established. This power can either be used to coordinate a group of fighters or if you're evil... Drive someone mad with intrusive thoughts as they remain unaware of your power.

[ ] "Shapeshifting" You're Mystique essentially. You can turn into anyone at anytime for as long as you want. Gender is no barrier as you naturally don't suffer from dysphoria. Its a great ability for a spy since even DNA tests fail to reveal your duplicity.

[ ] "Technopathy" Well now this allows you to control any electronic system or device. As long as you are within five metres of it. Use it to make purchases or vent the atmosphere of a ship I don't care. Just be careful you aren't left on an uninhabited planet because you switched the shower to cold one too many times on your buddies.

Now for the bad part. Please roll a D20 four times to determine who gets the leftover powers. If you roll the same number several times? Then congratulations on creating a menace with up to four powers. Hope it wasn't Liao...

1. Romano Liao
2. Kyone Akashi
3. Red Jack Ryan
4. Paula Trevaline
5. Kamea Arano
6. Natasha Kerensky
7. Joshua Wolf
8. Justin Allard
9. Ed Corbu
10. Subhash Indrahar
11. Yorinaga Kurita
12. Aldo Lestrade
13. Gray Noton
14. Therese Marik
15. Kristen Marik
16. Thomas Calderon
17. James Sandoval
18. Nondi Steiner
19. Frederick Steiner
20. Jessica Chernovskaya

Sometimes your friends might miss getting hit by the Isekai truck and then its good to get some people to sub for them. These are persons of import that you might recognise that at a certain point in their life got asked if they wanted to leave their current situation and said yes. They sadly lack their native powers more often then not but don't underestimate them. These people are still the outliers of humanity in one way or another and they do get one of the four powers you've picked. In some cases they're even locked into one power or another as the closest substitute of their original one. Oh and while they've agreed to get Isekai'd they never agreed on who'd be in charge... Please choose up to three characters.

[ ] The greatest goth to ever quip sarcastically on screen. Raven or Rachel Roth is the daughter of an evil demon and a mortal woman. She chose to accept the deal of disappearing from her Earth to protect it from her fathers machinations as she lacks her original powers and connection to her father in this new world thus freeing her from that burden. Still under her prickly exterior beats the heart of a hero and she'd never leave an innocent to suffer if she can help it. The power she did gain in this new world is a lesser form of empathy; at least compared to her original strength. (requires taking Empath)

[ ] Katarina Claes is the densest protagonist in the known multiverse. She is also a cinnamon roll that might not have completely understood just what she agreed to do. Still she'll be your friend as long as you're hers in return although it might not be completely voluntary for your part. She might fall in love with the possibility of piloting giant robots but it is doubtful she'll ever want to actually bring harm to anyone unless it is to protect others. Her power is that of the "Luck of Heroes" and she might well need it. She's a glutton and not the most gifted academically but she might also befriend anyone and anything that stands still long enough to get caught in her gravitational pull. (requires luck of heroes)

[ ] Tanya von Degurechaff jumped on the chance of leaving "Being X" behind as well as the grinding warfare of the Great War. She might also have preferred to go to a more civilised era but beggars cannot be choosers and she's well aware of this fact. Still be wary of this little bundle of violence and twisted logic as she might inadvertently draw you into violence especially if you fail to take the leadership position of your little crew. Still she's a competent soldier and commander and you'd be a fool to discount her aptitude for war and logistics. She gained the power of telekinesis which is a significant step down from those she wielded earlier but without any of the drawbacks. (requires telekinesis)

[ ] Reagan Ridley overworked genius and gaslighted daughter of one of the largest douchebags this side of Desaad. Her judgement might have been slightly impaired when she chose to leave her world behind but goddammnit she'll fucking blow your brains with her brilliance now that she's here. The future of the eighties won't know what hit it and neither will you if you don't shape up. She's caustic with several undiagnosed alphabet disorders but she is at heart a good person if a bit petty at times. She gained the power of Technopathy just to make her even more terrifying. (requires technopathy)

[ ] Adam Jensen is not quite a broken man but he left his Earth behind to find a new start after everything that went down on Panchea. He's a skilled operator even before receiving his cybernetic enhancements and with them he's close to unstoppable. Still it is by his will alone that they are directed now and he wont follow orders from someone he doesn't trust. He's a rarity as an honest and upright man in a society mired in conspiracy. With that said he's been ground down a bit by the world and its bullshit. He never asked for it but he still wont throw away this second chance.

[ ] Helga Sinclair was given the choice of either getting hit by a burning wreck of steel and canvas or another go at making something of herself. She chose life and is now in the far future in a world that is very similar but still very different to the one she left behind. Still she's a resourceful woman willing to do what it takes to get ahead and skilled enough to leave most in the dust. With that said she's a bit burned out on amoral superiors especially if they're after some kind of ancient super weapon in such cases she'll be more likely to shoot first and ask questions never. Although she still has a certain kind of loyalty; the kind that exists between thieves and mercenaries so she'll fit right in in this war torn era.

[ ] Sakura Hibiki got accidentally hit by a truck delivering dumbbells to the gym she was training in. As a consequence she perished before her time but received a chance for a new life. A life in the far future where mechs are commonplace and scantily clad pilots shows off their bodies/~~muscles~~! She is an uncomplicated young girl with a love for action movies and food. She is also naturally gifted with strength and a body easily trained up. Too bad for her that the enhanced metabolism also makes her easily gain a bit of fat if not looked after. She is the equivalent of having a five year old going over your plans as her common sense is developed enough to see flaws that might be overlooked by supposed "geniuses".

[ ] Taylor Hebert died a hero, something that was rewarded with her deeds being attributed to others and a painless death at the hands of the one person who could have saved her. Strangely she's not bitter about it and is at most sad because she left her friends behind. A determined tactician capable of improvisations that turn almost certain defeats into victories no matter the cost. It is easier to convince her to change targets than to stop her and she is a natural leader with a terrifying kind of charisma. She will naturally seek to overturn those in power if she perceives them as unjust or incapable.
She gained telepathy as her new power and her experience with multi-tasking makes her an excellent battlefield coordinator. (requires telepathy)

[ ] Obi-Wan Kenobi did not in his own opinion truly "die". He did shuffle the mortal coil but as long as the Force persists so does he. He does feel that he completed his journey and managed to do some good along the way but when asked to do more he simply answered "yes". Perhaps it was a lingering feeling of having failed Anakin or maybe just the knowledge that someone felt that he was needed was enough to motivate his choice. Whatever the reason he now moves to aid the troubled peoples of the galaxy, as a Jedi and as a man.
Obi-Wan brings many talents to the table being trained as a Jedi knight and picking up various talents along the way, such as piloting, diplomacy and sass. He lost his active connection to the Force coming to the Inner sphere but gained a small talent in precognition. (requires precognition.)

You have at the very least one mech each. Are they Royals though? Or were they perhaps used as deniable assets by Star League Intelligence. Lets pick how much tonnage you have to play around with and what technology level.

[ ] You have one hundred tons of mechs to tool around with. Its enough for four twenty five tonners if you're keen on being absolutely fair. +1 Points.

[ ] A hundred and fifty tons is enough to almost reach medium mechs for all of you but sadly at least one of your crew will be forced to toddle around in an Urbie or something. 0 point.

[ ] At two hundred tons you can all comfortably cruise around in fifty tonners. Perhaps a quartet of Enforcers? 1 point.

[ ] At two hundred and fifty tons all of you squeak into the Heavy category. Please watch where you walk okay?. 2 points.

[ ] Three hundred tons of heavy metal gives your crew a lot of tonnage to play around with. Seventy five tons each. At the top of the category. 3 points.

[ ] Three hundred and fifty tons. Would Sir and Madam care for a Battlemaster? Or perhaps a Stalker? 4 points.

[ ] Look Four hundred tons is enough to give each of you an Atlas or King Crab each. You can't ask for more than that. Super Heavies are off limits. 5 points.

Now are they Royals or not? It will cost you to have the shiniest mechs but perhaps you think its worth it.

[ ] Regular mechs are fine ma'am. 0 points.

[ ] Royals! Royals! Royaaaaaaaalsssss! 1 point.

You are in the Periphery and far from any exciting action as you wake up. That is not to say that the neighbourhood is very safe though...

[ ] Astrokaszy. You better be prepared for the fight of your life. Seriously its a pirate infested shithole while still being close enough to the Inner Sphere that any hint of Lostech will result in an invasion. +1 points.

[ ] Aquagea is home to a small population in the low millions. It holds a grudge against the Free Worlds League and is currently under threat from not only pirates but also its neighbours in Zathras. 0 points.

[ ] Gillfillan's Gold. A small population in the low millions the planet is a temperate one inhabited by stubborn descendants of the Rim Republic. They are regularly attacked by bandits. This prevents any prosperity from blooming. 0 points.

[ ] Herotitus or space Vegas is a terrestrial planet close to the Inner Sphere and the Taurian Concordat as well as the Aurigan Coalition. It is mostly known for being a place to lose your money in various entertaining ways but also boasts of a thriving agricultural export industry and as a port of call on the trade lanes it straddles. 1 point.

[ ] Katinka is a planet belonging to the Aurigan Coalition although this is disputed by the Taurian Concordat. It suffered during the Periphery uprising as a mass driver was used on a local SLDF facility causing vast damage to the local eco system. Today the system is mostly known for agriculture and mining with the economy supported by the steady stream of Lostech prospectors who comes there to strike rich. 1 point.

[ ] Detroit. Rock City! It is an excellent starting point for adventure as its both independent yet with a robust industry and large population it desperately needs defenders that might be willing to pay in things other than hard currency to get them... 1 point.

Some weeks after your arrival your small group either notices a pirate force approaching the planet. You ride out to defend the locals. Or if you had the bad luck to land on Astrokaszy the pirates sees you and attack. How many are there and how well equipped are they?

[ ] They are terrifying with a full company of mechs. Four light mechs, four mediums, two heavies and two assaults. They are backed up by a pair of Eagle Aerospace fighters that was brought along on their Union. +3 point.

[ ] You are lucky enough that the pirates at least lack Air support but four lights, four mediums, two heavies and two assaults are terrifying enough. +2 points.

[ ] They are coming out of a Union with six lights, four mediums and two heavies. Can you take them? +1 points.

[ ] Well Eight light mechs and four mediums sounds doable surely? 0 points.

[ ] Look twelve light mechs trundling towards you isn't that threatening. 1 points.

Well there might be some local support. Or perhaps they've been crushed in a preceding raid.

[ ] Nope not a dang single militia man is available. +2 points.

[ ] There's a company of infantry armed with rifles. They travel on a pair of flatbed trucks and might be handy in case you're taking any prisoners. +1 points.

[ ] You're backed up by a infantry company and a pair of Scorpions so buckle up! 0 points.

[ ] A single infantry company backed up by a lance of Scorpions will make things nearly equal. 1 points.

[ ] A lance of scorpions backed by a pair of Strikers are usually enough to make a pirate lance at least hesitate. The infantry company is really just gravy. 2 points

Well did you find any loot looking around at your starting location? Even if the bunker is destroyed it might hold something of value...

[ ] You found negative value as one of your mechs got their arm blown of by some rusting mine it managed to trigger somehow... +1 points.

[ ] Eh nothing really. A vintage porn magazine was all you found in the end. 0 points.

[ ] A noteputer with some standard armour schematics. Also a few bars of germanium worth roughly fifty thousand C-bills. 1 points.

[ ] The noteputer you found held not only the information needed to make standard armour but also myomer bundles! Oh and you found Literal gold bars worth a hundred thousand C-bills. Now you just have to get them to a buyer... 2 point.

[ ] A personal computer you found held the knowledge on how to make not only armour and myomer but also the Core Tek 275 fusion engine! The Literal treasure chest filled with jewels kinda pales in comparison despite being worth two hundred thousand C-bills. 3 points.

[ ] You found one ST-46 shuttle. It looks fully functioning and it carried a computer with the secrets of standard armour, myomers, the VOX 280 and the Magna Hellstar PPC! 4 points.

[ ] A ST-46 shuttle is a fine price but it is the computer core sitting pretty in the cargo bay with plans for how to build a Wolverine WVR-6R in it that's the real price. 5 points.

Sometimes luck just doesn't smile on you. Well she does so she'll make it up to you in other ways but the dice still fucked you over this time. Whether it was gaining a bounty on your head for stepping on the wrong toes or having the bad luck to look like someone else you'll still have to bear the consequences of rolling Snake Eyes!

[ ] There is a bounty on your head since you accidentally stole the date of a highroller on Hirotitus. Although it isn't the highest and you wont get the Bounty hunter after you for it its still annoying as hell. (Gain a fifty thousand C-bill bounty on you in the Capellan Marches and 1 Fate points)

[ ] You're attacked by pirates a second time two months later. This time its a full company of mechs with six lights, four mediums and two heavies. They also have two Centurion aerospace fighters flying support.(Gain 1 fate points)

[ ] Its kinda sad to be banned from a whole province but you've somehow managed to piss off Catherine Humphreys. Enough to be blacklisted on every planet under her rule. On the bright side she hasn't been able to charge you for anything officially and as such is unable to bring her full might to bear against you. Still look out for snobby assholes with smiles that makes you want to punch their teeth in. Oh and the cheaper kind of mercenary I guess. (Gain 1 fate points)

[ ] You sadly share DNA with James McEvedy marking you as a child of his. Should the Wolves ever find out you're shit out of luck. With that said the risk is manageable as long as you don't get too famous. Uh look just don't get known as a hotshot mechwarrior? Or alternatively don't trashtalk the trashborn. With that said things like this tends to come up a the worst of times. (Roll a 1d100 quarterly after reaching interstellar fame comparable to such luminaries as Morgan Kell or Gray Noton if you get five or below then Wolfnet will start to investigate. Also gain 2 fate points.)

[ ] A year into things and you find out that Lady Death wants you. Its unclear why but at least she specified "Alive and unspoiled" which doesn't make things much better. So now pirates know that if they want her favour they can just take you to her. At least she didn't specify any reward aside from it being "substantial". (Activates 3016. gain 2 fate points.)

[ ] You have a gift for pissing off people in power or maybe just people in general. You have in any case managed to piss off Ivan Fontral the newly risen general of The Dismal Disinherited as well as Timothy Nels the colonel in charge of The Dioscuri. Yeah they'll gladly sign off on raids targeting any planet you happen to be on. This does make the Federated Suns look askance at your little ragtag team. Don't expect them to stick their head out for you unless you're worth more than the goodwill of several regiments. Oh and I'd avoid any planet within two or three jumps of these people. ( gain 2 fate points)

[ ] One of your companions has... Drawn the eye of both Alexandria Cunningham (countess of Kestrel) and Alban Stieglitz-Bradford (a Lyran Graf). Both of these wealthy nobles are now vying for their attention, this is a problem because it has started to attract attention from both their friends and their foes. You've been stumbling over spies and overambitious pirates and mercenaries ever since. The gifts are nice though. (Gain 2 fate points and roll a 1d20 to see what you encounter on this list every month:

1. Nothing happens this month hallelujah.
2. Alban sent a beautiful piece of art worth five thousand C-bills at least... Too bad you can't sell it.
3. Alexandria sent some of the the latest New Avalon fashion as a gift. Please wear it and send a Tri-vid!
4. The not so dread pirate Rob Anybody is sending his worst company to kidnap your companion. They're all piloting wasps... You're pretty sure he's just fucking with you by now.
5. Merita Plex the most annoying "journalist" in the Inner Sphere managed to track you down and is currently managing to raise your blood pressure through the roof. As well as revealing your current location to the whole world.
6. The "Elite" mercenary Lucas "Broodhard" Smith is facing you down with his lance of mercs. They're in heavy mechs and at least rated regular/questionable by the MRB. He's hoping to deliver your companion to his employer who remains unknown at this time.
7. Alexandria managed to catch enough free time to visit. It would be incredibly uncouth to show her the door. Especially as she brought flowers.
8. Alban has crossed the Sphere to spend time with your companion. He brought gifts and is dressed to impress most importantly he's a gentleman about it. You can't show him the door surely?
9. A team of DEST commandos has managed to track you down. They're actually planning to kidnap Alexandra and Alban so you better track them down before either of them visits.
10. There's a beautiful white horse grazing outside. Correction there's a herd of beautiful white horses grazing outside and a message from Alban that waxes lyrically about how their beauty and strength is nothing compared to the one who makes his heart beat. You're pretty sure that they're worth their weight in germanium... Although it would break Albans heart if you simply sold them all off.
11. Look apparently a cousin of Alexandria is in trouble on Herotitus if you could just swing by and escort them to the Fedsun border? There are bad people after them and she'd be oh so grateful! (Its Broodhard again he has managed to scrape together a new lance of medium mechs and is hot on the Cunningham cousins heels.) She'll gladly cover any costs incurred.
12. Alban hates to ask this of you but apparently someone managed to get nude pictures of Katrina Steiner from her time in the Periphery and is holding an auction for them on Herotitus. If you could just swing by and retrieve the pictures and flatten the auction house he'd be ever so grateful! Oh and the Commonwealth would of course reward you with a couple of million C-bills for services rendered.
13. Another day another attack by Rob Anybody. This time he's sending his fifth cousin Bob Anybody to take you down. Be prepared to face a pair of medium lances backed up by a lance of Strikers LRM vehicles. They're actually competent?
14. The Hessian Dragoons (Regular/Reliable) are preparing to attack you. Be ready to face a company of fast medium mechs. They've been hired by Loretta von Haas who's been pursuing Alban romantically for a while now and who suffers no rivals for his affection!
15. Jeremiah Rand-Davion is calling your companion out for a duel! He seeks the affection of Alexandria Cunningham and wishes to show his superiority by defeating your companion in a mech duel. He's an elite mech warrior and an honourable although hot headed young man. He'll face them in a Victor to gain victory! And Alexandria's affection of course.
16. The KISS mercenary band based out of Detroit is according to rumour preparing to face you down to kidnap your companion and auction them off to the highest bidder. They're adding a mech every month to their already strong lance of Assaults so it might be wise to pre-empt them and face them sooner rather than later.
17. Rob Anybody enticed a band of pirates to attack you! They're coming for you in a busted up old Union with a short company of ten medium mechs. They're uh not green but certainly not the veteran warriors they present themselves as.
18. Alexandria ever conscious of your sometimes precarious situation has sent you ten tons of your preferred ammunition, a Jonah Gold apple tree and a Ripper VTOL.
19. Both Alexandria and Alban has come to visit your companion at the same time. You're pretty sure that the ambient temperature dropped when they spotted one another. Of course the Maskirovka chose this moment to drop a company of heavy mechs on you. You'll have to hold them off although both Alexandria and Alban were wise enough to bring a lance each as bodyguards so at least the numbers are even.
20. Both Hanse Davion and Katrina Steiner has become aware of the situation and is receiving a briefing on it at this very moment. Only time will tell what comes of this... (Can only happen after three other events has occurred so if less reroll).

[ ] It sucks but it seems like the Draconis Combine has marked you for death. Good luck with that as they'll send progressively more people to do you in if the initial attempts fail. With that said they're unlikely to poison you or just blow you up in orbit. No for the offence of looking exactly like and seemingly sharing the exact same DNA as one of the Gunslingers that humiliated a relative of the Coordinator during the late Star League era you've been marked to fall in combat to an honourable samurai. (Gain 3 fate points and prepare to meet ever increasing amounts of people wielding glorious Nippon steel against you).

[ ] You know what's rough? Having a fifty million C-bill Dead or Alive bounty on your ass and not knowing why. Perhaps you sneezed on a Liao, maybe you deflowered Melissa Steiner in a drunken one night stand or maybe someone just doesn't like your face. Still once you pop up on peoples radar they'll go after you. At least in the Inner Sphere since it seems like that's were your bounty originates from. Your only hope is to track down the source and make them retract it somehow. Good luck with that. Oh and this is something the Bounty Hunter is willing to cash in on. (Gain 3 fate points. Roll a 1d20 every time you interact with someone who travels a one or a twenty means they recognise you.)

A/N Well I shat this out in a couple of hours as I'm stuck on other things. Don't know how balanced it is but well any feedback is welcome.

[I'm still looking for my build for this but the start location is Katinka] Also you should go do builds for Cimbri's CYOA of your own in the BT General thread

Original Build link here: https://forum.questionablequesting....discussions-thread.4740/page-345#post-6882345

Ramble said:
An essence specifically for Battletech or if you want to insert battletech into other settings. I added more stuff to it, and then I thought I might as well make it available here.

Essence of MegaMekLab
You get access to the Megameklab, which looks and functions pretty similarly to the normal megameklab.

-The application can either be downloaded onto a computational device with an appropriately advanced GUI, or can simply be projected out onto the air in front of you. You can expand, minimize, rotate, and toggle the transparency of the screen. You can even make it so other people can see and interact with it if you'd like.
-You add 25 BV to your pool per day and can spend them on whatever you like. You can also use regular money in order to buy something at a rate of 1 dollar to the C-bill. The amount would automatically be deducted. Don't think too hard about where the money goes.
-Upon purchasing an item, it will appear either in front of you, in a safe spot near you, or in a safe orbit above you. Upon purchase, you may chose to instantly gain basic proficiency with the purchased equipment, rating approximately as "Green" initially.
-You may also purchase a specific historical item if you'd like. For instance, you can simply buy a Mckenna-class battleship but you can also buy the SLS Mckenna's Pride if you'd like. The history doesn't cost anything extra.
-Battletechnology is effectively durable enough to need minimal maintenance work at all assuming it's not outright abused or neglected, but you may also choose to gain enough basic proficiency to perform most rudimentary repairs to any equipment you buy. You may also spawn in spare parts for the cost of the Battle Value of each individual part, but a number of components will require a requisite hulk to pull from.
-Any units you buy will come fully fueled and fully loaded with ammunition. Ammunition can be purchased through the MegaMekLab, and fusion reactors can crack water into hydrogen fuel, but petrol, alcohol, and natural gas to feed internal combustion engines will be a continuing issue.
-Any item you buy can also come already crewed if you'd like. These crew start absolutely loyal and you can customize their appearance, personality and backgrounds, but after they spawn in, they become actual people and will have their own opinions, thoughts, and morals. For example, if you spawn in some Eridani Light Horse and tell them to massacre civilians, you're going to have a mutiny on your hands.
-When purchasing an infantry unit, you may chose to get only kit or gain soldiers wearing it.
-You can toggle "normalization" off and on. This makes it so that people will simply shrug and accept machines or people popping up out of thin air or anything anomalous that happened as a result of the Essence. The default is "on".
-Spawned in humans will conform to the physics of the world and any changes that you've made to the world. You may also chose if they need to eat and other facts of life, though this needs to be set from the start and can't be toggled afterward
-Bays and compartments don't come already filled. You need to buy an infantry unit to put it in an APC and you need to buy a mech to put it in a mech cubicle.
-If you'd like, support personnel can also be purchased for one BV each.

Campaign Operations ruleset

-In the case of pairing this essence with a CYOA, you can, before starting the CYOA, pick or build a single unit at the very beginning at no cost. It is recommended that you use this to obtain personal conveyance, but it's not necessarily required.
-Once at the very beginning, you may also use the infantry menu to customize your starting loadout, as well as any advanced gear, implants, or training (anti-mek, marine, Xenoplanetary Conditioning, etc) Your starting skills still count as "Green" though. This is free but you will not get the opportunity again.
-Should it be necessary, your starting personal conveyance and units you spawn in will start with the minimum necessary provisions to last until you reach a place where normal resupply becomes possible.
-You may at the beginning of your journey initiate a "campaign mode" of sorts in order to build up resources and forces more quickly than simply waiting for a long time to wait for the BV pool to fill. This is not necessary, but it could be fun.
-Spawned in humans may also be modified using parts of any cyoa which allows you to construct your or a companion's body/skills/personality (eg. Be the Girl, Big Beefy Husbando, Battle Maid etc.)
-"Campaign Mode" unlocks a "modifier" which forces all units other than capital units or dropships to spawn inside bays. Depending on difficulties or exact settings in the Interstellar Operations rule section, this can also be applied even to dropships and capital units other than space stations.
-"Campaign Mode" can also unlock an MRBC from which you can pull contracts even in universes in which an MRBC does not exist.
-You can toggle automatic repairs/maintenance, meaning the machines will simply maintain themselves. Normally Battletechnology is rugged enough that they don't need a lot of maintenance and repairs are easy even after the machine gets shot to bits. This however makes it so that repairs and maintenance are wholly unnecessary.
-You can toggle automatic Ammunition/Fuel so that both are replenished the moment a unit enters an appropriate unit bay.
-It is possible to buy units in a bulk package should you obtain the necessary resources or have saved up enough BV to do so. These units may be spawned in already grouped up into a unit with a set unit culture and shared values.

Interstellar Operations ruleset (WIP, non-functional currently)

BattleValue is by design a fairly scarce resource in order to encourage careful use and management, however it is understood that it is not necessarily suitable for waging or interstellar wars. Thus, the Interstellar Operations ruleset addon allows for an industrial manufacturing system almost independent from BattleValue.
As land based factories or even land based structures are not covered by MegaMekLab, it is not possible to create land based structures. The standard building blocks of the MegaMekLab Essence industrial ruleset are the 1000 ton machinery space/cargo bay of the MML default small space factory equipped with an SRCS (referred to as "small factory unit" or SFU) and the 6900 ton machinery space/cargo bay of the MML default medium space factory equipped with an SRCS (referred to as "medium factory unit" or MFUs).
SFUs are able to handle the production of simple things such as refining ores, or machining relatively simple components such as armor panels, myomers, spark plugs, mechanical actuators, and steam engines.
MFUs are able to handle manufacturing or assembly of more advanced components using materials from 4 or more SFUs such as "complex" engines, chassis, electronics, and neurohelmets. MFUs are also required for final assembly of a completed unit, assembling the components produced by multiple factory units into a finished unit. Note that a final assembly MFU cannot be used to produce components at the same time.
It's also possible to design additional factories and separating the cargo bay into SFU and MFU units.
In order for a shipyard to manufacture a spacecraft, it must be supported by a constellation of 25 SFUs and 15 MFUs for a dropship, and 50 SFUs and 30 MFUs for a jumpship (either a "normal" jumpship or a warship).
Factories can also optionally be manned, though it does not necessarily confer any sort of bonus.

-It is possible to also set the spawn limitation to also include capital vessels and dropships as well, leaving space stations as the only units which can be spawned into thin air after the initial personal transport spawn.

Errata- LAMs
As it's an extremely divisive topic, you can chose to use the default ruleset or you may modify them in the following ways
>Cancel Advanced technology penalties - use advanced technologies (DHS, Endosteel, Ferro Fibrous Armor) like any other mech
>+2 free thrust (to bring fighter mode in line with normal fighters)
>free wing pylons for drop tanks or bomb munitions
>Transformation time becomes a non-issue

HunterxReader · Jun 2, 2023

Imperator Pax said:
Y
ears before he'd gotten here... his first thought was that it could have been another person from another world... that was a little concerning given how mad for power Black Jack's rampage seemed to be but... as exploitable as the essence was if that were the case then... well things would have been much worse... and the name was familiar. Canonical, but nothing came to mind other than yeah pirate... and ComStar ... the name Jolly Roger Incident wouldn't click immediately... but it was just a blurb... another example of the supposedly neutral organizations duplicity a reiteration not to trust that he didn't really need... but Black Jack represented a threat in the Rimward periphery.

"You mean to tell me this psychopathic manchild has been running around for over a decade, and no one has been able to pin him on a planet and kill him." Or hell, for that matter not get mutinied by his own pirates... they were a pirate band it wasn't as if Black Jack had started out as some pirate king in the periphery with semi legitimate control over the planet and even then that wouldn't have prevented some enterprising sub captain decided he'd make a better king of the pirates... "I would have expected given his apparent resources," Including what he could tell from the recordings included Royal technology, or late star league experimental tech like snub nosed PPCs, "That the Great Houses might have considered this a pressing concern."

There was a clink, as a crystal wine glass sat down on the granite surface of the table, "They didn't." Lord Karosas remarked simply. "The Lyran Commonwealth was probably just happy he decided to go else where." The old man spared a glance towards the Combine representative, a overly floral dressed young ojou-sama in a very bright kimono, but didn't explicitly call out why the Combine hadn't gone after him. He shook his head, "I believe the Magistracy of Canopus wished to address the development, so I will yield the floor to the ambassador."

Ana Marie Centrella stood up. "Black Jack has temporarily settled in the Tortuga Dominions, we say temporarily because there seems to be some friction between him, and the existing pirates, but he is using it as a base. Given the number of JumpShips that can be linked to his pirates we assume that these raids in the Rimward periphery mean he'll be moving this way."

No one visibly panicked, and no sudden current went through the room... most people must have expected that was coming, either from their own sources, or just from instincts about the situation... he didn't need the elaboration that the recent destruction of the Pirate Clans on Fjaldr or Grim Sybil's forces while preventing Black Jack from recruiting those did also create a vacuum of pirate spheres of influence in the area. Heron had no proof but he suspected that a lot of the itinerant freebooters of the Rimward periphery were not just long ranging commercial tradesmen but might well have dabbled in if not direct piracy than... passing along information to pirates in exchange for a slice of the profits, and fencing the goods.

He couldn't prove that but it was certainly the implication that Sybil and Fjaldr's networks might soon be looking for a new patron to work for. It was obvious that Black Jack had more firepower than the 'Dame Murderess extraordinaire' the pirate ruler of the Tortuga Dominions, and that if Black Jack was moving this way and picking up new followers they were going to be an issue.

Oh wow, so Comstar dropped the ball for the Jolly Roger even worse than canon. Black Jack survived with a lot of LosTech metal. Huh, so will the Com Guard muster up early due to their failure and fear for retaliation or is Black Jack's current silence on the matter and the arrival of the Dragoons change their priorities as in canon?

Imperator Pax · Jun 2, 2023

HunterxReader said:
Oh wow, so Comstar dropped the ball for the Jolly Roger even worse than canon. Black Jack survived with a lot of LosTech metal. Huh, so will the Com Guard muster up early due to their failure and fear for retaliation or is Black Jack's current silence on the matter and the arrival of the Dragoons change their priorities as in canon?

Black Jack here, mulched 1st Division ComsGuard and the First Circuit is acrimoniously yelling at each other for the loss up until the Dragoons show up similar to what happened in canon, Kristofur overstepping has put them back into the back foot in terms of actions in the wider more risky operations especially given the Dragoons' ability to magik themselves back up to full strength by disappearing to wherever.

HunterxReader · Jun 2, 2023

Imperator Pax said:
Black Jack here, mulched 1st Division ComsGuard and the First Circuit is acrimoniously yelling at each other for the loss up until the Dragoons show up similar to what happened in canon, Kristofur overstepping has put them back into the back foot in terms of actions in the wider more risky operations especially given the Dragoons' ability to magik themselves back up to full strength by disappearing to wherever.

I'm not surprised, that's two disastrous blunders, one after another, and they're still worrying about the Draggons. With the product of their fuck-up adding to the mess, I suppose that means they'll be less overt going after the MC as well. Means there'll probably less sabotage and "pirates", and the phone company is probably too wary and salty to feed info and resources to more actual pirates right now. But I'm guessing there will at the very least be some ROM infiltration and they can still nudge and give data to intelligence agencies.

BlueRanger O-Doom · Jun 3, 2023

Until we see a TO&E for the MC I can't say for sure how to deal with Black Jack beyond the obvious (kill him in space/in transit).

The start of the fic looks promising, I'm happy to wait for more.

Imperator Pax · Jun 7, 2023

1.2

He stood amidst the tactical operations center of the DropShip that was functioning as a briefing room. There was more than a dozen officers and several times that in terms of enlisted personnel, all heavily caffeinated and and most occasionally steeling handfuls of snacks to keep their energy up over the course of the work. He was hoping that this meeting would manage to yield something which could be put in front of the lords of the Aurigan Reach, and the visiting dignitaries.

ComStar's news reports weren't really that helpful. Big Pirate Big Gun. Lots of mechs. The news service simply didn't deal with hard facts so much as sensational news bulletins. The MRB was slightly more useful since people issued bounties on pirates, and as a result they had nominal tables of known sub units but he could appreciate that some people wer incredulous that the pirate king had so many mechs.

CID and the Regular Military Intelligence wonks weren't sure what to make of the footage. They were willing to admit given the mixed lances, the use of different models as the norm instead of the exception, might have have been skewing data... but it was hard to make heads or tails of anything other than surface level information. There was however a consensus that the story could not be as simple as it was claimed.

Black Jack McGirk had historically piloted an Orion. Fair enough. It was venerable classic hegemony design even without one of star league provenance it made sense for him to have an 'Orion', and then to potentially have to refit or change to another one over his long career. Indeed in the logic of the Terran Hegemony it was better for the pilot to survive and give him a same mech or an improved version than need to star from scratch... but he was a pirate... and there were details that didn't add up.

Black Jack's original Orion at the turn of the previous century digging through the archives available to them seemed typical succession wars era periphery hinterland fare. In or about around 3001 that seemed to have changed. Black Jack's forces had begun to expand showing significantly better equipment. Star League equipment.

It didn't take much to figure that the attack records of the next several years had to have been launched from someone using more complete star charts than what were commonly available. That wasn't per se surprising, but it was noteworthy. The problem that occurred was in the timeline from there. Something had happened in or around 3004. The pattern of activity changed.

There was a probable explanation for that. Sometime before Black Jack's forces had expanded. That was an anomaly not because he had expanded but because the expansion was atypical in its composition. It had reached regimental strength, that was unusual for a periphery bandit kingdom. The most likely explanation for the post 3004 change in behavior was probably some degree of infighting, and political reorienting.

Shortly thereafter however McGirk's equipment composition changed qualitatively again. Again, it improved, and his numbers expanded. Footage from 3006 as he had definitively begun making his away across the Combine's periphery frontier showed his new Orion carrying definitively Star League Royal equipment.

The presence of which, while not impossible, did render the usual explanation of cache find improbable. The snub nosed PPC while seeing initial testing during Jonathan Cameron's reign simply could not have been present in anything other than select royal units... most of whom had likely been sent into the meat grinder of the Hegemony Campaign.

Heron suspected few people had questioned this because Black Jack remained on the move... and because in 3005 the Wolfs Dragoons had appeared with five regiments of pristine battlemechs of their own with the almost certainly bald faced lie that they'd gotten all their stuff out of a cache.

"Suggestions in the event of an attack?"

A naval officer raised his stylus, "Aero Wing deploys and shoots them down in transit. A couple flights of rapiers supported by Wasps come in for gun runs."

He nodded at the response. "And if we have to fight them on the ground?"

Another man shrugged, "It would give us the opportunity to pull their machines internals, figure out where these machines came from. Right now we're working from little more than hearsay."

"Theories on that?" The officer of the watch shook his head, deferring the question, they just didn't have enough data. "Really nothing?"

"Two hundred plus years colonel. Their appearance in the coreward periphery is by itself an anomaly. They are definitively SLDF machines, there is no excuse for why a Brian cache, or a castle would have held some of those items. Its like he unboxed standard equipment at first, and then a few years later finds a ton of Royal gear, sir." The hegemony officer replied.

That was exactly what it was like.

A CID Outpost Castle wouldn't have explained the numbers, and also the AI in a castle shouldn't have given someone like McGirk access... and speaking of access they needed to finish work on restoring the Argo.

--
The Aurigan Coalition had no unified military command except during joint operations. Each noble house provided their own troops, and the House Lords voted on whether they wanted to act collectively to respond to something, or rather in theory how they wanted to respond. To that end, he understood the subtext of the man's question "Well, what do you think of our chances?"

"I was under the impression that the council had voted to hire mercenaries to protect Mechdur?"

"Yes, Markham's Marauders." Espinosa replied. "Commander Markham is a reliable mercenary and he will be supported by house troops from House Gallas at least for the foreseeable future."

There was a rotation schedule for House Decimis, and two other Houses of the Coalition but if there was a serious threat those troops might well be kept at home. "If the planetary government is willing to make accommodations, I can task a ground aero wing of Rapiers to reinforce them." Mechdur was a major hub world you could jump from it to eleven other Aurigan worlds. "In the short term ground assets are going to be limited. Unless the Council wants to reduce defenses around Coromodir VI?"

"No, the council does not support such a move." House Espinosa certainly wouldn't vote to reduce defenses against its sister world when it was a short dropship flight to Coromodir V if they were attack, "Perhaps you could provide, more conventional forces perhaps?"

The Coalition produced its own domestic design of armor vehicles that weren't just copies of the SLDF equipment downteched, "I can provide hovercraft, but things like Maultiers will need to be provided with infantry complements to get the most out of them. Same with Turhan APCs.

The truth was he'd expected more potential trouble from the Combine sending ronins down here to cause trouble, than a potentially conventional fight against SLDF equipment... not sense Zarantha Calderon didn't seem spoiling for a fight... and the Taurians had been the only real considered hostel force given their initial belligerence.

There was a pause, "I'll need time to reallocate forces, and personnel but the plan had been to expand habitation on Katinka and I'm against reducing our force presence on Aea, especially since it would look provocative when we they return home."

"That is a reasonable decision." Espinosa replied. In truth that ended up being the correct call for other reasons. Black Jack would eventually launch a thrust against Aea deliberately targeting the ComStar HPG and attempting to carry off the ComStar presence as presumably slaves. That was another problem... and one potentially faced elsewhere as a reality of periphery warfare. "Do you have any idea how soon that might change? You were able to deploy forces against Fjaldr and to the doorstep of the Magistracy of Canopus after all."

Heron's eyes scanned the throng of Aurigan magnates, nobles, and business oligarchs. In his mind though he was thinking about the contents of Castle Nautilius. Outpost Castles were designed to support an SOF BattleMech Regiment and its supporting forces, and in theory that included DropShips. Nautilius had been left fully intact waiting for a return, but with her stocks intact... why? The question remained, and with no good explanation. He made a vaguely affirmative noise in the back of his throat, and let his eyes slide over the ambassador from House Centrella to the Coalition, thankfully she was busy talking to Tamati's daughter and heir apparent. "A few months at least, ideally March," he said after a moment, "But more practically I may be able to spare forces from Artru, and Tarragona to other worlds by December. Unless you're referring to deployments beyond the Reach, that would be trickier we don't have enough information about McGirk or how he's been able to amass his forces and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that was more than a little worrying."
--
Notes: For sharing: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UUdhNDI1R_Qkl08LhUezgAxyiiVIy1NDnTubLGqH2Kc/edit#gid=0

HunterxReader · Jun 9, 2023

Ah, but how else are our heroes going to get a bunch of shiny Lostech for the final act of the story, though it is strange how full it is in here and in canon. New Dallas was a boneyard for obsolete mechs, and Helm was a Castle Brian filled by Keeler as a "in case of Succession Wars" depot, maybe it was left as an emergency supply base by some former SLDF unit (like the Blackhearts) or the SLDF stationed there expected the Exodus to be a temporary evacuation.

The fun thing about using an SLDF backstory is it makes single or dual design lances plausible.

Imperator Pax · Jun 15, 2023

1.3

Ana Marie Centrella knew it was important to cultivate close relations with the next generation of planetary leadership. Coromidr was an important world on its own, but there was every indication that Tamati Arano would pass his throne to his daughter, and the formation of the Aurigan March showed no signs of changing that succession. The Aurigan Coalition was just that. It was, and had grown out of a trade partnership and that still reflected in the internal relationships, and the new relationship between the core and the march coming together as a growth of that trade partnership, and free trade area.

That relationship was important for the Magistracy of Canopus to pay attention to, even without the pirate threat currently dominating the news spheres. Pirates typically didn't like attacking well protected targets, and it was rare for a known pirate, and established pirate to mount an attack that was going to draw repercussions unless he was being paid to do so or he needed to bolster his reputation. Out of the blue attacks were more typically associated with pirates who needed to make their bones... and even they were unlikely to mount an attack on a heavily reinforced planetary garrison... but that was no reason to relax.

Black Jack had demonstrated he wasn't the typical sort of pirate. The threat he posed was precisely the sort of thing that required the magistracy to build ties with other periphery nations, and open trustworthy channels of communication... especially since the bastard seemed to be going out of his way to burning HPG stations that prevented word from being beamed out of system and thus spreading warning that his pirates were operating in a given area.

Whether he was typical or not, he was successful and that meant that he'd be attracting all the lesser pirates looking for the prestige of success, and table scraps. The Magistracy's concern was that with the relatively recent raid on Luxen, and before that Detroit in 3015, plus other region instability was that the pirates would come down in force like locusts. That would strain an already over stretched, and limited MAF and so the diplomatic corp had its responsibilities.

She was about to refuse, as a result of those responsibilities, a direct invitation from the heir apparent of the Coalition to the March's ruler. Heron's eyes swept over both of them as he looked up from the table mounted holographic globe. It was an aurigan relic the table, a holdover from the star league era, and it had always been a curiosity that cult of St Cameron wasn't more established in the Aurigan Coalition, which had always been more pro star league than the most post Concordat contraction worlds.

Lord Espinosa hovered over the edge of the table looking at the dots representing worlds. "This is important Kamea," He lectured his niece, "the fate of worlds hangs in the balance. The whole of the coalition could be threatened." The reality was, though of course she was polite enough not to mention it, that as tentative a grasp, as precarious the balance that governed periphery states were any significant pirate force could be a disaster ... Black Jack's force were at least a level exponentially worse than just catastrophe.

"As I was telling your uncle," The other man remarked, "This is a current projection of where we have forces stationed at present. That there are limitations of what can be done. It had been my intention that,"

That his forces could largely be mobilized. That the massive volume of military materiel and especially the conventional ground forces personnel tens of thousands of personnel would be able to be furloughed to set up homes, shops, and work out new civilian lives. Instead whatever they had been planning had to contend with a war against a pirate king.

It was an atypical priority, but on the other hand the composition of forces that made the Aurigan March viable stood out by the nature of its atypical structure. All of it had arrived seemingly with full strategic, that was jump capble, mobility in addition to DropShips.

By demobilizing those troops it would free up a significant volume of JumpShips that would have meant trade flowing between the two rebels. "As it is I'll have to remobilize the 60th Brigade and that may take a few months." He stated without concern for the prospect of a unit of that nomenclature.

Because this was not a discussion of a historical unit that was now a component of political organization rather than regular military deployments. Then the other shoe dropped. It had been established months ago that there were six BattleMech Regiments and an unclear number of supporting other combat arms, and also the necessary droppers and JumpShips.

It was no wonder the Taurians were upset the force based on Aea while comprising a single BattleMech Regiment was supported by two regiments of armor plus mechanized infantry battalions and additional ASF forces.

She watched and counted the other two squares with small 'x's above them appeared. One at Regis Roost, and the other at Katinka. It was information she had been hoping to purloin not information she had expected to just be provided for. The details though were alarming for other reason. There were six marcher worlds

Aea, Regis Roost, Katinka, Artru Qalzi, and the odd one out, the separate, distant Tarragona. She had wondered why, Tarragona but it may have simply been part of the deployment of forces sent out on anti-pirate operations more broadly. A whole regiment had gone out after Grim Sybil, uprooting her from a base on a moon entirely too close to Canopian space, another had dropped on Fjaldr.

He indicated a key calling up the last of the Mech Regiments in question, "Our Light Horse Regiment dropped on Fjaldr to clear out the clans there, but I maybe be able to retask the units of that regiment with others to respond better to our current crisis." Ana Marie assumed that would entail deploying the regiment as part of its constituent battalions... the normal behavior of the succession wars. He continued on, "With Tarragona secured, and the pirates eliminated I can probably accelerate their remobilization, but that will have to be sometime in the new year. I've already said that to Lord Espinosa."

The the older man shrugged.

The summation was that they wouldn't move the forces on Aea it was better they remain and it made sense. She wouldn't have put it past the Taurians to complain that a return to garrison by the forces deployed there currently would be a 'provocation' if they had to be deployed anti spinward, or even potentially just rimward.

"I don't understand you said you needed to remobilize them," Kamea observed.

It was the Taurians. Remobilization of the brigade's supporting units was to insure that the Taurians didn't try and jump the border while other forces were elsewhere. "And beyond that unpleasant realpolitik, Blackjack seems to be aiming to burn down the HPG network, it seems like he's got some grudge with ComStar from the way he goes after them but whether personal or simply murderous pragmatism, Aea has a ComStar HPG on it... besides the Taurians its very likely that Black Jack might mount an attack there."
--
Heron wished that it were that simple. The truth was he couldn't trust ComStar not to be up to something, and he couldn't trust the Taurians either... despite the surprising lack of insanity out of the Taurian current leadership... but they were on the precipice of a larger conflict... and risking the attention of the successor states.

He didn't want to abandon Tarragona but it might come to that, which meant they needed to consider stripping the world... and that was going to be complicated. The larger priority for the forces nominally based on Tarragona was the recovery of the Dobrev and any material related to it.

That would take potentially longer than he claimed, but he hoped it didn't. Getting it done by December would be good, maybe not ideal, but the Dobrev had the potential to be useful in other ways. It would potentially allow them to help prepare the Inner Sphere for the conflict with the Clans... and if the machinery aboard the Dobrev was intact it might also be useful for the Aurigan Coalition to expand its own military industrial complex without being dependent on machinery he generated via essence either c-bills or BV. The intermediary weapons between star league and mature clan production models would be useful for scientists to look at.

Both the existing Aurgians and people who were Star League era personnel.

"What do you make of the report?"

The gray haired man pinched his nose, and took a breath, "With all due respect colonel the comparison between this, Dire Wolf thing you provided me, and the things pulled out of the Dobrev." He paused... "I don't understand why they're not further along. Most of these weapons are incremental improvements of things we already had. Alright the Omni-Mech is impressive, no doubt but these Omni-Vehicles and I would assume that there is an Omni Air equivalent," There was but he'd also only shown the Badger and Bandit vehicles that the Wolf Dragoons had had blackwell introduce, "I would assume they'd have more to show for it if Kerensky's people had two hundred plus years on us."

"Thats a valid point."

There was a timeline projected. Kerensky's flight from the Inner Sphere, and the Dobrev's flight from the clan homeworlds. They had a timeline of the improved models being introduced in what would be called the 'early clan' period... and then what did they have to show for it.

"My bigger concern..."

"Sir?"

"My larger concern is not so much their lack of progress, but the advantage that they may retain in naval tonnage... Intelligence suggests that the Inner Sphere can no longer construct capital scale drives,"

"Hell sir, the intelligence says they can barely build standard JumpDrives. Once our yards are online we'll probably have more JumpShips coming- Oh." He grunted.

"Exactly we're going to need to take precautions, not just against Keresnky's people but against other potential enemy actors. I want us to focus on production of Blackwasp ASF and Pentagon based drone protection systems. I want jump points heavily reinforced as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

RoyalTwinFangs · Jun 15, 2023

Imperator Pax said:
Dire Wolf

The Great Death comes early!

Imperator Pax · Jun 15, 2023

RoyalTwinFangs said:
The Great Death comes early!

I mean technically its fall of 3016 so the Dire Wolf prime is in production in clan space, but also Essence... and well its important for other reasons

RoyalTwinFangs · Jun 15, 2023

Imperator Pax said:
I mean technically its fall of 3016 so the Dire Wolf prime is in production in clan space, but also Essence... and well its important for other reasons

I meant to the Inner Sphere.

anthony corcoran · Jun 15, 2023

The amusing thing is while the clan do keep some sldf training methods if they ran into a fully trained and equipped field Corp or army. It would be like running into a angry badger.
Foe all the jokes and downplaying. The SLDF was extremely well trained.

Imperator Pax · Jun 15, 2023

Hegemony Armed Forces/SLDF* (HAF) Organization: *
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1471638023717.pdf
(HAF/SLDF BattleMech Organization)
4 Mechs to a Lance
3 Lances + 1 Fighter Lance to a Company*
3 Companies to a Battalion*
3 Battalions to a Regiment
* Platoons/Lances and Companies of Jump Infantry, Vehicle, and Artillery were also attached to each BattleMech battalion & each Company.

(HAF/SLDF Vehicle Organization)
4 Vehicles to a Platoon 3 Lances to a Company 3 Companies to a Battalion 3 Battalions to a Regiment

(HAF/SLDF Infantry Organization)
7 Troops to a Squad 4 Squads to a Platoon 3 Platoons to a Company 3 Companies to a Battalion 3 Battalions to a Regiment

(HAF/SLDF Aerospace Organization)
2 Fighters to a Lance 3 Lances to a Squadron 3 Squadrons to a Wing 3 Wings to a Regiment

(HAF/SLDF Strategic Group Organization)
3 Regiments to a Brigade 3 Brigades + 3-6 Regiments of support units such as artillery to a Division 3 Divisions + to a Corp

(HAF/SLDF Brigade* Organization)
Regular (Most Common) (Battle, Dragoon, or Ranger) Brigade –1 Medium BattleMech + 1 Medium Vehicle + 1 Mechanized infantry Regiment
Heavy Assault (Heavy Cavalry) Brigade – Heavy/Assault BattleMech Regiment + 2 Heavy Armor and Artillery Regiments
Horse (Chasseur, Lancer, or Hussar) Brigade – 1 Light BattleMech Regiment + 2 Jump Infantry + 1 Artillery Regiments.
Light Horse Brigade – 1 Light BattleMech Battalion (All Jump Capable) + 1 Artillery Battalion + 7 Special Forces Battalions (Trained as Combat Engineers and Commandos)
Vehicle Brigade - 3 Vehicle Regiments
Vehicles Division - 9 Vehicle Regiments

* The standard unit of the HAF/early SLDF was the Combined Arms Brigade, made up of 1 BattleMech + 1 Vehicle + 1 infantry Regiment

(Special HAF/SLDF Regiment Organization)
Striker Regiment - 3 Medium BattleMech Battalions + 1 Combined Arms Support Battalion
Light Horse Regiment – 2 Light Battalions + 1 Heavy Mech Battalions

HellTeddy · Jun 17, 2023

Liked&watched!

I should really check the non-NSFW writing section more often, can't believe I missed this one!

Imperator Pax · Jun 23, 2023

Chapter 1.4

They were in yet another temporary adjournment even as September came to its end. He couldn't stay on Coromodir for much longer, but the Conference continued to just circle unproductively. The dignitaries, both Aurigan lords and high officials, and foreign ones continued their holding patterns. He wasn't really happy about it but there was little that could be done... since truth be told his presence on Coromodir's biggest issue was that it made the use of his Essence difficult.

On Katinka or on another 'marcher world' they could conceal new material. Here that wasn't an option. That was doubly true with so much scrutiny ongoing in the conference. "We suspect this conference could lasts weeks sir."

Potentially longer. Coromodir had an HPG connection, and regardless of the state of the network, or whether Comstar was playing games or a combination of that it was still possible to get messages to and from Taurus.

That meant in theory the Taurian state could send word to its people... and of course in theory so could the canopians. The latter didn't seem as a likely. The Canopian diplomatic mission seemed to have potentially significantly more latitude about discussions in regards to the pirate threat, and that meant greater coordination was potentially going to be possible.

"We're going to need to restructure certain units." Heron remarked. "I want to prepare for a division of assets we have available in order to respond." He didn't want to have to abandon Tarragona because there was the Mother program there, and limited SLDF assets there otherwise besides the orbital platform... it would have been nice if they could feasibly jump the platform to Katinka, or Artru but that seemed like a serious potential hurdle... and it assumed that Mother Bear could be safely prepped for a jump involved... so for now that was all sitting in limbo while they sat here.

To that end at least they could start the paperwork on their options were. IN the case of a light horse regiment the planning was simple enough. Especially in the context that a Dire Wolf cost just short of 30 Million c bills... it really made the prospect of simply pairing off battalions to add hovercraft and some mech infantry coupled with artillery support. He didn't necessarily need the essence for that, surely the Aurigans had thumpers in service and could provide mech infantry that would be good, but it was going to be something to discuss later... and hopefully wouldn't be something that became hopelessly bogged down in committee meetings.

That really was the great weakness of the Aurigan coalition... but Heron hoped that their mere presence had butterflied away any idea that Espinosa might have had of considering a coup. That was the last thing they needed... but he didn't get that vibe from the man... maybe he just wasn't desperate enough yet... maybe in canon Tamati and Serena's death had just been the straw that broke his back. Santiago was frustrated by the indecisive mire of the high lords and their dithering but he didn't seem to be at the breaking point.

It was something to watch though, but on the other hand it was hard to miss that Santiago had a point on the vulnerabilities the dickering of the council had. The challenge it presented to the security of the coalition.

There was a pause, and Heron looked at the SLDF officer, "What do you suggest?"

"While cooperation with the Taurians is inadvisable , might we be able to spare a battalion as trainers and advisors? The Canopians aren't nearly as uncivilized." The officer remarked.

"That's a potential option," He admitted. He certainly found cooperating with the Magistracy of Canopus a bit more palatable but that would require negotiations and it would take time.

He had idly been considering standing up mech production lines inside the coalition. Dragon, and Griffins at Panzyr and Smithon but there were obviously problems with that, not the least of which was that would be painting a target on both former Capellan worlds. The last thing they needed was at this stage was to bring the sick man of the inner sphere into the periphery and worse potentially draw the attention it would bring if they drove the capellans back out. That would have to go on the back burner for a while.

Heron sighed and flipped through some of the other ideas, but they were limited to either the coalition council managing to find a mild enough solution everyone could agree to, or delaying any unilateral action until after they could return to Katinka and the safety it provided.
--
Lord Tamati was a little shocked by the sudden proposal. "Realistically you're already hosting a battalion of the mechs in question." The colonel remarked looking out over the castle's defensive field. "The Thunderbolt is a fine mech." He continued.

Coromodir was the system at the heart of the Aurigan Coalition. It was considered to be inner sphere civilization, it housed a large population, in the safety of the biosphere terran worlds. There was already manufacturing based in the system. The population were not illiterate techno-barbs.

Santiago, his brother in law, looked torn between outright salivating at the prospect of expanding the Espinosa family mechworks to actually be in a position to do more than just refit battlemechs. They were talking about constructing new battlemechs.

It was being described as an operational solution though. Coromdir could begin reinforcing its forces domestically for the coalition. "What about you?"

"If the current schedule holds Archer production should begin in December," He turned away from the window of the former Taurian fortress, "You may want to consider refurbishing and restoring the defenses here as well. Assuming that that can be done without involving the council at large. Beyond that most likely I'll pull the two Light BattleMech Battalions that were deployed on Fjaldr, and attach organic artillery, if you can provide a couple battalions each of MechInfantry that should be able to provide some coverage elsewhere."

It had taken the council several months to consider, contemplate, coordinate and so on to get the mercenary contract for Marhkam's marauders to protect Mechdur. They had lucked out that it hadn't dragged out much longer otherwise the mercenary battalion likely would have been snapped up by the Magistracy, or potentially the Taurians as the scope of the threat became clear. Mechdur was a critical world for the Coalition, but it wasn't the only world, and trying to further reinforce it might create arguments in council.

"House Decimis or House Karosas."

"Both," Espinosa replied to his brother in law. "Decimis, Panzyr has a ComStar presence its HPG station may be a target, leaving aside the that we cannot permit the schools and academies operated by House Karasos to be attacked so Smithon must also be protected."

The colonel turned raising an eyebrow at the mention of the two worlds in question, but didn't argue with Santiago's logic.

"We have to be vigilant." Santiago continued, "I admit that Tyrlon is a potential target and that House Gallas surely presents a tempting target to conventional pirates, but that is the problem. They are all tempting targets to conventional pirates, and Black Jack has proven to be anything but. If we are to begin construction of domestic battletech industries we must insure that House Karosas can train new engineers for the reach, and we cannot afford to lose our connection to the wider HPG network."
--
Kamea Arano, and her cousin Victoria had always known the third succession war. Indeed the Aurigan Coalition was a state that had only been established as the 3rd Sucession war had dragged on. The official founding of the coalition dated to 2910, and ties with the Magistracy of Canopus had begun shortly thereafter, but even before it had become an independent stellar nation it only dated to after the war had begun.

The Aurigan Coalition had only ever known the 3rd succession war. It was therefore after 150 years of low intensity conflict to consider that in a decade the 3rd succession war would be recognized to over. It certainly didn't seem that way to anyone in 3016. It didn't seem that way with the pirate threat looming.

Coromodir was not the most populous system in the Reach, but it wasn't sparsely populated either, especially not by the standards of the Periphery. Coromodir was at risk from a pirate threat. That gathering cloud was just the beginning of what would be obscured by later threats, by the great catastrophes of the 31st century. For historians of the Rimward periphery this era would come to be known not as the last years of the 3rd Succession War, but rather by another more regional name. The Pirate Wars, but in the latter half of 3016 such a pronouncement would have seemed a bit absurd certainly while their parents had discussed the pirates on Fjaldr and they had been glued to holo news presentations of Grim Sybils escapades across the rimward periphery frontier they weren't prepared for what would play out over the next few years.

The Pirate War would give way to a resurgence in prosperity. A renaissance, and flowering of a great state in the rimward periphery. Even if as a state it would be overshadowed by the growing power and prestige of the Federated Suns, and the subsequent union of the Suns and the Commonwealth that promised its own Renaissance.

HunterxReader · Jun 23, 2023

Ah, looks like Comstar might get dragged in anyway if Blackjack's still targeting HPGs. Decimis and Karosas huh, Decimis was targeted by the Directorate so they are at worst neutral, with Karosas being similar but with at least one supporter of House Arano. Other than pragmatic patriotism, Espinosa's opinions might also suggest that he is shoring up support for a more centralized government, since with the military and economic support of the MC he might have less incentive/pressure to try for a coup and an outright dictatorship.

Imperator Pax · Jun 23, 2023

HunterxReader said:
Ah, looks like Comstar might get dragged in anyway if Blackjack's still targeting HPGs. Decimis and Karosas huh, Decimis was targeted by the Directorate so they are at worst neutral, with Karosas being similar but with at least one supporter of House Arano. Other than pragmatic patriotism, Espinosa's opinions might also suggest that he is shoring up support for a more centralized government, since with the military and economic support of the MC he might have less incentive/pressure to try for a coup and an outright dictatorship.

Like i almost get the suspicion that if House Arano well if the Reach had been original canon like 1st edition that Parata would have out and out been a bad eighties / nineties pacifist stereotype, or worse. House Decimis seems to have been House Arano's answer to House Madeira in that they were apparently staunch supporters of House Arano while the vibe I get is that Karosas was more neutral and this likely explains old man Karosas's position in the HBS campaign

Espinosa is currently angling for basically an expansion of the military budget, Tamati would be in charge, but what he honestly wants is a situation where the executive can call up the professional troops or house forces with the consent of just who's troops they are (that is the specific feudal nobility) and deploy them without having to get the consent from the whole council which seems to be the current system.

HunterxReader · Jun 23, 2023

Imperator Pax said:
Like i almost get the suspicion that if House Arano well if the Reach had been original canon like 1st edition that Parata would have out and out been a bad eighties / nineties pacifist stereotype, or worse. House Decimis seems to have been House Arano's answer to House Madeira in that they were apparently staunch supporters of House Arano while the vibe I get is that Karosas was more neutral and this likely explains old man Karosas's position in the HBS campaign

Espinosa is currently angling for basically an expansion of the military budget, Tamati would be in charge, but what he honestly wants is a situation where the executive can call up the professional troops or house forces with the consent of just who's troops they are (that is the specific feudal nobility) and deploy them without having to get the consent from the whole council which seems to be the current system.

I'm guessing they'd have been the Battletech hippies, though I wonder how they would've been distinguished compared to the OWA.

Ah, makes sense. Military expansion and looser military restrictions sounds reasonable, especially when facing a major impending threat. Espinosa in canon sounds like a well-intentioned extremist that went off the deep end, though at the end he at least was wise enough to know when to quit for the sake of the Reach. I guess the canon Restoration can look like the bloody "growing pains" of a military coup that seems well in line with the other ruling houses (though the more ruthless ones like Confederation, which seems appropriate considering the CC formed in response to the Davion threat, and Espinosa coup'ed due to pressure from the Taurians), the only difference being that he was unfortunate enough to be on the opposing side of a protagonist and that he lost.

Imperator Pax · Jun 29, 2023

Chapter 1.5

Heron stared at the data... not that he hadn't been looking at it all morning. Given the limitations of jump travel ... without even factoring in other limitations it was hard to make sense of the historical entry. What sense if any did the Taurian Canopian war of the early 29th century make? It didn't matter. It was history, and it was really the worlds in question that were the more important concern.

The Herotitus Crisis had entailed details of spheres of influence, possession even of four worlds. The worlds were Herotitus, rather obviously given the alternate name for the conflict, Detroit, Portland, and Spencer.

The parcel of worlds weren't even within a single jump of one another. Shouldn't they have had better things to fight over? Still the history was a potential complicating factor to their problem. The Taurians really shouldn't have had any leverage or grounds to complain, in 2813 the Aurigan Coalition had not existed. The four worlds in question along with many others had all been independent of Taurian overlordship for more than a century, but the Taurians had complained about Aea and others.

On the other hand Tamati, and the Canopian ambassador were right about the security vulnerabilities. It was unlikely that Black Jack had come all this way to try and set up his own little pirate kingdom in the middle of the rimward periphery he'd made too many enemies for that. If he tried to set up within such easy distance of the border with the Inner sphere well he'd potentially get some kind of mercenary force mustered after him.... but he could feasibly use those planets as temporary bases.

Or create enough chaos that semi friendly bandit kingdoms with some degree of legitimacy took root. The Canopians were concerned about worlds like Astrokazy or worse if Black Jack turned his attention towards their other border the one opposite Aurigan space. Apparently there were some roman cosplaying Lyrans who had set up something called the Marian Hegemony.

Of course given the limits of interstellar travel he doubted that they would have had much concern. Or at least far less of one... 'they' being the Aurigan Coalition. On the other hand part of Tamati, and the Ambassador's point had merit, ignoring the problem, and ignoring their neighbors wouldn't be productive in the situation they were faced with.

The problem was it wasn't two hundred years ago. It wasn't back when the Magistracy and the Taurians had enough hardware left over from the SLDF and Kerensky's march on Terra and subsequent dissolution of the League to get in such slap fights. For Herotitus the closest basing world would be Panzyr, which would also have the benefit of not being right on the border with the Capellans. That Panzyr met Lord Espinosa's criteria as well for its HPG presence was another reason to plan for it.

The problem was trying to cover Portland if they were going to reduce forces at Tarragona. The worlds of Detroit and Spencer just simply could not be covered by forces based in the Coalition. The Magistracy couldn't cover either of them by the same metric... which was a problem because Detroit was almost surely a tempting target.

A few hours later he had turned his attention to other technical reports. XL versions of the VLAR 300 had existed in the Star League era, but they hadn't been common. Even if they had he doubted they would have survived the war with Amaris much less the succession wars. The XL versions of Fusion Engines of the Star League were too fragile subject to damage, but if there was one thing he could say it was the Clan spec XL significantly reduced that vulnerability.

They certainly weren't as robust as a heavier standard fusion engine, but the XL in the Dire Wolf made a lot possible. It was true that coupled with DHS and a smorgasbord of weapons the Dire Wolf couldn't effectively mount Ferro-fibrous protection... but he was more interested in the report of what SLDF technical personnel made of the clan spec systems.

Not that he could introduce those at this stage. He figured he had some leeway for introducing Star League era equipment. Even endo-steel frame mechs like the guillotine wouldn't necessarily warrant as much attention as suddenly producing the Dire Wolf... especially since it had only entered production after the Dragoons had arrived.

Moving production of a heavy battlemech to the Aurigan capital was going to raise eyebrows from the outside looking in, but he'd already decided on that course of action. Once production was in progress they could even begin plans to draft a version of the Catapult with major parts commonality in mind with the Thunderbolt. They'd need to among other things standardize on Medium Lasers, and engines, and missiles launchers.

If they hadn't already been fielding large numbers of Thunderbolts he might have considered more seriously the suggestion to forget the Catapult project and instead of the Thunderbolt contemplate a variant Crusader, but at this stage that was bit too far. The Catapult's inclusion was also a further carrot to increase Aurigan military exports. Introducing one mech might have a limited effect, but he was counting on that the Magistracy, and some of the worlds in between would be interested in spending money on military expenditures and the Thunderbolt might not meet everyone's interest.

It was nominally a longer term investment.

He flipped through the secure packet until he reached the information on the 90 ton assault mech. The Pulverizer had been one of those designs aboard the Dobrev. It was most interesting because it carried clearly intermediary tech, systems half way between standard royal technology of the 28th century and the systems aboard the Dire Wolf. That was useful for the techs to look at, even if the Pulverizer was otherwise nothing special as command mechs of the late star league went. Of course the Dobrev had also carried that Bullshark thing, among other mechs. All of that would need to b e carefully secreted away; including the Dobrev herself.

None of this material could leave the DropShip... and the sooner they were back on Katinka the better, because there was a lot of this sort of thing.
--
Ana Marie Centrella watched the force structure animation as it changed. The noble houses of the Aurigan Reach had been feudatory structures. The ruling house lords had been able to call upon their battalions for military service, and in consensus rally themselves to face threats.

Heron Arsacid had the loyalty of an army. She didn't recall the exact wording he had used with Santiago Espinosa but it had involved something along the lines of given a few months he could pull Rhinos and Maultiers out of storage and ship them along with trainers to begin preparing Aurigan troopers for their use. Apparently one of the first things that had been done was to start preparing to mothball those vehicles as Arsacid's forces had started settling the worlds in the March.

... but also that there was to be an upgrade program for the Aurigan indigenous Vargr and that the Aurigan March would be transferring the machinery to produce 240 grade Fusion Engines in the next year. The same engine which powered a number of Gray White Hellcats that had been deployed to the Aurigan Capital as part of a Ground Aero Wing.

It was a long list of terms and machines that taken all together should have been in the history books not a contemporary report. The most obvious explanation was that Black Jack wasn't the only one who'd had a real lucky strike when they'd found a cache and the comparisons to the Wolf Dragoons wrote themselves.

The problem was the Cobmine's reaction, it had always been the Combine's reaction to Arsacid personally. The Combine probably did care about that amount of metal, but there were the Davions and Taurians, and really the capellans between them and the Colonel's six 'Mech regiments.

"Hypothetically, though I'd advice against it at this stage, is that a Striker Regiment could be subdivided into three smaller Medium BattleMech Regiments by attaching regiments of vehicles, and mech infantry...."

The reason that wasn't an option was that the Aurigans didn't have the manpower for that. The Aurigan council immediately made clear that they couldn't conscious such an expenditure in the short term. That deadlocked the conversation. It was about money, and manpower, and materiel... and Ana Marie instantly saw the other potential pitfall.

Santiago Espinosa wasted no time excoriating some of the hold outs on the council. He had clear allies among the councilors were supportive of his military expenditure proposal. It didn't work, but she suspected the lord of Coromodir V had done it for the chance to engage in the theatrics of rhetoric. The councilors constituted a legislative body, and in all likelihood Espinosa likely expected that once the March worlds elected their representatives to the council he would have the votes to force through a military spending bill.

The Arsacid Margravate contained five world, bringing the total number of systmes comprising the coalition to 23. That meant once they were seated Heron's elected representatives would represent just over a quarter of the worlds in the reach, and there was little doubt given his outline of joint forces they would vote for affirming the proposal. Add those five worlds voting to the Coromodir votes and House Parata's opposition party could levy the votes to deadlock the matter of supporting the spending of central revenues, and the need for taxes, to support conventional forces being called up on a likely permanent basis...

--
Notes: I need to get back into my rewatch of Eminence in Shadow I have an update that was supposed to go up tuesday but certain IRL shit happened and fucked my free time

Imperator Pax · Jul 6, 2023

Chapter 2

The Aurigan attempt to gather its neighbors had resulted in data packets being generated on the various independent worlds, but by the time the gathering had been adjourned indescivively the next big event had taken place on the subject matter. Luxen had suffered a second pirate raid, and this one definitively associated with Black Jack McGirk's band of pirates.

The raid had been successful though it did suggest somewhat less clear control, more typical of the usual control a pirate king had on his followers. Luxen's precentor had managed to beam out a final message pleading for aid a message which had ended with Olaf Fredericksen getting clubbed in the head by a strung out looking pirate before dragging the Precentor off camera.

The Pirates had done a lot of damage and then left.

Precentor Fredericksen might be alive, he might be dead. There was no way to be sure.. but at least he had gotten a word off even if it had been a shot in all directions through the network. Not that he knew exactly what worlds it had bounced through, but it didn't really matter. The point was it had happened, and fuck if ComStar wasn't going to play up this horrible thing since they couldn't conceal that it had happened.

It was all the more reason that Espinosa demanded reforms be undertaken. That the need for unanimous consensus among the council to deploy forces federally simply was not practical. That the threat being what it was was not something that could be solved by proposed half measures of creating federal regions ala the Davion March system... but even that which was the closest to be accepted was unpopular.

The councilors in opposition still maintained that the expense entailed supporting such forces was too much to yield. Heron wouldn't have minded a constitutional solution if he thought there was time to work one out... but the attack on Luxen could have been anywhere in the Reach. There was also the fact that the previous Aurigan Coalition JumpShip situation was no longer a valid complaint to raise to stymie large scale military deployment... though paying, training, and equipping troops was.

The opposition under House Parata wasn't being contrary just for the sake of being contrary. There was a very real issue of funding a large scale expansion of the Reach's military. Pay roll and training weren't going to be cheap and nor would procurement and acquisition contracts even if they weren't to Aurigan businesses.

Thus they remained deadlocked, stuck at a seeming insurmountable difference of opinions. He had no good point of comparison to make the political deadlock. Nothing immediately sprang to mind because the Aurigan state was young and small.

The New Dallas native shook his head, his stetson resting on his knee, "We have no options. Remobilization is not practical." A mech company in theory was capable of operating in the field with about sixty people total. That included support like techs and logistics. That wasn't true even of HAF Infantry that operated with small seven man squads, and it certainly wasn't true of tank companies where a squadron was 4 vehicles each of which had a crew to contend with. Furloughing troops and demobilizing them was a key part of colonizing the March worlds. They certainly couldn't be recalled quickly to then redeploy off world, especially since part of that demobilization had been the planned reallocation of their units space lift capacity for commercial purposes.

Castle Brians were unfeasible at this stage, but fortifications didn't have to be full Castles on that scale. "We could make improvements on the Outpost Castles. Significantly reinforce their turret layout, admittedly." The Nirasaki native shook her head, "If we begin deploying ground combat vehicle drones someone is bound to notice but autonomous weapon platforms were intended to maximize the value of every terran soldier on the field. That more than ever is a maxim we should consider."

There was no disagreement from around the table.

Aea was the first obvious choice for that option. Katinka and Artru already had existed Castle Outposts built by CID that would help them conserve resources. The addition of Tarragona raised the number of Aurigan Coalition worlds to 23, but once operations there were completed they could trade the world for consolidated space for the interim... so Aea first.

Regis Roost, and Qalzi after.

Expand the defenses of Katinka beyond what were in place following that, as time and resources allowed them to muster. The problem was Black Jack was either authorizing attacks across the Rimward periphery expanding to include targets like Luxen in the Magistracy of Canopus... or his command and control was insufficient to prevent attacks from being carried out by individual sub units within his kingdom of cut throats.

Both of those were bad in different ways.
--
For Santiago Espinosa his opposition to the proposed codification of the March System was no that it was an attempt to emulate the Federated Suns. Rather, his opposition stemmed from that it established a poor precedent to work from. The Arsacid March made sense. It was true he was mildly jealous prospect of someone who could call on that kind of military power using personal forces. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that any attempt to create a northern march would inevitably reward bad behavior by worlds that did not meaningfully contributed to the coalition military...

... that wasn't to say that Santiago believed the Mechdur was a drain on coalition resources far from it, but that it made the most sense for a central planning position. Guldra provided a better Jump point than Coromodir... so no he opposed the proposed compromise of Federal Military deployment, but he especially opposed it without a realistic expansion of the Coalition's military budget. It was patently absurd that House Parata could not see these things, and it was ridiculous to expect that the full burden of military deployment and the majority of funding to support troops should fall to those worlds with noble lords at their helm.

An argument, that he personally found convincing was that of a defense in depth. That Coromodir, and also Katinka could be used as staging points. They were three jumps from each other, and each three jumps from Mechdur. He understood Mechdur's unwillingness to tender full control of its planetary defenses to federal control, but the merchants should have seen it was obvious that they couldn't lead the defense.

A compromise might be found in a mercenary commander of experience. Commander Markham seemed competent enough to fill this roll. The alternatives were limited. His niece Kamea as heir apparent to the realm did not have the age or experience, the same problem effected his daughter Victoria. Sir Raju as head of the Royal Guard, and royal tutor, was not option as he was needed on Coromodir.

His brother in law had jokingly suggested he take up the post of command but that was absurd. Santiago would have been ready to throttle the intransigent planetary rulers within a week he was sure... they were expected to make too many compromises, regardless of how reasonable some of them seemed on their face the threat they were faced with made such dangerous.

"Well what do you think Santiago?"

"Hmm," He stopped pacing, "Markham is really our option. I am concerned about how beholden he would be to Mechdur's leadership, even if it is the federal government signing his paychecks," So to speak, and his sister smirked at his turn of phrase, "but we have no one else really." Santiago shrugged throwing his cape back, "He has your confidence, he is really our only option."

"Is that the only problem?" Serena questioned.

"It is the only major problem," He replied. There were other worlds they were going to need to consider, but those could be kept out of council decisions. They could be made between noble houses. The protection and mutual defense of Karsosas could be conducted between noble houses... and frankly, "It will be easier to shield Karosas, and Decimis its almost ideal really Victoria and Kamea both could do with some seasoning to see the military trade." They could be deployed together or separate but it would be almost ideal to have them take the opportunity to prepare them for command... when they were adults.
--
Heron's ambitions were not in ... there was not a plan for an Aurigan Renaissance. If anything he rather disliked the very idea the renaissance as a pop culture impressment on history if not out and out propaganda, but that wasn't the problem. The March needed to be strong enough to be self sufficient, not in an autarkic sense, but rather in the broadly economic sense.

What he had in mind was the sort of state hood that the Mother Doctrine was supposed to prevent... and certainly what Holy Shroud was opposed to. He hadn't contended with his fledgling colonies having to face the pirate threat... or more correctly having to face this pirate threat... and all the attention it would inevitably invite.

The data didn't add up. There weren't enough pieces, but either Black Jack had gotten much better about smashing HPG stations or ComStar was lying about the damage the pirate king had done on the Lyran Periphery. There was an ... blank space ... in activity a gap in time where it didn't seem like Black Jack had been active. He didn't seemed to, or at least there were no reports of significant activity on the Draconis periphery until 3007, and even then it was his reappearance as he continued to move rimward along the periphery borders of the great states. He had most likely hit in the outworlds alliance after but that was hard to prove... and from there eventually made his way to Tortuga.

Sometime between those points the attacks against ComStar installations had begun to tick up... with the attack on Luxen being just the most recent and most especially blatant. It was the attack on Luxen that was the particular concern. The Province of Luxen in the Magistracy of Canopus was vestigial now, like most states Canopus had been forced to shed and abandon worlds and consolidating in the regression of territorial expansion as the league came apart at the seems.

Logically if they were going to start distributing trainers then they should have gone to an Aurigan military academy first, but there was no Aurigan military institute of higher learning. The Aurigan Coalition Military had a standard -ish military curriculum which was based off of the star league manuals adapted to contend with the realities of succession war tech decline and the limits of what the economic sustain but there was no formal academy of military science.

He might have wanted to address that... but now wasn't the time.

The solid light manifested into an array of status screens.

There was an easy exploit to the Essence... well there were actually several, but he did often wonder where if anywhere sold goods ended up. The Ground mobile HPGs had no BV value but were exorbitantly expensive... and while it would noticeable if he had to summon a whole regiment of mechs... and depending on how closely they had been watching they would likely notice new units... but... he needed more Hegemony troops ... the question was what units?
--
Notes: This sets up for Blackhearts equivalents, and also 'survivors' of / a revived Royal Scotts Dragoons (if you read Ghost Who Walks this is the unit killed there on Northwind during the Amaris Crisis) and thats relevant down the road. Indeed this timeline and GWW operate using a lot of the same fluff just from different perspectives and to different results.

For example Heron's hated by the Combine status will be getting addressed soon in both stories from different angles.

Bofors40mm · Jul 6, 2023

Honestly at this point got to wonder just how much of Comstar's warship fleet or at least its active one is trying to hunt down Black Jack

Imperator Pax · Jul 6, 2023

Bofors40mm said:
Honestly at this point got to wonder just how much of Comstar's warship fleet or at least its active one is trying to hunt down Black Jack

One of the key differences here rather than Ghost is that the Battle for Luxen in September 3015 is that in Ghost Gene & Friends kill the pirates, the ComStar compound doesn't get breached Olaf doesn't get abducted, the HPG doesn't get smashed

Here? Well as we just had stated, Gene isn't on Luxen in September, there are mercenaries but there [that is in GWW] is significant command and control and better defensive position to meaningfully stop the pirates before the damage gets done.

and of course in terms of divergence:

The loss of the HPG and recording of the abduction and the well publicized video of the abduction of a precentor is a big deal, but also ComStar has to deal with, what Black Jack knows, what he might know and other factors related to Jolly Roger, but also

There is Kristofur running around.

There is the fallout from the Vandenburg white wings, that will crop up.

There is fallout / investigation of Tarragona and the Dobrev, first by Inner Sphere but also ComStar and the Wolfs

There is a certain Vincent Corvette

There is a mass driver equipped warship of Rim World Origin that will make an appearance.

So yes unlike in Ghost ComStar's first circuit is much more in the likelihood of wanting to go big sooner rather than wanting to deescalate the risk to themselves

Bofors40mm · Jul 6, 2023

Honestly the other option comstar has is to hire all the available high end mercs and sent them after the problem ala Necess Kurita affair

Imperator Pax · Jul 6, 2023

Bofors40mm said:
Honestly the other option comstar has is to hire all the available high end mercs and sent them after the problem ala Necess Kurita affair

and see I agree with this.

Because frankly I think that should have been the response by ComStar to the canonical event where BlackJack hits two ComStar Compounds in the Lyran Periphery, and makes more sense to me than lets send Green 1st Division (now obviously we have also the knowledge that while canonically they won 1st Division sucked hard to win), and here the reason they don't do that is because the first circuit was (prior to Precentor Rom's harebrained scheme) just coming down off their Dragoon paranoia (and the Dragoons bringing warships isn't a known thing YET). Yeah ComStar should have considered mercenaries as a solution (and in Ghost, PNA Vandal does, he's all hey, i have money you have guns please go kill these pirates for me. Vandal doesn't explain why BlackJack is doing what he's doing, but would the mercs care anyway? Probably not.)

The problem is ComStar's first circuit and probably the immediate people below them in the party apparatus so to speak are too busy huffing their own farts to step back and look at the problem and bring in outside contractors Right Now.

Imperator Pax · Jul 12, 2023

Chapter 2.2

There were certain realities thousands upon thousands of Hegemony personnel had to come to a reckoning with.

First and foremost was the issue of recognizing that the Star League was gone. There was no Star League and thus no nominal ties of suzerainty of a central command. The Magistracy of Canopus was a potentially friendly nation yes, but they were not working from within the Star League structures. Any military assistance or military assistance command was also going to be beholden to other facts on the ground of the post League political order.

The Magistracy needed to be treated, and interacted with a a political equal. It was an independent state... and frankly given their situation they could not afford the chauvinism that the Inner Sphere still seemed to have retained in the face of their own decline.

Theoretically, discounting that it was splashed presumably all over the news, Luxen was far enough out of the way from the Successor States that they wouldn't have to contend with undesirable attention from Marik, or Liao.

... on the other hand there was the recent Marik civil war, and the incoming rumors of posturing from both states during the conflict. Marik and Liao though didn't seem to have been effected by the pirate attacks, but moving anti spinward it seemed Black Jack had launched attacks on the Taurians and on the Davion frontier.

"Best guess of course given the raids is that they're still based out of Tortuga. The units that attacked Luxen might or might not be SLDF machines, we are at this time, thinking they were, but they were certainly not built for Hegemony use."

That report wasn't so much of a relief, especially not with the ending statement. It was good news per se, but also akin to saying it was only a 'small' hurricane that had hit Luxen rather than a class five, or some other analogy. There were some other anomalies. The previous, apparently unrelated attack on Luxen had been connected to the attack on Detroit...

... and well they'd finally gotten a reasonably accurate, they believed run down, of what all had been taken. Coupled with the minimal civilian, not none, casualties it raised other questions. The only reason they had looked twice was the prescence of SLDF designs, and specifically configurations among the light mechs used by the attackers.

They hadn't come to a sufficiently convincing answer though for those attacks. Conventional Piracy, raiding state sponsored or otherwise made little sense for the attack on Detroit. The structure of the two attacks besides broadly speaking general direction of apparent origin ... well the latter seemed to be coincidental. That was actually more of a headache really.

"Why do I get the feeling that suggests that we have other problems."

The original Jenner had been a scout fire support platform. Of sorts. It was a mech intended to scout forward and fire its large laser but otherwise keep itself out of the way. A large laser was a credible threat to smaller machines, and its speed should have allowed the 7A version designed for the star league to remain at range, to kite, and to direct missiles over the horizon even without target acquisition gear or narc launchers or the like.

The Jenner in its original configured should have been uncommon, but it was a Jenner the machines weren't unheard of. The holographic image of the other mech, projected up into the middle of the table, though... that was a whole other issues.

"This is a gunslinger's mongoose, what's worse, is that we have copies of the signal intercepts recordings. Whether or not anyone has the encryption material to break the signal, we can't be sure, but the Mongoose in question are certainly League, and Hegemony machines. This GX series is not the only one but we can confirm Nirasaki deployed units, Altair, a couple of Alpha Centauri machines."

Centauri was the odd one out of that trio. Sometimes referred to as Rigil Kentaurus the world had been added into the Lyran Commonwealth according to modern maps. Nirasaki and Altair were occupied presently by the Draconis Combine. The combine's official story was that the 'pirates' who had attacked Detroit and then apparently moved on to hit luxen were deserters from the Arkab legions... which seemed plausible... but it did raise other questions.

The Combine had seen fit to send a relatively sizable force of JumpShips with substantial corporate backing to make a nuisance of itself in the periphery over the matter. Heron thought about the Catapult pilot who'd thought it was the height of honorable to insist on a duel to the death against him... him and his NightStar

... they were going to have problems with the Combine. At least, thankfully they weren't right on the Combine border... from all reports about jumpship capability there just weren't enough. The idea that warships had completely disappeared was baffling, the technological backslide even accepting the Hegemony and its scientists and infrastructure were gone regardless of how backward and authoritarian some of the member states had become it seemed a strange twist of fate... but the dream of house Cameron was dead.

They had to accept that. There was no legitimate successor, and even if there had been without the economic core how could the league exist without the hegemony. "Well our first priority is going to be securing the frontier, we will have to contend with an additional challenge. Frankly not just these pirates and their stolen machines. What are our options there?"

"In theory, assuming we had an AI and the correct codes we could broadcast a command override. I'm willing to wager money that those machines aren't being piloted with proper credentials."

"Would that work?" Someone down the table from the engineer asked.

Another engineer shook his head, "No, it wouldn't." An argument started to brew, "What he's proposing might succeed against machines with correctly configured security systems, but I've seen how the locals have been doing to their machines. These people think technology is fucking magic. These ComStar people are toaster worshippers for god's sake."

"That's all the more reason it should work," The first engineer grunted. "Without properly configured credentials an emergency override command from an AI should tell the computer to shut down."

"M-2500." An artillery major announced interjecting between the two, "Forget the computers we outfit headhunter units and just saturate any position. Yes the hits on the mech's cockpit will seriously reduce potential elint gains but it would allow us to minimize the threat."

"Those aren't reliable. Heaven forbid one of these lunatics is-" The mechwarrior trailed off as Heron held up a hand to stymie his outburst... and the man slowly sat back down, "What I am protesting is that the 2500 is not reliable even discounting certain conditions beyond the missiles parameters the HHMs either hit or they don't, they consume space and the slightest bit of ecm means they tend to miss. If they're fielding Hegemony mechs they probably have that, and AMS. No we need to deploy hunter seeker teams, this is a mechwarrior problem."

"Oh right." An ASF regiment commander snorted, "Boss my boys will make sure they never even get dirt side... and if I'm wrong the ones who do yeah they'll be easy pickings." He boasted.

The staff devolved from there with each combat arm readily wanting their branch's favorite solution to be the one chosen.
--
The Noble Court of the Draconis Combine stood in painful silence as the reigning Coordinator ranted. The Coordinator's aunt, and the keeper of house honor had been permitted to sit while everyone else stood. Only his lifetime childhood friend dared stand close to him... but it had also been Indrahar who had confirmed independently the findings of the order of the five pillars and the keeper of honor. Florimel's confirmation would have been enough though to shame the dragon.

... Arsacid would have the most dangerous of knowledge in the universe. He had to have it in his possession ... and that he had appeared so close to where they had lost track of the traitors who had absconded with a fragment of such an incriminating nature was entirely too suspicious. It could not be mere coincidence it smacked of treason... some one with the Combine had found the demon lord's tomb in the periphery and freed him from whatever accursed eternal slumber he should have remained forever in.

... and so the ranting continued, nervously waiting for either someone, preferably someone else, to become the target of the coordinator's wrath or for Florimel or the ordinarily smiling bespectacled command to guide the coordinator into a less fearsome repose.

There was only one thing that could be done.

No one protested the writ granting ronin leave to face the demon king. It was a call to honor after all... and all samurai would be honored to serve House Kurita. Heroes would go forth into the periphery to hunt the demon... but even Takashi admitted that their chances were slim. They faced certain death in honorable battle since as it had been two and a half centuries earlier scrawled in the diary was the fond recountings of the destruction of life, and a love for the carnage the Marauder pilot had unleashed in battle against his enemies.

... and by itself that would have been something hardly worth remembering... but then the Amaris crisis had erupted, and choices had to be made.
--
Notes: So like I said this is relevant (The kuritan side of things) to Ghost and ghost's details are relevant to this they're just from different perspectives. Note that while Arsacid pilots a Nigthtstar currently he would have been piloting a royal Marauder at the time of departing for the periphery to fight the rebels.

That's relevant because this will be expounded on in later updates.

Anyway, this is going up today, theoretically july updates Eminence in Shadow should get updated Friday, I hope. My drow cyoa fic should hopefully get updated next week ... i've been slacking next week hopefully update emberverse and out of the dark (weber) stuff as well [plus this and rabid fox] but thats tentative for those first three. [Rabid fox is at least ready to go indeed we're moving into chapter 3 at the moment]

Fragment of Serenity · Jul 13, 2023

When in doubt, dispatch the ronin to secure more Honor! Honorable Honor! With extra Honor, and Honor on the side!

Unfortunately for them, the massive assault mech doesn't seem to be willing to just hand it over. Shame.

BlueRanger O-Doom · Jul 26, 2023

Oh oooof. The Kurita ancestor Arsacid beat was either a friendly DCMS rival, liaison and friend, or potentially even closer given gender and all that haven't been specified. And the Kuritan chose the Combine over anything else and was killed for it when they met again later in or after the Amaris Civil War.

Imperator Pax · Jul 26, 2023

BlueRanger O-Doom said:
Oh oooof. The Kurita ancestor Arsacid beat was either a friendly DCMS rival, liaison and friend, or potentially even closer given gender and all that haven't been specified. And the Kuritan chose the Combine over anything else and was killed for it when they met again later in or after the Amaris Civil War.

Spoiler: She committed seppuku in protest, which for House Kurita is arguably the more damning indictment. Death in battle would have been affirming house kurita's bonafides and they would have been less upset.

The Aurigan Renaissance [A BattleTech Isekai]

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