Part 539: State of the Inner Sphere 3035: Part 2

State of the Inner Sphere 3035: Part 2

The Star League Reborn

A strong wind whipped the Costa Rican jungle into a frenzy of motion as heavy drops of water splattered against the great domed windows of ComStar’s chosen meeting place. saKhan Dusk Moffat pulled her jacket a bit tighter over her shoulders. The tropical heat hardly bothered her, nor did the looming rain, but she’d grown used to being in charge. It was strange, she thought, playing advisor in a scenario she’d worked so hard to precipitate. Khan Natalie Breen would be the Steel Vipers’ primary negotiator, as was just and right, yet all the same Dusk felt a bit lost. She’d worked exceptionally hard for this moment, and now that it had arrived she had very little to do and very little say as to its outcome.

She simply watched the deliberations in silence, commenting only if asked. The treaty with the Republic of Skye had been formalized barely two weeks before, and now the Khans of Clan Steel Viper and Clan Star Adder stood together on Terra, surrounded by white-robed acolytes who seemed to worship an old Star League administrator the way the Clans worshipped the great Aleksandr Kerensky. She wasn’t sure what to make of Terra. It was beautiful, to be sure, the scars of thousands of years of industry had been carefully scrubbed away in the wake of the Star League’s fall. It was a garden world now, an Eden, far different than the teeming industrial hellscape she’d envisioned from the old tales. A tiny blue marble, hardly worth fighting over. Certainly not worth destroying, as the Widowmakers planned.

“There will be peace,” saKhan Delton Lahiri of the Star Adders had a small, but not unpleasant voice. His dark skin showed off a muscular frame atypical of his pilot phenotype. He’d won his final bloodname trial in a hand-to-hand fight with a `Mechwarrior nearly thirty-centimeters taller than himself, or so his Codex said. “You may relax, saKhan Dusk Moffat. The Star Adders stand behind the Steel Vipers’ vision, and this Villius Tejh—this ComStar—seems as hungry for the Star League’s rebirth as we are.

“The Widowmakers will oppose this,” Dusk mused, mostly to herself. “Do you think the home Clans will accept it? A New Star League, reborn at Clan hands. Will the Grand Council accept this? Will they choose to participate, I wonder? Or perhaps—have we lost our way? Will they declare us traitors, quineg?”

“You would have to ask the Cloud Cobras whether we have deviated from ‘The Way,’ Delton joked, drawing a brief smile to Dusk’s lips. “But they still stand with us, and I choose to believe the Homeworld Clans will stand by us. The Widowmakers’ HPG network has been severed, and the rest of the invasion silenced. We control the only means of communicating with the Homeworlds now. We can, for lack of a better word, control what they hear and how they hear it. They will stand with us. They must.”

“We must plan, in case they do not. Would the Star Adders stand behind a proposal to—advance the technology of our allies in Skye?”

Delton stroked his bald chin as he considered the question earnestly. “Neg. I do not believe they would take such a risk. We would not mind aiding our new friends in Skye, of course, but we would worry that any technological advances would fall straight into the hands of—”

His reply was interrupted as a white-robed ComStar acolyte approached them. “Master, mistress,” the Acolyte bowed low, his momentarily face hidden by his hooded robe. A warning prickle trailed down the back of Dusk’s neck, and she could tell by the almost-imperceptible way that Delton had tensed that the Star Adder Khan had felt it too. ComStar was dangerous, perhaps moreso than any group the Clans had yet encountered. “Your Khans asked me to seek you: a consensus has been reached. An offer to join a new Star League has been extended to all of the Great Houses save the Capellan Confederation. They may be invited, at the behest of a member of the new High Council, once the terms of the cessation of their interdiction are negotiated. For now, Primus Tejh will be acting First Lord, until responses from the other Great Houses are received and membership of the Star League High Council is formalized. Afterwards, the first true First Lord will be elected by the High Council, and new elections will be held every three years.”

Dusk stopped listening, the exact specifics hardly mattered now. Her gaze swept skyward, towards the first glimmering stars of twilight—the brightest of which, she had been told, was Terra’s sister planet of Venus. They’d taken the first step to realizing Nicholas Kerensky’s dream—the dream he’d shared only with the First Khan of the Steel Vipers, Ellie Kinnison, less than a year before his death. In a moment of weakness, Nicholas Kerensky revealed that he had envisioned an Inner Sphere lead by honorable warriors who lead by example, rather than at the tip of a sword. He’d meant to return to the Inner Sphere in his lifetime, with the Clans at his back, but that dream had nearly been slain by Widowmaker treachery, he’d never gotten a chance to present his ideas to the Grand Council.

“Be proud of your children, Nicholas Kerensky,” Dusk murmured so softly even she thought she must’ve imagined hearing it. Her tone was reverent, the closest to a prayer she’d ever spoken. “And watch over us. The Steel Vipers have taken the first steps towards fulfilling your final, your greatest wish.”



State of the Inner Sphere: 3035
Republic of Skye
The Republic of Skye remains an industrial powerhouse, and their alliance with both “Task Force Serpent” and the Free Worlds League has put them in a strong position to negotiate with the Lyran Commonwealth. Whether they will parlay their relative strength into a Skye-lead reunification with the Lyran Commonwealth or remain independent is a matter of hot debate among the citizens of Skye, but most can agree that they have the joint leadership of Archon-in-Exile Melissa Steiner and Duke Clovis Lestrade to thank for Skye being spared worst of the ravages of invasion by the Clans.

That isn’t to say all is happy in the Republic. The Grand Duchess of Furillo, Iris Steiner, is furious that Task Force Serpent has refused to “return or ransom” her son to her, and has been a strong opponent of the peace process ever since she learned the fate of Caesar Steiner wasn’t up for immediate negotiation. For the time being, Duke Clovis has managed to deter any “rescue missions” with promises that they’ll revisit negotiations soon, but even he questions whether Caesar has any interest in returning home. The Republic of Skye has joined the New Star League.

Free Worlds League
The Free Worlds League’s alliance with Skye is on rather tenuous ground, but good intentions on both sides have kept negotiations open. Captain-General Duncan Marik has proven more than willing to set his pride aside to do what needs to be done for the sake of his nation, and joining the New Star League has done wonders for the League. With many of their former trading partners in the Draconis Combine lost to them, Skye’s merchants have found the League a seller’s market, turning a tidy profit on PPCs especially. In return for weapons and ammunition, the Free Worlds League has sold the Republic of Skye enough BattleMechs that Skye’s armed forces now rival those of the rest of the Lyran Commonwealth.

With greater economic stability, quick-and-easy access to a supply of arms and ammunition in no danger of being invaded by the Capellan Confederation, and a ComStar blackout hindering Capellan operations, the Free Worlds League has begun to overturn several recent Capellan victories and retake several of their production centers.

Task Force Serpent
While the Cloud Cobras remain in Clan space, the combined forces of the Star Adders and Steel Vipers have begun consolidating their gains against an inevitable Clan Widowmaker reprisal. They have also offered their protection to several of the Duchy’s border planets, and while not every world has taken them up on the offer, they still stand ready to help their new allies resist the Widowmakers and Goliath Scorpions, as both Clans appear to have ignored the formation of a new Star League and continue their drive for Terra.

Outworlds Protectorate
The Outworlds Protectorate has endured attacks by the Draconis March, and while they have not lost territory the population is incredibly nervous. They’re not a significant threat to the Draconis Suns, but all the same a minor threat is still worse than no threat at all. The Protectorate’s government is so paralyzed with indecision that the pirates dwelling in the Outworlds wastes are able to raid with near impunity. Faced with numerous unenviable choices, the Outworlds Protectorate has thrown in their lot with the New Star League, in the hopes that someone will come to their aid when the Draconis Suns inevitably decides to conquer them.

ComStar
ComStar continues to keep nearly the entirety of the ComGuard hidden on Terra. Whether this will change with the birth of a new Star League remains to be seen.

Lyran Commonwealth
A shadow of its former self, the Lyran Commonwealth has been cut neatly in half by the Clan Invasion and the secession of Skye. In spite of their territorial losses, the Lyran Commonwealth isn’t doing as poorly as it appears. Archon Frederick Steiner has taken great efforts to spare the bulk of the LCAF, and many regiments were able to retreat in good order after punishing the Clan invaders. As bad as the situation may seem, the invasion of the Lyran Commonwealth now appears at an end as the Clans have finally turned their attentions elsewhere. Archon Frederick has been successfully trading territory for time, and with the LCAF now heavily concentrated along the Clan border and the Lyran Commonwealth’s almost entirely intact JumpShip fleet at his disposal, the only question is whether he will take the time to shore up his nation’s battered infrastructure before launching a counter-invasion or whether he’ll take vengeance on the Isle of Skye for abandoning the Commonwealth when it needed them most.

In the face of their military losses, the Commonwealth has turned largely to the entertainment industry to keep the civilian populace placid and distract them from the economic devastation. Holovids are now the Lyran Commonwealth’s largest export, and Thomas Hogarth’s blockbuster spectaculars can be viewed on nearly any planet in the Inner Sphere.

Clan Widowmaker
Natasha Kerensky is furious. A year of silence from the Home Clans and the Steel Viper defection to the Inner Sphere jeopardize Nicholas Kerensky’s vision of an Inner Sphere in flames. Were it not for near-constant raiding from the Goliath Scorpions, she’d have turned her forces on the Steel Vipers already. Her Clan’s long-standing alliance with the Hell’s Horses has shortened the Widowmaker supply lines significantly, as the Horses are allowed to trade unmolested through Clan Burrock’s space.

Clan Goliath Scorpion
As always, the Goliath Scorpion’s primary interest is in antagonizing the Widowmakers. They might be interested in joining a new Star League, but only if they can be convinced of its strength and ability to endure—and to Goliath Scorpion eyes the Steel Vipers are certainly no indication of either. The Scorpion drive to Terra continues: if they can seize it from ComStar and the Steel Vipers, then clearly the insane “dream” of Task Force Serpent was not meant to last.

Clan Jade Falcon
Less than a third of the Jade Falcon touman has reached the Inner Sphere, but heavy resistance from the Draconis Suns has brought their invasion nearly to a halt. The Khans of Clan Jade Falcon, still in transit from the Homeworlds, have made no comment on the creation of a new Star League. Likely they don’t even realize what’s happened.

The New Star League
Currently consists of: The Republic of Skye, the Free Worlds League, Clan Steel Viper, Clan Star Adder, Clan Cloud Cobra, and (theoretically) ComStar.