Part 540: State of the Inner Sphere 3035: Part 3
State of the Inner Sphere 3035: Part 3Operation Mingtiao
“We make this announcement with the approval of ComStar, knowing full well that We have brought this interdiction upon ourselves,” Romano Liao’s lips moved slowly, her face devoid of expression entirely. Neither contrition nor rage twisted her perfect features, and her voice of icy disdain rang with authority rather than the madness House Davion claimed ran through the Liao bloodline. Her jade green robes resplendent in gold-embroidered goats that matched the new year had been carefully designed to nearly glow when projected in a holotank.
Her make-up, her hairstyle, her costume, her whole demeanor had been designed to make Romano Liao seem like the most beautiful woman in the Inner Sphere. Even the slightly miniaturized Celestial Throne at her back had been designed and positioned to make her seem larger-than-life to the people of the Capellan Confederation. Just one of the numerous “finishing touches” her lover, Justin Xiang, had insisted on. They people would doubtless be angry at the impending interdiction, and Romano Liao’s carefully-cultivated imperial majesty had been designed, in part, to cool that anger. It would be clear to most from her frigid demeanor alone that ComStar was forcing the Celestial Throne to admit culpability, not that the Capellan Confederation had actually done anything wrong.
“This will be a time of great hardship for the people of the Capellan Confederation, but We ask that you all remain calm and stand proud. Citizenship awaits those who do not falter in the face of the troubles to come, to those who continue to support the Celestial Throne with all their heart and loyalty. To Our citizens, We say only that you have the Celestial Throne’s gratitude for what you may be forced to endure. To my military commanders, I instead ask that you begin following our worst-case scenario: Operation Mingtiao exactly as presented in the Field Operations Manual. The timetable will be set on the day you receive this message.”
Her stern, almond-shaped eyes swept back and forth as though regarding a vast crowd of people. “To the citizens once more: We ask only that you not lose faith. The Celestial Throne will do everything in Our power to end the interdiction as swiftly as possible. To ComStar: we stand ready to make concessions, whenever you see fit to present us with your demands.”
The message ended without a goodbye, only a standardized outro that told the people of the Capellan Confederation that the message had come from an official source on Sian. Villius Tejh watched it in silence, tapping his lower lip with the tip of his finger. “We have the Capellan field manual, yes?” he asked an aide. “What is Operation: Mingtiao?”
The woman bowed her head, “Standard operating procedure in case of compromised communications,” she announced, having anticipated the Primus’s question. “Withdraw in main force to the nearest major staging world or manufacturing center, sacrificing the safety of any minor worlds as necessary to prevent elements of less than regimental size from being picked off piecemeal. There is a four-week timetable for assembly after which any unit that fails to report is to be considered compromised.”
Tejh nodded. “Cutthroat, but sensible.”
“They’ve also requested we delay the broadcast until we can do so simultaneously across the Capellan Confederation, as not doing so could result in friendly fire incidents.”
Tejh nodded again. That was a request he could accede to. He’d been Precentor Sian for a long time, he could afford to show the Celestial Throne that ComStar was also willing to negotiate. “Very well. Follow the Celestial Throne’s directive. They’ve paid to have the message broadcast to every one of their worlds, and we are still ComStar, after all.”
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The dying began all at once. A dropship, painted black and running on minimal power, drifted silently through Capellan space for weeks before turning at the last instant and overwhelming the small orbital space station with electromagnetic energy from their drive flares. The sudden deceleration pushed the craft well above two gravities as they slowed to a halt and men in full EVA gear fired magnetic grapples in the direction of the nearest hatch.
They swarmed from the ships like ants from a compromised nest, pouring through the airlock before opening fire with low-velocity SMGs and soft bullets. Their number and equipment had been carefully chosen to avoid damaging any of the precious equipment. The commandos had numbers and surprise, and cut down white-robed defenders with ease.
The scene repeated itself over and over again, and in a twenty-four hour span precisely three weeks after Romano Liao’s speech was broadcast to the whole of the Capellan Confederation, commando teams had seized over ninety-percent of ComStar’s space-based HPG network. Bloody, costly battles still remained to be waged over ground facilities, those same receiving stations were largely unimportant. If the Confederation lost a few to booby traps or spite, the Confederation would hardly feel the loss. All ComStar knew was: a few weeks before the first day of 3035, the whole of the Capellan Confederation had suddenly gone dark.
State of the Inner Sphere: 3035
Capellan Confederation
The Capellan Confederation has effectively seized the HPG network in their territory, losing less than a handful to sabotage or accidents. The ground-based assaults were far more costly, but resistance from ComStar facilities ended one way or another the fourth week after Romano Liao’s broadcast—right on schedule. With interstellar communication now firmly under the control of the Celestial Throne, the Capellan Confederation has effectively severed all ties with the rest of the Inner Sphere and have begun negotiating peace with what remains of the Duchy of New Syrtis. For the time being the Capellans don’t seem outwardly aggressive, but any further attempts to seize worlds from Capellan space could result in that world falling silent forever.
Duchy of New Syrtis
After losing the bulk of their industrial capacity to the Draconis Suns, the Duchy of New Syrtis appears to be seriously considering peace negotiations with the Capellan Confederation. What few save Justin Xiang and Romano Liao know, is that Duke Hasek is a Capellan puppet—and the Duchy of New Syrtis is perfectly positioned to pass intelligence from Justin’s “abandoned” spy networks back into the Confederation. The Duchy has received a stay of execution for the time being, and Hanse seems content to leave the remainder as a buffer between the Capellans and the heart of the Federated Suns.
Taurian Concordat
The Taurian Concordat’s invasion of the Duchy of New Syrtis continues, but their poor judgement in attacking the Capellan Confederation as well may soon come back to bite them. They’ve made no progress in Capellan space since Romano Liao’s initial broadcast, and any opportunity they may have had to seize a few more worlds has already dried up.
