LUU Chpt 1-15

==Let Us Unite - Chapter 15 -==
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===Securing the Worlds===
Date: January 15th, 2859Location: Northwind, Terran Hegemony
"Ma'am," Major Capell saluted as he entered the intelligence center and concealed base that was Grandma's house. "I've got the HPG reports."
 
"Go ahead," Elizabeth frowned at the map of the Inner Sphere that was on the table. For now, only two worlds were shown in the White color selected for the reborn Terran Hegemony.
 
"Caph and Bryant have declared for the Hegemony," their militia units seized all military equipment and loaded the local garrisons onto civilian dropships before shipping them back to Confederation space."
 
"New Earth and Rigil Kentares are too heavily occupied by the Commonwealth to declare for us openly, but we did receive messages that they would like to rejoin at some point."
 
Bryn began manipulating the map, several worlds changing color as he flipped a few controls.
 
"Now, Altair is held by the Draconis Combine, and they're not going to give it up without a fight," the Black Watch member grinned. "But we've got the majority of our forces on Terra right now, and we have an opening to strike now while people are still reacting to the information."
 
"It's not a question of if we can take Altair or others," General Bradley finally spoke up, stroking the trimmed beard he'd recently grown. "But if we can hold them once someone decides to counterattack or test us."
 
"We don't have the numbers at the moment to wage wide-scale warfare," Hazen agreed. "We're not the SLDF anymore, and we don't have entire army groups to throw at things."
 
"So, what do we do next?" Colonel Clinton asked, his cooling suit and uniform still resting on his chest. "We await your orders, Director-General."
 
"Consolidate and hold what we have for now," she looked at Bryant and the other worlds. "Bryant had factories, yes?"
 
"Yes, but they were all but destroyed," Clinton said, tapping the world, the hologram showing the world itself. Lantren was destroyed, and the machines scattered."
 
"The Grasshopper is a valuable platform, though," Bradley stroked his chin. "And given how light 'Mechs are now the most common 'Mechs in the Sphere at the moment, a light 'Mech Hunter will be most valuable."
 
"Send some of our engineers over there," the Director-General ordered. "And get our Warships divided between all the worlds we control."
 
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===Seizing the Jewels among the Chaos===
The Terran Hegemony was in a precarious place during the first year of its resurgence. They possessed four worlds that immediately declared support and joined the fledgling nation, and Comstar attempted an Interdict on all four. But the Terran Hegemony had seized control of the HPG complexes early on, and they had the knowledge, tools, and resources to repair any sabotage attempts.
 
Terra, Northwind, Bryant, and Caph all rallied behind Director-General Elizabeth Cameron, and the reformed Terran Hegemony Armed Forces began to hit recruitment numbers far in excess of what they had initially planned for.
 
Meanwhile, Comstar was on the verge of a civil war. Many HPG stations were torn between supporting Comstar's neutrality or joining the Terran Hegemony.
 
The Draconis Combine made a decision amid this chaos, which would have repercussions throughout the Inner Sphere.
 
"Seize the Hyperpulse Generator stations," Coordinator Miyogi Kurita ordered his sister. "We will not allow Comstar to control our communications any longer."
 
"We will inevitably lose some of the stations," Roweena replied. "And those worlds will lose interstellar communications at that time."
 
"Acceptable losses if we are to maintain control of our domain," the Coordinator glared. "If you will do this, I will reconsider shifting the ISF under the authority of the DCMS."
 
"The Dragon's will be done, Coordinator-Sama," Roweena bowed low and vanished from the small room.
 
"You conducted yourself well," Miyogi turned to his cousin. "I reward those who do well in the field of both politics and of battle. You will be sent to Altair. The 18th Dieron Regulars will be reformed, and you will be granted command and the personnel and supplies you desire. You will hold Altair regardless of who may come."
 
"Hai!" Franklin prostrated himself. "I will sharpen my swords and seek to drive off any who would face me in combat."
 
"Stand," Miyogi replied. "You will be given what you need to accomplish this task. I entrust this to you."
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===Where we stand, what we will do===
Date: April 19th, 2862
Location: Strana Mechty, Pentagon Worlds
"This is not the return of the Star League!" Khan Osis protested. "Why should we attempt to send forces back to an Inner Sphere that is still just as barbaric as the one that we left?!"
 
"Because the Terran Hegemony calls for aid," Andery replied, his flat stare causing the Smoke Jaguar to shrink slightly. "We know the histories," the ilKhan met each of the other Khans, saKhans, and Loremasters eyes in turn. "Our own have studied, and we know the Star League was to fall. Whether by Amaris's hand or by another, it was eventually going to fall. There was too much arrogance, too much waste."
 
Andery picked up a small glass and shattered it on the hall's ground.
 
"Violence or deceit, there was no way for it to remain. But we who left have a duty to the worlds we left behind. We have seen the records that the Jarnfolk gave us, and we have tested their authenticity. Every one of the Hegemony worlds we left behind has suffered without our aid while we remain here, safe and building on the plentiful resources we have found here."
 
"What would you have us do?" Stephen McKenna asked, his eyebrow raised. "We possess numbers and power, yes. But I would not sacrifice our people if we can help it."
 
"We will equip an expeditionary force," Sarah McEvedy responded. "That is the logical solution. A force comprised of several Trinaries(1) from each of our Clans. Our soldiers and warriors will train together, they will sweat together, and if it should come to combat when they arrive to test this Claimant to the throne of the Terran Hegemony, then they will bleed together."
 
"We should also prepare the Iron Wombs (3) to assist in boosting our population," Khan Nagasawa offered. "While it will still take time, we can support more as time goes on. Only so many women can give birth at any given time. It is a cold calculus, but we must consider it all the same."
 
"We'll consider it," Andery shrugged before nodding at the Wolverine Khan."All in favor of Khan McEvedy's plan?" Andery asked, his fist now wrapped in a cloth to staunch the bleeding.
 
"Aye!" the entire chamber rumbled as they all answered in the affirmative.
 
"Then we shall decide among ourselves who will go and who will lead. There will be a Trial of Position(2) for the leader of this group. And we will send Apprentice Loremasters with our Expeditionary force. They will record all that they find, and they will bring this history back to us. Quiaff?"
 
"Aff."
 
"Then let us depart. There is much to do if we are to accomplish this task and maintain our forces."
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===Aftermath of Rebirth===
After the Draconis Combine began seizing the HPG stations, the other nations followed suit, with Comstar managing to sabotage some stations and leaving others entirely intact. This meant there were massive dark zones of nations where forces could slip between and through when necessary to launch raids.
 
All the while, the Terran Hegemony continued to rebuild Sol and the other systems that it held, biding time until it was time to reclaim its former glory. Factories churned out war material and civilian goods, old Caches were unearthed and put into use after being restored, and engineers both ground-based and in the void began to restore that which had long since been destroyed.
 
The Hegemony was still small, but woe to those that decided to strike at a cornered animal. You never know how it might retaliate.
 
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1) Despite Nicholas Kerensky's Influence upon the Clan military structures, it was decided that while the nomenclature was sufficient, the actual substance of the units was lacking. Each Star comprises of eight units, one unit per point of the Cameron Star thus leading to more flexibility among the individual units. A trinary is made up of three Stars, entailing twenty-four units, and is often made up of mixed forces between Mechs, infantry, and other units, such as support roles or artillery.
2) The Trials are a means of formally deciding things through violence while curtailing the excesses that might lead to war. While Nicholas Kerensky's vision was somewhat intact prior to his passing. Andery changed much in order to lead a much more stable Pentagon Worlds. This led to an outlet so that Clans could still fight and that there could be good training between the various forces, but only rarely do current and modern trials lead to deaths. In fact, there are only two Trials in which purposeful deaths are permitted: The Trial of Vengeance, and the Trial of Grievance, and a death in the latter is severely frowned upon.
3) Iron Wombs were an invention that eventually led to the salvation of the Pentagon Worlds. It was projected that without said worlds, that the population would eventually shrink, and lead to a decrease in culture as well as production in various sectors. So once the Wombs were implemented, they were also implemented in conjunction with several large family initiatives to raise them in each of the Clan's cultures. Essentially, it was the propagation of this technology that eventually led to the rise of the Great Khanate in the early Thirty-First Century.
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