TBntG-3 Chpt 56

=The Bull and the Genie=
==Chapter 56 - Book III - The Clan Invasion==
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==Katherine's Totally Fun new Job!==
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===Reassignment===
General Mary Chang had an expression that said she knew that Colonel Steiner-Davion wasn't going to like this, but she had reasons. "You'll be getting a month's leave in two weeks, which will give you time to set up your regiment for your XO, when his promotion comes around."
 
Katherine blinked, the HPG relaying her expression flawlessly. "I—I'm losing My regiment?"
 
"Not yours, actually, I'm told that the UMC has the title to it," Mary said. "Colonel, here's the thing. You actually did pretty good in calming things down. Granted, your planet isn't one of the worst, but it was far from the best and you have three things I need. Common sense, experience, and the weight that comes from both your rank and your social status, and please don't emulate Victor with "I'm just one of the girls." We both know there are a lot of people who will listen to one of the two eldest children of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner-Davion. Which is why I need you transferred to UMCOA…."
 
"Um-coa?" Katherine raised her eyebrows.
 
"I didn't come up with the title, United Military Command Occupational Authority, which is going to handle the occupation and transition to political self-government. For my sins, I'm not allowed to just walk away, and that means I need people who understand that the war is over."
 
"Is it?"
 
"Other than a few guys hiding in the woods or in basements? Yes. Today we got our report that the last organized company-sized force got taken out. But peacekeeping and policing isn't the same as warfighting, so I need people who know what they're doing and aren't unwilling to carry a hatchet for me, and that goes especially for anyone on the Lyran border thinking that now is the time to even old scores. That's why you'll be on my staff handling planning and operations, in addition to other duties."
 
Katherine winced. "Other duties" almost never boded well. "Yes, Ma'am."
 
"And you're also going to need to be with your parents along with Victor, because…" She shook her head. "This is verbal only, no recordings."
 
Katherine nodded, and checked the anti-evesdropping systems, then flicked a switch that would keep purging the buffer. For a moment, Mary's form de-rezzed, then she came back. "Ready."
 
"Good. The Federated Commonwealth is the only successor state that is occupied by the Clans. The Combine doesn't exist any more, and to be honest, nobody wants it to come back. So, right now, your parents are negotiating with the Clans, for a complete withdrawal from Federated Commonwealth space, save for worlds where lands will be granted to the Clans on a 99 year lease basis."
 
Katherine sat down. She was expecting, sooner or later for the UMC to move back to a wartime footing and move against the Clans, but… "How?" She asked. "Frederick's OZ had defenses on every world—"
 
"And Frederick, by our intelligence reports, is far more than smart enough to come in out of the rain, and he can read spreadsheets. Why do you think we've had Clan liaisons all over the place, especially at our shipyards that they could never reach because they're on the other side of the Inner Sphere? Intelligence says that The Smoked Kitties and Green Birds along with a few other are hemming and hawing because trialing for Unity City isn't enough."
 
"Wait, what?"
 
"Primus Chang managed to sell snow to Eskimos and convinced the Clans that a half-buried, still radioactive ruin will somehow be a great place to establish the Embassy and show off the Clan lifestyle. But they want to do it in the traditional way, no ortillery, no laser nets, no robotic combat systems, and so I get the dubious pleasure of bidding to see whether they get it free and clear, or get it and also have to pay for utilities."
 
"You're letting them keep their self-respect." Katherine said. Because there's no damned way the Clans could ever force their way into Terra.
 
"Yep, Ditto for your thing. Intelligence agrees. The Ghost Bears, Wolves, Snow Ravens, Nova Cats, Diamond Sharks, and a few of the smaller clans want this over. They want to digest their conquests, which isn't going to go the way they think of it."
 
"Oh?"
 
"The Ghost Bear's total population is just over 100 million, the Wolves about the same. The worlds they claimed have a total population of just over 320 billion. Or one Clanner, not warrior, Clanner period. For every 1600 people." Mary shrugged. "The Nova Cats and Diamond Sharks have a better ratio, but not by much, and to be blunt, I don't mind them having a bigger influence on the Circanus types, especially since the Sharks have been talking about splitting off a new group, "Sea Fox" that obviously never went to war with us and so can enjoy open trade with everyone else. The Ravens are in talks to become part of a Pan-Clan naval contingent with rights for basing and deep space presence."
 
Katherine frowned. Part of her education was running a nation but… "They're outnumbered, but winning after a battle and just getting a peaceful transfer would be big… Let me guess, if we can convince…"
 
"The two biggest "Crusader" Clans to fully accept this, everyone else will fall in line, yeah. You and Victor are both combat officers with very solid records. They'll respect you. Melissa became such a pain in the ass that they actually paid her way off Tharkad, but by demanding troops come with her, she did it in a very Clan-like way. Hanse charged forward into the trap that none of us saw, but he face-tanked a PPC dueling a Daishi while holding off a Trueborn Cluster so the rest of his people could get out, which is also very Clan-like behavior."
 
"And you, General?" Katherine asked.
 
"I'm mainly logistics. There's been some muttering in intelligence that the hard core Clans consider me a mediocre warrior who only fought dezgra enemies and second-line troops." Mary shrugged. "They're not actually wrong. I've been stuck in this damned office so many times that the last time I saw my mech it was in a dream where it was Marley's Ghost before I got visited by the spirits of paperwork past, present and future."
 
Mary was the CINC. Katherine laughed at the joke.
 
"Now, last part. And this is about as secret as it gets, Colonel, no electronic coms. You wait until you're talking with your people in person. We do NOT want this to show up on the news sheets."
 
"Ma'am."
 
"Khan Frederick. You are to make every effort to make him a part of any trial of possession."
 
"I thought we didn't recognize the transfer of humans…" Katherine said.
 
"No. But every rule has exceptions. Fredrick took a bunch of infighting people who shouldn't have been able to do more than die gloriously, and well, came a lot closer than they should have. He managed to organize the OZ to the point where Hanse and Melissa are thinking about keeping a lot of his changes, and he also managed to gain the loyalty of a lot of people. Put bluntly, he's the biggest gun the Clans have. Also, those crusader clans we talked about? We've got rumblings that they're gonna blame him if he goes home, and while them killing Frederick off would help us, it leaves a foul taste in my mouth."
 
"And if we win him, what then?" Katherine frowned. "I mean, we're all united now, but I don't know how the rest of the nations would react if the Federated Commonwealth got Frederick—or how our own nobles would react." Granted that's because he actually shot a bunch that Mom and Dad couldn't do anything about… And then set up their worlds so their heirs are going to get a very frosty welcome…
 
"A staff posting with the UMC, unless he just wants to retire, in which case he gets a stipend and a nice apartment anywhere he wants on Terra. Primus Chang said something about seeing how many of the Clan council would die from Apoplexy if he sent them a news report referring to "Khan" Fredrick setting foot on Terra before any other Clan officer." Mary shrugged. "I'd prefer to see if we could get him working in the Kuritan OZ, because God knows that's going to be a misery and a half. But the big issue is I want him where I can see him, because that man is entirely too sneaky for my restful nights."
 
Katherine thought about it, then nodded. "I might have a plan, but you might have to throw your support in."
 
"What is it?", Mary asked
 
"The Clans are big on the genetic legacy thing, right?"
 
"Yes." General responded.
 
"And you said they respect us…" Katherine lead her boss in the conversation.
 
"Wait, you want to put your… DNA up?" Mary asked
 
Katherine nodded. "It's mostly nurture, not nature, so really, who cares, but if they want it so damned much, well, like you said. Mom managed to intimidate them into paying her to leave them alone. Victor and I have our own battles and Dad could match guns with any Khan. Wits, It'd be no contest, of course. How much is that DNA worth?"
 
"I'd have never thought of that wait—they must have…" Mary frowned. "But not the right way."
 
"You've never been a noble, and the Clan genetic thing is a lot like it. It's not important unless they get it the right way."
 
"Well Colonel, you have my support, and don't let any Clan Vampires extract too much of your blue blood."
 
"Yes, Ma'am."
 
Katherine waited until the coms were off before she swore, long and sulphurously. Sure she knew that she wasn't always going to have her regiment, but she didn't expect she would lose it so soon!
 
Well, nothing to be done for it, she thought and started work on what would need to happen before the transfer of command.
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==The End of the Era of Mercs==
Mercenaries had been a major factor of conflict since the First Succession War saw a torrent of house and former SLDF units go "Freelance" either as mercs or pirates. By the beginning of the Clan war, some units, such as Wolf's Dragoons and the Eridani Light Horse outmatched some smaller state's militaries and were widely seen as forces on the par of a house Lord's forces, often noted for being more skilled. Few Survived the Clan War and BDS War. The reason wasn't simply casualties, although those had a factor, but the fact was, whereas a Marauder built in 2800 was entirely competitive in 3025, a Marauder built in 3025 was a relic in 3067, akin to putting a WWI armored car up against a late War Sherman or Tiger tank. The proliferation of battle armor made even infantry units quite capable of standing off many Mercenary units, while the battle hardened UMC forces were equal to just about any combat mercenary command.But that was not the only factor that ended them.One was cost. "Keeping up with the Joneses" in an era of anti-artillery laser systems, drone combat units, cruise missiles, and ortillery was a hobby that only a large, centralized state could afford. Mercenary units needed to make a profit, and the modern battlefield was an increasingly lethal--and expensive place.The second was the sheer size of the battlefield. In an era where maneuver units were increasingly numbered as Divisions or even Corps, the average mercenary unit had to be skilled indeed to merit special consideration.And this led to another factor. Mercenary units had Long had a mixed reputation in the Inner Sphere and (especially) Periphery. As they became redundant, many nations ceased offering them special treatment, which forced them to find what contract they could, which were either poor paying or borderline illegal, or both. Combined with the economic boom, many former recuits disdained entering their service.Some groups saw the writing on the wall. The Eridani Light Horse and Wolf's Dragoons, both ultimately were folded into the UMC command. Others, such as Waco's Raiders, attempted to remain independent, but few were able to maintain this status. Waco's Raiders, after a string of working for shady clients, was dissolved in 3079, Owners and officers arrested, and the regular employees let go with compensation for the mechs and Assets the USS seized and marketed off.Some attempted to go pirate, but the jump tracking system, combined with an Inner Sphere no longer unable to spare forces to hunt pirates down, made ths a short-lived, albeit exciting, career choice.Today, "Mercenary" Units still exist, but they are a shadow of what came before. In general, they are divided into two groups--small, elite forces, usually made up as veterans, who serve as advisers and cadre, or very rarely elite strike units. These groups are seldom larger than a company in size, not counting supporting units. Larger units are hired for light security or large scale training, and can have units as large as a regiment, although they are usually lightly armed and armored.As a last note, the Private Arms Limitation Treaty (PALT), signed by all major and many minor powers heavily restricts the private ownership and use of weapons. The most notable restrictions are a ban on purpose built combat warships, both compact core and parasite designs, a ban on any system capable of directly striking a planetary surface from orbit, and a ban on any WMD's for space or planetary use. In addition, directly owned (as opposed to provided by the employer) mechs, vehicles and fighters cannot exceed 65 tons in weight.While there will always be a place for private military corporations, it is unlikely that we will again see the day when national governments negotiated with mercenary commands as equal...From The Privatization of War back to Monopoly of Force: Mercenaries, Spies and Revolutionaries, 1945--3090.UCLA Academic Press, 3095
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