TAZ25

==Chapter 25 - The Absolute Zero==
February 3159 CE
[Inner Sphere Overview - Update]
Yori Kurita's return home was several Dropships short, but included four Lyran-built Landmark Class destroyers, and four Sampan IV class cutters escorting the Kuritan Aerospace Carrier, DCS Kaga, Officially. The Lyran built ships were acting as 'peacekeepers' assigned to assist in the transition of territory from Combine to Federated Suns hands.
Officially.
Julian Davion's return would be short one Fox class Corvette, with the LCS Pandora officially also serving in a peacekeeping role to prevent...incidents...that would impede the success of the new peace-treaty.  Given that it's incredibly rare for any Inner Sphere State to give up territory it has recently conquered without a planet-by-planet bloodbath. It was nearly as unheard of for this to be the result of a peace treaty that doesn't include either creating a buffer state, or marrying the heads of state and merging. This is relatively new diplomatic territory for everyone.
More to the point, an LCN cruiser task-force was now publicly operating on the spinward side of the Inner Sphere...and ship was not the only one.  In the Confederation, the Cruiser LCS Pandora and her four destroyers & along with twelve cutters would assume a rotating station along the Federated suns front. To serve a very and remarkably SLDF position as peacekeepers maintaining Julian's other foreign policy success-a peace agreement (but this time, without territory changing hands) with the Capellan Confederation.
With the Confederation already committed by Daoshen to war with the Republic, and with the Federated suns withdrawing from the Republic's war against the Combine and Confederation, the two Cruiser groups' official duty is 'Neutrality Patrol'.
Officially.
Due to listed hull damage, the cutter LCS Buena was written off on official paperwork and quietly given to the Confederation.  Her assigned Destroyer escort being folded into the now much smaller escort force for the Flag-vessel LCS Frederic Steiner. Loans from the Combine's treasury are financing Capellan Yards in purchasing equipment from the Commonwealth and Free Worlds League.  Officially, this is an 'investment'.  
The Archon's much reduced escorting force began to sail for Tharkad in conjunction with the CWS Dire Wolf and their Battlegroup.
On a political scale, despite the unprecedented nature of the deployments, things went ignored on Alshain and Terra.  Too much attention was now focused on House Davion's decision to accept a good deal from the Kuritans and leave the war. Perhaps or perhaps it is simply expected that the Lyrans would aid the Davions eventually.
Devlin Stone recognized the power-grab for what it was.  The Lyrans have taken the second step to becoming the legitimate arbiters of legitimacy-and taking that position away from the Republic of the Sphere.
Meanwhile, orders reached Tharkad and then from Tharkad to the LCN. From the LCN, instructions were sent to their subcontractors.
On February 12, 3159, two Marsden class cruisers began the journey to Atreus in the Free Worlds League, along with cutters in support, as part of a non-aggression pact with the League's government. These new production vessels would arrive in March, to bolster the League's defenses until their own shipyards could finish production and procurement of new, native-built, designs.
Meanwhile, the Battleship, LCS Hermann Steiner's battlegroup in concert with the Tatyana Steiner Battlegroup began to move coreward-spinward to begin Naval exercises along the Dominion border. With additional exercises near the rimward end and near the Periphery end. In the mean while the Battleships Ross Steiner, Nondi Steiner, and Cynthia Steiner began moving to conduct exercises along the Wolf Empire and Republic borders of the Commonwealth.
In other news, new KF Keels are being extruded at yards throughout the Lyran commonwealth.  After all, if you can't afford to lose something, you can't afford to use it. So the new Doctrine was always structured for what Admiral Ngo called "A Two Ocean Navy".
==Note from Author==
Concepts to keep in mind:  Lyran High-mindedness.  aka their lust to claim the 'moral high ground'.  The "Neutrality Patrols" are Trillian's gambit-as are the Naval Exercises.
Here's how it works:  if neither the Ghost Bears, nor the Republic forces attack one of the patrols?  Then the Commonwealth is neutral and assisting a peace process of  historical significance.  If they do, either one, it's Cassus Belli and the Lyrans can come in gloves off and publicly, and further, with their entering into the war, there's a reason even for the Hard-liners in both realms to officially sign on to a formal alliance.
If the Peacekeepers go unmolested, then their presence can prevent some offensive operations from being or becoming viable, thus hampering offensive actions in regions where they might be 'patrolling'.
This creates a fairly significant damper on operations, including false-flag ops, because the LCN's presence implies LCN accounting and record keeping are coming up, which in turn means that units in mutiny will be SEEN to be in mutiny-aka a Duke George Hasek attack during peacetime will be observed to be the mutiny against discipline and good order that it is, and likewise, a Black Dragon style act will be witnessed and recorded as a dishonorable betrayal of Lord and orders.  Regardless of short-term success or failure, those units will be in mutiny and find themselves declared fair game pretty quickly by three nations, one of which is proven to have the most experienced anti-piracy navy in the Inner Sphere (and is known to be pretty free with the use of ship-to-ship nukes).
The fundamental idea being that "We don't have to lose an ambush to be given a reason to ****** you with a spiked rake if you violate the peace treaty."
This won't stop the Republic/Combine war, but it WILL limit the front somewhat, by confining movement operations to two sides instead of three.
The Exercises on the Rasalhague border also create a bit of an implied threat: "we've got enough navy to watch YOU, and watch the Republic, at the same time we're peacekeeping on the other side of the Sphere" is one hell of a threat...but without any of that messy shoe-banging.
-----
Previous Chapter- Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
Category:Works by CannonShop
Category:The Absolute Zero Chapters