SotU Chpt 40

=Chapter 40=
==State of the Union==
Part Seven - Federated Commonwealth
And it's been two years I miss my home
But there's a fire burning in my bones
Still believe
Yeah, I still believe
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Aswan, Caph
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
13th February, 3064
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Caph was one of humanity's first extra-solar colonies and it had been one of the core worlds of the Terran Hegemony and by extension of the Star League. As the Star League fell, Caph had been left brutally scarred by fighting between Kerensky's and Amaris' forces... and then again as House Liao, House Kurita, and House Davion fought over it.
Two of the world's three continents were no longer habitable, but from the vibrant capital city it was hard to imagine that. The thriving metropolis rivalled Avalon City for size and sophistication. Even the relatively sudden end of their brief independence within the Chaos March didn't seem to phase most of the populace.
Peter's temporary residence had been used by Caph's militia until Marshal Orsina had brought the Fourth Davion Guards Regimental Combat Team across the Lyran Alliance and reconquered the world in the name of the Federated Suns. There were various reasons Peter had decided not to argue with the terminology, including but not limited to the fact that Caph provided a perfect jumping off point for his task force to cross back into Lyran space.
It was also part of the immense double-chain of HPG stations that enabled two-way real-time contact between Tharkad and New Avalon and the holo display of his suite lighting up drew his attention away from the skyline of Aswan and towards two women sharing a couch, hundreds of light years away. "Yvonne, Catherine, how are you?"
Each was sat against one arm, leaving a sizeable separation, he noticed as they both greeted him with smiles. "We're doing well, of course," Yvonne assured him. "Catherine has even managed to persuade George Hasek to make a formal statement of support."
Peter grinned. Finally! He'd been worrying about the March Lord's continued intransigence. "How did you manage that, Cat?"
"I can hardly take credit," his blonde sister said quietly. "I think your efforts on Algol and Acamar were what swayed him. I heard about the casualties there."
That soured the mood immediately. The Fifth Royal Guards had lost more than a dozen mechwarriors between the fighting on those two worlds, and twice that many of their 'Mechs had had to be left behind for major repairs or even to be scrapped.
"It was less the enemy's ferocity than some carelessness," he said harshly. "I should have made sure they were more adjusted to using lighter 'Mechs that couldn't simply bull through enemy fire the way our Mackie II's used to." He'd had to keep the Royal Guards in reserve of Epsilon Indi, although fortunately the arrival of two additional RCTs had left no need to commit them - the Davion Light Guards and Fifth Davion Guards were holding the recovered worlds until formal garrison forces could become available.
"I don't believe that that's all of the answer, Catherine," Yvonne said mildly. "But it did help and it's probably why he agreed to contribute to our belated birthday present for you."
Peter blinked. He'd turned twenty-nine at the start of the month but it had hardly registered except for one evening drinking with his company commanders. "I wasn't really expecting you to send me anything."
"Consider it a joint gift from Duke Sandoval, Duke Hasek and the two of us," his younger sister told him. "The Glowworm should have reached Caph's jump point yesterday by command circuit along with your other supplies from Addicks."
"Yes... I think they did." He frowned in concentration. "Why?"
"In addition to twelve fully reconditioned Mackie IIs - quality checked to Daniel Holstein's personal satisfaction - she's carrying twelve Templar OmniMechs and twelve Sagittaires Assault 'Mechs to join the Fifth Royal Guards." Catherine smiled a little more sincerely. "Hopefully some of those less suited to lighter rides can now be back in their comfort zone."
He grinned and rubbed his jaw. "You know exactly what I want." A full battalion of assault 'Mechs would do wonders for the Royal Guards' strength.
 
"Well we were hoping to give you Kath-rina." Yvonne caught herself at the last moment and glanced guiltily at Catherine before continuing. "But we have no news of her. Just two unconfirmed sightings of the FCS Lucien Davion."
"Two? I heard about Marlette -" A merchant jumpship had reported picking up a warship in the outer system - which could be a mistake of course. "But where else?"
"Similarly tenuous. The DCMS claim an Avalon-class cruiser was recharging at Styx - but they aren't sharing their sensor data so it could just be posturing over losing Marduk. I don't think Theodore Roosevelt would play such games but he has many subordinates."
thumb|Avalon-Class Cruiser
"Kurita," Yvonne corrected her, with an air that suggested she was growing used to it.
"Pardon?" confused Catherine asked
"You said Theodore Roosevelt." Yvonne explained to her.
"Oh." Catherine frowned in irritation at herself. "Yes. My bad."
"It's plausible," Peter noted, pretending to ignore Catherine's lapse. "if Katrina is headed for Tharkad then Styx is the sort of backwater system she might be able to get away with passing through - although Draconis space might be risky it's avoids any chance of running into my forces here in the Chaos March."
"The surprise is that she hasn't contacted ComStar somewhere to have them send messages to try to stabilize her support. Losing New Avalon is bad for her but she could have mitigated it by remaining visible." said Catherine
Yvonne nodded in agreement with Catherine. "Tancred's still got some hot spots to deal with but with the march lords supporting us, all the key industrial and command worlds look securely with us in the Federated Suns. Nondi can't say the same for the Lyran Alliance. There's not a day that goes by without news of another riot somewhere or fighting."
"If she's losing control then this could be the end of the beginning..."
"The beginning of the end perhaps." Peter glanced at Catherine and saw Yvonne doing the same - was she slipping like this so often? That probably didn't look good to the public. "Have you been able to get an idea of what forces she can rely on?"
"It's hard to pin down for sure, but a lot of regiments are finding reasons that they need to stay on their base worlds to cover the border and deal with the local conflicts." Yvonne pursed her lips. "She can count on the Royal Guards, of course, and it looks like the four remaining Jaeger units are in her pocket still."
The Coventry Jaegers had attacked Victor's ally, Duke Bradford, on Coventry itself last year. While the Duke's own forces had been crushed by the Jaegers, Victor's arrival had saved him and secured Coventry Metal Works to help supply the allied forces in the Lyran Alliance. The Jaegers had taken months to destroy though - like Katrina's forces on Algol, very few had been willing to surrender.
"The good news is that her hold on Skye has almost entirely collapsed." added Catherine optimistically. "The Skye Jaegers aside, the Skye Rangers seem to be paying more attention to Robert Kelswa-Steiner than Nondi. That's a problem in and of itself, but Caesar Steiner arrived in the region and swung all the Donegal Guards RCTs present - including the three that were in the Suns - over to our side. He can squash Robert flat if he tries anything."
"That's great news - what about Hesperus II?" Almost entirely unpopulated, Hesperus II was home to the largest 'Mech factories in the Inner Sphere, heavily fortified and guarded by at least two Regimental Combat Teams.
"As far as we can tell, all three units there taking the position that securing Defiance Industries for the Lyran Alliance is more important than holding it for either side. They'll fight if attacked, but unless we do that then we can discount the Fifteenth and Thirty-Sixth Lyran Guards, the Gray Death Legion and FCS Simon Davion."
"I can't say they're wrong." Peter agreed. The Simon Davion was a sister ship to his own flagship, the Hanse Davion. There were other warships in Skye Province, but without the Avalon-class cruiser they'd be hard-pressed to threaten him. "If Caesar is on Skye, I should be able to join up with him there and then we can pincer Tharkad between us and Victor."
His sisters exchanged glances and his heart sank. "What?"
"Victor is already moving on Tharkad," Yvonne told him. "he's leaving Coventry today."
Peter blinked. "But... he's only got..." He thought a moment. "Okay, five Regimental Combat Teams and some supporting units... that's more than we had on New Avalon, but he'll have more opposition than we had to deal with."
Catherine nodded. "I know. And four of them are from this side of the Commonwealth. He only has two Lyran units with him, the Seventeenth Donegal Guards and Archer's Avengers. Nondi may not be the sharpest political mind but even she can spin this in line with Katrina's Davion versus Steiner..." She searched for a word and settled on: "Ideology."
Sitting back, Peter activated his noteputer and checked his files. "Aunt Nondi's logical recourse is to bring in the task force she's been assembling to go after Coventry. With only the Eleventh Arcturan Guards and two Provincial Militias it's far from large enough to handle Victor's forces alone but added to the two Royal Guards RCTs on Tharkad, it can probably buy time for her to try to sway other units or to bring in the Jaegers."
"All three of the Royal Guards RCTs," Yvonne corrected him. "We've had confirmation that the Third Royal Guards aren't headed for Dalkeith after all - they're on the way to Tharkad and they'll beat Victor there."
"Then the numbers are close to even, and Aunt Nondi has the defensive advantage. What's Victor thinking? Given a couple more months we could combine our forces."
His youngest sister looked pensive. "His messages suggest he's concerned about Katrina. She could have reached Tharkad by now and if she hasn't then it could happen any time. He wants to take Tharkad before she can take the reins once more - just her presence would bolster her cause significantly."
Peter uttered a curse under his breath. "What's she going to do that Nondi can't? She's no general."
"She's also outmaneuvered Victor repeatedly," Catherine said quietly. "on the political battlefield. Yes, but that's all the more deadly. We can't afford to underestimate her."
There was a long pause and then the prince rubbed his jaw. "Okay. I can't wait any longer then. The Davion Guards can stay in the Terran Corridor to secure a supply route back to Addicks - bringing them into the Lyran Alliance was always going to be inflammatory, even if the Fourth were willing to go back there."
"So you're moving now?"
Peter nodded. "We have three warships - that should be enough to deal with the two corvettes in Skye if they side with Nondi. Since Uncle Caesar is keeping Skye pacified I should be able to cross it quickly and reinforce Victor. If he can win, great. But if he can't then he should be able to hang on long enough for me to arrive."
"As long as you don't get defeated in detail." Catherine warned.
"I'd have to make some pretty major mistakes for that to happen," he told her confidently. "I've got the Pride of the Federated Commonwealth with me, after all."
Yvonne smiled, but she shook her head. "You know what goes the before a fall, Peter."
"Oh I know. But seriously. Between the Pride, four Regimental Combat Teams and two other 'Mech regiments -" the Tenth Lyran Guards, Twentieth Avalon Hussars, Nineteenth Arcturan Guards, First Ceti Hussars, Third Lyran Regulars and First Federated Suns Armored Cavalry "- Nondi would have to bring everything else she has together in one place to stop us."
"Or warships."
Peter paused and acknowledged the point. "Okay, yes. But she'd have to send those covering Tharkad to match ours and with Victor on the way, she can't afford that."
"It's still a risk."
He nodded soberly. "But Victor's forced our hand with his own risk. If Katrina returns and Victor gets himself killed, she could very well consolidate her position as Archon and regain control of the Alliance. She's had years longer to dig in there. If that goes on..."
The three Steiner-Davions looked at each other, each seeing the same determination in their siblings.
"You'd better wake up your staff then." Catherine said at last. "Good luck, Peter."
Peter nodded and closed the channel. When he looked out of the window, Caph's star was low in the sky, a brilliant sunburst over Aswan's towering buildings. The sight reminded him of the sunburst that formed half of the Federated Commonwealth's heraldry and he raised his hand before it in a fist, completing the image.
"Time." he said to himself. "Ask me for anything but time."
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