FSRB Chpt 43

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==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 43==
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February 3065WOB Diplomacy
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===Word of Blake threat escalates===
Even as the various FedSuns and mercenary forces continue to dig through the rubble in order to save those they can more troops and warships continue to arrive at Outreach. The various members of Task Force Victor continue to assemble and add their efforts to the rebuilding work. Although the few survivors of the Wolf's Dragoons make efforts to reform, with the shattered morale of their members and the threadbare state of their ranks and damaged equipment nobody considers them a viable combat unit at the current time. However First Prince Victor meets with the highest ranking officer who survived in the medical dropship she's confined to, Major Cassie Nostra of Gamma Regiment's Baker Battalion and assures her that the Federated Suns will not abandon them or their world. He also promises her that he will do everything he can to retrieve any surviving Wolf's Dragoons forces on Caph. 
In this spirit the First Prince sends word to Terra, demanding that the WOB hand over the Naval Precentor who committed this Ares Convention violation and also allow him to evacuate the surviving mercenaries and pro-FS forces on Caph. Recording the message at a mobile command post on the outskirts of what was once Harlech the fury in his eyes and voice is obvious. He doesn't state what his response will be if his demands are not met, but leaves it up to the WOB leadership to decide if they want to test his resolve on this issue. 
Throughout the Federated Suns' military commands go on alert when the word from Outreach arrives, the Davion High Command preparing for full on war with the WOB if that is felt necessary. Commands ready themselves for action and to defend their worlds from any attack. For instance at New Avalon the FSS Indomitable and FSS Intrepid step up patrols and prepare to defend the world against any naval attack. They also step up training with the various defensive fighter regiments and attached aerospace assets of the garrison. Unknown to all but a handful of their crew they also receive receipt of nuclear tipped missiles. If the WOB come to New Avalon the Federated Suns' Navy will be waiting and ready for them. At nearby Galax the FSS Indefatigable also prepares to either jump to New Avalon to protect the capital or to defend the vital yards at Galax. Like her sister ships she also receives nuclear tipped warheads for her missiles. 
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===Northwind Debates===
On Northwind, the debate continues on whether or not to accept the First Princes's offer. While within the Highlander regiments the balance hangs on a knife edge in polls being taken of the actual population of Northwind support is growing for rejoining the Federated Suns. The planet had been a member of the FedSuns since it was conquered in 2841 and over 2 centuries of integration and trading with the nearby FedSuns planets had largely removed the resentment of the conquest while many of the merchants and companies on the planet had longstanding business relations with those same nearby worlds. On top of all of this recent attack from the WOB had made many question whether or not Northwind could "go it alone" and that it might be better to rejoin a relatively benevolent state rather than face the predation's of all of them. The people's faith that the Highlanders alone could defend them had been badly shaken. Eventually it was decided to hold a world wide referendum on the matter on the 28th March 3065. A suggestion by the Highlander regiments that the vote should give their own votes greater say was angrily slapped down by the Clan Elders. One citizen of Northwind, one vote. Regardless of whether he was a Highlander or civilian. 
With the harsh worlds of the Clan Elders still ringing in his ears Colonel Loren Jaffray of the Northwind Hussars began reorganising his regiment. Those most loyal to him had always made up the greater part of his 1st Battalion - Jaffray's Own, but now he made a number of transfers to ensure this. He had no interest whatsoever in serving the Federated Suns or House Davion. To aid him in this he also contacted a number of officers and troops he knew from his time fighting alongside MacLeod's Regiment and Stirling's Fusiliers who he knew were anti-Davion in their outlook. 
===Pirate Hunting in the former Dominion===
At the end of the month the Corvette FSS Markesan jumps into the long abandoned system of Cooperland. It finds a small pirate band, refugees from the former Tortuga Dominions, making their base within the abandoned spaceport on the planet and looting what little remained of the long abandoned cities of the world. Capturing the pirates Scout class jumpship the captain of the FSS Markesan sends the ship with a prize crew back to June to request the 12th Avalon Hussars send a ground force to root the pirates out. In the meantime he blockades the single habitable world and allows his fighters to take the occasional strafing run at the pirates as they go to ground. 
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===Developments in Industry===
The advent of a new battle armor design on New Avalon is also announced at this time. In a public display the new Grenadier class assault battle armor is unveiled at the NAIS with representatives of Achernar Battlemechs and General Motors also present. The assembled press are informed that the Grenadier is now ready to enter production at GM's Talcott and Point Barrow plants (although Point Barrow's lines won't come online until June) and Achernar's New Avalon plants with a further expansion to produce Cavaliers, Grenadiers and Infiltrator II battle armor at the Achernar plant on Filtvelt due to come online in November. Unmentioned at this time is a new Achernar factory planned to build BA within the Draconis March at Mayetta. This is due to come online by December of this year and ramp up to full production by March 3066. GM's Talcott plant is also to see a huge increase in production numbers to become the single largest supplier of battle armour within the Federated Suns. This increase will be in effect by the end of the year. 
At Niles, elements of the 1st Ceti Hussars crush a "pirate" raid in mostly older Panther and Jenner battlemechs. While the battlemech's were all older models they were in surprisingly good condition for "pirates". 
The Corean plant on Augusta to produce Musketeers hover tanks went into production in February. This facility was a state of the art factory that was almost fully automated and would be vital to Corean's keeping up with demand for their new tank. 
The Wangker facility on Axton finally finished it's upgrade from 2 lines to 4 of Corsair fighters. Although exposed with it's proximity to the Capellan Border it was now well defended with the 2nd Federated Suns Armored Cavalry based there. 
The Jalastar Aerospace executives who have arrived on New Avalon are informed that due to the recent troubles in the former Chaos/Sarna March region the First Prince has been unavoidably detained. As such they are met with the Prince's Champion and Duchess Marik as the First Princes's personal representatives. While initially a little put out at not meeting with the First Prince they are soon charmed by the Duchess who is the perfect foil for the "gruff old warhorse" persona that the experienced diplomat Ardan Sortek has taken to putting on. They are informed of two issues/opportunities that the First Prince wishes to put to them. The first is that he wishes a further expansion of Sparrowhawk and Sabre aerospace fighter production. However he doesn't wish to create a single point of failure, particularly with the vital and highly regarded Sparrowhawk fighters. He is therefore asking that they consider (strongly) setting up at least 2 new plants to produce fighters. Sortek suggests perhaps Islamabad and a world further away, for instance Batavia in the Achemar Combat Region. While it is not explicitly stated that they have to agree to this condition to receive further contracts the implication is there. 
While they are still mulling over this "suggestion", Duchess Isis Marik explains to them that during her time on Northwind with the First Prince they had discussed the growing industrial and technological might of the Federated Suns and the First Prince had suggested that perhaps it was time to showcase this in a number of new omnimech designs. After some thought he had suggested the by now iconic Javelin battlemech for conversion into a light omnimech, basing many of the configurations on the various Javelin variants to save on R&D costs. When she left him to return to New Avalon she had brought with him his formal instructions for NAIS to work together with Jalastar to make this happen... As long as Jalastar agreed of course. After all it was New Avalon that had gifted the Panpour based firm with the contracts and licenses to produce Javelins. 
Faced with an incredibly lucrative contract for a home grown omnimech with at least some of the funds/research costs being put up by the NAIS the various executives assured both of the First Princes's representatives that they were sure that Jalastar Aerospace was the right company to undertake this work and they could almost guarantee the board's approval for the First Princes's request! At which point Sortek smiled and pointed out that no doubt the board would accept both of the First Princes's requests, while Marik smiled sweetly beside him. Faced with the unspoken threat of this contract going elsewhere the executives assure the Princes's Champion and his "friend" that they will strongly recommend that to the full board. 
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===Status change at Caph===
At Caph, the stalemate continued, with neither side eager to make the first mistake. However. on the 19th the ceasefire was effectively broken when the Thera Aerospace Carriers, FWLS Santorini and FWLS Sardis jump into the system. Escorting the giant warships, is the Agamemnon class of heavy cruiser FWLS Menelaus along with 4 Eagle class frigates and 3 Zechetinu II corvettes. Accompanying this task force is the 3rd Free Worlds Guards, 2nd Knights, and newly formed 5th Free Worlds Guards. Given WOB's specific request for the 3rd, the Captain-General had decided to hedge his bets and dispatch additional units who's loyalty he could count on. 
The new players within the system informed both sides that they were here on Captain-General Thomas Marik's orders to bring peace to the system. They intended to do this by making sure that no further fighting took place within the system and by withdrawing the anti-WOB ground forces. 
To say Hohiro was furious at this additional insult to his positions as Commanding General was an understatement. He immedietly ordered the FWL forces to place themselves under his own command and aid him in destroying the WOB raiders, and when this was refused he swore to bring the matter up to the First Lord. In a furious rage he was however forced to withdraw as the various DCN officers in charge of his escorts now saw a suitably face saving way to withdraw from the brink of annihilation. Faced with the loss of his warship support he had no other option but to withdraw alongside them. The SLDF task force he had assembled on Deiron to liberate Caph returned to Deiron without ever having landed a single infantry trooper on Caph. 
The WOB commander on scene (well briefed) agreed to allow the Free Worlds task force to enter orbit and begin withdrawing the "rebels and pirates" who had attacked the "legitimate WOB government". This evacuation began on the 25th of February and would continue into March. A few questions would be raised about groups which some said had surrendered to the 3rd Free Worlds Guard and had somehow went missing, but so far these were muted. After all not even the remants of the mercenary formations command structures could be sure what troops of theirs actually survived at the current time. 
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===Concordat Navy Growth===
In the Taurian Concordant, the WOB ambassador approached the Lord Protector with a singular offer. The WOB had found themselves in possession of 4 Pinto corvettes that they were willing to sell to the Taurian people at a very reasonable price... In order to prevent the ruthless Federated Suns from annexing them as they had done to the 3 Capellan Worlds and a number of independent worlds within the Chaos March. Indeed the ambassador pointed out that the Federated Suns navy had arrived in Outreach and it was looking very likely that world would be annexed to the FedSuns in due course... All while no doubt blaming the WOB itself for their own brutal bombardment of the planet...
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