DVH Chpt 15

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==Davion Heir (BattleTech CYOA)Chapter 15==
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===Discovery of the Century===
Nagayan Mountain Castle Brian, Helm
Stewart Commonality, Free Worlds League
2nd May, 3015
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Hikari Yamamoto hadn’t had the most dignified wake up at the start of the new year, but it had certainly been life-changing and not just because of her new inheritance. Sure it had turned out that her mother was right about her old man being a nobleman. A Lyran nobleman, yes, but a nobleman just like she claimed and it seems that the old fool died, leaving Hikari as the inheritor of an incomplete, but legally registered mercenary unit and almost three quarters of a billion C-Bills as the oldest of the three illegitimate offspring that her father had sired.
 
Yet despite that massive amount of good luck, what really changed was the second lifetime she had remembered. A second lifetime from an alternative 21st Century where history had played out slightly differently where the reality that Hikari lives in was just the setting of a semi-successful franchise. A franchise that Hikari had been a big fan of in that other life.
 
She had remembered reading stories of this exact scenario in that other lifetime, where people had awoken in the Inner Sphere with memories of another life where reality had been a fictional setting and they inherited an incomplete mercenary unit along with millions of C-Bills. And just like in all of those stories, Hikari made sure to go for Helm.
 
In all truth, it had been something of a gamble. Just comparing her two sets of memories had revealed that her otherworldly knowledge wasn’t accurate to the reality that Hikari lives in. Hanse Davion isn’t the First Prince, his half-sister that Hikari could only remember from this life is ruling the Federated Suns. The other lifetime had never heard of the Solaris Accords with the closest thing coming years later. The Capellan Confederation had been crushed, but in a different manner and over a decade’s time early.
 
So when Hikari took her Warriors of Light from Galatea to Helm to seize the Helm cache, the young ronin had been gambling on that part of the setting still being true. It was integral enough that it shouldn’t have changed except Hanse Davion was already dead and House Liao was on the verge of collapsing. Maybe there would be a Sun-Tzu Liao to come and save it like what Hikari remembers from that other lifetime, but she isn’t going to count on it.
 
No, the Dragon needs to be saved before the gaijin could destroy the Combine, something that they were openly planning to do. She doubts that the mightiest Successor State with the greatest military will fall as easily as the pathetic Liaos, but even the Pillar of Steel will be hard pressed to fight off the full might of both the AFFS and the LCAF at once.
 
All of this has led to this moment as Hikari and the handful of loyal samurai that she has recruited march down the tunnel, having gained access via the data chip that she took from the local landholder. And then there it is.
 
Star League Field Library Facility, Helm. DE890-2699.
 
“I can’t believe it,” whispers Hikari to herself, “It’s real.”
 
“Colonel?” inquires one of the young men with her, “Is this what I think it is?”
 
“If you think it is the key to reversing LosTech and restoring the glories of the Star League, then you are correct,” replies Hikari as the young woman gets ahold of herself.
 
There is too much at stake for her to mess this up. The fate of the Draconis Combine and House Kurita rests on her shoulders.
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===Steps to Counter the Enemy's Advantage===
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
3rd October, 3015
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“How bad is it?” asks Victoria Davion as they hold another emergency meeting to discuss the disaster that is unfolding for the Federated Suns in the Draconis Combine.
 
It has almost been a year since the Capellan Confederation was broken and Victoria knew that her luck was too good to be true. The other shoe had to drop at some point and it turned out that the Kuritans were going to get ridiculously lucky when it came to their LosTech prospecting. First that damn girl Hikari Yamamoto inherited a stupidly large amount of hardware that her absent father discovered from a misjumped convoy.
 
A Monolith, a trio of freaking Star Lords, a Merchant, and a Scout, almost fifty DropShips including five Colossus like the one the 12th Deneb Light Cavalry found on Epsilon Eridani, five battalions of factory-fresh ‘Mechs, almost eighty ASFs, an armoured regiment and a bunch of support equipment. And while none of the ground forces had personnel, Yamamoto’s father had fully repaired and crewed all of the ships.
After picking up command of the newly named Hikari’s Warriors of Light from Galatea, Yamamoto had gone straight to Helm where the damn bitch had uncovered a Castle Brian with enough hardware to outfit over a dozen assorted regiments, including six regiments of BattleMechs, and a Star League memory core that, according to spies of MIIO and LIC, made the Halstead Station library look like modern reading material.
 
And of course the damn girl went straight to Luthien where she pledged her services to the Coordinator, gifting him with all of the loot from Helm. Yamamoto was instantly elevated to Takashi’s inner circle and as a reward for her fealty, Hikari Yamamoto was now engaged to the Coordinator’s son and heir apparent to the Draconis Combine, Theodore Kurita.
 
If all of that wasn’t enough, House Kurita had managed to find a lost SLDF convoy independent of the damn girl. Three Mules containing enough ‘Mechs to fill out another five regiments, mostly lights and mediums with a couple of battalions of heavies and a battalion of assaults.
 
Maybe Victoria should reconsider Candace Liao’s terms. The Chancellor might be making more generous requests than she deserves, but with the invasion being delayed by the interdiction of the Commonwealth and the Combine just getting lucky break after lucky break, just getting the Liaos out of the way might be worth it at this point.
 
“At this point the Combine is having more trouble finding worthy MechWarriors than ‘Mechs for them to pilot,” answers Mark with a weariness that Victoria shares, “By the end of the year, the DCMS is looking to have expanded by a dozen BattleMech regiments along with three regiments of either Assault or Heavy tanks. Also that giant mess of DropShips that we have previously discussed.”
 
“It’s the devil’s own luck.” grumbles Yvonne, “Damn Dracs find five Colossus Class DropShips right after we find the first one since Kerensky’s Exodus.”
 
“It is what it is,” says Victoria firmly as she looks around the table, “Alright, Mark, what are the Dracs up to?”
 
“Reinforcing their borders,” answers the Minister of Information, Intelligence and Operations, “It isn’t the same luck that the Kuritans have been experiencing this year, but my agents have become unexpectedly good at penetrating the ISF’s counterintelligence efforts over the last couple of months. We can expect the additional Combine regiments to be deployed to the border by the time that the invasion finally rolls around.
 
“Furthermore, the Combine is using that memory core to begin restoring a few of their damaged production lines and possibly constructing some new ones. We can expect to see new ‘Mech production from the Combine in the upcoming years alongside other production from tanks to ASFs to DropShips. Perhaps most worrying is the move to rebuild one of their shipyards for JumpShips. Just an existing one that has been damaged beyond, well, it was damaged beyond repair, but the Combine seems to believe that it is now within their ability to repair.”
“What about WarShip production?” asks Aaron, drawing the attention of the entire room with his question, “What are the odds of the Dracs building new WarShips.”
 
“Nothing right now, but frankly, Duke Sandoval, I don’t know,” replies Mark, “It would depend on just how good the Helm memory core is. If you want an answer, it could go either way. Call it a fifty-fifty chance if you will. But if the Combine does start looking at WarShips, my bet is that they’ll go for repairing some existing hulls over building fresh ones.”
 
“What does this mean for the invasion?” asks a Field Marshal, “First the Lyrans get interdicted now all of this.”
“I’ve spoken with Captain-General and he agrees with me that despite what ComStar claims, the Archon wasn’t responsible for the attack on the Somerset HPG Compound,” replies Victoria, “Especially since she has provided proof that the 30th Lyran Guards were elsewhere when the attack took place, proof that has been verified by both MIIO and SAFE’s own sources. It is my stance that the Combine launched a false-flag operation and that ComStar overreacted to an attack on their own and blamed the first suspects without doing proper investigation.”
 
“So you are saying that the Combine have successfully framed the Commonwealth for the HPG attack?” asks Yvonne, clearly speaking for the benefits of others as she and Victoria have already discussed this in private.
 
“Yes,” answers Victoria.
 
“My own analysis and the investigation by MIIO have come to the same conclusion,” adds Mark, “We have confirmed that the LCAF wasn’t behind it like ComStar claims and while we haven’t been able to account for the Kuritan unit who did the deed, the unfortunate truth is that over this last year we have had trouble getting info on the DCMS movements until a couple of months ago.”
 
“As for what it means for the invasion, it will make things harder,” says Victoria, “Even with the interdiction, the LCAF is still getting into position and building up their supplies. Likewise our own forces are mustering along the border. The offensive against the Combine won’t be as clean or easy as the invasion of the Confederation, but it will be going ahead. Likewise, our truce with the Free Worlds League is holding firm. We don’t need to worry about that for the time-being and if House Marik does run out of Cappies to conquer, they are more likely to go around dealing with pirates out in the Periphery than backstab us or the Lyrans.”
“So the invasion is going ahead as planned.” says Yvonne.
“Exact details are to be confirmed close to the time, but yes, it will be going ahead,” replies Victoria, “Both I and the Archon are in agreement that we wish for the invasion to begin in the first half of thirty-sixteen. As I said, the exact targets haven’t been finalised yet, but we are looking at Galtor III, Altair, Al Na’ir, Irurzun, Scheat, Paris, Tripoli and Proserpina as potential targets.”
 
“Setting talk of the invasion aside for a moment, I would like to bring up the integration of the Vindicator ‘Mech into the AFFS,” says another Field Marshal.
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===Coming to Grips of the Situation===
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“You look exhausted,” says Dana as the woman who would have been Victoria’s sister-in-law joins the First Prince in her quarters.
 
“Because I am,” replies Victoria wearily, “This disaster with the Kuritans is keeping everyone up with late nights. I think I hate her.”
 
“Who?” asks Dana as she takes a seat next to Victoria and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.
 
“Hikari Yamamoto, soon to be Hikari Kurita,” replies Victoria, “I know that the woman has nothing truly objectionable, but the dumb bitch just took everything that Hanse and I did found of the Star League and did it tenfold. That’s what really gets me to be honest. Hanse gives his life getting the Halstead Station collection for the Federation and then some Kuritan brat just goes and finds something ten times better for the Combine.”
 
“I understand the sentiment,” says Dana, “I’ve been looking at it as the Halstead Station library being even more important now as our best way to catch up with House Kurita.”
 
“So do I, but it isn’t going to be enough.” says Victoria glumly, “The Dracs are repairing old everything except for WarShip yards and they are even setting up some new ‘Mech factories. Just some Panther factories, but if they are building new factories while we are struggling to keep the ones we already have going. If something doesn’t change, then we are looking at the Combine of all people becoming the strongest Successor State. I can’t help, but feel that Yamamoto is threatening to undo all of my work. I don’t want to leave a future to kids like little Ian where the Draconis Combine has either won or is an existential threat.”
 
“Is it really that bad?” asks Dana, a hint of worry creeping into her voice.
 
“Maybe, maybe not,” admits Victoria, “House Kurita becoming the strongest and most advanced house in the Inner Sphere is a real concern at the moment. The Lyran Commonwealth and Free Worlds League both have stronger economies, especially now that they have limited trade. Even our own economy is improving thanks to the trade agreements of the Solaris Accords and the new borders. Yet we aren’t getting the technological advances that the Combine has been gifted with. A booming economy is good, but without the ability to turn those C-Bills into military production.”
 
“I see,” says Dana as Victoria continues to think the overall status of the Inner Sphere over, “Do you want me to call up Tahmina for some girl time between the three of us?”
 
“Not right now, I’m thinking,” mutters Victoria absentmindedly.
 
Economy is the key when the Combine is going to have the tech advantage. The Lyrans are famous for having the strongest economy and the Free Worlds League’s economy has been growing ever stronger for a few years now with no sign of stopping any time soon. And thanks to the Solaris Accords, businessmen from both the League and the Commonwealth have been investing in the Suns. The benefits are beginning to show and Joan has been assuring her that in a few years, they’ll really be seeing the profits of letting wealthy Lyrans and Leaguers invest in poor Federation worlds.
 
New BattleMech production is a rarity these days, but not unheard of. Mountain Wolf BattleMechs began production of the Merlin in the Outworlds Alliance, the first new BattleMech design in centuries. Given the not so small fortune that their CEO Brandon O'Leary sunk into the company’s facilities on Alpheratz, Victoria is confident she could entice the man into opening a second production line in the Suns provided that the First Prince foots the bill and smooths the way.
 
Another option is Corean Enterprises and their Centurion. While the design has been a mainstay of the AFFS for a couple of centuries now, consistent issues with its primary weapon and the failure to fix said issues has the AFFS looking to replace it with the Enforcer. Though that is no longer going to be happening with the AFFS needing any ‘Mech it can get to match the Kuritans, Corean Enterprises built a new factory here on New Avalon three years ago. They haven’t seen success fixing the issues with the autocannon last Victoria had heard, but the Centurion is otherwise a solid trooper ‘Mech and the Federated Suns needs more production lines.
And then there are Bug ‘Mechs. Victoria doesn’t particularly like them, but they are one of the few ‘Mechs for which new factories can still be built these days. Getting more Bug ‘Mechs isn’t Victoria’s first choice, but at the very least they could be good for garrisoning more secure or unimportant borders to free up more capable ‘Mechs to face the DMCS.
Then there is the option of getting more tanks. Armored forces often get overlooked, but Victoria knows that you only overlook an SRM Carrier once. Missile carriers are an obvious choice, but the Bulldog is another solid tank by Quikcell though Victoria would prefer more Manticores. They captured another Manticore factory on Ares, but the real issue with the Manticore is its Pitban 240 Fusion Engine. Hmm, the Merlin uses the same engine so maybe the First Prince might be able to convince Mountain Wolf BattleMechs to branch out into tank production.
 
The Sentinel also uses the Pitban 240 and Defiance Industries shut down its production line for those last year. Victoria might be able to get the Lyrans to part with their production line for it, but she doubts that she will. Too many other options for Defiance Industries to use it for. Thankfully the Pitban 240 is a fairly common fusion engine so even in this day and age, it is still possible to find producers of it.
 
Aldis Industries. There is another option as the Terran corporation produces a nice set of assault tanks, most of them powered by ICE. Or Skobel MechWorks and the Mackie as that other Terran corporation has recently set up a new production line for the first BattleMech design on Capella.
 
Yes, things might be looking grim, but the First Prince has some lights in the storm.
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==Author's Chapter Notes==
;Word from the Author: And here is the plot-twist I had planned from the start. You know those stories where there is an SI who inherits a bunch of hardware and C-Bills and then goes onto use meta-knowledge to seize Helm and help their favourite faction, usually FedCom? Well, this time around they are the antagonist and rather than helping one of the FedCom nations, they are helping the Draconis Combine. Also I’ve been informed on Discord that the proper term for this character is OC-insert not an SI.Anyway, the OC-insert just did a clean sweep of Helm and now it is the Combine who have acquired the Helm cache with its memory core, mechs and other sweet loot. Which is going to be a problem for our Victoria, especially since ComStar has already been lending a helping hand out to the Dragon.I probably could have done more with Hikari’s perspective, but I didn’t want to drag it out too much, especially since I feel like I am just retreading old ground with inheriting a mercenary company and taking Helm. With her, I would much rather focus on the aftermath and what she does next so expect to see much of her in the future.Also this chapter got a little away from me at the end as Victoria started brainstorming and I realised she had a few plausible options open to her.
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