FuH Chapter 17

=Fighting Uphill - Chapter 17=
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==Victory Reactions​==
===Primus takes stock of situation on Helm===
2nd August, 3013
Hilton Head, Terra
Sol System
ComStar Territory
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Primus Julian Tiepolo put down the ROM report about Helm and sighed. He had known that they couldn't keep the war in the Free Worlds League going on forever. Men were mortal after all and eventually one of the men vying to be Captain-General was going to die. But he at least had hoped the fighting would go on a little longer before something altered the status quo.
Well, now the status quo had definitely changed. Comstar could delay the news getting out, but not by much. So Tiepolo was going to have to make quick decisions to shape the fallout from the battles of Helm.
To start with, Tiepolo brought up his personal investment portfolios and began reviewing everything for what he should buy and sell before the news of Helm broke and upended everything. This information of course would be absolutely vital to shaping Tiepolo's future Comstar social, political, and especially economic policies.
A good Comstar Primus must keep proper priorities in mind after all.
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===Daughter deal with death of her Father===
3rd August, 3013
Zanzibar, Tamarind
Free Worlds League
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"This is confirmed?" the Duchess of Tamarind Therese Marik asked, feeling her stomach drop out of her body.
Therese had been called to the Tamarind Operations Room for a meeting with Colonels Alberto Alvarez and Rudolph Schwartz, the ranking military officers left on Tamarind after Therese's father Janos Marik had taken half his army to Helm. Alvarez was Marik Militia, and Schartz was a Lyran officer. The two had worked well together, especially since Alvarez had always been a staunch advocate of Janos working with the Lyrans, an attitude that he didn't seem to realize that most of his troops didn't share.
And now Janos Marik, her father, was dead.
"Yes, it seems to be so." Shwartz confirmed distastefully. "Worse, it seems our Marik Militia forces on Helm decided to side with your father's killer against us." He sniffed contemptuously. "I knew they were unreliable, but I hadn't expected this!"
"We must avenge your father, your Grace!" Alvarez said fervently. "We can't let his murderer go unpunished. As the oldest surviving child of Janos Marik, you can claim the Captain-Generalship as his heir! I'm sure troops will..."
"Murderer?" Therese interrupted when she realized what Alvarez was saying. "Alberto, your own report states that my father died in an honor duel to spare the lives of his people, and that the duel was entirely fair. How is that murder?"
"Well, your Grace, you can still carry on your father's cause." Alberto persisted, not arguing the point. "Just declare that you want to be Captain-General..."
"I don't want to be Captain-General." Therese snapped back. "I just want this bloody war to end so that more fathers and brothers and sons of the League don't die in pointless battles. I supported my father because he was my father, not for any other reason. Now that he's dead, I don't see any reason why we should keep participating in this war."
"Your Grace, what are you saying?" Schwartz asked thoughtfully.
"I'm saying that as of this moment, I am declaring the Duchy of Tamarind neutral in this war." Therese announced loudly, catching the attention of everyone in the Operations Center. "Let Anton, Duncan, and Robert fight over being Captain General. I'll not commit any more of my people's lives to this... this meat grinder."
"Oh, that is most unfortunate." Schwartz said coolly as he raised a hand and gestured to two Lyran guards. As the guards came over to them, Schwartz pointed at Therese. "Arrest her."
"Rudolph, what are you doing?" Alvarez exclaimed, shocked as Schwartz's guards moved to flank an equally shocked Therese and laid hands on her.
"The Archon has standing orders for just this situation, Alberto." Schwartz told him. "As of this moment, the Lyran Commonwealth is annexing the Duchy of Tamarind. Don't fight us on this, Alberto. We have more forces on Tamarind and in orbit than you do. Why, if you help us well, I'm sure the Archon might see fit to make you the next Duke of Tamarind."
Alvarez turned slowly to Therese, looking shell shocked. "I am so sorry about this, your Grace." he apologized. Alvarez sounded sincere. He proved that sincerity by drawing the laser pistol from its holster in a flash and shooting Schwartz from the hip.
Chaos erupted in the Operations Room.
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===A sister frets over the victories her sister have gain.===
3rd August, 3013
Forbidden City, Sian
Capellan Confederation
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"...afraid that Candace will keep all those mechs for herself and use them to seize the Celestial Throne." Romano Liao finished up.
Romano Liao was the daughter of Chancellor Maximilian Liao, only a couple years younger than her sister Candace. Romano was eternally loyal to her father, unlike Candace who Romano suspected was plotting treason. Romano vocalized that suspicion often and loudly to their father, a suspicion that wasn't at all motivated by Romano thinking that Candace was prettier than her, smarter than her, and a more talented mechwarrior than her.
"Romano." her father said when Romano finished her latest rant on what a bad daughter Candace was. He seemed more amused than shocked by Romano's latest revelation. "do you really think that your sister is plotting to seize the throne that she is already heir to using mechs that she has no pilots for and jumpship transports that she doesn't control?"
"I'm sure the Free Worlds League has plenty of JumpShips and pilots still, Father." Romano argued. "No doubt, Duncan Marik has convinced her to take the Celestial Throne early so that he can use all of the Confederation's resources to support his ambitions instead of merely what we can spare."
"Duncan Marik is a pampered simpleton easily led around around by his balls." Maximilian laughed. "And it seems Candace has him wrapped entirely around her fingers now instead of the other way around. As for those Star League mechs, Candace's latest dispatch to us includes a petition for enough freight hauling capacity to transport five thousand mechs off Helm, our share of the cache... minus maybe a hundred or so to replace her own losses and to give out as rewards to her favorites of course. I have already granted her petition, with the added order that those mechs are to be transported straight into the Confederation, not to our base on Oriente."
"But can Candace hold Helm against counter attack long enough for our transports to get there." Romano asked, doubt filling her voice. Both she and her father ignored the logical inconsistency of her argument that Candace would use the Star League cache mechs and her new argument that Candace wouldn't be able to hold Helm long enough to get those same mechs off planet. Logical consistency had never been a strong point in Romano's attempts to undermine her sister in their father's eyes. Then again, their father had never called Romano out on her lack of consistency either, or even seemed to notice it.
"Not only can she, but she already has." Maximilian said proudly, handing a sheet of paper to Romano. "Candace has defeated not one, but two Lyran field armies including four of the most powerful battlemechs that the Inner Sphere has ever seen by far."
Romano took the paper and read the report with increasingly disbelieving eyes. It wasn't a report from Candace, but from Maskirovka agents embedded in her army. Dropship sized battlemechs? Winning the second battle with only light casualties due to her tactical genius? Winning the hearts and minds of both Duncan's and Janos Marik's armies? Romano despaired. How was Romano supposed to compete with that?
"Worry not, Romano." Maximilian reassured his younger daughter. "If these victories do go to Candace's head and she turns traitor, I already have loyal agents close to her that will assassinate her on my command. However, I don't think that will be necessary. Candace will make an excellent Chancellor when her time to ascend the Celestial Throne comes."
Romano despaired even more.
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===The Last Straw===
4th August, 3013
Connaught III
Free Worlds League
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"I want their families executed now!" General Anton Marik screamed
"But sir..." Colonel Anthony Brutus, Anton's Marik deputy commander, began to protest. They were in Anton's office, and Anton had summoned Brutus to discuss the latest news from Helm.
"No, Brutus, I have held off long enough!" Anton snapped. "You said I shouldn't punish men for honest failure and I didn't. But this? This isn't honest failure! These men joined my enemies not once, but twice! That's outright treason and you know it! If you keep defending them, I'll have you up on treason charges too!"
"Quite right." added Hiro Kimball, Anton's personal advisor from the Draconis Combine and an ISF agent to boot. "You should never go lightly on traitors, General."
"Very well, sir." Brutus said, defeated. "If that is what you command..." Brutus looked at Anton's bodyguards and gestured at Anton and Kimball. "Arrest them."
"What?" Anton exclaimed shocked as his own body guards grabbed him. He struggled. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Sir, perhaps your Kuritan advisors should have advised you on this." Brutus said icily as Anton and Kimball were roughly held down and handcuffed. "Seeing traitors everywhere is a self fulfilling prophecy. Our men are tired of seeing our families butchered for things they can't control and we've had enough. Take them away!"
As Anton was being dragged kicking and screaming out of the office – Kimball was led away with more dignity – Brutus went to Anton's desk computer and logged in on his own account. After typing in a few commands, he said, "This is Colonel Anthony Brutus to all FLWM units. Operation Saint George is in effect. I say again, Operation Saint George is in effect."
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===Taking advantage of a Situation===
8th August, 3013
Tamarind System
Free Worlds League
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"Well this is strange." Flag Captain Tamara Neil, the fleet commander of General Robert Marik's task force, said.
"What's strange, Captain?" Robert asked. They were on the bridge of the FWDS Unity, one of the FWLM's most prized monitors.
Robert didn't want to be here. Oh, he certainly wanted to be Captain-General, but Robert was keenly aware that he wasn't a "real" Marik. He was just a Comstar plant meant to make sure the Marik Civil War would keep the all of the Successor States preoccupied. His Comstar masters certainly didn't want anyone to actually win this civil war, and this operation looked like it was on a good road to doing just that.
As a result, Robert had spent the entire nine jump voyage to Tamarind trying to think of ways to sabotage the mission without looking like he was actually sabotaging the mission. He couldn't think of a way short of Janos leaving behind enough aerospace forces that Robert wouldn't be able to fight through. That was... unlikely.
On the other hand, they were a few hours out from Tamarind and should now be able to clearly see what Janos had left behind for its defense. Which was likely the source of Flag Captain Neil's comment.
"There's a lot less ships in orbit of Tamarind than I expected there to be." Neil answered, pointing at the tactical display that made absolutely zero sense to Robert. Robert had been a retired mechwarrior and ROM agent before being tapped for this mission. He'd never studied aerospace combat or strategy or their workings except the minimum necessary for this job.
"That's good, isn't it?" Robert asked. No, it was bad! It meant that Robert's forces could just walk in and gut Tamarind's war making industries with no problems. But it's not like he could say that out loud.
"For our mission? Certainly, sir." Neil replied. "But it's not just that there's fewer ships than I thought there would be. All of them show signs of damage: leaking air, radiation from their engines, that kind of thing. But most of all, almost all the Dropships are Lyran and in low orbit. I would have expected Janos to leave more than just the one Free Worlds Dropship, and that one's in high orbit, well away from the Lyrans like they're not working together."
Robert was turning that over in his head when another announcement was made.
"Sir! Ma'am! We're receiving a message from the FWDS Paul Revere.", Comms Tech reported
"We may get our answer here, sir." Neil said. "Let's hear it."
"This is the FWDS Paul Revere to any FWLM forces that can hear this. Janos Marik is dead. The Lyran bastards have turned on us and are seizing Tamarind and the entire Duchy for themselves. The last orders from Duchess Therese is that she'll accept help from anyone to kick the Lyrans out, and that she's offering the allegiance of the entire Duchy of Tamarind to any Free Worlds League force that comes to our aid. I don't know if the Duchess is still alive, but if she isn't, I guarantee the rest of us will honor her promise."
"I guess we have our answer, sir." Neil said. She turned to Robert. "What are your orders?"
Robert stood frozen. If he were really a Marik – hell, if he were anyone that was honestly bent on conquering the Free Worlds League – then this was a golden opportunity. Why merely raid Tamarind when he could conquer it and add the entire Duchy and its industries outright to his own holdings? And the conquest would be even easier than the raid because he'd have the local people and FWLM forces on his side fighting already twice depleted Steiner forces. If Hanse Davion were here, he'd clearly accept the Duchess' offer; you didn't need to be a genius to see its advantages.
But if he did that, Robert would be well on his way to winning the entire civil war and his Comstar masters didn't want that. But Robert didn't see any way around liberating Tamarind from the Lyrans without gutting his own cause. Neil was clearly eager to lend aid, and so would the rest of Robert's FWLM personnel once they got the word. If Robert went through with the planned raid, he'd probably lose the loyalty of his own people, and worse, Hanse might have some pithy things to say about such a bone headed decision.
Given that Hanse was arguably more popular with Robert's FWLM troops than Robert himself, they might very well support a coup against Robert and let Hanse rule their corner of the Free Worlds League outright. While that would support Comstar's goals, that would also likely be very very bad for Robert's personal health.
"Signal the local FLWM forces." Robert began, hoping he didn't sound as defeated as he felt. "Tell them help will be arriving in... however long it takes us to get there. What's our ETA again?"
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===The Price of Failure===
8th August, 3013
Imperial City, Luthien
Draconis Combine
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"Subhash." Takashi Kurita called as he studied the latest disastrous report from his people in the Free Worlds League. The Combine's local "allies" had not only turned on them, but were suing for peace with Duncan Marik, maybe even negotiating an actual alliance!
Takashi had been Coordinator, supreme leader of the Draconis Combine, for only nine years now. He was only forty three years old, still young and vigorous if not as young and vigorous as he used to be. He'd also survived three attempts on his life. All of which had almost certainly come from powerful nobles in his own realm, although he didn't know which ones. Hopefully, he managed to get the last culprit in the last purge.
However, that wasn't really relevant right now. Except that one of his prime assassination suspects was clearly responsible for this unfolding fiasco going on in the Free Worlds League. Takashi had never liked sending DCMS forces and Combine resources into the Free Worlds League; that policy had been started under Takashi's father, Hohiro. Takashi had only permitted it to continue because it had kept at least one Warlord busy doing something other than plotting against Takashi.
"Yes, Coordinator?" Subhash Indrahar replied. He was an old friend of Takashi's. Takashi had appointed Subhash to lead the Combine's Internal Security Force as one of his first acts as Coordinator, and Subhash was very, very good at his job. In fact, Subhash was so good at his job, Takashi sometimes worried about him as well, despite Subhash never giving Takashi cause to doubt his loyalty. Except of course, great power wielded by a subordinate was always worrying in its own right.
"Which Warlord was in charge of our Free Worlds League operations again?" Takashi asked mildly.
"Ah, that would be Andre Mitsushi, Warlord of Dieron." Subhash replied with anticipation. "Would you like him questioned?"
"Please," Takashi assented. "and investigate his entire chain of command while you're at it. I'm sure there will be plenty of blame to go around."
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===Commitment to the Cause===
10th August, 3013
Zanzibar, Tamarind
Free Worlds League
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As it turned out, Robert didn't have to fight anyone. Once the Lyrans realized how much overwhelming force Robert was bringing down on them, they had hurriedly loaded up what personnel they had left on Tamarind and hightailed it for the opposing Jump Point with their remaining space forces before Robert could even arrive. Robert's people – Federated Suns allies included - had been greeted by cheering crowds when they landed.
As it turned out, Duchess Therese was still very much alive, albeit heavily bandaged and having apparently survived several non-lethal gunshot wounds. She met them in Tamarind's operations center which was very much a mess still. At least the bodies had been taken away first.
"Welcome to Tamarind, Uncle Robert." Therese said ironically. The way she emphasized the word "Uncle" implied that she believed that Robert was no such thing, but she also wasn't openly calling him out on his parentage. "I wish I could have spruced up the place for you, but I was rather... busy."
"I can see that." Robert said uncertainly. "So, you said you'd support my cause?"
"Yes, and I'll honor that promise too." Therese replied. She waved her hand broadly, indicating the messy Operation Center. "But first, we'll need to kick out any Lyran forces in the Duchy's other systems. Luckily, my people tell me the damage here is mostly cosmetic and all the servers are still intact. We just need replacement terminals and we'll have all of the Lyran deployment orders that had been issued before this Helm business came down."
"Of course." Robert said, nodding. That seemed reasonable. His new holdings needed to be secured. That should keep his forces occupied for a few extra weeks...
"Of course, we need to prep our defenses for when the Lyrans come back." Therese continued. "They attempted to annex my Duchy and I have no doubt they'll try again. Especially if they think we've been weakened by the fighting. So we'll need to maintain a strong response force here in Tamarind."
Robert started to nod in agreement before catching himself. Wait a minute. Wasn't Robert supposed to be the one in charge now?
"We should also negotiate a ceasefire with cousin Duncan so we don't have to fend him off along with the Lyrans." Theresa added. "He seems like a reasonable man, and he's fought the Lyrans too. Defeated two Lyran field armies in almost as many days!"
"I don't know about that." Robert said slowly. "Duncan is allied with Capellans. I'm not sure Hanse is going to like becoming a de facto Capellan ally. I'll need to consult with him."
"Consult with him?" Therese asked, surprised. No, she wasn't really surprised; Therese was obviously just being melodramatic and clearly feigning surprise. "Do you want to be Captain-General, don't you, Robert? Can you not make decisions for the good of the League without having to go running to your Davion ally like some puppet? If you want to be Captain General, then you need to make a decision, not Hanse Davion! I'm not asking you to give Duncan the Captain Generalship. I'm just asking you to make a ceasefire truce with him. So what will it be Robert? Yes or no?"
Robert could feel the eyes of every FWLM officer in the room boring into him, and he knew damn well which decision they wanted to hear.
"Okay, yes." Robert said, to the relief of everyone in the room except his heavily outnumbered AFFS officers. Then a sudden though occurred to Robert, and he quickly added, "But I'm not agreeing to any duels!"
As a rippled of laughter ran around the Operations Room, Robert thought hard. If Hanse had kept to his schedule, he should already be in the Oriente system and transiting to the planet by now. Robert wondered how long he could string out negotiations with Duncan for, and how many of his people would let him. They knew Hanse's schedule as well.
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===Changing Course of a Nation===
14th August, 3013
Great Assembly, Tharkad
Lyran Commonwealth
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Katrina Steiner stood before the Estates General, the legislative parliament of the Lyran Commonwealth. She was a very popular figure in the Commonwealth with both the civilian population and military. As Archon Alessandro Steiner's niece, Katrina was widely regarded as the Archon's heir, had mysteriously vanished for many years, only to reappear in Lyran public life and politics a few years ago with a baby daughter in tow. And with her reappearance, she had become one of the Archon's most outspoken critics on his military policy regarding the Free Worlds League, leading many to speculate that Katrina had been in hiding all those years from Alessandro's assassins. Or that Alessandro had her kidnapped and imprisoned and that she had escaped somehow. No one knew for sure, and Katrina wasn't telling anyone.
Katrina hadn't come before the Estates General to talk about herself and more than just the Estates General was watching her as news holovid cameras carrier her image and voice live to everyone on the planet, and to Comstar's storage files for rebroadcast to the rest of the Lyran Commonwealth and eventually the Inner Sphere.
"Members of the Estates General, people of the Lyran Commonwealth." Katrina began. "As many of you have heard by now, are armed forces have suffered a string of disasters in the Free Worlds League. Multiple field armies have been defeated and driven out of the League. The man that my uncle, our Archon Alessandro Steiner, backed is dead. Even the attempt to annex the Duchy of Tamarind has failed miserably."
"The men and women of the LCAF, our best and brightest sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers have been killed or captured. Thirteen years of our blood being spilled in someone else's war and what does Archon Alessandro have to show for it? Nothing! Nothing but empty graves, broken families, and hundreds of billions of Kroner flushed out the airlock."
"These are the ruinous policies of our Archon. And now our Archon Alessandro plans to double down on this insanity by sending even more forces into the Free Worlds League. To accomplish what exactly? To sooth his bruised pride with the blood of even more of our brave soldiers?"
"Enough, I say! Members of the Estates General, you have the power to end this madness. Before you all is a petition of No Confidence in Archon Alessandro Steiner. The man is clearly not fit to be Archon. And if you vote me in in his stead, I'll make sure no more of our brave soldiers die in stupid, pointless, petty wars."
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