FSRB Chpt 24

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==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 24==
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September 3063MAC Attack
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===Negoiations===
The month of September starts with the First Prince finally having time to finalize his agreement with Marquess Helen Trempeleau. As a thank you for her help with the Smoke Jaguar issue he not only "promotes" her title to that of Duchess and names her his "Ministerial Adviser for the Outback" but he also promises that the first Advanced Finishing School will be the Filtvelt Technical College which will be expanded upon in the future into a full on University. The first Union class dropships built in the orbiting dropship yard will also be sent to the Filtvelt Academy Training Battalion.
As soon as he has formally signed the newly revitalized education program into law and arranged for the funds to be allocated he then proceeds to meet with Precentor Martial Focht. While the two men are friends and have enormous respect for each other professionally the meeting descends into an argument almost immedietly. First Prince Victor is furious that while in the custody of the ComGuards and Star League Defence forces his sister has escaped and is once again a threat to his realm. He makes the point with a great deal of anger and Focht responds in kind, feeling that Victor offloaded his problem onto the Star League Courts and to him and this has backfired badly. Focht is also furious at the recent invasion of the Draconis Combine which he feels has damaged the credibility of the Second Star League. The two men finally calm down and both accept the other had a point but tempers remain hot. 
As a small concession to the losses incurred by the 1st Royal Battlemech Regiment, Victor offers to replace their lost equipment from his expanded industrial base and promises they will be OmniMechs. Anastasius has the good grace not to comment that the equipment will almost certainly be drawn from Marduk. Both men also agree to continue jointly funding the new Hasek-Davion Martial Academy and to provide it's instructors and staff. The academy will open it's doors in 3064 and graduate it's first class at the end of 3066. A combined arms Academy it is expected to graduate the equivalent of a mini-RCT when it's fully up and running. Victor also promises in the meantime to support and help fund not only the rebuilding of the 1st Royal Battlemech Regiment but also the expansion of the SLDF to include a 2nd Royals. While he wont donate the equipment he will make battlemechs available for sale for at least a battalion of troops in 3064. He also makes the offer to the Precentor Martial that if Comstar wishes they can move their Faslane class yardships deep within the FedSuns for safety and that he would even be open to them building fixed yards for the Star League and ComGuards ships over Defiance - probably to build Dante Frigates and Suffren Destroyers. He even offers to sell the ComGuards and SLDF a number of the highly sought after Dagger-O at a very reasonable price on long term contracts. 
Anastasius Focht is too old a warhorse to not know that Victor wants something in return and asks what that is. The First Prince explains that he wishes a number of designs to be made available for sale to the AFFS and that he would prefer for those designs to be built within the Federated Suns for security. In return for Comstar helping provide these designs he guarantees them a supply of battlemechs and vehicles for sale equal to half of whatever is produced. The other half will be open for sale to the AFFS. 
Focht immedietly wants to know what designs are that First Prince wants. Firstly, Victor explains he wants Comstar to use it's influence over the New Earth Trading Company to build a new facility within the Federated Suns. If they were to agree to build Engineering vehicles, Alacorn Mk IV tanks and Karnov UR Transports he will offer long term contracts, tax breaks and Government help in setting the plants up. Any plant's production could be split 50/50 between the Comguards/SLDF and AFFS. He would also want the ComGuards to help the new facility to produce the Von Luckner Heavy Tank to the old SLDF's Royal specifications. With a similar agreement as to purchasing ratios. 
First Prince Victor also wishes to discuss contacting Bergan Industries to begin construction of an updated Wayland Mobile Base under an exclusive contract for the AFFS and ComGuards/SLDF. However, he wishes the initial discussion to be undertaken by the Precentor Martial to avoid issues with Bergan notifying the Kuritas or Liaos. 
As a final request he wishes to lease a Faslane class yardship from the ComGuards Navy. He is willing to pay a rather substantial price for this concession. 
The older man is shocked by the sheer scale of the First Prince's suggestions. He had of course known that the First Prince was investing massively in upgrading his realms infrastructure and military industrial capacities but any one of these requests would be a major trade/industrial deal let alone all of them! He has to be honest that he isn't sure that he is able to deliver upon these sorts of deals without checking with the Primus Sharilar Mori and First Lord Kai Allard-Liao. Although Victor has heard reports that Mori might be loyal to the Combine he agrees to this, but insists that the deals must be done quietly and without being announced until they are signed. 
These discussions went on for a number of weeks but were finished by the 21st. At which time Focht took his leave of New Avalon and began heading back to Tukayyid to discuss the matter with the Primus. Once he has got her views he will contact the First Lord. 
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Near the end of September, a huge initial order for the Manteuffel OmniVehicle is signed. Not only is a massive initial order signed for but the FedSuns Government also agrees to a huge investment in expanding the lines producing the vehicle to keep up with demand. StarCorp is also able to license construction of the vehicle at their Lyran Loburg plant. Along with these purchases and expansions StarCorp is also approved to create a line for Emperor, Highlander, and King Crab Battlemechs at Crofton with an increase in Warhammer and Longbow production as well. In a linked series of deals StarCorp has the largest single boost to it's contracts within the FedSuns in it's history. However these deals are done via a high level of corruption which even as the deal is being signed is under investigation. 
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Arc Royal MechWorks also enters into formal discussions with the Federated Sun's Government to being construction of a satellite facility within FedSuns space to produce at least initially the Wolfhound class Light Battlemech for the AFFS. When this comes out voices within the Estates General and LAAF respond in fury, but both the Kells and the Davions will point to the agreement between Victor Davion and the former General of Armies Nondi Steiner. As to the AFFS being allowed to purchase Wolfhounds from Arc Royal MechWorks, but without specifications of where they will be built. This will be investigated by both the LAAF and Estates General's legal representatives, but eventually the new Archon will declare that he will approve the deal. However, it does cause a strain in Peter Steiner's relationship with not only his brother, but also Morgan Kell. These legal investigations will delay the actual signing of the agreement to build a new facility to January 3064, but both Morgan Kell and Victor Davion begin preparing for the construction and assembling materials and construction teams in late 3063 and identify the world of Killarney. Victor does discuss potentially a license for the Arctic Fox Light OmniMech and is told under no uncertain terms "no" by his brother the Archon. 
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===Training Deals===
During September, Victor Davion with his Marshal of Armies, the Princes Champion, and along with Field Marshal Angela Kouranth of the Department of Military Education discuss breaking of the Academy Training Battalions and Cadres from the non-academy Training Battalions. With the large scale expansions of the various academies it is no longer felt that the non-academy units are best served under the same formation, although of course they will remain within the remit of the Department of Military Education. They will be brigaded as a separate force as of the end of the year. Field Marshal Kouranth also suggests that the 4 existing battalions be expanded to reinforced battalions of 4 companies each and combined with training units of armor and infantry, namely a regiment of armor and 2 regiments of infantry. These forces will all be formed from new graduates of the various training facilities for conventional forces and will graduate and move onto line regiments over time. Given the huge demand for not only mechwarriors but more seasoned armour and infantry forces which have experience working with battlemech forces the First Prince and the other two officers agree to these changes provisionally and suggest trying them out on the 1st Sheraton Training Battalion as it already has an attached armour regiment. Field Marshal Kouranth is also instructed to look towards establishing 2 more Training Battalions in the coming year. 
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===Unexpected Visitors===
On the 21st of September, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th McCarron's Armored Cavalry jump into the Wernke/Talon system and begin a combat burn for the planet. Accompanying them is a large force of assault dropships and fighter wings from the CCN, along with enough cargo dropships to contain supplies for a prolonged siege. Totally ignoring the heavily populated world of Wernke they head straight for the vital industrial moon of Talon and on the 28th September stage a combat drop directly on the spaceport while their attached fighters and dropships attempt to suppress the defenders. 
The Capellan fighter and dropships are only partially successful. Despite being able to obtain local air superiority over the spaceport from the defending aerospace wings of the local defense forces and the 7th FedSuns Dragoons they are unable to fully beat down the murderous anti-aircraft fire from the defensive emplacements studded around the spaceport. As such the initial wave of the of the 3rd McCarron's Armored Cavalry take heavy losses as they attempt to land and see at least 2 dropships shot down. Still they do manage to carve out a landing zone for their following sister regiments. 
The local militia and industrial security forces back up the 7th FedSuns Dragoons in the defensive battles around the spaceport, but the 7th is hamstrung by having to hold back a substantial forces within the Kulmen, Horgrave, and Restbech Mountains to block access to the vital Kallon plant particularly in the vital O'Herron Valley. As such after a brutal fight that lasts until the 1st of October, the 3 regiments of McCarron's Armored Cavalry manage to seize control of the spaceport.
The 7th FedSuns Dragoons was already under strength from the St. Ives War has been reduced to 5 companies of Battlemechs. Similar proportion of their supporting conventional forces, while the security battalion from Kallon Industries has suffered nearly a third losses and the 2 militia armored regiments and 4 infantry supporting it are running at around 50%. The MAC units have suffered heavier losses, particularly the 3rd, but still retain an overwhelming superiority in mech forces, outnumbering the defenders nearly 3:1. The 7th and the other defending units although mauled are still intact and prepare to fight off any drive on the plant while awaiting relief which is already on it's way...
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