The Rasalhague Dominion: Friend of a Friend (but not your Friend)

[truetanker]

Would create a very interesting dynamic were the Bears and Horses to share a world.

We did once, remember Strana Mechty?

TT

[Foxx Ital]

Sharing tokasha didnt work out so well :(

[David CGB]

Sharing tokasha didnt work out so well :(

they have grown up since then.....

[Jellico]

Operation Jörmungandr

Khan Malvina Hazen would never know just how close to salvaging the situation SaKhan Pryde had come at Skye. With more transport assets he might have been able to mobilise more Clusters and prevent them being defeated in detail. Had the Lyrans not intervened he would certainly have been able to take the war to the Vega protectorate.
Coreward Hazen had commandeered all available JumpShips to deal with her own problems. As early as Wave 3 of Operation Polly she had begun preparing her return to Sudeten. It would take two months for her couriers to reach her most distant Clusters and a further three for them to make their arrangements and join Hazen at Graus.
The gains on the Coventry front would have to be abandoned. Delta Galaxy would hold the line between Arc Royal and Great X. Likewise the three operational Clusters of Rho would have to hold the entire Hell’s Horses’ border. This gave Hazen one frontline and two second line Galaxies plus the 8th Falcon regulars to retake Sudeten and Pandora.
The biggest problem was the presence of the battleship Rasalhague. Hazen’s five operational WarShips would at best equal the battleship in combat. The reality was her invasion force would probably suffer similar casualties in space whether her WarShips were there or not.
Khan Hazen needed either draw off the battleship or cheaply defeat it. To achieve the latter massed nuclear weapons seemed to offer the best chance. At the very least it would force the battleship away from her invasion force. To achieve the former Star Admiral Von Jankmon offered a possibility that might draw off Rasalhague but would also guarantee a satisfying revenge against the Dominion.
It would take a month of further preparations to get her warriors into position but the 1st of April 3147 Hazen’s revenge could begin.

Wave 1 (1st April 3147)

The Rasalhague Dominion was on edge. It has been three months since major combat with the Jade Falcons. The Lyrans had started reclaiming worlds on the Coventry Front in December and reported no sign of the Falcons anti-spinward of Arc Royal. Initiative had been well and truly surrendered to the Falcons. Hunter patrols had revealed a build-up on Graus but none of the Falcon WarShips had been seen since January raising the question of how did the Falcons intend to get past Rasalhague?

Dominion Front
Star Admiral Von Jankmon’s plan called for deep penetration raids by WarShips into the Rasalhague Dominion. This in turn called for cutting across the Hell’s Horses occupation Zone but after the disabling of the Butler Yards Khan Hazen didn’t particularly care. The time for revenge was nigh.

New Oslo
The Jade Star made up of Jade Aerie and Jade Talon arrived at the New Oslo Le Grange point on the 11th of March and immediately began burning towards the planet, arriving on the 1st of April. The aerospace focused 55th PGC rose up to meet them in orbit. Outnumbered and out gunned the 55th managed to down 40% of the Falcon’s aerospace fighters before the survivors retreated to hidden bunkers to wait out the inevitable invasion. Instead the WarShips began to bombard the world starting with Manufacturing Site #3 before moving on to Albany. Civilian casualties were estimated at three million, mostly in Albany. With that the Jade Star began its burn away from New Oslo and onto its next target.

Satalice
Made up of White Aerie and Blue Talon the White Star arrived in Satalice’s atmosphere on the 1st of April. With no defenders the local governor made contact to discuss terms. Star Admiral Von Jankmon ignored her and began the bombardment of the GK&T facilities at Ascencius. The WarShips then proceeded to level Dranga causing millions of casualties. Burning away from Satalice the Falcons failed to notice a JumpShip already at the Nadir point jumping away.

Wave 2 (22nd April 3147)
It would take time for news of the Falcons attacks to spread. Without HPGs the Dominion had to rely upon JumpShip couriers. It would provide the cover the Falcons needed to reach their next targets.
Dominion Front
The Jade Star had taken significant losses and some consideration was given to retreating. However so deep Spinward it would be some months before the cruisers could re-join the Falcon touman in a meaningful way. For now they would be better served by continuing to raid the Dominion.
On the other hand the undamaged White Star faced an uneventful two jumps until it reached its next target. After the success of Satalice Star Admiral Von Jankmon had reason to feel confident. His main concern was how to stay ahead of Rasalhague when it inevitably began hunting them.

Alshain
A single JumpShip had observed the White Star at Satalice and rushed straight to Alshain. For a week the planet digested the fate of Satalice while the high command tried to guess where the WarShips might show up next. Then the White Star arrived at the Zenith point and destroyed the recharge station. There was no ambiguity about the Falcon’s intentions. No quarter would be asked and none would be given. With significant orbital assets there could be no question of meeting the Falcons in orbit. Instead they would try and intercept the Falcons just as they ceased their deceleration burn.
Using DropShips to extend their range the aerospace elements of the 2nd Valkyrie and elite command Trinaries managed to make the intercept. Unfortunately this put them a mere 20 minutes from weapon range to the Tseng Facility. 
Star Admiral Von Jankmon accepted that this would be a major battle that he could well lose, but gave orders to accelerate towards the Alshain orbital complexes relying upon his WarShip’s armour to hold out against the aerospace fighters. This hope evaporated minutes later when Blue Talon was torn apart by nuclear hellfire. Outnumbered his own fighters could not effectively screen his WarShips. Seeing the next attack breaking through the fighter screen Von Jankmon accepted the inevitable and gave the order to abandon ship. Nonetheless White Aerie was still firing when three warheads smashed into its port side. None penetrated catastrophically but the explosions stripped the armour and did massive damage to the ship. This alone allowed most of the crew to escape. Von Jankmon would not be one of them.

Rasalhague
No news from New Oslo had escaped yet when the Jade Star arrived at Rasalhague and destroyed the Nadir recharge station. The 1st Kavalleri and 6th Valkyrie followed standard doctrine and met the Jade Star just out of orbit.
On paper the Falcons should have had an advantage but the Dominion forces were far more skilled. 50 Falcon fighters were quickly swarmed by the 130 Dominion fighters who bore on to the WarShips. With Jade Talon breaking up the Jade Aerie angled itself across Rasalhague’s upper atmosphere and opened it throttles to full. Venting atmosphere and losing control Jade Aerie unleased three broadsides at the surface before breaking free of the atmosphere and accelerating away. Caught by surprise the Dominion defenders wasted vital minutes before beginning their pursuit. Over the next few hours Jade Aerie could be seen regaining hull integrity and control but ultimately the aerospace fighters had to give up the chase. There was now a badly damaged but still functional hostile cruiser loose inside the Dominion.
On Rasalhague the random spray of autocannon fire smashed across Ophiuchi with rounds hitting Reykjavik, Ptolemy in the middle of the GK&T facility, and Cordoba. Several other smaller cities and towns were hit with varying degrees of destruction. Casualties were in the thousands, though thankfully nowhere received the sustained bombardments of New Oslo and Satalice.

[Natasha Kerensky]

More good stuff, J.  I gotta think these kinds of clan-on-clan orbital bombardments, especially post-Jihad & WoR, would draw Trials of Absorption/Annihilation from the Council of Six.  Guess we'll find out in this timeline...

[Foxx Ital]

In the words of a great man...that escalated quickly

[Jellico]

Let me start by saying that all Clans are vulnerable to being decapitation by invasion or otherwise. They have no strategic depth.

Malvina is out of options and time. She is down to Butler (JumpShips), Erewhon, and whatever Eagle Craft can build her. That means that she is on Sea Fox credit and would you go easy on her? Half her touman is dead. The Lyrans are coming, because why wouldn't they. She needs Sudeten or her Clan dies.


Part of this turned into an exercise on what a stray WarShip could do. I usually figure 60-80 Clan medium ASF to drop a naked Aegis. How many worlds have that cover? On important worlds I would have a line where the nules come out. For an Alshain or Rasalhauge that would be about 2 Aegis which is about the limit of the defenders. It might not be canon but after the DA I would assume that every faction would do the same thing.

Oh I am not sure that I have mentioned it but the battles have all been gamed out with a simple 1 Mech kills 1 Mech spreadsheet. Add some skill modifiers etc. Eg 2 Clusters vs 1 Cluster the small force gets wipes and the big force takes 25% losses.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

More good stuff, J.  I gotta think these kinds of clan-on-clan orbital bombardments, especially post-Jihad & WoR, would draw Trials of Absorption/Annihilation from the Council of Six.  Guess we'll find out in this timeline...

I'm not so sure. As of the Dark Age, the Council has about as much relevance as ComStar.

[Jaim Magnus]

My impression of the Council of Six... based on the drips and drabs we've had on it... is that it has about as much political clout as a flea. It's a glorified swap meet where those few Clanners who still pay more than lip service to their shared past can meet and trade bloodlines and technical specs.

[Natasha Kerensky]

My impression of the Council of Six... based on the drips and drabs we've had on it... is that it has about as much political clout as a flea. It's a glorified swap meet where those few Clanners who still pay more than lip service to their shared past can meet and trade bloodlines and technical specs.

I'm not so sure. As of the Dark Age, the Council has about as much relevance as ComStar.

Yes, the Council of Six went from authorizing Clan support for Stone and the Republic during the Jihad to being a ceremonial body represented by each Khan's designee during the Dark Ages.

What I was getting at is that the orbital bombardment of Clan capitals in Jellico's plotline isn't that far removed from Dehra Dun getting nuked by the Not-Named (or whoever pinned it on the Not-Named).  I'd have to think that either the Horses or the Wolves (or both) would use that as pretext to call for a Trial of Absorption or Annihilation.

Maybe that would happen someplace other than the Council of Six in the late Dark Age timeframe.  Maybe the Horses or Wolves would just declare the trial without the agreement of the other clans.

But it's hard to see how clan-on-clan WMD or orbital bombardment would not be met with absorption or annihilation (or at least the attempt), even if just for political gain, especially given the official history behind the Not-Named, the not-so-distant Jihad, and how the Spheroid Clans shut down contact with the Homeworlds Clans after the Wars of Reaving.

FWIW...

[Jaim Magnus]

Or it might be a case of the other Clans viewing the Falcons as reaping what they have sown.

[jklantern]

I'm not so sure. As of the Dark Age, the Council has about as much relevance as ComStar.

Ouch, that hurts.  It's TRUE, but it still hurts.

I'm going to go stare into an empty glass for a while now.  Call me when something blows up.

[Jellico]

Wave 3 (29th April 3147)
Khan Hazen allowed for a month after the initial WarShip strikes to give the Dominion every chance to dispatch Rasalhague. If they didn’t she wasn’t too worried. There were other targets to hit and her invasion force had long since been dispatched.

Sudeten Front
Sudeten may have had a battleship in orbit but Pandora didn’t. Hitting the world was relatively easy and by attaching the corvette Jade Tornado would act as bait for Rasalhague two jumps away. Better yet with a 68-day transit time to the Jump Point Pandora would be a trap for any forces the Dominion sent to relieve it. The transit time would make the Pandora campaign something of a time capsule. Communications could be sent to and from JumpShips at the jump points in relative real time, and JumpShip could leave from relatively close to the planet. But any incoming troops would be trapped for months unable to have any effect on the war beyond Pandora. The Falcons had an advantage in that they could time their arrival to coordinate with the rest of Wave 3, but from then on they were under the same difficulties as everyone else.
Pandora
Galaxy Commander Terje Hembre expected the Falcons to attack with WarShip support and he wasn’t disappointed. He made no attempt to use his aerospace fighters to intercept the Falcons in orbit. He simply lacked the numbers to make a fight of it. The Clusters under Hembres command were dispersed and hidden so not in any immediate danger of bombardment. Thus Galaxy Commander Ernest Binetti found himself in the odd position of having taken Pandora without a shot being fired, yet there still being more than a Galaxy of hostile troops on world.
On the 6th of May an incoming message from a JumpShip was detected by the Watch. Then an outbound message, though its location could not be triangulated. The rest of the Dominion now knew that Pandora were under attack.
The Falcons themselves first come under attack when a force of 1st Hussars ‘Mechs hit the space port under cover of darkness. The Trinary of fast ‘Mechs overwhelmed the perimeter ‘Mechs before targeting the hangers. 30 aerospace fighters of the 51st Garrison and 7th Mixed Cluster would be destroyed before the ‘Mechs raced towards Deliverance. Here they would be lost in the clutter of the city’s buildings. It would be later determined that ‘Mechs slipped into the harbour and made their way out to sea.

Wave 4 (20th May 3147)
Months of work had come down to this. Anti-spinward the Lyrans were pushing Delta Galaxy back from Great X. Khan Gottfried Amirault was wanting an explanation for the destruction on New Oslo. The Dominion was engaging in a guerrilla campaign on Pandora. Khan Hazen had to retake Sudeten. She was out of troops and out of time.
Diplomacy
Khan Gottfried Amirault was not a happy Khan. He had been offered New Oslo by the Jade Falcons, but now he was receiving reports that they had bombarded the world to irrelevance from orbit. Equally worrying were reports of the bombardment of other Dominion worlds. Khan Amirault’s own troops had experience of bombardment at the hands of the Falcons and he was fast running out of patience with Khan Hazen’s loose application of the Mongol Doctrine. Amirault brought this up with a Falcon envoy who dismissed the Khan’s concerns and warned that the Horses should mind their own business. Amirault approved the invasion of Butler, Erewhon and Somerset that afternoon.

Dominion Front

Jade Aerie was alone, in major need of repair with no DropShips or aerospace fighters but Star Admiral Sender was determined continue the mission. Jade Aerie still had weapons and as long as he picked his targets it should be safe.

Spittal
Jade Aerie was detected three days burn out at the Zenith Jump Point. The green 4th Freemen had to overcome the realisation that a WarShip was coming their way but they managed to get a Binary of aerospace fighters into orbit on an intercept course.
The resulting battle was almost comical. The Freemen were not trained to attack a WarShip and the Jade Aerie barely had any functional weapons. Sender tried to replicate his tactics at Rasalhague and sprayed a salvo across the surface of Spittal mostly hitting the sparsely populated Grampians. As Jade Aerie began to pull away from Spittal one of the fighters managed to score a hit in Jade Aerie’s aft that cascaded into her engines. Losing all thrust the battle cruiser continued drifting away from Spittal. The surviving Freemen continued to pick away at the Jade Aerie for another hour before losses and fuel forced them to turn back. A DropShip was dispatched from Spittal to track her down, but again the Jade Aerie disappeared.

Sudeten Front
The fighting on Pandora existed in a bubble. The long transit time from the Jump Points meant any outside actions would take months to have an influence. Rather than send Rasalhague the Dominion sent a pair of Odysseys loaded with carrier and assault DropShips. For the Falcons on world they knew something hostile had arrived from the radio traffic, but they couldn’t know what or if it even stayed in system. So they lived in fear of an imaginary battleship while their warriors fought a slow grinding war on the ground.
On Graus Khan Hazen was finally ready to attack Sudeten. The moment of decision had come.

Pandora
The past few weeks had been one of cat and mouse. The Falcons tried to find Tundra Galaxy and call down bombardment from Jade Talon where they could. Most worryingly they could not find Tundra’s aerospace fighters. Tundra did its best to avoid combat. Tracking Jade Talon in the sky and moving at night they were mostly successful. The Falcons had moved their fighters to DropShips in orbit so any further raids by Tundra were out of the question, or where they?
At dawn on the 31st of May the 1st and 3rd Hussars hit the 51st Mixed Cluster’s laager. Within 20 minutes it was clear that this would be a major battle and the Hussars would not be retreating. Jade Tornado vectored to intercept. Suddenly she detected a heat bloom on the surface. 60 Aerospace fighters were in bound and minutes away. Calls were put out to Iota’s Carrier DropShips in orbit on the other side of Pandora. Vital minutes ticked by. The first of Jade Tornado’s fighters launched to join the CAP. The Falcon and Dominion fighters met and began their fatal dance. The WarShip itself opened its throttles and began to put space between itself and the battle. Then a group of fighters broke free and began to engage Jade Talon directly. Easily entering its rear arc they tore into its engineering compartments leaving the ship drifting. The escorting Carrier class DropShip tried to interfere and died in moments for no effect as Jade Talon’s aft continued to collapse. Only when escape pods started to launch and the corvette began to break up did the pounding stop.
A Trinary of damaged Tundra fighters remained to hold the field. These in turn streaked towards the surface with Iota’s fighters less than an hour behind. This time there would be no hiding as the Tundra fighters set down at a rural landing strip on Nirvana. Iota’s fighters streaked down looking to strafe their enemies on the ground. Instead they ran into a SAM trap as the 2nd Drakøn opened up with missiles and Arrow IVs. Actual Iota casualties were few, but they were prevented from attacking the grounded fighters. As the remains of the 51st Mixed died under the guns of the Hussars, the nature of the battle changed. Tundra Galaxy had gained air parity while having double the ground troops. Now it was Iota’s turn to hide.

Sudeten
Orbital mechanics dictated the date of Hazen’s liberation of Sudeten. On the 29th of May fifteen JumpShips materialised at a pirate point in the wake of Saar. Carriers, Claymores, Auroras, and Unions X DropShips detached, as aerospace fighters launched in clouds. Unfortunately orbital mechanics ensured Rasalhague was already there. The battleship reached out and DropShips began to flash out of existence while JumpShips waddled clear of the battlefield.  Hundreds of fighters swirled in vast clouds. Unseen in the blackness nuclear warheads detonated as dying Falcon bombers unleased on aerospace fighters to at least kill something.
And then the second fleet arrived. The swirling eddies of magnetic fields left in the wake of Sule formed into a pirate point just as they had for her sister moon. The Dominion planned for this and had stationed a force of eight DropShips there to screen it, but the fleet that arrived would overwhelm them with ease. Ten Clusters of varying strength were thrusting towards Sudeten eight hours away. On the far side of Sudeten Rasalhague disengaged and raced back to intercept Hazen with the first Falcon fleet chasing it the whole way.
Just before the Falcons hit Sudeten’s atmosphere a wave of Dominion fighters from the seven Clusters on world rose up to meet them while Rasalhague appeared over Sudeten’s horizon. Sixteen DropShips fell and burned in Sudeten’s upper atmosphere but a full 80% of Hazen’s force made it to the surface intact. Grounding on the plains outside Hammarr the Falcons scurried into the cover provided by the city while their DropShips scattered to hide where they could.
Vastly outnumbered the garrisoning Dominion 14th Battle Cluster made no attempt to fight and retreated out of the city to join the 33nd Assault at Salzberg. Already the rest of the Dominion Clusters were converging in DropShips. The Falcons may have abandoned their DropShips but this was their world and they knew where every cache and ammo dump was. The 3rd mixed Cluster was sending out scavenging parties to secure sources of resupply while the 8th Falcon Regulars secured the space port.
In space the Dominion had won the battle though at great cost. Less than half of Rasalhague’s fighter bays were occupied while the ship itself had been struck by two nuclear weapons scrambling its sensors. The idea of levelling Hammarr from orbit was briefly considered but then abandoned. If nothing else it may have convinced the Lyrans to reconsider their alliance of convenience. Instead the battleship left for Alshain and repair. An orbital watch was placed on Hammarr and the siege begun.
On the 5th of June Hammarr space port began combat operations with a probing air attack on the DropShips laagered around Salzberg. Looking to conserve their aerospace fighters the Dominion responded with a missile strike from their attendant Polaris DropShip.
Disabling the space port would become the Dominion’s primary focus over the next month. While they have a very slight advantage in troops the Falcons had a slight advantage in air power. The Dominion would bombard the space port whenever they had the ammunition, slowly whittling away the Falcons aerospace fighters in their bunkers. In return the Falcons would mass their ground troops and try and break out of the cordon around Hammarr. Only the rapid response and profligate use of air power would seal these breaches whittling down the Dominion’s forces in turn.
In this battle of attrition, the Dominion had the advantage of remaining in control of space around Sudeten. While fresh troops were rare regular convoys brought shiploads of supplies, munitions, and new ‘Mechs to keep their troops fighting. Reliance on firepower and mass bombardment would be the order of the day.
The Falcons lacked materiel but they had troops. A few public hangings on the first days of the siege convinced Hammarr’s population of the permanence of Khan Hazen’s rule and Clusters of “volunteers” were organised and armed with anything available. Given that this was the Falcon’s capital world this was less draconian than it sounds and a ready supply of tested out and ex-warriors were on hand to fill gaps in the regular Clusters. Though an occasional brave DropShip made it through the Dominion cordon, salvage would be the order of the day and the Falcon force actually increased in number (though quality dropped) as the Dominion force wilted.



Wave 5 (1st July 3147)
On the Coventry Front Delta Galaxy had been flanked and overrun as the Lyrans pushed their advantage. The Hell’s Horses had pushed Rho Galaxy aside and were spreading out across the coreward side of the Falcon OZ from the industrial centres of Butler and Erewhon.
Clan Jade Falcon was dying. Khan Hazen might have been able to eke out a victory against the Dominion and use Zellbrigen to enforce a peace, but that wouldn’t stop the Lyrans as had been shown at Skye. Hazen needed Sudeten and she needed to get her remaining troops if she was to have any hope of convincing the Lyrans to cease their assault. A Trial was the only way out. But would the Dominion allow it.

Dominion Front

Jade Aerie attacked and captured an Invader and its DropShips off Goito on the 30th of June. News of the Horses’ entry into the war and the stalemate on Sudeten was not what Star Admiral Sender wanted to hear. With no clear way for his Clan to emerge victorious his options were surrender or to hurt his enemies as gravely as possible. He chose the latter.

Alshain
On the 14th of July a navigational buoy detected a very large mass moving at very high speed two days out from Alshain. Follow up scans revealed it to be a Black Lion class battlecruiser coming in fast and cold on a collision course with Alshain. Lacking time to redirect the cruiser or any craft with the mass to deflect it, the only choice was to try and shred the cruiser, deflect what they could and hope Alshain’s atmosphere could burn up the rest.
Every aerospace fighter available was loaded into any DropShip that could launch a fighter and sent to intercept the cruiser. That was when the fast moving Invader was detected on a different approach path. Faced with a second target Alshain command had to split its force to not only engage both targets but retain a reserve in case a third craft appeared.
Six hours out from Alshain the defenders engaged. Out of thirty nukes launched at the cruiser only eighteen survived impact long enough to detonate. Fifteen hit the Invader. Both ships came apart in an instant becoming an ever expanding field of fast moving debris. Unable to do any more the fighters returned to their DropShips and began the trip back to Alshain.
On Alshain the debris was scanned for larger chunks, civilians were sent to bomb shelters and castles Brian. The members of government were lifted off world and everyone waited.
At 11:13 on the 16th of July the Anti-Missile Systems on the civilian naval years chattered into life as the first debris field crossed its equatorial orbit. Despite this multiple hull breaches were reported and an Odyssey suffered an explosion in the dockyard before the yards moved clear.
The sky over Alshain lit up as the debris field hit the atmosphere. Flaming streaks filled the sky for an hour, before dimming then starting up again as the second field hit. While the world was spared an extinction level event many large objects made it to the surface. Bunjil and Swan especially were peppered with a string of craters. One of the training fields at Jorgensson Combat School was hit with the shockwave levelling buildings at the main compound. Bergan Industries took a direct hit. The hardened structure survived with shock damage to the equipment within. Bergan City wasn’t so lucky with extensive damage to its outer suburbs. Four other cities across Alshain would be damaged not counting smaller towns. The final death toll would be estimated at only one hundred and fifty thousand thanks to safety measures. Property damage would leave millions homeless. 
Using the DropShips they had captured earlier Star Admiral Sender and the crew of Jade Aerie attempted to board the JumpShip Sigmund at the Alshain Nadir point one week later but the crew blew the jump core seals. Captured they were taken to Alshain for trial. Remarkably Sender successfully fought a Trial of Refusal and Jade Aerie’s entire crew was placed in protective custody.

Sudeten Front
Combat on Pandora had been dragging on since April with neither side able to gain an advantage over the other. Neither side was receiving supplies and Red Devil Industries and Quikscell had ceased operation. With better prepared positions this suited the Dominion more. But it would only take a small slip to shift the balance.
On Sudeten the situation had reached a critical mass. Khan Hazen needed a victory and was prepared to achieve it.

Pandora
As the fighting on Pandora dragged on it became a question of the hearts and minds of the civilians. Pandora had changed hands between the Falcons and Lyrans repeatedly over the last fifty years so there were elements of resistance. The Dominion had a reputation as a reasonable occupier while the Falcons had long made clear the fate of those who would betray it. Typically, the natives served whoever had a ‘Mech standing over them at that minute.
Wary of the Falcons combining their three remaining Clusters the Dominion established a firebase at the space port and began operating patrols in force. The Falcons nominally had space superiority because they still had their Carrier DropShips in orbit, but neither side was willing to face the other.
The Falcons finally took the bait on the 3rd of July when they ambushed the 2nd and 3rd Drakøn. The 1st Drakøn, 1st and 3rd Hussars immediately sortied hoping to catch the Falcons while both sides put their full aerospace assets in the air. The Dominion found the 2nd and 3rd Drakøn dug in and surrounded. With a confrontation expected there was no surprise to be gained and 3rd Falcon and 5th Talon broke off to engage. Tired of months of fighting both sides fought to achieve a result and no quarter was given. When the dust settled the Dominion held the ground though all five Clusters were shattered.


Sudeten
On the 1st of July Khan Hazen marched out of Hammarr to seek parley. Her offer was simple. A Trial of Possession for Sudeten involving single combat between herself and the Dominion’s champion. For Loremaster Hans Kabrinski the offer was farcical. Hazen’s reputation preceded her and after the loss of Skye, Kabrinski had no desire to risk the one major gain of the campaign.
Even as Khan Hazen marched back to Hammarr the Falcons began to move. The complete mass of Lambda Galaxy pushed out against the 2nd Tyr Assault. Falling back, it was all the 2nd Tyr could do not to be overrun by the swarm of light vehicles. As Lambda secured the flanks Gamma Galaxy pushed through the centre of the line and headed towards the Dominion DropShips. The Rasalhague Clusters started a running battle parallel to the Falcons, prevented from directly attacking Gamma Galaxy by the flanking Lambda Galaxy. As aerospace fighters clashed above the rest of the Rasalhague Galaxy moved to support the 2nd Tyr while Beta Galaxy had to travel around Hammarr to avoid any traps the Falcons may have set.
When the direction of the Falcon assault became known Loremaster Kabrinski immediately ordered the Dominion DropShips to lift off. Launch would take 45 minutes and the lead elements of the Falcons would be there in 20. Needing to buy time Kabrinski called down what remained of his orbital CAP, achieving air superiority, though none of the fighters immediately available was armed for ground support. 
When the lead elements of Gamma Galaxy arrived at the Dominion firebase they stumbled into an ant’s nest of supplies and equipment. Technicians scattered everywhere as the first DropShips fired their engines and began to lift off. Faced with being overrun the DropShips began firing on the lightweight lead Falcons and in the melee it was inevitable that ammunition dumps and fuel supplies were hit with devastating results.
With the arrival of the heavier Gamma units the DropShips came under direct fire. First one, then another, then another burst into flames on the ground. Then a massive Mule was hit as it was clearing the firefight, crashing back down, crumpling onto defenders and attackers alike.  In this devil’s kitchen of burning fuel and exploding munitions Khan Hazen’s Gamma Galaxy was slowly bringing order when Lambda units began racing through and out the other side. Hazen ordered those fleeing to be destroyed on sight when the main bulk of Lambda Galaxy backed into the dropzone under heavy fire. Beta Galaxy had arrived and together with the Rasalhague Galaxy were pushing Lambda back.
Strafed from above and cut off from Hammarr there was nowhere to run. All four Galaxies poured fire into each other in a close range melee. When it was over the smoke wouldn’t clear the battlefield for two weeks. All of the Dominion units were rendered combat ineffective, but the Falcons were annihilated. Khan Hazen’s Shrike was found but the Khan was not. It didn’t matter. With control of space and a Cluster’s worth of troops on the ground the Dominion controlled Sudeten.


Units Involved
Jade Falcon

Unit   %   Exp   
1st Falcon Velites   0   1   Gamma   Sudeten
3rd Falcon Talon   0   1   Gamma   Sudeten
9th Falcon Talon   0   2   Gamma   Sudeten
6th Falcon Striker   0   3   Gamma   Sudeten
2nd Falcon Jaegers   0   3   Gamma   Sudeten
3rd Falcon Swoop   0   3   Iota   Pandora
5th Talon   0   3   Iota   Pandora
51st Garrison   0   3   Iota   Pandora
7th Mixed   0   4   Iota   Pandora
22nd PGC   0   3   Lambda   Sudeten
24th PGC   0   2   Lambda   Sudeten
2nd Falcon Swoop   5   3   Lambda   Sudeten
3rd Mixed   0   4   Lambda   Sudeten
8th Falcon Regulars   5   2   Kappa   Sudeten

Rasalhague Dominion

Unit   %   Exp
332nd Assault   13   1   Beta      Sudeten
14th Battle   24   2   Beta      Sudeten
18th Battle   18   3   Beta      Sudeten
140th Striker   24   2   Beta      Sudeten
1st Tyr Assault   13   1   Rasalhague      Sudeten
2nd Tyr Assault   11   2   Rasalhague      Sudeten
Gunzburg Eagles   13   2   Rasalhague      Sudeten
1st Drakon   11   1   Tundra      Pandora
2nd Drakon   17   3   Tundra      Pandora
3rd Drakon   16   2   Tundra      Pandora
1st Hussars   18   3   Tundra      Pandora
3rd Hussars   16   2   Tundra      Pandora
300th Battle   8   3   Rho      Pandora
343rd Battle   9   4   Rho      Pandora



Aftermath
On the 17th of July the Rasalhague Dominion Council declared a Trial of Annihilation against Clan Jade Falcon in the ruined suburbs of Bergan city. The politicians could not know that the task was already completed.  As world of Khan Hazen’s fall spread the surviving pockets of Jade Falcon warriors fled into the arms of the Hell’s Horses or Dominion rather than face the oncoming Lyran Commonwealth. By the end of August, the Falcons would be no more.
To the victors went the spoils. The Horses did very well and secured from Barcelona to Antares to Leskovik with a minimum of fighting capturing the manufacturing centres of Butler and Erewhon. They diplomatically declined the Dominion’s offer of the ruined New Oslo earning much praise in the process.
The Lyrans secured from Lyons to Arcturus, to A Place and across to Newtown Square. There were calls to push on and into the Rasalhague Dominion however cooler heads pointed out this would leave the Commonwealth vulnerable on its other flanks. The wisdom of this was confirmed when the Horses chose to present a united diplomatic front with the Dominion.
For the Dominion the war was a disappointment. Despite defeating the majority of the Falcons in the Descant, failure to capture Skye meant handing over half of the Descant to the Lyrans. Sudeten and Pandora were notable victories but at the cost of gutting the touman. The Falcon’s strikes on Satalice, New Oslo, Rasalhague, and Alshain meant that the Dominion would be reliant on these captured worlds to resupply in the medium term. The touman itself remained combat ready. About a third had not seen combat in the war and was positioned to counter Combine adventurism. But it would be many years before offensive operations could be considered again. The population of the Dominion was in shock. Though only a few worlds had been hit, Jade Aerie’s cruise had shown how vulnerable the majority were to attack. Patriotism ran high, though many questioned the need for the war.

The payoff would come in 3150 when the Wall came down and Republic of the Sphere and the Federated Suns launched coordinated attacks on the overextended Draconis Combine. When the dust settled the Vega Protectorate would be handed back to the Republic and the Buckminster Prefecture released to Arkab, but the Irece and Albiero Prefectures as well as the anti-spinward worlds of the Bjarred and Kagoshima Prefectures would be in Dominion hands. Unfortunately, it would all mean nothing with the rise of the IlClan.

[Natasha Kerensky]

I especially like the aerospace action on Pandora in Wave 4.  It accurately portrays what I think a lot of BT planetary battles would actually be like.  The ability to bring firepower anywhere on world or in orbit within minutes using aerospace fighters should dominate a lot of engagements, largely sidelining the mech/ground action.  I could imagine a the launch countdown for the Dominion's 60 aerospace fighters as their intercept vector with the Jade Tornado finally aligned.  The subsequent SAM trap was also nice.

Good job.

[Xeno426]

When the Ghost Bears moved to the IS, did they take anything that would allow them to set up Kingfisher lines? Or has that design been lost to the Dominion?

[wantec]

When the Ghost Bears moved to the IS, did they take anything that would allow them to set up Kingfisher lines? Or has that design been lost to the Dominion?

Well, they took mobile factories, some of which were lost to the Wolves in Exile in the Trial where the Bears won Ragnar Magnusson. But the MUL does have the Kingfisher as available to the Bears in the Dark Age era. So either there is a factory line or they have a sizable supply of Kingfishers.

[Jellico]

I would go with a big pile of surplus. Remember that there are Star League vintage Mechs still in service. It takes a long time for a Mech to wear out.

The existence of all Mech lines is purposely kept vague. Especially in the Homeworlds. The only confirmed Kingfisher line is on Strana Mechty and the owners aren't mentioned.

That said every Clan probably knows how to build a Kingfisher. They just don't have the rights to build a Kingfisher. Besides, why would you? It is a dated design. There are better options. Especially if you start fresh.

[truetanker]

I'd rather use an older proven design, that is tried and true. Sure it has that zombie effect, using standard tech that doesn't need much resources to produce. Than use something that would allow me almost twice the firepower but one and a half times more resources than I currently use.

What this means is for just 2 of the newer mechs, I can have three older models!

TT

[Xeno426]

Besides, why would you?

Clan omni zombie mech. Aren't many of those, particularly in Dominion hands. A shame the Stooping Hawk can't be obtained by the Dominion anymore; that themed well with the Kingfisher (neither like to die).

I'd rather use an older proven design, that is tried and true, than use something that would allow me almost twice the firepower but one and a half times more resources than I currently use. Sure it has that zombie effect, using standard tech that doesn't need much resources to produce.

Yeah, there's a lot of survival for that BV. The speed also fits in with the general Dominion theme of mechs that move about faster than average for the weight class.

[Foxx Ital]

Did the kingfisher get a ntnu update? Cant remember and im too lazy to grab laptop out. But i too shall express love for the little assault that could. Im a big fan of zombie designs, also i still think the bears need to design a new imp in honor of our founders. Why we seriously dont use more of that mech i don't know.
 ... Also more thugs.

[Xeno426]

No, the newest version was the Kingfisher X.

Also, I just realised that one of the manufacturers of TSM is Bergan Industries.

Can we please finally get a Kodiak with TSM and actual claws?

[(SMD)MadCow]

That Bergan plant is in the CC.

[Xeno426]

That Bergan plant is in the CC.

Bah, details. I'm sure an agreement could be reached.

[Archangel]

Bah, details. I'm sure an agreement could be reached.

Like the Lyrans' agreement with the CC for the stealth armor tech?

[Xeno426]

Like the Lyrans' agreement with the CC for the stealth armor tech?

Of course! Anything to get some angry bear claws.

Given the Bears' focus on strong warriors both in and out of the cockpit, to the point they passed on the aerospace phenotype, I would have expected them to be among the first Clans to start adopting physical attacks as an extension of this personal prowess ideal. Especially with the influence of the KungsArmé on their touman.

[(SMD)MadCow]

I recall that deal ending badly. But if you want to see how much space and weight claws take up for proof of concept:

http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=57457.0

[Jellico]

PPC weight for a melee weapon that can't be pod mounted. There is a reason we don't see it...

[wantec]

PPC weight for a melee weapon that can't be pod mounted. There is a reason we don't see it...

Although on a Kodiak it does the same damage as an ERPPC. Put a pair on there, TSM it up to 5/8 speed and 30-point punches and go to town.

[(SMD)MadCow]

But its got a +2 penalty on the hit, 1 inherent from the claw and 1 from the heat. Do punches have a hit bonus like kicks do? I dont remember.

[Foxx Ital]

Id rather invest this energy into imps and thugs! Maybe omni them booth? Cause whats better than taking two great designs and making them horrible.