BattleTech FanFiction Tribble Emporium

[Dubble_g]

I won't number this as I'm not sure these have been covered before, but here's some of the what if secnarios I think are interesting:

No Star League: An expansionist Terran Hegemony crushes all five houses. Remnants of the five must learn to work together to resist their terrible foe, led by an unlikely general named Kerensky.

No compromise: The Clans launch an immediate invasion in 3005, facing a divided Sphere without the Helm memory core advances.

Anton victorious: Anton Marik's revolt succeeds. A much more vigorous FWL closely tied to the CC turns the fourth succession war into a bloody stalemate.

Slaughter on Hesperus II: Wolf's Dragoons are annihilated in the attack. The Fed Suns suffers heavily in the 4th war, but there is nobody to rally the Sphere when the Clans come calling.

Melissa's groom: In 3028 the five houses gather on Terra to witness Melissa Steiner's wedding to...
Thomas Marik -- The united realm invades the combine and Confederation.
Tormano Liao -- The united realm invades the FWL.

[drakensis]

No Star League: An expansionist Terran Hegemony crushes all five houses. Remnants of the five must learn to work together to resist their terrible foe, led by an unlikely general named Kerensky.

It's not implausible that an extended Age of War could lead to such a scenario although if you mean Aleksandr Kerensky then it's hardly unlikely - his family had long military traditions.

No compromise: The Clans launch an immediate invasion in 3005, facing a divided Sphere without the Helm memory core advances.

Definitely possible. ComStar would be no more trustworthy but the Clans would likely face the same logistical problems. It's not as if the Successor States defeated the invasion through military might.

Anton victorious: Anton Marik's revolt succeeds. A much more vigorous FWL closely tied to the CC turns the fourth succession war into a bloody stalemate.

It's hard to say if Anton would have been able to make the FWL more vigorous - personally he might be more dynamic but keeping the FWL on point tends to rally the provinces and while Janos wasn't a world beater there, he did manage it at times. Anton never seemed that politically astute.

Slaughter on Hesperus II: Wolf's Dragoons are annihilated in the attack. The Fed Suns suffers heavily in the 4th war, but there is nobody to rally the Sphere when the Clans come calling.

That's certainly a lack of the nail - the AFFS would doubtless deploy other units to the Draconis March but that would then weaken the push against the Capellans.

Melissa's groom: In 3028 the five houses gather on Terra to witness Melissa Steiner's wedding to...
Thomas Marik -- The united realm invades the combine and Confederation.

That would be a very tense marriage between rival houses - the FWL and LC have a long and brutal hatred. The struggle in such a story would be far less about war against Combine and Confederation and more about the struggle to keep the allied realms on the same side.

Melissa's groom: In 3028 the five houses gather on Terra to witness Melissa Steiner's wedding to...
Tormano Liao -- The united realm invades the FWL.

This is a much more plausible alliance - House Liao and House Steiner have at least some history of working together. Whether the Suns and Combine would 'co-operate' by facing off against each other or if they'd hammer their respective neighbour is an open guess. Neither the LCAF nor the CCAF is generally considered the sort of force that could hammer another realm the way the AFFS did the Capellans. On the flip side, Katrina Steiner has serious military credentials and Max Liao is very able to come up with destabilising schemes to undermine his enemies.

[Dubble_g]

It's not implausible that an extended Age of War could lead to such a scenario although if you mean Aleksandr Kerensky then it's hardly unlikely - his family had long military traditions.

It's not as if the Successor States defeated the invasion through military might.

Keresnky being "unlikely" is a reference to his backstory as a poli sci major turned reluctant warrior. Anyway, the key is to have him fight against unification instead of for.

Having the Clans invade in 3005 would also remove Kai, Victor, Miraborg,  Focht etc. from the equation. No pause. No ComStar general. Etc.

[consequences]

That's certainly a lack of the nail - the AFFS would doubtless deploy other units to the Draconis March but that would then weaken the push against the Capellans.

Not really. Leave the LCG and Illycian Lancers in place to pin down St Ives and any southern garrisons, and redeploy the vast pile of other unused mercs across the Combine border. Twelve or fifteen more regiments to hold the line should either discourage or heavily punish any kind of hasty offensive like the DCMS pulled in canon.

There's also the lack of effective pressure on the Combine border from 3023-3027, lack of supporting thrusts to the Galtor Campaign(presuming that doesn't get derailed), and lack of five elite regiments with character shields holding down a section of front during the initial FC tag team action. On the other side of things the DCMS should have somewhat better reserves without having spawned five or six more new regiments, unless they take a heavy enough beating without the Dragoons to lose that much in addition to their canon drubbings.

[gladius]

Not really. Leave the LCG and Illycian Lancers in place to pin down St Ives and any southern garrisons, and redeploy the vast pile of other unused mercs across the Combine border. Twelve or fifteen more regiments to hold the line should either discourage or heavily punish any kind of hasty offensive like the DCMS pulled in canon.

There's also the lack of effective pressure on the Combine border from 3023-3027, lack of supporting thrusts to the Galtor Campaign(presuming that doesn't get derailed), and lack of five elite regiments with character shields holding down a section of front during the initial FC tag team action. On the other side of things the DCMS should have somewhat better reserves without having spawned five or six more new regiments, unless they take a heavy enough beating without the Dragoons to lose that much in addition to their canon drubbings.

That'd be nice, if the Suns had a few dozen more JumpShips. The invasion of the CC stretched their carrying capacity to it's limit and beyond and the FedSun economy was shattered until the late 30s, thanks to the stresses of the invasion, the necesity of diverting JumpShips from civilian to military transport, and the Pony Express made things worse after Interdiction.

[drakensis]

Keresnky being "unlikely" is a reference to his backstory as a poli sci major turned reluctant warrior. Anyway, the key is to have him fight against unification instead of for.

Ah, I see. Mis-read that. Well yes, that would be quite unexpected.

[Atlan]

Definitely possible. ComStar would be no more trustworthy but the Clans would likely face the same logistical problems. It's not as if the Successor States defeated the invasion through military might.

No compromise: The Clans launch an immediate invasion in 3005, facing a divided Sphere without the Helm memory core advances. 

Actually, that would go rather differently. Aside from the lack of Tyra Miraborg to delay the invasion for a year, there would simply be the problem of force numbers- I don't have the book any more, but there was a line in one- the book where Victor first gets assigned to a unit, before the Clan invasion- where he notes that where a company used to be enough to guard the planet, now it has to be whole regiments. (or something like that.)

Facing those force levels, we could see clans taking whole planets with just a Trinary- or in some cases, a Star. They would take a LOT more worlds.

[Dubble_g]

Untimely deaths:

Yellow Bird: Ian Davion faces Yorinaga Kurita on Mallory's World... And wins. A more militarily adventurous Fed Suns is uninterested in alliance with the LC or in fighting it's weaker opponent, the CC. Instead, the realm girds itself to fight its biggest threat, the Draconis Combine.
Meanwhile, Max Liao's agents approach Ian's ambitious younger brother with an interesting offer...

Pinks and the Brain: Ardan Sortek is never found after ejecting from his Victor on Stein's Folly, allowing the Hanse duplicate to remain undetected for far longer. Double Hanse repudiates the treaty with the LC and fumbles the Galtor campaign before being overthrown in a palace coup due to his incompetence, plunging the Fed Suns into civil war between Hasek-Davion and Ran Felsner.

Legend Killer: Justin Allard/Xiang is killed by Gray Noton on Kittery. Robbed of their mole in the Maskirovka, the Fed Suns must rely on brute force to conquer the Confederation.

[Ironburk]

As far as the last tribble goes, the Fed. Suns had alexi as a spy as well.

[Dubble_g]

As far as the last tribble goes, the Fed. Suns had alexi as a spy as well.

Sure, very true. The point of the what-if is to remove all the spy stuff from the fourth war, and consider it as purely an exercise in wargaming.

[consequences]

That'd be nice, if the Suns had a few dozen more JumpShips. The invasion of the CC stretched their carrying capacity to it's limit and beyond and the FedSun economy was shattered until the late 30s, thanks to the stresses of the invasion, the necesity of diverting JumpShips from civilian to military transport, and the Pony Express made things worse after Interdiction.

The lack of jumpships didn't exactly stop them from shuffling units all over the place during Galahad 26 and 27, which is when the setup for most of this would take place. A detailed accounting of how many regiments got moved how far over the course of that and the immediate prewar setup in 3028 will have to wait for later in the week, but if nothing else they could just leave some more of the units on the border instead of rushing almost absolutely everything over to the CC.

It also didn't stop them from reinforcing one Kuritan hit world in OTL with two separate RCTs.
 

Legend Killer: Justin Allard/Xiang is killed by Gray Noton on Kittery. Robbed of their mole in the Maskirovka, the Fed Suns must rely on brute force to conquer the Confederation.

Okay, so going by your later reply, Alexi Malenkov doesn't exist. The Northwind Highlanders don't defect. One miserable inconsequential battalion of mechs doesn't have its myomer rot off. Ridzik doesn't get turned, or presumably assassinated by the Maskirovka if we are going to keep the playing field level and nonexistent. The whole play with Michael Hasek Davion to suck in the Capellans on to ground of the Fed Suns' choosing doesn't happen.

The AFFS doesn't do nearly as well, but the CCAF is still outnumbered and out classed to a hilarious degree. Unless of course the restriction to pure wargaming also removed C*'s shenanigans, in which case the FS can probably keep going long enough to make up the difference.

[gladius]

The lack of jumpships didn't exactly stop them from shuffling units all over the place during Galahad 26 and 27, which is when the setup for most of this would take place. A detailed accounting of how many regiments got moved how far over the course of that and the immediate prewar setup in 3028 will have to wait for later in the week, but if nothing else they could just leave some more of the units on the border instead of rushing almost absolutely everything over to the CC.

It also didn't stop them from reinforcing one Kuritan hit world in OTL with two separate RCTs.

... There wasn't an Interdiction during Galahad, so there wasn't the need for the Pony Express: just keeping sorta in contact with the front chewed up most of the Suns reserve fleet, with not enough left over to keep the economy running. Jumpers that were supposed to be transporting vital cargo were diverted to ferry messages, so those cargoes weren't delivered. People died, companies went bankrupt. That one mission you mentioned probably killed a few million FedSun subjects when teraforming parts, fusion engines and vital medical supplies weren't delivered on time.

Sure, Hanse could divert more JumpShips. It all depends on how many of his own people he was willing to kill, and how long he was willing to take rebuilding his economy afterwards.

[Dubble_g]

Yes, if you wargame it, either using FASA's board game or a home brew system, you can get results not too far off the canon ones, BUT it ends up being much more costly for the Fed Suns player and taking much longer.

Three (p1: fedcom, p2: combine-capella, p3: FWL) of us used our own system based on Avalon Hill / Victory Games tabletop rules, and the Fed-LC player had enough men to strike at both Tikonov and St Ives, and eventually overran the Capellan player. They lost some ground to a counter-offensive by the FWL player. The Combine focused on the Lyrans rather than Feds and fought to a draw.

[JA Baker]

Jumpers that were supposed to be transporting vital cargo were diverted to ferry messages, so those cargoes weren't delivered. People died, companies went bankrupt. That one mission you mentioned probably killed a few million FedSun subjects when teraforming parts, fusion engines and vital medical supplies weren't delivered on time.

Citation request  :-\

[drakensis]

#515 (by my best count)

The year is 3015 CE. The Third Succession War is over.

Four years ago, Prince-Chancellor Maximilian Liao-Davion issued his famous peace proposal, which could be summarised as 'let's stop squabbling like children' with a subtext of 'come and have a go if you think you're hard enough'.

To be fair to the DCMS and the FWLM they really tried and for a while it looked as if they might have had a chance. After two years of fighting, however, they accomplished the square root of nothing. Actually, from their point of view it was worse than that. If Yvonne Liao-Davion hadn't raided the DCMS supply base on Halstead Station she probably wouldn't have uncovered the lost university or taken its library back to New Avalon.

Archon Frederick Steiner couldn't have signed up to the offered alliance fast enough. (Unless General of Armies Katrina Steiner had hold of his ear, which may have been the case). And now wedding invitations are being issued: the heir to the Confederated Suns to wed the ruler of the Lyran Commonwealth.

And the only question left is: 'What now?'

(Detailed timeline how how this situation was reached)

[gladius]

Citation request  :-\

Okay, that part is supposition, but it's based on the idea that most cargo runs are high-value, low mass, so only the most important goods are shipped: vital stuff, urgent medicines, spare parts for important infrastructure. If those cargoes don't arrive on time ... people die.

I admit I went a little hyperbolic.

[RunandFindOut]

Actually I've thought about a somewhat similar tangent myself.  Joining the LC and the FS is not geographically (astrographically?) very good, they're on opposite sides of the Sphere, both have enemies on two borders, they can essentially be cut off from each other and isolated by enemies.

On the other hand the FS doesn't really have a history of emnity with the FWL, and they're among the more liberal and open of the successor states.  They're also separated only by the smaller Confederation both share long emnities with.  What if no one responded to the LC proposals for peace talks.  But it prompted Hanse to open talks with Marik about an alliance cemented by a joint invasion and partition of the CapCon.  And should things prove workable move toward uniting in the next generation or two between their respective children if the Alliance went well.

[SulliMike23]

#515 (by my best count)

The year is 3015 CE. The Third Succession War is over.

Four years ago, Prince-Chancellor Maximilian Liao-Davion issued his famous peace proposal, which could be summarised as 'let's stop squabbling like children' with a subtext of 'come and have a go if you think you're hard enough'.

To be fair to the DCMS and the FWLM they really tried and for a while it looked as if they might have had a chance. After two years of fighting, however, they accomplished the square root of nothing. Actually, from their point of view it was worse than that. If Yvonne Liao-Davion hadn't raided the DCMS supply base on Halstead Station she probably wouldn't have uncovered the lost university or taken its library back to New Avalon.

Archon Frederick Steiner couldn't have signed up to the offered alliance fast enough. (Unless General of Armies Katrina Steiner had hold of his ear, which may have been the case). And now wedding invitations are being issued: the heir to the Confederated Suns to wed the ruler of the Lyran Commonwealth.

And the only question left is: 'What now?'

(Detailed timeline how how this situation was reached)

A union between House Liao and House Davion? I dunno if I can ever see that happening. The animosity between the two houses has been pretty strong for many years. Not as strong as they were with House Davion and House Kurita, but close enough.

[drakensis]

The timeline has the Capellan Confederation and Federated Suns move slowly from guarded truce (2802), alliance (2818), formal unification (2873) and then a long period of consolidating the new state which in practical terms isn't solidified for another generation, around a century after the original moves to bring the two states together.

[consequences]

... There wasn't an Interdiction during Galahad, so there wasn't the need for the Pony Express: just keeping sorta in contact with the front chewed up most of the Suns reserve fleet, with not enough left over to keep the economy running. Jumpers that were supposed to be transporting vital cargo were diverted to ferry messages, so those cargoes weren't delivered. People died, companies went bankrupt. That one mission you mentioned probably killed a few million FedSun subjects when teraforming parts, fusion engines and vital medical supplies weren't delivered on time.

Sure, Hanse could divert more JumpShips. It all depends on how many of his own people he was willing to kill, and how long he was willing to take rebuilding his economy afterwards.

There were literally eight merc regiments brought into the Capellan March, in several cases from quite far afield prior to the August 3028 jump off. There are at least another seven in two discrete formations that sat around with their thumbs up their butts for the duration of the war, on top of the 25 or so other regiments that also sat around doing nothing. Move those 8 to cover the Groveld area, the Galtor thumb, and the worlds Wolf's Dragoons mostly failed to protect in OTL, and it's a significantly different ballgame that doesn't require any more pre-war shuffling.

In terms of transport woes, there was somehow enough shipping to pull Morgan off of New Avalon, the 5th Syrtis survivors off of Sarna or wherever they fell back to, and Delta Company off of Bethel and gt them to Kathil ahead of the CCAF shifting their command circuit to Bethel in that direction. And to pull shiploads of salvage back from the front. And to establish a command circuit to return Melissa to Lyran territory. And to not bother to use the integral jumpships of three of those merc regiments who sat around doing nothing while having to provide transportation for less lavishly equipped merc forces.

On a related note:

#516:

Michael Hasek and Hanse Davion were playing the long con on Max all along, with Hanse's exceedingly skeezy betrothal to Melissa being a cover for her actual betrothal to Morgan Hasek-Davion. With careful stage management of their behavior, they convince Max to strip Sian's garrison to support either Ridzik or Operation Riposte(or both), at which time the 13 regiments sitting within 90 ly of Sian not doing anything to draw attention quietly board their ships. One month later numerous unscheduled pre-emergence signatures appear at Sian's jump points...

[Ironburk]

 O0, I think that is the first time I have ever seen a loyal Michael Hasek anywhere.

[wolfcannon]

#517:

What if Clan Burrock ristar Carlos Hutchinson defeated Cassius N'Buta and Clan Burrock was never absorbed.

[Chris OFarrell]

#518

Tribble just came to me for no real reason today.

Trent, the Smoke Jaguar defector, as in the OTL stands up to his perfectly typical Smoke Jaguar Elemental CO who wants to murderkill a bunch of Sphereoids to prove how big a man he is.
In the OTL, Trent gets a punch or two in but is none the less pretty handily fed his own ass - because his name isn't Phelan Kell and thus as one expects, going hand to hand with an Elemental really doesn't work terribly well.

However, this time something different happens. Perhaps he has a massive adrenaline overload from the prospect of staring down a two meter tall killing machine. Perhaps for one time in his life the elder Kerensky looks down from his cloud and decides that this kid is actually a decent guy and could use some help. Perhaps his (unknowingly) ROM girlfriend put something in his cornflakes today from her Blakes Wraith Bag Of Tricks (tm). Perhaps some bastard of a Random Omnipotent Being looks for entertainment and gives him a leg up.

Whatever the case, Trent finds that suddenly everything seems to be moving much slower - and/or he is moving and reacting much faster. To the stunned shock and mild awe of the Trueborns watching, they see Paul Moon stalk towards Trent ... who moves like someone they have never seen, perfectly moving and dodging his strikes -often only by millimeters- before he suddenly moves suicidally close to Moon ... where he lands a single precise hit with his myomer enhanced arm. Shattering Moons throat and windpipe. Causing the ****** to fall to the ground in the circle helplessly thrashing. Clearly tempted to just let him suffocate, Trent shows mercy by hitting him hard enough to crack his skull and break a few of his artificial fingers. But none the less kills him instantly.

And as he stands he notes that he lied about not killing him. Dezgra Smoke Jaguars don't deserve to live.


What happens next?

[Sharpnel]

Well that kills a whole storyline for the RotS as it is Paul Moon who leads the last few Jaguar remnants, the Fidelis aboard the Flatus

[Terrace]

#519

An Infantry officer is taken as a bondsman of one of the Clans. Noting his specialty, when he earns his Warrior status, he's shuffled off to lead Solahma Infantry that's slated for an operation soon. Certain nasty comments by some Elementals about the uselessness of conventional infantry make him determined to succeed just to spite them. And when he sees what their objective is, he notes with some relief that this is something that a conventional infantry can succeed at. Now he's got to fight to get his subordinates decent equipment, bring them together as a team, and perhaps the most difficult challenge of all, teach these suicidal lemmings how to DUCK before they get themselves killed!

[drakensis]

#520

The defense of Sudeten against Clan Jade Falcon goes poorly and the Grey Death Legion are cut off and defeated, their survivors and dependants taken as bondsmen save for a few who escape and hide among the civilian populations. For the second time in his life, Grayson Carlyle has lost everything and has to start over. If he wants his 'Mech back, his wife back, their son back... then he'll have to take them.

[snakespinner]

GDL reboot, interesting.

[gladius]

GDL reboot, interesting.

Better than their canon fate: seduced by Katherine, shattered in the Second Skye Secession and with only some of their tech staff surviving to carry on the name building battlearmor ...

[drakensis]

#521

We stand poised on the verge of a great era, a time of realized potential, of peace, security, and freedom for every man and woman. We have taken strides toward these goals that are unprecedented in Human history by setting aside our regional, parochial differences and forging a union vaster and stronger than any previously devised.

In the course of this mighty achievement, we have struck down many barriers to harmony and understanding. One barrier that remains is the isolationism of certain areas that refuse to join in with this union, and thereby jeopardize everything for which it stands. There is no good reason for the intransigence of people who will not recognize the greater good of laying down their independence for the sake of joining our League. There is no good reason for people to insist on resisting the superior wisdom of those who have come before them into the fold, nor is there reason for them to continue to seek their own lonely course far from the centers of culture and civilization. This course of action is temporary. This course of action is provincial.

Furthermore, in consideration of the common goals we share, we must set aside our differences and pool our resources for the common good, once and for all. The New Star League stands for a unified Humanity. As President of the New Star League, it is my solemn responsibility to protect the welfare of that Humanity wherever it may be found, be it on Sian or Santiago, New Vandenberg or New Avalon, Andurien or Apollo, Castor or Canopus.

Through me, the New Star League assumes the awesome task of safeguarding the welfare of Humanity. It is a responsibility from which the League will never shrink, a responsibility it shall never lay down. The dark days of barbarism are over - we will not let them return again.The only way to ensure equal protection for all, the only way to safeguard the liberties of each individual, is for every Human being to accept the benefits we offer, freely and openly. So long as a solitary individual of the most war-ravaged planet in the Inner Sphere remains uneducated, impoverished, or disadvantaged, all are equally stricken.This situation is not now, nor shall it ever be, acceptable.

We intend to see that the majority is not denied the benefits of culture and progress at the hands of a minority of radical megalomaniacs. We intend to extend our benevolent protection into every corner of Human-occupied space, whatever the cost, until every man, woman, and child prospers and flourishes. Let no one stand in the way of Human progress. The time for reunification has come, but some have made the grievous error of failing to heed the call. Instead, they chant, jeer, and jump about claiming the throne of Terra, as if they were somehow beyond the grasp of their daughter worlds.

It is truly sad, but it seems that the cost of a united Humanity will paid in blood.To the poor people of the Inner Sphere who live under the thumb of megalomaniacs, my message is as follows: Take heart! The true light of Humanity will soon come your way and away the darkness that has shackled your lives for so long. To the barbaric governments of the Inner Sphere, message is as follows: As you have shown by your uncivilized refusal to negotiate in good faith for better relations between us, I no longer restrain those of us who believe punishment is in order.

The purpose of the New Star League is peace. The ideal the New Star League is peace. The New Star League is eternally committed to the principles of peace. If the recalcitrant leaders of the Inner Sphere force our hand and require us to go to war, the war will be total. No prisoners will be taken. No holds will be barred. If the New Star League is forced to fight for peace, it will be a fight to the death.

- Thomas Calderon, Protector of the Taurian Concordat and President of the New Star League, 3025

[Sharpnel]

Well a Taurian is going to be a worse First Lord than the original Terran First Lord.