Author Topic: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War  (Read 142988 times)

GrimNefari

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #60 on: 03 December 2015, 07:00:30 »
Looking forward to seeing where the story goes and how it gets there.
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panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #61 on: 07 December 2015, 16:14:19 »
February 6th, 3055
Clan Jade Falcon Watch Office
Hamarr
Sudeten
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone

Star Captain Horatio gripped his stylus tightly in frustration as he read yet another report put together by a stravag technician who had been hastily trained in the art of intelligence analysis by a mixture of unwilling Federated Commonwealth bondsmen and available manuals. Neither had done much, in Horatio’s opinion, to make their reports anything approaching coherent.
 
Or even worth reading, it was all jumping at shadows, maybes, could be, possibly, how does anyone make a decision based on this information? Freebirth! Horatio’s mind raged.
 
The trouble was that the information gathering flow was, as one bondsman put it, “like trying to drink water from a firehose.” Horatio winced at such a wasteful concept, but it was an apt analogy, he had to concede. Our ability to collect all kinds of signals intelligence is incredible, and a testament to the watchfulness of the Clan. But, our ability to analyze the information…as well as to make use of it, is doubtful. 

The Jade Falcon Watch was like most Clan intelligence agencies, their human intelligence skills were abysmal, but their SIGINT collection was very, very good. But none of it mattered if the ability to analyze the information was as bad as it was, and the fact was, the Watch simply did not have the tools, nor the skills to build a competent intelligence picture for the Clan Council, let along the Khan and saKhan. 
 
Take the current tasking, Horatio had been charged by the Khan himself to find out what had spurred the current uptick in guerilla activities throughout the Occupation Zone, and why now, even the most trustworthy of bondsmen had been found in sympathy with the guerillas

One egregious example was a Inner Sphere bondsman acting as a technician placing a bomb right in the ejection seat of a trinary commander in the 124th Striker Cluster on Malibu…the explosion, while small, was enough to blow the aforementioned Star Captain  to small pieces.)

The Clan only found out the bondsman had done it after walking into the technician quarters, and killing his Clan-born factor with his bare hands, then hanging himself. Chemical interrogation of his friends and comrades had yielded little, if any useful information. Few subjects had survived the sessions and Horatio suspected that the Elemental who headed up the counter-intelligence section of the Clan Watch was little more than a sadist.

The usual Clan Jade Falcon means of defeating an insurgency was to conduct a number of indoctrination sweeps with ‘Mechs and Elementals and grab hostages to be held against the good behavior of the planet in question, but it appeared just about every world in the Occupation Zone had some sort of guerilla activity. It was forcing the clan to scatter units across the Occupation Zone in an effort to keep the guerilla problem under control. And it was not working.
 
Horatio read the dry account of the latest freebirth bandit act, several unidentified individuals in a non-descript black (some witnesses said green) ground car had performed a “drive by” with what appeared to be a belt-fed machine gun fired from the rear of said moving car. They had driven quickly by the outdoor seating area of a restaurant where a Star Commander of the 2nd Falcon Jagers was celebrating his selection for the upcoming Bloodname contest in the Malthus bloodhouse. The machinegun had, according to the report, cut down and killed three members of the Star, as well as 8 other local citizens whom had seen the wisdom of cooperating with the Clan. 18 more, including the aforementioned Star Commander, had been wounded. The car had disappeared, found two hours later having been set aflame with a nearby wall spraypainted “Sic Semper Tyrannus –Thus Ever to Tyrants”.
 
It seemed every act of punishment by the Clan’s warriors had done little more than enrage the locals and encourage more resistance. And now, now it was worse than ever. There had been assassination attempts on at least two Star Colonels on Sudeten, one was an aide to the Khan himself.

What made it all a lot more ominous was the movement of FedCom troops all across the ersatz Star League creation known as the Federated Commonwealth.  It seemed that the FedCom has been busy moving troops around, to the border of the occupation zone, as well as other conflicting reports of other troop movements along the Combine, Capellan, and Marik borders. All of it was simply a massive tidal wave of information that did little but overtax Horatio’s staff of ill-trained analysts and barely loyal bondsmen whom he did not trust
 
Stravag, the pain.  His head was pounding again. It was a souvenir of Tukkayid, when his Summoner had had a massive freak ammunition explosion that produced a tidal wave of neurofeedback. According to one of the doctors back in the Cluster aid station, he had been lucky to live through it, but the damage was such that he would never pilot a ‘Mech again and he was soon forced out in a Trial of Position…reduced to an ordinary Warrior, who would soon be relegated to solahma status. Horatio downed a couple of pain pills, and then held the desk like a life preserver. The room has not begun moving yet, thank the Founder.
 
But Kael Pershaw needed someone who could “think outside the box”, and of all the likely candidates, Horatio seemed to fit the bill the best. After an unagumented Trial of Position for the job, it was his…and here he had stayed for the last three years. Barely considered a warrior, let alone an officer of the Clan, there had been whispers of Horatio being little more than the Loremaster’s pet, and were Pershaw not around, it would not be long before someone used the cover of a trial to remove a “stain on the Clan’s honor”.
 
As the throbbing began to slowly subside, it was still muddy inside Horatio’s mind, he could barely think through the implications of the fact that the AFFC had formed 8 new regiments in the last 2 years. Or, at least that is what it seemed like. The pain was rather bad this time..perhaps it was time to call an early end to the work day.
 
Horatio levered himself upward gingerly, the protuberances of his uniform catching on the battered old desk in the small office, which had been converted from a broom closet in the old City Hall. The Watch had not even been granted offices in the Clan Headquarters, as the Clan Council wanted the stench of “Inner Sphere methods” far from the center of Clan Jade Falcon.

As he made his way to his quarters, little more than ten steps away and through a small door, he thought about when he would get an honorable release from the purgatory he now found himself in. The medication was now taking an effect, slowly luring him into the soporific paradise of sleep on his Clan issue cot, dreams of past glories dancing through his head.

Within minutes, he was dead to the world, and the door slowly opened, a bondsman by the name of Abagail made her way into the Star Captain’s office, she wore a dark green jumpsuit, with no adornment as bondsmen were not allowed to wear the sigil of the clan. Her stringy blond hair framed her hollow, sunken hazel eyes that were devoid of any real life. Abagail tidied up and swept a little, being sure to keep the noise down, her failure to do so had once earned her a savage beating from the Star Captain. She always kept her eyes down, and never looked up, in short, she was the perfect bondsman, unnoticed, like part of the furniture, only to be noticed when a task was to be done.

But Star Captain Horatio was a poor spymaster, and in the Inner Sphere, would never have been given the job of head of the analysis section for such an organization. It was his mixture of distaste for his job, shame over his current predicament, and contempt for his bondsmen that made what happened next possible.

Star Captain Horatio had left his passcode for his desk terminal written down on a piece of Clan Watch stationary on his desk for all to see. Before long, it was in Abagail’s pocket as she wiped down the desk. She also managed to photograph the monthly SOI pad, as well as three reports from the Watch analysts on how they were tracking the FC buildup along the border, as well as dealing with the increasingly effective insurgency throughout the Occupation Zone.

Leftenant Abagail Hearns, LIC smiled. God, the Clanners make this so damned easy. The elementals at the door don’t even search me, except for weapons or explosives, and this idiot of a Star Captain is too busy being drugged out of his mind. I could lead a dozen Loki into this place and kill everyone here and be gone before the dumb bastards knew we were here..with just about every scrap of intelligence in the building. They don’t even have a burn bag for god’s sake.

Hearns had been inserted two years ago to replace a previous agent-in-place who had died when he had inadvertently blown his cover. Sadly, while their ability to gather, analyze, and compile intelligence for decision makers was decidedly suspect, as well as their ability to secure such data from other intelligence agencies, there was nothing wrong with Clan interrogation methods. The Clan systems of torture and mechanical interrogation worked all too well, as her predecessor had found out. LIC lost 4 good people when Haputmann Frederich was made to talk. Hearns intended to not get sloppy.
 
Hearns quickly packed up her cleaning supplies, and returned them to the labor caste storage area that had formerly been an old office, the local Factor, a preening-Clan born individual by the name of Rudnik, with greasy hands and wild hair, was only too happy to lord over the 4 bondsmen that had been assigned to him from the general populace. Abagail’s cover was that of a former infantryman from the Sudeten Militia, now POW with no technical skills, and thus, relegated to the laborer caste. It suited Hearns just fine.

It was at that moment Rudnik looked on in her direction. “Abagail, a moment?”

Abagail froze. Could Rudnik have seen her toss Horatio’s office? She hoped not, but so far, he had proven rather oblivious to a lot of things.  He simply seemed interested in getting into Abagail’s jumpsuit, his hot, rancid breath having made sure Abagail remembered if she did give in to his “charms”, that it would simply be for the job, and little else. Not that I think I ever would. Best to lead him around by his little Clanner beak….

“Abagail, you have not been efficient in your cleaning tasks. You linger too long in the Star Captain’s office, and I cannot have that. Your lack of efficiency has been noticed and if it continues, I will refer you to the Star Captain for discipline-“ Rudnk stepped forward, invading Hearn’s personal space. –“-unless you are willing to provide me with a personal bit of surkai?”

Ugh, the good thing about Clan criminal justice, is that, were an unfortunate accident to befall him, the tankers would not care very much. Abagail’s mind fumed. She tensed her fists, preparing to fight him if she had to, she already have a cover story prepared, where she would say he attempted to force her to couple and she fought him off. The warriors would have a good laugh, and then beat him for losing to a bondsman.

But I do not want it to get to that point…”What did you have in mind, Rudnik?” Hearns said coyly, making sure to keep the tone inviting, but tired, letting him know she might not be up to giving him a good time in any case.

“Use your imagination, bondsman. You are property of the Clan, and as a member of the Clan, I do as I like!” He then grabbed a fistful of her jumpsuit and kissed her forcefully, his technique was sloppy, and stomach churning. Hearns wasn’t in the mood for this. Time to dissuade him.

Hearns stamped down hard on his left foot with her heavy workboots, catching him in the instep. His boots, unlike hers, were steel-toed, but were cheaply made, and did not have the instep protection most warrior issue boots did. Hearns was rewarded with a shriek, as a small bone in his foot snapped like a tree branch. Rudnik collapsed and Hearns grabbed one fist into another, reared back with her right elbow, and drove it with all of her force into Rudnik’s right eye socket. Rudnik went down screaming, and grabbed his bruised eye. Hearns then followed up with a vicious kick to the back of the head, but as she was prepared to deliver a finishing blow, she was picked effortlessly off the battered wooden floor by an unseen force, her feet being 10 centimeters off the ground by the time it was all said and done.

Hearns turned her head to see whom had lifted her off the floor, it was one of the security Elementals, a woman by the name of Azrel. She was a decent sort for a Clanner, having a kind face for a muscular woman who was almost three meters in height. She had warned Hearns her first day about Rudnik, and his proclivities.

“Ahem-“ Azrel cleared her throat for emphasis “What do I have here? A Bondsman giving a laborer factor, her superior a beating. Some would consider this a punishable offense, Bondsman? What is your story?”

“Warrior Azrel, I seek surkai for having beaten the factor, but he attempted to couple with me without my consent. Perhaps this does not have weight in Clan society, but in the Inner Sphere, it is a grave crime.” Hearns said, with just the right amount of supplication in her voice.

Azrel turned to Rudnik, “is this true, Rudnik. Do not attempt to lie. You know I can and will have you interrogated to discern the truth. Bondsmen have been taken in honorable battle. You cannot even make that claim.”

Rudnik moaned “She is correct, Warrior Azrel, I did as she described. I beg for surkai.”

Azrel smled cruelly at Rudnik, and gingerly released Hearns. “And surkai you will perform. And I will speak with the senior Labor caste factor. I will have you sent back to the homeworlds in disgrace afterwards.”

Rudnik simply moaned in acceptance of his fate.

Azrel turned to Hearns. “Some advice, the Clan can well survive the loss of this factor. If he accosts you again, kill him. I will speak to the Star Captain when he awakens about cutting the prowess strand of your bondcord. You have impressed me today.”

Azrel then turned and lumbered from the room.

Hearns leaned over and whispered into Rudnik’s ear. “I own you now, Rudnik. Cross me again, and you die, get it? Fail to do as I tell you, and I will kill you, and no one will stop me.”

Rudnik sat up slowly, his eye purple and black with rapidly forming bruises, and unable to open as it swelled shut. “What do you require?” he said through gritted teeth.

“I will be in touch Rudnik, I will be in touch.”
« Last Edit: 08 December 2015, 14:43:07 by panzerfaust150 »
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gladius

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #62 on: 07 December 2015, 20:16:52 »
Ah, the wonders of undertaking a battle of wits against an unarmed opponent ... Clan Jade Falcon 'intelligence service'.

mikecj

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #63 on: 07 December 2015, 23:34:36 »
And how much more damage can she do without the cord...
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Chris OFarrell

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #64 on: 08 December 2015, 06:55:07 »
Frankly I'm stunned that the Falcons have picked up on the fact that the AFFC is making huge troop movements all over the place, thats the kind of intelligence that now cut off from ComStar and with zero HUMNIT assets in play in the Federated Commonwealth, you'd think it would be hard for them to have the first clue about. Especially as the FedCom are trying to hide the news. Albeit from the Cappies, but at least trying.

Still hilarious that even with this warning The Watch are just waaaay out of their depth.

Love the resistance as well :)

Was that Drive By inspired by this mayhaps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uY9DV1NBco

:D
« Last Edit: 08 December 2015, 06:59:11 by Chris OFarrell »
"I, the Baron of Strang, care not for your new names. Clans? Jade Falcons? I call you by your true name: Scum of the Star League, traitors of free will, persecutors of the Periphery come back to lord it over freedom-loving people. Come ahead, you steel-eyed robots! Come ahead and taste what a million like-minded people think of you and your damn Clans!"

-Baron Stepan Von Strang

panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #65 on: 08 December 2015, 09:38:32 »
Chris,
 In many ways, you are right. There was mention in one book (probably the old intelligence manual) of the Clans using jumpships to gather SIGINT by jumping into the outer edge of a target system, gathering all the information they could, then jumping out as soon as that was done, or the defenders realized they were there. Of course, in some cases, the FC could be allowing that to happen?

 I never thought that the FC was silly enough to think the Clans would not detect the movements entirely, but that it would be pretty easy to have them chasing their tails as to where the units are going. A lot of the "drinking from the firehose" Horatio was complaining about was deliberate, as the FC knows (from assets like Abagail Hearns) that the Watch is simply unable to sort the wheat from the chaff. So what's the best way to hide anything from them? In plain sight.

And yes, the drive by was inspired by the scene in the Great Escape. It was a pretty efficient ambush if you ask me, though an MG-42 is pretty loud. Those Maquis were probably deaf after the deed....
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Chaeronea

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #66 on: 08 December 2015, 10:15:26 »
And yes, the drive by was inspired by the scene in the Great Escape. It was a pretty efficient ambush if you ask me, though an MG-42 is pretty loud. Those Maquis were probably deaf after the deed....

They were still better off than the Germans....

Seriously, I can see the number of assassination attempts on Jade Falcon officers in the occupation zone going way up on orders from the FedCom intelligence services. If the attempts succeed the Clan command structure is disrupted (and the promotion of new officers is probably slowed down by the Trial of Position system), and regardless of whether they succeed or fail they give more incidents that the Jade Falcon Watch have to investigate, which spreads them even thinner.

« Last Edit: 08 December 2015, 10:29:00 by Chaeronea »

Chris OFarrell

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #67 on: 08 December 2015, 10:27:16 »
Chris,
 In many ways, you are right. There was mention in one book (probably the old intelligence manual) of the Clans using jumpships to gather SIGINT by jumping into the outer edge of a target system, gathering all the information they could, then jumping out as soon as that was done, or the defenders realized they were there. Of course, in some cases, the FC could be allowing that to happen?


I think that might have been Vlad in Grave Covenant. He stated that it was Wolf clan at least procedure to jump jumpships onto the edges of a system, soaking up all the media broadcasts and then jumping out before garrison ships or fighters could intercept, with days of media for their teams to work through.

He claims that he got news about Coventry that way to cover for his dealings with The Bitch in how he moved to threaten the Falcon OZ. I don't think Khan Pryde entirely believed him, but it was a decent enough cover for his information.

Quote

 I never thought that the FC was silly enough to think the Clans would not detect the movements entirely, but that it would be pretty easy to have them chasing their tails as to where the units are going. A lot of the "drinking from the firehose" Horatio was complaining about was deliberate, as the FC knows (from assets like Abagail Hearns) that the Watch is simply unable to sort the wheat from the chaff. So what's the best way to hide anything from them? In plain sight.


Honestly, its hard to see how the Clans WOULD detect the movements if the media were cooperating and good OppSec was maintained.  Thats really the kind of stuff you need HUMNIT for that the Successor States of course have, but the Clans ....
Especially if the final jump-off points use a few pre-set deep space points to reach start lines deep inside the JFOZ to bypass the systems the Clans might actually watch...

Still, there is something to be said for just dumping huge amounts of material on the Falcons. Especially if for bonus points, if they DO assemble the picture, it all painstakingly adds up to a picture of the AFFC just rotating a lot of older units back, bringing new units forward and deploying them all in highly defensive 'concentrated weakness' style buffer zones to protect the FedCom because they are clearly terrified of the Clans, rather than looking at an offensive posture...

Now I'm totally seeing that hilarious German trick in North Africa of Tanks doing a parade in front of a cheering crowd they knew HAD to include British agents, with the same tanks rolling around the block, hastily getting a new number painted on and then rolling past again several times. Do it on worlds to turn battalions into full RCTs for the cameras when a Wolf jumpship is known to be lurking in the area even as the REAL unit is preparing to kick the door on Baker-3 or something...

Bonus points if the tanks chosen to do it are Romels :D

Quote

And yes, the drive by was inspired by the scene in the Great Escape. It was a pretty efficient ambush if you ask me, though an MG-42 is pretty loud. Those Maquis were probably deaf after the deed....

Indeed. Love the graffiti as well, perfect line to use to sum up the situation.
Although 'Death to the Scum of Strana Mechty' works well. Or to paraphrase gladius; "Death to the children of Hazen the Terrorist!".
Would be hilarious to see the looks on the Falcons faces...
"I, the Baron of Strang, care not for your new names. Clans? Jade Falcons? I call you by your true name: Scum of the Star League, traitors of free will, persecutors of the Periphery come back to lord it over freedom-loving people. Come ahead, you steel-eyed robots! Come ahead and taste what a million like-minded people think of you and your damn Clans!"

-Baron Stepan Von Strang

panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #68 on: 08 December 2015, 11:00:15 »
Might have been, it is a good enough idea that the Falcons might have copied it..no matter how hide bound they are. Now the folks you really have to feel sorry for are the Steel Viper Watch...they are totally in the dark at this point, and the Clans being the Clans...nobody is sharing...

I am really tempted to steal some of the ideas you just posted Chris. You and gladius are welcome to play in this universe. I will be doing some more buildup scenes...I do so love building tension, and right now, the AFFC is a coiled spring, waiting to smash the hell out of the Jade Falcons.

Now Wolf Clan intelligence might have SOME idea what is going on...but they aren't going to tell the Falcons, why would they do a thing like that? Better to let them and the FC bleed, then swoop in and take what they can, if they are really lucky, they push through an absorption vote against the Green Pigeons and the Metal Handbags (my nickname for the Steel Vipers) and the Refusal War becomes a Wolf walkover...

Dibs on the graffiti ideas. I was tempted to use "Wolverines", but that would have been too cheesy!  :)
« Last Edit: 08 December 2015, 11:03:01 by panzerfaust150 »
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panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #69 on: 08 December 2015, 14:25:04 »
They were still better off than the Germans....

Seriously, I can see the number of assassination attempts on Jade Falcon officers in the occupation zone going way up on orders from the FedCom intelligence services. If the attempts succeed the Clan command structure is disrupted (and the promotion of new officers is probably slowed down by the Trial of Position system), and regardless of whether they succeed or fail they give more incidents that the Jade Falcon Watch have to investigate, which spreads them even thinner.

Oh, Chaeronea,
 
You don’t know the half of it.

Let’s take Malibu, it has a reputation of being a world that was well, very placid under Falcon rule. The local planetary administrator surrendered after the militia was routed within 5 minutes. In short, the world caved pretty quickly to the Falcons. It used to be a world from the old RWR, and remained loyal to the Aramis family during the RRA uprising, so the Falcons were probably pretty tough on the populace early on.

So, how do you get these folks to foment a revolt?

By early 3054, Malibu had largely settled into a cozy, if not comfortable relationship with the Jade Falcons. The world had a reputation of being an easy posting among the Falcon Tourman, and acts of resistance were rare.

In fact, the Planetary Administrator (the same one who had surrendered the planet in the first place) had been allowed to form a police force and militia (under warrior supervision). It was expected that this militia would take over much of the occupation duties, allowing the 124th to not have to deal with such “un-Clanlike matters”.

This all changed June 19th, 3054. On that date, 3 Loki and 3 MI-6 Teams were inserted onto Malibu with orders to start a resistance movement where there was none…and where none had really existed. Reports from the LIC agents in place were not promising, but each team was given an area of responsibility, and told to cause enough mayhem to encourage a Jade Falcon overreaction against the populace.

The FC SF teams started small, they ambushed small militia patrols, in some cases, making it look like trigger happy Clan warriors looking for something to kill (The fact that Jade Falcon warriors did not tend to this sort of behavior was lost once a few of these ambushes occurred). Next, the various SF units, along with a few trusted local confederates planted IEDs all over the planet. Many of them, sadly, did little but kill civilians, but even that began to get a reaction of the Jade Falcons, who, were by now, angry the militia they had created, could not find these “guerillas”.

As time went on, the attacks of the “Ghosts of the Rim Worlds” (A name that fully enraged the commander of the 124th, along with the shark graffiti, also done by MI-6 and Loki) began to kill Clan warriors at a low rate. But it was the steady drip of casualties to snipers, rockets, and IEDs that eventually forced a reaction.

On September 18, 3054, a Clan Elemental Star under the command of a Star Commander Beck had run into a particularly nasty set of IEDs south of the small fishing community of Teller’s Bay. After triggering a half-dozen of the devices, and losing 3 men and women to the infernal things, Star Commander Beck decided that since Teller’s Bay had said nothing about the IEDs, then they were in league with the guerillas. The fact that they were not mattered not to Beck.

By the time the Falcons were done, 528 men, women, and, children lay dead at the hands of the Clan, and the massacre was broadcast across the planet by the Falcons in an attempt to cow the populace.

The attempt failed. Police and militia deserted into the night with their weapons, ordinary people grabbed long-buried firearms and began to snipe (and worse) isolated Falcon patrols. One bondsman planted a bomb in the ‘Mech of his bondholder, a Star Captain. He died in the escape, screaming “Long Live the Commonwealth!” as he died. Soon, there were a dozen known resistance groups on planet, some loyal to the Commonwealth, some seeking to reinstate the Rim Worlds Republic, and one, inexplicably, hewing to an ancient idea known as “Euro-Communism”.

The SF teams soon reverted to their training and leadership roles, gently nudging their proteges against targets that would be useful in the event of an FC invasion. The attacks grew more brazen, a bombing of the drop port fuel pipeline, (where the fire department had been told not to show up), a rocket attack on a “Clan-Spheroid Friendship Center”, and a campaign against the power lines and fiber optic communications net. It all drove the commander of the 124th to utter distraction. Reprisal and counter-reprisal became commonplace.

The crowning achievement was on January 6th, 3055, when the “Ghosts of the Rim Worlds” kidnapped the Planetary Administrator (the same one who had surrendered the planet and was now a stooge of the Jade Falcons) and bundled him off world to face a trial in the Commonwealth for high treason. He was found guilty and executed in early 3056.

At that point, the commander of the 124th assumed direct control of the planet, and disbanded what was left of the militia and police. Soon, he managed to get the violence under control, but his units were scattered across the planet, chasing small bands of guerillas. The 124th was often out of contact with her subunits, as the planetary comnet was often the target of guerilla attacks, both physical, and cyber.

By the beginning of 3056, Malibu had gone from docile, to a full blown rebellion.
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DOC_Agren

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #70 on: 10 December 2015, 20:35:58 »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa42Xm2yuMI
So this was Malibu.

To bad they didn't yell Wolverines
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mikecj

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #71 on: 10 December 2015, 22:35:41 »
Wow, what a battle that was.
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Chaeronea

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #72 on: 11 December 2015, 09:07:30 »
Panzerfaust, that description of the resistance campaign on Malibu was pretty hardcore. I love it. And the reaction of that Elemental Star Commander at Teller's Bay seems quite in character for stressed-out trueborn warrior caste - look at Turtle Bay for another example.

One thing to think about for the spec ops cells - who cooks for the Clan warrior caste? Would they use their own labourer caste from Clan society, or would they use locals? Because if they used locals in the kitchens for the mess hall, I can imagine how easy it would be (from the lack of OPSEC that Horatio and the Watch exercised) that it would be easy as anything for a supposedly loyal local to slip ground glass or poison, or even laxatives, into the Jade Falcons' next meal...

Dave Talley

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #73 on: 11 December 2015, 16:45:03 »
nah, just grinda little poison ivy into the  sauerkraut or stew

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panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #74 on: 17 December 2015, 09:57:16 »
“…the AFFC recovered quickly from the blows of the Clan Invasion over the 4 years between it’s end, and the beginning of Clover Spear. What was most remarkable was the ability of the Federated Commonwealth to marshal it’s industrial capacity in such a way that the economic capacity of the Commonwealth was not even close to being tapped once the War of ’56 began.

 What really surprised observers was the formation of several new ‘Mech regiments, many of these units were formed to carry on the linage of destroyed units, but some were units that had not seen a battlefield since the 2nd Succession War. Almost all of these units were posted to the Sarna and Capellan Marches to cover the departure of other units for Clover Spear.

  8 so called “free” regiments were formed, From the Lyran State Command, the 8th Arcturan Guards, the 10th and 12th Donegal Guards and the 4th Royal Guards, and from the Federated Suns State Command, the 5th, 9th, 33rd and 41st Avalon Hussars. All, with the exception of the 4th Royal (which was formed from some of the best Mechwarriors in the Commonwealth) were still fairly green when war came. That said, some of them gave a good account of themselves when the Capellans and the Mariks came.  Many of these units had bought the time the Commonwealth needed with their lives…”

“A Bloody Standard The Federated Commonwealth’s Preparations for the War of ’56" (Precentor Alex Carrigan, ComGuard (Ret), Castemate Press, Terra, New York, 3069)


March 9th, 3055
Private Offices of the Captain-General
Atreus City
Atreus, Free Worlds League

 Captain-General Thomas Marik was not a happy man. It was a cool spring night on Atreus, but not even a comfortable fire or a tumbler of Glengarry Reserve could improve his mood.  He’s my son-in-law for a few months, and already, he thinks he can call the damned shots? I should have kept going after Andurien..rid the Inner Sphere of the entire foul Liao brood. Thomas shook his head violently, expelling such thoughts. They were allies now, as much as Thomas had to control himself from spitting every time he had to say it.

  But this plan is the height of insanity. Almost 2/3 of the CCAF and a third of the FWLM, not to mention some twenty regiments of mercenaries, to be hired with Marik money no less, and “gifted” to the Capellans (Parliament would love that) was to cut the two halves of the Commonwealth off, take Sarna and Kathil, and force the Commonwealth to the peace table under favorable terms. If we get as far as Styk and Oliver, we should fall down on our knees and thank god.

 The plans, codenamed EAST SEA, were ambitious, but they had been scaled down from what the original plans had been, or at least the LCCC thought so. Thomas took another sip from his brandy, there were quite a few issues. First, logistical. It seemed the CCAF was going to depend on the League to come up with the supplies to make this work. And if I say no, what the hell might that idiot son in law of mine do then? What does my daughter see in that Capellan anyhow?

The other issue was political. First, while the Mask was a very good intelligence agency, it was not infallible. The Davions had foxed it before, and the constant reports of troop movements into the Lyran state could mean anything? Perhaps he is rotating forces, perhaps it is an exercise, perhaps, perhaps…

And then there is the not so small issue of how many provinces are going to vote with their feet on this war. Home Defense Act be damned.

 SAFE for various reasons, did not completely trust the Capellan analysis, and their view was that the Capellans had probably missed more than a few regiments along the border, or were being taken in by some Davion shell game designed to precipitate a border incident. It is an assessment I am coming to agree with.

  Thomas reached over, and tapped a key to turn on his noteputer. Thomas reached over to the keyboard, and quickly typed up the following message:

***************************

From :  C-G Marik
To: Director, SAFE

Wilson,
   I have a plan the Capellans delivered via diplomatic courier yesterday for an offensive into the FC’s Sarna March. Needless to say, I do not trust my Son-In-Law further than I can throw him, especially now that he has married my daughter. I want you to put your best people on the project of double checking the Capellan information. Davion has fooled them before.

  Furthermore, and I only want this handed to the most trustworthy people you have, I want a blackmail file begun on my dear son-in-law. I hear he has a new female adviser. Find out how close they are, and if it is exploitable. It would be nice to be able to dissolve this marriage, as I fear it will get us into a bigger mess than the nation can handle right now.

Consider both of these matters to be of the highest priority,

   Thomas

***********************

  Thomas gave the message a once over, then tapped a few keys to move the message into the classified message traffic buffer and then tapped the SEND key to send the message on it’s way.

  After I have Wilson tell me whether it is on the level or not, I will have Garabaldi and Blake take a look at this thing, and tell me if we can actually pull it off..not to mention meet with the Ministry of Finance and see if we can actually come up with the money…

  Thomas leaned back and took another sip of his whiskey. Either way, the League is going to come out of this mess a winner.

  Finally, there was a personal reason on why not: Joshua. He was still on New Avalon, and for now, was responding to treatment. Is Victor Davion any bit his father? Would he refuse my son treatment? Or worse, would he find out the truth about me?

  An unseasonable chill soon filled Thomas Marik’s bones. Disquiet pervaded the rest of his evening, as thoughts of his children and their well-being came unbidden.

March 19th, 3055
Fort Defiance
Defiance
Crucis March
Federated Commonwealth

  Colonel Hans Strucker, 54th Artillery Brigade (Commanding) looked on through his field glasses with a mixture of pride and satisfaction as he stood with Marshal Stephan Cooper observing the 54th execute a brigade rolling barrage on one of Fort Defiance’s many ranges. The various techs and umpires took measurements through their own equipment, and typed notations into their noteputers for later comment during the After Action Report.

  The rolling ground shook and heaved as the guns, a mile to the rear, continuously fired without letup, the concentrated outgoing fire sending vibrations through the earth that could be felt, and heard even a mile away.

  The view through Strucker’s Zeiss field glasses was magnificent, with round after round landing within the area proscribed for the live shoot. So far, there were no reports of any injuries, or technical issues with the guns..as the gouts of earth and dust vomited skyward with the encouragement of tons of high explosives. The small hill that made up the impact range was beginning to be obscured in the smoke and dust, and even with the Zeiss glasses, it was beginning to become harder to see the target, a series of hulked battlemechs and vehicles.

  Marshal Cooper smiled tightly, and tapped Colonel Strucker on the shoulder, and waited for the Colnel to lower his field glasses.

“Colonel, you have a hell of a brigade, they get into position quickly, they handle the new Fire Direction Equipment with skill, and your FOs are top notch. You engaged that hill within a minute and had three rounds off from two of your three gun battalions before the first round hit the ground. I am impressed.”

   Colonel Strucker bowed slightly, in the Steiner noble tradition when getting praise from a superior officer. He did spare the Davion Marshal the clicking of his heels. It seemed that most Davion officers found the practice silly, and more than a bit showy. “Thank you, Herr Marshal, we drill to a high standard, and the new fire direction equipment makes coordinating artillery fire an easy thing to accomplish. In short, we are ready, Herr Marshal, my men and women want to teach the Clans to respect our guns and rockets…or we will teach them that respect.”

I do believe that Marshal Cooper mused. The fact was, until recent events, Artillery had been a maligned thing in the Inner Sphere. But, with the rediscovery of an ancient Fire Control System called “TacFire” and it’s retrofitting to work with Star League technology (including most importantly, TAG), as well as the advent of faster loading systems for the Long Tom and Thumper class artillery pieces, artillery soon became a pretty nasty thing again..And then, if that wasn’t enough, there is Project Bumblebee, but that is something even Strucker isn’t supposed to know about…yet. If we can make those rounds work…the Falcons are well, and truly done for.

“When are we to deploy to the front, Herr Marshal?”

“Soon, yours was one of the last brigades that needed to complete pre-deployment readiness evaluation, and anyhow, I wanted to get to know you and your brigade…you’re going to be in direct support to my RCT.”

Stucker’s heart soared. This will be a thing to tell my men and women. This is going to make all the loading drills, the live fires, the road marches and everything else worth it. So many of my men and women are from the Tamar March, and so many of them want vengeance. As do I.

Stucker has lost his family on Twycross to the Jade Falcons when he had been commander of the TMM’s artillery battalion. He’d barely gotten out with a battery of guns when it was all over, but they had fired every round they had at the Falcons, but it hadn’t been enough.

But not this time..this time, we teach those arrogant bastards who the real King of the Battlefield is. And what Kings do to usurpers…

April 6th, 3055
The Triad
Tharkad
Federated Commonwealth

“Your Highness, as you can see, most of the units intended for Clover Spear have already moved into position, with a few more expected to close up by the end of July. After that, we intend to do a little creative re-badging to keep the Clans guessing.” Nondi Steiner stated, her strong voice echoing off of the Palace War Room as she illustrated a magnified map of the Clan frontier in the holotank. Friendly worlds blazed gold, and Clan held ones glowed green, or grey, depending on which Clan currently held possession.

  The holotank hovered over one side of the room, with the other dominated by a long table surrounding the holotank, each seat with its own sound system to magnify any speech in the room.

  Victor Steiner-Davion smiled, So far dad, so good. Now the question remains, do the Capellans know we have stolen a march on them, or are we still doing well enough to convince everyone we are just rotating units from the frontier?

Victor raised his hand and all discussion stopped. He turned to face the head of LIC, General Karl Halberg, who was a large, bullet-headed man who wore his graying hair closely cropped, and his uniform immaculate. His eyes betrayed sadness, the sadness of a man who held too many secrets, and had done things to keep them that didn’t bear close thought.

“General Halberg? Do the Capellans know what we’re about to do?”

“Your highness, it is our estimation and that of MIIO that the Maskriovka has probably guessed we are about to do something, the good news is, we have managed to clog up the rumor mill so badly for them, they are going to be spending a bit of time figuring out what is about to happen, until it does. I know you got that letter at the beginning of the year, your highness, but there has been no Capellan or League troop movements or other unusual activity to suggest that they in fact, know what we are about to do. ISF or O5P might just be playing games with us, and they told your friend because they know we would give her information more weight.”

“Suggestions, General?”

“Keep doing what we are doing, we are too far along anyhow, General Savinson has a lot of Loki assets deployed and ready to execute, and a lot of my Norns are going to be breaking cover to support them and the Longherin strikes on identified POW camps. In short, this goes wrong, the intelligence netwoek in Clan space is going to be gutted. So we have no choice, go. After that, your highness, my only advice is this: Beat the Clan bastards as quick as we can.”

Victor nodded, General Karlberg was right. Time was becoming a factor, as there was only 17 months left until the operation commenced. And, with interstellar distances and communications involved, armies and states did not turn on a dime.

“So, General Steiner, any concerns, or changes?” Victor asked.

“No, your highness, we should be briefing regimental and RCT commanders within the next three months as to their roles and targets. The help we have gotten from General Karlberg and his people on current conditions, as well as the enemy ORBAT has been outstanding.” General Steiner responded, a tone of professional satisfaction In her voice.

“Any concerns, anyone, please, now is a good time to mention them?” Victor stated, a bit more pleading in his voice than he had intended.

“I do have one concern of my own. Our inclusion of nuclear weapons. As much as I think the Jade Falcons are a threat to our very way of life, what are their possible response if we begin to nuke their warships?” Victor asked.

General Karlberg stated without hesitation “Your Highness, they will probably retaliate with something akin to Turtle Bay, but the fact remains, and this is with all due respect to our navy colleagues, but the fact remains. Our own warship programs are woefully inadequate. And asking ComStar..”

Victor finished the statement “..would pose a host of political problems. Alright gentlemen, you have your conditional nuclear release. But, if the bastards go after civilians, then all gloves are off, verstehen? Now, as for the rest of the plan, is this as good as we can make it?”

No one said a word, except for a tow headed officer, whose uniform was a bit rumpled, with a number of coffee cups emptied in front of him. Victor knew him only by reputation, Marshal Renier Poulin. Poulin was a hard charging Lyran officer of the old school who had definitely not come up through the Social General system, but had been languishing in a post on CMO 26 before a Colonel Katrina Steiner had noticed the young Hauptmann. The rest, as they said…was history.

“Your Highness-“ Poulin’s gravelly voice filled the room with all the lyricism of a cement mixer, “We should go, hell, we must go. The Clans are as blind, intel wise, as an opponent I have ever faced. We have a lot of citizens on those worlds, and things are not like “Wait until the next war” out there. No, Your Highness, these Tankers, to quote one of my favorite movies, think they are on a mission from God, and with luck, and a little firepower and preparation? We can more than disabuse them of that notion. Also, sir? Let me say this..I hate anybody who goes around saying that they are the master race.”

A response came unbidden from the Davion side of the war room, “Wait, you mean you Steiners aren’t?” It was a new version of an old joke about Germans…and now, Lyrans.

The entire room had a good laugh at that, even Victor chuckled before he held up his hands to get things back under control “I can’t take you people anywhere, can I?” Victor stated, as he flashed a winning grin around the room.

“Ok, so, what everyone is telling me, is we should go?”

There was a loud consensus of fists banging on tables and shouted “Yeses”.

“I see we have consensus. Alright, I know my mother has already approved. Gentlemen, we go.. But one thing. I hear the Clans have their biggest holiday on the 24th of August. I know we had chosen the 6th..but why in the world should they be the only ones celebrating?”

Nondi Steiner smiled a feral smile at the idea. “Your Highness, we can make this happen, can we General Karlberg?”

General Karlberg nodded.

And thus, the die was cast.


« Last Edit: 17 December 2015, 10:32:02 by panzerfaust150 »
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mikecj

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #75 on: 17 December 2015, 18:29:38 »
Time to cross the Rubicon...
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Nikas_Zekeval

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #76 on: 17 December 2015, 19:06:22 »
Time to cross the Rubicon...

Don't forget to drown some snakes and parrots in the water while it is close at hand either.  }:)

Chris OFarrell

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #77 on: 17 December 2015, 22:27:53 »
The Intelligence people seem to be a little ... cocky over the 'nah, the Cappies and Leaguers aint going do to shit!' position.
Especially after a bunch of guys from intelligence earlier on put up their hands and admitted they had underestimated the FWLs jumpship fleet by a factor of 3 and their civilian production capacity by a factor of 50%!

Or it could just be that they're being a little fatalistic and have decided that 'they might well be going to pull something, lets just hope its survivable while we smash the Clanners, then we'll turn the AFFC around and make them very VERY sorry for making this choice...'

Oh and it seems Sun Tzu HAS married Isis now? Not this fake engagement BS?

Just seems a little ... off? Not sure really. I mean at this point no strategic movements by the FWL have been made if I'm reading this right so there isn't anything to REALLY be alarmed about. But you'd think there would be more talk about ensuring their contingency plans for 'just in case' scenarios are well in place and up to scratch.

Still, lots of fun!

And if the FedCom isn't forward deploying its few warships against the Clans ... well no sense letting them go to waste right? Might as well leave them cruising through the Sarna March in the ort cloud of Liao or something.
Then when the Cappies make their play, find the most juicy Elite unit group and jump the Corvettes in for maximum 'Oh f***' response. >:D

Like the Big Macs regiments. Or a bunch of Warrior Houses or something...

« Last Edit: 17 December 2015, 22:42:06 by Chris OFarrell »
"I, the Baron of Strang, care not for your new names. Clans? Jade Falcons? I call you by your true name: Scum of the Star League, traitors of free will, persecutors of the Periphery come back to lord it over freedom-loving people. Come ahead, you steel-eyed robots! Come ahead and taste what a million like-minded people think of you and your damn Clans!"

-Baron Stepan Von Strang

snakespinner

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #78 on: 18 December 2015, 01:59:48 »
That would be a nasty surprise, Fedcom warships to greet the Liao and Marik tourists. O0
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panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #79 on: 18 December 2015, 08:52:54 »
The Intelligence people seem to be a little ... cocky over the 'nah, the Cappies and Leaguers aint going do to shit!' position.
Especially after a bunch of guys from intelligence earlier on put up their hands and admitted they had underestimated the FWLs jumpship fleet by a factor of 3 and their civilian production capacity by a factor of 50%!

Or it could just be that they're being a little fatalistic and have decided that 'they might well be going to pull something, lets just hope its survivable while we smash the Clanners, then we'll turn the AFFC around and make them very VERY sorry for making this choice...'


Chris,
It is actually choice #2. Everyone in the AFFC command structure knows when Clover Spear goes off, that the Capellans will respond somehow. How is an open question, East Sea, to some extent, is unexpected. FC Intelligence is expecting a response more along the lines of 3039.

That said, there is a hope that they can keep the Capellans guessing as to what is about to happen, until it does.

As for the Mariks,  Thomas has to tread lightly here. Yes, he still is not the REAL Thomas Marik, but he cannot callously throw away Joshua Marik ' s life. It would cause way too many questions.

Victor is still an unknown to many of the leaders of the Inner Sphere. Hanse would and did hold Joshua hostage, would Victor?  Thomas is not a cold blooded bastard. He may be, in fact, too nice for the job. Remember,  in the original Operation Guerrero, the League participation was half-hearted at best.

Couple that with he doesn't like his son in law, and doesn't particularly trust the Capellans (Considering recent League history, what sane Captain - General would?), and you have an explanation on why the FWL has been slow to the punch. There is also, the fact not many of the provinces are going to be happy about good Marik boys dying to take Capellan worlds back from the Davions...

PS: I just checked what was the status of the FC's warship program...My earlier comments in the story were an understatement. The first Fox would not leave the yards until 3058...
« Last Edit: 18 December 2015, 13:56:57 by panzerfaust150 »
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Chris OFarrell

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #80 on: 18 December 2015, 16:57:32 »

Chris,
It is actually choice #2. Everyone in the AFFC command structure knows when Clover Spear goes off, that the Capellans will respond somehow. How is an open question, East Sea, to some extent, is unexpected. FC Intelligence is expecting a response more along the lines of 3039.

That said, there is a hope that they can keep the Capellans guessing as to what is about to happen, until it does.


The problem I have is that the Intelligence agencies seem to be taking Omis warning way too lightly. They are just seeming to dismiss it as 'meh, ISF or OP5 playing games' with very few grounds. The attitude isn't coming through as 'Well it might be comprimised, but even in the worst case scenario they won't be able to threaten key strategic worlds which we are still protecting even if they suck up 80% of the Sarna March, certinally not before the AFFC comes back down like a Hammer of God upon them'. They seem to be just outright dismissing the possibilities...

At least as its written. IMO. Its less fatalistic 'what will happen will happen, its the price of victory against the Clans, we've got contingencies in place and we'll just have to ride it out'. And more 'Eh they may think we're up to something, but they can't possibly be doing much...'

I mean I'm not saying that they shouldn't be able to pull off a good surprise attack, but once the FedCom has been given an explict warning that yes the Dracs know and they know that the Cappies know too, you'd think that it would be less 'something MIGHT happen' and more 'something WILL happen, but we're prepared to accept short term reversals'.

Quote

As for the Mariks,  Thomas has to tread lightly here. Yes, he still is not the REAL Thomas Marik, but he cannot callously throw away Joshua Marik ' s life. It would cause way too many questions.


He wouldn't just throw him away anyway IMO - at least in the OTL he was really impacted by his Sons death. Say what you will about FakeTom, he did love his kid and not want him to die.

Quote

Victor is still an unknown to many of the leaders of the Inner Sphere. Hanse would and did hold Joshua hostage, would Victor?  Thomas is not a cold blooded bastard. He may be, in fact, too nice for the job. Remember,  in the original Operation Guerrero, the League participation was half-hearted at best.


And that was even with the rally cry of 'Victor hid the death of the Heir of the FWL and planned to replace him with a double! AND with FakeTom knowing that Kathy was going to sit this one out and split off the Lyran half of the Commonwealth!
In this case ... especially if Sun Tzu has ACTUALLY married Isis rather than just being promised her hand like in the OTL, I could see genuine provincial blowback and flat 'We're not f*#king mercenaries for hire for Sun Tzu!' from the Provinces. Hell, from the Captain Generals own supporters for that matter!

Quote

Couple that with he doesn't like his son in law, and doesn't particularly trust the Capellans (Considering recent League history, what sane Captain - General would?), and you have an explanation on why the FWL has been slow to the punch. There is also, the fact not many of the provinces are going to be happy about good Marik boys dying to take Capellan worlds back from the Davions...

PS: I just checked what was the status of the FC's warship program...My earlier comments in the story were an understatement. The first Fox would not leave the yards until 3058...

In the OTL that was mostly because (for reasons probably coming down to the increasing hate for the FedCom certain writers seemed to have) of a "dispute" between ComStar and the FedCom for Transit drives that ONLY Terra could provide. Because apparently building bigger fusion torch drives is a far harder thing to do than Compact-Core K/F drives...
"I, the Baron of Strang, care not for your new names. Clans? Jade Falcons? I call you by your true name: Scum of the Star League, traitors of free will, persecutors of the Periphery come back to lord it over freedom-loving people. Come ahead, you steel-eyed robots! Come ahead and taste what a million like-minded people think of you and your damn Clans!"

-Baron Stepan Von Strang

consequences

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #81 on: 18 December 2015, 21:51:05 »
The total threat rating of the FWLM and CCAF is maybe 110 regiments on the extreme high end, and that presuming perfect provincial unity in the FWL, no attention paid to defense, and probably the WoB throwing in everything they have at the moment. They could get the DC, OWA, and TC to go all in, and there would still probably be about 50-60 regiments of the AFFC left to play Whack a Clan after matching the opposing forces one for one.

More realistically, since perfect trust doesn't exist between the FWL and CC, any offensive would have only a fraction of their total force. If the WoB actually hates Clans instead of that being the ridiculous after the fact justification for their OTL tantrum, they would do everything in their power to only backstab the not quite as hated Davions after they finish rolling through Smoke Jaguar territory and are in a state of fatal over extension.


Chaeronea

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #82 on: 18 December 2015, 23:48:23 »
He wouldn't just throw him away anyway IMO - at least in the OTL he was really impacted by his Sons death. Say what you will about FakeTom, he did love his kid and not want him to die.

And when his wife died he was really broken up by that too.

In the OTL that was mostly because (for reasons probably coming down to the increasing hate for the FedCom certain writers seemed to have) of a "dispute" between ComStar and the FedCom for Transit drives that ONLY Terra could provide. Because apparently building bigger fusion torch drives is a far harder thing to do than Compact-Core K/F drives...

Indeed. The FedCom could increase production of DropShips to replace combat losses, they could put at least two new classes of DropShip into production (Claymore and Conquistador), but build drivs using the same technology for their WarShip program? Naaahhh....

drakensis

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #83 on: 19 December 2015, 02:47:41 »
As for the Mariks,  Thomas has to tread lightly here. Yes, he still is not the REAL Thomas Marik, but he cannot callously throw away Joshua Marik ' s life. It would cause way too many questions.
I think you're mixing up Joshua and Isis. Joshua is the son of Thomas 'Halas' so he'd really be losing his son, not the son of the 'real' Thomas.
"It's national writing month, not national writing week and a half you jerk" - Consequences, 9th November 2018

Fyrwulf

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #84 on: 21 December 2015, 00:02:47 »
This is a most excellent story. I'm looking forward to reading more.
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panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #85 on: 22 December 2015, 15:01:30 »
Hi all,
 Wanted to to give you guys a status update. Have plotted out the 1st Wave of Clover Spear and ran the battles using a system of my own devising.

 It uses the old CRT from GDW's Third World War series. I simply made
proficiency ratings based on the skill rating of the unit as stated in various Battletech products.

      Elite units get an 8
      Veteran units get a 7
      Regular units get a 6
      Green units get a 5

 For the Falcons and Vipers, I gave all their frontline units 7s and their 2nd line units 6s. It made sense. Most Inner Sphere units run at a 6. The CRT is a basic Lancestrian CRT model, where units get disruptions on them based on the odds, with shifts for the side with the higher proficiency , or if artillery is present. Now, for my model, I simply take the proficiency rating, divide into it the number of disruptions for the casualties taken.

 Odds are figured out by totaling up equipment categories, then taking the average of said categories.

  Units surrender when they take a certain percentage of casualties in a given engagement, based on their morale level.

     Green it is 50%
     Regular it is 60%
     Veteran it is 70%
     Elite it is 80%

 Fanatics add 10% to the threshold.

 It isn't a perfect system, but it works for me. So, I will be putting up writeups as a PDF soon, but anybody able to give me some graphic mapping help, as I want to put out a book like Davout did for Kiro No Tori.

 I also plan on doing a slight rewrite to the last chapter. Chris was right, and I want it to match the spirit I am going for here.
Clover Spear author and cat wrangler!
FedCom Fan!

Davout73

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #86 on: 22 December 2015, 16:30:53 »
What sort of maps are you looking for?

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

panzerfaust150

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #87 on: 22 December 2015, 16:43:41 »
Strategic maps of the progress of Clover Spear, as well as the Marik/Capellan operation known as "East Sea".

Clover Spear author and cat wrangler!
FedCom Fan!

Davout73

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #88 on: 22 December 2015, 17:57:17 »
If you get me an excel spreadsheet with colums for unit name and planet location, I can put something together.  You can addcolums for raring and the like, butill need those two for aure. I'll also need to gin up a map of what the IS looks like in 3056, but that shouldn't be to hard.

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

consequences

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Re: Clover Spear - The Story of the '56 War
« Reply #89 on: 22 December 2015, 22:39:32 »
Hi all,
 Wanted to to give you guys a status update. Have plotted out the 1st Wave of Clover Spear and ran the battles using a system of my own devising.

 It uses the old CRT from GDW's Third World War series. I simply made
proficiency ratings based on the skill rating of the unit as stated in various Battletech products.

      Elite units get an 8
      Veteran units get a 7
      Regular units get a 6
      Green units get a 5

 For the Falcons and Vipers, I gave all their frontline units 7s and their 2nd line units 6s. It made sense. Most Inner Sphere units run at a 6. The CRT is a basic Lancestrian CRT model, where units get disruptions on them based on the odds, with shifts for the side with the higher proficiency , or if artillery is present. Now, for my model, I simply take the proficiency rating, divide into it the number of disruptions for the casualties taken.

 Odds are figured out by totaling up equipment categories, then taking the average of said categories.

  Units surrender when they take a certain percentage of casualties in a given engagement, based on their morale level.

     Green it is 50%
     Regular it is 60%
     Veteran it is 70%
     Elite it is 80%

 Fanatics add 10% to the threshold.

 It isn't a perfect system, but it works for me. So, I will be putting up writeups as a PDF soon, but anybody able to give me some graphic mapping help, as I want to put out a book like Davout did for Kiro No Tori.

 I also plan on doing a slight rewrite to the last chapter. Chris was right, and I want it to match the spirit I am going for here.

My concern would be how the CRT in question works, and how well it approximates the bell curve of Battletech target numbers if approached from a game mechanics perspective, or the flow of combat as described in the novels(that may or may not religiously adhere to the game mechanics when the camera is on the action)

With regards to game mechanics, that 1 shift in TN fro one experience level to the next can be anything from a 2.79% to an 18% and then all the way back down to a 2.79% bump in absolute percentage depending on the difficulty involved. Or from a different perspective, it could triple the odds of succeeding on a longshot attempt, all the way down to making a near certainty a practical certainty. There's also the sad and sorry truth that when it comes to direct combat the Clans get to cheat, then cheat some more, then stack their cheating on top of additional cheating, with a Green frontline unit being able to casually shoot on the level of an Elite formation with just a few hours of time sapping out omnipods, and an Elite unit all being able to out shoot Natasha Kerensky in her old Warhammer.

When it comes to narrative and the way strategic combat is described, the side launching attacks generally wins unless outright outmatched, even in even odds situations that should favor the defender's knowledge of the battleground and desire to fight to protect their homes and dependents. The Three to One attacker to Defender guideline tends to result in outright onesided casual stomps of the target. To a certain extent this can be explained by units on the offensive being 100% ready to go, with any deficiencies made good by drafting recent graduates, local militia, or whoever else doesn't run fast enough while copious supplies are laid in, while the defender might have a tenth of their nominal strength on leave and not in the system at all, with another 20% laid up in the shop in various stages of disassembly when the inbound drive plumes are detected.

There are exceptions to the 'attacker rules, defender drools' guideline, but a lot of the time they rely on legendarily defensible locations or units that get specific 'the Scriptwriter is on their side' rules when written up in parody sourcebooks.

 

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