Date: December 31, 3025
Location: Terra
Title: House Kurita - The Draconis Combine
Author: Boy F. Peterson, Jr., Tara Gallagher, Todd Huettel, Donna Ippolito, John Theisen, Robert Wells
Type: Sourcebook
Synopsis: Part of the ComStar Archives' effort to compile a definitive history of the Successor States, the Draconis Combine report was created by a team headed by Gillian Sorenson-Hague. As with my review of the Liao sourcebook, I will summarize the highlights of the major sections.
History
The History section opens with a highly detailed account of the rise of the Terran Alliance, creation of the Kearny-Fuchida hyperdrive, Exodus period, Outer Reaches Rebellion, and Demarcation Declaration.
It chronicles the rise of Shiro Kurita in the city-state of Yamashiro on the colony world of New Samarkand. He first became lord of Yamashiro, then of New Samarkand, then of an interstellar state titled the Alliance of Galedon, all with the constant backing of his brother, Urizen. All who opposed the brothers were quickly found dead, enabling them to rule through intimidation.
In 2311, Shiro invited all the major political leaders from the "northeast" of the Inner Sphere to attend a summit meeting, and called a vote to support his proposal for interstellar cooperation. Less than half voted in favor of his measure. The rest were executed by Shiro's guards, and Shiro began a war of conquest against their homeworlds which lasted through his death in 2348, and included the invasion of the Principality of Rasalhague in 2330. (Major combat operations in the Principality ended in 2367, but it did not formally surrender its independence until 2510).
The Combine dove into the Age of War with unrestrained glee, especially once it captured the technology for BattleMechs. House Kurita, however, was sidelined for most of this era. In 2421, Nihongi von Rohrs (the bastard offspring of Marika Kurita and her stablehand lover) engineered a military coup against Coordinator Parker Kurita, sending most surviving members of House Kurita into exile, and selling his mother's sister Lenore into slavery.
To secure his rule, Nihongi nationalized corporations and mercantile organizations and placed his cronies in command. Protests were dealt with harshly, executing the troublemakers and their entire extended families, with torture and executions becoming a daily occurrence. This continued for 89 years under Nihongi, Kozo, Yama, and Kruger von Rohrs.
In 2508, Martin McAllister, illegitimate grandson of Oma Kurita, engineered the imprisonment of Coordinator Yama von Rohrs and his replacement with Kruger, who was grateful to Martin for his assistance. In 2510, Rasalhague governor Blaine Sorenson (Martin's secret father-in-law) sent Rasalhague forces to attack the Combine, pulling DCMS troops to the border regions, and leaving the way open for Martin, now in command of the Household Guard, to wipe out the entire Von Rohrs line and seize control. His daughter, Siriwan, married Warren Kurita (a descendant of one of the exiles), and restored the Kurita name to the Coordinatorship.
The Combine joined the Star League under Hehiro Kurita, Siriwan's son, and waged a devastating campaign against the Outworlds Alliance and Rim Worlds Republic during the Reunification War.
The Combine moved its capital to Luthien during the Star League era. Under Urizen II, Combine citizens were indoctrinated with cultural elements appropriated from Japan's imperial era, leading to the adoption of a samurai/bushido ethos by Combine MechWarriors, and a dueling culture that led to the "First Hidden War" - a series of duels between Combine "ronin" and SLDF garrison troops. Urizen II's efforts did not go over well in the Arkab worlds, where the Muslim population objected to the imposition of Japanese culture, and the Internal Security Force was empowered to deal with the unrest.
During the Star League Civil War, Coordinators Takiro and Minoru Kurita stayed neutral in an ultimately futile effort to save the lives of Drago Kurita and his family - held hostage on Terra by Stefan Amaris. When the SLDF began massing in the New Samarkand system after the dissolution of the Star League council, Minoru stockpiled supplies and waited. Once the SLDF departed on its exodus, Minoru declared himself the new First Lord, and kicked off the First Succession War.
The DCMS struck first at the Lyran Commonwealth, but, disappointed in the lack of honor from fighting such an incompetent foe, soon switched focus to the Federated Suns, and shattered its border defenses, pouring through the Draconis March into the lightly defended Crucis March. When Minoru died to sniper fire on Kentares IV, his son Jinjiro ordered his troops to kill everyone on the planet - one of the most infamous massacres in history due to the fact that it wasn't carried out using any weapons of mass destruction. News of the atrocity demoralized the DCMS and re-energized the AFFS, leading to widespread territorial losses by the Combine on the Davion front.
The Combine kicked off the Second Succession War by sending suicide units of condemned criminals and brainwashed prisoners on "Chain Gang" attacks in barely functional equipment to disrupt rebuilding efforts in the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns. It realized gains against the Lyrans, but stalemated on the Federated Suns front by the time resource constraints forced the "Marathon Offensive" to grind to a halt.
The Third Succession War raged for decades, with continued stalemate on the Davion front and steady but costly gains on the Lyran front. At its outset, the Combine was riven by a shadow war between Roweena Kurita's People's Reconstruction Effort (PRE) and Miyogi Kurita's loyalists. The ISF split their loyalty, and more than a thousand died in a war of assassinations, ending with Miyogi's victory and the dissolution of the PRE.
Another "behind the scenes" catastrophe was narrowly averted when Coordinator Hugai Kurita agreed to allow his sister Necess to return to her life in ComStar after the Primus threatened a communications interdiction (and the destruction of Imperial City by ComStar-contracted mercenaries in orbit).
In the latter years of the Third War, the AFFS began to make strong advances against the Combine. Coordinator Takashi Kurita ordered reforms to counter new Davion tactics, fostering a sense of competition between his military commanders to improve performance. This offered some successes, but backfired on Galtor when the rivalry led his warlords to undercut each other's efforts, leading to the loss of the world and the LosTech cache discovered there.
Pillar of Gold
The Combine's sociopolitical structure describes the Coordinator as a single symbol who represents the Dragon, and whom they can serve, and who serves the whole of Combine society in turn. The Coordinator's will is implemented by the nobles, who serve at court and live according to the mandates of the Dictum Honorarium, while enjoying great wealth and privilege.
The Combine government is top down, with the Coordinator making all major decisions for implementation by military district commanders, working through district governors and planetary chairmen, who enjoy sufficient autonomy to enact local laws to address unique planetary conditions, but must not contravene the wishes of the Coordinator.
The bureaucratic details of implementing policy and keeping things running fall to the Ministry of Interior (a catch-all that includes the all-powerful Bureau of Bureaucracy), Ministry of War (an efficient organization that meets the needs of the Arm of the Dragon), Ministry of the Treasury (economy, trade, and working conditions), Ministry of Justice (law enforcement and courts), and the Ministry of the Court (supporting the administrative and logistical needs of the nobles at the Royal Court). The Internal Security Force does not officially exist, so it exists as a separate but unspoken-of ministerial-type organization.
This bureaucracy knits together the five military districts - Rasalhague, Pesht, Galedon, Benjamin, and Dieron. These districts are, in turn, broken up into Prefectures.
Pillar of Ivory
In the section on Religion and Philosophy, the report indicates that Combine beliefs center on Purity (from independence) and Harmony (in support of House Kurita). Official dictates on philosophy are laid out in the Dictum Honorarium, updated by the Keeper of the House Honor, and enforced by agents of the Order of the Five Pillars (O5P). It lays out strict guidelines for all aspects of life, including the proper way to conduct vendettas so as not to endanger either Purity or Harmony.
There are five classes (castes, for all intents and purposes) in Combine society. Nobles (leadership), Warriors, the Middle Class (merchants, moneylenders, and manufacturers), Workers (pulling 16-hour shifts), and Unproductives (refugees, forced labor gangs, marginalized minorities, beggars, criminals, rejects, and assassins).
Organized religions are only tolerated on a regional basis, with Christianity rooted in Rasalhague, and Islam on the Azami worlds. Bizarre cults occasionally gain popularity among the Middle Class and the Unproductives, but they are snuffed out by the ISF if they become too influential.
Pillar of Steel
This section gives an overview of the typical structure of the Combine's forces, and gives details on the various brigades that bring it to an active strength of 80 'Mech regiments: Sword of Light, District Regulars, Arkab Legions, Prosperpina Hussars, Legion of Vega, Night Stalkers, Sun Zhang Academy Cadre, An Ting Legion, and Altenmarkt Militia. It also profiles key weapons industries, academies, and awards.
Pillar of Teak
The section on daily life and culture emphasizes that Combine life is based on veneration of family, militarism and xenophobia. Kuritan education is noted for its focus on indoctrination and rote memorization.
Artistic expression is reserved for members of the nobility, and then only if it emulates ancient Japanese styles. Most Combine citizens (except the Unproductives) have their needs met, and are content with their station in life, drab though it may be.
Pillar of Jade
Combine worlds are generally resource-poor, and the Combine encourages populations to grow until the planet can barely sustain their numbers.
Under the Combine's "controlled-market capitalism," noble families own industries, but they set policies according to the Coordinator's wishes, and the Combine bureaucracy controls access to raw materials. As long as production quotas are met, noble CEOs run their company towns as private fiefdoms, exercising total control over the lives of their workers.
Any industry that makes military supplies is directly overseen by the Arm of the Dragon.
Personalities
This section of the report profiles prominent members of House Kurita (Takashi, Jasmine, Theodore, Mies), the District Warlords (Samsonov, Hsiun Chi, Shotugama, Sorensen, and Cherenkoff), and a few others.
A Brief Atlas
The Atlas profiles the District Capitals, Prefecture capitals, and other key worlds of each of the Military Districts.
Notes:
History
It's clear that this was the first of the House sourcebooks published, since it uses the first twenty pages of the History section to tell the general history of the BattleTech universe, whereas the later House Liao sourcebook takes those events as given and delves more into how House Liao was involved in them.
Another sign that the writing in this text was done in the early days are a few left-behind references to "battledroids," which was the term used for BattleMechs until Lucasfilm's "cease and desist" letter arrived.
Astoundingly, the House Kurita sourcebook's history section is silent on the matter of the so-called "Second Hidden War" (aka the "War of Davion Succession"). One would think that a Kuritan war to secure succession rights to the First Princeship of the Federated Suns that ultimately had to be put down by SLDF intervention would have rated some notice by Gillian Sorenson-Hague. All I can speculate is that the conflict in question hadn't yet been plotted when this book went to print.
Pillar of Gold
There appear to be two parallel governmental chains of command in the Combine. The most prominent is the military one, with the District Warlords reporting to the Coordinator and issuing orders to their military command staffs beneath them. However, the Warlords serve double duty as the Dukes of their Districts, and also issue commands to the Prefecture and Planetary administrators.
According to this source material, nobles enjoy great wealth and privilege, but do not seem to have been intended to play a major role outside of the court in Imperial City. In the fiction, however, we've seen a number of highly influential Combine nobles who used their wealth to raise private armies (Hassid Ricol's troops used on Trellwan and Verthandi; Chandresekhar Kurita's anti-Blakist mercenary coalition; etc.)
The description of the bureaucracy is clearly intended to emulate/parody the excessive bureaucracy for which Japan was noted in the 20th century, which had developed into a highly stratified, bloated organization with its own internal caste system.
Pillar of Ivory
The class-based social system has many direct parallels to that of the Clans, which should have made it easier for the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats to assimilate captured Combine worlds, but ultimately failed to.
Unproductives = Dark Caste
Workers = Labor Caste
Middle Class = Merchant Caste
Warriors/Nobles = Warrior Caste
Interestingly, there really isn't a Scientist/Technician analogue in Combine society, and it shows. Their "Noius Archipelagus Institute of Science" is just a front for laundering discoveries stolen by Combine spies in the New Avalon Institute of Science, and the veneration of the Warrior over those who make the weapons seems to indicate that the Combine is the least technologically advanced of the Successor States. Even the resource-strapped Capellans managed to debut two new 'Mech designs around 3025, while the FedCom was producing "freezer" heat sinks and triple strength myomer. It's been noted that Combine scientists worked for years to copy the Hatchetman but couldn't get the engineering right on the big metal club. When a Combine scientist managed to build a suit of heavy Battle Armor (the Kanazuchi), the Coordinator made him test it by getting inside and being shot by a 'Mech grade laser. He survived, but with severe injuries.
Life in the Unproductives is portrayed as almost a fate worse than death. Subject to being rounded up as slave labor for press gangs, used for medical experimentation, made to work without protection in toxic environments, executed at the whim of the local administrator, and living in sub-standard slums without access to food, medicine, or proper shelter. It's no surprise that anyone relegated to the Unproductive class would seek out a gang for protection and support, making the yakuza a central part of Unproductive existence. Given how prominently the yakuza feature in "Heir to the Dragon" and the "Blood of Kerensky" trilogy, it's surprising that they weren't fleshed out more in this sourcebook. I guess Boy Peterson and his team didn't really think much about that aspect at this early stage, leaving Charrette and Stackpole to fill in the blank slate later.
Pillar of Steel
This section set the model for most of the other House sourcebooks, and added in elements that later became core parts of the Field Manual series, including the assignation of "specialties" to different regimental formations. Insignia for many of the units listed were lacking, so it's great that the just-released Kurita Combat Manual fills in many of those gaps.
Pillar of Teak
The note about Combine education is also a direct reference to Japanese educational practices, written at a time when people in the target audience were routinely reading that Japanese students were substantially outperforming U.S. students on standardized testing. The description of Combine education as not supporting innovation and creativity also feeds into the Combine's technological shortcomings (outlined above).
Pillar of Jade
The description of the Combine's economic practices is quite possibly what motivates Lyran and Davion players to fight as strongly as possible against the Dragon. It seems designed to turn worlds into gray anthills, where haggard workers shuffle from squalid tenements to backbreaking factory shifts, then wait in long lines to use ration coupons to redeem a can of Stomach's Joy, then return to their concrete box for a few hours of sleep before repeating. Only the nobles live lives involving any semblance of creature comforts or freedom.
We saw the effects of the "corporate fiefdom" on the Combine world of Kawabe in William Keith's "Where Lies the Honor," in which a corporate noble has a worker fired, and then has him arrested when he tries to make a living as an unlicensed street vendor. The Unproductive is sentenced to be flayed, while his wife and children are to be sold into slavery. This is an extreme example, and results in the power-mad boss being killed by his own disgusted security detail, but it probably isn't that far outside the Combine norms.
Personalities
The highlight of the personalities section, for me, was the interplay of the warlords, who were continually set against each other by Takashi. (Well, that and the profile picture of Theodore Kurita's ridiculous mustache circa 3025.)
I thought it was odd, however, that the profile template included a section labeled "Special Skills/Powers:" which seems more germane to a super-hero role playing supplement, and not an in-character historical report. Also, "powers?" Yes, Subhash Indrahar is noted to have "developed his ki power beyond the tenth degree," allowing him to manipulate others to his will, but that's the only entry that even remotely qualifies as a "power," and subsequent developer statements have clarified that early references to ki masters being "able to throw a person across the room without touching them" were just hyperbole, and not an actual 'thing' in BattleTech (just as Phantom 'Mech Ability was largely walked back/handwaved).
So, does this indicate BattleTech planned to have more mysticism/psychic abilities than it ended up having?
A Brief Atlas
The writeups do a good job of giving a "slice of life" description of key Combine worlds. There are some internal inconsistencies (Luthien noted as having been a low population farming world until it became the capital, yet noted earlier as being one of the regional mini-powers that controlled several neighboring worlds in the early part of the History section, for example.)
In every other book, the ComStar First Circuit council member is also the Ambassador to their respective Successor State. So, what did Most Exalted Ambassador/Precentor Luthien Tayless Gromminger do to get booted off of the First Circuit in favor of Precentor Dieron Myndo Waterly? (My personal theory is that Michael Stackpole may have found the name Tayless Gromminger too unwieldy for a major character in the Warrior Trilogy, and went page flipping for an alternative.)
Overall
The House Kurita sourcebook was the first of the "universe building" faction sourcebooks from FASA for BattleTech, and it shows strongly in the structure. Nearly 20 pages are dedicated to Terran Alliance shenanigans before we get to Kurita. Not that this is bad - it had to go somewhere, and nobody was going to buy "Liberals and Expansionists - The Terran Alliance." (Well, okay, I would, but...)
The fact that Boy F. Peterson was backed up by a substantial writing team paid excellent dividends. Every section has a great amount of detail, with fun infoboxes adding context. The Draconis Combine is "Imperial Japan in SPAAAAAACE," but these guys did a great job in making sure it referenced a large number of Japanese cultural trends and conventional stereotypes to make it recognizable as such to a general audience that didn't already have season tickets to the local kabuki theater troupe. I think it's largely on the strength of the writing for this sourcebook that House Kurita became the primary antagonist in the BattleTech universe prior to the introduction of the Clans.
I would have liked more details about the proto-states that became part of the Combine. We get some description of the Principality of Rasalhague and the Ozawa Mercantile Association, but where did the 1,000+ political leaders who attended the Council of One come from? What did the political map of the time look like? Later products have answered some of these questions, but others remain. (For example - the Dieron Federation. In this book, Dieron is listed as a major world that controlled several nearby systems. The House Marik book briefly namechecks it as the Dieron Federation, and notes that the newly formed Terran Hegemony considered it such an existential threat that it negotiated a non-aggression pact with the FWL to ensure breathing room to assimilate it. However, Handbook: House Kurita just says the Dieron Federation was, at most, a two-world statelet that was briefly absorbed by the Draconis Combine before being forcibly annexed by the Terran Hegemony.)
I think more of these questions could have been addressed if the opening of the book hadn't had to do double duty and serve as a Terran Alliance history book as well. As it was, events that proved pivotal to the Combine got somewhat short shrift: the War of Davion Succession, the Reunification War, and the Age of War (all the text herein is focused on the von Rohrs usurpation).
