Fall of the Aurigan Coalition

[Maingunnery]

I prefer them to be off the maps for being too irrelevant as this leaves more room for other irrelevant states.

[Liam's Ghost]

I prefer them to be off the maps for being too irrelevant as this leaves more room for other irrelevant states.

Not gonna lie, I'd dig that. I don't think it's gonna happen, as I think the current crop of writers are trying to scale back the scope of the universe (or at least the focus of that universe) to something they can more easily manage.

But I'd dig it if they did.

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

Yeah. We don't need to have every single exact location of such minor states on the world map, unless it is on the computer game - where every single locations are pre-made and you can go whatever you want. But what we want is not like this.

[DevianID]

I think Centrella backed the Aurigan Collation over the Directorate for a simple reason--a bloody civil war would ensure the Aurigan region would remain a toothless empire that serves as a nice border to hem in other powers.  Prior to the 4th succession war even before the Helm memory core was passed around, the inner sphere was finally recovering--new mechs and new tech combined with a new form of stable warfare that didn't destroy infrastructure.  A united expansionist Aurigan Directorate with a strong alliance with the Taurians would have pushed the major recovering inner sphere powers to have to re-examine their periphery borders--something Centrella would not have wanted.  Instead, Centrella paid some money to get one side some mercenaries and refit a big dropship, and watched from the sidelines as both the Aurigans and Taurians lost some major assets fighting over inconsequential worlds.

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

Yeah. backing the border states have three benefits:
-You don't need to face your true opponent directly.
-You don't need to face the freedom fighter, and lets your true opponent to face their fierce hatred instead.
-It means you are actually show mercy to them, so they will like you and fight for you even if something is gone wrong.

[Colt Ward]

yeah . . . the AC was a client state for the Magistry?  Also why they would not be recognized by others as readily.

[Ouso]

Honestly, the coalition limping along would at least explain why that area of space remains untouched for 150 years.  The most plausible result to me seems to be that the attempt to centralize government fails, and after Kamea the  coalition reverts to what is effectively a trade partnership between various small ruling houses and planetary governments (which is more or less it’s state at the start of 3025).

[Kovax]

As long as the more valuable planets retain some kind of mutual defense pact, it's probably not worth the effort to attack the coalition: too little gain for the effort involved.  That doesn't require an active central government, although the AC could very well still exist in name, but with no real authority or outside recognition beyond the couple of planets at the very core.  Whether Kamea or her successor(s) still govern isn't all that relevant.

If the AC is a going concern, with a sizable military force and control over a dozen or more planets, then their lack of mention on the maps becomes a lot less plausible, and Comstar certainly can't hide their presence from the Magistracy and Taurians.  Fronc would know about them, but might not have any direct concerns if they're not in some kind of dispute over any planets, particularly if they're nearby but not actually bordering them.

[Ouso]

Yeah - I sort of imagine something that hovers between a collection of random worlds and pirate kingdoms, and a real state. Economically stable enough, with enough local coordination on defense, to make then a hassle to conquer and not a raiding threat. Like a tiny HRE. There are references in the book to the centrifugal forces in the AC, and it makes sense to me that this area would end up losing most real central authority after Kamea is gone.

In that scenario, it really is potentially more useful to the bordering states as an ignored buffer zone and place for their corps to acquire cheap raw reaources.

[Colt Ward]

Another RecGuide reference to the Aurigan Coalition and Restoration War . . . great shoutout to the game where a mech was left standing in the DZ as a dropship came in.

[MarauderD]

Another RecGuide reference to the Aurigan Coalition and Restoration War . . . great shoutout to the game where a mech was left standing in the DZ as a dropship came in.

I thought that was hilarious.  Even I've misclicked and had a dropship squish one of my veteran mechwarriors before.  Ultimate headslap situation.....

[Nodachi]

I'm going to go with still around but not listed on the maps as not important enough to mention or able to convince enough big boys to not mention and leave them alone.  On the other hand, we can have the Aurigan Coalition be part of an alternate but very similar timeline. May add a wrinkle or two but won't impact the overall storyline.

[Kovax]

As a loose coalition of planets with mutual defense and trade agreements, they're no threat to outsiders, while providing both a source of raw materials and a market for nearby manufacturers, but can throw the military weight of the entire coalition against any invader who might want to snag a planet.  Basically, they're better left as a safe, harmless neighbor and a neutral buffer zone.

As a centralized state (what the Directorate was trying to achieve), they become a threat to the neighbors, and will inevitably be in competition with the existing powers in the region (TC, MC).  I don't think Kamea could maintain the level of control necessary to turn the coalition into a centralized power, so it would gradually lapse back into the loose arrangement that worked before.  It's not on the maps because it's not really a "state", but more like a coalition of independent planets with a central location to negotiate and organize their mutual defense if needed.

[Starfury]

I do hope the Aurigan Coalition survives into the later eras, since they had a nice vibe as the Carribean/Spanish/Dutch/Oceanic island chain BT equivalent.  Their Battlemech military forces post Reclamation are pretty low power, counting 3 light mech companies, the heavier Royal Guard Battalion, their special forces heavy Rampart Company, and 5 companies of mercs as of 3026.  That's one regiment of mechs, which isn't a big threat to any of the powers in the region other then pirates.  I can see a rebuilt Coaltion acting as an aide to the Fronc Reaches and the smaller Periphery powers against pirate bands and potential territorial grabs from other powers.

Keeping trade relations going with the other evolving powers would allow the AC to rebuild and still not influence the timeline.

[The Wobbly Guy]

There's a strong reason for the neighbouring states to pass on a smidgen of support to the AC: it keeps the area relatively stable, under control, and from slipping into piracy.

When things go awry, it's easier to find an accountable party too.

So yes, the AC is still around, just trudging along with a near non-existent central government and mutual defense agreements amongst its member planets with some intelligence sharing and trade.

[JustinKase]

I keep hoping that HBS will do a Battletech 2 and have it kick off at the start of the 4th SW, continuing the story of the Aurigan Coalition from 3028 into the 3030s.  There is a lot of opportunity left for story telling left in that region - and it could focus more on the paranoia of the TC about a potential Davion invasion (that never came) and lashing out at the weaker AC in order to be able to focus on the 'inevitable' Davion front.

Until we get something more concrete, I'm in the camp that the AC likely sputtered out and was absorbed by other powers in the region (even if their planets don't merit mention on maps).  I also like the idea of an Aurigan 'Exodus' to Aurigae with the remnants of the collapsing Coalition striking out to escape the 4th SW or Clan invasion.

[Colt Ward]

You know that the start of the 4SW is technically within the realm of the HBS play time?

[Stormlion1]

The other option is the state trudged along into the 3050's when after the Clan Invasion the WoB made the entire state 'fall off the map'.

[Techpriest3052]

My guess? It probably declined in the 3030's to 3060's to the point where it was just a couple worlds around a central government on Cormodir, at least as part of any actual interstellar entity. Other worlds might have considered themselves part of an Aurigan Coalition, but not really. Independent in fact, though not in legal technicality - and ComStar really had bigger issues to deal with during this time than the status of one of who knows how many pocket empires out in the Periphery.

[DOC_Agren]

and that much lostech in the area..  of course Comstar would show how to get there, right...  :-P

[Colt Ward]

Well, we got a firm start date for the civil war if we did not have it before- 3022 when Espinosa assumed control.

But what happens to the Aurigan Coalition?  Well, we are finding out in 3025, after the Iberia augered in that Coromodir VI is expecting a decade long 'nuclear winter' from the impact which is heavily impacting the planet's ability to feed itself.  A crash program was created to turn current farmland into massive greenhouses to provide local food.  A observer says the the Arano palace is a gleaming edifice at that time.

Ten years of nuclear winter on the capital is going to strain any political system, especially with some of the old Directorate troops still engaging in civil unrest.

[Moragion]

Don't think the Coalition will endure those 10 years. The most logical scenario is for it to break up into independent worlds and fade away pretty fast as an entity.

[Colt Ward]

Yeah, the 'Iberia winter' which was something like what they were calling it would put a huge strain besides the normal ones of a civil war.  Piling on the usual resentments between regions, or in this case planets, of the nation you now have them supporting the national capital with food and other resources that will feel like a drain to everyone else long before those 10 years are up.  Noted in the story was that what the Directorate looted from the other Houses & planets was not returned but rather sold as the spoils of war by the Coalition government.  This was conveyed by the example of a Powerman IndiMech that had been used for decades in the mining on Itrom, taken by Directorate centralization, and then captured by Arano's forces at some point.  The IndiMech was sold- not even told how, auction? direct?- to a different company than had owned so the Coalition could get some currency into their coffers.  The Civil War was fought under a banner calling itself the Restoration, a call to return to pre-coup days . . . and yet those who had property stolen do not get it restored?  Bad taste for many involved.

Even after 10 years and they can start growing things again or supporting livestock . . . the soil is going to be in poor shape- and you would have to deal with erosion by wind & water.  Most of the land will not have been converted to greenhouses, farms would have been abandoned and definitely gone bankrupt . . . so when you CAN start using the land, who wants that risk?  who would be able to buy the land, seed, livestock, or tools?  Who has the knowledge- b/c the farmers are not going to sit around for the next 10 years, they will either immigrate somewhere else or shift into another industry.

[Elmoth]

Tha tis the bit i liked the most about the house arano book. How Lady Kamea is a second Director in all but name, not a restored high lady with a working council to check her power. The irony of it was really nice.

[Stormlion1]

Tha tis the bit i liked the most about the house arano book. How Lady Kamea is a second Director in all but name, not a restored high lady with a working council to check her power. The irony of it was really nice.

She became the Devil she defeated. Which is how the universe works in Battletech somedays.

[Moragion]

Although I really enjoyed the story on Shrapnel, it's difficult for me to imagine how a downed dropship can create a nuclear winter, even if it is a "short" one of only 10 years.

[Liam's Ghost]

When was the dropship downed, and how fast was it going?

If it was on final approach and had already bled off all the transit velocity, then it wouldn't be a huge problem.

If it was hit further out before it had a chance to appreciably slow down, then... well, it's not terribly different from a serious meteor strike.

It's all about the velocity.

[Moragion]

When was the dropship downed, and how fast was it going?

If it was on final approach and had already bled off all the transit velocity, then it wouldn't be a huge problem.

If it was hit further out before it had a chance to appreciably slow down, then... well, it's not terribly different from a serious meteor strike.

It's all about the velocity.

Spoilers (just in case someone hasn't played the game yet and want to do it):
It's from the videogame. A Fortress-class dropship crashes on Coromodir after being disabled by a virus. If I remember correctly, it happened before entrance to the atmosphere, when the dropship was already slowing its approach, and then it crashed on the planet.

But by the description of the Shrapnel story it seemed like the issue was the radioactive drive of the dropship that created the mini nuclear winter. In any case I don't see either as a cause for that disaster. After all there are a lot of dropships falling to planets in novels and none provokes anything other than a fireball.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the story and I thing it created a very interesting scenario for the Aurigan Coalition, tense, and not very hopeful for its future.

[Dragon Cat]

It could be a super sensitive atmosphere, not all worlds are as habitable as earth.  This event could have pushed it, unlikely I'd think

[Maingunnery]

It could be a super sensitive atmosphere, not all worlds are as habitable as earth.  This event could have pushed it, unlikely I'd think

It isn't uncommon in BT, there are/were a lot of planets with fragile ecosystems.

But there might of course have been something special in the cargo of the DropShip.