What happens next? Are the Terran Supremacy going to let Houses Steiner and Davion unite effectively against House Kurita, potentially eliminating the most consistently hostile and dangerous threat to themselves as well? Or will they be so worried that the demolition of the DC will eventually be followed by the Steiner-Davion alliance turning on them that they'll actually force themselves to support the Kuritas, out of an obsession with trying to preserve the status quo? Or what?
Interesting.
Without the close connection near Terra you don't have the incentive for the FS/LC to attack the Terran corridor to "link up".
Actually, I don't even see an incentive for the FS/LC to attack the FWL/CC at all in 3028 or 3039.
I wouldn't even want to attack the edge of the TS region either.
Instead for me I'm seeing a combo of 4SW Lyran/Tamar/Rasalhague thrust & Wo39 Davion/Sortek/Galtor thrust both striking much closer to the edges of the DC periphery.
Basically aiming to take pie slices out of the DC that meet up at Luthien & reclaim a lot of worlds for the Tamar & Robinson marches.
I'd leave worlds boarding the TS & Periphery both untouched, at first, it might inspire other neighbors to pick of a few of them off for their own gain & save Hanse/Katrina the trouble.
Either way it leaves the DC reeling as they are forced to fight a 2 front war.
I'm not seeing TS actively help the DC, as you said, they are a hostile neighbor, and I don't think the LC/FS are sooo potent that they steamroll the DC into nothing immediately.
If anything, I do see the DC being weakened & I see the LC/FS staying separate nations but with a longer lasting military alliance v/s a full joining of nations.
They still have to deal w/ the FWL, CC, & TS at times, but just the shared intel & coordination of attacks at the DC might lead to it loosing ground in a "4th SW" & then possibly loosing Luthien by the time a "Wo39" happens after both realms recover & consolidate for a decade.
In the Short Term, if they didn't go full out war offense, the FWL & CC can probably be counted on to pick off a few worlds here & there with those borders probably being weaker.
By the time of the "Clan Invasion" you might have a FC connected around 1/2 of the IS in a "Shallow-C" shape & might even get another Concord of Kapteyn happening but with the TS in the DC slot. Talk about a union of unwanted allies.
The F/C would probably not go about conquering the rest of the IS, lets face it, they are going to be stuck trying to assimilate the DC words FOR-EVER.
Then again, maybe the freedoms v/s Kurita rule will make everyone happy, but somehow I doubt it.
I'm sure the FRR will like it at first, but eventually I see them being the "Free Skye" of this AU.
Yeah, having the TS in between them really does change any "war" ideas the FC nations might want plan.