Author Topic: Second Exodus  (Read 7870 times)

consequences

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 291
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #30 on: 18 September 2018, 10:58:53 »


Once the Clan War starts and once they ally with the WOB (somewhat different than in canon, note) that changes.

Quite a lot different, unless you want a race between the Regulans and Ghost Bears to completely obliterate the Hegemony as the epilogue.
« Last Edit: 18 September 2018, 12:19:29 by consequences »

DOC_Agren

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4910
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #31 on: 18 September 2018, 11:38:04 »
I thinking maybe WOB in this setting might be Comstar hidden Military Arm
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

namar13766

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 356
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #32 on: 18 September 2018, 11:50:26 »
I thinking maybe WOB in this setting might be Comstar hidden Military Arm

Or perhaps in this 'verse, the WOB is made of the progressives and reformists, while Comstar consists of the hardliner reactionary conservatives.

Sir Chaos

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 3085
  • Artillery Fanboy
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #33 on: 18 September 2018, 13:15:43 »
Or perhaps in this 'verse, the WOB is made of the progressives and reformists, while Comstar consists of the hardliner reactionary conservatives.

Hmm... what if Myndo Waterly had been properly paranoid enough to take precautions against Focht not wanting anything to do with her plans - precautions that ended with Focht either dead or on the run. I can´t help but think that, in this case, much of the ComGuards would defect, either to go independent or follow Focht depending on if he survived. They would basically go "screw all this mystical toaster cult stuff, our job is to protect the Inner Sphere from the Clans, no matter what that insane woman on Terra says".
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #34 on: 18 September 2018, 14:09:52 »
As a hint and a spoiler, it's the Word of Blake--  and one of Blakes greatest failures as having to scale back operation SILVER SHIELD to just cover Terra. Also, many of the members of WOB are descendants of refugees from worlds such as New Dallas and Lone Star.
And they *don't* consider the Clans to be their greatest enemy.

Sir Chaos

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 3085
  • Artillery Fanboy
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #35 on: 18 September 2018, 14:49:43 »
As a hint and a spoiler, it's the Word of Blake--  and one of Blakes greatest failures as having to scale back operation SILVER SHIELD to just cover Terra. Also, many of the members of WOB are descendants of refugees from worlds such as New Dallas and Lone Star.
And they *don't* consider the Clans to be their greatest enemy.

Oooh... that sounds promising. Looking forward to reading all about it!
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

namar13766

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 356
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #36 on: 18 September 2018, 15:41:21 »
As a hint and a spoiler, it's the Word of Blake--  and one of Blakes greatest failures as having to scale back operation SILVER SHIELD to just cover Terra. Also, many of the members of WOB are descendants of refugees from worlds such as New Dallas and Lone Star.
And they *don't* consider the Clans to be their greatest enemy.
Oh. OOOOOHHHHH.

If this means what I think it means, I will be severely disappointed.

Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #37 on: 19 September 2018, 01:11:15 »
What is it you think it means?

Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #38 on: 19 September 2018, 03:24:59 »
Comstar is not a religion—that is perhaps the single biggest point that many people fail to understand. The mediation exercises, the monologues—those are outward examples of what it is— a Philosophy, one based on reverence for the thing that elevated mankind from the slime—the mind and the technology that rose from it.

The idea that Blake and his successors would try to create some cargo cult style religion was ridiculous from the outset—rather, Comstar used its increasing control over communications and teaching to start to spread the idea that technology was a holy responsibility—whether Christan, Muslim or any other faith, technology was the outward example of the blessings conferred upon mankind—and its misuse thus the highest of sins.

Ironically, many of the House Lords, especially towards the end of the Second Succession War, aided this new philosophy— the cataclysmic conflicts had gained them very little, even the “winners” needing decades to recover from their victories. The free use of WMD’s had not gained victory—merely made the stalemate more costly. Thus, it was not simply technicians that found comstar’s views attractive, but many of the rising military castes, who were able to merge the moral disdain for the butcheries of the past with a quite pragmatic embracing of a doctrine that would make the Battlemech, not the warship or nuclear warhead, the king of the battlefield.



However, within Comstar, there was little love lost for the House Lords. Most of the Comstar membership came from Terra or the ravaged worlds of the former Hegemony, such as Inglesmond (reduced from 6 billion to one billion by 3025), while other refugees from the lifeless worlds of Lone Star or New Dallas found themselves providing the seed population for the hidden worlds— seed populations with every reason to despise the rapacious warlords of the Inner Sphere.

Combined with this was the fact that few leading scions of society became members of comstar. Stripped of their ritual, most people saw them as glorified phone techs, a view that Comstar took pains to embrace. Those who joined Comstar were thus more likely to cvome from the lower socioeconomic levels, where promises of education and employment were very attractive—which led to a growing number of members who came from places where the social order was whatever the local bandit king said it was, or alternatively areas like the Outback where, the House Lord seemed singularly uninterested in his people.



For much of its history, Comstar engaged in a delicate balancing act, always working to prevent anyone from gaining a dominant role, with debates in the First Circuit between the conservatives (keep things as they were), the radicals (encourage conflict, and pick up the pieces), and the progressives (encourage talks in the hope of establishing some successor state to the Star League). A much larger group simply focused on keeping the HPGs running on time.



The WOB:



The WOB was made up of a membership that included many individuals who traced their linage to the dead worlds of the former Hegemony, or those worlds that while still surviving, had seen their glory days vanish in fusion fireballs. For much of its history, the WOB was more of a social club than anything else—New Dallas themed diners and museums provided social gathering spots and rituals of remembrance  allowed for communal mourning, such as the rituals surrounding the “Day of the Last Sunset” for each dead world, said rituals occurring on the anniversary of Comstar listing the world as dead or dying.

A common theme of the WOB was that had Kerensky remained, then SILVER SHIELD could have protected the Hegemony, a position most historians felt was wildly over optimistic. None the less, going to war over it just wasn’t on, so the WOB continued to grow, as children moved into the position of their parents.

The two factors that helped turn the WOB into a true force was the formation of the Federated Commonwealth and the Clan invasion.

The FC was a dreadful blow to the Rosy predictions that mass war was a thing of the past, and the Fourth Succession war came far closer to the mass movements of the Second War than it did the skirmishes of the third. The WOB started to coalesce around a new leadership group that posed the simple question: If it was a choice between using WMD’s and surrendering, what would the Draconis Combine do?  This leadership warned that the FC was a sign that the Inner Sphere was once again moving to large states that were capable of mass warfare, and still dreamed of dominating their fellows—total war was sure to follow, leading to another cycle of decline and fall.

The solution to that would be to establish a new state, under the benevolent leadership of Comstar, powerful enough to prevent the house lords from carrying out their genocidal goals.

Before anything could be done the Clan Invasion started, and the WOB had more pressing concerns.



The Clan Conflict has been discussed elsewhere (no it hasn’t, but I haven’t finished that part yet :) ), but the most important factor is that the vast majority of Comstar’s Soldiers were part of the WOB or at least sympathetic to its cause. While the desperate drive to match the Clan battlemechs and other advanced weapons saw the development of the predecessors of the weapons that would later so change the nature of war.

But the WOB found its mindset hardened by how quickly, the Inner Sphere lords fell back into old patterns—the Truce was not a Treaty and yet there were already raids and counter raids.  The First Whitting Conference gave WOB some hope, but it was quickly disabused as it became plain that there was little interest in a true league, merely a tool to attack the clans.   The calls for the restoration of a state along the old borders of the Hegemony a “Light in these dark times” as the leader known as the master stated in one of his speeches had grown, and the social clubs were starting to look more like revolutionary cells on many former Hegemony worlds.  The FC civil war, coupled with the use of (admittedly tactical) nuclear weapons convinced many that another sphere-wide collapse was near, this time with the Clan’s lurking on the sides. A massive delegation was dispatched to the Fourth Whitting Conference in hopes that a combination of gifts and threats could rebuild the fragmenting league.

That did not work, and the rest, as they say, is history.







mikecj

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 3254
  • Veteran of Galahad 3028
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #39 on: 19 September 2018, 05:44:23 »
Nice!
There are no fish in my pond.
"First, one brief announcement. I just want to mention, for those who have asked, that absolutely nothing what so ever happened today in sector 83x9x12. I repeat, nothing happened. Please remain calm." Susan Ivanova
"Solve a man's problems with violence, help him for a day. Teach a man to solve his problems with violence, help him for a lifetime." - Belkar Bitterleaf
Romo Lampkin could have gotten Stefan Amaris off with a warning.

Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #40 on: 22 September 2018, 02:01:22 »
Immigratio and the Hegemony: The HIS.


The Hegemony, even after the first surge of the exodus, continued to encourage immigration. More people meant more consumers, more workers, a larger, more stable population base.

However, it also brought the risk of ethnic and political conflict to the Hegemony. Ironically, too much immigration would merely import the same stresses tearing the Inner Sphere apart.


The Hegemony Immigration Service, established in 2850 (though other groups had carried out much the same service in previous years) was focused on avoiding these issues. Immigrants were divided into three categories—individuals from former Hegemony worlds, “non affiliated immigrants” or those from states not currently party to the Succession Wars and refugees hailing from the Inner Sphere powers.

The first group was generally granted preference, with a trickle of survivors from worlds as diverse as New Dallas and Lone Star, often second generation survivors, born in refugee camps or on other worlds.  These groups most often fully supported the Hegemony.

The second group was mostly from the Outworlds Alliance or other independent periphery worlds. In many cases, this produced a self-fulfilling prophecy, where the most wealthy fled the pirate raids and collapse of infrastructure, making it harder for the remaining population to support their worlds, forcing them to also leave. Between 2850 and 2925, this process also inflicted a severe “brain drain” on the Outworlds Alliance, as those who were frustrated with the ineffectual government left to find shelter on the raw worlds of the Outworld’s Hegemony.


The last group was the smallest, but bulked largest in the worries of the OH.  Many citizens carried their old hatreds, and ethnic conflict, while never uncontrollable, remained a thorn in the side of the Hegemony.  The 2853 riots, sparked by dueling Draconis Combine and Federated Suns supporters, led to nearly 2,000 dead and millions of C-bills of damage, for example.

In response, the HIS has the right to limit immigration to areas where it may cause “unwarranted social disorder.”  In essence, this means that the HIS tries to ensure that Inner Sphere Immigrants are dispersed, rather than forming tight-knit ethnic groups. On a more positive note, the HIS regularly funds initiatives to ensure that all immigrants see themselves as members of the Outworlds Hegemony first.  Finally, the HIS has the right to inspect private schools and may order changes in curriculum, or outright shut them down should they be found to be teaching “ethnic or nationalist hatred.”  This has resulted in accusations of favoritism, such as when the HIS banned a variety of teaching materials related to the Kentares Massacre from Davion supported private schools, even though similar  materials were openly taught in the public school system. Ultimately however, the HIS has effectively prevented the rise of ethnic conflict within the Hegemony and as such is seen as a valuable part of the government, turning immigrants into loyal Hegemony citizens. 

cawest

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2079
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #41 on: 22 September 2018, 11:50:41 »
nice update.

DOC_Agren

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4910
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #42 on: 22 September 2018, 18:52:53 »
So is it a manner of how it is presented in the private schools vrs public school system?
Quote
This has resulted in accusations of favoritism, such as when the HIS banned a variety of teaching materials related to the Kentares Massacre from Davion supported private schools, even though similar  materials were openly taught in the public school system.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

cawest

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2079
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #43 on: 22 September 2018, 19:16:10 »
I wonder how they will react to when Black December happens back on Earth.  and the general dissatisfaction with ComStar in 2877

Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #44 on: 27 October 2018, 02:00:36 »
2804

Galedon V Defense Command.

“Sho-Sa!”

Sho-sa Karen Wilson frowned as she looked up.  Panic like what was in the voice of her subordinate could be contagious.

“What is it?”

“Unknown ships have jumped in and are proceeding to the recharge station.”

Karen cursed. Galedon was behind the lines, at least as much as any world could be. Evidently the Federated Sun had chosen to pay them a visit.

“Can you ID the ships?”

“Not yet, but by their emergency signitures, they appear to be warships. All of them.”

Suddenly, his panic became much more understandable.

Traders Domain Flagship Horatio Nelson.

Admiral Miles frowned at the big screen. McKenna’s were provided with the best sensors known to man, and it was apparent that they’d kicked over an anthill as they approached the recharge station. At least 40 Aerospace fighters, some small craft, and six dropships were burning towards them and he bet that they had nukes. No warships though.

Their own force was also displayed. The Nelson, the Yamato, another McKenna, a Luxor and a screen of two Samarkand class carriers and a Quixote frigate.

An inconceivable weight of metal.

Or it would be, if the big ships could actually fight. Both Mckenna’s had maybe 8 operational NPPCs, and the Luxor wasn’t much better off. The entire display was just that, a display, masquerading as a “reasonable” counter strike in retaliation for DCMS sponsored raids into the Outworlds Alliance.

“Are we ready to transmit?”

“Yes, sir.”

“To all DCMS forces in the system. Your government has chosen to engage in piracy against the people of the Outworlds Alliance, who the Draconis Combine is officially at peace with. While this constitutes an act of war, the Traders Domain has chosen to deploy one of our fleets with the intent of engaging in a limited act of retaliation. We will destroy the Galadon V recharge station, upon reaching NPPC range from our battleships, and hereby call upon the crew to abandon the station. “

Moments later, Miles turned to his flag captain.

“They backing off, Greg?”

“Would you?  The Dracs have a pretty simple answer to officers who give up without a fight.”

“Yeah, well, we were hoping for it.”  The plot showed both Samarkands launching waves of fighters, their combined wings badly outnumbering the DCMS forces, while the Quixote maneuvered to bring its long range missiles to bear, even as the other dropships, a smattering of Pentagons backed up by larger civilian dropships converted to carry missiles.

In the end, it was the McKennas that brought them victory—not through any of their own act, despite the firing of the operational NPPCs—no, the Draconis pilots, desperate to destroy the capital ships, allowed themselves to be drawn into a deadly gauntlet of escort ships. The last Draconis Combine dropship, a Leopard class dropship converted into an assault craft, died a hundred miles short of the Nelson.

“Are we in range of the recharge station?”

“Yes, sir. Looks like some of the crew is evacuating.”

“Give them thirty more minutes.” Miles wasn’t eager to kill anyone else today.  But at the end of his deadline, the massive nose batteries of the two battleships opened fire, reducing the station to twisted, metal.

“All ships, prepare to jump out.” After all, given how few house fleets have LI battery systems, time to scare them even more.

And that is her report, Coordinator.”

Jinjiro frowned.  “And the battleships?”

“None of our forces were able to get close enough to them to get detailed information—both warships were listed as heavily damaged and abandoned during the Amaris conflict.”

“Likely left behind in a cache by Kerensky.”  Jinjiro frowned. The glory of the Dragon demanded payment in blood for this offense.

But two McKenna’s, combined with the rest of their ships—the blood would not be all from the enemies of the Dragon, and that assumed there were no more ships than he’d seen.

“It could be that the ships are damaged, Coordinator.”

“They were intact enough to have functioning battery systems,” Another adviser retorted.

Jinjiro held up a finger and debate stilled. “For now,” he said. “Beginning a war with a party of unknown strength is not the path of wisdom. We will wait, and when I sit upon the throne of the Star League reformed, we shall have an accounting with these savages. Until then, we will cease direct raids upon worlds of the Outworlds Alliance, although we of course have no control over… Pirates.”

“Yes, Coordinator. The officer in charge has also…”

“She is not to use the garden. I have a greater need of officers than I do apologies.”

“Yes.”



Historical note:



The 2804 raid could have turned into a disaster, especially when one considers that at the time, it made use of the sum total of the currently combat-ready ships of the Traders Domain, to say nothing of the barely space worthy battleships. However, the Draconis Combine already had more than enough enemies, and the limited nature of the retaliation did not force the Coordinator to respond in the way a more severe attack would have. Although it did not end all pirate raids, the decision by the DCMS (and Federated Suns, once they received reports of the attack), to not antagonize a naval power of unknown size, provided the Traders Domain (soon to become the Outworlds Hegemony) with desperately needed breathing space.



marauder648

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • *
  • Posts: 8157
    • Project Zhukov Fan AU TRO's and PDFs
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #45 on: 27 October 2018, 09:35:47 »
Good to see an update for this :) Really good stuff and a risky raid that paid off!
Ghost Bears: Cute and cuddly. Until you remember its a BLOODY BEAR!

Project Zhukov Fan AU TRO's and PDFs - https://thezhukovau.wordpress.com/

DOC_Agren

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4910
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #46 on: 02 November 2018, 06:25:07 »
Nice Defensive Raid, and the DC responce was perfect.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

Hotpoint

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 304
  • Rumours of annihilation are grossly exaggerated
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #47 on: 02 November 2018, 13:35:20 »
Very interesting story.

Possible spoilers below if I'm guessing this right:

Given that the Minnesota Tribe are due to make a sojourn right through that part of space in just over twenty years time (Interstellar Players has them known to have visited the Michtal system in the Traders Domain) might we perhaps see an interesting encounter when another fleet of former SLDF warships appear. The Nelson running into the Zughoffer Weir could be comedy gold with both parties exclaiming "Holy crap! It's a McKenna!"

Regardless I'll be keeping an eye on this one.  :)
"A dread fear rests deep in the heart of Clan Coyote that one day a lawyer will arrive on Tamaron talking about intellectual property rights, the Mercury II and the Coyotl omnimech and this will herald the end of the Clan as the Not-Named sue their asses into bankruptcy for patent infringement" - The True History of the Clans (Dark Caste Press: 3050)

Hunted Tribes - Hotpoint's Battlestar/Battletech Crossover Series


Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #48 on: 02 November 2018, 22:46:44 »
Very interesting story.

Possible spoilers below if I'm guessing this right:

Given that the Minnesota Tribe are due to make a sojourn right through that part of space in just over twenty years time (Interstellar Players has them known to have visited the Michtal system in the Traders Domain) might we perhaps see an interesting encounter when another fleet of former SLDF warships appear. The Nelson running into the Zughoffer Weir could be comedy gold with both parties exclaiming "Holy crap! It's a McKenna!"

Regardless I'll be keeping an eye on this one.  :)

I honestly hadn't thought about that.  That being said, I want to resist the danger of having the new faction that gets involved with everything.  Equally, if the Hegemony knew about the Clans, things would be considerably different, quite likely leading to an earlier conflict between the House Lords and the clans, and I can't see the Wolverine's being thrilled at unleashing Succession Wars II, Electric Bugaloo.

That being said...

A major part of this AU is the word of blake desires to reforge the old, Terran Based Hegemony, something that the Wolverine's might very well approve of, so they could still become the core of a WOB force.

Hotpoint

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 304
  • Rumours of annihilation are grossly exaggerated
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #49 on: 03 November 2018, 07:19:47 »
I honestly hadn't thought about that.  That being said, I want to resist the danger of having the new faction that gets involved with everything.  Equally, if the Hegemony knew about the Clans, things would be considerably different, quite likely leading to an earlier conflict between the House Lords and the clans, and I can't see the Wolverine's being thrilled at unleashing Succession Wars II, Electric Bugaloo.

That being said...

A major part of this AU is the word of blake desires to reforge the old, Terran Based Hegemony, something that the Wolverine's might very well approve of, so they could still become the core of a WOB force.

Okay. Here's a few ideas for you then just in case you want some (as a spoiler in case you do choose to use them, or maybe some of them).

Finding themselves amidst a bunch of displaced Terran Hegemony people (much like themselves in fact), low on morale and short on supplies the Minnesota Tribe adopt a different approach and decide to "go merc", basing themselves out of the new Outworlds Hegemony. Its just after the First Succession War after all, given what happened to their homeworlds in the Terran Hegemony the Inner Sphere and Periphery looks far less appealing.

They deliberately go out of their way not to reveal their origins (you get a parallel with Wolf's Dragoons, only happening a couple of hundred years earlier) so the Outworlds Alliance remains ignorant of the Clans (expect the rumour mill regarding the Minnesota to be working overtime though, much as it did with the Dragoons). Having the Minnesota around helps keep the Outworlds intact during the Second Succession War (2830 to 2864).

The "Outworlds Alliance" of your story is already known to have at least two McKennas and other warships after the 2804 raid so the Minnesota's own warships aren't going to stand out nearly as much as they would elsewhere. For that matter, if the Outworlds have been maintaining and repairing their own McKennas they should be able to help fix the Zughoffer Weir. This would be another reason for the Minnesota to stick around.

One of the Inner Sphere theories about the Minnesota becomes that they were always affiliated with the Outworlds, and that their attacks in the Draconis Combine (the Minnesota hit four worlds in the Combine but nobody else) were some belated revenge for the Combine attacks on the Outworlds twenty years before (and also as retaliation for the ongoing pirate raids that are rumored to be sponsored from Luthian). As regards their unit patches from the 331st Royal Battlemech Division, many believe that this is a false flag and that the "Minnesota" are actually from a different SLDF unit that didn't go with Aleksandr Kerensky.

Maybe Michtal as their equivalent of Outreach, the future home of Wolf's Dragoons (Michtal doesn't seem to have been very heavily populated given that it disappeared from the maps at some point, although it likely has more people on it in your AU). As long as the Minnesota are providing valuable military service, as well as technical assistance, the Outworlds are willing to allow them their tendancy towards obfuscation when you ask them questions. For the Minnesota's part they keep everyone at arm's length and don't get involved with politics, think less a faction and more a mercenary group affiliated with a faction. Thanks to the introduction of the people they rescued from Richmond to their ranks they are likely to have an ongoing grievance with the Combine however (which makes for yet another parallel with the Dragoon's amusingly).

If you do find you want some more Clan Wolverine flavour, have the Outworlds Hegemony eventually add a "brand new" mech design to their inventory. The Mercury II as a development of the old SLDF Mercury isn't going to look completely out-of-left-field. For that matter the Stag was developed from the Vulcan so those can be readily explained too, although the Pulverizer would be a tad more suspicious perhaps. Good news and bad news. Good news, the Mercury II gives the Outworlds a leg-up on omnitech in the future. Bad news, if the Clans (or just Wolf's Dragoons) ever turn up they're going to wonder where the Outworlds got a prototype of the Coyotl :-p

As regards the Minnesota in the longer term (you'll need to come up with a name for them as mercenaries unless they stick with that) at some point Comstar/Word-Of-Blake hire them (instead of Clinton's Cutthroats) and they suddenly disappear... much like the Cutthroats did in 2870.

The Comstar Explorer Corps wasn't created until 2959 so you don't necessarily need to butterfly away the Outbound Light running into the clans in 3048.


I think that should all fit into your storyline pretty well without causing too much, if any, disruption to the main thrust of your AU (it might even help a bit). If you welcomed the input let me know and I'll throw any other ideas I have in your direction as things progress.

Good luck with the story.  :)
« Last Edit: 03 November 2018, 08:20:00 by Hotpoint »
"A dread fear rests deep in the heart of Clan Coyote that one day a lawyer will arrive on Tamaron talking about intellectual property rights, the Mercury II and the Coyotl omnimech and this will herald the end of the Clan as the Not-Named sue their asses into bankruptcy for patent infringement" - The True History of the Clans (Dark Caste Press: 3050)

Hunted Tribes - Hotpoint's Battlestar/Battletech Crossover Series


Korzon77

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2441
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #50 on: 11 November 2018, 02:19:18 »
Where are the Assault Battlemechs?

The Outworlds Hegemony currently has no active production line for Assault mechs, a lack that many newspapers often call attention to, speaking in dire terms of the "Battlemech Gap" between the Hegemony and its potential enemies.

However, the simple fact is that the OH military is not interested in using their limited budget to produce the largest mechs in human space. The reason is fairly simple: The Hegemony seldom faces enemies capable of deploying large numbers of assault mechs. Secondly, the slow and cumbersome assault mechs are not in keeping with the highly mobile combat strategies employed by most Hegemony units.

For this reason, the money that would normally go into assault designs is redirected go heavy and medium mech production, providing the Hegemony with flexible, powerful units that have the capability to match any periphery or inner sphere enemy that is likely to attack the Hegemony.

What assault class battlemechs that are used are normally purchased, most often from the Lyran Commonwealth, and are used for static defense purposes, such as the defense units tasked with gaurding industrial or civilian facilities. This leads to further disdain for assault class battlemechs, as those units seldom get a chance to prove their mettle in combat.
 
After the founding of the Terran Republic, the Outworlds Hegemony shifted most of its purchasing activity to their new ally, including the purchase of the new superheavy tripod mechs, but even so, assault and superheavy mechs remain a very small fraction of the Hegemony’s total mech forces.


Protomechs and the Hegemony:

The Hegemony was highly interested in the Clan protomech technology, and eventually shared information with the Word of Blake, which was able to reverse engineer the complex clan-based designs. Unlike the Clans, the Hegemony forces eventually integrated their own protomechs as organic support for infantry units, the smaller protomech designs being more amiable to transport with infantry units, and requiring less of a logistics train.

In addition, protomechs found themselves quite popular (especially the cockpit models, which used less dangerous control mechanisms than the Clan designs) among civil defense teams—a protomech was less damaging to roads than even the smallest mech, and yet maintained the battlemech’s ability to move through rubble. In fact, most civil defense units remained busy during peacetime, with protomech units commonly assigned to assist police, firefighter and disaster relief teams.

cklammer

  • Warrant Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 629
Re: Second Exodus
« Reply #51 on: 11 November 2018, 13:04:27 »
A unique take on a (to me) novel usage scenario for ProtoMechs  ;)