2380-2389 Turn Report, Part 3The Sword and the Circles: The Terran-Capellan Conflict, 2388“For want of a nail…”
The biggest things are made of the littlest things. In this case, the littlest thing is a crack in a hydrogen feed line that leaks into an internal space, slowly building pressure.
The littlest thing is a sensor so old that the maintenance charts that included it were lost three decades ago - and the ship was older than most of its crew even then.
The littlest thing is spark that arcs across the hydrogen, and the baffle space venting into a NAC Magazine.
THN Maine, lead ship of Battle Squadron 6, and sister to the renown and beloved THN Dreadnought, explodes over the Capellan Confederation world of Bex.
The sister ships of her squadron, unsure of what happened and fearing unknown attackers, decamp immediately, throwing accusations and threats over their shoulder. The local Capellan leadership denies all wrongdoing in increasingly strident (and privately terrified) terms, but such protestations fall on deaf ears.
And suddenly we are no longer dealing with the littlest of things.
Never let a crisis go to waste The true cause of the loss of TCN Maine is still unknown to history. It was, however, very clear to Admiral Thomas Fitzgibbons, Commander Southern Fleet, Terran Hegemony Navy.
Fitzgibbons had watched the burgeoning strength of the Capellan Confederation to his south for decades. With that strength had come less and less of the deference that the THN had come to expect as its natural and inevitable due. Less and less respect from these punched up neobarbarians on the frontiers. Fitzgibbons knew, as well as he knew the sun rose, that this was nothing more than a naked provocation, enemy action taken against a proud ship on a goodwill tour. (the fact that Maine had been at Bex in the pursuit of somewhat spurious piracy allegations against the local government conveniently forgotten)
After a flurry of dispatches to various elements under his authority, and a somewhat more tardy one back Fleet Command at Terra, herald the assembly of the largest single fleet in the history of mankind. Long before any response is possible from Fleet Command, and while the Capellan Confederation is still trying to figure out what has gone wrong and what is coming, Admiral Fitzgibbons takes personal command of the First Terran Expeditionary Squadron and sets course for Capellan Space on his own authority.
Alarms and Excursions First Lord Susanovich did not feel young when he was young, and he was feeling rather older today, specifically.
“Sir, we do not know their intentions. I don’t think we can afford to antagonize them until we know for certain…”
“We have to honor the threat. Sure, we didn't do it, and we know that. But they -don't- know that, and the last words we got before they hit the jump limit suggest that their local commander was pretty sure we -did- do it. And if they think we did, or even may have… they cant afford to look weak.”
“But can we afford to try to look strong? It’s the Hegemony, Marcus!”
“Remember you telling me I was a pessimist? It appears I was a wise one. No, we aren't going to shoot first, not unless they go bit. If they want to trail their coattails up and down the border, make threatening noises… hell… even if they kill some of our people..” *sighs* “Even if they burn some infrastructure or invade a world or two, your right, we have to accept it. Even if it's not fair. Even if we didn't do it. But, and I’m guessing here… they have to be looking south, to what the FedSuns did to the Taurians. They are going to head south, as fast as they can, aiming for the highest value target they can find. If -I- were -them-, and I wanted to teach us a lesson.. Id go to Aldebaran.”
‘If they head straight there - which they are going to, by your reasoning - we wont be able to reinforce in time. Sian and St. Ives can’t get there in time. And what if the Mariks and the Davions get froggy while the Hegemony is taking shots at us? We have to let Gan Singh and NorFlt hold Aldebaran on its own.”
“This is just the first move, Lilliana. Even if we cant reinforce in time to keep them off Aldebaran, we cant assume it will all be over in one pass. Admiral Simonidies is going to need all the help he can get if this goes on. We’ll roll EsFlt and WesFlt up to Gan Singh. PerpFlt.. And please, remind me to change that designation…” A chuckle of levity, needed in the moment… “PerpFlt can at least provide a threadbare pretense of defending our flanks, especially if we pull them into the core and set them as a response force. Besides, the League and the Suns aren't existential risks to us. The Hegemony is. The Suns smashed the Concordat because the Concordat tried to defend everything…”
“...And he who defends everything defends nothing. Okay. I still think it's a big risk.. But okay.”
“Cut orders to Gan Singh to hold in place until we know that the Terrans are going after something we can't afford to lose, or until they have the strength to stop them -hard-. I want scout jumpers over every likely invasion route, and keep the command circuits set up for information transfer. But past that… were too far away. Let Simonidies handle this war - it's what we put him there for - and we can't back-seat drive from Capella. He's not as subtle as I am or as intuitive as you are, but he's a dog with a bone in his teeth, and that may be what we need more.”
“Maybe we won’t need either.”
“You don't believe that.”
Run to the South“Fitzgibbons may have been aggressive, but he was no fool. In his position, I might have come up with his plan… and had I been aware of it, I may have endorsed it.”
-Flt. Adm. Raphael Cortez, High Council Naval Investigation of 2389
Admiral Fitzgibbons moved with all considered speed. The First Expeditionary Fleet represented every fast ship he could get orders to before he set out. Less than six weeks after the explosion of the Maine, nearly three dozen warships appeared at the Bex Apex point. Stopping only long enough to demand that the recharge station and every jumpship in reach take to their lifeboats and then quick charge his drives off of his fusion plants, Fitzgibbon moved rapidly.
Nanking was hit next. Then Zurich. He had been shadowed the whole time, but that mattered little. Fitzgibbons knew that every jumpship he did not run down would be headed south, squawking and passing word on of his coming. He knew that the CCN had built quiet jumpships with exquisite sensors to track him. And he knew if he was fast enough, it wouldn't matter.
At some risk to his KF-Cores, Fitzgibbons was over Aldebaran within two months of the loss of the Maine, long before his opposite number could be reinforced, exactly as intended.
Losses, Run to the South:
CC: 3 Recharge Stations, 4 Jumpships
First AldebaranGan Singh, CC Northflt HQ
“Admiral Simonidies. Flash Traffic.”
“Thank you Thomas. On Screen.”
The screen flickered to life, revealing a well-pressed young commander. He was not visibly sweating, though he likely should have been.
“Admiral Simonidies. I bring word from Aldebaran. Aldebaran Command reports a large emergence wave at the Nadir point, and one of the Zencha had their drive plumes on sensors long enough to lock in what looks like a zero-zero profile on the yards. They MIGHT be playing games with our heads and planning to course-correct in a day or so to let them hit the orbital yards at high speed, but FltIntOps thinks…”
“Captain, I know what they think. And I agree with them this time. A freight train pass might be safer for them, but they didn’t come all this way to be safe. They came here to be thorough. We wait. Charge your drive and wait further instructions”
With a gesture, Simonidies cut the laser line to the jumpship report boat. By the time her drive recharged, it would all be over, anyway.
“Nav, keep a continuous update on fleet drive status and and on calculations for the Aldebaran Five L-1 Point. We will have another jumper coming in when the Terrans hit point Victor.”
“Aye.”
Aldebaran, CC Major Shipyard
“Emergence Wave at the L1, Admiral Fitzgibbons. Big one. Looks like.. Eight ships. Four roughly the size of Connie, and four more closer to Dreadnought.”
“That's their whole North Fleet. I see Simonidies decided he couldn't let us wreck his yards without sticking his nose in. What's their profile?”
“Looks like they are headed for the yards. We can still abort our pass on the yards if they are going to be reinforced, but we will need a decision soon.”
“Abort? For barely a half-dozen ships and some defense stations? You would make the THN a laughing stock. Besides… I think you overestimate their chances. Stay on course.”
Order of Battle, First Aldebaran:
THN 1ST EXPEDITIONARY FLEET
6 CA Constitution
6 BC Black Lion
8 DD Lola
10 SC Bonnaventure
10 Jump Ships
42 Drop Ships
864 Fighters
CCN NORTH FLEET AND LOCAL DEFENSES
4 CA Quan Yin
4 CL Pallada
200 DS Shao Bing
10 Drop Ships
660 Fighters
THN 1st Expeditionary Flagship “Congress” - Flag Bridge Black Box Recording
“Missile Launch! I have over a thousand inbound!”
“Bring the fighters in closer. Small craft to point defense stations. Energy mounts - start burning down those satellites. Lets see if we can cut some fire control links before the missiles get here.”
“I'm getting some hits.. Looks like the stations are shaking off single energy mount hits, and it's hard to keep consistent fire on any one station. And they are firing back.. Looks like 55cm lasers on the things”
“Impact warning… 5… 4… 3…. 2.. 1…”
“Nothing?”
“The fighters, sir. They went after the fighters. We just lost two regiments. All the missiles were on fighters and defense craft. They’re stripping our point defense.”
“Keep hitting the stations… get us some more closing velocity. We need to get into the ballistic envelope. And find me those extra missile sources, they don’t have enough stations for that. Keep the fighters close!”
“The cruisers were hiding in the stations.. Coming out now, we are taking heavy energy fire. Next wave in 3.. 2.. 1… that's most of our small stuff, Sir. Remaining units are losing cohesion. Felis Rex is venting atmosphere, and I've got a pair of Lola’s requesting permission to break off.”
“Keep them in, but move them behind the Connies. We will be in ideal range shortly, and the cannon will settle this. Concentrate fire on that big cruiser, there. Barrage fire, fleet orders”
“Aye, sir. Ships rolling in response to armor damage… wave in 3.. 2…1… we just lost Yorktown, Jaguar is not responding to hails - multiple missile hits to CIC. DD Squadrons are starting to lose station-keeping with the heavier ships.”
“DAMMIT. We need to kill those stations.”
“Stations or the Cruisers, Sir? NACs coming into good range…”
“Burn the cruisers. Biggest ones you can find.”
“Fighters coming in… going after the exposed flanks of the rolled ships. Our fighter squadrons are trying to respond, cohesion is rough from their losses to the missiles. Mary and Ipanema are gone. Enemy PPCs are focusing on Constellation.. She's gone, sir. YES! Finally. Big enemy CA just lost containment. Looks like a full Stackpole”
“Shift fire to the next. Those damn things take too much killing.”
“Report Catherine has lost power. Edsel is trying to cover her, but is lamed. Enemy NACs cycling and PPCs coming into rapid fire range, range, shifting fire to our flag...”
“Missile fire has also shifted. Wave inbound on us in 3..2...1…”
*silence*
Hearing before the Capellan House of Scions, 2389
“The Terran Squadrons came in fast, as expected. They were aware of our missile and energy weapon advantages, and were trying to close quickly into Naval Autocannon range, which was their best opportunity. Fitzgibbons was aggressive, but not stupid.
We used combined missile fires from ships and stations to strip their defensive fighters and small craft, exposing their fleet units to further missile strikes and the use of fighters against any fragile or damaged ships. Fighters were of at best moderate effectiveness against anything but damaged or light enemy ships. We will need new fighters with heavier weapons if we expect them to carry the load against heavier enemy combatants.”
“Yet you make some serious allegations here on page 4 about not having enough fighters. How much could more matter if you are saying they were only moderately effective.”
“The Shao Bing over Aldebaran had provisions for up to four thousand fighters on board. I understand the budgetary concerns that prevent us from building and basing four thousand aerospace fighters over every shipyard, but if we had a redeployable reserve enough to cover at least one yard, it would help. Barely over 5 wings of fighters still made a difference at 1st Aldebaran. Give me the other four thousand, and I probably wouldn't have lost those cruisers.”
“And what about the lost cruisers? A brand new Quan Yin and a Pallada, and another Quannie that will be in the yards for another year. If your captains had held back behind the stations...”
At this, Admiral Simonides' lips thinned. “I had 8 cruisers, and some stations. The THN threw thirty hulls at us.. Even if ten were just scouts. Yes, we had the stations. We have far tougher ships - THN hulls are thin, and their armor is mostly the old compounds. We have far more range - they run light on energy mounts, relying on heavy ballistics and close range engagement. But thirty warships are still thirty. Damn. Warships. Naval Autocannon may be last century’s tech, but the Terrans have a LOT of them and they WILL kill you DEAD if they get in range. I will not have my dead criticized, especially when they did nothing wrong. If they had held behind the stations, the THN would have rolled the stations with light casualties, and they probably would have done the same to us. Criticize me. I could have done better. But if you go after my men again, my participation in this affair will be over and you can court-marital me and be damned.”
“.. allright. And the decision to continue firing on the escaping enemy scouts? It has been suggested that if you had allowed them to go, the Hegemony would have been less angry…”
Simonides laughed, bitterly “Less angry? They threw a fleet at us for an accidental explosion. Then they threw ANOTHER fleet at us for not rolling over for their first one. If we could have picked off all of those Bonnies, we'd have had more time before Second Aldebaran. Besides, we let them abandon and scuttle everything that had time to surrender. You don't understand how fast these things are. Twelve minutes. Thousands of men and decades of production by an entire star nation. Twelve. Minutes.”
Losses, 1st Aldebaran
THN: 6 CA, 6 BC, 8 DD, 7SC, 6 JS (Caught by in-system jump while charging, scuttled), 24 Dropships, 812 Fighters
CC: 1 CA, 1 CL, 30 DS, 480 Fighters, 1 CA Crippled and unable to participate for the rest of the turn. 3B in Repairs. Presence of Shipyard or Repair Ship reduces repair cost, allows cripples to be saved.Second Aldebaran“Admiral Cortez… One of your damn fool admirals went off half-cocked and got how
many of our people killed?”
“Director Cameron, as I have said before and will say again, I'm not sure that Fitzgibbons was a fool. Intemperate perhaps, and obviously WRONG, but given what he knew at the time…”
“It doesn't matter now, anyway. Can we prove that the Capellans were behind the loss of Maine? Or at least manufacture proof?”
“We have no way to know for sure, but we've got some HumInt sources telling us things that seem suggestive. They were certainly more than ready for us when we came. Maybe they were setting us up? Hard to say, and not much we can do now. Though yes, if it would help on the political side, I can ‘suggest’ that Naval Intelligence write the report you need.”
“It will help. I cannot allow… the Hegemony cannot allow… a pissed up second-class state like the Capellans to stand up to us and get away with it. If they'd just abandoned the damn yards, they could have rebuilt, and we'd have saved face.. But no. Too damn proud.”
“Director-General, the fact that they DID what they DID suggests that we can’t keep treating the Houses as second-raters we can order around at will. Whatever my private opinions of Fitzgibbons, I think we disavow him publicly, apologize, and politely ask for our people back. Well could allow for at least token repariations, as well. It will be cheaper than throwing another fleet into that meat grinder before we understand exactly what happened.”
“Apology? Reparations? No, Admiral. We cannot let this stand. Would McKenna have let this stand?”
“McKenna never had the misfortune of being in anything like a fair fight, Director General. It's pretty easy to build an amazing reputation if you never have to have one of those. Though in his defense, one of the points of the job is to avoid anything like a fair fight.”
“Even so. If we let these neo-barbarians THINK they CAN have a fair fight with us, they will keep doing it. No more light expeditionary forces. Pull as much of the Battle Fleet as you can afford. Take your time. Bring every bit of throw-weight we can spare. And go visit Aldebaran again and show the Inner Sphere what happens when you ‘stand up’ to the Hegemony.”
“Director General.. I must object…”
“You may object, Admiral. Feel free. But you will carry out your orders or we will see who in your chain of succession will.”
2nd Battle of AldebaranThe runup to second Aldebaran was eerily similar to first. The THN took its time, this
time, telegraphing the punch and giving the Capellans time to sweat. They stopped at each system on the way in, not just sterilizing the jump-points, but moving through the system destroying every bit of orbital infrastructure along the way. It was somewhat frustrated in this, as by the time the THN Battle Fleet moved into Capellan space, their coming was anticipated, and everything even vaguely mobile had been shut down, mothballed, or moved out of their path. Still, the second run to the south did inflict some minor damage, though not enough to assuage the lost pride of the Inner Sphere’s premier navy.
By the time the THN 1st Battle Fleet arrived at Aldebaran, their arrival was long anticipated. Given nearly four months to repair and rearm, the survivors from 1st Aldebaran were returned to active service by the handy fleet yards, and reinforced by the Capellan East and West Fleets. Rather than following a predictable run in, the THN Admiral brought his ships in directly to the L1 Lagrange Point, anticipating catching Capellan Reinforcements there, as they had at 1st Aldebaran. The Capellans had been careful not to repeat their subterfuge, and were instead investing in brutal simplicity - their entire order of battle was resting under strict emissions control behind the surviving defense stations.
The first battle squadron was no more trusting of this innocent silence than any parent of a five year old, but without definite indications that the Capellans were there in strength, and anticipating a good chance that the CCN might well have elected not to stand against the full strength of the THN, they proceeded towards the yards in good order and at significant speed, planning on closing quickly into NAC range of the pernicious defense stations.
As the THN Closed, the battle of 2nd Aldebaran played out eerily similar to the first, though there were some differences. The THN forward deployed its nearly thousand fighters, intending to get maximum use of them before they were lost to heavy missile fire. This forced the CCN Fighter squadrons to remain on defense, and though it preserved the CCN fighter strength at the cost of the THN squadrons, it bought some extra time for the Battle Fleet to advance without taking missile fire, and also ensured that the surviving CCN Squadrons were exhausted of fuel and ammunition before they could move against the Battle Fleet’s warships.
The Typhoon class vessels were the bastions of the THN. More heavily armored than the more fragile, older THN hulls, armed with massive batteries of the heaviest naval weapon in service, they absorbed early focused fire from the CCN, preserving their lighter siblings for closer engagement. Typhoon herself reduced Quan Yin to a wreck, drifting with her spine broken by successive penetrating hits, before the total weight of the CCN missile and energy weapon fire stripped her armor and gutted her internals.
Numbers and weight of fire inevitably told. If one discounts their scouts (kept in the line of battle at great risk, to provide extra anti-fighter defense and to force dispersal of fire), the THN had only 22 Warships in 1st Battle Fleet, to the CCNs 21.. And all of the CCN vessels were new, heavily armored, and focused on long range fires, while on the THN side, many vessels were 50 years old or more, and had not been significantly refit during that time. Their heavy NAC batteries were devastating once they came into range, but their more fragile ships meant that far too few of the THN vessels survived to see the range closed.
Some naval observers have questioned why the THN did not break off once the first few minutes of fire showed their disadvantage. However, an analysis of survivor reports show that the THN Admiral felt that his best chance was to close the range as quickly as possible - and that if he attempted to break off, he would be pursued for at least some time by the longer-ranged CCN ships, risking total loss without any damage being done in return. Thus the Terran Navy, professional to the last, kept their ships heading to the sound of the guns and in obedience to the order given down by the Director General, in an attempt to break through and and carry out their objective of destroying the Aldebaran Yards.
A handful made it out the far side, and rather than pursue, the CCN allowed them to flee the system, though the jumpships and cargo dropships left at the pirate point were claimed under the guns of the CCN.
-“The Turning of the Tide - Aldebaran and the Cameron Dynasty” Sarna University Press, 2457
Order of Battle, Second Aldebaran:
THN 1ST BATTLE FLEET
2 DN Typhoon
4 BB Dreadnought
6 BC Black Lion
10 DD Lola
6 SC Bonaventure
20 Jump Ships
40 Medium Dropships
60 Light Dropships
900 Fighters
CCN COMBINED FLEET
10 CA Quan Yin
11 CL Pallada
170 DS Shao Bing
10 Drop Ships
600 Fighters (total fighter stocks of CCN are nearly exhausted by 2nd Aldebaran)
Losses, 2nd Aldebaran:
THN: 2 DN, 4BB, 5 BC, 9DD, 5SC, 830 Fighters, 40 Medium Dropships, 60 Light Dropships, 20 Jumpships, 9B in repairs.
CCN: 1 CA, 2 CL, 40 DS, 220 Fighters, 2 Dropships, 1 CA and 1 CL Crippled, unable to participate for remainder of turn. 8B in Ship and Yard Repairs. Presence of Shipyard or Repair ship reduces repair cost, allows cripples to be saved.
CCN Prizes: 20 JS, 60 Light DS, 20 Medium DS (Captured at L1 Point)The Run to the North“The Moral is to the Physical as 3 is to 1”
-N. Bonaparte
Even after the terrible losses of the Aldebaran Conflict, the THN remained the largest and theoretically most powerful navy in the inner sphere. But for all its physical strength, its internal commands were in shock. Half of the fleet had headed into the least of the Inner Sphere states, and only dribs and drabs had made it out, telling bitter stories of trying to limp crippled ships home across the light-years. What was worse, none quite understood exactly what had gone wrong, as many parts of the THN had disparaged the evolving technologies and doctrines that had been sharpened in conflicts between those minor states.
Rather than wait for the Hegemony to regain its balance, the Confederation swung immediately onto the offense. Their surviving heavy cruisers moved north, loading any army units available over each world as they passed. Crossing into Hegemony Space in some cases ahead of the Terran survivors of 2nd Aldebaran, they swooped down on every exposed Hegemony world. Many of these worlds were only a few decades under the Hegemony banner, and were offered the promise of greater freedoms in the Confederation.. Or in the alternate, promise of multi-regiment invasion backed by the threat of orbital fire.
Rather than drive deep into the Hegemony, the Confederation claimed a string of worlds along the border. This had the effect of both presenting the Confederation as an ‘invading horde’ across their entire border, but also making it clear that the core of the Hegemony was not under threat - at least not yet. Faced with a Naval Service in near-catatonic shock and the possible threat of revolution if he could not focus its attentions at home, Director General Cameron met with Coordinator Liao over Terra Firma on Christmas Day, 2389, to sign a treaty promising ‘Eternal Peace and Greater Understanding’ between the Hegemony and Confederation. The Terra Firma Concord of 2388 also offered the establishment of a ‘Mediating Body’ with representatives from all the major powers to ‘help prevent regrettable misunderstandings and loss of life’, but at the time, no other power sent diplomats or was willing to cede any authority, even theoretical.
CC Gains/TH Losses: Alpha Eridani, Tigress, Basalt, Nopah, Kawich, Fletcher, Woodstock, Acamar, Terra Firma, Capolla, Hisen, Chisholm, Mandal, 39B Econ
Quick, while they aren't LookingHaving the two largest navies in the Inner Sphere focused on beating one another into a pulp represented an irresistible opportunity to many of their neighbors, though each would weigh the balance of forces, and opportunity, differently.
After considering a wealth of options and planning to attack almost everyone, the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine suggested it was better to keep things simple, especially after the difficulties with Rasalhague. Before the Hegemony regained its balance, the Combine was able to seize Kervil, Telos, and Inglesmond, securing both the flank of the Deneb Algedi salient, though perhaps at the risk of the Hegemony’s future ire. These worlds had been restive under the Hegemony, and would likely remain so under the Combine, perhaps tempering the Hegemony’s anger. Dieron, unfortunately, would remain out of reach at the time.
DC Gains/TH Loses: Kervil, Telos, New Britain, 9B Econ
Eschewing the idea of pressuring the Hegemony, Case Nightmare is abandoned and the Federated Suns considers their options under Case Green. While part of their doctrine included deep strikes against shipyards, the proposition was tabled on the argument that “Capellan Shipyards are apparently Roach Motels for Warships. Do we have any spare fleets burning a hole in our pockets?” As they manifestly did not, and with the Davion pressing that SOME hay be made while the sun was shining, the FSN picked off the periphery realms of Avigait, Bacum, Ashley from CC control, as well as the exposed Stein’s Folly.The Liao was quoted as saying “Ashley? Where is that? Why do I care?” and little more came of the matter.
FS Gains/CC Loses: Avigait, Bacum, Ashley, Stein’s Folly, 5B Econ
The Free Worlds League took the opportunity of the Capellan-Terran conflict to move its forces to the Lyran Border, likely anticipating an upswing in conflict across the inner sphere and expecting that the CCN would be unwilling to engage in offensive operations for some time. Still, one proud nail was too much to pass up, and a ‘gentle suggestion’ by a passing diplomat, coupled with the promise of lavish government contracts for purchase from the extensive heavy metal mines of Chertan (owned by the Planetary Governor’s Cousin), brought Chertan into the League with little drama or risk of future conflict with the Hegemony. The FWL also took the opportunity to pick off both Giausar and Pressby from the Lyran Commonwealth, while the other was busily poking the Hegemony Bear.
FWL Gains/TH Loses: Chertan, 3B Econ
FWL Gains/LC Loses: Giausar, Pressby, 2B Econ
The Lyran Commonwealth, in an unusual showing of marital vigor, moved more quickly against the exposed Hegemony than any other power not directly involved in the conflict. The worlds of Sabik, Atria, Ko, and Lyons all fell before the Lyran forces (or, as was often the case, before Lyran Gunboat Diplomacy) before the Hegemony was able to cement a peace with the Capellan Confederation and reorient its forces. A second Commonwealth squadron was just about to jump into Summer to cut off the Galatea spur when neutral merchant traffic jumping out from Summer reported a large Terran squadron had just settled into position over that world. Anticipating that they had gotten everything they could cheaply, the Commonwealth settled into the process of integrating its newest worlds.
LC Gains/TH Loses: Sabik, Atria, Ko, Lyons, 11B Econ
The Periphery Realms on the whole watched the goings on from the blessed safety of extreme distance and collectively decided they wanted nothing to do with the matter, though more than one leader was on record decrying violence and offering its thoughts and prayers to the Terrans.
Budgets, 2390:Terran Hegemony - 659B
Draconis Combine - 356.5B
Federated Suns - 383B
Capellan Confederation - 396B
Free Worlds League - 372.5B
Lyran Commonwealth - 391.5B
Rim Worlds Republic - 174.5B
Principality of Rasalhague - 97B
Taurian Concordat - 106B
United Hindu Collection - 73B
Marian Hegemony - 71B
Illyran Palatinate - 45B
Map, 2390
