BattleTech FanFiction Tribble Emporium

[TheBrokenLance]

The vote is canon, only the LC was preserved by a single vote.  If things had gone the other way, the timing is actually kind-of amazing.  Although the sourcebooks don't go into any proposed details of how the dissolution would have worked, I imagine that some smaller rump states would have cohered and petitioned for Star League memebership, while many other worlds would have simply preferred to existin solely under the aegis of the Star League, with no intermediating "national" layer between them.  There could have been as many as several hundred of these worlds. 

While I can't see the Camerons being anything but delighted at this news, this severely shakes up the existing order of the Star League.  The League, as far as I know, was never framed as anything other than a confederal pact between sovereign states.  The emergence of this new class of purely League-governed worlds could have lit fires all over the Inner Sphere.  The timing is actually suspiciously great for all sorts of ripples to propagate.

Twenty years later, you've got the Regulan crisis in the Free Worlds, and the Marik's small civil war against the Selaj.  This, naturally, quite alarmed the Star League, and garrison SLDF units in the FWL were put on on high alert.  The Mariks just managed to convince the Star League that this was an internal matter, so the troops stood down.  That mess drove the Captain General so paranoid Parliament tried to "end the emergency" and abolish the position, sparking the Marik Civil War.  During that mess it's inconceivable that some worlds - or even whole provinces - wouldn't think of trying the Lyran trick and prying themselves free of Marik's grip.

And just when the Marik turmoil is winding up, with an emboldend Star League feeling its oats and building a power base separate and apart from the Member States, here comes the War of Davion Succession.  After the epic collapse of the AFFS in the opening moves of that little spat, I can't imagine that there wouldn't be significant grumbling across the length and breadth of the Suns.  The Capellan march is always restive; as late as 2617 New Syrtis was nearly in open revolt.  And after the butt-kicking the AFFS just got, the Draconis March isn't feeling too confident in New Avalon's ability to protect them.

All the while, the Star League planets are thriving.  As soon as the Reunification War kicks off, investment begins flowing to the Star League worlds that managed to break free of Member State control; they'd be well-placed and secure locations for the SLDF to source parts and build bases, without the logistical problems that come from schlepping everything out from the Hegemony.  If the League especially wanted to encourage planets to squirm free of the Member States, they might even relax the Mother doctrine on technology transfer.

So, on the Eve of the Amaris coup the Star League proper isn't just the Hegemony and a handful of jointly-administered worlds.  Instead, in addition to the Hegemony there are hundreds of purely-Star League worlds; the majority of the former Lyran Commonwealth, big chunks of the Free Worlds League, and even former parts of the Federated Suns.  The only Member States largely intact are the Draconis Combine and the Capellan Confederation.

[shadowdancer]

Sector 313 Alpha, Sisyphus's Lament
The Rock System, Oberon Confederation
13 August 3049

Something inside his head screamed at him that what he was doing was suicidal, but another part of him didn't care. Yet his awareness of the hideous threat posed by these unidentified Mechs made him key a dump of his battle recorder's data and create a simultaneous battle-feed to a widebeam broadcast. He pumped extra power into the broadcast, draining it away from the Wolfhound's rear arc medium laser. "Trey, Kat, anybody. I hope like hell this makes it out. Get clear. This data is more important than getting killed to avenge either one of us."
Phelan dipped the Wolfhound's left shoulder as if preparing to cut back that way, than broke even more sharply to the right. The Mech he faced again sent two laser blast sizzling through the space he should have occupied.

The computer's range indicator put Phelan at 350 meters and closing fast. Phelan planted the Wolfhound's right foot and cut to the left, then only two steps later, planted the left foot and dashed straight in at his target. The other pilot, determined not to miss a third time, had spread his Mech's arms apart to have one weapon available no matter where Phelan moved -as long as it wasn't straight up the middle.

Laughing triumphantly as the enemy's large lasers flashed past on either side. Phelan dropped his targeting sight straight on the Mech's jutting beak. He stabbed his thumb down on the large laser's firing stud and tightened his fingers on the buttons for two medium lasers. Got you.

The large laser hammered into the enemy Mech's left side. It peeled back armor, and for a moment, Phelan hoped against it had pierced the Mech's armored hide.  As his medium lasers stitched the Mech's left arm and leg with stinging ruby bolts, hid heart began to sink. All I am getting is armor!

The gray Mech's two gunnery-pods converged and seemed to focus on the Wolfhound. The dual large lasers slashed past over head and followed up seconds later with four mediums right behind him.

Running between several large boulders he sniped with two medium lasers one to the left torso and leg again. Slamming to a stop and stepping backwards back into a gape he fired the large and a medium both going to the left leg. Charging to the left again he cut around a boulder right at the enemy.

The Mech fired both missiles pods at him but only a few striking the left arm.

Phelan fired all three mediums striking the left leg twice and again to the left torso causing the Mech to stumble.

Moving parallel the Mech fired both large lasers with one striking the right torso and one missing low. Quickly followed by twin mediums one striking the right leg with the other missing low also.

Phelan closing and still charging left opened up again with the three mediums striking the left leg and torso again with the third missing to the right. As he past by he connected with a kick to the left leg breaking the last of it dropping it to the ground. Stopping and turning to run deeper into the boulder field twin large lasers with paired mediums flash by his head. Leading the two other Mech's further into the jumble he quickly was able to circle around and stepped into the back arc of both without them knowing he was there. Shooting at the one closest to him first he opened with the large and two mediums striking all of them in the right leg. With a hip actuator being hit causing it to fall crushing the rest.

As the second one turned Phelan moved to stay in it back arc it fired a large and medium laser that missed behind the Wolfhound.

Opening up with a full alpha strike he grouped all of the shoots to the left side the large and two mediums into the rear torso and other medium into the leg causing it to crash to the ground as the gyro tore itself apart. As he slowly turns and sluggishly starts to move toward the dropship he hears five bangs against his Wolfhound. Looking to outside monitors he sees little robot looking thinks clinging to the mech. Before he can react the ejection system fires and as he looks for a place to land he sees five more Mech's and two more groups of robots to the northeast of him. And the rest of his battalion moving up from the southwest. As he crashes to a landing he is thrown into the dash knocking him out.

Mechwarriors Vlad, Aizona and Poul stood before Khan Ulric. Ulric asked how could a mere mercenary in a light mech manage to take three of our best warriors down?

Vlad forcefully said, "I swear sir that he disappeared from my targeting computers, one second he was there and the next he did not register."

"One targeting system down might explain how he might have been able to take one of you down. But how did he take you other two?"

Both spoke at the same time agreeing with Vlad. Their targeting systems also failed to register the mech.

Looking over to the technician he asked. "How could all three mechs malfunction at the same time? The tech said that all of them checked out as perfectly functional. But the battleroms back up their statements."   


Phelan joins Clan Wolf with the Phantom Mech ability!

[Shadow_Wraith]

So the last Tribble would be #565.   If everything else goes as canon, it would be very interesting when he goes for a Trial of Position with Natasha K.   :thumbsup:

[consequences]

Tribble 566: Late 3028. A certain Lyran jumpship crew discovers their spines,  and with the Legion of Vega being somewhat lacking in hyperdimensional math expertise, Theodore Kurita is caught completely unaware when the ship he commandeered ironically emerges at Freedom

[Ironburk]

I like it. Of course, that crew would then find out what it's like to breathe vacuum as the furious snakes space them for daring to not kowtow to their "glorious samurai masters".

[drakensis]

Tribble 567
In the 2850s, Clan Steel Viper suffered an internal schism over the treatment of freeborn by the expanding number of trueborn warriors, with the latter beginning to force the former out of contention for bloodnames. In order to avoid a calamitous war, the Clan divided with the former (freeborn) senior Khan losing the Trial of Possession for the original name and heraldry. He and his followers founded Clan Heretic Monkey.

Two centuries later, the Heretic Monkeys still maintain a freeborn majority (most bloodhouses do create trueborn sibkos occasionally if their numbers seem to be waning) with several dozen sprawling extended families producing most of their Clan's leading warriors. Members who fail to test out as warriors join civilian castes and carry on the bloodlines with their children having just as much chance to become warriors and one day compete for bloodnames.

Much to the annoyance of Clan Steel Viper, the Heretic Monkeys have managed to maintain a strong touman and while not quite as powerful as the Vipers they're consistently of middling position among the Clans. In addition to their rivalry with their kin, the Monkeys have long-standing feuds with the Smoke Jaguars and Fire Mandrills, but are on generally good terms with Clan Ghost Bear and Clan Star Adder. A modest majority of the Clan are Crusaders although they mostly believe their mandate is to reconquer the Terran Hegemony and then win the Successor States over to create a new Star League through their shining example and clever diplomacy.

Internally, the Heretic Monkey caste relations are quite good since most have family ties that cut across this divide. On the other hand, their bloodhouses can be easily as quarrelsome as those of the Snow Ravens and as little as they like the comparison, the Fire Mandrills. Keeping the Heretic Monkeys focused takes a great deal of behind the scenes diplomacy between leaders of the Bloodhouses, with no small number of political marriages to seal temporary alliances between the bloodhouses, something that also helps avoid inbreeding. (Such spouses frequently see little of each other, but some surprisingly intense emotional ties - and feuds - have resulted.) The Heretic Monkeys merchants produce a range of dramas based on such ideas - dramas banned in many other clans.

[Vehrec]

Tribble 568

So, Franklin Orsis is based on the Black Panthers...I mean, just go look at his picture.  So what if Clan Smoke Jaguar took more inspiration from the Panthers?  What if they built soup kitchens and breakfast programs?  What if the Jaguars invaded the Draconis Combine, not because it was strong, but because the repression of it's civillians made it more likely that they would accept Jaguar charity and order?  What if their support of the Crusaders is driven by principled International Socialism, to liberate the civilians of the inner sphere from the tyranny of landlords, nobles, and corporations?

Well they wouldn't be your daddy's Smoke Jaguars, that's for sure.

[drakensis]

Tribble 569

In 2988, Marcos Isu is appointed as the Draconis Combine's ambassador to Sian. In a whirlwind romance, his teenage daughter Jasmine becomes pregnant by the heir to the Confederation's throne. The matter is covered up, and a marriage is hastily arranged. Since it serves neither the father of the bride or groom to advertise the connection, Maximilian's wife's family name (and age - she's only 15!) is obfuscated and Candace Liao's birth isn't reported for a few months.

Eight years later the relationship sours and Duke Marcos is also recalled to the Combine by Coordinator Hohiro Kurita to take up his duties as Duke of New Samarkand now that his father has died. Jasmine decides to return with her father, but must leave her three children - including her newborn Tormano - with their father. The official records of the Confederation claim that she died in a mountain-climbing accident.

On return to Luthien, the Coordinator revealed to Duke Marcos that he had decided it was time for his heir Takashi to wed - and apparently Marcos' father and Hohiro had betrothed Jasmine to Takashi without telling their families. While Jasmine does come to love her new husband and the son he gives her (all the more valuable to her after the loss of her three elder children), she's unable to give him more children.

And of course, someday, someone's going to realise that Romano Liao and Theodore Kurita are half-siblings...

[croaker]

Tribble 567
The Heretic Monkeys merchants produce a range of dramas based on such ideas - dramas banned in many other clans.

Would one of the Heretic Monkey bloodnames happen to be "Macleod"?

[drakensis]

Would one of the Heretic Monkey bloodnames happen to be "Macleod"?

I don't believe that's a canonical bloodname. Am I missing something?

[Sharpnel]

Would one of the Heretic Monkey bloodnames happen to be "Macleod"?

There's a McCloud bloodname in the Cobras. That's as close as you're gonna get

[Vehrec]

Tribble 569
https://i.imgur.com/iZrcsbn.jpg

Gentlepeople of BTech forums.  I give you-THE REVOLUTION!

[Takiro]

Well I have to say first off that I love maps and that is beautiful.

While I could see a revolution by the people to throw off the aristocracy of the Great Houses it would be pretty tough given the feudal structure has the BattleMech and that is the 'King of the Battlefield' 

[Vehrec]

Well I have to say first off that I love maps and that is beautiful.

While I could see a revolution by the people to throw off the aristocracy of the Great Houses it would be pretty tough given the feudal structure has the BattleMech and that is the 'King of the Battlefield'

Ironically, this set-up, where Ian Davion doubles down on military spending and the Outback screams from the resultant tax hikes and neglect, is one where I can see many of those chivalric knights turning on their master and siding with the revolutionaries.  It wouldn't work in Kurita or Liao space, there the elites are trained to be indifferent to the suffering of the commoners, but the Federated Suns, god bless them, kind of believe that 'knights in shining armor' BS.  If you get a letter from your people begging you not to support the tyranny of Ian Davion, if you hear that he's sending in firestarters to burn your people for strikes...you might think twice about serving him.

[AlphaMirage]

Considering it took Andrew Davion (iirc) a lot of effort to "destroy" the Warrior Cabals. I can easily see the Outback Lords cracking down hard on dissent against their Prince or attempting to overthrow him.  Not to alleviate the suffering of their peasantry, if they were good people they would have been born noble.  They will just clear out a weak Davion prince then go back to where it was except this time its "to repair the damage done during the War, and ensure our bright future under a new First Prince" (Likely a Hasek considering their history).  The FedSuns has good PR, but that doesn't mean that they are all good guys, they are just as prone to Civil War or atrocity as any other Great House.

[drakensis]

Tribble 570

It's the early 24th century and James McKenna displays a potent new weapon to reform the Terran Alliance, but it isn't the Dreadnought-class battleship, it's the MSK-5K Mackie!

The BattleMech makes it debut a century and a half earlier than canon and spearheads the expansion of the new Terran Hegemony while the other states (at this point the Free Worlds League, Rim Worlds Republic and Taurian Concordat exist but most later states have yet to unite) must find a path to survive this new weapon and enemy.

• Bruised by the loss of Dieron, Shiro Kurita struggles to keep his nascent empire together.
• Lucien Davion seeks to build an alliance against the expanding Hegemony.
• After the fall of his homeworld, Emile Liao fights a guerrilla war against the Hegemony with his fleet of converted merchantmen.
• Juliano Marik fences cautiously with James McKenna via diplomats as they each prepare for the war they know must soon erupt between their realms.
• Ian McQuiston and Seth Marsden engage in a risky plan to secure design data on the Mackie for the new Federation of Skye.

[Terrace]

Tribble #571

As the 4th Succession War begins, Theodore Kurita is forced to retreat off-world against the LCAF. But something goes wrong as his Dropship lifts off, and it crashes to the ground. The DCMS concludes that the son of the Dragon is dead.

Takashi, already highly stressed over his newfound feud with Jamie Wolf, suffers a fatal stroke upon hearing the news. Marcus Kurita seizes the opportunity and declares himself the new Coordinator. Not being a genius like Theodore, however, the new Dragon makes a fatal miscalculation on his counterattack against the LCAF, seeing the destruction of five DCMS regiments for no gain, including the 2nd Sword of Light.

In response, the Black Dragon Society causes the Benjamin and Dieron districts rise up in revolt, rallying behind Takashi's nephew Isoroku Kurita. Meanwhile, ISF agents loyal to Theodore secretly bring Theodore's children (Franklin, Hohiro, and Omiko) to the Warlord of the Galedon District, knowing that Kester Hsiun Chi can be trusted to keep their existence a secret.

But as Isoroku becomes truly invested in leading his faction of this civil war, Theodore turns up alive, having survived the crash and secretly made his way to Galedon to see to the safety of his children. Isoroku refuses to believe that this is the real Theodore, and accuses him of being an impostor, with Marcus following suit. Battle lines are drawn, and units flock to each banner.

But with a three-way civil war going on, the Draconis Combine drops out of the 4th Succession War entirely, and the Rasalhague District completely falls to the LCAF as the Three Dragons are pre-occupied with each other.

Well, Hanse Davion didn't expect this when he made his toast, but he's certainly not complaining!

Edit: I particularly like this one because it allows you to have three different flavors of Combine in a single setting without any contradictions. From the ultra-traditionalists (Isoroku and the Black Dragon Society), to embracing the new ways (We all know about Theodore and the Ghost Regiments, plus C3 was developed while he was the Kanrei in canon), to the warcrime-happy hypocrites (Marcus).

[namar13766]

Is it wrong I'm mentally calling 571 the Dance of the Dragons? ;D

How would the Combine be generally divided up?

[BlackLiger]

I could see Hanse throwing his lot in behind one of them in the manner of focusing on the other two

[Intermittent_Coherence]

I could see Hanse throwing his lot in behind one of them in the manner of focusing on the other two

Aaahh... but will he back the moderate that he can make peace with, or will he instead back the ****** that he knows will cause even more trouble for the Combine down the line? Decisions, decisions.

[Smegish]

Quietly switch between em all to keep the war going?

[Terrace]

Is it wrong I'm mentally calling 571 the Dance of the Dragons? ;D

How would the Combine be generally divided up?

I see the territory split going like this

Marcus: Pesht (plus whatever shadow of Rasalhague District remains, along with a world or two from the Benjamin and Galedon Districts)
Isoroku: Benjamin/Dieron (Dieron having lost a few worlds to the Lyrans, so they're subordinate to Benjamin)
Theodore: Galedon

I could see Hanse throwing his lot in behind one of them in the manner of focusing on the other two

Aaahh... but will he back the moderate that he can make peace with, or will he instead back the ****** that he knows will cause even more trouble for the Combine down the line? Decisions, decisions.

Quietly switch between em all to keep the war going?

Given Theodore's faction is about stealing pages from the AFFS playbook, if not stealing the book outright, I think it'd be amusing if Theodore approached Hanse for support, in return for whatever concessions he feels are necessary to ensure his forces are supplied.

Not to say that Katrina, Melissa, and Hanse would be all that adverse to utilizing LOKI and the Rabid Foxes to keep things interesting between Isoroku and Marcus while Theodore's rebuilding...

As for the unit breakdown, I would have each faction be forced to disband units and use their survivors to patch holes in other units (the 16th Galedon Regulars under Theodore, for example, would only have 50% of their veterans consist of people who were in the unit before the civil war started, with the rest of the veterans coming from the 5th and 12th).

[Takiro]

This makes for a real interesting War of 3039 ;)

[Terrace]

This makes for a real interesting War of 3039 ;)

Oh, yes. My initial thoughts go along the lines of Isoroku getting knocked out of the Dance of Dragons by getting dogpiled by everyone else (Theodore hitting Benjamin in coordination with an AFFC offensive to take Dieron, with Marcus jumping in late to grab a bunch of Benjamin territory to limit Theodore's gains).

This would result in Marcus warcrime-happy thugs taking the brunt of the Clan offensive. Assuming the Year of Peace happens like in canon, then Theodore, having the strongest position, could use that year to sweep in and finally knock Marcus, who's taken a severe battering from the Clans, out of the civil war, then settle his forces in to hit the Clans with a completely different DCMS than the warriors of Kerensky were expecting...

[Vehrec]

Tribble #572
Kerensky Takes Terra....but Amaris isn't there.  Rather than stand and die in the ruins of his empire, Stephen Amaris decides to retreat to his hidden worlds in the Deep Periphery and wait for the jackals to pull apart their victim.  He also takes with him a *lot* of warmaking industry, and the cream of his remaining armies, because you need seed to start from scratch.  What happens after that...will Kerensky disperse the SLDF to find the fugitive?   Will the Star League die as per cannon?  Will the Clans form-and will their invasion be paired with one from the Empire of Amaris?

[smdvogrin]

Oh, yes. My initial thoughts go along the lines of Isoroku getting knocked out of the Dance of Dragons by getting dogpiled by everyone else (Theodore hitting Benjamin in coordination with an AFFC offensive to take Dieron, with Marcus jumping in late to grab a bunch of Benjamin territory to limit Theodore's gains).

This would result in Marcus warcrime-happy thugs taking the brunt of the Clan offensive. Assuming the Year of Peace happens like in canon, then Theodore, having the strongest position, could use that year to sweep in and finally knock Marcus, who's taken a severe battering from the Clans, out of the civil war, then settle his forces in to hit the Clans with a completely different DCMS than the warriors of Kerensky were expecting...

At which point, the traditionalists which went to ground when Isoruku went under rise up to cause trouble just when he's starting to get a grip on the Clan threat ('cause it isn't the DC without Black Dragons out of nowhere just as things might be starting to go good)...

[Terrace]

At which point, the traditionalists which went to ground when Isoruku went under rise up to cause trouble just when he's starting to get a grip on the Clan threat ('cause it isn't the DC without Black Dragons out of nowhere just as things might be starting to go good)...

Wouldn't be strong enough to cause significant amounts of trouble, given the vast majority of their actual military units got splattered in the War of 3039 (with Isoroku's surrender being the only reason any units from his faction survived).

[Daemion]

Tribble #573
While it's an interesting concept to look into, I don't know that I'll ever have time to flesh out what I started in the link.

The Family Brown Flying Circus was a mercenary band, a family affair.  They had high hopes for their first mission, but something went wrong, and they were on the run. 

They eventually escaped the world they were stuck on, hijacking not only a DropShip, but also a JumpShip and found a crew willing to help them. 

How did they manage this, before running afoul of a Magistracy noblewoman and eventually falling pray to another mercenary band?

Whoever tackles this, please PM me with a link to your story. 

[namar13766]

574: A Melody of 'Mechs and Mettle

The Minnesota Tribe is having a bad day (granted, after escaping the Clans, the Combine, and Comstar) when All their ships have simultaneously wrecked their KF drives following a misjump. Fortunately, all their ships are in the same system. Even better, there's a habitable planet. Even better is the fact they've found vast germanium deposits. Despite finding signs of human settlement, they don't seem to have any transmissions. Things get weird when the Tribe discovers this branch of humanity predates not only the Star League, but also interstellar travel from Terra.

The obligatory Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice And Fire x-over

[TheBrokenLance]

Vulcans and Firestarters...for all your "DRACARYS!" needs