Former Government Palace, Arcturus
Tamar Domains, Lyran Commonwealth
22. June 3020
"These are interessante Zeiten ... omoshiroi jikan (interesting Times)."
Neither Katrina Steiner nor Takashi Kurita would ever know, that for a short moment during the signing of the Arcturus Accords they had exactly the same thought in their heads.
They were making history, that was clear for both. For the first time in centuries, the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine were officially at Peace. Not that it had been easy. In the first 3 days of Negotiating alone there had been 26 incidents which nearly led to a breakdown, as one particular meticulous delegation member noted in his personal log.
Still, the major "Bumps" on the road to a Peace Treaty could be overcome in the history-steeped atmosphere of the first government palace of the Commonwealth.
“That was a major thing in itself. Centuries of brutal warfare had soured the relations of the Successor States to a degree that was massive compared even with the problems and wars today in the 32nd century.”, remarked Marius Auburn to the audience.
Just bringing about an, until further negotiations, infinite cease-fire was a grind for the delegations. Both Steiners and Kuritas held their cards close to the chest, testing and analysing their opposites. Why were they here? What made the Steiners propose a peace treaty, what made the Kuritas, one of their oldest enemies, respond?
The breakthrough came in the night from the third day to the fourth. A cease-fire without an expiration date was accepted by the Draconis Combine. Over the following days a peace treaty was hammered out, with the border being the current frontline, Planetary horse trading would be postponed until the next meeting in 3022 on Dieron.
Building trust was the major thing. One important topic, which had not been in the focus until then, the Lyrans finally found out, was the economy. The Steiner experts theorised that this might be the reason the Draconians finally came to the green table, but were not sure.
Nevertheless, when it came to economics, production and trade, House Steiner had never been found wanting. This was part of their lifeblood.
Katrina Steiner, after discussing it with her team, let rise a test balloon A possible part of the peace treaty could be new trade accords. This was meet with oriental-Japanese politeness, on the surface it did not seem a big thing. But the way this topic became part of the negotiation mass, not to mention the relative quick speed it entered the discussions were a strong hint.
The thing for the Lyrans was how to respond. The Kuritas were one of their fiercest enemies, so it would be bad to brace them without guarantees. On the other hand, a maybe lasting peace was possible if the Combine came to the conviction that working with the Commonwealth was better than fighting it.
Some observant delegation members from both sides were amused how soon and strongly economic and trade questions dominated the treaty discussions. Numerous appending economic treaties became part of the complete proposal.
Then came the drum beat. Some trade goods were tricky high tech stuff, nothing you gave away for shiny glass pearls. Some of it was Star League era expertise House Steiner had brought into the Now as the sole Successor State able to do so.
The Combine could get some of it, not right now, but later on - if the Combine would agree to an alliance. A proposal had already been prepared beforehand. Some points were fixed, some could be discussed.
Some hardline Draconians were stunned when the Lyrans asked them, what they had thought? House Steiner wanted out of the Succession Wars, yes, but out as one of the winners. As far as anybody could be called winner when it came to endless mess humanity was stuck in.
While the state leaders and their entourages talked, the Royal Guard and the Sword of Light kept the cease-fire going at the Jump Point, by watching over each other. In the case of the Kuritas under the ruse, that an unexpected solar flare during the last moments before their transition to Hyperspace, led to a miss-jump, which brought them to Arcturus. After some "repairs", they would continue on to their "real" destination.
Down on the planet, secrecy had been observed as well. Officially the old Palace, a major sightseeing highlight, was closed until July for government delegations, which assessed if the Palace Museum should be enlarged to encompass the whole complex.
After the first round of signing the various accord points, there was a little pause for the bureaucratic envoys of both sides to file away the documents and prepare the additional parts for signing, like a new trade agreement and the provisory alliance. Neither the Steiners nor the Kuritas were sure if they should sign these, internal reasons and old habits died hard, so the Addendums were to be signed last, if the Archon and the Coordinator would agree to sign them.
Katrina and Takashi used the pause for a walk together through the hermetically closed palace to converse about the "delicate" parts. They doubted if they would ever consider the other a friend, but both leaders had found something they respected in their counterpart.
For Takashi, the fact that Katrina Steiner was an ace equally in the Mechcockpit, normal and Japanese chess, in addition to a sharp mind and a friendly, but regal demeanor, raised her standing sharply.
For Katrina, the fact that Takashi Kurita really tried to embody the First Samurai of the Combine in word and deed, gained him her respect and made the Kuritas more reliable in Lyran eyes. True, the Combine could be treacherous, but if the Coordinator directly decreed something, it was less prone to be overlooked by his underlings.
And if Takashi´s heir really had convinced his father during their long talks over Orestes to enact at least some reforms in the Combine, the Peace might truly hold and would be easier to sell to the citizens of both nations.
Chance had it, that the two rulers went through the library during their walk, where Melissa and Theodore played a game. While the "first contact" of the Lyran and Draconian delegations had been frosty and Theodore had been very involved in the negotiations, both heirs had hit it off really well after some days.
Theodore one evening told his father under four eyes, that when he would be Coordinator someday, he had to keep an eye on the next Archon, since for a ten year old, she was advanced in development, if Melissa kept it up, she would be a worthy leader. And depending on how the treaty talks went, Melissa would either be an useful asset or a very tough opponent.
She had questioned him "ein Loch in den Bauch" (a hole into the abdomen) as they called it in German, but knew how to behave.
Both heirs, despite 13 years apart, were closer in age than nearly every grown-up in the delegations and this added to them spending free time together. One guard once remarked to the Archon, that it seemed to him, that spending time talking and playing with Melissa helped Theodore Kurita banish some spectre of the past, considering the flashes of melancholy he now and then exhibited.
Katrina and Takashi had stopped in the entrance of the library and observed the heirs of Commonwealth and Combine. They talked very softly to not interrupt their offspring.
"If we sign the Addendums and I don´t mean just the trade parts, the future historians will call us idiotic fools or farseeing Visionaries, depending on how long the Pact will hold."
"Quite right. But can we survive not to? Despite the wide chasm separating our two nations, we agree that if we do business as usual it is only a question of time until all of the Inner Sphere will fall into the Abyss of Pre-Spaceflight, due to the ongoing losses in knowledge and ability. A long night coming. And if the "accidents" our scientists seem to be prone to go on, Comstar will be the last faction standing with High-Tech. A frightening thought, if we take into account that most certainly Comstar is the culprit for more than one of these accidents. We just cannot openly act against them.
If we want to stop them and the downfall of civilisation, we have to act."
"Yes, one part of the Accords would see to that, but no matter how secret we keep the Treaty, someday the others will find out. I look forward to the combat coming, to bring honour to the Combine, but Comstar could interdict both our realms, which is a entire different #can of worms’, as they say."
Katrina Steiner looked very thoughtful, while correcting her uniform overcoat.
"Well, there might be a way to cope or circumvent that, about which we should talk at our next get-together."
Takashi Kurita´s voice carried humour.
"Meaning, the ink is not dry long enough for such information. But if signing the rest of the articles, we will meet directly again in two years, giving both of us enough time to see if our peace treaty is more gift or more headache. And you are right, I would not give away such useful information to my former enemies so soon too.
On a different topic: We will face internal opposition to this treaty, no matter if we keep it as it is now or sign the rest in a few minutes. Peace with you Lyrans, some of our hardliners will go through the ceiling. Well, I myself did not even think about more than a cease-fire possible, but I have a duty to my realm and I concur that if we go on like we did the last centuries, it is game over for all. Hai, we should try the Accords, so nobody can say we ran into the Abyss knowingly, unlike the other Houses, who don´t see the writing on the wall."
The Archon showed the barest hint of a smile.
"I think I will not get the reason for this course reversal, considering the way the Combine marched on until very recently, before our meeting on Dieron about the possible widening of the Accords in two years either, but I am glad that we are intelligent enough to look forward, before all is too late.
We sign this treaty mostly for practical reasons, but like my mother is fond of saying: 'Enlightened self-interest is the basis for the most useful treaties'.
And who knows, maybe those two", Katrina indicated their heirs with a slight nod of the head, "will only have to go to war against others and not each other, if we can keep the peace until then."
"True words." The coordinator looked equally thoughtful, "How about we sign the rest? I did not think before all this I would be saying it, but both our realms would gather much honour, even if most people won´t know it yet, by making history."
At Noon on 22nd June 3020, the Arcturus Accords, the first peace treaty between Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine in centuries came into being. A couple of minutes later, Takashi Kurita and Katrina Steiner signed the first draft of the Arcturus Pact.
When the delegations left Arcturus towards the Jump point, on the outside nothing had changed. The Arcturus Accords stayed on a need to know basis, even more so the Pact, which would be discussed for a final version two years later on Dieron.
Getting the more than two trillion people of Houses Steiner and Kurita prepared for the unveiling of these treaties was something that needed time and work.
Unity Palace, Luthien
Kagoshima Prefecture, Draconis Combine
12. September 3020
Even after long talks with Theodore during the travel homeward, Takashi Kurita was still debating internally, if he had done the right thing or if he had been sucked in by Katrina Steiner´s unquestionable great charm and the situation.
The words and numbers in the compads, the predictions, summaries, his son and everything else said loud and clear that he did the right thing, the correct thing for the Combine. Why, by the kamis, did it not feel so?
Takashi had been brought up with the conviction that in the end House Kurita would triumph over the other Houses of the Inner Sphere. That the Dragon now needed help and this help might come from their neighbour-enemy was something Takashi´s heart needed time to chew on. And it was something which showed clearly that for this alliance to hold, time and preparation was paramount. How many difficult situations were to come, was anybody´s guess, but the Coordinator was sure, the number would be high.
While the Coordinator was trying to come to terms with his own mind, his son Theodore was reuniting with his wife, Tomoe. Because of the quick and secret voyage by Theodore first to Orestes and then Arcturus, his wife had not been among the delegation. Two years later in Dieron she would be at his side.
Unlike his father, the heir of the Combine, saw the problems of the new treaties as well as his father did, but since he was more reform oriented than Takashi, he saw the possibilities quite well, too.
From the Koniz evening news
Tamar Domains, Lyran Commonwealth
2. March 3021
“And now free after the words of an archaic writer, all quiet on the rimwards front. In what is today the longest obviously circumstantial pause in combat over at least 150 years, there has been no Raid, no major offensive or border skirmish along our border with the Combine since last June.
According to the speaker of Theater Command, this is a remarkable coincidence of orders for a major strike against pirate systems on both sides of the border, leading to this situation. Our forces mostly against Periphery strongholds, the Kuritas against pirates in sparsely settled inner regions like the ‘Heiligenkreuz-Alshain bubble’, a part of space without any official human colony, but an old retreat for pirate forces.
The speaker for Duke Kelswa added that this lull in the fighting is used to prepare a surprise for the Combine. More could not be said for now, the reasons obvious.
After our view of the Combine border, we move on to the situation on the borders of the Isle of Skye...”
The Archon´s conference room, Tharkad
District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth
11. May 3021
When Selvin Kelswa had asked for a meeting with the other highest ranking members of the Lyran state present, Katrina Steiner was not really surprised, she even guessed the topic. While it could be something else, she thought she knew what the Duke of Tamar wanted. And it would mean the Cat would come out of the sack, but nearly a year between, was rather good.
Besides, the total secrecy surrounding Arcturus Accords and Pact, except some organisations and persons, who had to know, could not be kept much longer. You had to be blind and deaf to not recognise someday, that the last Combine raid had been close to a year back. The various rumor-mills were already at work.
Luckily, most persons in the room already knew, except Selvin Kelswa and Aldo Lestrade, the Duke of Summer, and a thorn in the side of the Archon. Lestrade would like nothing more than to rule an independent Federation of Skye and was fermenting separatist leanings in many regions of Skye. Unfortunately, the Duke had the backing of many critics of her reign in the Isle of Skye and could not be "put away".
Ironically, while Katrina knew, the lifting of the secret around the treaty with the Combine would bring Kelswa and Lestrade closer, even if handled carefully, which would be not a disaster, but lots of trouble ahead - and could grow into a disaster - one of her biggest opponents had grown closer to her rule again after he was informed of the Arcturus Accords.
Closing a functioning deal with the Combine, something that had evaded more than one Archon before Katrina, seemed to have shaken Frederick Steiner´s self-confidence quite a bit. Unlike Lestrade, an ally of Frederick, the Archon´s cousin was a patriot and despite his hate for Katrina, he possessed enough self-reflection to see that he would not have been able to broker such a treaty.
The Accords had raised Frederick´s opinion of her, an unexpected, but nice development, in the Archon´s opinion. This left ex-Archon Allesandro Steiner and Aldo Lestrade as her hardest and most powerful enemies.
And the next few hours would decide, if she had to put Selvin Kelswa onto that list as well. Kelswa did not question her rule per se, but was obsessed with the reconquest of former Tamar Pact worlds from the Combine. So how he swallowed the Arcturus Accords and how much logs Lestrade tried to throw between her political legs today and especially in the near future, would send the Duke of Tamar one way or the other.
Selvin Kelswa was the last to arrive and when he had seated himself he directly began the talks, as was his custom.
The two persons in focus couldn´t have been more different on the outside. Duke Kelswa as a native of Tamar, a high-gravity world with an unusual atmosphere, so he was rather short of stature due to the gravity at home but muscular, with black hair and the typical reddish complexion known as "Tamar Red".
The Archon was a tall, lean woman, very good-looking with a full head of blond hair and fair complexion.
"Katrina, we have a great chance given to us! I reconfirmed it twice before coming here, the Dragon has made a big mistake! The whole center section of the front on their side is wide open for us. The Dracs have moved the regiments there to the FedSuns border. We have to break this strange cease-fire, we seem to have with the Combine for some time now, but the Snakes will return for us sooner or later. We should pluck this fruit and deny them the worlds which are ours to begin with!
But now I heard that you want to move units like the 10. Lyran Guards, which are in a good position to strike deep into the heart of the beast, to the League border. Katrina, this is a chance we cannot let go by, I beseech you!"
Having made his opening move, Selvin leaned back and waited for the Archon to answer. Before answering the Archon looked stealthily over the assembled people. He gave no outward sign, but Katrina was sure that Aldo Lestrade had "briefed" his fellow Duke about the unit movements. She turned fully to Kelswa and began.
"Selvin, I know your feelings and the feelings of us all, when it comes to the Tamar Pact worlds, but let me ask you something first. Could you imagine to rule some worlds far away from the traditional Tamar Pact in addition as well?"
For a moment the Duke seemed perplexed, then he sounded consternated.
"Imagine to rule far away... Katrina, why do you want to keep this cease-fire-by-chance going, the Dracs will come back...", then it clicked for Kelswa, "This is not a cease-fire due to circumstances, right? What have you done!?"
The last words were full of disbelief.
"Yes. Selvin, this is not circumstantial. And it is not a cease-fire either. We are at Peace with the Combine now, secretly, but officially. Only a handful of people know about it, so we can plan military operations without the other houses knowing for a while. But I did not like to keep you in the dark. I have a full briefing readied for you for some time now, you can take it with you later.
Due to all the bad blood accumulated during the Wars, we go very slowly about the Treaty..."
"Why do we 'slowly' about it? Many would be glad, not me and the other Tamars, but people would be glad for less war. There is more, isn´t it?"
Katrina nodded.
"Please let me finish first. The Arcturus Accords are more than just a peace. We talk about more, easier trade and other things. Plainly speaking, when our delegations meet next year on Dieron, we talk about an alliance."
Katrina hated to lie, but sometimes it was necessary. Selvin was shocked, she doubted that he could stomach at the moment, that the Commonwealth and the Combine already had a tentative alliance, which plodded on slowly to keep the secret and prepare the two nation´s citizens for the 'unveiling'. On Dieron, the talks would be about a fully encompassing alliance with even more far-reaching articles, a continuation of the Arcturus Pact.
She just hoped that the Duke of Tamar could be won for her side, but she feared that Selvin´s hate for the Combine would send him the other way. But maybe he could be swayed, time would tell.
Snippets from throughout the decades
“Back in 3020, signing the treaty with the Steiners was a necessity for the Combine. Still back then I believed - please excuse the crass vulgarity - I was pissing away the chances of generations of Samurai to earn honour, considering the main intentions of the Commonwealth with the Arcturus Accords.
Had I known what the coming decades would bring, I would have signed Accord and Pact on the first evening.”
Attributed to Takashi Kurita in a talk with the court chronist
“Did the Invasion of the Inner Sphere bring great glory to the Clans? Yes. Did it strengthen the Clans? Yes. Was the Invasion worth it? No. Like your favourite meal, war becomes bland if tasted too much. Not that I would say this into a Wolf´s face.”
Smoke Jaguar Khan Dorette Wimmer, 3097
“The Clan Invasion and the bloody consequences of it might be good in the eyes of the Social Darwinism of the Clans. In the Inner Sphere it created a rift in thought which persists to this day. A Lyran scientist coined the terms the Kernwärtigen (the Corewards) and the Randwärtigen (the Rimwards). It is important to remember that these descriptors are not based on location alone, it is just that the majority of the respective outlooks can be found there.
The Kernwärtigen are those who recognise the impact of the Clans on the Inner Sphere, how it changes policy, outlook, colonisation, many facets how the nations and their people look at the stars and go on.
The Randwärtigen consider the Clan Wars a fluke of history, nothing to think too much about, the universe is still a buffet. For them, the ‘Corewards’ brood too much now. On the other side, the Corewards consider the Rimwards to be frivolous, counting too much on the luck they had.
From an article in the psychology magazine “Hearts and Minds”, 3074
“The FWL gets rich by producing supplies for the Units at the Clan-Front, it is mainly the Elsies and Dracs bleeding out and High command is already making plans where to stab the Lyrans in the back. Many will say that are politics at their best, this might be so, but if this noble parliament agrees to that, we become a piece of human manure! The Lyrans might be one of our oldest enemies, but anybody thinking that these Clan barbarians from outer Space are not the enemy of all the Inner Sphere is deluded.”
Duchess Therese Brett-Marik during a parliament debate on Atreus
“The Fourth Succession War - or better ‘the War graciously sponsored by Comstar’ in hindsight, might have been very short and our history books glow about how well the Federated Suns conducted it, but that is the official version. Both Hanse and I agreed immediately after gaining the whole picture that the political and diplomatic fallout of this war would bite us in the ass one day. Unfortunately we were right with our prediction.”
Marshal of the Armies Morgan Hasek-Davion in a talk with his aide 3051
“The stereotype of Elementals is being a walking mountain of muscle. Yes, there are examples of that, but what most people, even many Clanners, do not get is biology. Even with their genetic modifications and strength the Elementals are very tall. That impacts how your muscles are arranged and stretched across your skeleton. Look at Gudrun over there - every bit a Supermodel! Yes, models with Elemental blood won´t be as skinny as some models are, but as you see this does not hinder their rise often.”
Star designer Hans Glöckler in an interview during Mizar Fashion Week 3079
“It is an enormous honour to be here for the Opening of a University named for me on my birth-planet.”
Retired Archon Katrina Steiner in a speech during the opening ceremony of the Katrina-Steiner-University on Gallery 3060
“Your Grace, in military circles many smiles and sniggers are reserved for the fact, that in comparison with the size of the involved forces naturally, the biggest ‘Coup’ of the Clan Wars belongs to you and your system defence militia. Has it something to do with your special skills? During your active service in the LCAF you were renowned for your strategies, in special defensive ones.”
“I would lie, if I said I would not feel flattered a bit by your documentary, but our victory in the so-called ‘Battle of Finsterwalde’ is a victory by all people of Finsterwalde! Fights do not happen in a laboratory vacuum. many factors easily overlooked play their own roles. One measly factor can become the trigger of winning or losing a battle.
The Militia and I were just the visible, acting component of our community. Sweat and hard work before, saves blood in battle. And we got lucky as well. But remember, Luck is with the diligent!”
Markus von Finsterwalde in a documentary about the Clan Wars 3082
“How easily the buffoons of the Great houses can be put against each other if you dangle their greatest fears before them. Nobody recognises that we fooled them into action. We come ever closer to ‘Operation Revelation’.”
Myndo Waterly, Comstar Prima during the Fourth Succession War
