My Khan,
As requested, we have given extra attention to the latest Absorption. Given that it was the Ravens' greatest rival suggests either great planning or the Devil's luck. I believe we can agree it is the former, and an example of the Raven's manipulation of their “friends” to further their goals.
After the first two decisive battles, the rest of the Absorbtion wound down to bringing forces to bear against Viper enclaves before other clans moved in. Their response to outside interference has been dependent on the clan involved, from an open invitation to the Ghost Bears to what appears to be the start of a feud with the Wolves.
I have included a summary of the territorial, material, and diplomatic changes that have emerged in the wake of this conflict.
Territory
Raven territorial gains have been modest, limited to just a pair of enclaves on Arcadia and New Kent, with New Kent being the greater.
In true paranoid Snow Ravens fashion, they have removing all lower castemen of supervisor postion and above from all their captured enclaves, replacing them with their own. This appears to have been taken to an extreme where blood chapels are concerned, removing all ex-Viper castemen. These actions have severely hamstrung all production from these two enclaves.
The Ravens' inherited Bearclaw enclave has seen new activity as the Vipers' orbital dropship factories have been moved there. Instead of bringing the old Ghost Bear facility back into production, they have instead focused on using the mines to supply other facilities in their control. Even Lum seems to be receiving ore and chemicals from Bearclaw, presumably for the increased naval demands.
The Ravens have so far managed to rebuff probing attacks from Coyotes on New Kent, Adders on Arcadia, and Wolves on Circe. There is a distinct lack of movement from both the Hell's Horse and Jade Falcons, which we assume is due to their focus on the Inner Sphere.
Production
The Lum shipyards have been working fervently to bring their warships, both original members and newly acquired isorla, back into operation. It has been eight months since the end of the absorption and all but the Dark Asp are back in service. We have also spotted a Kimagure in a slip, under going upgrades.
The Bearclaw dropship facilities appear to be in full production, evidenced by the quantity of hull paint they've purchased from us. Recent attempts to purchased a star of Broadswords was denied, with the explanation of "That line is in not in production at this time." We believe they are running two line of Noruff ships. Aside from processing facilities, no other production facilities are operating.
As stated previously, all the former Viper production lines on New Kent have been re-organized and possibly re-tooled. We know that the Ravens have acquired Salamander battle armor and Warhawk production rights from the Fire Mandrills, along with Kodiak rights from the Bears. This may mark a fundamental shift in the Ravens; no longer resource starved, they are producing their own heavy machines.
I have included a quick rundown of their remaining holdings.
Arcadia: Similar situation as New Kent. The Blood Chapels are busy but no new sibkos are being produced.
Hellgate: Still producing germanium. No changes worth noting.
Circe: Producing mechs and armor, but the Ravens seem exporting these to other clans. This seems to support the theory that the Ravens are overhauling their touman.
Relations
The surprise attack on the Steel Vipers and the subsequent Snow Raven victories have changed the current power dynamic. I have therefore provided a brief rundown current Raven relations with the other Clans.
Blood Spirit: Remaining a strong Raven trading partner, they have secured about half of all the Ravens' ex-Viper sibkos, as well as several science castemen. This has helped offset their losses from the "punishment trials" clan Star Adder is staging against them.
Cloud Cobra: Appear to be doing a dance of trade without being overly friendly. With the Cobras and Adders having stronger ties with each other, the Ravens have become very wary of the larger clan.
Coyote: After testing the Snow Ravens holding on New Kent, they seem willing to accept them as a neighbor. Of note, the Coyotes fared poorly against both the Ravens' and Cobras' heavy aero defenses. It is quite likely that the Coyotes have recognized this and are working on appropriate countermeasures.
Fire Mandrill: Previously, the only contact the Ravens had to them was through the Blood Spirits, but they have since discovered our own method of success when dealing with the Fire Mandrils; treating each Kindraa as a separate clan and employing different sets of personnel for each one. The Ravens appear to be selling of surplus equipment to obtain capital, and not just from their recent Steel Viper acquisitions. This further lends evidence to the Ravens overhauling their touman and leads us to believe this will only have a short-term impact on our trade. Once these stores are depleted, trade relations should return to the status quo.
Ghost Bear: Still an active ally, despite their distance. The Bears received several sibkos as well as several batches of second line mechs, bolstering losses from the Combine War, the Hell's Horse incursion, and Wolf battles. At the time of this report the Hell's Horse have lost all three systems they took from the Bears.
Goliath Scorpion: Relationships between these two clans appear to have cooled post-absorption. We are unsure if this is a trust issue due to the Scorpions' close ties with the Wolves or due to inward examination of the Ravens after the absorption.
Hell Horse: After trials concluded on Bearclaw, these two clans seem to be willing to ignore one another. With the expected return of the Horse Khan, things may change.
Ice Hellions: It's hard to see anyone getting along with Taney's Hellions, and the Ravens are no exception. After losing territory to them in the Fury campaign, the Ravens are likely to conduct reprisal strikes.
Jade Falcon: After the split between these two clans (no small relief to most; the Falcon fleet is large enough on its own, but bolstered with Raven ships they were untouchable), Khan Pryde seems sarisfied with name calling. For their part, the Ravens seem content with keeping an eye on Falcon movement but otherwise ignoring them.
Star Adder: Relations have remained strained as the Adders have expanded their fleet, which the Ravens see as a possible challenge. The mutual defense agreement between the Adders and Cobras only strengthens these concerns.
Wolf: With the perceived theft of Grant's Station and its two defending Viper clusters, Clan Snow Raven has been waging retaliatory trials for Wolf production, specifically Timber Wolf and Dire Wolf batches. While the Wolves have successfully defended their production, it has not been a fair exchange. Retaliatory strikes on Circe are only costing Vlad more matériel and manpower. Thanks to attempts by the Bears to retake other former Rasalhague worlds, Vlad has been forced to keep most of his attention on his Inner Sphere holdings.
Conclusion
We are seeing a clan settling itself after absorbing another, with the addition of so many jump and warship even the Ravens Naval support must be feeling the strain.
Aside from the cluster worth of troops in Alpha Galaxy, the newly formed Zeta Galaxy is the only formation with any Viper troops.This new galaxy is armed with second-line equipment and almost entirely staffed by former Viper warriors, accounting for 90% of the galaxy's personnel. Three Phalanx Clusters, two Armor Clusters and only one Mech Cluster, each covered by a single Binary of aerofighters makes this a very familiar Viper galaxy. Khan McKenna seems willing to deploy these troops with the organization structure they are already familiar with, but does not trust them to hold any command positions and are always deployed alongside Alpha Galaxy forces.
Our analysis suggests this force would most likely be deployed in a “bite and hold” attack. We've identified three of our holdings that have the highest probability of being targeted: Strato Domingo for our Hargel, Priori for the oil fields, and Kirin/Albion for the Naval yards. One final possibility is a move to the Inner Sphere.
We will continue to keep a close eye on the Snow Ravens, as they have always shown to have a knife in the shadows.
With respects, Khan Barbara Sennet
Watch Star Captain Orsen
April 3063
