IS: Interlude: Lyran Update

The Lyran Commonwealth had changed so much in just eight years. In technology, territory, economic ability, and political sway. Katrina Steiner has presided over what seems to be a new Golden Age for the Lyran Commonwealth, and it is in large part thanks to securing a strong alliance with the House of Poniatowski in the Grand Duchy of New Ålborg and the Second Principality of Rasalhague. It was the signing of this alliance that heralded many of the changes that have seen the Lyran Commonwealth Thrive lately. That is not to say that the Lyran Commonwealth has only seen positive outcomes, however, as several challenges lie in waiting for the resurgent Successor State going forward.

First, we should speak of economics. The Lyran Commonwealth has traditionally been the most powerful economy in the Inner Sphere. It boasts a large manufacturing sector, and hundreds of corporations which manufacture everything from Battlemechs to Books. However, the supply chain for several of these corporations relied on heavy metals from worlds like Csesztreg, whose air and water had been severely poisoned by the mining operations, which in turn limited the amount of ore that could be mined. At the same time, various factories had components that had been damaged by the various succession wars or worn down with time, slowing the pace of production.

Lyran Industry was still the best in the Inner Sphere, but it needed revitalization to be more than a fraction of what it had been at its height. This revitalization began in the early Thirty-Twenties, when the Duke of Csesztreg purchased a license to manufacture Jamerson-Ulikov Water Purifiers from Colonial Industries, a subsidiary of Buccaneer Arms of New Ålborg, for a hefty sum. These water purifiers had been LosTech for centuries, only for the technology to be recovered by an expedition from Past Prologue Ltd, a LosTech Prospecting Company out of New Ålborg. The first of the newly produced Csesztreg Water Purifiers had been completed by Thirty-Twenty-Three, and by Thirty-Twenty-Seven, Csesztreg had largely purified vast swathes of ground and ocean water that had previously been poisoned, allowing the world to support more mining colonies than at any point since the fall of the Star League.

At the same time, Defiance Industries had purchased new tooling for various component production lines from New Ålborg via Colonial Industries, while Baker Pharmaceuticals bought licenses to produce various medicines from Tortage Pharmaceuticals, a Company likewise from New Ålborg. Various license agreements and purchases from the seemingly ever-growing list of innovations coming out of New Alborg helped the Industry of the Lyran Commonwealth revive into a major juggernaut beyond what it had been previously. While it had always been the largest manufacturer in the Inner Sphere, by Thirty-Twenty-Eight, Lyran Industry was leaving its nearest competition, the Federated Suns, in the dust when it came to manufacturing. Nor was industry the only field that was revitalized.

The LCAF had likewise undergone a massive shift in capability. This had come largely based on the performance of new models of Aerospace Fighter, Battlemech, and Combat Vehicles that had proven so effective during the last stages of the Third Succession War. These were the Rifleman Two, Sabre Two, and Scorpion Two, which had been purchased in large numbers from Buccaneer Arms in New Ålborg. Along with the new medicines, providing excellent care for wounded troops, and the Specialized Ammunition that had been purchased in bulk from Buccaneer Arms, these innovations had allowed the LCAF to dominate the forces of the Draconis Combine in the Rasalhague Theatre, a task only helped by the constant unrest stirred up by Guerilla Groups on Rasalhagian Worlds.

Because of the massive gains seen by the LCAF using these new models, the LCAF had not only purchased large quantities of spare parts after the war, but also began to purchase Conversion Kits to convert the Griffins they used so many of into Refit Models, boasting the Ferro-Fibrous Armor and other upgrades that made the Griffins a force to be reckoned with. They also bought licenses and the tooling to produce various pieces of military equipment from Buccaneer Arms. It was a truly staggering exchange of material and C-bills that would see New Ålborg gain in wealth immensely while upgrading the LCAF's fighting ability considerably.

Currently, the First, Second, and Third Royal Guards Regiments have been completely rebuilt around the new equipment, and half of the First Lyran Guards Division, plus three regiments each of the Tamar Marines and Tamar Jaegers. All told, some thirteen Regiments have been upgraded so far, with more to come in the future. Of course, that isn't all that has been done, as various initiatives have been put forward for Homegrown Lyran Designs using the newly introduced technologies. One such plan has been an attempt to redesign the Atlas Two Prototype that had been produced during the Amaris Civil War using equipment licenses from New Ålborg. That is slow-going, but progress is being seen.

Other, more successful projects include the Manticore Two Heavy Tank, mounting a Heavy PPC, Ferro-Fibrous Armor, an XL Fusion Engine, and Streak LRM-Ten Launchers. Manticore Twos are currently being produced by Defiance Industries for the LCAF. There is one more project, though it is being carried out in secret. The Refurbishment of the mothballed fleet of crippled Mako-class Corvettes in the shipyards of New Ålborg. Already, a few of the venerable ships have been rebuilt and refurbished, with more on the way. This has given the LCAF a limited number of actual WarShips to fight with, something that it seems most of the Successor States are working on.

Politically, the Lyran Commonwealth's strong alliance with the Grand Duchy of New Ålborg has carried over into a strong alliance with the Second Principality of Rasalhague. At the same time, the Federated Suns are, if not allies, then at least friendly neutrals, just based on who their primary opponents in war tend to be. Of course, the Lyran Primary adversary in geopolitics has always been either the Draconis Combine or the Free Worlds League, depending on the era. That has not changed, of course, but now the Lyrans have allies to face off against the Mariks and Kuritas alongside them.

At the same time, there is the situation of the House of Steiner. The Archon, Katrina Steiner, was diagnosed with a rare form of Cancer early enough to treat it successfully, thanks to the medical scanners provided by the Grand Duke of Ålborg, Jozef Poniatowski, as a token of their alliance. Had the Archon not had those scanners, it is likely that cancer would have stayed completely undetected for a decade or more, metastasizing until it could no longer hide. At that point, it would have been far too late to do anything about and it would be up to the teenage Archon-Designate, Melissa Steiner, to lead the Lyran Commonwealth in her Mother's Stead.

Speaking of Melissa Steiner, there have been questions about who she is to marry. The hope is to secure another alliance with a Royal Marriage. Names Such as Jozef Poniatowski, Morgan Hasek-Davion, and even people from further afield, such as Edward Calderon, the Heir to Protector Thomas Calderon of the Taurian Concordat. Melissa Steiner is currently Eighteen Years Old, and the youngest of these three named suitors, Morgan Hasek-Davion, is still six years her senior, with the oldest, Jozef Poniatowski, being eleven years her senior. Such things, however, are far from unheard of in the politics of dynastic alliances among the Great Houses of the Sphere.

Regardless of which potential husband is chosen by the Archon-Designate, all will bring benefits. Two will bring alliances with powerful Star Nations, while one is a marriage with an already allied Star Nation, though it will, by necessity, deepen that alliance considerably. No matter which way the House of Steiner goes, they, and by extension, the Lyran Commonwealth, will benefit.

Territorially, the Lyran Commonwealth is larger than it had been before the Third Succession War. This is because of the capture of planets like New Caledonia and Weingarten from the Draconis Combine or Chertan and Wing from the Free Worlds' League. At the same time, they gained a valuable buffer against Combine aggression in the form of the Second Principality of Rasalhague. Honestly, if anyone can be said to have won the Third Succession War, it is the Lyran Commonwealth, currently larger in territory and power than it had been in a very long time. Unfortunately, that is not entirely a good thing.

The LCAF is riding high on its successes, possibly even too much so. The spectre of victory disease looms large over the LCAF High Command on Tharkad. At the same time, not only have their enemies in the Draconis Combine and Free Worlds' League made common cause with each other, but they have also done the same with the Capellan Confederation. At the same time, the Archon's own Cousin, Frederick Steiner, has conquered a realm in the Periphery that will allow the Tristar Alliance to flank the Lyran Commonwealth should a Fourth Succession War break out and Frederick join in to unseat his hated Cousin. He has been seen meeting with Janos Marik on Niops, after all, and it is likely that such discussions involved him joining the Tristar Alliance. At the same time, there is internal dissent based in Skye, as Aldo Lestrade and his Free Skye Movement, though not overtly, given Katrina's Popularity, agitate for secession of the Federation of Skye from the Lyran Commonwealth.

It is unfortunate that so many potential opponents have come out of the woodwork to oppose the Lyrans, but success has a way of breeding jealousy and anger, especially among the successor houses. Should all these enemies find a way to combine themselves, the Lyran Commonwealth may very well be brought to its knees. Meanwhile, the Victory Disease inherent in the planning of the LCAF High Command may mean the LCAF is insufficient to stem the tide of advance as the Lyrans find themselves surrounded by enemies.

As to timing, all of these challenges are likely to come to a head before a decade has passed. It is highly likely that a fourth succession war will break out at some point by the Mid-Thirty-Thirties at the latest, as some analysts believe that the Kuritas and Mariks have already made moves towards modernization of their forces and political advancement of their cause. The Lyrans and their allies seem to be flanked on three sides, and the question of whether or not the Lyran Commonwealth can survive when they do has yet to be seen. The Lyrans are powerful and have strong allies, but that may or may not be enough to weather the storm entirely. However, there is one thing for certain. The Lyran Commonwealth will be in for interesting times in a few years.

And they may need every inch of their newfound power to survive it. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next update. I promised you guys a look at the Lyran Position in the Inner Sphere next, so that's what I've done here. The Lyrans are in a good position, they won the Third Succession War and are pretty damn powerful, but they also made a shitload of enemies and LCAF High Command has succumbed to victory disease. It's likely that when the Fourth Succession War Starts, the Lyrans are going to be on the Back Foot for a while and will need to be able to hold out and weather the storm before they can strike back at all.

I tried to do this in the style of, like, a history textbook blurb from study materials at NAIS or an intelligence report about Lyran Capabilities and their Geopolitical Position, or something. Let me know if you guys would prefer I switch back to character-focused stuff for these updates. If so, I can do something else for the next one.

Speaking of the next one, the next chapter will be a look at how the FedSuns are doing, similar to this one. If you'd prefer a more character-focused version of that, let me know. Either way, we'll be back with Jozef for Katrina's Arrival after that.

Stay tuned. . .