Chapter 59

Over the next few months or so, various things had to happen in both New Ålborg and Rasalhague in order for me to feel comfortable launching Operation: Gotterdamerung. First off was the signing of our Trade Deal with the Outworlds Alliance which would bring in so many C-Bills that it would be almost as lucrative as our trade deals with the LCAF.

First off, we were contracted to build them forty Sabre Two Light Aerospace Fighters, forty Corsair Two Medium Aerospace Fighters, and four Leopard CV Two-Class Group Carriers. These were to be delivered by thirty-thirty and would bring in one-point-one-billion C-Bills just from that, but that wasn't all. We were also producing three regiments' worth of Stinger Conversion Kits, plus Hundreds of tons of specialized munitions and missiles, plus license fees for my LRM-Carrier Twos and Scorpion Twos to Alliance Defenders Limited. By the time everything was said and done, we would be making just over two billion C-bills off the deal.

That of course, wasn't counting the potential for future business involving a potential jointly-developed new Mech Model between Alliance Defenders Limited and Buccaneer Arms. I had already workshopped a few ideas, but it seemed as if things were heading toward an alternate version of the Stinger Two-C on that front. Only time would tell, however, as until we began to deliver on our end of the deal, and the Outworlds Militia was able to test out the new equipment, any talk of a potential new jointly-developed Battlemech was extremely premature.

Fortunately, over the next few months, factories began to open on Jápminboddu, Givrodat, Sentarus, and Skilland, Minister Kovar and her people had worked like hell to get them up and running before the end of thirty-twenty-seven. This was good, because as we tasked them to begin producing, we did so with a few things in mind, not just the deals we'd made with the Outworlds Alliance, but also our own needs. Minister Maczek's People had several designs for new versions of the Rampage and Griffin Battlemechs along with the Scorpion Two, Hipparch, and Ignis Tanks. They had been burning a hole in their back pocket and would now be put into production to better equip my forces.

This process would be ongoing, but First Guards was kitted out in a month and training, with Second, Third, and Fourth Guards to follow. By the time we began Operation: Gotterdamerung in December of thirty-twenty-seven, we would have three regiments completely equipped with their new equipment. That, by the way, freed up the old equipment for transfer to the KungsArmé, though the equipping and training there was slow going, extremely so.

It wasn't that First through Third Drakøns were bad at their jobs, per se. They were very good at waging a guerilla war against a superior foe with scattershot equipment and a shoestring budget. That had largely been the kind of war the various resistance movements in Rasalhague had been fighting for years before independence, after all. When it came to combined arms warfare and stand-up fights, however, they needed a lot of practice.

It also didn't help that I was effectively standardizing their equipment on a completely new set of standards. Most of their Mechwarriors and Combat Vehicle Crews only knew how to operate Lyran or Combine machines, and most of their technicians only knew how to repair those same machines. We had to send instructors and technical advisors to the KungsArmé in order to rectify this problem. By the end of the year, I could confidently say that First Drakøns was at least familiar enough with their new machines to be considered a Regular and Reliable Unit, though Second and Third Drakøns would need work to get there.

It was my hope that by the time that a new war broke out, the KungsArmé would have at least some units that could be considered veterans on their new equipment, but only time would tell. At the current rate of training and equipping, Second and Third Drakøns would only reach a regular and reliable status at the end of next year, though First Drakons would likely be pushing into Veteran Territory. Then I would begin working on Fourth and Fifth Drakøns, though if they were anything like Second and Third Drakøns, it would likely take until Thirty-Thirty-One to get them up to an acceptable status, leaving only three years to actually expand the KungsArmé in any meaningful capacity.

On the economic side for Rasalhague, Swedenborg Heavy Industries, GKT Enterprises, and Amau Electronics were seeing their fortunes rise, as their partnerships with Buccaneer Arms and Ny Roskilde Teknik Företag, or NRTF, which manufactured the Water Purifiers, Storm Inhibitors, Soletta Arrays, Planetary Comms Systems, and other such things, allowed them to bring in some much-needed capital with sales of not only things to improve civilian life but also some of my military designs for sale abroad. This included sales of equipment to the AFFS to equip the First, Second, and Third Davion Guards, alongside sales of Sabre Two and Corsair Two Aerospace Fighters and Leopard CV Two-Class Group Carriers and Achilles Two-Class Gunboats to both the AFFS, and surprisingly the Magistracy Armed Forces in the Magistracy of Canopus.

That last bit surprised me somewhat, but as soon as I saw who had negotiated the deal, it all made sense. It seemed that investing in Erica Cortez-Centrella had paid off in a big-time contract worth another Two-point-one-billion C-bills. The FedSuns Deal would be worth a further one-point-nine-billion C-bills. With ten percent going to me to pay back my investments in their Companies, giving me a further four-hundred-million C-bills to my coffers, that left three-point-six-billion C-bills for the Economy of Rasalhague not dependent on my investments, provided our partner companies could deliver on their promises.

Of course, aside from all that, things proceeded apace with various ongoing issues. I'd been told of our victory on Callinius the day after my coronation, but Minister Jonsson was still untangling the web of corruption that gripped large sections of Apsalar. He was making headway though. I still wouldn't expect him to have it all figured out until sometime in thirty-twenty-eight, though. It seemed the major criminal networks were only half the battle. There were several majorly corrupt executives within Apsalar Greens Incorporated that would need careful planning to remove and arrest.

Meanwhile, Minister O'Neill reported the successful inoculation of most of the populations of New Ålborg, Iron Land, Star's End, Lackhove, Zertarum, Butte Hold, and Oberon Six against Pingree Fever and Darr's Disease using Star League-Derived Medical Technologies, and that the vaccine rollout is continuing on our other worlds. Apparently, by Thirty-Forty, both Pingree Fever and Darr's Disease should be completely eradicated as a concern within the Grand Duchy.

Minister Maczek's people, meanwhile, had come up with a preliminary design for the Ugraded Varulv Power Armor which blended the combat strengths of the Nighthawk Power Armor with the Stealth Capabilities of the Prototype Varulv Suits my forces had used on Callinius. Those had begun being put into production alongside the other equipment, though only First Guards would have the proper Varulv Suits by the end of the year, with Second Guards making do with the prototype suits. Their Jump Infantry Equipment went to First and Second Drakøns of the KungsArmé, just as had their other old equipment.

Then there was foreign affairs. It seemed that Katrina and my joint statement of our official couplehood had not gone down well on Tharkad. Minister Kowalski had chided me for not thinking of the potential political consequences of such a match.

"The Archon knows that if you were to marry Katrina Watson, she would, in effect, be forced to give up Apollo and the Nine Worlds that House Watson controls. I've been told her response to the news was short, succinct, and not entirely meant for polite company." Intoned Minister Kowalski.

"You've really stepped into a political quagmire here. On the one hand, the Archon knows that you're an Ally and have good intentions, on the other, she can't be seen as just allowing territory to slip away for nothing. Not with her cousin playing Periphery Warlord in the Lothian League and Illyrian Palatinate. If she lets you marry Katrina, and lets the worlds of House Watson slip out of Tharkad's Grip without getting something out of it, that will only embolden those who say that Frederick Steiner never would have allowed it. That kind of talk would invite a challenge to her position." Explained Minister Simowitz.

"Even if I offered to divest the Grand Duchy of Apollo and those worlds to a second son of Katrina's and mine?" I questioned.

"Even then. You'd effectively be founding a cadet branch of a foreign Royal Line in Lyran Territory. While that might calm some, others wouldn't be so sanguine about it." Nodded Minister Kowalski.

"Isn't that something that's been done before, though?" I queried.

"And nine times out of ten, it only causes further strife as competing claims to various titles turn into brush wars that then turn into actual wars. Just look at the mess that is the World of Brighton in the St Ives Commonality. At least part of the reason that the Davions keep attacking the Liaos is that the Duke of Tancredi in the Federated Suns has a claim through a cadet branch of his house on Brighton, giving the Davions a justification to keep their attacks up." Informed Minister Simowitz.

"So what can we do here, anything?" I asked.

"Certainly your idea isn't a bad one. It's just a start, however. You'll likely have to give the Archon something as a sweetener, to make the bitter pill of losing nine worlds palatable." Informed Minister Kowalski.

"Firstly, your father's twenty-seven-percent stake in the Otisburg Factory is likely something to trade away, alongside licenses to produce certain technologies. I'd offer our Varulv, Mauser Nine-Sixty, Improved Jump Pack, and Sneaksuit Designs to start with. They'll probably take that, but if they don't, offer to recognize Lyran Control of a swathe of Worlds stretching from the Lyran Border at New India and Viborg, west to Otisburg, and North to Janina in the Aquila Rift. Those ten worlds have been effectively economic puppets to the Lyrans for several decades, ever since your father set up shop on Otisburg with their help, but the Lyrans haven't tried to formally annex them yet. If you pledge to recognize their annexation as well as offer up your stake in the Otisburg Factory and those licenses, it should be just sweet enough to let them swallow the bitter pill of losing Apollo." Explained Minister Simowitz.

"I see. Then that is what I will offer, assuming this thing with Katrina works out, at least." I agreed.

"Best to offer it sooner rather than later, if only to soothe any of our biggest ally's ruffled feathers." Cautioned Minister Kowalski.

"Do it then." I concurred.

"That brings us to another issue. Frederick Steiner." Remarked Minister Simowitz.

"Yes, from what I've heard, he's overrun both the Circinius Federation and the majority of the Lothian League, while also taking the independent world of Valerius. In one year, he's managed to seize fifteen worlds. The Lyrans are concerned." Opined Minister Kowalski.

"They should be. Every indication my Agents could find points toward Frederick Steiner being a puppet of the Tristar Alliance." Scoffed Minister Simowitz.

"The fact remains that it's likely that he'll be able to take over the rest of the Lothian League and the Illyrian Palatinate by June next year at the latest." Frowned Minister Kowalski.

"He probably won't even stop there. Choex, Reval, and New Saint Andrews are right there and relatively low-hanging fruit. Then there will be an empire of Twenty-Five Worlds right on the Border with which to flank the Lyrans." Pointed out Minister Simowitz.

"Those worlds are hardly great hubs of industry or commerce. I'm not sure how he could stabilize his new conquests. After all, he doesn't have my advantages. What good will those worlds do him if they're barely developed?" I questioned.

"No, he doesn't have your advantages, but then he doesn't need them." Intoned Minister Kowalski.

"Exactly. Not with Janos Marik opening his checkbook to him, at any rate." Agreed Minister Simowitz.

"So what are you saying? I should prepare an expeditionary force to hit Frederick Steiner with a pre-emptive strike?" I queried.

"No. No, you should not." Refuted Minister Kowalski.

"I think the most we can do here is forward our intelligence to our Lyran Allies and trust that they'll have a plan in place by the time the next war kicks off." Added Minister Simowitz.

"Is that really everything we can do?" I asked.

"Sometimes, life just happens that way. And the only thing that we can do is trust our allies." Shrugged Minister Kowalski.

"Besides, we have other concerns. The Deadline for Operation: Gotterdamerung's Start is in two days. General Jorgensen assures me that First through Fourth Guards are ready, as are First and Second Flotillas. My own agents have been surveilling things on Von Strang's World for a few months now. The Local Forces are in a heightened state of readiness for attack and have been so for at least the past three months. That sort of thing can cause morale to run down and strength and awareness to fray. Considering that we now have close to ninety percent of the Baron's various traps mapped out thanks to both our electronic and physical surveillance, and I'm certain we can pull this off, as is General Jorgensen." Reminded Minister Simowitz.

"And General Jorgensen isn't here to tell me this himself because?" I pressed.

"He's making absolutely sure that the Regiments are qualified on their new equipment and can fight with the skill they're accustomed to." Answered Minister Kowalski.

"In other words, he's supervising any last-minute equipment checks before the balloon goes up. He's also looking over the supply situation and double-checking we have enough ammunition, food, medicine, spare parts, and so on to sustain the campaign." Smirked General Simowitz.

"No rest for the weary, I see." I mused.

"Of course not, My Lord. Haven't you figured that out by now?" Grinned Minister Kowalski.

It was true enough. My day lasted until well past midnight, as I had to do various administrative tasks, while also approving several measures that the Riketsråd had voted on and sent to me for ratification. It was all very harmless, mostly involving matters of the Krona and how it should be valued. I'd helped in that by forwarding various suggestions to and from my allies in the Periphery Faction of ComStar, and we wound up pegging the Rasalhague Krona as sixty-five percent of the value of a C-Bill. That was the same as what the Capellans currently had, indicating that ComStar, the premier arbiter of things economic in the Sphere, had faith in the Principality to catch up to the Capellans and to possibly exceed them economically in the short-to-medium term.

As an aside, I was informed during this that the value of the New Ålborg Gulden was up for renegotiation and that Precentor Hope had taken the liberty of pegging it at half a C-Bill, which was quite a jump from the third of a C-Bill it had been valued at before. Apparently, the Primus and Precentor ROM were too busy with their own internal power struggle to pay much mind to this suggestion and the Financial Services Department seemed to sign off on Precentor Hope's calculations regarding our economy. That was a nice economic boost that was going to be needed going forward.

After all, it seemed like Von Strang's World was going to be one of the last easy targets for me to conquer. The only other one I could think of would be the Chainelaine Isles. Most of the other independent worlds in the area would just plain not be worth bringing in, as I'd have to invest heavily in them to make them productive. Everything else would be in the Sphere, where the Successor States were already beginning to shake off the technical stagnation that had given me such an advantage.

As I prepared to head to war once again, I couldn't help but feel that I had turned a corner here. I had a large Empire of soon-to-be forty worlds, many of which were reasonably built up and technically advanced. I had the crown of Rasalhague, which provided me with a further forty-five extremely built-up worlds of a decent level of technical sophistication. My Armies were some of the best around, the same for my fleets, and while my economy may lag behind the other major players, it was only going to get better from here.

It felt like I was nearing the end of the beginning, and that things would only get more difficult after this. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. It was a bit timeskippy, as we jumped several months to December of Thirty-Twenty-Seven and the start of Operation Gotterdamerung. I did this the way I did instead of using yet another Council Meeting Scene because I wanted to break up the constant Council Meeting Scenes. Let me know if you guys prefer the other way.

We've caught up to the start of Operation: Gotterdamerung and the Conquest of Von Strang's World. After he conquers there, the only remaining low-hanging fruit that's worth it to conquer would be the Chainelaine Isles. He wasn't wrong when he said that this would be the end of the beginning. The Tristars are making moves, not only to modernize and rebuild their forces but also to try and position themselves as the winners of the next conflict, as illustrated by how they're backing Frederick Steiner. The difficulty curve is going to go up soon enough.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the beginning of Operation: Gotterdamerung.

Stay tuned. . .