Scavenged Restoration 33

Commissioned by RoyalTwinFang

Scavenged Restoration

Chapter 33

-VB-

“What should we do?”

It was the question of the century. 

It had been a long time since the Free Worlds League had an external ally. 

It had never happened before that a member of the Free Worlds League broke off and attacked said ally. 

Never.

“The duchess’s sudden secession has left most of us in a small dilemma, though it was not without reason as we understand it,” Countess Elizabeth Montcalm, the Countess of Kendall and its representative in the Parliament, spoke up in front of the gathered press that had been waiting outside the Parliament. Though she considered them to be nothing more than sharks feasting on every drop of blood, this was a moment where their presence was crucial and necessary. “Due to the Captain-General’s sudden stroke and collapse into coma, we are left without a leadership who can maintain order within the Parliament and give us direction.”

Her speech established three things. 

First, by stating that the captain-general’s absence was what gave the Parliament a lack of direction, she wasn’t outright blaming him but nonetheless placing an emphasis on the fact that the captain-general had too much power.

Second, by speaking as if most of the representatives were in a dilemma, it showed that they weren’t about to go on a crusade to “reconquer” a province of the Free Worlds League in any aggressive manner without the whole consent of the Parliament and thus showing everyone that disagreement with your neighbor did not mean they would turn the League’s militaries upon them. 

Third, by claiming that the duchess had some reason, she was establishing a precedent where not unreasonable secession was … not off the table for other members of the Free Worlds League.

Of course, everyone within the Parliament understood that as soon as the captain-general woke up or there was either an interim or new captain-general, the League would pull the renegade duchy back into its place within the League. Otherwise, there will be trouble. 

First off, by unilaterally declaring independence without due process of the law, Duchess Humphreys severely weakened the laws of the Free Worlds League, and the League could not allow that to stand. 

Two, the duchess, right after declaring independence, attacked the League’s ally. Which could not be allowed to stand. 

Three, the duchess, right after declaring independence, allied with a foreign power right at the League’s doorstep which could not be allowed to stand.

In fact, there were those within the League vocally demanding the League go to war to rein in the “rebellion.” 

However, the Parliament, being what it was, was torn on the how’s and why’s and when’s and what’s and could not come to any agreement. Hell, one-third of the Parliament was even debating on whether or not they should help the confederation despite the fact that they were still allies! 

They were idiots! All of them! 

“However, the Parliament and the representatives are all doing what we can to prepare the League for the future to come. Though we are not declaring war upon our Andurien brothers and sisters, it is clear that they do not consider us as warmly as we do. To that end, we have, for now, agreed to put a trade ban on our corporations from doing business with Andurien corporations.”

That immediately sparked a fire within the press and independent journalists.

How could she?! (even though she was not the Parliament).

Entrepreneurship, business, and the freedom to operate one’s own business was the core of the Free Worlds League! The government couldn’t dictate that! 

But no, they have done so before, they have done so now, and they will do so in the future. 

She ignored the outrage among the few and continued on. 

“If you wish to see who voted in favor of passing the latest bill regarding trade with the Duchy of Andurien, please refer to the local net and archives. What I am here to state is that the Parliament, in the absence of the captain-general, remains strong and will hold the League until he awakes and is fit for duty. That is all. Is there any questions?”

Everyone raised their hands. 

“You there,” she said as she pointed to someone in the middle of the pack. 

That made two reporters jump up, stop, glare at each other, and then promptly get into a fight. 

She instead turned to another journalist at the front while the security guards dragged the fighting journalists out of the room.

“Countess Montcalm, how did you vote in this latest bill?” he asked. 

She wanted to glare at him. “I voted against the bill, even though I had no corporation working on Kendall that directly or indirectly worked with Andurien corporations,” she replied. “The integrity of the League is important right now when we have just gained an advantage over the Lyrans. Squabbling between ourselves, though it happens, should not be the focus. Instead, we should be working diplomatically to embrace our Andurien siblings back into our fold.”

She pointed to another journalist. 

“And what will happen if the Anduriens reject all efforts? And the captain-general is not awake.”

She glared. “Then we will raise up arms. The Duchess of Andurien seceded without consulting Parliament. Though we understand she did so out of frustration and want to peacefully return her and the duchy to its proper place, we cannot allow such unilateral action to stand!” 

“What if the Capellans get to them before we do?!” someone else shouted.

And that seemed to shut them all up in anticipation.

She hesitated. It was true that the Capellans were … different. They weren’t like themselves from the past decade when they were headed by Chancellor Maximillian Liao. The Capellans under Chancellor William Liao was … fanatical. More, they were willing fanatics who threw themselves onto battlemech cockpits with nothing but a suicide vest where before fanaticism had been much more lax and lip-serviced under the previous chancellor. 

They unnerved her. 

More than that, the current Capellans had a record of defeating overwhelming odds. 

… At the same time, there were those who wanted to see if the Capellans were as powerful on an offensive instead of in the defense. It was one thing to possess fortress worlds but another to be able to utilize the same military to push out into an offensive. 

There were those who wanted to know if the Capellans could be turned into a … 

Not exactly a client state but … well, it wouldn’t hurt to call it a buffer state between the League and the Federated Suns. 

Despite the unmitigated disaster the Fourth Succession War turned out to be for the Federated Suns, they still gained land and direct access to their allies. It didn’t matter that the Lyrans were the ones who were given the Tikonov Commonality. What mattered was that should the next Succession War break out, there will be AFFS troops and mechs on the ground in Tikonov Commonality and right on the border worlds of the Free Worlds League. 

There were those who wanted to see if the Capellans would be a useful ally in the future, because the best way to get one’s ally to push beyond their borders was to appeal to their desire, after all. 

Elizabeth was one such individual who wanted to know.

Because if the Capellans failed to strike into Canopian and Andurien heart worlds within the first two years of the war? That they didn't have the military power to project themselves beyond their borders? 

Well, it would certainly make a lot of people along the Capellan border feel safe after their show of force against an overwhelming enemy. 

But second, it might just give the League a chance to potentially turn the Capellans into a true buffer state instead of this uneasy alliance they have right now. Their hated enemy turned into a shield against their future enemies.

It was such an ironic fantasy that they had to know if it was possible. So they let the Anduriens go. For now. But once the experiment came to an end, they’ll be reeled back in.

One way or another.

“I doubt that the Capellans will,” she replied with a firm shake of her head. “After all, the Capellans are exhausted.”

-VB-

And exhausted, they were. 

But not exhausted enough. 

I turned off the holovid before turning to look back at the noteputer resting on my desk and the report on its screen. 

It was a report about troop movement, and by now, the sixteen regiments of the CCAF should be either jumping into the besieged systems or already landing on the beleaguered worlds. 

On the surface, it was an even match. It was just four more combined arms regiment than what the Canopians and the Anduriens had in the field. However, Canopians in particular were … green. Greener than even the officer corp that my father left me in his death.

See, Canopians haven’t had a real war in centuries. They were Space Vegas and they knew it. They poured their effort into diplomacy, medicine, and casinos! Why would they need to go to war? The most violence Canopian mercenaries, soldiers, and officers ever saw were pirate raids. And maybe that one Marian Hegemony raid, too, but even that wasn’t a real war. The ones I had to watch out for were the Anduriens and then whatever mercenaries the two states hired.

I looked at the list of big mercenaries that were currently on the Canopian-Andurien roster. 

Tooth of Ymir, Caseser’s Cohorts, Hudsenn’s Red Devils, Carson’s Renegades, and Killer Bees. Each of them boasted a regiment. Each of them had enough history and achievements behind them to make life hard for my troops. 

For example, Ernst Murdoch (yes, descended from that Murdoch) was a solid mechwarrior, pilot, infantry, armored, and learned officer in charge of the Killer Bees since 3025. He was someone whose records showed a rather large number of victories. I was … very reluctant to let him live should he decide to stick it out with the Canopians. I might even go so far as to say that he was one of the top ten most experienced officers in the entire Canopian-Andurien alliance! 

The other mercenary officer I was wary of was Davis Heller, the colonel leading the Tooth of Ymir mercenary regiment. They were, in fact, a recent addition who signed up with the Duchy of Andurien no more than three months ago. While the Tooth of Ymir was not as decorated as the Killer Bees were, they were still veterans who would be able to run circles around most of my green militia. 

These were all facts I had already digested months ago, which was why both Killer Bees and the Tooth of Ymir would be facing off against their peers within my realm.

The 15th Dracon Regiment for the Tooth of Ymir and 2nd McCarron’s Armored Cavalry under Colonel Marcus Barton against the Killer Bees. This was, of course, on top of the existing militia forces and my own CCAF supporting those two mercenary regiments with an additional CCAF regiment each.

I had a plan, and it involved a war that didn’t immediately overwhelm and crush the Canopians and Anduriens with overwhelming numbers. 

See, the Fourth Succession War had been too short for my officers and troops to experiment with doctrines. It was all too hectic and desperate. But now, a chance, which I had been expecting, had come to me. I intended to use this war as an excuse to reform the CCAF while also testing the experimental mechs on their effectiveness. 

It was going to be … interesting. 

I certainly wanted to be there for the stealth armor ambushes, if only to hear the confused screams of those who would invade our worlds.

Yes… It would be interesting. 

Knock knock.

I blinked and looked up. “Come in,” I said loudly and the door opened.

I sighed loudly. 

“Director Chandra, no.”

The much older lady raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the office. “But you must produce a heir sooner or later.”

“I have a brother!”

“A good man, a good politician-.”

“That’s an oxymoron if there was one.”

“I meant that he was good enough for the Capellan Confederation.”

I sighed. “Can we please stop talking about this?”

“No.”

“Ugh.”