NationStates Jolt Archive

Prologue:

Many contemporary experts in the Inner Marches of the Raumreich epically those who claim membership to the centrist party in the Valinor Diet, or membership in the Ortagan Hegemony consider the involvement of the Federated Commonwealth in the war known as the Monican Conflict to be merely a disguised move of a few greedy neo-barbs to grab more power in the immense volume of the Talbot Cluster. Their opposites of course would site their involvement as a humanitarian intervention to protect the civil rights of the occupied nations, who were historically allies. And a select few in each of the major governments of the Inner March and of the Federated Commonwealth know the truth behind Federal involvement and that was that the Federation was the next target on not only the Monicans list but a collective assault from the massed forces of the Monicans and the Mesan Conglomerate with covert support, tech transfers, and mercenary support of the Ortagan Hegemony.

The Talbot Cluster is partitioned between four distinct and autonomous entities each looking out for their own interests of self preservation in the ‘new world’ established by the discovery of a wormhole to the heart of the Valinor Star Empire. The largest of these four powers is the Federated Commonwealth, which in the past was a loose confederation of over eight full member systems and eight territories. In light of the recent alliance between the Mesan Conglomerate and the Ortagan Hegemony the Federated Commonwealth ratified a strong centralized constitution that would do much to establish it as a unified entity able to oppose any Mesan expansion. Then there was the neutral Caledonia system whose only goal seemed to be that of an alliance with the Valinor, which they have established with ease.

It was the forth entity in the past written off as a mere puppet of the Conglomerate that would now enter and rattle its sabers as a power. Their build up had been slow, but startling if the Commonwealth knew their true numbers they may have been better prepared but as always they were preoccupied with the Mesans and their own internal problems. There is a fifth element in the mosaic that is the cluster and that is the collection of systems known only as the Non-Aligned systems, they claimed allegiance only to themselves and were mostly single system powers or a loose collection of two or three systems like the Monican Republic was thought to be.

No one thought they possess the power then did in actuality and now the Non-Aligned systems would pay the price. They would not be the only one’s to though, The Federated Commonwealth for all of its sheer size was still a “new” government, its constitution barley ratified, its member system still very much a loose coalition of states just beginning to form a strong centralized government capable of protecting themselves. They were at the time the Monicans invaded the first of the LONAW systems very exposed to a similar offensive.

Chapter One: Malcontents of the Majority

Constitutional Convention
Hall of Congress
New Dazing, Planet Rembrandt
Somerset System
Capital of the Alliance of Allied Systems
03-July-880A.L.

If the Vernii Imperium is considered to be the home of industrial might and urbanization in the Inner Marches of the Raumreich, then Rembrandt is its counter part in the periphery that is the Talbot Cluster. There are very few open areas left on the smallish planet that have not been urbanized. Orbital mirrors had been erected in the past century to melt the planets polar ice caps so that the polar continents could be colonized. Many of the low lying coastal cities had erect 100 meter high walls of counter-grav to keep the raised sea level at bay. Even the sea itself was colonized, the Rembrandters had taken a queue from the ancient Aztecs, the great lakes and the small oceans of the planet were almost completely covered by an extensive network of floating cities.

The Rembrandters due to the central location of their system became the natural hub of commerce for the dozen surrounding systems that sent their raw materials to the planet to be transformed into refined goods be it consumer products, military weapons, electronics or textiles. In a short time the Rembrandters GDP dominated the cluster allowing them to produce the largest merchant marine and navy in the region.

It was for these reasons that the Rembrandters became the natural capital system of first the self-serving Rembrandt Trade Union, and its next disguised manifestation called the Alliance of Allied Systems. It is true that many of the policies of these two bodies served the Rembrandters first, they also benefited the other systems of the Alliances, and notably the Grayson Protectorate rose quickly to become a rival of the Rembrandters domination. It was the discovery of the Wormhole in the Grayson’s home system of Yeltsin’s Star that motivated the systems of the Alliance to forge a new more centralized government that could project its influence abroad and form a collective defense that may become necessary given the sudden importance of the Talbot Cluster in the events of the Raumreich, for everyone knew the old adage that “The nail the sticks out gets hammered down” and current events made the cluster stand out like a flare in the dark of night.

The Hall of Congress was a relatively squat building sitting on top of a skyhook that hovered high above the polluted skies of New Dazing. Inside its marble halls sat collected the elected representatives of the eight member systems of the Alliance. The new constitution was written and complete. It called for the formation of a federal state that gave rights proportionally to both sovereign systems themselves and a centralized government that had the ability finally to tax member systems and territories to support the formation of a navy and an army rather then concentrating on individual systems’ militias. Yet as always not everyone wanted the current constitution to be ratified feeling that the constitution gave to much power to the central government at expense of the sovereignty of their home systems.

“Hear me friends” a deep voice rose over the hurried voices of the convention. The voice belonged to a tall and well built man who seemed to cast an aura about him when he spoke. Congressmen Patrick Enri was one of the most famous orators in the Cluster and was well respected for his frank words, “I beg you gentlemen to consider, that a wrong step made now will plunge us in misery and our Republic will be lost. We must consider this document closely and realize the errors within it. The upper house is more powerful than the lower! Something not heard of in any constitutional government, and it is they alone who have the ability to tax, the concentration of monetary power within their house is folly. Consider the president he alone is the head of our new state and is also the head of the government. The nationalist tot this constitution as a document that gives each branch of the government equal checks and balances against one another but certainly that is not the case !” The congressman’s voice resonated off the walls of the convention room, his speech ending with the applause of about half those in attendance.

“My friends!” a quiet and low voice spoke softly, it was neither as loud or charismatic as the former voice yet it brought a silence to the room even quicker then the last. The voice which commanded so much respect belong to that of Tiberius Brend considered by all to be the father of the RTU and the Alliance, he was the mentor of the famous Rembrandter Van Dort. It was hoped by just about everyone that the man would live to see the ratification of the constitution, yet many feared he would not for the elderly man was terminal with cancer.

“Our colleagues words are correct, I will not doubt the words he has spoken. Yet we are a people indeed a nation facing a critical junction. The wormhole has opened unparalleled opportunity to our nation, yet it has also brought us dangers as well . We have allied ourselves with the Valinor, and we all have heard the rumors of the Mesans offering their service to the Ortagans, there is no doubt what that will bring. This Constitution is untested, we consider it balances yet only the practice of the institutions it establishes will determine that. It may not be the perfect document which we all want, but it is surly the best we have designed so far, certainly better then the Alliance can offer. We must put aside our differences and ratify it for the good of the Cluster.” The old man sat down again seemingly out of breath and exhausted the service he had just rendered took a great price on his body. Yet it may have been worth it as the applause he received was greater then the man who came before.

The debate over the ratification played out for many more hours but in the end it is the Constitution of the Federated Commonwealth that is ratified ushering in a new era for the Talbott Cluster. However much the general population may debate the pros and cons of the new document does not matter as it was ratified by their elected delegates, but surely if the document was put to a general vote at this time it would most likely have failed.

Chapter 2: A Meeting with Fate

Warmaster Jha’dur stood in her darkened command center near the core of her battleship the flag of the Monican Navy the Revenant. A 3-d holo tank displayed the Talbott cluster in all of its immensity. If one was to look upon the features of the commander-in-chief of the Monican Navy they would have been struck by her beauty, her bio-sculpt after all was the best money could by. Her almond ayes, angular face, her body that had not one percent of unnecessary fat, her long purple hair was fashioned into to braids. Shortly she would unleash her forces upon the LONAW in the cluster and they would feel to her might.

The Tion Centrality and the Talbott Freehold would be shattered in a blitzkrieg assault and in the end the southern portion of the cluster would be portioned between the Monican Republic and the Mesan Conglomerate. It was the new Federated Commonwealth that was the only unknown in the equation if they intervened things could get tricky. She had plans in the works for the eventual invasion of their Southern Territories but she knew not to bite off more then she could chew just yet.

Its almost time for her meeting with the “advisor” from Mesa…

Chapter Three: The Annexation of the Centrality

Lagrange Point Beta
Tion Prime
Tion Centrality
11-AUG-880A.L.
Day One of Operation Scorpion

High Admiral Grant entered the bridge of the mighty flagship of his nation’s space fleet the Golden Lion he looked with pride at the holo-tank erected in the center of the bridge and the crude icons it displayed representing every single ship in the system of any signifigance . There were over sixty icons in the system representing and vessels massing more then a thousand tons. Though that number was considered ridiculously few for a system located in the interior of the Cluster much less one of the Inner March systems such as Yalta, out here on the verge it was quite a few ships. The admiral chuckled to himself for a moment considering that something of benefit may come from the new trade routes into the inner marches of the Raumreich due to the Yeltsin-Centarui Wormhole.

For all his wishes for it to be otherwise Grant understood that his space fleet numbering fewer then two dozen vessels capable of faster than light velocities his force was small, acting mostly in the capacity of convoy escorts. Therefore his ships were sleek and efficient vessels designed to fend off raiders and pirates not to slug it out with comparable sized men-of-war, even his Flagship the largest in his fleet was no more then seven hundred meters long and massed no more then a heavy cruiser.

This represented the Centrality’s priorities which had always been concentrated in the commercial sectors and the increased production of its own industrial base and the addition of freighters to its merchant marine. They were a neutral state in the matters of conflict between the super powers in the cluster The Centrality benefited all its neighbors by its actions and its security would be provided by its neutrality. It made sense though considering his nation was established as a corporate colony whose motivation was that of profit. It had thrive over the two and a half centuries of its existence establishing itself as an influential merchant power on the southern rim of the cluster trading equally with the RTU and their opposites the Monican Republic and the Mesan Conglomerate. It was a beneficial relationship to all concerned parties however it also made the Centrality a priority target on the Monican’s hit list and before the day was out Grant’s Navy would be serving under another flag.

Neutrality mattered little when compared to the insatiable greed of men.

+ + +
Talon Frederick Alshian growled greedily as he watched his command sneaked into the capital system of the Tion Centrality. His unit was only one small part of the immensity of elements needed to launch Operation Scorpion. His mission was to sneak his taskforce into the capital system of the Centrality, to take its military units by surprise and either force their capitulation or cease their existence should they resist. Talon Alshian was also made aware of several top secret missions that would be occurring concurrently, these were covert, in approximately two hours several explosions would occur in key locations of Tion Prime’s defense grid and orbital defenses crippling those installation, made possible by collaborators in the Centralities’ government and military who saw any resistance to the Monican annexation as fruitless and in the end futile, better to make friends with the beast then anger it.

That was not all that was planed either, his task force was the smallest of the ten being deployed in the coming week, larger groups would begin the invasion of the Talbott Freehold which by all indication would put up a much more staunch resistance then the mercantile Centrality…

MTFV To’vak
Sector 35x136
Approximately 18 LY from Citadel
Occupation Zone Alpha
Republic of Monica
01-September-880A.L


The Federated Commonwealth’s seal was displayed on her computer screen, it showed an armored fist welding a mighty sword with a sunburst displayed mighty sunburst behind it. She taped a few keys on the small keyboard brining up a menu, the words “Top Secret” and “Eyes Only” were blinking in red on the now black screen, she quickly typed her authorization number into the keyboard which replaced the black screen with the face of Rear Admiral Johnson the officer in charge of the newly formed Federated Commonwealth Naval Intelligence. His stern voice filled the officers ears, he was a bit soft spoken but his it was how he spoke his simple words that made them seem grave.

“Commander Continalla, I trust that you are well and on your way to sector 35 by 140. Your mission is of the utmost importance, the Monican invasion of the LONAW has progressed further and faster then any of us expected it to. They have significantly improved their tech base in the last decade, a large part of their latest improvements no doubt are due to tech transfers from the Mesans whom we believe are in turn receiving technology from the Ortagan Hegemony. In any case their navy has shatter the Markab and Capellan Defense forces in less then two days, the Centrality has fallen with only a few shots even fired, and the Freehold is locked in a war of attrition that they can not win after the losses they sustained at their Frontier Fleet Base, already Talbot Prime is under siege.”

The admiral paused for a minute after sipping some water.

“Three days ago the FCS Persephone was dispatched to monitor the flow of refugee ships out of the system from a day before the last big push to occupy the system was made by the Monicans. In the course of executing her duties she was fired upon by a Monican destroyer group. The ensuing conflict was short and its conclusion was inevitable the Persephone was lost with all hands, we have conclusive evidence that it was the Monicans who initiated this engagement from numerous freighters that were in the area at the time.”

“Officially the Monica Republic has apologized for this “Unfortunate” incident, and they continued to state that if we avoid interfering in their “Police Actions” any further incidents could be avoided. Officially the governments a response has been a confirmation of humanitarian aid to the oppressed planets a protest with the Monican government.”

Now the officer’s voice finally gained some life and vigor to it, his tired body seemed to have new life breathed into it.

“Your mission “Operation Have Red” is FCNIs unofficial response… In sector 35 by 140 there is a Monican Logistical Depot that is an important post for the re-supply and rearmament of Monica vessels in the Occupied Systems of the Freehold. You are to overwhelm any garrison ships and are to take possession of the Logistic Depot, capture anything of technical and intelligence value. I need not remind you that this is a class Omega BlackOps mission, take all necessary security measures commander…” His voice took a darker tone then one would have expected from what many would consider a gentle old man at first glance, and his eyes hardened.

“No survivors Commander. Happy Hunting, Rear Admiral Norbank out.” And with that his face was replaced by the seal of the Federated Commonwealth once again. Leaving Commander Nalgene to her thoughts as she stroked her hand through her closely cropped hair, a smile of satisfaction appeared on her face. She had known the Captain of the Persephone, the Navy for all of its size was a closely knit community, and her conscience would have no problem with revenge, after all she was a Revenant.

+ + +

Logistics Base Pi55 as it was known by the Monican Navy was only about a week earlier one of the prime logistic bases for the incursion into the Freehold, but recently more forward bases have been established and traffic to the base had fallen appreciatively. However the Battle Frigate Prowl suffered an engineering casualty in a nearby sector on its way back to Nepathali and had docked at the base for repairs, it was a seemingly random circumstance such as this that would bring the Federated Commonwealth into the war.

The Base was a simple sphere roughly a kilometer in diameter and had four slips for docking vessels currently only two were in use at one was docked a Meshakur Battleship that was undergoing repairs, its hull was pitted in several sections near its engines and two of its forward turrets were blown off…It seems that not every battle the Monican Navy fought was completely one-sided. In the other slip was by comparison a small insignificant frigate. Only two Monican cruisers patrolled nearby the depot covered by a dozen defense platforms, all together a significant defense force for a base who importance had degraded over the past week. And considerably behind the front lines neither of the cruisers captains expected trouble, given the success of the campaign to date.

Even if they were expecting trouble they would have expected it to come in the form of Freehold Destroyers or Fighters which they would have dispatched handedly. Expectations are a fickle thing, instead they would receive a Hyperion Heavy Cruiser of the Federated Commonwealth Navy, a ship whose crew were on a mission of revenge, nothing could have prepared the picket for the elemental force that came from the azure blue jump point that opened less then ten kilometers from the Logistics base.

Even in the ten seconds it took for the cruisers to begin to turn to engage the apparently hostile vessel the marauding cruisers fired its Westinghouse M25 Quad-barreled plasma cannon, and at such close range the plasma impacted with decisive force on the lead cruiser just amidships, the accompanying explosions signified that it was a devastating hit, four anti-ship tactical nuclear missiles also left the launcher of the Heavy Cruiser its opponents defense lasers struggled to meet this new threat but failed, blinding light and nuclear fusion ripped through space obliterating the Monican ships.

+ + +
“That did it skipper both tangos are down, the star furies and secondary batteries are dealing with those DefSats now.” Report Commander Nalgene’s Tactical officer,

“What about that Meshakur?” The commander asked quickly. The Meshakur was one of the most fearsome vessels the enemy fielded easily capable of savaging her cruiser, infact BuShips created the Nova Class dreadnaught to deal with that vessel specifically, though her ship was no Nova.

“Scans report its reactor is down, even if they go for a cold start it will be hours before its back online.” Her senor operator stated.

“Understood, have the Furies strafe it when they are down knocking out those sites. Tell the commandoes that they are free to launch.” Nalgene said, the mission was moving along nicely.

Five assault ships each carrying 12 commandoes in full armor flew rapidly towards the depot, and another headed for the frigate in the docking slip.

PFC Ryan Grunted as the flechette darts impacted on his chest, those razor sharp projectiles would have ripped through his ribcage and out his back easily if it hadn’t been thwarted by his armor. The private smiled as he depressed the trigger on his assault rifle the Monican marine who wasn’t similarly armored. The results were as expected as the dying man’s body hit the floor. The ten commandoes were very good at what they do, and not a single one was injured as they fought their way to the bridge. Ryan smiled once again as he saw one Monican who strangle was not in uniform attempting to delete the ships computer core, he lost his head in the effort.

“W-we surrender!” the captain of the frigate said quickly as the commander overwhelm his bridge guards. Knowing that the Commonwealth Navy by the regulations of the St. Ives accords was forced to respect their surrender. To say the least he was shocked by the words he heard in reply.

“Funny that, the captain of the Persephone said the same thing.” Ryan heard Sergeant Walters growl.

“The Persephone?” the Monican Captain stated questioningly not knowing what the fearsome looking marine meant by his statement. “Wha-” his next words were cut short as he was gunned down.
“Ryan, copy their computer drive then let’s get out of here.” Walters stated unfazed by the execution and slaughtering that was occurring around him.

“Walters what’s your status, over.” It was the voice of captain Myagi the leader of the commando teams.

“Sir, the vessel is secure scuttling charges are being placed we are evacing in five. Over.”

“Don’t worry about the charges we are leaving this bastards a little present, just grab the computer HD and get RTB, Out.”

Walters smiled as he had a pretty good idea what kind of little present the Captain would be leaving their Monican friends, and there was nothing really little about it at all.

Government House
New Danzig
Rembrandt
Capital of the Federated Commonwealth

The President of the Federated Commonwealth’s head hurt, there seemed to be a non stop ringing resounding throughout, Michael Sterns rubbed his temple attempting to quell the pain, but he failed.

“I think the Monicans intentions are clear Mr. President. The coded documents from Commander Nalgene are conclusive as well as the results of the intelligence officer aboard that war frigate.” Stated Roger Davis Admiral of the Fleet pointing to the LCD display on the wall of the briefing room. “We are unable to decode the text however the images are unmistakable sir, the Monicans will come for our nation in four months time, Caledonia as well. I suppose they are only waiting to refit their forces as they finish securing their recently taken possessions.” The LCD showed the worlds of the LONAW as occupied by the Monican Republic with several thick red arrows that penetrated deep into the FedCom and Caledonia.

“But how could they expand so quickly, six systems in two weeks and now they intend to attack us as well as Caledonia? They tripled their territory how can they sustain this rate of growth.” The President asked.

“We believe that they have purchased clones from Mesa to crew their new construction, and their recent upgrades in technology have proven more effective then expected against the LONAW collective navies. Farpoint Station proved that.” Patrick Healy head of FCNINT scowled making notice to the largest battle to date in which the Talbott Freeholds Navy was all but destroyed in a powerful sneak attack. The Freeholds Navy was considered to be the same level as the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth which made the defeat alarming to say the least.

“The Freehold could not match the new fighters the Monicans deployed, they appear to be superior in every aspect to our Tiger Class Starfuries, though it can be said that the Freeholders never deployed as many fighters as we do in fleet engagements. Also there new plasma bolters devastated Freehold Cruisers in only a few volleys.”

“Whose left fighting Pat?” The President asked his intelligence chief.

“Markab is still under siege and only The Freehold’s system of North Point remains sovereign…It will fall whenever the Monicans decide to push for it. The Freeholders may be able to make them bleed for it but they can’t hold out.”

“Well I don’t see that we have much choice in the matter, we can either commit now or be attacked in a few months time, we need to secure the initiative if we hope to be successful against this new Monican Navy. Admiral Davis this intelligence indicates that we are a nation at war, the Monican Republic represents a clear and present danger to our national security. I leave it in your hands to pursue the campaign to neutralize this threat as you see best. That is all gentlemen.”