BattleTech Lore & History - Age of War: A Complete 500 Year History (MechWarrior Lore)

The origins of man’s journey into space dates  back a thousand years to the early 21st century.   Two significant world events  happened almost concurrently   that would have ramifications  extending far into the future. On the political side of things, the  assassination of Soviet Premier Tikonov in 2011   ushered in the collapse of the Soviet Union and  began a civil war that would consume the nation.   When the war spilled over into West Germany,  NATO forces moved into Russia to secure their   nuclear arsenal, while the more western-friendly  liberal faction came out on top in the fighting.   In the aftermath, the victorious powers  unified to create the Western Alliance. A second major war was narrowly averted when  the Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere attempted a   naval blockade around Japan. The situation  was successfully de-escalated after only a   single violent clash and soon the major Asian  powers were accepted into the Western Alliance   as associate members. By 2086 the Western  Alliance had established enough of a power   base to declare itself the first world  government, rebranding as the Terran Alliance. An equally significant scientific  achievement occurred around the same   time when a team of scientists led by Drs  Kearny and Fuchida were able to create a   working fusion reactor. This technology was  quickly shared among the Western Alliance. During their study the two scientists made a  shocking discovery. Under certain conditions   involving extraordinary amounts of energy, the  rules of Einsteinian physics did not behave   as they should have. Theoretically it could be  possible for an object to pass the speed of light.   Their announcement was met with such derision  from the scientific community that their   contributions to the fusion reactor development  were ignored and their academic careers ruined. Sadly, neither would live to see the fruits  of their pioneering efforts. In the early 22nd   century, the advancement of fusion power was such  that it was now possible to test their hypothesis.   This program, dubbed the Deimos Project,   would culminate in 2108 with the  departure of the TAS Pathfinder,   which successfully jumped from the Sol system to  Tau Ceti. Humanity had taken its next giant leap. By 2116 the Terran Alliance had established the  first extrasolar colony at New Earth in the Tau   Ceti system. This began the period we now know as  the First Exodus. The astronomical costs involved   in JumpShip production meant they were exclusively  the property of the Terran Alliance at first   but gradually this was opened up  to corporate and private interests. By 2140 humanity had colonised numerous worlds  with a 35 lightyear radius. The number of viable   planets for settling came as a welcome surprise,  though true garden worlds remained rare. In the   late 22nd century, a series of Grand Surveys  were undertaken to chart humanity’s expansion,   with the final count in 2235 standing at over  600 worlds within 120 light years of earth. There was however another  purpose to the Grand Surveys.   Nominally, all new colonies were under the  control of a Terran Alliance appointed governor.   But as humanity continued to expand, the distances  involved began to cause problems. With planets   dozens of light years apart, no conventional  means of sending messages was possible   without literally years of delays. The colonists  fell back on a courier system where the ships   themselves would carry the messages and then beam  them to planets upon arrival in the target system. This still had its issues. Though the JumpShips  travelled instantaneously, they required weeks to   recharge. Coupled with a maximum range of only  a couple dozen light years, the more distant   colonies found themselves increasingly  removed from Terra and as new generations   grew up without even seeing the mother planet,  they became somewhat resentful of Terran rule. The Grand Surveys were themselves a warning  to the colonies, that no matter how far you   travelled you were still within reach of the  Terran Alliance. This was a state of affairs   that couldn’t last and in 2235 the first of  the colonies declared their independence. It would take eight months for word  of their rebellion to reach Earth. The Outer Reaches Rebellion, as the  ensuing conflict would become known,   did not go the way that either side anticipated.  The superior technology and training of the Terran   Alliance had made them confident of an easy  victory. The rebels hoped that at the end of   a long and bloody conflict, they would come  out as the victors of a war of attrition. What happened instead was a series of botched  initial assaults that immediately revealed the   Alliance to be nothing more than a paper tiger.  The cost of mounting an invasion across such vast   distances was astronomical and growing political  unrest erupted on earth. When demands went out   for the already struggling loyal colonies to  increase the amount of goods and personnel   they were contributing to the war, the number  of secessionist planets increased rapidly. After little more than a year, the expansionist  government was ousted from power and replaced   by a liberal Terran-focused government that  wanted little to do with the distant colonies.   In 2242 this new body issued the demarcation  declaration. All colonies beyond the range of   a single jump were now independent, whether they  had the means to provide for themselves or not. The fallout from this was catastrophic  for the colonies. Few had reached a   point of self-sufficiency and the majority of the  JumpShips had been owned by the Terran Alliance.   Where it was no longer possible to remain,   what colonists could quickly moved  offworld and many planets were abandoned.   Worse, some populations were left to die without  sufficient quantities of fresh food and water. When word of these disasters got back to earth,  the Liberal government lost its majority.   So began a cycle of revolving door politics that  lasted for 70 years between the two major factions   of the Terran Alliance. During this time, new  nations were springing up but the Alliance   was solely focused inwards. Both sides moved to  secure power, growing their paramilitary forces.   Violent clashes became increasingly common  and this political unrest on Earth kicked off   the Second Exodus. Freethinkers  and scientists rushed to escape the   oppressive, stagnant Alliance and join the  fledgling powers now re-colonising space. The spark that ignited the fire was the death of   the leader to a new political party  that both sides had been courting.   Liberals and Expansionists blamed each other  and open war followed. With chaos reigning on   Earth and the conflict spreading to other planets  within the Alliance, drastic action was needed. The Alliance Global Militia, which had  distinguished itself so poorly during the   Outer Reaches Rebellion, remained neutral.  Over the last half a century, the AGM had   seen major restructuring, the lessons having  been learned from their prior embarrassment.   Now the Global Militia was a  trained force to be reckoned with. The Alliance Navy, with Fleet  Admiral James McKenna at its helm,   now boasted a fleet of jump capable warships  that surpassed any other in existence.   The initial inaction on the part of the AGM had  seen smaller units break off to join one side   or the other in the civil war, but McKenna was  not prepared to see his military disintegrate. “Attention all AGM members currently  participating in the barbarities.   Cease all hostile actions and return to your  barracks, or I will bombard you into oblivion.”   This was the message McKenna’s fleet  beamed at Earth upon arriving in orbit.   He quickly followed this up with a show of force,  using his fleet to demonstrate his global reach   by erasing two islands (one in Scotland,  the other Australia) from existence. A brief campaign to hunt down and  arrest those political leaders who   did not surrender brought the civil war  to an end. Feeling a great shame for what   had become of the once promising Alliance,  McKenna declared the old order abolished.   The great democratic experiment had failed  and in its place, something new was needed. In 2315 the autocratic Terran Hegemony was founded  with Director-General James McKenna at its head. In 2242 when the Terran Alliance  issued their Demarcation Declaration,   the colonies found themselves in an untenable  position. Only a tiny fraction had achieved   self-sufficiency, the others relying on trade to  get by, particularly imports of clean drinking   water. In this hostile climate, herd instinct  kicked in and the various planets started to   cluster together into micro-alliances,  proto-nations and trading leagues. It was a time of rapid change and forced evolution  for the colonies. During the remaining 75 years   of the Alliance over two dozen new interstellar  nations would arise, among them we can see the   foundations of what would go on to form the  five successor states in present day 3025. It would be a mistake however, to think that the  Rebellion marked the first appearance of these   new states. Certain of them existed even prior  to this in a limited or unofficial capacity.   The earliest of all was an historical anomaly.  Dating from the First Exodus and existing beyond   the borders of known space, the Muskegon Empire  has the dubious distinction of starting the trend. In 2163, a JumpShip bound for neighbouring  McHenry malfunctioned, stranding the colonists   on uncharted Muskegon. This world was borderline  inhospitable and with no means to return or to   contact the Alliance, the ship's crew took drastic  action to ensure survival. Personal freedoms were   suspended and all available energy and manpower  was poured into establishing a fragile existence. By 2177, repairs to the JumpShip had been  completed but by this point a social hierarchy had   developed between the original crew and colonists  onboard. The former now lorded it over the rest   and had little desire to return to the Alliance  and see their power surrendered. Instead they   travelled to nearby Emerson and Beten Kaitos,  establishing new colonies using slave labour in   the form of criminals and the colonist-class  citizens. Four more worlds had been added to   the fledgling Empire by 2190. By the time their  existence became well known, the Terran Alliance   was on the decline and the Muskegon Empire would  become one of the dominant players in that region. But this dictatorship was not typical of  early expansion. The scarcity of JumpShips   in the early days caused many corporations  and conglomerates to form trading alliances   to better pool resources. One of the earliest of  these was the Chesterton Trade League of 2193,   and later the Tamar Pact in 2235. Though initially  these alliances had little interest in world   governance, post Rebellion many of the two dozen  major trade groups would transition in this way. The Capellan Zone, as the region of space that  birthed the Capellan Confederation was known,   was the most turbulent and  active during this early period.   Dozens of worlds were already forming  alliances and several planets would   become key players in the conflicts that  would arise over the next 200 years. Initially these were one-world republics such  as the dictatorial Sarna Supremacy in 2176,   the Tikonov Union in ‘77, the Liao Republic  in ‘89 and Capellan Holdfast in ‘93. The Capellans and Sarns quickly came to  blows when explorers from the Supremacy   stumbled upon the unknown colony  and tried to claim ownership.   The Terran Alliance was still strong enough to  prevent any aggressive colonial actions within   its borders so the Capellans were able to defend  themselves against the now multi-world Supremacy   and re-entered the political scene  in 2194 as the Capellan Republic. The Capellans would play a key part in the First  Exodus when in 2218 they established the Capellan   Library on the planet Geifer, a massive repository  of information freely available to neighbouring   worlds, which in turn drew many of Earth’s  greatest scientists into this region of space. Sensing future trouble with the Supremacy  they formed the Capellan Co-Prosperity   Sphere in 2220 to protect from the  expansionist actions of the Sarns.   Five years later the attack came but the  Capellan militia were able to rebuff the invaders   and when reinforcements arrived from  offworld, the Supremacy forces withdrew. It is perhaps telling that this was going on  right under the noses of the Terran Alliance   without their knowledge as just a decade later,  the Outer Reaches Rebellion would ignite.   Three case studies could be made of the  planets from which future dynasties would   spawn during this period; Marik, Liao  and New Avalon (home of House Davion). During the Outer Reaches Rebellion, Marik  remained staunchly neutral until the 11th   hour when they threw in their lot with the  rebels, declaring their independence in 2238,   one year after Terra had  already withdrawn its forces.   By 2241 the Republic of Marik was fully formed  and now counted four worlds under their control. In New Avalon, their loyalty to the Alliance  was pushed past its breaking point when ever   increasing demands for crop yields created a  situation where thousands risked starvation.   In 2237 the grain rebellions would see  the AGM Colonial Marines pushed off world   and a new democracy established. Lastly, and perhaps most ominously, the  Terran Ambassador dispatched to treat with   Victor Liao would find himself returning to Earth  without the levies he had been sent for and also   without a head. Like the New Avalonians, the Liao  Republic geared up for the inevitable retribution,   but it never came. The Alliance was done with  space and in 2242 formally withdrew its borders. An explosion of new installer players  occurred during the mid 23rd century;   the Federation of Oriente in  2241, Nanking Collective in ‘42,   Tikonov Grand Union in ‘43 (which incorporated  the Chesterton worlds as a province),   St. Ives Mercantile Association in ‘45, Dominion  of Regulus in ‘47 and the Sian Supremacy in 2250.   In more distant regions of space,  the United Hindu Collective formed,   as did the Rim Worlds Republic in 2250,  followed by the Taurian Homeworlds in ‘53. By far the quickest off the mark  however was the Republic of Marik.   Not content with the handful of worlds that  had agreed to an alliance at the outset,   Marik military forces began a campaign  that would see them grow the realm to   twenty planets in only five years. After the  conquest of Atreus the Republic rebranded   as the Marik Commonwealth in 2246. This  made them the preeminent power of the day. What House Marik was achieving through  conquest, House Allison of Oriente   achieved through diplomacy (likely playing  off fears of Marik Commonwealth expansionism).   By 2271 they had grown to rival their neighbours.   The relationship between the two burgeoning  powers was cool, though not hostile. Meanwhile, New Avalon’s shining attempt  at a democratic government had collapsed.   Though this had been one of the planets  better prepared for independence,   there was still much that needed doing  and their system of yearly elections   was so slow and focused on the short  term that the people were suffering. A bloody civil war soon erupted among the powerful  estates that would see a new order ushered in   and the gradual rise of House  Davion. The new government was   a swing to the opposite extreme,  with officials serving for life.   But in the aftermath of war  stability was what was desired most. It’s worth noting that not all of the newly  independent worlds saw the rise of these new   states as a positive thing. Many believed  that self-governance was the best way for   any planet to function and this held true  throughout most of the Inner Sphere. This   was certainly true for the Crucis  Reach where New Avalon was situated. Coreward of Earth, trading clans such as  the Tamar Pact (which would eventually   transition into a government), Skye Freight  and Goods and the Ozawa Mercantile Association   held sway and this region wouldn’t see  interplanetary unification for half a century. In the more volatile rimward regions new  collections of planets continued to form.   The Stewart Confederacy formed in 2259,  brought another dictatorship into the   political sphere, and this was followed by the  isolationist Rasalhague Concordium in 2260.   Others in the Capellan Zone were restructuring  to form the Chisholm Protectorate in ‘65,   the Sian Commonwealth in ‘67 and more  notably, the Capellan Hegemony in 2270. By far the most significant development in Inner  Sphere politics occurred the following year.   By now House Selaj of Regulus had a trade  realm to rival the Mariks and Allisons.   Each counted among the most prosperous and most  powerful nations in existence. But thanks to the   efforts of statesman George Humphreys, war  between the powers was never on the cards. After several years of intense negotiations, the  three houses signed the Articles of Unification   (better known as the Treaty of Marik)  and unified to create a new superpower,   the Free Worlds League. Though the term  wouldn’t be in use for another 500 years,   the first of the Successor States had been born. The founding of the Free Worlds  League in 2271 into the first true   interstellar superpower was arguably the  most significant event of the 23rd century   but around them the chaotic and erratic birth  of new nations was continuing as normal. Their spinward neighbours, the Capellan Hegemony,  themselves founded only one year prior, were about   to enter a period of growth that would in later  years be referred to as the Capellan Renaissance.   This was chiefly a cultural evolution that would  lay the groundwork for the later Capellan state   as the Hegemony began to make tentative alliances  with other emerging powers in the region. However, the Hegemony was an expansionist  nation at heart and they first set their   sights on their immediate neighbours in the  Ingersoll Concordium. A brief campaign in   2272 saw them annex this microstate in its  entirety. Spurred on by this success they   next moved against the St. Ives Association the  following year, further expanding their empire. By the end of the century they had established  new provinces across the region but in so doing   had created problems for themselves. The Capellan  Hegemony was a scattershot of different planetary   groups on an Inner Sphere map. The different  provinces were accessible only by traversing   other nations, which were at times hostile to  them. Defending this region from the predations   of others both within and without the Capellan  Zone became an ever more challenging task. Meanwhile, the Free Worlds League was making  territorial gains of its own. In the Articles   of Unification it was outlined that each of  the three provinces would be responsible for   a particular aspect of government. Oriente would  handle diplomacy, Regulus would manage trade and   the Commonwealth would be responsible for defence.  During times of war, a Captain-General could be   elected to temporarily control all functions of  the League to help them through the conflict. The first instance of this was the war with  the Stewart Confederacy and naturally House   Marik was the clear favourite for this position.  On September 19th 2293, the Free Worlds League   began a four month campaign that would see  them annihilate the Stewart dictatorship   and absorb its worlds as a fourth province.  House Stewart would survive to the present day,   its war long forgotten and now acting  as staunch supporters of House Marik. In the rimward region of the Inner Sphere, the  independent worlds were at last beginning to   form their own interplanetary states. This  began with the merger of several Skye based   trading conglomerates in 2296 to form the Skye  Traders under the control of Ian McQuiston.   Such was the power of this new group that they  were able to claim de facto governorship of a   group of planets near the Terran Alliance. Over  the next three years they would transition from   trading league to interstellar nation and  so was born the Federation of Skye in 2299. To conclude the developments of the 23rd Century,  the Marlette Association was formed in 2278 and   the Principality of Rasalhague was reformed  in 2299 from the old Rasalhague Consortium.   To kick things off in the new century,  after splitting from the Skye Traders,   Seth Marsden established Donegal  Freights in 2301 on that selfsame planet.   In due course his trading empire would become the  final of the three powers in that region of space. On the other side of the Inner  Sphere, on distant New Samarkand,   one family was bringing the previously  opposed city states together into a unified   world government. Emerging on the scene as  the Lord of Yamashiro, Shiro and his brother   Urizen were about to establish a dynasty that  would survive the next 700 years of turmoil   into the present day. Raised in a family  with deeply traditional and martial values,   the two brothers would go on to proudly  wave the banner of House Kurita. The Kuritans had dreams of founding a militaristic  superstate and began working towards this goal   by reaching out to nearby Galedon, the major  power in that region of space. Though Galedon   was a successful colony, they played second  fiddle to the Ozawa Mercantile Association.   This massive organisation dominated the entire  quarter, and had grown fabulously wealthy often   at the expense of the individual worlds they  did business with. The planets, including both   Galedon and New Samarkand, had grown dependent on  the OMA, but also chafed under their influence. When Shiro Kurita arrived on Galedon in 2302,  he cast the Ozawas as their common enemy and   proposed an alliance to help them free themselves  from the control of this powerful trading family.   Using well placed flattery, Shiro suggested  this new partnership would take the name   "the Alliance of Galedon'' and  proposed that he would take   command of a new military force to wrest  control of their planets from the OMA. With the agreement in hand, he turned to other  nearby planets, approaching the governments   of Dnepropetrovsk and Sverdlovsk, the former  willingly adding their strength to the alliance.   A hastily armed fleet of ships began to board and  impound any Ozawa vessels that entered the region,   with each captured JumpShip added to their  navy. The stolen goods were in turn used   to grow the size of their military  in anticipation of coming events. When the OMA realised what was happening they  began first by boycotting the worlds but then   switched to a public relations campaign  that saw Kurita start to lose his grasp.   Shiro was not prepared to fail now though  and in a move that shocked everyone,   resorted to the terrorist bombing of all  Ozawa Mercantile Association facilities   on the planet Galedon within a single day. There was little to no fallout  from this however as over the   last year he had cunningly replaced his  opposition within the Galedon government   after unearthing (or perhaps fabricating)  evidence of double dealing with the Ozawas,   replacing them in turn with loyal supporters.  The Ozawas were done, and though the   organisation would survive for a time, they  were forced to pay tribute to House Kurita. Not prepared to rest on their laurels, the  brothers’ next move was to launch what was   at the time the largest planetary invasion  in history. In 2303, 50,000 alliance troops   descended on Sverdlovsk in a show of force  that utterly crushed local resistance. But the actions of the Kurita brothers were about  to become an afterthought in the histories of the   time. Smouldering tension in the Capellan Zone  was about to see the two dominant powers clash   violently. This conflict would spill over  into not only the other powers of the Zone,   but involve even the Free Worlds  League and the forces of House Davion. In 2305, the Capellan Hegemony finished  drafting their plans for what they thought   would be a preemptive strike against the Sarna  Supremacy. Their best estimates suggested a four   week campaign would bring the Sarns to heel and  deal with their hostile neighbour for good. The   Hegemony-Supremacy War holds the dubious honour  of becoming the first true interstellar war;   their presumed easy victory lasting  not four weeks but four years. The origins of the war lay with the secession  of Palos and Wei from the Sarna Supremacy at the   beginning of the year. Capella decided to support  the independence of these two planets and offered   to help defend them when Sarna came to reconquer  their worlds. In February the Hegemony launched   their doomed raid against Sarna and immediately  bogged down when they met a near fanatical   resistance from the Sarna militia. Reserves  from all across the Supremacy were recalled   to the capital and this stalemate would continue  through to September when the Capellans withdrew.   Meanwhile the Sarns were able to retake Palos,  establishing themselves as the early favourite. Things got worse in October of 2305 when  the geographical dispersion of the Hegemony   came back to haunt them. A sharp uptick in  pirate action, clandestinely hired by Sarna,   saw the Hegemony worlds of Redfield,  Daniels, Lee, Ball and Highspire   all come under attack, which in turn drew  military forces away from the frontlines. These raids continued until reinforcements came  from the neighbouring states of the Chesterton and   St. Ives Trading Leagues. The Kluanian pirates  launched an operation against Aosia but were   caught recharging in the Alcyone system where they  were destroyed almost entirely in April of 2306. There was more positive news when Capellan  troops were able to successfully defend Wei   from Supremacy forces. But troubling information  soon came to light when it was discovered that   the Kluanian pirates had been in league not  just with the Sarns, but the Davions too,   perhaps in an attempt to further destabilise  the region and expand their own influence. Seeking to forge further alliances of their own,  the Hegemony approached the Free Worlds League and   in May promptly signed the Ryerson Conventions.  The League offered up fresh troops for the   campaign but these were soon found to be green  and inexperienced. Meanwhile the Captain-General   Danak Selaj began his own assault against  Sarna, taking control of Berenson and Wasat. The Hegemony was forced to implement oppressive  legislation against their own citizens   in an effort to maintain their struggling  supply line and dwindling military might.   This succeeded in part when the Capellans began  the final phase of the war in December 2307.   By September of the following year they  had succeeded in occupying seventeen of   the Sarna worlds. However their alliance with  the Free Worlds League had them cast as invaders   as opposed to the liberators of planets  under the thumb of Supremacy dictatorship. Though the Capellans had been able to win the  support of the semi-independent Chesterton League,   the Tikonov Grand Union remained officially  neutral. This was a stance encouraged by   generous donations on the part of Sarna towards  certain influential figures within the Union. Tikonov had its own problems during this  period. For the past four years they had   been in conflict with the Marlette Association  and lost several key worlds. In November 2308   they began their counterattack against the  Marlettes. Their initial moves met with great   success and by the end of the year they had  retaken two of the lost Chesterton worlds. Meanwhile the Draconian measures undertaken by  the Hegemony government were about to catch up   to them when in the final month of 2308 the  planet Arboris declared their independence.   If the Capellans allowed this to go  unanswered it would set a dangerous   precedent given how unpopular  the current regime had become.   The 2nd Andurien Reserve Fleet was promptly  mobilised and moved from Zion to Arboris. En route to the planet they came upon unexpected  opposition in the form of the Liao merchant fleet.   Arboris had been accepted as a protectorate  state of the previously independent Liao.   In the ensuing fleet action the  Capellans took significant damage   from the technologically inferior Liao  ships and by battle's end were in a state   only to maintain a blockade around the planet  Liao, abandoning the assault against Arboris. By early 2309 the Tikonov invasion of the  Marlette Association was continuing at pace   but the unexpected death of the general behind the  campaign saw it fizzle out after less than a year.   This was followed by the death of one of the  ruling tetrarchs of the Tikonov Grand Union   which in turn threw the nation into disarray. Across the Sarna Supremacy the writing was  on the wall for the Capellan Hegemony and   the ruling Aris family. The Free Worlds League  withdrew from their alliance and anti-government   protests grew larger and more frequent. Their  final victory came at Sakhalin in April of 2309   but soon after the Liao blockade was lifted and  in the following month an armistice was reached. The Tikonov Grand Union came forwards  as a neutral arbiter and by December   the two sides had agreed to peace.  The end came on the final day of   the year when the Prime Magnate of the  Hegemony, Paula Aris, took her own life. In the aftermath of the Hegemony-Supremacy  War there was new impetus among the nations   of the Capellan Zone to unify  in the face of threats without.   In 2310 the Hegemony was disbanded as a part  of the peace agreement and replaced with the   Capellan Commonality. Sick of internal strife  the major powers unified under this banner,   though each would retain internal  control of their own nations. Across the Sphere, Shiro Kurita was beginning  the next phase of his expansion plan.   By now the Alliance of Galedon laid claim to more  than a dozen worlds and had a fearsome reputation.   Several neighbouring planets were also beginning  to establish themselves as interstellar players   around this point. Shiro began a diplomatic voyage  that would see him visit many of these worlds,   offering them membership in the Alliance.  Promising to support them in their own   territorial disputes and ambitions, Shiro was able  to win the favour of all his targeted planets.   Some even joined because of  his impressive military record. By the time Shiro returned to New Samarkand,   the size of his realm had exploded  to include around thirty planets.   Unlike the other nations that were centralised  around a single major world, the Alliance of   Galedon was a tenuous chain of widely dispersed  planets that stretched far towards the periphery.   With no immediate rivals in the area however  they were safe from attack for the time being. In early 2311 though it became apparent to the  newly joined members that Shiro had played them   against each other when Deiron and Altair  threatened one another with Galedon support.   In response the two worlds split from the  Alliance and formed the Deiron Federation.   Other planets followed suit declaring  their intention to leave the union. In response Shiro launched a major political  purge that saw roughly half of all the planetary   leaders, nobles and diplomats within the  Alliance of Galedon lose their lives.   He then unleashed his brother Urizen to  bring the errant worlds back in line.   Benjamin would fall in late 2311, then  Telos and Asgard the following year. The final days of the Terran Alliance  were at hand by this point. The last   of the minor nations to appear around them  were the Protectorate of Donegal in 2313   which grew out of Marsden's Donegal  Freights, and the Duchy of Liao in 2315   having established a strong reputation for  itself during he Hegemony-Supremacy War. That same year saw the final collapse  of the Terran Alliance and its rebirth   as the Terran Hegemony. In 75 years the  political situation had evolved to become   unrecognisable to how things had been  before the Outer Worlds Rebellion.   Humanity was now at its most disunited with  two dozen different alliances in existence. The most powerful of these was the Free  Worlds League but Director-General James   McKenna had grand plans for the new Terran  Hegemony. His position was that the formerly   independent worlds were nothing but an errant  flock to be brought back into the fold. The 25th century would see him act on these  plans which triggered a chain reaction in   the politics of the neighbouring regions. By  the end of the century, less than half of the   two dozen interstellar nations that were around  to see the birth of the Hegemony would remain. When James McKenna was elected Director-General at  the beginning of 2316 he soon made it known that   his ambition was to see all of humanity reunited  under the auspices of the Terran Hegemony.   His first action was to ensure  the existing member planets of   the old Alliance transitioned to the new  Hegemony, which he achieved in short order,   only on a couple of occasions having  to resort to the threat if violence. Not all of his immediate neighbours were as  keen to join however. Many had learned to   get by just fine in the 75 years that had  passed since the Demarcation Declaration.   Sensing the way the wind was blowing, the worlds  of Errai, Quentin and Helen entered into a mutual   protection pact in an effort to dissuade the  Terran Hegemony from moving in their direction. McKenna was unimpressed and in March  launched his first crusade that would   see him utterly crush resistance on these  worlds and absorb them into th Hegemony.   The short-lived Deiron Federation  was incorporated more peacefully.   By the end of 2317 several more planets  had been added. Though the cost had been   unexpectedly high, the Director-General  began formulating plans for a second wave. Around them, the independent worlds began to  worry. Suddenly, many of the interplanetary   squabbles and rivalries that had occupied  them over the last few decades were shown   to be irrelevant in the face of the outwards  expanding Hegemony. The change in fortunes for   those on Terra became a unifying force for  other governments across the Inner Sphere. In the Crucis Reach, Lucien Davion embarked on a  voyage that would see him meet with the leaders of   several surrounding worlds. Inviting each of  them to join him at a conference on Delevan,   there the governments met to hammer  out the details of a new alliance   and together signed the Crucis Pact.  Twenty of those present would sign,   though notably Muskegon and Marlette were  two of the three that politely declined   and left without doing so. In 2317, the Federated  Suns was born, with Lucien Davion at its head. One year later in 2318 the Muskegon Empire  had a change of heart and willingly joined   the Federated Suns. However, dissent among the  worker class of this dictatorship increased   as they were made aware yet again of how  little control they had over their lives.   Several decades of trade between the worlds of  Beiten Kaitos and Emerson with the neighbouring   Chesterton League had resulted in the  formation of strong ties with that body.   They now declared their independence from  the Muskegon Empire (and by extension the   Federated Suns) and immediately joined  the much smaller Chesterton alliance. Lucien Davion, who was one of the most skilled  diplomats of his day, now flexed his military   muscles and called on the planets of the  Federated Suns to raise an army with which   to take back these worlds. Their subsequent  invasion couldn't have gone much worse and   resulted in a humiliating defeat for the Suns at  the hands of the much smaller Chesterton League. In a coreward direction, Shiro Kurita was  ready to dispense with all pretence and   declare the founding of his new dynasty.  In December of 2319 the old Alliance of   Galedon was officially disbanded and the  new Draconis Combine would take its place,   with House Kurita firmly established at its head. In 2320 James McKenna began the next  wave of conquest for the Terran Hegemony.   By this point he had established a standard  operating procedure for the invasion of worlds.   First a fleet of warships would arrive in-system  and dispatch any resistance at the jump points.   Only after control had been established were  the troop transports waiting at a neighbouring   star called in. Afterwards the Hegemony  Armed Forces would take complete control of   the space immediately above the target world  before finally landing troops on the ground.   It was a process that took weeks or even months to  pull off but it significantly reduced casualties. However successful the invasions were, McKenna  began to realise that the task of uniting the   Inner Sphere was beyond even his abilities by this  point. He toned down his expansionist rhetoric and   dispatched ambassadors to what he considered  to be the significant interstellar nations.   The Free Worlds League and Federated Suns  were pleased to welcome these ambassadors   and established new trade deals with the  Hegemony. The Draconis Combine responded   a little more coolly, they had their own  ambitions of galactic conquest after all,   but the two signed a neutrality agreement  and agreed to stay out of each other's way. One group that was not invited to  talks was the Capellan Commonality,   that group of loosely affiliated nations within  the Capellan Zone. McKenna viewed them as   insignificant pretenders and immediately  took the side of the Federated Suns   (who had recently concluded a deal to peacefully  absorb the Marlette Association) and the Free   Worlds League in all disputes. He also geared  up for further expansion in that direction. First to make a move however was the Draconis  Combine. Next in their sights was the peaceful   Principality of Rasalhague. In 2330 they  kicked off what all anticipated would be   a short campaign. Initial progress was  good with Rasalhague constantly caught   by surprise. The defenders were anticipating  an attack on their capital but it never came.   Instead they were losing their planets piecemeal. In preparation for their next attack the Kuritans  began to stockpile weapons on New Bergen,   which in 2334 was under the joint  command of Urizen's two oldest sons.   Tragedy struck for the Kurita family when  a group of Rasalhagians landed on planet   and conducted a surprise raid. Both brothers  were killed and the supplies seized. This single counterattack resulted in  decades of repercussions for both sides.   The Principality now had the means to  continue to fight the Draconis Combine   almost indefinitely using Guerrilla tactics.  Urizen too never recovered from the loss of   his sons and died a few years later,  followed by his brother Shiro in 2348.   In '67 Shiro's son Tenno declared  the Combine's victory over Rasalhague   but in reality the outcome was a stalemate.  Rasalhague managed to keep their independence at   the cost of having the Kurita family installed  as governors and also had to accept Draconis   military units within their borders, forming  the basis of the Rasalhague Military District. Jumping back to 2332 the Capellans were taking  advantage of the weakness of the Federated Suns   military to seize a handful of worlds. Seeing  the nation he had worked so hard to build start   to fall apart, Lucien Davion retired from his  presidency and passed away a few months later. His brother Charles took control of the  Federated Suns after his retirement and   immediately put pressure on the Terran Hegemony to  begin the next wave of their military conquests.   The Capellans were forced to scale back their  assaults in 2335 when the Hegemony started to move   and by the following year Davion had  retaken several of the lost worlds. Two of the main targets for the third Terran  campaign were within the borders of the Federation   of Skye, though not strictly members of that  nation. Initially the third wave went as planned   but it was during this campaign that McKenna’s  son Konrad rose to command within the HAF.   As they closed in on their final goal in 2338,   Konrad increasingly disregarded standard  operating procedure during the invasions. A mixture of arrogance and complacency played  a part in the catastrophe that followed.   As the Hegemony fleet appeared in-system they  found themselves surrounded by an enormous   minefield, with dozens of remote activated  missiles set off by the ensuing blasts.   Unable to clear the jump point, the troop  transports, which had been commanded to   follow immediately behind, materialised right  on top of and inside the floundering first wave.   Konrad shifted the blame onto his fellow admirals   and was soon facing a mutiny when he  threatened to execute the senior officers. At this point James McKenna unexpectedly  arrived, the news having reached him on Earth,   and relieved his son of command.  What was left of the fleet was   ordered back to Earth and the invasion  abandoned. The Director-General was the   last to leave the system, lingering for  three hours as he surveyed the carnage. In the ensuing months McKenna would step down  as the head of the Hegemony and died later that   year. In his place a distant relative Michael  Cameron was elected the second Director-General.   With the ascension of House Cameron,   the Inner Sphere would see the birth of another  ruling dynasty at the head of a major state. Lastly, the 2330s would also see some  major changes in the periphery. By 2335,   the newly rechristened Taurian Concordat  had expanded significantly, though contact   with the outside world was limited to a very  small group of traders from the Capellan Zone.   The biggest fear for the Calderon family  was aggression from the Federated Suns   and because of that they chose  to keep their existence hidden. Across the Inner Sphere, the Rim Worlds Republic  had begun to expand in 2334 and by ‘38 now had   more than a dozen worlds. Eventually they came  into contact with the Tamar Pact and were able   to establish friendly relations, the two  sides both more concerned about where the   Draconis Combine would go next after  the Principality of Rasalhague fell. It was because of this fear that the Tamars   finally acted on something that had  been whispered about for some years.   Reaching out to the Federation of  Skye and the Protectorate of Donegal,   he called for an alliance between the three  powers to defend from outward aggression. Skye   had only recently been threatened by the Terran  Hegemony so had added impetus to join these talks. Donegal, Skye and Tamar were in agreement on many  things but struggled somewhat to reach a consensus   on how their new alliance would function. The  compromise they settled on was intended to   give each member nation a fair say but would  result in somewhat ineffectual leadership.   Nevertheless, on January 5th 2341, the  Terran Alliance officially recognised the   founding of the Lyran Commonwealth. All eyes, and  ambitions, were now focused on the Capellan Zone. Lucien’s son Reynard Davion took control of  the Federated Suns on the 21st of May 2340   after the death of his uncle Charles. Reynard  was much more military minded than the previous   generation of Davions and sought to bring the new  might of his nation to bear against the Capellans.   During Charles’ reign he had founded the  Federated Peacekeeping Forces, a predecessor   to the current day AFFS, and used them to  retake some of the worlds that had been lost.   Now they had new targets. When the Marlette Association had joined  with the Fed Suns, they brought with them   their rivalry with Tikonov. Seeking to settle  old scores, Reynard began his campaign in 2344   targeting several worlds in the Chesterton  Province of the Tikonov Grand Union.   The Union was in decline at this point  and after resisting for only a year,   in 2345 signed the Almach Accords handing control  of the disputed planets over to the Federated   Suns. They then cemented these territorial  gains by concluding the Acala Pact with the   Capellan Commonality ensuring they would not  support their ally in a counter-invasion. Sensing blood in the water, the always aggressive  Sarna Supremacy launched their own invasion of the   Tikonov Grand Union in 2351. By the end of the  following year the Supremacy had taken control   of the remaining Chesterton worlds. Both sides  petitioned the Capellan Commonality to support   them in their case for ownership over these  planets and when help was not forthcoming,   entered their own candidates into the running  for governorship of what was essentially a   foreign realm. Continued involvement of foreign  powers in the election process eroded the common   people’s faith in the democratic process until  few believed that the Commonality was sustainable. The Federated Suns invasion of 2357 brought the  reality of their situation sharply back into   focus. Several worlds were taken, including  Chesterton, and as a result of the fiasco   the government collapsed. In its place a new one  formed under the leadership of Seluk Tucas who was   able to assuage the rulers on Sarna and Tikonov by  supporting the former in their recent acquisitions   and promising the latter a renewed campaign  to retake the worlds lost to House Davion.   Tucas’ immediate response was to  send forces to the planet Bell   but upon arrival they found  the colony completely deserted. 2363 was the year chosen for the counterattack  on the Federated Suns. Renouncing the Acala and   Almach Accords, the Commonality went on the  offensive, sending eight crack regiments from   Capellan, St. Ives and Tikonov to the planet Lee  as the first step of their grand invasion. This   was as far as they would go however as elements  within the Supremacy government had leaked plans   to the Federated Suns. Waiting for them on  Lee were ten regiments of Davion’s finest.   The ensuing bloodbath saw precious  few of the Commonality forces escape.   Tucas would not long outlive them and  was assassinated in February 2365. The Aris family, dormant since the  Hegemony-Supremacy War, saw this moment to retake   control of the region but faced unexpectedly  stiff opposition from their rivals in House Liao.   At the conference held to discuss the future  of the Capellan Zone nations, the mood was   grim as word had just reached the delegates that  Reynard Davion had dispatched his fleet to Capella   to ensure the validity of the next election. As  the others bickered, Franco Liao made the bold   suggestion to disband the Commonality entirely. In  its place would rise the Capellan Confederation,   one strong unified nation under the  control of a single central figure.   This new nation would be powerful enough to resist  Davion aggression he promised. The alternative was   that he would use his extensive merchant navy  to blockade all key worlds within the Zone. His motion passed with a unanimous-but-one vote.  After officially disbanding the Commonality he   extended an olive branch to Warren Aris,  offering to make him Deputy Chancellor.   Aris threw the offer back in his  face, so instead he had him executed.   Racing to Capella, Liao evacuated as many and  as much as he could before the arrival of the   Federated Suns fleet, leaving the system  himself only hours before they appeared. The Davions soon moved into the deserted city  but the Liao fleet jumped back behind them.   Confident that they would not fire upon their  own city and civilians, the Davion commander   refused to surrender and made plans to contact  New Avalon. Franco never gave him the opportunity.   Every weapon available was fired upon  Capella Prime devastating the city,   those left behind and the  FPF forces. In the aftermath,   the Confederacy capital was moved to Sian,  where it remains to this present day. Though most of the nations within the Capellan  Zone ratified the foundation of the Confederacy,   it was now the turn of the Tikonovs to act  contentiously. The Grand Union would outlive   the other states, which were now rebranded as  Commonalities within the greater Confederacy,   and the two groups initially maintained  an awkward semi-independent neutrality.   The nobility of Tikonov turned to creating  private armies to defy laws coming from Sian. Franco decided to make an example of one   especially troublesome unit known  as Tormassov’s Galactic Rangers.   He maneuvered his own forces onto the planet  and attacked the gang, chasing them offworld.   As they fled they unknowingly entered the Taurian  Concordat where they were shocked to come into   contact with an at the time unknown nation. As  Tormassov discussed an alliance with this new   group, the Capellans arrived. In the confusion  the Tikonov unit was able to steal several   Taurian JumpShips and made their next move into  Davion space where they were finally destroyed. Seeking the source of a presumed Capellan  raid, Reynard moved rimward and stumbled   upon the Concordat himself. Not recognising  them as an independent nation he attacked.   At last the cover had been blown and the Taurians  were forced to fight back. The ensuing short   war saw both the Federated Suns and the Taurian  Concordat develop a lasting hatred for each other.   The conflict only ended with the  death of Reynard Davion in 2371. On the opposite side of the Sphere, Robert  Marsden launched a coup to take complete   control of the Lyran Commonwealth. Disgusted  by the way the ruling archons were taking   advantage of the economic crisis that  was bankrupting millions of citizens,   he was finally able to forge the Commonwealth  into a functional nation. Tamar and Skye at first   resisted but Marsden dispatched his military  forces, loyal from his prior service, to crush   them into submission. The looming threat of a  Kurita attack kept the realm from flying apart. A period of peace settled on the  galaxy in the wake of the hostilities.   Nobody knew it at the time but  this was nothing but a brief   respite before the devastating  Age of War that would follow. The Age of War was a period of 150 years that  saw a near constant state of conflict develop   between the various states of the Inner Sphere. It  directly followed the unification of the disparate   planetary groups during the 24th century and  the 25 years of peace that began in the 2370s.   During the early years of humanity’s  expansion into space, though there   was the occasional border conflict, this was  nothing compared to what would soon follow. In many ways though, the Age of War conjures  images that are largely incongruent with the   reality of those years. The fighting that  permeated this period in history was an   unusual mix, primarily low-level and low casualty  border disputes not too dissimilar to the Third   Succession War, but with occasional bursts of  atrocities and unrestrained use of nuclear,   chemical and biological weapons. Even still, the  death toll from the combined 150 years would be   surpassed by the comparatively brief Reunificafion  War that would immediately follow it. The idea of civilised warfare was one that first  came to fruition during the Age of War, following   the explosive Andurien War. This conflict,  beginning in 2398, is today viewed as the official   commencement of this dark chapter in history. Soon  after the Ares Conventions would come into being   and have a lasting impact on the way wars were  contested. Later, the publication of the Lorix   Creed would cement the idea of the warrior as  someone noble and worthy of the utmost respect. This period of history would see the last of the  great houses make their debut with the rise of   House Steiner in the Lyran Commonwealth. It  would also see the near extinction of House   Kurita in the Draconis Combine and the complete  implosion of House Davion in the Federated Suns. Perhaps the most significant development  during the Age of War was a technological one.   It was during the mid 25th Century that  BattleMechs first took to the field,   revolutionising the art of war. What followed  was a mad scramble as the neighbouring nations   employed various methods to get  their hands on their own ‘Mechs. A study of the Age of War should be encouraged  by all acolytes of history, as in many ways,   the political fallout from this time period is  still being felt today in 3025. But doing so comes   with its challenges. Many important documents from  the period are missing and charting the continued   expansion of the great powers is difficult  to accomplish with any degree of accuracy.   With only fragmentary records to draw upon,  there are unfortunate gaps in our knowledge. The first comprehensive interstellar map dates  from the founding of the Star League in 2571,   the culmination and conclusion to the entire  Age of War. From this we can extrapolate   backwards where records allow, but the further  back we go, inevitably errors will creep in,   particularly as we approach the borders of  the periphery, about which we know so little.   It’s quite probable that the outward expansion  of nations continued gradually throughout the Age   but for the sake of our analyses, we can  only display the end-point throughout. Before delving into the Age of War proper,  it would be beneficial to take a brief   look at the relative fortunes of the six  major powers at the turn of the century. In the Terran Hegemony, the role of  Director-General passed to McKenna's   relative, Michael Cameron. One particularly  noteworthy reform introduced during his   reign was the introduction of the peer  list, a modernised form of nobility.   Though these weren’t hereditary titles at first,  this idea would disseminate across the Inner   Sphere and soon the rest of the neighbouring  realms had their own equivalent. This period   of time also saw a gradual strengthening of the  family's ties to the role of Director-General. After Michael the directorship passed through  several heirs before coming to rest with his   grandson Brian. By the end of the century the  Camerons were so ingrained in the political   landscape that even the allegation that he  was behind the death of his unpopular brother   wasn’t enough to stop Brian from  ascending to the top step of government.   Once in power he began to construct  the so-called Castles Brian,   a series of expansive fortifications  along the border of the Terran Hegemony. The Federated Suns had already seen the Presidency  pass between half a dozen Davions in its short   life. For the most part things were going well  but a looming shadow was hanging over the nation.   A problem of succession had developed between the  twin sons of the unpopular Etien Davion and the   only child of Etien's younger brother Paul. Both  the brothers had served as President at one point   adding further complexities to the issue. For the  time being the President of the Federated Suns was   Etien and Paul's sister, Marie, who hoped to hand  the reins to Paul's son once he was old enough. In the Draconis Combine there was no question that  it was the Kurita dynasty that would continue to   inherit the role of Coordinator. Shiro’s son Tenno  succeeded him and afterwards Tenno’s son Nihongi.   The latter had been an ineffectual ruler and  had gradually alienated all of his supporters   and family. Before any action was taken  to remove him from power, a horse riding   accident saw him lose his life and the seat  of power passed to his militant son Robert. Across the border in the Lyran Commonwealth,  the Marsden Coup had brought about a dramatic   improvement for the fledgling nation.  This was not to last however as in 2395,   a botched assault against Promised Land  resulted in the death of the Archon   under suspicious circumstances. A military  takeover was narrowly avoided with the   ascension of Robert's brother Alistair, a  junior officer in the Lyran Armed Forces. The Free Worlds League remained the most  democratic of the major powers with no   single family dominating the political  landscape. However, cracks were starting   to develop between the powerful Houses  Marik of Atreus and Selaj of Regulus. The newest of all the great powers, the  Capellan Confederation had a score to   settle with its neighbours. Franco Liao had not  long delayed in strengthening his family's ties   to the seat of Chancellor and this position  was inherited by his warmonger son Kurnath.   It was he that would ultimately start the Age  of War by launching the Andurien campaign. Over the course of the next century-and-a-half,  three separate major wars would be fought over   these worlds between the Capellan Confederation  and Free Worlds League. The Capellans also   began a brutal war of extremes  with the Taurian Concordat.   The Lyran Commonwealth would suffer a major thrust  on each of its borders in the early 25th century,   before beginning their infamous Long March  Campaign in retaliation. The only border that   was relatively quiet during this time was between  the Draconis Combine and Federated Suns but that   was merely because the two had not yet advanced  to the point of close proximity. By the beginning   of the 26th century they too were launching  constant probes and raids against each other. But by far the largest and most destructive  conflict of the entire age was waged within   the borders of a single state. The Davion  Civil War was a four-way battle for   supremacy of enormous complexity as various  branches of the family fought for dominance. If the average citizen of the 31st century  were to go to their local bookstore and   purchase an atlas of the Inner Sphere, they’d  perhaps notice a conspicuous absence within.   One of the most infamous planets in human history,  the border world of Andurien, source of so much   bloodshed and arguably the progenitor to the wars  that have been waging for over half a millennium,   is nowhere to be found. It’s no grand conspiracy  but merely the result of the collective human   consciousness deciding that some things are best  forgotten, and to speak of them is to needlessly   open old wounds. And so, Andurien continues  to be absent in many published works today. The planet itself, first colonised by the  Sian Commonwealth in the 23rd century,   had been taken by the Free Worlds League in  2369, one of the numerous worlds Franco Liao   had willingly traded for time while he struggled  to unify his realm into a force strong enough to   fight off aggressors. Now though, Kurnath  Liao wanted to make a name for himself by   retaking those lost worlds, starting with the  planets claimed by the Free Worlds League. The attack wasn't unexpected as Peter Marik had  been elected as Captain-General of the Free Worlds   a few years earlier in anticipation. The Capellans  first descended on numerous worlds in the Andurien   region but the fighting soon spread along the  entire border. Nor was the Free Worlds League   the sole target of Kurnath’s wrath as in 2399  Liao forces carried out an orbital bombardment   of Novaya Zemlya in the Federated Suns as  retaliation for the destruction of Capella Prime. In the first three years of the war things  were going against the Free Worlds League   and several worlds including Andurien, were  lost. The disastrous defence of Kwamashu by   Peter Marik in 2401 saw parliament start to  turn against him. This shift was championed   by House Selaj. Gradually the power and  authority of the Captain-Generalcy was eroded,   with the intent to reduce the influence of House  Marik, the traditional holders of the title. Despite this outside interference, Peter Marik  was able to formulate a plan to turn the tide   in his favour. He launched a deep strike raid  into the heart of the Capellan Confederation,   taking aim at their capital Sian as well Cordiagr  and Capella. The goal was to relieve the pressure   on his defenders by distracting Kurnath’s  commanders with attacks behind the lines. At first the Liao forces pressed ahead, taking El  Giza and Mosiro but eventually they were forced   to divert some of their forces to protect  their own worlds. The momentum had now swung   firmly behind Marik and soon Liao troops were  withdrawing from the planets they had taken. A peace agreement signed in 2404 sought  to resolve the Andurien issue for good by   allowing those worlds to vote as to which nation  they would belong after ten years had passed,   their eventual choice being to  remain with the Free Worlds League.   Even so, the fuse had been lit and  violence continued elsewhere along   the border. In time this would spread  to encompass the entire Inner Sphere. A century would pass before another mad Liao  would set his sights on the Andurien worlds again.   This time it was lust that would bring  about the destruction of so many lives.   Kalvin Liao, Chancellor of the Confederation, had  been making repeated advances to the daughter of   the duke of Andurien, hoping that she would join  his harem of more than two dozen wives. Rebuffed   at every turn, Kalvin was eventually spurned  into action and in 2528 launched his offensive. This time the conflict would engulf the entire  Duchy of Andurien and Liao troops could be   found everywhere from Meadowvale to Fujidera.  Facing Kalvin was Captain-General Albert Marik,   whose superior military strategy was able  to push back repeated Capellan assaults. In his anger, Kalvin unleashed nuclear armageddon  on the Andurien worlds, launching the death toll   into the millions. Nor was the target of  the entire campaign, Lady Messillia Allard,   spared from this fate, dying alongside thousands  of other innocents in one of the blasts. Only the assassination of Kalvin in 2530  allowed for an opportunity to end the conflict.   His successor, Mica Liao met with  Albert on New Delos the following year,   at a meeting orchestrated by Deborah  Cameron of the Terran Hegemony.   It was agreed that the planets would  be returned to the Free Worlds League.   As a restitution, the contested world of  Hassad was also offered in the treaty. And yet even this was not the end of the issue.  Just twenty years later, the latest Chancellor,   Terrence Liao, saw a third Andurien campaign  as a way to win support and so kicked off yet   another war in 2551. The aging Albert Marik  returned to the field again and by ‘56 had   fought Liao to a standstill, again securing  the planets for the Free Worlds League. This time peace was orchestrated  by Deborah Cameron’s son Ian,   the new Director-General. The Treaty of Geneva  settled the issue once and for all but not in the   way many expected. Having successfully won two  campaigns there was no doubt that Albert Marik   had the strongest hand in the negotiations but  he and Ian Cameron had even greater ambitions. In the final years of the 24th Century, Robert  Kurita took the reins of power from his deceased   father and became the fourth Coordinator of the  Draconis Combine. Already he had established a   brutal reputation for himself, having murdered  his sister’s peasant lover, Werner von Rohrs,   and so those around him prepared for the worst. Looking on enviously at the fighting going  on in the rimward area of the Inner Sphere,   Robert Kurita began planning his own  offensive against the Lyran Commonwealth.   His plan called for a feigned push towards the  Lyran capital of Arcturus along the border between   the Federation of Skye and Tamar Pact where  the defenses were weakest. But after the Lyrans   moved to defend their capital, the Kuritans would  swing to the left and aim to meet a second push   coming from the direction of the Terran Hegemony,  thereby isolating a large chunk of the Federation. The first phase of the campaign,  beginning in January 2407,   got off to a great start for the Draconis  Combine. It wasn't until Morningside that   the Lyran Commonwealth was able to muster  enough of a defence to stop their advance.   Worried that losing Arcturus would cause  the collapse of the Lyran administration,   Alistair Marsden made the decision to move  the capital to his homeworld of Tharkad,   leaving the construction of this new government  complex to his new wife Katherine Steiner. Meanwhile Lyran intelligence had pinpointed  the location of a major staging post on Vega.   Recognising the threat of a second wave, Marsden  launched a preemptive raid in early 2408,   devastating the unprepared defenders. Wheeling  around to respond to the calls for aid coming   from Menkent, Alistair arrived to reinforce  the beleaguered defenders on January 28th   where he took personal command of  the 311th Skye Armoured Cavalry.   Morale was high and the fledgling Lyran Armed  Forces seemed to be finally coming together   behind their Archon. Three days later,  Alistair was killed during an attack. While the Lyran command reeled from this  loss, Katherine quickly seized control of   the Archonship. She was able to free more  forces by inviting the Terran Hegemony to   station forces on the jointly held worlds that  they had negotiated with their neighbours,   a practice the Hegemony had employed in other  areas of the Inner Sphere as well. On Lyons   the HAF was able to repulse a Kurita attack but  this was the only confrontation between the two. Katherine was able to secure her seat of power by  dispatching her major rivals to the front lines.   In March they were able to win a major  victory at Meachem but in due course,   all would be counted among the list of casualties.  Controversially, Katherine also reverted her name   from Marsden back to Steiner, and her son  Alistair would be known as Marsden-Steiner. Robert Kurita's campaign was finally abandoned in  2409 but raids between the two nations continued,   perpetuating the constant state of war  developing across the Inner Sphere.   An assassin's bullet to the head would  spell the end for Robert Kurita in 2412   with the Coordinatorship passing to his brother. His campaign had not made a single notable gain  for the Draconis Combine. And yet, unknown to   himself at his time of death, he would perhaps  make the single greatest impact on House Kurita   of any individual since Shiro himself. First, he  had unleashed House Steiner, mortal enemy of the   Kuritans, onto the Inner Sphere. Second, after  the birth of his nephew Nihongi von Rohrs,   his prior actions would result in  the near extinction of his house. In 2412 a Free Worlds League invasion force  landed on Tintavel with the intent of liberating   the planet from its Liao occupiers. What  transpired became known as the Tintavel Massacre,   when unrestrained use of firepower led to  the devastation of the civilian population   and hundreds of thousands of casualties. The Capellan chancellor, Aleisha Liao, was so  incensed by the violence that she was compelled   to begin an initiative that would forever change  the way wars were waged within the Inner Sphere.   Inviting the heads of government from each of  the six major powers, as well as four minor ones,   to a peace conference on Ares, Aleisha laid out a  proposal to severely restrict the use of WMDs as   well as strictly define where military engagements  could take place and who could be targeted. The reception to these proposals was  largely positive but the reasons for   the signatories giving their approval  varied. Aleisha herself wanted peace   but the marshal Kuritans approved of  the honourable new style of combat. Though some were sceptical, each member nation  understood the possibility that the others would   unite against them if they refused to sign and  so almost all did. Crucially though, two refused.   The mistrustful Taurians suspected a trick  and withdrew from talks. The United Hindu   Collective declined for a different reason,  suspecting that these articles would actually   legitimise and legalise warfare as a means  of settling disputes and thus lead to further   conflict. History would show that to be an  incredible display of foresight on their part. The Ares Conventions are lauded as  one of the great documents of human   history but their significance is often  overstated. Though they did result in a   gradual shift away from more destructive  methods of fighting, a closer look at   the content of the articles reveals just  how toothless the documents actually are. First of all, no reprimands or penalties  are defined by the conventions at all,   giving the signatories no basis for action should  one of their rivals resort to the use of WMDs or   civilian casualties during an attack. The only  repercussion then could be the retaliatory   use of such tactics by the offended party,  thereby breaking the Conventions themselves.   This was more or less the state of  affairs before the Ares conference,   where the concept of MAD acted as  a deterrent to the use of WMDs. Furthermore, the Conventions only governed the  use of unconscionable tactics between signatories,   leaving several major loopholes. First of  all, nations who did not sign left themselves   vulnerable, as the Taurian Concordat would soon  discover. Pirates were expressly permitted as fair   game and so not surprisingly, the definition  of pirates expanded wildly after the signing   and so-called pirates appeared up and down all  the borders. Lastly, internal conflicts were not   covered by the restrictions and so civilians would  continue to suffer during times of civil war. Another problem with the Ares Conventions  was that despite being tabled in 2412,   they wouldn't come into effect for  some time afterwards. For example,   the Federated Suns' representative  at the meeting was Simon Davion.   The so-called Twin Tyrants who were the presidents  of the Federated Suns in the early 25th century   did not acknowledge his decision to sign and it  wasn't until Simon came to power some years later   that the Federated Suns officially adopted  them. Other nations too had their own delays. In practical terms then the Ares Conventions were  hampered by a number of problems and this is best   demonstrated by the fact that over the next  century, each of the signatory nations would   make use of WMDs when convenient. The problem was  serious enough that the Capellan Confederation and   Federated Suns signed their own pact prohibiting  the use of nuclear arms against each other. However, despite its flaws in imposing limitations  on the use of WMDs and restricting civilian   targets, ultimately the Conventions would lead  to a reduction in the number of casualties.   Unfortunately, the conventions  would result in an increase in   the number of engagements fought between nations. Strategically insignificant sized  units suddenly had the ability to   contest worlds within the framework  outlined by the Ares Conventions.   Even in defeat they could withdraw  to argue the issue again another day.   Therefore fighting increased but the strategic  gains and accomplishments decreased. Border   worlds became a see-saw of back and forth, with  rulers changing on a yearly or even monthly basis. Despite being lauded as bringing  about the idea of civilised warfare,   if anything the Ares Conventions proliferated  the idea of war as a means to an end. One final amendment was added to the Conventions  in the late 26th Century. It is an amendment that   is too often overlooked and forgotten about.  In 2579, shortly after the creation of the Star   League, all six member-states unanimously voted  to rescind the Ares Conventions in their entirety,   paving the way for the atrocities  of the Reunification War. In 2412, the various nations of the Inner Sphere  came together to sign the Ares Conventions.   This set of rules outlawed the use  of WMDs and restricted who could be   fired upon during an engagement, as well  as where those engagements took place. It's ironic that the nation whose initiative had  spawned the Ares Conventions was also the first   nation to break them. Aleisha Liao passed away  in 2415 and was replaced by Arden Baxter. Baxter   spent his time in power doing two things. The  first was curtailing the Liao family's influence.   The second was beginning the Rim War  against the Taurian Concordat in 2418. The next four years of fighting would see some  of the most brutal of the entire Age of War.   Since the Concordat was not a signatory of the  Ares Conventions, Baxter proclaimed that his   forces did not have to abide by them either.  Nuclear attacks and worse were frequently   deployed against the Taurians, who retaliated with  their own arsenal of WMDs. By the war's end only   three planets had been won by the Capellans  and those worlds were now barren wastelands. Tension was mounting between the Free Worlds  League and Lyran Commonwealth during this period,   with several planets falling to the latter. Fresh  on the heels of his victory over the Capellans,   Peter Marik was again chosen as Captain-General  and in 2416 was dispatched to retake the   lost worlds. Their main objective was to  dislodge the occupation force on Dieudonne. During this time Peter Marik was hamstrung by the  interference of his own government. Eventually,   parliament was even able to install an oversight  committee to control his actions. Despite this   he was able to succeed in his counterattack  against the Commonwealth and even pushed ahead   with an ill-advised attack on Rochelle in 2418. By  taking this planet, so crucial to the Federation   of Skye economy, he had effectively ensured  that long-term peace was an impossibility. When the Lyrans inevitably launched another  invasion just two years later he had become   so tired of the backroom government deals that  he refused the role of Captain-General outright.   In their desperation, parliament  turned to a member of House Stewart,   the second and last time a  non-Marik would hold the post,   but the results were less than stellar.  By 2427 the Lyrans had continued to push   rimward and even a major counterattack  in '32 failed to recover the lost worlds. It would fall to a second Peter  Marik to reverse their fortunes.   By now the situation was dire enough  that he was able to force the League   parliament to rescind the restrictions  they'd placed on the Captain-General   giving him access to the funds he needed  and the flexibility to act aggressively. His audacious plan called for a deep thrust  towards the capital of the Lyran Commonwealth,   Tharkad. Beginning in 2441, he began  his advance and within five years was   almost within striking distance of the capital. Knowing how isolated his position was on  the salient he had created within the Lyran   Commonwealth, and how vulnerable his supply  lines were behind him, he smartly sued for   peace. The captured worlds would unsurprisingly  return to Steiner control in time but Marik now   had the time to strengthen his defence as well  as his family's position within parliament. Seeking to settle the dispute once and  for all, the latest Captain-General,   Geralk Marik, launched yet another assault in  2455. Beginning on the world of Alula Borealis,   and then forcing the Lyrans off Bella the  following year, Geralk established a brutal   reputation for himself, using strategies that  made a mockery of the Ares Conventions. Such   was the perception of him among the Lyrans that  they took to calling him the "bloodthirsty giant." Later that year he launched an invasion of  Loric where the fighting was as fierce as ever.   Steiner was not prepared to let the  planet go and the invasion bogged down,   drawing on for another three years. By 2459 Geralk was preparing to make yet another  strike against the remaining Lyran held continent.   As he moved his regiments into position though, he  spotted a dozen great silhouettes on the horizon.   Confident of his numerical superiority, Geralk  pressed ahead, straight into the jaws of death. A blizzard of fire met them on approach and soon  the entire line was collapsing. The Free Worlds   League had just stumbled into the first deployment  of Lyran BattleMechs in history and immediately   paid the price. Only a single 'Mech was taken out  of action at the cost of dozens of Marik armour. Undeterred, Geralk ordered  his reserves into the fray.   Reports differ on his state of mind during  this final moment. Had he gone mad or was he   determined to make a heroic last stand against  the Lyran juggernauts? Either way, there was   nothing heroic about Geralk's demise, crushed  underfoot by this new mechanical monstrosity. No history of the Inner Sphere would be complete  without dedicating special attention to one of   the most iconic features of the modern  battlefield. The rise to prominence of   these new war machines had a revolutionary  influence on the way battles were fought and   on the balance of power between the nations  as the haves went up against the have nots. In 2439, the Terran Hegemony completed work on  the first prototype BattleMech, an evolution   of the technology present in the IndustrialMechs  that had become popular by the early 25th Century.   The first 'Mech design, known as the Mackie,  incorporated what was at the time cutting-edge   tech and a weapons payload to match even the  largest armoured vehicles. This 100-ton behemoth   made use of a neurohelmet for its pilot, allowing  for intuitive and complete control over all   systems at a level that surpassed the efficiency  and precision of a traditional multi-crew tank. Colonel Charles Kincaid had the honour  of giving the Mackie its first combat   trial against a platoon of remote-controlled tanks   and made short work of his opponents,  ushering in the age of the BattleMech.   News of these developments spread across the Inner  Sphere and the Hegemony's neighbours took notice. The Hegemony expanded their arsenal,  introducing the Kyudo and Banshee in   short order and began construction on a  number of assemblies across the nation.   One heavily fortified location was built within  the mountains of Hesperus, which was at the   time a jointly owned world between the Terrans  and the Federation of Skye. No-one knew at the   time but this particular facility would become a  central location in the next 500 years of history. The first recorded combat involving 'Mechs  took place during a Kurita raid on Styx in 2443   where a single Hegemony lance took on and  destroyed the Draconis Combine invaders. Every   side now began scrambling for blueprints that  would allow them to design and build their own   BattleMech. Various attempts at espionage, trade  agreements, bribery and assault were undertaken by   the different factions. Despite the best efforts  of the Terran Hegemony, the knowledge would   eventually disseminate across the Inner Sphere  to all the great houses and periphery nations. The number of different 'Mech designs  thus exploded with every side working   to field their own units. 36 years after  their first combat trial, the first 'Mech   Vs 'Mech action took place between the  Draconis Combine and Lyran Commonwealth   and from then on the history of the Inner  Sphere would never be the same again. BattleMechs were designed to take advantage of  two technological developments. The first was the   invention of artificial muscles, known myomers,  by Dr Gregory Atlas in the mid 24th century.   The tensile strength of myomers was herculean, far  surpassing even the most optimistic predictions of   the scientists behind it. The second came shortly  after the first 'Mechs took to the field and that   was a new form of lightweight ablative armour  consisting of layers of titanium-steel alloys,   ceramics and artificial diamonds. At first this  new armour was limited in its construction,   leading to many early 'Mech designs being boxlike  in shape, but later models had greater variety. Early designs were primitive by today's  standards. Recognising the need to maintain   their technological edge, the Hegemony refined  their work and were able to field more advanced   units for some years, sometimes even decades,  before their neighbours were able to catch up.   They maintained this tech advantage in all  matters throughout most of the Age of War. 'Mechs offered a number of advantages over  conventional armour. As previously mentioned,   the natural synergy between  mind and bipedal 'Mech could   result in increased performance  compared to traditional vehicles.   This design also gave extra maneuverability and  allowed for actions such as rolling, crawling and   even scaling mountainsides, feats that would be  totally impossible in tracked or wheeled units. Perhaps one of the largest contributing factors  to the prevalence of 'Mech designs during this   period was how well they integrated with  the pre-established Ares Conventions.   This way a small elite team of MechWarriors  could fight an entire campaign over a planet,   and at far lesser cost than a  full army from previous centuries. This in turn had an unexpected consequence as  those pilots became increasingly romantacised   by the everyday public to the point where  they were viewed as modern knights in armour.   In time this would develop into a warrior elite,   a new class of nobility, continuing to  change the perception of modern warfare. One aspect of ‘Mech design that is often  incorrectly perceived is their size.   The typical ‘Mech is around a dozen metres  tall, with the lighter chassis sometimes   coming in under ten, and the tallest  reaching to around fourteen metres.   The misconception often stems from people  who have never seen one in the field,   or sometimes propaganda, commercial vidtapes  or even games misrepresenting their size. The interstellar nations would quickly settle  on a standardised form of organising their   'Mech forces based on multiples of three,  an evolution of earlier armoured units.   The basic building block was the lance, a  quartet of 'Mechs designed to complement   each other's abilities or, as the number  of 'Mechs increased, simplify logistics. A trio of Lances formed a company and a trio of  companies a battalion, often with an additional   command lance attached. Three battalions would  form a regiment which would typically have a   command team of two lances on top, though the  size of this unit varied. In the Age of War,   larger units than regiments were almost always  a mixture of 'Mechs and traditional armour. Though each of the great houses would eventually  field great numbers of these new units,   there was a brief period in history when a single  house was able to acquire the technology early,   profit greatly from it and then  employ their new marvels in a   crushing invasion of their neighbours in  what we know today as Steiner's Long March. The BattleMech construction facilities on  Hesperus have a long and storied history   going back to their very inception. Over the  past 250 years, no fewer than thirteen major   battles have been fought for the control  or destruction of these mountain complexes.   But 300 years before even the first of  those, Hesperus was the site of a major   Lyran covert operation, the success of  which would change the course of history. Hesperus was at the time a jointly owned  world shared between the Federation of   Skye and the Terran Hegemony. With the advent  of the BattleMech, the Hegemony needed secure   sites to construct these behemoths. That they  chose somewhere outside their own borders at   first seems absurd but the fact that these  facilities would survive the collapse of the   Star League and the ravages of the Succession  Wars just goes to show that they chose wisely. The Lyran Intelligence Corps  immediately began efforts to   infiltrate the facility and steal the plans  but their efforts were blocked at every turn.   When Katherine Steiner abdicated in favour  of her son Alistair, the new Archon began   formulating plans that would take a more  direct approach to acquiring the blueprints. It was February 7th 2455 and one of the last  outbound DropShips of the day was departing when   suddenly an explosion illuminated the night sky.  The DropShip had suffered a major malfunction and   was now plummeting to earth. It’s trajectory was  quickly calculated as crashing into the compound.   The alarm was raised and the night staff at the  BattleMech facility was frantically evacuated   while the pilot fought to slow the descent. Aboard the ship, the occupants held on for  dear life and prayed their pilot was up to   the job he’d been hired for, hoping  all the while that their deliberate   detonation wouldn’t be followed with a  fiery explosion upon impact with the ground.   As fate would have it, the crew was able to  arrest their downwards momentum just as the   ship disappeared behind the high mountain walls  and touched down safely, if somewhat ungracefully. Disembarking, a crack team of 25 LIC  operatives led by Colonel Simon Kelswa   hurriedly made their way into the now deserted  facility and began to hack into the mainframe.   The Hegemony guards quickly realised something  was amiss and approached the miraculously intact   DropShip, only before a second detonation  utterly destroyed the ship and much of the   surrounding area. This bought the infiltration  team enough time to copy 90% of their target   files before the order was given to withdraw,  whereupon they escaped into the mountains.   A short time later they regrouped at the civilian  star port and boarded a second freighter,   headed deeper into Lyran space.  Operation PROMETHEUS was a success. With the BattleMech plans now in their possession,  the Lyrans became only the second nation to   field this latest technological advancement and  immediately began construction of their own units.   These would see their combat debut on Loric in  2459 where Captain-General Geralk Marik became the   first leader of one of the great houses to die at  the hands (or in his case, feet) of a BattleMech. Alistair knew there was a lot to be gained  from his nation’s new technological advantage,   but also understood the continued proliferation  of BattleMech technology was inevitable.   The Federated Suns soon came knocking seeking  a trade agreement that would grant them access   to the stolen data. Recognising there was  little to fear from this distant nation,   the savvy Lyrans were able to charge an  extortionate fee that would bolster their economy.   Furthermore, Davion ‘Mechs would soon become a  thorn in the side of their rivals the Kuritans. Recognising the danger, the Draconis Combine  organised their own raid on the new Lyran   construction facilities on Coventry. Theirs was a  more direct assault but was nonetheless successful   and so now four of the nations had the tech.  The retributions for the failure to defend the   compound were severe, spreading a discontent among  the workers that would ultimately lead to certain   of them defecting to the Free Worlds League,  bringing with them the valuable blueprints. The   League in turn would suffer its own defections  to the Capellan Confederation sometime after.   Even the periphery nations got in on the  act. The Rim Worlds Republic had actually   contributed to Operation PROMETHEUS and  though they lacked complete schematics,   they hit the ground running once they were  finally able to secure the missing pieces. Recognising that the time to act was now, while  the other nations were still in the early stages   of development, Alistair began preparing for what  would become known as the Long March Campaign. Lyran BattleMechs first descended on the border  worlds of Nox, Skondia and Trolloc Prime,   easily scattering the Kuritans defenders. The next  major target was Caldrea but here they faced more   stubborn resistance. The DCMS had dug into the  mountains and repeated assaults had failed to   dislodge them. As the death toll mounted, Lyran  commanders began to discuss the unspeakable. One final assault was attempted that  saw an elite group of MechWarriors   scale the near vertical mountain  walls to attack from the rear   but an ambush caught the entire unit by  surprise and they were summarily destroyed.   The Kuritan commander had just signed the death  warrant for his entire garrison. The Steiner   troops withdrew to a safe distance and watched  as nuclear missiles rained down on the complex,   obliterating the occupants and leaving nothing  behind of the once mighty fortifications. The Long March Campaign was a two front  war however and fighting was every bit   as fierce on the Free Worlds front. Here things  progressed at a slower pace but the Lyrans were   able to make some advances. The invasion would  finally come to a halt during their attempts to   retake the world of Alula Borealis, one of those  captured by the Bloodthirsty Giant Geralk Marik.   Here the fighting would continue for years but  it was the arrival of fresh Free Worlds League   Military reinforcements that turned the tide.  The Lyran troops got a bitter taste of their own   medicine when lumbering over the hills towards  them came the first of the Marik BattleMechs. Robert Kurita, the warmongering Coordinator of  the Draconis Combine, was assassinated in 2412   bringing to an end his reign of misdeeds. Though  it was never proven, the common belief is that it   was orchestrated as a revenge killing by his  sister Marika as retribution for killing her   lover, Werner von Rohrs, a stable boy who  had been deemed to be beneath her station. Marika was already pregnant at the time and  shortly before the Age of War began, gave birth   to Nihongi von Rohrs, named for his grandfather  who shared a love of horses. Raised from birth to   have a deep hatred of the ruling Kurita line, the  child would in time come closer to extinguishing   the Kurita family than either of their long term  rivals, the Davions and Steiners, have ever been. In Robert’s place rose his brother Parker, an  uninspired leader who achieved little of note   during his time as Coordinator. It was perhaps  because of this that Nihongi was able to begin   winning the support of several military officers  with talk of ousting Parker. The death of the   third brother Saigo during a raid on Vega in  2419 created somewhat of a succession crisis.   Though illegitimate, Nihongi was now the closest  blood relative to Parker and next in line for   the throne. Only a single thing now stood in  his way, the support of a major Kurita backer. Decades earlier, the Urizen branch of the  Kurita family had established themselves as   the military governors of the Principality  of Rasalhague. A significant portion of   the population had always chafed under the  rule of a foreign realm however and in 2375   orchestrated a terrorist bombing that saw almost  the complete destruction of the Urizen branch. Jason Kurita survived the blast but was seriously  mentally scarred by the death of almost his entire   family. In time he would unleash a campaign  of brutality against the people he governed.   Also surviving the blast was his sister  Oma who had been whisked away by the   rebels and was held in seclusion under  the watchful eye of the Sorensen family. Before any demands were made, fate dealt  an unexpected hand and Oma fell in love   with her would-be kidnapper, eventually  giving birth to a son, Daniel Sorensen.   When Jason finally learned his sister was alive he  launched an attack to recover her from the rebels,   most of whom were killed in the attack.  Grief stricken by the death of her husband,   Oma never recovered and passed  away a few years later, around   the time that another illegitimate  child was born, Nihongi von Rohrs. Jason and Nihongi fell into league together, the  latter promising great rewards and power in his   new government, the same favours he was offering  to all his supporters. With Jason’s support,   it was time to act on his master plan. In  March of 2421, as the Coordinator slept,   his household guard was being cycled out and  new men loyal to Nihongi took to their posts.   As the palace woke the next morning, they found  that Parker had been sentenced and executed within   a few hours during the night and a new Coordinator  now sat the throne. Though some units resisted   the takeover, reinforcements dispatched by Jason  Kurita swiftly ensured the success of the coup. Nor was this the only killing that took  place. Several co-conspirators were also   summarily executed, as were certain members of  the Kurita family, with many more sent into exile.   However, by sending his troops, Jason had  opened up his own realm to rebellion and   was soon facing serious opposition, helmed by  none other than his nephew Daniel Sorensen.   Hearing of their distant cousin’s escapades, the  exiled members of the Kurita family flocked to   his cause, and in another twist of fate, the  Rasalhague rebels became the Kurita loyalists. When Daniel came for Jason Kurita, the governor  resisted arrest and tried to shoot his nephew   but was in turn killed by Sorensen.  He now rose to prominence as the new   Lord of Rasalhague and once again the  realm was a free and independent nation. Unfortunately for the citizens of the Draconis  Combine, their lives became one of constant terror   under the police state of the Von Rohrs. Shortly  after his ascension, Nihongi took to styling   himself purely by his family name, a trait that  he would pass on to his children and successors.   Many in the Combine today could not tell you  how many Von Rohr coordinators there were   as the entire family withdrew into seclusion and  ruled without contact with the outside world. The rest of the 25th Century played out without  much of note for us historians to look into.   After securing plans to construct BattleMechs,   the Von Rohrs were able to reverse the losses  suffered during the Long March Campaign.   One of the chief tools in this victory was  the self-styled Draconis ‘Mech, the Von Rohr. By 2497 an unusual situation had developed  in the Benjamin District worlds close to the   Terran Hegemony. The Azami people had gradually  established majority governorship of several   planets and formed their own breakaway nation  within the borders of the Draconis Combine.   The Von Rohr Coordinator of the time dispatched an  invasion force to subjugate these people but the   assault would unfold with disturbing parallels to  an old Earth tale known as The War of the Worlds.   As unspeakable atrocities were committed,   the Draconis forces came into contact  with the blood of the dead civilians.   The dead bodies and the hot temperatures of the  Azami worlds, coupled with a latent virus present   in the blood created a plague that would wipe out  the entire invasion force down to the last man. Also during this period, new attempts were  made to reconcile the Draconis Combine   with the Principality of Rasalhague. Martin  McAllister was dispatched as an ambassador to   treat with Blaine Sorensen. Unexpectedly,  or perhaps as Sorensen had orchestrated,   he found himself falling in  love with his daughter Illiyana.   The love proved genuine and in time the couple  would celebrate the birth of their daughter. Siriwan McAllister was born in February 2496 and  would go on to become one of the most influential   individuals in the history of the Inner Sphere.  Certainly the exploits of her life are deserving   of a special focus, but for the time being she  was just a child and so for now we’ll leave her   out of the history, though she was present at  several key meetings and events during this era. McAllister and Sorensen meanwhile  we’re formulating their own plans.   Martin was dispatched on several lengthy  trips to Rasalhague under the guise of   building relations between the two realms.  The Von Rohrs remained oblivious to his   true intentions and he continued to work his  way up the chain of command until he was one   of the most powerful individuals within the  Combine. Even still, Martin remained unsure   whether he had even met a member of the Von Rohr  household, so secretive was that ruling family. In 2508, Coordinator Yama was abruptly  imprisoned and removed from office by   troops loyal to McAllister. A new Von Rohr  was hurriedly sworn in but confusion reigned,   as neither the new Coordinator understood  what charges had been laid against his brother   and how he suddenly now held a position  of apparent supreme power, nor did the   government functionaries and military leaders  understand who even was the new coordinator.   The Von Rohr family’s grip on  the Combine started to falter. In 2510, Blaine Sorensen unexpectedly  launched a major invasion of the Combine.   All available troops were dispatched to  meet this attack, leaving the palace on   New Samarkand open to a strike. McAllister chose  this moment to assault the Coordinators residence.   With no-one quite sure as to the identities of  those within, a brutal purge was conducted that   saw the entire population of the compound wiped  out, Von Rohr and servants alike. In an instant,   the family that had ruled the Draconis  Combine for almost a century was extinguished. The militaries of the two powers were  hastily stood down to avoid bloodshed,   Sorensen’s attack having been  nothing but a ruse and Martin   and Blaine met on the world of Pesht to make  an announcement that would shock the Combine.   Many years earlier, Sorensen had insisted  that McAllister take a DNA analysis which   had proven beyond a doubt that Martin was  in fact a blood descendent of Shiro Kurita,   the founding father of the Draconis Combine. His  marriage to Illiyana meant that the two families   were now bound by blood and plans were drawn up to  fully integrate the Principality of Rasalhague as   a part of the Combine, achieving what Urizen  had set out to do almost 200 years earlier.   Blaine Sorensen was confirmed in his  new position as Duke of Rasalhague.   Furthermore, six years later, a representative  from the Azami people approached McAllister and   the two groups were reconciled, those worlds also  returning to the fold as a semi-autonomous region. For the first time in history, the Draconis  Combine as we would recognise it today was   fully formed. Martin McAllister became the tenth  Coordinator, bringing an end to the 89 years of   Von Rohr reign. For the first time in history,  the Combine would know peace and though the   occasional border raid would break the spell, for  the Kuritan citizens the Age of War ended early. The Davion Civil War may well be the darkest  chapter in the history of the Federated Suns,   and potentially of the entire Age of War.  Certainly it dwarfs the other major conflicts   of this era in terms of scale and importance,  with the rule of the largest interstellar nation   going to the victor. It would begin with  the kidnapping of the heir-apparent by one   of the regents sworn to protect him, and end  with single combat to the death between two   allies that had fought the war together.  Though we know it today as the Civil War,   two alternate titles might be the War of  the Regents, or the War of the Five Princes. The Federated Suns had managed to keep its  nose clean throughout most of the 25th century,   allowing it to peacefully expand outwards and in  time become the largest of all the great nations.   Certainly there were border disputes and raids  with their neighbours the Capellan Confederation,   Taurian Concordat and later, the Draconis Combine,   but no major campaigns had been waged by  them or against them. The situation was   stable enough that in 2511 they were even able  to peacefully negotiate an arrangement with   their rivals the Taurian Concordat to split  the border world of Malagrotta between them. To understand the origins of the war we need to  look back at the reforms made by Simon Davion   after taking office as the Federated Suns'  final president in 2417. The realm by this   point had become so massive that no bureaucracy  could hope to govern it effectively. He thus   determined that his nation should be divided at  an administrative level into five principalities,   or Marches. The new regions would be the Capellan,  Crucis, Draconis, Outer and Terran Marches, each   governed by a Prince who had supreme authority in  his region. The head of the Crucis March would be   known as the First Prince, first among equals, and  later that century, officially became a hereditary   Davion position. Relative to the rest of the  Inner Sphere, this was just the latest in a   sweep of changes that was seeing humanity slide  further from democracy and towards feudalism. Jumping forwards to the early 26th Century, First  Prince William Davion ruled the Federated Suns   but had recently suffered a great loss with the  death of his son fighting on the Capellan front.   His five year old grandson Alexander thus became  his heir. William was still in his 40s so there   was no fear of a succession crisis, with plenty  of time for Alexander to age and still other   children besides. Fate however had different  plans for the Federated Suns. A vicious plague   swept over New Avalon killing millions, the  First Prince included. In his dying moments   he reaffirmed Alexander as heir and passed his  badges of office to his two surviving daughters,   Laura Davion and Cassandra Varnay-Davion. This was  taken to mean he meant for them to act as regents. Both women were intelligent and ambitious  individuals and so to temper the deal, the   high council decided that five regents would rule  together until Alexander came of age in his 20s.   Laura and Cassandra each had one pick, while  the council would put forward the fifth name. Before continuing, let's quickly review who  the five Princes were at the time of William's   passing; the Terran March was ruled from Robinson  by Charles Leighton, on Tancredi IV Vladimir   Kerensky commanded the Draconis March and Nuno  Gutierrez was the Outer March Prince on Filtvelt.   The most powerful was Charles Varnay, Duke of  New Syrtis and Prince of the Capellan March.   He was the head of the Varnay family  which had been steadily growing in   power as rivals to the Davions over the  last century. The Crucis March was ruled   in theory by the young Alexander, but the  regents would wield the power once chosen.   At first it wasn't clear that any of the  other Princes would hold one of the regencies,   as the five principalities were very much  independent at this point in history. Cassandra made her first power play when  she chose as her nominee regent her husband,   David Varnay, Prince of the Capellan  March, an ambitious and cunning man in   his own right. By choosing one of the five  Princes, Cassandra had assured that her   decisions as regent would have tremendous  support in the upper echelons of society. Laura countered this by choosing the respected  General Nikolai Rostov, thereby winning the   support of the Federated Peacekeeping Forces.  Though their ties were not as close as the married   couple, the two would often vote in the same  direction on most matters. At least at first. In the hope of kerbing some of the  sisters' more aggressive tendencies,   the council nominated William's widow, their own  mother, Carmen Estevez-Davion as the fifth regent.   Their hope was short-lived when the faltering  health of Carmen forced her to retire to her   homeworld for the remainder of her life.  As she left, she gave Laura Davion full   authority to vote on her behalf, effectively  doubling her influence among the regents. The squabbling began almost immediately  when the Varnays moved to have Alexander   betrothed to their daughter Cynthia who would  in turn would be named as the heir-apparent.   This was aggressively opposed by  Laura but succeeded in part when   Rostov supported the betrothal, if  not the immediate naming of an heir. This was a politically savvy move by him  and the first sign that he had his own   ambitions and the mind to achieve them. By  agreeing to the proposal, he had ingratiated   himself with the Varnays and bought time for  himself and Laura to make their own plans.   He correctly reasoned that the Varnays  would not be so cutthroat in their   pursuit of power if they believed  they had a route through marriage. The political balance swung further in Laura's  favour when she used Carmen's vote and Rostov's   support to elect herself as the new Prince  (the term was the same regardless of gender)   of the Draconis March, after Kerensky died  childless. The Varnays were not bested by this   maneuver and in 2515 proposed Nikolai Rostov  as the replacement Prince of the Terran March   after an HAF raid had wiped out the Leighton  family. For fear of alienating her supporter,   Laura agreed, but from this point on, Rostov  would be the deciding vote on all issues. At first the regents contented themselves to stay  out of each other's way as they steadily increased   their own power and influence, but things started  to develop at an increasing pace when Carmen   Estevez-Davion passed away in 2518. With Laura  and Rostov occupied, repelling Kurita and Terran   raids on their own borders, the Varnays took the  initiative and moved against the High Council   next. Fabricating evidence against numerous  members, they began the so-called Treason Trials,   gutting that government body and leaving only  those loyal to themselves. Also left untouched   was any politician with ties to the Terran March  as they continued to court Rostov's support. The High Council of the Federated Suns was  so cowed by this that they never nominated   a replacement for the position of fifth  regent. Laura insisted her right to vote   on her mother's behalf remained even in death,  which the Varnays were obviously opposed to.   Nikolai was continuing to grow his own  reputation by repeatedly defeating HAF invaders.   However, he became less active  in the governing of New Avalon,   preferring instead to stick to the Terran March  where he had become something of a legend. Using his new fame to her advantage, Laura  was able to contrast his successes against   recent Varnay failures on the Capellan front  in order to build support for a proposal that   would see Rostov made First Marshal of  the entire FPF. In an error of judgement,   Cassandra voted against this to protect  her husband's reputation who was still busy   fighting at the front, but in so doing  pushed Rostov back into Laura's camp. It was the Varnays who moved first to break  the stalemate that had developed. In 2524,   Alexander was taken from his home on New Avalon to  New Syrtis under the guise of touring the realm.   He had ostensibly been kidnapped. Once secured  in the Capellan March they hurriedly married   him to their daughter and waited for the young  couple to produce a Varnay heir to the throne. In response, Laura shocked many when she arrived  on New Avalon with a powerful army at her back.   She had managed to conclude a peace agreement  with the Kuritans allowing her to take the   fight to the Varnay faction, beginning with the  puppet councillors left after the Treason Trials.   After carrying out her retribution, she could now  claim de facto leadership of two of the Marches,   and all the military forces within them. Rostov stirred himself too in support of Laura  and they began preparations for a civil war.   Nuno Gutierrez would remain officially neutral  throughout the war. His own principality was   too vulnerable on the periphery to  get involved, though he would have to   placate the Varnays on occasion as they  were some of his key trading partners. To weaken the Varnay claim, Laura began an  aggressive propaganda campaign accusing them   of kidnapping the young Prince. To counter  this, David took Alexander on a tour of the   Capellan March but in May of 2525, the news  the Varnays had been waiting for arrived.   Cynthia had given birth to a son. They had  however misjudged one crucial part of their plan;   the loyalty of their own daughter. Cynthia had  become aware of her fathers intent to kill her   husband and began conspiring to see him freed.  Celebrations began on numerous worlds as word   spread of the new heir’s birth, providing the  perfect opportunity for Alexander to give his   captors the slip and disappear into exile with  a tiny band of loyal followers. This final   chapter of pre-war buildup was punctuated by the  invasion of Davion troops into the Capellan March. It might be expected that other surrounding  nations would have played a part in the war,   taking advantage of Davion  vulnerability. In actuality,   the Draconis Combine was entering the  most peaceful period in its history   and the Terran Hegemony was increasingly  adopting the role of galactic conciliator.   The Capellan Confederation was ruled by the  bloodthirsty tyrant Kalvin Liao but he had his   sights set on Andurien. The Taurian Concordat  realised they had more to lose than gain by   getting involved, plus the Outworlds Alliance and  United Hindu Collective continued their attitude   of armed neutrality. Therefore, the Davion  Civil War remained a strictly internal affair. The war began when Nikolai and Laura moved  forces across the border into Varnay territory.   The first target for the Davion  soldiers was the world of Kluane.   Rostov’s troops, consisting of the Terran  Brigade and elite Vale Rangers, had years of   experience fighting under him and were veterans  of many battles against the Terran Hegemony.   On many occasions they outfought the  numerically superior Varnay militia.   Nikolai was also able to use a strategy of  feints to draw Varnay forces into a trap. Early   on he withdrew from Salem in the face of fresh  reinforcements and retreated to Talcott. Thinking   they had him on the run he was pursued but when  the Varnay forces arrived they found the main   population centres deserted and key infrastructure  and food supplies destroyed. David Varnay himself   departed to take personal command of what he  believed would be a decisive battle in the war. What he hadn’t anticipated was that Rostov  was deliberately avoiding the fight until   the Varnay invaders had become complacent  in their defence around the starport.   When Varnay was only a few hours from landfall,  Rostov launched a surprise raid that caught the   Capellan March militia mid preparations and  devastated their strength. When David arrived   he quickly assessed that his position was  untenable and organised an orderly retreat. His vengeance would come only a few weeks later  at Quittacas where the Davion faction was dealt   a heavy blow. Nikolai Rostov was killed  in a trivially small engagement during   the invasion of that world, robbing the FPF  of their finest commander. Varnay used this   victory to incite several key members of  the opposing army to desert along with   their regiments and the campaign ground  to a halt almost as soon as it had begun. With Nikolai dead, the Princeship of the  Terran March passed to his son Dmitri Rostov.   At the time of his father’s death, Dmitri had been  fighting behind the lines in the Capellan March.   Unable to organise an immediate response, he  ordered what troops he could reach to disband   and return to their worlds while he would take  an elite cadre of loyal forces and continue to   operate in Varnay territory, disrupting  supply lines. This slowed the pace of the   war significantly and 2526 passed without  major engagement between the two factions. In February of the next year, General Boefers  of the Varnay militia became ensnared in a trap   set by Laura on the planet Nahoni. The 1st New  Avalon Dragoons, a light armour regiment under   Colonel John Gordon, had been deliberately left  in a vulnerable position to lure in an attack,   which would in turn leave the invaders vulnerable  to a counterattack by Laura’s loyalists.   An overwhelming force of two infantry divisions  and a pair of BattleMech regiments led by   Boefers descended on the world, more  than enough to take on the Dragoons. However, both sides were oblivious to  one key piece of information. In January,   Colonel Gordon had been approached by an unknown  youth who was revealed to be none other than   Alexander Davion himself. Gordon’s regiment had  been chosen for this near suicide mission because   of their open admission of loyalty to the lost  prince above loyalty to Laura. In the Dragoons   Alexander found the first unit willing to join  his cause and a third faction now joined the war. This was all news to Boefers who waltzed into the  swampy terrain of Nahoni, sure that his numerical   superiority would carry the day. Colonel Gordon  would make them regret their overconfidence by   conducting a superb guerilla campaign, fully  utilising the advantages of his hovercraft   and jump infantry amongst the bogs to defeat the  militia wherever encountered. After raiding Varnay   supplies Boefers was embarrassingly forced to  surrender to the far smaller New Avalon Dragoons. When the identity of their opponent  became known to the Capellan troops,   a significant portion switched sides, including  some ‘Mech units, and the rest were held hostage   to be ransomed back to the Varnays. Alexander  demanded that his wife be released to join   him on Nahoni and under pressure from the rump  council-in-exile on New Syrtis, Cassandra agreed.   Boefers returned to Nahoni with Cynthia in tow  and began preparations to withdraw his troops. Two days later, Laura Davion’s counterstroke  fell on the astonished Varnay forces and the   fighting began again in earnest. At this  point though Alexander made a serious error   in judgement when he attacked one of Laura’s  units, thereby alerting her to his presence.   Though this would again lead to defections  and an upswell in the size of his army,   it drew him into a pitched battle that his  forces could scarcely afford. When General   Boefers unexpectedly arrived on his flank, the  scale of his blunder was revealed. Only because   his two opponents were equally concerned with  destroying each other was the young Prince able to   escape with a small core of officers and ‘Mechs.  In orbit he was able to find more sympathisers   giving him the ability to escape the system,  but it was not a strong start to his campaign. However, Alexander's chances of victory  were buoyed when Dmitri Rostov learned   of the First Prince’s survival and threw  his support behind him. This action proved   divisive in the Terran March, as though  his father had been hugely respected and   Dmitri was a competent commander himself,  the family had no historical ties to the   region. Many worlds sided with Laura and the  Draconis March. Dmitri found it necessary to   move his administrative and military command to  Farwell due to uncertain loyalties on Robinson. The war now entered a lull period with  each faction withdrawing to consolidate   support within their own borders. At  first Laura tried to fight growing   pro-Alexander sentiment in the Crucis  March but it soon became apparent that   her foothold in the region had been  lost and she retreated to Tancredi.   The sisters sat back and waited to see  who their nephew would move against first. The civil war took an unexpected  twist when Prince David was killed by   anti-Varnay rioters on Ashley which threw  the Capellan March forces into disarray.   Alexander and Rostov saw this opportunity  to avoid a two front war by turning to   deal with Laura and the Draconis March while  Cassandra struggled to regain control of her   own territory. To keep her off balance,  Alexander tasked the now General Gordon   with conducting a guerilla campaign against  Cassandra while he dealt with his other aunt. This next phase of the war did not go smoothly for  the Crucis faction. First of all, Dmitri was more   concerned with establishing his dominance within  his own Terran March than moving against Laura.   He dispatched only token reinforcements to  aid Alexander in his push towards Tancredi,   just enough to keep up the facade of their  alliance. More troubling was the revelation that   Alexander was a poor battlefield commander. His  early victories it seemed had been more dependent   on John Gordon but now that he was absent, the  flaws in Alexander’s leadership came to light.   The campaign quickly began to drag and  Crucis March forces made very slow progress.   They were aided by defections among  the Tancredi Warriors Brigade,   the core of Laura’s military  strength, but this was not enough. Finally in 2533, Rostov joined his strength  with Alexander and accelerated their push   through the Draconis March, with Dmitri  taking most of the credit. They descended   in force on Tancredi and came face to  face with the elite of Laura’s troops.   The defenders held their ground in a  valiant act of defiance but eventually   the line broke and Alexander  closed on Laura’s command post. Stepping forwards to meet them was  General K’Trinka of the Draconis March   who formally surrendered on behalf of the  survivors. When they found Laura soon after,   they were already too late. The elder of the two  sisters had taken her own life, leaving a legacy   of destruction and a lengthy suicide note  that reaffirmed her defiance even in death. “There are those who will ask why. Some will  say that I despair because my forces cannot   win the war, but that is not the reason. Some  will also believe I cannot bear to live with   the frustration of never being able to  rule the Federated Suns. Others may say   I regret the loss of so many of my faithful  troops in pursuit of a now-doomed cause. I   assure you that although I appreciate  the loyalty and courage of my troops,   I hold that they entered into a bargain with  me to fight in return for good government,   and possibly for the rewards I would show them  if victorious. They made a good bargain but a   bad bet. There may even be some who will suggest  that I fear pain, imprisonment, or execution if   I am captured. Those who say so simply do  not know me. I despair over the direction   that the Federated Suns will take without my  guidance and wonder what will happen to it now.” The delays in conquering the Draconis  March would cost Alexander dearly.   While he had been held up fighting in the coreward  side of the realm, Cassandra Varnay-Davion had   been marshalling her strength and had finally  managed to corner General Gordon and his army.   In an ironic twist, the world of Jaipur that  had propelled Simon Davion into command of the   Federated Suns a century ago and made possible the  creation of the five Marches, was now the location   for the scene of an atrocity. Though Alexander  moved to Gordon’s rescue, he lacked the ability to   conduct such an operation and the General and his  troops were forced to surrender to the Varnays.   Cassandra had most of the prisoners executed  en masse in flagrant disregard for the Ares   Conventions. As news spread, Alexander’s own  troops went on the rampage, the worst incident   being the killing of civilians on Smolensk. The  long war was taking a heavy toll on all sides. Beginning in 2534, Cassandra’s forces  supported by large groups of Capellan   Confederation mercenaries, began a major thrust  into the Crucis March. Alexander was unable   to mount a defence and found himself being  pushed ever further back towards New Avalon. In an attempt to flank her opponent, Cassandra  made the foolhardy decision to enter the United   Hindu Collective. Up until this point they had  remained neutral during the Davion Civil War   but now they rose to challenge the invaders. The  core of the UHC military was the Messengers of   Shiva regiment, which represented the majority of  their BattleMech and Aerospace Fighter strength.   Cassandra’s forces were intercepted in 2535 on  Jodipur, where the outdated UHC designs were   able to achieve a victory over the Varnays, who  they held as hostage until the end of the war. Back on the frontline however, things were  not improving for the Crucis March forces.   By the end of 2536, the Varnays had made it as far  as El Dorado and now prepared for a direct assault   on the capital. Alexander’s command on Belladonna  could not see a way out of the situation. It was at this moment that Dmitri Rostov arrived  and immediately entered into furious debate with   Alexander. Both Princes felt personally aggrieved  by the other, Alexander angry at the lack of   support and Dmitri despairing at the seemingly  incompetent boy general. Nevertheless, they   knew Cassandra was the true enemy to them both and  Rostov had a plan to cripple the assault: Abandon   the defence of New Avalon and strike out to the  flanks of Cassandra’s advance. A large force of   Vale Rangers was stationed on Smolensk, ready to  strike her supply lines. Alexander was urged to   move his troops around the rimward side and the  two forces would regroup behind the frontline. The plan worked flawlessly. The Varnays  attempted to withdraw but were caught recharging   in the Meglan system where Cassandra’s  fleet was almost completely destroyed.   Ultimate victory was denied in this instance as  she was able to flee before her ship was disabled.   She knew her cause was lost and  escaped with her son into the   Capellan Confederation with the  remnants of her once mighty army. For the first time, Alexander was now the  undisputed First Prince of the Crucis March   and the Federated Suns and one of his first acts  was to rename the Meglan system to Victoria.   His victory was short lived however as he  immediately came up against opposition when   he began working on the enormous task of  rebuilding the devastated principalities.   Many clung to the belief that he had no  say outside of his own March, and this   position was championed by Dmitri Rostov himself.  So strong was his position on the matter that he   was prepared to muster his forces to protect his  right of absolute control in the Terran March. In an ill fated move to capture a bargaining  chip, Rostov dispatched a team to kidnap Cynthia   Davion while she was touring the Draconis  March. Exactly what transpired is unknown   but sadly Cynthia was killed during the attempt  and a state of civil war returned to the realm. This was the last thing anyone in the  war weary Federated Suns wanted. Rostov   knew a fight was inevitable after the death of  Cynthia but few came to his aid. Rather there   were even defections among his own Vale Rangers.  Alexander in contrast arrived on Robinson with   an overwhelming force of Avalon Hussars and Davion  Guards. Though victory was assured, Davion did the   unexpected by seeking out a one-on-one duel with  Rostov. His reasons for doing so stemmed from more   than just sparing the lives of the soldiers  that were dying in the fighting around him.   Alexander’s military reputation was less  than stellar, with Dmitri having taken most   of the credit for the victories at Tancredi and  Meglan. Alexander knew that without a personal   accomplishment during the war, he would lack  support going forwards and so arranged the duel. Though we know of their reputations as strategic  commanders, history does not record the relative   prowess of the two as MechWarriors. What we  do know is that ultimately Alexander would   defeat and kill Rostov, ending the war for  good. The fight made the new First Prince   a legend in the newly reformed Armed Forces  of the Federated Suns but there were always   whispers that a Davion agent had sabotaged  Dmitri’s ‘Mech before the confrontation. The Federated Suns underwent significant  restructuring in the aftermath of the Civil War.   As well as transitioning the  old FPF into the new AFFS,   over which Alexander appointed himself as  First Marshal, he also completely reformed   the old principalities into three larger  regions, with the Draconis and Capellan   Marches and their rulers clearly defined  as being subservient to the Crucis March   and First Prince. Never again would the realm be  so divided. Furthermore, at war’s end in 2540,   the United Hindu Collective peacefully joined  the Federated Suns as a semi-autonomous region. The last gasp of the Civil War came in 2565,  when Cassandra and David Varnay’s son Roger   crossed the border and began rallying support  on Carmacks. As he moved towards New Syrtis,   he was intercepted on Kigamboni by the 8th Syrtis  Fusiliers and the rebellion was swiftly curtailed. So ended the bloodiest chapter in the Age of War. As the Third Andurien War drew to a close,  Ian Cameron of the Terran Hegemony invited   the leaders of the two combatant nations, the  Capellan Confederation and Free Worlds League,   to a peace conference on Terra. There the  three leaders met to hammer out the terms   of the ceasefire and hopefully put an end  to the Andurien dispute once and for all. This must have given Albert Marik a sense of deja  vu as it was only 25 years earlier that he had   met with Terrence Liao’s predecessor Kalvin on  New Delos to conclude the Second Andurien War.   On both occasions, Albert, as the head  of the Free Worlds League Military,   had soundly beaten the Liao aggressor and now  sat in the driving seat during the negotiations. However, this time something was different. It was  during the New Delos conference that Albert had   first met Ian, who was part of the Terran Hegemony  attaché for his mother and then Director-General   Deborah Cameron. During that meeting Ian had first  shared his desire to see an end to the Age of War   and wish for all of humanity to be United. The  idea impressed upon the Captain-General and in   the ensuing years, the two rulers would  establish a strong personal friendship.   During their correspondence, the question of  how to unite the disparate nations was raised. The Third Andurien War, though  undesired by Albert Marik,   presented just such an opportunity. In the  aftermath, Terrence Liao was forced to agree   to heavy reparations that might threaten to  collapse the already shaky Capellan economy.   However, Albert then made a proposal that would  have been unthinkable to anyone else involved   in the war; he agreed to cede ownership of  the contested worlds to the Confederation. Terrence Liao’s whole impetus for beginning the  war was to win personal acclaim at home and now,   quite unexpectedly, he had managed to achieve  those goals. With the transfer of the Andurien   systems it was hoped that further bloodshed  between the two nations could be avoided and   it was at this point Ian Cameron raised the issue  of a further alliance between the three powers. Terrence was at first sceptical that such  an ambitious diplomatic venture could   succeed but was finally won over by  the promise of “favoured-nation” status   that would help to bolster his economy. The  Andurien Peace Treaty, signed in March of 2556,   therefore included a secret subtreaty, the  Clasped Hands Agreement, that outlined their   intention to continue talks on the formation of  a unified tri-member state. In June of that year,   the three rulers signed the Treaty of Geneva that  would lay the foundations for the Star League. Many concessions and agreements were reached  by this document that outlined how the economy,   bureaucracy and military of this  new government would function,   as well as what was expected of the member-states  and provided in return, but one of the most   significant inclusions for the Free Worlds League  was that House Marik would become the hereditary   ruler of the Free Worlds League. Up until this  point the League was the realm that had the least   ties to a specific great house, but as far as the  Camerons and future Star League were concerned,   the Mariks were now the sole inheritor  of power in that region of space. It was as well that an agreement was  reached at Geneva because upon Albert   Marik’s return to the Free Worlds he was  faced with a government that was outraged   that he would willingly trade away almost  an entire province to a mortal enemy that   millions of people had lost their lives  fighting over the last two centuries.   There was however little they could do to  reverse his decision as the Captain-Generalcy had   increased in power since its inception and Albert  had been entrusted to that position by parliament. Meanwhile, Ian Cameron continued to act as  galactic conciliator on the various disputed   borders across the Inner Sphere. This resulted  in a slew of worlds that were peacefully divided   between two nations but from which the Terran  Hegemony would receive a marginal cut going   forwards. Given the disputed worlds were most  often ones with valuable industry or resources,   the cumulative total of these worlds expanded  the Hegemony's revenue streams considerably and   helped to offset the fact that their nation was  boxed in without room for traditional expansion. Their most successful achievement came in  2558 when the troubled border between the   Lyran Commonwealth and Free Worlds League was  resolved. House Marik had been able to yet again   establish a salient deep into the Protectorate of  Donegal but this time were determined to hold onto   their gains. The signing of the Tharkad Accords  in '58 confirmed the Free Worlds' acquisitions. But the Accords were about far more  than some disputed border worlds.   By now, word of the Treaty of Geneva had  spread throughout the Inner Sphere and the   question on everyone's lips was "would this new  alliance lead to an end to the constant wars,   or lead directly into one larger than ever  before?" Ian Cameron was determined to see   the Star League succeed and to that end had  been courting the Lyran Commonwealth for the   best part of a decade, even before Terrence  Liao had sat down at the negotiating table. The rise of a new Archon, Tracial  Steiner, provided the opportunity   he had been waiting for as she was much more  amenable to the idea than her predecessor.   The Hegemony and Commonwealth had been steadily  increasing economic ties which had led to a boom   in industrial might for both nations, now far  outstripping any rivals. However, there was real   concern that the Lyran economy would become  subservient to the Star League once formed.   Nevertheless, the LCAF stood to gain massively  from the sharing of military technology   and expertise offered by the current HAF,  and future Star League Defence Force. The signing of the Tharkad Accords was met with  similar derision among the Lyran Estates General   as was offered by the Free Worlds Parliament  but just as before, the deed was already done,   and despite one abortive attempt at completely  opening the realm to outside trade going wrong,   after tweaks to the controls on the Lyran economy,   the Commonwealth soon found itself  making enormous financial gains. This could not have been more untrue for the  Federated Suns who around this point were   in deep economic trouble. The damage suffered  during the civil war had cost them dearly and   though Alexander Davion's reforms were going  some way to getting the realm back on track,   they were still in financial trouble.  Unknown to most except Cameron and his   conspirator Albert Marik, their poor situation  had actually been exacerbated by the actions   of those foreign realms with the goal of  making the new League an appealing prospect   in much the same way they had convinced  the Capellan Confederation to join. Alexander however, was determined that if  the Federated Suns were to join it would   be on their own terms. By 2567, the recovery  efforts were well enough underway that Davion   was prepared to accept membership as an equal  party in the Star League and on October 27th   signed the New Avalon Accords, leaving  the Draconis Combine as the last holdout. In the end, convincing Hehiro Kurita  did not provide any great challenge.   He had been agreeable to the idea since he  had first heard of it but needed a way to   sell it to his people. Ian Cameron resorted  to the same offer he had made Alexander.   If a war between the Federated Suns  and Draconis Combine ever broke out,   the Terran Hegemony would take up arms against  the aggressor. The Treaty of Vega was signed   on August 15th 2569 and secured the sixth and  final great power as a member of the Star League. Two years later the leaders of the six-member  states met on Terra to make an historic   announcement. On July 9th 2571, the Lords of  the great houses signed the Star League Accords,   formally bringing the new  superstate into existence.   It was a pronouncement that promised to  usher in a new golden age of humanity,   where our species would reach its  technological and societal epoch. But reality is rarely so straightforward.  Immediately after signing the Accords,   copies were dispatched to the  four major periphery nations;   Cameron's dream was to unite all of humanity after  all. Over the last two centuries, the Taurians   and Rim Worlders had been joined in 2417 by the  the Outworlds Alliance, an isolationist movement   formed in response to the constant bloodletting  exhibited by the Inner Sphere nations,   and in 2530 by the Magistracy of Canopus, a  hedonistic state formed by disgruntled Marik   MechWarriors where the pursuit of personal  happiness was valued above all else. Each of   these four periphery powers had a bad history with  their Inner Sphere neighbours and a strong sense   of independence. It is not surprising that not one  of them agreed to join the nascent Star League. But Ian Cameron had not come  this far to be stopped now.   Most historians date the end of the Age of War  to coincide with the end of the Third Andurien   conflict but the 15 years of peace that followed  were as much an epilogue to that century and a   half of violence as they were a prelude to the  Star League. Regardless of where you draw the   line between eras, all those years of war would  barely hold a candle to what would soon follow   with the Star League's first major undertaking,  the commencement of the Reunification War.

Channel: Sven van der Plank

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Id: PuHnKQXHTRQ

Length: 114min 46sec (6886 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 21 2022