As I reconvened with my Council using the HPG, I had to thank Precentor Armanovitch for all the work she'd done for me as part of our small, but growing, conspiracy against the leading factions of ComStar. Not only had she run interference for me on the loan thing, but she was also doing so again now, ensuring that I would be able to speak to my council in real time over the HPG without any issues.
The faces of my council appeared on the screen, though unlike what I had thought, the backdrop wasn't the Oberon Six HPG Complex. Instead, the view that greeted me was of my Council Hall on New Ålborg. I must have been visibly confused because Minister Simowitz smirked as my face appeared on their screens. Minister Maczek seemed to have a self-satisfied smirk on her face, which likely meant this was some sort of technical breakthrough.
"All right, let's start with the obvious. I was expecting to see you all at the Oberon HPG Station. In fact, I know that I dialed the Oberon HPG Station. Let's start with how you're talking to me from New Ålborg right now." I opened the meeting.
"It was Captain Gomez and Past Prologue who started things off, Natalia's People took it from there, but I'll let her tell the full story." Intoned Minister Simowitz.
"Minister Maczek?" I questioned.
"So, Captain Gomez went looking for an outpost that she'd got wind of using her usual channels. Apparently, some Pirate had discovered a lost SLDF Deep Space Recon Base somewhere out in the Theta Carinae Cluster. The guy had come to Isfahan to arrange some kind of sale of the navigational data. Minister Simowitz decided to send a strike team to deal with him and grab the data since he's been able to rotate out teams from Callinius now." Began Minister Maczek.
"Is that because Operation: Memento Mori was a success?" I queried.
"It's ongoing. We'll get to it, for now, let Natalia finish." Answered Minister Simowitz.
"Right, continue." I nodded.
"As I said, there was a strike team of Ministry of the Interior Agents who moved in to kill the Pirates and take the navigational data. As you can imagine, they did so ruthlessly." Continued Minister Maczek.
"Incidentally, there was a bounty posted by an anonymous source for the head of the Pirate Captain. Jareth Bar-Dyness, a cousin of Kalvin Bar-Dyness and one of the Loyalist members of the Pirate Council of the Tortuga Dominions who fled after Trevaline murdered his Cousin. It's around five-hundred-million C-Bills, enough to purchase an Invader-class Jumpship fresh off the yards. That was a nice little bump to the treasury." Interjected Minister Kowalski.
"Interesting, but not important at the moment. Continue please, what did Captain Gomez and company find after Minister Simowitz's people handed them the Navigational Data?" I asked.
"The first thing they found was that there are about five different settled systems in the Cluster and around a dozen unsettled ones. The Five Settled Systems have formed a Federation, the League of Interstellar Commerce, a pretty unimaginative name if you ask me. They apparently all trade with each other instead of looking outside the cluster. They have JumpShips and DropShips, but no Battlemechs. Their military forces are all conventional combat vehicles and infantry, and their industry reflects that. Their technological level is remarkably similar to that of the Chanelaine Isles." Informed Minister Maczek.
"What else?" I pressed.
"Well, one of the uncolonized planets appeared at first to just be a ball of airless rock until the Cardenia Claremont got closer, following the navigational data. Captain Gomez then sent out a ping toward the dirtball and managed to get a Query on the SLDF Emergency Band. She used the Codes we got from the Iron Land Facility to open up the base and what she found was a Deep Space Reconnaissance post for the SLDF that had gone into lockdown. Inside was a small shipyard, plus a recon squadron with a single division of three Vincent-class Corvettes, two Vigilant-class Corvettes, and a Bonaventure-class Corvette, along with Jump Infantry Equipment for a Brigade of Troops and enough Nighthawk Light Power Armor to equip a Company. The most interesting finds, however, were the dozens of QF-One-Seventy-Two Fifty-ton Hyperpulse Relay Satellites." Grinned Minister Maczek.
"Captain Gomez has enough lift capacity these days to snag the entire shipyard plus the Power Armor, Jump Infantry Equipment, and a Dozen or So Satellites. However, Commodore Singh had to be called in to grab the WarShips and remaining satellites. We will have the capability to manufacture WarShips up to six-hundred-thousand tons in the next five or so years, while we install the equipment at Iron Land." Added General Jorgensen.
"In the meantime, we can start looking into how to reverse-engineer those satellites. There's currently several dozen in place that Precentor Hope helped us set up linking New Ålborg with Oberon Six, Lackhove, Nyserta, Fenris, Iron Land, and Star's End. There's a dozen remaining but I'll want to keep at least three in reserve for reverse-engineering. It shouldn't take long once I have spare researchers to get on the project. We have experience with the K-Class Transmitters to help us, plus the SLDF Communications Tech Core we grabbed earlier. It still needs a main HPG to piggyback off of, but so long as Precentor Hope and the Periphery Faction are on our side, that shouldn't be an issue." Finished Minister Maczek.
"I see. Is there any indication of what happened at this base?" I questioned.
"The Reports that Captain Gomez's Security people pulled off the mainframe claimed that Deep Space Outpost Mu-Seven, which was what the base had been designated, was set up to defend the colonization efforts going on in the Cluster from raids by Pirate Groups. Apparently, they'd been having difficulty with oddly painted ships raiding supply convoys from the Sphere to the Colonies in the Cluster. As far as my analysts could tell, these Pirates were the ancestors of the Jarnfolk. It seems as if they raided as much as they traded back a few hundred years ago." Informed Minister Simowitz.
"That isn't uncommon for some groups, though it does tend to be more common for Bandit Kingdoms." Shrugged Minister Kowalski.
"So what happened?" I questioned.
"Unknown. The last log was that the atmosphere was vented and the base locked down from the Admiral's Quarters. The Admiral was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in his sleep. Only those who managed to get into EVA suits lived and even then, they only had around a day's worth of oxygen in there before they died too. Our best guess is that the Amaris Coup hit them hard." Offered Minister Simowitz.
"Not the Jarnfolk? I heard they have a long tradition of Special Forces?" I queried.
"If it was them, it would have been a prelude to a massive raid, but the technical capabilities that the local League of Interstellar Commerce possess are formidable enough that such a raid couldn't have happened. The aggressors wouldn't have left enough behind to retain that level of capacity." Insisted Minister Simowitz.
"Moving on, my Special Forces teams and Minister Simowitz's Agents have been rotating back from Callinius on a schedule to do various things, some of which is testing out the Nighthawk Suits and seeing how our own Varulv Suits stack up." Informed General Jorgensen.
"And the Verdict?" I questioned.
"Not as well for combat. It turns out that the Nighthawk suits have a Myomer system that ours don't, it allows them to do things like mount an integrated grenade launcher on the shoulder in addition to being able to fire crew-served weapons using the trooper's hands. Our own suits can use crew-served weapons in the hands, but we can't also mount weapons on top of that, we had to pick one or the other. However, the Varulv is superior from a commando standpoint. Its ECM and stealth capabilities are a lot more capable." Informed General Jorgensen.
"I have an upgraded model of Varulv in mind, a blend of advantages, though it'll be a few years yet before we can actually start the prototyping phase." Chimed-in Minister Maczek.
"We won't need them yet. Not unless the Tristars start making their own powered armor in the next decade." I intoned.
"As to Operation: Memento Mori, phase one was a rousing success. We managed to Assassinate the Consul and retrieve Minister Kowalski's People, but the Sons of Albano have run into a snag." Explained General Jorgensen.
"What kind of Snag?" I queried.
"The Senate of Callinius got spooked by the growing capabilities of the Sons of Albano and the increasing inability of the Cohors Callinius to put down the revolt. Just before our teams went in and assassinated Consul Corvinus, the Consul and Senate hired a Mercenary Company, Hansen's Roughriders." Exposited General Jorgensen.
"That's not good. Hansen's Roughriders are pretty well-known for being a reliable, regiment-sized, Heavy Mercenary Company. Patton and Rommel Heavy Armor backed up by Warhammers, Highlanders, and other Heavy Mechs, all with Chippewa and Eagle Aerospace Fighters to support." Added Minister Simowitz.
"As you can probably imagine, this has meant that the Sons of Albano have been in something of a pickle. They've captured around seventy percent of Callinius but then Hansen's Roughriders arrived. Now the planet is split roughly in half between the Control of the Sons of Albano and Hansen's Rough Riders. There's only so much the limited number of combat vehicles we were able to ship them discreetly can do against a force like that. We were planning to move First Guards in to support the revolt, which should do the trick, but that will delay Operation: Gotterdamerung by up to six months." Admitted General Jorgensen.
"Do it. Von Strang isn't going anywhere." I ordered.
"Very good, My Lord." Nodded General Jorgensen.
"How are our other expansion efforts going?" I asked.
"I've surveyed the shut-down factories on Jápminboddu. Sentarus and Skiland will take two more months to survey. I think we can get the factories on Jápminboddu fully online by the time I've surveyed Sentarus and Skilland, though it might take longer if anything unexpected crops up. Switching them over to produce our tech is going to take another month beyond that. We've also broken ground on the Givrodat Factory Complex, though it'll take around the same amount of time before we can start production. Call it six months before Jápminboddu and Givrodat are online and producing our tech, then another two to three after that until Sentarus and Skiland are online as well." Informed Minister Kovar.
"Good. I've secured a deal that should help with that." I nodded.
"You're talking about the licensing agreements you brokered with Swedenborg, GKT, and others? That's brought in a few billion C-Bills to the treasury, but I'm not certain how well they'll be able to produce them. Even with technical schematics and advice, it's likely the first few batches are going to be subpar in quality. That could get us a bad reputation, which could affect future deals." Warned Minister Huber.
"There wasn't much in the way of other options, Minister." I pointed out.
"It's still something to be aware of." Insisted Minister Huber.
"At the same time, I'd caution against agreeing licensing of certain technologies." Interjected Minister Kovar.
"What did you have in mind there?" I questioned.
"Well, it's all very well and good to have Precentor Hope and his group on our side, but ComStar is known for taking their Monopoly on HPG Technology very seriously. Thus far, we've managed to keep our K-Class Transmitters and HPG Relay Satellites hidden because we've used them either in the Periphery or in places where the Periphery Faction in ComStar can cover for us. That isn't going to be the case if we start handing out licenses, though." Mused Minister Kovar.
"There's a lot of money to be made in licensing out Communication Technology." Frowned Minister Huber.
"No, it is an unacceptable risk." Argued Minister Simowitz.
"It could actually do a lot of good for a lot of people, though if we gave out licenses." Remarked Minister O'Neill.
"They should be classified as military assets, in my opinion." Opined General Jorgensen.
"They're utilities, General. The Relay Satellites are no different from the storm inhibitors, water purifiers, or soletta arrays we've already sold or licensed out. They could improve the quality of life for entire swathes of worlds, how is that a military asset?" Demanded Minister O'Neill.
"Because communication is one of those vital parts of Warfare that can make or break an offensive. At the same time, I know how the two primary factions of ComStar would react if they saw their monopoly slipping away. It won't be pretty." I intoned.
"My Lord? Think of all the good we could do, though. What about all the Goodwill that doing that good would generate? Soft power should have a place alongside sheer military expediency, no?" Queried Minister O'Neill.
"In most cases, you'd be right. Not in this case, however. ROM doesn't play around when it comes to things like this and I agree with Minister Simowitz, poking the bear seems to be an unnecessary and unacceptable risk." I insisted.
"Very well, My Lord. I suppose I can't argue." Sighed Minister O'Neill.
"Don't worry. You can continue to do good in the ways you have been. That approach had been bearing fruit, hasn't it?" I asked.
"Slower than access to reliable interstellar communications would be, but yes." Admitted Minister O'Neill.
"I'll authorize an extra half a billion in funding to make it up to your department." I nodded.
"What of the trade with the Outworlds Alliance? I don't know how much longer I can stall their negotiators and I'd hate to think we're giving that trade agreement to GKT." Pointed out Minister Huber.
"We're good to go on that front. I've secured the throne of Rasalhague and with it, a certain level of industrial capacity." I informed.
"Congratulations, My Lord." Offered Minister Kokkonen.
"Thank you. I had to suffer an assassination attempt to get there, but I got it." I shrugged.
"What? Are you wounded?" Demanded Minister Kokkonen.
"He's fine, Pauliina. I have to admit, though, that you must have been on track to win if the Combine went to assassination. The Dragon normally ignores those who aren't threats." Grumbled Minister Kowalski, exasperated.
"More than fine, from the reports that I've gotten, he killed two of the DEST Agents himself, with nothing but his pistol and boxer briefs." Smirked Minister Simowitz.
"Is that true?" Questioned Minister Kokkonen.
"It is." I confirmed.
"You're just like your father was." Chuckled Minister Huber.
"Moving on, where is Minister Jonnson? I wanted a report on how the Apsalar Anti-Corruption Campaign was going." I queried.
"It's definitely going. That's why he isn't here at the moment. He had to head to Apsalar to oversee the proceedings personally. Apparently, there's an entire region currently in the pocket of Organized Crime. It wasn't just one or two police departments in the hills." Informed Minister Kowalski.
"Shame. What about the treasury? How are we doing there?" I asked.
"With all the trade contracts we've brought in, plus our expansion? We're on track to surpass the Outworlds Alliance in GDP by the end of the Year. That would make us the Third Largest Economy in the Periphery. If that growth continues? We'll surpass the Canopians in four years and tie the Taurians in Six. In ten years, we'll be nipping at the Heels of the Capellan's position as the fifth largest economy in known space, and that's without the fact that we may be able to tie our economy to Rasalhague's and use that synergy to supercharge both of our economies. With it, we could easily reach the same economic position as the Free World's League, tied for fourth best in the whole of Known Space." Informed Minister Kokkonen.
"Where do you think we'll be by Thirty-Forty-Five or so?" I questioned.
"It's hard to forecast more than a decade ahead, My Lord. I'd say we would surpass the Combine to become the third largest economy in known space, but there's simply no way to truly forecast that far ahead." Shrugged Minister Kokkonen.
"You don't think we might surpass the FedSuns?" I queried.
"Probably not, My Lord. Even your father couldn't do that much in your position and he had about three times your experience when he died." Admitted Minister Kokkonen.
"Good enough. One last thing before I leave. My Coronation is at the end of the Month. I'll be expecting my Sister to be present. Make sure she knows she's got to come to Rasalhague. If nothing else, I'd expect she'll be thrilled to be off school." I chuckled.
"Of course, My Lord." Nodded Minister Kowalski.
"Good. I'll call back if anything urgent comes up." I insisted.
Then with updates given and input received, I cut the feed. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only bit of administration I had to do today. I had to head to my office in the Prince's Palace to begin going over the Military Situation, as the Prince of Rasalhague was also the head of the KungsArmé. The Situation wasn't great if I was being honest. If anything, the debates in the Regentskapsråd, or the Riketsråd now, I supposed, since the Election was over, had undersold the situation.
Fifteen Regiments, mostly made up of a mix of Light and Medium Battlemechs supported by combat vehicles and motorized or foot infantry, with artillery. In many ways, a Rasalhaguian Regiment was a similar combined arms formation to how Regiments operated in the Periphery, though this was more due to a lack of funding than a lack of manpower. Each of these regiments was equipped with a hodgepodge of equipment, a lot of which required entirely separate pools of spare parts to keep running, an artifact of the mixture of Lyran and Combine equipment fielded by the KungsArmé. The Aerospace Forces weren't much better, with the only saving grace there being that GKT was able to service most kinds of Dropships, Jumpships, and Aerospace Fighters in their main yards.
In fact, just about the only thing that all of the regiments had in common was that Rasalhague had stocked up on plenty of my specialized ammunition types. After all, Ammunition was cheap, and an Armor-Piercing or High Explosive shell could be a potent force multiplier all by themselves. If it was cheap and useful, why not buy as much as they could? It was a start, at least. Now I would have the task of continuing on from that starting point. Fortunately, GKT and Swedenborg had offered to set aside production capacity of my licensed gear for the KungsArmé at a reduced rate out of some sense of patriotism. Unfortunately, that would mean the importation of technical advisors from New Ålborg. The KungsArmé could not have defective equipment, even as a stopgap before I could upgrade them from my own factories.
I sent back to New Ålborg via K-class transmitter to expedite the sending over of Technical Advisors from Buccaneer Arms to Rasalhague and Kirchbach and approved the offer, which had passed through the Riketsråd Session for my approval earlier in the day. Signing the paper and stamping it with my seal, I moved on to the next bit of requisitions paperwork, looking for the noteputer with the treasury information on it as I did so.
I wouldn't get to sleep until close to midnight. It seemed the old adage was true, heavy lies the head that wears the crown.
And I hadn't even been coronated yet. . .
XXXX
AN: The next chapter is already up on my Patreon, so check the link in the threadmarked post if you guys feel like throwing me a couple bucks to get chapters in advance. Everyone who does is super appreciated and I can't thank my patrons enough.
All right, so here we see the next chapter. Jozef has checked in with his Council and while some things are going well, others have seen a few setbacks here and there. Notably the presence of Hansen's Roughriders on Callinius and the sheer level of infiltration that Organized Crime has in the politics of an entire region on Apsalar. The former is more pressing, as it requires First Guards to sort out, which in turn will delay the attack on Von Strang's World. Getting those comms satellites and the ability to build WarShips of Destroyer and Frigate Tonnage, however, was huge. Even more so than the squadron of light recon WarShips they found or the Nighthawk Power Armor.
So yeah, it's been an eventful five-and-a-half weeks since Jozef has been on Rasalhague. It's only going to get more eventful as the build-up continues and the date for the attack on Von Strang's World approaches.
At any rate, the next chapter will be an interlude showing how things are going on Callinius, then we'll be back with Jozef for the Coronation at the end of the month.
Stay tuned