56

In March 3041 I was called to Taurus for a meeting. It had to be for urgent reasons, as a Command Circuit was provided.

Among the presents with Thomas and Edward were also several ministers, including the head of the Exchequer and the ones responsible for the TMI and TDF. This meant serious business.

'A week ago, the Federated Commonwealth announced the existence of a network of HPGs connecting not only New Avalon to Tarkad, but also to all the March and District capitals. At the same time they presented several WarShips more precisely one Davion Block II Destroyer and two Mako Corvettes'. Started Jennifer Lalande, a middle age brunette, Minister of Interior and head of the TMI.

Looking at the data provided, I gave my own conclusions without being requested to but since I was the local expert, I knew it didn't matter 'Probably, old ships recovered, not new production. In terms of firepower, we still have an advantage. Do we know the reasons for such announcement?'

'Officially, no' replied Edward 'but it seems that ComStar found out about the existence of the network and its size and called all the main Precentors to Hilton Head for consultations just before it was made.'

'In response ,the Combine stated that the DCA had reactivated several Narukami class Destroyers, numbers unknown. So we have an imminent communications crisis and several states introducing WarShips' concluded Thomas.

'I wouldn't put much trust in the news from the Combine, the information that I have is that it would be almost impossible to make the Narukamis operational' was my response after digesting the news. 'On the other hand, I don't think ComStar reaction to the public announcement of a competing HPG network is going to be pleasant.'

'Ummmm, I don't know, in the case of our Vincent, a lot of people also thought it wouldn't be possible to make it operational and there it is' countered Edward 'It remains to be seen how many more WarShips thought to be irrecoverable are out there and in which hands. I think it's only a matter of time before we see new constructions, don't you think Jean-Luc?'.

'Well, you and your father here have access to more information than I do, but from what I know of Bolthole, it's harder than it looks to build a new WarShip, and repairing one depends on the state of the ship and the available resources' was my answer. 'By the way, if I may ask, how's our naval program doing?'

This time it was Richard Muller, the head of TDF, who replied 'The design of the new upgraded Concordat class is finished, but not all the needed production units are operational. The best estimates put the start of the construction of the first one around 3045, if more delays don't appear. It has been a bottomless pit in our budget, but as we have seen, with other nations suddenly showing WarShips again, the project is more than justified and since we only retrofitted and improved an existing design it is still cheaper than building everything from the ground up.'

'Just out of curiosity, and to help our budget, do we plan to sell HPG technology to the Combine? I bet they would pay well for that,' asked Lorie Fournier, the Minister of the Exchequer, with a calculating look.

'No. Although we could undoubtedly extract a good sum of it, the risks are too great for both ComStar and the Federated Commonwealth being very upset' replied Thomas with some regret in his voice. 'And we have another potential problem: the CCAF has been rebuilding much faster than expected. We need to move more forces to their border.'

'Let me guess, they suddenly have several regiments of 'Mechs, models that they never built before and all SLDF related, right?' I asked in a calm voice.

'How would you know that?' asked a stunned Jennifer Lalande, 'we only had this intel a few days ago.'

'Just look at all the new 'Mechs ,the DCMS also showed during they recent war with the Federated Commonwealth. The information shared by the Fedcom intelligence shows that the ones they captured were produced during the Star League times and were not newly produced. Care to guess who also uses these 'Mechs and has also a force mostly composed of ex-SLDF hardware?' I asked her back in a bored tone.

'The ComGuards… of ComStar.' she said after a stunned silence.'Are you saying that ComStar is providing both the Combine and the Capellans with several regiments of 'Mechs? And for what reason?'

'To maintain the equilibrium of forces, of course. Just out of curiosity, how big you think the ComGuards are?' I replied.

'Difficult to say, they deploy forces in small groups all over the Inner Sphere and Periphery, protecting their HPGs. Starting with the forces they deployed both in the Concordat and the Reach, and with the information shared by the MIM and MIIO, and extrapolating for the other nations, I can give you a number between 25 and 50 'Mech regiments supplemented by several hundred of infantry and mechanized ones.'

'So, a force stronger than the TDF by a wide margin. And about their fleet? I know about they Explorer Corps and they also have several transport JumpShips and DropShips.'

'Again no official number. They move the ComGuards using their ships, and because the unis are moved over short periods of time, I can only assume it's huge, but no hard numbers. They have also bought several regiment sized orders of vehicles from the Magistracy to supplement their forces, helping greatly the economy of that nation, and showing that they have a big military budget.' concluded Jennifer.

'So, they are rich, have a strong 'civilian' navy and an army bigger than all the Periphery nations combined. The only missing info on their strength is how many WarShips they could have. From what I could gather in the different databases I looked at, they have at least the shipyard on Sol, I think it was called Titan Yards and was perhaps of military grade at least during the Star League. We need to know that. It is hard to believe they wouldn't have any.' was Thomas conclusion.'With the very tense situation between the Federated Commonwealth and Comstar, I think it would be useful for us to know the respective strengths of these potential opponents, just in case. We already have a roughly understanding of the might of the AFFC, we need to know how powerful the ComGuards are. On paper at least.'

After a few seconds, Thomas looked at Edward, and after that, ordered Jennifer to do just that. And returning to Muller 'What are our preparations in case of ComStar forcing a Global Interdiction or only on us?'

'We have already constructed the local infrastructures for the planned HPG first priority network, we only need to assemble said HPGs. All of them are also marked to receive a ground based Naval Laser fort to help defend them, but for now any further progression is awaiting more funds and the order will only be sent if the situation further deteriorates.' said Muller.

'Funds approved, I don't like the actual situation', said Thomas, while Fournier wincing visibly. 'Also make plans to take control of the Comstar installations and capture their personnel, if they take action against us, just in case. With the end of their monopoly in HPGs nobody knows how they are going to react, and the actual Primus is not known for taking extreme measures.'

Having ended with the Comstar contingencies, Thomas continued 'How are the new 'Mechs models doing? The light and medium ones you promised us to replace the not upgraded Toro and Taurus?'

'Well, several companies have send us prototypes for evaluation, including yours Jean-Luc,' answered Muller, 'care to fill the details?'

'The new Toro II is basically an improved Wolfhound, with Jump Jets. The Talos II is also an energy only 'Mech with good protection. Both are ready for production, they just need the evaluation of the TDF and your go-ahead. With these models, all our light and medium lines are modernized and also important, the need for ammo is much reduced.'

'And the new military DropShips?' asked Richard Muller again.

'Well, VMI has already started the production of both the Union CV and PW. The prototype of the Assault variant, that uses a reinforced frame, double armor and fuel and the SLDF Pentagon weapons suit is to do its maiden flight in two months. What TTI is producing or developing you need to ask them, not me.'

'And how is the shipyard on the Reach developing?' asked Edward.

'We just started building the Germanium processing unit. If everything keeps on track, we can start building Invaders by 3046.' was my conclusion.

'Thank God the economy is progressing well' said Lorie Fournier, 'or we wouldn't be able pay so many and so expensive military toys'.

'Growing by leaps and bounds' was my tought, but I refrained to say something aloud, the distaste of the Minister of the Exchequer for any defense expenditures was long known.

Looking to his datapad Muller said 'To reduce costs and simplify the program of a new WarShip, the TDF had taken advantage of the design of the old Concordat class Frigate, retrofitting it by modernizing the secondary armament and heat sinks and exchanging 4 small crafts for Fighters. 20 of the 60 marines were supposed to use Jack battle-armor, increasing the boarding capabilities considerably.

The new Toro II is basically an improved Wolfhound, with 1 ER LL and 3 ML, Endo Steel and Ferrous Fibrous. These changes let VMI add enough Jump Jets for it to jump up to 180 meters, giving it an amazing agility. Unfortunately VMI wasn't able to replicate the full head ejection system that TharHes Industries used, so the Toro II had to use a more traditional one. The Talos II is also an energy only 'Mech, with 2 ER LL and 4 ML without forgetting good protection. I'm comfortable with that.'