13
When the Denizens Get Uppity
By Arnold H. Ritzherald, 3080, New Avalon 7th District Press
Chapter 4: The Perfect Storm
The Battle for Styk (3028-3030) is considered by many within the Federated Commonwealth's military circle as the Trauma Ground, and even to this day, veterans of the battle recall harrowing experiences that leaves many with flashbacks after the interview if not during it. Shell shock and paranoia remain rampant among the Styk mechwarrior veterans as well, but they are also the least disrespectful of the mechwarriors in the Federated Commonwealth's military ranks.
And why wouldn't they be? Styk isn't called the Trauma Ground for no reason. It is there that so many Federated Suns mechwarriors met their ends not fighting against another mechwarrior but fighting against swarms of militia that refused to give up.
Unlike all other planetary conquests that took place before, First Prince Hanse Davion chose to enact Reintegration Act of 3028, which was passed two months before the declaration of the Fourth Succession War, and this law prevented the first generation of new residents of the conquered planets from becoming citizens of the Federated Suns and then the Federated Commonwealth. While the law itself was made to prevent infiltration of foreign agents deep into Suns' society as freedom to travel was one of the rights of the Federated Suns citizens, the intensified war and the unexpected stiff resistance of the Capellan Confederation led to many military governors to use the Reintegration Act of 3028 to flagrantly violate the rights afforded to all people within the Federated Suns in the name of "catching spies, insurgents, and hidden elements" as stated by Major Reginald Won-Fagarak of the AFFS in his brief tenure as the military governor of Ronel.
His tenure was marked by executions of forty-one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight arrested civilians, most of whom were rather found to have no direct ties to any insurgency. In truth, Ronel didn't have an insurgency except pockets of militia survivors who fought back for three months longer than Ronel had been conquered.
When this event was unveiled by the Maskirovka, it became known as "Capellan Kentares" to the public despite how few civilians died in comparison to the Kentares Massacre. While the executions were not done with swords like the Combine had with Federated Suns citizens, leaked photos of men, women, and even small teenagers lined up against the walls or in the process of being buried after execution shocked people nonetheless. The Capellan Confederation used this as the phenomenal propaganda tool that it was and galvanized the remaining populace across Tikonov and Sarna Commonality into becoming belligerent fighters against any and all Federated Suns advance.
Though no true and accurate estimate of the Ronel Massacre could be given on how it impacted the Fourth Succession War, even the most pessimistic scholar agrees that at least another half a dozen systems might have fallen to the Federated Suns had the Ronel Massacre not happen.
Major Reginald Won-Fagarak was, of course, court martialed for his malicious mishandling of Ronel, found guilty, and quietly executed away from public eyes before the Fourth Succession War came to a close. For it was this one man who forever ruined the chance of a peaceful integration of former Capellan citizens into the Federated Suns and would sow the seeds of Capellan reconquest.
He was to the Capellans what Amos Foulough was to the Taurians.
And Styk was being contested when the news of Ronel Massacre became public.
It was that day on 3029 April 5th that Tormano Liao, brother to Chancellor William Liao, gave his fateful "Rise with Me" speech.
"Ronel surrendered peacefully after losing their garrison. But look at what happened! The Suns came and massacre a full hundredth of their entire population! Let this be a lesson to all Capellans who think a quick peace is on the table!
"They will destroy us. The people who the Suns killed on Ronel were pillars of their communities!
"They will enslave us! They made it into law that no Capellan will ever be a citizen of the Federated Suns, regardless of the work one might put in!
"They will erase us! They will destroy our culture. Our pride. Our family. Our communities. It has already happened and they emulated their hated enemy, the Draconis Combine, by killing our brothers and sisters with their own hands!
"So rise! Grab your rifle! Grab your launchers! You do not fight just for yourself. You fight for your family, your community, and the Capellan state! Rise so that they cannot stomp you into the ground!
"Capellans, rise with me against those who seek our deaths!"
Whether or not Tormano Liao got his facts correct remains irrelevant. His speech, broadcasted across all Capellan worlds, pushed the already fanatical populace into action… and belief.
Capellans came to genuinely believe that there would be no mercy. They believed that their beloved leaders - the pillars of their communities - will be executed for merely existing. That their children will be executed on the suspicion of association as those teenagers on Ronel had been. That they would be "erased" from history.
On Styk…
It became the Trauma Ground.
For both Capellans and the Suns.
-VB-
"... Is it done?"
A seemingly normal and utterly mundane man stood before Michael Hasek-Davion.
"It is," the man responded to his employer's question. "Of course, all evidence related to you and me will disappear, and the major will find himself richer after confiscating the wealth of the richer Capellans… and publicly known to all for his actions soon."
"Good, good," Michael let out a sigh of relief.
This had been a very far-fetched plan but it worked out.
To think that the Capellans would be so useful in his plans… Everything from their chancellor's presentation with the fake memory core (it had to be practiced) at Hanse's wedding to the unorthodox defense of his state was working for him, Michael Hasek-Davion.
All of it, after all, was proving to be a fertile ground for him to sow the seeds of Davion dissidence.
He initially wanted to meet up with Chancellor Liao himself to determine how he can best use the chancellor to usurp Hanse Davion. But even without needing to meet him, the chancellor was doing that already!
The people of the Federated Suns wasn't a monolith, after all, and even among Davion supporters, there were those who weren't as strict with their support as others.
Their monarch's inability to get the memory core that would have been handed to them on a silver platter grated many people, especially those whose worlds suffered most from technological degradation. People who didn't like the Davions hated him more for declaring war. Why wouldn't they? Many of them were people who barely survived on their outback worlds.
Not only that, he, as one of the premier nobles and military generals of the Federated Suns in his role as the Minister of the Capellan March, learned that the Capellans had found out about the war preparation a full year before its declaration, which lead to the current grinding stalemate across the Tikonov Commonality!
One after another, Hanse made mistakes, and Michael profited from them.
Already, he managed to make connections with Davion supporters who increasingly started to question whether the current Davion was the right person fit to rule the Federated Suns. Not many but enough to keep him motivated and advanced this path forward.
Knock knock.
He lightly glanced over his shoulder and turned his chair around. "Yes?"
The door to his manor office clicked open just a little to show his secretary, a man he trusted utterly and who had proven his loyalty time and time again.
"Sir, there is someone here to see you. He says that he's a messenger courier."
Michael glanced at the spy-for-hire, who gave him a nod and left.
"Send them in," he said after a minute.
A clean-shaven man with silver hair walked in. He was a man who had aged gracefully, and looked almost regal in the simple suit vest, long sleeve shirt, business pants, and dress shoes.
"And you are…?"
The man cleared his throat.
"Before I talk, I would ask if this office is secure, Your Grace."
Michael raised an eyebrow before raising a hand up and gesturing to his secretary, who had been watching from the doorway.
The secretary stepped in, closed the door behind him, and pressed a button somewhere on his person.
And just like that, his office was surrounded by a temporary faraday cage.
"We are secure."
The man bowed.
"Thank you, Your Grace. Allow me to introduce myself. I am a nameless member … of the Maskirovka," he said bluntly. Michael immediately stiffened but relaxed as the self-proclaimed Maskirovka agent reached into his suit and brought out an envelope. "And the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation has an offer for you."
Michael cautiously took the letter and opened it.
He read the letter… and definitely did not allow himself to smile.
'So the Maskirovka's intelligence operation and discovery of the war preparation was not a fluke,' he thought to himself. Because how else would Chancellor Liao know of his ambition and even some of the acts he took in the past? 'William Liao is far more dangerous than his father,' he thought with a bit of a shiver.
"And what could he possibly offer me to persuade me?" he asked in return. He glanced at his secretary, who pressed another button.
A silent EMP burst. Small enough that it would only echo within his chamber but strong enough to knock out any and all electronics.
If the Maskirovka tried to get a recording of this conversation, then they would be sorely disappointed.
The "nameless" Maskirovka smiled.
It was an emotionless smile. A cold smile. A weightless gesture.
"Chancellor Liao is willing to divulge information on an SLDF cache you will be able to get your hands on."
He froze before slowly looking up.
He stared even as his mind wracked for puzzle pieces and information and -.
It clicked.
The "fake" memory core.
It wasn't a fake. It was real.
Chancellor Liao had access to a SLDF memory core.
How else would he know the location of an SLDF cache? He must have found a SLDF cache himself that had the core… which might have had locations on other caches.
Suddenly, he realized that this offer might just be something he needed. Not just to use it for himself but for the future. If the Capellans found multiple caches, then they would have SLDF battlemechs and technology. If they survived this war with more of their worlds than not, then they would be in a good position to strike back against the Federated Suns in the next conflict.
And his Capellan March was closest target.
If only to arm himself up, he needed to accept this.
"What … does the chancellor of the Capellan Confederation want in exchange for that information?"
The man's smile hadn't changed, but it suddenly looked far more sinister than before.
"The Chancellor wishes for a very simple thing, Your Grace. He wishes your cooperation in infiltrating Kathil."
"Kathil? Not the staging grounds along the Tikonov Commonality?"
The messenger smiled but didn't offer any response to his probing question.
Kathil… What was in Kathil?
… Oh.
He let out a chuckle. "You really want to cripple us, huh?" he asked. Kathil … it was the largest dropship and jumpship yard that the Federated Suns still maintained with their ever-regressing technology.
"I am merely the messenger. If you desire no part in it, then I will leave with no one the wiser," the Maskirovka agent replied. "What will your answer be, Your Grace?"
-VB-
Theodore Kurita looked at the Maskirovka agent.
"We accept."
-VB-
Janos Marik glared at the spy.
"I accept."
-VB-
Michael Hasek-Davion could imagine Hanse Davion's fall.
He couldn't afford to not take this chance.
"I accept."
-VB-
A/N: Because it isn't enough that his enemies are starting to work together, his self-declared political rival was also sabotaging him