1.4

They were in yet another temporary adjournment even as September came to its end. He couldn't stay on Coromodir for much longer, but the Conference continued to just circle unproductively. The dignitaries, both Aurigan lords and high officials, and foreign ones continued their holding patterns. He wasn't really happy about it but there was little that could be done... since truth be told his presence on Coromodir's biggest issue was that it made the use of his Essence difficult.

On Katinka or on another 'marcher world' they could conceal new material. Here that wasn't an option. That was doubly true with so much scrutiny ongoing in the conference. "We suspect this conference could lasts weeks sir."

Potentially longer. Coromodir had an HPG connection, and regardless of the state of the network, or whether Comstar was playing games or a combination of that it was still possible to get messages to and from Taurus.

That meant in theory the Taurian state could send word to its people... and of course in theory so could the canopians. The latter didn't seem as a likely. The Canopian diplomatic mission seemed to have potentially significantly more latitude about discussions in regards to the pirate threat, and that meant greater coordination was potentially going to be possible.

"We're going to need to restructure certain units." Heron remarked. "I want to prepare for a division of assets we have available in order to respond." He didn't want to have to abandon Tarragona because there was the Mother program there, and limited SLDF assets there otherwise besides the orbital platform... it would have been nice if they could feasibly jump the platform to Katinka, or Artru but that seemed like a serious potential hurdle... and it assumed that Mother Bear could be safely prepped for a jump involved... so for now that was all sitting in limbo while they sat here.

To that end at least they could start the paperwork on their options were. IN the case of a light horse regiment the planning was simple enough. Especially in the context that a Dire Wolf cost just short of 30 Million c bills... it really made the prospect of simply pairing off battalions to add hovercraft and some mech infantry coupled with artillery support. He didn't necessarily need the essence for that, surely the Aurigans had thumpers in service and could provide mech infantry that would be good, but it was going to be something to discuss later... and hopefully wouldn't be something that became hopelessly bogged down in committee meetings.

That really was the great weakness of the Aurigan coalition... but Heron hoped that their mere presence had butterflied away any idea that Espinosa might have had of considering a coup. That was the last thing they needed... but he didn't get that vibe from the man... maybe he just wasn't desperate enough yet... maybe in canon Tamati and Serena's death had just been the straw that broke his back. Santiago was frustrated by the indecisive mire of the high lords and their dithering but he didn't seem to be at the breaking point.

It was something to watch though, but on the other hand it was hard to miss that Santiago had a point on the vulnerabilities the dickering of the council had. The challenge it presented to the security of the coalition.

There was a pause, and Heron looked at the SLDF officer, "What do you suggest?"

"While cooperation with the Taurians is inadvisable , might we be able to spare a battalion as trainers and advisors? The Canopians aren't nearly as uncivilized." The officer remarked.

"That's a potential option," He admitted. He certainly found cooperating with the Magistracy of Canopus a bit more palatable but that would require negotiations and it would take time.

He had idly been considering standing up mech production lines inside the coalition. Dragon, and Griffins at Panzyr and Smithon but there were obviously problems with that, not the least of which was that would be painting a target on both former Capellan worlds. The last thing they needed was at this stage was to bring the sick man of the inner sphere into the periphery and worse potentially draw the attention it would bring if they drove the capellans back out. That would have to go on the back burner for a while.

Heron sighed and flipped through some of the other ideas, but they were limited to either the coalition council managing to find a mild enough solution everyone could agree to, or delaying any unilateral action until after they could return to Katinka and the safety it provided.

--

Lord Tamati was a little shocked by the sudden proposal. "Realistically you're already hosting a battalion of the mechs in question." The colonel remarked looking out over the castle's defensive field. "The Thunderbolt is a fine mech." He continued.

Coromodir was the system at the heart of the Aurigan Coalition. It was considered to be inner sphere civilization, it housed a large population, in the safety of the biosphere terran worlds. There was already manufacturing based in the system. The population were not illiterate techno-barbs.

Santiago, his brother in law, looked torn between outright salivating at the prospect of expanding the Espinosa family mechworks to actually be in a position to do more than just refit battlemechs. They were talking about constructing new battlemechs.

It was being described as an operational solution though. Coromdir could begin reinforcing its forces domestically for the coalition. "What about you?"

"If the current schedule holds Archer production should begin in December," He turned away from the window of the former Taurian fortress, "You may want to consider refurbishing and restoring the defenses here as well. Assuming that that can be done without involving the council at large. Beyond that most likely I'll pull the two Light BattleMech Battalions that were deployed on Fjaldr, and attach organic artillery, if you can provide a couple battalions each of MechInfantry that should be able to provide some coverage elsewhere."

It had taken the council several months to consider, contemplate, coordinate and so on to get the mercenary contract for Marhkam's marauders to protect Mechdur. They had lucked out that it hadn't dragged out much longer otherwise the mercenary battalion likely would have been snapped up by the Magistracy, or potentially the Taurians as the scope of the threat became clear. Mechdur was a critical world for the Coalition, but it wasn't the only world, and trying to further reinforce it might create arguments in council.

"House Decimis or House Karosas."

"Both," Espinosa replied to his brother in law. "Decimis, Panzyr has a ComStar presence its HPG station may be a target, leaving aside the that we cannot permit the schools and academies operated by House Karasos to be attacked so Smithon must also be protected."

The colonel turned raising an eyebrow at the mention of the two worlds in question, but didn't argue with Santiago's logic.

"We have to be vigilant." Santiago continued, "I admit that Tyrlon is a potential target and that House Gallas surely presents a tempting target to conventional pirates, but that is the problem. They are all tempting targets to conventional pirates, and Black Jack has proven to be anything but. If we are to begin construction of domestic battletech industries we must insure that House Karosas can train new engineers for the reach, and we cannot afford to lose our connection to the wider HPG network."

--

Kamea Arano, and her cousin Victoria had always known the third succession war. Indeed the Aurigan Coalition was a state that had only been established as the 3rd​ Sucession war had dragged on. The official founding of the coalition dated to 2910, and ties with the Magistracy of Canopus had begun shortly thereafter, but even before it had become an independent stellar nation it only dated to after the war had begun.

The Aurigan Coalition had only ever known the 3rd​succession war. It was therefore after 150 years of low intensity conflict to consider that in a decade the 3rd​succession war would be recognized to over. It certainly didn't seem that way to anyone in 3016. It didn't seem that way with the pirate threat looming.

Coromodir was not the most populous system in the Reach, but it wasn't sparsely populated either, especially not by the standards of the Periphery. Coromodir was at risk from a pirate threat. That gathering cloud was just the beginning of what would be obscured by later threats, by the great catastrophes of the 31st​ century. For historians of the Rimward periphery this era would come to be known not as the last years of the 3rd​ Succession War, but rather by another more regional name. The Pirate Wars, but in the latter half of 3016 such a pronouncement would have seemed a bit absurd certainly while their parents had discussed the pirates on Fjaldr and they had been glued to holo news presentations of Grim Sybils escapades across the rimward periphery frontier they weren't prepared for what would play out over the next few years.

The Pirate War would give way to a resurgence in prosperity. A renaissance, and flowering of a great state in the rimward periphery. Even if as a state it would be overshadowed by the growing power and prestige of the Federated Suns, and the subsequent union of the Suns and the Commonwealth that promised its own Renaissance.