Capítulo 56: Interlude: Reactions to the Victory in the Morgraine-Ryan Wars
Duke Michael Watson had heard of the wars that the Poniatowski Lad was waging in the Coreward Periphery. Indeed, he followed the news with interest, as his Daughter and Heir, Katrina had been a close friend of the Poniatowski Lad during their time at the Blackjack School of Combat. Furthermore, Duke Michael had been a major trade partner of the Poniatowski Lad's ingenious ammunition varieties, the new double heat sinks the lad had come up with, and the Ferro-Fibrous armor plating he had been producing. All of this, of course, made Duke Michael predisposed toward seeing the Poniatowski Forces succeed against the Twin Pirate Realms he was at war with even had there not been a preliminary alliance treaty currently awaiting the Archon's signature. However, Duke Michael couldn't help but feel as if the Young Poniatowski had bitten off more than he could chew with these wars.
Michael was then, pleasantly surprised when his fears had proven entirely unfounded. No sooner had word of victories on Koskenkorva, Lackhove, and Gotterdamerung reached Apollo than word of Redjack Ryan's threats of war had come in, hot on the tail of those victories. Such constant back and forth had stalled the Archon signing the Alliance Treaty, as Archon Katrina was being cautious and waiting for the situation to stabilize. Duke Michael had been in almost constant contact with the Archon's Office and the Estates-General back on Tharkad, using the Apollo HPG to give daily updates as news reached him on Apollo before anyone else. Precentor Euston had been glad to offer priority HPG access to the Duke for these for a nominal fee, but Duke Michael felt it was worth it to be the Archon's designated agent in this manner. It would certainly help his prospects, he knew it was helping Precentor Euston's.
Of course, then the courier ship from the Poniatowskis arrived and requested to speak with the Mercenary Review Board at the earliest convenience of the Mercenary Review Board Representative. During the waiting, Duke Michael found out just how well the War on Butte Hold had been going. True, he'd had reports of held territory and clashes that he filled in with Conjecture, but now he had actual data to fill in the blanks and things weren't looking good for Redjack Ryan. Five Regiments of Mercenaries had been reduced down to two regiments, while Redjack Ryan's personal forces had suffered a similar decimation. At the same time, much like how he'd won on Gotterdamerung, Jozef Poniatowski was known to engage personally in his Crimson-Painted Custom-Modified, Highlander. He also took out several of the enemy's most hardened commanders personally in the ensuing fighting.
Apparently, various Pirates had taken to calling Jozef the Red Devil. It was an apt name, Duke Michael felt, and not only thanks to the paint scheme. If what he had been told was correct, then between Gotterdamerung and Butte Hold, Jozef Poniatowski had destroyed at least fifteen enemy battlemechs, making him a triple ace. It was humbling to think that one so young could accomplish so much in such a short period of time. But then, Duke Michael had been a friend of Jozef's Father as well and if there was any bloodline that would be almost maddeningly competent, it would be theirs. When the envoys met with the Mercenary Review Board Representative and laid out the deal they'd worked out with the remaining mercenaries to buy out their contracts thanks to Redjack Ryan refusing to pay them the rest of what he owed them, Duke Michael knew this War was all over and that Jozef had won.
Indeed, soon after, word had come in of the daring raid followed by an assault on the Raider's Roost, where Jozef Poniatowski had killed Redjack Ryan in open combat. That all but finished the fighting, with Agnar Haggerty having fled back to Hendrik Grimm while he could, that left only a few isolated groups of Pirate Infantry and Pirate Militia to mop up, which the newly bought out Mercenary Troops handled while Jozef began consolidating his newly-gained worlds. The Archon had to know immediately, and after his next briefing, Archon Katrina Steiner formally signed the Treaty of Friendship and Amity with House Poniatowski, recognizing Jozef's realm politically and allying with him.
After just over two months of fighting and with the stroke of a pen, the nearest section of the Coreward Periphery had been largely consolidated under the rule of House Poniatowski, backed by Lyran Diplomatic Recognition. The pacification of that sector under an ally largely offset the losses on the Rasalhague Front in terms of morale. While last year's limited offensive saw Csesztreg liberated, and Harvest, Planting, and Ridderkerk taken, that was offset by Draconis Combine Gains around Tamar as the DCMS had counterattacked and seized Kandis, Memminger, Thannhausen, and Wiengarten in a rapid counterattack further south. Now all that remained keeping Tamar itself from being cut off and encircled were the worlds of Moritz and Skokie, which had been heavily reinforced, and not just with LCAF Regiments either. Various Dukes had sent portions of their Ducal Guards to aid the defense.
Duke Michael himself had sent several units of his Ducal Guards to Skokie and Moritz, along with his best generals, though he'd made sure that his daughter would be kept as far from the front lines as possible. His heir would serve mainly at the Headquarters in a staff position and would have priority on any evacuation. However, she was eager to prove herself as her friend had, so Duke Michael gave strict instructions to General Tirpitz to keep an eye on her in case she should suddenly decide to hop in her Mech and head for the front. One thing was certain about all this, the Succession War would continue despite the recent successes of Lyran Policy in the Coreward Periphery.
Duke Michael Watson could only hope that it would not bury his daughter in the process as she attempted to emulate Jozef Poniatowski. . .
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Precentor Apollo Yvonne Euston had, of course, been monitoring communications to and from Apollo and Tharkad while Duke Michael Watson gave the Archon and Estates-General his briefings. She made her notes and commentaries on the files before passing the various briefings and her analysis off to the First Circuit. It was, after all, what she did best. Yvonne Euston hadn't become Precentor out of any excess of faith, but because she was damned good at intelligence analysis. She had wanted to join ROM, but a genetic heart defect and neurohelmet incompatibility had dashed those dreams. Apparently, a ROM Analyst had to be capable of acting as a field agent as well as analyzing intelligence. Supposedly, that cross-training was part of why ROM was so effective most of the time.
Instead, she'd worked her way up to the Rank of Precentor through sheer determination, perception, and cunning. Unfortunately, that competence combined with her insufficient religious zeal had made enemies of a more hardline faction within the First Circuit. When it came time to receive her assigned HPG station, her enemies had politicked to get Yvonne assigned as Precentor of Apollo, believing that being in charge of this border world would ruin her prospects for further advancement. It was fortunate for Yvonne, and unfortunate for her enemies among the Hardline Blakists, that this war had happened when it did. When the First Circuit had poured over her analysis of the War, they concluded that this was vital intelligence for one of their secondary goals, that of stabilizing the Periphery. Yvonne had to be rewarded for her work.
A transfer was requested and granted, not just any transfer either, but a transfer to the prestigious post of Precentor Dieron. The Current Precentor, Eric Taylor, was retiring at the end of the year and Yvonne was selected to be his replacement, stepping over the choice of the Hardline Blakists, Myndo Waterly, to claim the position. Yvonne could scarcely believe that the Primus had approved this, but then, Primus Tiepolo had risen through the ranks largely based on his skill with administration rather than any particular religious zeal. Perhaps he'd felt Yvonne was a kindred spirit in that regard? Yvonne could only guess the reason, but it was sure to anger the Hardliners.
Whatever the reason behind it, she would transfer at the end of the year and the new Precentor Apollo would be someone that Yvonne hadn't heard of before, Karen Shinomura. Apparently, she had earned her precentorship as an economist with the Financial Services Branch of ComStar. Likely, she was being sent to take over to offer investment in the new Periphery Nation, owing to the various pieces of advanced technology that the Poniatowskis seemed to be able to produce. Primus Tiepolo might be looking to increase ComStar's soft power over the Poniatowskis rather than try things the way the Hardliners would have wanted to do it. Whatever the overall goal, however, it wasn't Yvonne's problem.
Come thirty-twenty-two, she would be on Dieron and Periphery Affairs would no longer be her concern. . .
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Hendrik Grimm was equal parts concerned and intrigued. On the one hand, the Poniatowski Boy had managed to expand his realm to a dozen planets in a series of lightning campaign using elite forces and advanced technology. That had earned him official Lyran Diplomatic Recognition, which not even he had right now! On the other hand, he hadn't made a single hostile move toward the Oberon Confederation and had been more than willing to work with him on the issue of Sigurd. He could be a rival or an asset, depending on how things played out going forward. It was an interesting dilemma and one that wouldn't be solved any time soon. Not with the War with Helamar Valasek still ongoing.
The Dropships that the Poniatowski Boy had sent as payment for Sigurd had managed to help beat back Helamar's Forces from the expected attack on Nyserta, but the counterattack he'd thrown at Porthos had been bungled by that now-dead Idiot Tyler Erickson. Helamar Valasek had managed to destroy several dropships in an ambush and leave the rest of the forces to hot drop across half a dozen landing zones. They'd consolidated the landing zones into a continuous beachhead thanks to the efforts of his son, Johann. Not even a year as an officer and his Boy was already doing him proud. Unfortunately, anything more than that was slow going. Valasek's men were really dug in on Porthos and the fighting was starting to bog down into a stalemate.
No, Hendrik Grimm couldn't afford to make more enemies right now. He needed friends more than he needed conquest to the South at the moment, which was why the missive he'd received from a known agent of the Draconis Combine had been so interesting. Apparently, the Combine was willing to offer him official diplomatic recognition, along with clandestine material support in exchange for acting as the Combine's Unnoficial Man in the Coreward Periphery. Essentially, they would give him the tools he needed to grind down Helamar Valasek and equalize any disparity with the Poniatowski Boy in exchange for becoming their deniable asset in the region.
Hendrik Grimm was nobody's fool. He understood that the Combine offered this as a way to balance Lyran Influence over the Poniatowski Boy. They would likely want to use him to wage proxy wars against the Poniatowskis. However, he was in need of the material support, as Helamar Valasek had ground down his Aerospace Fleet and the better part of a Regiment on Porthos. Ideally, the Poniatowski Boy would be dealt with by marrying his oldest, Ella. Circumstances had changed from the ideal, however. While the thought of having to be someone's puppet left a vile taste in his mouth, Hendrik Grimm also knew that the Dracs couldn't just do as they pleased in the Periphery without one of their rivals taking advantage. Plus, once he'd consolidated the whole Coreward Periphery under his control, he'd be far too tough a nut for them to just crack casually.
So it was that Hendrik Grimm agreed to the proposal put forth by the Combine. He would work as their proxy in exchange for diplomatic recognition and clandestine material support, then, when he didn't need them anymore, he would just abrogate the treaty and dare them to come at him. If it made him Master of the Coreward Periphery, Hendrik Grimm could kiss the Dragon's Ring and pretend to be a faithful lackey. Once he had what he wanted, then he'd be able to express his true feelings about all that in full.
And there wouldn't be a damn thing Old Man Kurita could do about it without leaving himself open to his rivals. . .
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AN: All right, so here we have reactions from a few different powers to Jozef's Victories in specific and the situation in the Coreward Periphery in general. ComStar is trying to gain soft power via economic investment, the Lyrans are now officially allied with Jozef, meanwhile, the Dracs think they've turned Hendrik Grimm into an unofficial vassal to balance out Lyran Influence with Jozef, while Hendrik Grimm is planning to take their help and backstab them the second he doesn't need them anymore.
Another thing to note is that Julian Tiepolo seems to be trying to sideline the more fanatical wing of ComStar in favor of promoting people based on merit rather than religious zeal or adherence to doctrine. This has caused a few changes, most notably that Myndo Waterly has not gotten the posting as Precenter Dieron. While this might appear to make ComStar function better, the Hardliners that would go on to form the Word of Blake aren't the most stable of people and Primus Tiepolo is old. It wouldn't take much for an assassination to look like a medical accident. Expect tensions to flare up involving that in the future.
Another thing you might notice is that the Third Succession War is still going strong. The Lyrans took five worlds in thirty-twenty, but the Drac counterattack at the start of Thirty-Twenty-One has been ongoing for two months and has almost successfully cut off and encircled Tamar. The Lyrans are rushing reinforcements to the area, and things are setting up for a major clash over Moritz and Skokie. There will be a lot more fighting to go before peace talks can start.
At any rate, in the next chapter, we'll be back with Jozef for a bit of consolidation.
Stay tuned. . .
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