Royal Federation
Ruling House: Proctor-SteinerCapital: Arcadia
Ruler: High King Nathaniel Proctor-Steiner
Worlds: 300
BattleMech Regiments: 173
WarShips: 110
The Royal Federation of Arcadia and Donegal, sometimes called "the Arcadian Federation", is currently the most prominent of the Cisglass Successor States to become involved in our Inner Sphere. Given its control of much of the heart of the old Lyran Commonwealth, the massive factory complexes of Hesperus, the Isle of Skye and New Earth, and some of the most developed regions of the former Free Worlds League, it is not surprising that economically the Federation is one of the leading Successor States. However, it is not any Lyran or Leaguer enjoyment of trade and commerce that drives their interventionist impulse. That comes from the same influence that allows Houses Marik and Steiner to co-exist in the same political framework.
As its name implies, the Federation is not a unitary social body. Much like other large Successor States it has a number of regional and planetary cultural influences, and these are balanced politically by representation in the Parliament on Arcadia. For those familiar with our Inner Sphere, the idea of one insignificant border world being a major capital over that of Tharkad or Atreus may seem to solely come from its rough mid-point position between the two, or some other form of compromise. But the Arcadia of the Cisglass was a world very much transformed by its experiences in the Collapse. The defeat of the powerful warlords controlling the planet and the rise of House Proctor led to an economic and political renaissance that set Arcadia on the path to becoming the capital of a new Successor State; the Arcadian Free March, which through diplomacy, conquest, dynastic merger, and internal reform became the Royal Federation of today. While Donegal, Hesperus, Skye, and Atreus have all contributed their own influence to the Federation's character, the Arcadians and their culture provide the binding that fuses these disparate pieces together. It is no mere blend of bordering cultures either but a unique construct born from the ideals of Sara Proctor and the Liberation Army she led. The Arcadians' society is driven by concepts of human dignity and the role of what they often call Providence: a divine influence (the character of which varies by one's own religious faith) that has shaped them and their expectations towards themselves and others. They fervently believe in natural rights for all Mankind and that the Crown and other government is tasked with defending and upholding those rights, but not in granting them, as it is through the divine alone that rights are bestowed. It is a principle they have fought for in the past, often cited in their opposition to the reborn Capellan State and the Draconis Combine.
That is not to say the Royal Federation are simply zealous crusaders or moralizing aggressors. They have been both, but they have also shown a capacity for shrewd statecraft and pragmatism in their interactions with the other Successor States. Nor are they a unified bloc of purpose, not with the disparate interests and needs of all their constituent pieces. The Parliament has seen its own share of heated debates on many key issues and one of the greatest challenges that House Proctor(-Steiner) faces is balancing the component regions of the Federation and their disparate interests. Parliament and the Crown, which expresses the authority of the executive through the Privy Council and the Ministries that make up His or Her Majesty's Government, often squabble over matters even as the Crown mediates the disputes between the regional and policy-driven parties elected to Parliament. Unlike the old Free Worlds League institution it shares a name with or the Commonwealth's Estates General, the Federation Parliament is a bicameral body with an Assembly of delegations by world apportioned by population and a Senate that gives each world two votes. The resulting legislature is rather large, with six hundred Senators and over thirteen hundred Assemblypersons, who often vote in company with others of their region or policy bloc.
Militarily the Armed Forces of the Royal Federation are closer to what we would expect from a Lyran or Davion military, based upon combined arms formations of Divisions or slightly smaller Regimental Combat Teams. Their most particular characteristic is their use of square divisions instead of the standard triangular formations born from SLDF practice. Every regiment of armor, infantry, or BattleMechs has four, not three, component battalions. An Arcadian BattleMech regiment has an official field strength of over one hundred and seventy BattleMechs, providing their regiments a good deal of extra combat power at the cost of increasing regimental command structures by a third the size of other formations. An additional quirk is the widespread embrace of OmniPod technology such that Arcadian formations are those of the Cisglass that most resemble a Clan frontline touman, including use of a variety of OmniFighters and OmniVehicles. This comes at a cost of expanding their logistical train and required technical support personnel, but given the variety of foes the AFRF has faced on the battlefield through the Second Age of War, it is understandable this doctrine became so dominant.
The recent decades have been particularly fraught with political difficulty as most of the legislators have feuded openly with the Crown over the expansive rearmament proposals of the AFRF. Operation MORNING STAR and the debacle at Sirius and Procyon created a wedge between the military and Crown, who plotted that invasion, and Parliament, who opposed it when it came and have since been tight-fisted with arms expansions. Because of this the Royal Federation has never undone its post-Dieron retraction, merely filling out its surviving units, with only one new RCT added to their ranks since Dieron. The naval rebuilding program has likewise been parsimonious, repairing existing hulls and filling out the authorized squadrons but with no significant new construction. With the exception of the Defense Bloc, many members of Parliament deeply distrust the AFRF Command Staff and argue expanding the military would lead to more adventurism against the Concert of the Sphere. A slight reversal of this policy came in the 3140 elections where the Defense Bloc overpassed the pro-Dieron Concert Bloc in seats, so now neither side holds a plurality in either of Parliament's chambers and the balance is decided by the Labour and Corporate Blocs. A new expanded naval program was pressed through Parliament in the following session and efforts began to expand the ground forces as well. Yet even there the regional interests restrain the Defense Bloc as many of their new seats come from Arcturus, Alexandria, and Porrima Marches. Those voters are more worried about the violent actions of the Draconis Combine, not the threat of the Oriento-Capellans. Efforts in Parliament to press the AFRF Command Staff's anti-Capellan positions have thus faltered.
Besides the difficulties between the AFRF and Parliament the Federation has suffered from a lack of strong direction in leadership. High Queen Jacqueline's hatred of the Peace was unmistakable and her bitterness towards the failures in 3123 and the political situation threw the entire Crown Government apparatus into a deep malaise. She withheld any activism or direction, only following through on the required ceremonial duties of her position and leaving whomever she had as Lord of the Privy Council to set agendas. Her energies were diverted towards seeing to her orphaned grandson Nathaniel's upbringing and pushing herself in 'Mech simulators and with disarmed 'Mech battles. In the resulting drift the regional interests have pulled the weakened administration in various directions. The Lyrantreu, a political movement devoted to transforming the Federation into a restored Lyran Commonwealth (and to the promotion of House Steiner alone as the ruling house), have become a visible political and institutional force, particularly in sections of the AFRF, with attendant institutional pushback against any blatant "Lyran nationalist" displays that have caused public scandals and, from the non-Lyran-identifying worlds, constant outrage. Skye and Tamarind separatism have likewise cropped up, citing the perceived failure of the government on Arcadia to see to their defense. In the Principality of Atreus, the Fortress Party took third place in the Principality's legislative elections of 3140 and advocate a curtailing of domestic liberties and a strong military expansion to counter the threat of Maskirovka subversion and Imperial invasion. At all points, Jacqueline rebuffed requests for her to more directly involve herself and continued to focus on her 'Mech duels and related entertainment. This led to her premature death in May 3142 in an accident that saw her cockpit crushed.
With Jacqueline gone, her twenty-six year old grandson Nathaniel ascended to the throne, and with it the Royal Federation's political system shook once more. Nathaniel appointed his grand-uncle Prince Peter to lead the Privy Council and immediately pressed his own agenda of reinforcing, not challenging, the Concert of the Sphere. Over vigorous protest from members of his Command Staff Nathaniel negotiated directly with Emperor Robert Halas-Liao for mutual drawdowns of their border troops. He has turned down desired appointments to key military positions and promoted his own picks, typically officers accepting of the Peace of Dieron. In his addresses to Parliament he stated his opposition to significant rearmament, citing the growing naval arms race as "a threat not just to our peace and tranquility, nor just to our unprecedented prosperity, but to all of Humanity". Nathaniel openly backs the expansion of the Rural Medical Service and the formation of the proposed Federal Health Service and the Higher Education Initiative, all opposed by the Defense Bloc as distractions from rearmament. While there is nothing unique or new about this activity, as prior monarchs publicly voiced support for civic legislation or social improvement movements, the Royal Federation's political system is undergoing the equivalent of shock therapy as two decades of neglect from the Crown left many institutionally unprepared for Nathaniel's activity. The Federation's economic strength is providing the necessary weight to keep the state's balance, at least, otherwise the situation would likely be socially volatile as well as unsettling.
It was in this environment that the Timkovichi Event brought its own shockwave. The possibility of any Clan coming through the Glass is a strategic complication the Royal Federation, at this time, can ill-afford. Nathaniel was quick to assert that something needed to be done about the Clan threat and approved his troops' raids on Great X and Morges and reinforcements to guard Timkovichi. He was publicly supportive of Lady Trillian Steiner-Davion's mission to Arcadia. Unsurprisingly he has met stern, almost extreme resistance from various quarters, especially among those favoring harsher stances against the Empire or the Combine, with their publications excoriating him for "fighting the wrong enemy". Even his allies in the Concert bloc have been critical for his shift into supporting armaments expansion. His strongest support has ironically come from two normally-opposed blocs, the Corporate and Labor Blocs, out of economic and ideological concerns. In many ways he was fortunate the Falcons attacked Timkovichi again. The Clans' aggressiveness could no longer be ignored by the rest of the government. Between that strike and the footage from Morges Nathaniel finally won the votes to secure his alliance with the Lyrans. In the coming months, Federation forces will be the most numerous of those powers intervening through the Glass. All that remains to be seen is if they will beat the Wolves to Tharkad and, either way, if they can finally stop the Clan advance into the Commonwealth or turn it back.
(I have another concern. Nathaniel is leading his army. If he falls like Thaddeus Marik, what will that mean for the Royal Federation's intervention? We need more intelligence on the figures in the line of succession to judge. — Lady Janella)
(What I want to know is why the AFRF's naval contingent at Timkovichi was so anemic. The Lyrans had an accurate count of the Falcon WarShip fleet and we know they shared their intelligence. The Federation's Command Staff had to know that a cruiser wouldn't be enough. Was it some sort of trap by Nathaniel, to goad the Falcons into trying something so he could use it politically? Or was it his own subordinates undermining him by withholding necessary forces? If the high officers on Arcadia are sabotaging him it might turn his expedition into a disaster. — Paladin Heather GioAvanti)
Proctor Heavy Guards
The Proctor Heavy Guards were formed as part of the establishment of the Household Guards Corps in 3041. The Proctor Heavy Guards would by far become the most successful of the new formations, an elite heavy force that continues to field only the finest pilots, infantry soldiers, and tank crews with the best 'Mechs and fighting machines the Royal Federation's industries can provide. High King Ethan Proctor-Steiner, his younger sibling Nathaniel, and a number of other members of House Proctor have served with the unit over the decades, tying the Heavy Guards extensively to the ruling family. It remains the most sought-after posting in the entire AFRF.
As one might expect they had an extensive list of campaigns during the Fourth Succession War. High King Ethan led them in his invasion of the Grand Duchy of Oriente after the Empire attacked Andurien. After early victories they were met by the entire complement of Oriente's Knightly Orders on Nova Roma in 3111, suffering a reversal due to the enemy concentration. Ethan's wounding in battle would prove mortal and the Heavy Guards were forced into a retreat that caused them extensive losses. They would be rebuilt to participate in the defense of Campbelton, the liberation of Tongatapu, and the 3115 relief of Atreus. In 3116 they joined an attempt to take New Olympia that ended in a staged withdrawal from the arrival of heavy Imperial reinforcements diverted from Regulus. With losses mounting across the AFRF they were rotated to Arcadia for a time to prepare for a final strategic push and were dropped on Sirius in 3119, where they prevailed at the cost of a third of their manpower and two-fifths their machines. The entire unit was shaken as among the slain was the Prince of Atreus, James Proctor-Steiner. After the Peace of Dieron they withdrew as their final victory was undone by the diplomacy at Dieron.
The loss of the Royal Heir and having their victory snatched away made the Heavy Guards all the more willing to fight hard when MORNING STAR was launched in 3123. The IOCF being ready for the attack did not stop the Guards from inflicting severe losses on the Second Sirian Lancers in their efforts to capture Gyn City. The order to withdraw caused several resignations across the Division's command staff in protest. The unit's shaken morale took years to rebuild from and they have not seen combat since. Now under the veteran command of Major General Dame Katherine Tremaine the Heavy Guards have by all accounts recovered from their disappointments of the recent past.. A long tour in the Atreus Theater was due to end with rotation to Arcadia for capital defense duty, but the Glass changed those plans. High King Nathaniel has mobilized his father's old unit to join him on the expedition to the Lyran Commonwealth and they will soon be seeing action against the Wolf Clan's victorious warriors, a battle many of their number are said to be eager for.
Eighth Strikers
The Striker Corps grew out of March-Prince William Proctor's need to counter House Rayhan's capable raiding units during the Arcadian-Rayhannid War of the 2990s. Initially a collection of raiding 'Mech battalions with VTOL support, the most famous of these skilled formations was the 8th Striker Battalion, the legendary Sunhawks. Reactivated as a full regiment in 3035 due to the pressing needs of the Free March, the Eighth lived up to their reputation. From the morale-raising cavalry raid on Coventry in the War of Donegalian Succession to the raid on New Earth in 3055 that damaged multiple Terran war plants, the Eighth Strikers could be counted upon to hurt the enemies of the Federation at any point.
They were active on both fronts of the Fourth Succession War, with repeated raids on Imperial targets in the early years, including a descent on Regulus in 3113, then their transfer to the Rasalhaguan front later that year that saw their successful support of the defense of Buckminster, their raids on Benjamin, Cadiz, and Mersa Matruh in 3116, and their role in thwarting the Galedonian buildup on Tukayyid in 3117. Despite their combat losses they were shifted to the Imperial front once more and joined the reclaiming of Irian in 3118, successfully hitting several command posts of the Second Irian Hussars and the Fifth Sirian Lancers that enabled the success of the invasion. By the end of the war the Sunhawks were exhausted but intact, having maintained one of the most active battle histories of all AFRF units in the entire war.
They have also been the most active combat unit in the AFRF since the Peace of Dieron, participating in Operation MORNING STAR in '23 and Operation SOVEREIGN SON in '34. The latter saw the Sunhawks at their best, bedeviling the Fifth Sword of Light and other DCMS units during the entire campaign on Vega. Since those operations the Eighth has primarily remained in the Donegal and Arcadia Theaters as a strategic reserve, rotating between worlds and conducting war game training with other line units. They were the natural choice for the SIEGFRIED war games and were the first Arcadian unit on the scene when the Timkovichi Event happened. Their victory over Malvina Hazen and her Golden Ordun, and the holovids of the event spreading across the Inner Sphere, has made the Sunhawks the most prominent face of the AFRF in our Inner Sphere. They remain on our side of the Glass and will undoubtedly play some role in the Arcadian intervention campaign, though we cannot be sure what role it will be at this time.
Fourth Skye Rangers
The Skye Rangers have a long and storied history on both sides of the Glass. Forced to leave by a failed revolt against the Teutonism of the Federal Skye Republic, Defiance CEO Greydon Brewer convinced them to return to Lyran territory and serve the Consolidant, which they did on the condition that House Brewer commit to a liberation of Skye from the Teutonists. The fulfillment of this promise in the First Skye War won the Rangers' loyalty permanently. While they were effectively destroyed three times during the earlier part of the Second Age of War, the Fourth was repeatedly re-activated to maintain loyalty on Skye. The bonds of loyalty were strengthened by the assignment of two generations of heiresses for Defiance-Hesperus, with Mathilda Brewer-Steiner and her daughter Jacqueline Proctor-Steiner serving in the Fourth through their military careers.
The Fourth Succession War saw the Fourth Rangers winning early victories, capturing Marfik and Cebelrai before being committed to the invasion of Azami-held Vega. The arrival of Galedonian forces and their direct assault on the Hesperan and Arcadian forces saw the Fourth nearly destroyed yet again and their commander, Princess Jacqueline, permanently crippled and sent home to take her father's vacant throne. As High Queen, Jacqueline insisted upon their reconstitution, and they would be brought back into service for the fighting on the Galedon and Azami fronts, playing a key role in the taking of Kessel and extracting the Seventeenth Skye Rangers from utter destruction on Dromini. In 3119 they landed on Procyon and succeeded in their objectives, just to be required to hand the world back over in the Peace of Dieron. It was a sour ending to a difficult war.
It is no surprise the Fourth Rangers happily participated in a return to Procyon in 3123, and were even more upset by their forced withdrawal, with wide scale resignations in their command staff over the decision. Being High Queen Jacqueline's former unit, and enjoying the AFRF Procurement Department's largesse at her command, ensured they have not seen the same resurgence in Skye nationalism that other Ranger units have. Their ongoing trouble with Azami raiders had an unexpected repercussion in 3141 when the Fourth Rangers were one of the units sent to Northwind for joint exercises with the Compact militaries in the WALLACE war game series. While planners attempted to keep the formations part, a mistake in scheduling saw the Second Azami Confederation Cavalry and Fourth Rangers crossing one another's paths during trips to the field. This should not have been a problem since all the 'Mechs were loaded with dummy ammunition rounds and depowered energy weapons, but the two formations quickly came to blows regardless in what was described as "a scrum" by observing Davion troops. Nearly three hundred BattleMechs began a vicious melee brawl that resulted in several severe injuries and millions of C-bills worth of damages to both sides until the Davion Heavy Guards and their own commanders broke the two sides up. The units were confined to barracks and kept out of future exercises for the duration of the war games. The AFRF made a serious effort to punish the Fourth Ranger over the affair but were undermined by High Queen Jacqueline's initial response quickly becoming known across the service: "Did we win?" The Fourth are currently posted to guard CBM-Lockheed's Glengarry factories from any further Azami raids or Combine attack. Their loyalty appears to remain steady in comparison to the other Ranger units' dislike of Nathaniel and his "distance" from the people of Skye.
First Atrean Dragoons
Destroyed by the fall of the Atrean Kingdom in the 30th Century, the Atrean Dragoons were brought back to service by the Marik Commonwealth as a personal unit of the Duke-General. The unit was one of many utterly destroyed when the Commonwealth collapsed in the Second Skye War. In 3040 they were reconstituted by the AFRF and would soon win distinction fighting to hold Atreus from the near-overwhelming invasion of the Oriento-Capellans in 3041. They quickly became the standard-bearing formation of House Marik and the Principality of Atreus and often get the best recruits and machines to come from the academies and factories of the Principality.
The unit's Fourth Succession War history is, like many, one of conquest, retreat, and defense. The spearhead of the Royal Federation's "Right Hook" into Oriente in 3110, they helped secure Aitutaki and Harmony early in the war, but after new year they were stopped in a bitter fight on Tiber against the Fusiliers of Oriente and the Knights of the Red Sword. The Imperial counterattack reclaimed those lost worlds and starting in 3113 the First Atrean Dragoons were compelled to fight hard to hold their homeworld against a determined Imperial invasion of twenty months' duration. Battered by this experience they were kept in reserve for rebuilding. The AFRF's final effort against the Empire started in 3117 and the First Atrean Dragoons were tasked for the third wave, but the great Imperial victory at Kearny and following invasion of the Rim Commonality and Principality of Atreus saw the First instead fighting to hold Atreus City itself from the combined might of Oriente's Knightly Orders. The months of desperate struggle saw the unit on the verge of utter defeat when relief forces finally pushed through the Imperial blockade and compelled the withdrawal of the enemy. When 3119 ended barely a quarter of the First Atrean Dragoons remained intact, with many of their best and brightest among the slain.
Rebuilding from the Fourth Succession War was a matter of pride for House Marik. Archduke Kenneth applied every lever of power he had on Arcadia to secure the financial and industrial resources to restore the Atrean Dragoons, with the First receiving reinforcement first. Today they are an elite force who are dedicated to protecting Atreus and its Principality. Their loyalty to the Federation as a whole can be more measured although, unlike Skye and Tamarind, Marik Commonwealth or Atrean separatism has not become a major issue. It is more the point that the First will fight best if they are fighting for their homeworld and House Marik. High King Nathaniel's final statements before departing for the Glass made clear his own confidence that they will safeguard the Atrean people from any Imperial attack, a measure calculated to reassure the First and their comrades of Nathaniel's understanding of their position and support for their efforts.
