SLS McKenna,
New Vandenberg Orbit, Taurian Concordat
May 20th, 2767
Aleksandyr Kerensky, Commanding General of the Star League Defence Forces was in a foul mood. Just three days earlier word had finally reached his headquarters of the terrible events…the catastrophe that had befallen them. Stefan Amaris had launched a bloody, vicious and worst of all successful coup d’état against First Lord Richard Cameron. Terra had fallen, the Royal Black Watch slain to a man in a valiant but failed attempt to stop the madness. Nearly two dozen nuclear weapons detonated on or over SLDF bases on the homeworld, while other positions were subjected to carpet-bombing airstrikes or chemical attacks – even military hospitals had been obliterated, as the Usurper tried to crush any SLDF forces he could.
Then the man had the nerve to blame it on Kerensky, that his Rim Worlds forces were responding to a coup by the SLDF, spearheaded by the Black Watch themselves. The news, both official and unofficial, got worse and worse. The Rim Worlds Fleet held orbit, the Space Defence System, both ground batteries and the M-5 Caspar drones where under Amaris’ control. SLS Richelieu and Jean-Bart, barely completed, fighting their way out of the Titan Shipyards, sending warnings over their HPG systems as they went. The old museum ship Dreadnought likewise punching her way out of Lunar orbit and rounding up civilian JumpShips as best she could before fleeing.
And thanks to the slowness of the HPG network, news had only just reached New Vandenberg. Nearly six months had passed, six months for that bastard Amaris to root out resistance and fortify his position. Now, the Periphery Uprising that half the SLDF had been fighting for the last few years seemed so pointless. Both sides recognised it and the Taurian Protector had offered a cease-fire, one that the SLDF had gladly accepted while the troops privately grieved or raged.
Three days. Three days of silent, cold fury from the Commanding General as he, alone, began drawing up plans to take the initiative, to drive deep into the Hegemony and blast Stefan Amaris into his component atoms. The plans would never be workable of course – the SLDF was too scattered at the moment, any immediate assault would be piecemeal attacks that would be crushed in detail, and it would be many months before the massed ranks of the Army and Fleet would be in position for a decisive strike.
Even then, the Fleet would take murderous losses to the SDS, the army would have to fight across fortified territory and into the dozens of Castles Brian scattered over Terra. Even with every Mech regiment and every WarShip, he’d be lucky if half his total command survived unscathed. The alternative would be a decade-long campaign through all the worlds of the Terran Hegemony, bleeding his forces badly – and then they’d still have to fight past the SDS and the thrice-damned Caspar drones.
However, today the Commanding General found himself not at his HQ, but rather in orbit on the fleet flagship, summoned there by the ship’s Captain as something very strange was happening. He pulled himself through the hatch onto the mighty battleship’s bridge, the soothing effects of the zero-g environment a welcome relief to his old bones.
“Captain McNeil, what is so urgent that you called me up from the surface?” His tone was curt, almost biting. The Captain rotated her command chair and nodded at Kerensky, before pointing at the large red “Unknown” contact in the main holo-tank.
“That is what is so urgent Sir. It’s an unknown ship that jumped into the system an hour ago and the commander is asking to speak with whoever is in charge. It’s about the same size as a Lola-III destroyer but we can’t get any more detailed information from sensors, it’s as if they’re jamming us.”
Kerensky frowned, his immediate ire receded as he pondered the mystery ship. “Any guesses as to who they are? And what jump-point did they use?”
Captain McNeil grimaced. “I haven’t the foggiest who it is General. And they didn’t use a jump-point.”
Kerensky nodded slightly at the first part of her response before his brain froze at the second.
“Say that again?”
McNeil obliged. “They didn’t use a jump-point Sir. They appeared at a distance of 100,000 km from the planet and have been keeping station ever since. The ship has no discernable fusion drive, the jump signature was similar to, and yet distinct from a K/F drive signature, and optical sensors show no grav decks, fighter bays, cooling radiators or weapon mounts – though there are a dozen heavy turrets on the topside, I have no idea what they are. If it wasn’t for their request being in League-standard English I’d say this wasn’t a human ship.”
Kerensky blinked. He opened his mouth to decry the absurd possibility, then stopped and thought furiously. “Well” he began slowly, “it occurs to me that we don’t have anything more pressing to do at the moment, and they are well out of range of both us and the planet. Bring all ships to Condition Two, double the CAP, and get me an open channel to that ship.”
McNeil nodded and began issuing orders, while Kerensky secured himself in a spare command chair by the holo-tank and waited. Soon enough the communications officer told him the channel was live.
“This is Aleksandyr Kerensky, Commanding General of the Star League Defence Forces. Who are you and what are you doing in our space?” The message was short and blunt, but it said what it needed to. A moment passed and then a hologram flashed to life before him, of a tall, long-haired blond woman in an unfamiliar uniform – but definitely human, or near enough as to be indistinguishable.
”Commanding General Kerensky, my name is Commander Sarah Larson of the explorer TCS Endurance, assigned to the Alliance Combined Fleet Reconnaissance Squadron. I come bearing greetings from the Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and an offer of peace and opening diplomatic relations with the Star League and the nations thereof. We mean you no harm, and will make no aggressive actions unless fired upon.”
Kerensky looked at McNeil, a clear question of ”What on Earth is this?” on his face. He got no answer except a baffled shrug. He looked back at the hologram.
“Thank you Commander, but you have me at a loss. I’ve never heard of this Alliance, or your Supreme Commander. Where exactly are you from? Your ship is completely unknown to our records.”
Larson’s hologram smiled. ”I get that a lot General. The Alliance is formed of a number of governments spread across several universes and is dedicated to the common defence against foreign and alien threats. We have fought the Wraith, the Goa’uld, the Cylons, the Genii, the Covenant and more. In short, Commanding General, we stand against evil.”
Kerensky blinked again in shock. “Do you mean you’re from another universe Commander?”
Larson’s hologram laughed. “I am indeed General. I’m part of the recon force, checking out new universes for contact. With your permission, I will signal Admiral Jellicoe and ask him to join us for further discussions. His flagship is only one jump away and can be here in a few minutes.”
Kerensky could only nod. “Very well Commander, I will talk with this Admiral, but we have our own pressing concerns at the moment.”
Larson nodded. ”Yes, your coup led by Stefan Amaris. I am confident Admiral Jellicoe will have something to say about that. By your leave General, I will signal the Admiral now. Expect his arrival momentarily.”
The channel closed and Kerensky looked at McNeil. “What do you make of this Captain?”
The woman frowned deeply. “I don’t know sir. Other universes? Normally I’d scoff at the idea…but that ship out there is so far removed from anything I’m familiar with that I’m inclined to believe it. Why use such an unbelievable lie?”
Kerensky nodded. “Why indeed.” He would have said more but a new signal appeared on the holo-tank, a massive new contact. The tactical officer stared at his console in shock before belatedly announcing the arrival.
“Status change! New contact has appeared next to Endurance, contact is….huge.”
The statement was a gross understatement. The sensor data showed this new vessel was almost three times the size of even the McKenna and was just as unfamiliar as the much smaller Endurance. Kerensky and McNeil exchanged another telling look. No ship in the entire history of the Star League or its members was on this scale. Not even the huge yard-ships could match this.
A new signal came in and another hologram appeared, this time of a middle-aged man, with black hair just starting to be shot with gunmetal-grey. His dark hazel eyes were fierce, and his uniform – different again from Commander Larson’s – was perfect, and held a sturdy, strong frame.
The hologram nodded respectfully at Kerensky. ”Commanding General Kerensky, I am Admiral Sir John Jellicoe of the Colonial Fleet, Supreme Allied Commander of the Interuniversal Alliance aboard the Warstar Jupiter. I request permission to come aboard your flagship so we may talk in person. I understand you have an incipient civil war brewing, I may be able to render assistance.”
Kerensky could only nod. “Permission granted Admiral, we shall expect your shuttle in due course. I will summon my senior officers for the meeting.”
With another exchange of polite nods the conversation ended. Kerensky turned to McNeil. “Please prepare to receive their shuttle, and summon General DeChavilier and Admiral Brandt to the flag conference room. Once this Admiral Jellicoe arrives, have him brought there.”
McNeil could only smile and nod at the instructions, and wonder at what the hell they had gotten in to now.
SLS McKenna
New Vandenberg Orbit, Taurian Concordat
May 21st, 2767
The meeting had gone on for hours, with both sides explaining their history and present situation. Eventually, once he had a grasp of the situation, Jellicoe took a sip of tea and spoke up.
“So, to summarise, this traitor Amaris has seized the Hegemony, most likely also seized your mothball fleet, controls the planetary defence batteries and the drone warships and has assassinated the entire ruling Cameron family. The limitations of your K/F drives mean it would take you months to rally enough forces here to retake Terra and months more to reach it – and your casualties in liberating the planet will be immense.”
Kerensky sighed deeply. “An apt summary Admiral Jellicoe.”
The extra universal visitor pondered the situation for a few moments. “Normally, we would not get involved in internal affairs, unless we receive a call for assistance from an Alliance member.”
DeChavilier frowned. “That is troubling Admiral. From what you have told us, your ships and technology could end this coup in short order.”
Jellicoe nodded. “Quite so General. However, I have a personal hatred for drone warships – AI’s damn near annihilated my own people and killed my entire family. We shattered them and won in the end, but thirty billion lives still ended in a single day on the Colonies. As Supreme Allied Commander, I can provisionally accept a nation into the Alliance if the request comes from a ranking official of that nation. Your Star League Council could do so but, from what I understand of your FTL systems and HPG communications that will be difficult to arrange.”
Kerensky nodded. “Correct Admiral. However, there is a chance that one of the Cameron line survives – we know the old museum ship Dreadnought fought her way out of the Terran system with a convoy of civilian JumpShips. The late First Lord’s distant cousin, Jennifer Cameron, was a sponsor of the museum ship as part of a “living history” project. The day of the Coup was supposed to be a major event on board that she was scheduled to attend. If we can find and rescue the Dreadnought, and she is aboard, we will have a presumptive First Lord who can formally ask your assistance.”
Jellicoe blinked. “A warship turned into a museum that resisted attack and escorted civilian ships out of a warzone? That sounds just like the old Galactica in my world, one of just three Battlestars to survive the holocaust. Well I can dispatch Endurance to see if they can find this Dreadnought, if we can I can jump Jupiter in to assist. We may have to leave the civilian JumpShips somewhere safe and extract the DropShips directly.”
Kerensky grinned, finally they had a plan. “I think that is a sound strategy. In the meantime, I have issued orders for most of the SLDF to assemble at Robinson in the Federated Suns, the most convenient location for such a mass gathering. Except for the 8th and 11th Armies and their attendant Fleets – they have orders to strike into the Rim Worlds Republic and deny the output of its industry to the Usurper.”
Jellicoe returned the grin. “Sounds good General. Might I suggest you accompany me aboard Jupiter? I suspect that the Dreadnought might not listen otherwise.”
The officers agreed – albeit reluctantly in some cases – and so Jellicoe activated his comm unit and dispatched Commander Larson to the wayward museum’s last known location. He then called up his flagship, and passed orders back to his own headquarters to assemble what heavy units were available at short notice to prepare for possible deployment.
Warstar Jupiter,
New Vandenberg Orbit, Taurian Concordat
May 27th, 2767
In the Flag Briefing Room of the enormous Terran Warstar sat an eclectic group. Jellicoe, Kerensky, Brandt, DeChavilier, Captain McNeil, Jennifer Cameron and Captain Edward Olmos, the nearly-retired officer who has been commanding the old Dreadnought. The museum ship itself, and the thirty-two civilian JumpShips she had been escorting, were now abandoned in a long, stable orbit on the very edge of the New Rhoades III system, on the edge of the Hegemony. The passenger DropShips had cautiously mag-locked themselves to the Warstar’s hull and shuddered at the unpleasant sensation as the huge ship jumped back to General Kerensky’s headquarters. Captain Olmos had only agreed to leave when Kerensky and Jellicoe guaranteed that they would return and salvage the ships once Amaris was defeated.
Jennifer Cameron, Acting Director-General of the Terran Hegemony and presumptive First Lord of the Star League had handled the startling revelations with remarkable coolness and, once the situation had been explained, formally asked Admiral Jellicoe for the Star League to be provisionally accepted as a member of the Interuniversal Alliance. As soon as Jellicoe had given his – provisional – acceptance, she promptly requested Alliance assistance in defeating the traitor Amaris.
Jellicoe agreed, and the planning began in earnest. The Colonial Admiral had an idea, for both a show of force and a psychological hammer blow that should break the Rim Worlds forces in short order. It hinged on the technological superiority of the Alliance fleets and the advantages of their FTL drives compared to the local K/F drives.
“General Kerensky” he asked, “How long will it take to assemble enough ground forces to retake Terra? Leave aside the SDS, I will handle that.”
The stoic Russian pondered briefly “Two months, I should say, to gather available units at Robinson, but that would still take a month to actually reach Terra.”
Jellicoe smirked, a look that promised suffering to his enemies. “I have a way around that as well. One of my ships can open a slipspace portal to take your entire fleet there in one jump. My combat assets will go in first to eliminate the Caspars and the Rim Worlds fleet, then we’ll suppress the surface batteries and bring your invasion force right into orbit.”
The SLDF officers took a moment to marvel at the possibility of being able to move troops and ships at such speed. It would revolutionise warfare and throw all existing strategies out the window. Jellicoe, however, was not done.
“I suggest then, that you broadcast a message on your HPG network to Terra, telling Amaris you are coming for him and will arrive at Terra on, say, August 1st.” Gasps of protest echoed in the room.
Admiral Brandt was the one to voice the concern. “Why in God’s name would we tell him in advance? He’d have two months to pull in every ship, every soldier and every ‘Mech in the Hegemony!”
Jellicoe smirked again. “Precisely, Admiral Brandt. My fleet completely outclasses the Rim Worlds force, and the Caspars. Let him gather everything and then, when his fleet lies in ruins and my ships hover in the skies of Terra, what will his troops think?”
Jennifer Cameron spoke up. “They will see that Amaris is not as powerful as he claims. The people of Terra will see how outmatched he is and resist. And if nothing else, if he does pull everything to Terra that effectively liberates the entire Hegemony in a single act.”
Kerensky saw the point, and could not fault it. “Then in that case, First Lord Cameron, we should prepare your inaugural address and our message to the traitor. Admiral Jellicoe, can your forces be ready in time?”
Jellicoe smiled again, but this time it was a happier expression. “Of course, whenever we recon a new universe I have combat elements on standby. I’ll call in the ready-action forces from the Tau’ri and UNSC fleets, with the Jupiter acting as flagship and some more Explorers for recon work. In fact, I’ll send Endurance to the outer Terran system and have Commander Larson keep an eye on things until we’re ready to strike.”
Kerensky looked at DeChavilier, Brandt and Cameron who all nodded. “Then let’s get started.”
Throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery,
May-July, 2767
The message went out across the HPG networks, relayed time after time until by mid-July every human-settled world had received it. It was a message of shattering, stunning news; for many it was the first official message from the Star League since the Coup. What had been circumspect announcements by national governments on Luthien, Sian, New Avalon, Atreus and Tharkad, this was a genuine Star League broadcast, from the First Lord and the Commanding General no less.
”Citizens of the Star League, I am Commanding General Aleksandyr Kerensky. You will have heard of the supposed Coup in the Hegemony, of the death of First Lord Richard Cameron, and that the Usurper Stefan Amaris claims this to be SLDF plot. This is a lie – it is Amaris that killed Lord Richard and almost the entire Cameron line, who used nuclear and chemical weapons to slaughter the few remaining SLDF forces on Terra, who’s Gestapo oppresses and murders civilians by the thousand in New York, in Rome, in Moscow and Berlin and Shanghai. It is he who has caused so much grief and pain.”
“He has failed in one respect though. He has not killed all the Camerons. Jennifer Cameron, second cousin to the slain Richard was aboard the old Dreadnought on the day of the Coup, and that legendary old ship fought her way out of the Terran system with her precious cargo. Jennifer Cameron has been sworn in as acting Director-General and will be confirmed as First Lord of the Star League when the High Council next meets – on Terra.”
The picture shifted, now showing the thirty-five year old, slender and pretty brunette.
”People of the Star League, I am Jennifer Cameron, and I have sworn to defend and preserve the people of the Hegemony and the Star League – I shall do just that. I have given Commanding General Kerensky orders to conquer the Rim Worlds Republic, to deny their industries to the traitor Amaris – and I have also given him orders to liberate Terra. Take heart, my citizens, we are coming back for you. You must endure the oppression of Amaris and his Gestapo only a short while longer.”
The image shifted again, back to Kerensky, who had a triumphant smile and a twinkle in his eye.
”You heard the First Lord correctly, people of the Star League. We are coming for you. And now I speak directly to the traitor Stefan Amaris. You days are numbered. You may have reactivated the SLDF mothball fleet, you may control the Caspars and the SDS batteries, and you may have seized the Castles Brian on Terra.
It will not matter. It will not stop us. We will not be denied as we seek vengeance for our dead. I give you this one chance Stefan Amaris. Lay down your arms and surrender. Surrender and you will be tried under the laws of the Star League. You have until August 1st. On that day, my fleets and my troops will jump into the Terran system and liberate the homeworld of mankind. If you have not surrendered by the time we jump in, there will be no quarter given. Rally all your ships if you want, dig in, it makes no difference. August 1st, Stefan, that is when your Empire ends, one way or another. We’ll see you soon.”
The gauntlet had been thrown down. The Star League at large did not yet know of the Alliance intervention, but they would know on August 1st.
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So, this should only be two or three posts in total, but I've had the idea of the Jupiter or the HMS Dreadnought or the new (planned for Book III of the main story) UNSC Siege Perilous class battleships blasting apart Caspars and Rim Worlds battleships for a while, and I needed some semblance of justification for it.
I should stress that my knowledge of BattleTech comes from MasterArminas' stories, the (truly excellent) "Davion and Davion (Deceased)" story on Fanfic.net - if you have an interest in BT stories, I would strongly suggest looking that one up, it's outstanding - and a briefing scouring of the BattleTech wiki. So some of the characters come from MA's stories, the idea of a lone surviving Cameron comes from him as well.
What is canon though, is the tale of the old Dreadnought as a museum ship fighting her way out of Terra - something the BT writers openly acknowledge was a big homage to BSG. And thus, the ship's Captain is one Edward Olmos - no prises for geussing that reference on my part
