| Glimpses from the Future | |
| Facts | |
| Author | Fabius Maximus |
| Series Name | |
| Alternate Universe Name | The Bull and the Genie AU |
| Year Written | July 2022 - May 2024 |
| Story Era | Clan Invasion Era to Dark Age Era |
Description[]
This is a collection of news shorts and articles from the The Bull and the Genie universe. They are from specific time periods of the universe, which includes in the future.
Note: News articles / Stories segments presented here can be spoiling for events of the main story.
Edward Calderon and the Periphery Economic Boom[]
Edward Calderon is known best for the normalization of relations between the Concordat and the Federated Suns, but he should be known for his role in turning the Concordat into the economic powerhouse it is today.
While his father focused on the military benefits of the Prometheus Core, seeing the general economic improvement primarily as a way to rebuild his military without damaging the standard of living of his people, Edward saw the economic benefits as a weapon in and of themselves, and pressed for a dramatic increase in the Concordat's export industry, as well as licensing arrangements with other nations.
As Minister of Economic Development, he was free, within certain restrictions (mainly involving revealing technology that would prove the Concordat had access to far more than an old Star League maintenance library), to use civilian oriented developments to improve the economy.
Water purifiers, the C72 superconductor compound, and Plastasteel, a plastic that could be poured and set, were some of the first examples, and were licensed all over the Inner Sphere, much to his father's bemusement. Edward saw this as a way to protect the Concordat. He didn't have the same fears of the Davions his father did, but equally, if every other state was benefiting from the Golden Eggs of the Taurus Goose, they might be reluctant to let Davion raid the farm—not without consequences.
The later increase in the number of shipyards, as well as the fielding of the "Common Jump Pod" design and the Bull Mammoth cargo dropship led to increased trade, especially as the Common Jump Pod design could be built for a fraction of the cost of a dropship. By 3030 Taurian and license built hulls would have a growing impact on interworld commerce.
The flood of commerce benefited the Concordat, even as Edward kept a tight hold on the banking industry, going so far as to import outside Lyran and Free Worlds League accounting firms to run audits and advise a government that until recently had never dreamed you could have too much money.
- Investment and Checkbook Diplomacy
- One thing that was plain—the periphery suffered from a lack of investment. Nobody wanted to risk a factory being destroyed by a pirate raid, so they didn't invest, often creating a self-fulfilling economic prophecy. However, by investing in local militias, and funding the development of the Guardian and Devil Slayer militiamechs, Edward was able to increase the number of affordable militias that could stand off pirates, while of course the destruction of Tortuga drastically reduced piracy in the region. Investments tended to be in local factories, such as fixed fusion plants, vehicle assembly, and medical facilities. Most loan terms tended to be long-term, with loan forgiveness tied to the business reinvesting in planetary affairs.
Not all investments were successful, although few could blame the Taurians for the ultimate collapse and dissolution of the Outworlds Alliance, but enough were that by 3039, a number of worlds in the Periphery were enjoying extensive economic booms. This led to more powerful local defenses which saw numerous pirate units coming to untimely ends—and those who didn't, just got big enough to attract a Taurian task force.
Most importantly, the benefits saw Taurus able to drastically expand their military budget, while in fact, spending less as a fraction of their total national income than the nation had in 3010, with a far smaller military. In fact, Edward as gifted the first license built Dragon in 3030 as a sign of the TDF's acceptence of his plan. (The first locally built Dragon, it should be noted. The TDF had been purchasing Dragons since 3023.).
In 3030, the Periphery Common Market was established, first between Taurus and the Magistracy, as well as a number of smaller worlds. It would set the steps for the development of a single Periphery market, with common quality and shipping standards, as well as the guarantee of the right of free movement. Along with the Pan-Periphery Security Protocols, this saw the beginning of a common periphery identity that was more than "we're not part of the Inner Sphere."
- The Concordat Quality Agency
- One of Edward's innovations was the CQA—an agency responsible for certifying that any products exported from the Concordat met certain quality standards. Well aware of the reputation of Periphery products, he was absolutely uncompromising in going after businesses that attempted to cut their quality. It is said that he threw a party in 3042 when a lawsuit regarding Quicksell's appropriation of the CQA seal saw the Quicksell attorney taking the novel argument that no reasonable person could mistake a Quicksell product for a CQA approved product and thus there was no intent to mislead the buyer. (Quicksell lost the case).
From: An Economic History of the Periphery: 2500-3100.
Concordat Report on Warship Production[]
Conclusions of the Bureau of Shipbuilding Committee Regarding Warships:
Classified: Not for general distribution.
Protector's copy.
It is the conclusion of the committee that constructing new warships, safe for the most limited purposes is not now, nor at any time in the foreseeable future, feasible, or desirable for the TCN. The reasons provided blow are the result of nearly 1200 hours simulation time, and a considerably longer period of discussion and reflect the unanimous opinion of the committee.
- 1. Inability to produce a fleet.
Any warship program within the economic capability of the Concordat would produce only a few ships. Not only would this impact the expense of each hull, as we would be unable to enjoy the efficiencies of mass production, it would also mean that there would be no ability to deploy mutually supporting fleet units. Every attempt during the Amaris Civil War or First Succession conflict to deploy a warship alone, or as part of a small flotilla, generally resulted in the loss of the ship, especially given the fact that even the strictest interpretation of the laws of war would permit the deployment of nuclear weapons against such a ship.
- 2. The cost to the Concordat.
The expense to build a warship facility would be immense. More importantly, it would be a sunk cost in the sense that most of the components of a warship could not be utilized in the civilian sector. Compared to a parasite warship designs, which include a number of components used in civil dropships designs, a warship would use mostly unique components. The consequences to our budget are listed in Appendix 5A.
- 3. The strategic immobility of warships.
A warship with a normal KF core can make one jump approximately every seven days. A warship with a KF battery, a technology we have yet to field, can make two jumps—but most then recharge both the battery and core. Their maximum surge range is 60 light years.
A dropship's surge range is equal to however many jumpships we can line up for it. Theoretically, presuming proper scheduling, a dropship could go from one end of the Inner Sphere to the other, in a few weeks—vastly faster than a warship. While the criticism is that we do not have so many jumpships, it is the Committee's position that spending money on warships will do little to rectify that issue and as such, the naval budget should be focused on the development of KF batteries and more production facilities for transport jumpships.
- 4. The future. While the committee does not believe there is any place for warships in our current fleet composition, three theoretical possibilities could see warships incorporated into our fleet.
- A. - The mobile Support base
- One of the major costs of a warship is its transit drive. Removing the drive and adding jumpship station keeping systems (or a very small drive) coupled with drop collars would allow for a jumpship that would remain outsystem, and yet be capable of defending itself in contested space. While expensive, it could prove useful where conventional jumpships would be too fragile.
- B. - A multiple jump design
- While the Star League never solved the issue of mounting multiple KF batteries on a ship, it remains theoretically possible and such a ship, especially if the batteries could be made removable, might equal the strategic mobility of the drop/jumpship combination. Needless to say, such a design depends on numerous developments, that as of this date, remain firmly in the region of theory.
- C. - Parasite Warships Capable of Mounting Capital Weapons
- Although never accomplished during the Star League, both the Bureau of Shipbuilding and Bureau of Weapons agree that there is no engineering reason why a capital ship scale weapon cannot be mounted on parasite warship hull. However, it will require, at minimum, dedication of at least 25 percent of the ship's tonnage to a keel and energy distribution structure to provide sufficient hull strength and heat dissipation capability that would require specifically designed components. The one test on our Overlord test platform resulted in… substantial damage to the ship, requiring the scrapping of the hull. For now, the inclusion of capital scale missiles appears to be the best compromise.
In Conclusion, our currently fielded parasite warships, especially given the evident lack of similar projects elsewhere, provide the ideal balance of strategic flexibility, fire power, and cost-effectiveness. For this reason, the Committee has concluded that attempting to construct any warship force is not in the interests of the Concordat Navy.
- With Respect
- Bureau of Shipbuilding Committee Regarding Warships
A Message from Taurus[]
- Note: (Part 1 by YuffieK)
"My Prince, a courier from Taurus came into MIIO half an hour ago. They'd been instructed to hand deliver this to me, to give to you."
"What is it, Quintus?"
"I don't know, but apparently my counterpart in the Taurian Ministry of Intelligence has both a sense of humor and irony. It's encrypted with a one-time code and Henri knew you had that particular edition of Clausewitz's On War."
Hanse took the datapad then got up and retrieved the relevant book from the shelves behind his desk. quickly turning to the correct passage. A moment later the pad beeped as it accepted the code key.
- Note: (Part 2 by Fabius Maximus - Originally appeared in the main story)
To Hanse Adriaan Davion, First Prince of the Federated Suns
I write to you not as a fellow leader of a nation, but as a son mourning the loss of his father and so many of his people to a heinous act of treachery.
Despite what you may think of us Periphery 'Barbarians', we are neither uncivilized nor unlearned in the Art of War.
And our Wrath is a Terrible Thing to Behold.
But this is to inform you, directly, that I know that you and your kin are not responsible for the atrocity recently inflicted upon us.
"Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei" - The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
That is not true.
The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy.
No more, no less.
I believe there is too much bad blood between Taurus and New Avalon for us to reconcile our differences in either of our lifetimes, regardless of circumstances.
However, I do know that Maximilian Liao chose to anger the Bull in a brazen attempt to dissuade you from delivering on your wedding present.
He will soon be made aware of the error of his 'Celestial Wisdom'.
Edward Calderon, Protector of the Taurian Concordat.
Tales of the Clan Invasion: CSR: Boom Boom[]
Clan Snow Raven decided, after one near miss of a Jade-falcon trial to keep some of their more... creative aerospace engineers on a modified Samarkand class Aerospace Carrier warship, with some of its space refitted for labs.
Rumor suggested this was in fact, intended to keep it away from any possessions that were flammable, or delicate. Which included worlds with biospheres. The researchers, seeking ways to improve the technology of the Clan, especially KF systems, were... creative. or insane.
The CSR Boom Boom (It's actual name long lost to history), tested new weapons designs, ship systems, even a modified KF drive that was supposed to allow a Dropship to jump--without losing the ability to land on a world. The experiment led to a new order by the Khan of Clan Snow Raven.
The CSR Boom Boom was not to conduct any further experiments on that, save on a world that had no biosphere or people to put at risk. Also, they were to inform any other ships so that they could withdraw to a safe distance.
Some Snow Raven officers interpreted "Safe distance" to be "at least one jump away."
But all joking aside, isolated from the social pressures that had retarded non-biological sciences in the Clans, the researchers of the Boom Boom made a number of developments. Self-healing armor, magnetically reinforced armor, the wide-area-laser defense system that played such a role in hampering the artillery barrages the Taurians were so fond of--even the modified Loyal Wingman automated combat drones that allowed a single Clan fighter to control as many as six subordinate drones (which played a role in preventing the Clans from being overwhelmed by the Inner Sphere fighter units). Their findings were automatically sent to other engineers, who while less brilliant than the eclectic collection on the Boom Boom, were more able to bring prototypes to production.
Inner Sphere forces put a high priority in finding the research ship, which remained close to the operations area, to allow for the fast analysis of IS weapons and dissemination of counters. The few times they were located, they proved that they were just as good at fighting as any other clan--and weren't at all unwilling to deploy prototypes that left their enemies confused and/or terrified.
But the CSR Boom Boom's career came to an end when it was surprised by a combined Federated Commonwealth, UMC task group, and misjumped.
That was, it was believed, the end of the CSR Boom Boom, but in 3120, a large drive flare was detected approaching New Avalon. When ships jumped out to see what it was, they were astonished to find an entire asteroid boosting for the nearest inhabited system. the Boom Boom, its KF drive vaporized beyond any hope of repair, had jumped into interstellar space and the crew had found an asteroid, and promptly, ignoring the fact that it was impossible, used the labs and production facilities to turn the asteroid into a slow-boat craft, complete with internal gardens, living areas, and of course, labs. Most of the original crew was still alive, having also built Star League style sleep pods, which reduced their experienced time to less than thirty years.
Given the fact that the Snow Ravens were now members of the USS, the crew of the Boom Boom soon found employment in the vastly expanded R&D establishment that had grown up in the aftermath of the conflicts of the 31st century. Indeed, one junior researcher on the Boom Boom was a senior researcher on the first USS expedition to the Lesser Magellanic cloud...
The CSR Boom Boom's unofficial slogan was: Explosions are a sign of progress or Progressus explosiones signum sunt!
The Recruit's Tale[]
Joratha had never earned a Bloodname. She'd fought for Clan Jade Falcon, won her trials but…
Was never a great.
And now, at 30, she was solahma, and her Clan had…
Sent her to the Occupation Zone. She would never land upon Terra, watch as the Court of the Star League was reopened and the subjugated House Lords brought to face judgement for their actions.
She would die here, fighting bandits. Nameless.
You could already see it. The younger mechwarriors, those using the transport to move to the front line, barely even acknowledged the group. Their Star Captain hadn't even seen them off when the captured Inner Sphere dropship had detached from the jumpship and burned in. There were some younger passangers. Sibko washouts, freebirths who had mouthed off to the wrong warrior…
Joratha could understand it. Some freebirth's just didn't understand that they were ultimately not part of the Great Father's vision.
And then the DropShip grounded.
"Welcome to Coventry, I'll help you get out!" the pilot said, and Joratha could swear she was from the Clans. "Don't you worry!" she woman said. "This'll be your new home away from home."
Joratha tried not to glare at her for the sheer… vulgarity.
And then they were too busy to do anything else. There were no transports, and so the officers that had come to get them, including… Spheroids? No. Those had to be Periphery scum. Some of the Clans had used them, before they'd been seconded to the Occupation zone, but not Jade Falcon.
But Joratha might not be a true warrior anymore, but she wasn't out of shape. The jog was unusual, being along the streets of the city, but the distance wasn't.
But the city… Joratha had never been in a Spheroid city, save when fighting, and that was rare—the Spheroids tended to, in a rare burst of intelligence, surrender cities that they could not defend, often requesting (and depending on the situation), being granted hegira. She knew that Frederick, the solahma who had somehow managed to become ruler of the OZ in all but name, had argued that the Clan's should be wary of such offers, talking about "armies in being." But he had… a unusual outlook. Frederick had, it was rumored, an unhealthy respect for the Spheroids, with many Spheroids on his staff.
You would think that respect would translate to allowing them to make use of our customs to learn civilization. After the taking of Tharkad and New Avalon, when Trials had been allowed, Joratha had seen one such trial—she'd been bid away, too old to be considered, but it had reminded her of the homeworld. The enemy officer had been desperate to save his men, and had foolishly offered his mechs, even if they'd won, merely bidding for safe passage to his forces.
He'd won, but Joratha expected he would not receive a warm welcome when he got home with a regiment of warriors without their mechs. The infantry, obviously unworthy of such consideration by their commander, had vanished into the wilderness and…
She frowned as she kept jogging. Now that world had to have nearly a Galaxy of garrison troops which had delayed the final march on Terra.
But the city… so many people, dressed in so many different ways…and so undisciplined. Twice their column had to come to a crashing halt as people just wandered in front of them, the serving warriors, merely waiting. Some kids made faces at them, and that would never be tolerated in a worker caste back home, no matter the age. At the very least their supervisors would probably be reprimanded, likely via a beating by the warrior, but here… nothing! It was sheer anarchy.
And there were other things. A store that advertised… pet grooming? She knew what pets were, some were allowed to have them, and grooming, well, nobody wanted to stand in front of a Star Colonel looking messy, but… the two words, put together, what did they mean? Groom a Pet? Why would anyone do that?
And then they turned to another road, this one new. There was a burned out Battlemech in the front, with flowers around it. A Shrine.
Why are they permitting a Spheroid Mech to become a monument? And then she was joining the rest on the broad road, a large base at the far end. As they jogged, she saw signs.
Strange signs.
REMEMBER: GIVE UP YOUR SEAT ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT! Under it was an illustration of an Elemental, looming over an old woman and offering her an empty seat in a vehicle of some kind.
PAY FOR ALL GOODS AND SERVICES! Another picture of some soldiers handing money to a worker.
BEHAVE AS IF YOU WERE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE GREAT FATHER…
There were other signs, and she noticed that the road was named…
Recruit way? That was just insulting. Joratha wasn't a recruit. It wasn't as if she had to learn everything…
And then they came to the front of the base and there were two great statues, the Great Father, Aleksandr Kerensky in the uniform of the Star League, holding one arm out in greeting or warning, and next to him…
Huh. She would have expected his son, but it was General DeChavilier. Underneath the great statues…
She blinked. The Spheroids had defaced them? The words made no sense.
"Frederick rips off Tolkien! Frodo Lives!"
What in the Founder's Name have I gotten into. And then the column of old Clan warriors passed under the blank gaze of the statues, and into Camp Redemption.
An Excerpt and a shot against the Nobility[]
Excerpt From Colonel (ret) Katherine Steiner-Davion's commencement speech, Tharkad Community College.
"In the military, if an officer dies, another officer replaces him. If one retires, one replaces him. And all those officers have gone through the same education, are evaluated by their peers, have the same level of training, and are trusted, because there is a weeding out process against the cowardly, the petty tyrants and the incompetent. It doesn't always work, mind you, but it usually does.
"There is no such process among most noble houses. Some of my critics have pointed to the careers of Victor Steiner-Davion, Melissa Steiner and Hanse Davion. I don't contest that. But the same line that created Katrina Steiner, also brought us Claudius the Cruel. And you cannot remove a noble by simply filing out "unsuitable for command" on their form 332. Some of the most terrifying conflicts in the Inner Sphere, both among the successor states and on individual worlds were born out of the rise of some individual who would never have been trusted with managing a convenience store, let alone a world, a system, or a province... But for the simple accident of his birth.
"Even good leaders, my brother and father among them, have spoken of the never ending threat of deciding to listen to the comforting lies of some advisers, and punishing others for telling hard truths, because they cannot be removed. Not easily.
"I do not hate those of noble birth. I'm one, after all, despite renouncing my position. But I do believe it is a method of governorship that was first born in the ancient days of Terra--and one that we should put back into the history books. If the common man is good enough to bleed and die for his nation, he is good enough to have a shot at running his nation, due to his skill, effort, and persistence--and not due to an accident of birth.
"If our nation is to prosper, it is not with the relics of the past, but the hopes of the future. A future which you embody. "
--FINI--
--<Return to Main Story Page>>--