Act 2 - Bargaining[]
With A Bared Sword[]
Chapter 30[]
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
Canaveral City, Galax
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
25 October 3056
Kate signed the documents in front of her and then handed the pen to a woman she trusted as far as she could have thrown her.
That wasn’t to be too critical of Sharilar Mori’s weight, the Primus of ComStar was fine-boned and shorter than any Steiner-Davion including Victor. However, classified records revealed that she had been trained by the Combine’s Order of Five Pillars which likely included more intensive martial arts training than Kate had gone through.
As for the lack of trust, it would have been hard for Kate to find a reason to trust her. It wasn’t Mori who had persuaded Melissa Steiner-Davion to sign a contract allowing ComStar to resume management of the Federated Commonwealth’s HPG stations after the betrayal of Operation Scorpion. Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht had spoken on the Order’s behalf and the victor of Tukayyid had the prestige to convince many nations to extend a their hands.
Mori? It was not advertised, because destabilizing ComStar would not benefit the Commonwealth, but only a handful of people knew that Sharilar Mori had not aided Focht in overthrowing Myndo Waterly solely because the mad Primus had attempted to use the epic conflict with the Clans as a distraction for her bid to seize control of the entire Inner Sphere.
No, Mori had been a spy. The most successful ever infiltrator of ComStar, someone who’s accomplishments exceeded even those of legendary agents like Justin Xiang Allard. She had joined ComStar, worked her way up to the First Circuit as Precentor Dieron, responsible for every HPG in the entire Draconis Combine… and Waterly’s right-hand woman. All that time she had been Theodore Kurita’s agent, compromising some of the Inner Sphere’s deepest secrets.
So as Kate watched Mori sign the contracts, she knew that the woman’s soul was owned by House Kurita. She would serve ComStar’s interests… but if it ever became a choice between the Order and the Combine…
For now, the Draconis Combine were allies, but that wouldn’t last forever. Mori passed the pen to Aleksandr McCorkendale. The CEO of Federated-Boeing signed the contracts and finalized the deal that had taken years of negotiations to secure. It could have been faster. It should, to Kate’s mind, have been faster. The Federated Commonwealth’s warship program had slowed to a crawl for lack of the technical support being purchased. The construction of the in-system engines had been the biggest stumbling block in completing the planned corvettes and cruisers that occupied docks over Kathil and Galax.
It could have been done years ago, but ComStar had dragged matters out until the Combine’s own warships neared completion. That spoke of where Mori’s loyalties lay. She might even have blocked it even now if it wasn’t for the news that the Free Worlds League was launching their own warships with the help of the Word of Blake.
Adherents of Myndo Waterly, the Word had taken shelter with House Marik. Captain-General Thomas Marik had once been a Precentor himself and while he had made no claim to favor their politics, he was no fan of the new and allegedly more secular form of ComStar.
The Primus extended her hand to Kate and she had no choice but to accept and shake, hopefully with apparent grace.
The crowd applauded furiously and Kate smiled for the holo cameras. If it was too little and too late then at least it was happening. Within the next few years, the Federated Commonwealth would have vessels able to challenge those of the Clans, in quality if not in quantity.
The ceremonies over, Kate let Primus Mori take the lead in entering the reception room for the post-signing celebrations; she gave McCorkendale a questioning look. The CEO took the hint and also held back, the two of them taking a side-door to enter one of the siderooms used by the staff coordinating the event.
No one was inside at the moment and Kate exhaled, releasing some of the tension that had knotted up her insides.
McCorkendale rubbed his cheeks. “Smiling that much is hard on the face.”
“I would think you get used to it.”
“As I get older, it gets harder and harder. All muscles weaken over time, including those of the face.” He avoided her gaze.
.jpg){kind=link}
Fox Class Corvette warship
Kate doubted that this was a good sign, but perhaps she was reading too much into it. “How long until we have the Fox-class ready for their maiden voyages?”
“The original tranche will be ready by the end of the year,” he promised. “Two of the next are far enough advanced that we can complete them early next year. The last of those will take months longer, it is slated for the first engines built entirely by the Federated Commonwealth. With ComStar’s help, we should be done late in 3058 - the first quarter of 3059, at worst.”
That was what she had expected. “And after that, one or two ships every year?”
“Correct, your highness. And of course, our partners at Port Sydney will have their own yards producing more vessels by that time.”
.JPG){kind=link}
Avalon Class Cruiser (warship)
“That will help,” Kate allowed. “As will the cruisers being built at Kathil. But it is not enough.” Clan Jade Falcon was reported to have as many as twenty warships, most far larger than the Fox-class. While the Avalon-class cruisers would be more comparable, they could not be everywhere at once. The corvettes were intended for manufacture en masse.
Now, the corporate official met her eyes. “I am sorry, your highness. Even with House Davion’s votes, we do not have the support for the deal you want.”
“You are sharing the design with Alarion,” she reminded him, knowing it was futile.
“Ioto Galactic were our partners in developing the Fox,” McCorkendale said. “They have an equal right to the design, just as they paid their share of development at Port Sydney. But we must recoup our investment, and the board of directors believe that if we allow another company to build corvettes to our design they will be able to offer them for sale at a lower cost. Your government is a good customer, but we cannot expect continued sales if another yard offers the ships for less. At least for now, that is not a risk we are willing to take.”
Kate folded her hands behind her back. “How many ships will we have by 3067?”
“At least twenty corvettes,” he promised. “And while I cannot speak for Nyman Rebeulet, I believe Kathil expect to give you seven cruisers in that time.”
“Less than thirty warships.”
“It is more than any Clan’s fleet, I believe.”
“We are facing more than one Clan,” she reminded him. Not to mention that if Victor called every warship to face the Jade Falcons, Steel Vipers and Wolves then there would be none to defend against the Capellans and League.
McCorkendale spread his hands helplessly. “I am conscious of this. Perhaps in a few years, once we have additional sales and other warship designs are being built… I do not say we would never be willing to license the class to another yard. Just be patient.”
“Does that come more easily with age?” Kate asked.
“It does, although it can be hard to tell the difference between that and being too tired,” he confessed. “I believe we must go and mingle now or our absence must be noted. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Kate nodded. “Yes.” She had not wanted to play this card, but if it was the only way. “Approach the board again, give them a new offer.”
He raised his eyebrows and waited.
“Challenge Systems,” she offered. “Federated-Boeing bought up them years ago and they have one of the best yards along the periphery for JumpShips. If the board will not license the Fox-Class, what would they need to begin building more of them using the Challenge yard.”
“That… that I would have to consider. It might pull resources away from the JumpShip construction which is also a strategic priority,” he reminded her.
“It is, but we cannot have everything. And unescorted JumpShips are simply prey if the Clans use their warships offensively.” In time, there would be enough capacity for the warships and the JumpShips. But time was one thing that could not be bought, no matter how many kroner were in the budget.
The long term would have to be looked at if the Federated Commonwealth survived. If it didn’t… well, she doubted the Clans would even honor the kroner as a currency!