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The Human Sphere is a BattleTech universe set in 3100. The Jihad has come and gone, leaving in its wake dozens of small realms in a perpetual cycle of raids and small wars. Will you seek money or defend your nation? Or both? You decide.
"You really need to get a new speechwriter. I've heard better dialogue from a mime." - Grey's Shadow
Federated Suns
History
The general leveling of the capital buildings and factories on New Avalon was only one of many tragedies to touch that world in the last few years. Arguably, many thought the fighting during the Civil War had actually been worse, but the decimation of the capital was different, even to those who argued it wasn’t necessarily worse. Even during the worst of the fighting on New Avalon after all, orbital bombardment had not been used.
In December of 3067 it was, and the last shreds of innocence the Federated Suns desperately held onto after the Civil War died along with the Lucien Davion and her escorts. Like the implacable hatred of the Draconis March to the Combine, or the New Syrtis March to the Capellans, the Federated Suns now hated the Word of Blake. Or at least the Crucis March, most heavily damaged by the first assault waves, did. They hunkered down, began building weapons in every surviving factory of any kind, and prepared for another long war.
Most historians are surprised that such a war weary people so quickly returned to war. But some suggest it was that very weariness that made it possible. The years of the Civil War had already numbed the people so much, that another war was just that. Another war. The Armed Forces of the Federated Suns moved out and began engaging the Word of Blake wherever they found them.
The loss of the New Syrtis March in 3068 did little to cool their flames. Duke George Hasek, given the choice to see his worlds burn if he sided with a central government he’d long considered less than useful, and going his own way, chose to leave the Crucis March to burn. It was only the first of many polities to leave. Filtvelt, long the whipping boy of the AFFC and AFFS, and more loyal to the Katherine Steiner-Davion because of the resources she sent their way than to Yvonne, accepted the Word of Blake offer quickly and took much of the Outback out of New Avalon’s control.
The Robinson March was another matter though, and for a time it stayed with the Crucis March. Duke Tancred Sandoval would not leave his love alone against the Word of Blake. In the end though, the March was taken from his hands. Literally. With Word of Blake fleets descending on Robinson in 3069, his Aunt, Marshal Katheryn Sandoval-Ito, walked into the capital, took the title of Duchess, and proclaimed the Robinson March neutral in the war. The Word of Blake honored their demands and left the world untouched.
It was the lowest point of the war for the Federated Suns, but the Crucis March, what was left of it, hunkered down further and fought on. During the rest of 3069 and 3070, they lost battle after battle to the Word of Blake fleets, but the survivors of each battle returned to bring more information to the military. More training. Even those too burned out to fight any longer fulfilled their duty and trained the volunteers stepping forward to cleanse the Inner Sphere of the Word of Blake.
The Word of Blake had started a Jihad, but the remnants of the Federated Suns had their own Crusade in return. A Crusade pushed partially by the very war weariness that drove them on, and partially by the fury ignited in their hearts by the bombardment of New Avalon. Some historians say the loss of the Simon Davion and her escorts over Galax, and the loss of the entire yard complex before the ComStar taskforce could destroy the Word of Blake fleet, should have broken what was left of the armed forces.
The best of their young men and women died on or above Galax. It was the final battle over the one system that netted better defenses than even New Avalon. Galax had been considered the one system the Federated Suns could not afford to lose. Even New Avalon was expendable in those days, when the fleet was the only thing that could hurt the Word of Blake fleets. Many say the loss of the yards should have broken the armed forces.
But in the Battle of Delavan in 3072 where the Word of Blake tried to extinguish the last of the Suns’ AeroSpace capabilities, the Melissa Davion and her escorts fought beside the ComStar fleet. The last major battle of the Jihad in the Federated Suns was over, and when the ComStar fleet moved to deal with Terra in 3073, the Melissa Davion and her escorts followed. For the first time since Operation Bulldog, the Star League flag flew over a fleet made up of multiple nations as they fought together. They were repulsed with heavy losses.
Successive battles brought in the remnants of the Free Worlds League and Lyran Alliance fleets to support the Star League fleet, but again and again the Word of Blake fleets fought them off. In the end though, they finally fell in 3076 and Terra was opened to invasion. Two years later the Word of Blake Jihad and the Federated Suns Crusade was over. The Word of Blake was dead.
The remaining soldiers of the Federated Suns returned home, with the horribly damaged Melissa Davion, and set about rebuilding their shattered power. Only to find that they no longer had the power to make the Robinson March and New Syrtis March listen to them. It was a hard pill to swallow, but the war weary people of the Crucis March didn’t want to fight again and they did what they had to do. They went on living.
They began rebuilding their shattered factories. Rebuilding their homes and stores and their lives. But to do that, they needed money. Once the largest hirer of mercenaries, the Federated Suns no longer had the money to support their own shattered military and rebuild their economy at the same time. So, to bring in the money they needed, they formed the Federated Suns Mercenary Corps and hired them out to Robinson, Ozawa, New Syrtis, or anyone else who needed battle-hardened troops.
It has been over twenty years since the Jihad ended, and the Federation has spent that time carefully, slowly rebuilding and reclaiming worlds once loyal to their realm. The larger realms that were once a part of the Federated Suns are supported with low hiring rates for FSMC units, and the Federation hopes to one day remind them of the power they could wield together.
Military
The FSMC is considered to be the best force of mercenaries in the Human Sphere, equaling even the vaunted Wolf’s Dragoons. And the money they have sent home gives the Federated Suns the ability to rebuild. Though they have one of the lowest overall technological levels of the surviving Houses, their special forces incorporate advanced technologies from every major faction in the Human Sphere. And the FSMC has become very proficient at incorporating their ’Mechs with any technologies recovered on the field of battle.
The yards of Galax hum with activity again, pumping out Durendal cruisers, Fox, Fox-2, and even Fox-3 destroyers, as well as other smaller ships like the Victor patrol frigates and Davion intercept frigates. Delavon builds DropShips, JumpShips, and Arthur escort frigates for the Federated Suns merchants and military, and even the factories of New Avalon once again push out numerous BattleMech designs for the military.
And then there is the training. Built on the core of the survivors of the Jihad, and then trained in constant warfare in the decades since, the AFFS and the FSMC are the best-trained militaries in existence. Others may be better warriors. But the AFFS and FSMC train soldiers. That is why they are respected throughout the Human Sphere.
Factories
Belladonna - Cal-Boeing of Dorwinion – Ferret, Marten, and Wild Weasel VTOLs. Boomerang and Boeing jump bomber aircraft.
Delavan – Dynamico Limited – Avenger, Aurora 2, and Buccaneer DropShips
– Universal Air – Invader, Starlord, and Arthur escort frigate
Galax - Federated-Boeing Interstellar – Leopard, Leopard CV, Union, Overlord, Overlord-A3, Conquistador, CargoMaster, CargoKing, Gazelle, and Vampire DropShips, Durendal cruiser, Fox, Fox-2, Fox-3 destroyers, Victor patrol frigate, Davion intercept frigate, and Capitol space station
Gulkana - Yeffters Weapons Factory – Various Autocannons
Kirklin – Kallon Industries – Partisan and Challenger tanks
New Avalon – Corean Enterprises – Fireball, Valkyrie, and Centurion BattleMechs, and Musketeer tank
– Lycomb-Davion IntroTech – Lightning, Hellcat, and Stuka AeroSpace fighters.
Talcott – General Motors – Hellspawn BattleMech
Systems
Not available at this time