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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. |
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"Man is free at the moment he wishes to be." - Voltaire Syrtis FederationHistory Led by Duke George Hasek when it was one of the most powerful worlds in the Federated Suns, New Syrtis has seen much of war in the last two decades. George Hasek pulled the entire Capellan March out of the Federated Suns early in 3078, after the Word of Blake assaults on New Avalon and other core systems showed him what they would do if he remained with House Davion. Having already been pulled into the Civil War by the Davion family, and seen too many of his people die for them, he simply had no wish to see it again. His actions saved the entire Capellan March, or the Syrtis Federation as it began to be called, from the horrors of the Jihad. Unfortunately, his actions later would bring another war upon those systems. As the Jihad came to an end in 3078 the Capellan Rump States were looking particularly fragile, especially St. Ives with its heavy industrial capabilities. The Capellans, heavily damaged by the Jihad and looking for more construction, were making rumblings about retaking St. Ives (again), and Prince George Hasek decided that there was no way he would allow it to happen. He ordered troops to the St. Ives Compact to guarantee that the factories did not fall back into Capellan hands. Duke Kai Allard-Liao took exception to the foreign troops landing on his worlds and took steps to remove them. The war that erupted outside the HildCo Interplanetary factory complex on St. Ives would become the single most devastating war since the Jihad. At first, the Syrtis Federation troops had everything under control. After all, they outnumbered the St. Ives Compact forces handily. But, as time went on they began to lose that advantage. First the Taurians, coming to the aid of their long ally, smashed into the Periphery realms of the Syrtis Federation, and then the Capellan Confederation, smelling blood in the water, sent its fleets into Federation space. The Sarna Supremacy and Styk Commonality began to cross the borders closer to Terra, and the Federation began to the feel the pinch. It continued to fight on, holding off its opponents to only minor gains on minor worlds as they shifted their forces around to face the Capellan Rump States and the Taurian border. Then, on June 26th of 3081, the Tikonov Free Republic hit Nanking like a hammer blow. With defensive forces out of position to handle the Tikonov push, the Syrtis Federation began feeling the pressure of the war for the first time and began redeploying secondary defensive forces to that front. When Protector Erik Calderon heard of the redeployments, he saw the chance to turn this war into something more than simply supporting an ally. Seeing the opportunity to finally regain the Taurian worlds lost so many centuries ago to Capellan and Taurian aggression, he called on the Treaty of Taurus. Magistracy and Fronc forces soon joined the Taurian forces to spill across the border with the Federation in a massive wave of forces in 3082. That was when New Syrtis began to panic. No matter what they did, they didn’t have enough forces to hold on all sides. Desperately, they called for aid from the economically ailing Federated Suns, and managed to acquire the best of the new Federated Suns Mercenary Command forces. Sent to hold the Sarna Supremacy, the Suns warriors did their job and stopped the Sarnan assaults cold in January 3083, maintaining Federation hold on Axton. But on the Tikonov front, Styk and Tikonov forces continued to roll over the units in place there. The FSMC was ordered to that region of space as New Syrtis frantically tried to move enough forces to hold St. Ives, the Capellans, and the Trinity Alliance. By late 3084, the Trinity Alliance had a stranglehold on the Pleiades Cluster, and had driven deep into Federation space on all fronts. The only positive side to that was that Trinity Alliance and Capellan forces had ended up fighting over numerous Federation worlds. Captured in 3080 by an early Capellan offensive, Mendham once again became the center of the war in August 3083 when Trinity Alliance forces arrived to take it in the name of the Taurian Concordat. The fighting for the world would continue until 3093, when a Trinity Alliance battle squadron, supported by a Raven Alliance squadron, shattered the Capellan Second Fleet and sent its remains running home to Sian. With the Capellans and the Trinity Alliance otherwise engaged, the Syrtis Federation finally had some breathing room, but it had taken heavy losses over the years of the St. Ives War as it is called now. In January 3085, a major Tikonov Free Republic offensive claimed Tikonov, breaking the back of the Federation and FSMC defensive forces in that area. Moving into the vacuum, the Styk Commonality picked up the former Chesterton Worlds with a blitzkrieg assault that shattered what was left of the Federation defenders. The War College of Goshen was the only major victory logged by the Federation in 3085, but it shattered a major Styk push and forced them to fall back, licking their wounds and unable to mount another push. With Styk busy holding onto the Chesterton Worlds, Tikonov trying to recoup the losses sustained in their campaign to take Tikonov, the Capellans and the Trinity Alliance fighting like cats and dogs, and Sarna unable to push past the FSMC forces on its border, the only remaining threat to the Federation’s survival was, oddly, St. Ives. The place where it all started. Redeploying, once again, to the St. Ives front, Federation and FSMC forces managed to march St. Ives back across a half dozen systems. The final battle in June 3085 on Shoreham ended in Federation victory, but the Federation military was on the verge of collapse. George Hasek knew his military could not take St. Ives and hold it against the Capellans whenever they got over their conflict with the Trinity Alliance. The only way to keep it out of Capellan hands would be to end the war and let St. Ives remain free. George Hasek traveled to St. Ives under a flag of true to speak with Kai Allard-Liao with the intention of securing a cease-fire. After swallowing his pride and apologizing for starting the war in the first place, he walked out with a peace treaty. And an alliance of sorts. St. Ives would not fall to Capellan domination, but the price the Federation paid for that was appalling. Cut down to half its pre-war systems, and having lost the prolific Tikonov factories, the Federation was in a major bind to rebuild its shattered military. St. Ives however had more military construction capability than they could possibly afford to use. So New Syrtis began buying military designs from the St. Ives Compact to make up for the factory lines lost near Terra, giving St. Ives the much needed funds it needed to pay for the rebuilding of its military, a surprising development to many historians. The last fifteen years has seen St. Ives and New Syrtis become closer, with small WarShip designs, including the Impavidos from the St. Ives Necromo Shipyards and Fox-2s coming out of the New Syrtis Shipyards, being seen on either side of the border under the colors of either nation. BattleMechs and vehicle sales between the two realms are common as well, making both militaries very well rounded. They have also seen an odd détente between the Taurian Concordat and the Syrtis Federation. Protector Erik Calderon does not at all trust the Federation, but as long as they are on good terms with St. Ives, a Taurian ally, the Protector is more than willing to keep the Taurians out of another war. Especially since the Taurians have been busy reintegrating the lost Taurian worlds back into the Concordat after centuries of Davion rule. As well as three major factory worlds. Relations with Sarna and Capella are not so quiet, though Sarna seems mostly worried with Styk while Goshen continues to hold off all comers on the new border of the Syrtis Federation. The greatest worry for Prince George Hasek at this time is the wild card of the St. Ives War, the Tikonov Free Republic. No longer having a single border with Tikonov, Hasek very much wants to keep it that way. With rumors running rampant that Tikonov is trying to pull the Chesterton Worlds out of Styk control so it can swallow them whole, Prince Hasek is sending many resources into those systems. Most analysts believe it is to keep the Chesterton Worlds under Styk control, but some suggest that New Syrtis may want the Chesterton Worlds independent. If not back under Federation control again. Nobody truly knows what is going on with the Chesterton Worlds though, beyond the fact that they seem to be growing very rich with all the resources being funneled into them from a half dozen realms. One of those realms is the Ozawa-Addicks Mercantile Alliance, partially dominated by the Johnston family. Johnston Industries of New Syrtis, still owned by the Johnston family, is a major supplier of ’Mechs and vehicles for the Federation, keeping the Federation and the Alliance on very friendly terms. Military The Durendal-class WarShip Morgan Hasek-Davion, purchased from the Federated Suns Galax Shipyards in 3087, leads the Syrtis Federation fleet. Escorted by Fox-2, Fox-3, Impavido, and smaller intercept and escort WarShips supported by Dagger OmniFighters, the New Syrtis fleet is a strong deterrent to anyone feeling adventuresome in Federation space. With the destruction of Salem and New Valencia during the Jihad, Kathil houses the last operating Ajax OmniTank factory, and those powerful vehicles form the core of the primary defensive line of the Federation. Led by Morningstars and supported by Minion, Glory, and Goblin-class tanks, these leave the Federation with a powerful defensive deterrent to invasion. The BattleMechs built on Kathil, New Syrtis, Talon(Wernke), and in St. Ives space are the primary raiders of the Federation, and are called on to fight Capellan Rump State raiders on a daily basis. Raids coming in from the Taurians and the unclaimed systems of the former Crucis March are far less common, but any military commander who grows soft in those areas can expect to be hit very quickly. Factories Axton – Wangker Aerospace – Corsair, Eagle, and Thunderbird Kathil – General Motors – Stealth, Cestus, Maelstrom, Marauder, Rakshasa, Nightstar, Morningstar, Ajax OmniTank, and Minion – General Motors of Kathil – Jeep and Darter New Syrtis – Johnston Industries – Garm, Axman, Caesar, Glory, Goblin, and Dagger OmniFighter. – New Syrtis Shipyards – Gazelle, Monarch, Mammoth, Invader, Fox-2 destroyer, and Uhlan frigate. Talon/Wernke – Kallon Industries – Hornet, Enforcer IV, Griffin, Shadow Hawk, Wolverine, Rifleman, JagerMech IV, Penetrator-class BattleMechs, and Templar OmniMech. – Mercy Industries of Talon – M.A.S.H. Truck Systems Axton – Primary Aerospace fighter construction complex of the Federation. Most heavily raided world. Most fighters produced there remain at Axton or are sent to Goshen to defend those two worlds from future raids, leaving Johnston Industries of New Syrtis to produce enough Dagger OmniFighters for the rest of the Federation. The Federation must still import many fighters from other realms. Goshen – War College of Goshen. Border of the Syrtis Federation, only the best recruits go there. One of the heaviest raided worlds in the Federation, schooling there is a trial by fire. New Syrtis – One jump away from the Taurian Concordat Pleiades Cluster, this is the one of the most heavily defended worlds of the Federation. It is also one of their primary factory worlds. |