Scavenged Restoration 71 (Patreon)

Commissioned by RoyalTwinFangs

Scavenged Restoration

Chapter 71

-VB-

Captain-General Thomas Marik could not believe what he was hearing. 

“ComStar?” he asked the soldier in front of him and looked at him along with the rest of his advisors and (important) family members.

“Yes. Or rather, the Com Guard Warship Fleet jumped into the system and assaulted the Lyran fleet. It was, numerically, an even battle, but the Com Guard Fleet possessed two more destroyers than the Lyrans. While the details of the battle are unknown at this point, we know that the Com Guard lost two pocket warships and destroyed two Lyran warships in return.”

People around the room winced. 

A pocket warship, despite its name, was not a warship. It was a dropship, purpose made or retrofitted, to serve the role of a patrol ship or a corvette, the weakest of warships. Even then, two to four pocket warships would be needed to fight off a true corvette-class warship because while they might have the armor of a true warship, they lacked the capital-class weapons. 

But that was something the Lyrans and their allies partially circumvented with their subcapital-class weapons. 

Not that it mattered apparently. 

“Subcapital weapons might be a dead end research then,” someone muttered. 

Indeed. Though Thomas was no longer strictly a man of science (and religion), he retained everything he’d learned while he had been part of ComStar. Subcapital weapons had been one of the many new researches he’d helped start, but now, it was looking like subcapital weapons would never be a true match for warships. 

At least those that weren’t corvettes and patrol ships. 

“And the Lyrans?”

“Once their admiral died along with all hands aboard their destroyer and then a frigate, the fleet’s second in command took control and retreated from the system.”

Thomas snorted. “The smartest thing the Lyrans have done in this entire fiasco of a war.”

Laughter rang out around the room, and even the reporting soldier looked to be close to breaking out in laughter.

Because it was true. 

The Lyrans lost control of their nobility. They attacked another state during a time of peace for no apparent strategic gain while breaking the Ares Convention. Then they entered a system under ComStar’s protection. And finally, they left after losing all too precious warships, a destroyer and a frigate, at that! 

Retreating was the best thing they have done all war. 

“Just how … damaging do you think this loss is to the Lyrans?” He turned his head to look at the current SAFE Director and his brother, Paul Marik. 

Paul, who might have taken longer to become the SAFE Director, had been propelled through its ranks thanks to a number of technological intelligence wins against their ally, though Thomas - like many others - were sure of the fact that the Capellans had given them the win.

“As far as we are aware, the Lyrans are in the middle when it comes to naval manufacturing capacity,” Paul replied, twirling his slightly graying pencil moustache. “For every four frigates we make, then they can make three if they rush the process or two if they are thorough… and we know that Lyrans have not been thorough.” He paused for effect. “The loss of a destroyer alone is equivalent to three of their frigates in terms of manufacturing investment. Financially speaking, it should be around 25 billion C-Bills.”

“And aside from the C-Bills?”

Paul smiled. “They will not be able to contest our current invasion of Solaris.”

“Great!” Thomas grinned. “Not only do the Lyrans get what they deserve for looking down on the Accord and then spitting on ComStar, we get to reclaim our worlds!” 

Because Solaris and the worlds surrounding it had been the right and proper worlds of the Free Worlds League, lost during the First Succession War. Reclaiming it would mean that the Free Worlds League would have finally reclaimed all of the worlds they’d lost to the Lyrans! Discounting the Bolan Thumb, that was. 

“Speaking of which, how is that invasion going?”

“Smoothly. The Lyrans threw close to a two-thirds of their mobile force against the Combine. This, along with the loss of their warships and the presence of our warships in the Solaris System, has kept them from reinforcing Solaris effectively.”

“How long do you suspect…?” someone else asked.

“That is up to our troops on the ground,” Thomas said. “We just have to give them time to get the job done. Which means… we delay the peace talks.”

“... You believe the Lyrans will sue for peace so quickly?” his sister, Kristen the Duchess of Augustine, asked skeptically. 

“They would have to,” he replied. “I might not be with my brothers and sisters of the order anymore, but I know enough about them to know that they will not take kindly to this action. If the Lyrans do not come to the table soon earnestly? Those ComStar warships will make their life hell.” He smirked. “The Lyrans might even get the interdiction.”

-VB-

“We are not interdicting the Lyrans for this transgression,” Primus Timothy Monroe, formerly the Precentor Tharkad, spoke up.

He knew that his decision would be controversial, especially since he was a Lyran born member of ComStar, but he knew that this was the correct decision for him to make. 

The precentors of the First Circuit looked at him and then glanced at each other. 

He also knew, however, that they didn’t doubt that he had ComStar’s best interest in his heart; one does not deploy warships against his own home nation in the defense of ComStar’s authority and rights unless he loved ComStar more than the Lyran Commonwealth. 

“While interdiction might be the expected result, we don’t actually want to join the war, now, do we?”

“No, we certainly don’t,” Precentor New Avalon de Salome-Turn hummed. “We may have beat back the Lyrans but they hadn’t brought their entire fleet just like we didn’t. Nor do we have the manpower needed to truly punish the Lyrans. We should just let the rest of the Scavenger Lords do the punishing for us.”

“How so?” Precentor ROM Solomon asked. “We should be making them regret ever breaking word with ComStar.”

“Yes, I know,” Timothy replied. “But as much as I would like to blame the entire Lyran people for it… we also know that they can’t control their fat, rich noble bastards.”

Chuckles and laughter broke out. 

“They believe that we will act aggressively toward the Lyran. Let them believe that. We will not, however, step out of the authority they gave us on a platter. Oh, the Kapteyn Accords will believe that we will side with them. They will plan for it. The FedCom Alliance will believe that we will side with the Accord. Let them believe that as well. Instead, we will do nothing and let them stumble in the dark. But this does not mean that we will not punish the Lyrans for their latest transgression. We will levy a heavy tariff on all Lyran traders currently using the Corridor and let their own people rage at their nobles. We will also seize their jumpships until such a time that the Lyran Commonwealth pays us back for the lost lives and the lost pocket warships. Let’s say… three billion C-Bills? That sounds about right. Perhaps that might finally get the Lyrans to do away with the social generals,” he finished, though the last point was more of a joke than a serious statement.

After all, there could be no Lyran Commonwealth without social generals. It was like a festering cancer the Lyrans will never be able to do away with, and they all knew it. 

-VB-

“The war is not over, yet.”

Candace frowned as she listened to her brother’s words. 

“Why do you say that, Chancellor?” she asked. 

Currently, all of the current ruling generation of Liaos were in the Throne Room along with the top ministers and generals currently on Sian. 

“If ComStar truly wanted to make the FedCom pay for their latest fuck up, then they would be declaring that they will join our side of the war against them. However, they are not. In fact, the latest news from Terra is that ComStar seeks compensation for the lost lives and assets incurred by the Lyran invasion and leveraged tariff on the Lyrans while still maintaining that no military force will pass through the Corridor. 

“And as damaged as the FedCom Alliance is at this point in time, they are not yet out of the fight. Their ground forces are still the larger army between our two alliances, and while we are pushing into their worlds, they are reconsolidating. If I recall correctly, the Free Worlds League attacked Solaris and will want it under their control before the war concludes. The Draconis Combine just saw the Lyrans lose half of the ships in the largest warship fleet they possess, and that gives them a better footing. And we also need more time to finish our reconquest and consolidate those new holdings. If we push for peace right now, then our Accord will lose our latest gains quite easily.”

Candace thought about it. 

While it was true that their reconquest of former Capellan worlds hadn’t been complete as of yet, the war was more or less over. 

The Lyrans lost too many warships of too much of a significance too quickly to be able to further prosecute the war when they, the Capellan Confederation, hadn’t even lost one yet. The situation was the same for the Federated Suns. The loss of twenty plus jumpships meant that not only were mercenaries looking to pull out of their contracts, they lost their capacity to move assault dropships and pocket warships to deploy against Capellan and Combine warships. 

“Lyrans in particular are desperate,” Maskirova Director Calvoda said. The lanky man had filled out a little over the course of the war, but he was still thin. “They are pulling their jumpships from their core and periphery.”

“... One of their dukes tried to assassinate the Archon as a result of the last time they tried that,” William noted with a hum. “Even if they pulled those jumpships now, they won’t reach the front in time for them to make a meaningful difference.”

“Indeed, chancellor. But it does present a quandary for our Accord. We have a limited time before the Lyrans will be able to bring their size to bear, and we have not yet been fighting them at their full capacity.”

Tormano snorted. As the Minister of Foreign Relations, he had a bigger understanding of what other states were like than most. “Not that it matters, doesn’t it? Their social generals will ruin whatever else they are planning.”

Candace laughed politely behind her fan.

“Now then,” William said as he leaned forward. “How is our reconquest going?”

“We have great news on that front, chancellor,” Tormano replied with a boyish grin. “Chesterton has once again rejoined the confederation!” 

-VB-

Chesterton had fallen. 

Hanse sat alone in his office with his hands in his hair and elbows on the table. 

Ever since Hasek’s disastrous attack into the confederation, the Capellan Marches have been in a state of crisis. 

He knew that the Fall of Chesterton would be considered the change in Federated Suns - Capellan Confederation’s dynamics. For hundreds of years, Chesterton represented the FedSun’s dominance over the Capellan Confederation. More than any other world, his nation kept its hold over Chesterton as tightly as possible because it was how the Federated Suns showed its dominance. 

And now, he lost it. 

Even if he had done everything right and won this war, he would be considered a failure as the First Prince for losing Chesterton.

And with how the war was going, there was no chance that he was going to get Chesterton back in his life. Considering how the confederation kept pushing further ahead of the federation, he doubted that the Federated Suns would get Chesterton back in his children’s lifespan.

He let out a shuddering sigh. 

Everything felt like they were slipping from his fingers. Everything felt … painful. 

He frowned.

Painful? 

Yes, painful. It was painful. 

His chest squeezed… it was squeezing harder and tougher than when he lost her. His left arm and shoulder hurt.

His eyes widened. 

He reached out and slammed down on the call button just as he felt himself losing control over his body. 

He swayed and fell from his chair even as he tried to grab onto its edges and felt his head slam into the floor just as the doors opened and his secretary walked in. 

Everything began to blur…

-VB-

Takashi Kurita knew that this was it. 

They would call this the Second Lyran Blunder for how disastrous this would be. 

Every bit of stress he’s accumulated about how his nation kept losing the border worlds suddenly evaporated. 

This was it. 

The turning point came from the Davion failure in the Confederation but the final death knell of this war happened over Dieron. 

Because ComStar told the FedCom Alliance “No.”

Of all people, it had been ComStar that broke the FedCom’s back.

“Tell our soldiers and samurai to push,” he ordered to the court before him. “We must retake our worlds before the calls for peace come from the cowardly Lyrans!” 

“HAI!” the entire room rang out with the acknowledgement from his people. 

“For the glory of the Draconis Combine!”

“FOR THE GLORY OF THE DRAGON!” 

-VB-

Despite the expectations of the war ending after the Second Lyran Blunder, the War of Lyran Aggression intensified into a frenzy as all of the participants sought to solidify or reverse the gains and losses they suffered in the war. 

The Capellans stopped their advances.

The Lyrans reinforced their borders. 

The Combine rushed into liberating their now weakly defended Davion-occupied worlds. 

The League finally succeeded in reclaiming many of their pre-Succession War worlds, the centerpiece of which was Solaris VII.

The FedSuns scrambled to keep more worlds from falling, but lost all of their gains in the process. 

By the time half of the year had passed, the war came to a close, and all of the nations of the Inner Sphere met at Terra once again to determine how peace would be achieved between them.