The Charm Offensive 03
Colchester
Federated Suns
March 3025
"Run! Run like your life depends on it! Because it does!"
The Eridani Light Horse were well used to physical training. The seniors of the Eridani Combat School ran in a crisp formation, hardening their bodies to endure the rigors of BattleMech combat.
But Natasha Kerensky lagged behind, being the drill instructor to the youngest troops. Stone Squad ran a ragged line, swaying on the verge of exhaustion.
Tom Lexington, the smallest of the squad had William Broderweg, largest in the troop, half-picking him up by the shoulders that Tom only barely needed to keep contact with the ground. With their size difference it was like someone pushing a wheelbarrow.
"Prayer cleanses... the soul - pain... is weakness... leaving the body!" Devlin Stone mumbled hoarsely and mindlessly with each step. "Prayer - cleanses - the - soul - pain - is - weakness - leaving - the- body-"
Bennet Brooklyn's chant was simpler. "Fak - dis - fak - dis - fak - you…"
Angela Bakko weaved, flopping her arms out as if boneless. "But who do we pray toooo?!"
She suddenly felt warm arms around her shoulders. She could not turn her head. Natasha Kerensky was cheek to cheek. "Your god is right here" the woman said.
And with a sibilant hiss "and she is fresh out of mercy."
"Waaaaaaah!" Angela wailed with fresh tears.
Someone among the other soldiers of the Eridani Light Horse had to be held back from rushing out in indignation. This was just bullying of first-year cadets. No one should be expected to go straight into hell training. Too much physical toll on a developing body, much like malnutrition, could last the rest of their lives. This could impact height and bone growth and how much muscle they could naturally develop if the body gets into the habit of cannibalizing muscle for energy reserves.
And the pain and borderline child abuse, of course.
"What?" Kerensky sneered at them. "Training is not enough! When have you last pushed yourself to the point that you might die? When everything in you screams, but you must force a broken body to move anyway? It is not mere willpower anymore that pushes you then. You must go beyond resolve. That is the difference between the dead and the great! I do not need soldiers with discipline! Common, predictable methods that produce common, predictable fighters! I am looking for soldiers that immortalize themselves into legend!"
"That… sounds like… spite," wheezed Salli Maza.
Kerensky calmly stated "It is the strongest motivator."
Though their faces soured, none of the other instructors there tried to refute.
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Tharkad
Lyran Commonwealth
March 3025
Dee. Bee. Cee.
The Donegal Broadcasting Company logo appeared for a moment, and then faded into a newsroom. "Welcome back to the Evening News. I am your host, Karl Andersen. Tonight's top story - the DEMETER CORE. Is it legitimate? We can hear that for ourselves -"
The screen changed briefly into a clip of Archon Katrina Steiner. "We have verified that the Memory Core is indeed a copy of a Star League Library. How much of the information contained within is authentic is something that can only be tested by attempting to produce its schematics. The Core itself will be open for public access and its information is released to the public domain."
Andersen returned with "If the Archon is convinced, then that's enough for me. We should not underestimate just how big the DEMETER Core means for everyone in the Inner Sphere. It's not even lostech. The Terran Hegemony carried their terraforming secrets to their grave. With this Core, we can fix so many irreplaceable systems for centuries on the verge of breaking. Worlds that are barely habitable and can't advance because their population can't support anymore, that is no longer just something we have to accept. The thirsty will be given water, the cold will be sheltered, the hungry will be fed.
"Some people have already called this year the end of the Third Succession Wars. A wise ruler will pause their warmaking in order to see how to use DEMETER to finally ease long-standing economic and structural pains. Some fear that this operational pause will only lead to a much more destructive Fourth Succession War later, but for the first time since the fall of the Star League - we are back.
"My friends, we are back. Back to the heights of humanity in its golden age. We have the tools to do it all over again. We are no longer just ignorant
The Eridani Light Horse distributed the DEMETER CORE to everybody, literally everybody, to ensure that the information will not be lost again."
Then he smiled that charming boyish smile of his, that made Karl Andersen the most beloved news anchor in the hundreds of worlds of the Lyran Commonwealth. "Everybody… except the Draconis Combine."
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"Did they have to give it to everybody? It would have been fine to keep it to Davion and Steiner. But I guess I can't get too angry with the Eridani Light Horse for that. I understand if they got sick about our incompetent generals enough, but a hundred years of history with the Commonwealth just doesn't go away. I like that they respect their roots. They were with us for as long as they served the SLDF."
The on-the street reporter asked "How do you feel about the core not being given to House Kurita?"
"Oh that makes perfect sense. I respect them all the more for that."
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At Tharkad University, the dean of Environmental Sciences was being interviewed.
"Don't forget that Aleksandr Kerensky himself was an alumnus of Tharkad University. The Eridani Light Horse was right to distribute the DEMETER CORE - not just for idealistic but pragmatic reasons as well. Prince Davion's NAIS has been quite notorious recently, but it is the Lyran Commonwealth that has the capacity to truly leverage this information. Terraforming demands sheer economic might, and House Steiner is best positioned to carry things through. The end of the dark ages of the Inner Sphere will not begin with lostech weapons and technology but start here, with us, from worlds revitalized and made to rejoin the web of the interstellar economy."
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New Avalon
Federated Suns
March 3025
News and media services in the Federated Suns had an easier time getting direct access to the Eridani Light Horse for interviews. However, Colchester was effectively a no-go zone outside of their starport. Fort Bradley and its environs were restricted to the press.
A representative of the Eridani Light Horse accepted an interview in a late-night talk show. It just happened to be Robert Green-Davion, offering perspective for both the AFFS and the Eridani Light Horse.
"The contract signed with the Eridani Light Horse allows them some degree of independence when not actively engaged in operations. This is something that we have just observed to be for our benefit. No, the Eridani Light Horse did not need Prince Davion's permission to distribute CORE DEMETER. Yes, the Federated Suns was offered first refusal for any finds of such significance in the future."
"So is it true? Is the Eridani Light Horse actually the advance party of the SLDF returned? Did they make contact with the SLDF in Exile?"
"That is not something that was revealed to me as the liaison to the Eridani Light Horse, nor is it something that can be admitted so easily."
"Reports have confirmed that the ELH are going around in new ships. Warships. Those don't just come out of nowhere. If the SLDF didn't provide them, does this mean the AFFS is making them?"
"This *is* something I can answer. WarShip is a loaded term. The more proper definition is 'Assault DropShip'. Naval power is a significant advantage, yes. The ELH has provided updated plans for new JumpShips and the yards at Galax are expanding to produce these new vessels."
"Astonishing. Just how much control does the AFFS have over the Eridani Light Horse? Can they refuse orders?"
"The contract with the Light Horse puts them under the command of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns. They cannot refuse orders whose terms follow the contract. We are all professionals here, we would never give orders that are unrealistic." Robert Green-Davion carefully did not mention anything like so-called 'open orders', in which it was up to the local commanders how to carry out the objective.
The tail should not wag the dog. He wondered, with this display, if the Eridani Light Horse wanted to remind even Hanse Davion that they were horses instead of dogs and must always have the room to run free.
It would be a terrible waste if the Eridani Light Horse and the AFFS to have a competitive relationship over the same authorities and resources.
And once again, he was asked "Do the Eridani Light Horse really believe they are still the SLDF?"
And Green-Davion could only respond "Indubitably."
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Elsewhere in Avalon City
New Avalon
Baroness Robin DeCaster was in a mild panic. It was one thing for a Baroness to speak to others of high status and to address the High Council. She had bravely and publicly criticized Hanse Davion's priorities and was 'punished' by being appointed Minister of Education. She had done her part to drum up support for the Vagabond Schools, speaking to everyone from Dukes to space engineers, and been willing to make enemies as long as it benefited the most helpless and downtrodden of the Federated Suns.
On paper, meeting with the civilian side of the Eridani Light Horse was less sensitive. Although not someone of military rank, she held a higher office and responsibility. She could be more casual with them, and it would be more comfortable to speak to people with a more practical mindset.
But the DEMETER CORE was something that no Great House, no matter their power, could ever accomplish. The Eridani Light Horse had thrown down the gauntlet and dared the rest of the Inner Sphere to come at them and pry the secrets of the Star League out of their dying hands.
This kind of crazy horse could do anything.
"Milady. Misses Julia Armstrong is here," her majordomo spoke.
Baroness nodded. "Send her in."
Julia Armstrong was no great beauty. DeCaster herself preferred only minimal affectations as required for formal occasions. This was an informal meeting, and so there was no need to dress up. She sought in Julia Armstrong's face some similarity.
There was kindness in Julia Armstrong's eyes, but also the hardness of someone who had seen many of her friends die. Yes, they did have many things in common after all.
Baroness smiled. "It is an honor to meet you, Doctor Armstrong."
"Likewise, Lady Robin."
She occupied the conversation first by asking what the civilian division of the Eridani Light Horse did. Life as a mercenary on a regimental scale meant that there was not really a true division between civilian and combatant. There were three almost caste-like divisions: combatants, civilians, and dependents.
Most mercenary regiments operated like this. The Light Horse, the Highlanders, the 12th Star Guards, Wolf's Dragoons, the Big MAC, etc. They have to secure a place far away from the fighting for their dependents before they could fight. Dependents were unspoken hostages for the mercenary's loyalty to their employers.
ELH Support and Logistics division handled everything that was not direct combat. This included training and limited merchanting to supplement the Light Horse in between missions.
"It costs Davion over twenty million Pounds per month just to retain the services of the Eridani Light Horse," said Julia Armstrong. "This is nothing compared to the upkeep of regiments like the Davion Heavy Guards, of course, but people need to be paid and the internal markets stocked and free time granted to visit and enjoy the outside world. The Eridani Light Horse operates as a closed system, and in times of plenty there is the temptation to buy more things and operate more powerful machines. Most is spent in maintenance, spare parts, and the rest - it takes money to make money, and so we actually also engage in investments all around the Inner Sphere."
"Can the Eridani Light Horse sustain itself like that?"
"Of course not. The RCT is large enough that only a Great House can afford us. We tried before to just sit and farm in the Periphery and it did not take." Julia shrugged. "If we are left unemployable because no one remains worthy of upholding the ideals of the Star League, then it is most moral to just leave. The game of thrones is not worth playing. But until that nightmare scenario, we will try to bring justice and defend the weak as far as we can."
"Fascinating." Baroness Robin. She took a sip of tea and put down her teacup with not even the slightest sound onto the saucer. "What does the Eridani Light Horse want of me, then? You already have the ear of Our Prince, what can the Ministry of Education do for you?"
"On that note, Lady Robin, I am curious as well. Why do Vagabond Schools take young teens in the age of eleven to thirteen instead of young adults and teach them a trade? Is a basic high school education really that valuable in the Outback?"
"To my sadness I will have to answer - yes. Yes it is that valuable. Illiteracy out in the Skid Row worlds is endemic. There are two reasons why we take such children. The first is that this is perhaps their only chance for nutrition and medical support. In their nine months of education they can try to overcome childhood malnutrition, the effects of which may last the rest of their lives. The second is that young adults cannot be spared from the hard labor necessary for life in those worlds. Education in a trade skill, such as carpentry, machining, plumbing and animal care tend to be passed down along family lines or through apprenticeship. Educated youths become valuable members of the community if they do not move on to continue their education off-world."
"Why on JumpShips though? Wouldn't it be cheaper to build a school? This limits the number you can teach at once - and what about microgravity? Wouldn't this impact their development as well?"
"There are several reasons for that as well. The first is staffing. Qualified teachers are a much rarer resource than school infrastructure. We cannot actually afford to assign teachers into each of those worlds. The teachers must move on after nine months. The second is political. By separating pupils from their environment, they are also freed from pressures from their families and social structures. Inside a Davion jumpship, we can enforce equality and correct ingrained habits and assumptions. It does no good to teach a child that all are meant to be equal under the law and go home back to vastly different living conditions. Here they can interact with each other without social barriers and learn empathy across social classes."
She paused for a moment and frowned. "The third reason… it is speculation. Schools stablished in the outback tend to suffer strange… misfortunes."
Julia nodded. "We are aware of this too. Schools and teachers on a world are always at risk, but at least there is the custom of not attacking JumpShips. Teachers are vulnerable to parental pressure and pirate raids, but the environment inside a JumpShip is one completely under your control. However... Vagabond Schools in the first place are JumpShips too old to be used even for trading anymore purchased and repaired to minimal spaceworthy condition. The Kennedy was lost in 3013 with all hands, with 500 students and crew, and containment the Sorbonne last year killed ten people including two students and a teacher. Many consider the Vagabond Schools a very expensive undertaking."
Baroness Robin DeCaster nodded. "Those deaths weigh heavily on me. They were my responsibility. But the shortages just cannot be made up."
"It appears we have the same continual problem then. Manpower." Julia smiled. "Or womanpower as the case may be. The Vagabond Schools are probably the main route that non-privileged women out in the Outback can aim for a better life on their own merits, yes?"
"Indeed. So much potential is left to wither every day." She bowed respectfully for a moment. "Life in the backwater regions of the Federated Suns is full of daily hardship and people are trapped in a cage not of their own making. What good is education, some say, when it only teaches you how to suffer even deeper from knowing just how low and deprived your existence is. Better to suffer in ignorance than to be tormented by the knowing.
"But with the DEMETER CORE, worlds that are barely habitable can become productive again - if not easier to live with. By that alone the Eridani Light Horse has changed the face of the Inner Sphere. Words alone cannot convey my gratitude."
Julia nodded back. "You are welcome."
"It is reckless and brave, and it is astonishing that someone dared to do it. I wonder though - do you understand the larger ramifications of this? So quickly you have may have set aflame a new Age of Explorers. Prospecting for lostech is inflaming the public imagination. So many people are going to get exploited and killed out there."
Julia stared back. "The alternative is letting worlds continue to starve, so we can only hope that in the end justice will balance all things."
Baroness DeCaster sighed. "I do not mean any offense. Grand gestures naturally lead to chaos. But the slow and methodical way also leaves many languishing in their misery. It was still a heroic decision." So she opened both her palms out towards Julia Armstrong. "So the question again - what does the Eridani Light Horse need from the Ministry of Education?"
"The Eridani Light Horse would like to provide the Ministry with support for the Vagabond Schools. In advance we admit that we are also looking for recruits, and ages of 12-13 is also the perfect age to begin training. However much that the Vagabond Schools serve as a pipeline towards the AFFS, as life in the military had always been a quick way to advance the livelihood of a family since antiquity, the Light Horse would like to offer youths a path to a life that while not safe is also meaningful and proud."
The baroness thinned her lips. "If it wasn't for DEMETER CORE I would think badly of this. But I believe that the Eridani Light Horse is not so simple as to be looking for cannon fodder. The lives of the Federated Sun's citizens cannot be transactional."
Then she sighed and rubbed her forehead. "But with only minimal publicity, I can guess that many would flock to your banner anyway. Soldering is a steady job with good pay and square daily meals. I fully accept this. It is a valid career. Maybe even the best career, for many. Lord knows the AFFS does much the same thing."
Julia smiled and said nothing.
"Very well then. What support does the Eridani Light Horse wish to offer? Do you have some form of strange lostech that will speed up learning? Please?"
"If the Star League could just download training into people's brains, they would not have needed to set up academies," said Julia. "Nothing so convenient, I'm afraid. Nothing important is ever done quickly."
Lady Robin chuckled lightly. "A pity. Let us be realists, then. Military specialists are also very highly educated people, and we would welcome teachers with so much practical experience. Technicians to maintain our jumpships would also be much appreciated. If you want to use the Vagabond Schools as workplace training for JumpShip crews, that would be perfectly good too - we have much the same agreement with the Colleges of Savonburg and others. Or, if it comes in the form of financial support and investment, that would be acceptable as well. Our resources are meager, I freely admit this."
Julia answered "There are ten operating Vagabond Schools, most of them old Invaders, Tramps, and so on - with refitted Mules serving as classrooms on DropCollars that are barely hanging on. This does not sound enough for so many worlds. These JumpShips are *dangerous*."
She turned on the palm-sized holoprojector on the table. "The Eridani Light Horse would like to offer support in the form of JumpShips and DropShips. Six NEW JumpShips. SAFE JumpShips. ROOMY JumpShips. Granted, only Scout-class, but they have been refit to maximize internal berthing. A skeleton crew of the Light Horse will accompany the Vagabond School, providing security and support against pirates and other threats. Gradually we will be filling in the crew with volunteers, and then cycle them out with fresh ships and minimal crews as they make a circuit along the Outback."
The projection showed the gravdeck layout. "These have been modified for two contra-rotating 90-meter grav decks." The outer rim spun to provide .9G, with corresponding lower apparent gravity as you go up 'higher' towards the core of the vessel. Steerage sleeping berths were triple-layer bunk beds at the second ring at 80% Terran gravity, with sufficient room and life support for two hundred people, or approximately 180 students and 20 teachers.
They also had room for six fightercraft, two Small Craft, and a thousand tons of cargo. That sounded… unrealistic.
"They will operate in pairs, sufficient to support more than four hundred students and teachers at any one time and bringing a company of mechs and ASF for defense. First Prince Hanse Davion has already given approval to this measure that serves both education and defense of the system during the duration."
Baroness DeCaster blinked. "Excuse me, what?"
"The DRIFTING HORSE has allocated JumpShips for the Vagabond Schools as long as you let us do some recruiting along the way. As we also possess the Primary Copy of the DEMETER CORE, we also have permission to inspect and possibly repair terraforming facilities along the way. We will be recruiting or training space crew, fighter pilots, medics, and technicians along the way."
Baroness DeCaster blinked. She blinked again. She blinked some more.
She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. Opened them with a hard burning gaze and spoke: "I accept. I do not question this. I accept."
Julia quirked her lips. "Really? Not even a question?"
"Are you actually the SLDF?"
"Of course we are. We have always been."
The baroness looked away and shrugged as if to say 'I knew the question would be pointless'.
Why even try to look in the horse's mouth? Because they might be carrying Danaans inside.
She faced forwards again and asked "Very well then, in seriousness, how soon can this be done?"
"Immediately."
"So you just have six new JumpShips that you can dispense away from the war at any time, hm? No, no - that is not a question. I do not need to know more about this." She began fanning her own face with her hands. "I fear that knowing… will only make it worse for me."
"My lady, did you not just lament the uneducated of the Outback preferring contented ignorance over miserable knowledge?"
"Exactly for those reasons. I choose not to be suspicious of the Eridani Light Horse and trust that you know what you are doing." They were owed at least that much for the DEMETER CORE. The Eridani Light Horse banked so much goodwill with this, that even if they were wiped out in battle after this the Inner Sphere would still remember them.
Julia Armstrong smiled back beatifically. And carefully not to let anything on her expression show 'We actually have no idea what we are doing'.
The stakes were high enough that they might as well throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. It was not enough to merely own a planet with a face.
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