Snippets from throughout the decades
"Back in 3020, signing the treaty with the Steiners was a necessity for the Combine. Still back then I believed - please excuse the crass vulgarity - I was pissing away the chances of generations of Samurai to earn honour, considering the main intentions of the Commonwealth with the Arcturus Accords.
Had I known what the coming decades would bring, I would have signed Accord and Pact on the first evening."
Attributed to Takashi Kurita in a talk with the court chronist
"Did the Invasion of the Inner Sphere bring great glory to the Clans? Yes. Did it strengthen the Clans? Yes. Was the Invasion worth it? No. Like your favourite meal, war becomes bland if tasted too much. Not that I would say this into a Wolf´s face."
Smoke Jaguar Khan Dorette Wimmer, 3097
"The Clan Invasion and the bloody consequences of it might be good in the eyes of the Social Darwinism of the Clans. In the Inner Sphere it created a rift in thought which persists to this day. A Lyran scientist coined the terms the Kernwärtigen (the Corewards) and the Randwärtigen (the Rimwards). It is important to remember that these descriptors are not based on location alone, it is just that the majority of the respective outlooks can be found there.
The Kernwärtigen are those who recognise the impact of the Clans on the Inner Sphere, how it changes policy, outlook, colonisation, many facets how the nations and their people look at the stars and go on.
The Randwärtigen consider the Clan Wars a fluke of history, nothing to think too much about, the universe is still a buffet. For them, the 'Corewards' brood too much now. On the other side, the Corewards consider the Rimwards to be frivolous, counting too much on the luck they had.
From an article in the psychology magazine "Hearts and Minds", 3074
"The FWL gets rich by producing supplies for the Units at the Clan-Front, it is mainly the Elsies and Dracs bleeding out and High command is already making plans where to stab the Lyrans in the back. Many will say that are politics at their best, this might be so, but if this noble parliament agrees to that, we become a piece of human manure! The Lyrans might be one of our oldest enemies, but anybody thinking that these Clan barbarians from outer Space are not the enemy of all the Inner Sphere is deluded."
Duchess Therese Brett-Marik during a parliament debate on Atreus
"The Fourth Succession War - or better 'the War graciously sponsored by Comstar' in hindsight, might have been very short and our history books glow about how well the Federated Suns conducted it, but that is the official version. Both Hanse and I agreed immediately after gaining the whole picture that the political and diplomatic fallout of this war would bite us in the ass one day. Unfortunately we were right with our prediction."
Marshal of the Armies Morgan Hasek-Davion in a talk with his aide 3051
"The stereotype of Elementals is being a walking mountain of muscle. Yes, there are examples of that, but what most people, even many Clanners, do not get is biology. Even with their genetic modifications and strength the Elementals are very tall. That impacts how your muscles are arranged and stretched across your skeleton. Look at Gudrun over there - every bit a Supermodel! Yes, models with Elemental blood won´t be as skinny as some models are, but as you see this does not hinder their rise often."
Star designer Hans Glöckler in an interview during Mizar Fashion Week 3079
"It is an enormous honour to be here for the Opening of a University named for me on my birth-planet."
Retired Archon Katrina Steiner in a speech during the opening ceremony of the Katrina-Steiner-University on Gallery 3060
"Your Grace, in military circles many smiles and sniggers are reserved for the fact, that in comparison with the size of the involved forces naturally, the biggest 'Coup' of the Clan Wars belongs to you and your system defence militia. Has it something to do with your special skills? During your active service in the LCAF you were renowned for your strategies, in special defensive ones."
"I would lie, if I said I would not feel flattered a bit by your documentary, but our victory in the so-called 'Battle of Finsterwalde' is a victory by all people of Finsterwalde! Fights do not happen in a laboratory vacuum. many factors easily overlooked play their own roles. One measly factor can become the trigger of winning or losing a battle.
The Militia and I were just the visible, acting component of our community. Sweat and hard work before, saves blood in battle. And we got lucky as well. But remember, Luck is with the diligent!"
Markus von Finsterwalde in a documentary about the Clan Wars 3082
"How easily the buffoons of the Great houses can be put against each other if you dangle their greatest fears before them. Nobody recognises that we fooled them into action. We come ever closer to 'Operation Revelation'."
Myndo Waterly, Comstar Prima during the Fourth Succession War
Old Star League Garrison, DieronDraconis Combine, Prefecture Al Na´ir
11. June 3022
Thelos Auburn, lyran Court Historian, was busy working on his personalised Compad, while waiting for the transport which would bring his travelling group to the Lyran DropShips. He imagined the pure envy in the historians community, when in a few years he could publish his book "The Dieron Negotiations - Upgrading the Arcturus Accords" from the view of a person who was there.
Thelos had been able to get an interview about all going on with both the Archon, which was less difficult for him as a long-time court member and friend of the Steiner family, and with the Coordinator and his cousin Chandrasekhar. His interview with the Kurita heir Theodore and his wife Tomoewas too short due to time constraints to count as a "full" interview in Thelos eyes, but still substantial enough for inclusion.
His young daughter Misha had gathered enough material for a ground breaking book of her own. All in all, a totally satisfying trip for the historian´s family. Still, the historian in him would have liked it more, if he could publish the book right away, but that was impossible due to two factors. One was that the recovering relations between Commonwealth and Combine were still fragile to vicious assaults (in whatever form they could take and selected reading and outtakes of books were one form), the other was the secrecy surrounding the Arcturus Pact. Strictest security measures on both sides and a hefty dose of pure luck had made it possible that even now, two years after the Arcturus Accords no other Great House knew much about it, according to both LIC and ISF. Both secret services were a bit happily surprised, that beside some insubstantial rumours, the Davions, Mariks and Liaos had nothing.
Naturally both in the Commonwealth and the Combine, if less openly there, the rumour and speculation mills had worked overtime in the last months, since nobody could stop the spread of the fact of the long Quiet along the Lyran/Draconis border. These rumours had found their way to the ears of the other Great Houses, but not more.
The shifting of some units from the front to the other borders had been so slow and incremental enough, that it had slipped under the Radar for now.
The governments of both Star nations obviously knew that this luck in slipping by the others would come to an end sooner than later, such luck could not hold indefinitely.
Actually within days both Commonwealth and Combine would start offensive operations against the Free Worlds League and Federated Suns respectively. But with "gebremstem Schaum" (lit. slowing foam, meaning holding back during an action).
The attacks would be smaller than many would anticipate, but more focused. Unlike most of the time over the centuries of Succession Wars, when dozens of opportunities were wasted by hipshots of the various Great Houses, Katrina Steiner and especially Theodore Kurita agreed that better defined goals for an offensive was better.
One reason for this was the simple fact, that both Great Houses did not trust each other all that much, despite necessities and politics. The enmity had been too long for quick recovery of relations and while the 2 years of secret peace did a world of Good on the officials side, being cautious was important.
The coming offensives were themselves partly about proofing each others trust by playing by the book, instead of trying to backstab. Due to the caution, both LCAF and DCMS had shifted substantial forces from their common border to the rimwards theaters, but less than they theoretically could.
If "Operation Morgenrot"(Sunrise/Red Sky) would run without hitch, at least when it came to the peace treaty, then more units would move towards the frontlines. Gaining trust was essential if the Arcturus Pact would be in for the long run.
In addition, for a real upswing in the relations of Houses Kurita and Steiner, the citizens had to know more than just hearsay. The last two years of peace had already been good for that, in putting the seed that this pause in the near endless fighting might hold longer or become permanent.
Official statements for some time had been subtlety spun to put a better light on the "Elsies" or the "Dracs", while slightly putting more emphasis on the failings of the other Powers.
So in two hours, just before the Lyran delegation would depart for home, the Archon and the Coordinator would officially give a declaration that a cease-fire between the two nations was in effect and that the Combine had decided to answer the Peace Proposal by Archon Steiner with beginning talks with the Lyran government about a possible Peace.
That the two coreward Houses already had signed an alliance was to be kept secret for a while longer. Slow, cautious and delicate were the operating words for preparing the over two trillion people of Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine for that revelation.
Thelos still could shake his head about the sometimes bizarrely bipolar negotiations in disbelief.
On the pragmatic-political level the talks had been going forward rather nicely. There had been several severe sticking points, but pragmatism showed the obvious advantages of deepening the alliance signed on Arcturus.
On the personal-emotional level it was different. The mind might say the right things, but the heart is a different thing. While both sides had brought their leadership circles or representatives for those who could not make the journey, it was clear that the upper echelon needed time to stomach this turn of events as well. It was not as tension-wrought as the talks on Arcturus two years earlier, more easy-going, but the reservations still obvious.
Both States had hardliners and bringing them halfway on board would be the homework of the next years.
Some changes could be seen rather easily. Coordinator Takashi Kurita and Subhash Indrahar, according to Thelos insider contacts the ISF director, had many new faces in their direct entourage. Nobody on the Lyran side did question this much, knowing the answers would not be worth it.
What Thelos Auburn saw as one of the craftiest moves by the Archon and the Coordinator was that both had their delegations full with members from regions not too involved with the fighting between Kurita and Steiner. Representatives from the Alarion, Coventry and Bolan Provinces or Galedon and Pesht districts. And to have people there who had few problems to handle the cultural differences, the delegations had members among them from the Rasalhague district and the Rahneshire, the Commonwealth region with the strongest Japanese heritage.
This was not only to keep the tensions down, but since the meeting had been prepared for well, it was clear that a deepening of the Arcturus Accords would extraordinarily help the development of these regions.
That the alliance brought change, however slowly, could be seen directly in the fact that on the Combine side Chandrasekhar Kurita, often called "Uncle Chandy", something of a black sheep in the Kurita family, led the economic parts of the negotiation on the Dragon´s side.
The Combine was changing, some tacit reforms had been brought on the way and it was likely that the Accord with the Commonwealth would hasten the development a bit. And the Lyrans were changing as well, less than the Combine, but still.
It could be seen by the way the interstellar questions were taken care off during the talks, much more "offensive-minded" than usual. For a time there would be no more than the level of aggression against the League and Suns than what Operation Morgenrot would bring, to keep them from guessing too much about the "cease-fire", then several hard and fast attacks to conquer some Key-Systems.
In addition, both delegations agreed there should be some clandestine help to the Capellans, to make a "Rimwards Alliance" less likely and some help to Circinus ,the Outworld Alliance and other Periphery "governments" to keep the Mariks and Davions more occupied. Maybe the Liaos would not become members of a possible Anti-Alliance or if, only after they spread a lot of havoc before.
Comstar´s influence should be pushed back, but only in the future, after sufficient alternative options were spread through both realms.
"Yes", Thelos thought, "Arcturus and Dieron will be remembered as the victory of Realpolitik and Pragmatism over emotional Demagogues. If it comes to fruition and holds, that is."
Foreign Ministry, New AvalonCrucis March, Federated Suns
12. June 3022
Countess Olivia Fenlon stared out of the window of her bureau into the streets of New Avalon. Had done so for over a hour. News of importance travelled fast and she had seen the speech by the Archon and the Coordinator shortly before noon in Avalon City. Her thoughts circled around one question: What had gone wrong during the Talks with the Lyrans?
When the Archon finally read the Federated Suns secret answer to her Peace Initiative, there had been real enthusiasm. Throughout 3020/21 the talks had been going forward. A one year cease-fire to bolster the consultations had been readily agreed upon by both sides. There were talks about the military situation, the economy and research/recovery of Lostech. There were points where Steiners and Davions disagreed, especially the economy and if the Initiative should be open for all, if some other Successor State reconsidered, but nothing what could not be overcome.
Well, in hindsight, the Negotiations began to cool down around New Year 3022, with the Lyrans letting sleep in the talks in February. Had that been the time when the Dracs approached the Commonwealth? No, both declared a cease-fire yesterday, something the FS and LC closed, even if secretly, within days of the beginning. With the bad blood between the Dracs and Elsies, that might not have gone as fast, but surely not taken 4-6 months. A logical conclusion out of what the House Davion foreign ministry knew about Commonwealth and Combine, helped by MIIO reports, was that the ISF stumbled over some hints about the alliance negotiations, but not enough to see that they were already over and tried to jump aboard to disrupt all. And those "peace-wanting" Elsies, after being too dumb to close a deal with the Successor State that would even without their help become the nation of the First Lord of the Star League, seeing that their peace initiative had not born fruits with 3 States, latched onto the one that did come late for surely nefarious reasons. As if the Dracs could or would offer the Lyrans as much as the Suns had been willing to!
No, more than this cease-fire would not come out of this try of desperation. And she and her advisors doubted if that cease-fire between such old enemies would hold longer than a year or so. It seemed for the first time in years, the Prince´s highly proficient nose for opportunities had erred. But it was of no consequence. Considering that the talks in the early months of the year, which brought the end of the negotiations, had been about economics and easier military conquest against the Combine, the only pluses the far distanced LC had for the Federated Suns, it was not much lost. If the Elsies got obstinate about that, instead of listening to someone in the know, their loss. The Commonwealth had never been much on the screen of New Avalon in the last centuries except for trade, so it could be ignored for awhile anew. Once the hated Combine was taken care off, one could show the Lyrans the errors of their estimations. Or better, the AFFS would.
The so called "Fenlon-Report of 3022" would make history some years later. While nobody could fault the hard facts described to all sides, Duchess Fenlon and her ministry, in their first ire about a treaty within grasping reach suddenly vanishing and especially after the Draconians started their part of Operation Morgenrot, underestimated the LC´s capabilities and more important the political constellations around Tharkad and rose-tinted the situation of the FS quite a bit.
This was unusual for the efficient and friendly optimistic Duchess, but could be attributed to the feeling of being "robbed" of a, in all fairness weighted favourably towards the Suns, alliance treaty proposed to the Archon. It was actually mainly the failing of the MIIO, which had not broken through the veil of secrecy laid by DC and LC around their Arcturus Accords. Without knowing about the thaw in relations between the two Star Empires, the foreign corps of the Federated Suns overplayed the hand given. Had the Suns been the only nation talking with the Archon about her peace initiative, the "FS-weighted" treaty would have been accepted by Tharkad, because there still had been some obvious advantages for the Steiners in it.
But with the Steiners already being in the early stages of a tentative understanding with the Kuritas, the Lyrans had the joy of being able to choose which nation more to work with. The Archon and her advisors already saw early (according to the Biography of Katrina Steiner)that the economic philosophies of LC and FS were nearly incompatible (despite being closer than those of the Combine at the time) and the Suns more resistant to economic changes proposed by the Lyrans. The final nail in the coffin was, that the Davions were unwilling in principle to open talks with Houses Kurita and Liao about a lasting peace.
Going with information we got from the Lyran foreign chancellery, the Lyran government did already consider the talks with the FS a failure by March 3021 and lengthened the negotiations for nearly another year only to keep the secret about Arcturus.
- From the 3074 Trideo-Documentation "From friendly neutral to enemy in a decade - Houses Steiner and Davion on collision course"