Touring the Stars with Bertram Habeas
We began on Terra, millions of years ago. Today, mankind stretches out among the
stars of the Milky Way, touching thousands of worlds, as far from our home as Clan
space, more than 2,000 light-years distant. Yet who are we, really? What have we
become in our relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and
tonight, let’s find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions
together, as we tour the stars!
Volume XIX: Xin Sheng and Beyond
stars of the Milky Way, touching thousands of worlds, as far from our home as Clan
space, more than 2,000 light-years distant. Yet who are we, really? What have we
become in our relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and
tonight, let’s find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions
together, as we tour the stars!
Volume XIX: Xin Sheng and Beyond
“ . . . In honor of our marriage, in addition to this morsel, I give
you a vast prize. Here, my love, I give you the Capellan
Confederation!�
—First Prince Hanse Davion, to Archon-Designate Melissa Steiner on
their wedding night, 20 August 3028, Hilton Head Island, Terra.
you a vast prize. Here, my love, I give you the Capellan
Confederation!�
—First Prince Hanse Davion, to Archon-Designate Melissa Steiner on
their wedding night, 20 August 3028, Hilton Head Island, Terra.
With those words, the now-united rulers of the Lyran Commonwealth and the
Federated Suns began a war that would profoundly change the face of the Inner
Sphere, dramatically shifting a balance between the five Successor States that had held
through nearly three centuries of constant war. No single nation in the Inner Sphere
would feel the impact of that union as terribly and as profoundly as House Liao’s
Capellan Confederation, however.
In just two short years of fighting, the Steiner-Davion armies smashed through the
Confederation with unprecedented efficiency, aided by spies insinuated at the very
highest level of the small nation’s high command. The Tikonov and St. Ives
Commonalities seceded with help from House Davion’s political machinations,
with the former absorbed into the Commonwealth less than a year later as the latter
formed its own independent state. At the same time, every other Capellan world within
175 light-years of Terra was simply absorbed into a region of space that would
eventually become known as the Sarna March (and later, during the 3050s and 3060s,
as the “Chaos March�). In all, over half the Confederation’s worlds were
lost to defection or conquest, the most proportionally devastating losses ever suffered
by any Great House during the Succession Wars.
Federated Suns began a war that would profoundly change the face of the Inner
Sphere, dramatically shifting a balance between the five Successor States that had held
through nearly three centuries of constant war. No single nation in the Inner Sphere
would feel the impact of that union as terribly and as profoundly as House Liao’s
Capellan Confederation, however.
In just two short years of fighting, the Steiner-Davion armies smashed through the
Confederation with unprecedented efficiency, aided by spies insinuated at the very
highest level of the small nation’s high command. The Tikonov and St. Ives
Commonalities seceded with help from House Davion’s political machinations,
with the former absorbed into the Commonwealth less than a year later as the latter
formed its own independent state. At the same time, every other Capellan world within
175 light-years of Terra was simply absorbed into a region of space that would
eventually become known as the Sarna March (and later, during the 3050s and 3060s,
as the “Chaos March�). In all, over half the Confederation’s worlds were
lost to defection or conquest, the most proportionally devastating losses ever suffered
by any Great House during the Succession Wars.
For all his fabled strategic brilliance, the aftermath of the Fourth
War was perhaps a key example of Hanse Davion’s greatest
military blunders. In 3039, instead of targeting House Liao once
again and completely removing a potential threat to his realm, he
instead turned the might of the FedCom against House Kurita,
leaving the Capellans to stagger on. Or was it a blunder? After the
way the Confederation handily repelled the Anduriens and Canopians
€œthe Foxâ€� was thinking more of the old adage about trying to
corner a wounded animal. . . .
—Arthur Luvonne, The Long, Dirty History of the Federated Suns,
Commonwealth Press, 3100
War was perhaps a key example of Hanse Davion’s greatest
military blunders. In 3039, instead of targeting House Liao once
again and completely removing a potential threat to his realm, he
instead turned the might of the FedCom against House Kurita,
leaving the Capellans to stagger on. Or was it a blunder? After the
way the Confederation handily repelled the Anduriens and Canopians
€œthe Foxâ€� was thinking more of the old adage about trying to
corner a wounded animal. . . .
—Arthur Luvonne, The Long, Dirty History of the Federated Suns,
Commonwealth Press, 3100
grew stronger in the shattered Confederation, even as the so-called “War of Davion
daughter of Maximilian Liao, who ruled during that war, instilled in her people a
renewed devotion to the state. When the Magistracy of Canopus and the Free Worlds
League’s Duchy of Andurien launched a war against the Capellans in 3031, they
faced a fanatic army determined to die to defeat them, and eager to drag as many of
their enemys as possible along for the ride. This fighting spirit, sacrificing all to save
the state, became the hallmark of the Liao people, who would not rise again until the
ascension of Romano’s son, Sun-Tzu Liao.
Though his Xin Sheng—literally, “Rebirth�—mandate did not officially begin
until a few years after he assumed the mantle of Chancellor in 3052, Sun-Tzu Liao
was intent on recovering all that had been lost in the Fourth Succession War. He
backed the efforts of pro-Capellan guerillas in the Sarna March, allied his realm with
the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat, the two nearest and most
powerful Periphery realms. He even fostered an alliance with House Marik’s Free
Worlds League to check the ambitions of the Federated Commonwealth, and built up
his defense forces quietly, preparing for the inevitable invasion of the Sarna March,
which came in 3057.
Ironically, the creation of the new Star League in 3059, as part of a final effort to end
the Clan threat, gave Sun-Tzu the means to carry out his Xin Sheng and reclaim the
St. Ives Compact. Having been denied the time to complete his reconquest of the
Sarna March by the League’s declaration of an end to hostilities in 3058, Sun-Tzu
instead used his elected position as First Lord to motivate his people and usher in a â
€œbrave new ageâ€� for the Confederation.
Opinions and theories vary wildly about what came next, but during Sun-Tzu’s
tenure as First Lord he ordered the new SLDF’s peacekeeping troops into key
parts of the Chaos March as well as the St. Ives border—the latter event after a strike
by a pro-St. Ives mercenary command nearly killed Isis Marik, Sun-Tzu’s then-
betrothed (and one-time heiress to the Free Worlds League). The conflict that arose
afterward, however, had nothing to do with the SLDF and, indeed, even the apparent
assassination attempt on Marik may have been a planned event, according to Sun-Tzuâ
€™s own words.
daughter of Maximilian Liao, who ruled during that war, instilled in her people a
renewed devotion to the state. When the Magistracy of Canopus and the Free Worlds
League’s Duchy of Andurien launched a war against the Capellans in 3031, they
faced a fanatic army determined to die to defeat them, and eager to drag as many of
their enemys as possible along for the ride. This fighting spirit, sacrificing all to save
the state, became the hallmark of the Liao people, who would not rise again until the
ascension of Romano’s son, Sun-Tzu Liao.
Though his Xin Sheng—literally, “Rebirth�—mandate did not officially begin
until a few years after he assumed the mantle of Chancellor in 3052, Sun-Tzu Liao
was intent on recovering all that had been lost in the Fourth Succession War. He
backed the efforts of pro-Capellan guerillas in the Sarna March, allied his realm with
the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat, the two nearest and most
powerful Periphery realms. He even fostered an alliance with House Marik’s Free
Worlds League to check the ambitions of the Federated Commonwealth, and built up
his defense forces quietly, preparing for the inevitable invasion of the Sarna March,
which came in 3057.
Ironically, the creation of the new Star League in 3059, as part of a final effort to end
the Clan threat, gave Sun-Tzu the means to carry out his Xin Sheng and reclaim the
St. Ives Compact. Having been denied the time to complete his reconquest of the
Sarna March by the League’s declaration of an end to hostilities in 3058, Sun-Tzu
instead used his elected position as First Lord to motivate his people and usher in a â
€œbrave new ageâ€� for the Confederation.
Opinions and theories vary wildly about what came next, but during Sun-Tzu’s
tenure as First Lord he ordered the new SLDF’s peacekeeping troops into key
parts of the Chaos March as well as the St. Ives border—the latter event after a strike
by a pro-St. Ives mercenary command nearly killed Isis Marik, Sun-Tzu’s then-
betrothed (and one-time heiress to the Free Worlds League). The conflict that arose
afterward, however, had nothing to do with the SLDF and, indeed, even the apparent
assassination attempt on Marik may have been a planned event, according to Sun-Tzuâ
€™s own words.
14 April 3062
She served her purpose, and today I have set her free. Though I
should not care one iota for the naïve child, our conversation today
capitulate or compromise. No. No more. We have given up enough.
She served her purpose, and today I have set her free. Though I She
served her purpose, and today I have set her free. Though I should
not care one iota for the naïve child, our conversation today should
not care one iota for the naïve child, our conversation today still
echoes in my head. She clearly did not understand what it would still
echoes in my head. She clearly did not understand what it would be
like to truly be Capellan, to be downtrodden, to always have to be
like to truly be Capellan, to be downtrodden, to always have to
capitulate or compromise. No. No more. We have given up enough.
Now it is time for our rebirth. This is not my moment, as poor,
short-sighted Isis [Marik] would have believed. This is our moment.
This is the moment my people have waited for, like shadows in the
darkness.
No. There will be no compromise this time. The Confederation
deserves better.
- excerpted from The Words of Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao, by Talon
Zahn, Celestial Press, 3125.
She served her purpose, and today I have set her free. Though I
should not care one iota for the naïve child, our conversation today
capitulate or compromise. No. No more. We have given up enough.
She served her purpose, and today I have set her free. Though I She
served her purpose, and today I have set her free. Though I should
not care one iota for the naïve child, our conversation today should
not care one iota for the naïve child, our conversation today still
echoes in my head. She clearly did not understand what it would still
echoes in my head. She clearly did not understand what it would be
like to truly be Capellan, to be downtrodden, to always have to be
like to truly be Capellan, to be downtrodden, to always have to
capitulate or compromise. No. No more. We have given up enough.
Now it is time for our rebirth. This is not my moment, as poor,
short-sighted Isis [Marik] would have believed. This is our moment.
This is the moment my people have waited for, like shadows in the
darkness.
No. There will be no compromise this time. The Confederation
deserves better.
- excerpted from The Words of Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao, by Talon
Zahn, Celestial Press, 3125.
Xin Sheng was far more than a military campaign. In fact, the earliest stages of Sun-
proud Chinese heritage gave the Capellan people a sense of identity and pride that had
been stripped away in too many decades of mere survival. Meanwhile, new alliances
with their Periphery neighbors (downplayed in today’s Capellan history texts, even
when considering the state’s long-standing friendship with the Magistracy of
Canopus, which remains evident even today) gave them the strength that comes from
knowing they were not alone. New BattleMechs with Han names were developed. The
ages-old standard and uniforms were given a makeover. Everything was reborn, fresh,
new, and above all, Capellan. Some of the draconian measures enacted under Romano
Liao’s reign were relaxed, including the bloody purges meant to ensure loyalty. In
doing so, Sun-Tzu made his people feel freer while conveying a sense of belonging
and strengthening their political might. Nationalism colored the survival-by-any-means
doctrine, but more than simply maintaining the status quo, the Capellan people began
to realize they didn’t have to just be survivors. They could, in fact, be winners—
even leaders.
It took the Confederation three years to reabsorb the St. Ives Compact, a victory that
effectively validated Sun-Tzu’s plans and clearly demonstrated the renewed
strength of the Capellan people. Indeed, in his state address after the final truce in
3063, he even addressed the Compact citizens as fellow Capellans, at once declaring
an end to the fighting and to decades of hatred.
proud Chinese heritage gave the Capellan people a sense of identity and pride that had
been stripped away in too many decades of mere survival. Meanwhile, new alliances
with their Periphery neighbors (downplayed in today’s Capellan history texts, even
when considering the state’s long-standing friendship with the Magistracy of
Canopus, which remains evident even today) gave them the strength that comes from
knowing they were not alone. New BattleMechs with Han names were developed. The
ages-old standard and uniforms were given a makeover. Everything was reborn, fresh,
new, and above all, Capellan. Some of the draconian measures enacted under Romano
Liao’s reign were relaxed, including the bloody purges meant to ensure loyalty. In
doing so, Sun-Tzu made his people feel freer while conveying a sense of belonging
and strengthening their political might. Nationalism colored the survival-by-any-means
doctrine, but more than simply maintaining the status quo, the Capellan people began
to realize they didn’t have to just be survivors. They could, in fact, be winners—
even leaders.
It took the Confederation three years to reabsorb the St. Ives Compact, a victory that
effectively validated Sun-Tzu’s plans and clearly demonstrated the renewed
strength of the Capellan people. Indeed, in his state address after the final truce in
3063, he even addressed the Compact citizens as fellow Capellans, at once declaring
an end to the fighting and to decades of hatred.
“What we accomplished today has been bought at a high cost—
paid by people of the Confederation and the St. Ives Compact,
Capellans all. In paying this price, we find ourselves in unfamiliar
territory. We can actually pity the Federated Suns.�
—Sun-Tzu Liao, 3063, except from his statewide address from Sian.
paid by people of the Confederation and the St. Ives Compact,
Capellans all. In paying this price, we find ourselves in unfamiliar
territory. We can actually pity the Federated Suns.�
—Sun-Tzu Liao, 3063, except from his statewide address from Sian.
Xin Sheng continued long after the recapture of the St. Ives Compact, not only
cementing the hard-fought victories of its early years, but also bringing back hope and
the strength of the Chinese culture to the Confederation. During the FedCom Civil
War, efforts began to reclaim the Confederation’s next prize—the former
Tikonov Commonality—but the Jihad would intervene. What followed would once
more test the resolve, the unity, and the newfound national pride of a recovering
people, in a ten-year crucible the Confederation faced all but alone.
cementing the hard-fought victories of its early years, but also bringing back hope and
the strength of the Chinese culture to the Confederation. During the FedCom Civil
War, efforts began to reclaim the Confederation’s next prize—the former
Tikonov Commonality—but the Jihad would intervene. What followed would once
more test the resolve, the unity, and the newfound national pride of a recovering
people, in a ten-year crucible the Confederation faced all but alone.
Of all the states hit during the Jihad, I’d have to say the
Capellans showed the most heart while defending their lands, and
that’s only to be expected after centuries of being the smallest kid
on the block and having nobody backing you up the whole time. I
Tikonov worlds during and after the FedCom Civil War, they stood
accused of aiding the Word right alongside the [Free Worlds] League
just because Sian was one of the last capitals hit. Nobody trusted Sun-
Tzu but his people, and they fought—and died—for him and the
nation he stood for. Leading people through that, no wonder they
revere him as a god now.
—Jaime Kalasko, Who Speaks for Liao? Underground Press
Interstellar, 3112
Capellans showed the most heart while defending their lands, and
that’s only to be expected after centuries of being the smallest kid
on the block and having nobody backing you up the whole time. I
Tikonov worlds during and after the FedCom Civil War, they stood
accused of aiding the Word right alongside the [Free Worlds] League
just because Sian was one of the last capitals hit. Nobody trusted Sun-
Tzu but his people, and they fought—and died—for him and the
nation he stood for. Leading people through that, no wonder they
revere him as a god now.
—Jaime Kalasko, Who Speaks for Liao? Underground Press
Interstellar, 3112
€™m Bertram Habeas.