Taurian Concordat 3058 Update

3058 Update

[Prepared by Precentor Eliza Phereson, Research Team-chi, ComStar Archives]

In January of 3056, Jeffrey Calderon publicly announced several sweeping changes he had planned for the Concordat. He formally repealed civilian conscription of builders, various taxes enacted to beef up the military budget, and all restrictions on colonization that Thomas had imposed since the end of the Fourth Succession War. He also announced measures intended to enhance trade both within and outside the Concordat, and to promote terraforming efforts on certain of the colonies that had been founded since 3035. In a move that greatly pleased BattleMech manufacturers, Jeffrey authorized increased production of BattleMechs for the TDF to meet the demand of the new colonies. Funding for the new 'Mechs would come from a reorganization and streamlining of the defense budget rather than from any new taxes. Jeffrey wound up his proclamation with a bombshell; revealing that he had been conducting negotiations with the Magistracy of Canopus for nearly four years, he announced that the two realms were close to signing a treaty that would greatly benefit the Concordat.

Though the notion of a treaty with another Periphery realm startled many people, actual opposition to closer ties with the Magistracy was minimal and disorganized. The text of the treaty, swiftly made public by the Protector, added to positive public perceptions of Jeffrey's bold move. The prospect of lowered trade barriers between the two nations was a further inducement to support the treaty; colonial expansion had already begun to increase job opportunities, and greater trade with a prosperous neighbor seemed likely to further enhance the Taurian economy.

On the last day of March, 3056, the Magestrix of Canopus and an accompanying delegation arrived in the Taurian capital to sign the Treaty of Taurus. The Concordat and the Magistracy remained two separate sovereign realms, but agreed to work toward common goals and help to strengthen each other against any threat from the Inner Sphere or Clan invaders. The few opponents of the treaty claimed it was the first step in a Magistracy plot to absorb the Concordat, but this theory found few takers.

Education

Because the Concordat government has traditionally given the educational system a high priority, the Taurian Concordat has retained the highest consistent literacy rate in the Periphery from its founding to the present. Indeed, the Taurian educational system has served as a model for other states, including several in the Inner Sphere. During the Reunification War, many of the Taurians' largest educational institutions were lost when the Star League forces overran planets where the schools were located. In the years of the Concordat's Territorial status, the Star League attempted unsuccessfully to modify the educational structure to emphasize the benefits of membership in the Star League. Since regaining their independence, the Taurians have rebuilt their schools to pre-Star League levels and standards. The realm now boasts six universities, located on Taurus, Samantha, Pinard, New Vandenberg, MacLeod's Land, and Euschelus. These institutes of higher learning graduate an average of more than forty thousand students annually.

Domestic and Foreign Policy

The huge influx of valuable raw materials from the colonies, the prospect of even more colonization in cooperation with the Magistracy of Canopus, and increasingly open trade relations with its new ally have placed the Concordat on the brink of immense economic expansion. Concordat traders are finding eager markets for their goods and raw materials in the Magistracy, the Capellan Confederation, certain duchies in the Free Worlds League, and even with the cash-strapped Outworlds Alliance. Colonial expansion alone has created incredible wealth for many Taurians, especially those who ply the stars for a living. Among the proposals recently backed by the Protector are exploratory missions into the Pirates' Haven star cluster, long rumored to contain treasure troves of lostech from Star League bases and even lost ships. This mass of stars is also known as the home of pirate bands and renegades who regularly plague the Concordat and other states, and the Taurian Defense Force is eager for the chance to hunt the renegades down.

The Taurian black market has also grown, as many traders seeking more and more buyers are turning to clients with whom Concordat law has forbidden them to do business. Certain black marketeers are suspected of selling to pirate bands and even some terrorist factions based in the Federated Commonwealth. According to ROM operatives in the Concordat, several traders are selling raw materials to Fuchida's Fusiliers, the new Tortuga pirates, and the Citizens for Davion Purity on the backwater world of Malarn. The Protector has stepped up law enforcement efforts somewhat, but for the moment is more concerned with expanding political and economic ties across the Periphery and Inner Sphere.

Chaos March

The Mairk-Liao invasion of the Sarna March has proved a blessing in disguise for the Concordat, at least for the present. The thought of an allied force of Marik-Liao troops on the Concordat's or Magistracy's doorstep initially unnerved Jeffrey, but this potential problem currently is less serious than it appears - though it may become more so. The Capellan Confederation has bogged down in its attempt to reconquer its lost territory, and the collapse of authority in the so-called Chaos March has focused all of Chancellor Sun-Tzu's attention on that region. Sun-Tzu's military and political troubles are likely to keep him too busy to bother the Concordat for the forseeable future, allowing the Concordat and Magistracy time to consolidate their forces against the threat of an eventual Liao invasion.

The sudden dissolution of the Federated Commonwealth has left Jeffrey Calderon unsure of whether or not to continue his cautious efforts to open trade with the giant Successor State. He appears to be biding his time, waiting to see how the Lyran seccession and resultant turmoil works out. Fortunately for the Protector, Victor Steiner-Davion has more than enough trouble keeping his realm together, and so House Davion is unlikely to pose a military threat to the Concordat any time soon.

Interstellar Relations

Jeffrey Calderon's accession to the position of Protector has wrought significant changes in the Concordat's relations with other nations. No longer hobbled by Thomas Calderon's pathological mistrust, the Concordat government has established embassies on the capital worlds of the Outworlds Alliance and the Mica Majority, and opened a consulate in the St. Ives Compact. The Protector even sent diplomatic representatives to New Avalon and Tharkad just prior to the Lyran secession. Diplomatic activity in the Magistracy of Canopus has been stepped up with the signing of the Treaty of Taurus, and representatives of various Taurian and Canopian businesses are discussing cooperative efforts and possible joint ventures to be launched once the trade barriers are lowered. The only neighboring realm in which diplomacy has stalled is the Capellan Confederation; the Concordat maintains its embassy on Sian, but Jeffrey Calderon has significantly reduced substantive contacts between the two states.

Successor States

The Concordat has recently opened limited trade with the Federated Commonwealth, but a combination of domestic opposition in the Concordat and instability in the Commonwealth has left expansion of trade relations in limbo. The disruption may pose problems for the Protector, as it gives domestic opposition time to organize and gather force. The Federated Commonwealth government has expressed wholehearted support for the Taurian-Canopian alliance, but these assertions have done little to calm anti-Davion hardliners. As yet, most of the hardliners who hold government offices are supportive of their Protector in other areas, but their unease over the Davion issue eventually may prompt more widespread opposition unless the Protector can convince them to change their minds. The leading voice of the opposition, Lord Grover Shraplen of MacLeod's Land, argues that the Federated Commonwealth has designs on Concordat planets to replace those lost to the Clans, the Lyran Alliance, and the Marik-Liao invasion of the Sarna March. Lord Shraplen has raised some support on nearby border worlds, but has yet to amass any real power.

Trade with the Capellan Confederation remains relatively strong despite political frostiness; Taurian merchants see no reason to turn away from the lucrative Capellan market simply because high-level political relations have cooled.

The Free Worlds League has given Taurian diplomats a chilly reception on many matters, including trade relations. Captain-General Thomas Marik has sharply criticized the Treaty of Taurus, warning both the Concordat and the Magistracy that the League will meet any aggressive action on the part of the alliance with equal force. According to ROM operatives, the Captain-General fears that the Magestrix will enlist Taurian support in efforts to take back long-disputed planets awared to the Free Worlds League after the Reunification War. Some of our agents speculate that the Word of Blake is also influencing Marik against the Concordat; they distrust the Protector because he appears to favor ComStar over the Word of Blake.

Jeffrey Calderon has also opened diplomatic relations with the St. Ives Compact, possibly as a potential ally against the Capellan Confederation should Sun-Tzu Liao make any moves against the Concordat. The Protector and Duchess Candace Liao communicate often, and political rumor mills are rife with talk that the Duchess, the Protector, and Magestrix Emma Centrella will hold a summit sometime soon.

Periphery States

In addition to allying with the Magistracy of Canopus, the Concordat is also expanding relations with the Outworlds Alliance. Mitchell Avellar's poor nation is eager to widen its circle of friends among Periphery states, and the Concordat considers the Alliance a good investment. Jeffrey Calderon has authorized a limited economic aid package for the Alliance, and is actively encouraging Taurian industries to open factories and branch offices on Alliance planets. According to his closest advisors, the Protector's benevolence stems in part from his recognition of the debt the Concordat owes the Alliance for its help in improving the TDF's aerospace arm.

The Protector cut off all relations with the Marian Hegemony after that realm conquered the tiny Lothian League. Though the League was an independent nation, it was founded by Taurians and had maintained a special relationship with the Concordat ever since its inception. The Protector has publicly labeled the Marian Hegemony as "a pariah state with no regard for basic human rights," and makes no secret of his contempt for Caesar Sean O'Reilly.

ComStar and the Word of Blake

ComStar has retained control of all HPG facilities that existed in the Concordat at the time of the schism. Former Primus Waterly's misguided machinations fortunately did not extend to the Periphery states, and so ComStar's reformation occurred gradually and peacefully in most Periphery realms. Our Order has remained on reasonable terms with the Calderon government, and most of the citizens are at least tolerant toward ComStar personnel. A lingering distrust of anything smacking of the Inner Sphere remains, but ComStar's establishment of schools and training programs over the past three centuries have done much to lay such unfounded suspicion to rest.

Knowing that easy and swift communication with the Concordat's colonies is vital to their survival, the Protector asked ComStar to build HPG stations on recently settled worlds. Most of the newest HPGs are solidly in our control, though the Word of Blake has made inroads on some of the outlying colony worlds within the past year. Strangely enough, some colonial populations appear to regard the Word of Blake as the "real" ComStar precisely because they cling to the ritual and mysticism to which Periphery citizens have long been accustomed. There is no evidence, however, of widespread support for the Word of Blake's political agenda among the colonists.

Colonial Marshals

Among the major provisions of the Treaty of Taurus was the Lewis and Clark Project, an arrangement for hte joing colonization of new worlds by the Taurian Concordat and the Magistracy of Canopus. By pooling their financial and technological resources, the two Periphery states hoped to build thriving colonies on more planets than either realm could accomplish alone.

A major problem to be solved in the establishment of viable new colonies was maintaining planetary defenses and internal law and order. New colonies often become easy targets for pirates, and the joining of peoples from two different cultures posed potential social problems that the leaders of both Periphery nations were eager to avoid. In order to minimize the potential for friction between Taurian and Canopian colonists, the Magestrix and Protector created a new police force known as the Colonial Marshals.

Much like the Federal marshals of the Old West on ancient Terra, the Colonial Marshals are the lawmen who help keep a colony together and defend it against external threats. The Marshals are trained in the Magistracy at the newly established Canopian Institute of War and use BattleMechs provided by the Taurian Concordat. Both realms provide equal funding to the Marshals and citizens from either state may enlist.

In existence for barely a year, the Colonial Marshals are already beginning to achieve heroic status among citizens of both states. The men and women of this elite MechWarrior cadre have come to symbolize the spirit of cooperation between the Marshals' parent realms.

Taurian Concordat Force Listing

(Deployment as of 3058)

Note that * denotes a new colony.

Commander: Senior Marshal Jeffrey Calderon
Aide: Comptroller Patrick Sterling
Regular Mech Strength: 12 Regiments, 2 Battalions
Mercenary Mech Strength: 5 Regiments

The Taurian Guard
Commander: Marshal Brenda Calderon
Aide: Colonel Samantha McGrinn
Regular Mech Strength: 3 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 0 Regiments

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
The Taurian Guard
  (CO: Colonel Arthur Hedstrom)
     1st Battalion               Elite         0.33      Hyades Cluster
       (CO: Brigadier James Sterling)
     2nd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Taurus
       (CO: Brigadier Tamantha Marshall)
     3rd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Hyades Cluster  
       (CO: Brigadier Bradly Clayton)
The Taurian Velites
  (CO: Colonel William Heise)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Taurus
       (CO: Brigadier Charise Heiser)
     2nd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Hyades Cluster
       (CO: Brigadier Margaret Doru-Trudel)
     3rd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Aea *
       (CO: Brigadier Charles Calderon)
The Concordat Commandos
  (CO: Colonel Jacob Mornay)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Taurus
       (CO: Brigadier Jean Trudel)
     2nd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Diik *
       (CO: Brigadier William Renshaw)
     3rd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Grossbach
       (CO: Brigadier David Grenadine)

I Corps
Commander: Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Aide: Colonel Adam Beufort
Regular Mech Strength: 2 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 1 Regiment

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
The Concordat Jaegers
  (CO: Colonel Kai Shoguwa)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      New Vandenberg
       (CO: Brigadier Brigid Heckman)
     2nd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Pinard
       (CO: Brigadier Carol Trennouth)
     3rd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Burton
       (CO: Brigadier James Howard)
The Red Chasseurs
  (CO: Colonel Michael Griswald)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Landmark
       (CO: Brigadier Clarence Cheplak)
     2nd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Lastpost *
       (CO: Brigadier Gerald Dildine)
     3rd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Logan's End
       (CO: Brigadier Barbara Schmidt)
Gordon's Armored Cavalry
  (CO: Colonel Dick Gordon)
     Mitchell's Lancers          Veteran       0.33      Dicallus
       (CO: Brigadier Alberta Mitchell)
     Arrow's Chasseurs           Elite         0.33      Pinard  
       (CO: Brigadier Nathan Arrow)
     Simon's Banshees            Elite         0.33      New Vandenberg  
       (CO: Brigadier Carl Simon)

II Corps
Commander: Marshal Fiona Jamesen
Aide: Colonel Nim Chok Soo
Regular Mech Strength: 1 Regiment, 2 Battalions
Mercenary Mech Strength: 2 Battalions

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
The Concordat Cuirassiers
  (CO: Colonel Philip Canderson)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Organo
       (CO: Brigadier Joseph Timar)
     2nd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Perdition
       (CO: Brigadier Theresa Smalley)
     3rd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Atreus Prime
       (CO: Brigadier Lucynda Hecker)
The Hyades Light Infantry
  (CO: Colonel Tanis Verbret)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Jamestown
       (CO: Brigadier Mohammed Chakravarti)
     2nd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Brinton
       (CO: Brigadier Sarasvati Rinaldi)
Longwood's Bluecoats
  (CO: Colonel Moses Longwood)
     Mac's Hell-Raisers          Veteran       0.33      Perdition
       (CO: Major Belinda MacKelvy)
     Ivan's Marauders            Veteran       0.33      Euschelus       
       (CO: Major Ivan Tchorgin)

III Corps
Commander: Marshal Victoria Norman
Aide: Colonel Robert Taylor
Regular Mech Strength: 2 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 2 Battalions

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
The Pleiades Hussars
  (CO: Colonel Boris Tharn)
     1st Battalion               Regular       0.33      New Ganymede
       (CO: Brigadier Thomas Tepper)
     2nd Battalion               Green         0.33      Celentaro
       (CO: Brigadier Francis Whitten)
     3rd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Marknick *
       (CO: Brigadier Gene Lind)
1st Taurian Lancers
  (CO: Colonel Sergio McDaniel)
     1st Battalion               Regular       0.33      Norman's World
       (CO: Brigadier Sergio McDaniel)
     2nd Battalion               Green         0.33      Illiushin
       (CO: Brigadier Richard Ody)
     3rd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Laconis
       (CO: Brigadier Eric Hiner)
Bannockburn's Bandits
  (CO: Colonel Sylvia Bannockburn)
     Morgan's Lancers            Veteran       0.33      MacLeod's Land
       (CO: Major Katherine Morgan)
     Carter's Commandos          Regular       0.33      MacLeod's Land
       (CO: Major Isaac Carter)

IV Corps
Commander: Marshal Nelson Calderon-Sims
Aide: Colonel Dennis King
Regular Mech Strength: 2 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 0 Regiments

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
The Pleiades Lancers
  (CO: Colonel Alice Chainer)
     1st Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Althea's Choice
       (CO: Brigadier Florence Fowler)
     2nd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Cyrton
       (CO: Brigadier Robert Kosimic)
     3rd Battalion               Veteran       0.33      Organo
       (CO: Brigadier Melissa MacBeth)
2nd Taurian Lancers
  (CO: Colonel Darlene McKinnon)
     1st Battalion               Regular       0.33      Belle Isle *
       (CO: Brigadier Terence Sheffield)
     2nd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Flaum *
       (CO: Brigadier Phillip Gordon)
     3rd Battalion               Green         0.33      Argos *
       (CO: Brigadier William Sangrey)

V Corps
Commander: Marshal Walter Oehlerts
Aide: Colonel Elena Barkley
Regular Mech Strength: 0 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 2 Regiments

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
Vandelay's Valkyries             Regular         1       Amber Grove     
  (CO: Colonel Faith Vandelay)
The Lone Star Regiment           Veteran         1       Mithron 
  (CO: Colonel George Brown)

VI Corps
Commander: Marshal Cham Kithrong
Aide: Colonel Freda Dursten
Regular Mech Strength: 2 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 2 Battalions

Unit Name                        Experience   Regiments  Homeworld    
1st New Colony Lancers
  (CO: Colonel Floyd LaRue)
     1st Battalion               Green         0.33      Tyrrhenia *
       (CO: Brigadier )
     2nd Battalion               Green         0.33      Carthage *
       (CO: Brigadier )
     3rd Battalion               Regular       0.33      Erod's Escape *
       (CO: Brigadier )
Prey's Divisionals               Regular         1       New Vallis 
  (CO: Major J. "Bad Karma" Benderoth)
The Clean Kill                   Regular         1       Jansen's Hold 
  (CO: Major Phomes Bullard)
Protector's Pride
  (CO: Colonel Victor Thiry)
     1st Battalion               Green         0.33      Brisbane
       (CO: Brigadier Malcolm Cosby)
     2nd Battalion               Green         0.33      Sterope
       (CO: Brigadier Joe Kaaker)

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#include <stddiscl.h>

Will Day < wd@firstcircuit.net >
John Dutka < jdutka@pcnet.com >
Sep 24, 1996