![[TARUIAN LOGO]](/comstar/gif/tc2.gif)
The Taurian Concordat began as a desperate venture into the unexplored space of the Hyades Cluster. Beyond the reach of Inner Sphere governments, the Calderon expedition colonized mineral-rich worlds and quickly transformed them into centers of political and social equality. In turn, these worlds attracted thousands of refugees uprooted by wars in the Inner Sphere.
As early as the mid-24th century, the Taurians were forced to fight aggressors from the Inner Sphere. The Concordat maintained a tense state of armed neutrality in the Age of War but, unlike its Inner Sphere counterparts, it also devoted a major portion of its resources toward improving life for its citizens. On occasion, the success of the Taurian way of life benefited the Inner Sphere as well, as when the Federated Suns revamped its educational system along Taurian lines in the first decade of the new millennium.
In the late 26th century, the Taurians were forced to fight for two decades against Star League forces during the Reunification War. Though eventually battered into submission, the Taurians never renounced their dream of a free and independent state. After two centuries of increasingly harsh rule under the Star League, the Taurians revolted in the latter half of the 28th century. With the fall of the League and the start of the Succession Wars, the Taurians became free of interference from the House Lords of the Inner Sphere, and their independence has grown stronger.
In the last two centuries, however, the Taurians have had to defend themselves against foreign invasion from another part of space. Because of clashes with the Magistracy of Canopus over disputed border worlds, as well as incursions by renegade mercenary units and pirates, the Concordat is obliged to maintain a large and efficient military.
With the rise of the Far Lookers, a philosophical sect advocating the exploration of space beyond its charted limits, the Concordat has expanded its borders, settling worlds beyond the notice of the rapacious Inner Sphere. ComStar is unsure of how many worlds have been settled so far, although we can be sure that none of them is sufficiently developed to be incorporated into the Concordat itself. No significant benefits have come to the Concordat from these new colonies as yet, but the potential of unexplored space is, as we all know from experience, unlimited. Some estimates have indicated that when the new map of the Concordat is drawn, it may be comparable in size to the Capellan Confederation, though nowhere near as densely populated.
Nobles have few material advantages compared to their Inner Sphere counterparts, a condition unique to the Concordat social structure. This mirrors the Taurian social concept that an enlightened aristocracy provides the greatest good to the greatest number. Specific titles are similar to those used in the Successor States.
![[*]](/comstar/gif/tauriancon.gif)
strength of the Concordat may be the dedication its government has shown to
ensuring individual rights. In doing so, it has eschewed the short-term
benefits of the police state (law and order, simplified governmental
structure) in favor of the greater creativity and productivity of people
allowed to follow their own inclinations. Indeed, this may be the greatest
single reason that the Concordat continues to be a growing, healthy entity
despite the depredations of the Succession Wars. In light of this, the
uneasiness many Taurians feel about the growing power of the Concordat
Constabulary is understandable.
The Concordat government has taken on problems that it might have avoided, however. The other side of the exploration issue, for example, is that it is a gamble. Though the potential of new colonies may eventually bring in greater wealth for the Taurian people and greater power to the government, the Concordat may be overextending itself, creating indefensible borders and expending enormous sums on colonies that may never pay off.
All in all, the Taurians are playing a dangerous game. Their continued growth could one day make them a new superpower, but it also makes them a more tempting target in the here and now.
In the last century, two philosophical creeds, the Far Lookers and the Inheritors, have gained prominence in the Concordat. Both owe their growth to the Calderon family, and both seek to establish a pragmatic approach to daily life in the Periphery.
The creed of the Far Lookers suggests that life in the Periphery should not be as static as it has been. Just as the original founders of the Periphery states settled the Taurian Concordat, so, too, the Far Lookers insist, should contemporary Taurians explore new worlds at the edge of the known galaxy. They argue that expanding the boundaries of the state is necessary to keep it vital and strong. As one of the few Periphery states with the resources and a sufficiently integrated economy to do so, the Taurian Concordat is more likely than any other to move in the direction the Far Lookers suggest.
The Inheritors accept the philosophical premises of the Far Lookers, but they go one step farther. The Inheritors posit that the age of the Inner Sphere is over, and that Humanity is on the verge of a galaxy-wide cataclysm. When this happens, the Inheritors predict that the enlightened peoples of the Periphery will pick up the pieces, resettling and repopulating the Inner Sphere to bring about a new and more vibrant social order.
Dress uniforms within the TDF correspond to standard uniform styles, with silver sashes and white gloves for all enlisted ranks and gold sashes and white gloves for officers. Marshals of the Concordat are further denoted by gold lanyards on both shoulders.
Recruit
By Concordat-wide law, all individuals, male and female, are required at age
18 to join the TDF. Planetary geographical districts (cantons) assemble
individuals into provisional training battalions. Each Recruit receives 18
weeks of basic training before being assigned to a unit in the field. A
silver pip with an empty center serves as this rank's insignia.
Corporal
In infantry formations, Corporals serve as maniple leaders, one maniple
consisting of five troopers, with two maniples to a squad. In armor units,
Corporals are tank commanders. In all other services, the rank denotes a
junior position involving one or more specialist positions. A silver pip
with a ruby center denotes the rank of Corporal, who wears his insignia on
his left lapel.
Section Leader
Section Leaders in the TDF infantry are squad commanders, while in Taurian
armor units, they command a maniple of two armored fighting vehicles (three
maniples to a lance). In all other services, the rank denotes senior
specialist positions. Section Leaders wear a single silver bull's horn with
an empty senter as a rank insignia.
Force Sergeant
A Force Sergeant commands a platoon of 25 men (two squads). In TDF armor
units, a Force Sergeant commands an armor lance of three maniples (six
vehicles). This rank is also used to denote junior AeroSpace Pilots in the
Taurian AeroSpace Arm. A single silver bull's horn with a ruby center
denotes the rank of Force Sergeant.
Lance Sergeant
A Lance Sergeant serves as assistant platoon leader to a Cornet officer. In
armor units, he acts as assistant company commander to a Sub-Altern. In the
AeroSpace Arm, Lance Sergeants are pilots in charge of an air lance. Two
silver bull's horns with an empty center denotes this rank.
Battalion Chief-Sergeant/Air Master
Battalion Chief-Sergeants are the senior battalion NCOs in all Taurian
ground units. The equivalent rank of Air Master is used in the AeroSpace
Arm to denote junior flight commanders controlling two air lances. The
insignia for both ranks is two silver bull's horns with a ruby center.
Cornet
The Cornet is the lowest-ranking junior officer in the TDF. Cornets serving
in ground units typically act as company commanders. Aboard ship, they are
assistant department heads, and in the AeroSpace Arm, they command a wing of
two air lances. In BattleMech units, Cornets serve as MechWarriors. A
gold pip with an empty center on the lapel denotes the Cornet.
Subaltern/AirMaster, Junior Grade
Subalterns are battalion commanders in the Taurian ground forces and
assistant commanders of air divisions (consisting of two wings of four
lances each) in the AeroSpace Arm. In BattleMech units, Subalterns command
lances of four BattleMechs. Air Masters, junior grade, act as department
heads aboard naval vessels. Subalterns wear a gold pip with a ruby center
as a rank insignia.
Brigadier/Air Master, Senior Grade
Brigadiers act as regimental executive officers. Often, they lead commands
of four or more companies into battle, depending on assigned mission tasks.
Senior grade Air Masters command an aerospace corps consisting of three
aerospace wings. The insignia for both ranks is single gold bull's horn with
an empty center.
Colonel/Space Master
A Colonel is a senior regimental commander. Space Masters act as ship
captains aboard Taurian naval vessels. All officers of this rank wear a
single gold bull's horn with a ruby center as a rank insignia.
Comptroller/Commodore
A purely organizational rank, the Comptroller belongs to senior command and
planning staff found at the corps level. In certain circumstances, a
Comptroller may be delegated to command a regiment or part of a regiment for
special missions. Commodores command demi-squadrons, which are a collection
of naval vessels assembled according to the dictates of specific mission
requirements. Two gold bull's horns with an empty center denotes this rank.
Marshal
At present, there are five Marshals in the Concordat military, one
commanding each corps. Two gold bull's horns with a ruby center denotes
this rank.
Senior Marshal
Senior Marshal, a hereditary rank given to the Protector in his role as
Commander-in-Chief, is denoted by a gold bull's head.
In addition, the Constabulary retains the services of a special Engineer Company (125 men) on each planet outside the Hyades Cluster. These individuals are charged with maintaining planetary defenses and fortifications. All Constabulary units also maintain at least one company of armor in the capital of each inhabited world.
Viewing itself largely as a servant of the people, the Taurian government has traditionally refrained from censoring its media, even in time of war. Throughout the Concordat, individuals retain the right to free expression without the threat of government intervention, as long as such expression cannot be proven libelous. The average Taurian can expect free medical care, old age pensions, and a living allowance. There are also guaranteed death benefits to surviving family members at the government's expense.
Like most free societies throughout history, the Taurian Concordat has been inconsistent about producing major artists. One generation may see a flowering of great visual artists, followed by a generation of great writers. Currently, there is a renaissance of novelists producing exceptional work. Unlike most such artistic trends, the Taurian novelists are not part of a single movement, but have divided themselves into two camps, the Realists and the Futurists. The Realists advocate essentially the same principles as other such movements in the past, whereas the Futurists tend more toward symbolic representations of realistic situations, some of which are almost hallucinogenic in their intensity. Debate surrounding these two schools of writing have spread to literati as far away as New Avalon, Atreus, and the Outworlds Alliance.
Much of the Concordat's private sector operates on the profit motive, but with curious limitations. Though trade is encouraged with Periphery neighbors, the Taurians have drastically curtailed their trade with the Successor States, viewing such trade as politically undesirable. Consequently, the Taurians often suffer from a lack of venture capital for investment in local industries. Despite this, renewed colonization along the edge of the Periphery by government and private concerns may yield enough new raw materials to stimulate the economy.
Thomas Calderon, Protector of the Concordat, has become increasingly paranoid about the safety of his realm. Most observers point to the death of his eldest son, Edward Calderon, in a DropShip accident in 3034 as the reason for his mental decline. Though Thomas Calderon always considered the Federated Suns to be the major threat to his realm, the unification of House Davion and House Steiner thoroughly terrifies him, as did the Canopus-Andurien alliance.
His fears have led to even greater tensions with his neighbors, especially the Federated Suns. In 3042, a commercial freighter registered in the Federated Suns made a misjump into the Landmark star system. Aeropilots from the Red Chasseurs of the Taurian Defense Forces overreacted and destroyed the ship before it could identify itself. In 3045, the now-defunct mercenary company Dedrickson's Devils raided the Concordat world of Pinard. Though the Devils were under contract to House Davion, they had gone renegade over a pay dispute, a fact later verified by a ComStar Board of Inquiry. Thomas Calderon, however, considered it an attack by the AFFS.
In December 3049, he ordered the Taurian Defense Forces on alert. He was certain that the Federated Commonwealth was using the Future Victor 49 military exercises being held near Lindsay and Brockway on the Concordat border as cover for an invasion of the Concordat. The TDF has been on alert ever since.
Marshal Hadji Doru is Calderon's chief political opponent. A handsome man and an eloquent speaker, he has been using his position as commander of the Taurian Guard to gain support. The Marshal believes in the wisdom of military preparedness, but he believes an even better defense against the Federated Commonwealth would be to make the Concordat a major economic and trading interest of that great state.
Protector Thomas Calderon has yet to move against Marshal Doru, but a confrontation seems inevitable.
Widespread opposition to Thomas Calderon's actions in response to the Federated Commonwealth's "Victor 49" exercises intensified in the opening months of 3050, when rumors of an invasion on the other side of the Inner Sphere began filtering into the Concordat. The abrupt departure of the Victor 49 units gave credence to the rumors, and made a mockery of Thomas's insistence that disaster lay just around the corner.
The Clan invasion did nothing to alter Thomas's conviction that the Federated Commonwealth intended to attack his realm. The Protector dismissed Taurian intelligence reports of underdefended Davion border worlds as a ruse intended to make the Concordat let down his guard. As the months passed, Thomas became convinced that the rumors of the Clans were an elaborate trick devised by Hanse Davion. He expounded on this theory to anyone who would listen, including the Capellan ambassador to the Concordat. Hoping to persuade Thomas into an eventual alliance with the Capellan Confederation against the Federated Commonwealth, Chancellor Romano Liao and her son Sun-Tzu sent him frequent messages allegedly proving that the Clan invasion was a plot to fool the Concordat.
Beginning in 3051, opposition to the Protector's policies found its most eloquent voice in Marshal Hadji Doru, commander of the Taurian Guard. A brilliant speaker, Marshal Doru revealed Thomas's policies for the madness they were, and prompted widespread doubt among many who had once been the Protector's staunch supporters. Factions in Taurian society who had long since opposed the Protector looked to Marshal Doru as a potential savior; they believed he would soon take concrete action to stop Thomas, and assumed he would also willingly replace Jeffrey Calderon should the heir-apparent prove to be a chip off the old block. Throughout the early 3050s Marshal Doru gained his greatest support among the Taurian Defense Force, many of whom had grown tired of the constant vigilance against a war that never came. Thomas, completely paranoid by this time, refused to answer the marshal's accusations; the only thing preventing him from clapping Doru in prison for treason was his inability to decide whom to trust with the task. Katherine and Janice Calderon pleaded for calm, but their words fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Calderon stayed out of the dispute and quietly pursued his own agenda for the Concordat.
Throughout 3053 and 3054, Jeffrey Calderon engaged in secret negotiations with Emma Centrella, the Magestrix of the Magistracy of Canopus. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before intense political opposition forced his father from power, Jeffrey was determined to lay the groundwork for the Concordat's future prosperity. He believed that the Concordat's interests could best be served by a formal alliance with the Magistracy of Canopus, which he hoped would counteract the insidious power plays of the Capellan Confederation. Unlike Thomas, Jeffrey saw Capellan interferance rather than Federated Commonwealth military power as the greatest threat to the Concordat's freedom. Emma Centrella welcomed the prospect of alliance with another large and relatively stable state, for she saw the advantage of creating a united front large enough to dissuade foreign invasion and understood the potential for economic improvements.
In early 3055, members of the Ministry of Trade and Colonization stormed a meeting of the Protector's advisory Privy Council. They demanded that the Protector end civilian conscription for planetary-defense construction; order the Taurian Defense Force to stand down from alert status and ease trade restructions that had been passed to fill military coffers; and redirect a significant portion of the overinflated military budget toward colonization. Outraged, Thomas refused. The ministers then threatened to appeal to the Court of Judicial Review, charging the Protector with unacceptable violations of civil liberties.
After the ministers' departure, Thomas ordered Marshal Doru to send the Taurian Guard to arrest them. Marshal Doru refused. Before the startled Protector could take any action against him, Doru informed his troops of the incident and declared the Protector no longer fit to govern. Accompanied by select members of the Taurian Guards' Second Battalion, Marshal Doru took Thomas into protective custody. He then went alone to the Calderon family residence and reported his actions to Katherine, Janice, and Jeffrey. The marshal ended his account with an impassioned plea for Jeffrey to assume the throne before Thomas's various opponents could take advantage of the situation. With a little additional persuasion from Janice, who was far too ill to cope with the stresses of ruling, Jeffrey agreed.
Some days later, the day after his twenty-ninth birthday, Jeffrey Calderon announced his accession to the Concordat at large. Janice was at his side, making a rare public appearance. In an emotional address, Janice admitted that her condition made it impossible to carry out the tasks of governing an interstellar nation. She asked that all Taurians give their loyalty and support to Jeffrey, whom she would serve as an advisor. This speech, plus widespread disillusion with Thomas, ensured the peaceful transition of power to the new Protector. In his first official act, he appointed Janice Calderon as his senior advisor. Privately, he also offered to make Marshal Doru Minister of Defense. The Marshal refused the appointment, however, saying that he had no wish to become a potential magnet for the political opposition or wild conspiracy theories that might threaten the stability of the realm.
Marshal Doru resigned his commission and left the Concordat not long after Jeffrey's accession. Hehas since been seen on Indicass in the St. Ives Compact, where he reportedly boarded a trading vessel scheduled to stop in the Federated Commonwealth and Capellan Confederation. What he plans to do and where he plans to go remain unknown.
As for Thomas Calderon, reliable eports indicate that he suffered a massive strike within weeks of being taken into protective custody. He lingered, bedridden and unable to speak, for eight months before dying in his sleep in early 3056.
Commander: Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon
Aide: Marshal Patrick Sterling
Regular Mech Strength: 10 Regiments, 2 Battalions
Mercenary Mech Strength: 4 Regiments, 1 Battalion
The Taurian Guard
Commander: Marshal Hadji Doru
Aide: Colonel Katherine Hamilton
Regular Mech Strength: 3 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 0 Regiments
Unit Name Experience Regiments Homeworld
The Taurian Guard Elite 0.33 Hyades Cluster
Veteran 0.33 Hyades Cluster
Veteran 0.33 Taurus
(CO: Colonel Samantha McGrinn)
The Taurian Velites Veteran 0.33 Taurus
Veteran 0.66 Hyades Cluster
(CO: Colonel William Heise)
The Concordat Commandos Veteran 0.66 Taurus
Veteran 0.33 Grossbach
(CO: Colonel Jacob Mornay)
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 Veteran 0.33 New Vandenberg
Veteran 0.33 Pinard
Veteran 0.33 Burton
(CO: Colonel Kai Shoguwa)
The Red Chasseurs Regular 0.33 Landmark
Regular 0.33 Brisbane
Veteran 0.33 Logan's End
(CO: Colonel Michael Griswald)
Gordon's Armored Cavalry Veteran 0.33 Dicallus
Veteran 0.33 Pinard
Elite 0.33 New Vandenberg
(CO: Colonel Dick Gordon)
II Corps
Commander: Marshal Fiona Jamesen
Aide: Colonel Nim Chok Soo
Regular Mech Strength: 2 Regiments
Mercenary Mech Strength: 1 Regiment
Unit Name Experience Regiments Homeworld
The Concordat Cuirassiers Veteran 0.33 Organo
Veteran 0.33 Perdition
Regular 0.33 Atreus Prime
(CO: Colonel Philip Canderson)
The Hyades Light Infantry Veteran 0.33 Jamestown
Veteran 0.33 Brinton
(CO: Colonel Tanis Verbret)
Longwood's Bluecoats Veteran 0.33 Perdition
Veteran 0.33 Euschelus
(CO: Colonel Moses Longwood)
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 Regular 0.33 New Ganymede
Green 0.66 Celentaro
(CO: Colonel Boris Tharn)
1st Taurian Lancers Regular 0.33 Norman's World
Green 0.33 Illiushin
Green 0.33 Laconis
(CO: Colonel Sergio McDaniel)
Bannockburn's Bandits Veteran 0.33 MacLeod's Land
Regular 0.33 MacLeod's Land
(CO: Colonel Sylvia Bannockburn)
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 Veteran 0.33 Althea's Choice
Green 0.33 Cyrton
Regular 0.33 Organo
(CO: Colonel Cham Krithorng)
2nd Taurian Lancers Regular 0.33 New Ganymede
Green 0.33 New Vallis
Green 0.33 Jansen's Hold
(CO: Colonel Darlene McKinnon)
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)
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#include
<stddiscl.h>
Will Day < wd