Case APOLLO

Year: 3054-3058

Factions involved:

• Clan Goliath Scorpion
• Clan Jade Falcon
• Federated Commonwealth
• Snord Irregulars

Background

Clan Jade Falcon had taken Apollo, former capital of the Rim Worlds Republic, in early 3050. With a significant population and industrial base, it remained a wealthy world in the Inner Sphere and near Periphery. Clan Jade Falcon did not have many issues securing the world after taking it over, the population just happily continuing their daily lives, just under new management.

The world itself had been a constant place of discovery during the Succession Wars, with caches of equipment from the Star League and Rim Worlds Republic being found every few decades. While no military manufacturing remained on the world, the remnants of space facilities and ‘Mech yards existed all over. More importantly, however, was how close Apollo was to Camelot Command, a former Star League Naval Yard. This location had already been the theater of fights between the Jade Falcons and Snord’s Irregulars. The Irregulars had been a thorn in the Falcon’s side ever since.

Operation History

First blood

After the ascension of ilKhan Lynn McKenna, Clan Goliath Scorpion approached Clan Jade Falcon to setup an enclave on Apollo. This was categorically refused by Elias Critchell as the McKenna edicts were being drafted and passed around. As the regulations on trials and sharing space were not quite set in stone yet, the Goliath Scorpions turned to more tried-and-true Clan methods. On December 22^nd 3054, the CGS Auriga and CGS Hephaestus jumped in Apollo along with 6 Invader-class jumpships carrying the Hellion Galaxy.

The only defense left on Apollo at the time was a cluster of solahma warriors with limited supplies. The world having been viewed as “pacified”, the Falcons had not seen any real use to increase the defense on it after the local failure of Star Colonel Damon against Snord’s Irregulars. The Scorpions did not care much and bid the entire Hellion Galaxy in capturing the world, with its WarShips providing support. The fighting was quick and rather painful for the already disgraced Falcons, which were granted hegira after their command star was destroyed.

Politics by any other name

Clan Jade Falcon approached the ilKhan after the aggression of the Goliath Scorpion, but they were rebuffed immediately. Both parties were in the wrong in the eyes of Lynn McKenna, who had requested limited engagements between Clans and to openly share worlds when needed. The requested Trial of Refusal done by Vandervahn Chistu was not allowed by the ilKhan, but Khan Ariel Suvorov was also reprimanded and forced to provide the Falcons with replacement ‘Mechs for those lost in the battle on Apollo. This solidified the position of ilKhan McKenna as a “mediator” between the Clans while also enforcing her political ideas.

Archeologists and Seekers

The Seekers of Clan Goliath Scorpion started their work on Apollo as soon as the transfer of ownership was completed. Capitalizing on the local’s greed, they offered rewards (both in terms of money and in term of changes in caste) to anyone who would bring them information on Rim Worlds Republic or Star League archeological locations on the planet. While a lot of the information was useless or led to caches or facilities that had already been plundered during the Succession Wars, a few tips led to small discoveries including historical records, astrological survey stations and basic construction equipment caches.

A combination of all these tips led a Star of seekers to explore an abandoned desert on the planet, far from any human civilization. There, they found traces of Rim Worlds Republic facility which laid underground near an oasis. The first few attempts to enter the facility were prevented by advanced security encryption. A quest then ensued to try to find a survivor of the original staff of the facility to unlock the doors where the Scorpions had to go to all local worlds and finally found the family of the former owners on Wotan. Offered a position in the Goliath Scorpion’s Merchant caste, they agreed to unlock the facility.

There, the Seekers found a stockpile of Rim Worlds Republic BattleMechs, including the Jackrabbit, Phoenix and Rampage. The greater prize, however, was a mothballed automated factory including all the bells and whistles to produce advanced Star League-grade equipment. Over the course of the next two years, technicians and scientists from the Homeworlds relocated to Apollo and reactivated the facility to start production of second-line BattleMechs for the Clans.

A Snordid Affair

The next step in the Goliath Scorpion’s plan was to retake Camelot Command, a disaffected Star League naval base hiding in the Dark Nebula. The location was now common knowledge to everyone in the region as Snord’s Irregulars had made it one of their headquarters. While the facility was more or less abandoned and had no real value, it had been ignored by most local powers especially after Rhonda Snord defended it a few times against Clan aggressors.

In late 3057, Hellion Galaxy was again tasked by Khan Suvorov to take action. Dodging dangerous jump routes, they jumped to Camelot Command the same complement they had used to capture Apollo. There, they were met with Snord’s Irregular space defense team composed of crack aerospace fighter pilots, but also with members of the Eight Donegal Guards which had been sent there by Adam Steiner. The fight was brutal for both sides, but the Goliath Scorpions pulled ahead mostly due to their larger space combat force.

In a move which would anger the Jade Falcon, the Seekers granted hegira to both the Eight Donegal and Snord Irregulars to minimize the damage to Camelot Command facilities. The mercenaries retreated all the way back to Outreach, where they met up with Mackenzie Vickers, while the Donegal Guards returned to Melissia to report to their commander in chief. While they had not reactivated the yard, a lot of intelligence and technical material was pulled from the various memory cores, which was analysed by their new owners.

Another Fight with the Falcons

Clan Goliath Scorpion worked around the clock to bring back Camelot Command to operational status. The repairs done by the Federated Commonwealth and mercenaries had allowed the station to be habitable again, but none of the repair berths, construction equipment or such was available for use. Another massive local recruitment drive was done by the Scorpions to man the facilities and bring it back to a point where it could service various Clan ships.

This combination of things angered Clan Jade Falcon, who had wanted to chase down and destroy Rhonda Snord’s unit. More in line with the current guidelines, Elias Critchell challenged Khan Suvorov to a Trial of Possession over Camelot Command, and both sides fought on the station with a Star of OmniMechs. In the end, there was only 1 survivor left, Star Commander Heris of Clan Goliath Scorpion. Against all odds,

Khan Suvorov did open access to Camelot Command to all Clans if they were ready to pitch in the repairs and restoration of the yard. By the end of 3058, the naval yard could manufacture basic repair materials for WarShips, along with various naval missiles and torpedoes to allow reloading. Clan Star Adder and Clan Snow Raven both provided protection for the yard with their own WarShips, while the CGS Haphaestus made it its permanent base.