Star league sourcebook pdf

Quote from: ColBosch on 25 April , Frabby Major Posts: That article is misleading. The ComStar sourcebook isn't vaporware, it was just delayed. It really came out at a far more appropriate point, after Focht "opened the archives. Also, FASA code originally appeared on company order forms around as "BattleMechs: 16 plastic miniatures" or variants thereof ; whether this was changed to for PlasTech or there were plans for a different boxed set is lost to history. If it was to be a different selection of 'Mechs, that would at least explain the eclectic mix found in PlasTech.

But the book that everyone claimed they 'held in their hands' before the was never a FASA product.. Quote from: SteelRaven on 25 April , Doesn't help when you have a rumor mill turning it into a urban myth. I seen it with my own eyes! Quote from: Tymers Realm on 25 April , I don't see the Record Sheet books. Looking for an official answer?

Check the Catalyst Interaction Forums. Everyone else's job is easy, so tell them how to do it, everyone loves that!

Millard Fillmore's favorite BattleTech writer. Unequalled levels of technology, human rights, and prosperity were reached. Planets bent to the will of man, as terraforming and weather control became both possible and economical. Agro-technology fed billions. The average human lifespan was extended to standard years by medical science.

But those same advances carried a curse, for the engines of war from the Star League era possessed power unequalled in the Successor States today. And in that time of great deeds stood the greatest warrior of all time, Aleksandr Kerensky. The Star League is a ComStar document detailing the history, commerce, organization, and military campaigns of mankind's finest moment, and the tragic failures that doomed it.

This item has been added to your Favorites. Created by. Category: Story or Lore. Languages: English. Guide Index. Terran Alliance. Timeline: Politics Of Colonization. Swamp Fever. James McKenna. Interview With The Admiral. The Zoli Affair. Time For A Change. A New Charter. Terra's Errant Flock. Battle Of Thorin's Shores. Viciousness On Ingress. Interrealm Relations. The Syrma Ambush. Death Of James McKenna.

Rise Of The Camerons. Michael Victorious. Government And Science. Famous Camerons. The New Nobility. Lady Margaret Cameron. The Age Of War. Brian Cameron. Judith Cameron. Joint-Ownership Of Worlds. Civilized Warfare. Richard Cameron. Castle Brian Fortresses. Jacob Cameron. First Combat Run. The Decadent Camerons. Deborah Cameron. Hegemony In Crisis. September Revolt. An Unwelcome Trip. One Species, One Realm.

Fateful Andurien. Sign Of The Times. Birth Of The Star League. Secret Negotiations. Preamble To Star League Accords.

Interstellar Relations. Lord Ian And Lady Shandra. The New Order. The Stellar Court. Organizing The Military. Attitude Toward The Periphery. Prelude To War. United Triumph Military Exercises. Sparks Of Santiago. Malagrotta Crisis. Loss Of Face. Pollux Proclamation. Text Of The Pollux Proclamation, Reunification War. Declaration Of Independence.

The Taurian Campaign. Desperate Measures. Horrors Of War. Outworlds Alliance War. War Against Canopus. Rim Worlds War. Postwar Era. Not So Bad. A New First Lord. Leonard's Folly. Economic And Scientific Advances. Other Major Technological Breakthroughs. General Joseph Cameron. Council Edict Peace And Prosperity. First Hidden War. Urizen's Scheme. Famous Star League Gunslingers. Terra's Importance. Mysterious Disaster Ends Trailblazer Mission. Military Renaissance. Seer Or Madman?

Mother Jocasta. Mary And Soto. Second Hidden War. Surrogate First Lord. Simon Cameron. Trouble In The Periphery. Enemies Once More. Peace Mission, Declining Tourism. Death Of Simon Cameron. Was Simon Cameron Murdered? Era Of Decline. Kerensky's Early Years. Rising Through The Ranks.

Hidden Realities. Fables And Fairy Tales. Amaris The Schemer. Vultures Gather. Cult Of The Saints Cameron. Birthday Proclamation. Periphery Uprising. On The Question Of Nobility. Coming Of Age. Amaris And Kerensky. New Vandenberg. Year Of A Thousand Battles. Setting The Trap. Periphery Mobilization. Kerensky's Flight. The Amaris Coup.

Conquest Of The Hegemony. Throne Room Massacre. The Kurita Hostages. Warriors Without A Home. Rim Worlds Campaign. Admiral Braso's Last Transmission. Preparations And Negotiations. Volunteer Regiments. Hegemony Campaign. New Strategies. Liberation Of Terra. The Launch. Kerensky's Return. The Drop. Invasion Of North America. End Of The Star League. Protector Of The Realm.

Storm Inhibitors. The Exodus. Those Who Stayed Behind. Sociopolitical Structure. First Lord. The Cameron Star. Author: Boy F. Peterson, Jr. In this era, all of occupied space became united under a single political, economic, and military aegis—a feat that almost defies the imagination. For most of the period, peace ruled the Inner Sphere as well as the distant Periphery worlds, allowing science and technology to reach unsurpassed heights.

The League was doomed, however. With its collapse, Humanity entered the period of continuous warfare that we know as the Succession Wars. This volume is the most complete and accurate sourcebook ever compiled on the rise and fall of the Star League.

Commissioned ten years ago by the First Circuit, this recently completed study represents the work of more than historians, researchers, writers, and editors. Though much documentation has been lost in the centuries of war that followed the collapse of the Star League, ComStar is probably the only contemporary agency with the resources to piece together the history of the League.

Though we could not hope to include every fact uncovered, this volume does provide a thorough introduction to the most important people, places, and events. The section on the Star League military is also the first representation of what made the Star League Defense Forces the most powerful military in the universe. We have also attempted to resolve contradictions or errors of fact that have crept into previous volumes. His own motives for founding the League are a curious mixture of lofty dreams and a desire for power, as were the motives that persuaded most of the other member states to join.

Idealism and ambition made for strange bedfellows, and the contradictions between them would eventually bring down the dream of peace and prosperity known as the Star League. In these fantasies, the men and women of the Star League seem larger than life-smarter, wiser, and more beautiful than ordinary mortals. Even war becomes a more heroic, tidy affair in such a seemingly golden age.

Instead of conjuring images of lost lives and smoking ruins, one imagines Star League warriors basking in glory and the losers dying politely out of sight. Another common misconception about the Star League is that it sprang fully formed from the mind of Ian Cameron, the legendary figure who made the League a political reality.

It is true that he was a brilliant and charismatic visionary, but the roots of the Star League trace even further back to Terra, when the homeworld had become a battlefield of nations armed with barbaric nuclear weapons. Founded in the 21st century, the Alliance was the first successful attempt to mold whole nations, each with its own personal aims, into a single political entity.

Next came the Terran Alliance, followed by the Terran Hegemony, each contributing to the eventual birth of the Star League. This chronicle would also be incomplete if it did not give considerable space to the Camerons and others whose actions—for better or worse—shaped the Star League. Long before the Kearny-F u c h i d a hyperdrive made interplanetary travel an everyday occurrence, Terra lay on the brink of total ruin.

Two major superpowers, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, vied for domination of the planet, with each willing to risk almost anything short of all-out war for their goals. Though the two sides claimed to represent different political ideologies, both suffered from chronic corruption and internal conflicts. The internal fighting soon became so violent that it spread to other nations under Soviet control. When the Poles staged an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow their longtime oppressors, the Soviets brutally stamped out the rebellion.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, leaders of the West felt compelled to intervene. After liberating Czechoslovakia and Poland, the military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization launched a daring invasion of the Soviet Union by way of the newly independent Latvian port of Riga. Their opponents were fanatical Soviet conservatives willing to die to the man. The liberal faction became allies because they were more interested in defeating the conservatives than fighting the NATO forces.

With the victory of the Soviet liberals, peace was restored. The costs were heavy, however, including the chemical destruction of Riga by a Conservative Soviet Army division. The United States now stood unopposed as the strongest nation in the world.

The arrangement was similar to the way conglomerates organize their many divisions, and most members viewed it as the most equitable way to combine developed and undeveloped economies.

The poor nations were especially supportive of the plan. It was only after the fledgling Western Alliance threatened a boycott of all American products and resources that the superpower agreed to join. Certain nations, such as the seven new ones created out of the breakup of the USSR, eventually joined the Alliance as full members after a probationary period.

One of the first acts of the new government was the creation of the Western Alliance Armed Forces, a military that would differ from previous multinational armies. The WAAF was conceived as a single military under a single command structure and supplied with standard weapons and equipment produced by all member-nations. Though the economic advantages of this arrangement were obvious, many people doubted whether a truly multinational force could fight efficiently.

It was not long before more and more nations began to seek the important benefits of membership in the Western Alliance. Because this was an era of relative peace, resources were being poured into scientific research to improve the quality of life rather than into production of bigger and better weapons. Under the Alliance treaties, science and technology was shared among member-nations, leading to the quick and democratic spread of new ideas and equipment.

In recognition of its global status, the Alliance changed its name to the Terran Alliance. At about the same time, it cast off most of its previously benevolent attitude. At this point in history, Alliance formulas for admitting and governing nations had evolved into a mass of incredibly complex equations.

Those formulas left poorer member-states feeling slighted, overburdened, and victimized because they were paying too much for too little in return. Strikes and violence became common as the people of the poorer nations struggled with the rich nations for social and economic equality.

Despite this chronic situation, the Terran Media was more concerned with stories of amazing new scientific discoveries than with news of ruinous wars. The mass production of fusion reactors one-tenth the size of previous reactors made possible many important technical advancements.

Operating costs had also been drastically cut, making atomic power very inexpensive. All of these scientific discoveries paled in significance with the rediscovery of Kearny-F u c h i d a Pan-Dimensional Gravitational Mathematics in This breakthrough in Einsteinian physics seemed to suggest that if a hyperspatial field could be created around an object possessing mass, that object could travel instantaneously to a distant location.

Through an intensive, top-priority research effort known as the Deimos Project, Alliance scientists developed the first faster-than-light space ship powered by the Kearny-F u c h i d a Stardrive.

After this triumph, Alliance shipyards tooled up to mass-produce colony and exploration ships in large numbers. Though there was considerable wrangling and even violence among member-nations over how to pay for these new Jumpships and who should be able to use them, most agreed that they should be built. The Kearny-F u c h i d a drive freed a long-buried urge to exploration among the people of Terra.

Now that it was possible to leave the homeworld and the entire Sol system for unseen worlds and uncharted lands, thousands, then millions, began to leap at the chance. In , the First Grand Survey reported that there were more than Human-colonized worlds spread across a sphere 80 light years in diameter. Just 63 years later, the Fourth Grand Survey recorded more than colonies.

These representatives formally dissolve the USSR and create seven independent Russian States in a loose confederation. The reactor exceeds all expectations. The two scientists are laughed out of their jobs and their profession. Many generations later, the descendants of this marriage will rule one of the largest and most powerful interstellar realms. General Motors patents first commercially available fusion reactor. This action is seen as a direct threat to the Western Alliance.

International tensions escalate. The Japanese government collapses. Public sentiment is split evenly between the two alliances. The Emperor of Japan assumes temporary control and imposes rationing.

He requests major assistance from the Western Alliance. It is composed of ships from both the U. The submarine, the USS Bremerton , sinks with all hands. The Chinese cruiser opens fire.

In the subsequent battle, the two Japanese ships destroy the Iron Flower , but not before the Akagi is sunk. The Emperor frees the Japanese Defense Force from its strict rules of engagement.

Western Alliance forces in the Free Russian States and in the member-states of India are placed on a war footing.

The accord provides for the entry of Japan, China, and the Korean States into the Western Alliance, with the proviso that they retain the power to resolve some regional questions without need for Alliance approval. He and his wife, Katherine Kurita, set up a small stationery and oragami supply shop in the poorer section of Tokyo. If the urge to explore new lands and see new sights called men and women to wander far from Terra, the growing political chaos within the Terran Alliance was the force pushing at them from behind.

The Terran Alliance, which was unprepared for the discovery or ramifications of the Kearny-F u c h i d a drive, was equally unprepared to govern people light years away from the mother planet. At first, there was not much problem. The early colonists were usually small groups so totally dependent on Terra for technical support that they willingly complied with any Alliance government demands.

As the colonies began to swell in size, it was inevitable that many became self-sufficient. This led to tensions between the colonies and the Alliance government over the issue of local authority versus allegiance to the power of the motherworld.

That situation changed in with the formation of the Ryan Cartel and its fleet of iceberg-toting JumpShips. With a reliable source of water, frontier worlds could now support many more people and so quickly become independent of Terra. The tension and distrust between Terra and her colonies increased measurably. In the Alliance capital of Geneva, the struggle eventually polarized an already weak governing body into two main political parties, the Expansionists and the Liberals, each claiming moral superiority for their position.

The Expansionists believed in the authority of the State over everyone, including men and women light years away. The development of the hyperdrive had swept their party into the Prime Ministry in the early 22nd century, and they had remained in power ever since.

The Expansionists had no qualms about using force to achieve their aims and had often sent in the Alliance military to put down unrest in rebellious Terran nations. The Liberals, on the other hand, were earning the reputation for being saints with horns. With every year spent out of power, they seemed to become more radical. Though they claimed to believe in the goodness of every individual, the Liberals gradually adopted the tough tactics of the Expansionists to regain power.

Opportunity knocked in when a coalition of colonies at the far edge of Human expansion declared their independence from the Alliance. The Expansionists wanted to severely punish the coalition, but unfortunately for them, the Alliance Global Militia was less an army than a heavily armed police. Only the Colonial Marines, a small branch of the Militia, was equipped with the resources for a journey to the rebellious worlds. Confident that the Marines could handle a few disgruntled rebels, the Expansionist government was staking all its credibility on the venture.

Denebola, a distant colony that had been the first to declare its independence, was the first target on a long list of worlds that the Marines were to force back into the fold. Eighteen months later, the Colonial Marines returned to Terra in disgrace. Where they had expected to find only a few disgruntled rebels, they had been met by large, highly motivated armies instead.

Though not well-equipped, the rebel forces outnumbered and outmaneuvered the Marines, who often arrived at the rebel worlds without proper maps or other reconnaissance. Losses were high on both sides, but the Marines lacked the means to transport reinforcements or adequate supplies from Terra.

Faced with the prospect of ignominious defeat, they withdrew. The Liberals quickly gained the support of other dissident groups and formed a coalition to take power away from the Expansionists.

Until now, the public had been apathetic about colonial events. Except for people who had relatives on the frontier, the colonies were of little interest except as a source of sensational stories about bizarre new lifeforms. A few months earlier, most citizens had never even considered leaving Terra. Now many were frightened and angry that the government wanted to deprive them of the right.

Many suddenly switched their support to the Liberals who now enjoyed an unprecedented majority. The Liberals swept the elections of Though the Expansionist Prime Minister was not obligated to step down, the opposition was so overwhelming that she had little choice but to resign. For the first time in decades, the Liberals were in power. They wasted little time in changing the direction of Alliance governmental policies. First, they granted independence to all worlds beyond a small sphere of space radiating out from Terra.

The problem was that the party leaders did not stop to inquire whether many of these colonies actually wanted independence. Some Liberals felt a sense of righteousness almost akin to the abolition of slavery in earlier centuries, while others believed that the colonies should be responsible for their own well-being.

By , the borders of the Alliance had shrunk to a sphere with a radius of only 30 light years. I take my iceship, the Loving Woman , and load up on pieces of ice that workers in mules break off from the main chunk that the JumpShip brings in.

The ice is stored in my ship and I ferry it to the planet. This trip, my landing point was Mucka Flats, the largest colony on Proserpina. Most ports would at least come on and say hello before you started your reentry. Common courtesy, you know? The landing itself was routine enough. But then nothing. No one came with the cool-down tanks. No one came to begin unloading procedures. It was as though the swamp had begun to react to our presence. The waters gurgled and bubbled, while vague masses under the muck began to move toward us.

The first one was huge, about two meters in diameter. As it continued to rise above the surface, I saw three pairs of eyes reflecting a sick purple light, three armored and segmented legs, and three pairs of claws tipped with what looked to me like hypodermic needles meant for elephants.

My crew and I started to run toward the control tower. They had no problem speeding over the ooze and then over the tarmac of the port. Mitchell, always the brave one, stopped and began taking shots at the little limpets with his pistol. Soon the limpets were all around him, and after a few moments one caught hold of his leg and began crawling up. Though small, those limpets had steel-strong mouth parts. Within an instant, Mitchell was howling in pain as they sunk their needle mouths into his legs.

Mitchell began running toward the rest of us, who were now in the control tower watching in horror. He barely made it in before the rest of those horrors caught up with him. Mitchell was pallid. Three limpets were still attached to his legs and it took three of us to tear each one off. We killed the devils with the business end of a nine-kilo wrench we had found in one of the control room lockers. At first we believed that Mitchell had been poisoned by the limpets, but by sunset of the fourth day, Yolers, Bassers, and Johnson were suffering from the same hideous blotches, delirium, and retching.

Now I knew why there was no one in Mucka Flats. Everyone had either died of this swamp fever or taken to the hills in panic. I guess the only thing living in this part of the world is myself and those creatures, which are still clanking and crawling around this building.

I imagine that after a few days the smell of fresh blood or the sight of body heat, or whatever it is these devils go for, will disappear. In giving independence to the colonies and freeing them from the oppressive regulations of the Expansionists, the Liberals had replaced repression with total disinterest. Despite efforts by major Alliance conglomerates to assist the abandoned colonies, the people of the frontier suffered so severely that their compatriots on Terra grew sympathetic to their plight.

When the Terrans learned that one colony had starved to death because of a lack of food supplies, serious rioting erupted. Seeing the growing discontent, the Expansionists fanned the flames of discontent and soon regained enough public support to rise to power in the general elections of This pattern of revolving governments continued for the next six decades, with the public becoming ever more apathetic.

Election tampering was so rampant that even those who voted conceded that their votes counted for little.

Without any restraint from the body politic, political fighting between the two major parties escalated to physical fighting and rumors of political murder. The situation was so unstable that it set off a huge flood of emigration from Terra and other crowded Alliance planets during the latter half of the 23rd century.

Later known as the Exodus, this mass movement was made possible by the earlier emigration policies of the Liberals. Millions of disgruntled citizens seized the opportunity to leave all the chaos and misery of Terra behind. Scientific research suffered as industries geared up to meet massive colonial demands.

Scientific research on many colony worlds became equally impossible, for everyone was preoccupied with just trying to stay alive. Even research sponsored by the Alliance government was difficult because the political fighting was all-consuming. Even universities and other research institutions were split into Liberal and Expansionist camps. It was not long before political warfare between the Liberals and Expansionists took its toll on Alliance society as a whole.

The economy slowed. Social welfare programs broke down. The Alliance Global Militia, after its humiliation by the rebel colonies, decided to stay out of the political turmoil. All that its leaders wanted was enough financing to gradually upgrade the force while remaining aloof from the political maelstrom.

Thus did the AGM grow steadily stronger over the next decades, transforming itself into a true military once more. During these years of Liberal-Expansionist political instability, the AGM built the first true interstellar navy and developed strategies and tactics that would become the basis of modern warfare.

The renewed organization and quiet confidence of the AGM appealed to the public, who saw Militia service as a refuge from the chaos of the time.

So attractive was military service that AGM recruiters were forced to turn away young male and female applicants. A Canadian officer who had grown up in the wilds of the Yukon Territories, he would have likely been as comfortable with the life of a lumberjack as that of Admiral and empire-builder.

Though McKenna did not begin formal school until age 12, he soon showed a remarkable aptitude for the sciences and history. When the AGM offered the young man a scholarship to Annapolis Naval Academy in the United States of America, he decided, after some deliberation, to accept the opportunity for a fine education.

During his years at Annapolis, McKenna seesawed between winning honors for his exceptional academic ability and threats of expulsion for his many misadventures. McKenna eventually did graduate with honors, but his early career in the Alliance Navy was equally checkered.

Though unsurpassed in his ability to handle space vessels, his outspokenness often led to trouble. In his first ten years of service, McKenna dropped in rank five times for bad conduct. He finally settled down, but never lost his tendency to question and challenge what everyone else took for granted. After years spent expunging his former reputation, James McKenna attained the rank of Admiral and took command of the Alliance navy in With few superiors, he was able to undertake the construction of a true space navy.

Until then, the Alliance Navy had been occupied mostly with transporting troops to and from worlds. Few in the Alliance foresaw either a need to build warships or a future that would encompass more than one interstellar power. Admiral McKenna was one of those few, and he set about developing the first and best space navy for the Terran Alliance.

The first true combat warship, the TAS Dreadnought , was launched in During the next 14 years, Fleet Admiral McKenna launched six similar vessels, as well as 20 lesser warships, from the shipyards orbiting Terra, Mars, and Venus.

Though many assumed that these ships were costly playthings for the charismatic Admiral, fate would call them into action sooner than even McKenna himself expected. Explore Ebooks. Bestsellers Editors' Picks All Ebooks. Explore Audiobooks. Bestsellers Editors' Picks All audiobooks. Explore Magazines. Editors' Picks All magazines. Explore Podcasts All podcasts. Difficulty Beginner Intermediate Advanced. Explore Documents.

BattleTech - Star League Sourcebook. Uploaded by floridaairpirate. Did you find this document useful? Is this content inappropriate? Report this Document. Flag for inappropriate content. Download now. Related titles. Carousel Previous Carousel Next.

Jump to Page. Search inside document. Petersen, Jr. Edfarb1 Staff Editor-In-chief L. Jones Layout Tara Gallagher The author would like to thank deborah for her assistance in preparing this manuscript. LLC- 2,. Succession Unequalled levels of technolog an rights, and prosperity were reached.