Inner Sphere News Round-up - Week of 8th Oct. 3049

Welcome to the weekly round-up of news from the Inner Sphere, for the week of 8th October 3049.

Mon, Oct 8, 3049:
Brotherhood of Cincinnatus cleared of alleged threats against Archon; Brotherhood claims still under illegal surveillance.

My Comment: Bit of a quiet week on the fluff front, I'm guessing everyone is too busy getting the game polished and ready to head to open beta. So here's a couple of older posts from the MercNet by Jacob Hardenson.

Age Doesn’t Equal Stability

(13th August 3049)

I’m havin’ a hard time knocking this one out. I keep laughin’ so hard it’s fouling up my typing. Just saw this on the latest newsfeeds off Atreus: “‘Architectural Spotlight: House of Government’; Buildings in Continual Use Since Free Worlds League Founded in 2271.”

Now don’t spin me wrong, gents. By any reckonin’, that’s mighty impressive. After all, we’re marching towards eight centuries of blowhards yellin’ at each other in that purple room of theirs. So I’m not badmouthing the builders…those blue-collars knew what they were about. Thinking they had some serious Roman-blood pumpin’ in their veins.

Yet the vibe of the article (okay, I admit it, got a soft spot for ancient buildings) is one of pride. “See, our government building is the oldest such building in use across the entire Inner Sphere. So that must make us great.”

That’s where the lip twitchin’ comes in. ‘Cause the only thing making them great is that the empire is still in one piece despite how many times they’ve been at each other’s throats with knives, pitchforks and barrels of boilin’ oil. Come on, in the 31st century alone they’ve had Anton Marik’s Civil War and the Andurien Secession!

Now why am I talkin’ architecture to mercs? ‘Cause longevity doesn’t mean squat. Look at Wilson’s Hussars…no sorrier lot of misfits around, yet they keep scraping out a living and making every C-bill scream.

So if you’re gonna take a job with the League, don’t believe their hype about them being the very first Great House…they crack easier than any façade. They just happen to have some mighty fine stucco to slather on the faults to keep it sputtering along…but don’t be surprised if you get plastered along the way. (Oh, I know…shut up!).

Keep it locked and loaded, gents.

—Jacob Hardenson, MercNet

The Perks of Nobility

(31th May 3049)

So the rumor mills be spillin’ swill for the last while, gents. Accordin’ to the latest putrid kernel of ill-wisdom, the AFFC High Command is chompin’ at the bit to strip Duke Stephenson of his twin Ivaarsen Chasseurs regiments. After all, House Davion’s arrangement with the Duke of New Ivaarsen is that one regiment will always be posted on-world…that’s ‘so’ annoying…how dare a duke tell the mightiest army since old Aleks Kerensky vamoosed into the dark what to do, right?

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s a half lyr-of-a-chance that someone with a whiff of pull in the AFFC might be trying to bark up that tree. But let me tell ya, gents, that’s all it is... ‘Cause no one with a lick of sense believes that idea’s gonna catch traction. Let me lay down the stripes.

1. The upkeep for those twin regiments comes from the duke and his world. The AFFC doesn’t pay a dime…and when has any bureaucrat turned down free, right?

2. It’s not like New Ivaarsen is buried in the FedRat Outback…it’s smack dab along the border with the Combine. Hell, I don’t know ‘how’ many Snake and FedRat bones are buried ‘neath the loam. So the duke gets to know his homeboys are stomping the fences while he warms his feet by the fire, instead of some strangers? It still provides a punch-in-your-face regiment to cut off any heads peeking any where near that world, which is what the AFFC needs anyways.

3. Let’s not forget, ladies and gents, our existence is ruled by nobility…thank you very much, Michael Cameron, sir. And since the rise of monarchies millennia ago, what’s the cardinal rule of nobility? Don’t make the institution look bad. You defeat ‘em, you lock ‘em up, you bury ‘em in the darkest dungeon, but you never, ever, ‘ever’ set in motion anything that’ll throw dung on the nobility cloth. And after a century of sterling service, stripping a standing duke of his military…hot damn, gents, that’s not tossing on some dung, that’s grabbing the AgroMech and going to town.

4. Ol’ Duke Stephenson has served faithfully for a lot of years, now…but you think he’s gonna sit around waiting for the axe to fall if things start gettin’ serious? Not only would the AFFC likely have to dig out an entrenched regiment on New Ivaarsen, but the second regiment’s likely to go on a rampage… ‘course, I’d ‘love’ to see that.

The current set-up is a win, win, win for the duke and for House Davion. That belly-achin’ you’re hearing is the green monster of the meanest commoner sheathed in bureaucracy a meter thick and forgettin’ how the Inner Sphere turns.

Keep it locked and loaded, gents.

—Jacob Hardenson, MercNet