Restoration War

Restoration War
Start Date 3022[1]
End Date circa August 3025[2]
Location Aurigan Coalition
Factions
Arano Restoration;
Magistracy of Canopus (covert)		 Aurigan Directorate;
Taurian Concordat
Commanders and leaders
Kamea Arano;
Ana Maria Centrella (covert)		 Santiago Espinosa;
Samuel Ostergaard

The Restoration War was a civil war in the Aurigan Coalition between the Arano Restoration and the Aurigan Directorate. The Arano Restoration received covert support from the Magistracy of Canopus, while the Aurigan Directorate received support from the Taurian Concordat.[3]

Canonicity[edit]

The Restoration War is experienced from the player's viewpoint in the BattleTech video game, but that product, while official, does not meet the definition of Canon, and is thus Apocryphal. The Restoration War is also discussed in multiple canonical sources, including the House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition) sourcebook and some fiction published in canon sources. The two versions do not agree on all details. In this article, the information available from Canon sources is presented first, and then the video game version is discussed in a clearly marked section.

Overview[edit]

As the Aurigan Coalition expanded closer to the border of the Taurian Concordat, claiming worlds that the Concordat also claimed but no longer actively governed, tensions rose between the two nations, exacerbated by the fact that the Taurians did not recognize the Coalition as a nation. High Lord Tamati Arano II hoped to gain recognition from the Taurians and reach compromise regarding the contested worlds, but was stymied by the Founding Council. Santiago Espinosa, his brother-in-law and chief adviser, viewed this as a show of weakness. He proposed dissolving the Council and bringing all the worlds under direct rule of the High Lord in order to break the deadlock. Shortly after this proposal, the High Lord and his wife died in a JumpShip accident, in 3022.[4]

Kamea Arano, Tamati's heir and Santiago's niece, rejected the proposal as counter to the ideals of the Coalition. In response, House Espinosa launched a bloody coup, during which Kamea was believed killed. The Espinosas dissolved the elected part of the Council and kept the Founding Houses in line through hostage-taking, threats, and bribes. Santiago became Director of the Aurigan Directorate.[1][5]

The Directorate did face opposition. On Panzyr, a group that supported House Decimis formed, calling itself the Second Decimis Fusiliers.[6] Opposition became the Restoration War when Kamea Arano revealed that she had not perished in the coup, returning with the financial support of the Magistracy of Canopus through Lady Ana Maria Centrella[1] and the mercenary company formerly known as Markham's Marauders.[6]

Lady Kamea began retaking worlds and securing the support of the Houses, at times using SLDF-era Assault 'Mechs whose origins were unknown even to her Canopian benefactors.[1]

At some point during this period, Santiago's daughter Victoria Espinosa took part in the Perdition Massacre.[7]

Director Espinosa also had allies, having secretly arranged with the Taurian Concordat for heavy and assault 'Mechs with veteran pilots.[1] Commodore Samuel Ostergaard led the Taurian expeditionary force.[8] This support was later withdrawn by the Concordat, though Ostergaard and the Taurian Fortress-class DropShip Iberia went rogue.[9][8]

With the loss of Taurian support, the Directorate found themselves facing the Restoration on the capital world of Coromodir V.[9] Victoria Espinosa died in her King Crab,[10] and Santiago was executed for treason.[9]

Aftermath[edit]

While High Lady Arano was able to reclaim her realm, many problems remained, from treacherous nobles to the largely unresolved tensions with the Taurians.[9] The Coalition's military forces were badly depleted. One in eight Directorate MechWarriors refused to surrender, turning mercenary, setting up their own small states, or joining resistance groups such as Ibex Rampant and Forever Vigilant.[10] During the invasion of Coromodir, the Iberia crashed on the planet, creating a miniature Ice Age.[11] Rebuilding would take time.

Battles[edit]

Canonicity Note: for convenience, these are listed in the same order as they appear in the video game, but the sources do not specify when they happened in relation to each other, except that the Battle of Coromodir came at the end.

BattleTech Video Game[edit]

The following is taken from the BattleTech video game which, while an official product, does not meet the definition of Canon.

Apocryphal Content Starts

The information after this notice comes from apocryphal sources; the canonicity of such information is uncertain.
Please view the reference page for information regarding their canonicity.

In 3025 after three years in hiding, Lady Kamea emerged as the leader of the Arano Restoration movement. This caused a civil war between the Restoration and state forces for control of the Reach, beginning with the liberation of Weldry.[21] As the Arano Restoration was closing in on the Directorate forces, Santiago covertly instigated the Perdition Massacre to gain the cooperation of the Taurian Concordat to attack the Restoration. Santiago finally conceded to Kamea's forces and gave the throne to her. Victoria on the other hand chose to fight her cousin on Coromodir one last time. With the death of Victoria and the capture of Santiago, the Aurigan Directorate ceased to exist.[21]

Kamea Arano had the help of one particular mercenary company whose commander was once part of the Aurigan Royal Guard, and as a youth was taught in the ways of the BattleMech by Kamea's mentor, Raju "Mastiff" Montgomery. This commander and their company would be involved in several key battles and would come to command the Argo, a large Star League era civilian spacecraft resurrected by an engineering team under Dr. Farah Murad.[21]

The civil war had several different phases, marked by victories and defeats for each side, which are presented chronologically here.[21]

Liberation of Weldry

Led by Lady Arano herself, the Restoration forces were able to defeat the Directorate's forces on the system of Weldry, and in the process freeing Espinosa's political enemies who were being held in the infamous "Ice Box" prison. After this victory Kamea Arano announced to the Aurigan Reach that she had survived her escape from Coromodir and rallies up her supporters to overthrow the Espinosa regime, with the nearby systems of Ichlangis and Fjadr immediately joining her cause.

In response, the Directorate conducts a false flag operation in Taurian territory led by Victoria Espinosa, Lord Santiago's daughter, which results in the Perdition Massacre described above, with the intention of gaining the Concordat's support.

Liberation of Panzyr

Flush with success, Lady Arano's forces then moved into Panzyr and defeated the House Espinosa's forces on the system after its main DropPort was disabled by a surgical strike by mercenaries, preventing the Directorate from safely navigating Panzyr's asteroid fields to land reinforcements on the planet.

This victory also brought to the Restoration's cause the systems of Bringdam, Ryan's Fate and Mechdur, with the last one being a special prize since it was the industrial center for the entire Reach.

Liberation of Smithon

After the initial invasion, a stalemate occurred between the Restoration and Directorate forces, with the tipping point being the capture by mercenaries on the employ of House Arano of an enemy munitions dump. Cut off from essential supplies, the remaining Espinosa forces soon surrendered, which also led to the systems of Umgard, Enkra and Zangul joining the Restoration.

However, Lord Karosas in exchange for his support to the Restoration demands that Lady Arano's forces destroy a DropShip called the Newgrange which is carrying weapons for the Directorate, which would have disastrous consequences later since the spaceship was manned by Taurian personnel, assigned to a covert mission to support the Espinosa regime.

Artru and Castle Nautilus

Flush with successes and after gaining knowledge of the location of a lost SLDF depot filled with Star League BattleMechs with Lord Karosas' help, the Restoration moves to contest the systems of Artru, Regis Roost and Katinka, in preparation for the assault on the core Aurigan systems still in possession of the Directorate. On Artru, Arano mercenaries are able to locate Castle Nautilus and disable its automated defenses, gaining access to the hidden BattleMech cache.

As Kamea moves to the planet to take control of the SLDF base, a dangerous surprise appears as the Taurian Concordat forces led by the DropShip Iberia move to prevent the Restoration from recovering the most of the cache. Lady Arano barely escapes the planet after being forced to destroy the hidden base to prevent Castle Nautilus' treasures from falling into the enemy's hands.

Smithon Defense and Liberation of Itrom

With its long range incursion defeated, the Restoration moves to defend Smithon from the counterattack and allow the evacuation of its civilians to protect them from the atrocities being committed by the Taurians led by Commodore Ostergaard, the commander of the Iberia which is obsessed with revenge against the Restoration after his son was killed in the destruction of the Newgrange.

Lady Arano's mercenaries are also able to retake the planet Itrom from Directorate forces, giving them access to a stockpile of valuable minerals, and also allowing for the capture of the nearby Mangzhangdian system.

Panzyr Defense and Lord Madeira's Extraction

As the weight of the Taurian war machine beings to overwhelm the Restoration forces, Lady Arano is forced to defend Panzyr's civilian population from famine as the Ostergaard and the Concordat forces starts attacking the DropShips involved in the relief effort.

Realizing that the Restoration is doomed against the Taurians, Lord Madeira undertakes a mission to his homeworld of Guldra to recover vital information from his House archives, only to be captured by the Directorate. As a result, Lady Arano sends mercenary forces to extract Lord Madeira, and while they're unable to recover him, they are able to get the information he was after and bring it back to Lady Arano.

Liberation of Tyrlon

Lord Madeira's information reveals that the Directorate was behind the Perdition Massacre, which is then brought forward by the Canopians to Protector Calderon, causing the Taurians to withdraw their support of Lord Espinosa. As the balance of power again favors the Restoration, it conducts an attack on the world of Tyrlon, the gateway to Coromodir, the capital of the Reach still under control of House Espinosa. After Lady Arano's mercenaries are able to disable the planetary batteries protecting the world from orbital attack, the Restoration DropShips are able to land on the planet and easily defeat the remaining enemy forces.

With this defeat, the systems of Tyrlon, Guldra, Gangtok and Heliat all join the Arano cause, with the Directorate only in control of Coromodir.

Liberation of Coromodir and Downfall

As the Restoration forces land on Coromodir for the final battle with the Directorate, Lady Arano receives a message from Commodore Ostergaard, who has gone rogue while looking for revenge to his son and refuses to obey the Concordat's orders to return to Taurian space. With his DropShip heading towards the Restoration Army to obliterate it with its naval guns, Kamea's mercenaries are able to upload into it a computer virus called the Locura, which disables the Iberia and causes it to crash on Coromodir's surface, killing everyone on board.

Realizing that the end is near, Lord Espinosa orders its remaining forces to stand down and surrender. However, his daughter Victoria refuses his orders and using Lord Madeira as a hostage, forces Lady Arano to fight her in a BattleMech duel to the death in the royal tournament grounds. After a fierce combat, Kamea kills Victoria and frees Lord Madeira, regaining her throne while Santiago Espinosa is turned over to the Taurians, who sentence him to death and execute him due to his role in the Perdition Massacre.

Apocryphal Content Ends

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 12
  2. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), pp. 6, 18: July 3026 is after "eleven months of peace"
  3. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), pp. 12–13
  4. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), pp. 11–12
  5. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 17
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 38
  7. ↑ Almost Sounds Like the Guns Themselves: mentioned 16 December 3025
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), pp. 56–57
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 13
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 6
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Almost Sounds Like the Guns Themselves
  12. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 47
  13. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 39
  14. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 45
  15. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 42
  16. ↑ Almost Sounds Like the Guns Themselves: Flashback scenes
  17. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 33
  18. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 49
  19. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 24
  20. ↑ House Arano (The Aurigan Coalition), p. 48
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 BattleTech video game

Bibliography[edit]

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