Capellan Confederation Information & Capellan Confederation Links at HealthHaven.com

The Capellan Confederation is one of the five Successor States within the fictional BattleTech universe.

The smallest of the Successor States, The Capellan Confederation is a socialist meritocracy ruled by House Liao, from whom almost all of the nation's ruling Chancellors have been descended. Its name is derived from the Capellan Reaches, the region of space spreading out from Terra towards the star system Capella, and for the Capellan Hegemony, once centered on Capella, which was one of the Confederation's founding members.

Despite being significantly weaker militarily and economically than its often violently expansionist neighbors, the Confederation has survived for over seven centuries, through the fall of the Star League, four Succession Wars, the Clan invasion, and the Word of Blake Jihad. The Confederation has endured attacks from all of its neighbors, yet has historically both repulsed and rebuilt after each invasion.

[edit] History

Throughout the early 2300s, The Federated Suns, ruled by House Davion, made repeated demands for the countries of the Capellan Reaches to turn over planets lying within their control to Davion control, a situation which resulted in a number of military engagements between the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns and the smaller Capellan nations. As the AFFS vastly outnumbered the forces any one of the Capellan states could field at one time, they slowly began to build a network of loose alliances against the Davion encroachments. Unfortunately, this only slowed the rate at which the Federated Suns was conquering Capellan territory. In 2366, after an internal crisis had destabilized the Capellan Hegemony, House Davion declared that it was sending "peacekeepers" to Capella to establish order. Representatives of the Capellan nations, terrified of the possibility of one of the largest Capellan states being conquered by the Davions without a shot fired, hastily met to create a unified Capellan state which to deal with the threat. In short order, The Capellan Confederation was formed uniting the Republic of Liao, the Sarna Supremacy, the Tikonov Grand Union, the Capellan Commonality (nee Hegemony), the Sian Supremacy, & the St. Ives Mercantile Association. The delegation unanimously elected Franco Liao Chancellor, and set about planning the defense of the new nation. The new nation immediately began evacuating the planet Capella's capital before Davion forces could arrive, leaving behind only a group of 10,000 volunteers to fool the Davion forces into thinking nothing was amiss. Once the Davion forces arrived on Capella, the Capellan Confederation Navy ambushed them and bombarded the city from orbit, killing the entire Davion force as well as the 10,000 volunteers who selflessly gave their lives to prevent Davion domination of the Capellan people. In their honor, a black border was added to the Capellan Confederation's symbol.

Since that time, the Confederation has developed into a country with a strong sense of national identity, and a society which is highly state-controlled. House Liao has succeeded in establishing itself as the hereditary holders of the Chancellorship, with few outside the family ever coming to the position, and then only briefly.

[edit] Politics & Structure

The Capellan Confederation's government consists of three bodies, the House of Scions (the collected minor nobles of the Confederation), the Prefectorate (the nominal rulers of each Commonality), and the Chancellorship. While ostensibly the House of Scions handles the day to day operations of the State and the Prefectorate elects and places a check on the power of the Chancellor, in reality the Chancellor rules by decree and has de facto absolute power within the Confederation.

Administratively, the Confederation is divided into Commonalities. Each originally corresponded to a founding member-nation, but centuries of warfare and depredation by neighboring countries have forced redistricting. Currently, the Confederation is made up of five Commonalities: Sian, Capella, Liao, Victoria, & St. Ives.

In dealing with other countries, the Confederation is guarded and looks after its own interest first and foremost. Too often the Confederation has found itself the victim of its more powerful neighbors. This is not to say that the Confederation is incapable of participating amicably with the other nations of the Inner Sphere. The Confederation was a founding member of both Star Leagues, entered into the defensive Concord of Kapetyn with House Marik & House Kurita against Houses Steiner & Davion, participated in a brief alliance with the Free Worlds League, and founded a long standing Alliance with the periphery nation the Magistracy of Canopus, an alliance in which the Taurian Concordat also briefly participated.

[edit] Military

The Capellan Confederation Armed Forces, or CCAF, is a military which is undergoing a period of renewed confidence and rebuilding after years of suffering from their defeat during the Fourth Succession War. Overrun by the forces of House Davion and pushed to the breaking point by the demands of then Chancellor Romano Liao, a large percentage of the officer corps suffered an affliction which came to be known as Hopeless Battle Syndrome, where soldiers would seek glorious death in battle rather than face their leaders to answer for battlefield shortcomings. Under the leadership of Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao, pressures on the military have eased and emphasis has been placed on providing excellent training and equipment to the military, making the CCAF one of the best trained militaries in the Inner Sphere.

Historically, the Confederation has had a much smaller military industrical complex than other nations, and so has relied upon versatile multi-role BattleMech designs, such as the Wolverine & Thunderbolt. During the Succession Wars, the Capellan Confederation developed a number of relatively easy to produce multi-purpose designs which have become signature BattleMechs of the CCAF: the Vindicator, the Cataphract, and the Raven. More recently, as part of Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao's "Xin Sheng" movement, a number of new designs have been developed at the Confederation's expanding factory lines, including the Yu Huang, Ti Ts'ang, Lao Hu, & Sha Yu.

Because of shortcomings in the Confederation's industrial output, the CCAF has become the Inner Sphere's foremost experts on guerrilla & unconventional warfare, and makes a much wider use of artillery, minefields (particularly missile deployed minefields), strategically ignited fires, & anti-BattleMech infantry than other nations of the Inner Sphere.

The BattleMech regiments of the CCAF are divided into five categories, the Capellan Hussars, the Warrior Houses, the Death Commandos, the Commonality Reserves, & Converted Mercenary units.

The Capellan Hussars are the guards of the Chancellor, the Prefectorate, House of Scions, & the Liao family. They also pull double-duty as defenders of the Confederation's commonality capitals and most elite standard combat formations. They are recruited from the most experienced and talented Mechwarriors within the CCAF, and undergo constant training & unit rotations to maintain their combat edge. The Capellan Hussars are only rarely committed to offensive operations, but when they do, their deployment is often decisive in the outcome of a battle or campaign. The units of the Capellan Hussars include the Red Lancers, Holdfast Guard (formerly Bladford's Grenadiers), Prefectorate Guard, & the Dynasty Guard

Nominally a part of the CCAF but reporting directly to the Chancellor are the Warrior House Orders, Mechwarriors and infantrymen who live a stark, monastic life dedicated to philosophy and the perfecting of their skills as warriors. Each was founded by great leaders within the Confederation at the directive of the Chancellor, and each is dedicated to a different philosophy. Up to this point, eight men have founded Warrior Houses, Imarra, Lu Sann, Dai Da Chi, Kamata, Ijori, Ma-Tsu Kai, Hiritsu, & Fujita, & each Warrior House bears the name of its founder.

Formed in 2988 by Tormax Liao, the original Death Commandos were recruited solely from the elite of the Warrior Houses, although in 3003 membership into the unit was opened to any officer in the CCAF who could meet their stringent entry requirements. The elite of the elite of the CCAF, they report directly to the Chancellor, and all members are cross-trained to perform as infiltrators, anti-BattleMech infantry, special forces & assassins. No expense is spared in the equipping of the Death Commandos, and the mere mention of their deployment is enough to cow planetary governments into surrender.

The Commonality Reserves make up the bulk of the CCAF, each assigned to the defense of a specific commonality. While capable of offensive operations, unlike the CCAF's other formations, the Commonality Reserves focus on training in guerrilla warfare and defensive operations. Each Commonality has their own reserve formation, which have evolved over the centuries as the Commonalities have changed.

Finally, recently, the Confederation has converted a number of Mercenary units under long-term contract with the Capellan Confederation into full-fledged members of the CCAF, in exchange for citizenship & other benefits, including such prestigious formations as McCarron's Armored Cavalry, the 4th Tau Ceti Rangers & the 15th Dracon. Long the go-to units for offensive operations outside the Confederation, these units now have the benefit of being able to recruit directly from Capellan Military Academies and drawing from the CCAF supply chain.

[edit] Religion, Philosophy & Culture

Religion does not play a large part in the day to day lives of the inhabitants of the Capellan Confederation. Although the Confederation allows freedom of religion, the state heavily promotes a trio of uniquely Capellan philosophies, the Korvin Doctrine, the Sarna Mandate, & the Lorix Order.

The Korvin Doctrine is derived from the collected writings of early Terran space explorer Alana Korvin DeVall. In her writings, Korvin states that mankind's inherent fragility can only be overcome through unity, and that in order for mankind to survive and thrive, individuals must work together for the good of the Greater Humanity, and learn to identify with their collective community. It also stresses the need for strong central leadership to bind together millions of people dwelling on planets orbiting divergent star systems, lest humanity collapse into weaker, fratricidal factions.

The Sarna Mandate comes to the Confederation from the founding principles of one of its founding states, the Sarna Supremacy. The Mandate stresses that only the most talented political, military, & scientific minds are qualified for leadership, and that those who do not originate with that elite group of individuals are not competent enough to decide the fate of others. Furthermore, by virtue of their capability, these individuals are justified in taking whatever actions are deemed necessary for the continued survival of a given population, up to and including the what some would deem ruthless acts or the periodic restructuring of society. In many citations of the Sarna Mandate, the reverse is also applied: If a leader is found to be utterly incompetent, then they are considered to have lost the right to rule and should be removed or deposed.

The Lorix Order was developed by CCAF Major Kalvar Lorix during a long convalesence in 2672. It stresses that the citizen has the right to expect the highest level of professionalism and performance from the military that defends it, and to that end, the military, particularly Mechwarriors, owe to the populace a life of endless training and campaigning. Warfare is a virtue, because even offensive operations contribute to the good of society by providing experience to society's defenders. Once a Mechwarrior has reached the pinnacle of his craft, he has become a valuable asset of the state, and no-one has the right to deprive him of his life save other Mechwarriors, and conversely, the Mechwarrior in certain circumstances has the right to exact personal retribution against those who transgress against him. To a soldier, the highest ideal must ever be loyalty, to the people, to the state, and to the head of state whom is his commander in chief.

Unlike the other Successor States of the Inner Sphere, where individuals are born with citizenship, in the Confederation, citizenship is a benefit to be earned. All minors in the Capellan Confederation are technically wards of the state under the provisional supervision of their parents. During this time, they receive a state sponsored education and are encouraged to participate in the betterment of their communities. Upon reaching maturity, each Capellan child is evaluated to determine if they have proven their commitment to the state by participating in their community, whether through outreach work, artistic work of cultural value, or civic participation. Those who are found willing to provide service to the state are granted citizenship. Those who have not are given a grace period of two years after which they will have a second evaluation. Failure to earn citizenship after one's second evaluation regulates an individual to the class of non-citizens referred to as servitors. The life of a servitor is harsh, because a Servitor has no legal rights within the Confederation. Servitorship, however, is not a lifetime sentence, as citizenship can still be earned as a Servitor, although the task becomes significantly harder. Likewise, neither citizenship nor servitorship is inheritable, with all Capellan's children receiving the same education and facing the same requirements to earn citizenship.

Capellan citizens are expected to continue providing services to their community throughout their lifetime, and the state makes a point of continuing to promote and reward those who provide selfless service to the state. All Capellan citizens are guaranteed free healthcare & education for life, in addition to other minor benefits. The result is a Capellan citizenry who is far more loyal and civic-minded than the average Inner Sphere inhabitant, one who sees his citizenship as a reward for hard work and not a right.

[edit] External links

See article on Capellan_Confederation on BattleTechWiki
http://www.kerensky.ultraforce.org/index.html

[edit] Sources

House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), FASA 1624
Celestial Unity--Birth of the Capellan Confederation
Eternal Balance--The Ways of House Liao
Xin Sheng and Beyond
From the Ashes--The Capellan Confederation Today
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