Continuing alternate timeline stuff I developed during my stint with a particular company. Here are timeline notes for BattleTech’s story year 3150, developed as background for a now-abandoned project.

The complete timeline, which was developed prior to the book in order to set up the backstories included therein, was provided to writers during the solicitation. This way, context was provided for their writing prompts. This working timeline was a collaborative effort as I relied on the support knowledge of three other prominent writers of the line at the time.

Suffice to say, this isn’t official any more as it became obsolete the moment I resigned from the company.

I’ll be dropping a new year (hopefully) every Tuesday (#TimelineTuesday) for the next few weeks. Enjoy a glimpse into BattleTech’s 32nd century, as I envisioned it.

3150

[Feb] The first AFFS regiments arrive to reinforce Robinson and other RAF-liberated Draconis March worlds.

[Feb] Daoshen Liao sends a diplomatic team to meet with the Combine and offers a strategic alliance to coordinate a two-pronged assault on the Suns and the Republic.

[Mar] Clan Wolf, in an attempt to redirect attention from its actions in taking Remnant worlds, pulls a feint. Striking coreward, Alaric invades Skye. With the Falcons already committed in the Donegal-Coventry-Tharkad area, the Skye assault throws off Malvina’s rhythm. As Skye falls, the Wolves hit and seize half of the Remnant. Stone and the RAF are lulled into a sense of false security as they think the Wolf Empire aims to crush the Falcons first. Then, suddenly, Wolves are in in Republic space, catching the first few worlds totally off guard while Malvina’s Falcons likewise try to figure out what just happened.

 [Mar] Paladin [Unknown]’s task force jumps into the Shiloh system after using several uncharted systems to bypass Wolf holdings. The sudden appearance of a sizable RAF force in their rear area brings a temporary halt to Alaric’s invasion. The Republic snags Gacrux, Phecda, and Wing in the next month, cutting the bulk of Alaric’s forces from its supply line.

[Apr] Clan Wolf turns its border forces on Paladin [Unknown]’s conquests, retaking all four worlds over the next two months. Paladin [Unknown] is killed.

[Apr] Liao and Combine military leaders forge a coordinated battle plan, involving a front stretching from Ingress to Tybalt to Mallory’s World, known as Operation TIAMAT. The operation also includes a mutual agreement to invade the Republic on each military’s own timetable. (The FedSuns front is the only one with coordinated waves, to avoid overlap.)

[May] Daoshen orders a renewed assault into the Federated Suns, aiming once again towards Kathil. The assault is less about taking worlds and more about destroying all AFFS resistance to his godhood.

[Jun] Operation TIAMAT begins. [World order TBD] Daoshen also launches Operation BÀO​YÌNG (retribution), targeting Hall, Chisholm, Outreach, Capolla, Terra Firma, and Epsilon Eridani.

[Sep] Hall, Chisholm, Capolla, and Epislon Eridani fall to the Confederation. A stalemate is reached on Terra Firma. The Republic wins a useless victory on Outreach.

[Oct] The Wolves launch a full assault against Devlin Stone. As Stone’s forces are not as ready to face the Clans as he would like and his allies are still recuperating from their own problems, Stone and his field commander Jonah Levin fall back and conduct a defensive campaign against the Wolves. The Fidelis, with their true identity revealed to Alaric during one of the 3149 raids, are wiped out to a man by the Wolves, who dismiss them as beneath consideration. Only a few ragged troops survive and flee underground.

[Dev note: I really like the idea of the Fidelis making some grand gesture of defiance in standing against the Wolf tide—”We are the Smoke Jaguars and you! shall! not! pass!”—and the Wolves just shrugging and crushing them without a second thought. Think Indiana Jones and that doofus with a sword in Raiders, with the Wolves as Indy.]

[Oct] The CCAF’s Wave Two of BÀO​YÌNG launches. [worlds Liberty, Bryant, Keid, New Home, Sirius, Procyon]

[Nov] Malvina Hazen, unwilling to stomach the thought of a Wolf ilClan, races towards Terra. The Falcons must first retake Skye and hit the world in a blitz. Only two Clusters defend the world, though each binary/trinary deploys various Cluster colors. The “misrepresentation” confuses the Falcons for a bit before Malvina realizes she’s been duped.

[Nov] The Falcons move to catch the Wolves. But whereas Alaric’s approach is methodical and practical, avoiding needless destruction wherever possible, Malvina’s is reckless and apocalyptic. Many of her Falcons privately question her actions, but are spurred on by the dream of beating the Wolves and becoming the ilClan. Quite a number of Stone’s forces must decide between defending against Alaric or Malvina and choose the latter as the greater of two evils, which helps Alaric pull ahead in the race to Terra. The Falcons hit Thorin and New Earth at the end of the month and find themselves facing an unlikely (and uneasy) alliance of Wolves and Republic forces. The Falcons are defeated, with many of the more pragmatic Falcon commanders willingly submitting themselves to Alaric’s Wolves. Malvina faces the same situation in December when she arrives at Rigel Kentarus determined to break every Wolf she finds. Here, she defeats the combined alliance-of-convenience, though at heavy cost. The fighting delays the Falcons several critical weeks and isn’t helped by Malvina’s insistence on killing every last defender.