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Origins and History Of the
Lyran Commonwealth
I'm not saying that the Steiners are perpetually on the thin line between sanity
and loony tune, because that's a myth. The Steiner family has such a reputation
that being icy-cool that when they do show a strong emotion like anger, love, or
humor, people around them are so startled that they wonder if that Steiner has
lost his wits. Of course, holding one's emotions in is another kind of madness.
-- Interview with Thelos Auburn on The News Hour, Donegal Broadcasting Co.,
September 19, 3024
The Lyran Commonwealth was formed in 2340 as an amalgamation of three smaller
mutual-defense leagues: the Tamar Pact, the Federation of Skye, and the
Protectorate of Donegal. The original Lyran capital was Arcturus. Shortly after
the outbreak of hostilities between the Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine in
2407, however, the Lyran government moved to its current location on Tharkad.
Soon after, leadership of the Commonwealth passed from Alistair Marsden to his
only heir, Katherine Marsden Steiner, and remains in Steiner hands to this day.
The Lyran Commonwealth currently consists of about 400 worlds. During the course
of the first three Succession Wars, it had been slowly but steadily losing
ground to the Draconis Combine, which had taken almost a fourth of the original
Lyran territories (including more than half the old Tamar Pact worlds along the
Draconis Combine border). The Fourth Succession War saw the complete reversal of
that trend, however, with the Lyrans capturing 53 Kurita worlds, while losing
only 2. That House Steiner retained those worlds during the 20 years between the
end of the Fourth War and the invasion of the Clans says much about the
strengths of the Federated Commonwealth. However, the Inner Sphere has been
hard-pressed to stand up to the Clan invasion, and the Lyran Commonwealth has
been second only to the Free Rasalhague Republic in number of worlds lost.
One reason that House Steiner has remained a formidable force in Successor State
politics even in the worst of times is that its domain includes some of the most
richly endowed planets in the Inner Sphere. These include Alarion, Coventry,
Donegal, Summer, Tamar, New Karlsruh, and Hesperus II. The latter is the site of
the Star League's greatest surviving supply depots and the largest
still-functioning 'Mech manufacturing and repair facility in the Successor
States.
Regardless of its military fortunes, the Lyran Commonwealth has consistently
maintained its reputation for making money. Until many of its industrialized
worlds fell to the Clan invaders, the Commonwealth's overall industrial output,
particularly of non-military goods, outstripped of the other Successor States.
Even today, only the Free Worlds League surpasses the Commonwealth's GNP per
capita. This economic growth has made the Steiner House currency the most stable
in the Inner Sphere. Some of this success is due to human ingenuity, and some to
the rich natural resources of the average Lyran member-world and to the
relatively small amount of war damage sustained by the industrial plants of a
few, key remote worlds. Over the years, the Archons of House Steiner have
consistently sponsored innovative economic and trade policies, such as major tax
advantages for industrial reconstruction projects, awarding land grants to
successful entrepreneurs and victorious MechWarriors, and encouraging the
activities of free traders. Many of these policies are still presently in force.
Origins and History of
the Lyran Alliance
Perhaps the most important event in the years after 3056 was the death in that
year of Joshua Marik, heir to the Free Worlds League's Captain-General Thomas
Marik. For years the young heir had remained at the Federated Commonwealth's New
Avalon Institute of Science for treatment of his leukemia, an arrangement that
had prevented Thomas Marik from launching any type of military action against
the Federated Commonwealth. When the heir died, Prince Victor Steiner-Davion
inserted a double in the boy's place. Capellan Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao learned
of this deception the following year, and proposed to Thomas Marik a joint
Marik-Liao invasion of the Sarna March that would simultaneously punish Steiner-Davion
for his treachery and recapture former Marik and Liao worlds.
In 3057, Marik and Liao forces invaded the Sarna March. The Liao invaders
quickly captured many former Liao worlds, aided by Marik-backed mercenaries.
Marik forces enjoyed wide success as well, taking several former Free Worlds
League planets. Almost immediately, Katrina Steiner-Davion announced the
formation of the new Lyran Alliance, declared Lyran neutrality in the invasion,
and called for all Lyran military units to withdraw from Federated Commonwealth
possessions in the March. Marik took advantage of this development to settle for
a separate peace with Katrina.
By this act, Katrina split the Federated Commonwealth physically as well as
politically; the abrupt departure of Lyran troops speeded the Sarna March's
slide into anarchy, and the loss of control over that region has left the rump
of the Federated Commonwealth with no access to free passage into Lyran Alliance
space. Many observers initially believed Katrina was allying her newborn state
with the Free Worlds League, but so far she has remained neutral.
Victor Steiner-Davion has not relinquished his claim to the worlds of the
Alliance and still considers them part of the Federated Commonwealth. Archon
Katrina appears uninterested in the Davion half of the Commonwealth, claiming
instead the disputed regions of the Chaos March. The Archon has moved decisively
to consolidate her holdings in the Lyran Alliance, but the loyalties of several
regions within it remain in question. The heavily industrialized region of Skye,
true to its secessionist history, has given Katrina complete support. She also
has strong backing from parts of the Donegal March. Along the Lyran-Free Worlds
border, however, many worlds keenly miss the benefit of Prince Victor's military
experience in dealing with the newly aggressive Free Worlds League. They do not
trust Thomas Marik's promise not to expand his realm beyond its Fourth
Succession War borders, and they could easily go over to the Archon Prince's
side at the first sign of Marik aggression.
Mercenaries consider the Alliance to be an unknown quantity. Archon Katrina
Steiner-Davion remains largely untested as a leader, and many people see her as
power hungry, two reasons that make many commanders leery of entering the
Archon's employ. Many mercs, however, are delighted that Archon Katrina seems to
offer so many fat contracts with relatively low risk. Most of these units have
conveniently forgotten that the Steiners are businessmen at heart, and thus
often become a mercenary unit's toughest opponent.
Most assignments offered by the Alliance involve garrison or security duty,
because Archon Katrina's public position as a peacemaker allows her to do little
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