Editing Federated Commonwealth

{{Update Needed|[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]|[[20 Year Update]]|[[Shattered Sphere]]|[[FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)]]}}
{{InfoBoxState
| image = FedCom.png
| Founded = 20 August [[3028]] (Federated Commonwealth Alliance)<br>19 June [[3055]] (Formal)
| Dissolved = 18 September [[3057]] ''(Lyran secession)''<br>24 April [[3067]] ''(Final dissolution)''
| capital = 
| systems = 
| population = 
| currency = 
| language = 
| demonym = 
| Head of State = Archon-Prince
| cintel = Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations ([[MIIO]])<br/>Lyran Intelligence Corps ([[LIC]])
| commander     = [[Supreme Marshal]]
| army = [[Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth]] (AFFC)
| navy = 
| mintel = 
}}
The '''Federated Commonwealth''' was the union of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and [[Federated Suns]]. The accession of Archon-Prince [[Victor Steiner-Davion]] in [[3055]] formally brought the nation into being, though in practice it had existed as the Federated Commonwealth Alliance since [[3028]]. [[Katherine Steiner-Davion]] seceded the Lyran half of the nation in [[3057]], creating the [[Lyran Alliance]], which would lead to the [[FedCom Civil War]] in [[3062]]. Victor abdicated the throne in [[3067]] and his successor, Prince-Regent [[Yvonne Steiner-Davion]], reverted to the "Federated Suns". In [[3084]] the Lyran Alliance reverted to the Lyran Commonwealth.

==History==
{{Main|History of the Federated Commonwealth}}

===Formation===
In [[3020]], [[Archon]] [[Katrina Steiner]] of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] issued a "Peace Proposal" to all of the [[Great Houses]] of the [[Inner Sphere]]; only [[First Prince]] [[Hanse Davion]] of the [[Federated Suns]] responded, and the two states began a long-running dialogue.  In [[3022]] the two [[Successor States]] signed the [[FedCom Accords]], a treaty which formalized military, scientific and economic exchange between the two states.  However, included in the document was a secret provision, promising the marriage of Hanse and Archon-Designate [[Melissa Steiner]], which would unite the two in a vast political entity, the Federated Commonwealth. This provision would become known to the other States in [[3027]] during the [[Silver Eagle Incident]].

As the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth did not share a common border, this complicated their eventual union. To address this complication in [[3024]] the two realms began increasing their military readiness by training together in annual exercises known as [[Operation Galahad]]. Their neighbors were initially alarmed, and went on alert but as years went by without incident they increasingly viewed it as routine. This would be the case for Operation Galahad 3028. On 20 August, [[3028]] the leaders of all the Great Houses met on [[Terra]] for the marriage of Hanse and Melissa. It was here that Hanse made his fateful wedding toast: "Wife, in honor of our marriage, in addition to this morsel [of cake] I give you the [[Capellan Confederation]]!"

The marriage started several things in motion.  Among those, two would shape the Federated Commonwealth the most. First, the formal enactment the Federated Commonwealth Alliance. The Federated Commonwealth Alliance was the official name for the union while the two rulers, Hanse and Melissa, still reigned, and it slowly began to bind the two realms together into one. Though commonly referred to as the Federated Commonwealth even on some official documents, the Federated Commonwealth Alliance would be the legal name of the realm until [[3055]] when the Federated Commonwealth truly came into being.<ref>''Interstellar Operations: Alternate Eras'', pp. 14 & 18</ref> Secondly, the marriage launched the expansive conflict that became known as the [[Fourth Succession War]].

The combined forces of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth began a massive campaign aimed largely at the Capellan Confederation and the [[Draconis Combine]].  The war would end two years later on 10 January [[3030]] with roughly a third of the Capellan Confederation conquered, along with some 53 Combine and 13 [[Free Worlds League]] planets. The conquered worlds would be incorporated into the Federated Commonwealth as the [[Sarna March]] and form a corridor between the two halves of the new superstate.

On 12 April 3030, Melissa gave birth to [[Victor Steiner-Davion]], the future ruler of the Federated Commonwealth. While practically born in the aftermath of the Fourth Succession War, the Federated Commonwealth would only technically come into existence once Hanse and Melissa stepped down and allowed their son to assume his rightful position.  Efforts were increased to further unify the two States politically and militarily in expectation of his ascension.  Both the [[AFFS]] and [[LCAF]] increased work on combining their command structure, ranking system and battle doctrines into a single unified organization.

In September [[3031]] the [[Tikonov Free Republic]], a collection of formerly Capellan worlds that were ostensibly independent voted to join the Federated Commonwealth Alliance. The realm was incorporated into the [[Sarna March]].<ref>''Field Manual: Lyran Alliance'', p. 105</ref><ref>''20 Year Update'', p. 12</ref>

===Rasalhague and Skye===
On 13 March [[3034]], [[Haakon Magnusson]] declared himself [[Elected Prince|Prince]] of the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] which, in a surprise move, was agreed to by ''[[Gunji-no-Kanrei]]'' [[Theodore Kurita]].  The Combine's willingness to give up worlds to the nascent state would force the Federated Commonwealth, and in particular the Lyrans, to do the same.  Katrina Steiner had agreed at the onset of the Fourth Succession War to recognize the [[Tyr Resistance Movement|Tyr movement]] as the legitimate government of the Rasalhague worlds, yet most of their gains during the war had been in the [[Rasalhague Military District]].  To avoid appearing as hypocrites, the Lyrans agreed to relinquish control of these worlds to the FRR, effectively creating a buffer between the two States.

This created discord within the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth.  While objections to the alliance was mostly confined to small extremist groups within the Federated Suns, it was much larger and more organized within the Commonwealth.  The loss of men and matériel for what became almost no gain sparked anger and protests, especially within the [[Tamar March|Tamar]] and [[Skye March|Skye]] regions.  The [[First Skye Rebellion]], started by separatists seeking independence similar to Rasalhague, would end after successful negotiations by [[Duke]] [[Ryan Steiner]]; these negotiations has the simultaneous effect of shaming Hanse for seemingly overreacting to the crisis with the use of AFFS troops.  This crisis would tie up FedCom forces and delay their expected attack against the Draconis Combine, originally planned for [[3035]], by several more years.

===Conflict with ComStar===
Although it had been instrumental in facilitating the alliance, [[ComStar]] had no wish to see any one nation dominate the Inner Sphere, especially one dedicated to scientific progress.  During the Fourth Succession War, much of the Federated Commonwealth had been placed under a communications blackout, ostensibly in response to the Suns' attack on the [[HPG]] station on [[Sarna]].  Later investigations would exonerate the AFFS of any wrongdoing and suggest an underhanded plot by a third party; the same would be discovered regarding an apparent attack by the [[Death Commandos]] on the [[New Avalon Institute of Science]].  Only later would it be discovered that ComStar had been the one behind these false-flag attacks.  In any event, the Federated Commonwealth was forced to accept the stationing of the [[Com Guards]] at all HPG stations, and a hidden war would commence between [[ROM]] and the combined forces of the [[LIC]] and [[MIIO]] with [[Operation Flush]].

===War of 3039===
{{Main|War of 3039}}
Renewed conflict with the Combine was seen as inevitable, especially with both the Suns and Commonwealth facing political pressure not only to renew the conquest but also against the alliance in the first place.  When Katrina Steiner stepped down as Archon on 15 March [[3039]] and her daughter Melissa took her place, the die was cast and preparations for the conflict began.  The War of 3039 would start the following month, and end in December.  What should have been a massive victory ended in a practical draw, with the FedComs capturing seven planets to the Combine's three, far short of the projected forty to fifty worlds prior to the conflict.

The delay in the start of the conflict had given Theodore Kurita time to revamp the [[DCMS]] into a more effective fighting force, while the AFFS and LCAF continued to fight as two separate organizations.  FedCom communications were intercepted by the [[ISF]], due to their recovery of a [[Black Box|black box]] during the Fourth Succession War, which were lax in following encryption protocols.  ComStar also assisted the Combine, secretly giving them [[BattleMechs]] incorporating advanced [[lostech]] from the [[Star League]] and preferential HPG rates, and indirectly through their hidden war with the FedCom intelligence communities.  Finally, the FedComs were unwilling to call the Combine's bluff with their final counterattack, and signed the [[Exeter]] Accords in 19 January [[3040]].  The war would highlight problems with the Federated Commonwealth, which despite efforts still remained two distinct political, economic and military entities.

===Decade of Peace===
Following the disastrous War of 3039, the Federated Commonwealth would go through a period of rebuilding and integration.  Learning their lesson from the war, in early [[3041]] the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth]] was officially established.  In order to eliminate confusion, the two militaries were reorganized into State Commands, one for each realm, with full authority over all troops within their area of operation regardless of origin.  The LIC and MIIO was similarly grouped into the [[Intelligence Secretariat]], which was charged with coordinating the disparate agencies under its command.  The industrial and economic might of the two realms also helped them to recover swiftly from the aftermath of the war.  The [[Skye March]] in particular was seen as an opportunity for corporations in both realms, such that in [[3036]] Melissa was forced to intervene to prevent the exploitation of entire planets by greedy industrialists.

However, the FedComs' enemies also took the time to regroup: the Draconis Combine had proved itself more than a paper tiger, while the Capellans were eager to avenge their losses, and the Free Worlds League emerged from the [[Andurien Crisis]] with its house in order.  A Fifth Succession War was seen as inevitable.

===Clan Invasion===
Both sides of the Federated Commonwealth would deal with the might of the Clans. They would see action against Clan Jade Falcon from the Lyran half of the FedCom border. In order to compete with the Clan's technology, they would begin to reverse engineer captured technology that they received in battle. This would make them the first Successor State to create Battle Armor from captured Elemental suits creating: the [[Inner Sphere Standard]], [[Sloth]] and [[Infiltrator]]. Even BattleMechs like the ''[[Bushwacker]]'' were made from salvaged ''[[Mad Dog|Mad Dogs]]''. Hanse Davion himself would begin to deal with "[[Thomas Halas|Thomas Marik]]" for the Free Worlds League's Refit Kits in exchange for treating his son, [[Joshua Marik]]'s leukemia. While the Federated Commonwealth was successful in 3052 after the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]], disaster would strike when Hanse Davion would die of a heart attack. This would weaken the Commonwealth as the responsibility would be passed to an ill-experienced Victor, on the other side of the coin, Katherine Steiner-Davion would work to carve her own piece of the Commonwealth for herself.

In 3057, when Thomas Marik's son succumbed to leukemia, Victor would use a body double devised by his father in case of failure. Victor would use this plan as a way to fool the Captain-General to keep his late father's deal intact. After discovering this plot, Thomas (along with House Liao) would launch [[Operation GUERRERO]] in retaliation for Victor's deception. Using this opportunity, Katherine would secede the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth and rename it the Lyran Alliance, stating her brother had tarnished the name "Commonwealth". She would later call herself "Katrina Steiner" after [[Katrina Steiner|her grandmother]] and even dispose of her own mother and siblings in an effort to consolidate more power.

===FedCom Civil War===
The unity of the Federated Commonwealth would not last forever. After Victor Steiner-Davion had returned to the Inner Sphere from the events of the [[Great Refusal]] in 3060, he found that the Federated Commonwealth's borders were sundered, leaving him in command of the Davion half of the Commonwealth. At first, Victor tried to ignore warring with his sister, Katherine. However the deaths of his [[Melissa Steiner-Davion|mother]] and [[Arthur Steiner-Davion|brother]] had forced his hand, igniting the FedCom Civil War. This would split various AFFC and mercenary units between [[Loyalist|pro-Kathrine]] and [[Allies|pro-Victor]] forces. The FedCom Civil War would end seven years later, culminating in the Battle of Tharkad in 3067, with the defeat of [[Nondi Steiner]] by her nephew, [[Peter Steiner-Davion]]. With the end of the FedCom Civil War, the once mighty empire would cease to exist. While the Davion half of the Federated Commonwealth was renamed back into the Federated Suns by Yvonne Steiner-Davion, the Lyran Alliance kept their name until three decades later when they finally renamed themselves, Lyran Commonwealth.

===Legacy===
Despite the split of the Federated Commonwealth, both sides would learn from each other. The Lyrans would learn to use competent commanders to lead wars instead of relying on so-called "[[Social General|Social Generals]]", while the FedSuns would learn to care about and protect the people of their worlds instead of acting as conquerors. The lessons of the Federated Commonwealth also had an unforeseen consequence that came with it: '''The Jihad'''. With both sides of the former empire refusing to rejoin the Star League, their capitals were leveled in retaliation as the Word of Blake would do this to the other [[Successor States]] and Clans to start off this [[Jihad|inevitable war]].

==Government==
In truth, for most of its existence the Federated Commonwealth was a joint venture between [[Hanse Davion]] and [[Melissa Steiner-Davion]].  With their deaths, the head of the Federated Commonwealth would formally be conferred onto the [[Archon-Prince]], though this position was only ever filled by [[Victor Steiner-Davion]] for a couple of years from [[3055]] to [[3057]].  Below him in the hierarchy would be the [[First Prince]] and [[Archon]] of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth, respectively, who would take over governing duties during his absence.<ref name=20YU15>''20 Year Update'', p. 15</ref>

==Economy==
The lowering of trade restrictions between the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth would do much to strengthen their respective economies, especially after the [[Fourth Succession War]] and [[War of 3039]].  The conquest of fresh territory would also help strengthen the business sector as corporations began to expand and grow into these new markets.  This led to massive exploitation, such that in [[3036]] Melissa Steiner-Davion had to step in and put an end to their unfair practices.  In the years afterward, most effort went towards strengthening local firms, such as the revival of [[Asuncion Industries]].<ref name=20YO18>''20 Year Update'', p. 18</ref>

Trade with the other [[Successor State]]s however dropped dramatically in the years following the Federated Commonwealth's formation.  Only with the [[St. Ives Compact]] and [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] was the Federated Commonwealth an active trader, and even the latter felt constrained to keep economic activity with the new superstate at much lower levels for fear of offending the [[Draconis Combine]].<ref name=20YO18/>

==Military==
{{Main|Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth}}
The '''Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth''' was the combined military of the [[AFFS]] and [[LCAF]].  By early [[3041]] AFFC High Command formally accepted control of the two organizations, and by [[3042]] the last vestiges of both militaries was discarded.  By [[3050]] the AFFC was the largest military organization in the Inner Sphere, with a [[BattleMech]] strength of 256 [[regiment]]s and 1 [[battalion]].<ref name=20YO19>''20 Year Update'', p. 19</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Lyran Alliance]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]''
* ''[[Historical: War of 3039]]''
* ''[[Interstellar Operations: Alternate Eras]]''

[[Category:Nation States|Federated Commonwealth]]