as

Bide his time, that was what Aldo had told him. Bide his time? As if the Witch's position as Archon weren't even more secure now than it had been when she'd deposed their uncle! It should have been him to lead the Commonwealth, but now that Victory had come with such benefits under the Witch's guidance, it seemed all but impossible.

When he'd consulted with Aldo, he'd been told much the same as he had been when he had wanted to take his regiments to Tharkad to counter-coup the Witch. Bide your time, he'd said, both then and now. Well, Frederick Steiner was sick of waiting. He could bide his time no longer. It was an unfortunate reality, however, that any attempted coup would be doomed to failure at this point. After brainstorming a way to potentially succeed and coming up with nothing good, Frederick had hit upon another plan.

First, he resigned his commission in the LCAF. Then, he began to gather together a number of mercenary groups, including the famed Eridani Light Horse, and Ducal Forces as he was still the Duke of Duran. He gathered supplies and funds for a major expedition. All the while evading inquiries from the Witch's people as to what he was trying to do, though the answer, when they found out, likely surprised the Witch. Frederick would have given an arm to have seen the expression on the Witch's Face when he jumped with his gathered force away from Duran and began heading for the Circinius Federation.

After all, the Poniatowski Boy was not the only one who could conquer, and Frederick had more experience and resources than he could have hoped to have for a starting position. He wouldn't stop with the Circinius Federation either. The Lothian League, the Illyrian Palatinate, even the Marian Hegemony if he could get away with it without stretching himself too thin. All of them would fall before his forces.

Of course, he didn't just do this apropos of nothing. Janos Marik was backing him quite heavily on this, on the understanding that the resulting periphery realm would be a silent partner in the Tri-Star Alliance. His acquiescence would effectively make it a Four-Way Alliance, one that had counterbalances to the egomania of the Kuritas and the Insanity of the Liaos in the somewhat calmer tempers of himself and Janos Marik. Frederick could still recall the conversation he and Janos Marik had when they had hatched this scheme.

"Why the Periphery? Normally such an option is only taken when you have no other choices for advancement in the Sphere Proper." Questioned Janos Marik.

"There's an Old Terran Saying, Captain-General. Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven." Smirked Frederick.

"You see yourself as Lucifer then?" Queried Janos Marik.

"In more ways than one." Affirmed Frederick.

"How so?" Asked Janos Marik.

"Well, for the moment, the Witch is too secure in her power to unseat from within. My allies in the Federation of Skye are countered by her stalwarts elsewhere in the Commonwealth, especially in the Tamar Pact. I, unfortunately, do not have enough of a powerbase of my own outside the Duchy of Duran to counter that and the Lestrades have advised biding our time. It seems that the Witch is here to stay for the time being." Began Frederick.

"Victory will do that for a ruler. I'm assuming then, that your plan to conquer the Circinius Federation, Lothian League, and Illyrian Palatinate is about gaining that extra powerbase that you lack?" Questioned Janos Marik.

"Indeed, Captain-General. Think about it, there are twenty-two worlds in the area just waiting for someone with a powerful enough force and enough vision to forge them into a unified state. If the Poniatowski Boy can do it, how hard can it be? And once I have my Periphery State, it can be used as a springboard for fomenting a revolt." Pitched Frederick.

"You believe the Lestrades and Skye will join you in such a thing?" Queried Janos.

"If it were paired with battlefield success? Absolutely." Answered Frederick.

"Which means you would be waiting until the next war to launch your coup, doesn't it?" Asked Janos Marik.

"Just so, Captain-General. Think about it, a chance to roll back the gains of the last war. With me on the Throne in Tharkad, the Lyran Commonwealth would fully enter into the Alliance and we could dispense with the Kuritas and Liaos, unreliable as they are. The entire sphere would be ours for the taking." Insisted Frederick.

"I will require a sweetener, you understand? Something to sell the idea of backing your venture to the Kuritas and Liaos." Informed Janos Marik.

"I thought you might say that. I am told that you are looking to reverse-engineer any new technologies you can get your hands on with aid from the memory core pulled out of Helm? I have brought working examples of the Poniatowski Boy's Rifleman Two Battlemech, Sabre Two Aerospace Fighter, and Scorpion Two Light Tank. Purchased out of pocket with my own funds as a token of how seriously I am taking this venture." Responded Frederick.

Like that, Frederick knew that he had gotten Janos Marik on board with his plan. The funding for this venture had started coming in through shell companies owned by SAFE and funneled through middlemen who never knew what they were working towards. That Funding had been instrumental in snagging the contract with the Eridani Light Horse. With that, Frederick had gotten his Personal Army and Aerospace Task Force together, and they had set off.

Now, as they exited the jump point over Circinius, Frederick Steiner surveyed the forces arrayed against them. It was a pitiful showing, a pair of Aerospace Fighter Wings to contest Orbit, a single defensive station, and a handful of Dropships. He grinned wolfishly as he saw that.

This was going to be much easier than he had even anticipated. . .

XXXX

"He did what?" Demanded Katrina Steiner, the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth couldn't believe what she had just been told.

"He attacked the Circinius Federation, My Lady. It seems that our fears of a potential coup by your cousin were unfounded. He wasn't looking within, but without." Informed Simon Johnson, the Chancellor of the Lyran Intelligence Corps.

"I wouldn't be so certain. My Cousin is a prideful man, he may have channeled his anger at my accession to the throne over the years into more productive avenues but that anger is still there." Huffed Katrina Steiner.

"You don't think his temper will cool once he is the ruler of an empire of his own?" Questioned Simon Johnson.

"Maybe, but something in my gut tells me no. He must have something else planned. I can't see my cousin being satisfied with the Circinius Federation alone." Mused Katrina Steiner.

"Maybe he intends to carry on his assault to the Lothian League and Illyrian Palatinate?" Queried Simon Johnson.

"Perhaps even the Marian Hegemony. He may try and reach for them as well. If he does, he'll overextend himself." Nodded Katrina Steiner.

"He does seem the type, so my personality analysts tell me. I'm afraid I haven't had much cause to socialize with the Duke of Duran, My Lady." Shrugged Simon Johnson.

"That isn't the part we should worry about, Simon." Frowned Katrina Steiner.

"No, My Lady?" Questioned Simon Johnson.

"No, it is not." Concurred Katrina Steiner.

"Then what is?" Queried Simon Johnson.

"Why, what my cousin does after he has his periphery empire, of course. It will be in a prime position to flank us in the event of another war with the Tri-Star Alliance." Informed Katrina Steiner.

"So it would be, Surely he is not that brazen, though, My Lady?" Asked Simon Johnson.

"He may be. Keep a close eye on the situation, Simon. If he does decide to stick the dagger in our collective backs, I will want at least some forewarning." Ordered Katrina Steiner.

"As you wish." Saluted Simon.

Simon Johnson left his Archon then, turning on his heel and leaving the room to begin making arrangements so that Katrina's orders could be carried out speedily and with efficiency. That left the Archon sitting there with only her guards for company. Melissa was off in Cold Creek, handling a labor dispute between the factory workers and the Lockheed-CBM Company at the facility there. She'd done well enough in their dealings with the Poniatowski and had even allowed them to begin repairs of their small flotilla of junked Corvettes in the Repair Facilities of the Grand Duchy of New Ålborg. Compared to that, a Labor Dispute that had yet to progress to a strike was nothing.

That did leave Katrina alone with her thoughts as they turned toward her Cousin. Frederick had never been content with how she had attained power, but it had been required. Their Uncle was not fit to be Archon any longer. The way he'd bungled the war against the Free Worlds League had shown everyone in the whole Lyran Commonwealth that truth.

Of course, the root of their dispute had always been that Frederick thought it should have been him in the Archon's Seat. It was a shame, family shouldn't fight like this. They weren't the Liaos, with a family tradition of blackmail, assassination, coup, and counter-coup. Katrina had brought peace to the Commonwealth on victorious terms against the Free Worlds League not long after deposing their uncle. That should have proven she'd been right to take the Archon's Seat. Frederick was always stubborn, though.

"What are you up to, Cousin?" She mused to the empty air.

Unfortunately, neither the walls of the chamber nor the twin guards at the door, or even her own mind could answer that question. Katrina Steiner sighed out in frustration. In the end, there was only one person in the whole Sphere who could answer that question, Frederick himself. Katrina would be forced to wait and see what his answer was when the time came.

XXXX

As it would turn out, the Circinius Federation would fall in a brief campaign led by Frederick Steiner. The overwhelming force brought to bear against them, combined with the decapitation strike on Circinius itself hadn't done the defenders any favors. Even if it hadn't been a seasoned commander like Frederick Steiner attacking them. President McIntyre and his son, H.R. McIntyre were both slain in the fighting for Claybourne Remembered, Circinius' Capital City, and the location of the Federation's Government.

From there, the rest of the Federation fell like dominos. The Last Holdout being a small, Company-Sized Force from the Black Warriors and a Battalion of the McIntyre House Guard on Maximilian. Frederick himself joined the fray alongside his First Ducal Guards Regiment and the Twenty-First Striker Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse. The enemy hadn't stood a chance, though they'd put up enough of a fight to be worthwhile.

In the end, however, it hadn't mattered. The last force of the Circinius Federation had been crushed in battle in the Northpoint Badlands outside the Planetary Capital of Horpe's Forge. From start to finish, it took less than two months for Frederick's collection of Ducal Forces and Mercenary Formations to conquer the Circinius Federation.

Frederick didn't pause to celebrate his victory, however. He immediately sent a message to Lothario, demanding the Grand Mistress of the Lothian League surrender and accept annexation. Frederick knew that Lorelei Logan would refuse and he would have his war, but in the time it took for his courier ships to make the trip and back from Lothario, he consolidated his gains.

Two weeks later, the expected reply came and once more, Frederick Steiner would be off to war. . .

XXXX

AN: The next chapter is already up on my Patreon, so check the link in the threadmarked post if you guys feel like throwing me a couple bucks to get chapters in advance. Everyone who does is super appreciated and I can't thank my patrons enough.

So yeah, I hinted that something big was going down with Frederick Steiner. Here, he's decided to emulate Milton's Lucifer and conquer a swathe of territory in the Periphery to function as a power base from which to launch a coup against Katrina during the next inevitable Successor War. He's cooperating with Janos Marik, and through him, the Tri-Star Alliance, to do so.

While Archon Katrina isn't nearly as blind as they're hoping in all this, it's still a bad position to be in for the Lyrans, even if the LIC can give advanced warning of any stab in the back by Frederick before it arrives. To deal with such a thing, they'd have to pull troops off the fronts against the Combine, Capellans, or FWL to counter, after all, even if they can see it coming.

Suffice it to say, this is going to have massive butterflies for a long time to come. For example, it is unlikely Frederick becomes Anastasius Focht by pulling this stunt. That in turn, impacts the course of the Clan Invasion. We'll be flying without a map, there.

At any rate, in the next chapter we'll be back with Jozef.