New Earth and the Hurricane Legion (A Non-Canon Look in to History of these two)

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Akirapryde2006
07/27/15 03:11 PM
71.100.132.249

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Okay so before I start posting these stories and notes there are some things I need to explain.

First off, what you are reading are my game notes from a Mechwarrior game that was first run back in 1992 when I was stationed at Ft Riley, and continued through my transfer to Germany and then to Ft Sill. The game took a major pause because of my departure from the US Army in 2000. What you know today regarding New Earth from books published after 2005 are not covered in our game because at the time they didn’t exist for us.

Secondly, our game while a home brew universe did try to follow the major events of the canon universe. Yes we did make some events center on our story via reenacting two major battles (Battle of Luthien, and the Battle of Tukayyid) with our unit involved in them. However, for the most part we tried to remain out of the way of the major plots going on. As for our actions and equipment. Everything we built was done by the rules that we had available to us during the time of game play. No we didn’t break any of the rules for creation of units, weapons or mechs. So while yes it might seem unreal, holding true to the rules was one thing we took pride in.

Lastly, I would love feedback. I love writing and this is more a labor of love to a game that inspired me. So please feel free to comment. I am always looking for ways to make this story better (though I want to remain true to what happened within our game). You can post your comments here or email me at Akirapryde2006 @ yahoo.com.

Without further delay, here is the history of our game as my notes reflect it.

I hope you all enjoy what I have created here.
Akirapryde2006
07/27/15 03:12 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter One: The Beginnings: New Earth Civil War

To better understand New Earth in the 3060's, one must look back through New Earth's historical raise and fall. The golden age of the Star League and the darkness that came after its fall all helped shape the events that molded New Earth. It was these events that set the stage for New Earth's most dramatic transformation during the last forty years. The most drastic and lasting of these changes started to occur during the 3020's. However long before these changes came along, New Earth was truly a place to behold. Being one of the first worlds settled outside of the Sol system, New Earth had become a gem in the stellar collection of the Terran Alliance. This thriving world quickly became a center of commerce, culture and tourism as humanity continued to spread across the stars. When the Star League was formed, New Earth's importance only grew that much larger as it became a key strategic supply and training world. From its military training grounds, rose one of the finest militaries in the entire Inner Sphere, the Star League Defense Force or the SLDF.

On New Earth, the SLDF founded their Headquarters and expanded the training areas. Most importantly was the construction of the Apollo Shipyards deep within the system. The Apollo Shipyards were one of the primary military construction yards of the SLDF. New Earth continued to rise in both status and wealth throughout the Golden Years of the Star League. A cross New Earth the standard of living continued to rise as the Golden Years of the Star League rolled on. However dark clouds were growing from the depths of the Periphery. New Earth would be set in the sights of conflict for the first time in over two hundred years. A wave of death was coming from the Periphery State the Rim Worlds Republic and their twisted leader, Stefan Amaris. This historical event was came to be known as the Amaris’ Coup.

It was because of its importance to the Star League that New Earth suffered greatly during Amaris’ Coup of 2750. The people of New Earth fought alongside their SLDF allies to protect the Terran Hegemony with the bravery of historical measure. From their secret Freedom Base within the system, loyalists waged a partisan war against Republican Forces within system. They launched wave after wave of sabotage and assassination of military leaders. It became clear that New Earth was becoming harder and harder for Republican forces to control. The population simply wouldn’t be dominated.

While this narrative was no different on any other occupied world, on New Earth took the ideals of partisan warfare on like a Vail of Honor. The partisans of New Earth took on a local snake as their symbol. Nicknamed the Chameleon Snake for its ability to blend in with its surroundings. The Chameleon Snake’s natural skin color is a rust reddish color. Black flags with a red snake started showing up as the flag of the partisan forces. The flag showed their resolve against the brute force of the Republican militaries. Even in the most heavily guarded areas of New Earth, the partisan took pride in assassinating leaders or conducting acts of sabotage.

With Star League forces closing on the Republican forces defeat was becoming more and more assured for Republican forces. Local Republican commanders saw this defeat directly linked to the partisans of New Earth. Because of this, they turned their anger towards the population of New Earth. Occupying Republican forces unleashed brutal reprisal attacks against the planet. These attacks laid waste to vast regions of the planet. The civilian losses and suffering were of historical measure. The population of New Earth was left victim to widespread famine and disease in addition to the shock and demoralization that went hand in hand with the damage inflicted on their world. With the final liberation of New Earth, it was written by historians that a lone partisan flag flew above a captured Republican Dropship.

After the Coup and the liberation of New Earth, there were hopes that the Terran Hegemony would stabilize. However, the Coup led directly to the fall of the leaderless Terran Hegemony. Because of this, it wasn’t long before the Star League collapsed under the greed of the other House Lords. War quickly engulfed the entire Inner Sphere of Humanity. What would become known as the Succession Wars would not only shape the destruction of the Inner Sphere, but would also go on to reshape this proud and wealthy world. Despite all their hopes, the coming war would not bypass New Earth. Within days of the fall of the Terran Hegemony, invaders once more threaten New Earth’s peace. This time there would be no SLDF to come to the rescue.

Known for its wealth and importance to commerce, the Lyran Commonwealth sought to claim this once important world. Without a standing military any more, the Lyran forces were able to secure the world with little trouble. However there were a series of notable battles between defenders of the world. These battles were largely one sided in favor of the Lyrans. Despite the heroic efforts of the local defenders these small battles were short lived across New Earth. No amount of valor and courage could stem the tidal wave of Lyran troops. Within a year, New Earth was soundly in Lyran control. However this wasn’t the end of conflict on New Earth. It wasn’t long till Free World League troops landed on New Earth in hopes of conquering the world.

This one battle would be the only major battle that would take place on New Earth during the entire era known as the Succession Wars. However numerous raids would further tap an already suffering world. Under Lyran rule for the majority of the Succession Wars, New Earth was unable to make a significant recovery because of the constant raids and battles being fought in the region between the Lyrans and their enemies. It wasn’t long before the Succession Wars moved away from New Earth as it was left to smolder.

With its destruction near complete, New Earth was no longer the shining gem within the crown of the Terran Hegemony it once was. With its former glory blasted by the winds of war, New Earth became a world forgotten. As the wars wage on elsewhere, even enemies of the Lyrans lost interest in New Earth. It was even rumored that New Earth was even forgotten by the Lyrans whom had claimed it. Forgotten by the Inner Sphere that once looked to it for inspiration, New Earth slipped in to isolation and from the memories as the rest of the Inner Sphere moved forward. The people of New Earth were left to fend for themselves as they tried to crawl out of the death and destruction leveled against them after decades of conflict. It was during this time that they formed their strongest ideology.

New Earth's geological features include three major continents and several large island chains. The smallest of the continents, named Sagittarius, was the first colonized and is the most densely populated of the continents. The next largest continent, named Pisces, was dubbed the Bread Basket of Terran Hegemony. During its height, New Earth exported millions of tons of food to other worlds. This export was almost half of the world's GDP. During the early 31st Century, the farmers of Pisces could barely support the continent let alone anyone else. The continent of Cancer is by far the largest of the three continents and least populated. During the days of the Star League, Cancer was an outdoor paradise. With huge open mountain ranges and vast frozen forests, it also made for an ideal training area for the Star League Defense Force. During the early 31’s Century, Cancer's parks and training grounds had been all reclaimed by nature.

The center of New Earth are what are called the Central Islands. These lush islands were colonized by settlers from the South Pacific regions as well as Amerindian tribes from North America of Terra. During the height of New Earth’s fame, these tribes never let go of their heritage. 26th Century, the Central Island communities banded together and formed the Joint Island Conference (JIC). The Conference was created to protect the heritage of many native Terra heritages and was hailed as a major social achievement for New Earth.

During the dark years of the Succession Wars, this heritage gave the Islanders strength and unity to survive the years to come. During the late 28th Century the resolve of the JIC was tested at all new levels. In 2791, New Earth was hit by a large meteor just south of the central islands. The devastation was wide spread across the world and the death toll was massive. History recorded that Jennifer Steiner, the leader of the Lyran Commonwealth had planned a large relief mission for New Earth. However her death cut those plans off before the mission could be launched. Her predecessor used the ships for the relief mission to further military missions instead. Cut off from any help the people of the Joint Island Conference as well as the rest of New Earth were left to rebuild their homes, lives and culture once more.

Events that set the stage for the New Earth which we know today occurred on two separate worlds that were light years apart but linked in one man’s fate. On New Earth, poverty and unemployment saw the world reaching the lowest state of depression it had ever been in. This allowed six wealthy and powerful businesspersons proclaimed themselves Barons of New Earth and organized what will become known as the Council of Barons. While few of the leaders actually had the best intentions of the people, most of them were only power hungry opportunists. It was the corrupt rightful leader of New Earth that brought these would be Barons in to unity. Their first official act was to demand that the ruler of New Earth, Baron Kilt, step down.

The Kilt family had rightfully ruled New Earth since the Lyran’s claimed the world at the fall of the Terran Hegemony. The Kilt family had long been entrenched in corruption and used their vast wealth to ensure that they kept the Lyrans appeased. Baron Kilt refused to surrender New Earth to these usurpers and ordered the rouges arrested. Thus triggering a Civil War on New Earth between the Lyran backed Government Forces of Baron Kilt and the Marik backed forces of the Council of Barons or COB 1(For more about the COB please refer to Attachment 1A).

While both sides had off world backers, neither off world backer had any real interest in New Earth or its civil war. Because of this, neither side was able to gain an upper hand. While the Council of Barons did have a numerical advantage over all, infighting between factions weakened their combined front against Government Forces. While Baron Kilt was fighting for his life, the Lyrans simply refused to provide the needed support to end the civil war. It quickly became clear that neither side had the ability to win the Civil War outright. Within months of the first armed conflict, the Civil War dragged in to a sluggish stalemate.

This stalemate only fueled the wide scale suffering of the population even further than it was at the beginning of the war. Sadly there was no popular support for either side during this conflict. However, the war did bring one positive affect to New Earth. Many unemployed young men and women were hired as soldiers. However this influx of spending and the conflict triggered an increase in inflation which only widened the poverty gap on New Earth. New Earth was speeding its way to a critical tipping point. Sadly no one was paying attention to these vital events. That was, years later it would become clear that someone was watching these events closely. Comstar had its plans for New Earth and these events were shaping those plans perfectly.

Light years away, events were unfolding that would reshape New Earth forever. A man and woman, both in their late twenties, stepped off of an unremarkable transport and on to the gaming world of Solaris VII. At the time, no one thought any different of this most recent arrivals to Solaris. Like so many, the pair walked on to the game world with their own hopes and dreams. However unlike the masses, here on Solaris, this pair were going to make a name for themselves. The man, Jake Death, was a no body with big expectations and dreams.

Jake Death, a better than average mech pilot, made a quick name for himself working for Oonthrax Stables. He demonstrated strong tactical and strategic skills that left many to think he had military training at some point in his life before coming to the Game World. However Jake refused to talk about any of his personal history before Solaris. Instead, he focused on his growing reputation in the arenas. A reputation that was growing with each new success. His partner, Patricia King proved to be a vital partner in the areas. However she never showed the same kind of skill that Jake or other arena pilots mastered. For all of his shine, Jake Death’s career with Oonthrax was cut short by a bitter rivalry with Oonthrax’s rising star, Fallen Angel.

During the Grand Melee of 3022, Jake and Fallen squared off to lay claim to the coveted title of Number One of Solaris. While other battles raged around them in the massive Davion Arena, Jake's Atlas faced Fallen's Grasshopper. The battle was all that the fans had hoped for as the two expert pilots fought a bitter match. Fallen used her mech’s mobility to its fullest as Jake’s Atlas took a pounding. However for all that Atlas took, Jake handed Fallen a series of brutal counter attacks. These attacks nearly cost Fallen the match and her title. However, in what would go down as one of the most contested events in Solaris history, a malfunction in Jake's Atlas cost him the match. The explosion vaporized the hundred ton Battlemech and nearly cost Jake Death his life.

An unofficial investigation found that there were signs of a possibly act of sabotage. It appeared that there might had been an explosive device planted in the self-loading system of the Atlas’ main cannon. This triggered a catastrophic explosion that destroyed the mech and nearly killed Jake Death. Further evidence indicated that there might have been links to Fallen's brother, Dark Angel, regarding the possible sabotage plot. Despite the evidence, there no solid link to Fallen or her brother to the sabotage.

The official report concluded that there was evidence of a likely act of sabotage however source of the explosion could have been a simple malfunction. Because of this, no official action was taken from the incident and Fallen Angel was allowed to claim the title of Number One. This was a bitter defeat that Jake Death swore to avenge. Police reports indicated an armed conflict at the hospital where Jake Death was being treated at. By the time police arrived on the scene both parties had fled the hospital and no arrests were made. That night, Jake Death and his partner vanished from public attention.

Meanwhile, back on New Earth the continued Civil War had devolved in to a disorganized debacle with no end in sight. While the Council of Barons enjoyed massive pick up in support from their Marik backers, they lacked the military discipline and leadership to mount an effective campaign against the Government Forces or their rivals. The overall goal of defeating the Government was further hampered by infighting and greed between the leaders of the Council of Barons. During 3023, there were no less than three attempted military coups or assassinations with the goals of overthrowing independent leaders of the Council of Barons. While outwardly, the COB leaders claimed that their rivals within the COB were behind these acts, the truth was much more damaging. These acts were actually carried out by New Earth Partisans. It was a clear sign that the COB had completely lost public support. This only further divided the COB and made any real organized efforts nearly impossible. This gave the Government a distinct advantage over the COB if Baron Kilt could overcome his own disadvantages.

Sadly, the Lyran backed, Baron Kilt fared no better. Pushing unpopular policies and taxes continued meant to punish local COB supporters only push them further way from supporting the Government. Baron Kilt also had to face his own issues with the New Earth Partisans. His reaction to the Partisans only fueled their hatred for him. After two of his advisors were found murdered and their calling card discovered on the bodies, Baron Kilt ordered five hundred innocent civilians arrested. He also ordered that his military units no longer limit their attacks to military targets. This only inflamed the Partisans further. The Civil War took a nasty turn as entire communities were laid to waste.

During the later months of 3024, the war hardened mercenary unit, Smitty's Commandos landed on the continent of Pisces. The mercenary command easily captured four large towns from Government forces and one city from Free Farmers Militia. The loss of this city cost the Free Farmers Militia dearly as it was one of their key resupply bases. While the Militia attempted to reclaim the city several times, each time the Commandos held fast and drove the Militia back each time. These defeats would later define the relationship between Smitty's Commandos and the Free Farmers Militia for years to come.

With the arrival of the Commandos, both the COB and Baron Kilt attempted to hire the mercenary command without success. It was later discovered that Smitty's Commandos were in fact from New Earth. Born and raised on New Earth, the cities which they had secured were their hometowns and where their families resided. Smitty’s Commandos set up road blocks and sectioned off their holdings on New Earth as areas of no conflict. Each time any faction attempted to cross the area they were bitterly toss out by the Commandos. While both sides of the war were contending with Partisans, there was no recorded Partisan acts against the Commandos.

Baroness Renee Eaton, of the COB, found a way to ensure that, at the least, the Commandos wouldn't turn their skills and weapons against the COB. She offered their commander, John Smith, a full membership in to the Council of Barons and an honorary title of Baron. While he never officially accepted the offer, Baroness Eaton allowed rumors to be leaked that he had actually accepted the offer and was offering direct military advice to the Council its self. After the war, it was revealed that these rumors were all false and that John Smith never had any intention of assisting either side. Only events later changed his mind.

Those rumors of his acceptance caused Baron Kilt to issue an arrest warrant for Colonel John Smith. After an attempt by the Government to have the Colonel arrested while walking out of a local church, the mercenary commander decided to lend minor support to the COB. While in the beginning he never attended any official COB meeting or visited their headquarters on Aries, he did sit down with many COB military commanders and help them in creating some strategies against the Government. Colonel Smith walked a fine line with the COB in his support of their operations.

Luckily for him, for all the advice he offered it was for not. This advice should have been a huge boost to the COB's military operations. He helped draft up large unit strategies that could have ensured success on the battlefield. However the COB political leadership stood in the way of any real gains. Between the infighting over power, further wealth grabbing, and general mistrust between political leaders of the COB, their military operations suffered greatly. The dysfunctional war continued and the world continued its final downward spiral to complete destruction.

The crisis grew so large on New Earth that the Lyran Commonwealth's leader, Archon Katrina Steiner, demanded for the bloodshed to be ended. As a result Baron Kilt recommissioned one of the oldest naval warships in the Inner Sphere. The naval battleship Bizmark was built on New Earth during the early days of the Terran Alliance. It had long fallen in to disrepair and all but forgotten in one of New Earth's scrapyards. Baron Kilt hoped that her powerful guns would level the field of battle over the high seas, which the COB currently controlled. Baron Kilt vested nearly a million C-bills in her overhaul. He also bought a large number of support ships to act as a defense screen for the massive ship. As the ship was getting ready to set sail with its flotilla, rumors spread throughout the COB of the massive military project.

Baron Kilt was no fool, he knew that the COB had a three to one advantage in Battlemechs and much higher advantages in both Armor and Infantry. He knew that unless something was done to end the war, they would put aside their infighting and turn against him in a unified front. It would be the end of his rule over New Earth and an end to Lyran influenced on New Earth. He organized a secret meeting between himself and a few selected members of the COB Leadership. His plan was to divide the leadership of COB and try to at least reach a separate peace with some of the more reasonable members of the COB. This would allow him to defeat the others on the field of battle. It would be a fateful meeting for both the Government and the COB.

He arranged to meet with a pair of the renigate Barons from the COB. This fateful meeting between Baron Kilt and Baron Shiver Eaton (Baroness Renee Eaton’s father) and Baron Nick Baily was set at the Planetary Capital. He had chosen the two man carefully. Baron Shiver Eaton was one of the core founders of the COB and major financial backer of the Rebel front. Baron Nick Baily was the heart and soul of the group. Baron Baily had actually been close friends with Baron Kilt before the war. It was because of this friendship that this meeting was even made possible. Peace was never closer at hand for New Earth.

Under pressure from the Lyran leadership to end the war, Baron Kilt made it clear that all topics were on the table to be talked about. If Baron Kilt could find some middle ground with the two Rebel leaders, he might be able to weaken their combined front and maybe more would join the peace talks. It would mark the last time that Baron Kilt would reach out to the COB in hopes of a peaceful means to end the war. While on route to the meeting site, a bomb exploded killing the two COB Leaders. A second blast, at nearly the same time, rocked the Baron Kilt's estate killing the Baron's wife and infant daughter.

While at the time both sides secretly blamed the New Earth Partisans for the bombing, it would take nearly twenty years later to learn the truth. That the two bombings were planned and carried out on the orders of Baron Eaton's own daughter, Renee Eaton. Publicly it was the COB that was able to seize the media high ground. In a show of pure manipulation on the media's stage, Baroness Eaton blamed the bombings on Baron Kilt and demonized him for the cold blooded murder of her father. The event secured her place within the COB leadership. A position that wouldn’t be challenged for years to come.

Baron Kilt went mad with grief and rage, he unleashed warfare across New Earth like never seen before. Revenge had become the order of the day for the Government Forces. Thousands across the worlds were arrested while hundreds more simply vanished in the dead of night, never to be seen again. This time of New Earth became known as the Time of Bloodletting. To ensure that he was protected from the much feared New Earth Partisans, Baron Kilt surrounded himself with his most trusted bodyguards. The COB was forced to do the same. As many who were watching the war feared, the war had a new active player involved. Things were finally out of control.

With Comstar now reporting on the war on a near nightly basis, the scale of the bloodshed and violence resonated across the region and reached as far as the Royal Court on the Lyran Capital world of Tharkad. The Lryan leadership no longer could sit back and do nothing as one of its worlds was ripped apart at the seams. Despite warnings from many military advisors, plans were drawn up to send in a large military force to New Earth to put an end to the bloodshed. Fears of only increasing the level of bloodshed echoed in the halls of the Royal Court. Unless something was done soon, Tharkad was going to become drawn in to this nasty war.

Baroness Eaton had hoped to use the bombings and deaths as a means to gain further control over the COB. But she knew that the rest of the COB leadership wouldn’t accept her as their divine leader. She needed a controllable puppet on the Council to further her own agenda. So once more she manipulated the situation. Baroness Eaton turned to fellow COB Leader Baron Markus Johns and his mentally challenged daughter for her solution. She managed to manipulate a meeting between Markus Johns and stage a highly skilled assassination of the COB Leader. To ensure that she was above accusation, she had ensured that she was injured in the attempted assassination. The killing had all the markings of a Partisan assassination plot. While the rest of the COB was looking to take over Baron Johns’ former territory, Baroness Eaton gave an outcry over the plots.

In a spirited speech to the COB Leadership, she manipulated the COB leadership in to allowing Baron Johns’ daughter Stacy Johns to assume leadership of her father’s holdings and military. The senior leader of the New Earth Crusaders (Baron Johns’ faction) was named as regent over the faction. Only Colonel John Smith had noted the growing danger within the COB leadership. He had attempted to warn the rest of the COB Leaders of Baroness Eaton’s manipulations and plots. His warnings were laughed off as Baroness Eaton now had two secured votes on the COB and had strong influence over two others. This turn of events shifted a major degree of both military and political power to the power hungry Renee Eaton.

However despite the fears and concerns of some members of the COB, there was no going back. The war would continue to feed on the people of New Earth as these bitter rivals continued in their power struggle. Because of stepped up military support by the Lyrans, their off world backer and rivals of the Lyrans, the Free Worlds League increased their military support to the COB. With powerful off world elements moving in the shadows and factions on the ground locked in a bitter struggle, the timing had never been more prefect for change on New Earth. And events in the coming months would reshape New Earth for decades to come.

Back on Solaris VII, by 3029 the rivalry between Jake Death and Fallen Angel grew so broadly and intense that a media reporter claimed, 'this war couldn't have been written. It was a sheer product of Fate herself!' When his rise to the top of the Solaris Rankings was cut short, Jake Death took to community service. He opened up his own Mech Stables in the outlining area around Solaris City called the Reaches. He named his stables, Hurricane Stable. He used his stables as a means to help the local youths and wayward Mechwarriors who had crossed in to trouble. He set up a number of outreach programs to build local support for his stables.

While he was only a better than average Mechwarrior, Jake Death had a strong talent in his personal relations with local leaders and the media. Clearly a master of public speaking, Jake Death moved in the poverty regions of Solaris City gaining a new name for himself. Many called him the ‘Underdog’ for his knack for facing off with crime lords and gangs alike to help bring order to the community where his stables was founded. In earning more local support, he signed a deal with the Solaris Courts and Correctional Administration. This deal allowed him to have a limited number of Mechwarriors who had been convicted of crimes to serve out their sentences while working for his stables.

Far from the glitter and fame of the main arenas, Jake Death started to train and hone the skills of his Mechwarriors. At the same time, he also work on his own skills. To further this goal, he took his group of Mechwarriors a number of short training excursions to the continent of Equatus. Here in the wilderness expanses of Equatus he was able to train his Mechwarriors out of sight of the media. Jake Death set up military style training programs for his Mechwarriors that drove many to the breaking point. Some couldn’t take the life of order and discipline that was offered. However most had no choice but push through the program in hopes of changing their fortunes. While the Media was blind to what was going on, this only drove them more wild to discover what was going on behind the walls of Hurricane Stables. However this didn’t stop rumors from leaking out.

It became known throughout the Game World that 'if you couldn't make in anywhere else, seek out Hurricane Stables. It might be your last best hope for a shot at greatness.' Using the media’s own thirst for information, Jake Death worked day and night to remake his image. He gave limits number of speeches and allowed his actions in working with local leaders to speak for its self. He also focused on building an image of his stables. As time passed, his Stables looked more like a military outfit than some shoddy stables which the Reaches had been well known for. The origin of this success was given to Jake Death’s long time personal friend and partner, Patrice King. It was through her training program that these undisciplined Mechwarriors found their grove and turned them in to a force not to be reckoned with.

To this end, he brought the entire stables a new style and look. With their bright cavalry uniform and sharp military discipline they stood out and became heroes of the Reaches. By the end of the year, Jake Death was ready to recapture the hearts and minds of Solaris. His first move was to target a starving media. He finally opened the doors of his stables to allow an open house event. It was in that moment that the world of Solaris stepped forward and took notice of this reshaped and reformed group of Mechwarriors. One Comstar reporter noted that the Hurricane Stable was the single best organized stables to ever come out of the Reaches. Jake Death knew it was time to move and his stables moved like a Hurricane through the minor areas of the Reaches.

While rumors from the Reaches did reach Fallen Angel, she was no more successful in learning the secrets that Jake Death was keeping behind the walls of his Mech Stables. However once he opened up the gates and put his Mechwarrior in the areas, she quickly learned of Jake Death's successes in the Reaches. Anger filled her as she once more saw his star on the raise. Within days of his open house event, her own success was no longer bring reports as his was taking front page. A slight that she couldn’t allow to be unanswered. Despite her own success, she wouldn’t allow anyone to share the light with her.

Years after their fateful battle, Fallen had become a Stable Master of her own stables, called Broken Halo Stables. Broken Halo Stables boasted a triple “A” rating and had five ranking Mechwarriors signed to it. As her own stables gain fame, she had become a common name across Solaris. Many saw her as the next Legend of Solaris. Fallen Angel’s story was told as an inspiration to other young Mechwarriors. Not only was she Solaris’ Number One and undefeated champion she was Stable Master of one of the most coveted stables on all of Solaris. Envy however was her own undoing.

Seeing Death's star on the raise once more was taken as a slap in the face. Fallen Angel set out on a course to crush her old ravel once and for all. Because Hurricane Stables lacked an Official Ranking, they were unable to compete in the main arenas of Solaris. Either she accepted an official challenge from the lesser stables or she would have to send her own Mechwarriors down to the slums of Solaris to battle Death’s own Mechwarriors. Being a former street rat herself, she understood that this meant a turf war with the slums stables. Which was fine with her, she was recorded saying to reporters, 'so much the better, defeat them in the gutters and they won’t have far to go to get back home.'

Fallen handpicked her pilots to travel to the Reaches and challenge Hurricane warriors. As news of the coming matches spread across the Reaches. Fallen had no doubt that these opening matches would be sound victories against Hurricane pilots in their own backyard. As the first of these matches was getting ready to go live, the pilots of Broken Halo never trained up for what should have been a one sided battle. Even Fallen didn’t take the battle seriously as she never crossed in to the Reaches to watch it personally. However, she did watch them from her multi-million C-Bill apartment in Solaris City. The odds were so lopsided that most bookies refused to take beats on this first battle. However, the supporters and fans of the Hurricane Stables would not be disappointed.

With the home field advantage and the local community backing their favorite Mechwarriors of the Hurricane Stables cheered with thunder as Broken Halo Stables saw defeat after defeat. Unlike battling in the main arenas with fixed rules of combat, Broken Halo pilots were ill prepared to fight in these down and dirty slum arenas. With each new victory against Broken Halo, the Hurricane Stables reputation rocketed skyward. Jake Death never once attempted to take the fame from his pilots that won hard fought battles.

Jake Death made sure that his pilots were able to have the center light alone as they took fame for their victories. While most of Solaris was unaware of these first victories, across the Reaches heroes were being born. For Death made sure that these local heroes of the Reaches could be honored by their fans. It built a strong bond between Jake Death and his pilots. A bond that would transcend Solaris and shape one of the most renowned Mercenary outfits in the Inner Sphere. This was a sharp contrast to other Stable Masters and more notably, Fallen Angel, whom had a habit of upstaging her own pilots.

It didn't take long for the main media outlets to discover the silent war that was being waged between Broken Halo Stables and the humble Hurricane Stables. The war between David and Goliath, erupted across the mass media of Solaris VII. The cause of this eruption was the defeat of two Broken Halo warriors by the hands of a Hurricane warrior during a two on one grudge match. It was a major upset and the final straw for Fallen. After watching many of her lower Mechwarriors getting handed defeat after defeat Fallen decided to up the stakes and put an end to the rivalry. She ordered Samuel Matts, the current Ranking Number Ten pilot on Solaris VII, to give Hurricane Stables their first taste of defeat.

It was a battle never heard of before on Solaris VII, a ranking Warrior 'slumming it' in a Reaches Arena. Every stables across the Reaches saw this match as a Cinderella Match. Across the lines in the City Centers, the main Stables of Solaris VII saw this as a chance to prove once more why they were the Main Attraction on Solaris. This match up would once and for all end the war between Broken Halo and Hurricane Stables. Or at least, that was what Fallen had intended this match to be. With her own reputation slipping due to this war, she needed this negative attention to go away. It would become a battle for the record books and one that would define the Hurricane Stables for years to come.

Fallen had chosen her pilot with great care. Matts was not just some nobody pilot that filled her ranks of Want-A-Be’s. He was a highly skilled pilot that had a strong background in down and dirty combat. Matts had been a strong contender for years and loyal member of the late Oonthrax Stables. When the stables suffered the murder of its founder and Stable Master, Matts signed on with Broken Halo. For years he had been a promising warrior that as of late seemed to have hit a rut. Many of his followers saw this match as a chance for him to once more show what kind of pilot he was. Many of his supporters hoped that this match would show that he was still a contender for Number One of Solaris.

Unlike Samuel Matts, he would pair off with an untested Mechwarrior named Sara Little Hawk. Little Hawk, of Sioux heritage and was currently serving year four of a twenty year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. When Death found her through the Mech Pilot Exchange Program, she had never piloted a Battlemech before. During training, Death and King learned that Little Hawk was a natural pilot. While her gunnery skills were lacking, she could move a Battlemech with the greatest of ease.

After just over a year of training, Little Hawk was ready to make her debut. Despite King’s suggestion, Death had kept Little Hawk from the arenas till Fallen made her big move. Death was going to place the fate of his stables and this war in the hands of a pilot that never fought in a real match before this night. A move that many saw as insane. However, Death had so much faith in his warrior that it was reported that he bet a massive sum of C-bills on the match. Fallen on the other hand didn't make any bets on the match. However she did cancel a social event to watch the match live from her apartment with other member of her stables.

Matt's seventy five ton modified Marauder would face off with Little Hawk's forty five ton stock Hatchetman in a fitting arena called the Scrapyard. The betting for the match was so intense that many thought that this was a title match in one of the Main Arenas. Jake Death not only placed a massive wager on the match but he placed his very reputation and as well as that of Hurricane Stables on this Match. The turnout for the match was so large that the Scrapyard for the first time had to close its gates. Fans of Hurricane Stables were thunderous with their cheers as across Solaris fans of the Mech matches watched with great anticipation.

Every member of the Hurricane Stables came out for the match. Even the warden of Little Hawks prison came out to the arena to watch the match. The match was broadcast live to the prison as well. With high flying VTOLs set up to watch the match, it was reported that Matt’s showed up to the match with only his support team. Broken Halo stables failed to show any real support for their own warrior. However in viewing, Matts had his own fan base ready to cheer him on the victory. If there was any sign of the pressure, Matts didn’t show it.

This was much the same for the red skinned Little Hark. It would be her first official match and while emotions were running high, she played it cool. During a staged event by Death and with media cameras filming, she greeted Matts as if they were old reunited friends. The conversation was not only friendly but filled with jokes. Matts poked at her falling and her fellow warriors watching. Little Hawk joked back wishing that there were not so many people watching her on her first official match. Matts, always the professional pilot, smiled off the nerves of the rookie telling her that she would do fine out there. Before the pair of pilot went their separate ways, they placed a 'friendly wager', Mech for Mech.

The tight winding pathways of the scrapyard had many thinking that Matt's would have been at a disadvantage. However his modified Battlemech used jumpjets normally not equipped on a Marauder. He was able to find high ground and kept Little Hawk's mech at bay with his three large lasers. He did manage to score some sound hits early in the battle. However the large lasers he had swapped out dealt less damage than the twin Particle Projection Cannons normally fitted to the mech. Still his eye for targeting and experience in arena fighting showed the clear advantage.

Within minutes of the opening round, Matts had taken several key point and ranked up the scores in his favor. Little Hawk seemed almost DOA (Slang for a Mechwarrior who was clear outmatched), however the match was far from over and Little Hawk was not down and out. Using her Mechs speed and maneuverability, she was able to keep Matt’s larger Mech moving making targeting her that much harder. She knew all too well that Matts was a dead shot, so she made sure to keep his Mech at distance till she was ready to make her move.

Using her mech's speed and agility to its fullest, Little Hawk made Matts work for every hit. While keeping Matts at range and forcing him to fight on her terms, Little Hawk was able to score sound hits with her ten centimeter Auto Cannon to soften up Matt's Mech. It was clear that she was targeting Matts’ legs each time she fired. It was clear that Little Hawk was fighting a battle to extend the clock. While this tactic could work against her if the match was to be decided by score alone because Matts held the advantage. However those reporting the match was surprised to note that it was clear that Little Hawk was working a larger winning strategy.

Observers noted that Death was in constant communications with Little Hawk the entire time. While Fallen would later argue cheating, the arena officials listened to the recordings of the communications between pilots and their support teams. They did not find any evidences that suggested Hurricane Stables cheated during the match. This claim would only go to fuel the fires that raged between Broken Halo and Hurricane Stables.

As the clock was ticking down, Little Hawk finally made her move. Moving her Mech along the ground giving Matts the advantage of the higher ground, Little Hawk’s pushed her Mech’s own agility and maneuvering to get close. It was a high risk move that risked annulation at the hands of Matts’ larger Mech. Even at this close range, hitting the smaller faster and more agile Mech proved to be harder than many assumed. Matts’ unleashed all of his weapons! As he opened up from above her, Little Hawk was finally close enough to Matt's mech to use her large Hatchet. With smoke pouring from her Mech after the assault it had just taken from Matts’ Mech, Little Hawk entered history.

In a physical attack that would rock Solaris VII! Sara Little Hawk, in one swing of her mighty ax, took off the Marauder's left leg. The loss of the leg caused Matt's mech to fall from the top of the junk heap he was standing on. This caused the Mech to half slide half fall down the heap. With even more damage dealt to the mech, Matts cockpit lit up red as warnings sounded. Missing a leg and having a damaged gyroscope the match had just turned against Matts to the thunderous cheers of the crowds. A half dazed and wounded Matt's pulled flares singling his defeat and the end of the match. Sara Little Hawk had become the first Mechwarrior from the Reaches to ever defeat a Solaris Ranked Mechwarrior.

As Matts flares rose up from the rubble of the junkyard, the fans and spectators leaped to their feet in cheers. The uproar in the Reaches could be heard across Solaris City as the celebrations went well in to the night. Hurricane Stables and Sara Little Hawk had given many citizens of the Reaches something that they hadn't had in a long time. A sense of pride within their communities and of their own local heroes. For Jake Death, this would be the opportunity that he was waiting for. For Sara Little Hawk, to her surprise, one of Jake Death's wagers was with her warden. The two men had wagered her freedom on this match. A man that she never knew a year ago risked his reputation and wealth to give her a renewed chance at an honorable life. For Sara Little Hawk, her life had been given back to her.

It was acts like this that earned Jake Death that never ending loyalty of those around him. However, Jake Death was more than just a loyal leader. He was a man that understood strategy better than anyone else. Jake Death along with his lead tech Karen Tetsuhara and Sara Little Hawk went to the famed Thor's Shield hall, also known as Valhalla Club. They planned to meet with Fallen Angel to claim Little Hawk's new Battlemech. Normally only ranked members of Solaris VI were allowed in to the Club, however special permission had been given to Jake Death and his party for this meeting.

While the meeting was supposedly unplanned, it had been leaked to the press just hours prior. Many suspect that the leak was done by Jake Death’s orders. By the time Death's party had arrived, the press was already on station and watching every move. For the first time in years, the two rivals would be face to face once more. As cameras filmed, Death’s party walked victoriously through the club as the music came to a stop. It would be the event of the year. One that promised fireworks and even more drama between the two renowned rivals.

Jake ratcheted up the pressure on Fallen by boosting the skills of his pilots and how Fallen didn't have a single pilot that could beat his. Never known for her cool thinking under pressure, Death pushed the issue of her stable's continued failure in the Reaches and suggested that they were unfit to battle out there. Jokingly claiming that somehow the slum arenas were just ‘too much’ for her and her pilots. Laughter filled the room as Fallen grew red with anger.

Under the lights of the media cameras and bending to the pressure, Fallen foolishly took Jake's bait and challenged him to a winner takes all series of matches! Her challenge to the Hurricane Stables would pit five of her best pilots against any five Hurricane pilots. If the Hurricane wins, than she will hand over her stables and all titles. If Broken Halo wins, Hurricane Stables closes its doors and Jake Death would leave Solaris VII once and for all. Jake Death smiled as he nodded and accepted her challenge. Realizing her mistake far too late, Fallen saw that she had been goaded in to giving him just what he wanted from the beginning. She had single handedly gave her rival a shot at the main arenas!

During a side conversation that had been over shadowed by the heated exchange between Fallen and Jake, but later recorded in a book written by Samuel Matts, he stated that Sara Little Hawk had personally thanked him for an honorable and pleasurable match. While he was more than willing to honor their bet, she surprised him by nullifying the bet. The two parted ways with a friendly hand shake and kind words. Even though the noble overture would cost Hurricane Stable a valuable mech for the upcoming challenge. The move won the friendship of Samuel Matts and later his loyalty as a Stables Master.

The upcoming battles became the media event of the year for Solaris. Never before had five title matches been set up under one bet. Riding the wave of their latest victory, Hurricane Stables saw some of its best odds to date. It would be a set of matches that would compare to even the Grand Melee in viewings and betting. Billions of C-bills were wagered on favorites and on long shots. Both Jake and Fallen would guard their own pilots with some of the best security that the industry had to offer. Nothing was being taken to chance as Mechs were move in secret to the arenas. In an interview, Fallen would be noted saying, "Cheating? Why do we need to cheat? They are the two bit losers from the Reaches. Ask them about cheating, not us. We are champions…of heart and soul."

The five day event drew in crowds from across the Inner Sphere. And even a special secret Royal visitor from Tharkad was reported arriving for the event. As per the official rules, the matches were to take place only in the Main Arenas of Solaris VII. The first match would see Broken Halo's pilot Damion Hunter, the number twelve of Solaris, stump his Hurricane counterpart in the Steiner Stadium. The match was filled with speed and energy. However it was Hunter’s ruthlessness that delivered victory.

However this would not set the tempo of the rest of the matches, as Hurricane pilot, Stephen Sirbak won a hard fought battle against the number six of Solaris in the dark tunnels of Ishiama also known as the Iron Mountain. The third match, saw Dark Angel, the number two of Solaris VII face off with Hurricanes own co-founder Patrice King in the Jungle. Early on in the match, King got several key scores and appeared to be staged to win the match. However Dark Angel won the match to everyone’s shock and amazement. Many believe that there were some questionable events that had occurred during the match. Despite calls for a stop in the matches and an investigation, Jake Death choose not to pursue them instead decided to move on to the next match.

The forth match saw a much anticipated rematch between Samuel Matts and Sara Little Hawk in the burned out ruins of the Factory. Unlike any other match before, Jake Death decided to bet his entire personal fortune on this single match. Away from the media but observed, Jake pulled Sara aside and told her, 'No matter what, you have earned my pride and respect. Do your best and let the rest fall where it does.' It was a battle much like their first one where Little Hawk bid her time wisely and Matts’ keen eye played a good role through most of the match. However the crowds were on their feet when what many thought should have been a killing shot, missed. For the man known as the Snipper of Solaris, Matt's large laser fired wide and narrowly missed Little Hawk's mech when she mistakenly exposed her mech. once more, Little Hawk used her Mech’s speed to out flank Matts' Mech and win the match.

With the score tied all eyes turned to the next match that would make Solaris history. That night was filled with celebrations and parties as the world geared up for what would become one of the most brutal matches of the year. However that night would be marred in grief as Dark Angel's body was found dumped inside the Waterfront Park. Due to his wallet still filled with C-bills and his gold watch on his arm, police ruled out robbery. The cause of death was a deep cut across his throat from ear to ear. It was a clear case of murder and the list of suspects were as long as the guest list to the arenas the following day. The murder of Dark Angel would become one of the most famous cold case files of Solaris History. Outraged at the murder, Fallen blamed Jake Death for the murder and swore revenge.

The next day would see the two Stable Masters slugging it out in the Davion Arena. Fallen's Grasshopper would face off with Jake's Warhammer. The two would battle in subzero arctic conditions. During the opening, Fallen took an early lead in the points scoring a number of sound hits against Jake's Warhammer. However Jake never gave her any room to take advantage of her hits. Using his Mech’s superior armor he punished Fallen for each hit she made.

He pushed the attack over and over again, forcing Fallen to fall back across the arena. Nearly all the way back to her own side of the arena, Fallen started to push back. Landing hit after hit she drove Jake back towards the edge of a crevasse in the center of the arena. With his Battlemech preached along the edge of the crevasse, Fallen fired her weapons at the ground and sent his Battlemech tumbling down in to the darkness of the crevasse. The crowds were on their feet in shock and horror as they watched a local hero vanish in to the darkness. All seemed lost as the arena fell silent.

Fallen demanded that the Arena judges call her the victor. After a short deliberation and making radio contact with her opponent, they refused to give her the match's victory. It was in that moment that the crowds erupted with cheers as their hero crawled out of the crevasse. It was badly damaged from the fall but still functioning. Stunned at what she was seeing, Fallen made a critical error as she didn’t resume her defensive movements. Her mech was stationary for the next turn of events.

Fallen lost the intuitive as she stood in disbelief. Jake Death laid in to her Mech with his twin PPC and started to march towards her Battlemech. With each forward movement he brought more weapons in to range and fired at her. Fallen's mech rocked from the weapons fire as armor was shredded from the mech. After a few intense minutes of weapons' fire being exchanged, Fallen's Grasshopper give up the battle. It fell before the Warhammer, and Jake Death demanded that she surrender. She didn't reply as the crowds stood at the edges of their seats. All eyes were focused on the beaten Grasshopper. After a few moments, the judges award the victory to Hurricane Stables. It would be discovered after the match that Fallen Angel took her own life during that moment of defeat. She had used an auto-injector filled with poison.

The matches not only made Death an extremely wealthy man, but riding on his victory he had a very rare encounter. The Archon and Leader of the Lyran Commonwealth, Katrina Steiner, who had come to Solaris VII to view the matches personally. She congratulated the new Number One of Solaris VII and asked what his next plans were. His answer would shock and surprise her. Having heard of the war on New Earth, he told her of his plans to raise a new mercenary outfit called Hurricane Legion. He suggested that New Earth would be a good testing ground for his new unit. Reminding her that he was a betting man, he bet he could end the fighting within a year of his forces setting foot on New Earth. She listened and asked what the wagers were. His answer impressed, if he failed his unit would remain on station and complete the mission and furthermore, he would not accept one note of.

If his outfit succeeded however, he asked that she would grant him the entire system of New Earth as a land grant and the title of Baron of New Earth. Being the wise leader she was, the Archon weighed the possibilities. Her next stop had already been a planned stop at New Earth to remove Baron Kilt as leader of New Earth. Without other options, she had intended on a call for direct military involvement in the war. However, Death's suggesting gave her another option to the situation. She agreed to the terms of the bet and said that his current title of Baron would hinge on the outcome of their bet. Though she did offer up one condition. Regardless of fail or success, his unit would remain in Lyran service for no less than five years after the conflict was over. She reminded him that he only had one year from the moment he set foot on New Earth. He smiled and thanked her for taking a chance in him and his troops.

Upon his return to the Hurricane stables, Jake carried with him a much larger surprise for all sixty five of his Mechwarriors. In a show of gratitude for all that they had done for him and their loyalty over the past few years, Jake Death had secured a pardon for each member of his stables. He informed them of his plans for New Earth. In showing them the written contract between him and the Lyran Commonwealth as well as the secret written agreement between him and the Archon, he once more placed his faith and trust in his troops. Afterwards, he invited them to join him on a grand adventure. All of his Mechwarriors as well as some former Broken Halo warriors choose to join. It would become the first official gathering of the mercenary command called, The Hurricane Legion.

May, 3030 brought hope to New Earth and the COB in the form of a wayward son, David McGray. He had returned to New Earth from his adventures in the deep periphery. It was at the personal request of Sarah Baily to return home and to help with the crisis of the Civil War. David brought within him a battle harden periphery mercenary unit called Darren's Brigade. Noting the threat to her own power base, Baroness Eaton was quick to rally support behind McGray. Hoping to be the power behind the man, she moved to win McGray’s trust and loyalty. In a surprising move to all, she declared him Supreme Baron of New Earth. While the rest were shocked by her move, she quickly sank her talons in to McGray and convinced him to lead their forces in defeating Baron Kilt. Little did anyone know that Baron Kilt had already been replaced by Colonel Jake Death just a week before.

No one within the COB knew that Hurricane forces had already secured both the recharging station at the Jump point and the TeleCom Observation station above New Earth. The COB had been using Telecom to spy on the Government forces and communicate with each other. It was one of the best kept secrets of the Civil War that the changes in Government Command had occurred. Many Government military leaders were caught completely by surprise when the news finally was released. As the Government Command structure was undergoing its changes, there was a large lull in Government operations. A lull that no one paid much attention to.

During what was seen as a lull in the fighting, Baron McGray took the opportunity organize his new command. Unaware of the Government's own changes in leadership, Baron McGray managed to get the COB somewhat unified and restored some measure of hope for victory. He spent his time very wisely meeting with both military and political leaders of the COB. He only needed the right opportunity to prove to his soldiers and allies that he could lead the COB to victory. That opportunity would soon show itself to him via a TeleCom intercept from the Government. While it seemed too good to be true, it was just what McGray needed to unify his forces and the COB. Telecom would become the true Achilles heel of the COB and Baron McGray.

Colonel Death had done everything in his power to delay the official clock of their bet from starting. He needed time to get both his mercenary and local commands unified and ready to fight as a single unit on the battlefield. He only had at best a couple of weeks to work key commanders in to unity and hope that they would pass on the lessons to others. He used to Recharging Station as his temporary headquarters while Major King and Major Sirbak set up command level training sites on New Earth. Everything was done in complete secrecy to ensure that the COB didn't find out about the new Baron of New Earth or of the changes coming. Thanks to Telecom, Colonel Death was already aware of McGray's arrival and new position. This changed the dimension of the conflict as McGray was an unknown factor. But Colonel Death was up for the challenge.

Despite all that was done to protect the secret, there were risks to the secret that almost cost Colonel Death the element of surprise. A former aide of Baron Kilt, who had been disgruntled over not being included in the New Government, attempted to meet with a reporter to leak the news. Colonel Death learned of the upcoming meeting and the former aide was quietly arrested and spent the remainder of the war in prison. It wasn’t the only time the secret risked coming out. A number of COB spies had to be silenced without tipping off the COB Leadership. Again TeleCom would play a key role in rounding up these spies.

Colonel Death had a simple plan for that. Because these spies used TeleCom to communicate with their superiors, Colonel Death’s people were able to quickly and silently locate these spies. The spies were gathered up in silence and moved off world to a dropship on Lunna, the moon of New Earth. There under close observation, the spies would report normal government operations while Hurricane forces and Government units were shifted around. Due to Colonel Death and his troops’ dedication to the secret, the warning never reached the COB Headquarters. A new tide was coming to New Earth and the COB was completely unaware of what was coming over the horizon.


Thanks to the now Government controlled TeleCom, Colonel Death was able to be part of every COB meetings from the lowest level up through to the highest. Each day, Colonel Death was reading transcripts of meetings even before many COB Military Commanders were made aware of the orders that they were about to be given. At the same time, controlled COB spies were feeding a steady stream of disinformation to their leaders. New spies and saboteurs were rounded up once they checked in with TeleCom for new orders. Thanks to a steady stream of misinformation, the COB leaders never realized that their spy network was almost completely gone by the time Colonel Death was ready to reveal himself.

When it was time for the secret to be let out of the bag, Colonel Death made a huge show of his official arrival to New Earth. He planned a massive parade down the streets of the Capital ensured that the COB knew that the Number One of Solaris VII had arrived to save the world. He showed off his brand new Hurricane Legion in their shiny new Battlemechs. He gave speeches designed to down play an understanding of military and political situations. He played in to the common profile of a Solaris Mech-Jock. He even made an intentional gaff about the overall situation. The performance was so well planned that those Government commanders who didn’t know the truth, truly believed the cause was lost.

It was recorded that as the new Baron's arrival was in full swing, there was laughter and cheers from the COB leadership. Few of the members of the COB Leadership was ready to take this new Baron seriously. Even many COB military leaders found the Mech-Jock to Baron a joke. Baron McGray and Colonel Smith were the only two that felt deep concerns over the new Baron of New Earth. Their fears would become fully realized within their first major encounter with this Hurricane Legion. Once more, TeleCom would play a key role in the COB’s future defeat. As McGray watched the laughter, he mentioned to a loyal advisor that the COB’s worse enemy was in this very room. Little did he know that COB Standard Policy was to record all meetings for historical record keeping. Those very recordings were stored on TeleCom for safe keeping.

Colonel Death's first mission was to put an end to the COB's air superiority. He used a ploy of bait and switch to catch his airborne targets. And he choose the site of the battle, over the town of Broome on Sagittarius. Using TeleCom to allow the COB to find out that he had ordered a massive buildup of supplies and hardware just outside of the town of Broome. The site was an old military supply depot that wasn’t regularly used. He made clear that the COB knew that these supplies were intended for a future invasion of Cancer. He chose Cancer because this was the source of power for Baroness Eaton. Death was banking on her ability to urge McGray to take the bait.

The bait was a fat rich target that the COB couldn't resist. It had all the signs of a trap to any seasoned commander. Colonel Smith, being a seasoned military commander, attempted to convince Baron McGray to not attack. However, Baroness Eaton had her way and convinced McGray to go ahead with the attack. Baroness Eaton had informed Baron McGray that she had a source within the Baron's own house that assured her that the Government's plans were real and that this would be an easy way to end the war by Christmas. She was telling the truth as far as she knew it to be. However the truth was a clouded thing.

The spy was one of Baroness Eaton's most valuable tools in stopping the Government in their tracks before. The man was well known as ‘Eaton's Ghost’. His information had never been questioned before and he had always come through for the COB. He had also been discovered by Colonel Death's security sweeps weeks prior and was working for the Government less he wished to have a vacuumed vacation. The stage was set for what would become the pivotal battle for New Earth's future. The victor of this coming battle would gain a massive advantage over the other side and would be turn the tide of war once and for all.


Edited by Akirapryde2006 (07/27/15 03:14 PM)
Akirapryde2006
07/27/15 03:16 PM
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It was a gamble that Colonel Death was not willing to risk to chance. He brought in his wife's younger sister and ace pilot Linna Tetsuhara to lead his air force in crushing the COB. While fresh from the academy and with skills that many pilots would kill for, Linna and her sister carried the shame of their uncle with them from the Draconis Combine. The opportunity to not only fly in combat, but to lead the battle was a chance Linna was not about to miss out on. Even with the rank of Captain within the Hurricane Legion, she often referred to herself as Ronin. While Colonel Death was setting up the Government for victory, Baron McGray was moving the vast majority of the COB air units in to the trap.

End Chapter One:


Edited by Akirapryde2006 (07/27/15 03:17 PM)
Akirapryde2006
07/28/15 04:13 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Two: The End of the Civil War and a New Beginning

The Battle of Broome, which started at 0435 on November 19th, 3030, would become a slaughter for the COB. Colonel Death allowed the air trap to be set by his sister-in-law, Captain Linna Tetsuhara. Leading her air group from the front, she decimated the COB Air Force in one of the most one sided victories of the war. On the ground, Colonel Death led his troops to hammer the COB ground forces with a three prong pincer action. The original plan was to have the heavier units under the command of Major King and Major Sirbak swing out wide and attack the COB lines nearly a hundred and eighty degrees off each other. While the lighter and faster Mechs of Captain Little Hawk would harass the middle units of the COB defenders.

As the battle shifted to the heavier lines, Captain Little Hawk's unit would rush down the middle and seize the port and cut off the COB retreat with help of airborne troops. During the entire battle, the airwaves would be flooded with jamming and music meant to hinder the COB from organizing their lines. Colonel Death's orders to TeleCom were vital for the future of the war. He ordered the vital asset to do nothing to aid the Government forces during the battle. He needed the station to appear as if it were still under the control of the COB. This would ensure that the asset would be useful in the future after this battle. Colonel Death thought he had considered everything in his plan. It was a brilliant plan that risked as much as there would be gains. The only flaw was its own success.

Colonel Death wanting to change the image of the Government invited the media to oversee the first major operation under his command. With the camera's filming from his command headquarters, operation began just as it was planned. The COB Air Force fell in to the trap and were being chewed up under Captain Tetsuhara's Air Group. As the first COB fighters and bombers were falling from the sky, the ground war started right on time. The southern and northern units slammed in to the COB flanks and they shattered under the thrust against them.

The COB lines continued to crumble as the first two prongs pushed deeper in to the lines. Colonel Death ordered the Captain Little Hawk's group to move for the port almost two hours ahead of their original schedule. The only problem was that the two flanks were gaining ground with surprising speed. Even with her speed, Little Hawk's unit couldn't catch up with the ever retreating line. The port city of Rothn was in complete panic as the Northern and Southern prongs moved in to position to strike. The refugees along with the COB militaries were jamming aboard what ships could take them. Colonel Death watched in horror from his headquarters as the situation developed.

The port city of Rothn was becoming a nightmare for both retreating COB units and civilian caught in the middle. Continuing the assault on the city would end with a very heavy toll on the refugees. The idea of eliminating nearly a third of the COB ground forces in one massive strike was hardly temping with the cost in clear sight. Colonel Death simply was not willing to accept the civilian loss of life. In a surprising move before the New Earth Media, Colonel Death ordered all of his units to hold their advance on the chaotic port city and secure their positions. Colonel Death ordered an open broad channel to be opened so that he could send a message to the Commander of the COB units in Rothn, who happened to be Baron McGray.

"To Commander of COB Forces in and around Rothn, this is Colonel Jake Death, Commander of the Hurricane Legion and Baron of New Earth. Your forces are in panic while mine hold the high ground. My Artillery has your city and units within range. My Air Force is in command of the skies over your head. While your soldiers and air crews have fought bravely and with noble courage, it is without question that this day was won by my Legionaries. I hope you would agree, that there is no reason for further loss of life. Baring no counter attack, I will not issue an attack order on Rothn for the next twenty four hours. Board your ships in safety and evacuate the city. Till the next time we cross swords Sir,"

It was a move that surprised both the civilian population of New Earth as well as his own troops. The final battle for Rothn could have crushed the COB without question. However, Colonel Death showed a level of command that had been lacking on New Earth for some time. True to his words, the Legion forces held their attack while they secured the high grounds near and around the port city. High above, Captain Tetsuhara's Air Group kept a very close eye on the COB as they continued their evacuation of Rothn. More importantly eyes of the fanatical New Earth Partisans were also watching the events in Rothn carefully. A possible nightmare situation was eliminated by a show of restraint.

There was a few minor attempts to break the Hurricane lines by a small renegade forces of COB force. The battles were fierce between the COB Renegades and the smaller faster unit under the command of Captain Little Hawk. In the end, the Renegade unit was encircled by Captain Little Hawk's unit. They were decimated and survivors of the Renegade unit were captured. The two hour battle removed all doubt that the COB was out matched by even the smallest of Legion Units. During the night, under the watchful eyes of the Legion, the COB Military withdrew from Rothn once and for all. It marked the beginning of the end for the COB and only the COB leadership couldn’t see this.

In giving up on Rothn, they were forced to give up any future hopes of taking the war to Sagittarius. On the twenty four hour mark, Colonel Death's forces claimed the vital port city with no further losses. While the vast majority of COB military units had managed to escape, the civilian lives saved proved what Colonel Death wanted to show the people of New Earth. In one major action, Colonel Death had met or achieved all of his objectives. More importantly public opinion had started to shift in favor of the Government forces for the first time since the war began.

The war had been shifted against the COB, now they were on the defensive and on the run. The COB Air Force had been reduced to ruins and would never take to the skies over New Earth as they once did during the height of their operations. While the bulk of the COB ground forces did escape, the loss of the equipment during the battles would hurt the COB. Most importantly, without air superiority over New Earth, Government raiders could cut off world support to the COB thus increasing the shift against the COB.

Colonel Death used the media to his full advantage and allowed a pair of aides to slip a piece of planted information. With a reporter within earshot, the pair made a loose reference that a spy within the upper ranks of the COB command had made all the difference in the recent battle. This set the stage for a later interview where a second reporter asked Colonel Death directly about a possible spy within the COB working for the Government. Colonel Death playing off on his inability to effectively lie, denied the rumor of the spy. With his attempt to deny the spy fueled panic within upper military leadership of the COB. Still no one ever imagined where the real source of information was coming from. The story took on a life of its own and spawned thousands of conversations to the possible identity of the spy.

Even well after the war, this piece of misinformation is still held as modern folk lore and fueled a number of conspiracy theories. However within the COB, this story ripped open fresh wounds and became a shadowed piece of evidence that Broome was not a well-planned ambush but a result of betrayal by a spy within their own ranks. The bickering took to full scale infighting when it was discovered that Baroness Sara Baily had been captured during the Battle of Broome. An able pilot Baroness Baily had wanted to lead her forces in to combat from the front. However her fighter was shot down and she was captured with many first wave pilots.


While the Government had yet to officially announce her capture, it was Baroness Eaton who had discovered the information through her spies. The information was planted by Colonel Death to further protect his double agents and TeleCom. Baroness Eaton saw this as an opportunity to seize the territories of the Hegemony Lancers, which was Baroness Baily’s faction. As Eaton's own People's Traditional Army were gearing up to 'safe guard' the Hegemony Lancer's own towns and cities on Pisces, Colonel Death issued a surprise order that shocked the COB even more.

Unknowing to all but the highest levels of the Hurricane Legion, Colonel Death was working on a tight time table. He had to keep on the move. While much of the COB political power was located on Cancer, the majority of the COB’s military was found on Pisces. Colonel Death was counting on the hatred between Colonel Smith and his Commandos and the Free Farmer’s Militia. Taking those two factions out of the war would cut the COB’s over all military by two thirds. Not waiting on his heels, Colonel Death ordered his units to board their transports even before the COB forces had fully retreated back to Pisces. He had every intention of making this war a fully mobile war. Once more, TeleCom played a critical role in the coming Battles for Pisces.

As reports of Government movements surfaced, Baron McGray was forced to move his command to Pisces as he took personal control over the Hegemony Lancers. The move was meant to cut Baroness Eaton's takeover of the Lancers who had a deep rooted hatred for Baroness Eaton. He also had to fight to keep the unity that he had so dearly worked for already. Using her own ego against her, he played off her bloated ego as he commended Eaton on sending her forces to Pisces to help secure the region from the coming Government attack. It was time for McGray to show some geopolitical genius. In a master stroke of skill, he worked out a uniformed combined defensive line among the COB political leaders.

Faced with a unified line that was harder than expected to break, Colonel Death’s forces got bogged down in a slug fest that they could ill afford. In hopes of breaking this unified front from the rear, Colonel Death played the COB distrust against themselves. He ordered his heavier units to target solely the line of the Free Farmers Militia. The attacks ripped Militia units to shreds and while their numbers barely made holding the line possible. Death’s lighter units under the command of Little Hawk harassed other COB Factions ensuring that they could not support Militia units. As the causalities started to be reported, it was clear who was carrying the lion’s share of the war. Or at least that is how it looked. This was just what Colonel Death hoped for.

Once more, TeleCom would come in to play. Colonel Death learned of a combined attack planned by Colonel Smith and Baron McGray on a major supply and rearming site. While the location was strategically important, shattering the COB unity on Pisces was more vital to overall victory. He issued an order to withdraw his forces from the sight and take as much as they could with them. Anything left behind would be considered a battle loss. It was a massive gamble, but Colonel Death knew he had to play the card for a larger victory.

Units belonging to both the Hegemony Lancers and Smitty's Commandos took control of the vital airfield with nearly no effort. At the same time, the Hurricane Legion continued to hammered Militia and PTA units hard as deep air raids smashed vital supply depots. Thanks to TeleCom, Colonel Death learned of a vital off world shipment of new Battlemechs and hundreds of tons of war supplies. The supplies were meant for the Free Farmers Militia. Colonel Death ensured that the media was fully aware of the capture of the airfield and ensured that the actual amount of captured supplies were largely inflated.

At the same time, his commanders were ordered to down play the news about the capture. Almost as if to cover up the ‘real reasons’ behind the loss of the airfield. Just as the report was hitting the media, Captain Tetsuhara led her air group on another deep raid in to Militia territory. The raid not only destroyed the shipment but led to the capture of the vital jumpships that had been running the Lyran blockade. It was a crushing blow for the COB as a whole but the leaders of the Militia took the loss personally and suspected foul play.

Back on Aries, Baron Wells, the leader of the Free Farmers Militia, had learned of the effortless capture of the airfield and was outraged over the turn of 'luck' that befell the Commandos. His own forces were suffering massive losses across his territories. Then came the news of the deep raid and the loss of the three jumpships. The fateful meeting had marked the very first time that Colonel Smith had traveled to the fortified command structure on Aries. It would also end up being his last active involvement with the COB. Tensions erupted in the COB Grand Hall as Baron Wells called out that "Baron McGray the traitor and Colonel Smith, was nothing more than McGray's cowardly lap dog."

Colonel Smith left Aries and the COB once and for all. Once he returned to his own units on Pisces, he led them in a full attack against Militia units. With the opening of the second front against their rear, the Free Farmer's Militia found themselves fighting a battle they had no hope of winning. Colonel Death took full advantage of this new change of events as he pushed his Legion to hammer the Militia even harder. Deep raids were ordered as well as orbital drops to form pockets ahead of the main lines. The combined actions against the Militia sapped them of their remaining will to continue to fight. Without any hope of victory in sight, many Militia units simple gave up at the first sign of Government forces.

Against Baron Wells’ orders, his own field commanders finally accepted terms of surrender offered by Colonel Death. Instead of offering a one way ticket to a POW camp, Colonel Death offered each Militia Commander and their unit’s full medical supplies. More importantly, he allowed them to return to their homes once their weapons were surrendered. It would only be officers who were taken to POW camps. Though life in these new camps were hardly what many suspected that they were like. It was not Colonel Death’s intention to punish COB military leaders or their soldiers but get them off the battlefield as quickly as possible. The news of these terms caused other COB military commanders to have a great level of concern.

While there were a few Militia units that held out and continued to fight. These units became easy pickings for the Legion's Search and Destroy Units. Those units that had not surrender found themselves being taken to Prisoner of War Camps across Pisces. While still treated with a great level of respect and compassion, The Camps were used by Death, through the media, to push his agenda of better to surrender than to continue fighting. Everything was done in clear view of the media to ensure that the average soldier knew what they could expect should they surrender. By mid-December, the Free Farmer's Militia was no longer a force on the battlefield. A few days later, Colonel Smith surrendered Smitty's Commandos to Colonel Death personally. It was said that the terms of surrender were discussed over a six pack of beer and friendly conversation. With the Commandos officially changing sides, the battle of Pisces was all but over. There was one last COB sphere of influence to contend with.

This left the Hegemony Lancers and Eaton's own forces to defend what was left of Pisces. In Baron McGray's mind while there could be no COB victory, the war could be fought to more reasonable terms. All it took was a battle to show that the COB could still fight and win on the battlefield. His plan was centered on both the Lancers and the PTA units to fight side by side. Banking on the numbers, McGray's plan called for the PTA to conduct a moving action followed by a deep strike against Hurricane support units while his own units conducted a diversionary attack. The plan was risky but the benefit of success could change the terms with the Government in the future negotiations.

McGray knew that COB unity was only going to get worse from this point on and that future talks with the Government were needed. He had to ensure that the COB could stand on level ground during those talks. However what he didn’t know was that Eaton had already made her plans. Wanting to save her own units for the coming invasion of Cancer, she issued a secret order to her most loyal units on Pisces. Unaware of the coming betrayal and with his blessings, the PTA withdrew from the front lines in preparation for their flanking action.

At the same time, he replaced them with his own forces. As the time drew closer, he ordered the start of his plan. Across the southern region of Pisces, Lancer units hammered the Hurricane lines hard. As expected, the Legion hammered back forcing the Lancers back further. McGary sent the go signal to the PTA for their part of the plan to start. As the hours passed, there was no word from the PTA or their operations. The Legion kept pushing harder and harder against the Lancer lines. Unable to withdraw from his command headquarters he sent one of his advisors to find out why the PTA units haven’t begun their attacks yet. He feared that they had been ambushed and smashed by Government forces. The truth would be much worse.

By the end of the fourth day of the battle and two days after the PTA were supposed to have conducted their raids, Baron McGray found out that the PTA had actually pulled out completely and return to their bases on Cancer. Baron McGray had no choice but to accept the fact that the Lancers were defeated. Against his better judgment and his own desires, he withdrew from the field under the advisement of his companions. Only a handful of Lancer Units managed to escape the battlefields on Pisces. A bitter defeat that many Lancer commanders would not soon forget.

By the end of December, the last of the Lancer forces had finally surrendered. With mop up operations of the last of the Free Farmer's Militia was all but completed. Colonel Death made the surprising move of placing the mission of securing Pisces for the Government in the hands of Colonel Smith and his Commandos. While the move shocked many in his own command, it had become a hallmark of how Colonel Death commanded his units and planned his battles. Trusting a former COB Commander to secure the entire continent could have turned a winning situation in to a nightmare for the Legion. Colonel Death was banking on the honor of Colonel Smith and his Commandos. A risky move that would pay off in the end. This allowed Colonel Death to bring the full force of his Legion to bare on the strong holds of Cancer.

For the COB however, the move spelled out the truth of the situation. They had lost their hopes of taking the war to the Government's back door in Sagittarius. And now Pisces was in near complete control by the Government. Their most experienced military advisor, Colonel Smith was now working for the Government. They lost the vital resources that Pisces brought to their effort. Never before since the beginning of the war, had the COB been so far from victory with so little faith and hope left. If the COB were to restore their hopes of a victory, it would all rest on pulling together as one single effort. It would take a major offensive to bleed off the Government's current momentum. The key questions were, when to launch this effort and who was left to fight it.

For Colonel Death, the clock was ticking away. Death had to meet his deadline if he was to win his bet with the Archon. The addition of Smitty's Commandos brought much needed support for his effort, but he was not completely sure if he could trust the former COB unit in battle. However with resent victories under their belt, the Government forces were starting to see something that they had not seen since the beginning of the war, voluntary recruits. Just as important, groups that had been neutral in the war were starting to join the Government. Most notable, were two battalions of mounted horse cavalry from Joint Island Conference.

At first, many in Colonel Death's inner circle discounted the unit. However, Colonel Death saw potential in the two units. The men and women of these units had a special knack in small unit operations and trailblazing. He assigned both of these units to his own command Brigade and renamed the units as Pathfinders. He knew that these new Pathfinders would play a pivotal role in the next campaign on Cancer. Another turn of good news was a secret meeting with a high level leader of the New Earth Partisans. While the meeting was kept secret for decades, a memo hinted at what was talked about between Colonel Death and this shadowy figure. The group offered their support in hopes of bringing an end to the war.

Colonel Death saw that the key to victory on Cancer was a smashing defeat of Baroness Eaton's own units in the heart of the continent. In doing so, it would divide the remaining COB forces on Cancer between to massive mountain ranges and prevent them from assisting each other. This would allow him to shift and eliminate one or the other at his will. The risk was if they managed to unify their lines and offered support to each other. Keeping their units from linking up would be vital to victory on Cancer. Colonel Death was sure that the remaining units would break and fall back to Aries once the PTA was eliminate.

And even if they didn't it would be nearly impossible for them to launch a coordinated assault on his forces. Still had had to keep them from supporting each other during the next wave of attacks. With this in mind, Colonel Death ordered detached Government units to engage both the New Earth Crusaders and the New Earth True Guards. This was done to ensure that their own units were pinned down for his own main assault on the People's Traditional Army. Keeping to his own pace, the offense was launched while mop up operations were still taking place on Pisces. If the COB could mount an effective counter attack, his thinly spread forces would crumble. It was a risk that he was willing to take.

With forces from both Baron Schatz and Baroness John pinned down by Government units, his own Hurricane Legion hammered at Baroness Eaton's units. With rumors of the COB units trying to link up, Colonel Death ordered Little Hawk and her unit to run interference along his flanks. The move took her vital unit from the front line. However she was able to quickly react to any units that showed up along the flanks of the main line. Despite the risks, the biggest gamble was Baron Carter’s Kerensky’s Legionaries. He simply didn’t have the forces to attack all four factions. He knew about a series of land grabs that Eaton had carried out earlier in the year. Colonel Death banked on sour relations between the two COB leaders.

Just as the offensive was hitting its stride, reports of Kerensky’s Legionaries units on the move. This news was devastating and nearly cut off the offensive. With Captain Little Hawk engaging units up and down the flanks, her unit would be unable to render any support. An attack from Kerensky’s Legionaries could devastate the Hurricane line if he didn’t shift the lines. However, in shifting the lines would give the PTA units valuable time to regroup. He couldn’t allow them to regroup. Colonel Death wasn’t ready to accept that Baron Carter was ready to help his longtime rival. The next day, reports showed that Legionaries units hit two PTA supply depots and recaptured a town that had been Baron Carter’s hometown. The news allowed Colonel Deaths plans to move forward.

As Colonel Death laid out his plans, he realized that the winter was going to be his worst problem. He didn't have time to wait for the summer thaw, so he had to make his attacks accordingly. His primary goal had to be taking out Eaton's personal headquarters, a Castle Brian called CB 800. If they could secure and hold this strategic site, the heart of the PTA would be ripped out. However the approaches were heavily guarded and most of the passes were covered with snow making transit nearly impossible. The only reasonable solution was to make a landing just north of CB 800 on a nearby plateau. Even with air superiority, this was no easy task.

Still, he needed to smuggle units in to cover the landings. He decided to use his new Pathfinders and Captain Little Hawk's Fast Recon Company on this mission. He gave them their orders to make their way through the passes just south of CB 800. Once Captain Little Hawk had secured her positions and provided cover she would observe the defenders and report what she saw. While Captain Little Hawk was making her way through the southern passes, Colonel Death would lead his command Brigade through the far northern reaches of the continent then turn south to landing sites. Once he secured the landing sites and Captain Little Hawk started her reports, he would order his Legionaries, within the 1st Hurricane Brigade, to make their landings.

To bolster his numbers, he picked two detached Government units that would be reorganized in to the 2nd and 3rd Hurricane Brigades. These two new units would act as hammer to keep away both the New Earth Crusaders and the New Earth True Guards. Both of these factions had been pushing up their attacks on the Government flanks in hopes of giving support to the besieged PTA units. During this time, other Government units would provide direct support to the newly formed 2nd and 3rd Brigades. This would offer confusion to COB Commanders and leave them guessing as to where the Legion was going to strike.

After vital weeks of fighting Colonel Death finally had the PTA on the ropes. The coming battle was going to be the knockout blow. His plan wasn't brilliant, but it was sound. Colonel Death knew that this battle was going to be costly but he had little choice. He could not focus his troops on one single battle as it would allow the enemy to do the same. Despite the new recruits and added popular support, the COB still had the combine Hurricane Legion and Government Forces outnumbered nearly two to one. While it was a far cry from when Colonel Death took over, it was still enough to give Colonel Death reason to pause.

Baroness Eaton and Colonel Darren Peak, commander of Darren's Light Horse Brigade, came up with a devilish plan to stop Colonel Death and his Hurricane Legion in their tracks. Even together Darren's Brigade and the PTA didn't have any hopes of standing alone against the Legion and the Government Forces. They knew that it was only a matter of time till the Legion started their attack on the PTA headquarters. Knowing this, Eaton used her influence to get units from her remaining COB supporters. Only Baron Carter refused to be a part of her plan to stop the Government. It would become a choice that Baron Carter would cite as the wisest thing he ever did for his people.

While their COB supporters didn't give them much, it was enough to make a difference. It also weakened the lines along the New Earth Crusaders and the New Earth True Guards. This gave the newly formed Hurricane Brigades a surprising opportunity to push even deeper than the Government leaders had planned. An opportunity that both new units took with Colonel Death's blessings. These new thrusts pushed COB units on Cancer to their breaking point. It also pulled at the Government supplies and support lines. Which was all part of Eaton’s plan to prepare the Government for their first major defeat.

Colonel Peak's plan hinged on tieing Colonel Death and his unit down as long as possible as his Artillery hammered away at the government units. Then once they were at their weakest a combined strike would be ordered to finish up Colonel Death's units. The success of this plan rested on the units that would be engaging the Hurricane Legion and keeping them in a nice tight location. Peak saw the battlefield much the same way Colonel Death did. Colonel Peak realized that there were only a few possible methods of reaching CB 800. He saw the valley to the south and the plateau to the north. He banked on the valley as it gave superior protection to landing dropships.

Unknown to Eaton or Colonel Peak, Little Hawk and her unit slipped deep behind enemy lines. From their secret advantage point just ten miles north of CB 800, Little Hawk's pathfinders were able to watch all of the enemy's movements. Little Hawk's reported details that made all the difference during the upcoming battle. Colonel Peak counted on the Government forces using the valley to the south as their landing site and sent most of his troops to lock down the valley. Captain Little Hawk's information on this allowed Colonel Death to make a last minute change to his overall landing operations.

Instead of using the valley, he choose to make his landings far north at the edge of the plateau. It was a dangerous move that placed his units out in the open. Once the landings were spotted on Colonel Peak sensors, he demanded air strikes with what little air units he had available. Captain Tetsuhara and her air units provided excellent air coverage. Peak's conventional fighters were simply unable to threaten the landing sites as Colonel Death organized his units and prepared to move south on to CB 800. Colonel Peak had little choice but to relay on his land units to stop the Government's advances south. Captain Tetsuhara was more than happy to make Colonel Peak's ground forces pay for any advance towards the landing sites. However Colonel Peak still had a wild card up his sleeve.

As the Government forces were moving through the narrow Nes'Saw Pass, Peak unleashed an attack that nearly destroyed the entire Government offensive. Colonel Peak fired five Davy Crockett nuclear tipped missiles at the Government columns. The attack ripped holes in the Government lines and brought the advance to a near standstill. Luckily for the Government Forces, Colonel Peak waited till the bulk of the Government Forces were in the pass to fire. This meant that advance parties of the column had already made it through the pass. These units were able to hold Peak's spearhead units at bay while the rest of the columns were dealing with the after effects of Peak's horrific attacks. Captain Little Hawk and her Pathfinders moved in to action once the attacks were reported. Just as Peak's second wave of missile attacks were launching, Little Hawk's pathfinders attacked the launch sites.

To everyone's horrors, Peak ordered the next wave of missile attacks to be targeted on front lines of the combat. Missiles rained down on Government troops as well as COB units. For the battle of the Nes'Saw Pass, the death toll surpassed all other battles during the entire civil war. Many historians claim that this one battle took more lives in New Earth History than any other single military battle. Luckily for both sides, Captain Little Hawk's Pathfinders ended the missile threat once and for all. Though the cost in lives for the Pathfinders was staggering and removed the unit from effective combat operations for the remainder of the war.

While the battle of Nes'Saw Pass occurred nearly sixty miles from CB 800, the effects of the battle had a ripple effect on the fate of the secured facility. While Baroness Eaton and her lover Colonel Peak fled the site for the COB Headquarters on Aries, the base commander surrendered the site without a further shot being fired. Colonel Death allowed the survivors of Captain Little Hawk's Pathfinders to accept the surrender of the key strategic site. As news of Peak's missile attacks spread across the continent of Cancer, COB units started to surrender in mass. It was if the atomic blasts sucked the remanding fight out of the COB units on Cancer. The sun had set completely on COB's hopes of securing any position within the new Government or any type of military victory.

Across New Earth, there was a raising sense of hope for the future as more and more recruits joined up with the Government to help bring an end to the war. The media on New Earth pushed Colonel Death's message to the people of New Earth that it was time one of hope and healing. But he made it clear that the COB must end its military operations before this can happen. One thing that most citizens of New Earth noticed was a difference between Colonel Death and the COB or former rulers of New Earth. He refused to be addressed as Baron Death, which was his official title within the Commonwealth's Nobility.

Colonel Death embraced the common military title that he held, but when it came to political meetings he often asked members of his cabinet to address him as Mr. Death or simply Jake. It was if, Colonel Death wanted to be seen as just like anyone on the streets of the capital city. He had made a point to take the time to listen to the average person of New Earth. During previous operations on Pisces, he had made a point to have meetings with local leaders and even commoners who had asked to speak with him. It was this level of openness that left him open to at least two COB backed assassination attempts. Still, he never closed his doors to those who wished speak to him about the future of New Earth. It was because of this that the people of New Earth could embrace him.

So when word of the Nes’Saw Pass started to spread, local farmers started to show up with whatever they thought could help. To the surprise of everyone within the Government and the Hurricane Legion, the people of New Earth rose to the need of their leader. Within days a steady flow of support and food was pouring in to help the Government forces in the field. For them, they saw Colonel Death and his Legionaries as their own and they were ready to come out in support.

Still the war was not over and Colonel Death's forces were still licking their wounds from the brutal battle of Nes'Saw Pass. He needed time to rest his forces and to bring up new troops. However the clock was ticking away and each minute that passed allowed the COB to dig in on the island of Aires. He turned direct command of the invasion of Aires over to his right hand officer, Colonel Patrice King while he flew back to the Capital to help recruit new troops. Colonel King ordered a round the clock bombardment of Aires from naval units. With the help of the JIC, nearby islands were easily captured from COB forces. These islands were to play a key role in allowing round the clock raids by air unit and artillery bombardments. The naval units of the Government sealed off Aires from the rest of New Earth.

The only break during the bombardment came at noon each day. Colonel King sent a message to the COB commanders that anyone wishing to leave the island may do so during this one hour break. The move saved thousands of civilian lives and also allowed for deserters from COB units to sneak away. Captain Little Hawk and the few remaining of her Pathfinders snuck on to Aires to help civilians remain safe and locate key deserters. By the end of the week, Government accounts put the number of deserters at nearly a hundred a day. The crisis for the COB was so bad that COB Officers had to burn remaining boats so that their own troops would not desert.

Even with wide scare desertions from most of the faithless within the COB, there were still many true believers and those who held on to the dream of a COB victory. Government estimates placed the numbers of COB forces on Aries as a Mech Battalion, a combined arms Infantry Regiment and several armor companies. These units were made up largely of individual units that had managed to escape to the fortified island prior to the blockade taking effect. Beyond these battered units, there were the fanatical COB Elite Guard. This unit was made up of surviving Guard Units. Their numbers were estimated at two Mech Companies, and an elite Infantry regiment.

Regardless of what plan the Government took, it would be very hard to take the island by force. All military logic called on the Government to tighten the blockade and wait out the COB. However Colonel Death didn’t have the luxury of time. It had been a long hard fought road and the end was clearly insight. And it was time to end this war and end it now. He had little options if he was not willing to lose all that he worked for so far. Colonel Death flew out to King’s headquarters and surveyed the situation personally. Even from this distance, he could still see the high mountain that made up the COB’s Castle Brian headquarters. It was a formidable structure and a nearly impossible nut to crack. He called a meeting of his top advisors to form a plan.

Against all of their advice of waiting out the COB, Colonel laid the ground work for an invasion of Aries. Not willing to put his own troops in harm’s way while he remained safely behind friendly lines, Colonel Death placed his own unit at the spear point of his operation. His plan called for a massive attack that would push the odds strongly in the Government's favor. The plan called for well over half of all Government Mech forces as well as nearly all Government air units for the invasions. While Colonel Death laid out the overall ground work for the invasion plans, some of the finer details of the plan were created by Colonel King. With the only usable location for dropship landings in COB hands, the Government had to put troops on the island the old fashion way, beachhead landings.

With this in mind, four beachheads were identify for the landings. At the heart of the plan, called for Captain Little Hawk leading a daring raid on the COB's communication antenna aerial located at the top of the mountain which made up the Island of Aries. The theory was, kill the COB's ability to communicate and slow their ability to react in time to stop the landings. Despite only having a few troopers available for this plan, Little Hawk accepted the mission with a sense of devotion and pride. She promised that the antenna would be down as the attack was to take place.

Colonel Death’s and King’s overall plan called for four company of mech and eight companies of jump infantry to be grouped in to four task forces and assigned to each beachhead. A task force of anti-mech and Special Forces would be air dropped under the cover of night to secure the beaches just prior to the landings starting. Colonel Death insisted, once more against the advice of his command staff, that his unit would lead the landings at the most heavily defended beach.

It was learned by last minute intelligence update that the heart of Aries was not just any normal mountain Castle Brain complex. But the legendary former headquarters of the Star League Defense Force. The Intelligence information came from an unreported source that to this day has remained a highly guarded secret and point of conspiracy theories. While some suspect that it was provided by a New Earth Partisan spy within the COB ranks. The most common theories claim that the former military advisor and honorary Baron, Colonel Smith provided the information. However Colonel Smith never was actually in the complex. Another common theory was that after enduring interrogation, Sara Bailey gave up the information. However there has never been any evidence that Baily was ever interrogated during her time as a POW.

Regardless of the source of this intelligence it was a cache for the Government. With the last minute report came detailed maps, weapon positions, entry points, and even detail vents long forgotten by the current COB occupiers of the complex. Luckily for the Government, the advanced weapons systems of the complex had long been removed after the fall of the Star League. Along with these maps were detailed personal files of unit commanders and unit strengths. The level of details in the package was so surprising that many suspected it to be a clever COB plant. However Colonel Death insisted that it be trusted.

Even with this information package, it that didn't make the complex any less dangerous. If the COB retreated in to the complex, than rooting them out would take weeks if not months. The secret of the plan came in Captain Little Hawk's advanced unit. Once the Antenna bombs were set up, she would lead her team in to the complex and secure the central control bunker and override the main doors and seal them. This would leave most of the COB forces trapped outside and fewer troops within the complex to be hunted down. Thanks to the information package, the Government had all the latest pass codes and knew where the overrides were.

Still, the plan was daring at best and prone for failure in the worst case situation. It was clearly an over reach for Colonel Death and many of his top Commanders recorded their objections to this plan. There objections were that it was too bold, too daring and too ill advised. In the end however, they were loyal. After given a chance to withdraw their names, all of them accepted their roles and took command of their units. Colonel Death said that this was going to be the Hurricane Legions finest hours to date. What he didn’t expect was the withering moral of the COB forces.

The mission was planned to begin at 0230, however due to last minute problems with two of the dropships, the actual drop didn't start till three hours later. This pushed back the landing in to the dangerous hours of morning. The COB Artillery units would be able to make short work of the landing ships while they were off loading their troops and equipment. Even before the mission begin, it was already looking as if failure was unavoidable. Even with the clock pushing him, Colonel Death was not about to throw his troops in to the middle of a for sure death trap.

With surprise nearly lost and with loss of his bet at hand, Colonel Death was about to call off the mission. However a report from Captain Little Hawk changed the situation completely. Her platoon of jump infantry and a lance of Mechs had captured the entire spaceport complex without firing a shot. It appeared that the will of the COB had finally be broken and their soldiers were laying down their arms even before the invasion could begin.

A report filed by Captain Little Hawk stated: "Sir, be advised, that we were detected by a random patrol. As we prepared to eliminate the patrol, they surrendered to us. Shortly thereafter, they led us to the spaceport where the spaceport commander then surrendered his command of four hundred plus soldiers. I don't know how to explain this Sir, but the troops keep walking up to our position here at the spaceport to surrender. We currently have almost a thousand POW's and are reaching a point that we will no longer be able to control this situation. Please advise and issue further instructions."

Colonel Death jumped on the news as he ordered his own task force to be dropped directly at the spaceport so that he could see with his own eyes what was going on. He informed all of his other units to hold their ready positions and wait for further orders. He also ordered all bombardments to be placed on hold and ordered his air force to fly over watch. By the time his Death Heads arrived at the spaceport, Captain Little Hawk had nearly fifteen hundred POW's secured in a hanger. Most notably was Major Kyle Stagg, the second in command of the COB Elite Guard. The man calmly walked forward to meet Colonel Death under the watchful eye of Captain Little Hawk.

The following statement had been recorded in New Earth History books as the moment that nearly two decades of killing and fighting had come to an end. With his hand out reached to Colonel Death Major Stagg greeted with, "Sir, I am pleased to inform you that the COB militaries have all agreed that this war is lost. Our former masters are secured under guard within the Grand COB Council Chamber. You fought a well-planned war, and have my respect. I humbly ask of you, stay your bombs and spare the rest of our troops. Please accept our complete and total surrender."

And on that note, the New Earth Civil War was over. Colonel Death took Major Stagg's hand and ended the war. Within hours the Former COB Leaders, David Carter, Robert Wells, Steven Schatz were all placed in to custody by Government Forces. The mentally unstable Stacy Johns was taken by medical specialist for treatment. The universally hated Renee' Eaton and her lover Colonel Peak were identify and captured as they tried to pass themselves off as low ranking troops. Eaton was spotted and exposed by her own troops while attempting to sneak through a POW camp. It was rumored that it was a few former soldiers and survivors of the Nes’Saw Pass that alerted Government troops of the pair's true identity.

The Supreme Baron of the Council of Barons, Baron David McGray and his elite bodyguards were capture in a nearby cave. They were attempting to hide a valuable Lost-Tech Core, which the COB had found sometime during the civil war, when a Government patrol stumbled upon the group. With the COB leadership all behind bars and their Military Commanders ordering a general surrender, the Civil War was finally at an end. And not a moment too soon. The road to victory for New Earth, for the Government and for the COB had been long and hard fought. For Colonel Death, the war came to an official end on the 364th day that he had been on world. With only a single day before the end of his agreement with the Commonwealth.

With the end of the Civil War finally at hand, the issues and goals of reconstruction were able to be addressed. Colonel Death first set down with hundreds local leaders from across New Earth. Leaders from both former COB governments as well as Government supporters. He made it clear that his next major goals for New Earth was healing the rifts caused by the war. He named one hundred of these leaders to make up a governing body that would take on the difficult challenges of reconstruction. He took one quarter of the leaders from former Government supporters, one quarter of them would come from former COB supporters. In a surprising move, he asked for one quarter to come from the Joint Island Conference. The last quarter would be made up of persons that directly supported his dream of the future of New Earth.

This new body would be seated by appointments at first then they would have to be elected at the upcoming elections. For the first time in over a thousand years, New Earth would elect a wide complete government. With the Government on its way to becoming formed and a New Earth Constitution in the works, this allowed Colonel Death to address the first monumental crisis. With the end of New Earth's Civil War, there were some fifty thousand COB soldiers being held by the Government. There was also an unreported number of former COB supporters and enemies of the state being held as political prisoners.

Colonel Death's first move was to start the process of clearing former COB soldiers to return home. He ensured that each soldier would be medically cleared prior to release. While many had thought that the gates of the POW camps would be flung open and these prisoners would be forced to fend for themselves. That was not what Colonel Death had in mind. His plan was much more involved and had the future of New Earth in mind. The medical exams bought Colonel Death the time he needed to prepare a special gift for all soldiers of New Earth.

Three months after the end of the war and with the last of the medical exams completed, he announced that the releases were ready to begin. He called the single largest massing of New Earth Military to current date for a dedication ceremony. Before over a hundred thousand government troops, former COB troops, his own Hurricane Legion, as well as family members flown in from across New Earth, Colonel Death revealed a grand memorial park in honor of the men and women who gave their lives for a brighter and bolder New Earth.

In his speech he won the hearts and mind of the people of New Earth, "The war had been fought. None of you were on the wrong side. The poison that caused this horrible Civil War was at the top on both sides. Not one of you has anything to be ashamed of. You fought for what you believed in. You bleed for your hopes and dreams. And now that war is over. Before each of you are three options for your futures. Go home, rejoin your local communities and families. Help us, back home, to rebuild our world by rebuilding your shattered communities and broken families. Only through the rebuilding of these communities can we rebuild our world as a whole. For without these communities, no central government and no future for New Earth can come to pass. Become law abiding and productive citizens to our world, our home. The very same that we all have fought and bleed for just a few months before."

"If this is not for you, and I am sure that some of you might find this. Then I ask of you, please join the political structure and help us shape a future for our world. Right now, we are building and preparing for elections that will springboard New Earth in to a new era of promise and hope. But without your help, this new Government will not have the passion that you have already shown to have. No one, that I can think of, has any more of a right to have a place within this new Government than those standing before me right now or those to whom have fought and given their hearts to this world. Some of you were pressed in to service by the sides that you supported and fought for. Now you have a chance to choose to support New Earth in a completely different role. However, I am sure that this role is not for everyone."

"Like me, I am sure that some of you will hear the call of that bugle on some distant world. So I offer all of you this opportunity to reenlist as a soldier once more. No not to fight against each other, but to defend what we are building here today. For there will be those who are jealous of our success. Those who will wish to take what we have worked so hard for. Those who will wish to threaten our peace and safety. Come follow me in to battle once more within the Hurricane Legion or stay closer to home and help Colonel John Smith and Major Kyle Stagg to protect New Earth from all threats. No matter what you choose in the future. For now, go home with all the honor and pride that each of you have earned through your loyal service to New Earth as a whole. Enjoy the benefits that any honored veteran should deserve and that you all have so dearly earned. Take time to consider your own future and where in the future New Earth you wish to stand."

The massive park was centered by a memorial to those that died during the Civil War. The memorial was set of marble stones cut low and slanted to the center. On these large low marble stones were lists of names and home towns of each and every person that died during the civil war. Gray stones marked those groups of names that were soldiers or mercenaries. Blue stones marked the names of civilians that had died as a result of the war. While green stones marked those who were murdered while in prison as a political prisoner. There were no indication of which side a name supported.

In the center of the memorial was a pair of soldiers reaching out to each other in friendship with their weapons on their backs. One soldier was cast in the uniform of the Government Forces with the other soldier dressed in a COB uniform. The artiest that cast the three ton bronze statue called the work of art, 'At War's End' and represented a common scene on Aries as the COB was surrendering to the Government Forces. A plaque at the base of the statue reads, 'With communities and families no longer divided, let us never forget that it is what we have in common that give us the strength to build tomorrow. Let us never forget that we are one people, one community, and one world.' a passage written and read by former COB Commander Kyle Stagg at the official COB surrender ceremony.

There would follow six more separate memorials to honor different groups that were affected by the civil war. Even the Mercenaries who took up contracts for both sides would have their dead honored here. The Park, which would become named, Memorial Park would take its place of where the healing would begin. It would later become known that Colonel Death and the Hurricane Legion paid for the construction of the entire park out of their own pocket.


Edited by Akirapryde2006 (07/28/15 04:14 PM)
Akirapryde2006
07/30/15 09:50 AM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Three: Reconstruction and The Rift

The years following the end of the Civil War were focused on the reconstruction of New Earth. New Earth was once more left to heal as war engulfed the region. However this time, it was not left alone. In fact, for the first time since the fall of the Terrain Hegemony, New Earth was not only visited by the powers who controlled it, but enjoyed repeated visits by House Nobility. Both Archon-Designate Melissa Stainer-Davion and her new Husband, Prince Hanse Davion both paid a number of royal visits to the world as they passed through the Skye March. In a rare event and at special invitation of the newly formed and organized New Earth Senate, both powerful House Lords were on world to oversee the freely elected planetary leader of New Earth. It was a moment in New Earth's history and one that would solidify New Earth's support behind couple and their children for years to come.

While there were elected leader of New Earth throughout its history. Since the fall of the Terran Hegemony, elections had become a thing of the past. In fact most worlds had appointed leaders ruling over them. These coming elections were a throwback to the days of the Hegemony that returned governing power back to the people of New Earth. The elections of 3032 showed a major landslide victory for Colonel Jake Death. He would become New Earth's first President and under his watchful eye, New Earth would see its first growth both economically and culturally in centuries. One if his first official act as President was to help heal the scares of the past, President Death decommissioned the naval battleship Bizmark.

The Bizmark had earned notoriety and infamy during the Civil War for shelling helpless villages that refused to aid pro-government forces. During the Bloodletting years, the Bizmark was responsible for sinking hundreds of fishing vessels and shelling fishing communities without regard. Critics wanted to see the aging warship sent to the scrapyards to be scrapped. However President Death choose to save the old veteran which he dubbed, 'the Ole Lady' during the decommissioning speech. He outlined his plan to send the massive warship to the shipyards of Aries to be refitted. There the Ole Lady and many of her Civil War counter parts would become the center piece of a living museum.

During that same decommissioning speech, he did not dispute the claims that the Bizmark's massive guns rained death down on civilians. But he reaffirmed his belief that every warrior should be given a chance to earn redemption, and the Bizmark was no exception. In an interview after the first controversial act he said, "We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Who knows, the Ole Lady might find a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of the people of New Earth." He also made a point to reflect how the Bizmark represented how the military can lose sight of his mission to protect the innocent people of New Earth. He promised that the lessons of Bizmark will not be forgotten by New Earth’s new military.

While President Death was taking up his role as President, there were also some notable elections across New Earth. Former COB Baroness Sara Bailey, with her soothing and intellectual voice, was elected to the Vice Presidency. Of the many former COB midlevel leaders elected to public office, none was as shocking as those of Baron McGray. The former Supreme Baron of New Earth, David McGray, had survived a long trail against him. While the courts couldn’t find any direct links between McGray and the numerous crimes the COB had committed, he lacked public support in his bid for the Presidency.

After his soundly defeat in planetary polls, McGray turned his efforts to helping rebuild New Earth. During the final year of the Civil War, McGray vested a large amount of time and resources in fighting for the future of New Earth. After the elections of 3032, McGray found a place in President Deaths Cabinet as an Under Secretary for New Earth Reform and Reconstruction. The relationship of the two rivals would always be stressed. Behind closed doors, the two were known for loud spirited arguments over the future of New Earth. However before the public, the two never lose sight of cooperation. The position would be temporary as a couple of years later and after dedicated service to President Death’s administration, McGray would be elected to the New Earth Senate.

During McGray’s campaign, President Death gave McGray a sounding endorsement citing the work McGray had done for New Earth. As a show of acknowledgment for his current work, President Death pushed through New Earth’s first major civilian award. David McGray was given the Nickolas Bailey Civil Service Award. The award was created by an act of New Earth’s Senate to reflect the work by special New Earth citizens for their devotion to the future of New Earth. After his election to the Senate, McGray would be appointed to the Senate Reform and Reconstruction Committee where he would continue to work closely with the office of the Presidency for the future of New Earth.

Two other noteworthy appointments were that of Colonel John Smith and Major Kyle Stagg to the head of the officially formed New Earth Defense Force (NEDF). After the Civil War, there was a great exodus of soldiers who were pressed in to service leaving the military. Over coming two decades of mistrust for armed soldiers and corrupt leaders was no easy task for the two men. As the numbers of the Government forces dropped, the two former COB military leaders were pressed hard to maintain minimum manning levels. However with unemployment still high and educations lacking across the planet, Major Stagg came up with a brilliant idea. After the New Earth Senate approved the measure, the Military Civil Construction Incentive or MCCI was born.

Communities would donate a number of workers to the military as the NEDF would fund community construction projects. Within months of passage, the Civil Construction Incentive was heading up projects around New Earth. Schools, roads, hospitals and bridges were either repaired or rebuilt under this program. Where there was a MCCI project, flapping in the wind above was the Battle Standard of the newly formed NEDF. Major Stagg’s wishes was to change the image of the military from what the past had proven to the promise of a new military bent on helping New Earth instead of hurting its citizens. The single most important role of the MCCI was to clear the millions of land mines planted by both sides during the war. A task that would take nearly a decade to complete.

The next four years moved painfully slow as reconstruction across New Earth continued. Still the focus of so many former enemies were of working towards the common goal of rebuilding New Earth. However this didn’t bring an end to two decades of mistrust between neighbors. This time of growth and healing was marred by acts of revenge and vigilantism. To counter this new threat to New Earth unity, the Senate created the New Earth Global Military Police. This police force was tasked with investigating claims by communities against someone. Suspects were brought in before the public and investigations were carried out. Those who were considered war criminal were taken to trial. While the innocent were cleared of wrong doing.

The most famous case was that of Agostino Ivanov. Agostino Ivanov was identified as being the camp commander of one of the Governments most infamous death camps. The camp was shot down within hours of Jake Death arriving in system but its commander vanished without a trace before Hurricane forces could arrest the man. Mr. Ivanov, a doctor living with his two children and wife, denied being this horrible man. A group of vigilantes broke in to his home and dragged him from his home before his family. Under a tree in his own front yard, a mock trial was held and he was sentenced to death by some of his supposed victims. The GMP arrived just in time to stop the hanging and took Mr. Ivanov in to custody. Those behind the mock trial were also arrested at the time.

A yearlong investigation finally cleared Mr. Ivanov’s name. The leader of the GMP made sure that the case and the investigation was made clear to the public. Mr. Ivanov’s family toured New Earth speaking about how their father and husband was nearly murdered for crimes he didn’t commit. The investigation also revealed that a large number of former Government officials who had committed war crimes had fled the world with their former leader, Baron Kilt. With the case of Mr. Ivanov, the New Earth’s Global Military Police had helped defuse the rising wave of vigilantism. It was a major success story of the GMP. Five years later Bettina Ivanov, the daughter of Mr. Ivanov, joined the ranks of the New Earth Global Military Police as an investigator.

As reconstruction continued New Earth became cash strapped. By request of the New Earth Senate, a massive influx of C-Bills came when Comstar released former off world assets that once belonged to many COB leaders. Another boost came when the New Earth Senate voted to sell access of the Lost-Tech Core to the New Avalon Institute of Science. More importantly than this cash deal was that this deal also brought a branch campus of the NAIS to New Earth. President Death was also able to successfully lobby the Federated Commonwealth for trillions of C-bills in reconstruction grants and loans over the next ten years. These events as well as other helped to bring much needed reconstruction funds and resources to New Earth.

With New Earth's government working towards reconstruction, a new face started to make common appearances within the business world of New Earth. Karen Tetsuhara-Death had worked closely with Jake Death back on Solaris VII as he was forming his Hurricane Stables. During this time, she served as his lead Tech for the entire Stables. In the beginning, she was the only Tech the stables had. As the stables expanded, she became the Stables Senior Tech. As time passed, the two formed a strong intimate relationship. It was because of this relationship, she and her sister followed him to New Earth.

Serving alongside her lover and later husband on the front lines during the Civil War gave Karen Tetsuhara-Death a strong insight in to battlefield technical support. She often accompanied combat teams in to battle to assist with battlefield repairs on critical equipment. Two times during the civil war, she was wounded as a result of being on the front lines. Despite his urgings, Karen never changed how she conducted her tech teams. During her time serving as the Master-Tech for the Headquarters’ unit gave her first hand dealings with troops in the field and how her modifications actually effected the results of combat. Karen Tetsuhara-Death took this valuable knowledge and worked hard to organize and founded the corporation, Quantum Tech.

In the beginning, there were claims of unfair access directed at the office of the President and the CEO of Quantum Tech. Because of these claims, First Lady Death allowed her corporation to be closely over seen by a special Senate oversight committee. This oversight didn’t stifle the new corporation as it continued to grow within New Earth’s business world. It wasn’t long before Quantum Tech became a well-known name within the New Earth Defense Industry. More so, her competitors came to realize that not only was First Lady Death a very intelligent woman, she was a cunning business woman with a keen mind for the corporate world. This shocked and surprised her competitors who had hoped to take advantage of her in the first years her company was formed.

Quantum Tech worked closely with the NAIS to help unlock the secrets of the Lost-Tech Core which was recovered during the final days of the Civil War. They also worked on rebuilding a number of burned out factories across New Earth. In the early days of Quantum Tech, the corporation started small working on low tech projects to secure portions of the market share while feeding its advanced research departments. In her book called, 'Low Tech Victory,' First Lady Death explained that while in nearly every situation, the COB had both more numbers on the battlefield and better equipment but the Government Forces were able to overcome this through clever low tech options. Her book also explained how she and her techs formed a strong personal relationship with the soldiers that they were supporting.

Because of this relationship, she and her techs were able to move ideas from the drawing board to the battlefield much faster than before. While there were a number of disappointing ideas explained in her book, she drew light to the critical success stories. However the single most important advantage that she boasted from the Civil War was the relationship that she fostered between her techs and the units that they supported. Instead of creating support bases far in the rear where her teams would be most safe and most separated from the units that they supported, First Lady Death had decided that her techs would be stationed as close to the front lines as possible. Unlike some leaders, Karen Tetsuhara-Death led her techs by example. Often following her husband’s unit in to combat. This earned her a large degree of respect and support from her techs and other soldiers.

Following her lead, her teams trained in basic combat situations to prepare themselves for the field of war. While some of her techs hated this new change, most of her techs and common soldiers praised the move as it gave them direct access to each other. Through this close relationship ‘battlefield changes’ were able to be made much quicker on new equipment. Bad ideas were able to be removed much faster. And even small things like creature comforts for the common soldier were possible. This had a massive positive effect on the moral of the common Government Soldier.

While other weapon developments would take center stage in her book, one invention would be noted for the single greatest moral buster of the Civil War. A pair of techs and a group of soldiers created a simple solution to frozen latrine during the Cancer Campaign. When COB POW’s discovered the little innovation, they were surprised at it. Most of the latrines in COB field bases were often frozen over making the simple task of going to the restroom miserable. An innovation that Karen Tetsuhara-Death noted would not have been possible without the special relationship formed between her techs and the common soldier.

Another success story that had more direct effects on the Civil War was the Hyper Velocity Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot or HVFSDS round. During the Pisces Compiegne it soon became clear that COB armor units had armor plating that was much thicker than their Government and Hurricane counter parts. While the Government Tanks could out range these COB tanks, their lighter auto-cannons couldn’t penetrate the thicker COB armor before COB tanks could close and fire. This often allowed COB tanks to make up valuable distance and caused needless Government losses.

A group of tankers, their techs and a research team spent a week working out the details of a round that was rocket assisted and highly accurate. The end result was an extremely heavy dart like round that was powered by a powerful rocket engine. The dart would turn to a malting super-heated liquid on impact thus melting through the enemy armor at longer ranges. The first set of rounds created in the battlefield were a complete failure. However the addition of a stronger strap and a slightly stronger rocket motor allowed the round to pass the groups tests.

The new round would be ready when the unit faced off with the COB in the units following battle. Though only in limited numbers, the new rounds were carefully deployed by two specially designed Government Tanks. At the height of the battle, the order was given and the two tanks took up position at extreme ranges. Acting like long range snipers, the two tanks were able to deliver critical hits on the attacking COB tanks. Well out of range from their enemy, the two Government tanks were able to stop the COB offensive dead in its tracks and force the COB tanks in to a retreat. The rounds were so successful that the plans were sent for mass production.

These rounds are still highly effective even on today’s battlefields and represented how successful Karen Tetsuhara-Death’s plan really was during the Civil War. This plan became a business model for her Quantum Tech researchers. To ensure that this practice would continue and her teams would maintain to have this kind of insight, she pushed to allow her teams to have unrestricted access to all NEDF and Hurricane units. Because of this, Quantum Tech researchers could help reshape the model battlefield. More importantly, this relationship would continue on in to the future as many Government forces and Hurricane forces would take Quantum Tech technician teams with them in to the field on a regular basis.

Low Tech Victory became a sells catalog for Quantum Tech as its ammunition factories, built during the Civil War, started to sell directly to the Federated Commonwealth. The single most successful secrets of the Civil War to come out was the Hyper Velocity Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot round for Auto-Cannons. These highly specialized rounds offered a considerable increase in range with a moderate increase in damage. With recorded written historical results the specialized ammunition became highly sought after by many Fed-Com unit commanders in the beginning. However due to special loading systems and larger than normal storage requirements, this meant that the overall weight of the rounds were about double of their normal counter parts.

Well her techs worked hard at coming up with low tech ideas to turn the tide of battle, First Lady Death had her own ingenious ideas. One of them was the Shaped Charged Short Range Missile Warhead. At the beginning of the campaign for Pieces there was a great need to even the odds against over whelming numbers of the COB Mechs on the battlefield. The way First Lady Death’s went to addressing this was to create a two stage solution. The first means to this answer was creating her Shaped Charged Warheads for the standard short range man portable missile launcher. The second stage of this answer was creating hunter killer teams who would hunt down enemy Mech lances and cripple them. Ideally, once the Mech lance was crippled air or other mech units would be called in to finish the job. However at first things didn’t go according to plan.

At first the Warheads had a number targeting issues which caused them to miss their intended targets. The standard man portable launcher also had problems firing the heavier missile. This led to many misfires on the battlefield. Using salvaged launchers from Mechs, a newer heavier duty launcher was designed. This eliminated misfires and better stabilizers were fitted to the missiles giving them greater accuracy. As the Hunter Killer teams quickly developed while learning this new weapon, they started to develop their own tactics with these weapons. Near the end of the Pieces Campaign, the five Hunter Killer Teams were ready for Cancer. By the end of the Cancer Campaign, those five teams turned in twenty five teams with a well-earned reputation of killing Mechs all on their own. This reputation was possible because of Quantum Tech’s Shape Charged Warhead.

Thanks to the heavy sells of the HVFSDS Rounds and the Shape Charged Warhead, these helped Quantum Tech to break in to the market. With strong profits, Quantum Tech helped made First Lady Death beyond wealthy. However in turn she took her profits and reinvested them in to her company and she planned expansions in to new markets. One of her dream projects was taking shape in the form of New Earth’s Advanced Technologies. Thanks to a growing cooperation with the New Avalon Institute of Science, New Earth was starting to see its industrial base starting to rebuild. With each passing month, unemployment was falling across New Earth. At the forefront of this new growth was the Tetsuhara-Death family. During the early months of reconstruction, the Tetsuhara-Death family bought millions of C-Bills worth of New Earth Bonds. It was a gamble that would make the family even wealthier.

Near the end of the first year, President Death was proud to oversee reformations of the 1st Hurricane Legion in to the 1st Hurricane RCT, and the official formation of the 2nd Hurricane RCT, as well the 1st New Earth RCT. Under his agreement with the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth paid eighty percent of the costs for raising all three units while New Earth and President Death bore the remaining costs. While experienced man power was never an issue for the world that just exited a nearly two decade long civil war. However getting these experienced soldiers to work and fight as a single unit was a much more difficult challenge. President Death ran his units through a series of team building training exercises. After nearly nine months of constant training, strong rifts still prevailed which caused many commanders to worry about unity within the ranks of the units.

Another condition under his agreement with the Commonwealth was that the Hurricane Legion would be considered House Troops for no less than ten years. For a mercenary, this could be a sword that cuts both ways. While the burden of the cost would be picked up by the Federated Commonwealth, it took over all control over the unit away from its commanders and placed the unit’s future in the hands of the Federated Commonwealth. For the Hurricane Legion is was uncharted waters, however for the newly formed unit with only one year of experience, there was little choice for the unit or its commanders.

Another first anniversary achievement for President Death's presidency was the opening of a branch campus of the famous the New Earth Institute of Science. The NAIS is one of the boldest and far reaching initiatives of Prince Hanse Davion. The New Avalon Institute of Science was one of the first new college of science in the Inner Sphere in centuries and has become the most advanced center of higher learning and research in the Successor States. Thanks to the lostech core recovered on New Earth, made the opening of this branch campus possible. The opening of this campus sprang New Earth’s reputation upward. It was a hard fought victory that President Death held firmly on. A victory that would help shape the future of New Earth and the NAIS-New Earth’s graduates would lead New Earth during its darkest hours.

While the Forth Succession War didn’t touch New Earth, its warriors saw combat on far flung worlds. The 1st Hurricane RCT and the 2nd Hurricane RCT saw minor action against the Capellan Confederation carrying out raids up and down the vast boarders. Though these actions were hardly significant, they did help hone the skills of new recruits and new commanders. During the two year war, President Death issued the order to rotate troops through the three standing units. While this capped the potential experience that one single unit could gain, it spread the experience over all across all three units. This allowed the 1st New Earth RCT to gain warriors with valuable experience.

During the Skye Crisis of 3034, there were several protests across New Earth in support of the Skye Separation Movement and for Independence of New Earth as well. Fearful of the same overreacting that took place on Skye by Federated Commonwealth, the New Earth Senate under the advisement of President Death passed the War Armaments Act of 3034. Authored by none other than Senator David McGray, this wide reaching legislation was drafted and pushed in to law to show the Fed-Com that Regular House Troops were not required on New Earth. The Act drew a distention between the Skye Separation Movement and New Earth's own goals. One major piece of the legislation provided the funding for the creation of the 3rd Hurricane Legion RCT. It also had a provision that declared a State of Emergency across New Earth and authorized the President authorization to deploy the 1st New Earth RCT to disperse the protests.

While most of the protests ended peacefully once Planetary Troops arrived and started to take up patrols on the streets. There were the diehard groups that refused to surrender the streets to Planetary Troops. Despite all efforts put forward by local commanders to end these protests peacefully, the protesters refused to yield the streets. As tensions rose quickly on the streets, it was President Death who took action to ensure that the situation didn't explode in to open warfare as it did on other worlds. President Death led his own Death's Brigade in to the streets and stood between Planetary Troops and a group of violent protesters.

As the hours turned to days and the diehards refused to give up the streets, President Death realized that he had to end these protests before they gained more followers. President Death pushed his troops to start making arrests and driving the protesters from the streets. He issued hard orders to his commanders to ‘Exercise extreme caution in dealing with the protesters and ensure that the loss of life would be limited.’ It was this level of leadership shown by President Death that gave local commanders the will to end clashes with protesters with limited losses of life.

Once some of the protest leaders starting getting arrested, it was quickly discovered that while there were those who did truly support Skye's Independence. Of the most violent street groups that were arrested, were nothing more than paid criminals working for former COB Leader, Baroness Eaton. None of those arrested could positively identify the person behind the money as all transactions happened between third parties. However it was clear by their testimony, that they all believed that they were working for Baroness Eaton. As the investigation continued, it was never proven beyond doubt that Eaton was still on New Earth. The investigation did cast light on her motives and actions.

Originally the common suspension was that the Sky Separatist Movement had been behind the violent protests on New Earth. However, President Death confirmed in a speech to the Senate the initial findings that the Skye Separatist Movement had not been behind the violent protests on New Earth. An act that earned New Earth praise from Duke Ryan and later a personal visit from the Duke. While New Earth as a whole would never become strong supporters of the Sky Separatist Movements, it was clear that they were not enemies either.

At the end of the two month crisis, President Death made a move that shocked and surprised most of his critics across New Earth. The War Armament Act of 3034 gave President Death wide reaching powers that could be turned against the elected government of New Earth. There were fears that by passing this act, that President Death would not return those powers back to the people. One of the largest fears were that President Death would use this authority to unbalance the checks and balances of the relationship between the Presidency and the New Earth Congress. However during a special meeting of both chambers of the New Earth Congress, President Death returned all the authorizations of the War Armament Act of 3034. He announced that he had ordered the 1st New Earth RCT back to their bases and declared an end of the State of Emergency.

Between the years of 3034 and 3038, the Hurricane Legion went through some command level personal changes to help even the combat experience. During this time, Colonel King draw up plans for the Cancer Proving Grounds. Her goal was to help train the newly formed 3rd Hurricane RCT up to the same levels as the rest of the Legion. The Proving Grounds were designed so large that two entire Brigades could effectively maneuver during combat exercises against each other while a third Brigade could conduct other training elsewhere within the same facility. With massive live fire ranges and huge lands tasked for this new facility, the Proving Grounds could prove to be a major boost for the New Earth Defense Force and the Hurricane Legion.

With the support of New Earth Defense Command, Colonel King went to the Senate asking for funding to create a special facility as well as a home unit that would act as a full time training unit. She showed through historical records how having a standard training unit would bolster experience levels of a military over all. She spoke passionately as she explained how her plans would help keep the experience levels among all New Earth units high. The costs for the plan were high and the debates lasted for months. The entire idea nearly failed due to the overall cost of the facility. A break in the standoff came after agreements of support from the Hurricane Command as well as from Quantum Tech and the newly created New Earth Advanced Technologies were secured.

Thanks to the support secured for the new facility, New Earth’s Senate would finally authorize the construction project. With that, the Proving Grounds would become a reality and at the end of the day, the Proving Grounds would be The Proving Grounds would become the largest military training ground in the entire Federated Commonwealth. There were two other provisions of the bill. One of those provisions would allow the organization of the New Earth Opposing Force Brigade or OpFor Brigade. OpFor, as it would become more commonly known by, would recruit some of the best pilots and soldiers across New Earth and test some of the latest technologies New Earth could produce.

Another provision under the bill was the noteworthy acknowledgement of the actions by the Death's Brigade during the Skye Crisis. The New Earth Congress acknowledged that the Death’s Brigade was the personal troops belonging to President Death. Because of this, their experience would be lost to the New Earth Government once he leaves office. To address this, two new units were called to be formed, the Presidential Guard and the Congressional Guard or Old Guard. Each of these two units would train alongside of the Death’s Brigade to ensure that these two honor guards would be ready for their service once President Death’s time in office would come to a close. President Death and his Death’s Brigade would continue to train these two units long after it was expected of them.

Near the end of his third year, President Death was able to sit over another major achievement for New Earth. Many thought the degree of fan fair for this event was over rated, but President Death wanted to mark a major mile stone. Standing on the beach just south of Summerhaven, he was able to declare the beach mine free. Due to its importance, Summerhaven and its vast white beaches had been heavily mined during the Civil War. President Death spoke with pride as he returned the beaches back to the citizens of Summerhaven. He also reported to the people of New Earth the progress that the MCCI was making at clearing mines. He acknowledged the task was much greater than first expected, but he reassured the MCCI’s commitment to this task. As President Death was giving his speech in Summerhaven, the Vice President, Sara Baily, was giving her own speech at the ground breaking ceremony of the Cancer Proving Grounds.

As ground was starting to get broken for the Cancer Proving Grounds, the 3rd Hurricane RCT was ready to take on its first field assignment. Thanks to Senator McGray and his Foreign Trade Committee, that assignment came in the terms of a pirate hunting contract with the Cirinus Federation. The contract called for a rotational deployment of the Hurricane Legion in and around the Cirinus Federation for the next five years. It also came with major trade deals that would be vital to New Earth's continued recovery. As per their terms with the Federated Commonwealth, the contract had to be approved by the LCAF.

The contract would be ultimately approved, however there were sections of the deal that were denied. Of those that were rejected within the contract were those provisions that governed arms trade with the Cirinus Federation. The loss of these provision placed a major financial loss on many New Earth Corporations. Even though the Fed-Com attempted to make up for the losses through increased arms trade with New Earth, but the issues were not only over the loss of trade. There were voices within the New Earth leadership that saw elimination of those sections as an over reach by the Fed-Com. Despite the grumbling voices, these voices were few in numbers and any real discord failed to gain any traction.

During the elections of 3036, President Death refused to run for a second term. He cited that politics was a field of battle that he was not perfectly suited for. However he openly and publicly supported Sara Bailey's bid for the Presidency. "I can think of no one better then Sara to take my place at the top office of this great world." Bailey's run for President was filled with more critics than President Death's had ever been forced to deal with during his run. And her age had been called in to question throughout her campaign. Despite all this, Sara Baily still managed to pull off a victory over Senator McGray.

After the elections of 3036, former First Lady Tetsuhara-Death was able to take over CEO of both Quantum Tech and New Earth Advanced Technologies. Shortly thereafter, Quantum Tech started mass production of the M-12 Infantry Rifle. This was a design that Karen Tetsuhara-Death had been working on since the end of the Civil War. It was largely based on the SLDF Mouser. At the same time Phase One of the New Earth Defense Initiative, the program to repair select Castle Brains around New Earth, was completed by Quantum Tech. With the Phase One completed, the New Earth Defense Force moved in to its new headquarters on the Island of Aires. This very location was once the headquarters of the COB during the Civil War. Under her direct leadership, New Earth Advanced Technologies won the valuable contract for Phase Two of the New Earth Defense Initiative.

New Earth Advanced Technologies also rolled its very first major weapon system. The Specter Aerospace Fighter was a based nearly completely on the SLDF SWF-606 Swift. Though slightly heavier, the Specter maintained the same advanced technologies that came with the Swift. Those technologies were the tougher Ferro-Aluminum armor as well as its brilliantly designed flight master computer, the B-TT7i. This computer performed most of the complex functions needed to fly the craft, allowing pilots to focus on shooting down the enemy. A female voice synthesizer allowed the computer to give "friendly warnings" to the pilot and its advanced programming allowed it to take verbal commands from the pilots during flight. However the similarities ended there.

One of the most notable change to the Specter was the much lighter and more complex was its engine. This gave the Specter more speed making it the fastest mass produced fighters in the entire Inner Sphere. NEAT designed the fighter with a massive amount of speed because of its lack of heavy weapons the fighter carried. They wanted the fighter to be able to move in to enemy space, snoop around and then bolt out of there leaving enemy fighters behind. During secret testing, the Specter’s speed was so impressive that eye witnesses reported seeing a UFO. The designers dropped a bit of armor to free up space. This change allowed them to add more fuel and connections for under wing fuel pods. This gave the Specter a much longer range than other fighters.

The original roll of the Specter was to be a light weight dog fighter. However as the original design started to take shape the roll of this fighter became a Light Reconnaissance Craft. Within the additional weight added was an advance sensor package similar to those found on Ostscout. This gave the Spector an amazing ability to detect enemy signals and units. To make up for the lower amount of armor and lack of any real weapons, NEAT installed on the Spector a Guardian ECM. The Guardian ECM gave the Spector its stealth capabilities and made the Spector a much better reconnaissance craft than fighter.

To further the survivability of the Spector due to combat conditions, the craft was designed with one of the most reactive flight controls. Once back on its base, maintenance was keen in the designers mind. In keeping in line with Karen's philosophy of easy access to modules and parts, designers made each of the major parts and modules interchangeable. These design changes made the Spector a dream for maintenance crews. More so in the tight confines of a dropship repair bay or the limited resource area of a forward air field. While a far cry from what the Clan Invasion would bring to the Inner Sphere, the Spector’s designs ushered in a new wave of maintenance minded craft. It were these bonuses made the Specter an excellent fleet or air group reconnaissance craft.

The Specter impressed the military leaders of the LCAF and AFFC so much that they forwarded the designs of the Spector to the NAIS for further testing and development. Citing security concerns the LCAF and the AFFC forbid New Earth Advanced Technologies to sell the fighter without prior permission. The ban came too late to stop the initial hundred fighters that had already been sold to both the Hurricane Legion and New Earth Defense Force. Because future sells were halted, this caused protest from New Earth leaders and Jake Death, the leader of the Hurricane Legion. However the advanced fighter would see limited use within the Hurricane Legion during its upcoming conflicts. During these limited operations, the craft would exceed all expectations. For the next ten years, not a single craft would be lost due to enemy engagement.

While there was a halt on sells of the craft, development would continue on till the late 3040’s when the craft would see full production. Under the terms of its contracts with the Fed-Com, NEAT would be the exclusive producer of the Spector. The four craft built by the NAIS would remain in the AFFC as test craft while all research material would be returned to NEAT. To ensure that the secrets of this craft would not be leaked out, Fed-Com would maintain tight security on the factory where the Spector was to be built. As the first official production models rolled out of the factory, the ‘C’ Model was already a hot export. However before this time the phantom ‘A’ Model, which held a distinct advantage over all other models was sold and remained in service with the Hurricane Legion in violation of the Fed-Com’s wishes. This betrayal wouldn’t surface till much later.

On the other side of New Earth, Quantum Tech started to roll out the King Main Battle Tank, the Thunder Chief Conventional Fighter, and the Hunter VTOL. While most of the Inner Sphere were pushing Lostech technologies, Quantum Tech's new weapon systems were simple, and low tech. Which made them very affordable for small, cash strapped worlds. Each weapon system boasted Karen's own personal philosophy as was seen in the Specter, keep it simple and easy to repair in the field. Because of the success of these weapon systems, Quantum Tech had problems keeping up with order demands. As a result, Karen split the orders between her Quantum Tech and her struggling New Earth Advanced Technologies. The new orders helped NEAT overcome the challenges that the Fed-Com placed on sells of the Specter.

Noting the lack of regional influence that New Earth had over its neighbors, the New Earth Congress passed the War Armaments Act of 3037. Unlike the Act of 3034, this legislation was meant to help bolster the navy of New Earth. In a report to the Senate, General King and the New Earth Defense Command noted that the lack of jumpships and dropships could prove to be New Earth's on undoing during times of crisis. Currently the only jumpships and dropships available to New Earth were those of the Hurricane Legion. Even those were limited in numbers and could only move part of a RCT at a time. The report used a nightmare situation to further explain the need to expand the Navy. In their situation, New Earth was simulated standing alone against a major Inner Sphere power. During this example, that power was the Free Worlds League.

During the simulation, New Earth forces would be isolated as Hurricane Forces would be off world. With no allies coming to New Earth’s aide, the siege of New Earth would not be winnable. Experts from the Fed-Com came and gave testimony of how such a scenario was possible. As the simulation played out, massive flaws in the planetary defenses were exposed. The New Earth Defense Force would be incapable of preventing a landing by a hostel power. Experts showed how New Earth would not be able to count on assistance from the Hurricane Legion due to the amount of time it would take for the two Hurricane RCT's to return home under current conditions. The time needed to get reinforcements home to help defend New Earth would be paid in terms of needless lives lost.

Both the New Earth Defense Force and leaders from the New Earth Defense Command cited that a more flexible and able Navy would help better buy time for the warriors of the Hurricane Legion to return home during times of crisis. General King suggested that the fleet would be an assist to both the Hurricane Legion in terms of better contracts. General King offered that the Hurricane Legion would bolster sixty percent of the cost for the new fleet if New Earth’s Congress would build the schools and facilities needed to train up crew members and maintain the fleet. Despite the massive cost involved, at the end of the yearlong debates the measure was passed by very narrow margins. However no one in the New Earth Congress could imagine how accurate this nightmare situation could really be, or how vital passing this legislation would really become. The goal of the proposal was to create a jointly shared fleet of jumpships and dropships that could be used to render aid to New Earth during times of crisis.

The passage of the War Armaments Act of 3037 a Naval Command Academy in the former capital of Balitor was authorized for construction. Also a Naval Command Academy and a Technical School was established on Aries. In 3037, President Baily officially announced the formation of the New Earth Navy to a large crowd before the Great naval warship Bizmark. She also announced that the Bizmark was being turned in to a training ship for new Naval Officers.

Buried deep within the Act of 3037 was funding to expand the NEDC's ability to defend New Earth during times of invasion. With New Earth's location so close to the Free Worlds League, the Draconis Combine and with even local threats planetary security was considered a vital importance. Three tiers of funding were established. The first and most common tier paid for the newly organized Navy. The second tier and slightly less well known was funds set aside to repair and build special regional and local defensive sites. Most notable was Project Flare, which was the official taking over of the contracts involving the repair and refitting of the Castle Brains across New Earth. All New Earth Castle Brains now officially fell under the command of the New Earth Defense Command and each would act as regional command and control center should world be invaded. A strict Command Structure would be established with the New Earth Defense Command on top of the military pyramid. The Department of the Army, Aeroforces, Navy, and Independent Commands all would have their own command structures that would fall under the New Earth Defense Command.

The last and ultra-secret tier was discovered to be a program to amass large sums of war materials in hidden in secret locations across New Earth. As New Earth continued to rebuild its shattered world, it was clear that its leaders would not allow New Earth to loose what it had worked so hard for. For each ten C-bills spent on official military needs, a single C-bill was spent on building up these stockpiles of war supplies. To ensure secrecy, no one person knew the location of all stockpiles in a single region. Only trusted and vetted local leaders knew of the stockpiles within their local areas.

These stockpiles would be called War Stock by those who knew of its existence and would play a vital importance when invasion would come to New Earth. There are many theories as to who funded these stockpiles or where they came from. The most common theory gained wide scale acceptance when the Hurricane Legion was brought in to help Comstar during the Clan Invasion. While unknown at the time to the AFFC, hints of the stockpiles did come to light during an intelligence mission to uncover possible ties between New Earth and the Free Skye Movement. However because these rumors were not able to be proven and no direct ties were discovered, they were largely ignored by the LAAF, who had access to those very reports, prior to their invasion of New Earth.
Akirapryde2006
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Four: A Merc Unit Raising, The Hurricane Legion

As the weight of the recently passed War Armament Act of 3037 took hold, support for the legislation dropped drastically. While New Earth’s reconstruction was well underway, New Earth’s defense spending started to consume more and more of the Planetary Budget. By the end of the 3038’s New Earth was spending more on its defense budget than any of its neighbors. But as the decade of military spending and build came to a close, critics of the spending hammered at President Bailey over the growing military budget. To date, her entire time in office was marred by this single issue. Being a natural fighter, President Bailey and her administration fought back over the military spending. With her reelection campaign about to hit its stride, President Bailey attacked her critics headlong over military spending.

Before the public eye she forced a long hard look at the issue. Toured military bases and spoke with soldiers, airmen and sailors alike. While New Earth was building a large military that was growing from its roots. However what President Bailey discovered was that the military was far from robust. In fact President Bailey discovered that there was a poison that had infected the New Earth Defense Force. She and her advisors found that the poison could be measured in terms of wasted spending. But what else she found was a strong public support of New Earth’s new military and its image. Taking hold of a popular support of the military and sapping her critics of their only attack against her, President Bailey gave one of her most critical speeches today.

In what many thought was suicidal, she exposed the problems that were growing within the New Earth Defense Command and infecting the rest of the military. “During the Civil War, there were military leaders who had thought they had the best way of doing things. That was almost a decade ago. Our military today is not the same military we had back then. However many of our military commanders are still doing things like it was a decade ago. We need innovation, we need fresh ideas and creative leadership. Our fighting warriors, rather they are on the ground, in the air or in space, deserve better. We can do better!”

‘We can do better’ became the motto of her reelection campaign. However this idea came at a cost that New Earth was finding harder and harder to pay. To answer this, President Bailey with the support of the New Earth Congress entered in to behind the door negotiations with the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. With the Hurricane Legion’s contract reaching the end of its term, the AFFC didn’t want to see the unit go on the open market. With conflict on the horizon, President Bailey used this chip to press the AFFC on key issues. In a move of solidarity, both General King and Jake Death allowed President Bailey full negotiation rights for the Legion. This led to heated arguments at the negotiation table.

President Bailey had her agenda and drew a line in the sand. What the leaders of the AFFC didn’t know was that the Hurricane Legion had already decided to resign their contract. This piece of information allowed President Bailey to push the AFFC to accept terms where they paid half of New Earth’s total military budget during the life of its contract with the Hurricane Legion instead of paying the unit directly. The conclusion of the behind the door negotiations came when Bailey needed a major political victory in light of the coming 3040 elections. There were two clauses of the new contract that were largely beneficial for New Earth and the Hurricane Legion.

The first was that the AFFC would send trainers to New Earth. These trainers would help reshape New Earth’s military in to a much more fluid unit. This gave them access to how both the Federated Sun’s side of the AFFC fought as well as their closer to home Lyran Commonwealth side fought. For the next five years, New Earth’s military would learn from their masters and apply what their brothers and sisters in the Hurricane Legion would learn from the battlefield. A side effect that few took note of, was a result of this training. The New Earth Defense Force was growing in to an impressive robust military force that could give their House Masters a run for their money. True to her promise, President Bailey showed that New Earth could and would ‘Do Better.’

Another aspect of the new contract gave the commanders of the Hurricane Legion rank within the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. This gave these officers much more authority on the battlefield. While it wouldn’t have much impact on the Legions next major series of operations, however it would grant the Legion officers access to command level training facilities across Federated Commonwealth space. A new level access that Legion owner and commander Jake Death and General King pressed their officers to take full advantage of. Within months of having this level of access, Hurricane officers were starting to train alongside of their House officers.

Now with new level of funds flooding in to the Hurricane coffers, General King was able to form the 4th Hurricane RCT and get them trained up. The creation of the 4th Hurricane RCT allowed for the Hurricane Legion to meet its contractual requirements with the Cirinus Federation. What many didn’t know was that General King was under a scheduling gun. At the planning level, the ground work was already in place for the Legion’s next major development, the War of 3039. A short but nasty war between the Federated-Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine. It would be this war that gave birth to the rift between the Lyran side of the Federated-Commonwealth and the people of New Earth.

As the deployment time closed, General King had to make sure that the 4th had received as much training as possible. She used all of her resources to push the newly formed unit through the training channels. Because the actually time the 4th had to train was less than what the other three RCT’s had received, General King found other methods to make up the short fall. During the months leading up to their deployment, she permanently deployed the unit to the Cancer Proving Grounds. There she was able to directly over see their training and development. She took a personal interest in their training to ensure that the unit was ready. Another step that she took was of troop assignments. General King transferred a number of highly skill non-commissioned officers to the unit to level off their experience levels. Due to this focus that General King took with the unit is the reason why they are move often known as King’s own.

Due to this level of training paid off as the Cirinus Federation suffered a number of attacks during the 4th's rotation to the Periphery State. General King's actions ensured that the 4th Hurricane RCT was ready for its combat role and allowed them to safe lives on the battlefield. Taking a page from King’s own play book, Jake Death worked out a deal with the NEDC that allowed for a four year rotation of personnel. During a soldier’s career, they will rotate between commands across the NEDF as well as within the Hurricane Legion. This policy knocked down one more barrier between the NEDF and the Hurricane Legion. With each wearing the same uniform, the two separate organizations were slowly merging in to one large military organization.

To gain support from the New Earth Congress about these rotations, General King along with her NEDC counter parts spoke to the New Earth Congress. General King stated to Congress, "I would rather have ten units of veteran experience, instead of one elite unit, few veteran units and the rest green with no real experience. Training can only go so far. Real world battlefield experience has to be shared. Shared between units across New Earth." Originally the Congress was doing to reject the idea however a last minute plea from Senator McGray brought on much needed support for the measure and it was finally signed in to law by President Bailey.

General King signed the first official transfer request by then Pilot Markus Brown, a loud mouth brash LAM pilot who had joined the New Earth Army a few years before. She found great pleasure in sending the young arrogant pilot to serve with her longtime friend and boss Jake Death and his Death's Brigade. A transfer that spawned a number of stories shared between King and Death for years to come. With that transfer now personnel and equipment could easily pass between the Legion and the NEDF. This would have a profound effect on the experience of the NEDF and its relationship with the Hurricane Legion.

Under the current extensions with the AFFC, the Hurricane Legion will post the Elite 1st Hurricane RCT on the world of Helen. The battle harden 2nd Hurricane RCT would be deployed to the planet of Caph. Fresh from their posting in the Cirinus Federation, the 3rd Hurricane RCT would be forward deployed to the world of Saffel. Thanks to the additional new Hurricane Navy, the Legion was able to make all of their deployments nearly a month ahead of their scheduled report dates. This extra time allowed each unit to continue to train up for what was coming over the horizon. Their deployments and professionalism was something that was not over looked by Marshal Hasek-Davion during a command level briefing. As the clock ticked down towards Operation Orochi and the invasion of the Draconis Combine, this would be the first time that the Hurricane Legion would be in full deployment. The long suspecting eyes of the Commonwealth Intelligence were watching closely.

During the official planning levels, Jake Death was able to listen in and offer up suggestions. It was in these meetings that he had the rare opportunity to meet Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davio and Nondi Steiner. During these meetings, Jake Death quickly proved to be a strong strategist. Rumors started to emerge from these meetings about the strong strategic mind of Jake Death. Because of these rumors, it wasn’t long before Jake Death was being addressed by his own warriors as ‘The General’. The nickname stuck throughout the planning stages of Operation Orochi and beyond. When word of these rumors reached New Earth, a special act of New Earth Congress recognized the nickname as his official Rank within the New Earth Defense Force. Early in 3039, Jake Death was recognized as General Jake Death.

However not all meetings went so positively for Jake Death. General Death often didn’t hold back in questioning poorly conceived strategies and openly rejected plans that would be unduly costly in lives. There were many heated debates between commanders of the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth and Jake Death over deployments of the Hurricane Legion. Despite early tensions between Jake Death and Marshal Hasek-Davion, it was because of his courage to speak out against bad plans that the two men quickly became professional friends as the planning for Operation Orochi was in progress.

Not all were so welcoming of Jake Death’s boldness. Nondi Steiner a lead critic of Jake Death however the Lyran noble was unable to find fault with his objections or his strategies. When Jake Death trashed Nondi Steiner’s primary plan, she was so offended that she stormed from the meeting. This confrontation led to the Hurricane Legion being delegated with limited ‘unimportant’ missions during the invasion. General Death accepted the limited roles for his unit as the political slap from Nondi Steiner and the Lyran side of the AFFC. Noting that he couldn’t change the mission assignments, Marshal Hasek-Davion had a surprise for Jake Death. In recognition of his strategic skills, Jake Death was granted the honorary rank of Hauptmann-General within the AFFC.

The Hurricane Legion were assigned to attack and hold the Combine worlds of Altair, Nirasaki and Dieron. While these worlds were not intended to be primary targets, they did serve a purpose in the overall plan. These three worlds were designated to widen supply routes between the Ryde Operation Area and the Robinson Operation Area and to provide vital supply routes for later waves of the invasion. Marshal Hasek-Davion assigned a number of former Davion support units to the command of General Death. This filled out the Al Na'ir Thrust which General Death was placed in command of. However, against his wishes of being under direct AFFS command, the Al Na'ir Thrust was placed under the command of General Nondi Steiner and the Commonwealth Thrust.

While their assignments were vital to the overall operation, Hauptmann-General Death's worlds were listed as first line diversionary raids in to the heart of the Al Na'ir Prefecture of the Dieron Military District. On orders General Death launched his raids on the Combine worlds of Altair, Nirasaki and Dieron. With his targets in mind, General Death gave deep consideration to each world and their defenders before assigning which of his units would attack what world. It was by no easy task and the Lyran command was making his planning of the invasions so much harder. Each time he submitted his plans, they rejected them for a number of reasons. A few plans were rejected with no explanation at all. Against the advice of his Aides, General Death decided to create his plans without the consent of the Lyran Command.

Noting their skills and combat experience, General Death had his elite 1st Hurricane RCT invade the Combine world of Nirasaki against the Combine's House Regulars the 36th Dieron Regulars. As he and General King sized up the two units, there was no doubt that the 1st Hurricane RCT would not have any trouble taking on 36th Dieron Regulars. Because of this, General Death decided to not assign the limited number of support units to the invasion of Nirasaki. He asked his Second in Command and longtime friend General King to personally lead the 1st Hurricane RCT in to battle.

The battle hardened 2nd Hurricane RCT were assigned to invade the Combine world of Altair. The world would prove to be a difficult challenge for the 2nd as it was defended by the elite 18th Dieron Regulars. Due to these factors, the 2nd Hurricane RCT was filled out with three battalions of support units to help tip the scales in the favor of the 2nd Hurricane. Despite the extra troops, there was no clear path for victory that the 2nd could take. Because of this, General Death worked out a plan that would easily allow for the 2nd to tie down the Elite Combine unit while his other units could secure their objectives. The secret to General Death’s over all plans were for the Elite 18th Dieron Regulars to remain on Altair for as long as possible. Because of this, the 2nd Hurricane RCT will be pushed to its very limits.

The 3rd Hurricane RCT was on the verge of making its first major combat debut on the important world of Dieron. While there were many questions regarding that if the 3rd was ready for such an operation, Colonel Stevens (a former COB Commander) and his aide Major Robert Macko (Another former COB Commander) both insisted that their unit was ready to prove themselves. It was important for the 3rd Hurricane RCT and its supporters to make this showing. For the 3rd, this was more than just military pride. The 3rd had something to prove to the people of New Earth.

Beyond every member of the 3rd Hurricane RCT being born on New Earth, nearly the entire unit had been made up of former COB officers and soldiers. Since the end of the Civil War, members of the COB had been trying to cast off the stigma of the COB and the horrors of the Civil War. For them, this opportunity was more than just conquering a world. Dieron was going to be their moment to prove their loyalty to New Earth, its government and more importantly to the man that unified their world, Jake Death. Dieron for them will cleanse the stains of the past as they prepared for this major operation.

Dieron was expected to be a brutal battle. The Regional Capital was being defended by the elite 5th Sword of the Light. Even though the 3rd had the Combine unit outnumbered nearly two to one, it was over all skill that tipped the favor in to the Combine’s favor. Beyond that, the 5th Sword of the Light was being supported by the 9th Sun Zhang Academy. There would be no questions about Dieron or false expectations, this was expected to be a harsh and brutal battle. This fact gave the Hurricane Command Group more than enough reason to be concerned.

Even though the Leadership of the 3rd assured success, General Death convinced Colonel Stevens to accept the support of his Elite Death's Brigade for the invasion. Not wanting to undermine the units faith in its leadership, General Death assured Colonel Stevens that the overall invasion command would remain with the 3rd. His unit would only support the 3rd during its invasion of Dieron. With a reluctant acceptance of the help, Dieron was set and would become the 3rd Hurricane's baptism by fire. This message was clear in a speech that General Death gave to the officers and troops of the 3rd Hurricane just before they departed for their target world within Combine space.

"Look around you. Many of you will not be returning from this battle. I will not lie to you. You, are about to face off with a more experienced, dug in and determined enemy. They will stop at nothing to cause the 3rd to fail in its mission. Still, you will leave your dropships, most under fire. You will pilot your Mechs, your fighters, or even take to the ground. You will charge in to this hostile world and face your fates. That my friends, is bravery AND courage on a level that DEMANDS victory. You may ask me, ‘why do I think the 3rd will be victorious under such conditions’. I tell you that the 3rd will be victorious not because of anything I will do. No, the 3rd will be victorious because of what each of you have done already and will soon do. Soldier and Officer alike, many of you will give your all so that your brothers and sisters will be victorious on the battlefield. Because of this, and only this, the 3rd Hurricane will be victorious. Your courage will win the day and this battle. Just as your courage has already earned your place in New Earth History." General Death, 3rd Hurricane Departure Point, Caph, April 3039.

During this time, another unit within the Hurricane Legion was making its debut. In their first official combat missions, the Hurricane Navy allowed General Death to make his landings on all three worlds at the same time. This was no easy take to move that many troops from their departure worlds to their target worlds. The mind behind this operation was Vice Admiral Viscount Hall, a former COB Dropship Captain. Admiral Hall had been directly in charge of moving COB supplies around New Earth and coordinating supply runs. As the Civil War continued to take shape, Hall’s role as a combat officer took over. He led the COB on its only successful space born battle. It was the only battle fought by either side in space. Noted for being a sailor’s officer, Hall took his new role of leading New Earth’s navy very seriously.

Hall created a multi-layer operation that was as masterful as it was technical. Each fleet would carry out a very dangerous as Hall’s plan called for the use of Pirate Jump points. Pirate Jump Points are non-standard points in the system where gravity field fluxes are at their most unstable. Thanks to the care taken by Hall in his calculations each ship arrived at its jump coordinates without any issue. Because of the care and dedication that Admiral Hall took in his preparations, his operation won the Legion its very first victory during the War of 3039. They had managed to catch the Combine space defenders by complete surprise. Thus making the Legion’s deployment from their jumpships as easy as possible.

Despite the success of his first major operation, the stress directly linked to events from this operation would take their toll on Hall. After the war, he would elect to step down as leader of New Earth’s navy. Not wanting to loss such a brilliant Naval Officer, General Death would invite the retiring officer a chance to serve with his own Death’s Brigade. For now however, this moment in History would belong to Admiral Hall and his inner circle of senior officers. A moment that would be recorded by General Death in one of his first reports back to New Earth. General Death commended the professionalism and skill of New Earth’s new navy. In his own words, “These men and women have executed a skilled operation in the greatest tribute to the traditions that came before them.”

Thanks to Admiral Hall’s carefully organized plan, the 1st Hurricane RCT landing on Nirasaki was nearly unopposed. When large units like an RCT deploy and speed, being swift is not a common trait. However what General Death did with his large units was to divide them in to three combat Brigades and a single Headquarters and Support Brigade. This gave the Hurricane units the fire power and support of a large unit and the swiftness of a smaller unit. Colonel Night, Commanding Officer of the 1st Hurricane RCT, deployed his brigades in a spearhead action against the 36th Dieron Regulars. The 36th Dieron Regulars had expected to fight a single large unit. However the battlefield was changing before their eyes. The speed and organization of Colonel Night's Brigades caught General Rajpuman off guard.

Colonel Night’s 1st and 3rd Brigades hit the flanks of the 36th while he ordered the 2nd Brigade held the center of the 36th in a lengthy engagement. Colonel Night’s plan was to draw the 36th in to a prolonged stretched out moving engagement. Each time the 36th attempted to reform their lines, Colonel Night had either the 1st or 3rd Brigades hammer the defender’s lines forcing them in to movement once more. However speed was not Night’s only secret weapon on the battlefield.

Cross the Inner Sphere, Artillery was that luxury that most commanders either couldn’t afford or didn’t fully understand how to use them effectively. During the New Earth Civil War, artillery became the backbone of most military engagements. Drawing on this experience, General Death had not only given his RCT’s Regimental Artillery Support Units, but he also gave his Combat Brigades their own Brigade level Artillery Support Units. Working closely with artillery unit commanders, Hurricane brigade and regimental commanders had mastered fire support operations. This skill allowed Hurricane Commanders to deploy their artillery in ways that surprised their Combine counterparts.

Throughout the battle, Colonel Night's gun crews were so well trained that they were able to drop rounds within meters of friendly Hurricane troops with only a few friendly fire situations. Each time the 36th Regulars attempted break the Hurricane lines, their advance was halted by Hurricane Artillery. In a one two combination, Colonel Night used his Combat Brigades to throw back each Combine thrust. This forced the 36th Regulars were simply unable to push through the Hurricane lines and each time they tried they were driven further back across the battlefield. For over three days, Colonel Night pushed General Death's mobile doctrine. Colonel Night pressed his unit through a series of rapid redeployment movements that the 36th Regulars were unprepared for.

Using his unit’s ability to keep moving under fire, Colonel Night would pull one of his Combat Brigades back from the lines while the two remaining Brigades would hold the enemy lines down. This freed up Brigade would conduct a deep flanking moving action while at the same time, his own Headquarters Brigade would provide indirect fire supportive. The Brigade in motion would move far beyond the scope of battle and reemerge deep along the flanks of the Combine unit. The idea behind the move was not to surprise the 36th’s flanks but to force the Combine unit in to conducting a moving action to face the new threat. As the 36th made its moving action to face off with the new threat, Colonel Night would repeat the operation with another Brigade. Each time Colonel Night executed his moving action the lines of the 36th were being twisted in on its self while the Hurricane lines were ever in motion. Due to this series of movements and because of its heavier status, 1st Hurricane RCT tactics were commonly known as Rolling Thunder. This name was a playoff of its unit’s nickname Thunder RCT.

The 36th was never able to form or hold a common defensive line against the ever changing field of battle. The swift changing battlefield also kept the 36th from launching an effective offensive against the 1st Hurricane RCT. Rolling Thunder gave the heavier units of the 1st Hurricane RCT a much wider range of mobility than Lyran Intelligence had first suspected. In a shocking turn of events, the heavier units of the 1st Hurricane RCT literally out maneuvered the lighter more agile units of the 36th. A turn of events that General Rajpuman found hard to accept even after his unit was ultimately defeated. Lyran Intelligence Analysts noted that Rolling Thunder’s greatest assist was the heavy use of Hurricane Artillery, both on a Regimental level and also on the Brigade level. This allowed Hurricane Commanders to pin down the 36th lighter and faster units.

However the action wasn’t limited to the ground warfare. The ground forces would have been easy pickings for Combine fighters if not for the lessons learned during the New Earth Civil War. At Linna Tetsuhara's suggestion, each RCT Brigade had been assigned a squadron of six fighters for direct air support of their brigade level drop sites. Also at the Regimental level, Colonel Night had at his disposal an entire Aerospace Brigade of eighty aerospace fighters. These fighters gave Colonel Night a much broader set of options that he could use to support his Rolling Thunder. This allowed direct fighter support to counter Combine’s air superiority in the skies over Nirasaki.

To broaden his combat effectiveness Linna Tetsuhara organized a fighter wing of conventional fighters at the Regimental HHQ level. These wings were comprised of Thunder Chief conventional fighters. These heavy fighters were designed by Quantum Tech for the role of direct ground attack. Armed with Mech busting shaped charged short range missiles and a powerful auto cannon, these craft were able to deliver a powerful knockout punch to any stray Mech or to offer direct air support to ground units on the move. Another level to Tetsuhara’s plan was the wide use of VTOL’s to work alongside of the Thunder Chiefs in Hunter/Killer packs. Thanks to this ability, Colonel Night was able to keep the enemy off balanced. Colonel Tetsuhara called her idea, the Spring of Air Support.

By May 3039, the 36th Regulars were forced to surrender after being mulled over and over again by the 1st Hurricane RCT. Despite the threats of guerrilla actions against the 1st Hurricane RCT, Colonel Night was happy to announce that Nirasaki was secured. With that, he started to set up supply depots for the coming waves. To address the guerrilla threat, he deployed his troops to protect the newly established depots. While Colonel Night was credited for the victory but he never forgot the men and women who made this victory possible. In a conversation he acknowledged those warriors, "Everyone really kicked **** during this battle. I couldn't have asked for a better group of men and women. And I can’t forget Tetsuhara's pilots, they kept the skies clear for us."

For years after the bloody New Earth Civil War and long after he walked off that dropship on Solaris VII, the strategic genius of Jake Death was starting to show through. While it was the Davions who had created the Regimental Combat Team, Jake Death took the concept to a new level in terms of tactics and organization. When all pieces came to together, as it did with the 1st Hurricane RCT on Nirasaki, the results were without question. These results were shocking and brought the attention of many officers within the AFFS. However in hindsight, the operations of the 1st Hurricane RCT closely reflected operations that would be seen on another world by another mysterious power many years later, during the battle of Tukayyid. It would give raise to the questions regarding the true origins of the Hurricane Legion that to this day remained unanswered.

On the world of Altair, the lighter faster 2nd Hurricane RCT nicknamed Lighting RCT, would face off with the much heavier and better equipped Elite 18th Dieron Regulars. Unlike the unopposed landings that the Thunder RCT enjoyed, the 2nd Hurricane RCT had to fight their way through an all elusive defending swarm of fighters. Once more, Tetsuhara’s Spring of Air Support played in a critical role in tipping the tide of battle. By giving the entire RCT a heavy weight of Aerospace fighters, this allowed the 2nd the means to fight their way through overwhelming numbers of defending fighters. To make matters worse, the defending fighters had planned on executing a clever hit and run tactics. The tactic would have and should have prevented the 2nd from ever reaching Altair. However it was the deployment of the Specter that tipped the odds back in to the favor of the Hurricane invaders.

After their first wave the defending fighters withdraw to refuel and rearm for their next series of attacks, a group of Specters followed the defending fighters to their secret bases. Once these locations were discovered, fighters from the 2nd were able to make decisive actions against the defenders. The Aerospace fighters of the 2nd Aerospace Brigade were able to hunt down the 18th Regulars’ fighter bases and destroy nearly all of the defending fighters while they were bring refueled and rearmed. This allowed the dropships of the 2nd Hurricane RCT to continue on to Altair without fear of enemy fighters. Throughout the remaining battle for Altair, the 18th Regulars would never be able to reclaim air superiority. This gave the 2nd Hurricane a strong advantage throughout the remaining weeks of this critical battle.

Once planetary landings were made, Colonel Earley (a former Government Commander during New Earth’s Civil War) secured a handful landing sites. However these would not be used for his base of operations. Instead, he had other plans for his fleet of dropships that required them to be on the move. This was only possible due to his commanding of the skies above Altair. He knew that the 18th Regulars was a heavier, well trained and better equipped unit than his was. Going toe to toe would be a disaster for his lighter unit. So long before he made his landings, he had created his battle plan centered on his unit’s speed. It was plan right out of General Death’s own play book.

During their deployment to Circinus Federation, 2nd Hurricane RCT had mastered a hunt and destroy tactic against pirates by using rapid attacks. While in the Periphery, the 2nd never faced off with as well trained unit as the 18th Regulars was, Colonel Earley was sure that the modifications to his tactics would take away the experience factor of the 18th Regulars. Once more, the secret to Colonel Earley’s plan would rest on the Specter and its ability to provide the very best reconnaissance as possible. He needed to know where separate units of the 18th Regulars were before they discovered elements of the 2nd Hurricane.

His first move was to send his Specters in to the skies. While he had air superiority, The Combine air units could still pose a threat to his own ground units. So he dispatched his specters without escort. Second, he detached his combat brigades and allowed them to conduct a series of raids much like Rolling Thunder. The differences came in where the dropships made their landings. On Nirasaki, Colonel Night had his units conduct dangerous combat drops or landings just at the edge of the enemy's ranges. This placed the dropships in a dangerous situation that often led to the dropships taking enemy artillery fire.

Colonel Earley wanted to use the natural speed of his units to their full advantage so he ordered his drops to be made further away from the fields of battle. This move protected his drop zones and concealed the drops. With the heavy use of counter measures this often caused the enemy to have no idea where the 2nd was. In doing so, his combat brigades were able to attack with surprise on their side. As one Combat Brigade was involved in the middle of an attack, a transit Brigade could maneuver in to a flanking position and drive in the attack. While the third Combat Brigade would board their dropships and get ready for their new re-deployments.

As the transit Brigade hit the 18th Regulars in the flank, the first Combat Brigade would conduct a movement action breaking their portion of the engagement. If the 18th Regulars hoped to turn and face either of the first two Combat Brigades, the third Brigade would hammer the 18th Regulars from a different direction. Thanks to the Specters of the 2nd, Colonel Earley knew where and when to have his Brigades strike. But this didn’t mean that the 2nd wasn’t taken losses. Even with his masterfully created plan, the 18th Regulars was a formidable enemy to fight.

During each engagement, the 18th Regulars fought back with a dogged determination. The pilots and soldiers of the 18th Regulars fought back with the fierce and experience skills that was expected of an elite unit. Plus this also allowed for Brigade techs to set up repair sites behind enemy lines. Battles were costly on both sides, however the 2nd Hurricane was able to recover from those losses a bit faster thanks to Colonel Earley's forward thinking. Not only did he deploy his unit’s techs closer to the front lines than the 18th Regulars. This allowed the 2nd Hurricane to recover damaged units before they became lost to battle damage. But Colonel Earley deployed his medics using a handful of transport VTOL’s to get wounded soldiers from the front lines. This allowed the 2nd Hurricane to get wounded warriors and pilots off the front line a lot faster than the 18th Regulars were. This move by Colonel Earley had a twin effect on his troops. It increased moral during the most intense times of the battle. It also allowed minor wounded troops to return to the front lines much faster.

These two factors gave Colonel Earley and the 2nd Hurricane an illusion that the RCT was much larger than it really was. This illusion forced the 18th Regulars to fight under the assumption that it was out numbered. To add to this illusion, Colonel Earley unleashed his Thunder Chiefs. Once more, it was the low tech thinking of his Quantum Tech technicians came up with a new idea to increase the overall performance of the Thunder Chiefs. By reinforcing their landing gear and adding more support to the super structure this increased the fighter’s ability to use improvised landing sites. Colonel Earley used his Special Forces units to seek out sites that could be easily converted in to landing sites for the Thunder Chiefs. Again, this gave a huge boost to the 2nd Hurricane another major advantage during the battle.

With the Thunder Chief’s ability to linger on the fringes of the battlefield, Colonel Earley had his Thunder Chiefs operating independently on Hunt and Destroy missions. The Thunder Chief's shaped charged warheads and their AC10 equipped with FSDS rounds made short work of the 18th Regulars Armor units and caused many mech units headaches. Using information gained by their Specter counter parts, the Thunder Chiefs would hunt down small units and engage them. Where the Aerospace fighters used fusion engines, the Thunder Chief, like all conventional fighters, used an internal combustion engine. However, the Thunder Chief had a unique designed turbine fan Design which gave the craft a much higher fuel efficacy and a sound never heard on the battlefield before.

As a squadron of Thunder Chief’s would locate their pair, the group would move in from different directions and dive in on the Combine unit. As the fighters would increase in speed and range would to their targets would close, the target area would fill with the screaming sound from the turbine fan of the Thunder Chiefs. This sound often ended with the death of one or more Combine tanks or Mechs. Thunder Chief pilots’ became so skilled at hunting Combine units, that they were starting to be able to identify Combine units at range. Near the end of engagement, the screaming sound of a diving of the Thunder Chiefs became a sound that meant death for a 18th Regulars unit caught in the open.

Beaten but not out of the battle, the 18th Regulars started to change their operations more suited for fighting against the 2nd Hurricane. After being forced on the defensive for the majority of the battle so far, the commanders of the 18th Regulars started to plan out their counter offensive. It was thanks to the Specters stalking the fringes of the battlefield that alerted Colonel Earley to the coming change in the battle. Instead of pulling his Combat Brigades back to protect his Headquarter unit, he pulled a faint. It was a move that nearly cost him the entire battle. As the 18th readied its offensive, Colonel Earley ordered his Combat Brigades to pull back as if they were withdrawing to protect his Headquarters Brigade. However instead of falling back, he ordered them to pull back and conduct a timely deep flanking maneuver.

In response to the coming 18th assault, Colonel Earely ordered his HHQ Brigade and their supporting units to prepare for coming assault. What the 18th never counted on, was the makeup of Colonel Earely’s HHQ Brigade. While his HHQ Brigade did have hundreds of support personal and equipment, protecting these vital assets were a wide range of troops, armor vehicles and tanks as well as a full Battlemech Battalion. Located near his HHQ Brigade was also his Regimental Artillery unit, the 16th Artillery Battalion. This wide range of units gave Colonel Earely’s HHQ Brigade a powerful defensive punch. Following the movements that units belonging to the 18th Regulars, Colonel Earely could precisely estimate when the counter attack was going to come and where it was going to hit his HHQ Brigade.

However that didn’t change the fact that the battle between the Stormbringers (Colonel Earely’s HHQ Brigade) and the 18th Regulars’ 2nd Battalion and other elements was bitter and hard fought on both sides. More than twice, Colonel Earely was told by his aides to recall the Combat Brigades to support the Stormbringers. Each time, Colonel Earely refused and even took to his own Battlemech leading his Command unit in to the heat of the battle. The 18th reinforced their counter assault with more armor units as the besieged HHQ Brigade fought for their lives. But the true heroes of the battle were the gun crews of the 16th Artillery Battalion.

Once more, delivering a withering wave of indirect fire repeatedly weakened the Combine’s lines during their assaults on the Stormbringers. This made it possible for the defending Hurricane units to throw back the Combine’s attack each time. At one point during a near break through by the 18th Regulars, the men and women of the 16th Artillery Battalion removed the safeties on their Long Toms and fired their massive guns directly at the oncoming assault Mechs of the 18th Regulars. The 16th Artillery Battalion made short work of the Mechs while supporting lighter Mechs were able to through back the thrust. Hurricane Artillery units quickly became hated by many Combine Officers more than any other Hurricane unit deployed. Because of their actions during this pivotal battle, the 16th Artillery Battalion would be recognized for their heroics by President Bailey on their return to New Earth.

With nearly half of the surviving18th Dieron Regulars were tied down supporting the counter assault. This left a huge opening for the three Combat Brigades of the 2nd Hurricane RCT to strike. Their strike was in the form of a deep lethal wound to the 18th Regulars. In three simultaneous attacks, the three Combat Brigades of the 2nd Hurricane was able to capture or cripple vital support, communications and command sites. The attacks were so well carried out and so decisive that the commander of the 18th Dieron Regulars, General Kingsley, could no longer ignore the truth of this battle. He was forced to withdraw his forces from their counter assault against the Stormbringers and try to reform his smashed rear support units.

In pulling back from the battle against the HHQ Brigade, General Kingsley accepted that it would be only a matter of time till his unit’s ultimate defeat. While the 18th Regulars continued to fight hard to resist the invasion of the 2nd Hurricane RCT, once elements of the 1st Hurricane RCT arrived on world to assist the 2nd Hurricane, the battle was over. With a heavy heart, General Kingsley had little choice but to accept terms of surrender of his forces. In a show of respect and honor Colonel Earley, (against the direct orders of General Nondi Stainer, but with the approval of General Death) allowed General Kingsley and the remaining of this troops to retreat off world with their equipment and Battlemechs.

Prior to the departure of the 18th Dieron Regulars, the two leaders set down over drinks in a show of respect for each other. The surprising move was explained later in Colonel Earley's words, "When I first met General Death, he proved to be a leader like I had never seen before. He once told me, it is not a matter to beat our enemies on the battlefield but to respect them off the battlefield as well. Their soldiers, their leaders are no different than you or me. They fight for what they believe in just like we do. So why not respect them? This is what must set us apart from other units and commanders." The honor and respect that Colonel Earley showed his defeated Combine enemy had surprised them and would send ripples that would reach beyond the battle of Altair.

Before the two leaders parted way, General Kingsley did get one vital question for Colonel Earely about his exceptional gun crews. When asked how his gun crews were so precise in dropping rounds so close to friendly units, Colonel Earley smiled and replied with, "training Sir, lots of training." The answer cast a long reflection of Colonel King's philosophy of heavy training for all Hurricane and New Earth Units alike. The philosophy would reach beyond New Earth and allow this new mercenary command, The Hurricane Legion, to make a major debut for its self.

In the system of Dieron, the 3rd Hurricane RCT fared not much better upon arriving in system then the 2nd Hurricane had. Facing stiff resistance from a very well organized space defense command, Colonel Stevens unleashed his own aerospace assets. He also made a critical gamble of linking his dropships in to the battle for the system. A gamble that could have cost him a large number of his troops even before they made planet fall. However with overwhelming firepower and thanks to the help of Hurricane Specters once more, the gamble paid off without the loss of a single dropship. The remaining Combine space defenders fled the system granting the 3rd Hurricane RCT or Wind RCT access to their target, Dieron.

Once on Dieron, Colonel Stevens established his headquarters just a few hundred kilometers from the planetary capital. It was a daring move but Colonel Stevens was confident. Rumors had placed the Elite Fifth Sword of Light aboard their transports and had fled with the Combine space defenders. It would be a horrible miscalculation on Colonel Stevens part and would cost his unit dearly. Upon making their landings, the 3rd Hurricane RCT with support from General Death’s own Death’s Brigade hammered the defenders. It wasn’t long before The Sun Zhang cadets and their supporting units were in complete disarray.

It wasn’t long before Colonel Stevens led the march on to the Academy its self and crushed any hopes that the Cadets and their Cadre of regaining the upper hand. What few groups that remained organized fled to the mountains with their Cadre in hopes of carrying out a guerrilla war against the invaders. Colonel Stevens thinned his forces to protect his growing support sites and readied to deal with the guerrilla raids that were soon to come.

Proving the rumors correct, 5th Sword of the Light never made a showing during the opening days of battle. However this was more a cause of concern than relief. While Colonel Stevens was focused on securing Dieron, General Death requested through his chain of command any intelligence of the location of the elite unit. Through a massive act of confused communication and lack of verification, it was reported by General Stainer's Headquarters that the 5th Sword of the Light was engaged by an AFFS unit on another world. Noting that the fighting was degrading to slightly organized raids carried out by the remains of the Sun Zhang cadets and their Cadre, and acting on the information from Lyran Intelligence, General Death reported Dieron secured. But it was clear he still had his reservations. He decided to keep his unit on Dieron for the time being.

However that decision was countered by General Stainer. Against his protests, General Death was ordered to take his elite Death’s Brigade to Styx and support an embattled LCAF unit there. General Stainer also ordered the Hurricane Fleet to redeploy prepare for the second wave of the operation. The order would limit Hurricane units’ in their ability to move from world to world and one that all senior commanders of the Hurricane Legion protested. General Stainer insisted that the LCAF paid for the ships and therefore had all the right to command them during times of war. In the end, General Death would be forced to relocate his unit to Styx and order his ships to support the second wave. This move left the 3rd Hurricane to hold the resource rich Dieron by its self.

By June 3039, the overall invasion was going so well to plan that units of the second wave were ordered in to action. In doing so, more demand were placed on the already stretched thin Jumpship fleets. It was a time of confusion and of major activity across the entire front. Later General Nondi Stainer said that she realized that the situation created a level of confusion that even she was unaware of at the time. Still the situation was created and many mercenary units slipped through the cracks and many were all but abandoned behind enemy lines when the Combine launched its counter offensive.

On July 12th, 3039 a highly skilled covert ops team belonging to the Combine Intelligence Organization called DEST moved on General Stainer's Headquarters. The elite DEST team hit the HQ with such skill and deadly force that many were killed and even more were wounded. General Stainer's own aide was killed as the pair were running for cover during the attack. Historians have viewed the following events and actions in different light depending on the points of view. However what would happen next would cause a deep rooted hatred to grow on New Earth against their fellow Lyrans.

With the Combine's counter-offensive in full swing, an aide to General Stainer ordered the Lyran’s entire Army to withdraw back to the Commonwealth lines. The official record placed the collapse of Lyran Front on the hands of an Aide who took charge after General Stainer was wounded in the DEST attack. However there were rumors that floated after the war that it was an ordered issued by General Stainer just before she was wounded and removed from the field of battle. On New Earth, the assumed General's actions were condemned as cowardly and a betrayal of Commonwealth troops in the field.

The reasoning behind the withdrawal was to prepare for a much larger Combine thrust that could threaten Ryde Operation Area. While there was significant evidence behind this concern, the action abandoned the overall Joint Operation Orochi. As the LCAF units were in full retreat from Combine space, the Hurricane Legion as well as all other mercenary commands were ordered to withdraw back to their pre-Operation stations. As the Hurricane withdrew from Combine space, it didn't take General Death to realize that he was missing the 3rd Hurricane RCT and their supporting fleet.

Unaware of her condition, General Death sent an urgent message to Nondi Stainer requesting the location of his missing unit. Once more bad information and miscommunication played a critical role in the events on Dieron. However not all of this was simple fog of war. The same Aide that ordered the general withdraw, also willfully excluded vital information from the Hurricane Legion leadership. General Death was informed that the fleet and his missing unit had withdrew with General Stainer's command group. This was only half true.

Just prior to the DEST attack on her Headquarters, the Third Hurricane Fleet (the group of Jumpships assigned to support the 3rd Hurricane RCT) had been making supply drops and troop deployments to General Stainer's location. After the attacks on the Lyran Headquarters, the General’s staff needed jumpships to salvage as much of their supplies and personal as possible. They ordered that the Third Hurricane Fleet assist in the evacuations of the command group and its supplies. Noting the grave situation that was taking place and realizing that it was only a matter of time till units were abandoned behind enemy lines, Admiral Michael J. Bryant (Former Government Naval Officer and commander of the Third Hurricane Fleet) cleared his fleets docking collars are prepared to make the jump to Dieron to evacuate the 3rd Hurricane RCT.

Enraged over his blatant disregarding of orders, General Stainer took a group of officers and troops to the Hurricane's Ark Royal, the flagship of the Third Fleet. She was greeted by the Admiral himself on his own bridge. The two flag officers had a very heated exchange on the bridge over the fate and orders of the Third Hurricane Fleet. The Admiral Bryant dug in his heals and refused to follow her orders and continued with his plans for rescuing their embattled comrades. After extensive reviews of all the evidence, it was noted that Admiral Bryant had intentionally provoked General Stainer in daring her to stop him and his sailors. In response to Admiral Bryant's actions, General Stainer had him and his staff arrested. There were conflicting reports that an armed exchange took place on the bridge which General Stainer openly denies. However members of the Ark Royal Bridge crew supported the claims.

While Admiral Bryant remained silent regarding these claims, LCAF medical reports indicated that the Admiral and two of his senior officers were treated for gunshot wounds. Hurricane Medical reports secured after the war indicated that a number of officers and crew members of the Ark Royal were also treated for small arm wounds that would further support the claims of the armed exchange between the crew of the Ark Royal and the LCAF.

Regardless if there was an arm exchange on the bridge of the Ark Royal or not. What is without dispute is the official order issued by Admiral Bryant to his Hurricane crew members. That order was to abide by the terms of their contract with the LCAF and follow the orders issued by the Officers that General Stainer was placing over the fleet. He officially surrendered command of the fleet to General Stainer under protest and was taken in to custody shortly there afterward. General Stainer placed the liaison officer assigned to the Hurricane Legion in command of the Third Hurricane Fleet. Within hours, the Third Hurricane Fleet jumped with the rest of the Lyran ships and abandoned the 3rd Hurricane RCT on Dieron.
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Five: Under Siege and the Rescue

The full force of the Combine’s counter-offensive was in full force as the War of 3039 was turning its tide from the Federated Commonwealth. Combine units were hammering away at the Davion Thrust on every world. The Lyran Thrust was in state of complete route as units were withdrawing without orders, often leaving vital supply lines open for attack. Adding to the chaos was the lack of communications that increased the level of confusion. As chaos took hold of the Lyran front, Outfits were forced to make critical choices between waiting for their recon units to return to their landing sites and risk being left behind or leaving their fellow comrades behind.

As the Lyran front continued to disintegrate, the Davion front was forced to execute a retreat as well. However unlike the chaos of the Lyran front, the Davion units were able to execute a much more organized retreat. With the lines shifting horrifically against the Federated Commonwealth, back on Dieron the 3rd Hurricane RCT were all but forgotten. The world had been cut off from any knowledge of what was going on regarding the offensive or the Combine’s counter attack. Colonel Stevens had sent serval requests for information to General Stainer’s headquarters. However those reports went unanswered. Colonel Stevens dismissed his own fears and continued to keep his unit spread out in defense of guerrilla raids.

It was time for the 5th Sword of the Light to launch its own counter attack on the 3rd Hurricane RCT. Without warning, the 5th Sword under the command of General Conti slipped from its mountain hideaways and hammered the 3rd Hurricane RCT with brutal and relentless efficiency. Without warning, the 3rd was caught flatfooted and ill-prepared for the coming attacks. Prior to this moment, the only enemy activity that was being carried out had been guerrilla raids. The attacks all but reflected why the 5th Sword of the Light were one of the most elite units of the Combine. The 3rd Hurricane was spread too thin to stop this new threat. They drove the much larger force of the 3rd Hurricane back across Dieron.

After linking up with elements of the Sun Zhang Academy, the 5th Sword continued their drive against the retreating 3rd Hurricane. It wasn't until Colonel Stevens personally led his own Headquarters Battlemech battalion against the wave of 5th Sword Mechs that the 5th Sword's offensive came to a halt. Accepting the change of situation, Colonel Stevens pulled his unit together and created a battle plan that would give his unit a change for life. His plan was masterful and called for the use of his Artillery to create a wall of lead raining down. His own battalion would slam in to the 5th Sword's leading elements. He knew that it was a gamble but he had to buy time for his armor and infantry to form up a defensive line.

If there was going to be any hope for the 3rd Hurricane, Colonel Stevens had to bring the Combine’s offensive to a stop. Noting what was in the balance, he called in every possible air support he had available to stop the 5th's drive. As the two sides engaged, the battle was heroic on both sides. For all of his mistakes up to this moment, Colonel Stevens held the ground for his retreating units. For his best efforts, his own Headquarters Battalion were being pushed back. With their landing site and dropships behind them, the fate of the 3rd Hurricane RCT rested in the balance. Even without their Jumpships, the 3rd Hurricane’s dropships were critical. What would happen next would be nothing short of heroism in is purest form.

Colonel Stevens knew that if the offensive of 5th Sword of the Light was not stopped then his own landing site and their vital dropships would come under direct fire from the 5th's own limited artillery. Colonel Stevens' led his headquarters battalion in an all or nothing charge at the enemy lines. Colonel Stevens and his officers knew that this was the 3rd’s most desperate hour. In the finest tradition of military history, the troops of the 3rd faced the Combine threat with courage.

Colonel Stevens called in artillery and close in air support to assist in stopping the 5th’s offensive. With rounds the size of light battlemechs falling from the sky and smashing the 5th Sword's leading elements, Colonel Stevens led the heroic last charge. Overhead aerospace fighters, conventional fighters, VTOL’s and even some dropships were running strafing runs against the 5th Sword's lines, as Colonel Stevens' unit fought against four to one odds to bring the 5th Sword's drive to a standstill. The battle lasted throughout the night and in to the early morning hours. As the battered units of the 3rd started to get their formations under control, more and more units took up the line supporting Colonel Stevens’ heroic stand.

History would never know who came up with the idea, but the airwaves around the battle would be filled with a motivational song for the 3rd. At the height of the battle, the song, 'Rock you like a Hurricane' started to play in the clear. The song had long been used by the Hurricane Stables pilots as their theme song in the arenas on Solaris VII. Hundreds of light years away, now the song was being used to rally the troops of 3rd. It is the first recorded use of the song by the Hurricane Legion during battle. During the battle, this song became the battle cry became the 3rd throughout the night and in to the morning hours. Spies would later confirm that the song played a critical role in the 3rd’s survival that night.

Because of its transmission signal strength, the song was heard over the airwaves well over six hundred kilometers away. General Conti's staff had reported that the song had made communication with their forward units nearly impossible. Thus making issuing new orders difficult and played heavily in favor of the mercenary invaders. However, it was thanks to a Quantum Tech technician and former COB Officer, Lt. Sid Emperor that the 3rd was able to communicate at a limited level. A simple modification to the transceivers of command level units made passing information among Hurricane units easy. The modification allowed for verbal orders to be sent by an officer and received as a digital signal by another. This digital signal would be converted in to a short line that would show up on the officer’s heads up display.

Due to time restraints, it was only possible for elements of Stevens' attacking units to receive the modifications. Despite Lt. Emperor and his team working throughout the battle, there was simply not enough time. All other units that didn't have the modifications were informed of critical instructions prior to the major offensive. Colonel Stevens' counted on the training of his soldiers and their ability to know what has to be done. Colonel Steven’s knew that the fate of his unit was in the balance. If this last ditch attack failed, there would be no way to avoid having to surrender his unit. Yet, the 3rd still had more than enough fight left in them.

For the 3rd to have a chance at survival meant that the 5th’s offensive had to be stopped at all costs. And to make this happen, Colonel Stevens' threw his own command battalion in to the jaws of the enemy at the apex of the battle. Up and down the line, his combat brigades were in shambles and needed valuable time to regroup and reform their lines. Colonel Stevens’ goal was to hammer the front of the 5th’s lines so hard that it would cause them to halt their advance. His plan would drive the spearhead of the 5th back on itself forcing the entire line to crumble.

As the sun slowly rose over the battlefield, the results of the battle were clear for both sides to see. Large pillars of black smoke showed where entire units had been blasted from their positions by enemy actions. To the shock of the commanders of the 5th Sword, the Hurricane lines had held thanks to Colonel Stevens. Against this heroic charge, the 5th Sword pressed the line with all their skill and might. By midday, the tide had turned against the 5th Sword and their local allies. Colonel Stevens brave last ditch effort paid off as reformed Hurricane units were able to reinforce the lines.

Colonel Stevens had bought his combat brigades the time to fall back and reform their units. By the end of nearly twenty hours of continued close quarters battle, the lines had stabilized for the moment. But at a very high cost. Colonel Stevens’ modified Archer after taking brutal damage during the battle, finally succumbed to the damage. With his engine overheating and Mech critically damaged. Noting a renewed push coming alone the northern flank of the battlefield, Colonel Stevens pushed his Mech beyond its limits. He rushed the new line of Combine troops as his engine was redlining. In his last transmission, he commanded his troops to ‘Never give up the fight!’ Colonel Stevens Archer exploded while in melee combat with a pair of heavy Mechs. The blast destroyed one heavy and crippled the other. It was enough to collapse the new Combine push on the flank.

As the sun started to set, the intense battle started to blow its self out. In recognition of their bravery and honor, General Conti sent a message to the surviving leadership of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. The message came as a surprise to the 3rd Hurricane RCT. As a show of respect, General Conti informed the 3rd that he was ordering his forces back forty kilometer back from the line during the next day. He gave the 3rd Hurricane twenty four hours to reclaim their fallen brothers and sisters. General Conti also added that his own unit had collected a number of Hurricane dead during the past three days of marching across Dieron. That those bodies would be returned to the 3rd Hurricane during this time as well.

With the death of Colonel Stevens and much of the leadership of the 3rd now dead or MIA, leadership fell to Major Robert Macko. General Conti further informed Major Macko that at the end of the twenty four hour cease fire that he hoped that the 3rd Hurricane would consider their options and accept terms for surrender. While the terms of surrender were generous considering the situation, Major Macko was not willing to make this decision lightly. Major Macko met with his remaining commanders of the 3rd and quickly reformed a command structure for the embattled unit. After a long meeting with his new command staff, the decision was made to not give up the fight.

The hopes of the 3rd rested on a resupply ship from the Hurricane’s 3rd fleet that should be arriving at any hour. Their hopes are to alert Hurricane Leadership of what is going on and get reinforcements on the ground. There was still hope that Dieron could be won. What they could never know was that the resupply ship was not coming. Major Macko politely accepted the cease fire and informed General Conti that he would inform the General of his answer regarding the surrender at the end of the cease fire.

At the end of the twenty four hour cease fire, combat continued as the brave warriors of the 3rd held the ground against wave after wave of Combine assaults. However, Major Macko created a defensive strategy that helped maximize their resources. He placed his Combat Brigades at the points of a triangle within artillery support of each other. Then he placed his Headquarter Brigade at the heart of the triangle. This allowed him to rapidly deploy reinforcements to any point during a Combine thrust. This forced General Conti to spread his forces out during an attack thus robbing them of their advantage. To bluster Major Macko’s advantage was his surviving Specters. He deployed them carefully to watch enemy deployments. This allowed Major Macko to ready his troops wherever General Conti was moving to attack.

After several days the situation of the 3rd was becoming grave as their calls for help to the LCAF went unanswered. After the fact, a classified report would show that two separate LCAF units had received the transmissions of the plight of the 3rd Hurricane and were ordered to continue with their own withdraws. It would become lost to history as to who issued the order to ignore the 3rd’s call for help as those files were removed from official records. Despite the degrading situation, Major Macko knew that he nor his troops were finished. But he also knew that if something wasn’t changed, the 3rd would face defeat despite the courage of his men.

Salvation came from a surprising source, Senator McGray. Senator David McGray had enlisted in to the military to gain something that his two major political rivals had. Prior to the war of 3039, both former President Jake Death and current President Sara Bailey both had led troops in battle. It was a skill set that McGray had lacked. During the New Earth Civil War, McGray was more or less the political leader of the COB rather than a real military leader. Enlisting in the New Earth Defense Force was nothing short of being able to prove to his critics that he could led troops in battle. He choose to enlist in the service under an assumed name. He had expected an easy tour with the 3rd, but all that had changed.

Noting the dangers around them, Senator McGray, posing as Lieutenant Justin Campbell, a simple Aerospace pilot, and his close personal friend Lt Sid Emperor came up with an idea that could very well save the day. Three days by foot was Dieron’s capitol and the Comstar Station for the world. McGray’s plan was for him and two of his friends to sneak across the lines and make for the capitol as quickly as possible. Once there they would send a message back to New Earth in hopes of the message being relied to Hurricane Command. The only problem was that the Combine forces were looking for anyone trying to get through the lines. Any air units are engaged and kept within the combat zone.

It would be the single most dangerous mission he had ever been on, but for McGray his fellow soldiers needed him. That night as he and Sid came up with this plan, McGray felt something he never experienced before. That sense of family in arms. He had heard speeches about it before by his rivals but never really understood what it meant till that night. In his autobiography, he wrote that it was in that moment as Combine shells exploded just outside their little bunker, he realized why his political career had been so empty. He had returned to New Earth on the promise of power and leadership within the COB. He had joined the New Earth government to further that pursuit of power only to live an empty life. He had to travel to Dieron and faced death to realize how far he had fallen. McGray decided to maintain his fake identity as he pitched the plan to Major Macko.

Lacking any better ideas, Major Macko had little choice but to approve the near suicide mission. The three voluntaries, Lieutenant Campbell, Lieutenant Emperor and Lieutenant Mullens, would sneak out as Major Macko and the rest of the 3rd would create a diversion. Slipping through the lines proved to be the easiest part of the plan. McGray and his two man team were doggedly pursued by Combine forces for the next four days. Because of their pursuers, it took a day longer to reach the Comstar Station. However thanks to their teamwork and clever thinking the group made it to the Comstar Station. There in the white lobby while Combine agents were circling for the kill, David McGray wrote his message.

Back in the pocket, where the 3rd was still fighting for their lives. Major Macko was starting to lose faith in the rookie pilots. Time was ticking away and there was no word from the group. There was no way of knowing if the message had managed to be sent or not. With every new Combine attack, more of his troops were being killed. They would manage to hold the line, but the cost was starting to weigh heavily on the experienced Major. Moral was strong but as Major Macko walked among his troops he could see the enemy within their eyes. Less than twenty miles away the embattled soldiers of the 3rd could easily make out large Combine dropships landing. The 5th Sword was being reinforced while the 3rd was losing more and more troops each day. With the dropships came a new wave of enemy fighters. The 3rd no longer commanded the skies over the battlefield. Because of this, he had to halt his Specter missions which ended his early warnings of enemy attacks.

Major Macko had no idea that by this time the Lyran front had collapsed in the face of a massive Combine counter offensive. As he wondered his own lines, he was starting to lose faith in himself. A fact that wouldn’t surface till almost a decade later. What no one knew was that in his pocket was a renewed offer by the Combine to surrender. Till this moment, he had led his troops with honor and pride but now doubt was crippling him. In the offer for surrender was information about the counter offensive. The 5th’s commanding officer pointed out that the Federated Commonwealth had abandoned the 3rd to its fate. If this were true, then the 3rd had no hope of survival. If they managed to break out and escape Dieron, without jumpships there was nowhere for this forces to go.

As Major Macko found himself along a line of tanks, he considered the math of the battle. The numbers simply didn’t offer him a victory. They could continue to fight to hold the line till the 5th bleed them dry. They could mount a massive break out operation in hopes of fighting their way to the safety of the mountains. While they would still be trapped on Dieron, they could hold out there longer till reinforcements could arrive. However in doing so, they would have to surrender their dropships. This was something that Macko didn’t want to accept. It was his dropships that offered repair bays for his equipment, medical bays for his wounded and vital air defense against the growing Combine fighter threat. The math was simply against the 3rd Hurricane RCT. Then there was surrender….

It was a heavy choice that Major Macko faced. However as he looked around him, he could see the faith that his troops had in him. At this critical point in Major Macko’s military career he got inspiration from an unusual source. A seasoned older armor sergeant walked up to Major Macko and spoke frankly. "Sir, with all due respect. I can see it written on your face. I know that look. We came here to prove something and I damn sure don’t believe that was to prove that we can surrender. My platoon did that back on Pisces a decade ago. Sir, no one in my company wants to do that again. Everyone knows we can’t fight out of here, but we can trust that The General won’t forget about us. Don’t give up on us."

On those words, Major Macko continued his personal tour of his lines. After a bit of time, he called on his commanders for new orders. It was time that the 3rd showed the Combine what they were made of. He ordered his line units to improve their defensive lines. It was going to be a long bitter wait for the rookies to get word to General Death. He personally addressed his pilots, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot tell you how much your ground brothers and sisters will be counting on you to keep us safe. I respect all that you have done so far and will be doing for us in the coming days. But I won't lie to you right now, I am sending you right back in to harm’s way." Major Macko said to his remaining air support pilots. On that he ordered a continued combat air patrol over his lines. He had to buy as much time as possible for a relief force to show up.

Back at the Comstar Facility, McGray was working on his message to New Earth. He had to make sure that his message would be taken seriously by New Earth. He had little choice but to reveal himself. He choose to send his message to his rival, President Sara Bailey. He used information that only she knew he knew. He detailed the situation on Dieron and urged her to get a message to General Death. Suddenly it appeared as if the long dark road before them was coming to an end. However there was a speed bump that brought McGray’s plan to a halt. Twenty nine C-Bills was how much he and his team were short to send the live saving message. Again his frustration was written in his autobiography. “I wanted to reach through that window and choke that white robed little snot.”

Without the extra C-Bill’s the message couldn’t be sent. However fate stepped in, in the form of a female member of Comstar. Her name was Adept Delta Eirene Michelakos and she was a reporter for Comstar. McGray made ever attempt to seduce her in to loaning him the C-Bills. After serval sad attempts, Eirene finally agreed to ‘loan’ him the money. However she had revealed a secret to him. She had heard rumors that the famous David McGray, legendary Periphery Pirate turned Inner Sphere Politician was on Dieron. She had come to Dieron to seek out this man. As she placed two twenty C-Bill notes in his hand, she whispered that there was a DEST team outside the station waiting on him and his three friends. She offered the use of her car to get them out of the city.

McGray took the money and accepted the help. He paid for the message to be sent and it was sent at top priority to New Earth. Within hours, it would be crossing President Bailey’s desk. But McGray and his team wasn’t out of harm’s way. Eirene led McGray and his two friends through the corridors of the Comstar Station till they were in a parking garage. It was then Eirene explained that her price for helping them was simple. She wanted an interview with the legendary Periphery Pirate. Reluctantly, McGray agreed and Eirene set her things up. The two hour interview was friendly but it was clear that McGray was rushed. But in the end, Eirene was able to paint a picture of a man who was evolving from being a greedy pirate to someone becoming much more. She agreed to keep the location of the interview secret in exchange McGray offered her viewers a long hard look in to his soul.

On their way out of the city, McGray got a chance to learn a bit more about Eirene, she was born on the Lyran world of Skye. Both her father and mother were Comstar reporters. The team were well known across the region because they brought light to the humanitarian crisis that was the New Earth Civil War. Eirene pointed out that the struggle of New Earth over the past fifty years had always been a point of interest for Comstar Reporters. And none had covered it with so much detail as her mother and father. Sadly, Eirene told of how her mother was killed when Eirene was ten during the Battle of the Nes’Saw. When Eirene was old enough she took joined the ranks of Comstar to follow in her parents’ footsteps. She drove the team out of the city and dropped McGray and his team off near the rear elements of the 5th Sword of the Light. As Eirene drove away, McGray promised with a smile he wouldn’t let that little reporter slip from his grasps again.

It wouldn’t take long for the Draconis Combine to cry foul when it was learned that Eirene helped an unnamed pair of New Earth pilots return to their lines. Eirene never denied that she used her Comstar flagged car to help the two pilots escape the trap that DEST had created for the pilots. For her credit, she never leaked the names of who she helped. She only admitted that she did in fact help two New Earth pilots from the 3rd Hurricane RCT in direct violation of Comstar’s neutrality. The scandal ended her Comstar Career. However within a year of the 3rd’s defeat on Dieron, Eirene Michelakos would find employment with Senator McGray as a researcher then later as a Public Relations Specialist.

When word of the finally reached General Death of what was happening on Dieron, he was already coming unglued due to the lack of information from the Lyrans. With his patients pushed beyond their limits he exploded when he learned of the plight of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. Not caring about the costs, he called up all of his units for a massive rescue operation. Both the 1st and 2nd Hurricane RCT boarded their dropships and were ready to follow their leader in to the breech as Death's Brigade led the charge. It would be a deep raid for the record books. However a private meeting between General Death, his wife Karen Tetsuhara-Death and her sister Linna Tetsuhara brought the plans to a screaming halt. While the details of that meeting were lost to history, something of what they told him changed General Death's mind. He issued an order for his units to hold station above Caph and wait for further orders.

General Death and Linna Tetsuhara left aboard a lone Scout Class Jumpship for an unknown destination. Against the advice of his command staff, he only took a hand full of security personal with him. Who he met and where they met is still a mystery. However it is possible that his wife's and his sister-in-law's connections to late Tai-Sho Minobu Tetsuhara had managed to arrange a high level meeting at the last minute. A note of historical importance was discovered when Comstar opened his vaults to the Inner Sphere, General Death called his meeting of his senior officers nearly two hours before McGray's message was hand delivered to President Bailey’s desk back on New Earth. This indicated that General Death knew about what was going from another source before the New Earth President was made aware of it. Thus casting further mystery on who Jake Death really is.

Five days after McGray’s message was sent, Death arrived on Dieron to find the remains of the 3rd Hurricane RCT dug in and still holding the lines. For their credit the brave troops of the 3rd Hurricane RCT held up against the worst the 5th Sword of the Light and its supporting units could throw at them. For nearly two weeks they held off attack after attack. And in their eyes held the determination of these men and women to hold the line at all costs. Flapping high over the pocket were the twin flags of the Hurricane Legion and of New Earth. While this battle would largely become forgotten to history as just one battle during the war of 3039, this would not be the case for New Earth. Across New Earth, this battle would become celebrated as a test of courage and devotion to duty.

After a short meeting with General Conti, General Death boarded a jeep and drove under guard and white flags across the lines. At first he wasn’t recognized by troops of the 3rd Hurricane. There was even a suggestion to blast the jeep from the roadway. However orders to abide by the white flag held the guns of the 3rd silent. Once the jeep stopped and General Death stepped out from it, the entire lines of the 3rd erupted in cheers. In that moment, it was realized that the message that Lieutenant Campbell had died sending had been received. Major Macko didn’t believe it till he saw with his own eyes. Standing before him was former President and now General Jake Death. Major Macko walked up and greeted the General as if the men were making a Sunday golf game.

General Death smiled at his troops and gave a nod to them, “Guys, you fought a hell of a fight. This battle here is over. I have come to take you home." On that note, he ordered the 3rd to board their dropships. During the next few hours, General Conti met with Major Macko as the 5th Sword of the Light pulled back to allow the 3rd to withdraw from the battlefield. The two men shook hands and parted no longer as enemies but as friends. It was a feeling that would spread across the lines. Despite the fact that the 3rd had lost Dieron, it was clear that no one considered the 3rd defeated. This site would be honored by the 5th Sword of the Light as a place where they met a unit that matched their skill, courage and honor. To show this, General Conti ordered a sight on the battle field to be persevered as a memorial to both sides.

During the battle, the 5th heroically charged the lines of the 3rd. The courage and determination of the 3rd won the day each time. However this left many ruined Mechs, tanks and other equipment across the battlefield. One such site is the spot where two Mechs died locked in melee combat. A Hurricane Shadow Hawk and a 5th Sword of the Light Wolverine stood with their large hands gripping the other mech. Sometime during one of the numerous battles, these two pilots were killed and their Mechs now stood locked in an eternal struggle. Long after both pilots were killed and the burned out shells of their Mechs were left on the battlefield eyes turned to these Mechs with respect. During the evacuation of the 3rd, many warriors of the 5th Sword of the Light would walk across the battlefield towards these two mech. There they placed the swords or rifles of their fallen comrades. Warriors of the 3rd did the same for their own fallen comrades.

It took three days to completely evacuate the remains of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. By the end of the evacuation, the legs of those two Mechs were littered with hundreds of swords, knives and rifles. General Corti ordered that these items be permanently welded to the legs of the two Mechs. He also ordered that the unit markings of the Mechs be maintained so that all could easily tell what unit matched the 5th Sword of the Light. General Death stood alongside of Major Macko and his staff as the last dropship was loaded. They stood there looking at the twin mech in silence. Macko pulled his own pistol and scribed ‘Colonel Stevens’ on the handle. He walked up and jammed the pistol between two armor plates of the Shadow Hawk. Colonel Stevens’ body was one of many that was not recovered. As the dropships were loaded, the cost of Dieron became painfully clear.

When the 3rd Hurricane RCT landed on Dieron, it boasted over fifteen thousand men and women within its ranks. Mech pilots, armor crews, pilots, artillery crews support personal all made up the 3rd Hurricane. Now as they boarded their dropships, just over a quarter would walk off of Dieron. of the 3rd Hurricane RCT that landed on Dieron at the beginning of the invasion, just less than a quarter would be able to board their transports on their own. Over eight thousand would have to be carried from the battlefield while over two thousand of their brothers and sisters would never be able to leave Dieron as their bodies were not recovered. Beaten, bloodied and battered to hell, the 3rd Hurricane RCT left Dieron with their flag held high and in honor. And more importantly, they left with the earned respect of their enemies.

The following months were filled with a complete investigation in to the events around the 3rd Hurricane RCT being abandoned behind enemy lines. General Nondi Stainer demanded to know how he got his unit off of Dieron without the use of force. A question that General Death refused to answer. Because of this refusal, she stripped the honorary rank of Hauptmann-General from Death. In reaction, Death showed up at future meetings wearing a New Earth uniform devoid of all Fed-Com markings. Soon the jester spread to all Hurricane forces as they stripped off Fed-Com markings from their uniforms and equipment. This was the beginning of a rift that would continue to grow between New Earth and the Lyran side of the Federated Commonwealth.

General Nondi Stainer went as far as accusing General Death of betraying state secrets to the Combine in exchange for the return of his troops. To support this claim she linked a series of Lyran defeats shortly after the evacuation of the 3rd RCT. While there was no evidence supporting this claim, the rumor took hold across the Skye March and inflamed New Earth’s neighbors. General Nondi Stainer ordered General Death to disband his unit and allow nearby Lyran units to absorb the remains of the Hurricane Legion, which he refused. Back on New Earth as the rift slowly grew, New Earth’s Congress passed a bill which was signed in to law by President Bailey changing the structure of the New Earth Defense Command and the role of Commander in Chief.

The change in role of Commander in Chief separated the elected position of President from the now Congressional appointed position of Commander in Chief. Under the bill, they also named Jake Death as the official Commander in Chief of all New Earth Armed Forces. It also named the Hurricane Legion as within those forces. No longer just a mercenary command, General Stainer could not force her order as Hurricane units were now protected under Fed-Com law. The move outraged General Stainer and fueled the flames that raged between New Earth and the LCAF. But the other shoe was about to fall when the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission released its findings. They found that the Federated Commonwealth had been at fault regarding the events of Dieron and the mulling that the 3rd RCT took.

Despite relations between New Earth and the LCAF at all-time lows, New Earth's favorite Archon, Melissa Stainer-Davion, was hailed as a local daughter during a state visit. She arrived amid the chaos that raged over the betrayed 3rd Hurricane RCT and the accusations of LCAF. The reason behind her visit was to show respect for the soldiers of the 3rd Hurricane RCT that had been killed on Dieron and to try to claim tensions. During her visit, the Acrhon made a visit to veterans' hospitals where she was able to speak to that same outspoken armor sergeant. During a remembrance ceremony she laid a reef at a memorial in honor of the sacrifices that the 3rd Hurricane made.

She gave a speech before the survivors of the 3rd, speaking of their honor and courage. Once more Melissa Stainer-Davion proved why she was without doubt leader of the Lyran side of the Federated Commonwealth. During interviews, she was asked by local reporters regarding the rift between New Earth and the LCAF. She only said about the issue that her husband was sending a special envoy to meet with New Earth leaders and will resolve this issue. The fires between New Earth and the LCAF were lessened by the visit of the Acrhon. She reassured New Earth, that the sacrifice of its troopers would be honored. She pledged her support and gratitude for the men and women of the Hurricane Legion.

To her word, General Death was already having secret meetings with Marshal Hasek-Davion to work the issue out. The two men met on Northwind for closed door meetings. To their credits, both men handled the situation with respect and mutual understanding for where they were working from. The secret settlement that they would reach would send a clear message to Nondi Stainer regarding her actions. The Federated Commonwealth would reimburse the Hurricane Legion for all the equipment lost plus twenty percent. Admiral Bryant and his officers were to be released at once furthermore, the Federated Commonwealth would return all the ships of the 3rd Hurricane Fleet.

One issue that Death pushed hard for was a cash settlement of two hundred and fifty million C-Bills. This settlement would be given to New Earth solely to fund the continued care for the wounded troops and the construction of ten new state of the art hospitals on New Earth. These hospitals would be designed as both fully functional hospitals as well as areas of higher learning. The Federated Commonwealth would also continue to fund the expansion of higher learning on New Earth. This had been something that the New Earth Congress had been pushing for, for over five years. Now it was a reality. The last prevision of the settlement was the only prevision never fulfilled. A simple apology letter hand written by General Nondi Stainer for her actions which led to the needless loss of life by so many of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. Noting the implications of the letter, both men worked hard to iron out the actual wording for it. All the letter required was a hand signature by Nondi Stainer. A signature that would never be given to that carefully crafted letter.

In return, General Death promised not to press the issue through the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission. As it stood, thanks to the findings of the Commission, the Hurricane Legion could break its contact with the Federated Commonwealth without harm to its rating. Already, the Draconis Combine had offered the Hurricane Legion a sizable contract to come work for them. General Death promised that the Hurricane Legion would not break their contract with the Federated Commonwealth. He also promised to continue to pledge his support for the Federated Commonwealth.

During her state visit to New Earth the fears of the people of New Earth was sensed. During this time, many New Earth citizens feared a vengeful LCAF after the release of the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission. Most fears centered around two major issues. First was that while General Death was the official Baron of New Earth, it was a position he never pressed. New Earth had been allowed to self-govern themselves with his blessings. Now he was accused of betraying state secrets. While no one on New Earth bought the accusations, it fueled fears that a new Baron would be sent to New Earth and their self-governing would come to an end. The second major issue was that the Lyran government would inflict higher taxes on New Earth out of retaliation for the agreement between New Earth and the Federated Commonwealth.

To address these fears, Melissa Stainer-Davion gave her personal word as Archon that New Earth would never see its sovereign rights that had been granted by Baron Death threaten. She assured the leadership of New Earth that they would be able to continue to self-govern themselves. Many had hoped that she would permanently disband the position of Baron of New Earth and name the current government of New Earth the rightful seat of power on New Earth. While she didn’t go as far as many hoped, her promise was more than enough to deal with the fears of a Lyran takeover of New Earth.

The fear of a taxation assault by the Estates General proved to be a more realistic fear. There was actually a move within the Estates General to do just that. To cut the actions off and to ensure the support of this promising world, Archon Stainer made a move that earned the loyalty of this world. She suspended New Earth's tax obligation to the Federated Commonwealth and the Lyran Estates General as long as these funds were used to continue to reconstruct New Earth. In her final speech on New Earth, she outlived her dream that New Earth would return to the shining gem that it once was.

To this end, she detailed how New Earth’s tax to the Lyran Estates General would be spent. Building new areas of higher learning, rebuilding its shattered industry. She gave New Earth a fifteen year tax suspension with the promise that the Federated Commonwealth would continue to find new ways of investing in New Earth’s continued rebuilding. It was a speech that outraged a number of other nearby worlds, however a move that earned New Earth's loyalty to the Archon and to her son Victor, who had accompanied her on the visit. New Earth fell in love with the young energetic Victor Stainer-Davion who was to become the next leader of the Federated Commonwealth.

During his life, Victor Stainer-Davion would return to New Earth a number of times. Each time, the world would welcome him as the future leader that he was. However this was not the only reason for their love for him. Victor acted more like a citizen of New Earth than future leader of a major Inner Sphere power. During one of many state visits that Victor conducted, he actually took part in a set of games called the President's Cup. While his team failed to win the cup, he showed a level of personal interest and leadership that won the hearts and minds of the New Earth people. For the people of New Earth, Victor Stainer-Davion was more than just their future leader, he was one of them!
Akirapryde2006
08/04/15 09:52 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Six: Cirinus Federation Crisis and The Black Ship Pirates

After the 3039 War, the Hurricane Legion returned home to a hero’s welcome. It was planned for the Legion and supporting personal to land at Wiedergeburt’s Conceptopolis Spaceport and move to a staging area outside of the capital of Wiedergeburt. Then once the unit was formed up, the entire Legion would take part in a major parade down the main streets of capital. With their equipment being moved to their bases, the men and women of the Legion would march towards the New Earth Congress Building. The welcoming home parade was televised across New Earth live as hundreds of thousands of New Earth citizens flooded to Wiendergeburt to welcome home their soldiers. Before all of New Earth, the three Hurricane RCT’s, Death’s Brigade and the men and women of the Hurricane Navy marched before a cheering world.

However not a single moment was as emotional as the silent march of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. As per Major Macko’s request, marching alongside the men and women of the 3rd RCT were NEDF soldiers dressed in all black uniforms with thin black hoods. It was a somber scene as the 3rd turned down their first street and those unknown men and women dressed in black came in to view the first time. These blacked out soldiers represented those soldiers of the 3rd RCT who didn’t make it back from Dieron. What Macko started in 3040 would become a lasting tradition called the March of the Fallen. As the 3rd RCT snaked through the streets of Wiendergeburt, everyone fell silent and lowered their heads in remembrance of those who didn’t come home.

As the units formed up alongside each other before the large white Congressional Building, President Sara Bailey delivered an emotional speech about sacrifice and service. She didn’t speak of failure, but of success. She spoke about how loyalty to their fellow soldiers allowed the survivors to return home. It was one of her most memorial speeches that hung in the hearts and minds of New Earth citizens for years to come. While she didn’t use it during her campaign, it was contributed for her landslide victory during the following election cycle. In the years that followed no one saw the events on Dieron as a defeat. In fact everyone saw the actions of the 3rd Hurricane RCT as courage in the finest degree. For this barely regular unit stood up against the very best the Combine had to offer and survived.

However behind closed doors, what happened to the 3rd sent shockwaves across the NEDF. In General King’s own words, “it is times like this, we can learn the most.” It was in this single battle that the NEDF started to reform itself in to the fighting force that it became today. The NEDF leadership took the lessons of Dieron and applied them across the entire service branches. One of the most lasting changes was the creation of the Training and Doctrine Command or TRADOC. As his unit was being rebuilt, Now Colonel Macko assigned to be the first TRADOC commander. He actually refused the post at first, citing his desire to remain in command of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. After securing General King’s promise that once the 3rd was rebuilt, he would be returned to its command, Colonel Macko assumed his duties with TRADOC.

His first move was to recruit combat veterans from across the ranks of the entire New Earth Defense Command to form his training advisory board. Colonel Macko’s skills on the battlefield were impressive and his strategic skills unmatched. In reaction to Dieron, many often referred to Macko as a younger version of General Death. However when it came time to transferring this knowledge to new recruits, Colonel Macko was not up for the challenge. Colonel Macko was not a powerful public speaker like General Death or President Bailey were. He lacked vital ‘people skills’ to be an effective teacher to his new recruits. However in realizing this flaw, he selected some of the best instructors he could find. Often turning to medical field Colonel Macko recruited therapists to help form learning methodologies. To ensure that his own knowledge wasn’t lost, he helped write the training manuals that would be used to teach others.

To make sure that the entire NEDC was on the same sheet of training music, Colonel Macko reached across the lines of military branches. Each branch of the NEDC were demanded to offer up their own trainers to fill the ranks of TRADOC’s new training cadre. It wasn’t long before recruits started to see common training methods with a high standards demanded by Colonel Macko. To ensure that what TRADOC was presenting was the very best in training philosophies, Macko sent hundreds of his former warriors from the 3rd RCT across the entire Federated Commonwealth seeking the best standards of the AFFC. On their return, these practices and lessons were tested at the heart of TRADOC, the Cancer Proving Grounds before they became doctrine for the NEDC.

It wasn’t long before TRADOC started to attract the attention of the AFFS (The Armed Forces of the Federated Sun’s, the Federated Sun’s side of the Federated Commonwealth). However it was due to political tensions between New Earth and the LCAF (the military wing Lyran Commonwealth side of the Federated Commonwealth) that prevented New Earth training advisors from having access to LCAF’s training centers. However, Colonel Macko wouldn’t allow politics to prevent him access to the very best training resources he could get his hands on. He sent many advisors through LCAF’s training centers, often disguised. This only further strained political tensions between New Earth and the LCAF further. He didn’t limit his advisors to just Fed-Com training centers.

Colonel Macko also sent his advisors to the mercenary training centers on both Galatea and Outreach. It was Colonel Macko’s desires to ensure that the maximum amount of knowledge would be available to TRADOC. The birth of TRADOC ushered in a new era for the New Earth Defense Command that redefined its mission and its abilities. But his boldest move was to instituted training techniques that hadn’t been seen in the Inner Sphere in hundreds of years.

The move was enough to cause leaders of the Wolf’s Dragoon to hold behind closed door meetings with very high level members of the Federated Sun. These meetings didn’t come to light till after the formation of the Lyran Alliance however what was said during those meeting was lost to history. But has become known is that the leaders of the Federated Commonwealth didn’t fully trust the new direction that New Earth was taking or its new leadership. This mistrust would soon become a nightmare reality in the next twenty years.

Throughout the years of the 3040’s TRADOC started to take over training sites across the board. TRADOC’s first major acquisition was the Cancer Proving Grounds with many other sites soon to follow. This post would become the heart of the entire Command and spread out from there. His pride and joy was the Fort Hilarion training complex. Colonel Macko’s dream was a center where world leaders could train to face the unthinkable, a world crisis. Built deep in the mountains, from simulated command centers world leaders would face everything from raids and full scale invasion to natural disasters that threatened entire regions of New Earth. Hilarion boasted media centers to fake ‘news broadcasts’ of events unfolding. Hilarion allowed military and civilian leaders train together to defend New Earth in times of crisis.

Colonel Macko had a dream of fifty training bases across the entire system that would cover the entire scope of the NEDC’s training needs. These bases would become the backbone of TRADOC. This dream would never be realized due to a massive recession struck the region during the early years of 3040’s. Despite the financial strain, Colonel Macko did managed to secured millions of C-bills to build several new training centers across New Earth and the surrounding system. It was a far cry from his dream, but what TRADOC would become within ten years would represent the pride of an entire world and would be shown in the soldiers and sailors it produced.

TRADOC was fast becoming one of the most expensive parts of New Earth’s growing military. TRADOC was even over shadowing the newly formed New Earth Navy. Despite the cost, by the end of his stewardship of TRADOC was well on its way to become one of the finest training organizations in the Federated Commonwealth. A fact that New Earth took pride in and caused neighboring worlds to look upon a New Earth in jealously. As the recession took hold, the effects of the economic down turn caused New Earth’s growing export economy to shrink and threatened TRADOC existence even before its effects could be realized.

As the economic recession hit full swing by the mid 3040’s. During this time, the Hurricane Legion was relatively inactive within the Inner Sphere. While they continued to fulfill their contractual obligations with both the Cirinus Federation and with the Federated Commonwealth. Most of their effort was rebuilding their shattered 3rd Hurricane RCT. With only the limited resources of New Earth during the recession, rebuilding took valuable time. Also, General Death wanted to allow his Hurricane the maximum amount of time to train and hone their skills. While most of the Hurricane was inactive, the 4th Hurricane RCT, who was stationed in the Cirinus Federation, was hardly inactive.

While on station within the Federation, the 4th Hurricane saw a number of limited engagements against the Federation’s neighbors the periphery state of Illryrian Palatinate and the Inner Sphere State of the Free World Legion. While these boarder conflicts were small and largely unimportant it did help the 4th develop its combat experience. However it was in these conflicts that the 4th Hurricane grew the most. The leaders of the 4th Hurricane weren’t completely supportive of the questionable leadership of Cirinus Federation’s President McIntyre. However this didn’t prevent the 4th Hurricane from being drawn in to the coup that was laid out by Michael Cirion and elements of the Black Warriors.

During the year long civil war, the 4th Hurricane RCT was compelled to fight on the side of its contract by Lyran Intelligence due to the opposing faction being heavily supported by House Marik. This forced them to defended President McIntyre despite many attempts by Mr. Cirion to recruit the large unit to his side. By the end of the war a brutal purge soon followed that left the military of the Cirinus in shambles. During this time, the 4th Hurricane RCT continued to perform its contractual obligations to the Cirinus Federation. For its role during the Coup, President McIntyre recognized the 4th Hurricane Legion with a special award that had been created just for them, the Star of Cirinus.

Despite the ‘honor’ a rift was formed within the 4th Hurricane that threated to rip the unit apart. However it was the arrival of Major McGray, now serving under his real name that saved the unit. Noting their bravery and loyalty to their contract, President McIntyre renewed the Cirinus Federation contract with the Hurricane Legion for another ten years. He added a new prevision of the contract that called for the 4th Hurricane RCT to act as trainers of the next line of units within the Federation. Many within the 4th Hurricane found serving the man known as the Butcher of the Periphery, sickening. Many soldiers often referred that the 4th Hurricane was on the wrong side of history.

During negotiations, McIntyre attempted to change the terms of the contract to remove the limitations of posting to include worlds and regions that bordered the Lyran Commonwealth side of the Federated Commonwealth. The Hurricane negotiation team opposed this change as they knew that the Federated Commonwealth would never allow the terms of the contract and would ultimately cost both sides the entire contract. Instead of getting the postings that he wanted, President McIntyre did get a more expanded training for his shattered forces. During the 3040's the 4th Hurricane RCT helped rebuild the Cirinus Federation's military in to a more efficient fighting force. Below the service, this rift seemed to only grow.

Noting the dangers that President McIntyre represented to regional stability, McGray and the 4th Hurricane leadership convinced the Lyran Intelligence to get spies within the Cirinus Federation. The overall plan called to create an advanced warning network of spies that would watch the Cirinus militaries' actions before they threatened the Lyran Commonwealth. Despite the political tensions between the LCAF and New Earth, the 4th Hurricane made every attempt to prove that they were loyal to the Federated Commonwealth and its interests.

As the trial of Michael Cirion continued it was becoming clear that Mr. Cirion's fate was being rigged by President McIntyre. During the trailing, President McIntyre made some rather troubling statements that indicated his intentions to change his allegiances. Prior to the Coup, President McIntyre had been a weak ally to the Lyran Commonwealth. The Coup that was meant to depose him was supported and funded by House Marik. However after the Coup, President McIntyre started to become more paranoid. His paranoia caused him to believe that the Lyrans were moving against him. It was this paranoia that actually caused the Lyrans to move against him. Lyran Intelligence took lead on the operation and assured results.

For their success to be realized, they needed someone who the average citizen could support. Lyran Intelligence choose that person to be Mr. Cirion despite his recent failed coup. At the demand of Lyran Intelligence, the 4th Hurricane RCT managed to plan and execute the daring escape for Mr. Cirion. The entire operation was to be carried out right under the nose of the McIntyre’s elite guard. The masterminds behind the entire operation was none other than Major McGray and Ms. Michelakos. While the plan was created and plotted by Major McGray, Lyran’s had two of their best operatives on scene to ensure that Lyran interests were protected.

The jailbreak was cleverly disguised as an act carried out by former members of the Black Warriors that had survived the purge. These fake Black Warriors were actually members of the 4th Hurricane RCT smuggled in to position under McGray’s orders. These men and women were part of the 4th’s Special Operations Company, also known as Pathfinders. During the jailbreak and pursuit that followed, elements of the 4th Hurricane RCT (as part of the overall plan but unknown to the Lyran Operatives on the ground) intercepted the covert mission. Despite the intentions of Lyran Intelligence, the 4th Hurricane had their own plans to save the life of Mr. Cirion and his family. The only hitch in McGray’s secretive plan were those two Lyran operatives.

The original plan called for a mercenary unit hired by Lyran Intelligence and disguised as Black Warriors who had survived the purge, to free Mr. Cirion from his holding cell. The two Lyran operative would closely oversee the operation to ensure that Mr. Cirion would remain safe, the time being. Once out of the city, the mercenary unit would take Mr. Cirion to a waiting dropship where Lyran Intelligence would take over and start their overall plan launch another Coup. It was part of their plan that Mr. Cirion would become a martyr by assassinating him and his family. Playing on his popular support among the average citizens, this move was designed enrage citizens of the Federation against the Federation’s President. Somehow, Major McGray found out about the overall plan the Lyran’s had for the grim future of Mr. Cirion and his family.

Why Major McGray felt the need to get involved in operation was unclear at the time. It did become known five years later that Mr. Cirion’s wife, Victoria Cirion (formerly known by her pirate nickname, The Periphery Goddess) was in fact a former lover and black-market privateer with Major McGray during his pirate days. The two separated and still remained close after their breakup. She even visited him on New Earth during the 3030’s under an assumed name. It is possible that one of Mr. Cirion’s children was in fact sired by Major McGray. Once this information came to light, it became clear why Major McGray got involved.

As the plan which had been created by the best minds in Lyran Intelligence started to take shape, Major McGray formed and executed his own plan that would undermine the overall interests of the Lyran Intelligence. Exercising his superior skills in manipulation and politics, his plan ensured that the Lyrans would not dig in to these events that would follow. Knowing that the Lyrans wanted to remove the Federation’s current leadership because of clear threats to Lyran interests in the region, McGray would ensure that the Lyrans would have what they wanted. And McGray knew how to deliver this without using his friend and her family as martyrs. It was only because of this reason that Lyran leadership did not pursue action once the Hurricane’s ‘mistakes’ caused the plan created by Lyran Intelligence to fail.

While he and his unit were protected by Lyran leadership, McGray’s actions would create powerful enemies for himself and New Earth within the Lyran Intelligence. Events like this would continue to shape the relationship between New Earth and the Lyran Intelligence. Unknown to everyone involved, these events would cast the dye for a battle that would rock New Earth and the surrounding region.

On the Cirinus Capital world, unknown to the two Lyran operatives their mercenary unit had been replaced by personal from New Earth’s elite Pathfinders under direct orders from McGray. As far as everyone knew, it all started out according to the operatives plan. The jailbreak was flawless, even surpassing the operatives’ expectations. They even cited about doing more business with this mercenary company in the future. Escaping from the prison revealed even more warning signs that were overlooked by the operatives as the disguised Pathfinders executed a flawless extraction. On the road from the capital city of Clayborne, McGray’s plan was about to take effect.

Under secret orders from Major McGray and with the full permission of General Death, elements of the 2nd Brigade, 4th Hurricane RCT intercepted the fugitives. Moments before the attack began, the two Lyran Operatives attempted to ward off the attack. However the attacking Hurricane units didn’t respond to the attempts to communicate. It was later discovered that the orders were given to ignore the calls from the two Lyran Operatives. The battle was well planned and executed as fake Black Warriors remained in communications with their Hurricane comrades during the entire battle. The scene was intentionally planned to be chaotic for a reason.

While the Lyran Operatives were distracted, a stray PPC bolt ripped through the hover car that was carrying Mr. Cirion and his family. With their target presumed dead and member of the 4th not aware of the ‘plan’, the two operatives turn and fled the battlefield for their own safety. The two units played the scene perfectly and right on cue the Pathfinder unit broke and fled the battle as per McGray’s plan. With the death of Mr. Cirion and his family, the battle was over. The fake Black Warrior’s escaped without a trace causing President McIntyre’s paranoia to run away with him. This further destabilized his Presidency causing the government to implode on itself within a few years and giving the Lyran Commonwealth the reformed government they wanted.

As news of Mr. Cirion's failed escape attempt had become wide spread, rumors started to surface that it was a cover for the intentional assassination of Mr. Cirion. This inflamed an already volatile situation across the Federation. Mr. Cirion’s death was confirmed by doctors from a local hospital who had been presumably bribed. This operation left the 4th Hurricane falling out of favor with local communities across the Federation, as many saw them as another corrupt arm of President McIntyre’s regime. It would take years for the 4th Hurricane to regain the trust of the people. However as they continued to walk a political tight rope, Major General Melissa Nelson (a former Government officer during the New Earth Civil War) met personally with President McIntyre.

During the meeting, she convinced the President to allow her unit to hunt down those responsible for the jailbreak instead of his own personal guard. Already there were stories of brutal reprisals carried out by McIntyre’s personal guard. Unknown to President McIntyre, General Nelson had already ordered her Brigade commanders to form battle plans to remove the President should reprisals not come to an end. During these troubling times, General Nelson leaned heavily on former Senator McGray for advice in avoiding further armed conflicts. Uncharacteristic of David McGray, he remained in the shadows and allowed General Nelson and her staff to take full credit for avoiding bloodshed.

With the government of the Cirinus Federation stabilized for the time being, the 4th Hurricane remained on guard in a revised role of protecting the Federation citizens from foreign and domestic threats. While the situation appeared to be calm, under the surface it was far from calm. Keeping the Federation in a state of calm turned in to a full time job for General Nelson. In reaction to the stability issues growing, General Nelson created a handful of special teams under the command of Major McGray. These teams were dispatched to worlds within the Federation during times of crisis to ensure stability. It was a long and hard road for Nelson’s 4th Hurricane to rebuild trust. Upon this road, McGray’s teams, all members of New Earth’s GMP, navigated carefully.

During the months that followed Mr. Cirion’s supposed assassination, McGray’s teams were taken with suspicion. In following General Nelson’s and Major McGray’s orders they made sure to uphold the ideals and concepts of law and order. It wasn’t long before these teams were seen as more dependable sources of justice than the local corrupt law enforcement. Major McGray’s teams were dispatched to handle cases of kidnappings and murders. Behind the scenes, these cases were often acts carried out by rogue groups within President McIntyre government to as his government started to implode. It was General Nelson’s orders that the Federation remained as stable as possible during the coming government crisis and transition.

As the weeks turned to days, more and more demands were placed on McGray’s teams to maintain law and order. Their single largest test would be the case of Lyn D'cruz. Ms. D’cruz was a local teacher turned secret reporter and government watchdog on the world of Thadora's Land. After failing to show up for work after a long weekend, word reached McGray and he dispatched a team to uncover her whereabouts. The team arrived amid growing protests linked to local government corruption. The disappearance only inflamed the situation and protesters were claiming that the government was responsible for the disappearance of the teacher. Within the weeks of arriving on world, the team realized that Ms. D’cruz had been writing a series of stories exposing the planetary government corruption.

Within two weeks of being on planet the team managed to uncover links to the teacher’s disappearance and the world’s governor Abidemi Ihejirika. According to what the team managed to uncover, Ms. D’cruz had discovered that governor Ihejirika had embezzled hundreds of thousands of C-bills from the local coffers. It was a remarkable degree of investigation that allowed McGray’s team to uncover the location of Ms. D’cruz’s body. This led the team to leveling a charges against the planetary governor for the murder of Ms. D’cruz. However because the 4th Hurricane had no legal standing to have the Governor arrested, nothing came from the case. This caused the communities across Thadora's Land to erupt in to full scale revolt.

Governor Ihejirika called upon the 4th Hurricane to assist in putting down the revolt. However because of the report issued by McGray’s team, General Nelson opted to reframe from lending support to the besieged Governor. As the capital of Thadora’s Land erupted in to flames, elements of the 4th Hurricane moved to just beyond the city limits and set up MASH units to treat the wounded that were bound to occur. Under orders from General Nelson, these units were prohibited from directly interfering with the events taking place. But they were authorized to lend medical support to those in need. Using their VTOL’s and combat medics, elements of the 4th were able to get in to the hottest areas of the fighting and rescue wounded civilians and government personal.

It was this act of humanitarian kindness that defined the 4th’s involvement in the upcoming crisis that the Federation was about to endure. As the situation continued to escalate across the Federation, General Nelson attempted to use her 4th Hurricane to hold the core of the Federation together. However the long burning distrust of the current Government exploded in to full scale revolt across all worlds of the Federation. There was nothing that General Nelson or her 4th Hurricane could do any longer to hold of the revaluation that it had hands in creating. These would become the darkest hours of the Hurricane Legion as its warrior would get caught in the middle of another blood civil war.

However this time, General Nelson was determined to not repeat history. As it became clear that her unit couldn’t hold off the violence, she ordered her units to set up secured areas for refugees and hospitals for the wounded. Her units also protected Comstar humanitarian relief missions across the Federation. Within weeks of the first shots being fired on Thadora’s Land, there was fighting across entire Federation. Never before in New Earth’s or Hurricane Legion’s history, has one person been so capable of seizing power. Eyes on both sides of the conflict looked to General Nelson and her massive 4th Hurricane RCT to end the conflict and take power.

The temptation was so great that it was rumored that General Nelson had private meetings with her own command staff regarding this very topic. With opinions mixed, General Nelson found no clear defined path of what to do. With an order, she could easily snuff both factions, put an end to the fighting and secure power. It could make Hurricane Legion a permanent outpost in the Periphery. However it was her conversation with Major McGray that changed the course of history. The order was given and strikes were unleashed. However the outcome was nothing of what either faction had expected.

Elements of the 4th Hurricane smashed the Government’s forces and ended the conflict in one night. However instead of seizing power, she brought in Comstar Precentor Kim-Han Alighieri and Comstar to act as an intern Government of the Federation while a permanent government could be established. In her personal journal she wrote, “Never before have I ever been so close to such power. The temptation of seizing it was so unbelievable that I dared to even consider what I could do with it if I claimed it. Despite all I could do with it, this was not the way that one should lead. For the longest time I had often wondered what General Death had thought when he stepped down from being the President of New Earth or why he never sought to impose his authority of his Barony over New Earth. Now I understand why he did what he did. To truly defend liberty and uphold what we stand for, we cannot force our beliefs and rules on others.”


In the end, the Lyrans got the more stable government that they wanted and Marik’s influence in the Federation was ended for years to come. However the truth behind these events didn’t come to light for over a decade later. Lyran operatives were able to identified Mr. Cirion living in a coastal village on the continent of Cancer on New Earth. His entire life had been moved by the request of Major McGray. According to intelligence discovered, both his sons and his daughter finished their education on New Earth and enlisted in to New Earth’s military. McGray’s former lover and Mr. Cirion’s wife Victoria Cirion was living under the fake name of Jessica Quick working for the New Earth Defense Command. Due to the quality of the false identities for the Cirion family, it was clear that the New Earth central government was involved.

As the investigation continued by Lyran operatives, it was discovered that both of their sons hold positions within the Hurricane Legion. Their eldest son, David Quick was commanding a Battlemech company within the elite 3rd Hurricane RCT. While Michael Quick commands an Artillery company within the 1st Hurricane RCT. Their daughter, Stacy Quick-Bowman (married) works as a researcher and Mech Test Pilot for New Earth Advanced Technology. Till the surprising revelations of this investigation during the 3050’s, Mr. Cirion's death was presumed and never questioned. The revelation has brought new light to the covert actions of New Earth. It has also raised a number of questions to the motives of its Government in working against the interests of the Commonwealth and later the Alliance. These questions of loyalty would cast shadows of doubt to all future relations between New Earth and Tharkad.

While McGray was conducting his covert operations in the Periphery, a new threat was coming to light in the Isle of Skye. A band of organized pirates conducted a number of raids on worlds within the Isle of Skye. Known for the black paint that their ships and equipment were painted, the Black Ship Pirates first attacked New Earth with brutal well-coordinated efficiency. While New Earth’s defense force was able to limit casualties well, the pirates managed to raid several central government banks. While raids carried out by powers of the Inner Sphere did happen, these pirates operated more in terms of profit than military advantage. The pirates hit major banks, large jewelers and other high cash value targets. Because of the style of the raids, most worlds were ill-prepared for them.

Their most famous raid was on Lipton which nearly paralyzed the entire planet and brought the group their largest windfall to date. Six teams of five hit four banks and two large jewelry stores. However the largest take on the raid was a Lyran transport loaded with gold bound for Skye. It was unclear how the Pirates knew about the ultra-secret transport. Because no unidentified ships were tracked before the raid begin it was assumed that the pirates were on world prior to the raid starting. Within hours, the pirates were burning off world with their loot. Local units thought that they had the pirates till their Invader Class Jumpship arrived just ahead of the pirates. It was clearly a timed and carefully planned reunion. But what happened next throw the local defenders for a loop. Just as the two pirate dropships and the stolen transport connected with the Jumpship, it started to cycle its K-F Drive in what is called a Hot Jump. This rarely used and dangerous operations dumps power from the reactor of the Jumpship in to the K-F Drive.

Because of the timing of the raid on Lipton, Lyran Intelligence analysts were able to watch videos shot by witnesses of the raid. The video showed clear advanced military training used during the raid. The heavily use of hand signals and precision in shots fired to wound rather than kill offered many clues but no clear identification of who was behind the raids. The bottom line was, these were no ordinary pirates. Rumors started to circulate that rival house Marik, whose boarder was within one jump of each of the target worlds, was behind the raids. But what bothered Lyran Intelligence was the fact that the pirates made all attempts to limit loss of life during their raids. There was no reported casualties from innocent bystanders. Even local authorities suffered only a handful of deaths due to prolonged fire fights with the pirates. Of the deaths suffered at the hands of these pirates, half occurred on New Earth. This low death toll cast doubt on Marik’s involvement.

These findings raised a question about those behind the raids, what kind of pirates are so careful not to kill the very police attempting to stop them. The question brought even more concerns from the Lyran Intelligence. More so it cast a great deal of doubt on Lyran Intelligence to uncover the truth about the pirates. Lyran Intelligence throw a large number of its operatives at uncovering the truth of what was going on. Just when the Lyran Intelligence was about to render their findings to the Archon, the pirates throw another curve ball. As quickly as they showed up in the Skye March, the pirates simply vanished from the Lyran’s grid. This disappearance caused many to suspect that the group returned to the Periphery with their loot. However their next attack a few weeks later shocked everyone. They raided the Marik world of Tamarind.

More commonly known for art and artist, Tamarind was the last place anyone in the Lyran Intelligence thought the Raiders were strike. However the raiders struck with such speed that they nearly overwhelmed the world defenders. Using their speed and coordination, one part of the raiders were able to keep the local defenders tied up in a time consuming cat and mouse chase while another group of raiders hit large banks and jewelers. However it was what wasn’t reported that forced Lyran Intelligence to take notice. These nearly unknown pirates hit a secret research facility operated by Technicron Manufacturing. The tactics and operations of the pirates were completely identical as the raids across the Skye March, but math regarding space travel caused many to suspect that this raid was not carried out by the same pirates. While the operation was possible, it just wasn’t likely.

Technicron Manufacturing had been experimenting with micro K-F Drives ever since House Marik got its hands on a copy of the Gray Death Legion’s Memory Core. Technicron Manufacturing was tasked with building Compact K-F Drives for combat jumpships. Their research department had been making series headway with making Compact K-F Drives even smaller. It was unknown how the pirates got in to the secret facility, but their raid was nothing less than professional. The raider took down the research staff and security personal without a single loss of life. Instead of wasting valuable time in hacking the facilities mainframe, the raiders disassembled the center’s mainframe and took all the research data with them. When they left, they set serval fires in the center setting back research for years. The group once more pulled off a perfectly executed extraction with their loot and the mainframe from research center.

As with any political crisis, the blame game started. The victims of the Black Ship pirates demanded something to be done. Their cries reached far beyond the Skye March. Pressure was placed on the Estates General back on Tharkad to take action against the pirates. Many world leaders within the Skye March leveled a charge that General Jack Sphire, Margrave of Ryde Theater and strong supporter of Nondi Stainer, was inapt and incapable of dealing with the changing situation that the Black Ship Pirates were creating. A call for his removal echoed across the region. Greater demand was placed on Lyran Intelligence to bring an end to the threat of the Black Ship pirates.

Under the unified pressure by world leaders within Skye, Tharkad finally got involved. While General Sphire would not be replaced, the Estates General did move to render aid to worlds that were hit and also place heavy pressure on General Sphire to put an end to the raids. To help local merchants that had been attacked by the pirates, Tharkad opened up the coffers and offered financial assistance. In terms of the Pirates themselves, Tharkad ordered a task force of units to stop the Pirates. Fifteen regional commanders including two from New Earth were gathered to assemble three major tasks forces. Thanks to the increased pressure of President Bailey, General Death was given command of one of these task forces. General Sphire would hold over all command of the operations and micro managed the entire hunt for the pirates. Due to the pirate's activities, Comstar successfully lobbied Federated Commonwealth to expand postings of ComGuards across the Ryde Theater and Skye March.

For the months that the Pirates were raiding the Skye March, Lyran Intelligence Analysts believed that there might be a high level informant within the Ryde Theater helping the Pirates. However despite the very best efforts that Lyran Intelligence put forward to identify the informant, those efforts failed. However the Analysts did managed to figure out a possible target list that created their best attempts to trap the pirates. They created a profile of target zones that the pirates were looking for and gave this information to General Sphire. Due to the erratic nature of the pirate's actions, these target lists tended to be useless though. As General Sphire would lay traps for the pirates, they would often hit other targets.

Within weeks of their raid on Tamarind, Lyran Intelligence got a break on the case. An informant told them that someone was moving a stolen mainframe on the Lyran world of Rahne. A strike team was established to capture the pirates. By the time the Loki team arrived agents on the ground had located the pirate in the norther region of the world. One of their jet black small craft had been identified near their hide out. Observers had been able to estimate that there were about twenty pirates within the hide out. The Strike team spent a day observing the pirates before making their move. General Sphire gave the order to take out the pirates and the strike team moved with deadly accuracy.

Within seconds the hideout was secured but there were no pirates within the large structure. What Lyran Intelligence had been observing had been a carefully laid trap by some unnamed party. What the strike team discovered was a large number of disguised blow up sex dolls with small heater stripes to mimic human heat signatures. At one point there was no doubt that there were real pirates within the hide out. But at some time before the raid, the pirates managed to escape. Later conversations that had been observed was presumably by recordings. However it was what was found that caused Lyran Intelligence leaders reason to be concerned.

Within the hide was the stolen mainframe from Technicron Manufacturing. The core had been hacked and all date had been removed from the now empty core. The ultra-secret raid against the pirates had been a secret to everyone but the pirates. A shielded escape tunnel was discovered but by the time the strike team discovered it, those behind the set up were long gone. Regional manhunts were launched with no results. To make matters worse, Lyran Intelligence now had the only evidence to link the pirates to the raid on Technicron Manufacturing.

With the stolen mainframe in Lyran Intelligence’s hands and no solid leads, Lyran Intelligence had been made the escape goat of these pirates. With virtually no evidence to prove otherwise, no one within Lyran Intelligence assumed that Marik would believe that they weren’t behind the raid on Tamarind. Before Lyran Intelligence had a chance to get ahead of the raid on Rahne, a Marik spy discovered that Lyran Intelligence had the stolen Mainframe. Lyran Intelligence was able to silence the spy before the information was leaked however it rang out a warning of the growing situation.

The entire region was at risk of war over the situation. High level meetings were called as the Federated-Commonwealth was forced to deal with the crisis. Units on both sides of the border between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Free Worlds Legion were placed on alert. Within weeks of the events of Rahne, the Inner Sphere was once more close to war. Within the center of the crisis stood the Lyran Intelligence holding the stolen Mainframe.

Within days of Rahne, Lyran Intelligence took their best effort to stop the pirates and save face. Working off their profile lists of possible target world, they were able to indicate that the Pirates would hit the world of Dromini VI. Armed with this information, the trap was set for the pirates. To their surprise the pirates did walk in to the trap, they hit so hard that it caused the green mercenary outfit of the Vinson's Vigilantes to flee their security zones. The Pirates were able to make off with another profitable raid to add to their loot. General Death laid his units to trap the Pirates on Dromini VI but the headstrong Colonel Pedro Giraudoux of the 2nd Regiment of the Narhal's Raiders jumped the gun. In doing so, the trap was tripped too soon and the pirates were able to escape the trap and flee from Dromini VI.

Unwilling to allow them to escape, General Death used his Hurricane Navy to pursue the pirates to a nearby star system. As the forces of General Sphire were closing in on the combat area, Commodore Viscount Hall of the Death's Brigade gave the order to blast the Pirates from space. In a hail of weapon's fire, the threat of the Black Ship Pirates were no more. Commodore Hall and General Death were both commended by local leaders for their actions in ending the pirate threat. General Sphire had secretly complained that the glory of killing the pirates had been stolen from him. Lyran Intelligence complained that the pirates could have been captured so that they could identify who was behind the raid on Tamarind.

It was later learned that Former COB Baroness Renee' Eaton and Colonel Darren were behind the pirate attacks. However Lyran Intelligence was not completely convinced that these two were actually behind the raids. However the choice was made to join the cover up. With speed, they moved to stolen mainframe to the site and ensured that it would be ‘discovered’ by the right people. Lyran Intelligence would ensure that there would be little questions raised about the two former fugitives. However there were links between the Black Ship pirates and the Skye Separatists.

Evidence at the combat scene ensured that there were few loss ends. Remains of the equipment salvaged were linked back to Colonel Darren's Periphery mercenary unit. To help calm tensions, Lyran Intelligence send the stolen mainframe back to House Marik. As the months passed following the battle, there were no more Black Ship pirate raids. Comstar also used this information to push harder for more expanded ComGuard deployments deeper within the Lyran side of the Federated Commonwealth. However, behind closed doors at the highest levels of Lyran Intelligence no one bought the tidy evidence or the disappearance of Black Ship pirates.

Evidence of the late Renee Eaton revealed that her body had been subjected to extreme cold temperatures. While it is possible that this was due to her body being discovered after her dropship was destroyed, there were other possibilities that Lyran Intelligence were looking in to. The Black Ship Pirates might have gone forgotten by the masses, the black eye that Lyran Intelligence took on Rahne would not go forgotten. At the highest levels a whisper started to circulate, Lyran Intelligence started to suspect that New Earth or elements on New Earth were behind the Black Ship pirates.
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Seven: Leading up to and the Clan Invasion

During the recession export fell sharply and many New Earth Citizens lost their jobs. The New Earth economy shrank as did many other worlds in the region. In a bid to counter the recession of the 3040’s New Earth started a series of public work projects. President Bailey used these projects to modernize New Earth with a model public transportation system. To welcome more interstellar commerce, she lobbied for and secured the funds to build a second recharging station at the Zenith of their star, Tau Ceti. Prior to the fall of the Star Legion there had been one there but the salvages of the Succession Wars destroyed it. To ensure that New Earth’s investment didn’t fall the way of its predecessors, President Bailey pushed for more funding to be placed on Space Defense System technology.

During construction, a friendly competition arose between the two military units assigned to protect the two valuable stations. Because the units assigned at the Nadir station, had been nicked named the Nadir Regulars, those troops stationed at the Zenith station came up with their own nickname. They called themselves the Zenith Irregulars. The two units engaged in a friendly feud that would continue for years. As construction continued, the two units would travel between the two stations and engage in a series of skill based competition. During a visit to the Zenith Station construction zone, President Bailey had chance to observe the competition. So moved by concept, she took the idea to her Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Within a year, those games gave birth the President’s Cup. The competition was set up in such a way that each brigade size unit would sent their teams to compete in a series of matches designed to test that unit’s over all skill set and on an individual skill level. To increase moral all Hurricane and New Earth Defense Command Units were to send teams to compete. The games were designed to test the teams within a wide range of military and athletic skill sets.

The first official President’s Cup was held just outside of the capital city. The four week event was a media failure but was a military success. It would take a few years for the local civilian population to become receptive about the games. Once they did, local communities started to support units stationed near them. The goal of the games were to create a stronger since of pride in New Earth’s military. And by the mid 3040’s the games were having just that effect.

In 3045, Quantum Tech and local Law Enforcement units would successfully lobby to join the annual competition. That year, NEAT Security Force pulled an upset in defeating the current title holder, the 2nd Carrier Air Wing. The Cup would change hands several times till the games of 3049. Shiver’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) would take the coveted Cup for three years straight. They held the President's Cup from 3049 till 3051 only to be bested by the Zenith Irregulars in 3052 games.

As the raise of smugglers became more and more pressing, the New Earth Congress leaned heavily on the New Earth Navy to secure the system. The boiling point was when a raid hit the Quantum Tech facility. The raid killed twenty people including five teenagers who were touring the facility as part of a push for higher education. To answer this growing threat, the New Earth’s navy, in conjunction with Harthford Shipyards, started plans on a new system patrol craft called the APC or Advanced Patrol Craft. This craft was designed to be tough and fast with the ability to engage black-market smugglers.

The craft boasted two Long Range Missile launchers capable of unleashing forty missiles on its upper wings. Three Defiance Killer Type T Auto-Cannons in the nose gave the APC strong fire power with five tons of ammo. Another twin banks of Short Range Missile launchers located on its lower wings were capable of unleashing twelve missiles. Each launcher carried two tons of ammo and also were fitted with the Artemis IV FCS to ensure that more missiles hit their intended target. For added fire power, three manned twin medium laser turrets were added to the craft’s rear section.

To increase the APC’s survivability, the haul was hardened and a reinforced crew section ensured that as long as the craft’s over all structural integrity was maintained the crew could survive even if the craft lost all power and or took massive damage. All four of its wings folded inward making storing the craft on a mother ship much easier. The craft’s designs made working on it a dream for techs and ground crews. Most major repairs could be completed from within the craft meaning that crews could repair some issues while on mission should the craft loose power.

The most advanced technologies that were pumped in to the craft were its Guardian ECM and over four tons of sensor equipment. These sensors gave the APC long range eyes allowing it to spot block aid runners long before they could spoke the patrol craft. However due to weight concerns and ammo requirements later versions replaced the three Auto-Cannon’s for three Defiance B3L Large Laser. They removed all four missile launchers and the costly ammo. The design teams fitted the later versions of the APC with fifty two powerful Thunderbolt missile.

Unlike the missiles of the same name created by the Federated Commonwealth, these missiles were one shot missiles that delivered a powerful punch at low weight. All models after the APC-A1 were designed similar to clan Omni designs. Though not a true Omni craft in scope of what the Clans had produced, the newer models were the closest thing anyone had come to at the time to an Omni Craft. The APC was the brain child of researcher and lead design Sid Emperor, who oversaw the design and all future developments. Mr. Emperor left employment of the NEDC and joined Harthford Shipyards when they started operations at their Lanna factory. Harthford was another corporation mostly owned but not directly controlled by Karen Tetsuhara-Death.

Though her role in the company was more of a silent partner. Harthford Construction was the dream of Christopher Harthford, a loyal and longtime friend of Mrs. Tetsuhara-Death. The two had built Quantum Tech and later NEAT from the ground up. Mr. Harthford was an accomplished scientist and designer. In exchange for the funding to start the company, Mr. Harthford agreed to allow Mrs. Tetsuhara-Death hold the majority of the shares while Mr. Harthford would maintain direct control over the company.

With the Recession of 3040’s in full swing New Earth started a series of incentives to lure new businesses to New Earth. Thanks to lack of having to pay higher taxes to Tharkad, New Earth passed these savings on to companies across New Earth. They also lowered taxes on businesses as long as they were able to meet hiring/employment quotas set out by New Earth’s Congress. These new companies helped carried New Earth through the Recession and allowed the world to recover allot faster than other worlds within its region. On industry that New Earth pushed was its weapon industry. While New Earth could never compete with the great producers of the Inner Sphere, New Earth did make it’s weapon manufacturing industry more robust and more diversified than other producers.

The most important new construction of the 3040's was the beginning of Harthford’s Harbor Prime facility. The move was welcomed by leaders across the Federated Commonwealth but drew the suspicions from Lyran Intelligence. During the height of the Terrain Hegemony, New Earth boasted one of the most extensive shipyards of the Hegemony. During the fall of the Hegemony, those shipyards were destroyed.

Hoping to regain that heritage, President Bailey authorized the construction of Harbor Prime. A far cry from a major shipyard and production area that other worlds had. The site would have two slips that would be able to construct Jumpships and an additional one that would was large enough to build warships. There were three other smaller slips that were specially designed to build dropships. Harbor Prime would become the first shipyard to be constructed in a former Hegemony world since the fall of the Hegemony. While it would not become the last, it would take its place in regional history.

As the march of technology continued across the Inner Sphere, fears within the NEDC growing of ships using Guardian style equipment to move undetected through the system, the NEDC turned to Karen Tetsuhara-Death for ideas. She then turned to her research teams and started to create a plan. There answer to the problem was very clever and gave birth to a new corporation on New Earth, CyberDrone. CyberDrone would produce a large number of fixed satellites and the Navy would deploy them throughout the system. The Network satellites would have a very low EM signature thus making them very difficult to locate.

This network would allow any APC, Naval ship, fighter, craft or base to transmit data in real time back and forth. Each site would be linked up to the network and communicate what it was doing and seeing without the crew even being aware of this transmission. This created a massive moving network of sensors across the system. If an APC was destroyed before the crew could react, the rest of the network would know that the craft was destroyed and where. Unto its self, the network back a vital piece of the early warning system that played a critical role in exposing of the Lyran invasion of 3060.

At the heart of this network and command structure was a new department within the New Earth Defense Command. The Strategic Space Defense Command or SSDC was created by New Earth’s Congress in 3048. The SSDC would have its headquarters on Lanna as New Earth started a massive new construction project. The mostly underground base boosted a massive hive of computers and data processing centers. Once more, taking lessons from history, these data and communication networks were heavily protected by frequency hopping technology.

CyberDrone started off small, only linking zones around critical sites. But there were plans to ultimately fill the entire system with manned and unmanned craft used to patrol the region around New Earth. While the network and SSDC headquarters were built completely in secret, its overall plans were well known to the Lyrans. However the project was deemed over ambitious and the technology was seen as too advanced for New Earth to complete. As a result, while Tharkad helped pay for much of the construction cost of the site, they largely ignored the construction or the steps that New Earth was taking to protect itself against invaders.

By the end of the 3040’s the Zenith station was opened with all the fan fair a proud world could muster. During this same time, Strategic Space Defense Command would see its first commanding officer. Rear Admiral Genevieve Vinkovic, close personal friend of President Bailey and former COB pilot and blockade runner. Admiral Vinkovic’s sole mission was to ensure that the SSDC was ready to face any threat to New Earth. Admiral Vinkovic devoted her life to the role and even give her own life in defense of New Earth.

Now the head of three major corporations and silent partner in a forth, Karen Tetsuhara-Death pushed New Earth Congress to authorize her corporations to raise their own Security forces. In a negotiation, Mrs. Tetsuhara-Death agreed that her corporations would pay the entire cost of training her units as well as a five percent surcharge to the NEDC for use of TRADOC’s facilities. Mrs. Tetsuhara-Death made sure that her security teams had the best equipment available. Mrs. Tetsuhara-Death also pushed that her newly formed security teams would be allowed to train alongside NEDC units to ensure that their skills as on par with the rest of the NEDC.

By the end of 3040's New Earth saw some of the broadest social and economic growth it had enjoyed in hundreds of years. Thanks to investments made by Federated Commonwealth corporations, government back loans and grants to allow small startups a chance to flourish. But the investments didn’t end there. New Earth invested in to its own citizens in terms of higher education. Across the region no other world offered as much to its common citizens as New Earth was doing. This gave more citizens on New Earth a higher chance to succeed. The 3050’s were looking to become the single brightest decade for New Earth as of yet.

However, this success did bring jealously. Due to very restrictive immigration and heavily regulated import/export laws the New Earth Senate ensured that all this growth was enjoyed only by New Earth’s citizens and those willing to play by New Earth's rules. If a world wanted to do trade with New Earth, than they had to invest in buying New Earth’s merchandise. This rigid trade policy caused New Earth plenty of problems within the Lyran Estates General. There were a number attempts to force New Earth to lower its trade barriers through the court system. However those attempts failed and New Earth was allowed to maintain its heavy handed trade policies.

It became a common joke by worlds near New Earth that explained the situation, 'Its easier to deal with the Dragon’s Markets than New Earth's.' Still with economic growth and raw data supporting their efforts, the New Earth Congress refused to back down from these policies. Another issue that caused problems between New Earth and her regional neighbors was the fact that New Earth exploited that they did not have to pay Lyran taxes. This was compounded by New Earth as it imposed that all profits made on New Earth were taxed on New Earth. Thanks to these efforts, New Earth watched is GDP grow at a faster rate than any other world in the Skye March.

When the 3050's and the Clan Invasion hit, New Earth no longer resembled the war torn world that it was during the 3020's. After thirty years of steady and strong growth, the last of scares of that bloody and bitter war were all but forgotten. Where there was once scars of war, stood parks, places of learning, and strong unified communities. The single most monumental achievement was the completion of a mass transit system that allowed anyone to move across New Earth with ease. Using large banks of magnets, high speed trains zip across the land masses while sleek civilian craft moved people from land mass to land mass.

Thanks to efforts of a unified Government and the passion from new leaders from both sides, New Earth had transformed herself in to a regional influence and power that rival even Skye. New Earth was starting to look more like a House capital rather than just another world. This too fueled jealousy from New Earth’s neighbors. But behind closed doors of the Lyran Intelligence Agency, silent warnings were being whispered. While the numbers all added up, some Analysts issued warnings of something was at work behind the scenes on New Earth that drove this above average growth rate.

The most surprising move taken by New Earth's government was the discovery that New Earth had an aging Aegis class warship during 3050's. The badly damaged ship had been discovered near the edge of Tau Ceti system. The warship had Star League Defense Force markings on it dating the ship to sometime before or during the Amaris’ Coup. While the ship was barely functional, it was in need of extensive repairs. To rub salt in an open wound with Lyran Intelligence, it was New Earth that informed the leaders of the Federated Commonwealth of their remarkable find before Lyran Intelligence could get ahead of the information.

Before the leaders of the Federated Commonwealth, New Earth held a massive public ceremony rechristening the ship, NEWS Bismarck. Within this major move, New Earth became one of the first powers to be able to field a warship and Lyran Intelligence was caught completely flatfooted by this development. Based on future discoveries it appeared that before the ship became public knowledge, New Earth had already been conducting repairs to the ship getting it ready for its public début. As Lyran Intelligence dug deeper, they discovered plans that New Earth had been using their find to fuel a new project. New Earth was working on a modified Aegis that was already in the design and planning stages.

Again the move outflanked the Lyran Intelligence and exposed a massive blind spot the organization had on New Earth. New Earth leaders were already presenting a plan for building warships within the Tau Ceti system for the Federated-Commonwealth Armed Forces before Lyran Intelligence could reveal this information. Because New Earth’s own project was years ahead of their Lyran rivals, it wasn’t long before the plan was agreed upon. However Prince Hanse Davion insisted that the project be closely overseen by the Federated Commonwealth. In a clear move that snubbed their nose at the Lyran Intelligence, the Leaders of New Earth suggested that this oversight be carried out by advisers from the NAIS. The Federated-Commonwealth agreed and the Aegis II project was officially underway.

In order to expose this blind spot, Lyran Intelligence started Operation Storm Chaser. The operation was set up to uncover the secrets behind what was going on New Earth, to explain New Earth's surprising growth rates and growth in technology. However the overall mission was canceled due largely to the Clan Invasion, a decision that would haunt the LAAF during the 3060's. Still, a small portion of Storm Chaser which was focused on getting closer to New Earth’s leadership would be allowed to move forward. Several deep cover agents were assigned to infiltrate New Earth and the Hurricane Legion. These agents would have a profound impact on future events and in rewriting the history books.

The Clan Invasion was nothing like the Inner Sphere had seen before. Originally, the Clans were thought to be an alien invader from beyond the Periphery. The truth about the Clans would be more troubling than anything else. It was discovered that they were actually the long lost Star League Defense Force units that had left with General Kerensky centuries ago. This truth came to many with mix reactions. It was if nothing could stop this new growing threat. Despite being offered sizable contracts from the LCAF and the AFFC, General Death opted to keep his options open. He in turned allowed his contract with the AFFC to expire. The Chess Master was already calculating his next move.

The Inner Sphere seemed all but powerless to stop the Clans on their march for Terra. Not even the might of the AFFC or the Fanatical drive of the Draconis Combine could halt the Clan Invasion. As world after world was being conquered, General Death, and just month after the contract between the Hurricane Legion and the AFFC expired, made his move. He used the reputation that his unit earned during the 3039 War to lobby the military leadership of the Combine to allow him to conduct a deep raid against the Clans. Before the Combine military leaders, General Death cited that his plan had a twofold goal. One was to steal advanced technology that could help the Inner Sphere overcome the Clan threat. And the other was to evacuate as many civilians from an occupied world as possible.

Thanks to Operation Storm Chaser, a deep rooted spy within Hurricane Leadership, code named Trade Wind, was able to discover that General Death had other goals in mind. Two of these goals were, first gathering further intelligence on the Clans as possible as well as a secondary priority mission. That being the recovery of a high value target. While Trade Wind was unable to identify the nature or the identity of this target, he was able to note that this part of Death’s mission was paid for by an unknown benefactor. It would later be deduced that this benefactor was none other than Comstar.

The third part of General Death's plan was to raid the diamond mines on the target world of Nykvarm. Without knowledge of the true goals of the Hurricane Legion, the Combine accepted Death's offer and paid a much higher rate than other mercenary contracts. General Death took his elite Death's Brigade along with the 3rd Hurricane RCT (After spending all of the 3040's rebuilding and retraining, the unit was back up to full strength) with him to McAlister. There the units would train up and more importantly attend classes on Clan honor as well as their fighting style. General Death insisted that every officer within his unit attend these classes. At the same time, Trade Wind was able to uncover that General Death was holding behind the door meetings with his military leaders. One result of these meetings was a general recall for the rest of his units.

General Death ordered every Hurricane unit back to New Earth under the Prevision 83 of all Hurricane Contracts. This prevision allowed General Death to recall his troops under extreme crisis. It would mark the first time Prevision 83 would be called upon. Acting as Commander In Chief, General Death ordered all Hurricane and NEDC units prepare for combat operations. He also placed New Earth Defense Forces on alert till further notice. Within hours of the order given, New Earth started to prepare herself for war.

Once General Death was sure his units were ready, he ordered them on to the clan occupied world of Nykvarm. Once they left McAlister, he out lined his diamond heist plan. Trade Wind was present during the mission planning and to his surprise, the plan was eerily similar to the tactics used by the Black Ship Pirates. The agent was so sure that the two tactics were the same that he omitted facts that could have cast doubts on this opinion. This modified information would be used by the Lyran Alliance in the future to justify the invasion of New Earth.

Despite his best efforts, Trade Wind was unable to learn the identity of the high value target. However he did discover that New Earth and the Hurricane Legion had been working on their own covert group. Since the final days of the New Earth Civil, many analysts thought the Pathfinders were disbanded and or dissolved in to the general ranks of the NEDC and Hurricane Legion. However it was learned during the 3039 War that the Pathfinders had survived as a unit. They remained an active organization within the Hurricane Legion and the NEDC as Special Forces unit.

Within this branch of Special Forces was a highly skilled group of agents called WindTalkers. WindTalkers were a complete unknown by Lyran Intelligence till Trade Wind discovered their organization while in route to Nykvarm. Trade Wind discovered that WindTalkers were a mix of Special Forces, Covert Agents and Code Talker. From what Trade Wind could uncover, there was a group of WindTalkers already on the ground when Death’s unit arrived in system. It was clear that General Death had already had his plan in placed prior to receiving permission from the Combine military leadership. Once more, Death proved why he was called the Chess Master.

General Death's units arrived in system and right away, it faced what many would call problems. Instead of a front line Clan Smoke Jaguar unit, they found that the world had been occupied by a Solamha Cluster from Clan Ghost Bear. According to Trade Wind, it appeared that General Death was already aware of this change. To the surprise of his command staff, General Death informed the them that he planned on attacking as per Clan Rituals. He informed General Macko to hold his 3rd RCT till the battle was over. He warned that the Hurricane must learn about this new threat to the Inner Sphere if they were to ever beat them. Once within system General Death put forward his plan and contacted the commander of the Solamha Cluster

General Death for all of his skill in war was masterful. Knowing his inability to hold the world, General Death informed the Clan Defenders that his intention was not to claim the world, but in claiming the population as bondsmen and what resources he could get off world. However in fighting the Clans on their terms meant giving up one of his most vital combat resources. Hurricane Artillery was already a well-known assist within the Mercenary Communities. Both respected and feared on the battlefield thanks to the 3039 War. The Clans viewed artillery as a dishonorable form of combat. Because of this, he created a plan that would help his unit carry the day.

As his Death’s Brigade formed up on the battlefield he asked for a truce to speak with the Ghost Bear commander. While the Star Colonel was escorted by a point of elementals, General Death only allowed one person to accompany him, LAM pilot Captain Markis Brown. Playing off on his lack of knowledge of Clan honor and tradition, he asked the Commander to explain what is expected of his warriors during the upcoming battle. As the Star Colonel explained the scope of Clan Honor and tradition, General Death complimented the Star Colonel about the remarkable system that they fought under. General Death pointed out how his own unit fought and their heavy reliance on artillery. General Death even boasted how legendary his unit was in terms of their combined tactics. General Death even commented to how their own headquarters on New Earth was the former headquarters of the legendary Star League Defense Force.

Clearly taken by General Death’s respectful nature and knowledge, the Star Colonel allowed this conversation to continue as the two large units stood only a kilometer apart from each other. The two men spoke of past victories and battles. General Death spoke of his time on Solaris VII and how he was once the champion of the famous gaming world. With a heavy sigh, General Death finally stated “As much as I hate to end this conversation, our two units have a job to do on this battlefield. I guess it’s time to get busy with that job.” The two commanders started to part way but General Death stop and turned and stated, “Star Colonel, for all that you have explained, it seems to me that your traditions are very close to betting. You are betting that you will win within the confines of the situation.”

While there were a bit of differences, finally the Star Colonel did concede that there were similarities between the two practices. General Death offered the Star Colonel a ‘bet’ that the Star Colonel couldn’t refuse. General Death suggested that if he could best the Clan leader in one on one combat, that the Clan leader and his unit would join the Hurricane Legion’s ranks. If General Death would be defeated, than his unit as well as the entire RCT in orbit would join the Star Colonel’s unit. It was a masterful move by General Death noting that his elite unit had a more than likely chance at defeat than victory. However After speaking with the Star Colonel, General Death was confident that he had a better than even chance at besting the warrior. Originally the Star Colonel wasn’t going to accept it, but General Death smiled as he pointed out that his Warhammer that was the very mech that he used in the Solaris arenas.

Finally the Star Colonel accepted the teams of the bet and the battle between the two unit commanders was joined. To the cheering of both sides, two seasoned warriors battled with all their skill and knowledge. The only advantage General Death had was the fact that his Warhammer was far from a stock model. Heavily modified by his wife, General Death’s Warhammer was a surprising match for the Star Colonel’s MadCat. The battle lasted for almost thirty minutes, a life time for a Mechwarrior. But in the end, it was General Death’s HVFSDS rounds that had replaced his twin PPC’s which won the day. Keeping even range with the MadCat’s ER PPC and inflicting almost as much damage, the modified Autocannon along the Shaped Charge Short Range Missiles were punishing on the MadCat.

Using what he knew about Clan one on one combat, General Death fought hard to resist using dishonorable tactics during the match. He knew in violating Clan honor, he would trigger an assault on his unit. One that they could over all win with the help of the 3rd RCT, but the loss of life was unnecessary. Instead, General Death fought in this alien structured match relaying on his own skills. Near the end of the match, General Death saw his chance to grip victory. The Star Colonel made a mistake that allowed General Death to use the cover a nearby hill to break line of sight and hold a better flanking position. General Death saw the opportunity but didn’t take it.

However he stopped and thought of the overall situation before he acted. He knew that moving in and out of line of sight was considered dezgra or dishonorable among the Clans. His mech had taken damage but thanks to his hardened armor, it was as bad off as the Clan MadCat he was facing off with. It however was running very hot due to a number of critical hits earlier. If General Death took the path around the hill, it could be seen as a reason to violate the terms of their bet. Instead, General Death choose to turn his mech directly in to the path of the charging MadCat and unleash everything he had left. When the dust settled, the MadCat had overheated and what was left of its engine had shutdown. General Death had won the day. But would the Clan’s honor their commander’s bet?

With the battle over, General Death ordered the 3rd RCT to start their landings and assist in securing the world. While the 3rd RCT was gathering up resources, a massive fleet of DCMS jumpships and dropships arrived in system to start the evacuations while the Hurricane Legion gave cover. While stories, of the battle for the world reached Trade Wind, he was not present to witness the battle. Instead he along with many new recruits were stationed at check points to protect the coming evacuation. However he suspected that what was reported was not what really happened. According the General Death’s official report, after the battle, the Clan Warriors refused to accept the terms of General Death’s bet and attacked with all their might. After a brutal battle, the Death’s Brigade were able to drive back the Clan warriors. Shortly after the battle, with help from General Macko’s 3rd RCT, the remaining Clan warriors were hunted down and destroyed.

While General Death reported no Clan warriors survived the battle, Trade Wind was unable to confirm this fact. He reported back to Lyran Intelligence that this was another attempt by the Legion to deceive the LCAF. Trade Wind did discover that a pair of Clan dropships accompanied Death’s Brigade from Nykvarn. However they did not follow the unit back to Combine space. The spy was unable to identify where the jumpship carrying the ships went but suspected that they returned to New Earth. According to his agreement with both the DCMS and the AFFC, General Death handed over the salvaged remains of ruined clan mechs. Massive hordes of data were handed over to the two Inner Sphere powers. But General Death made a huge inroad in securing the trust and respect of the DCMS.

General Death ensured that his units secured the military factories on Nykvarn so that when the DCMS showed up, they could gather everything they could from the factories. The move ensured that General Death would not be questioned about the other resources that he had taken from the Clan held world. With time pressing, General Death and his Combine allies completed their operations only days before Clan Smoke Jaguars arrived to secure the world once more. It was be the last time the world would change hands till the end of the war. In a show of thanks, the DCMS made no comment about the tons of profit that the Hurricane Legion had stolen from Nykvarn.

Following the stolen loot from the Nykvarm Raid, the Lyran Intelligence followed the path straight back to the New Earth central government. While the proceeds of the raid were smuggled back to New Earth a pair of dropships were observed landing at a secured Quantum Technology location on the continent of Cancer. Operation Storm Chaser managed to identify a large number of techs and warriors that were presumed to be former members of Clan Ghost Bear. Storm Chaser agents were able to follow the movements of these people and found that within weeks of their arrival on New Earth they were brought in small teams to the New Earth Defense Command headquarters on Aries. Which had been at one time the headquarters of the Star League Defense Force.

As Storm Chasers continued their investigations a strong link between The Skye Separatists Movement. New Earth took these stolen gems and sold them through black market deals to fund many of its most secret projects that they didn’t want on official books. However in selling these gems as Storm Chasers were watching, they allowed the Storm Chasers to observe links New Earth had with the terrorist organization. Thanks to the stolen gems from Nykvarn, operatives were able to identify Corporations across the entire Skye March that were linked to the terrorist movement. While the entire investigation would take much of the 3050’s to uncover, it would ultimately be devastating to the terrorist organization. This realization would take on a life of its own and eventually over shadow the original mission of the Storm Chasers.

As the Clan Invasion was taking its toll on the Inner Sphere, New Earth started development on a new concept fighter called the DarkWing. A warship/aerospace fighter hybrid. It was assumed that New Earth used funds stolen from Nykvarm to help fund this secret project being carried out by Harthford Construction. NEAT presented its Raptor LAM for field testing while CyberDrone continued to construct its massive sensor network to protect New Earth from Invaders. Despite requests to use the NEWS Bismarck, the New Earth central Government kept the repaired warship close to its Harbor Prime shipyards and used it to train new crews. The Bismarck would provide vital protection to the NEWS Enterprise, New Earth’s first Aegis II class warship under construction.

Warnings of what was going on New Earth were issued by those within Operation Storm Chaser however those warnings would be dismissed. Unknown to everyone outside of the inner most circles, sometime during the 3030’s General Death and other leaders of New Earth and the Hurricane Legion were invited to an ultra-secret meeting where they had assured New Earth’s loyalty to the Archon-Designates rule. In this meeting Jake Death and the leadership of the Hurricane Legion confided a deep dark secret unto the Archon-Designates. It was because of this meeting that these warnings were dismissed. Despite this meeting, the Archon-Designates did dispatch one of her closest and most trusted spies to ensure that Jake Death and his officers would keep their promise. These facts would remain unknown to all but a very few till after her death in 3055.

Some leaders within the Lyran Intelligence unofficially continued Operation Storm Chaser despite orders to reallocate the operatives to deal with the greater Clan threat. Several more operatives were sent to New Earth, in violation of orders, to dig deeper in to Karen Tetsuhara-Death’s growing technological empire. This renewed push was so secret that only a few officers within the Lyran Intelligence community as well as the Lyran Armed Forces were aware of it. Of them, Nondi Stainer was one of those selected few. Convinced that Jake Death had somehow managed to fool her niece the Archon-Designates, Nondi Stainer agreed to protect the Throne by keeping this operation a secret.

During the battle for Luthien, the Hurricane Legion was sent with other members of the AFFC Mercenary Command. While the Hurricane Legion would not be part of the entire battle due to combat losses, they would be deceive in the parts that they did take part in. During the battle, our operative Trade Wind was able to report that the Hurricane Legion had detailed information regarding the invasion of Luthien that other commanders were not privy to. As a result of this information, a large number of Clan techs were easily captured during a deep behind the lines raid conducted by a group of Pathfinders under the escort by units from the 3rd Hurricane RCT.

This raid targeted a number of rear staging areas. The Pathfinder unit would move in to position and capture Clan techs as they went about their daily business because this kind of raid was not considered honorable, the Clan invaders didn’t protect against it. It would be a lesson that the Pathfinders would teach their Clan counterparts. Along with valuable techs, members of the Pathfinders also captured a number of valuable Clan repair parts loaded up for use at forward bases. Nothing regarding these raids were reported by the Legion Commanders. During the chaos of the battle the techs and the repair parts were smuggled off world by the Legion and shipped back to New Earth under tight security. It was because of this information, members of Lyran Intelligences suspect that Trade Wind was exposed and murdered by either members of the Pathfinders or WindTalkers. It would be the last report Trade Wind would file.

As the battle continued to play, two combat Brigades of the 1st Hurricane RCT as well as the one combat Brigade of the 3rd Hurricane RCT hammered away at the Smoke Jaguars. During the heat of the battle Hurricane forces were able to captured one of Smoke Jaguars forward landing sites. The capture of the site was a major slap in the face of Clan Smoke Jaguar as the Legion made off with two Clan dropships before the Jaguars could recapture the site. Just over half way through the battle, the Hurricane Legion has been badly mulled at the hands of the Jaguars. For all that they took, the Hurricane Legion gave a solid showing while fighting next to much more famous mercenary units. The Battle of Luthien would earn the Hurricane Legion a reputation that many units would die for.

Despite losing a large number of Mechs, tanks and other equipment on the battlefield, General King’s genius showed through. After the 3039 War, one of the programs that she and General Macko started was the Combat Rescue and Recovery Teams or CRR Teams. These teams were a highly trained mix of pilots, Special Forces and combat medics. The CRR teams used fast, heavily armored but weaponless VTOL’s called DustOff’s to move about the battlefield. Using their DustOff’s they would zip around the battlefield and quickly recovered wounded warriors from both sides before they could succumb to their wounds. These brave men and women would often move in to a combat zone even before the shooting had stopped to pluck wounded warriors from burning Mechs and Tanks. Actions like this was the reason why those within this voluntary unit were called Crazy to the Extreme.

It was directly due to the CRR Teams that the Hurricane Legion would suffer only a fraction of actually combat losses. When looking at the battle reported numbers, the Hurricane Legion suffered nearly seventy percent combat losses. However when looking at actual lives lost during battle, this number is dropped to below twenty percent. Many casualties suffered during the battle would ultimately survive their wounds. This allowed the Hurricane Legion to reach full strength in a much shorter time period. This was all due to the brave men and women of the CRR Teams.

Also, the CRR Teams allowed the Hurricane Legion to take a much higher number of Clan warriors as bondsmen. However this fact would remain a secret till well after the war. Due to the chaos of the battle and the death of Trade Wind, Lyran Intelligence was virtually blind to what was going within the Hurricane Legion on Luthien. When a number of these warriors made their showing, their origins were traced back to this battle. It was assumed that these warriors were smuggled off of Luthien disguised as wounded Hurricane warriors.

Just over half way through the fighting on Luthien, General Death had little choice but to inform his commanders that the Hurricane Legion was spent. Despite the lives saved, the Hurricane Legion had little left to throw at the two Clans. With Colonel Morgan Kell's gratitude (whom the Hurricane Legion had been under the command of), the Hurricane Legion executed a moving action and withdrew from the battle. The surviving units of the Hurricane Legion task force returned to New Earth as heroes. As they returned home, it was clear that they had been battered. These warriors had been tested in ways they never dreamed of. More than that, the Hurricane Legion had grown from these battles. Despite what they had sacrificed up to this point, history was about to call upon the Hurricane Legion once more.

Operatives back on New Earth learned that once General Death returned to New Earth, he and President Bailey were both called in to a secret meeting with a group of Precentors from Comstar. While these meetings were largely secret, it was evident that a major operation was in the works. General Death sent a message to all of his Hurricane units. He ordered each of his units to prepare for departure. To our operatives' surprise, not one unit commanders offered question or concern as they carried out the General's orders. Equipment and personal were taken from New Earth Defense Force units to bolster Hurricane Units back up to full strengths. This was done at the full approval of President Bailey and the New Earth Congress.

More surprising, the coming days saw new equipment starting to flow in to New Earth from origins unknown. A number of jumpships arrived at pirate points and just started to off load equipment. Nondi Stainer and her fellow observers followed these events closely as factories across New Earth were pressing out last minute constructions. Even the NEWS Bismarck was made ready for deployment. New jumpships with New Earth markings showed up in system to make up for where New Earth’s Navy fell short. Even the incomplete NEWS Enterprise was pressed in to service. While much of her massive ship weapons were missing and the rest not completely installed, she did have a functioning K-F Drive and docking collars. The massive incomplete warship joined the Bismarck as well as other Hurricane Jumpships to form the massive fleet.

By surprising effort, within one week the Hurricane Legion was ready to deploy once more. With dropships forming on their jumpships, four complete RCT's and Jake Death’s own Death’ Brigade, New Earth’s own OpFor and support units were ready for the massive deployment. It would be the largest action that the Hurricane Legion would ever take part in off of New Earth. Only a very few were gifted with the knowledge to know what was really going on. That the Hurricane Legion was called upon to support Comstar's very own ComGuards on a largely unheard of world called Tukayyid.

As dropships were linking up to their jumpships, a complete and strict communication blackout was ordered. As the fleet jumped, General Death finally addressed his senior officers. He spoke with them frankly and boldly explaining what was going on. Who they would be fighting side by side with and most importantly what was at stake. If they lost this battle, than Earth would be granted to the Clans and the heart of the Inner Sphere would collapse. It would only be a matter of time before the Clan’s turned their attention towards New Earth.

General Death held meetings with his commanders and laid out the overall plan of the coming battle. Once more, the Hurricane Legion was going to face off with the very best that Clan Smoke Jaguar had to offer. More than that, they would also have to battle with the best of the Clan Nova Cat. Because of what was at stake, General Death decided to not hold back any unit. To prepare for this coming battle, he divided his units up in to two separate Field Armies.

The First Army would be centered on the elite skills and abilities of the 1st Hurricane RCT as well as his own Death’s Brigade and the elite New Earth OpFor. These units would be able to protect the less experienced 4th Hurricane RCTs. His intention was to use the 1st RCT and the two separate brigades as hammers and allow the 4th to act as sweep while the rest of the First Army would continue to press the fight. Also, the important role of flank defender would fall upon the 4th RCT as well. He told his officers that the First Army would join the battle against the Smoke Jaguars.

The Second Field Army would be centered on the battle hardened and proven warriors of the elite 3rd Hurricane RCT, the 2nd Hurricane RCT and two combat bridges from New Earth’s own home guard. He placed Major General Macko in overall command of the Second Army. Because of the nature of the coming battle being carried out in a wave fashion, General Death knew that he could shift his forces during the battle. He needed to be mindful of deploying the Second Army too soon before the Nova Cat wave started. He was hoping of holding the Second Field Army back to ensure that they entered the battle fresh. General Death also was counting on the fact that he could switch his First Army to support the Second Field Army once the Jaguar threat was eliminated.

After their last jump in to the Tukayyid System, General Death addressed all of his troops. Being the great inspirational speaker that he was known for, General Death motivated his troops as he explained to them what was going on. He made it clear that there would be no hidden agendas or plots involved in this battle. He told his troops how Tukayyid would be a battle for the survival of the Inner Sphere as a whole. He warned his troops that the Smoke Jaguars would be looking for revenge for Luthien. He promised that in the coming battle, that the name Hurricane Legion would become a common household name.

General Death informed his officers and troops that this would become their finest hours. Filled with humility, General Death informed his officers and soldiers that he couldn’t have asked for a better collection of soldiers and officers to face this moment of history with. He thanked all of them for sharing this moment in history with him. Never before, would the Hurricane Legion go in to battle with such a high level of moral.
Akirapryde2006
08/11/15 09:18 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Eight: The Battle of Tukayyid

The opening shots fired during the war came when elements of the 4th Hurricane RCT squared off against the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons and the Jaguar Grenadiers deep in the Dinju Mountains. The two Jaguars units conduct a combat drop nearly on top of the 3/4th (spoken as third Combat Brigade of the 4th Hurricane RCT or Third of the Forth) Combat Brigade. General Death had placed the 3/4th Brigade with the intention of denying the Jaguars the best possible landing site. Hoping that this would set the tempo for the rest of the battle, the Jaguars had hoped for a quick and decisive victory against the mercenary unit. However the Jaguars had overestimated their chances over 3/4th.

For the Jaguars, the 3/4th had to be removed so that they could move upon their objectives with greater ease. However this battle would prove to be much more than the Jaguars had planned for. The 3/4th put up a stiff resistance against the might of both the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons and the Jaguar Grenadiers. The initial Jaguar attack splintered the 3/4th Combat Brigade and forced them to the southernmost edges of the battlefield. Brigadier General Iain Nikula was able to organize his unit and push back. He shifted his own field guns to nearby ruins and used them to limit the angles of attack the Jaguars could take against the Brigade.

To buy his unit time to reform, General Nikula also called in heavy air support to keep the Jaguars off balance. With covering fire raining down on the Clan units, it didn't take long for the 3/4th Brigade to regroup. And just in time as the Jaguars’ Alpha Galaxy were landing at their secondary landing site. They had to relocate due to the refusal of the 3/4th to yield the battlefield. The change in landing sites forced Alpha Galaxy further away from their objective.

While the battle raged between the 3/4th Brigade and the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons and the Jaguar Grenadiers, Alpha Galaxy were forming up. Already facing a disgraceful landing, Jaguar Khan Lincoln Osis was determined to make the mercenaries pay for the disgrace. General Nikula saw the coming changing tides and choose to live and fight another day. Before Khan Osis could get his Alpha Galaxy in to battle, the 3/4th conducted a movement action under heavy fighter and artillery support. Khan Osis could have pressed the attack through the wall of cover fire. However he choose to allow the 3/4th to withdraw from the battlefield. A choice that would later cost the Jaguars dearly.

While the Jaguars’ Alpha Galaxy won the field, they lost the battle due to time it took them to secure the area from the 3/4th Brigade. Not only did the 3/4th delay the Jaguars deployments in the Dinju Mountains they also forced the Smoke Jaguars to engage this battle on General Death’s terms. The move bought the rest of General Death’s forces time to prepare for the coming battle. However the war was far from over and the Jaguars were just getting their momentum, and Beta Galaxy was just hitting the battlefield.

saKhan Sarah Weaver led her 267th Battle Cluster ahead of the elite Beta Galaxy through the Racice River Delta. Unknown to the Jaguars, General Death had elements of his elite 1st Hurricane lying in wait for the elite warriors of Beta Galaxy. As elements of the elite 1st Hurricane RCT were hiding like snakes waiting to strike, they allowed their pray close on their positions. Facing the same kind of swampy mess that they dealt with on Wolcott, saKhan Sarah Weaver had her units moved forward with caution. It would not be enough to save Beta Galaxy from the trap that they had already walked right in to. With some Jaguar Omnimechs moving within meters of concealed Thunder RCT Mechs, the trap proved the metal of the elite Hurricane unit.

Well after the 267th Cluster moved past the 1st Hurricane RCT positions and the full Beta Galaxy were in the middle of the trap area, General Death unleashed his trap. As massive mech size rounds from Hurricane Field Artillery units rained on the target area, Mechs from the elite 1st Hurricane RCT opened fired at near point blank ranges on the Omnimechs of the Beta Galaxy. The act caught the Jaguars completely by surprise, sending them in to chaos. To add to the confusion, death rained in from the sky as Hurricane close air support ripped Omnimechs to shreds. However the true target of his trap was not Beta Galaxy. They were just the beat for General Death’s true target.

As the Beta Galaxy were fighting for their lives, saKhan Weaver turned her 267th Cluster around to attempt to render aide to her besieged Beta Galaxy. In doing so, she unknowingly gave her exposed rear flanks to General Death’s last two units to take to the field. Just as her own unit was closing carnage that had become the Racice River Delta, General Death ordered his own Death’s Brigade and OpFor in to the battle. The two Hurricane units slammed in to the rear flanks of the 267th with such force that saKhan Weaver had to give up her plans to rescue her Beta Galaxy. Within hours, the Jaguars lines had disintegrated.

Caught in the middle of a close range bloodbath, the Beta Galaxy was trapped with little hope of escape on their own. For saKhan Weaver’s own 267th, they were caught in a deadly crossfire that they couldn’t get out from under. Using his non-traditional tactics and artillery, the Jaguars were being chewed up. If a Clan unit managed to escape the death trap, it was hunted down and killed by Hurricane Hunter VTOL’s. General Death ensured that even in escape, death was waiting for the Jaguars. The Jaguars’ march for Port Racice had been halted as a battle for sheer survival took hold of the Jaguar warriors.

During the battle, 2nd Lt Markus Brown found a lone Masakari (Clan Name: Warhawk) cut off from the battle. He maneuvered his Raptor LAM in to position and using Clan honor he called the pilot out for a personal duel. Lt Brown knew all too well who he was challenging. The pilot of the Warhawk was none other than saKhan Weaver. Prior to this moment, close-in Air Support had already taken a number of shots at the Warhawk forcing the mech to become separated from the rest of the unit. Cut off from the battle made saKhan Weaver a prime target for the brash highly skilled LAM pilot. Even though his LAM was outweighed by the Warhawk over nearly thirty tons, Lt. Brown was confident that he was the better of the two pilots. saKhan Weaver was hardly concerned about this strange LAM. She laughed at the challenge.

The saKhan Weaver replied with a pair of PPC's that Lt. Brown narrowly avoided. Brown used the speed of his LAM to keep the Warhawk slugging through the mud of the Delta. The HVFSDS Autocannon scored solid hits on the assault Omnimechs but didn’t penetrate the thick armor of the mech. Despite Weaver’s skills and the fact that her mech outclassed the little LAM, Brown used the trees and his own speed to make scoring hits much harder. As the personal duel ran its course, Brown continued to draw Weaver further and further from the main battle. Beyond Weaver’s sensors, Pathfinders were moving in to position. They were waiting for Brown’s orders to strike. Unknown to Weaver, this was all part of General Death’s larger plan.

General Death had a clear understanding of Clan leadership and military command structure on the battlefield. Removing both Clan leaders was more of strategic goal rather than a tactical goal. However removing both Clan during the height of the battle would be a blow that would be hard for the Jaguars to bounce back from. He was hoping to create confusion within the ranks of the Jaguars by taking out key commanders. To this end, he had created a group of teams that he called Hunter/Killer teams. Their mission were to single out key leaders, lure them from the main battle and assassinate them. saKhan Weaver was high up on a very well researched hit list.

However, Brown had always had issues with following orders to the letter. For his credit, Brown was not a fan of the plan. Brown cited that such actions would be seen as dishonorable in the eyes of the Clans. Before the battle of Tukayyid began, Brown went to his Commander and pitched a different idea. One more in line with Clan Honor and could serve to rally Hurricane troops. Brown argued that by honoring Clan tradition and fighting their leaders on an even field, it would forever shatter the assumption that the Clans are better than Inner Sphere pilots. General Death wasn’t as confident as the Commander of his Recon Unit, but he trusted in his pilot. General Death agreed to allow Brown to execute his plan and maintain the Hunter/Killer plan as a backup. General Death warned that Jaguar commanders would not be allowed to leave Tukayyid alive.

Far from the scene where Beta Galaxy were fighting for their lives, another life or death battle was taking place. Brown had spent days studying battle vids of saKhan Weaver taken throughout the past two years. He studied as much about her as possible. Thanks to intelligence provided by Comstar, he was able to follow career starting when she was the head of the Elite Shroud Keshik and then 362nd Assault Cluster. Brown found it strange that she had missed the critical Battle of Luthien and assumed the reason why she missed the battle had to do with political reason. Which meant that she had much to gain and loose on Tukayyid. He counted on this to help be a decisive factor in the coming battle. For Brown, Weaver wasn’t hard on the eyes either. This was another reason why he couldn’t go along with her assassination. This along with his arrogance almost cost the Hurricane Legion the battle of Racice River Delta.

For much of the battle, Brown push the speed and mobility of his mech to its limits. He continued to lead the Warhawk further from the rest of the embattled 267th Cluster. To this moment, he had been able to avoid taking much damage from the much larger Omnimech. His own HVFSDS Autocannon was starting to take its toll on the heavier Warhawk. Weaver much like General Death understood combat and bid her time. While Brown was leading her further away from the battle, she knew that he was running out of time. She only needed one solid hit to cripple his LAM and the battle was over. For all of his arrogance and ego, Lt. Markus Brown was most likely one of the best overall pilots the Hurricane Legion had to offer. It was his pure skills that were able to keep his LAM in the fight longer than anyone else could have.

Using the Delta to slow down Warhawk even further, Brown ensured that the odds would remain in his favor. Both pilots bid their time wisely during the battle while waiting for just the right moment to end the battle. However, Weaver was starting to have a new problem. Her heavy use of energy weapons was pressing her Omnimech’s engine in to critical ranges. While the Hurricane LAM was running cold. In an attempt to cool her mech, Weaver tried to hold off on her heavier energy weapons. The move signaled to Brown to press his advantage. He out maneuvered the Warhawk and got behind Weaver’s mech. It was right where Weaver wanted him.

As Brown maneuvered behind Weaver for the kill, Weaver flipped her Omnimech’s around to level a pair of Clan ER PPC’s at Brown’s LAM. Brown’s arrogance was about to cost him his life. Firing at near point blank range, Brown unleashed everything his mech had. Weaver nailed Brown’s mech with one PPC blast while the other ripped over the LAM’s shoulder. Brown’s autocannon, the other hand, ripped through the remaining rear armor of the Warhawk. The damaged exposed Weaver’s engine and Brown took full advantage of the exposed damage. He fired his Shape Charged Missiles in to the large engine causing it to go critical. Weaver was blown from her by the auto-ejection system.

No one knows why her ejection system failed, but her chute didn’t open. The landing caused her to be knocked unconscious when her pilot’s chair landed in the deep muddy water of the delta. It was the keen eye of a CRR team that saw the chair being bolted from the stricken Warhawk that saved Weaver’s life. The team’s VTOL quickly zipped low around the battlefield rushing to where they saw the chair going down. With life in the balance, a CRR Medic leaped from the VTOL in to the deep water and found the command chair. After cutting Weaver from her chair, he brought her back to the surface. After a few moments of CPR, the second ranking officer of the Jaguars was saved. Unknown to anyone, she was recovered by the CRR team and taken to a forward MASH station.

With the mistaken reports of saKhan Weaver death, Death gave the order to have the 1st Hurricane RCT to push their advantage. During the battle, the Beta Galaxy had been pushing hard through the Delta in an attempt to relieve their embattled saKhan and the 267th Cluster. However the 1st Hurricane RCT was not about to let Beta Galaxy out of their trap. Major General Jason Night, Commander of the 1st Hurricane RCT ordered his artillery and close-in air support to press the attack while his Combat Brigades pressed Beta Galaxy in to a log jam. This move removed Beta Galaxy’s ability to maneuver and made them easy picking for Hurricane artillery units.

267th Cluster was in the middle of its own fight for survival. Even though they were outnumbered nearly two to one, the 267th fought with all the honor and courage that the Clans were known for. Their brave stand was nothing short of inspiring. As Hurricane Artillery rained down around them, they never broke ranks as they were pressed further away from Beta Galaxy. But for the 267th, this battle was more than just a battle, it was for survival. In the end, no amount of courage or honor could save the unit. With losses mounting under the assault from Death’s Brigade on their right flank and OpFor on their left flank their lines final broke. Of the entire unit, only a hand full of elementals and Omnimechs managed to escape the slaughter.

A fate that was about to be leveled on Beta Galaxy. During the battle, General Night was able to maneuver his 2/1st Combat Brigade around to the rear flank of Beta Galaxy and cut them off from retreat. The trap was now sealed and the Jaguars had nowhere to go. Being attacked on three sides and the deeper regions of the delta on the forth, it was clear that Beta Galaxy was lost. Despite being ordered to withdraw by ilKhan Ulric Kerensky, Beta Galaxy couldn’t break out of the trap. By the end of the second night, the Galaxy had been cut down to nearly thirty percent. Under the cover of night, they attempted to break out back to their dropships.

However General Night had expected this and made plans to oppose Beta Galaxy from being able to withdraw from the trap. Instead of having the two elite units, Death’s Brigade and OpFor, joining the battle once the 267th Cluster was defeated. He positioned Death’ Brigade and OpFor directly behind the 1st’s lines along the route that Beta Galaxy would have to take to get to their dropships. General Night’s plan was to ensure that if Beta Galaxy broke out, they would run right in to the two Brigades behind his lines. General Night waited for the break out he knew was coming. Once he got word from his forward scouts that Beta Galaxy was on the move, he ordered all of his units to launch their counter attack at once.

Galaxy Commander Mikhail Ward led his Galaxy through the lines of 1st RCT with courage of a true leader. Just as they were able to see light at the end of the tunnel, Beta Galaxy ran right in to Death’s Brigade and OpFor. Caught once more in the middle of a nasty crossfire, Beta Galaxy was forced to push through. Within hours, Beta Galaxy final fought their way through the lines. They had to conduct a fighting retreat while General Night pressed the beaten unit. For General Night, it was not enough to just force the retreat. He wanted Beta Galaxy surely defeated beyond all doubt. Using his artillery, General Night placed a wave of shells behind Beta Galaxy forcing them to slow their retreat. As the survivors of Beta Galaxy managed to board their dropships under enemy fire, there was no doubting that they had lost the battle for Port Racice.

While Beta Galaxy was dealing with their death trap. The Jaguar's Alpha Galaxy didn't hold up much better. Hoping to regain their lost momentum from their first engagement with the Hurricane Legion. Khan Lincoln Osis led his forces down towards the city of Dinju Heights through the Dinju Pass. Major General Melissa Nelson, Commander of the 4th Hurricane RCT, ordered her 1/4th and 2/4th Combat Brigades to take up positions within the Dinju Pass. The pass made for a perfect location to make full advantage of her infantry and armor units.

Thanks to the efforts of Brigadier General Iain Nikula and his brave 3/4th Combat Brigade, Alpha Galaxy's advance in to the pass was delayed. Thanks to that delay, the remaining two Combat Brigades valuable time to dig in. They also planted mines throughout the pass, but General Nelson did the unthinkable. Not only did she mine the approaches to the pass that the Jaguars were going to take, she also mined the passages past her own lines. This ensured that her unit would have no possible path to retreat down. She made clear that her unit knew that this was a stand or die situation. Her words echoed for her RCT, “Not one Clanner could be allowed through the pass.”

The Dinju Pass was meant to be a death trap for the Jaguars however it would become a death trap for both sides. General Nelson tasked Brigadier General Gratia Doherty, command of her Headquarters and Headquarters Brigade, to hold the exit of the Pass at all costs. General Doherty and his leadership would prove to save the day for the 4th RCT and their mission. As the 3/4th Combat Brigade were in the middle of their retreat in to the Pass, the Jaguars were only minutes behind the Brigade. General Nelson moved her headquarters to co-locate with the 3/4th. General Nelson and her command battalion in to the Pass and linked up with the 3/4th in the heart of the Pass.

As the Jaguars entered the Pass, she ordered her units to start Artillery barrages. She commanded the artillery units assigned to the 3/4th to continue through the pass with the rest of the support units. The artillery units were ordered to set up on the far side of the pass and start operations. She ordered the rest of the 3/4th to dig in and set up defensive lines. The skill of New Earth Artillery was already a well-known fact to the Jaguars. Using their speed to push through the kill zones of the Artillery, the Jaguars stormed through the pass. While the mines were problematic to the Clans, they hardly slowed the Galaxy down. Alpha Galaxy slammed in the front lines of the 3/4th with such force that the lines started to buckled.

Battered from their first engagement with the Jaguars already, General Nelson knew that the 3/4th wouldn’t hold up long under this pressure. Leading from the front, General Nelson inspired her troops to hold the line long enough. All she needed was for the 3/4th to act as a speed bump while the other units of the 4th RCT lunched their counter attack. By leading from the front, General Nelson was able to keep 3/4th lines from splintering. She called in Close-In air support, however Khan Lincoln Osis had already prepared for this. He had ordered some of his Galaxy to fit their Omnimechs with anti-air weapons. Hurricane conventional fighter were cut down as they streaked in on their strafing runs. But enough of them got strong hits to slow the Jaguars down.

As the Jaguar’s advance started to punch through the lines of the 3/4th, Armor and Infantry units along the walls and cliffs continued to the fired down on Jaguar mechs while the 3/4th were struggling to hold together. It was at this critical time that General Nelson issued her order. She executed a very risky maneuver that would spilt the 3/4th and allowed the Jaguars to divide the unit. General Nelson was hoping that the Jaguars lust for victory would overrule their desires to finish the 3/4th off. With heavy support fire from the cliffs above, she opened up the pass and exposed her own flanks. The Jaguars wouldn’t be denied victory as they brushed aside the 3/4th and pushed for the exit of the pass.

As Alpha Galaxy made their way through the pass, Nelson’s field guns mounted on the cliffs offered as much protection for the exposed flanks of the 3/4th while VTOL’s firing from the cover of the ridges continued to soften the Jaguar lines up even more. As more Jaguar mechs entered the cross hairs of her field guns, Nelson ordered them to keep firing. As the death rained in from above, Nelson ordered her supply teams to move more ammo to the field guns to ensure that they kept firing. The salvos continued without mercy, twelve more clan Omnimechs were blasted from the battlefield.

Jaguars Elementals attempted to clear the walls of the Pass but Nelson had mined the approaches to protect her units along the cliffs. This made reaching her support units harder. However the determined Elementals broke through and death was coming for this hated Artillery units. Remembering the impact that Hurricane Artillery played on Luthien, a group of Jaguar elementals pushed through the mines and defense lines as they forced their way through the cliffs. Driven by rage at the gun crews that were inflicting heavy losses on their fellow warriors below, the elementals breached the infantry lines protecting the gun crews.

Once the gun crews were in their sights, the elementals inflicted grave losses on the helpless gun crews. The 10th and 32nd Field Artillery Battalions was nearly completely slaughtered at the hands of the Jaguar Elementals. The 10th Field Artillery Battalion never had a chance to report the attack on them. Thus the 32nd Field Artillery Battalion was unaware of the danger that was almost upon them. The fog of war had left the men and women of the 32nd exposed. In light of the brutal attack against her gun crews and knowing that she couldn't protect them from similar attacks, Major General Nelson ordered the remainder of her gun crews to abandon their positions.

Beyond the artillery positions were the support units of the 4th RCT. Between life blood of the RCT and the enraged elementals was the 101st Pathfinder Company. As members of the retreating artillery notified the Pathfinder Company of what was going on, the grave situation became clear. If the RCT was to survive this battle, it was up to the 101st. They quickly prepare a defensive line in the rugged cliffs of the pass. When the two units joined battle, it was the 101st that would win the day. With the flank of the RCT secured, General Nelson was able to refocus her efforts on stopping the Jaguar thrust.

Something that Khan Osis had failed to realize was that Nelson had held back three of her four Battlemech Battalions. She allowed her command elements to fill in the lines while her armor and infantry held the line. With the Jaguars’ Omnimechs heavily damaged from pushing through the lines, the bulk of her fresh Battlemechs were for the fight. General Nelson finally allowed the Jaguars to push through the lines. Tasting victory finally, the Jaguars ran headlong in to Nelson’s second line of mines further damaging their Omnimechs. Once on the other side of the minefield, Alpha Galaxy slammed in to Nelson’s Headquarters Brigade and three fresh Battlemech battalions. The counter attack hit the clan lines like a one two punch stopping them cold. The daring move paid off with the Jaguars being stopped cold.

During the final hours of the battle of the pass, Khan Osis had noted a VTOL landing just beyond the battlefield next to a burning Shadowhawk. Noting the Red Cross on a White Field, he targeted the VTOL out of spite for the Mercenary unit that had cost him his victory. The blast from Khan Osis’ Omnimech blasted the VTOL from the battlefield before it ever had a chance to react to the coming attack. Watching the senseless death of the CRR team enraged the soldiers of the 4th RCT. This single action surged through the unit pressing the Alpha Galaxy back up against the reformed lines of the 3/4th Combat Bridge. The battle raged in to the night and it wasn’t long before the report of Khan Osis’ death was being issued.

With both of their leaders missing or reported dead and the orders of the ilKhan to retreat, the Jaguars were routed and in full retreat. As with the struggle of Beta Galaxy, Alpha Galaxy was fairing no better trying to retreat from the box that they had been forced in to. Counting on the Jaguars’ aggressive nature to push through, both General Nelson and General Night ensured that the Jaguars would be able to make some progress only to work themselves in to a trap that they would have to fight to get out of. It wasn’t enough to beat the Jaguars, but to prove a point to the entire Inner Sphere. This single battle was going to thrust the Hurricane Legion in to the same status as great mercenary units like Wolf’s Dragoons and Kell Hounds. Both the 1st and the 4th RCT supported by the Death’s Brigade and New Earth’s OpFor drove the Jaguars all the way to their dropships and pressed them off world under fire.

At the end of the battle, Major General Nelson commented that, "This is what happens when Hail rains down. It crushes all in its path." The comment was a play on the 4th Hurricane RCT's nickname Hail RCT. Even though they had secured victory, the loss of life between the two Hurricane RCT’s was great. However again the CRR played a critical role in keeping these number down. Still, both units were almost spent and had little left. But Hurricane’s role during the Battle of Tukayyid was far from over. As the light was fading on the third day, the Nova Cats were just taking to the field.

General Death was not the only one watching Jaguars leave in defeat and shame. Former saKhan Sara Weaver watched from a MASH unit as her Clan dropships departed in shame. A nurse recorded her words, "I had risen to become the second most powerful warrior of my Clan only to end my career as a bondsman. A Bondsman to an Inner Sphere pilot no less. How far has my Clan fallen from grace? How much further will it continue to fall after this disgrace? What does the future hold for me?" saKhan Sara Weaver would join dozens of former Clan warriors as Bondsmen of the Hurricane Legion.

The battle between the Hurricane Legion and the Smoke Jaguars would set the tempo for the overall battle of Tukayyid. The next clan was already making their landings as the Jaguars’ were in the middle of their full retreat. It was time for the experience of the 3rd Hurricane RCT and battle proven Major General Macko to show what they can do against Clan Nova Cats. The task of Second Field Army was to defend the cities of Joje and Tost against the Nova Cats. Facing General Macko’s Second Field Army was the Nova Cat’s Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Galaxies. Under General Macko’s command was the veteran 3rd Hurricane RCT, the 2nd Hurricane RCT and 1/6th and the 2/6th Combat Brigades from New Earth’s Home Defenders RCT.

Both sides had already taken lessons from the defeat of the Jaguars’. For the Nova Cats, they choose to begin their campaign with a pair of night time combat hover drops on to a secured landing site, instead of fighting over a hot landing zone. General Macko knew that he had to slow down the Cat’s momentum as much as possible. To this end, General Macko lined up his air units in the role of direct harassment. His plan to eat up as much time as possible so his on troops could get ready of the Cat’s arrival.

As Nova Cat dropships started to make their approach, General Macko ordered his Aerospace fighters in to the fight. It would be the single largest aerospace battle of the entire battle. Commander Linna Tetsuhara personally led her 3rd Aerospace Brigade of the 1st Hurricane Aerospace Group against the Nova Cat drop site. The Nova Cats were more than willing to join the Aerospace battle over the skies of Tukayyid. During the nighttime aerial battle, Aerospace Fighters swarmed around the Clan dropships like angry hornets. The battle became so intense that the Cats had to summon in their back up fighters just to keep a window open for their drops. During the height of the aerial battle, over two hundred aerospace fighters filled the skies around the Cats’ dropships.

Commander Tetsuhara made the Cats pay dearly for their choice to hover drops as Nova Cat dropships were blasted from the sky. However with the arrival of more Nova Cat fighters under the command of Star Captain Jackim West, the tide shifted against Tetsuhara's aerospace brigade. In the face of overwhelming fire power, the 3rd Aerospace Brigade were forced to withdraw. However Star Captain West was determined to make the Hurricane fighters pay for their attack. As her battered unit dropped to the deck and fled the superior clan Omnifighters, Tetsuhara turned her modified Stuka around and engaged the clan fighters. A glimpse of what was going through Commander Tetsuhara's mind was recorded in a message to her sister back at a Hurricane Supply Depot.

"Karen, listen I don't have much time. I want you to know that I never wanted to take this adventure with you. I remember our argument that we had back home. You called me out on putting our family’s dishonor ahead of my own chance to gain my own honor. You encouraged me to put that dishonor behind me and live my own life. You were right back then as you are now. I have no regrets Karen. I would not have changed a thing in what we built here together. What we have done together will forever cleans the shame from our family. And forever lift our family back to honor. Thank you... "

It what would be one of the most talked about aerial battles in the entire Inner Sphere, Commander Tetsuhara turned her hundred ton aerospace fighter and climbed for the sky. As her unit fled at low altitudes, Commander Tetsuhara met Captain West’s fighters head on. Before disbelieving eyes of the Nova Cats, Commander Tetsuhara held the Clan fighters at bay long enough for her own unit to flee the battlefield. More than that, she was able to ensure that her unit would be able to continue fighting. As the battle was joined with greater than fifteen to one odds, Commander Tetsuhara’s aerospace fighter vanished from all radars and targeting systems. In disbelief, The Clan aerospace fighters were unable to lock their weapons on her fighter as she zipped through their ranks.

During the battle and before the Nova Cat leaders, she recorded nine confirmed kills against some of their best pilots and was able to drive off ten other fighters. To the awe of the Nova Cats, Commander Tetsuhara's heavily modified Stuka didn't seem to want to fall from the sky. However the battle would have its toll on the mix-blooded Japanese pilot more commonly known as Ronin. She called out to Captain West and daring him to claim the skies from her. Commander Tetsuhara would drop two more Clan fighters, one was Captain West. Nova Cat Khans were already making plans to claim the Inner Sphere pilot’s genetic legacy for their own.

It seemed as if the pilot known as Ronin was through. Her missiles were spent, her weapons damaged, and smoke pouring from her craft. The few remaining Nova Cat pilots moved in for the kill, however Commander Tetsuhara was not finished with the Nova Cats yet. To the astonishment of the Nova Cat pilots Commander Tetsuhara rolled her fighter and moved for another attack. In a clear show of courage and blind devotion to her mission, she lined up her fighter on an Omnifighter that was below her. With no other options, Commander Tetsuhara pushed her Stuka in to a dive while pushing her throttle forward using the remaining of her fuel. While two other Nova Cat fighters tried to line her up on their own sights, Commander Tetsuhara had one last wild card to play.

Burning up the last of her fuel as she activated the afterburners the modified Stuka leaped forward at the Omnifighter below her. It was clear that the Clan pilot knew that death was above him as he fought hard trying to avoid being in Tetsuhara’s sights. However she would not be denied this last kill, Commander Tetsuhara aimed her fighter at the nose of the Jagatai’s cockpit. With the smoke from her burning craft making it harder for the two fighters behind her to score hits, Tetsuhara pressed her attack on the fighter below her. As weapon fire ripped past her cockpit from the two fighters behind her, Commander Tetsuhara’s fighter slammed in to the nose of the Jagatai.

Both fighters disintegrated as they were engulfed by a massive fireball. The remains of Tetsuhara’s fighter would erupt from the other side of the fireball in a twisted mangled burning heap of metal. While the Nova Cat fighter would break up as it fell back to earth. While her Nova Cat victim did not survive the midair collision, Commander Tetsuhara was blasted from the wreckage of her burning Stuka by her auto-ejection system. Commander Tetsuhara's courageous and heroic last stand distracted the Nova Cat pilots long enough for her own Air Brigade to regroup and resume the attack. Looking for revenge, Tetsuhara’s Air Brigade blasted back on to the scene protecting their fallen leader. While the second aerial battle would be far less dramatic, it was not without courage on both sides.

Shock and so deeply impressed by Commander Tetsuhara's actions, the Nova Cats were brought to their feet as the finally moments of the battle unfolded. Khan Benjamin Garr demanded that his elementals, "capture that pilot so that her Giftake can be added to our genetic legacy." A point of Elementals as well as a CRR Team would be dispatched to recover the body of Commander Tetsuhara. It was discovered that Commander Tetsuhara had survived the crash and the following landing. Filled with defiance, she refused to be captured. Commander Tetsuhara put her survival training to the test as the group of Elementals gave pursuit of the downed pilot. It wasn't until the arrival of the CRR team that Commander Tetsuhara was finally rescued and the Elementals were driven back after a fierce but short lived battle.

Rolling forward on his successful raid on the Nova Cat landing site which mulled most of the Nova Cat’s Alpha Galaxy, Major General Macko maneuvered his 3rd Hurricane RCT in to the city of Joje and laid his own trap. Taking all that he had learned from the brutal battle of Dieron, Major General Macko was about to turn the tide on the Nova Cats. However up to date intelligence would prove deceive in this battle. To ensure that he had the most up to date information, he deployed his Pathfinders in shadowing mood. He also deployed his Specters over the battlefield. These two steps kept General Macko ahead of the Nova Cats throughout most of the battle.

However this was not without concern. General Macko had already heard troubling reports of Clan Elementals. Had had faced them on Luthien and had a well-earned respect for them. Now he was getting reports of how Jaguar Elementals nearly cost the First Field Army their lines. He had to take steps to limit the effectiveness of these Elementals. In reaction, he decided not to deploy his infantry independently. Instead he assigned them to closely guard armor and artillery units. He armed them with shaped charged SRMs. He knew that Clan Elemental armor was as thick as Battlemech armor. However once through the armor, the Elementals were still living creatures.

General Macko was counting on the design of the shaped charge warhead. The way it functioned was to penetrate Battlemech armor and damage vital components behind the armor. General Macko was hoping that the same principle would hold true. Penetrate the Elemental armor and kill the Elemental inside. It was his best method of dealing with the Nova Cat’s game changers. More so, he had to protect his armor and artillery from the Clan Elementals if his plan was to survive and be victorious. It was because of this step that General Macko took, Clan Nova Cat would suffer far greater Elemental losses than any other Clan during the entire battle. Less than ten percent of Clan Nova Cat Elementals would leave Tukayyid.

Thanks to his Pathfinders, General Macko realized that the Cats had loaded their Omnimechs with ammo hungry weapons. Acting on this knowledge, he sent his 1/6th and 2/6th Combat Brigades on harassing missions. From his headquarters General Macko coordinated these raids against the twin formations of the Nova Cats as they moved towards their two objectives. His plan was not to draw the two units in to open conflict outside of the cities, instead he wanted to force the Cats to burn up their ammunition before they joined the actually battle. To support these raids, he ordered in his Close-In air support to cover the withdrawing two harassing units. He didn’t want to make the same mistake General Nelson made in burning up her Close-In air support too early in the battle.

While he watched the movement of Alpha and Gamma Galaxies closely as they moved on Joje. He was also very mindful of the wide flanking action that Beta Galaxy was taking towards Tost. General Macko knew that the Cats had range and damage over his own forces. So being caught in an open field battle would be disastrous for his forces. Instead he wanted to lure them in to the cities where he held the upper hand. Here he planned a series of deadly ambushes and was going to use the two cities’ subway tunnels to funnel supplies and troops to where ever the battle demanded it.

The true test of the battle was at hand as the elite Second Nova Cat Guards moved in to the city’s northern suburbs. Major General Macko realized a major change in the Nova Cats tactics. To the Major General's surprise, there were no Nova Cat Elementals present within their leading elements. Major General Macko decided to make them pay for that mistake. Deciding to hold his Mechs back, he ordered his fast armor units forward and harass the leading elements of the Nova Cat's Alpha Galaxy. Enraged by being denied an honorable battle with Mechs, Star Colonel Edward Ryder tried to make the armor unit pay for their attack. The hit and run attacks of Macko’s armor units distracted the leading elements of the Nova Cats long enough for Macko’s VTOL to maneuver in to position.

Using the buildings as cover, Macko’s VTOL’s unleashed deadly volley of shaped charged missiles at the Clan Omnimechs. Between the fast paced armor and the swarming VTOL’s, the Elite Nova Cat Guards were taking heavy losses as they pushed through the suburbs. During this time, Macko ordered his Pathfinders to their secondary objectives. They took to the roofs of buildings and continued to give up to date information of where the Cats were. Macko ordered his armor and VTOL units to withdraw deeper in to the city. The single most important tool Macko employed during the battle was a simple hand cranked field phone called a TA-312.

The Clans had the technological edge and General Macko knew it. Since the beginning of the Nova Cats operations, they did everything possible to jam communications. General Macko had anticipated this and ran hundreds of miles of wire and set up communication sites for his Pathfinders. From their roof top observation points across the battlefield, Pathfinder teams would call in up to date locations of where the Cats were. These reports were received at General Macko’s headquarters by one of many operators. Then these operators would update a large map in General Macko’s situation room. When the Cats unleashed a series of EMP attacks, the lights went out, but thanks to his low tech approach to the battlefield General Macko maintained positive control of his units.

As the casualties of the Hurricane VTOL’s and armor units started to take their toll on the Second Nova Cat Guards, they slowed their advanced and attempted to regroup. However General Macko’s units pushed their advantage causing the Clan lines to become drawn thin. When Star Colonel Ryder’s Omnimech took a critical hit the Second Nova Cats Guards were forced to attempt a withdrawal from the suburbs. This was when General Macko ordered his second wave of VTOL’s and armor units to flank the Second Nova Cats Guards. In open terrain the Omnimechs had the clear advantage. However in city fighting like this, Macko’s armor units supported by his infantry had the clear upper hand. They used the buildings of the city to the fullest potential.

That didn’t mean that Macko’s units didn’t suffer from the conflict. For each Omnimech that succumb in the battle, the 3rd RCT lost four tanks. Despite losses, General Macko and his 3rd RCT were not about to give up their captured pray. It was this willingness to take combat losses that earned General Macko the nickname, ‘Old Blood and Guts’. Despite losses, the end result was the Second Nova Cats Guards were being decimated. But Macko was still holding back his Battlemechs, Close-In air support and artillery. General Macko was attempting to play a long game strategy and his troops would pay the price for this strategy.

With the new wave of armor and VTOL’s outflanking the Second Nova Cat Guards, their fate was sealed. Despite their best efforts to break out of the trap, the Hurricane armor units kept pushing them back. Lacking elemental support, Hurricane infantry moved through the buildings taking cheap shots at wounded Omnimechs. More than a few Omnimechs were found after the battle with their cockpits blown out by man portable Shaped Charged-SRM. The suburbs had become a killing field. A call for support from the rest of the Alpha Galaxy was issued by Star Colonel Ryder. The request placed saKhan Istal Devalis, over all commander of the Nova Cats after Khan Garr was badly injured during their initial landings, in a difficult situation.

saKhan’s Alpha Galaxy were on their way to capturing their first objective by moving clockwise along the edges of the city. To his credit he had skillfully kept his Galaxy away from the hated Hurricane Artillery. However if his Galaxy would shift back on its movements to support the Guards, his Galaxy would be forced to enter the city. His reports indicated that this would place his Galaxy well within range of the Hurricane’s Artillery units. It would become a meat grinder and saKhan Devalis knew it. Against his better judgment, saKhan Devalis turned the Alpha Galaxy towards the city to relieve the Second Nova Cat Guards.

Thanks to reports from his Pathfinders, General Macko observed the Alpha Galaxy slowly closing on the northern suburbs of the city. General Macko bid his time wisely holding his units back till the Cats Alpha Galaxy were committed in the suburbs. With the Second Nova Cat Guards fighting for their lives as beat, General Macko monitored the movements of Alpha Galaxy closely. Even though his armor units were nearly spent he ordered units to hold the line as long as possible. As the Alpha Galaxy closed on the Second Nova Cats Guards, it was finally time for General Macko to unleash his trap.

Macko ordered the massive guns of the 3rd Hurricane Artillery to open up. Within minutes, the ground around Alpha Galaxy erupted in explosions as entire Omnimechs vanished in balls of fire. At the same time, General Macko ordered his Close-In air support to start their runs. As Thunder Chiefs rocked down from the skies as the devastation, Pathfinders used targeting lasers to tag command Omnimechs. The assault was so brutal that saKhan Devalis watched as his unit’s lines actually started to break. Wave after wave of artillery and Close-In air support shattered the Alpha Galaxy’s lines. Unless something was done, Alpha Galaxy was doom. With little choice, saKhan Devalis had to violate his own batchall and call in his own Omnifighters to drive off the conventional fighters of the 3rd Hurricane RCT.

As reports of the coming Omnifighters crossed General Macko’s situation table, he ordered his conventional Fighters to vanish from the skies. Instead of facing off with conventional fighters, the Nova Cat pilots were met by aerospace fighters from the 3rd and 2nd Aerospace Brigades. Vengeance was the order of the day as Hurricane pilots were ready to avenge their fallen leader. Filled with rage and having a chance to channel it, Hurricane pilots pushed their skills and crafts beyond limits. With the odds against the Nova Cats almost four to one, they attempted to flee the battlefield.

Hurricane pilots would not be denied their pound of flesh. They pursued the Clan Omnifighters in to orbit to have their revenge. While Hurricane pilots held the numerical odds, the Clan pilots had technology and skills on their side. Despite losses, Hurricane pilots pressed their attack till not one Nova Cat Omnifighter was left. As the Nova Cat air cover was driven back, the 3rd RCT’s Close-In air support returned to finish off the Alpha Galaxy. To the surprise of most, Major General Macko's plan made it possible for him to deal a massive defeat to the Alpha Galaxy with only minor mech on mech engagements. However his trap wasn’t finished as he still held his Battlemechs in reserve for the knockout blow.

Reports placed Beta Galaxy was within moments of engaging the 2nd RCT within the suburbs of Tost. General Macko ensured that the commanding officers of the 2nd RCT had the most up to date information on the movements of Beta Galaxy. However a troubling report crossed General Macko’s situation table. Reports of a forth Nova Cat Galaxy had been reported in the vicinity of Tost. According to Comstar’s Intelligence only indicated that the Nova Cats would deploy three Galaxies. General Macko wasn’t sure if the Cats had violated their batchall again. The new unit was in position to support Tost or double back and support the assault on Joje. Because of this, he had no choice but to hold back his reserve forces.

With the Second Nova Cat Guards trapped and Alpha Galaxy were forced to retreat from the city's suburbs the situation had turned against saKhan Devalis. saKhan ordered up his reserve Gamma Galaxy to push their way in to the city. Fresh for the fight, Gamma Galaxy started a steady march in to the northern suburbs as Hurricane Artillery slammed down around them. While Beta Galaxy was marching on Tost, the Nova Cat campaign was in full swing. The majority of the 2nd Hurricane Field Army was engaged. However General Macko was still holding back his reserve forces searching for information on that forth Nova Cat Galaxy.

Meanwhile across the battlefield, saKhan Devalis’ Alpha Galaxy shifted to the north of the city in an attempt to flank the Hurricane units. saKhan Devalis’ plans was to pressure the Hurricane units back on themselves. Watching the pincer attack unfolding, General Macko unleashed his hidden Mechs at the twin Nova Cat front within Joje. From their basements and parking garages, Hurricane Battlemechs engaged the Nova Cats at near point blank ranges. The move caught the Nova Cats by surprise and Macko wasn’t finished with his surprises. Even though he wasn’t ready to unleash his reserve forces. He did have something he could unleash.

General Macko ordered his secret weapon to fire. Over a hundred kilometers away a massive boom echoed. Within moments a whole city block erupted in to a massive explosion. The blast occurred far behind Gamma Galaxy’s lines yet was still large enough to cause a handful of Omnimechs to be blown to the ground. The blast’s shockwave was enough to cause the Cats to be tossed in to confusion as they first assumed that they were under orbital bombardment. Their fears would not be far from the truth. General Macko had taken one of the massive Naval Autocannons from the incomplete NEWS Enterprise and mounted it to a pair of Goliaths. Using the large cannon as land based artillery it was General Macko’s plan to crush the Nova Cat’s lines. While the weapon was clever in its deployment, it would ultimately be considered a failure.

Despite orders for more rounds, Macko’s secret weapon wouldn’t fire again. The recoil was so powerful that it shattered the internal structure of both assault class Battlemechs. The weapon came crashing down as it was ripped free from its mount causing serious damage to the weapon and injured several crewmembers. Still the weapon caused chaos and taking full advantage of the chaos, General ordered his front line units forward as reports came in that his 2nd Hurricane RCT was fully engaged with the majority of Beta Galaxy. However none of General Macko’s pathfinders were able to locate that forth mysterious Nova Cat Galaxy.

With reports of both his major commands needing reinforcements, General Macko was pressed to make a decision. He could unleash his reserve units in a spearhead attack that could stop the Cats cold in their advance. However if he committed to this course of action and that forth Galaxy countered attacked then General Macko’s assault and his lines would crumble. General Macko was being pressured by his advisors to counter attack and break the Nova Cat’s offensive. Without word about that mysterious Galaxy, General Macko choose to play it save. He ordered his reserve forces in a purely defensive posture to reinforce his lines. This move would cost him the overwhelming victory but halt his staggering losses.

As Hurricane reserve forces started to reinforce the lines, Both Nova Cat offensives started to stall. But the 2nd Hurricane Field Army was reaching its limits. Despite the fresh forces, time was taking its toll on the Legionaries. Reports of units crumbling under Nova Cat’s offensive, General Macko pressed his transmitters to their limits to reach all of his units. In a short statement General Macko inspired his troops, “This might not be New Earth. But Brothers and Sisters, we are New Earth. New Earth’s blood washed this world’s soul. I am begging you! Allow this to be our finest hour!” It wouldn’t take long for the words of inspiration to take hold.

Within hours, the entire lines were turning in to brutal house to house and even room to room battles. For some Clan units, the prospects of surviving this battle was becoming bleak. Unable to fight their way out and unable to be rescued by the Alpha Galaxy, the survivors of the embattled Second Nova Cat Guards were forced to face their last option, surrender. To the surprise of their Hurricane opponents, Star Colonel Ryder announced their intention of surrender. In that moment, the Clan units closest to their objective vanished from the field of battle.

The loss of the cluster in this manner was a slap to Nova Cat's honor. But Major General Macko was not finished with the Cats, and saKhan Devalis was not to be under estimated. General Macko ordered his units to press their advantage. However the Cats weren’t giving up their hard fought terrain without a struggle. Hurricane Artillery continued to fire at a surprising rate and with much better than average accuracy. Independent embedded correspondents reported that Hurricane batteries had fired so much that their cannon barrels glowed against the night sky. For thirty six hours, the two mighty armies clashed in a battle that would be reported as epic.

A vid would embody the struggle. Taken by a correspondent, it showed a Private First Class Adrian Douglas firing a shoulder fired SRM rocket launcher at an attacking Nova Cat Elemental. The infantry platoon was defending themselves against an attacking wave of Elementals within downtown Tost. The image would show the rocket slamming in to the visor of the Elemental armor and killing the massive being within the armor. The range between the two was so close that it could be caught within on frame of the photographer. The blood covered infantry soldiers of the Hurricane Legion would fend off the Clan attack. This bloody up close and personal style battle would come to signify the kind of combat between Clan Nova Cat and the Hurricane Legion.

General Macko and his forces fought throughout the day, and through the night. They fought nonstop in to the early morning hours as they held the lines against an enemy that had most of the advantages. For all of the battle, saKhan Devalis’ Cats fought with equal courage and honor. The two sides were clearly well matched and fought themselves in to a stalemate. The Second Hurricane Field Army couldn’t push the Nova Cats from the suburbs of either city. Yet for all their skill and technology, the Nova Cats couldn’t press deeper in to either city. Despite no clear victor in sight both sides were more than willing to press the battle further.

Seeing the battle unfolding and knowing that no clear victor was insight, leaders from Comstar and the Clans decided the fate of the battle for General Macko and saKhan Devalis. The battle would be considered a draw between the two heroic armies. The orders to both sides were issued and on the morning of the fourth day of combat both sides withdrew from their lines. The Nova Cat Campaign was over but the wounds on both sides were deep. The Second Hurricane Army lost well over half of its fighting force while the Nova Cats would loss a slightly higher percentage of its warriors.

After the battle, General Macko took a tour of the devastation of Joje. Under guard, General Macko found a burned out wreckage of a King Tank. Siting on the front armor of the burned out tank, General Macko had a run in with saKhan Devalis. The Nova Cat leader walked up to the scene under his own Elemental guard. The meeting was barely a footnote in the history of the Inner Sphere but for General Macko, he claimed that this meeting affected him very deeply. In his autobiography, ‘Under the Crimson Night’ General Macko wrote about his meeting with the Nova Cat leader.

“There I set looking over the ruins of this city. I recall thinking of all those lives that were lost on Tukayyid. All that blood that was on my hand due to my plan. It was a surreal moment. Then without warning I saw the Nova Cat leader walking up with his Elemental guards. After short pleasantries, I offered him a cigar. He had commented about how fine the cigar was and I informed him that the cigar came from my father’s farm back on New Earth. We joked that he was a warrior that spent his whole life training to be the best leader possible and I was but a mere farmer’s son. We talked there under the setting sun. Not as enemies, but just as two people talking.”

“I told him I could not have asked to be here with finer soldiers, on both sides of the battle lines. He agreed and added that my strategies were brilliant. But his one question to me will haunt me. He asked why I held back my counter offensive. I explained why I did what I did, he offered up a vital point of information. The Nova Cats only landed with three Galaxies, and he did not summon up any more forces. The fog of war caused me to be too cautious. I was not bold, I did not force my enemy’s hand. For this, my own soldiers paid the price. A mistake that I will not make again. Next time I will do what I have to do to save lives.”
Akirapryde2006
08/18/15 09:52 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Nine: Rebuilding and The Chaos March and the Lyran Invasion

When the Hurricane Legion returned to New Earth, New Earth welcomed homed their heroes with a major celebration. The March of the Fallen for the returning New Earth warriors was the single largest parade that New Earth had ever seen. Sadly there was such a need for members to march in the place of those who had fallen on Tukayyid that members of New Earth’s Provisional Guards were summoned up to carry out this morbid duty. The actually combat losses were not taken in to account till those silent blacked out warriors were seen in comparison next to those few who had come home. To the shock and horror of those watching the massive parade, the forces of New Earth which had been deployed to Tukayyid had lost over half their numbers.

While the battle of Tukayyid was being planned and fought, the Hurricane Legion and New Earth were rocked by the surprise announcement by President Bailey. After nearly two decades of faithful service to New Earth and its people, President Bailey announced that she would be stepping down as New Earth’s President at the end of the 3052. After enjoying five over whelming victorious planetary elections President Bailey cited her recent cancer diagnosis as reason behind her stepping down from power. For the first time, New Earth would see an open Presidential field during the 3052 elections. Political parties all stepped up efforts to take leadership and governance of New Earth.

During the last months of President Bailey’s presidency she oversaw a number of actions that would help rebuild New Earth’s massive military. She helped push through War Rearmament of 3052 through the New Earth Congress. The new bill allowed for the funds to help train up and rearm the New Earth’s Defense Force, but more importantly the construction of a number of monuments in honor of those who gave their lives. President Bailey over saw the dedication of a monument in honor of those who gave their lives during the Clan Invasion, one for those who had given their lives on Tukayyid. The last major monument which was dedicated during 3052 was in memory of the CRR Team murdered by Smoke Jaguar Khan Lincoln Osis.

Across New Earth there were parades as the warriors of the Legion were welcomed to their home towns as heroes. It wasn’t long before the heroes joined the families of those who didn’t come home to mourn. The months following this major and historical battle would see much mourning across New Earth. Unlike New Earth who had been abandon so many times before, the families who lost loved ones due to the Clan Invasion were not left alone to mourn. The communities banded together as everyone helped to comfort each other. This sense of comfort crossed social and religious bounders. Muslim families mourned alongside Christian families. New Earth as a whole mourned for a businessmen from Wiedergeburt, a farmer from Cen'enta and a fisherman from Akinyi equally. These losses connected New Earth in ways that no one ever imagined.

No community was spared the loss in the wake of the Clan Invasion. It was because of this newly formed connection a silent movement started to take hold across New Earth. This movement was centered on one concept, one theme, 'We are one'. By 5053, large royal blue number ones started to show up across New Earth to symbolize this concept. Most of these paintings were elaborately created by local artists with the permission of local authorities. Others were painted by random people in the form of street art. These street artwork to the form of massive murals dictating scenes from the Battle of Tukayyid. Prior to 3050, there were always the normal divides across New Earth. After 3052, these divides no longer seemed valid anymore. The communities across New Earth had sacrificed their sons and daughters on distant worlds.

While the wounds of the invasion were still fresh and bitter, President Bailey proved once more why she was so widely popular among the people of New Earth. Instead of focusing on the hatred which was fueled by that act, she turned the conversation towards the opportunities offered by the Clan Invasion. She praised the courage of New Earth’s warriors as she reflected on their heroics. She brought light to the courage of all members of New Earth’s armed forces. Her final words cautioned to be wary of tempted vengeance. President Bailey’s speech had managed to reach even the most harden heart listening. To a standing ovation, President Bailey concluded her last official speech before leaving office. A speech that would be considered one of her greatest moments and would archived for future generations.

As the political campaigns of 3052 took off, a wide range of political parties made their moves to shape the future of New Earth. One party moved from the shadows to surprise many. That party was the Golos Narjoda or People’s Voice Party. Golos Narjoda was the official political arm of the New Earth’s Partisans more commonly known across New Earth as the Peoples' Militias. This loose nit confederation of independent groups made modest gains during the 3052 Elections. While far from any serious political power, the simple fact that the New Earth Partisans were taking part in the New Earth Government showed their official acceptance of this Government. For the first time in New Earth history, the New Earth Partisans took an official place in helping guiding New Earth’s future.

The move by the Golos Narjoda Party was largely over shadowed by two names which were already making headlines across New Earth during the 3052 Election cycle. Colonel David McGray after serving a decade with the 4th Hurricane RCT decided to extend his enlistment to cover the Clan Invasion. The timing of the 3052 Elections came in the middle of that enlistment. Instead of breaking his enlistment Colonel McGray choose to not place his name in the hat for President. Instead, he took command of Battlemech Battalion within the 1st New Earth RCT. He didn’t rule out a bid after his current commitment comes to an end in 3054. On the other side of the spectrum was Major General Robert Macko, the beloved commander of the 3rd Hurricane RCT.

During his slow raise in popularity among the people of New Earth, General Macko became known as the People’s General. This common title came from his history which is in gross contras to the Social Generals of the Lyran armed forces. Robert Macko had been born of common blood and raised by a tobacco farmer on Pisces. It was the events of the New Earth Civil War that reshaped this man’s life. Lured by the COB Propaganda, at the age of thirteen he ran off and joined the Council of Barons. After lying about his age, he joined a local militia unit where he fought against Government forces. Fighting with courage alongside his COB comrades, he rose up through the ranks quickly. A few weeks before his nineteenth birth, he was given command of an Armor Company. Six months later he was a POW, captured by a Hurricane Battlemech lance after a fierce battle.

Everything that made General Macko popular was a threat to the common concepts of the Lyran Command structure. After rumors starting circulating that General Macko was considering to retire and place a bid for New Earth President, a group of political rivals backed by Lyran Intelligence locked ranks. Their plan was to ensure that General Macko would not be welcomed home like the hero he was. Headed up by the Lyran backed Erneuerung Party, a Congressional investigation was launched in to the Nova Cat Campaign. The move shocked other members of the New Earth Congress and drew sharp criticism from many different groups across New Earth. Despite the critics, little was done to curb the witch hunt.

The investigation continued on after the Hurricane Legion returned home as members of General Macko were called in for interviews and reviewing official reports. While most media outlets across New Earth denounced the investigation for what it was, a few strongly Lyran leaning media outlets covered the investigation as they framed it as uncovering the truth. This investigation would be the first shots fired in a secret war between Lyran Intelligence and those who would oppose the will of Tharkad on New Earth. This unknown war was a secret to all but a very few within Lyran Intelligence. It was feared by Lyran Intelligence, that if General Macko would be able to secure the Presidency of New Earth than he would push New Earth further from Tharkad’s influence.

After the investigation, it was reveal that the mistake was in fact faulty reporting of the Nova Cat’s Beta Galaxy. Two separate Pathfinder units reported the correct location of Beta Galaxy on the move towards Tost. However the coordinates got mixed up and a fourth ‘false’ Nova Cat Galaxy was created on General Macko’s situation board. The investigation ruled that General Macko should have been able to see through this mistake. Given a chance to clear his name, General Macko was asked to give up the name of the soldier who had provided the faulty information. Before a stubborn Congressional panel, General Macko refused and claimed the responsibility as his own. General Macko’s critics would take hold of this act and use it to crush his overall political ambitions before they took hold.

Despite General Macko’s allies within the New Earth Congress, a call was made for the General’s resignation. Even President Bailey was powerless to prevent the demand. Despite not being able to stop it, she did speak privately to the panel on General Macko’s behalf. During his darkest hours, General Macko and General Death set down behind closed doors. At the end of this meeting, General Death used his powers as Commander in Chief of New Earth’s Armed Force to usurp the authority of the New Earth Congress. General Death ordered that General Macko would remain commander of the 3rd Hurricane RCT. The move shifted popular support away from General Death and his allies. This gave the Erneuerung Party the opportunity it needed in the upcoming elections. While General Macko’s political career seemed finished for the time being, his military career was saved and his popularity remained intact.

After the 3052 Elections, the Erneuerung Party managed to secure gains in all major elections across New Earth. They also managed to get their candidates Nikolaus Senft and Thomas Schmitt elected to the offices of the President and Vice President. Both men were strong Lyran supporters and have regularly opposed changes that defied Tharkad. Many experts attributed the wave of victories across New Earth in part due to the battle over General Macko and in part due to questionable totals within the votes. The truth was discovered a few years later when thousands of ballot boxes were found in the basement of a mafia boss in New Rome.

The Golos Narjoda party was the first official group to cry foil over some of the election results in districts they felt they held strong leads in. However without the support of the Planetary Government, the Golos Narjoda Party moved to regional capitals to conduct investigations. This unofficial investigation would be conducted by a stubborn veteran GMP Investigator, Bettina Ivanov, Investigator Ivanov would dedicate much of the next couple of years solely to this investigation. During her investigation, Lyran Intelligence would attempt to assassinate her to keep their party in power.

Firmly in power, the Erneuerung Party moved to undo some of the changes that supported New Earth’s growing independence. These moved sparked vicious legal battles across New Earth. None of these battles were as heated as the one over the New Earth Navy. President Senft attempted to force a bill through the Congress that would transfer command of the growing New Earth Navy to the Lyran Armed Forces. While the supporters of the bill cited the growing cost of maintaining the ships as reason behind the move, critics fought the bill claiming it violated the New Earth Constitution. Popular support for the Erneuerung Party started to erode.

Within months of the Erneuerung Party taking power, Lyran Intelligences was gaining a treasure trove of information regarding what was happening on New Earth. Locations of secret bases which were being built. Lyran Intelligence learned about a major program that was at the heart of secret refurbishments of the major Castle Brians across New Earth. Lyran Intelligence had known that New Earth was attempting to repair some of the Castle Brians across New Earth. However thanks to work by the Erneuerung Party, Lyran Intelligence learned how vast the program really was. It was becoming clear that New Earth was preparing to defend its self from any invasion.

However before the Erneuerung Party could carry out any serious damage, their grip on power was about to come to an end. With popular support eroding rapidly and a number of legal cases being defeated in New Earth courts, President Senft and a large number of allies plotted a coup. The plan called for the New Earth’s Presidential Guard and Old Guard to seize power in the Capital. Agents of the Erneuerung Party would secure key locations around New Earth. The plan was created by Storm Chaser but not authorized of Tharkad. However, Storm Chaser ensured to insulate itself from the Coup. The Coup would have been a disaster for New Earth if not for the hard precedent work of Investigator Ivanov and a group of Pathfinders.

The Coup was planned to take place during a standard Battle Readiness Drill across New Earth. Days before the Coup was to take place, Former President Bailey called for a special visitor to her hospital room. Under the utmost secrecy, Former President Bailey spoke with this person for an hour. Then this person was taken under Pathfinder guard to New Earth’s capital. What happened next would test the loyalty of New Earth’s elite guard. While nothing was recorded of the meeting between members of the Presidential Guard, the Old Guard and the Pathfinders. But was is known to Storm Chaser, the Coup failed only hours it was supposed to begin. When they were ordered to their Readiness positions, both elite guard units refused to deploy from their barracks.

This allowed several teams of Pathfinders to arrest New Earth’s President and Vice President along with a large number of other Erneuerung Party members and bosses. By the end of the day, Erneuerung Party members were either arrested or found dead by authorities (presumably assassinated by New Earth’s Partisans). Outside of a handful of Storm Chasers, and those involved in the Coup itself, no one knew how close New Earth came to having its power seized by Tharkad. To the rest of New Earth, the day of the Coup would be marked for another reason. It would be known as the day Former President Sara Bailey would pass away from Breast Cancer. Her last moments were spent with her husband of ten years and her family. Despite the fact that the two were bitter political rivals, David McGray offered his respects during her funeral.

By June of 3053, almost thirty percent of New Earth’s Government had been arrested for crimes against New Earth or removed from their place. As trails and news of the attempted Coup became public knowledge, the citizens of New Earth had a new found respect for those who kept the piece. But the worst was not over. In the aftermath, this would be the most serious constitutional crisis that New Earth would have to face. Without a clear transition of leadership, the New Earth Constitution called for New Earth’s Baron to hold power till the election can be held in 3054. This time, Colonel David McGray would not sit on the side lines. At the end of the special elections, once more General Death acting as New Earth’s Baron returned power back to the people of New Earth and quietly stepped aside.

In 3054, David McGray would become New Earth’s forth President. In memory of Former President Bailey’s legacy, General Death and General Smith created the Phoenix Program in mid-3053. The program created a special place for the many Clan bondsmen that had been claimed during the three engagements that the Hurricane Legion took part in. Prior to this moment these bondsmen had been in a state of limbo. They were not fully trusted by the NEDC, but had refused relocation elsewhere. These bondmen had voiced their desire to prove their loyalty to New Earth. Reports secured by Storm Chaser, a day before her death former President Bailey contacted General Death and had a two and half hour conversation over a secured line. It is assumed that this call was behind the creation of the Phoenix Program.

At the center of the program, was Sara Weaver who was tasked with transforming the New Earth OpFor in to an even better training unit. Over the coming years, Weaver would take on the Clan Rank of Star Colonel. President McGray would press New Earth’s Congress to make Weaver’s special rank official. More than that, he ensured that Weaver would have all the support she needed to create a training regiment that would be the envy throughout the Inner Sphere. Working closely with Star Colonel Weaver, President McGray would see a new unofficial semi-autonomies zone created for Weaver and her fellow bondmens. Weaver and her fellow bondmen would soon call this zone Clan Mountain Eagle. The name came from a large white Cancer native poisonous eagle known for its fast vicious attacks that often leave its pray paralyzed.

For bondmen, this pseudo clan would become a home away from home outside of Clan occupation. For Star Colonel Weaver, she saw her near death on Tukayyid as a chance reinvent herself. While Weaver never gave up her Clan identity, she embraced her live on New Earth as a chance to prove her nobility and honor to the unit that bested her. Through this remarkable leadership, many bondmen were able to transition in to Clan Mountain Eagle with greater ease. In late 3054, a special act of New Earth Congress, Clan Mountain Eagle was officially recognized as its own internal voting district. The move allowed a large number of Clan Techs and Merchants who had been captured during the Clan Invasion to have a place within New Earth society.

Weaver pushed through Congress a plan to expand her Clan through a program targeting troubled youths caught up within New Earth juvenile justice system. At first Weave would travel across New Earth interviewing candidates for her new program. Those who met her requirements were brought to Clan Mountain Eagle to form up its Sibco. Weaver handpicked the trainers for these Sibcos. Because of Weaver’s high standards and experience from her Clan days, Weaver’s Sibco became widely successful at turning around troubled youths that would otherwise spend their lives in and out of the justice system.

Star Colonel Weaver spoke on behalf of her Clan before the New Earth Defense Command and before the New Earth Congress. While officially, the Zone fell under TRADOC Command, their semi-autonomy allowed the pseudo clan to seek direct funding from New Earth’s Congress and create their own rules and standards. A special Senate Committee over saw the actions of Weaver and her Clan. If new recruits thought that training within Clan Mountain Eagle would be easy, they were sorely mistaken. Star Colonel Weaver ensured that the high standard of Clan training and development was maintained. She was a brutal instructor who prided herself on making a recruit’s life miserable without killing them. Under Star Colonel Weaver leadership, New Earth’s OpFor was transformed in to a training force that would rival even the best the Lyrans and Federated Suns had to offer.

During the late 3054, the Bailey’s final secret was exposed. Colonel Joseph Bayer, the former leader of the Presidential Guard reported to a Congressional Panel about the mysterious meeting between the leaders of the Presidential Guard, the Old Guard and the Pathfinders. He told the panel that the mysterious figure at that meeting was none other than Sara Weaver. After being called before the same panel, Star Colonel Weaver confirmed the information and told the panel that she was requested to keep the secret by late Former President Bailey. She had been requested to halt the Coup with a minimal violence as possible. Star Colonel Weaver had gathered seventy five clan warriors and captured Omnimechs.

With the help of the Pathfinders, they were able to smuggle her force in to the capital before the two guard units could deploy as part of the Coup. Star Colonel Weaver explained to the Congressional panel that she had told the military leaders of the Guard units that her force would stop at nothing till they were all slain in order to protect New Earth from this Coup. She also informed them that as they spoke, their supporters and leaders were already being arrested. Acting under orders from Former President Bailey, Star Colonel Weaver executed a masterful counter Coup. During her time on New Earth, she had been befriended by the former President. For reasons why Weaver couldn’t answer, she had earned the former President’s respect and loyalty.

One of the largest changes that the New Earth Army underwent was the reformation of its units. No longer were major commands tagged with RCT. Each major command would be classified as Corps. The New Earth Army was divided up in to three Armies. The 1st New Earth Army would be made up of the core of the Hurricane Legion. The Elite 1st Corps, the Veteran 2nd Corps and the newly ready for deployment 5th Corps made up the 1st New Earth Army. The 2nd New Earth Army would be made up of the Elite 3rd Corps and Veteran 4th Corps. These two armies would make up New Earth’s Mercenary deployable units. The Veteran 6th Corps, which had been previously named 1st New Earth RCT, and the newly formed 7th Corps along with the New Earth Provisional Guard would make up the 3rd New Earth Army.

The 3055 assassination of Archon Melissa Steiner Davion rocked New Earth as it did the rest of the Lyran side of the Federated Commonwealth. Her death came months before a planned visit to New Earth and affected New Earth deeply. Flags across New Earth were lowered to half mass out of a show of respect. No other leader was as loved Melissa Steiner Davion on New Earth. It had been under the Archon that New Earth was able to enjoy the growth and autonomy that it enjoyed so much. No other leader of the Lyran Commonwealth had visited New Earth so many times as Archon Melissa Steiner Davion. The

With the assassination, New Earth’s future suddenly became unclear. It was Archon Melissa Steiner Davion who had supported New Earth with political enemies of New Earth in the Estates General had moved against New Earth. Now this powerful ally was gone. This has cast a thick and clouded shadow over New Earth’s future. Within months of the Archon’s death, the Estates General had already started to attempt to undo New Earth’s autonomy and end the Tax Free Zone that New Earth had enjoyed for over two decades. Victor Steiner Davion, on a short visit after his mother’s death, ensured that nothing would change for New Earth and he would support New Earth’s autonomy.

Closer to home, New Earth was undergoing its own turbulence. During the early months of 3055, a special envoy from the Draconis Combine arrived on New Earth. To the cries of New Earth’s critics within the Estate General and within Lyran Intelligence, this envoy meet with powerful members of New Earth’s Congress and even with President McGray. After these meetings, the envoy met with Commander Linna Tetsuhara along with her sister and General Death. The reason why the Tetsuhara sisters had left the Combine back in the 3020’s finally came to light. Their father, Tai-sa (Colonel) Rokuro Tetsuhara and brother to Tai-sho (General) Minobu Tetsuhara, had spoken out against Warlord Grieg Samsonov during a meeting among military leaders. According to the envoy, the act had brought shame and dishonor to the sisters’ family. This caused Rokuro to be stripped of his honor and ranks and the sisters to be banish from Galedon Military District. The envoy told the story of the sisters’ family that had been before something they cared not to talk about. And it showed for good reason.

But there was more. The envoy had good news for the Tetsuhara sisters. Theodore Kurita, the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, had reviewed the honorable and heroic acts of the Tetsuhara sisters during the Clan Invasion. In light of these actions, the Coordinator had washed away the dishonor that the sisters had carried for so many years. The envoy had an invitation for the sisters from the Coordinator to return to Luthien in honor to serve with the Coordinator’s elite Izanagi Warriors. The Envoy said that their father, Rokuro Tetsuhara, would have his former rank reinstated and would also serve within the Izanagi Warriors.

Karen Tetsuhara-Death would politely refuse the offer brought to her by the envoy. She cited her roles and love of New Earth, but most of all, her love for General Jake Death as her reasons for remaining. However, her sister Lina Tetsuhara would gladly accept the offer. Lina Tetsuhara would return to Luthien with the rank Sho-sa (Major). There she would serve alongside her father with the new mission from the Coordinator to form a new Elite Aerospace unit that would be worthy to serve as his personal bodyguard wing. This unit would be called the 32nd Luthien Aerospace Wing.

The other major event of 3055 was the discovery of Captain Seth Tetsuhara-Death body on Tukayyid. Seth was General Death’s eldest son, born on February 15th, 3032. He was reported MIA during Smoke Jaguar Campaign of the battle of Tukayyid. During the battle General Death had already lost his middle child, Takehiko Tetsuhara-Death. Lieutenant Takehiko Tetsuhara-Death had given his life during the brutal Nova Cat Campaign. It was hoped that Captain Seth Tetsuhara-Death had been captured by Clan Smoke Jaguar. With the discovery of his body, it was revealed that Seth was assassinated. While the investigation on New Earth would not reveal the truth behind who ordered the assassination, it would shed light on the growing tensions between New Earth and Lyran Intelligence. The order to assassinate both Seth and Takehiko was issued by Storm Chaser. An assassin by the name of Trai Tran had been hired to carry out the mission.

The revelation of the assassinations sent shock waves throughout the Death family household. Seth was laid to rest alongside his brother in a very private ceremony. It was recorded by a Lyran Operative that an emotional Kimiko Tetsuhara-Death, the youngest of the three Tetsuhara-Death children, erupted at her father. She claimed that the deaths of her two older brothers was his fault. The scene carried out later that night and ended with Kimiko decided to leave New Earth with her Aunt and Godmother, Linna Tetsuhara, for Luthien. After Kimiko’s departure from New Earth, General Death official retired from his post as Commander in Chief of New Earth Armed Forces. He retired to his family estate, Wyvern Castle.

For the next five years, a Lyran agent by the code named Nightingale reported the rapid decline. The proud man known for being a military genius and expert motivator had been broken. Nightingale reported to Storm Chasers that Jake Death was nothing more than a shadow of the man he once was. From within his own estate, Nightingale reported that he would sit silently for days on end before a fire place. Storm Chasers had beaten the great Jake Death, but this wasn’t enough. The order was issued to assassinate Kimiko Tetsuhara-Death and Karen Tetsuhara-Death. Once these two deaths were assured, it would be time to put an end to Jake Death.

During the 3057 Free Worlds League/Capellan Confederation invasion of the Federated-Commonwealth the 1st New Earth Army and 2nd New Earth Army saw extensive holding actions across the Sarna March. During the early days of the invasion, the Federated-Commonwealth did its best to hold the lines. Both New Earth Army’s fought with honor and courage alongside their Federated-Commonwealth allies. Together, the invasion almost seemed as if it was going to fail. With success just beyond the horizon, it really appeared as if the Federated-Commonwealth would through back the invasion. However history would take a tragic turn.

Katherine Steiner-Davion took advantage of the news to great effect. Citing her brother's failures and facing an invasion, she invoked Emergency War Powers and seceded the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth, naming it the Lyran Alliance because she claimed that Victor had tainted "Commonwealth." She simultaneously recalled all traditionally Lyran military units to withdraw to the nation's pre-4th War boundaries, in essence ceding the worlds that Marik wanted. With the completion of his goal, Marik stopped his invasion. Because of the secession, the Federated-Commonwealth lacked the Jumpships necessary to reinforce the Sarna March. With the League's pull-out, however, the Capellans lacked the military force to secure the worlds that the Fed-Com had all but abandoned.

Despite the Lyran abandonment, the New Earth forces did their best to hold back the waves of Capellan forces. However The LAAF ordered New Earth’s forces to withdraw from the conflict zones and return to Lyran space. New Earth did the unthinkable. Unable to abandon their Archon-Prince when he needed them to the most, New Earth Congress authorized the NEDF to refuse the recall order. The two New Earth Armies continued to support their Fed-Com Allies. While this move solidified the respect from the Archon-Prince, the betrayal burned brightly in Katherine Steiner’s eyes.

Under a special act of New Earth Congress, New Earth would openly denounced Tharkad’s rule over New Earth. The Federated-Commonwealth’s flag would continue to fly over most Government Buildings. However a new change also occurred, the New Earth Flag would fly side by side with the Fed-Com Flag at the same level. This reflected New Earth’s continued drive for independence. Federated Commonwealth units attempting to flee the Lyran Alliance would make stops on New Earth during their trips back to Fed-Com space.

As the Invasion of 3057 started to die down, a new crisis of arose in January, 3058. The Jade Falcon invasion of Coventry threatened to cripple the Lyran Alliance. Under the request of the FedCom First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion, General Macko and his elite 3rd Corps would answer the call. Arriving late in the battle with multi-national force, General Macko’s 3rd Corps was more than ready to rush in to the breech for their Prince. More than willing to give their lives for the cause, however there would be no heroic battle. The Jade Falcon force would be forced to withdraw prior to any major engagements could be carried out. General Macko and his 3rd Corps would be asked to remain on Coventry to guard Coventry Metal Works by Prince Victor Steiner-Davion.

Being the expert manipulator, Katherine Steiner carried out a state visit to New Earth during the later months of 3058. While the air around New Earth was very anti-Tharkad, Katherine drew upon her mother’s heritage to open the door for her. Her first visit was to the Presidential Palace where she congratulated President McGray in winning the 3058 Elections and gave him her wishes for a successful second term in office. The two talked long about the differences that had arisen Tharkad and New Earth. It was clear that Katherine needed to show the rest of the Lyran Alliance that she could lead and New Earth could be her greatest success story if she could woe them back without an armed conflict.

After her meeting with President McGray, she then spoke before a hostile New Earth Congress. Members of the New Earth Congress pressed questions about Tharkad’s assumed involvement in the attempted Coup of 3053. It was clear that the Archon had her critics within the New Earth Congress as she heard questions about claims of anti-New Earth factions within the Estate General back on Tharkad. However her mission was not to convince her critics but to win over those who remained on the fence. Since the Coup of 3053, being Pro-Tharkad was often seen by many New Earthers as being Anti-New Earth. So those who didn’t hold anti-Tharkad feeling often choose to simply remain on the fence rather than choose a side. It was those politicians that she attempted to reach.

After making the political rounds in the Capital and with the Permission of the New Earth Congress, Archon Katherine took her voice to the people of New Earth. In a series of breathtaking speeches, Katherine hailed the service of New Earth’s brave military to the Lyran people. Unlike what many of her critics on New Earth suspected, Katherine was measured in her statements and proved what a masterful stateswoman she was. Instead of behaving like a Ruler over New Earth, Katherine acted more like a visiting dignitary. In this behavior, her critics within the Congress were all but powerless to limit her visits, and Katherine didn’t give them any really to push the issue. She kept to major cities and didn’t seek to speak to New Earth’s military or for any base visits.

Instead, Katherine spoke to the people of New Earth. Her two week visit to New Earth was filled with speeches and visits to memorial parks. For so long, the only faces of the Federated Commonwealth had been the late Archon Melissa Steiner Davion and her son Victor. Beyond this, Tharkad and the Estates General had been cast as some faceless monster. Now Katherine was placing a face to Tharkad that was not of a monster. Her soft handed approach was meant to win the hearts and minds of the people of New Earth. And by talking about issues that was important to the common people is how she framed her speeches.

Noting the current debate being conducted on New Earth about a possible bid for Independence, Katherine knew that this issue was important to the common person on New Earth. Unlike most worlds where the common person could careless who ruled over them as long as their lives were not affected, here on New Earth the issue of independence had taken hold. An independent New Earth could cause the entire region to become unstable. Other worlds within the Skye March would start to seek Independence. For the Lyran Alliance this was a nightmare situation that had to be avoided at all cost.

Katherine’s visit was critical to her plan. She addressed the current political situation carefully as she pointed out how hard it was being drawn between the Federated Commonwealth on one side and the Lyran Alliance on the other. She accepted how tempting an independent New Earth could look, but she noted the reality of the situation. She pointed out that it would only be a matter of time till other Inner Sphere powers would be looking to claim New Earth as their own. To the surprise of those who caught her speeches, Katherine acknowledged the impossible situation New Earth found its self in.

During her final speech before leaving New Earth, she referred to New Earth as the gem of the Skye March. A gem that was more than welcome to return on their terms. It was in that brilliant statement that caused the conversation of independence to shift. Everyone already knew the reality of what could happen if another House put New Earth in their sights. However to idea of returning under their own terms changed the conversation so much that it affected the general opinion of many New Earthers. This affect was felt all the way to New Earth’s Congress. A pair of bills that could reshape New Earth’s future were being debated. One bill would cause New Earth to official reaffirm its allegiances while another bill would official call for New Earth’s Independence. Both bills failed by narrow margins.

Unknown to nearly everyone on New Earth expect for those within the NEDF and high level Government officials, a detachment of Word of Blake attacked the Death’s Estate and Wyvern Castle (the home of Death’s Brigade) on February 28. The attack occurred at the same time Word of Blake was conducting their Operation Odysseus. Commanders of Death’s Brigade informed the NEDC to remain out of the conflict while they dealt with the Word of Blake attack. The attack was broken and the detachment of WoB troops were either destroyed or captured by the Elite Death’s Brigade. Most importantly, Nightingale reported that Jake Death didn’t take part in the battle even though his home had come under direct attack.

After this attack, Colonel Katya Johns spoke to select members of the New Earth Congress and to President McGray. During this ultra-secret meeting, she revealed the origins of the Hurricane Legion. Before a mostly shocked and stunned panel, Colonel Jones explained how the original two hundred members that formed the first Hurricane Legion Regiment were in fact ComGuards. Every last one of them had been born on Terra and trained by Comstar to be their guard force. Operating under Operation Mantis, the mission was created by Primus Julian Tiepolo to give the ComGuards a practical means of training its troops. Colonel Johns explained that a small group of ComGuards were selected to build the inroads for this mission.

Primus Tiepolo had known that the ComGuards needed practical experience and because of this Jake Death, their mission leader, had been given absolute control over the mission. During his time on Solaris, Jake Death was tasked with building a name for himself and giving his Hurricane Legion legitimacy. Then he was to select a world to build his new ‘merc unit’ on. He selected New Earth and fought against the First Circuit to make sure New Earth would be the Legion’s new home. Once here, he built more than just a training ground for future ComGuard trainers. Jake Death had confided in her, that he had overseen the rebuilding of a great world.

Colonel Johns went on to explain how under the noses of the House Lords, ComGuards sent trainers to New Earth to train and fight alongside of New Earth’s troops. But the most shocking came to the Battle of Tukiyyad. Prior to this moment, the decision to deploy New Earth troops alongside Comstar’s ComGuards had been a long guarded secret known by only a few. There were secret negotiations between very elite members of New Earth’s Government and Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht. Colonel Johns pointed out that one aspect of those negotiations was the sale of a number of compact K-F Drives and Transit Drives to the New Earth’s Harbor Prime for its Aegis II project. That this sell only happened because of the close relationship between New Earth and Comstar.

Colonel Johns’ tone turned as she explained the most complex change in their mission. As the years passed, many members of those first ComGuards started to see New Earth as their home. A home that they would die to protect. When they were ordered by Primus Waterly in to action as part of the failed Operation Scorpion, they choose to ignore the order. While they had betrayed their orders, many felt a loyalty to Comstar. Colonel Johns said that most of those ComGurads left in secrecy after Primus Waterly’s murder at the hands of Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht. While she supports the changes that Comstar has taken, like many who remained, Colonel Johns couldn’t support Comstar nor Word of Blake.

Colonel Johns explained that nearly half of those who came to New Earth from Terra in 3029 under the banner of the Hurricane Legion, only a few dozen remained. Most had given their lives for New Earth and its successes. Some returned home during their normal rotation to help their former ComGuard comrades train. A few left after the Battle of Tukayyid as a result of the schism. Those who remained were loyal to New Earth and to Jake Death. To prove this point, she showed how it was due to their connections within Comstar that help secured vital information about the Erneuerung Party’s Coup. It was ensured that the GMP would discover this information. She pointed out how since the beginning, it was their connections that help New Earth to clean up its environment and build the state of the art mass transit system.

Colonel Jones told them, that she had been chosen to speak on behalf of all remaining former Comstar Comguards today. Colonel Johns explained how Word of Blake’s attack on their homes was meant to be a warning to the former ComGuards. That warning was to remain out of what was going on between Comstar and Word of Blake. Colonel Johns reaffirmed Death’s Brigade’s loyalty to New Earth. But to her surprise, some members of this ultra-secret meeting already knew most of these facts. It was then that Jake Death’s ability to plan a long game came in to prefect view. To the surprise of Colonel Johns and President McGray, a few members of New Earth’s Congress informed them that Jake Death had already told them everything back during the 3030’s.

Jake Death had hand selected a very few loyal members of New Earth’s government to trust. These members were called the Council of the Star, an ultra-secret panel that was given the most up to date information of what was going on around New Earth. They informed a shocked President that Archon Mellissa Steiner Davion was part of this Council. Jake Death acting as a double agent was able to pass vital information in exchange for her allowing New Earth to develop on its own. It was because of this, that the Archon kept her Intelligence wing on a short leash in regards to New Earth. And in that, the Death’s Brigade remained an accepted member of New Earth’s military. However this meeting would remain a secret till after the Lyran Invasion of New Earth in 3060.

When the Second Star League was officially formed New Earth was quick to rally to the Star League Defense Force. President McGray negotiated with Commanding General Victor Steiner-Davion to allow the 1st New Earth Army to become part of the newly reformed SDLF. Due to a harsh trade embargo on New Earth by the Lyran Alliance, President McGray was looking for ways to help bolster up New Earth’s economy. President McGray secured a number of military export contracts with the SDLF. The new trade contracts helped make up for the loss of trade with the Lyran Alliance, but didn’t completely fill the gap.

Noting the situation with the Clans, the newly formed Chaos March, and the large number of troop movements around New Earth, President McGray didn’t like the idea that all of New Earth’s Corps were so far away. He had already signed a deal with SDLF for the 1st New Earth Army to be deployed during operation Serpent and Operation Bulldog. His elite 3rd Corps were serving on Coventry. He needed to deploy his 4th Corps and their traditional contract with the Circinus Federation was ready for renewal. Instead of renewing New Earth’s contract with the Comstar backed Circinus Federation, President McGray opted to sign separate contracts with worlds within the Chaos March.

However McGray and his military leaders made a critical mistake. During the late 3050’s New Earth’s Navy only had enough Jumpships under its control to move four Corps at any given moment. Due to their contract with the SLDF, the newly formed 5th Corps had to use the jumpships that would normally be assigned to the 4th Corps.

So while the entire 4th Corps was within two jumps away from New Earth, without Jumpships they might as well have been on the other side of the Inner Sphere. McGray’s military advisers had assumed if anything happened, they could contract with independent ship captains to bring the 4th Corps home. They assumed that there would be more than enough ships available to move the entire 4th Corps.

It was a critical mistake that was not overlooked by Storm Chaser. As the 4th Corp was transported to their garrison posts within the Chaos March, the Lyran Intelligence were tracking their every movements. In January 3059 and under great fanfare, the 1st New Earth Army departs for Luthien and its place in history once more. With the 2nd New Earth Army deployed, New Earth only had its Home Guard to defend itself from invasion. The masterminds at Storm Chaser saw their opportunity to bring New Earth back to the fold through brute force.

The leaders of Storm Chaser placed a grand plan together. The plan called for a massive show of force. Their plan would use the renewed war with the Clans as a cover for their own build up. As units were shifted toward Draconis Combine space, time was fleeting. They grafted a plan that was as complex and had as lofty goals as any other Commonwealth military plan. But the core of the plan called for called on the Lyran Alliance deploying the majority of its Naval Warships assets to overcome New Earth’s system defenses. But more importantly securing New Earth’s twin recharging stations. This Lyran Fleet would consist of five Fox class Corvettes and an Essex class Destroyer.

To ensure that New Earth would not catch wind of the coming invasion, Lyran Intelligence would blind New Earth of any warning signs. During the buildup, Loki agents would target key military and political leaders on New Earth for assassination. As New Earth was facing global invasion, Loki would remove the head of the beast. With the military and political leaders dead and New Earth’s space defenses in ruins, Storm Chaser would unleash no less than four mighty Regimental Combat Teams, four supporting Battlemech Regiments, and a large number of supporting armor and infantry regiments. It would be the single most units the Lyran’s ever used to taking a single world.

Thanks to the Erneuerung Party’s Coup, Storm Chaser had a wealth of information regarding unit strengths and deployments. Storm Chaser knew where New Earth’s space defense bases were located as well as the large number of bases across New Earth. Because of this, Storm Chaser focused their plans on securing the highly populated continent of Sagittarius and the resource rich continent of Pisces. However there was dissension among Storm Chaser regarding Cancer and New Earth’s military headquarters on the island of Aries. To settle this dissension, Units were added to the invasion to address both concerns.

The minds within Storm Chaser was sure that once the invasion began, resistance would crumble before the might of the Lyran Armed Forces. They were sure that the entire invasion wouldn’t last more than a couple of months before the world would be secured. As they congratulated themselves, they gave their operation a name, Operation Colossus. However Storm Chaser had failed to take serious notes of developments across New Earth. First and foremost was New Earth’s Strategic Space Defense Command.

Unlike normal units across New Earth, the minds within the SSDC went looking for a specific kind of recruit. They weeded out the Top Gun or Cowboy kind of soldiers who might go rouge. Instead the SSDC enlisted soldiers who were driven by duty and would not break under the most extreme conditions. These Recruits were vetted not only by the New Earth Defense Command, but also by the GMP and the Windtalkers. This gave the SSDC a much higher loyalty rate than other New Earth Units. Another move the SSDC took that was over looked by Storm Chaser was the Castle Brian take over. Taking lessons from the fall of Terra, New Earth Castle Brians are all fully manned by SSDC Marines.

So confident in their plan, Storm Chaser never considered the three combined arms battalions from the major New Earth corporations to be a threat. Because of this, no units were tasked with controlling their actions. These three units have been training alongside New Earth’s military and had access to the very latest of technology available to them. It was assumed that these three units would not become directly involved in the battle for New Earth. With this the planners never considered the strong sense of Nationalism that had been spreading across New Earth for the past three decades. In fact, the planners assumed that New Earth would fall just like any other world. That the population would simply accept Lyran rule without question.

Because of fears regarding the size of the invasion force and fears of supports linked to her bother, Archon Katherine Steiner chose General Goldberg to lead the invasion. General Goldberg had been a prefect Lyran General. Rose up through the social ranks with very limit contact with the Federated Suns side of the Federated Commonwealth. Prior to this mission, General Goldberg largest command was of a depot along the Periphery March. General Goldberg was a ‘safe’ choice to lead this invasion. But to add some experience to the Command structure, the Archon selected longtime supporter Duke Peter L. Kilt to Co-command the Invasion. Despite arguments from Storm Chaser, she would not be discouraged from these two choices.

The invasion was planned for the summer of 3059, however when New Earth signed the New Earth-Luthien Trade Agreement the Archon raised concern. With the war against Clan Smoke Jaguar getting underway, the Archon interferes with Operation Colossus once more by reassigning a number of units that were already training and preparing for the New Earth invasion to the Jaguar front. In light of these changes, the Archon sent a message to President McGray to halt the New Earth-Luthien Trade Agreement or face reprisal. Along with the message, the Archon sent conditions that she would allow New Earth to rejoin the Alliance. She gave President McGray till the end of 3059 to comply.

President McGray wasn’t about to lead New Earth in a war that he wasn’t sure they could win. While he had faith in the soldiers of New Earth, he knew that the Lyran Alliance could just easily send wave after wave of troops till New Earth had nothing left to field. More importantly he did trust the new Archon to not use force against the civilian population should it turn to war. Taking heed of the threat, he pressed New Earth’s Congress to stall the Trade Agreement with Luthien. He then set out to meet with a negotiation team from Tharkad on Skye. The move by New Earth was promising.

The move by President McGray seemed promising, so the Archon ordered a hold on Operation Colossus. It appeared that war was going to be avoided, so she sent more units toward the Clan front. In gutting the original invasion force would be another move that would haunt Operation Colossus. During the negotiations, the Representatives from Tharkad mistook President McGray’s position. They assumed he was willing to do anything to avoid war. However he was here to buy time for his world. Plus while publicly they were playing with independence, President McGray was in regular contact with New Avalon. President McGray wanted to avoid war, but he was not about to sell his world out.

The negotiations were brutal and the terms that were finally pressed on to President McGray were softened to a point to where he thought he could make them work. He took the terms back to the New Earth Congress who after a week of debates flatly rejected the terms. President McGray sent a personal message to the Archon with terms he knew he could get the New Earth Congress to agree to. While he waited for a reply, he took his argument to the people of New Earth. Speaking to local and regional leaders, President McGray made a strong point for peaceful resolution to this crisis. Little did he know that powers beyond his control would send New Earth and the Lyran Alliance in to war. The Archon had accepted President McGray’s terms, however Lyran Intelligence discovered after the Invasion that the message was never delivered to New Earth. It is suspected that the Word of Blake intercepted the message. With 3059 coming to a close, the order was given for Operation Colossus to begin.


Edited by Akirapryde2006 (08/19/15 09:11 PM)
Akirapryde2006
08/29/15 07:07 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Ten: The End of an Era and Death of a Legend

January 25th 3060 at 0105 Local Standard Time (LST) an unknown event tripped the sensor nets of the New Earth Strategic Space Defense Command. The event occurred near a restricted area near Harbor Prime. While the event didn’t have the signature of a major invasion, it was enough to warrant further investigation. The technicians of the SSDC went to work as they stepped up New Earth’s defensive posture which was per their training. As a nearby patrol craft was dispatched to investigate the event alarms at SSDC Headquarters on New Earth were already being sounded. Ready One Fighters were ordered to the runways.

What saved the day was the carefully placed location of Harbor Prime. Unlike some shipyards of old that were built in the open, New Earth had built their facility just within the asteroid belt of the system. This helped make the facility more defensible as well as had the added effect of being in a heavy gravitational area. This prevented jumpships from jumping within striking range of the valuable facility. During construction of the facility, New Earth dropships towed massive asteroids in to orbits around the facility. Small asteroids were towed outside this perimeter to add to the defense of the site. Weapon sites were built on these asteroids to provide a level of defense to the site.

Harbor Prime was more than just a shipyard in space. During construction, two orbiting asteroids were hollowed out and living facilities were constructed. Even though there were a number of construction sites within the larger facilities, Harbor Prime quickly became a fully self-sustained facility thanks to a large number of hydroponics chambers. Other asteroids were mined for ice and building materials. But the beauty of the location is what made direct attacks on the facility so hard. And this is what the SSDC Commander on Lanna was counting on. They watched carefully as two tracks within their sensors slowly closed on each other.

Within minutes of the first event, a second event appeared on the sensors within SSDC Headquarters on New Earth’s moon. This second event occurred on the opposite of Harbor Prime was located. Once more, SSDC didn’t have the sensors to tell what the two events were. It could have been a pair of asteroids moving from behind larger ones. This area of space within the Tau Ceti system is very active with sensor tracks. However thanks to years of conditioning, the SSDC Commander on Lanna knew better than to take anything for granted. As per regulation, he activated a general alert to all other SSDC Sites within the Tau Ceti System. Years of training kicked in as the SSDC moved to protect New Earth from possible invasion. Time was counting down as SSDC sites across the system were manning up for war while New Earth was largely unaware of what was going on.

As SSDC bases across the entire system went on full alert, the Lanna SSDC Control coordinated a patrol craft towards the first event while they dispatched another one towards the second event. Without further information the SSDC Commander on Lanna didn’t have enough to place the whole New Earth on alert. He needed to get their patrol craft in to position quickly. However he did have the authority to place Harbor Prime on alert. And that is just what he did. He issued an alert to Harbor Prime and activated their defense screens. He also ordered all available ships to be prepared to defend the site. While New Earth Navy was manning up their ships, the SSDC patrol ship was just closing on the first event.

As the APC closed on its target, it is armed with much more refined sensors that the standard SSDC sensor buoy that triggered the alarms. However the crew reported something interfering with its sensors. However, before they could identify what was interfering with their sensors, they reported being attacked by hostile fighters. It was clear that Harbor Prime was under attack at this point, however the nature of the attackers was still unknown. The SSDC Commander ordered the patrol craft and its crew to press forward despite the attacking fighters towards the source of the event. They had to know what was going on.

Trying to fend off the wave of fighters, the APC pushed closer to the source. Thanks to real time data sharing through the SSDC Network, the controllers on Lanna and at SSDC Headquarters on Aries were able to see what the pilots were seeing on the APC even though they were 1.8 AU from New Earth. The network was no small task or trivial improvement. Without this vast data sharing network, real time information would be impossible and updates would be hours in coming. As the pilots of the APC fought their wave through fighters, an image starting to emerge of a large target. Everyone was on the edges of their seats was the brave crew pushed through the enemy lines towards the heart of the grouping. Just as the image became clear, the APC was destroyed.

With all data cut off, the last image the crew of the APC saw was on the main viewers of the SSDC Headquarters and the Lanna Control Center. There was no doubt anymore, New Earth was under invasion. Within those viewers hung the unmistakable image of a Lyran Alliance Fox Class Corvette. They were still at range from Harbor Prime but it was clear that the Lyrans were on the move. A general alert was issued across the entire NEDC and Civilian Command Centers. Across New Earth powerful air raid sirens signaled the beginning of the invasion. Other APC’s were keeping their distances feeding real time updates to Lanna Control as New Earth’s three warships were on the move to intercept the invaders. The invasion was on.

As burning debris of the APC drifted away from the Lyran ships, the massive ships of the Lyran fleet continued on their track for Harbor Prime. The death of APC 109 was not the end of New Earth’s ability to track the Lyran fleet. It wasn’t long before Specter A2’s were shadowing the two fleets reporting the Lyran’s progress. As the clock ticked down, it became clear that the two attack runs were created to maximize the Lyran’s advantage. Their paths were set at forty five degree angels off each other. The overall plan called for a pincer attacking using the speed of their fleet to force the defenders back.

Task Force Scheer, named after the Lyran Flagship, consisted of the LAS Scheer, an Essex Class Destroyer, along with two Fox Class Corvettes was escorted by a heavy number of fighters and their supporting dropships. Task Force Vilseck consisted of the LAS Vilseck, a Fox Class Corvette and two other Fox Class Corvettes. Like Task Force Scheer, Task Force Vilseck was being escorted by a large number of fighters and their supporting dropships. For the mission planners, success was all but guaranteed. That was if their navy could breech the Defender’s lines.

As alerts were sounding across the entire Tau Ceti System, already the forces of New Earth’s navy were moving in to position to engage the invading Lyrans. For Rear Admiral Safi Larue, he knew all too well that the defense of Harbor Prime fell on to his shoulders. No help could arrive in time to change the outcome of this battle. However what he did have was up to date intelligence on the number and locations of his attackers. This allowed him plan out his defense. Admiral Larue ordered Harthford Shipyards’ Security Force to prepare to defend the shipyards. His orders were clear, their ground forces were to support the 1st Marine Division in defense of the massive shipyards.

Admiral Larue assigned the three fighter wings of Harthford Security Forces to remain close to the shipyards just in case any enemy fighters slipped through. It was his last order to the Security Force that would ensure success for the defenders. He ordered their refuelers to set up a forward refueling and staging area for defending fighters. He picked two points on the map, one was assigned to the Security Force refuelers while the other point would be assigned to the refuelers that belonged to the 1st Naval Reconnaissance. Because of the two separate pincers that were moving on the shipyards, Admiral Larue was forced to divide up his fighters and limited number of supporting dropships.

But that didn’t mean that his forces were out gunned. Two weeks ago, the NEWS Bismarck was relocated to the shipyards to assist. The newly constructed Maverick, an Aegis II class Fast Attack Cruiser, was undergoing space trials and the training crew of the Bismarck was there to assist. But more importantly than that, the NEWS Enterprise, another Aegis II Fast Attack Cruiser and pride of the New Earth Fleet, had arrived at the shipyards for routine maintenance. While the Enterprise didn’t have her dropships, she did have her elite Death's Brigade Naval Air Wing. This gave Admiral Larue an additional third deep space refuelers. He assigned the Death’s Brigade refuelers to a third point creating a support triangle around the shipyards for his defending fighters.

As Admiral Larue prepared to defend Harbor Prime from the Lyrans, SSDC was already reporting more hyperspace jumps closer to New Earth. The nearly two and a half hour break between the two separate forces jumping in to the Tau Ceti System caused many to suspect that the Lyran’s plan had changed at the last minute. The truth was, that a last minute change to the invasion plan was not relayed to the attacking warships which jumped in from a separate system as the ground forces. This caused the delay that allowed New Earth to be much better prepared than the Lyrans were prepared for. Nonetheless, the orders were given and there was no turning back now.


Admiral Larue ordered the five combat dropships of the 6th Support Squadron under the command of Captain Jenn MacCarthy to remain close to the shipyards and watch for an end run by any enemy dropship. He ordered the NEWS Enterprise along with her supporting fighters to engage the three lone Fox class corvettes. To support the Enterprise, he assigned three fighter squadrons. Admiral Larue took the remaining fighters, the NEWS Maverick along with his own Bismarck to engage the two Foxes and that Essex class destroyer

Meanwhile back on New Earth, a dispute over command structure was just becoming settled. Despite requests from both Recharging Commands to join the battle, they were both ordered to remain on station. Acting under the full authority of the New Earth Congress and New Earth Constitution, the order came right from Commodore Christopher Lyon, Shift Commander of the SSDC Headquarters. Despite being out ranked by more than a couple higher ranking officers, Commodore Lyon knew the importance that the recharging stations would hold during the larger battle.

What allowed Commodore Lyon to remain in that position to make that call, was due to a series of actions by Lyran Intelligence. Hours before the invasion was set to begin, the order was issued to carry out a series of assassinations of key military and civilian leaders across New Earth. The goal was removing the head of the snake while the body was being slain. This left many units without their senior officers, and while in the opening hours of the invasion did cause confusion. New Earth’s military, like in the case of Commodore Lyon of the SSDC who took over for the entire defense of the world, quickly adapted to the situation.


It had only been three hours since the first alert was tripped near Harbor Prime. Already New Earth’s SSDC was fully prepared to defend the world against attack. Watching from SSDC headquarters on New Earth, the controllers at SSDC Headquarters was able to count the number of Jumpships jumping in to system. They were able to track the dropships as they sped their way towards New Earth. There was no doubt that New Earth was going to be invaded. But for Commodore Lyon, that didn’t mean that Tau Ceti system had to fall to the Lyrans. Taking a lesson from his mentor, General Death, Commodore Lyon crafted a long game plan in order to save New Earth from the invaders.

Commodore Lyon knew that without access to Tau Ceti’s vital jump points, the Lyrans would be forced to use highly risky pirate points. As he watched the Lyran dropships speeding their way toward New Earth on his screens, he could see that they hadn’t made any attempts to take either station at the moment. The two vital jump points held the largest collection of senor and transmission buoy. There was no sneaking up on the two vital stations. However that didn’t mean their second wave wasn’t on its way. Because of this, Commodore Lyon needed to protect the two jump points at all costs. Acting as Senior Officer, Commodore Lyon ordered all available dropships to make for the two jump points. A move that bothered many subordinates, who thought they could prevent the Lyran landings on New Earth.

Analysts would all agree that the fate of New Earth would rest upon two recharging stations. History would show that the long series of failures by the Lyran during the invasion of New Earth began with failing to secure the recharging stations. Without the use of either of the two major jump points would make it too costly for the Lyrans to move forces in to the system via pirate points. Holding the two recharging stations would ensure that New Earth would be able to receive a study stream of supplies from their Chaos March allies. And this stream would make the blockade of New Earth even harder to maintain. The lack of these two vital stations would be one of the factors that could cause the Lyrans to end their invasion.

As forces were on the move across the Tau Ceti system, it would be Commodore Hall’s elite unit that would have the next crack at the Lyrans. Already the lives that were lost aboard APC 109 was on everyone’s mind. As the two units drew closer, Commodore Hall was planning out his opening shots. Thanks to long range scans by Specters shadowing the Lyrans, Hall knew what he and his crew were up against. By the time the two units entered sensor range of each other, Hall had already issued his orders to the crew of the Enterprise.

The three Foxes were designed to be fast raiders with a stronger than average weapons systems for their size. However they were up against the best of New Earth’s navy. A joint secret project with the NAIS, the Aegis II married speed with firepower to create a strong fleet support ship. Not only did the Aegis II carry larger range of weapons, it was designed to with speed in mind. The Aegis II had long legs and Commodore Hall was pushing those legs to close the ranges. With thicker armor and matching speed, the Aegis II's out classed the Foxes in each field.

More than this, the NEWS Enterprise was the personal Flagship of General Death. It came with a number of ‘modifications’ that gave the Enterprise an even greater edge. One such modification was the addition of a Combat Control Center that was added to the ship after construction. From this armored location deep within the ship, Commodore Hall could not only command the ship but command his entire battle group. Built with holographic technology, Commodore Hall could step in to the center of the battle and command his ships just be sampling talking to them. This gave him an unprecedented level of control over the battle.

Thanks to their extreme training protocols, Commodore Hall knew his crew had a strong advantage over the Lyran crews. With this in mind, he order his ship to fire at extreme ranges while the two battle groups were still traveling towards each other. As the powerful Naval Lasers ripped towards the Lyrans the Enterprise scored the first round of hits. While the hits only dealt limited damage to the Lyran ships, it was a hug moral boost for Commodore Hall’s gun crews. At the current ranges, the Foxes were incapable from returning fire. But this would change quickly as the ranges closed.

Within minutes, the Lyrans were able to open fire with their own powerful Naval Autocannons. While these weapons were capable of doing more damage than the Naval Lasers, it was the hit ratio that was hurting the Lyran gun crews. The gun crews of the Foxes were scoring one hit for every six shots fired while the gun crews of the Big E (The nickname given to the ship by her crew) were hitting nearly three times that ratio. Even though the gun crews of the Big E were hitting much more often, the number of Foxes eliminated that advantage. But within moments, the Big E’s next set of large weapons were getting in to range. But this was not the only surprise for the Lyrans.

Before the battle was joined, Commodore Hall deployed a number of his fighters in a special role. Using the asteroid field as cover, these fighters moved behind the Lyran and were sneaking up behind them. These fighters were armed with specially modified Killer Whale Missiles. The missiles were fitted under the body of the fighters like massive torpedoes. To answer the guidance problem that the missiles had, the New Earth designers removed most of the guidance systems and added more explosives. They fitted the missiles with a very advanced gyrostabilizer to ensure that it would fly straight and trained some of their pilots to conduct torpedo attacks on enemy warships.

Fitted with proximity sensors even a near miss would cause the missile to explode doing limited damage to the target. By reducing the guidance and fuel the missile had to carry, the missiles additional explosives doubled the yield. As the two fleets were nearly upon each other, Commodore Hall ordered his torpedo fighters in to action. At first, the six fighters were hardly even noticed by the defending fighters. However the first attack crippled Claymore class dropship caused the enemy fighters to act quickly. However the prime targets of the torpedo fighters would prove to be a harder nut to crack. Thanks to the Anti-Missile System added to the Foxes, the three torpedo attacks proved to be fruitless. However, after taking two torpedoes, an Achilles class dropship was also crippled.

Neither the Achilles nor the crippled Claymore would rejoin the battle. As quickly as they showed, the six torpedo fighters dove for the cover of the asteroids. Thanks to the cover fire from supporting fighters, all six fighters managed to disengage the battle and withdraw. They made best speed for a forward refuel and resupply point set up by Admiral Larue. The fighters would be able to return to the battle refueled and rearmed for another attack run. This turn around speed proved critical in the defense of Harbor Prime.

As the two fleets closed on each other, the Big E was finally able to show off her broadside. It was at this point that the odds drastically changed. A brave Fox dared to challenge the Big E in a close in slugfest. Commodore Hall ordered the Big E’s powerful broadside to open up. The Big E’s first broadside ripped through the smaller corvette’s armor like a hot knife. The brutal broadside ripped open the corvette’s side causing massive damage to the ship causing the ship to loss power. The Fox drifted passed the Big E as the two remaining corvettes attempted to circle to gain a better firing position on the Big E. However, to cover their actions, the Lyran’s ordered their supporting dropships and fighters to cover their movements.

When the Big E was built, it was assumed that the most common threat that she would face was going to be enemy fighters. Because of this the Aegis II class was designed more like a carrier than just a simple warship. The Big E carried a large number of fighters in to battle and she also was fitted with nearly two hundred anti-fighters weapons across her superstructure. With the Big E’s fighters engaging the Lyran dropships, Lyran fighters saw the Big E as an easy target. They swooped in on their own attack runs. However as the anti-fighter mounts opened up, a number were blasted from the space around the Big E.

Those few dropships that cross the Big E’s sights didn’t fare much better against the Big E’s broadside. One Achilles simply ceased to exist when it took a direct hit from a Naval Autocannon. This caused the remaining Lyran dropships to withdraw from the Big E’s range. As they turned and attempted to precede on towards Harbor Prime, the remaining Lyran dropships were engaged again with fighters from the Big E. The battle was eating up fuel faster than both sides had calculated. However for the defenders, fuel was only a few minutes away at a refuel point. While the Lyrans had to land on their dropships to refuel. In normal situations, this wasn’t a problem but during combat this was a nightmare.

With the odds slowly slipping from their favor, the Lyrans attempted to press their advantage. The captains of the two corvettes devised a plan that would allow them to attack the Big E from the bow and aft. It was hoped that they could avoid the Big E’s powerful broadside. One thing that they didn’t take in to consideration was training. While the crews of the two Lyran ships had only a few months of training with their ships. Commodore Hall and his crew had nearly a decade of mastering their own ship. Seeing the two ships on their approach Commodore Hall ordered his ship in to a high G burn and ordered a flat spin on the ship’s Z axes.

Fresh from refuel and rearming, Hall ordered his torpedo fighters back in to action. Despite knowing that the two ships were fitted with anti-missile systems, Commodore Hall needed to buy his crew time to execute the High G maneuver. The fighters dove of the Corvettes without question. Their attack didn’t cause much damage, but did cause one of the Corvettes to change their own heading. The other Corvette didn’t change its heading as it was determined to carry out its attack on the Big E. The smaller Corvette racked the Big E with naval weapons fire shredding armor and inflicting damage deep within the Big E. Explosions within the Big E crippled the mighty warship’s jumpdrive. The K-F Drive Coils and the K-F Field Initiators were both badly damaged.

Despite the damage, Commodore Hall didn’t back down as he ordered his ship in to a barrel roll and unleashed the Big E’s broadside once more. As the Fox was attempting to retreat, two massive naval autocannon shells ripped open the Corvettes transit drive system, Power Plant, and Engineering Sections. The powerless Corvette tumbled away from the battlefield with no hope of regaining power. The last remaining Corvette took massive damage from the Big E but was still able to activate its lithium-fusion batters and jumped out of system.

In the wake of the battle, the Big E stood victorious over two badly damaged Fox Class Corvettes. The remaining Lyran fighters and dropships continued to press the attack, however with the destruction of two more Claymores at the hands of the Big E, the remaining Lyrans had no choice but to surrender. In total, two Claymore and ten fighters surrendered to the Big E and her powerful guns. As the remaining Lyran ships were being secured, Commodore Hall deployed his Marines to the two crippled Corvettes to secure them as well. The last thing he wanted was one or both Corvettes regaining power and launching a surprise attack on them.

Noting the damage and the need to get his ship back to the fight as soon as possible, Commodore Hall ordered his crews from general quarters to repair details. He ordered his fighters to link up with the refuelers and give aid to Admiral Larue who was already facing over whelming odds. While this match up would go to the defenders, it must be noted that Commodore Hall and his crew had been training and fighting together for nearly a decade. It was expected that the Enterprise would prove to be a harsh obstacle to overcome.

The next battle between Admiral Larue’s fleet and the second Lyran fleet was more to what the Lyran military analyst suspected. Unlike the Big E, the Bismarck didn't enjoy the same advantages that the Aegis II classes did. The Bismarck, originally built and named the St. Lawrence for the SLDF, was nearly three hundred years old. She was a gift from Comstar for services rendered by the Hurricane Legion. Refitted with the best New Earth could afford at the time, she was a far cry from more modern Inner Sphere Warships.

However she was still a proud ship that had allot of fight left in her, as the Lyrans were about to find out. The Bismarck and Maverick made their approaches to the Lyran fleet. As the fighters Admiral Larue fleet spread out to engage the enemy, the Maverick made its extreme rang shots on the Essex. Unlike the Big E, whose gun crews had scored better than average hits at extreme range, the green crew of the Maverick only scored a few hits against the Essex.

The Essex shook off the damage with stride as she returned fire with a Barracuda Missile. The missile hit the hardened armor of the Maverick and caused little damage. Admiral Larue ordered his gun crews to rake the two attacking fox corvettes. Scoring much higher hit ratios, the corvettes were forced to give the Old Lady (The official nickname of the Bismarck) a wide berth. Lacking the anti-fighter weapon mounts of the Aegis II class, the Bismarck suffered heavily under Lyran fighter counter-attacks. Despite the heavy armor, the fighters focused their efforts on slowing the Old Lady down.

While her armor held, the attacks did cripple the massive ship's port engine. This cut the Bismarck's thrust in half. Seeing the danger that the Bismarck was in, the Maverick swung in to provide fighter cover with its own guns. With the Essex in her cross hairs, the Old Lady raked the Destroyer with a full broadside. The broadside railed against the destroyer's armor forcing the ship to withdraw to conduct field repairs. This bought the duel of New Earth ships some breathing room but the battle was far from over. One of the Corvettes closed in on the Old Lady and racked the larger ship with fire. The damage was further focused on the Aegis crippled port engine.

With the focus on the Essex destroyer and one of the corvettes drawing fire, the last corvette slipped past the line. The Corvette accelerated to flank speed as it made a dash for Harbor Prime. Knowing that his own ship was unable to catch the corvette, Admiral Larue ordered the Maverick to abandon the Bismarck and stop the corvette before it reaches the shipyards. It was a fateful choice but one that had to be made if the shipyards were to be protected.

The Maverick spun around as its powerful engines glowed hot. The mighty Maverick accelerated to pursuit speed and gave chase to the swift corvette. The corvette opened fire with more Barracuda missiles on the Maverick. The missiles scored minor hits, which the Maverick brushed off. In return, the green gun crews of the Maverick hammered the aft sections of the corvette with powerful naval lasers. As the Maverick closed the gap on the corvette, the corvette was drawing closer to the shipyards. However the SSDC had a ruthless surprise waiting for the Lyran Corvette.

Once in range, the corvette found itself being fired upon by weapon emplacements. New Earth’s SSDC had taken massive naval weapons and mounted in to armored turrets on nearby asteroids. The onslaught rippled wholes in to supporting dropships and inflicted damage upon the Lyran Corvette. The New Earth fighters and dropships that were ordered to hold back were finally able to jump in to the action. As fighters and dropships from both sides swarmed around the shipyards, the Lyran Corvette was within firing ranges on the shipyards.

The Lyran corvette opened fired on the shipyard. The Archon-Prince Victor, an Aegis II class Fast Attack Cruiser which was being built for the Federated Commonwealth, took several hits to its unarmored haul. The ship would be critically damaged and a nearby construction ship would be blown to pieces. The explosion would badly damage a section of the slip where the Victor was being built. As the Lyran corvette completed its first and only pass on the shipyards, the Maverick hammered away at the corvette. The Maverick continued to rack the corvette with powerful naval lasers as it continued to give chase on the corvette.

Between the heavy weapons from the Maverick and from strategic weapon mounts, the incoming fire finally took its toll on the corvette. With its massive transit drive blown to pieces and its K-F Drive destroyed, the corvette lost power. The corvette drifted helplessly surrounded by the death and destruction that it had just caused. The remaining dropships and fighters that escorted the corvette were quickly isolated and destroyed or captured. With the shipyards damaged but otherwise secured, the eyes turned back towards the Bismarck and the remaining of the Lyran assault force.

Round two was about to start between the Bismarck and the Essex class destroyer. No longer aided by the Maverick and her anti-fighter weapons, the Bismarck had to rely on her own fighters for defense against attacking Lyran fighters. The two Lyran ships had regrouped and were moving in on the Bismarck. Admiral Larue play dead drawing the Lyrans in closer. He kept his larger APC’s closer to his haul hoping to deploy them in a surprising boarding action. As his crews fought fires he added to bait by turning off his running and exterior lights. Know from this engagement as the man of steel nerves, he did nothing as the last remaining Lyran corvette fired upon the Old Lady at long ranges. The Lyrans took the bait and assumed that the Old Lady was dead in space.

At medium range, Admiral Larue surprised the Lyrans with a full broadside that all but crippled the last corvette. The badly damaged corvette attempted to activate its lithium-fusion batters to jump out of system. However the damage to the corvette prevented the ship from being able to jump. Admiral Larue ordered his APC’s in to action. Using their superior speed, the five APC’s rocketed from behind the Old Lady and attached themselves to the damaged corvette. Within minutes, the Lyran crew found themselves fighting a brutal struggle for their own ship.

As the battle turned against them, it was clear that the Lyrans didn’t have the advantage anymore. Lacking the lithium-fusion batters, the Essex was here to stay till her drive was recharged. The destroyer turned and gave the Bismarck a powerful broadside with its Naval PPC's and Naval Lasers. Admiral Larue ordered the Bismarck to roll as the Old Lady started to rebuild her thrust. It took most of her thrust but the Old Lady finally managed to get above the Destroyer. However the Old Lady simply didn’t the thrust needed to keep the advantage. The Lyran destroyer was able to counter the move.

Unleashing its Naval Auto-Cannons, the Lyran destroyer hammered the broadside of the Bismarck. The incoming fire caused more damage to the Old Lady. A lucky critical hit knocked out the Old Lady’s K-F drive. Admiral Larue fired another broadside in to the Destroyer, gutting the nose of the Lyran Warship. Shortly thereafter, a crippled APC conducted a suicide attack on the Lyran destroyer. With its weapons firing so much that they were glowing red, the small patrol ship slammed in to the bridge of the destroyer. Another broadside from the Bismarck racked the spin of the destroyer triggering secondary explosions. Admiral Larue ordered the remainder of his forces back as the destroyer ripped itself apart as its Naval Auto-Cannon ammunition bunkers exploded. The death of the Lyran destroyer signaled the end of the first round of the Invasion of New Earth.

While the Big E had been able to drive off her attackers, the Old Lady had failed to protect the shipyards. Considerable damage had been inflicted on the shipyards, taking serval slips out of service. However the vital repair yards would remain in service during the invasion. While the Big E would be fully repaired before the end of the Invasion, the NEWS Bismarck would never jump again as her K-F Drive was too badly damaged to be repaired. Instead components would be used on repairing the Big E. Despite not having a K-F drive, the Old Lady would have the remaining damage repaired.

During the two battles for Harbor Prime, the Lyrans lost a number of dropships and four of their Corvettes. In addition to this, the loss of LAS Scheer was also costly to the Alliance. These losses were painful for the Lyran Navy. However despite losses, the Lyrans were able to limit the effectiveness of New Earth’s shipyards during the invasion. Also as a result of these two mini-battles none of New Earth’s warships would be able to take future parts in the defense of New Earth. With the Maverick stationed close to the shipyards, it would effectively take the Maverick out of the battle. The Bismarck and Enterprise would be down for months undergoing repairs. While the losses on the Lyran side were great, they could easily be replace. The same can’t be said for New Earth’s losses. Because of this, the first round would go to the Lyrans.

Back on New Earth, Air Raid Sirens were alerting every one of the coming invasion. While most citizens were running for shelters, one citizen however dawned an old New Earth uniform. A uniform that hadn’t been issued in over thirty years. With his uniform looking as if it was just issued yesterday, Former Captain Ben Hushner dawned his captain’s hat. During the Civil War, Captain Hushner had been the commanding officer of the New Earth naval warship Bizmark. After serving twenty years for crimes against humanity, Captain Hushner moved to Balitor, Aries. With his career ruined Captain Hushner longed for a way to reclaim his honor. From his back yard, Captain Hushner could watch the Bizmark as she took on her new role as trainer.

With their leaders assassinate, the cadets of the 43rd Training Battalion were formed up at the Bizmark with no orders. However at 0800 LST, Former Captain Hushner along with a handful of former Bizmark officers, walked up to the great warship and the leaderless cadets. After a short argument between training NCO’s and the former commander of the Bizmark, it was agreed that Captain Hushner would regain command of the Bizmark. As the mass media alerted New Earth of the Lyran landings across New Earth, the cadets were getting the Bizmark ready for Departure. It was under Captain Hushner’s leadership that made the hasty departure possible. Within hours, the Bizmark was sealing from the harbor and in to New Earth’s history. After thirty years, Captain Hushner finally had his chance to redeem himself and his ship.

1315 LST: Lyran fighters from the 1st Alarion Jaegers, hoping to strike a morale blow to the defenders of New Earth, bombed anchorages around Aries. While one of their primary targets was the Bizmark, they ended up sinking or badly damaging eleven other naval ships. The Bizmark was nowhere to be found. Due to double assignments and heavy defending fighters around Aries, no search was made for the missing Bizmark. It was reported back to Task Force Command by the commander of the fighter wing that the anchorages were in flames and all ships there were sunk or burning. No report was made one way or the other regarding the Bizmark.

1335 LST: The alarms signaling the incoming invasion had been sounding across New Earth for almost twelve hours. Thanks to the efforts of the SSDC, military units across New Earth had plenty of time to prepare for the coming Lyran invasion. Thanks to a well-developed government operated Emergency Broadcast System, civilians have been kept up to date with the latest information. Because of this, the vast majority of the civilian population were safely secured in shelters across New Earth. However the storm was just getting underway. With the experienced warriors of the Hurricane Legion stationed across the Inner Sphere, New Earth's future rested in the highly trained troops of the 6th and 7th Corps.

President McGray activated the New Earth Provisional Guard. In terms of the defenders of New Earth, what played out during the morning of January 25th, 3060 was a well-organized combat readiness operation. For decades, New Earth Defense Command had been running hundreds of drills about a Marik invasion, a Draconis Combine raid. Thanks to these drills, the men and women of New Earth’s Home Guard were ready to prove themselves and defend New Earth from invaders. President McGray orders military units to assist in the evacuations of the Capital City. As much as he wanted to spare the city, President McGray wanted to save lives.

1400 LST: With reports of the first wave of attacks on New Earth military sites being received and against the pleading of his personal guard, President McGray chooses to remain within the Capital City to cover the evacuations of the city’s population. During these critical hours, President McGray personally oversaw the civilian evacuations to their emergency shelters. President McGray’s greatest fears was the number of possible civilian casualties as a result of this invasion. He directed his personal guard to assist as he took to the streets to coordinated evacuations.

When word came that a nearby hospital had not been able to fully evacuate to their assigned shelter, McGray sent elements of his own guard and his personal transport to aid in the evacuation. During this time, The Old Guard reported to the President that the entire New Earth Senate had been safely evacuated to their secret bunkers within the nearby mountains. The last members of New Earth’s leadership that remained in the Capital was President McGray. New Earth Defense Command reported a large number of enemy dropships making their approach near the Capital. The only unit that stood between the Capital and the enemy was the Presidential Guard.

1420 LST: Lyran combat drops were made north northeast of the capital city, near the town of Brentwood. Specters were able to identify the Lyran unit as the 14th Lyran Guards under the direct command of General Goldberg. Charlie Company of the 2nd Battlemech Battalion of the New Earth’s Provisional Guard were the first ground units to engage the Lyrans. The short battle lasted only a few minutes as the New Earth Guard unit made their stand near Memorial Park. The 360th Lyran Armored Cavalry Regiment along with the 15th Ford Mechanized Infantry Regiment encircled the Charlie Company. Despite being outnumbered, the smaller New Earth unit fought to the last man as the rest of the 14th Lyran Guards made their way towards the Capital.

To the south of the Capital a second Lyran unit was making their landings. The 1st Skye Jeagers quickly organized south west of the Capital with orders to seize President McGray who was still reported within the Capital. With two forces closing on the city, General Goldberg ordered his units to encircle the city and cut off further evacuations. General Goldberg announced his plans of a swift attack on the Capital with his intention to capture the New Earth Government and end the fighting. He joked to his men that he plans to be sleeping in the Presidential Palace by night fall.

Acting on information from Lyran Intelligence a flight of fighters from the 1st Alarion Air Wing intercepted an unarmed civilian air transport. The transport, Flight 628, had departed from Summerhaven prior to the invasion beginning. Once the invasion begin, the transport changed course and was attempting to land at Franka. The Alarion fighters intercepted the transport sixty miles north of Fanka. After verifying the identity of the transport, the fighters were ordered to shot down the transport by Lyran Intelligence. The order came directly from Storm Chaser. Aboard the transport was Karen Tetsuhara Death. The flight shot down the transport and killed all those aboard. The actual fate of Flight 628 wouldn’t be discovered months after the invasion.

1645 LST: The combined forces of the 14th Lyran Guards and 1st Skye Jeagers move on the Capital city of Wiedergeburt. After meeting with stiff opposition from New Earth forces, the Lyran Forces were able to breach the city. Lyran over flights of the city reported that the Presidential Guard was still within the city near the main train station. They were helping evacuate the civilian population. General Goldberg ordered a mech battalion of his 14th Lyran Guards as well as a mech company from the 1st Skye Jeagers would move on the main train station of the capital city. He sent several supporting units with this force. Their orders were to capture President McGray. The rest of the Lyran units were secure the city.

1700 LST: the bulk of the 1st Skye Jeagers encounter 2/7th Brigade of the 7th NEDF Corps on the outskirts of the capital city. After a brief exchange the 2/7th Brigade withdrew in an orderly fashion further from the city. The 1st Skye Jeagers, hoping to have a repeat of the engagement with Charlie Company of their own give pursuit. The 2/7th continued to withdrew further east by northeast away from the city.

24th Lyran Guards and the Winfield’s Regiment complete their landings on Cancer north of the frozen Grober Ploner Bay. Due to the inexperience of the 24th the Task Force was held up for hours as the 24th attempted to regroup after the landings. It was the orders of the Task Force to engage New Earth forces and secure the Proving Grounds. They experienced no resistance during their landings and started their long march south despite seasonal arctic storms which were observed moving down from the far north. The order was given to continue their march towards the Nes’Saw Pass.

1st Alarion Jaegers and their supporting infantry and armor units, nicknamed Task Force Alarion, attempted landings on Aries. Despite being warned that Aries was heavily guarded against such landings, the officers of Task Force Alarion choose to conduct their landings just outside the city Balitor. Their goal was to secure the former capital then move on to the Headquarters of the NEDC. Even before the Task Force could completed their landings, they were taking heavy fire from Aries’ space defense emplacements. The onslaught of weapons’ fire cut the Task Force to ribbons. Nearly half of the Task Force’s dropships was lost before they even hit the ground. Because of this fire, units of Task Force Alarion became hopelessly isolated from each other as dropships crashed to the ground.

Major Karl Heinz, senior commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Alarion Jaegers, found his unit cut off from the rest of the Task Force when his dropship crash landed. He ordered his unit to conduct a movement action to link up with other Task Force units however resistance was intense. Just arriving from Sagittarius, elements of the Old Guard linked up with the 8th Marine Division and the Fort Kari Cadre to hammer at the isolated units of Task Force Alarion.

On Pisces, the experienced 5th Alliance Guards conducted their landings just north of Summerhaven. However as they conducted their combat landings they were hit hard by the full weight of the 6th Corps. Thanks to the early warnings, the surviving commanders of the 6th Corps were able to rally the unit and conducted a forced march for Summerhaven. After a ten hour forced march, the unit was in position to oppose the 5th Alliance Guards. As the battle was joined, this would become one of the most critical battles of the invasion.

1830 LST: General Goldberg's forces pressed through brutal street fighting against local militias as well as organized resistance from local GMP and Presidential Guard units. Finally, the Lyran Forces had managed to press the defenders from the Main Train Station. The defenders attempted to withdraw from the city but were cut off by Lyran Forces. Colonel Michelle Addison, the Commander of the Presidential Guard transmitted a call which had been intercepted by Lyran forces that her unit was becoming over run and would soon be unable to protect the President. Lt. Colonel John Campbell, commanding officer of the 2/7th Combat Brigade informed Colonel Addison that the 7th Corps would not be able to render aid to her unit in time. The message was clear that the Presidential Guard had get the President out of harm’s way.

During the height of the battle and against urging of Colonel Addison, President McGray boarded his own Battlemech. President McGray’s Marauder took to the field to fight alongside his body guard unit. His message was clear, “we all fight. We have to protect the last train at all cost.” President McGray was speaking of the last refugee train which was leaving the main train station of the capital. The unit managed to press the Lyrans back from the Main Train Station.

During the battle, the last Refugee Train managed to escape the city before Lyran fighters knocked out the rail lines. General Goldberg, sensing a quick end to the war on New Earth called in reinforcements with orders to capture or kill President McGray. As the battle for the Capital City was coming to a close, the Presidential Guard had become outnumbered three to one. The few supporting New Earth units had been destroyed leaving the Guard to stand alone.

As the battle shifted deeper in to the capital, the New Earth defenders were forced to withdraw towards the Presidential Palace. As a Lyran victory appeared just within reach, a new line of Battlemechs showed up Lyran sensors. At the Congressional Mall, a large grassy area only a few blocks away from the core of the fighting, a large number of Battlemechs conducted a low attitude combat drop. The highly risky move impressed General Goldberg leading to the false assumption that these Mechs were elements of the 1st Skye Jeagers. Before anyone knew what was going on, this new unit fired on the rear elements of the 14th Lyran Guards. An intercepted transmission told the story of who had taken the field.

“Mr. President, I am sorry we’re late. But the Death's Brigade is here now. I have orders from the Senate to escort you and your unit to a secured LZ” the voice was none other than Former General Jake Death. To the surprise of Lyran Intelligence, Jake Death was still alive. Nightingale had been ordered to assassinate him the night before. It was clear that she had failed in her mission to assassinate him. Under the combined fire of two elite units, the out flanked 14th Lyran Guards were forced to withdraw after taking heavy losses. General Goldberg's units were unable to stop their prize from slipping away. Thanks to the rescue by the Death’s Brigade, the Presidential Guard was able to conduct a fighting retreat to a secured landing zone created by a combined force from Death’s Brigade Dropships and CyberDrone Security Force.

2045 LST: The Death’s Brigade and the Presidential Guard arrived at their secured landing zone. With the 14th Lyran Guard being forced to hold their ground, the two units boarded their dropships to evacuate Sagittarius. As he dismounted his Warhammer, a lone shot ripped through the air. It was an incredible shot at ranges that pushed nearly four kilometers. The shot struck Jake Death in the base of the neck causing him to fall from his mech. Former General Death would be pronounced dead by medics as President McGray held him. The Death’s Brigade and the Presidential Guard would depart Sagittarius as they evacuated for Aries with the body of Jake Death.

2200 LST: Death’s Brigade and the Presidential Guard were the last New Earth units west of the Kasin Mountains. The two elite units were in full retreat from Sagittarius. The 1st Skye Jeagers had the half of the 7th Corps on the run towards the Kasin Mountain Ranges. The remaining units of the 7th Corps had been reported retreating in to the Kasin Mountains abandoning their posts in the low lands of Sagittarius. General Goldberg reported that the invasion was on track and that Sagittarius was all but secured. During the final hours of January 25th, General Goldberg carried out a massive parade through the downtown streets of the Capital. The victory parade ended at the Presidential Palace where he proclaimed he was moving his headquarters.

After the parade he ordered the remaining 14th Lyran Guards to secure the outlining areas around the Capital. He divided up part of the 14th to secure the Conceptopolis Spaceport and the strategically important Fort Nicolaus. The 1st Skye Jeagers were ordered to pursue elements of the 7th Corps and destroy the unit. General Goldberg turned his attention to the island of Ebrahim and the valuable Wyvern Castle, which had been the family estate of Jake Death since the 3030’s.

Thanks to the efforts of Lyran Intelligence the head of the snake had been severed. According to analysts New Earth was ready for the fall. In one day, Lyran forces had secured Sagittarius, the battle for Pieces was well underway and Aries was on the verge of falling. During that single day, the majority of New Earth’s leaders had been assassinated by Lyran Intelligence. Along with them was their beloved savor, General Jake Death. Both Archon Katherine Steiner and General Goldberg gave credit for the killing of Jake Death to the 15th Ford Mechanized Infantry Regiment of the 14th Lyran Guard. However a later independent investigation credited the assassination to a Lyran Intelligence assassin.


Edited by Akirapryde2006 (08/29/15 09:19 PM)
Akirapryde2006
09/07/15 07:41 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Eleven: The Height of the Lyran Invasion

January 26th, 3060, 0130 LST: During the night of battles with the New Earth forces, the 1st Alarion were just starting to make ground around the former capital of New Earth. They were able to secure the regional spaceport in Balitor. In a move to secure their holdings, Colonel Julie Hoffman ordered the remaining of her dropships to relocate during the cover of night to the regional spaceport near the heart of Balitor. She had hoped that her dropships could get repairs at the spaceport. Building on their success it, the 1st Alarion set up a staging area and readied a renewed offensive against New Earth forces. In a promising sign, New Earth forces were falling back. Unknown to Colonel Hoffman and the 1st Alarion, death was coming with the early morning tide.

While the 1st Alarion were consolidating their gains, the Death’s Brigade were landing at Fort Kari. During a very private and personal night of morning their fallen leader, the Death’s Brigade was ready for vengeance. With President McGray and his personal guard safely on their way to Castle Brian 429, the Death Brigade turned towards the closest Lyran unit to exert their vengeance. After rearming and taking a bit of rest, the Death’s Brigade were on the warpath for blood. Four hours later, the elite unit made their landings deep within the harbor district of Balitor.

With CyberDrone Security Forces supporting their flanks, the Death Brigade slammed in to the rear elements of the 1st Alarion with brutality. Hours before the sunrise and the beginning of Colonel Hoffman’s renewed offensive was set to begin, word came of a New Earth unit behind her lines. Death’s Brigade quickly overran Colonel Hoffman’s supporting units that were guarding her rear lines. Just as she was about to turn her unit around to face the new threat, her front lines were slammed in to by elements of the Old Guard while being supported by units of the 8th Marine Division. The counter attack forced Colonel Hoffman to divide her forces between the two fronts.

As the battle started to unfold, Death's Brigade’s Delta Cluster and elements of CyberDrone’s security force under the command of Captain Markis Brown led a daring assault in to the heart of the 1st Alarion’s support areas that had been set up at the Balitor Spaceport. The assault at the spaceport was so bold and happened so fast that the combined force of both units overran the defending units. By the time Colonel Hoffman was notified about the raid on her dropships, much of the battle for the spaceport was already over. Taking advantage of the confusion and pressure on the 1st Alarion’s lines, the remaining Death’s Brigade pressed harder in to Hoffman’s lines.

With all of the 1st Alarion’s dropships captured on the ground by the Death’s Brigade and both her lines collapsing in on themselves Colonel Hoffman was faced with an impossible decision. In the face of destruction, Colonel Hoffman ordered the remaining of her units in to a hasty retreat west along the coast line. Unwilling to let go of their vengeance Colonel Katya Johns, the commanding officer of Death’s Brigade ordered her unit to pursue the 1st Alarion. However a counter order from President McGray would save the 1st Alarion.

After a night of intensive combat the 5th Alliance Guards were no closer to securing Summerhaven and its vital spaceport. Being a full forced Fed-Com RCT, it was assumed that the 5th Alliance Guards would be an even match for the 6th Corps. However Lyran Intelligence misjudged New Earth’s deployment of its Corps. An Lyran RCT like the 5th Alliance consisted of regiment of BattleMechs, three regiments of combat vehicles, five regiments of infantry, two aerospace fighter wings, and a battalion of artillery. Truly a force but when Jake Death created his New Earth Corps, he had a different strategy in mind. He built his forces around a center principle of independent operations.

The 5th Alliance Guards, under the command of Hauptmann General James Ito, had been disadvantaged long before they landed on New Earth. While toe to toe with New Earth’s 6th Corps, under the command of Major General Christopher Wieck, they were only slightly disadvantaged. However Jake Death’s brilliance was in support. He incorporated six battalions of support personal. Medical and technical support units were added to save lives and repair units in the field. Air power was also changed. Where General Ito only had two aerospace wings at his disposal, General Wieck had more fighters at his disposal than his Lyran counterpart. This allowed General Wieck to tie up General Ito’s aerospace fighters while his other air units were able to launch brutal ground attacks.

General Wieck had almost a hundred and fifty conventional fighters and over seventy five attack VTOL’s. This gave General Wieck an unprecedented advantage over the battlefield than General Ito had. But most importantly was the complete disproportional balance of artillery. Where General Ito had only one artillery battalion, General Wieck had four battalions at his disposal. Thanks to New Earth’s heavy training in artillery operations, General Wieck’s gun crews were better at hitting their targets. But that wasn’t the final advantage that General Wieck had. At his disposal, General Wieck had a complete command company to run the entire battle while General Ito often had to lead his own men from his Battlemech.

By mid-morning, General Ito was already considering that he might loss his foot hold. He consolidated his forces and dispatched his dropships to a secured landing site. To protect his dropships, he sent a third of his forces with them. As the battle continued to unfold General Ito attempted to outflank the 6th Corps by deploying his lighter faster units in a sweeping action. However he was no closer to securing Summerhaven than he was the night before.

Back on Sagittarius, General Goldberg received word that the 1st Skye Jaegers have chased elements of the 7th Corps along the northern expanses of the Kasin Mountain Range. The remaining elements of the 7th Corps were fleeing for the Kasin Mountains from their bases in the western ranges of Sagittarius. It was time for General Goldberg to get some much needed local support. General Goldberg and a large number of armed escorts traveled to Radoslav Branković Correction Facility. Their plan was to release members of the Erneuerung Party, namely Nikolaus Senft and Thomas Schmitt. However, someone beat General Goldberg to the punch.

As General Goldberg walked the halls of the nearly deserted facility, someone had gone through the cell blocks shooting the inmates. Every member of the imprisoned Erneuerung Party had been shot dead in their cells. On his way back from the prison, a massive car bomb exploded along this route. The blast was powerful enough to destroy an armored personal carrier that was just ahead of his armored car. Six Lyran soldiers were killed and twenty five were wounded. General Goldberg escaped the attack unharmed. The bombing kicked off a series of partisan attacks that would plague the 14th Lyran Guards throughout the invasion.

Within days of the bombing, partisans were making random hit and run attacks on Lyran strong holds across Wiedergeburt and the surrounding areas. At the core of these attacks was the Twin-Machine-Gun-Run. As a Lyran foot patrol would enter a pre-set kill zone, a pair of partisans would line up the kill. They would open fire with a crew served machine gun. They would wound or kill only a handful of soldiers. As the patrol would react to the initial attack, the pair of partisan would flee the area. Often they would abandon their machine gun as they flee. Eager Lyran soldiers would pursue the partisan only to end up in a second ambush. After a short exchange, both partisan groups would vanish from the streets.

On Cancer, the 24th Lyran Guards and the Winfield’s Regiment was making painful progress in the face of a near blinding blizzard. What should have been only a few hour march for the safety of Nes’Saw Pass ended up taking nearly two days. According to weather reports, the blizzard stretched nearly four hundred kilometers. To the surprise of the Lyran commanders, this was not unusual for New Earth’s artic regions. The surprise of the storm was due to its untimely lateness for the season. By the time the task force closed on the safety of the Pass, the blizzard was in full force.

Despite having no contact with New Earth Forces, the infantry regiments assigned to the 24th Lyran Guards were recording injuries due to the extreme weather. While their Battlemechs were unaffected by the weather, their armor, trucks and infantry units were suffering badly from the extreme weather and sub-zero temperatures. Based on their Loki provided maps placed the large formation was only ten miles north of the infamous Nes'Sha Pass. Colonel Jeremiah Winfield had little choice but to order his unit to push across the frozen waters of the Grober Ploner Bay for the safety of the pass beyond. There the Lyrans would be forced to wait out the storm.

While the Lyrans were seeking shelter from the brutal late season blizzard, another unit was mounting up and getting ready to face the storm. Star Colonel Sara Weaver gathered her two Clusters of her OpFor stationed at Fort Galene and started a force march across the frozen lands of the Cancer Proving Grounds. Her Command Cluster led the two Clusters in to the storm as they followed the Bala River north. She planned to link up with the third combat element of her OpFor, Charlie Battalion. Charlie Battalion had been training with Quantum Tech’s Security Force before the storm was detected on weather radars. Unaware of the coming invasion, the two units took refuge in Castle Brian 850.

Due to the Loki assassinations and the confusion during the opening hours of the invasion, the two units were instructed to remain at station at CB 850 and wait further orders. When the Lyrans were detected landing north of CB 850, the two units were in prefect position to act. In the absence of NEDC leadership, Star Colonel Weaver assumed command of the defense of Cancer. She informed the two units at CB 850 to prepare for her arrival. Due to the storm, Lyran Intelligence was not able to track Weaver and her OpFor’s movements. When the assassinations were plotted, Star Colonel Weaver was considered a low priority target due to her constant and often bitter exchanges with New Earth’s Congress.

The formation of her own Clan Mountain Eagle signaled that she might even refuse to act during a change in government. Star Colonel Weaver not only seized control in the absences of leadership, she was determined to protect New Earth’s current government. More than that, other former Clan pilots followed her blindly. The majority of the warriors that followed her were all former Clan Pilots. However there were a good mixed number of New Earthers who had openly embraced the ways of the Clans, and joined Clan Mountain Eagle. There was no one on New Earth was more fanatical to follow the driven Weaver in to the heart of the large blinding blizzard. This failure to understand Clan Mountain Eagle and miscalculation would serve to doom any hope of securing Cancer for the Lyrans.

On January 27th, the next wave of the Lyran invasion took place on New Earth’s moon called Lanna. Despite their limited experience, the 32nd Lyran Guards were assigned to this mission. Their mission was to secure the heavily guarded headquarters of New Earth’s Strategic Space Defense Command. Since the beginning planning stages of the invasion, Marshal Gustav Van Buren had argued that his unit was ill-equipped for this mission. There were a series of heated exchanges between officers of the 32nd and General Goldberg over the wisdom of this wave. However in the end General Goldberg insisted that the 32nd take the vital lunar base at all costs.

The open shots of this wave were brutal against the Lyrans as New Earth Marine pilots ripped through the undefended dropships of the 32nd. The air group assigned to the 32nd fought hard against the over three wings of Marine fighters and attack craft. Outnumbered nearly two to one and facing stiff anti-fighter and anti-dropship weapon systems, the Lyran pilots of the 32nd fought bravely. As the 32nd pressed forward with their attack, losses started to mount. However by sheer force of will, the 32nd Lyran Guards finally was able to breach the outer defenses of the SSC Headquarters. Before the New Earth Marine pilots were able to close the hole, two full battalions of infantry were able to storm in to the subterranean base. However the cost to reach this was large for the 32nd.

Within minutes of the 32nd troops making their assault on the base, the hole started to close. Despite their best efforts, the Lyran pilots couldn’t keep the hole open. Without any other options open to Marshal Van Buren, he had no choice but to order a full withdraw of his space born forces. With the rest of their unit pulling back, the two assaulting infantry battalions were cut off from retreat. However this didn’t sap their courage. They pressed the attack in hopes of reaching the defense control systems and silence the base’s weapon systems. In the end, the 32nd had been divided in half. With half of their force outside Lanna’s defense perimeter and the other half on the ground just beyond the SSC base.

At the height of the battle, the 4th Marine Division took their limited Battlemechs and attempted to capture the Lyran dropships on the ground. After a short but fierce battle between Lyran Battlemechs of the 4th Marine Division, the Marine Division was driven back. Fearing a larger second wave and being caught on the ground, the commander of the dropships on the ground ordered his dropships to withdraw. This left the Lyrans within the SSC Base completely cut off. Before Marshal Van Buren’s eyes, his assault was unraveling. He ordered a second offensive in hopes of getting more of his troops in to the facility. However this new offensive was thrown back. With a heavy heart, he was forced to withdraw the remaining of his forces and concede the battle to New Earth.

As the first week of the invasion came to a close, the situation within the Capital became uncontrollable for the 30th Lyran Military Police Regiment. The tipping point came with the assassination of Colonel Michael Broody, the commanding officer of the 30th Lyran Military Police Regiment. As he was touring a forward check point, a lone shot hit him in the throat and nicked his spinal cord. Colonel Broody died of his injuries two hours later during surgery. The kill triggered General Goldberg to demand the identity of this shooter. Because of demands from General Goldberg, Lyran Intelligence opened an investigation in to identity the shooter. The investigation would be the opening of a file on a partisan nicknamed, the Dragon. This name came from his sole use of a Dragunov sniper rifle.

Throughout the invasion, the Dragon would become well known and feared by Lyran soldiers. With a confirmed kill of over fifty Lyran soldiers, ten pilots and hundreds of kills that were linked to the Dragon. Lyran Intelligence started to link many kills to the Dragon based on the profile of the kills and the hunting grounds that are common to the Dragon. According to the investigation the Dragon operated throughout the Brightwood Heights and Wesley Heights and hunted in a tight pack of three to six other partisans. While there were thousands if not hundreds of thousands of partisans across New Earth, no other partisan was as hated as the Dragon. A ten thousand C-bill reward was placed on the Dragon’s head by General Goldberg.

The Dragon’s favorite method of hunt was allowing a Lyran patrol to move pass their position then critically wounding one of the rear members of the patrol. While the rest of the patrol were in confusion, the rest of the pack would pin down the rest of the patrol. Anyone who attempted to rescue the wounded rear guard would be killed by the Dragon while the rest of his pack would gun down the patrol. The Dragon and his pack never engaged patrols supported by mechs, though they were adapt at dealing with armor supported patrols. They often employed booby-traps hidden in where a soldier would seek cover from enemy fire with their ambushes to add to the death toll.

As partisan activates continued to raise across the occupation zones, more troops were needed to secure Lyran held lands. By mid-February the level of troops needed to maintain security of the Capital of New Earth had not been able to be decreased. Because of this, General Goldberg’s plans started to drag. General Goldberg ordered in his reinforcements and called on his regional ally, Duke Peter L. Kilt. After word of the failed battle for Lanna hit General Goldberg’s desk, he ordered the remaining forces of the 32nd Lyran Guard to make their landings near New Rome and set up an occupation zone there.

After their bitter defeat on Lanna and leaving hundreds of their comrades behind still fighting, the 32nd was demoralized. The 32nd landed with little resistance just south of the city. Local militias linked up with Parisians and Law Enforcement units to try to resist the Lyran. The largely lopsided battle took place just beyond the city. During the battle, a pair of armor companies belonging to Bravo Brigade of the New Earth Provisional Guards showed up. Despite the additional forces, the defenders were unable to stop the 32nd as they marched on the city. The surviving defenders fled in to the city as the 32nd pushed aside any remaining organized resistance.

On February 6th 3060, the city of New Rome fell to the Lyrans. That same day Kilt's Roughriders, a mixed reinforced regiment made their landings at Conceptopolis spaceport. The following day, the security of Wiedergeburt was handed over to the Roughriders. This move freed up General Goldbergs 14th Lyran Guard to secure the regions further north and east of the city. General Goldberg kept a third of his force at his base near the Capital while the rest of his forces moved towards the northern shores of Sagittarius. For the Capital, the Roughrider’s takeover would bring in a new level of suffering as Duke Kilt’s reaction to the partisans were brutal to the remaining citizens of the capital. But the situation was about to take a drastic change.

The 1st Skye Jaegers were still chasing elements of the 7th Corps around the northern most parts of the Kasin mountain range. The Jaeger’s pursuit was hampered by locals who would block bridges and roads. The caused the Skye Jaegers to lose ground on the two brigades of the 7th Corps. However the case wasn’t over as the two New Earth units made a critical mistake. Instead of crossing the Arlie Delta at the northern side of the center finger of Selenter Bay and heading east, the two units turned south following the center finger of Selenter Bay. Worse than that, the two units spilt up. 2nd Brigade, aka Iron Brigade, continued to follow the banks of Selenter Bay heading south east. 1st Brigade, aka Union Brigade, turned more south and headed closer to the Kasin Mountains.

Not wanting to expose his unit to Castle Brian 958, which was still in New Earth hands, Colonel Wenzeslaus Bocker, Commanding Officer of the 1st Skye Jaegers, ordered his unit to continue pursuing the 2nd Brigade. With the odds soundly in his units favor, Colonel Bocker became emboldened and ordered a series of harassment raids against the retreating New Earth unit. This triggered a series of pitch battles against the two units, however before the battles could have any impact on the situation, Brigadier General Bhàtair Christopher ordered his unit to continue their withdrawal. Aided by local communities, General Christopher’s unit was able to keep ahead of the 1st Skye Jaegers.

General Goldberg watched the events between the 1st Skye Jaegers and the two New Earth units closely. What he saw in the actions of the two New Earth units was a vain attempt to lead the 1st Skye Jaegers around the Kasin Mountain and attempt to liberate the Capital city. With the majority of his own 14th Lyran Guard units moving north towards island of Ebrehim just off the coast of Sagittarius. The island held a prize target, the city of Eamonn, the second largest populated area on New Earth and the largest center of Muslims in the Inner Sphere. The city’s claim to fame is that fact that it is part of an annual galactic holy pilgrimage called the Hajj.

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. During the raise of the Terran Hegemony and then the Star League Muslims traveled from across the Inner Sphere on their way back to Mecca. On their journey back to Mecca, that journey traveled through Eamonn. When Comstar closed off Terra, Eamonn was chosen to be the spiritual substitute for Mecca. With some of the oldest Mosque found outside of Terra in Eamonn, the city was famous for its tourism during the reconstruction years.

General Goldberg knew that he had to secure the island of Ebrehim, but also knew that he had to protect his rear from what he suspected to be a New Earth counter attack. Due to the increasing partisan actives across the Capital City, Kilts Roughriders were tied down across the city. Despite the fact that both New Earth units were days away from the Capital, General Goldberg repositions his reserve units of the 14th Lyran Guard south of the city. He also started to build up a stockpile of supplies for what he suspected would be the second battle of Wiedergeburt. Despite claims from General Goldberg, Sagittarius was far from secure.

During the last days of February Fort Nicolaus fell under attack by New Earth forces. The attacking force consisted of a mixture of survivors from the New Earth Provisional Guards, local law enforcement, civilian militia, and a partisan cell. The attack was doomed to fail from the opening shots. Guarded by a pair of battalions from the 360th Lyran Armored Cavalry Regiment and a battalion from the 15th Ford Mechanized Infantry Regiment. While the New Earth attacker were able to field just one damaged Battlemech, the force was no match for the dug in and skilled Lyran units. The attack was thrown back however later analysts discovered that this was only a diversionary attack.

While a costly diversionary for the New Earth defenders, during the attack a Partisan Cell managed to slip on to Fort Nicolaus. While the larger played out on the outskirts of Fort Nicolaus, the cell moved towards the heart of the captured fort and managed to destroy large Solid State Phased Array Radar System. The system was part of Sagittarius’ defense system which was now in Lyran hands. The destruction of the Radar site blinded the Lyrans. This attack along with the sabotage of Conceptopolis’ Search Radar forced the Lyrans to relay on their own dropships for airborne threat detection.

On Cancer, Star Colonel Weaver led her unit through the worst of the storm. At the end of the first week in February Star Colonel Weaver and her unit requested that the large blast doors at Castle Brian 850 be opened for their arrival. In what many would call an Endurance Forced March of the Century, New Earth’s OpFor did the impossible. They covered a remarkable distance over some of the most unforgiving terrain on New Earth while navigating through a blizzard in less than a week. Every last member of Weaver’s unit made it to Castle Brian 850. While the Lyran’s task force were facing the worst of the storm, New Earth’s OpFor were getting ready to take the fight to the Lyrans in the Nes’Saw Pass.

On Pisces, the Battle for Summerhaven was entering its second week. While the 5th Alliance Guards were holding their own, with each passing day the 6th Corps were being reinforced by their comrades within the New Earth Provisional Guards. The 5th Alliance Guards were driven from Summerhaven one last time and General Ito was forced to realize that his unit couldn’t take and hold Summerhaven without reinforcements. Using his dropships, General Ito conducted a brilliantly planned withdraw from the city. His original plan to was withdraw from Pisces and land on the western shores of Sagittarius. However General Goldberg demanded that Pisces be secured.

With his plans drastically changed by General Goldberg, General Ito landed his 5th Alliance Guards landed on the southern shores of Kings Bay across from the city of Rienhard. The move bought his unit time, but General Ito knew that the 6th Corps were going to be on his heels. The short move didn’t do General Ito any favors. While he positioned himself strategically against the 6th Corps, fuel shortage forced him to choose a less than desirable landing site. Positioning his unit where he did, placed it close to Castle Brian 723. Unlike other rebuilt Castle Brians on New Earth, 723 was the second largest Castle Brian on New Earth behind the massive 429 Complex on Aires. As if the powerful guns weren’t enough, 723 was large enough to house entire New Earth Corps with ease.

General Ito needed to move carefully less he wished to tempt destruction upon his unit. General Ito ordered his unit in to the mountains where his unit could hold the advantage. He couldn’t afford to leave his dropships in harm’s way. So he ordered them to return to orbit and link up with the Lyran Fleet still at the pirate point. He gave them specific instructions that would ensure that his unit would have them should they need them. The move would further infuriate General Goldberg, but would save his unit. As the 5th Alliance Guards moved deeper in to the mountains, their forward elements ran head long in to elements from Charlie Armor Brigade and Alpha Infantry Division of the New Earth’s Provisional Guard.

General Ito’s commanders assumed that the group of Provisional Guards would break and flee or put up weak resistance. Based on this, they didn’t wait for the heavier units of the 5th Alliance Guards to catch up. As they expected, the New Earth Infantry units did break and run at the first shots. Against orders, the forward elements rushed after the fleeing New Earth units. General Ito realized that his forward scout units were rushing head long in to a trap. He attempted to order them back but due to jamming and the heat of the battle, his units continued their pursuit.

Within minutes of the first engagement and after a short pursuit, General Ito’s scout units found themselves engaging dug in New Earth units near the city of Cen’enta. The battle was much fiercer than General Ito’s commanders had realized. The New Earth units had dug in and were holding a stiff resistance against the 5th Alliance Guards. More surprising than that, the two New Earth Provisional Guards had set up a brilliant ambush. They had cut off the Lyran scout units from the main force and were threatening to destroy the scout units.

The scout units were facing destruction from the well planned ambush. It was the timely arrival of the rest of the 5th Alliance Guards that saved the scout units. With the tide shifted, the New Earth Provisional Guards attempted to flee again, but this time General Ito had his full unit to block their retreat. The day long engagement ended with the near complete destruction of the Provisional Guards. Those that survived the day found themselves as POW to General Ito and his 5th Alliance Guards.

Exhausted from their day long battle with the Provisional Guards and their march through the Southern Vasvi’As Mountains, General Ito knew he couldn’t push his unit further. He ordered them to secure the city of Cen’enta and set up security points to protect the approaches to the city. It would be here that he would hold till reinforcements could be secured. While Cen’enta wasn’t as anti-Lyran as communities across Sagittarius, they were not openly friendly to the Lyrans either.

Unlike across Sagittarius, General Ito took lessons that he had seen from the disastrous occupation of Sagittarius. General Ito accepted that Cen’enta was a community occupied, he made every attempt that this occupation would be with respect. General Ito made a great inroads with community leaders but offering to pay the community for housing his unit there. He also watched the actions and behavior of his soldiers. Because Cen’enta was a predominately a Muslim community, General Ito wanted to make sure that his forces didn’t offend their ‘hosts’.

After nearly three weeks of lack of leadership due to Lyran assassinations, indications that the New Earth Defense Command were resuming charge of its units. The fact that the New Earth Defense Command was able to hold together while attempting defend New Earth against the might of the Lyran military was a testament of their devotion to their cause. Lyran Intelligence indicated the 3rd Brigade from New Earth’s 7th Corps moved from the Kasin Mountains and marched through the city of Shadowash. At the same time, the HHQ Brigade of 7th Corps were making its movements across the southern coastline of Sagittarius.

On Aires, the NEDC ordered both Death’s Brigade and CyberDrone Security Force to the island of island of Ebrehim in preparation for the invasion of the island by the 14th Lyran Guard. This redeployment of troops was a godsend for the 1st Alarion and its support units. The break in fighting allowed the battered Lyran group to slip across the water to the island of Batbatan. The 1st Alarion easily captured the city of Wessle and left behind a rear guard as the majority of the battered unit moved on for Fort Clearwater. The two day forced march across the thick tropical jungle of Batbatan was grueling for the Lyran unit who was ill-prepared for such a movement.

With supplies running low and being harassed by New Earth Air units, the 1st Alarion pressed through the jungle. Since arriving on New Earth, the 1st Alarion had faced the highest combat losses of all the Lyran Task Forces. Within their ranks were not only members of the original Task Force but also crew members of crashed Lyran dropships. Along with their damaged units, the 1st Alarion brought many of their wounded as we. Despite expecting stiff resistance from the Pathfinder Cadre, Colonel Hoffman knew that her unit needed the repair and medical facilities that Fort Clearwater offered.

To Colonel Hoffman’s surprise, the 1st Alarion and its support units found Fort Clearwater abandoned. As Colonel Hoffman lead her advanced scout unit in to the New Earth fort, they found the buildings cleared out, the repair facilities sabotaged. After searching the fort for the remainder of the third day, the Lyrans found and disarmed a number of minor booby-traps. At the end of the fourth day, Colonel Hoffman reported that Fort Clearwater was in her control. She ordered that the air field at the fort be repaired. With her supplies running dangerously low, she had to set up supply lines if her unit was to survive.

At the same time Colonel Hoffman and her 1st Alarion were securing Fort Clearwater, the last remaining members of the 32nd Lyran Guard that had been left behind on Lanna finally surrendered to New Earth Forces. After brutal fighting in the upper levels of the SSC Facility on Lanna, the battle finally ended when the Lyran ran out of supplies to continue the battle. Over five hundred Lyran soldiers and pilots went in to captivity when the isolated unit was forced to surrender. It was the largest success that the New Earth Defense Force enjoyed since the beginning of the invasion.

As the first month of the invasion came to a close, a steady stream of supplies started to flow through New Earth’s twin jump points. While Operation Colossus had New Earth blockaded within the lunar orbit, SSC was able to get vital supplies to their base on Lanna. Then fast dropships would make daring sprints across the blockade lines. Thanks to those brave crews, New Earth was able to keep their units in the field and fighting. These supplies were paramount to New Earth’s survival.

Since the beginning of the invasion, the 2nd Brigade of the 7th Corps was leading the 1st Skye Jaegers on a wild goose chase with limited end in sight. The Commanders of the New Earth Brigade masterfully kept the larger Lyran unit at base by avoiding direct conflict. The two units conducted a series of pitch battles. But before the 1st Skye could shift the weight of their unit to bare on the New Earth unit, they broke off engagement. While a series of well thought up defensive lines helped prevented the 1st Skye from over taking the small New Earth unit, it was loyal communities that made the difference. Local farmers would block roads or soaked their after the New Earth unit passed. More than once, the 1st Skye Jaeger columns were brought to a standstill.

For as much as the loyal communities wanted, the battle between the 2nd Brigade and the 1st Skye Jaegers was bound to happen. After a long chase across the back country of Sagittarius, the 2nd Brigade ran out of land. The chase came to an end on the southern banks of the Selenter Bay. It was assumed that the 2nd Brigade would attempt to flee across Selenter Bay for Highcoast. However Brigadier General Bhàtair Christopher, commander of the 2nd Brigade, had something else in mind. He ordered his unit to dig in and set up defensive lines as the 1st Skye Jaegers closed on them. The sun had long set by the time the 1st Skye Jaegers were in position to attack. Despite suggestions against a night time attack, the order was given and the final battle between the 1st Skye Jaegers and the 2nd Brigade, 7th Corps.

The 1st Skye Jaegers throw everything they had at the 2nd Bridge’s lines, but the New Earth unit held their lines. For nearly twelve hours, the 1st Skye Jaegers tried to break the New Earth lines only to be tossed back. Once more New Earth Artillery units played a critical part in the battle. But was absent so far during the battle was the Battlemech battalion assigned to 2nd Brigade. Even without Battlemechs, the 2nd Brigade held their lines through strength of will and deploying landmines and precision artillery. Throughout the night, the battle was intense as the 1st Skye Jaegers pressed against the New Earth lines but failed to break through. However unknown to the 1st Skye Jaegers, a second New Earth unit was moving behind them.

While the 2nd Brigade was giving the Lyrans the long chase, 1st Bridge had driven their units hard towards the small city of Oldfall. As the 2nd Brigade was doing its part of the much larger plan, the 1st Brigade linked up with the Hilarion Training Cadre and elements of the 5th Marine Division at Oldfall. But most importantly was the battalion of Battlemechs from their sister brigade. Even though the 1st Brigade was now much larger than they were, the 1st Skye Jaegers and their support elements still outnumbered both the 1st and 2nd Brigades combined nearly three to one.

As the Once the battle was joined between their sister unit and the Lyrans, the 1st Brigade attempted to move in to position behind the 1st Skye Jaegers. However their secret march were detected by Jaeger’s scouts. As the 1st Brigade moved in to position behind the 1st Skye Jaeger, the Jaegers were ready for coming assault. However a rear attack wasn’t in the plans for the New Earth defenders. The unit dug in well beyond the ranges of the Lyran. By noon, a new threat was unleashed on the Jaegers and their supporting units. Like clockwork, the attack started with prefect time. Massive shells started to land across the Lyran lines with deadly accuracy. It didn’t take long for the leaders of the 1st Skye Jaegers to realize that they rushed in to the middle of a trap. They were within range of the massive artillery from Castle Brian 975 and now paying the price for it.

The shelling continued on in to the night as the 1st Skye Jaegers fought to escape the trap. However New Earth’s defenders held the line. Since the beginning of the shelling, on in to the night and as the morning sun rose the following day, the Lyrans fought desperately to break free from the trap. The battle became fused in to New Earth history as the Battle of Selenter Bay. The following morning the death and destruction of the 1st Skye Jaegers was clear. Twisted and mangled mechs and tanks littered the battlefield. During the early morning hours, the leaders of the 1st Skye Jaegers met with leader from 1st Brigade, 7th Corps and formally offered their surrender. Despite having a large number superiority and with experience on their side, the 1st Skye Jaegers were officially remove from the battlefield during the first weeks of March 3060.

By the middle of March, losses of the 32nd Infantry units on Lanna and now the complete removal of the 1st Skye Jaegers was another embarrassing blow for Operation Colossus. Archon Katherine Steiner was becoming outraged over the nearly two months the invasion had been going on. While other world had fallen in a fraction of this time, for reasons beyond understanding the New Earth population was resisting the invasion to the bitter end. To make matters even worse, General Goldberg had hosted no less than three large social gatherings of regional allies on New Earth. The largest and most lavish was being planned for at the end of March.

In hopes of turning the tide back in to the Lyran’s favor Archon Katherine Steiner ordered her own Aunt, Nondi Steiner, to take over the invasion. To help reinforce the Lyran forces on New Earth, the Archon ordered the 2nd Royal Guards RCT to break New Earth’s resistance. The Archon’s orders were clear. Remove General Goldberg from leadership. Reinforce the lines and break New Earth’s resistance. In preparation for the arrival of the 2nd Royal Guards, General Goldberg was ordered to secure one of New Earth’s jump points.

The evening of March 28th saw General Goldberg’s lavish party at the Presidential Palace. The party was to unveil his latest success, his New Earth Guard. The New Earth Guard was a combine arms regiment of armor and infantry that were loyal to Tharkad and Archon Katherine Steiner. Despite his mismanaging of the invasion the creation of the New Earth Guard was one of his best steps taken to winning the war. His plan called for sixteen New Earth Guard Regiments that would fight alongside his 14th Lyran Guard. However he could only recruit enough New Earth natives to fill out one reinforced Regiment.

The shiny new unit lined up approaches to the Presidential Palace acting as honor guard. To confuse the guests and onlookers, General Goldberg had the New Earth Guard dress up in their new uniforms but wore unit insignias and flew the banners of sixteen different units. He wanted to give the impression that there were much more New Earth Guard units than there really were. It was a feeble attempt to fool the local resistance. Sadly, only those off world supporters of the Lyrans bought the propaganda.

It would be the last party General Goldberg would throw. Unknown to anyone within the Lyran camp, a unnamed operative snuck in to the Presidential Palace. While it is unknown how he got past the number of layers of security, it is suspected that he used a secret passageway under the Palace. Witnesses placed him moving through the kitchen disguised as a Palace servant. While caring a tray of drinks, the operative walked through the party till he came face to face with the face of the Lyran invasion, General Goldberg. The operative uttered the words, In Memory of Death, while pulling up a pistol. The operative pulled the trigger before anyone could stop him. General Goldberg would be dead before his body hit the ground.

Within seconds as the gunman turned for his next target, the operative was gunned down by guards. It was suspected by Lyran Intelligence that the man was a former member of New Earth’s Global Military Police. At the same time, bombs exploded across the city hitting security check points and locations were groups of Lyran troops gathered. Nearly all of these sites were deep within Lyran security zones. Within minutes, the Capital city was filled with sounds of gunfire and explosions as New Earth Partisans launched their first major offensive of the war. In what would be known as the Night of Vengeance, Partisans and local armed militias from surrounding communities hit the Lyran occupiers hard.

To the south of the city, a new threat showed its ugly face. Explosions rocked Camp Fourteen sending the camp in to chaos. Camp Fourteen was the supply and support center for the 14th Lyran Guards as well as the entire Lyran Forces holding the Capital. Unlike the car bombs and suicide bombing going on around the Capital City, the veterans of the 14th Lyran Guard knew that they were under artillery attack. The first wave of shells slammed in to the make shift spaceport where the units dropships were stationed. A supply ship which was being unloaded took a direct hit causing it to explode with so much force it damaged other nearby dropships.

In a desperate attempt to stop the shelling, the Camp Commander ordered her aerospace fighters to locate the source of the shelling. As shell rained down on the camp, they placed a desperate call for assistance to their nearby units. It was feared by Lyran Commanders that the base was under attack by elements of the 7th Corps. It wasn’t till almost an hour of shelling did the source of the attack become known. To the West, a lone small craft in rout from Fort Nicolaus spotted a New Earth ship firing eastward. It took no time for commanders from the 14th Lyran Guard to realize that this was the source of the attack. A counter attack was ordered as more shells rained down on the supply base.

As the Lyrans started their counter attack on the massive ship, it was learned that the ship was no other than the New Earth ship Bizmark. The Aerospace fighters made short work of sinking the massive ship only to learn that the massive ship had been beached. What Captain Hushner did was both brilliant and suicidal. He sailed his ship atop of a major well known sandbar during high tide. He then flooded the lower levels of his ship causing the ship to sink in to the sandbar. As the tide shifted and retreated, the Bizmark sunk even deeper in to the sandbar. In doing so, he ensured that his ship couldn’t retreat from the battle. This was going to be their final stand.

Build to resist massive impacts and immune to sinking, the Bizmark brushed off the bombing from the Lyran aerospace fighters. While their weapons were taking their toll on the mighty ship, the massive guns of the Bizmark continued to fire its main batteries. As the desperate battle continued, one by one the Bizmarks main guns finally fell silent as the Lyran bombing and strafing started to take its toll on the ship. Once the battle was over, the mighty Bizmark a ghost from another era set there on the sandbar burning. The smoke from the burning ship could be seen as far as the Capital. The managed wreck looked nothing like the proud ship she once was. However her mighty guns had dealt a massive blow once more, this time in defense of her world and her people. Captain Hushner’s log would be recovered and his last entry would speak like hollow words from beyond the grave.

“During my Military Career, I made horrible mistakes in the name of loyalty. For so long I have held anger and resentment in my heart over the end of my Career. But I was blind to the world around. But now my eyes have been opened to the remarkable world that had grown around me. A world that no amount of power can take away from us. Like my fellow citizens, I too have come from darkness. With blood on my hands, and in to the light. And on this day, March 28th, 3060 I have the honor leading this make shift crew in to a no win situation. We all know that there can be no retreat, no surrender. Our only goal is to smash the dropships used by our enemy to further enslave our people. It is our hopes and dreams that we will crush those dropships before they can flee our guns. Knowing my own history, my only request is to allow our deaths be the flare that signals all New Earthers in to action.” After the invasion, the remains of the broken Bizmark would reveal that two hundred dockworkers, volunteers, local fishermen and naval personal would fallow Captain Hushner and his retired officers on this suicide attack.

True to his goal, Captain Hushner’s plans delivered a painful blow to the Lyrans. Of the twenty nine dropships on the ground at Camp Fourteen, only eight would escape the attack. Five dropships would never fly again. Worse than that was the loss of two supply ships that were not even unloaded yet. Thousands of tons of supplies were lost during the attack on Camp Fourteen. Aside from the attack of Camp Fourteen, the rest of the attacks carried out on the 28th were more flash and noise than actually military success. The Partisans were able to pull of some remarkable bombings that resulted in a high degree of casualties. However the Citizen’s Militia failed to achieve any of its military goals. For the Lyrans, the events of March 28th were more demoralizing than anything else.


Edited by Akirapryde2006 (09/07/15 07:41 PM)
Akirapryde2006
09/18/15 09:08 PM
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Official Lyran Intelligence Corps Report
World Report: New Earth
By Professor Walter Stevens
Location: -12.52 X Coordinates, 3.13 Y Coordinates
Chapter Twelve: The End of the Lyran Invasion

The end of March brought a massive change for the Lyrans and their allies across New Earth. Prior to the events of March 28th, Star Colonel Weaver and her OpFor slammed in to the Northern flanks of 24th Lyran Regulars. Star Colonel Weaver planned her counter offensive to take place at the end of the blizzard that had snowed in the Lyrans within the Nes’Saw Pass. To maximize chaos she targeted the green 24th Lyran Regulars instead of the elite Winfield's Regiment, who was further south in the pass. When her attack started, the 24th Lyran Regulars were just digging out of a nearly two week long blizzard and this only fueled the chaos of what took place.

As his headquarters, Colonel Jeremiah Winfield, Commander of Winfield’s Regiment and overall commander of the Lyran Task Force, first heard about the counter attack as desperate calls from the 24th for help. His own unit was just finished digging out from the storm. Even before his unit could react to the attack, massive shelling started to rain down on the entire pass. Unknown to Colonel Winfield and the Lyran Intelligence was that New Earth’s SSD Command had returned Castle Brian 850 back to service two years ago. While work was still undergoing, last year the massive defensive guns were installed.

Star Colonel Weaver hammered the 24th Lyran Regulars with the might of her two Clusters with her command Binary lead the attack. As the attack continued, the shelling broke the 24th Lyran Regulars courage causing them to break ranks. Elements of the 24th Lyran Regulars grabbed whatever equipment they could and fled south from the assaulting unit. With many of their lines breaking and running, the 24th Lyran Regulars couldn’t hope to hold the line. They attempted an orderly retreat but the OpFor was pressing their advantage hard.

Near the southern entrance of the pass, Colonel Winfield was setting up lines of defense against the OpFor working their way through the pass. As the OpFor was closing on his lines, a new unit slammed his western flank. Star Colonel Weaver had maneuvered the Lyrans in to a trap. To his Western Flank was the OpFor’s Charlie Battalion and Quantum Technology’s Security Force. The combined force from the two New Earth units along with the heavy shelling, the Lyran units broke in to chaos. The chaotic actions of the Lyrans slowed the New Earthers counter assault. This gave Colonel Winfield a chance to regroup some of his forces and conduct a skilled withdraw to the east.

The success of Star Colonel Weaver’s attack now became her own undoing. The 24th Lyran Regulars had splintered and their lines collapsed. Star Colonel Weaver couldn’t allow any Lyran unit, regardless of size, behind her. She ordered her units to break their pursuit of Colonel Winfield’s unit and secure as many POWs as possible. While some of the 24th Lyran Regulars were being captured by the New Earthers, Colonel Winfield led the remains of the 24th Lyran Regulars to the east. Thanks to the late winter storm, Colonel Winfield was able to lead his group across the frozen southern tributary of Grober Ploner Bay. He didn’t have much of a plan, but he knew he had to get some distance between his unit and the New Earth OpFor.

While the 24th Lyran Regulars and Winfields Regiment was facing the New Earth’s OpFor, the 1st Alarion Jaegers were facing their own troubles. As they secured Fort Clearwater, it became clear what they walked in to. Clearwater was the home of the New Earth Pathfinders, the Special Forces of the New Earth’s Armed Forces. Clearwater was not only the home of the Pathfinders, it was their only training base. Fort Clearwater was located deep in the rainforest of Batbatan with only one road leading to the Fort.

Without any dropships, this road was the only life line between the 1st Alarion’s main forces and their rear guard located in the city of Wessle. While they were repairing their badly damaged mechs at Clearwater’s repair bays, it was vital to keep this road open. To ensure that the road would remain open, a series of Lyran outposts were set up along the road. However what troubled the leaders of the 1st Alarion the most was the missing personnel from Fort Clearwater. According to what files survived, there should have been around three to four hundred New Earth soldiers stationed at this base.

The first sign of trouble showed up when a Lyran patrol failed to return. The squad was conducting a normal patrol through the jungles around Fort Clearwater when they disappeared. When the squad was over two hours late from their last check in, a large group of search group was formed. After two days of searching, the search was called off. No trace of the squad or any enemy action was discovered. The seven man squad was declared missing. There was an increase in numbers of patrols and the threat level was increased however no other enemy actions were detected.

As New Earth started to tilt during its annual change of seasons, the monsoon season started over Fort Clearwater. The monsoon season brought a new level of misery to the Lyran soldiers manning the outposts along the road and for the Lyrans foot soldiers on patrol just beyond Fort Clearwater. A week after the first rains of the monsoon started to fall, a second Lyran patrol came up missing. Once more, a search was conducted and no bodies or equipment were found. However the site where the patrol was attacked was uncovered. It was clear by what was uncovered that the squad was hit fast just as Fort Clearwater was coming in to sight.

The revelation was so damning that Colonel Hoffmen ordered the information concealed from her unit. The patrol was attacked just within a thousand meters from the back gates of Fort Clearwater. So close that a yell could have been heard, if anyone within the seven soldier squad could have yelled out for help. Colonel Hoffman ordered that squads would be doubled up and Listening/Observation Points would be set up along the patrol routes. Colonel Hoffman wanted to get her mechs on the battlefield but the jungle was simply too thick for her heavy units to support her infantry. Instead she used her mechs and tanks to protect the road to Wessle.

For all that she did to protect her forces, it would do little to protect them. With larger units moving through the jungle conducting patrols, Pathfinders would penetrate Camp Clearwater and kill Lyran personal one by one. Soldiers would simply disappear on their way to the showers or a tech would disappear while walking from the mess hall. As the rain continued to fall and time passed, the Lyrans realized that they were prisoners within the wires of Camp Clearwater. Because no bodies were ever recovered, the New Earth defenders earned the nickname, ‘Ghosts of Clearwater’.

The tide was clearly turning against the Lyrans. The conquest of island of Ebrahim hit a road block when Death’s Brigade and Cyberdrone’s Security Force landed on the northern side of the island. Marshal Emily Stevens was forced to take her already split unit up against the two New Earth units. With her supplies already limited, she hoped to gain some much needed supplies for her forces from the large city of Eamonn. She sent a battalion of infantry to the city supported by a pair of armored companies. She drove the rest of her forces north to meet the two New Earth units. While the Lyrans were suffering from lack of supplies and their forces split, the two New Earth units were being pressed as well. This would be the third major battle that they took part in, in as many months. As the temperatures across Sagittarius were starting to drop, the Battle of Ebrahim was just becoming joined.

As both the Lyran and New Earth units engaged each other in the heart of the island, elements of the 14th Lyran Guards approached the large city of Eamonn. It was clear to the Lyrans that the city of Eamonn was going to be a hostile place but they needed supplies. A large number of civilians rushed out and filled the city streets as the Lyrans entered the city. Tensions were high as the local citizens of Eamonn were screaming and waving signs calling for Lyrans to leave. A group of local leaders led by the local Imam walked out of the crowds to great the Lyrans. The leaders were attempting to claim tensions between the two groups. As the group of leaders approached the Lyrans’ lines a gunshot rang out.

No one knows who fired that first shot, but what happened next would bring an abrupt end to Lyrans’ further expansion on Ebrahim. That gunshot caused the situation to explode as some citizens ran while others started throwing rocks and Petro Bombs. The Lyrans in turn returned fire cutting down a number of civilians. Within seconds the scene turned explosive as more citizens surged in to the city streets often using nothing more than stones and bricks against Tanks and mechanized infantry. After hearing the reports and fearing another partisan fueled crisis like what has happening in the Capital, Marshal Stevens orders her forces back from the city.

The battle between the 14th Lyran Guard and the New Earth defenders on Ebrahim. Luckily for both units, the battle of Ebrahim was short lived. On the Lyran’s side, the events of March 28th forced the recall of the 14th Lyran Guard to help put down the civilian uprisings across the Capital Districts. For the Death’s Brigade and their Cyberdrone allies, the two units had been shifted from battlefield to battlefield since the beginning of the invasion at the end of January. Even though the battle was short, it was no less intense as both sides through everything they had in to the battle. By the beginning of April, Ebrahim remained securely in New Earth’s hands as the 14th Lyran Guards evacuated the island.

As the invasion entered its third month, the invasion was no closer to securing New Earth for Tharkad than they were during the opening months. The word had slipped out that General Nondi Steiner was gathering up her forces to head for New Earth. Along with these newly formed forces were a few units belonging to the Skye Rangers. A second wave like this would overwhelm New Earth’s already struggling defenders. Forces far beyond New Earth started to move in defense of the besieged world.

On Skye, a pregnant woman pushed a stroller in to an office building belonging to the Skye Rangers. It was one of their administration buildings. The woman told the receptionist that she had a problem and that her husband was deployed on New Earth with the 1st Skye Jaegers. The woman seemed distressed and emotional. She was brought in to the building and was set up with a meeting with a rear commanding officer of the 1st Skye Jaegers. Video surveillance recorded the meeting. When he asked her what the problem was, she stated that she was doing this in the name of Death. The blast was so large that it caused the building to collapse in on its self.

Unknown to the public, a message was delivered to the offices of Duchess Margaret Aten,
President Anson McConnaughey of Skye. The message was simple, the attack on the administration building was just the beginning. If Skye was to support the Lyran invasion of New Earth, more bombings would soon follow. The secrecy of the message gave Duchess Aten a remarkable ability. Using the growing unpopularity of the invasion across the Isle of Skye, the Duchess ‘Respectfully’ refuse to send forces to support the invasion and refused to allow Alliance forces to use recharging stations within the Isle of Skye. The move caused minor tensions between Skye and Tharkad but avoided further bombings. The bombings were linked back to New Earth’s Partisans though no hard evidence was found. The change in Skye’s position on the invasion slowed down General Nondi Steiner’s forces long enough for other events to take place.

Back on New Earth, field supplies were running dangerously low among Lyran combat units and the jumpships operating at the pirate points couldn't keep up with the demand. Thanks to the raids carried out on March 28th created an invasion supply short fall across Sagittarius. Increased fighting between Partisans and Lyran forces in and around the Capital only added to this situation. Duke Kilt, who had assumed command over the invasion after the death of General Goldberg, ordered the 32nd Lyran Guard to depart from New Rome and march across the heartland of Sagittarius for the industrial city of Shadowash. The region around the city was a major industrial center. But more than that, the city rested on the banks of the Matilda and was the gateway to the east. By taking and holding Shadowash, the Lyrans could threaten to divide Sagittarius in half.

The 32nd Lyran Guards started their march in mid-April and were plagued by resistance at each new community that they crossed. This resistance slowed the 32nd’s advanced long enough for the 1st Brigade of the 7th Corps to advance in to a position and lay a trap for the coming Lyrans. As the winter crossed over Sagittarius, the temperature dropped. This drastic change in temperature ended up being the undoing of the 32nd Lyran Guards. The 32nd were never trained to deal with the massive drop in temperatures. By the end of April, the temperature drop forced the 32nd to slow their march.

The 1st Brigade clashed with the 32nd just north of the city of Ironmallow. The clash was intense and the Lyrans were forced to withdraw. As the 32nd withdrew back to the Northwest, their path was blocked by a second New Earth Force. This new force was the HHQ Brigade of the 7th Corps. Caught between two forces, the 32nd Lyrans were forced to fight a two front battle. The 32nd got a reprieve after Marshal Gustav Van Buren pulled off a brilliant faint with his command unit. The faint bought the majority of the 32nd a chance to break to the south and withdraw from the battlefield at a cost of the entire command unit. The 32nd Lyran Guards were driven hard by elements of the 7th Corps.

The end came when the chase was joined by surviving elements of New Earth’s Provisional Guards. The 32nd Lyran Guards were encircled by the growing New Earth forces three days march south of Ironmallow. They placed a desperate call to Duke Kilt for assistance. Duke Kilt’s orders to them was to conduct a break out and carry out their original mission to secure Shadowash. The 32nd fought hard to break out of the encirclement but after two weeks of consistence battles the 32nd were forced to surrender. It would be the third major unit loss the invasion force would suffer. The 1st Skye Jaegers were decimated, the 1st Alarion Jaegers and their supporting units were all but neutralized. And now the 32nd Lyran Guards were removed from the battlefield.

On Cancer, Star Colonel Weaver and her Clan Mountain Eagle were pressing Task Force Winfield across the northern reaches of Cancer. Luckily for Task Force Winfield, the coming summer and wide open tundra allowed him to take advantage of his larger numbers. Despite his best efforts, Colonel Winfield couldn’t hold back the onslaught of Clan Mountain Engle and their Quantum Tech allies. After a series of running battles, Colonel Winfield reported that the Campaign for Cancer was a lost cause without reinforcements. After the defeat of the 32nd Lyran Guards, Duke Kilt ordered Task Force Winfield to withdraw from Cancer and reinforce Sagittarius.

On Pisces, the 5th Alliance Guards were fighting a brilliant holding action against the might of the New Earth forces. General Ito skillfully kept his unit from being overrun by the constant pressure from 6th New Earth Corps. Despite being out numbered and facing dropping supplies, the fact that the 5th Alliance Guards were still a fighting force was the direct credit of General Ito. However the writing was on the wall, once they got word that Task Force Winfield was pulling out of Cancer. General Ito sent a message to General Kitl, “Our lines are holding for now, but unless supplies and reinforcements made more available then our cause is lost.”

As the supply situation for the invasion continued to degrade, New Earth’s SSD Command launched its most ambitious counter assault. Calling in three of their Marine Air Forces from both Recharging Stations and Lanna, SSD was deploying over five hundred aerospace fighters. In support of the counter assault, the SSD sent in twelve combat dropships and fifteen supporting dropships. The attack was going to be the single largest gamble that would place the fate of the entire solar system in the balance. Their target was the Lyran’s makeshift jumppoint between the orbits of Ceti Prime and New Earth.

The battle was pivotal, when the New Earth forces pounced on the Lyran Jumpships on station. The attack was led by Captain Golyat Lester, a former wingman and student under the elite Commander Tetsuhara. Now an elite fighter pilot himself, Captain Lester was tasked with planning and caring out the daring mission. Using his Specters to mask the three approaches, he managed to catch the Lyrans by surprise. The battle played out in the depths of space as Lyran fighters attempted to stay off the hordes of attacking New Earth fighters. Despite being badly outnumbered, the Lyran pilots fought with courage beyond human limits. But there was nothing stopping the swarm of New Earth fighters as they shot past the Lyran lines and at the supply ships and Jumpships.

While a few Jumpships managed to escape the attack by jumping out of system, four Lyran Jumpships were captured including one Monolith class Jumpship. Most importantly twelve supply dropships were also captured during the raid. The remaining dropships would attempt to flee for the Lyran blockade lines. However those would be hunted down and captured. In total, some twenty dropships would be seized by New Earth during the raid. Vital supplies that were meant for Lyran troops were now in the hands of New Earth. Lyran’s only major supply hub was shut down. This would disrupt Lyran supplies causing more of a supply crisis among Lyran units.

Once the Lyran Jumpships were secured, New Earth Naval officers were brought aboard and they were jumped out of system. It wasn’t learned till after the battle, that President McGray led a boarding party personally. After four months of the invasion New Earth was finally on the move towards throwing off the invaders. After the captured Lyran ships jumped out of system, a Lyran spy reported that the NEWS Maverick jumped out of system as well. Lyran Intelligence were unable to track where these ships jumped to, however there was good indication that they were in route to pick up New Earth’s 4th Corps that was operating in the Chaos March.

Across New Earth, the Lyrans were facing a drastic change in their fortunes. The Capital was in complete unrest with Partisans openly engaging Duke Kilt’s forces. The reprisals were brutal and the crack downs drove the resentment against the Lyrans much higher. Any New Earther who openly supported the Lyrans found themselves and their families as targets to the Partisans. The more Duke Kilt attempted to control the people of the capital, the more he lost control. He was forced to recall the weakened 14th Lyran Guard back to the outskirts of the city in an attempt to help cut off supplies flowing in to the hands of the Partisans.

On the island of Batbatan the 1st Alarions were reporting regular casualties each day due to enemy actions. Due to the heavy New Earth air support and ground base air defense systems, resupplying the 1st Alarions was nearly impossible. However a few brave pilot did manage to pull off supply drops. However due to the losses during failed attempts, Duke Kilt was forced to suspend all supply efforts to the 1st Alarions. Within days of this order, the effect on the 1st Alarions and their supporting units were felt right away.

Supported by the Presidential Guard and elements of the 8th Marine Division, the city of Wessle was in full revolt against the 1st Alarions’ rear guard units. The battles for the city were nowhere as intense as other battles. The lack of supplies and falling moral defeated the rear guard units long before the Presidential Guard hit the beaches. The rear guard units attempted to conduct a fighting withdraw but they were over taken by the New Earth forces.

By the end of May, New Earth forces marched up the road towards Fort Clearwater. What they found was recorded by Comstar. The survivors of Fort Clearwater were half starved and had their spirits broken. While their mechs and armor units were all fully operational, it was the attacks carried out by the Pathfinders during the monsoon season that undid the unit. Colonel Little Hawk led her Pathfinders from the thick jungles shortly after the Presidential Guard liberated the fort. In sharp contrast to the hundreds of Lyrans who had been killed during the occupation of the fort, the Pathfinders only lost fifteen soldiers.

Once Cancer, Colonel Winfield ordered his dropships to pick up the remains of his unit and the tattered remains of the 24th Lyran Regulars. As he masterfully conducted a fighting withdraw from the battlefield, Star Colonel Weaver and her fellow clan didn’t give the retreating Lyrans any quarter. The final battles for Cancer were bitter and the losses stacked up. In the end, the Lyrans managed to board their dropships and withdraw from Cancer. However to Duke Kilts surprise, Colonel Winfield ordered his dropships and those surviving 24th Lyran Regulars to the Hartford. The Hartford was Winfield’s own jumpship. Within hours, the unit departed the system.

While the 5th Alliance Guards were fairing much better against the constant attacks from the 6th Corps, there was little that they could do break out. Each day passed, the 6th Corps were getting reinforced by new recruits from up north while the 5th Alliance Guards were suffering from losses. Disaster took hold when the 10th Alliance Guards Heavy Armor Regiment reported that they no longer had any more ammunition. Within days the same reports were coming in from across his unit. General Ito requested a supply drop from the Lyran Supply depot in Sagittarius only to find out about the New Earth’s raid on the Supply Hub. A critical piece of information that was withheld by Duke Kilt.

With limited resources General Ito and his 5th Alliance Guards were forced to make a painful choice between maintaining ground that they had fought hard for within the Southern Vasvi’As Mountain Range or withdrawing from the mountain range. General Ito called a meeting of his commanding officers during the first week of May, 3060. Before they could reach a decision, Duke Kilt ordered the 5th Alliance Guards to redeploy their unit from their current location and reinforce the Capital. The order made their choice for them.

Despite arguments from his commanding officers regarding the fate of the invasion, General Ito ordered the 5th Alliance Guards to redeploy to Conceptopolis Spaceport as per his orders from Duke Kilt. By the end of the first week of May, the 5th Alliance Guards had completed their redeployment. Duke Kilt ordered the battle harden unit along the northern boarders of the Capital and to reinforce the soldiers located at Fort Nicolaus. While his own Roughriders would secure the eastern approaches to the city and the city center. Duke Kilt ordered the exhausted 14th Lyran Guards to the southern boarders of the city.

Since the beginning of the invasion the 14th Lyran Guards were becoming spent. While other units have been able to enjoy short breaks from combat, the 14th Lyran Guards faced battlefield after battlefield. Beyond that, their rear areas were under constant threat by Partisan forces. Marshal Emily Stevens did her best for her troops but in the end, there was no hiding from the endless battle. By the end of May, Marshal Stevens was killed by a Partisan snipper (Lyran Intelligence credited the murder to the Dragon based on forensic recovered from the scene) while touring one of her units check points. It was a demoralizing blow to the 14th as the Partisans focused their terroristic attacks on the 14th Lyran Guards.

In the city center, the Roughriders and their Lyran supporters from the local population were carrying out a wave of terror against anyone that resisted the occupation of the city. Hundreds were rounded up and arrested, some were never heard from again. This caused the location population to rally behind the Partisans even more. Some even took matters in to their own hands by lashing out at Lyran supporters across the city and beyond. As New Earth became more hostile towards those who supported the Lyran Alliance (even if they didn’t support the invasion) became targets from vigilantism. While the New Earth Government both officially and behind closed doors condemned these actions, they were powerless to stop it.

The end of the Invasion was starting to focus as all elements of the 7th Corps finally linked up in the northern shadows of Castle Brian 958. It was the first time the Corps was together since the beginning of the invasion. After being reinforced with new troops and supplies the 7th Corps were back up to combat strength once more. Supported by the elite Hilarion Training Cadre and elements from the 5th Marine Division, the 7th Corps was ready to move on the Capital. All that stood between them and the Capital was the 14th Lyran Guard and Duke Kilt’s Roughriders.

Death’s Brigade and their Cyberdrone allies made their landings on the northern shores of Sagittarius. Due to a dropship shortage, Death’s Brigade dropships were ordered in to double duty. They departed immediately for Cancer. There the ships picked up New Earth’s OpFor and their Quantum Tech Allies. At the same time the 7th Corps were regrouping near Castle Brian 958, the four elite units had joined up a hundred kilometers northwest of the Capital. It was out of a deep sense of respect that the New Earth Defense Command called this group, Task Force Death. Supported by elements of 8th Marine Division, Task Force Death was ready to make its move on the 5th Alliance Guards.

To ensure that the 5th Alliance Guards didn’t redeploy with their dropships, heavy New Earth fighters were deployed in the area. Star Colonel Weaver insisted on the additional fighters to ensure that her prey doesn’t escape. During the second week of May, the battle for the Capital was joined. Back during the Battle of Tukayyid in 3052, Star Colonel Weaver was saKhan of the Smoke Jaguars. A woman of power and influence. During that battle, she faced off with the Death’s Brigade and saw her future changed. Since that battle, she had yet shared the Battlefield with Death’s Brigade again. This time, they would flank her as she defended her new home.

The Battle of Wiedergeburt began as both New Earth forces slammed in to the forward lines of both the 5th Alliance Guards and the 14th Lyran Guards during the third week of May. With the winter in full swing, the battle for the outskirts of the Capital were brutal. Despite the earlier battles over New Earth, each unit fought with remarkable bravery and courage. That is all units except for the Roughriders. After the first week of battles, Duke Kilt ordered his personal unit to fall back. Ordering the other Lyran units to hold the line at all costs, Duke Kilt and his forces withdrew off world and from the system.

The brutal battles along the northern and southern lines of the city were taking their toll on the Lyrans. As losses were starting to add up, new of Duke Kilt’s departure reached General Ito. General Ito, was placed in command of the invasion of New Earth by Duke Kilt before his departure and was told that reinforcements were only days away, was outraged. His orders were to hold the lines at all cost and fight to the last man. Skeptical of this information and disgusted with Duke Kilt, General Ito ordered all his Lyran forces to retreat in to the Capital city. However the information wasn’t wrong. As General Ito was ordering his units to withdraw from their primary lines, two large forces jumped in to the Tau Ceti system.

At the Zenith of the Tau Ceti star, over twenty Jumpships arrived. To the surprise of the Lyran commanders of the blockade, these ships were not fired upon by New Earth defenders. As the ships departed the Zenith, it was clear who these ships belonged to. New Earth’s 3rd Corps had returned home in their darkest hours. It wouldn’t become known till hours after the 3rd made their last jump, that General Macko had used his contacts within Comstar to prevent any word of his unit’s movement from being spread. General Macko violated his contract with Grand Duke Morgan Kell and abandoned his station within the Arc Royal Defense Cordon. Moving near secrecy, the 3rd Corps arrival to the Tau Ceti system was a complete surprise to the Lyrans.

The other unit to jump in to the Tau Ceti system was the elite 2nd Royal Guard under the direct command of General Nondi Steiner. The 2nd Royal Guards jumped in at a pirate point days from New Earth. The 2nd brought with them a large number of armor and infantry support. It was clear that the Lyrans were not so willing to give up their plans for New Earth. This new arrival of troops inspired the Lyrans on New Earth to continue fighting despite withering losses.

As the 2nd Royal Guard were forming up their dropships, a hold order was issued. The situation had changed on New Earth and in orbit above. Behind the 2nd Royal Guards moved General Macko’s forces. General Macko had with him over fifty combat dropships lead by his flagship, the Ark Royal (an Aegis II Class Attack Cruiser). But the real surprise was what they saw in lunar orbit. Hung the New Earth warship Maverick supported by a large number of dropships. It was reported that the Maverick was badly damaged and wouldn’t be able to return to the battlefield.

Though General Steiner was not without her own warship. She had made a side trip to Port Sydney Naval Shipyards to pick up the Lyran battlecruiser Yggdrasil. Though construction wasn’t complete, the ship had most of her weapons and armor plating. Still taking the incomplete Yggdrasil against two fully functional New Earth warships with fighter and dropship supports was not the right place to test the Yggdrasil. More than that, General Steiner knew that she couldn’t protect her dropships should either force engage her. Her ground forces would be destroyed before they ever reached New Earth’s orbit.

Before Steiner could make her decision, a third group of Jumpships jumped in to system. This group arrived just outside of lunar orbit. It was President McGray and the captured Lyran Jumpships. He had returned with New Earth’s 4th Corps. This addition sum of troops made it clear that the invasion was lost. General Steiner requested a meeting with President McGray. She also requested a cease fire on New Earth. At midnight 1st of June, fighting on New Earth came to an end. President McGray would hammer out a surrender terms that allowed the surviving Lyrans to be able to leave New Earth.

The first round of talks took place aboard the Ark Royal and extended the cease fire. While the talks were taking place, General Macko and his 3rd Corps were conducting their landings on New Earth. The 4th Corps were kept in reserved on Lanna. The next round of talks took place aboard the Yggdrasil as the final peace terms were hammed out. General Steiner ensured that nowhere on the document did the word surrender appear. However across the Isle of Skye and on New Earth, that is just what the Lyrans were doing. The final peace treaty would favor New Earth but set the stage for future tensions between Tharkad and New Earth.

Under the terms of Peace Treaty, the Lyrans would be allowed to withdraw all of their forces from New Earth and leave the Tau Ceti system. All equipment on New Earth would be forfeit by the Lyrans however anything in orbit would be allowed to leave the system. Lyran POW’s would be allowed to leave New Earth. Tharkad would pay New Earth over six trillion c-bills in war reparations. And lastly, President McGray demanded that the Estates General and the Archon recognize New Earth’s independence. A demand that would never be addressed by either the Estates General or the Archon herself.

On the 5th of June 3060, the official Peace Treaty was signed between General Steiner and President McGray. To the Lyran’s surprise, President McGray refused to allow the Lyrans on New Earth to depart. Knowing that the peace treaty was only as good as the word behind it, he told General Steiner that her forces were able to leave the Tau Ceti system. But until the reparations were paid, those Lyrans on New Earth (who were being forced in to internment camps) would be the guests of New Earth. This ensured that the entire sum that was agree upon would be paid. Unknown the President McGray, the Estates General had no intention of making one payment. That changed and the entire sum was paid by October 31st 3060.

The months that followed the Lyran invasion was devoid of celebration. Instead there was a devotion to reconstruction and remembrance. During the weeks after the end of the invasion, New Earth started the long difficult process of burying their dead. As bodies were recovered from make shift graves the true death toll became known. With tens of thousands of New Earths killed during the invasion, it was if every family from across the world had felt the loss. Day after day was filled with grief as it seemed as if the funerals would never end. The entire world was weeping for those who had given their lives for their world. But this would not last as within weeks, the sadness and grief gave way to something else.

No one knew when it happened or who started it, but there was a moment when weeping and grieving had passed. Those who had survived the invasion started to look around at their world in a new light. New Earth had stood up against a major house and fought off the invaders. Those who had died were seen as heroes. Elevated by their courage and sacrifice. It wasn’t long till the names of those who had been killed by the Lyrans were shouted out in song. Their deaths were celebrated by those who now enjoyed the freedom that was earned in blood. It was through this that New Earthers made a promise to themselves.

That promise was to rebuild. A promise that would drive them through the next few months and towards their future. No one knows what 3061 will bring, but from what I have learned through my studies of this remarkable world and people, that they have mastered the art of rebuilding. And in this art, New Earth found a means of showing their defiance to Tharkad and the Lyran Alliance. Defiance became one of New Earth’s learned traits, as heard in President McGray’s 3060 Christmas Speech. “This year had been filled with blood and horror. Of the likes that no one had ever seen before. We had survived our journey through darkness and look back now. We pay homage to those who fell in defense of our liberty. Great and heroic people laid down their lives so that we will be free to govern our own destiny. We cannot forget them or what they have done for us.”

“We now move forward, no we must move forward from this. We must in their honor rebuild our great world. While our soldiers and civilian militia has protected their world from invasion, it is now left to us. Left to us to rebuild and show those monsters that they cannot take our world from us. That we will survive this. That we will REBUILD our world. We will show Tharkad and any other power that they cannot come here and take away our world. I challenge you, each of you, to go out in to your communities. Take with you tools and materials to help your communities rebuild. And together we will once more become the jewel that we once were before the invasion came to our world.”
CrayModerator
10/16/15 10:46 PM
72.189.109.30

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Wow. That was, what, about 75,000 words? There was an epic scope to that campaign. And pretty neatly written.

Heh. I like the IR decoys of the pirates.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer

Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
Akirapryde2006
10/17/15 09:31 AM
71.100.132.249

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Hey thanks for the input, I am so happy you liked it...

75,000 words lol.

After I posted this, I made a few revisions. Its now, thirteen total chapters. I highly doubt I will add more to it.

Now I am trying to fill in the equipment. As you have already seen, I am working on the Aegis II. Next will be the Thunder Chief (A convention attack Fighter based off of the A-10 design).
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