Desant
Sarna News
The desant (Russian for "descent") was an ancient Terran military term for a strike deep into enemy territory. It was adopted by Clan Jade Falcon to describe their military invasion of the Republic of the Sphere during the Dark Age era.
History
After the Blackout, Jade Falcon Khan's Jana Pryde launched this operation. A massive force of more than three Galaxies passed through Lyran Commonwealth space without a fight, invading Republic of the Sphere space. However, the Falcons launched his operation without informing the Lyrans, which closed an eye, expecting to avoid a conflict with the Clan.[1]
His objective was the creation of a bridgehead in the Republic space centered around the planet Skye from which later, the full strength of the Clan will launch an assault against Terra itself.[2] The the Falcon Galaxies were Gyrfalcon Galaxy, Turkina's Eyes, and Turkina's Beak. The force had three leaders: Beckett Malthus, a influential advisor of the Khan, and the brothers Aleksandr Hazen and Malvina Hazen.
The Republic was almost defenseless, especially Prefecture X. Jasek Kelswa-Steiner, the son of the governor, had stole most of the Prefecture's troops, forming the Stormhammers, a pro-Lyran group. During the trip trough Lyran space, the Falcons raided the planet Porrima, to test the green Zeta Galaxy. Aleksadr lead the attack.[3]
However, the first conquest of the Falcons was the lyran world of Chaffee, in May 3134. Despite being outside their original orders, they took him easily, incorporating it to their bridgehead.[4] The desant first wave saw their three galaxies striking separated targets: Zeta Galaxy attacked Alkaid, Gyrfalcon, Ryde and Turkina Keshik, Glengarry.[5] The second wave saw Zeta attacking Summer, while Gyrfalcon split on Ryde, with an element taking Zebebelgenubi, the other, Kimball II. Finally, the three Galaxies converged on Prefecture's capital, Skye.[6]
At the end, the Falcons took easily six planets, Their first attack against the prefecture's capital, Skye by mid-August, found only a eak militia opposing them. Even with the assistance of countess Tara Campbell and Northwind Highlanders, but thanks to the unexpected assistance of Anastasia Kerensky and the Steel Wolves, the Falcons were rebuffed, Aleksandr Hazen was killed, and Malvina crippled. However, a few months later, the Falcons returned to Skye, and despite to the help of the Stormhammers, the planet fell to the Clan.[7]
Consequences
The fall of Skye created a continuous zone, which received the name of the Falcon's Reach. Skye become the new Occupation zone's capital. However, the main invasion of the Jade Falcons never took place: Khan Pryde send barely any reinforcements, all outcasts and solahma. Only then it was evident the real plan, for her, was to get rid of malcontents and rivals. It was no indication than the Khan ever planned seriously to attack Terra.[8] However, the operation was the doom for the Khan: Malvina Hazen returned to Sudeten, the Falcon's capital, beginning a Falcon Civil War finally won by Malvina, who took her place and remade the Clan in her image.
The desant was a devastating hit for the Republic Armed Forces, as was the second Prefecture capital to fall in barely two months; the other was Liao, and was one of the reasons for the Exarch Jonah Levin to abandon most of the Republic worlds behind Fortress Republic.