Doris Calhoun
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Doris Calhoun | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Affiliation | Free Worlds League |
| Profile | |
| Rank | Captain |
| Profession | Battle armor soldier |
Doris Calhoun was a member of the First Marik Protectors in 3077.[1]
History[edit]
As part of the Tenth Marik Militia, she joined Force Commander Yoshio Kawamura when he deposed the Militia's Commanding Officer and brought the unit to Kendall.[2]
After the Hegemony forces withdrew, many of the survivors of the Tenth attempted to return to their homeworlds, but a solid core of people loyal to Kawamura's ideals remained, and the remnants of the Militia became the First Marik Protectors, a quasi-mercenary command dedicated to protecting independent former League worlds.[2]
The First Marik Protectors went on to hire themselves out at low rates, allowing these independent systems to have protection they would otherwise lack. They retained the insignia of their former unit, and modified their name to reflect their new baseworld.[3] Kendall continued to maintain strong relations with the Protectors, with the Kali Yama - Alphard Trading Corporation and Brooks Inc. factories on Kendall signing long-term support agreements with the Protectors.[4] The Protectors also adopted an award for valor based around the Kendali Bloodstone, a form of garnet unique to Kendall.[5]
On 11 November 3077, Kendall was one of four Free Worlds League worlds to be attacked by the Marian Hegemony; various Legions from the Marian Hegemony Armed Forces struck at Kendall along with Lahti, Landfall and San Nicolas. The FWLM forces on Kendall resorted to desperate tactics against the Marians, using tactical nuclear devices against the II Legio forces to devastating effect; the Legio was largely destroyed, the survivors retreating back to Landfall, but at the cost of thousands of casualties.[6] The desperate defense of Kendall saw two cities hit with nuclear devices, while acres of fertile land were poisoned by radioactive fallout; five thousand people were killed in the initial blast, with twice that number wounded and a hundred thousand left homeless. Kendall's status as the primary breadbasket for the local sector was called into question, with other worlds such as San Nicolas that depended on food exports from Kendall left facing a grim future.[7]
On 11 November 3077, Lahti was one of four Free Worlds League worlds to be attacked by the Marian Hegemony.[6] Lahti continued to be harassed by forces from the Marian Hegemony, and finally the planetary government grew so sick of the raids by IV Legio that they hired the Protectors to launch a punitive strike against IV Legio's home base on Trondheimal. Colonel Kawamura accepted the contract, although he was unwilling to provoke the Hegemony. He attempted to fulfil the contract by subcontracting the work to Havoc, Inc.. Havoc, Inc. made a less than stellar impression when they arrived on Lahti; disreputable to begin with, the mercenaries made a drunken arrival on Lahti that prompted Colonel Kawamura to call off the raid. San Marcos convinced Kawamura to launch the raid as a false flag operation, using a company of Protector forces painted in Havoc, Inc. colors and deployed using Havoc, Inc. transport assets. San Marcos led the raid personally, inflicting damage on IV Legio and deliberately leaving evidence pointing towards Lahti.[1]
Kawamura had deployed the Marik Protectors in anticipation of the inevitable IV Legio counterattack, and IV Legio arrived as anticipated, crashing into the Protector forces. Initially, IV Legio was able to tear through the Protector lines using Ravager battle armor, until Captain Doris Calhoun dropped a company of Kopis-equipped infantry onto the IV Legio battle armor and broke them. Kawamura's heavy armor successfully ambushed the IV Legio 'Mechs, pushing the Marian forces into the open for the Protectors' artillery forces to bombard; an attempt by the IV Legio aerospace fighter forces to relieve the pressure on the 'Mech forces was countered with fire from Partisan anti-aircraft tanks. The commanding officer of IV Legio, Prefect Alberich Winograd, realized that his forces were in a trap, and led them in an orderly retreat back to their transport vessels; Colonel Kawamura, impressed with the Marian troops' discipline under fire, parlayed briefly with Winograd. During that parlay, the two established a degree of mutual respect for each other, as well as a détente between the Hegemony and Lahti. Encounters between IV Legio and the Protectors after the battle on Lahti were marked by relatively little bloodshed and an almost cordial or ceremonial attitude between the two commands.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Spotlight On: First Marik Protectors, p. 3: "Unit History and Description"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Spotlight On: First Marik Protectors, p. 2: "Unit History and Description"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 90
- ↑ Spotlight On: First Marik Protectors, p. 3: "Equipment and Tactics"
- ↑ Spotlight On: First Marik Protectors, p. 4: "Uniforms and Customs"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 58: "The Jihad in Review"
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 55–56: "Hegemony Arrives"