Operation COOKIE JAR
Sarna News
- HEXTECH Review - Wave 3 Brings More Urban Options To Your Battlefield
- Your BattleTech News Round-Up For March, 2024
- Crashing 'Mechs With Jennifer Brozek, Author Of The Rogue Academy Trilogy
- Getting The Word Out With Rem Alternis, Catalyst Community & Marketing Director
- Bad 'Mechs - Yeoman
- Read more →
| Operation COOKIE JAR | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Second Succession War | |||||
|
|||||
| Factions | |||||
| Attacker Free Worlds League |
Defender ComStar |
||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Captain-General Charles Marik | Primus Conrad Toyama | ||||
Operation COOKIE JAR was an intelligence operation mounted by the Free Worlds League against ComStar in 2836-2837. While successful, the resulting Interdiction led to the ComStar War between the two entities and brought the Free Worlds League to the brink of collapse before Captain-General Charles Marik capitulated to ComStar's reparation demands.
Contents
Overview[edit]
During the first years of the Second Succession War Captain-General Charles Marik relied heavily upon information from ComStar to cover shortfalls in his own nation's intelligence apparatus. In particular he took advantage of his sister Jeanette Marik's membership as an Adept of the Order, receiving vital intelligence from her that enabled the Free Worlds League Military to win several stunning victories over the Lyran Commonwealth and Capellan Confederation. However, the League military also suffered many setbacks in circumstances that led to Charles Marik to suspect (correctly) that ComStar was playing all sides against one another.[1] [2]
By mid-2835 Marik decided to test his hypothesis. His first action - ordering a top-secret SAFE task force to hunt down the moles in the League - ended after several months of futile searching, so a new approach was taken. Dubbed "Operation COOKIE JAR", this trap was carried out in three steps. First, activity was heightened in an outlying region of newly-conquered Cursa, including falsely weighted DropShips, to give the illusion of a major excavation effort. Second, message traffic between Cursa and Oriente, the Capellan front's command center, was increased, including a few messages certain to be decrypted by ComStar that mentioned a well-stocked storehouse of Star League military equipment. Finally, on February 1st, 2837 Charles Marik made a personal visit to his sister and hinted at a discovery on Cursa that would shift the tide of war on that front in the League's favor.[3]
Just six weeks later three elite Capellan regiments attacked Cursa, bypassing more obvious targets and making a beeline for the "Star League storehouse" only to discover the ruse. Believing he now had proof positive of treachery by both ComStar and his sister, on 19 March 2837 Charles Marik ordered the Oriente HPG station destroyed, resulting in the deaths of over 300 ComStar personnel (including Jeanette Marik) and visitors.[4] [5] [6]
Aftermath[edit]
Despite the exposure of its double-dealing, ComStar's reaction was both swift and crippling to the Free Worlds League. Primus Conrad Toyama and the First Circuit decried the Captain-General's brutality and announced that all of House Marik's dominions were henceforth under interdiction, prompting the League government to desperately attempt the seizure of ComStar facilities and personnel. Operation COOKIE JAR thus not only ignited a shadow war between SAFE and ROM that cost both agencies thousands of lives, but also left the Free Worlds League extremely vulnerable to neighboring powers as Lyran and Capellan forces soon took advantage of the League's hampered communications to reclaim lost worlds and drive deep into the League.
Faced with his territory shrinking, his realm's economy wrecked, serious dissent from Parliament and salvage raiders from the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine joining in the attacks upon the crippled League, Charles Marik was eventually forced to negotiate a truce and reparations with ComStar.[7] [8]
References[edit]
- ↑ Second Succession War, p. 39-43, "The Eagle Swoops"
- ↑ Handbook: House Marik, p. 36, "Cursa and Oriente: The Cookie Jar"
- ↑ Second Succession War, p. 45-46
- ↑ Handbook: House Liao, p. 38, "Timeline: Second and Third Succession Wars"
- ↑ Second Succession War, p. 46
- ↑ ComStar (sourcebook), p. 25
- ↑ Handbook: House Marik, p. 36
- ↑ Second Succession War, p. 46-51