2nd Demeter Protectorate Militia

2nd Demeter Protectorate Militia
Formed	3068
Disbanded	3078
Affiliation	Word of Blake
Parent Command	Word of Blake Protectorate Militia

The 2nd Demeter Protectorate Militia is one of the many militias raised by Word of Blake to defend the Word of Blake Protectorate. The unit was deployed in Demeter. As of 3075 it consisted of three Divisions, the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd Divisions.

History

Demeter was one of many worlds to be occupied by the Word of Blake during the Jihad after the local government acquiesced to the Word on the 25th of April 3068, allowing Demeter to be incorporated into the Word of Blake Protectorate. In early January 3077 the Planetary Governor, Giovanni Estrella de la Sangre, vanished from public view. De la Sangre was considered to be an example of the most convenient kind of cooperation with the Word of Blake, and official statements that he was indisposed with something akin to the flu were met with skepticism in some quarters. De la Sangre's continuing absence was marked by short-trading of shares in Vicore Industries due to de la Sangre's known major role in the company as well as increased military exercises on the part of the Protectorate Militia. As de la Sangre continued to remain out of sight, the rumors increased in scope, ranging from the possibility that de la Sangre was being blackmailed to speculation that he had been abducted by a foreign power.

The Federated Suns was finally able to launch an attempt to liberate Demeter on the 1st of February 3077 as a part of Operation SCOUR, the allied coalition assault on the Protectorate. Unfortunately for the coalition, the campaign for Demeter - described as a "factory world" - quickly became a brutal, bogged-down quagmire. The allied coalition forces consisted of the Fifth Crucis Lancers, the Fifteenth Arcturan Guards and the Third Free Worlds Legionnaires, and found themselves facing not just the divisions of the Demeter Protectorate Militia but also two Level IIIs from the Ninth Militia Division, Measure of Trust and Call to the Faithful. The Blakists rebuffed the initial attack by the Fifth Crucis Lancers and the Fifteenth Arcturan Guards, driving the coalition forces back almost as far as their initial landing zones until an orbital drop by the Third Free Worlds Legionnaires saw the Blakists forced to fall back.

The Protectorate Militia forces retreated to New Demeter City, while the Ninth Division forces retreated into the Vicore Industries plant. The Fifth Crucis Lancers and the Fifteenth Arcturan Guards faced a brutal battle to clear New Demeter City, while the Third Free Worlds Legionnaires encircled the Ninth Militia Division forces but were unable to dislodge them from the factory complex. The Ninth Militia Division forces were finally destroyed by orbital bombardment, which also leveled the Vicore Industries plant. A news story filed by Keevah Acee of the Demeter Free Press on the 17th of March 3077 alleged that the defense of New Demeter City had seen the local citizenry rising up against the coalition forces with whatever weapons they could find or improvise, and also alleged that the Federated Suns front task force had resorted to indiscriminately bombarding not just the Vicore Industries plant but also New Demeter City itself.

On the 30th of April 3078 it was revealed by Colonel Marcel Webb - Commanding Officer of the Star Seeds mercenary unit and head of security for the allied coalition - in a news broadcast from Kittery that the reason for Governor de la Sangre's disappearance in 3077 was his capture by coalition forces. Following his arrest, de la Sangre had been providing the coalition with intelligence, and the news broadcast served to both announce that de la Sangre had been captured and that the coalition had filed criminal charges against him for a range of crimes including conspiracy to commit genocide, treason, illegal sale of restricted weapons and violation of public trust. The same news broadcast also announced the filing of charges by the allied coalition against the Word of Blake affiliated individuals known as The Master, Precentor Martial Cameron St. Jamais, Precentor Apollyon, Precentor Naval Gregory Zwick, Precentor Alexander Kernoff, Mary Durant and Parker Steele.

Officers

Rank	Name	Command
Commanding Officers of the 2nd Demeter Protectorate Militia

Tactics

Unknown.

Composition History

Protectorate Militia Divisions were equipped with enough DropShip capacity for transportation, but not JumpShips.

Rules

As long as a Protectorate Militia force is fighting on its homeworld and is acting as the scenario's Defender, the Protectorate Militia force receives the Force the Initiative and Off-Map Movement special abilities. If deployed as the Attacker in a scenario, the Protectorate Militia force loses its Force the Initiative ability, but retains its Off-Map Movement capability.

If deployed on a world other than its homeworld (such as an Epsilon Eridani force being deployed on Genoa), the Protectorate Militia force not only loses all of its special abilities, but also suffers a –2 Initiative modifier.

Although Blakist-based, Protectorate Militia forces may use standard Inner Sphere force arrangements (Lances, Companies, and Battalions) rather than Word of Blake force arrangements.

Bibliography

• Jihad: Final Reckoning
• Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents