Arc-Royal Defense Cordon

The Arc-Royal Defense Cordon was a region of space in the Lyran Alliance ruled by Grand Duke Morgan Kell.

When Katherine Steiner-Davion seceded the Lyran realm from the Federated Commonwealth in 3057, she was not universally supported. Her most powerful detractor was the Duke of Arc-Royal and de facto leader of Heimdall, Morgan Kell. In response to Katherine's power grab, Morgan all-but seceded sixteen worlds from the Lyran state. He officially took charge of these worlds, most of which bordered the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone to ensure their defense against the powerful Clan. In reality, he carved his own fiefdom out of his native nation. Officially, Katherine thanked Kell for taking charge of the defense for the worlds and made it seem as if he had done so with his consent, but privately, she railed against one of her brother's supporters seizing so much power at her expense.

In order to pin Kell and his troops down, Katherine removed all units loyal to her from those worlds. Kell responded by manuevering nearby House units and mercenaries into the ARDC that were loyal to Archon-Prince Victor. Mercenary units like the Kell Hounds and Blue Star Irregulars, FedCom units loyal to Victor, and Clan Wolf-in-Exile formed the bulwark against Clan Jade Falcon. Kell's precaution against the Falcons proved worth-while when the Jade Falcons launched their invasion in 3058 that reached as far as Coventry, though they came at an angle that bypassed the ARDC.

When the FedCom Civil War broke out in 3063, Victor instructed Morgan to keep the ARDC units there as a brake on the Falcons, a move that proved fortuitous when they invaded again in 3064. After the Blair Atholl Agreement ended the Falcon Incursion, Kell helped place Victor's younger brother Peter on the throne. After Katherine had surrendered and the Estates General ratified Peter as Archon, Morgan folded the ARDC back into the Lyran Alliance, though Arc-Royal became the capital of Donegal's theatre, as Pandora had been captured by the Falcons during their invasion.