Lauren Hayes

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Lauren Hayes.jpg
Lauren Hayes
Character Profile
Born 27 December 2731[1]
Died 2 January 2832[1]
Affiliation Star League,
ComStar
Rank Major General
Profession MechWarrior

Lauren Hayes (born 27 December 2731 – died 2 January 2832, aged 101 years), was a Major General in the Star League Defense Force, commanding the 151st Royal BattleMech Division. Later she was the first Commander of the ComStar Armed Forces.

Biography

Born on the multinational world of Engadin, which at the time was jointly controlled by the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine, but was under the administration of the Terran Hegemony. Being raised on such a multicultural world, she grew up knowing how to speak German, Japanese, and English, the respective official languages from each of the nations. When Lauren became an adult, her upbringing on Engadin made her a staunch advocate of the Star League and the idea behind multiculturalism. She quickly joined the SLDF and was placed into active service in 2754 as a MechWarrior.[1]

When the Periphery Uprising began, she was promoted to second in command of the 151st Royal BattleMech Regiment, which was the core regiment of the 151st Royal BattleMech Division. During the campaign against the Magistracy of Canopus, the commanding officer was killed on the planet of Krimari which made Lauren the CO, though it was never officially documented as such. Instead, due to the reorganization that was needed within the SLDF due to the conflict, she was promoted to divisional command before the launch of Operation CHIEFTAIN. She would then be promoted to command of the 151st Division shortly before Operation LIBERATION.[1]

During the invasion of Terra, Lauren led her forces against Amaris troops in India and Mexico. She sustained serious injuries which included the removal of her right hand during the final invasion of North America. Lauren would continue to lead her troops through the use of a dual-cockpit BattleMaster. When the coup was finally over, her right hand was replaced with an artificial limb.[1]

When Aleksandr Kerensky was putting Operation EXODUS together, Lauren was at the forefront to oppose this plan. She believed in the Star League and thought that Kerensky was abandoning all that he fought for during the coup. Her staunch opposition became a focal point for any service member who wanted to stay in the Inner Sphere. Kerensky had to come up with a solution due to him not wanting any of the Great Houses recruiting any SLDF member. His solution was that Hayes would command the troops which would follow Jerome Blake and become the military arm of ComStar.[1]

While in the service for ComStar, Lauren took a leading role in the planning and execution of Operation SILVER SHIELD.[1] Launched on the 25 June 2788, when all of the HPG transmitters on Terra were shut down; while being filmed by ComStar personnel, Hayes' forces proceeded to eliminate the various companies of troops the Great Houses had sent to Terra, ostensibly for relief operations and "internal security". During this stage of the Operation, the biggest challenge was a company of troops from the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns in Berlin, who fought for five hours as Hayes' troops captured the remains of the various former SLDF ground bases that had been used to control Terra's SDS network. This was followed by the most challenging battle of the operation, when Hayes attempted to force two former SLDF Mechanized Infantry Divisions that had taken up residence in South America to surrender. Both Divisions refused to surrender in the face of ComStar's sudden use of military force to seize Terra, and fought a series of running battles in the Amazon rainforest, repulsing several BattleMech assaults launched by Hayes. The difficult terrain made conventional warfare difficult, and it was only after the forces on both sides had taken heavy losses that a combined attack from the 13th Royal Infantry Division and the Third Strike Regiment from the 251st BattleMech Division finally forced the rogue SLDF troops to yield. 72 hours after SILVER SHIELD launched, and with Hayes' forces in control of Terra, ComStar resumed broadcasting.[2]

Hayes would continue to oversee the forces of ComStar till her retirement in 2815.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 17-18 - "Lauren Hayes profile"
  2. ComStar, p. 13 - "Operation SILVER SHIELD"

Bibliography