Yulia Flyntham

Yulia Flyntham
Personal
Affiliation	Federated Suns
Profile
Profession	Aristocracy
Family
Spouse	Jonas Tyler

History

Yulia Flyntham (b. 27?? - d. 2???) was the daughter of one of the landed gentry on Sherwood known as barons, who formed the ruling governing body on the planet, the Council of Elders. Sherwood had been plagued by banditry during the Star League era, due to the vast ranges of heavily-forested wilderness and relatively low population, and since the mid-twenty-seventh century the Star League Defense Force had been deploying BattleMech elements of the Third Army to Sherwood to assist the local militia in their efforts at stamping out the bandit activity. Despite the best efforts of the militia, known as the Sherwood Jabberwockies, and the Third Army troops, the pirate activity continued for almost a century, with some pirate bands becoming increasingly large and aggressive in their actions.

A particularly large and vicious band of pirates, backed by the Taurian Concordat and known as the Titanium Blade operated from a location north of Marion, the planetary capital, and in 2759 conducted a very successful attack on an SLDF forward operating base, defeating the company of 'Mechs stationed there and making off with millions of League dollars' worth of equipment and supplies, including a DropShip loaded with a lance of Wasp LAMs. This prompted a year-long investigation by the SLDF, during which operations on Sherwood were heavily curtailed. Among the SLDF responses to the investigation was the decision to deploy the 132nd Royal Jump Infantry Division to Sherwood in late 2761. under the command of Major General Jonas Tyler to hunt down the pirates. At thirty-one years old, Tyler was the youngest Major General in the Third Army, and was determined to prove himself.

Jonas took personal command of two of the jump infantry regiments from the 132nd and led them in a highly aggressive campaign against the Titanium Blade, in which he managed to retain the strategic initiative; SLDF jump infantry troops fought close actions against the pirates, with support from VTOLs operating at treetop height. In one of the climactic battles of the campaign, LAMs from the 132nd fighting light aerospace fighters from the Blade and the stolen Wasp LAMs directly over Marion, and by mid-2763 Tyler's tactics had seen the Blade defeated after nearly a century of banditry. The 132nd had become heroes to the local population, who dubbed them "Sherwood's Sherrifs", and Jonas was a very popular figure. In 2765, Jonas and Yulia married, and the Court of Elders dubbed the popular general an "earl".

The 132nd was deployed into the Taurian Concordat during the Periphery Uprising, and their actions against the Titanium Blade saw the 132nd subjected to particularly vicious tactics and attacks from the Taurians. The Division took enough damage that it was rendered operationally defunct, and disbanded by the SLDF in 2766. Jonas and some of the survivors from the 132nd chose to return and settle on Sherwood, and Jonas and Yulia had at least two children together. The survivors of the 132nd donated their equipment to the planetary militia, and formed a new militia unit, which was dubbed Tyler's Terrors.

The First Prince officially recognised the title of Earl given to Jonas, and his and Julia's children attended military academies on New Avalon and New Syrtis, with the intention of taking command of the Terrors in due course; it was considered a practical certainty that they would be appointed to the Council of Elders in turn, which prompted a change in the planetary constitution. Sherwood became a crowned republic; Yulia and her family were given ceremonial responsibilities and would represent Sherwood, but the Tyler family would have only a single vote on the Council of Elders. The descendants of Yulia and Jonas would continue to play an important role in the government of Sherwood throughout the following centuries.

Bibliography

• Touring the Stars: Sherwood