Part 3 All Hell Breaks Loose
The dawn of 3063 saw numerous changes in the Taurian Concordat. One of the most significant was Protector Shraplen's deal with the World of Blake. On January 1st, 3063, the Word of Blake took over the entire HPG network of the Taurian Concordat. Soon the Word of Blake was providing Protector Shraplen and the Concordat Constabulary with detailed information on messages being passed by various protest groups in the Concordat. This invaluable data provided the Protector with detailed information on the leaders of the opposition in the Concordat, a number of whom were soon rounded up and thrown in prison, without the benefit of a trial. In many cases WOB not only provided the Protector with the content of the messages that were being sent, but helped censor them. Messages from the front lines were sanitized, hiding the true state of the war from the Taurian people. News reports that were deemed undesirable were simply lost or their content changed.
Yet despite the efforts of WOB, the opposition managed to continue it's efforts and provide the truth to the people of the Concordat. Many of the senior officers in the TDF who were opposed to Shraplen had, due to mistrust of both Comstar and the WOB, relied on hand carried messages. Many members of the civilian opposition groups also harbored a suspicion of Comstar's and WOB's intentions and had preferred to rely on independent traders and members of the Far Lookers to carry vital messages. Using these same channels, they continued to provide people the truth about the war in the St Ives Compact.
The situation in the St Ives Compact began to take a turn for the worse in January. The Taurian Velites were fighting on Tantara. Despite outnumbering the St Ives defenders, the Velites began to suffer heavy losses during the fighting. These losses were attributed to the tired state of the Velites. Having been rushed from their battles on St Loris, the men and women of the Velites had barely enough time to repair their damaged mechs and tanks, and no time to rest their weary bodies. During the fighting on Tantara a number of Velites were lost due to careless mistakes and accidents, things that would not have happened had the troops been fresh and well rested. Despite the Velites desperate situation, the regiment was kept in combat.
In the Concordat, rumors soon began to spread about the horrible losses suffered by the Velites. To counter these rumors and deflect the public's attention, Protector Shraplen announced the creation of a new mech regiment. The 3rd Taurian Lancers were formed using equipment originally intended for the Colonial Marshals. Led by Colonel Teresa Danielle, an old friend of the Protector, the members of the regiment were selected more for their loyalty and less for their combat skills. The new regiment found itself shunned by many in the TDF, who saw them as an effort by the Protector to create a force personally loyal to him.
February 3063 saw events in the St Ives Compact take a turn for the worse. The Pleiades Hussars had been deployed to fight on Warlock. Spoiling for a fight with the Davions, the Hussars found themselves up against the Illician Lancers. The Hussars quickly learned that they were no match for the Lancers. Arrogant and brash, the Hussars fell for several traps set by the Lancers, suffering horrendous losses in the process. By the end of the month the unit had suffered nearly 75% casualties. Reduced below any semblance of effectiveness the regiment, at the request of the Protector, was pulled off of the front line and rotated back to MacLeod's Land to rebuild. This action had significant repercussions in the TDF, as many officers and NCOs were shocked that the Protector would request that the Hussars be returned home, but made no such request for the Velites. Soon many in the TDF were saying that they would refuse to deploy to the Capellan Confederation if they received orders to fight in the St Ives war.
This sentiment was further reinforced in March. The Velites continued to be deployed in the fight against the forces of the St Ives Compact, where their losses began to exceed those of the Hussars. Despite the mounting casualties suffered by the Velites, they did receive any respite from the battle. It was not until the end of the campaign on Tantara that the regiment was finally rotated off of the front lines. Even then, the Velites were not sent home to the Concordat for R&R, but rather they remained in the Capellan Confederation and were soon told that they could expect to see more fighting once they had a chance to rebuild and make good some of their losses.
Following the withdrawal of the Pleiades Hussars and the severe losses suffered by the Taurian Velites, Chancellor Liao began to press Protector Shraplen for more troops. While many in the TDF and even the government began to question why the Concordat was providing the Capellans with so many troops, while Capellans were failing to meet any of their promises to the Concordat, the Protector ordered the Concordat Cuirassiers and Bluewood's Longcoats to the Confederation. Arriving there in mid April the 2 regiments were quickly thrown into the war. While the Longcoat's only faced limited resistance on Armaxa, the Cuirassiers were not so lucky. Landing on Texlos, the regiment found itself facing off against the 2nd St Ives Lancers and 7th Fed Com Regiment. Badly out matched, the Cuirassiers gave a good account of themselves, inflicting heavy losses on the defenders. Even so by the end of the month, the regiment was no longer an effective fighting force. Many of the troops had been killed and others captured, less then a company managed to escape Texlos. The few survivors were quickly incorporated into the Taurian Velites and the Cuirassiers were officially stricken from the rolls of the TDF.
Even with the survivors of the Cuirassiers, the Velites could only deploy a little more then a battalion of troops. Yet despite this, they were soon being pressured by the Capellan Strategios to deploy for combat on Texlos. Colonel Heise kept push back against these requests, using every possible excuse. While the Capellans became more and more frustrated, they we unwilling to press the issue, fearing that the Protector might decide to withdraw the Concordat from the Trinity Alliance. These concerns did not stop the Capellan Chancellor from sending a request to Protector Shraplen for more troops. Overwhelmed by the constant pressure, Protector Shraplen buckled under the Capellan requests and ordered Vandeley's Valkyries to deploy to the Capellan Confederation.
As the situation in the St Ives War continued to deteriorate, so did the homefront. Aid by intelligence from WOB, the Concordat Constabulary stepped up their crackdowns on protesters. Across the Concordat thousands of people were arrested and sent to prison on charges of being Davion Sympathizers. In most cases, these people were denied their basic rights and presumed guilty. Anyone found criticizing the government was arrested for treason. These actions had a galvanizing effect on the Taurians. While a few people supported the Protector's actions, many more were appalled at the loss of their civil rights. Unfortunately many people were not aware what was happening, as the Concordat was censoring all news broadcasts and media reports. It was only through the efforts of groups like the Explorer faction of the Far Lookers that the truth was spread across the Concordat.
One of the most outspoken critics of the Protector was Marshal (Baron) Cham Kithrong. A good friend of the late Jeffrey Calderon, he was also one of the few people who knew the truth about Erik Martens-Calderon's lineage. While the majority of the TDF's officer corps had tried to stay neutral in the political battles that were raging across the Concordat, Marshal Kithrong decided it was time to take a stand. In May of 3063, he announced to the Concordat the true lineage of Erik Martens-Calderon and declared himself regent for the young child. This created a firestorm across the Concordat. Previously there had been no one for the opposition to rally behind as a legitimate replacement for Protector Shraplen. Now, Erik Martens-Calderon's lineage made him the true heir to Jeffrey Calderon. Across the Concordat people began to call for the Protector to step down in favor of Jeffrey's son. The Concordat Constabulary, acting on the orders of the Protector, moved to crack down on protesters calling on the Protector to resign. In more then a few instanced, this resulted in armed violence between the Constabulary and the protesters. The Concordat was becoming a powder keg and all that was needed was a small spark. That spark would come in June.
In early June, the Protector decided, in response to yet another request from Sun Tzu Liao, to send the Red Chasseurs to fight in the St Ives War. What the Protector did not count on was the feelings of the Chasseurs commanding officer, Colonel Clarence Cheplak. Strongly opposed to the TDF's alliance with the Capellan Confederation, Colonel Cheplak had kept his opinions to himself at the request of Marshal Valerie Makepeace, commander of I Corps. However upon receiving orders to deploy to the Confederation, Colonel Cheplak decided he could no longer keep his opinion to himself. In his famous response to the Protector's orders, Colonel Cheplak told Shraplen he could take his orders and “shove them up his assâ€. With those few words, Colonel Cheplak set off a spark that would engulf the Concordat in a civil war. Protesters across the Concordat latched on to Colonel Cheplak's statements and began increasing their calls for the Protector to step down. Even with the HPG communications being censored by the World of Blake, the news of Colonel Cheplak's defiance spread across the Concordat. Not only were civilians protesting the Protector's actions, many in the TDF took this as a rally cry to voice their displeasure with Protector Shraplen's policies. Many of the senior officers in the TDF had served during Thomas Calderon's reign and remembered how his policies had put the security of the Concordat at risk by focusing on a phony threat from the Federated Suns, rather then the very real threat of pirates and other bandits. Now they could see them thing happening. With so many troops deployed to fight for the Capellan Confederation, many worlds we left vulnerable to pirate attacks. Many officers who had quietly gone along with the Protector's policies suddenly began to publicly question why the security of the Concordat was being sacrificed to fight a war in the Capellan Confederation.
In response to the mass uprisings, the Concordat Constabulary stepped up their efforts against the protesters, arresting thousands. Soon the many of the media outlets, which had not been reporting on the protests and opposition to Protector Shraplen, began ignoring the censors and reporting the full truth about the war and actions of the Constabulary. The Constabulary then began arresting many of these news reporters, some of whom simply “disappearedâ€, murdered by over zealous officers.
While the Concordat was becoming engulfed in chaos, the TDF continued to fight for the Capellan Confederation in the St Ives War. Bluewood's Longcoats managed to secure Armaxa in late June, while the Taurian Velites continued to resist against attempts to throw them into the fighting on Texlos. Vandeley's Valkyries were not so lucky and suffered heavy losses on Texlos in July and were forced to withdraw, leaving the Confederation and heading for the Concordat.
Early July found the Concordat on the cusp of a Civil War. Supporters of the Protector were regularly squaring off against those opposed to his policies. In many cases both sides began to resort to armed violence. Through all of this Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon tried to remain a moderating voice. In numerous cases she called on both sides to put down their weapons and and discuss their differences. To the military she reminded them that “It is not the place of the military to determine political policies, our job is to execute the lawful orders of the Protector as he carries out the will of the people.†But these efforts had little effect and were largely ignored.
What did get noticed was the actions of the Taurian Court of Judicial Review. Tasked with reviewing the Protector's actions and determining if they are illegal, the Court was an independent body, not answerable to any one. Acting on complaints from family members of those political protesters who were arrested by the Constabulary, the Court quickly determined in a unanimous vote, that the arrests were illegal, violated the civil rights of Taurian citizens and they should be immediately released from prison. Protector Shraplen in a fit of rage ordered all the members of the court arrested and replaced them with his own supporters. Upon hearing of this action, Senior Marshal Calderon privately approached the Protector and called on him to reconsider his actions.
Upon returning to the TDF Command Center, Senior Marshal Calderon was met by members of the Concordat Constabulary. They were carrying orders stripping her of her command and arresting her for being a suspected Davion sympathizer. Before the Constabulary officers could carry out their orders, they were met by a company of mechs led by Colonel Lee Smith of the Taurian Guard. The Constabulary officers were placed under arrest and thrown into the Guards' stockade. Colonel Smith called for the immediate removal of Protector Shraplen, by force if necessary. Realizing that Protector Shraplen was going to destroy everything the Concordat stood for, Senior Marshal Calderon made the fateful decision to remove Protector Shraplen from power.
