OBT Forum
General BattleTech => Canon Inspired => Topic started by: lrose on June 22, 2012, 05:53:40 PM
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The Taurian Civil War, A History of its Origins and Events
Project Leader – Professor Edward Van Luewen, Department Chairman, History Department, University of Taurus
Introduction
With the end of the Taurian Civil War, normality has begun to return to life in the Concordat. After so many years of battles between brothers and sisters it is almost impossible to believe that the war is truly over. Now comes the task of reconstruction and reconciliation. As part of these efforts the Protector has commissioned the University of Taurus' History Department to write the definitive history of the Civil War, so that we may learn from what happened and hopefully prevent this from occurring again in the future.
Our goal here is to provide an unvarnished and unbiased look at the Taurian Civil War. Yet even the use of the name the Taurian Civil War is biased. Created by the Concordat media, the Civil War nomenclature was adopted by the supporters of Marshal Calderon. The supporters of Protector Shraplen are more like to call the recent conflict the Great Betrayal or the Insurrection. We have chosen to use the Taurian Civil War as this has become the most common way of referring to the conflict in the popular media.
We are very appreciative to the Protector for providing us with nearly unlimited access to the files of the Taurian Ministry of Intelligence and the Concordat Constabulary. I would also like to thank Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon TDF (Ret), Senior Marshal Cham Kithrong, the Estate of Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace, Marshal Alexandra Hamilton, the Estate of Marshal Kai Shoguwa, Comptroller Kathleen Zheng, Comptroller Bertram Jancek, Colonel Clarence Cheplak, Colonel Kenneth Slayton, Colonel Ted Masters, Space Master Adele Walters and Brigadier Leonard Killinger for their insight to the events of the War and access to their personal archives and records. While it it true that history is written by the victors, we have strived to include the views of Protector Shraplen and his supporters where possible. Unfortunately many of these records were lost during the fighting. Efforts to interview surviving supporters of the Protector have met little success. The vast majority, unfortunately including Boris Tharn, have refused all requests for interviews and have made no public comments about their roles during the campaign. The few instances where there have been published accounts, most notably Maxwell Albritten, are generally filled with half truths, self serving statements and outright lies. As a result we have been loath to use these sources without confirmation from other sources. Hopefully in the future we will get more accounts from Protector Shraplen's supporters which will allow us to provide a fuller and more balanced view of the war.
Lastly I would like to thank the entire staff of the University of Taurus History Department. This has truly been a group effort and I am pleased with the result. I only hope that a work like this shall not ever again be required.
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I cannot wait for more! Well, I actually can since I cannot force you to update faster. But I am waiting with anticipation!
MA
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Chapter 1: Origins of the Taurian Civil War
Part 1: Prelude to War
The origins of the Taurian Civil War trace back to a single day, June 28th, 3061. It was on that day that Protector Jeffrey Calderon was killed during a rescue attempt by Capellan Commandos. Rather then rehash all of the events leading up to that day, we will provide just a brief overview. It was in December of 3060 that Protector Calderon and Magistrix Emma Centrella were taken prisoner by the Colonial Marshals on Detroit. The Capellans, coming to the aid of the Canopian allies would launch the rescue attempt that ultimately cost Jeffrey Calderon his life. The Protector's death conveniently removed the biggest stumbling block to the Concordat joining the Trinity Alliance. While there has been no conclusive proof that the Protector's death was intentional, it seems very likely that the Capellans targeted Jeffrey Calderon for execution. In any event, on September 5th, 3061 Lord Grover Shraplen was named the new Protector of the Taurian Concordat.
Almost immediately the new Protector began a campaign to blame the Davions for the death of Jeffrey Calderon, while at the same time touting the “virtues†of Sun Tzu Liao and the Capellan Confederation. While there was a small, vocal minority that was willing to believe these charges, the bulk of the Concordat's populace was very wary of the situation. Having only recently come out from the paranoia of Thomas Calderon, the people of the Concordat were not interested in false threats, even those attributed to the Davions. It was during this critical time that the head of the TDF's Propaganda Divisio, Marshal Alexandra Hamilton, at the specific request of Marshal Calderon, issued the booklet Jeffrey Calderon, A Life Cut Short. Ostensibly a biography of Jeffrey Calderon that was issued in commemoration of his tragic death, it was in reality a reminder to the men and women of the TDF of the way things were before Jeffrey Calderon came to power. The booklet included a detailed look at the last years of Thomas Calderon's reign, how he abused his power and Capellan efforts to convince Thomas Calderon that the Clan invasion was a Davion trick. The booklet had the intended effect on the TDF, reminding many of the older officers and NCOs of how life was during Thomas Calderon's reign. By early 3062, the TDF was beginning to chaff at the thought of an alliance with the Capellans.
The Protector, having surrounded himself with his cronies, was largely ignorant of the opposition to his policies. It was in this state of blissful ignorance that in August of 3062, Protector Shraplen entered into the Trinity Alliance with the Capellan Confederation and the Magistracy of Canopus. While a few Taurian citizens welcomed the alliance with the enemies of the hated Davions, the majority of the Concordat and the TDF was opposed to the treaty. In particular they were concerned about the potential cost to the Concordat. History had taught the people of the Concordat that no good could come from entanglements with the Inner Sphere powers, unfortunately events would prove this truism correct once again. Within days of signing the treaty, the Capellans invoked the mutual defense clause, requesting TDF units to help fight in the Chaos March and St Ives. In response to this request the Protector order the Taurian Velites and Concordat Jaegers to deploy to the Capellan Confederation. In the words of the Protector the Taurian troops were to “support our allies in the Capellan Confederation in their war against the aggression of the St Ives Compactâ€.
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August 25 New Chappelle Defender OpEd
Capellans Go Home
Jaxson Henner
Citizens of the Capellan Confederation, pack up your toys and trinkets and go home. We don't want you here. Despite what our new Protector is saying, we don't trust you any more then we do the Davions. We've done just fine without your aid for the last 3 centuries and we sure don't need it now. You come promising to help educated us. We don't need that, our populace is better educated then yours, our worst universities are better then our best, so what can you truly offer us? You come offering us access to advanced technologies. Why do we need your help? We managed to reverse engineer numerous lostech weapon systems, without the aid of the Helm memory core. Under Jeffrey Calderon's Men & Machines program these efforts were expanding and starting to show amazing results. We are doing just fine on our thank you very much. You offer us a mutual defense pact, but who do we need defending from? Not the Canopians. The Davions? They are so tangled up in their own mess that they don't have the resources to attack us, nor have they shown the interest. In fact right now the Davions are busy trying to counter your little war. So what do you have to offer us that would make us need this alliance? No we don't need you, but you do need us. I've seen the reports of the fighting in the St Ives Compact and Chaos March. I've talked with friends who are serving in the TDF and several senior officers. They all tell me that your tiny military is over extended. You can't keep fighting without an influx of fresh soldiers. Most Mercs don't trust you and the good ones aren't stupid enough to sign up to fight in the meat grinder that the St Ives war has turned into. So you are now coming to get our troops to fight for you. We are not some cheap whore that you can hire and then throw away when you are done. You need us, we don't need you. So take your worthless trinkets and go home. Don't expect our soldiers to fight and die for you in one of your pointless wars of conquest when we need them here to protect our homes and families from pirates and raiders, the true threat faced by the Concordat. So Capellans get the hell out of here and don't let door hit your ass on the way out.
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Sons and Daughters of the Concordat
Pamphlet (Distributed across the Taurian Concordat in September of 3062)
Citizens of the Concordat do not believe Capellan lies. They are not here as our friends. They are here to rape our worlds and pillage our wealth for use in their pointless wars of conquest. They seek to have our sons and daughters, our husbands and wives, our brothers and sisters shed their blood for the benefit of the Capellan Confederation. Do not consider those of us who oppose the war to be disloyal. We are loyal sons and daughters of the Concordat. Many of use have shed our blood protecting our worlds and fellow citizens and would gladly do so again if called upon. But we can no longer sit idly by while the Protector orders our citizens to fight for the Inner Sphere imperialists. Do not sit quietly by while this happens. All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Now is not the time to be quiet. Let your voice be heard. Make sure the Protector knows that you oppose sending our citizens to fight in foreign wars. If we remain silent we dishonor the sacrifice made by our ancestors who fought and died to protect our way of life and allow us to live free from entanglements with the Inner Sphere. It is up to YOU to make sure this does not happen.
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Good stuff, I anxiously await more!!
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Nice.
I wish I had more time to work on similar projects.
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Add one more to the list of persons waiting for more.
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Part 2: Fighting for the Capellans
With in a days of receiving their orders, the Taurian Velites, despite misgivings about their mission, began deploying to the Capellan Confederation and were soon thrown into battle against the St Ives Compact. While the Velites were willing to following their orders, no matter how distasteful they were, Colonel Carol Trennouth and the Concordat Jaegers were unhappy with their orders to fight for the Capellan Confederation. Having spent most of their existence protecting the border with the Capellan Confederation, the soldiers of the Jaegers had developed a great deal of hatred towards House Liao. These feelings were the result of having experienced first hand Capellan brutality, especially their treatment of POWs. Upon learning of her units new assignment, Colonel Trennouth was recorded as having said, “We've spent the last century defending the Concordat's borders against these bastards and now we're supposed to help them in their warâ€.
As the TDF began making preparations to deploy the Jaegers to the Capellan Confederation, Colonel Trennouth and her senior officers worked behind the scenes to sabotage those efforts. Lack of sufficient ammunition stockpiles, failure to meet Deployment Readiness Requirements and other nuisance problems forced the Jaegers' deployment date to be rescheduled numerous times. While none of these acts reached the level of treason, the continual delays infuriated the Protector who tried to have Colonel Tennouth removed from command of the unit. The efforts to replace Colonel Trennouth were defeated by the efforts of Marshal Calderon and Marshal Kai Shoguwa, who were able to convince the Protector that if he replaced Colonel Trennouth, the Jaegers would not be rated as combat ready for over six months.
In September of 3062, the Taurian Velites arrived in the Capellan Confederation. They were soon thrown into the meat grinder that was the St Ives War. Landing on St Loris, the Velites found themselves in a tough battle against the local defenders. Lacking the advanced weapons, which though promised by the Capellan Chancellor were not delivered, the Velites found themselves outmatched by the well equipped defenders. Despite this, the Velites pressed the attack and managed to inflict heavy losses on the St Ives troops. Even so the unit suffered losses approaching 20% of their strength. When the fighting finally did end, the Velites found themselves forced to rebuild using battlefield salvage, as vitally needed supplies promised by the Capellans were routed to other units. The lack of support by the Capellans created a severe morale problem for the Taurian commanders. With the majority of the troops already disenchanted with the idea of fighting for a foreign power, the lack of support by Capellans made many of the soldiers and officer question why they were fighting and dying for the Capellans. Colonel William Heise, commander of the Velites, attempted to rebuild morale and support for the campaign among his troops but found his efforts largely thwarted by the Propaganda Division personnel assigned to his command. These officers, operating under the direct commands of Marshal Alexandra Hamilton, refused to sugar coat the situation or hide the true facts of the situation. Combined with a lack of time for R&R after the St Loris mission, the situation in the Velites was becoming critical.
It was at this time, in late October of 3062, that the Protector, having become fed up with the constant delays by the Concordat Jaegers, decided to deploy the Pleiades Hussars to the Confederation. Sun Tzu Liao had spend much of the previous 2 months pressing the Protector about his obligations in the Trinity Alliance and the need to deploy more troops to support the St Ives War. Led by Colonel Maxwell Albritten, the Hussars were fanatical supporters of the Protector. By mid November the Hussars had arrived in the Confederation, eager to join the fight against the St Ives Compact and their Federated Suns defenders.
While the Hussars were eager for a battle, more and more citizens of the Concordat began to question why the TDF was fighting for the Capellan Confederation. As casualty reports began to filter back from the front, more and more rallies began to be held across the Concordat protesting the needless deaths of Taurian soldiers. Rather then respond to these protestors, the Protector chose to order the Concordat Constabulary into action. Suspecting “Davion sympathizers†were behind these protests, the Constabulary was ordered to investigate the leaders of the protests and to arrest them if necessary. At the same time, the Protector invoked emergency war time powers, in an attempt to regain control of the situation. Protector Shraplen soon invoked a news blackout on information about the war in the Confederation. Only government approved press releases, which were highly sanitized accounts of the war and included a number of out right lies, could be distributed. Any news reporter who attempted to report the truth would soon find themselves locked up in a prison cell. But despite these draconian efforts, the truth about the war continued to be distributed by pamphlets and word of mouth.
As opposition to the war began to increase, the Protector became desperate for something he could use to turn public opinion in his favor. With Propaganda Division of the TDF firmly in the hands of Marshal Hamilton and unwilling to support the Protector, Shraplen ordered the Ministry of the Interior to take a more active role in promoting the Protector's vision. Soon the Ministry was producing responses to the Propoganda Division's publications. However these failed to sway many people, most of whom were highly insulted by the Protector's blatant attempts to lie to them. Desperate for authentic good news that could not be countered by the Propaganda Division, the Protector pressed Colonel Albritten for a great victory against the Davions.
In early December of 3062, Colonel Albritten led the Pleiades Hussars into action against the forces defending the St Ives Compact. Battling the 7th FC Regiment, the Hussars score several early victories. In January of 3063, the Protector a publicity campaign, promoting the success of the Pleiades Hussars in their battles “against the imperialistic Davions, who seek to subjugate our worlds under their fistâ€. The success of the Hussars does slightly improve the Protector's approval ratings. But even these small gains are soon negated. While most senior members of the TDF refused to criticize the Protector, Marshal (Baron) Cham Kithrong declared “It is one thing for Taurian sons and daughters to fight and die defending the people of the Concordat, but we can not accept any situation in which our sons and daughters are sent to fight for the greed of the Inner Sphere warlordsâ€. Despite efforts by the Constabulary, Marshal Kithrong's words are soon spread across the Concordat, inspiring many to question the Protector and the Trinity Alliance.
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Very nice, does ComStar and/or the Word of Blake have any impact on this little information war? Wondering who has control of the HPGs in the Concordat at this time.
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Hadn't really thought about that. I believe at this point C* still has control of the HPGs. I'm finding the info on the TC is actually pretty sparse- especially on the actions in the St Ives War. I was surprised how little detail there is.
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Well I know ComStar helped arrange the alliance with the Canopians but WoB is doubtlessly trying to get their foot in the door here. Whoever has the contract the HPG situation (ComStar may have a long term deal as a result of its dealings with Jeffrey) is likely in flux (WoB may have been bought in by Sharplen and his cronies in the Trinity Alliance aka the Capellans). I'd suggest their conflict be part of yours with Blakist allied with Sharplen and ComStar reformers allied with Calderonist.
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Eventually the Blakists will be involved. I know at some point Shraplen throws out C* I just don't think it has happened yet in the canon timeframe. Per Shattered Sphere- C* is still in the TC in early 3062, but signs are that Shraplen will turn to WOB. So I will say that happened in early 3063. Right around the time he needs major help dealing with the opposition.
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Ah very good!
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Hell No We Won't Go
Letter from Colonel Carol Trennouth, CO Concordat Jaegers to Marshal Valerie Makepeace, Commander I Corps August 30th, 3062 From the Archives of Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Val
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, no seriously what the fuck is the Protector thinking. Has he lost what little was left of his brain. I know he's no Jeffrey, but really what the hell is that dipshit thinking? An alliance with the Crapellans? What's next? Is he going to join the Star League? Rape old women in the street? Eat baby brains? And I'm supposed to take the Jaegers to the Constipation Confederation and fight for those double crossing, back stabbing bastards? There's no way we're going. I've lost too many friends to Capellan raiders, there's no way I'm fighting for them. You send me there and as soon as I land on planet I'll blow the brains of my Capellan liaison officer all over the wall of my office and then order the Jaegers to shoot every fucking Capellan they see. Then I'll join the St Ivers and help them fight off the Capellan aggressors. I may just be a country girl from Spitz, but I ain't stupid. I know who the real aggressor is and so do you. I don't know why you're keeping your mouth shut. Did Brenda Calderon ask you to keep it shut? I know how much you respect her, but she needs to take a stand, this isn't like it was with Thomas Calderon in the 3050s. It's about time someone holds Shraplen responsible for his irresponsible decisions. That turd, I'm sorry the Protector, doesn't deserve your respect or your silence. But I know you- orders are orders and he's the Protector now. Well Val, you can order me to go the CrapCon but it's not going to work. The Jaegers currently do not have sufficient munitions supplies for deployment. Be sure to take your time getting more supplies to me, I'm in no rush. When the do arrive you'll be disappointed to learn that were are at readiness state 5, seems that we haven't be conducting the necessary training for deployment due to a lack of supplies. If you've got a problem with what I'm doing you're going to have to relieve me of my command, publicly. And don't think I won't put up a fight. I've never known when to keep my big mouth shut and I'm not planning on starting now.
Say hi to the kids for me. I hear Lenny just made Subaltern. Tell him I've got an opening in the 3rd Battalion if he's interested but not to expect any special treatment, even if I am good friends with his Gran.
Best of luck to you- so glad I don't have your job, I couldn't stand being hip deep in the bullshit that's going on.
-C
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Concordat Press Release – Transcript of original broadcast from October 27th, 3062
TROOPS IN THE CAPELLAN CONFEDERATION REPORT MORALE IS HIGH
Conrad Brean, Taurian News Network, Special Reporter
This is Conrad Brean, Taurian News Network. I am reporting today from an undisclosed location on St Loris in the Capellan Confederation where I am embedded with the Taurian Velites. I am pleased to report that after a hard fought battle the Velites have managed to crush the St Ives defenders, forcing them to surrender. Despite the ferocious fighting the Velites have suffered only minimal losses and many members of the regiment are eagerly anticipating their next action. I was able to speak with Battalion Chief Sergeant William Schumann of 23rd Heavy Infantry Regiment which is assigned to the Velites. According to “Old Shoe†his unit is proud of the mission they completed and are getting ready for their next deployment. Rumor mill has it that the Velites will be redeployed within the next week to another world in the St Ives Compact. When I questioned the Sgt about the short time between deployments he told me that when you're killing Davions you don't need a vacation, you're already on one. Well Sgt Schumann and all our fighting men and women, best of luck to you whatever your next assignment is. This is Conrad Brean for the Taurian News Network.
The Bullhorn, Broadcast #3, underground report first posted to Taurian Com Networks on November 12th 3062. (Identity of poster and reporter both unknown at the time, later revealed to be Comptroller Patrick Sterling)
This is the Bullhorn, bringing you the truth about the war in the St Ives Compact. Tonight we respond to Conrad “Mouthpiece†Brean's report of October 27th. From my sources I have been able to confirm a few things. First that the Velites suffered heavy losses in the fighting on St Loris. From sources in the Taurian Ministry of Defense I have received reports that losses ranged as high as 20% of the Velites strength. Furthermore, despite requests for time to conduct repairs and allow the soldiers time to relax, the Velites were immediately ordered to Tantara. Furthermore, in another piece of “Bullshit†reporting that we have come to expect from Brean, there is currently no William Schumann serving in any unit in the Taurian Defense Forces. This is yet more proof that Brean is just a spin doctor and mouthpiece for the Protector. We will continue to dig out the truth for you and report what we have learned.
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Looking forward to more!
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Very nice.
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Concordat Constabulary File 1872546
David Renner- Suspected of being Davion Agent
David Renner, Engineer, Vandenberg Mechanized Industries, Pinard Plant
Mr Renner has recently been noted at protest rallies against the assignment of TDF troops to aid the Capellan Confederation. In interviews with several of his neighbors and co-workers we have ascertained that Mr Renner has a son currently serving in the TDF with the 52nd Pinard Heavy Infantry. Furthermore, recently Mr Renner has come into a limited amount of debt, approximately 10,000 bulls. We believe this has motivated Mr Renner to sell himself to the Davions. While there is no evidence of any payments from Davion agents, it is reasonable to assume that Mr Renner has made contact with them. Based on his current earnings of 110,000 Bulls and monthly expenses, we estimate that with out Davion aid it would take Mr Renner about 1 year to pay off his debt. It is recommended that Mr Renner be placed under surveillance in an effort to identify his Davion handlers.
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Wow, the Constabulary are really desperate to find traitors.
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A tad thin
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Thin is an understatement
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But it actually fits with what the Constabulary has done in the past when they are allowed to run unchecked. See Periphery 1e pg 66-67 the section on Ignatius Calderon and what they did then. The Constabulary is responsible for providing internal security for the TC, and sometimes in their zeal to protect the state, they cross the line and start prosecuting the innocent. To make things worse in this AU, Shraplen is desperate and so he is encouraging the Constabulary to arrest everyone and not worry about who is really innocent and who is guilty. The Constabulary is not one of the shining points of the Concordat, it's really in many ways the manifestation of the "Davion Paranoia" syndrome that affects the Concordat. And it is definitely influenced by those in power.
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Sounds Like the Royal Ulster Constabulary. I dealt with them in 1982 when I was just going to visit some family in Ulster.
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Hey the black and tans were always on the up and up. They always told you why they were beating before they sent you to the secret courts.
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But it actually fits with what the Constabulary has done in the past when they are allowed to run unchecked. See Periphery 1e pg 66-67 the section on Ignatius Calderon and what they did then. The Constabulary is responsible for providing internal security for the TC, and sometimes in their zeal to protect the state, they cross the line and start prosecuting the innocent. To make things worse in this AU, Shraplen is desperate and so he is encouraging the Constabulary to arrest everyone and not worry about who is really innocent and who is guilty. The Constabulary is not one of the shining points of the Concordat, it's really in many ways the manifestation of the "Davion Paranoia" syndrome that affects the Concordat. And it is definitely influenced by those in power.
Guess we know whose side they'll be on in the Civil War. ;)
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No Really are you sure :P
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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.
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Doesn't look like Sharplen is going to get a chance to join the Star League. Enjoying all of this story very much!
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Uh Oh Loony people in positions of power
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Originally I thought the Taurian Civil War was going to be fairly short. Then I started plotting it out and found that it won't be over that quickly. Shraplen will still get a chance to join the SL in late 3064 (If I think it makes sense for the CC to push the TC over the MOC for membership). What happens then remains to be seen.
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WOB gets Contract from Concordat to Run HPGs
New Chappelle Defender, Les Rollins January 1st, 3063
In a statement released by the Taurian Ministry of the Interior, the Word of Blake has been issued a contract to run and maintain the HPG network in the Concordat. In explaining the decision, Minister Alistair Cranston stated that the Word of Blake made a very competitive offer, undercutting the Comstar bid by nearly 20%. From rumors we are hearing, the Word of Blake also made offers of technological assistance and, if it can be believed, they offered to provide military aid against any possible attack by the Federated Suns. An unnamed government official stated that the Word promised to not only help increase production of Ferro-Fibrous armor by 500% this year alone, they have offered to provide the technological know how need to upgrade our factories to produce the latest military technologies. If this is true, it should prove to be a huge boon to our forces that are fighting in the St Ives War, giving them access to advanced technologies without being dependent on the Capellans. So far Comstar has not responded to requests for comments about losing the HPG contract with the Concordat.
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Concordat Press Release – Transcript of original broadcast from February 23rd, 3063
Pleiades Hussars Suffer Minor Losses During Fighting
Conrad Brean, Taurian News Network, Special Reporter
This is Conrad Brean reporting from Warlock. I am embedded here with the Pleiades Hussars. The Hussars have seen heavy action this month against the Mercenary Illician Lancers, hired guns of the Federated Suns. The arrogant and pompous Davion lap dogs learned recently that they are no match for the power of one of the Concordat's finest regiments. In a series of battles, the Hussars managed to inflict heavy losses on the Lancers. However for reasons that can not be publicly revealed at this time, the Hussars were forced to abandon Warlock. With the permission of the Capellan Chancellor, the regiment was released from service with the CCAF and allowed to return to MacLeod's Land, where they will repair the damage they suffered and prepare for further service against the Davion aggressors. This is Conrad Brean for the Taurian News Network.
The Bullhorn, Broadcast #25, underground report first posted to Taurian Com Networks on March 1, 3063.
Last time we here at the Bullhorn told you the truth about Colonel Teresa Danielle of the newly formed 3rd Taurian Lancers and her close ties with the Protector. Today we are going to respond to Brean's fantasy story of February 23rd. He did get one part right, the Pleiades Hussars are coming home to MacLeod's Land. But that only occurred after the unit suffered casualties approaching nearly 75%. Based on initial reports received at the TDF Command Center and made available to the Bullhorn, almost 30 mechwarriors were killed and over 70 wounded in action. Mech losses were significant, nearly 50 machines were abandoned on Warlock and another 50 are so badly damaged that they are unable to be repaired. According to reports, the Illician Lancers suffered little damage during the campaign. We will provide more details as they are available. We hope to be able to provide a full casualty list in the next few days, that data is still being complied by the TDF. While we at the Bullhorn do not support the war in the St Ives Compact, nonetheless our thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost friends and loved ones in the fighting. Despite any political differences we may have, we are all sons and daughters of the Concordat.
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Concordat Cuirassiers Stricken From the TDF
From: Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon
To: All Officers of the TDF
Date: May 5th, 3063
RE: Concordat Cuirassiers
Classified: Secret
It is with great regret that I inform you of the destruction of the Concordat Cuirassiers. Fighting against the forces of the St Ives Compact, the Cuirassiers were out numbered nearly 2 to 1 when they landed on Texlos. Deprived of promised support from the Capellan Confederation, the Cuirassiers pressed on any way, inflicting heavy losses on the Federated Suns 7th FC Regiment and the 2nd St Ives Lancers. Ultimately, despite numerous acts of heroism and bravery, the Cuirassiers were forced to retreat from Texlos. A number of soldiers have been captured, we are currently working through intermediaries from the Outworlds Alliance to obtain a list of those currently held as POWs. What we do know for certain is that less then a company of mechwarriors, 2 companies of armor and 2 battalions of infantry managed to escape from Texlos. It is with a heavy heart that I have been forced to disband the Concordat Cuirassiers. The surviving members of the regiment have been assigned to the Taurian Velites, helping to replace some of the losses they suffered during the St Ives War. Even so the Velites remain severely understrength at less then 2 full battalions. At this time I want to offer my thoughts and prayers to all those who have lost friends and loved ones during the fighting in the St Ives Compact. At the request of the Protector, this information I am providing you has been classified secret and is not for distribution. The Protector fears that should the public learn of the Cuirassiers heavy losses and the disbanding of the regiment it will have a very negative effect on public morale. I trust all of you to use your best judgement regarding the dissemination of this information.
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When you write stories nothing is fairly short because the story takes a life all it's own
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Transcript of Press Conference- Marshal Cham Kithrong, Commander VI Corps, Erod's Escape May 15th, 3063
My fellow Taurians, today I take an action that should have been taken long ago. Unknown to all but a handful of people, Jeffrey Calderon did not die without an heir. He does in fact have a son, Erik Martens-Calderon, who was born to Talia Martens, a member of the Prey's Divisionals mercenary unit. Erik was born in 3056 and while was not officially recognized as his son by Jeffrey, the Protector was planning to announce his existence when he was killed on Detroit. As a friend to both Jeffrey and Talia, I was aware of Erik's existence and I have worked behind the scenes to try and convince Grover Shraplen to name the boy the next ruler of the Concordat and assume the role of Regent. Despite DNA tests showing that Erik is indeed the son of Jeffrey Calderon, Grover Shraplen has refused to recognize him as the rightful heir. He has instead been focused on securing his power as Protector of the Taurian Concordat.
I had been content to wait until Erik was older to announce his heritage, but recent events have left me no choice. Grover Shraplen has committed us to alliance with the Capellan Confedertion, an alliance that has forced us to send our sons and daughters to fight for the Inner Sphere warlords. Jeffrey Calderon would never have allowed this to happen. I know this because Protector Calderon had confided in me prior to his death that he was opposed to the Trinity Alliance. He knew in his heart that the only reason the Capellans sought an alliance was so that they could rape our worlds and use our troops to fight their wars. Unfortunately, Grover Shraplen was so convinced that the Davions are out to get us, that he was willing to sign up with the Capellans, and you can see the results. Every day we hear of losses suffered by our forces and increasing casualties in the war with St Ives.
It is time for this to stop. Today I am declaring my self Regent for Erik Martens-Calderon, the rightful heir to the Protectorship of the Taurian Concordat. I will hold that position until young Erik reaches his majority. I call upon Grover Shraplen to recognize the legitimacy of this claim. If Lord Shraplen truly has the best interests of the Concordat as his goal, he must certainly recognize that putting the true heir to Jeffrey Calderon in position to become the next Protector is the only choice. By acting now we can assure that young Erik receives the best training and education, so that he will grow into a fine young man and an excellent leader like his father.
Thank you for your time, and God bless the men and women of the TDF.
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Correspondance between Colonel Clarence Cheplak & Protector Grover Shraplen June 3063
From Official TDF Archives
To: Protector Grover Shraplen
From: Clarence Cheplak, Commander Red Chasseurs
CC: Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon, Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Re: Op Order Alpha 2623 Delta, Red Chasseur Deployment to Capellan Confederation
June 7th, 3063
Protector I am in receipt of your order of June 4th, 3063 ordering the Red Chasseurs to deploy to the Capellan Confederation in support of the war against the St Ives Compact. With all due respect you can take your orders and shove them up your ass. Every unit sent to fight in the St Ives War has been mauled, in my opinion this is nothing short of a suicide mission. While you can request that we undertake a suicide mission, you can not issue such an order – that is a clear violation of article 12 of the TDF Regulations. As these orders have skipped the chain of command and come direct from your office under your signature I have filed a complaint with the local JAG representatives against you. The Red Chasseurs will remain on their current stations until this matter has been adjudicated.
To: Colonel Clarence Cheplak, Commander Red Chasseurs
From: Protector Grover Shraplen
CC: Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon, Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Re: Op Order Alpha 2623 Delta, Red Chasseur Deployment to Capellan Confederation
June 8th, 3063
Colonel Cheplak, you are in receipt of a legal command ordering your regiment to deploy to the Capellan Confederation for operations against the St Ives Compact. If you do not immediately begin preparations for deployment, you will be in violation of those orders. If that becomes the case you will be arrested, stripped of your rank and tried for treason during time of war. The penalty for such charge is death by firing squad.
To: Protector Grover Shraplen
From: Clarence Cheplak, Commander Red Chasseurs
CC: Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon, Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Re: Op Order Alpha 2623 Delta, Red Chasseur Deployment to Capellan Confederation
June 9th, 3063
If you want to arrest me go ahead and try- we'll be waiting for you.
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Things are heating up!
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Transcript of New Vandenberg Daily News Broadcast July 9th, 3063
[Andrea Linten]: In further news, we have received word that Vandeley's Valkyries have engaged the forces of the St Ives Compact on Texlos. We have only received limited information about the action so far but from what we have heard, the Valkyries have successfully landed on Texlos and are inflicting heavy losses on...what?
[A man enters onto the set from the right]
[Joseph Tanner]: I'm sorry I need to interrupt you Andrea. We have some news that our viewers need to know. News that we haven't been allowed to share with you for the last year. For the last year, we and other broadcasters have been operating under strict censorship rules imposed by the Protector and enforced by the Concordat Constabulary. We have just received word from sources that the Protector is stepping up his enforcement of these rules. We have received word that a unit of the Constabulary is on their way here, now to take control of this station.
[sounds of gunfire in the distance]
[Joseph Tanner]: We don't have much time but we will keep broadcasting until they shut us down. The war in the St Ives Compact is not going well. Our forces have suffered horrific losses. The Concordat Cuirassiers have been disbanded due to heavy losses. Many of our soldiers are refusing to fight for the Capellans seeing it as a suicide mission. Colonel Cheplak of the Red Chasseurs has refused orders to deploy to the Confederation.
[More gunfire, much closer]
[Joseph Tanner very agitated and constantly looking over his shoulder]: Marshal Cham Kithrong has declared himself regent for Jeffrey Calderon's son Erik Martens-Calderon. There are rumors that large numbers of protestors have been...
[Explosion off screen- unintelligible screams]
[Joseph Tanner]: We're unarmed. Don't shoot. Everyone get down...
[Unidentified Voice off screen shouting]: Shut it down, shut every down. You there, get away from the camera.
[Gunfire and the screen goes blank]
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Are things getting hot enough? The next chapter is really going to blow things up in the Concordat.
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Arrest Order for Brenda Calderon, July 10th, 3063
Warrant of Arrest
To any member of the Concordat Constabulary
By order of the Protector of the Taurian Concordat, Brenda Calderon, formerly Senior Marshal of the TDF has been charged with committing crimes against the Taurian Concordat, to wit treason and suspicion of Davion sympathies.
You are therefore commanded, to make an immediate arrest of the accused and confine her until such time as she can be presented for arraignment.
Witness my official signature on this the 10th day of July, 3063
Judge Hamilton Boneham
Chief Justice Taurus Court of Planetary Appeal
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Brenda Calderon's Address July 11th, 3063
My fellow citizens, for those who do not know me, I am Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon. For the last 55 years I have served as a soldier in the Taurian Defense Forces. As an officer in the TDF I have had to learn to put aside my political views and beliefs to execute the orders given to me by the Protector. I have served under 3 Protectors and despite many differences of opinions, I have always felt that the Protector has had the best interest of the Taurian people in his mind, until now.
I can no longer stand by silently while Protector Shraplen tramples over the freedoms that we hold so dear. We are not a police state like the Capellans and Combine, we are the Concordat, and ability to question our government is not just our right but our civic duty. The Protector has over stepped his bounds by using the Concordat Constabulary as thought police. He has ordered them arrest anyone who dares to question the government and its actions, claiming they are Davion sympathizers. These citizens have been placed in prison without the benefit of a trial and no legal recourse. When the Court of Judicial Review began overturning these arrest the Protector took the unprecedented and illegal action of disbanding the Court, arresting its members and replacing them with people who would rubber stamp his decisions. In response to these actions I approached the Protector and asked him to reconsider his views. Upon returning to my headquarters I was greeted by members of the Concordat Constabulary seeking to arrest me for treason against the Taurian Concordat. Their charge claimed that I was a Davion sympathizer. The basis of this charge was that I had the temerity to ask the Protector to reconsider his actions. These Constables are now enjoying the comforts of the Fort Samantha Stockade.
Protector Shraplen has violated the trust put into him by the Taurian people. The Concordat exists to protect its citizens, not to terrorize them. His actions are no better then those of the Capellan Chancellors. I can no longer stand by and watch this situation from the sidelines. I am calling on Protector Shraplen to stand down and relinquish his title. It is with great reluctance that I am accepting the position of Acting Protector for the duration of this crisis. As my first act I am ordering an investigation into the claims that Erik Martens in the son Jeffrey Calderon. Should these claims be proven true, I will serve as Regent for Erik until he comes of age.
It is with great reluctance that I take these actions. Effective immediately I am resigning my commission in the TDF and I am promoting Marshal Valerie Makepeace to Senior Marshal and appointing her commander of the TDF. It is my hope that this situation can be resolved without any bloodshed. We are all Taurians and it is time that we started acting like it again.
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Transcript of New Vandenberg Daily News Broadcast July 9th, 3063
[Andrea Linten]: In further news, we have received word that Vandeley's Valkyries have engaged the forces of the St Ives Compact on Texlos. We have only received limited information about the action so far but from what we have heard, the Valkyries have successfully landed on Texlos and are inflicting heavy losses on...what?
[A man enters onto the set from the right]
[Joseph Tanner]: I'm sorry I need to interrupt you Andrea. We have some news that our viewers need to know. News that we haven't been allowed to share with you for the last year. For the last year, we and other broadcasters have been operating under strict censorship rules imposed by the Protector and enforced by the Concordat Constabulary. We have just received word from sources that the Protector is stepping up his enforcement of these rules. We have received word that a unit of the Constabulary is on their way here, now to take control of this station.
[sounds of gunfire in the distance]
[Joseph Tanner]: We don't have much time but we will keep broadcasting until they shut us down. The war in the St Ives Compact is not going well. Our forces have suffered horrific losses. The Concordat Cuirassiers have been disbanded due to heavy losses. Many of our soldiers are refusing to fight for the Capellans seeing it as a suicide mission. Colonel Cheplak of the Red Chasseurs has refused orders to deploy to the Confederation.
[More gunfire, much closer]
[Joseph Tanner very agitated and constantly looking over his shoulder]: Marshal Cham Kithrong has declared himself regent for Jeffrey Calderon's son Erik Martens-Calderon. There are rumors that large numbers of protestors have been...
[Explosion off screen- unintelligible screams]
[Joseph Tanner]: We're unarmed. Don't shoot. Everyone get down...
[Unidentified Voice off screen shouting]: Shut it down, shut every down. You there, get away from the camera.
[Gunfire and the screen goes blank]
Very B5! I'm enjoying this story very much!!
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Really enjoying the story so far, only thing i did notice is the name of one of the merc units, bluewood's longcoats? Should this be Longwood's Bluecoats?
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Really enjoying the story so far, only thing i did notice is the name of one of the merc units, bluewood's longcoats? Should this be Longwood's Bluecoats?
Just a typo on my part. It should be longwood's bluecoats - I'll get it fixed.
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Chapter 2: Opening Phases of the Civil War
Part 1: Chaos Unleashed
In the wake of her attempted arrest by the Constabulary, Brenda Calderon ordered the arrest of the Protector. While Colonel Smith organized a detachment of the Taurian Guard to move against the Protector, word arrived back at the Protector's residence that his attempt to arrest Senior Marshal Calderon had failed. Realizing that Senior Marshal Calderon had the loyalty of the Taurian Guard and many of the other military formations on Taurus, the Protector made the decision to leave Taurus and flee to MacLeod's Land. Aided by the Concordat Constabulary, which by and large remained loyal to Protector Shraplen, he managed to make it to the Samantha Spaceport and escape off world in a dropship. While TDF aerospace elements were in position to intercept and destroy the dropship, at this early point in the Civil War, Brenda Calderon found herself unable to order an attack on her fellow Taurians. She would later say, “One of the biggest mistakes I made was failing to destroy Grover Shraplen's dropship when he fled Taurus. It was the biggest missed opportunity of the war and could have ended the civil war before it even started.â€
While the main elements of the Taurian Guard moved against the Protector's residence, a small detachment hand picked by Colonel Smith moved against the Word of Blake and the Taurus HPG. Caught off guard by the move, the WOB security detachment was quickly overwhelmed and the complex was secured by the Guard before they were able to send any messages. Taking advantage of the communications black out, Senior Marshal Calderon moved to secure her position. Sending priority messages to all the TDF jumpships in the system, the ships were instructed to jump to other worlds of the Concordat and relay the situation to local commanders, who were ordered to detain Shraplen loyalists and secure the local HPG stations. While the majority of the ships proved loyal to the Senior Marshal, a few remained loyal to Protector Shraplen and instead moved to warn his supporters. The Senior Marshal's message soon spread like wildfire across the Concordat. The spread of her message was aided by the Explorer faction of the Far Lookers, who quickly transmitted the message to many of the rimward colonies. Meanwhile Protector Shraplen found himself cut off from his supporters for over a week while his dropship headed for a jumpship at Taurus' Zenith point.
On July 11th, Brenda Calderon resigned her position as Senior Marshal of the TDF and declared herself Acting Protector and Regent for Erik Martens-Calderon. As Acting Protector, Brenda Calderon moved to secure control of the government. While many officials were happy to have a saner voice in charge, the Concordat Constabulary was, unsurprisingly, very resistant to the new Protector. During the first week of her rule, there were no less then 3 assassination attempts against the Acting Protector, all of which were thwarted by the Taurian Guard.
While Protector Calderon was consolidating her power, Protector Shraplen found himself cutoff from the outside universe, on dropship. After linking up with a loyal jumpship, Protector Shraplen headed for his homeworld od MacLeod's Land. Upon arriving in the MacLeod's Land system, Protector Shraplen took advantage of the HPG and his support from WOB to send messages across the Concordat calling on the Taurian people to support him against Senior Marshal Calderon. In some cases the local populaces were opposed to the policies of the Protector and so chose to ignore his request, while in other cases they did not received the message as the HPG facility was either under the control of Brenda's forces or had been destroyed in efforts to capture them.
Even as the majority of the TDF moved to secure the Concordat for Acting Protector Calderon, significant elements supported Protector Shraplen, as did the bulk of the Concordat Constabulary. Throughout the month of July and into August, the two sides struggled to sort out their situation and secure their bases. There were surprising few clashes between the two sides as they both tried to determine where the loyalties of TDF laid. What clashes did occur were largely between the TDF and the Concordat Constabulary, in many cases units loyal to Brenda Calderon attempted to round up elements of the Constabulary, who either fought them or in many cases fled into the local populaces to conduct terror campaigns. By the end of August the battle lines between the two sides had become clear and yet it was also apparent that neither side was ready to move against the other yet.
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Priority Priority Priority Alpha Sierra Delta Tango 5123 Sierra Foxtrot.
To: All TDF Commanders
From: Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon
July 10th, 3063
Effectively immediately Protector Shraplen has been removed from power for crimes against the Taurian people. Protector Shraplen is at large and to be apprehended for trial. All TDF commanders are to secure their local area and maintain order until the national government can be reformed. Any Shraplen supporters are to be removed from positions of authority and detained until further notice. You are authorized to disband the Concordat Constabulary forces should you deem them a threat to local security. Furthermore, WOB is not to be trusted as they have provided aid and support to the Protector, you are hereby ordered to secure local HPG facilities, by force if necessary. WOB members are to be detained until they can be expelled, deadly force is NOT authorized at this time.
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Vandelay's Valkyries Return to the Concordat
Taurian News Service Report July 27th, 3063
The Vandelay's Valkyries Mercenary regiment has returned to the Taurian Concordat following their disastrous attack against the St Ives Compact. The government of Protector Shraplen denounced the unit for it's failure in battle and declared their contract null and void upon their arrival in the Pinard system. The shocked mercenaries were making plans to leave the Concordat when Acting Protector Brenda Calderon declared that her government would continue to honor the regiments contract and ordered them to the Charleston system where they are to guard against raids by both Protector Shraplen's forces and bandits from the Pirate's Haven Star Cluster. The Valkyries are said to be pleased that Protector Calderon has chosen to honor their contract.
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Looks good Irose! Can we get a split of TDF units in a deployment table and loyalty systems
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Outstanding!
MA
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Looks good Irose! Can we get a split of TDF units in a deployment table and loyalty systems
Actually that's the next thing I'm posting- a Unit listing for August 3063. I'm also going to have a planetary loyalty listing coming up soon.
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August 1, 3063 Order of Battle and Cover Letter from Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace to Acting Protector Brenda Calderon
Bren- as you requested here's an OrBat for our side and Shraplens. It's still a bit preliminary, we've put the Bluecoats and Velites in Shraplen's court but we don't really have any hard data where their loyalties lie. Planetary assignments are also a bit tentative- we've had word that the Chasseurs are getting pushed off Laconis and the Hyades Light Inf are getting pressured on Amber Grove. We've received reports from Cham that the 2nd Taurian Lancers are pulling out of their current assignments in the outer colonies, we assume they are headed towards the core worlds in support of Shraplen. And I'm sure you saw the press statement from Colonel Brown of the Lone Star Regiment- they're not taking sides saying they were hired to defend the TC from external threats, not internal ones. So far they are continuing to defend Mithron, despite orders from Shraplen to hit Jansen's Hold.
There's also the situation on Pinard, Dicallus, Sterope and Grossbach- the planetary leaders are saying they want our forces off world. If we can believe them, they are declaring themselves neutral rather then taking sides. We're probably going to have to comply with their request, but it will leave those worlds defenseless. I've had a few unofficial discussions with the leaders of Pinard, it looks like Colonel Brown will transfer his contract to them, it will help discourage Shraplen from trying to secure Pinard and it's valuable factories.
It's a real mess out there. I'm not sure how this is going to turn out. Thank god I don't have your job.
Val
Shraplen Loyalist Forces
Taurian Guard Corps
Aide: Unknown
CO: Unknown
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Taurian Velites (1 Battalion) Elite Questionable Capellan Confederation
(CO: Colonel William Heise)
II Corps
CO: Marshal Fiona Jamesen
Aide: Comptroller Edward Hamilton
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Longwoods Bluecoats
(CO: Colonel Moses Longwood)
Mac's Hell-Raisers Veteran Questionable Capellan Confederation
(CO: Major Belinda MacKelvy)
Ivan's Marauders Veteran Questionable Capellan Confederation
(CO: Major Ivan Tchorgin)
III Corps
CO: Marshal Boris Tharn
Aide: Colonel Victor Sharpe
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Pleiades Hussars
(CO: Colonel Maxwell Albritten)
1st Battalion Veteran Fanatical MacLeod's Land
(CO: Brigadier Quince Baker)
2nd Battalion Veteran Fanatical MacLeod's Land
(CO: Brigadier Gene Lind)
1st Taurian Lancers
(CO: Colonel Elise Powell)
1st Battalion Regular Reliable Mithron
(CO: Brigadier Rachel James)
2nd Battalion Green Reliable Illiushin
(CO: Brigadier Monty Scott)
3rd Battalion Regular Fanatical Atreus Prime
(CO: Austin Campbell)
Bannockburn's Bandits
(CO: Colonel Sylvia Bannockburn)
Morgan's Lancers Veteran Fanatical MacLeod's Land
(CO: Major Katherine Morgan)
Carter's Commandos Regular Reliable MacLeod's Land
(CO: Major Isaac Carter)
IV Corps
CO: Marshal Alexia Dare
Aide: Comptroller Taron Black
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Pleiades Lancers
(CO: Colonel Robert Kosmic)
1st Battalion Veteran Reliable Althea's Choice
(CO: Brigadier Florence Fowler)
2nd Battalion Regular Reliable Cyrton
(CO: Brigadier David Hart)
3rd Battalion Regular Reliable Organo
(CO: Brigadier Jordan Fisher)
2nd Taurian Lancers
(CO: Colonel Brad Wolf)
1st Battalion Regular Reliable Belle Isle
(CO: Brigadier Jasmine Frachs)
2nd Battalion Green Reliable Flaum
(CO: Brigadier Theo “Socrates†Kipplinger)
3rd Battalion Regular Reliable Argos
(CO: Brigadier Tom Payne
V Corps
CO: Marshal Thomas Jenkins
Aide: Brigadier Walter Roter
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
3rd Taurian Lancers
(CO: Colonel Teresa Danielle)
1st Battalion Green Reliable Perdition
(CO: Brigadier Miho Katsuba)
2nd Battalion Green Fanatical Perdition
(CO: Brigadier Kalvin Hobbes)
3rd Battalion Green Reliable Logan's Land
(CO: Brigadier Aaron Wells)
Calderon Forces
CO: Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Aide: Comptroller Patrick Sterling
Taurian Guard
CO: Marshal Lee “T-bolt†Smith
Aide: Comptroller Diana Hudson
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Taurian Guard
(CO: Colonel James Sterling)
1st Battalion Elite Fanatical Taurus
(CO: Brigadier Martin Compton)
2nd Battalion Veteran Fanatical Hyades Cluster
(CO: Janilee Towarr)
3rd Battalion Veteran Fanatical Hyades Cluster
(CO: Malcom Brightwater)
Concordat Commandos
(CO: Colonel Jacob Mornay)
1st Battalion Veteran Reliable Taurus
(CO: Brigadier Amanda Conners)
2nd Battalion Veteran Reliable Hyades Cluster
(CO: William Renshaw)
3rd Battalion Veteran Fanatical New Ganymede
(CO: Dalton Summers)
I Corps
CO: Marshal Kai Shoguwa
Aide: Colonel Adam Buefort
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Concordat Jaegers
(CO: Colonel Carol Trennouth)
1st Battalion Veteran Fanatical New Vandenberg
(CO: Brigadier Kevin Stills)
2nd Battalion Veteran Reliable New Vandenberg
(CO: Brigadier Aleisha Kovacs)
3rd Battalion Veteran Fanatical Regis Roost
(CO: Brigadier James Howard)
Red Chasseurs
(CO: Colonel Clarence Cheplak)
1st Battalion Veteran Fanatical Laconis
(CO: Brigadier Andre Pharoh)
2nd Battalion Regular Reliable Brisbane
(CO: Brigadier Maria Steibeck)
3rd Battalion Veteran Reliable Landmark
(CO: Issak Shtern)
Gordon's Armored Cavalry
(DO: Colonel Dick Gordon)
Mitchell's Lancers Veteran Questionable Dicallus
(CO: Brigadier Alberta Mitchell)
Arrow's Chasseurs Elite Questionable Pinard
(CO: Brigadier Nathan Arrow)
Simon's Banshees Elite Questionable New Vandenberg
(CO: Brigadier Carl Simon)
II Corps
CO: Marshal Luke Bonilla
Aide: Colonel Jackie Longfellow
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Hyades Light Infantry
(CO: Tanis Verbret)
1st Battalion Veteran Reliable Amber Grove
(CO: Alicia Nicholas)
2nd Battalion Veteran Reliable Sterope
(CO: Sarasvati Rinaldi)
3rd Battalion Green Questionable Grossbach
(CO: Tiberius James)
V Corps
CO: Marshal Gena Ortherson
Aide: Brigadier Hampton Yeltson
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Vandelay's Valkyries (1 Battalion) Regular Reliable Charleston
CO: Colonel Charles Houver)
VI Corps
CO: Marshal Cham Kithrong
Aide: Colonel Freda Dursten
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
1st New Colony Lancers
(CO: Colonel Brian Moore)
1st Battalion Green Fanatical Erod's Escape
(CO: Brigadier Hans Gunter)
2nd Battalion Green Fanatical Tyrhennia
(CO: Brigadier Darrin Thomason)
3rd Battalion Regular Fanatical Mirfak
(CO: Liza Moody)
Protector's Pride
(CO: Colonel Earnest Julian)
1st Battalion Green Fanatical Last Post
(CO: Brigadier Francis Blake)
2nd Battalion Green Fanatical Marknick
(CO: Brigadier Marra Westin)
Clean Kill Regular Questionable Jansen's Hold
(CO: Major Phornes Bullard)
Prey's Divisionals Regular Fanatical New Vallis
(CO: Major J. “Bad Karma†Benderoth)
Neutral Units
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Lone Star Regiment Questionable Veteran Mithron
(CO: Colonel George Brown)
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Looks pretty even numbers wise. Should be interesting.
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Part 2 Jockeying for Position
In late August of 3063, Protector Shraplen sent a message to Chancellor Liao of the Capellan Confederation. Much to the consternation of Sun Tzu Liao, Protector Shraplen invoked the Trinity Alliance and called upon the Capellans to provide aid in crushing what Protector Shraplen referred to as the “rebelsâ€. While the Chancellor managed to avoid sending any Capellan troops to the Concordat, he did provide Protector Shraplen with extensive technical aid, including not only supplies, but personnel to help expand and upgrade the factories on Protector Shraplen's worlds. The Chancellor also released the Taurian Velites, allowing them to return to the Concordat. This action did not work as planned as the Velites quickly threw their support behind Brenda Calderon when they arrived in the Concordat.
While the Shraplen loyalists were getting aid from their Capellan Allies, the Calderon loyalist had no such support. Instead they found many of their efforts hindered by the efforts of the Word of Blake, who refused to run the HPGs located on the worlds claimed by Acting Protector Calderon. In an effort to remedy this situation envoys were sent to the Federated Suns. Once there they were to contact Comstar and offer them a contract to run the Concordat's HPGs. The other major hinderance to Acting Protector Calderon was the on going harassment by the Concordat Constabulary. What was at first a nuisance soon became a major problem. On worlds across the Concordat, the Constabulary was sabotaging factories, destroying supplies and conducting a variety of terrorist actions. At first reluctant to order the TDF to move against their fellow countrymen, Protector Calderon soon had no choice. Arrests of the Constabulary increased across the worlds held by Brenda Calderon. To replace the Constabulary, Acting Protector Calderon announced the creation of several new organizations. Rather then simply replace the Constabulary, Brenda Calderon felt spreading their power out would prevent them from abusing their power. The Taurian Marshal Service was tasked with assuming the Concordat Constabulary's police functions. The intelligence gathering and counter intelligence functions were given to the Taurian Intelligence Agency. Lastly the Constabulary's civil defense roles were assumed by the Taurian Defense Forces which established the Civil Defense Corps. While these new organizations were not as efficient as the Constabulary, the limited powers of each organization made it harder for any one person to gain to much power over the Taurian populace.
September of 3063 also saw the formation of the Independent Worlds of the Concordat. Led by Sterope and Pinard, a total of 8 worlds (Aea, Camadeierre, Dicallus, Euschelus, Grossbach, Norman's World, Pinard and Sterope) declared their intentions to remain neutral in the fighting between Protector Shraplen and Acting Protector Calderon. Not wanting to see their worlds destroyed in the fighting that was sure to come, these worlds ordered the forces of both sides to leave. At the same time, these worlds agreed to maintain trade relations with both sides. Acting Protector Calderon, seeing the advantages of maintaining relations with these worlds, especially with Sterope and Pinard which possessed war materials factories vital to her, kept cordial relatiosn with the Independent Worlds. On the other hand, Protector Shraplen saw these worlds as traitors and it was only on the advice of Senior Marshal Boris Tharn that he did not immediately move to recapture them and instead focused his efforts on crushing Brenda Calderon's rebellion. He did impose a nearly complete trade embargo with the neutral worlds, hoping it would encourage them to return to the fold. Unfortunately for Protector Shraplen, what he did not realize was that he need trade with the independent worlds far more than they needed trade with him. While the military factories on Perdition, MacLeod's Land, Illiushin and Organo had to reduce production due to component shortages, the factories on Pinard and Sterope continued to run at full capacity, providing weapons to the militas of the Independent Worlds as well as to the factories on New Vandenberg and Taurus. It would be many months before the factories under Protector Shraplen's control were able to resume full production, having finally, with the aid of the Word of Blake and the Capellan Confederation, expanded their production centers to produce the components that were needed for their product lines.
While the forces of Protector Shraplen found themselves facing material shortages, Brenda Calderon's forces faced no such problem. Controlling the massive industrial complexes on Taurus and New Vandenberg, and having access to the production from Sterope and Pinard through trade agreements, the forces of Brenda Calderon were well supplied. What they lacked at this point in time was the desire to fight against their fellow countrymen. While many in the TDF realized that if they wanted to remove Protector Shraplen from power they would have to do so through force of arms, Acting Protector Calderon's soldiers had a hard time with the idea of taking up arms against their friends and relatives. Rather then push her soldiers before they were ready, Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace spent the next few months traveling across the Concordat, meeting with the soldiers of the TDF and making sure they understood why they would have to take up arms against their countrymen. Her “Why we fight†speech, delivered hundreds of times to thousands of soldiers, soon convinced the soldiers of the TDF that if they wanted to restore the Concordat to its former glory, they would have no choice but to go to war against the forces of Protector Shraplen. By the end of the year, the Acting Protector and Senior Marshal Makepeace finally felt the time was right to move against the worlds of Protector Shraplen.
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Communication between Protector Shraplen and Chancellor Liao
August 25th, 3063
Chancellor Liao:
Under the terms of the Trinity Alliance I must demand that you provide troops and support for our operations against the rebels lead by former Senior Marshal Brenda Calderon. These rebels have captured numerous worlds and seek to nullify the Trinity Alliance. They are in fact far weaker then the appear to be a first glance. With your aid we will easily defeat them and regain control over the entire Concordat
[s ]Protector Grover Shaplen
August 30th 3063
My dear Protector Shaplen
It is with great regret that I am unable to provide much of the aid that you have requested. My troops are simply too caught up in fighting the St Ives War. I have however sent you large material stocks to help make good your losses and technical advisors to help refit your factories. I hope both prove useful to you.
[s ]Chancellor Sun Tzu Liao
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Oh very good Irose. Liking this whole storyline. Curious to see what the Magistracy and now ComStar will do?
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The MoC and C* aren't going to be that interesting- it's what the CC, SIC and WOB do that I think are more interesting....
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Life on the Independent Worlds
Interview by Amanda Huang, New Chappelle Defender, November 15th, 3063
While the majority of the Concordat has chosen to side with either Protector Shraplen or Acting Protector Brenda Calderon in the Taurian Civil War, a small number of worlds have chosen to support neither side, declaring their independence from the Concordat until the situation can be resolved. Recently I visited with the Duke Holmgrem Lentehusic, leader of the planet Pinard and head of the Independent World Council. He was willing to sit down with me and discuss why they chose neutrality and how it has impacted life on their worlds. Below is the complete transcript of our conversation.
[Amanda Huang]: Duke Lentehusic, thank you for taking the time to meet with me.
[Holmgrem Lentehusic]: Your welcome Amanda, I appreciate the opportunity to tell the people of the Concordat about our situation.
[AH]: About your situation, can you tell us why you have chosen to remain neutral rather then pick a side in this conflict?
[HL]: Well Amanda that is a complicated question. The short answer is that we of the independent worlds feel that no matter what side we choose, we all lose. Nothing good can come from fighting our fellow Taurians. By remaining neutral and keeping ties with both side we hope to be able to broker a settlement in this conflict, one that does not require blood.
[AH]: That's an admirable goal Duke Lentehusic, but do you think it is really achievable?
[HL]: Well I hope it is. I mean we are all Taurians. We should be able to work out our differences without needing to resort to violance.
[AH]: But from what we are seeing that doesn't seem likely to happen. From what we understand Grover Shraplen wants nothing to do with your worlds.
[HL]: Well there has been some resistance from Protector Shraplen. He seems to be taking a more cautious approach to dealings with us.
[AH]: From what I hear he has a complete trade embargo on goods between his worlds and the Independent Worlds. I also here he was quoted as saying to the Capellan Ambassador that “The only reason I haven't moved against the Independent Worlds is because I'd rather deal with one problem at a timeâ€.
[HL]: What are your sources for that information?
[AH]: They come from unnamed sources in the TDF and the Taurian Government. I take it you are not denying this information?
[HL]: I think at this time the interview is over.
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Why We Fight- Speech by Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace, given multiple dates, December, 3063. From the Archives of Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace.
Men and Women of the TDF. Soon we are going to embark on a mission, a mission that I still can not believe we have to conduct. A mission that we should not have to carry out, but that we must. One that we must do our utmost to win. Soon we are going to launch a campaign to remove Grover Shraplen from power and restore all of the worlds of the Concordat to a single banner. We will have to do something, something so appalling that it has taken Acting Protector Brenda Calderon 4 months to be able to issue the orders. It is not an easy order, we will have to fight against friends, family and our fellow brothers in arms. These are not Davions, Capellans or Pirates that we will be killing, but our own flesh and blood.
What you need to know is that this isn't just a power struggle between 2 people who want to be Protector. It is struggle for the true heart of the Concordat. Many if you senior officers and NCOs remember the dark days of Thomas Calderon's rule. You remember being forced to stand by while pirates attacked our people and ruin our worlds. You remember a Protector so over com by paranoia of the Davions that we could do nothing but defend against an attack that we all knew was never going to come. Protector Shraplen would have us return to those days. Instead of looking to a brighter future, expanding the Concordat through peaceful colonization and improving the lives of our people, we should instead fight the Davions, even when they have shown no interest in us. We should, instead of protecting our worlds against pirates, fight for the Capellans against the St Ives Compact, a people who have far more in common with us then those we fight for.
This is why we fight. We fight for the future of our nation and our children. We fight to given them a future better then the universe we currently have, a universe of opportunity. A universe filled with hope and optimism, not fear and paranoia. We fight for what we believe in and what we hold most dear, because if we don't we we might as well be Capellans or Davions.
Good luck, God bless you and God bless the Taurian Concordat.
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Interesting a SIC alliance??
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Interesting a SIC alliance??
Maybe not an alliance- just wait and see...
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Damn, I hate waiting!
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You and me both, brother.
MA
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Patience- the St Ives connection will make its appearance by December of 3064.
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Memo from Clayton Rather, Minister of Military Production to Protector Grover Shraplen
To: Protector Grover Shraplen
From: Clayton Rather, Director Military Production
Re: Military Production Capacity of the Taurian Concordat
December 14th, 3063
Protector, as requested here is the latest update on the state of our weapons industry. The situation is far better then it was 4 months ago, but we still have a long way to go to meet all of our goals. Fortunately we have received extensive aid from both the Capellan Confederation and the Word of Blake. The Capellans have made up component shortages due to factories that were taken over by the rebels. This has allowed us to continue production until our new factory lines are operational. The Word of Blake has been quite generous in helping with that, providing the material and technical aid needed to expand our factories and add new ones. These new factories are equipped to produce designs using the latest advanced technologies. The price from the Word, a quarter of our production for the first 10 years, is quite reasonable. I expect to continue working closely with them in the future.
Factory Sites
Amber Grove
Paulina Weapons
Products: Cyrano Helicopters
Current Status: factory under construction
Paulina Weapons is just one of the many reasons why we consider the Word of Blake to be our true friends. After revealing how the original Paulina Weapons factory on New Vandenberg was destroyed by Comstar in an effort to suppress advanced technology, the Word of Blake announced that the least they could do was rebuild the factory. With the generous aid and technical assistance being provide the the WoB, we expect to begin producing new Cyranos by the end of next year.
Advanced Electronics Inc
Products: Communication & Targeting systems, Guardian ECMs, Beagle Active Probes, TAG
Current Status: Mostly operational
Advanced Electronics Inc, formerly a small consumer electronics factory owned by Pinard-Dicolais Electronics has been converted to our main manufacturer of military electronics. Once again the Word of Blake has provided generous aid in refitting the factory. The new Advanced Electronics Inc is the most high tech electronics manufacturer in the periphery. Production is running at near full capacity, reducing our dependency on electronics from the Capellan Confederation.
Cyrton
Bowie Industries
Products: Gabriel Hover Scout
Current Status: Operational
Yet another gift from the Word of Blake, the new factory has recently come on line. The design is proving popular with our armor corps and is being produced in large numbers.
Illiushin
Vandenberg Mechanized Industries
Products: Stinger, Commando & Falcon Light Mechs, Whitworth & Griffin Medium Mech, Union Dropship
Status: Mech lines operational, Dropship line idle
One of the leading manufacturers of light and medium mechs in the Concordat, the VMI factory on Illiushin has been greatly expanded. Following the Coup, the factory on Illiushin was idled due to shortages of many of the components needed for production. Fortunately the Capellan Confederation soon stepped in and provided much of what we needed, allowing the Stinger, Commando and Griffin to resume production. Unfortunately they could not provide the drives needed for the Union class dropships. The Word of Blake has since stepped in to help. Not only are they helping to build a factory to produce the fusion engines needed by VMI, but they have also helped add productions lines for the Falcon and Whitworth mechs, both of which are expected to begin production early next year. They are also helping to construct a new line for the drives needed by the Union dropships, but this is expected to take 2 years to complete.
Laconis
Taurus Majoris Mining
Products: Standard & Ferro-Fibrous Armor
Status: Operational
Already the leading armor manufacture in the Concordat, the Word of Blake provided the necessary know how to build Ferro-Fibrous Armor.
MacLeod's Land
Pinard Protectorates Limited
Products: Locust, Stinger, Catapult, & Guillotine mechs
Status: Locust & Stinger lines operational, Catapult& Guillotine lines under construction
A minor manufacturer of light mechs, the PPL factory on MacLeod's Land is undergoing massive changes. Through deals brokered by the Word of Blake, PPL has acquired a license to the Catapult Battlemech from Hollis Industries and the Guillotine Battlemech from Irian Technologies. Both lines are expected to be operational by the end of 3064.
Organo
Pinard Protectorates Limited
Products: Sabre Aerospace Fighters
Status: Operational
The PPL Sabre factory has long been something an unwanted stepchild to the corporation. Acquired shortly after the formation of PPL, the factory has seen almost no investments since that time. The Word of Blake has offered to help refurbish the factory and expand it's production, but so far PPL seems disinclined to take them up on their offer. It is unknown why PPL is unwilling to accept this free aid.
Perdition
Pinard Protectorates Limited
Products: Light SRM Carrier, Vedette & Po Tanks, J. Edgar & Fulcrum Hover Tank, Wasp, Orion and Thug Battlemechs, Thunderbird Aerospace Fighter
Status: Mostly operational, Po, Orion and Thug lines under production
The PPL factory on Perdition is actually composed of 4 separate factories. As with most of our factories, the PPL facility was heavily dependent on off world components. Aid from the Capellans has ensured that production continued uninterrupted. They have also provided us with a license for the Po Heavy tank which will enter production in the next 3 months. Separately we have been able to negotiate a license with Kali-Yama/Alphard Trading Corp for the Orion, while the Word of Blake has provided us with plans for the Thug. Both designs will enter production by the end of 3064, if not sooner.
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Wow, the Blakist Concordat is born. They own that dumb bastard Sharplen.
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It's really not that different from the canon setting. Just read through Project Phoenix, the Jihad Books, TR3050U - the Blakists were providing the TC with a ton of aid - everything from help building FF Armor, new designs, new factories to the Vendetta. And truthfully this Blakist aid is not that much earlier then it was in canon- WoB was providing the TC with technical aid (see the Stinger in TRO:PP) starting sometime in 3065/3066.
I also don't totally accept that the premise that the Jihad was WOB throwing a temper tantrum. There may a be little to that, but they were doing to much, there were too many things being planned for years to it be as simple as, "You disbanded the Star League so instead of attacking the Clans we are going to attack you". And I think the TC was a part of those plans- get the paranoid bulls to attack the FS, distracting the Suns when they could least afford it. They still want Shraplen for that role- they can tell that Brenda and Kithrong won't go the way they want- and if they don't give Shraplen support he won't last long. At this point I almost feel sorry for Shraplen, I actually feel like here he's in over his head and making a string of bad decisions, rather then canon where he's portrayed as just a bumbling paranoid idiot.
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Agreed and most of what you say. The Jihad was not a Word of Blake temper tantrum anyway it was a master stroke to unite the factions in one goal. There was in 3067 a significant True Believer element that wouldn't go along with the whole take over the Sphere angle like the Toyama. The SL was the catalyst to unite them with the Toyama under the Master and it worked for a time.
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Report from Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace to Acting Protector Brenda Calderon
Bren-
We've completed the survey on our industrial capability that you request. It's better then we hoped for. Trade with the independent worlds has eliminated most of our shortages. The only major shortages we have are machine guns and SRMs. PPL's producing SRMs on Pinard but just enough to keep up with the production of the Plainsman HT, while we've lost our only supplier of machine guns. Rather then holding up production, we've tried to modify the designs to use available weapons, such Streak 2 missile launchers and flamers. We've also had a few problems sourcing armor, the loss of the Laconis factories was a pretty tough blow, but it forced us to put a lot of resources into Edge Industries- we've finally got a handle on Ferro-Fibrous armor production. I've also included a small update on the military industries of the Independent Worlds. With so many of the components we need coming from those worlds I felt it was important for you to have a current status of them. Recently I've had a few off the record talks with the ambassador from Sterope. He's asked to keep it real quiet for now, but the Independents are looking to beef up their defenses, both against pirates and Shraplen. He inquired if we would be open to increasing the amount of trade between us. I told him I would have to speak with you for official confirmation but I thought something could be worked out. I think we should pursue this- it will tie them closer to us and hopeful ultimately get them to renounce their neutrality and aid us in taking down Shraplen.
Taurus Territorial Industries
Products (Taurus): Locust, Wasp, Hatchetman, Marshal, Thunderbolt, Warhammer & Marauder Battlemechs, Lightning & Thunderbird Aerospace fighters, Leopard Dropships
Products (Sterope): Seydlitz Aerospace Fighter, Tracked APC, Maultier APC, Hunter Tank, Union Dropship
Taurus Territorial Industries continues to be the leading supplier of military equipment to the Concordat. The main factory on Taurus has continued to maintain high levels of production. Several minor variations of existing mechs have had to be introduced due to component shortages. The Locust LCT- 2T replaces the standard armor with Ferro-Fibrous armor and the machine guns with a 2nd medium laser and a flamer. The Marshal, like other mechs using machine guns has had them replaced, in this case with 2nd medium pulse laser. The Thunderbolt TDR-6T replaces the SRM 2 launcher with a Medium Laser and an extra heatsink, while the Machine guns are replaced with a flamer and an other heatsink. The Warhammer WHR-6T replaces the SRM 6 Launcher with a pair of Streak-2 launchers and the Machine guns are replaced by a pair of flamers, allowing the mech to retain it's anti-infantry defense. The engineers at TTI have been able to quickly and seamlessly incorporate these changes, a testament to their skills.
The TTI factory on Sterope continues to operate, producing a variety of equipment for the militias of the independent worlds.
Vandenberg Mechanized Industries
Products (New Vandenberg): Stinger, Archer & Marauder Battlemechs, Chippewa Aerospace Fighter, Hunter Tank
Products (Pinard) Thunderbolt & Warhammer Battlemechs, Vedette Tank
Like TTI, VMI has continued to produce weapons for the TDF. The New Vandenberg factory has seen few interruptions, other then the Stinger line, which was retooled, replacing the Machine Guns with a Medium Laser and extra ton of armor. The remaining lines have continued to operate, importing some of the needed components from the Independent Worlds.
The Pinard factory is currently producing weapons for the Independent Worlds militias. As with the TTI, the T-Bolt and Warhammer have been retooled to compensate for unavailable components. The Vedette has also bee retooled, adding additional armor in place of the machine gun.
O/P Computer Electronics
Products (Brinton): Targeting & Tracking Systems, Communication Equipment
O/P Computer Electronics one of the main manufacturers of electronics in the Concordat. The company is currently suffering some financial problems due to the loss of sales to VMI on Illiushin and PPL on Organo. We are currently subsidizing the company to ensure that they can survive these set backs.
Pinard Protectorates Limited
Products (Pinard): Marauder, Plainsman Hovertank
PPL is continuing to produce Marauders and Plainsmen for the Independent Worlds militias. With the loss of so much of vehicle production capacity we have made an arrangement with PPL to purchase 50% of their annual production.
Pinard-Dicolais Electronics
Products (Pinard): Targeting & Tracking Systems, Communication Equipment
As with O/P Computer Electronics, Pinard-Dicolais has suffered some setbacks due to the loss of trade with the factories controlled by Shraplen's forces. This has had only limited effects on the company, which has converted some of it's now excess production capacity to the production of consumer goods.
Sterope Defense Industries
Products (Sterope): Heavy Weapons
Sterope Defense Industries is one the largest manufactuers of heavy weapons in the Concordat. The company has seen significant growth, with many of it's products being used to replace components that are no longer available to the Concordat.
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CCAF Still fighting in St Ives
New Syrtis Daily Times
Sven Markensen November 25th, 3063
Despite predictions from experts all over the Inner Sphere, the St Ives Compact continues to resist the advances of the Capellan Confederation. What once looked like a forgone conclusion is now not so certain. Where the forces of the Capellan Confederation had been steadily pushing back the forces of the St Ives Compact, for the last 4 months, the St Ives Defenders have stopped the Capellan onslaught and in some cases have even regained lost ground. Many military experts are pointing to the impact of the Taurian Civil War as the reason why the Capellan offensive has begun to flounder. Heavily dependent on Taurian troops, the Capellans have found themselves stripped of those forces. The Taurian Velites and Longwoods's Bluecoats have both returned to the Concordat. Unlike previously, when additional Taurian troops were dispatched to Capellans to replace other forces that either returned to the Concordat or were destroyed in the fighting, no new troops are headed to the Confederation. In fact, Protector Shraplen has invoked the Trinity Alliance and called upon the Capellan Chancellor to provide military aid in support of his actions against Protector Calderon's forces.
Recently MIIO and DMI have received reports of large quantities of military supplies heading from the Confederation to the Taurians. Many of these supplies have come from units tasked to fight in the Compact, hindering actions there. Many of our forces fighting to protect the St Ives Compact from the aggression of the Capellan Confederation have reported that the Capellan forces seem short of supplies and have had to halt their offensives. In several cases the St Ives forces have managed to push Capellan attackers off world. While the St Ives forces have not yet gone fully on the offensive, it appears more and more likely that this will happen soon. Many in the AFFS have called on the Princess to provide more support to our forces in the St Ives Compact. So far all of these calls have fallen on deaf ears as the Princess seems uninterested in confronting the Capellans. However reports from the front indicate that Duke Hasek has been providing support to the St Ives forces and that recently the Syrtis Fusiliers have been repositioned to worlds along the Compact border, where they will be in a position to quickly aid the St Ives defenders should orders come from the AFFS.
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Longwood's Bluecoats return to TC
MacLeod Land Daily Times
Sandra Bernhart, November 15th, 3063
Longwood's Bluecoats, a mercenary unit with a long history of service to the Taurian Concordat has returned home after participating in the Capellan campaign against the St Ives Compact. Loaned to the Confederation in response to Chancellor Sun Tzu Liao's call for aid against the St Ives invaders, the Bluecoats have provided exemplary service, having won multiple victories for the Capellans. Recently, Protector Grover Shraplen called on the Capellan Chancellor to return the Bluecoats to the Concordat so that they could aid in operations against the rebel forces.
The Bluecoats are thrilled at the prospect of returning to the Concordat. Colonel Moses Longwood, commander of the regiment, was quoted as saying “We are thrilled to be returning to our homes and being able to put our new skills and weapons to use against the rebels.†Many of the soldiers in the regiment are glad to be leaving the Confederation, they are excited at the prospect of being able to help restore order to the Concordat. The regiment is expected to be deployed against the rebels soon.
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Bren-
As requested here's the latest status on Shraplen's forces and our own. Unfortunately after the Red Chasseurs were forced to retreat from Laconis, Tharn moved heavy reinforcement there. The same goes for Amber Grove. But in the long run I think it is better that we gave up those worlds and better positioned ourselves for Case Blue. We are set for the operation. Just waiting for your final authorization.
Val
Status as of December 19th, 3063
Shraplen Loyalist Forces
CO: Senior Marshal Boris Tharn
Aide: Comptroller Alexander Roshenko
II Corps
CO: Marshal Fiona Jamesen
Aide: Comptroller Edward Hamilton
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Longwood's Bluecoats
(CO: Colonel Moses Longwood)
Mac's Hell-Raisers Veteran Questionable Perdition
(CO: Major Belinda MacKelvy)
Ivan's Marauders Veteran Questionable Perdition
(CO: Major Ivan Tchorgin)
III Corps
CO: Marshal Victor Sharpe
Aide: Colonel Amanda Hayes
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Pleiades Hussars
(CO: Colonel Maxwell Albritten)
1st Battalion Veteran Fanatical MacLeod's Land
(CO: Brigadier Quince Baker)
2nd Battalion Veteran Fanatical MacLeod's Land
(CO: Brigadier Gene Lind)
1st Taurian Lancers
(CO: Colonel Elise Powell)
1st Battalion Regular Reliable Mithron
(CO: Brigadier Rachel James)
2nd Battalion Green Reliable Illiushin
(CO: Brigadier Monty Scott)
3rd Battalion Regular Fanatical Atreus Prime
(CO: Austin Campbell)
Bannockburn's Bandits
(CO: Colonel Sylvia Bannockburn)
Morgan's Lancers Veteran Fanatical MacLeod's Land
(CO: Major Katherine Morgan)
Carter's Commandos Regular Reliable MacLeod's Land
(CO: Major Isaac Carter)
IV Corps
CO: Marshal Alexia Dare
Aide: Comptroller Taron Black
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Pleiades Lancers
(CO: Colonel Robert Kosmic)
1st Battalion Veteran Reliable Althea's Choice
(CO: Brigadier Florence Fowler)
2nd Battalion Regular Reliable Cyrton
(CO: Brigadier David Hart)
3rd Battalion Regular Reliable Organo
(CO: Brigadier Jordan Fisher)
2nd Taurian Lancers
(CO: Colonel Brad Wolf)
1st Battalion Regular Reliable Laconis
(CO: Brigadier Jasmine Frachs)
2nd Battalion Green Reliable Flaum
(CO: Brigadier Theo “Socrates†Kipplinger)
3rd Battalion Regular Reliable Laconis
(CO: Brigadier Tom Payne
V Corps
CO: Marshal Thomas Jenkins
Aide: Brigadier Walter Roter
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
3rd Taurian Lancers
(CO: Colonel Teresa Danielle)
1st Battalion Green Reliable Amber Grove
(CO: Brigadier Miho Katsuba)
2nd Battalion Green Fanatical Amber Grove
(CO: Brigadier Kalvin Hobbes)
3rd Battalion Green Reliable Logan's Land
(CO: Brigadier Aaron Wells)
Calderon Forces
CO: Senior Marshal Valerie Makepeace
Aide: Comptroller Patrick Sterling
Taurian Guard
CO: Marshal Lee “T-bolt†Smith
Aide: Comptroller Diana Hudson
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Taurian Guard
(CO: Colonel James Sterling)
1st Battalion Elite Fanatical Taurus
(CO: Brigadier Martin Compton)
2nd Battalion Veteran Fanatical Hyades Cluster
(CO: Janilee Towarr)
3rd Battalion Veteran Fanatical Hyades Cluster
(CO: Malcom Brightwater)
Taurian Velites (1 Battalion) Elite Fanatical Hyades Cluster
(CO: Colonel William Heise)
Concordat Commandos
(CO: Colonel Jacob Mornay)
1st Battalion Veteran Reliable Brisbane
(CO: Brigadier Amanda Conners)
2nd Battalion Veteran Reliable Brisbane
(CO: William Renshaw)
3rd Battalion Veteran Fanatical New Ganymede
(CO: Dalton Summers)
I Corps
CO: Marshal Kai Shoguwa
Aide: Colonel Adam Buefort
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Concordat Jaegers
(CO: Colonel Carol Trennouth)
1st Battalion Veteran Fanatical New Vandenberg
(CO: Brigadier Kevin Stills)
2nd Battalion Veteran Reliable New Vandenberg
(CO: Brigadier Aleisha Kovacs)
3rd Battalion Veteran Fanatical Brinton
(CO: Brigadier James Howard)
Red Chasseurs
(CO: Colonel Clarence Cheplak)
1st Battalion Veteran Fanatical Landmark
(CO: Brigadier Andre Pharoh)
2nd Battalion Regular Reliable Brisbane
(CO: Brigadier Maria Steibeck)
3rd Battalion Veteran Reliable Landmark
(CO: Issak Shtern)
Gordon's Armored Cavalry
(DO: Colonel Dick Gordon)
Mitchell's Lancers Veteran Questionable New Vallis
(CO: Brigadier Alberta Mitchell)
Arrow's Chasseurs Elite Questionable New Vallis
(CO: Brigadier Nathan Arrow)
Simon's Banshees Elite Questionable New Vallis
(CO: Brigadier Carl Simon)
II Corps
CO: Marshal Luke Bonilla
Aide: Colonel Jackie Longfellow
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Hyades Light Infantry
(CO: Tanis Verbret)
1st Battalion Veteran Reliable Celentaro
(CO: Alicia Nicholas)
2nd Battalion Veteran Reliable Celentaro
(CO: Sarasvati Rinaldi)
3rd Battalion Green Questionable Spitz
(CO: Tiberius James)
V Corps
CO: Marshal Gena Ortherson
Aide: Brigadier Hampton Yeltson
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Vandelay's Valkyries (1 Battalion) Regular Reliable Charleston
CO: Colonel Charles Houver)
VI Corps
CO: Marshal Cham Kithrong
Aide: Colonel Freda Dursten
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
1st New Colony Lancers
(CO: Colonel Brian Moore)
1st Battalion Green Fanatical Erod's Escape
(CO: Brigadier Hans Gunter)
2nd Battalion Green Fanatical Tyrhennia
(CO: Brigadier Darrin Thomason)
3rd Battalion Regular Fanatical Mirfak
(CO: Liza Moody)
Protector's Pride
(CO: Colonel Earnest Julian)
1st Battalion Green Fanatical Carvajal
(CO: Brigadier Francis Blake)
2nd Battalion Green Fanatical Belle Isle
(CO: Brigadier Marra Westin)
Clean Kill Regular Questionable Jansen's Hold
(CO: Major Phornes Bullard)
Prey's Divisionals Regular Fanatical New Vallis
(CO: Major J. “Bad Karma†Benderoth)
Neutral Units
Unit Name Experience Loyalty Homeworld
Lone Star Regiment
(CO: Colonel George Brown)
1st Battalion Veteran Questionable Pinard
(CO: Major Winston Dalton)
2nd Battalion Veteran Questionable Camadeierre
(CO: Pam Walters)
3rd Battalion Veteran Questionable Norman's World
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Planetary Loyalties
Excerpt from Doctoral Thesis “Impacts of the Taurian Civil War on the Society of the Taurian Concordat†Marcus Ashford, Doctoral Candidate, University of Taurus
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Taurian Civil War is the concept of planetary loyalty. Many reports refer to planetary loyalty as if each world was a solitary entity, not a world of millions if not billions of people. In reality, the loyalty of each planet is not as simple as black, white or gray. Even worlds that are considered fanatically loyal to a side may have millions of people who support the opposition. In some cases the majority of the planet's population may not even have an opinion on the matter, being willing to follow along with a vocal minority. This created a situation where each side was forced to garrison nominally loyal worlds. In many cases this issue proved more troublesome for the Calderon forces, the Shraplen loyalists could depend on the Concordat Constabulary to help maintain order. However as most of the Constabulary supported Protector Shraplen, Protector Calderon was required to call upon the TDF to maintain civil order. Fortunately for the Calderon forces the vast majority of the TDF remained loyal to the former Senior Marshal. Once again this is a commonly misunderstood aspect of the Taurian Concordat. Unlike the militaristic Inner Sphere powers, the TDF is focused on defending the Concordat against foreign aggressors and pirates, not wars of conquest. While in the Inner Sphere the Battlemech forces, with their greater versatility and performance in offensive operations, are the main combat arm, in the TDF they take a back seat to the Armor and Infantry Corps. The main defenders of the Concordat, the large armor and infantry forces can be found on every world. These forces are focused exclusively on defending their worlds from enemy attack. During the reign of Thomas Calderon it was these forces that experienced first hand the folly of his Davion Paranoia. While the Armor and Infantry Corps were the main defense against pirates, the Battlemech Corps played a key role, providing both a mobile reserve to back up the conventional forces and a response force capable of chasing down and destroying pirates at their bases. During the early years of Protector Shraplen's rule, the conventional forces saw him heading down the same path as the Thomas Calderon. The involvement with the Trinity Alliance only confirmed these suspicions, as the TDF began to focus on fighting in the St Ives Compact at the expense of dealing with the ever present pirate threat. Brenda Calderon was seen by many in the TDF as a saner voice, someone who understood the threats to the Concordat and how to best deploy the TDF to protect the citizens of the Concordat. The exceptions were largely found on worlds along the border with the Federated Suns. Having suffered occasional raids from the Federated Suns and a dose of Davion Paranoia, these worlds felt that the alliance with Capellan Confederation would help provide protection against a potential attack by the AFFS. However on many of these worlds the support of Protector Shraplen was moderate at best and so the Constabulary was forced to expend significant efforts to maintain order. Table 4.1 below details the nominal loyalty of each world with notes where needed.
Table 4.1 Nominal Loyalty of Taurian Worlds Dec 3063
World Loyalty Notes
Aea Neutral
Althea's Choice Shraplen Nominally controlled by Shraplen, under martial law
Amber Grove Shraplen
Argos Calderon
Atreus Prime Shraplen
Belle Isle Calderon Raided after Shraplen loyal forces left- fiercely loyal to Calderon
Brinton Calderon
Brisbane Calderon
Burton Calderon
Cadiz Calderon
Camadeierre Neutral
Carthage Calderon
Carvajal Calderon
Celano Calderon
Celentaro Calderon
Charleston Calderon
Colchis Calderon
Cyrton Shraplen
Davetal II Calderon
Davetal III Calderon
Dicallus Neutral
Diik Calderon
Erod's Escape Calderon
Eushelus Neutral
Flaum Shraplen
Gant Calderon
Gaul Calderon
Grossbach Neutral
Hellespont Calderon Large number of Shraplen supporters on world.
Illiushin Shraplen
Ishtar Calderon
Jamestown Calderon
Jansen's Hold Calderon
Laconis Shraplen
Landmark Calderon Controlled by Calderon Forces with strong Shraplen Sympathies
Lastpost Calderon
Logan's Land Shraplen
MacLeod's Land Shraplen
Marknick Calderon Protector Shraplen's temporary capital
Micros III Calderon
Mirfak Calderon
Mithron Shraplen Nominally under Shraplen control- Far Lookers opposed to him
New Ganymede Calderon
New Vallis Calderon
New Vandenberg Calderon
Norman's World Neutral
Organo Shraplen
Orkney Calderon
Oscar Calderon
Perdition Shraplen
Pinard Neutral
Regis Roost Calderon
Renfield Shraplen Far Looker Knossos Asteroid Habitat supports Calderon
Samantha Calderon
Spitz Calderon
Sterope Neutral
Taurus Calderon
Tyrrhenia Calderon
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Good stuff Irose! Wonder if Blacknova could cook us up a map? Puh-lease!! ;D
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I'll see what I can do. Based upon the 3057 map I have I would guess?
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Yes it's 3057 map with Brinton added. And if that's a problem you can just drop Brinton. Really appreciate the help with the maps.
Thanks
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I feel somewhat like a god...for with a click of a mouse, I can make worlds appear and dissappear.
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I feel somewhat like a god...for with a click of a mouse, I can make worlds appear and dissappear.
Knightmare feels the same, but with him its the click of a big red button and nukes ;)
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Here is the map of world and force loyalties for the Taurian Civil War.
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Here is the map of world and force loyalties for the Taurian Civil War.
That's awesome- thanks so much for putting the map together- I really appreciate it.
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That's OK. Now the intitial one is done, other's are very easy to do as you progress the story line.
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Looks great Blacknova, thanks!!
What r the yellow worlds??
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I feel somewhat like a god...for with a click of a mouse, I can make worlds appear and dissappear.
Knightmare feels the same, but with him its the click of a big red button and nukes ;)
Damn straight. :D
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Looks great Blacknova, thanks!!
What r the yellow worlds??
Contetsted worlds. From the list Irose put up, some worlds had notes indicating large opposition groups for whoever held the system, so I wanted to show these on the map.
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Just 1 minor correction to the map, I goofed when I posted the loyalty list- Camadeierre should be neutral, not calderon.
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OK, I'll fix that up after work.
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Ah very good! Excellent work. Looking forward to more!!
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Part 3: Opening Moves
On January 5th, 3064 the the Calderon forces launched Case Blue, the opening moves of a campaign against the worlds loyal to Protector Shraplen. While many expected the initial strikes would be against MacLeod's Land, the Calderon forces instead chose to target Mithron and Althea's Choice, two worlds, which despite being controlled by Protector Shraplen, had strong sympathies towards Acting Protector Calderon. It was hoped that the two worlds could be quickly captured and used as a springboard for further drives against the Shraplen forces. Simultaneously, the Red Chasseurs 1st Battalion launched a raid against Illiushin and the 3rd Battalion of the Hyades Light Infantry hit Amber Grove in an effort to tie down more of Shraplen's forces.
On Mithron, the entire regiment of Gordon's Armored Cavalry faced off against the first battalion of the 1st Taurian Lancers. The Calderon forces received significant aid in their campaign from the Far Lookers Arcologist faction, who maintained a number of facilities in the system. The Arcologists were able to gather detailed information on the deployment of the defending forces and with aid from jumpships belonging to the Far Looker's Explorer faction relay this information back to the TDF command on Taurus. On January 5th, Gordon's Armored Cavalry jumped into the system using a pirate point near Mithron. Conducting a high speed burn, the regiment dropped near the main defensive positions of the 1st Taurian Lancers catching them unprepared. While Mitchell's Lancers and Arrow's Chasseurs pounded the 1st Taurian Lancers, Simon's Banshees established a landing zone for the follow on conventional forces. This proved to be a wise choice. While the 1st Taurian Lancers were quickly shattered, losing over half of their mechs, the defenders conventional forces, consisting of an armor regiment and 2 infantry regiments, with significant fighter and VTOL support, quickly launched a counter attack.
The sheer mass of the counter attack pushed back Gordon's Armored Cavalry and allowed the survivors of the 1st Taurian Lancers to disengage. The Mitchell's Lancers and Arrow's Chasseurs fell back to the landing zones, conducting a masterful fighting withdrawal. This action bought enough time for the Armored Cavalry's conventional forces to arrive, turning the tide. After several hours of hard fighting the defending forces were shattered and the Calderon troops occupied the planetary capital. With aid from the Far Lookers, the Calderon troops were able to quickly roundup the Shraplen supporters and restore order to the world. Gordon's Armored Cavalry remained on the planet to garrison the world and protect it against a counter-attack from Shraplen's forces.
At the other end of the Concordat, the 3rd Battalion of the Taurian Guard and 1st Battalion of the Hyades Light Infantry launched an assault against Althea's Choice. Their opponent, the 1st Battalion of the Pleiades Lancers proved to be a very wiley foe. Garrisoning a world that was largely opposed to Protector Shraplen, the Lancers were supported by a very large contingent of the Concordat Constabulary and a mixed regiment of conventional forces. The attackers were aided by several resistance organizations built around members of the TDF garrison who fled to the wilds of Althea's Choice, rather then serve Protector Shraplen. The majority of these soldiers established them selves at Fort Devens in the Golan Desert. Established as part of Thomas Calderon's misguided efforts to protect the Concordat in the early 3050s, the Fort was well stocked with supplies and allowed the resistance to successfully hold off the Shraplen forces for many months. Landing at Fort Devens, the Taurian Guard and Hyades Light Infantry linked up with the resistance units and began moving against the Pleiades Lancers. The heavy mechs of the Taurian Guard, along with heavy armor support moved directly against the capital, while the lighter mechs of the Hyades Light Infantry and a hovertank detachment conducted a flanking maneuver.
Rather than being caught in the pincer movement, the defenders fell back to fortifications south of the city. The Hyades Light Infantry quickly moved to occupy the capital, as the Taurian Guard positioned themselves for an assault against the Pleiades Lancers. The Guard's assault was canceled when the local Constabulary forces began a guerrilla campaign against the Hyades Light Infantry. Using a variety of suicide and terror attacks, they inflicted some casualties on the Hyades Light Infantry before fading back into the populace. With their mechs unsuited for this type of warfare, the majority of the Calderon infantry and armor units were recalled to help with occupation duty. This forced the Taurian Guard to postpone their attack, buying the defenders valuable breathing time. While the Taurian Guard laid siege to the Pleiades Lancers, the Lancers improved their fighting positions. This situation remained stalemated for the next several months, every time the Calderon forces prepared to launch an assault, the Concordat Constabulary would attack, tying down the infantry and armor forces needed to assault the Lancers base.
Simultaneously with the assaults on Mithron and Althea's Choice, the 1st Battalion of the Red Chassuers and the 3rd Battalion of the Hyades Light Infantry launched raids again Shraplen held worlds. The Chasseurs hit the key world of Illiushin. Defended by the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Taurian Lancers, Illushin was the site of a major weapons manufacturing center. In addition to the 1st Taurian Lancers, the VMI factory was defended by an entire armored brigade. Rather then engaging the defending forces head on, the Red Chasseurs simply conducted a swift hit and run operation before returning back to their base on Landmark. While the attack only inflicted minor damage, it did convince Protector Shraplen to seek more aid against Brenda Calderon and her supporters. With the Capellan Confederation already showing signs of displeasure, at Protector Shraplen's near constant requests for more aid in fighting the rebels, there was really on 1 other option. The Protector called upon his allies in the Word of Blake to help support his efforts against the Calderon forces. Soon advanced weapons and advisers were arriving from the World of Blake to help bolster Protector Shraplen's forces.
On Amber Grove, the green 3rd Battalion of the Hyades Light Infantry faced off against the 1st & 2nd Battalions of the 3rd Taurian Lancers. The raid was intended to help keep Protector Shraplen off guard as to the intentions of the TDF, while tying down 2 mech battalions. Unfortunately for the Hyades Light Infantry the mission came apart almost from the beginning. Jumping into a pirate point in the system, the unit was detected by a patrol ship. With the element of surprise blown, the Hyades Light Infantry landed against an opponent that was fully prepared and ready for action. Fortunately for the 3rd Battalion their drop went unopposed as their aerospace escort was able to hold off the defenders fighters. Rather then landing against an unprepared enemy, the Hyades Light Infantry found themselves being attacked by the 1st Battalion of the Taurian Lancers. The Hyades Light Infantry suffered a serious blow when Brigadier James was killed early in the battle. The inexperienced 3rd battalion soon lost any semblance of cohesion and chaos took over. This allowed the Taurian Lancers to push back the Hyades Light Infantry and inflict heavy casualties on them.
The Hyades Light Infantry seemed doomed until Subaltern Hanna Klinger managed to rally the battalion. Using their superior mobility the Hyades Light Infantry was able to extricate themselves from the Lancer's attack, falling back to the countryside with the aid of significant support from their aerospace fighters. After a 12 hour chase the Haydes Light Infantry was finally able to link up with their dropships and escape off world. Only 2 badly damaged companies managed to escape the world, while the Taurian Lancers only suffered light damage. The 3rd Battalion of the Hyades Light Infantry returned to their base on Spitz where they began to rebuild.
In March, the TDF followed up its initial success with an assault on Renfield. The Renfield system is home to the Knossos Asteroid Habitat, a large station established by the Far Lookers. While Shraplen's supporters held the world of Renfield, the Far Lookers controlled the Knossos Asteroid Habitat. So while there was only a minimal garrison force on Renfield itself, the system had a large naval detachment that Protector Shraplen had deployed to blockade the Far Lookers base.
On March 12, a hand pick fleet of the Calderon Taurian Navy jumped into a pirate point near the Knossos Asteroid Habitat. Under heavy cover of aerospace fighters, the fleet deployed a flotilla of dropships which began to close with the Shraplen forces. As the blockade fleet redeployed to engage the invaders, they were surprised by the fact that the attackers were not slowing down to engage them but instead were constantly accelerating. As the Calderon flotilla approached the Shraplen blockade, the ships launched a large number of assault shuttles, each of which was packed with Marines trained in zero-g combat. While the Calderon fleet sped past the blockade, the Marines deployed from their shuttles and began boarding operations against the Shraplen vessels. Caught of guard, most of the vessels were quickly overwhelmed and their crews subdued with minimal damage or loss of life. It was only on the fleet flagship, the TCS Vladimer M'Buku that there was any significant resistance, which was captured after an hour of heavy fighting.
With the capture of the blockade fleet, the Calderon transports were able to land the 3rd Battalion of the Concordat Commandos on Renfield. The battle on Renfield was anti-climatic, after a few quick battles the local defenders surrendered to the Calderon forces. By the end of March the entire system was under the control of Acting Protector Brenda Calderon.
The beginning of April saw two worlds reclaimed by the Calderon forces and a third still being contested. Satisfied with their progress, Acting Protector Calderon and Senior Marshal Makepeace prepared to launch the second phase of their attack, but the Protector Shraplen and his allies in the Word of Blake had other ideas.
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Wobbies! There goes the Concordat.. ;D