AATiPDC Chpt 42

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==Chapter 42 - An American Tanker in Prince Davion's Court==
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===The Great Pirate Hunt===
September 20th-June 15th, 3052
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By careful planning and coordination, the several contingents of the Allied Expeditionary Force arrive over their assigned areas of operation more or less at the same time. Immediately upon arrival, the house contingents establish space superiority over their respective targets and set about engaging the pirate forces in those areas; the one hiccup in the AEF's plan of operations was the Space Defense System deployed in the asteroid belt of the Star's End planetary system; this phase of the Great Pirate Hunt took three months to conclude. The AEF's victory at Star's End was a foregone conclusion, however, it was expensive in that the task force's naval assets suffered the loss of one Essex-class destroyer, heavy damage to a Congress-class frigate and a Potemkin-class troop transport, plus moderate damage to a Black Lion-class Battlecruiser. 
The campaign against the pirates lasted a little less than nine months overall (including the action in the Star's End system). Some pirate forces didn't bother to stand and fight; instead, they ran as if their fusion reactors were about to undergo a core breach. Others fought hard and then surrendered in hopes of receiving lenient treatment. Still others fought to the last, knowing that they'd receive no mercy whatsoever given the enormity of their crimes. Of these, no one fought harder than Paula Trevaline, Dame Murderess Extraordinaire and ruler of the Tortuga Dominions.
After a hard-fought action that lasted the better part of three weeks, most of Trevaline's officers had been hunted down and killed. Trevaline herself attempted to avoid capture by taking her own life, but was prevented by the timely intervention of one of Field Marshal Hodges' tank crews. Trevaline was subsequently taken into custody and delivered for summary court-martial before Field Marshal Hodges. After a trial that lasted one week, she was convicted on all charges and sentenced to be publicly hanged.
By Field Marshal Hodges' order, Trevaline was transported to Terra so that her sentence could be carried out. With a nod towards ancient Terran maritime history, the place of Trevaline's execution was to be in the city of Newport in the old American state of Rhode Island. This location was specifically chosen because on July 19th, 1723, 26 men who had been convicted of piracy were hanged in that city (half of all executions that were ever carried out in Rhode Island). On the day appointed for Trevaline's execution, she was transported to the area of Gravelly Point (the site where the executions had occurred in 1723) and hanged by the neck until she was dead. After Trevaline's body had been left swinging for 24 hours, it was taken down and brought to Goat Island in Narragansett Bay and buried between the high- and low-tide marks; this was done so that the tide would continually wash over her grave and keep Trevaline's spirit from ever knowing peace in the hereafter. 
As for the other pirate lords (Redjack Ryan, Hendrick Grimm and Maria Morgraine among them), Grimm fought to the last, then deliberately breached his fusion reactor in order to kill as many of House Kurita's Mechwarriors as he could; Redjack Ryan, Maria Morgraine and dozens of the worst offenders were captured and brought to trial on Terra for their crimes. As Field Marshal Hodges forces were responsible for capturing some of them, he was called to Terra in order give testimony in a series of trials which began in June, 3052.
Once Hodges' testimony was concluded, he sent a priority HPG message back to Bristol telling his wife Kym Hodges and the rest of his family that he'll be spending some time off & on Terra. The rest of the AEF was released so that they could return to their respective dominions; before the troops of House Kurita departed, Gunji-no Kanrei Theodore Kurita came before Field Marshal Hodges and said "Hodges-sama, it has been one of the highest honors of my life serving under your command."
The compliment is acknowledged with a nod, then Hodges replies "The honor is mine, Kurita-sama. I couldn't have asked for a more-capable executive officer than you. When you return home to Luthien, please give your honorable father Takashi-sama and your good lady wife my regards." 
"I will be pleased to do so, Hodges-sama...Sayonara."
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===Always the Hero comes home===
July 20th, 3052
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Over the last 30 days, Field Marshal Hodges toured a number of locations on Terra; some of these were significant to him in his former life (such as Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Carson, Colorado) and Arlington National Cemetery (where he paid his respects at the gravesite of his great-grandfather LTG Courtney Hodges). While in Pennsylvania, Hodges invited First Lord Thomas Calderon and First Prince Hanse Davion (currently serving as the commanding general of the SLDF) to join him on a staff ride focusing on the Gettysburg Campaign of June-July, 1863. While touring the battlefield, Hodges took great care in describing the actions in such places as the Wheatfield, Devil's Den, Little Round Top, Culp's Hill and Cemetery Ridge to his companions. 
Before leaving Terra to return home, Field Marshal Hodges was called to the White House by the First Lord and awarded the Star League Medal of Honor. Upon receiving the medal in a ceremony that took place in the East Room, Hodges replied "your highness, I accept The Medal in the name of all those who served under my command over the last 20 years and who didn't come home; they are far more worthy of the decoration that I am."
"Field Marshal, your modesty does you great credit. I think that, but for your activities, there would be no Second Star League; the rift between the Periphery and the Inner Sphere would still exist and the nations thereof would still be fighting over various issues."
"Your kind words are gratefully received, sir"
The Star League Medal of Honor was only the first decoration that Field Marshal Hodges received in the weeks that followed. When he returned to the Federated Commonwealth, Hodges was summoned to New Avalon where he received the Medal Excalibur from the hand of the First Prince; Hodges was also created a Knight of the Federated Suns. Thereafter, he traveled to Tharkad where he received the Order of Steiner-Davion and McKennsy's Hammer. 
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