FSRB Chpt 96

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 96==
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October 3068St. Ives
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==FedSuns-Capellan War==
===Thugees Heathunting===
Even as Operation Rat II and Rat III were smashing into the Capellan Confederation, the St. Ives Compact continued to bleed. As though the attack upon St. Ives itself had been a signal small groups of Thuggee terrorists began a campaign of terror within the Compact. Striking out with bombings and attacks upon not only the military but also the government of various worlds and even key infrastructure. The planetary dukes of Denbar, Texlos and Brighton were all killed, with the Duke of Milos being left in a coma after his VTOL transport was shot down with a shoulder launched rocket. The various St Ives Military Command suffered similar losses - the 2nd St Ives Lancers Colonel Lucas Tolec being killed when sabotage resulted in her Victor's ejection seat deploying while the plating above her chair wasn't blown free. A bridge on Denbar was destroyed when an armored company from the 1st St. Ives Janissaries was crossing it, resulting in 7 tank crews drowning when their vehicles were dumped into the water below. Again and again small groups of fanatical death cultists struck out at clearly pre-planned targets with little regard for their own lives or for civilian casualties. 
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===Terror Raids in St. Ives===
These attacks were however merely the precursor for what was to come. On the 7th of October a number of Invader class Jumpships appeared over Milos, Indicass, Warlock and Brighton. They immediately each disgorged a single Overlord class Mech-Carrier DropShip along with a Leopard CV Fighter Carrier dropship and an Achilles assault dropship. The 2 transport dropships headed for the world within the system while the Achilles began attacking all jumpships and dropships at the jump point. Smaller formations consisting only of Leopard CV and Achilles dropships jumped into a number of other systems on Merchant class jumpships. 
Even as the attacks at the jump points were causing heavy losses in jumpship and dropships the 4 Overlord and their Leopard CV escorts streaked for the planet. On Indicass, the elite aerospace wing of the 1st St. Ives Cheveau-Legers managed to destroy the Leopard CV and it's fighters before crippling the Overlord before returning to finish off the lamed vessel. However, at the other target worlds the remaining 3 Overlords survived to drop their battlemech battalions upon the world. As per the attack on St Ives the transport dropships then attempted to ram into targets of opportunity as kinetic missiles - usually military bases or key government locations. 
Over Milos, the Overlord which had managed to combat drop it's troops was intercepted and destroyed in the air before it could reach it's target, but at Warlock and Brighton an Overlord each reached their targets - the primary base of the Devon's Armored Infantry on Warlock and the city center of the planetary capital on Brighton. On Brighton the heavily damaged Leopard CV also managed to ram into the water plants for the capital city, cutting off all water to the various agencies trying desperately to save the burning city center. 
The three battalions of troops which did manage to land on the various St. Ives worlds were swiftly engaged by the defenders. Each was functionally identical down to the paint work and mech designs used to the units which had attacked St. Ives. These "Ghost Warrior Houses" as they were quickly labelled at least lacked their St Ives compatriots access to nerve agents, but they fought with the same fanatical intent of causing as much damage and as many deaths as possible. Although it was quickly noticed that these "Ghosts" were not as well trained as the primary attack force that hit St Ives. Warlock particularly suffered from these attacks as much of Devon's Armored Infantry had been totally destroyed with their base. The militia there had to hang on for as long as they could until the 1st Kittery Borderers arrived courtesy of the AFFS to hunt down the attackers. Along with the Borderers came 4 separate formations of assault and pocket warship dropships with Tramp class transports to hunt down the commerce raiders. 
The "Ghost" Warrior Houses were swiftly hunted down and destroyed. However, this left more St. Ives worlds heavily damaged and their defenders bloodied. Along with the almost total destruction of the 1st St. Ives Lancers in September the St. Ives Military Command was reeling. Worse the attacks at the jump point had gutted much of the once powerful civilian space fleet of St Ives and left the trading infrastructure in tatters. 
===Cassandra Return Homes to Ruins===
It was to this shattered realm that Korsakov’s Cossacks brought Cassandra Allard-Liao home. Linking up with their sister regiment, Rubinsky's Light Horse, they headed straight for the world of St Ives. Swiftly arriving with the 2 professional mercenary formations she began to take the reigns of power. Cassandra was hit with a final blow when word came that the bodies of her mother, twin siblings, and other family members had been found in the ruins. Worse her brother Quentis Allard-Liao was missing. He had disappeared with his posting with the 2nd St. Ives Lancers overnight just before she arrived. 
===Fighting across the Compact===
In response to his disappearance, the assassination of their commander and the attack upon their garrison posting of Milos, the 2nd St. Ives Lancers had jumped the border and struck the world of Harloc. The green garrison of the 7th Confederation was totally over matched and was soon shattered and retreating off world. Although the 2nd had suffered tremendous casualties themselves due to the furious nature of their assaults and had been reduced to just half strength. 
Similarly, the Brighton based 2nd Janissary Brigade had responded to the brutal attacks by lashing out and strike at the Capellan world of Gei-Fu where they had destroyed the garrison of the 3rd Capellan Defense Force's remaining reinforced battalion. Although again at heavy cost to themselves, which combined with the losses of destroying the "Ghost" battalion that dropped onto Brighton left them at little more than 30% strength. 
The Blackwind Lancers, always loose canons had also launched an attack, hitting the world of Hustaing. The 6th Confederation Reserve Cavalry had however proven a much tougher opposition than was expected and had defeated the Lancer's initial attempts to overrun them with ease and proceeded to launch counter attacks against the much more experienced invaders. A bloody battle had left the 2 sides both depleted and forced to fall back to repair and refit damaged BattleMechs before resuming the fighting. 
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===Duchess takes control===
Taking stock of the situation, the new Duchess began to try and reorganize her shattered formations. With the almost total loss of Devon's Armored Infantry and the near destruction of the 1st St. Ives Lancers alongside the St. Ives Academy of Martial Science Training Group during the attack upon the capital Duchess Cassandra had little to work with. Worse at least 3 of her units had launched unsanctioned attacks on their own without proper support or command and had suffered heavy losses. 
Only the 1st Janissary Brigade and Roman's Mounted Fusiliers remained at or near full strength amongst her regular formations given the losses of the last month or so. The civilian side of her government was in even worse state, with the loss of so many Jumpships and destruction of so much infrastructure. With no other option she was forced to send word at the end of the month to First Prince Victor that unless help was dispatched from the Federated Sun's it was unlikely that the St Ives Compact could survive as a viable star nation...
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