TGoaW-137

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==Chapter 137 - The Glow of a Worm inside a Child's Eye==
Assault on the Tortuga Dominions
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Phase 3 opened with the arrival of Squadron 7, 1st Federated Cutter Division, Federated Coast Guard (AFFC Reserve) taking up position along the Federated Suns periphery border region, and the departure of Squadron 6 on "Extended Maneuvers".
After all, "if you can't afford to lose it, you can't afford to use it."
Phase 3 was the opening shots of Arthur's War, and began with strikes at Morgan's Holdfast, New Port Royal, and Fletcher's Feast.
Four cutters per system, simultaneous, timed arrivals where the JumpShips were parked.
These were 'board and storm' operations carried out by Marines from Company F, Federated Coast Guard (Marine) and observed by TDF observer personnel assigned to each cutter in turn.
The main thrust of combat in the early hours (local) was to prevent distress calls from being sent out. It was also a test of the 'new book' training, Spacers boarding ships run by Grounders.
The initial strikes went as planned, and over a dozen JumpShips were taken before their skeleton crew maintainers could react.
Marine Officers have to get the basic course in ship handling specifically FOR this reason-that is, to steal prize vessels after the platoon or squad's RTO has sliced through the security lockouts and hijacked the systems of the vessel.
With the extant local JumpShips secured and either jumped to the rally point, or locked down to prevent them from leaving before the operation was over (not everyone's on a full charge, it turns out)...
the next wave is aerofighters and the cutters themselves, moving in to destroy Pirate DropShips where they're grounded (or while said DropShips are launching/traveling to the system's jump points.)
Upon achieving air and space superiority, wave four, the arrival of TDF ground forces from the 1st Taurian Guard commences.
Phase 3 takes a total of 72 hours from initial arrival, to the commencement of combat action on the surface of each target world.
During Phase 3, Coast Guard Cutters engaged and captured another four additional vessels and destroyed two more that were arriving from somewhere else to these systems.
Billions of C-Bills worth of shipping were taken in the darkness and silence of space, and TDF reserves held back for Phases 3A and 4 had to be committed simply to handle the number of JumpShips and assorted other assets captured in the first hours of Phase 3.
Arthur's plan has Phase 3A (the strikes at New Gascony, New Haiti, and Tortuga Prime itself) set for one week after the first half of the operation is completed.
Delays, however, are inevitable, and the sheer extent of the mission demands additional units be moved in. Particularly for the TDF's portion of the mission-the surface action and ground forces portion.
But in a sense, it's all a distraction. the real action is happening on worlds OUTSIDE pirate space, as law enforcement agencies are simultaneously rushing to make arrests in merchant quarters, international districts, space ports, and scrap dealers.
People identified as working for, or with, the Pirates to fence stolen goods, materials and technologies. 
With these arrests, officials are identified, further confirmed by captured data records from captured ships and captured pirates.
Comfortable arrangements and networks of informants are about to be rolled up, and put on display for the public of more than two realms.
It's all an outstanding distraction as the joint mission to remove Clan Smoke Jaguar from the Draconis Combine is launched in full.
Arthur's War is cover for "Operation Bulldog II"-the ejection of a Clan from the Inner Sphere.
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