FSRB Chpt 226

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 226==
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December 3071The League Reforms
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===AFFS Restructures due to War & Attrition===
The High Command spent most of December as had become the new normal for them in arranging and moving the various personnel and equipment to not only form up the new commands that had been planned but also in reinforcing existing commands. With the AFFS on a war footing and engaged in active combat operations against the Word of Blake Protectorate around Terra a steady supply of new battlemechs, tanks, fighters, and personnel were flowing in the direction of Terra to keep the various combat units operational. At the same time however throughout the FedSuns other build ups were arranged in order to form the new units to be formed from the graduating class of '71.
The first of these units to be formed up is the 6th Deneb Light Cavalry RCT on the brigade's homeworld of Deneb Kaitos. At the last minute and at the request of Field Marshal Terlecki this unit is re-designated as a reinforced regiment. This shift in status drops the command to forming at only 70% of it's full strength, but the Field Marshal is hoping to persuade the High Command of the value of shifting over his entire brigade to the Avalon Hussar and Crucis Lancer reinforced regiment level of strength. With the 6th formed as a reinforced command this mean's that three out of the seven RCTs within the Light Cavalry are now larger formations.
The Crucis Lancers Brigade also see's the formation of the 10th, 11th, and 12th Crucis Lancers RCTs within the Outback. All three are like the 6th Deneb Light Cavalry formed as reinforced regiments, however unlike the 6th Deneb, they are nowhere near full strength. Between all three RCTs only a single RCTs worth of strength has been split, effectively forming the new commands as little more than LCTs. However given that they are intended to be used as garrison forces within the outback while the commands are built around these cadres this isn't seen as a major issue. The 10th Crucis Lancers RCT is formed up on the world of Crofton where it can benefit from the factories there, while the 11th Crucis Lancers RCT is formed up on the new colony world of Fox's Den within the Cooperland Combat Region from which it draws the bulk of it's personnel. The 12th Crucis Lancers RCT is formed upon the world of Morgan's Holdfast. The formation of the 10th Crucis Lancers does not however have the High Command transfer the 21st Avalon Hussars RCT from Crofton, as leaving the defence of this important factory world in the hand's of a newly raised and massively under strength RCT does not seem particularly wise. The 10th Crucis Lancers is ordered to engage in war games with the 21st Avalon Hussars with the hope that these will help both units improve their skill levels.
The 9th Avalon Borderers LCT is formed on Defiance and ordered to begin extensive training exercises with the 1st Sherwood Foresters LCT. While some within the unit are concerned at the appointment of Marshal Bradford as their new commanding officer, it is soon apparent that despite having been managing a desk for the last decade and a half he has lost none of his skill as a commanding officer and the new unit swiftly takes shape.
The Kentares DMM is formed to replace the former command which is now designated the 1st Kentares Grenadiers RCT. The material and resources to form the unit come directly from New Avalon and every effort is made to continue the spirit of the previous Kentares DMM, although there is a larger number of personnel from other worlds within the PDZ which is not seen as a bad thing by the High Command.
The Duchess of St. Ives forms the 2nd St Ives Cheveau-Legers LCT during December. Most of it's personnel are drawn from the Tikonov Martial Academy given that it is the single academy within the League March which is intact. It is deployed alongside the 1st St. Ives Cheveau-Legers on Tsinghai where both units begin training in LCT style tactics and maneuvers. This allows the High Command to redeploy the Wild Geese to Tikonov which many see as a reward for Duke Ryan-Bowman's new loyalty to House Davion due to the fact his grandson is in the unit. The Duchess also oversees the slow gradual build up off the League March Militias, the new formations now roughly 20% of a full strength unit.
Within the Capellan March, Duke George Hasek diverts a large number of newly graduating troops to the Kathil CMM. This brings the formation up to roughly 50% of it's full strength while allowing the Duke to also reinforced his damaged units within the Fusiliers Brigade as well as some troops to other March Militia formations to slowly build them up.
The Dieron, Iruzun, Kaznejoy, and Matsuida DMM are formed as cadres within the Draconis March while the Zion LMM is also formed within the League March. All five March Militia's are barely 10% of an operational formation and are expected to take a full decade to reach full strength unless regular personnel can be diverted to strengthen them.
At the same time the various Borderer Cadres scattered throughout the Federated Suns - the Bell, Brockton, Bromhead, Claxton, Hurik, Jasmine and Preston - are all formally activated. While there are some doubts as the loyalties of some of these units - particularly the Claxton, Hurik & Preston Borderers it is felt that having these local units help defend the new FedSuns worlds will help with integration. All of them are however, built around a solid core of AFFS personnel who have been granted land holds and property on the newly integrated worlds.
While those new units were being formed the 5th Crucis Lancers RCT, 23rd & 26th Avalon Hussars RCTs were upgraded to reinforced regiments. All three also received a number of new personnel to begin building them up to a full 100% unit.
Even as these new units were formed up work continued on New Avalon within the planning group to formulate the new large scale formations within the AFFS. Some discussions are undertaken as to whether or not to formally gather RCT sized units into large scale "Corp" formations. However, with the feedback coming back from Marshal May's experiences with "Task Force Avalon" there is a growing consensus that instead up to three RCTs should be used to form the component parts of a larger scale division level formation. Effectively turning the various RCTs into the brigades of the division. Plans begin to be put in place to form the first of these new divisional level units out of the 41st & 42nd Avalon Hussars RCTs and 10th Deneb Light Cavalry RCT, with Marshal May promoted to Field Marshal and placed in overall command. Although at the current time this hasn't went beyond arguing about the organisational structure of this new formation. A strong body is promoting that a separate LCT style formation be formed as the "divisional command group" while others are instead suggesting the assignment of a Chisholm Raider LCT to the formation as a raiding/scouting force.
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===AFFS Troop Movement & Operations===
Although the situation in Skye was largely resolved by the end of November, the 2nd Carrier Battle Group remained within the system and continued to aggressively patrol to make sure that there were no further attempts to launch attacks against the Davion ships. At the same time other Davion warships were sighted patrolling throughout the Skye region in order to convince any other units considering throwing in with Free Skye to reconsider their options.
Based on Dumassas, the 6th & 7th Avalon Borderers continue their anti-piracy sweep. At any given time one LCT is usually based within the Pirates Haven Cluster while the other is usually sweeping wider out into the area between the Cooperland Combat Region. The larger pirate bands have either been wiped out or driven from the region, but a handful of smaller bands find themselves being hunted down and destroyed - many of them former TDF troops.
The riots on Capella surge upwards again and this time the local troops and conventional forces are not felt to be enough. In a show of strength the High Command dispatches the 8th FedSuns Dragoons RCT to Capella from Claxton. A veteran unit that is approaching full strength after hard fighting during the conquest of the League March it is considered that it will be able to contain the situation, while with the activation of the 1st Claxton Borderers that planet is now secure enough. The various Davion intelligence agencies also begin concentrating efforts on Capella to root out the troublemakers.
In a welcome boost to morale within the Draconis March, the Verde repair slip, destroyed during the Battle of Verde in October last year is brought back online. While for now it will only be capable of low level refits and repairs (due to a lack of supporting infrastructure which is still being rebuilt) it is expected that by June it will be fully functional. In the meantime warships and dropships requiring more basic repairs such as to armor plating are directed there to free up space in the more extensive repair slips. With the rebuilding of the repair slip work commences on rebuilding the dropship yards.
The battleship FSS Marlborough is officially dispatched from the adhoc training squadron it has formed at New Avalon and assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron. Alongside the FSS Iron Duke and their four Fox II escorts this concentration of firepower is now the single largest battleship force outside of the Ghost Bear Dominion, and with four more battleships under construction the Federated Suns Navy is clearly planning a fleet second to none in the very near future.
Within the Tortuga Combat Region, the worlds of New Cilicia and Sulu are colonized. For now both planets are little more than a scattering of makeshift dropship landing pads, prefab housing and small ranches spreading out from the landing sites. However both worlds are habitable and show a great deal of agricultural promise which will help feed the growing industrial worlds of the Tortuga Combat Region.
The rebuilt St Ives Academy of Martial Science and Victoria Academy see their intake of cadets double from the previous years classes. Plans are in place to form a cadre for the St Ives Academy of Martial Science on the level of a NAIS or Albion Cadre in 3073 and a second cadre will now be required in 3074. Similarly a LCT style formation is slated for activation for the Victoria Academy in 3073 and now a second in 3074. 
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===Developments in Industry===
On Victoria, within the Capellan March a second Sling Light 'Mech line is built within the growing industrial caverns containing the Johnston Industries plant. With further expansions planned the company buys a full two companies of Dig Lord industrial mech's from Achernar.
On the Crofton, the SunCorp factory begins to produce Hauberk class battle armor. Almost the entire first production run is directed towards the battle armored formations of the 21st Avalon Hussars RCT and 10th Crucis Lancers RCTs battle armor formations. The battle armor production facility is planned for almost continual expansions for at indefinite future given the huge demand for battle armour within the AFFS and beyond.
On June, the Corean Enterprise plant see's the new Legionnaire production line go operational. At the same time the first of the Centurion and second Valkyrie line begin producing the new OmniMech versions of those popular designs. The remaining two Centurion lines are almost finished their own upgrading process and are expected to begin producing OmniMech early in the new year.
On Dieron the newly acquired GM plant retools the existing Grand Dragon lines to producing Cestus class heavy Battlemechs for the AFFS. Work continues on the four Ajax-O assault Omnitank lines that are under construction.
At Nanking the second Enforcer line goes operational at the Kallon facility. Orders for the next ten years are immediately placed and plans for the production to be sent directly to the various new League March Militias are put in place. A third line is due to being producing the iconic battlemech design next month.
Also within the League March, the first Merchant class jumpship is laid down on the 2nd of December in orbit over St. Ives at the rebuilt Hildco Interplanetary Shipyard. By the end of the month a further five Merchant jumpships will begin construction in the shipyard. If this shipyard proves to be a viable concern then plans are to add further facilities, expanding both the number of jumpships under construction and potentially the types.
On New Huntress, Clan Sun Jaguar begins work to construct their first OmniFighter production facility. Some thought had been given as to which of the designs they had access to they should but into production, but after careful consideration the adaptable Jagatai Omnifighter was chosen. Work is not expected to complete on this factory until at least March 3073. 
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===Clan Troop Movements===
At Rubigen within the Ghost Bear Dominion the assembled forces of the Rasalhague Galaxy and elements of Alpha Galaxy are reinforced by the arrival of the other clusters of the Alpha Galaxy as well as a full binary of their new assault dropships to escort their two Leviathan II battleships. Huge stockpiles of weaponry, supplies and all the equipment needed to maintain the two Galaxies in full scale combat for months are assembled.
Now finally with a unified and accepted command structure, Clan Wolf begins to fight back. The saKhan Ivan Kerensky takes command of the troops on the Jade Falcon front and in a move that many would consider insane launches an attack deep within the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone with the few forces he can assemble. Landing on Sudeten with roughly two clusters of forces, he challenges the garrison of the Jade Falcon Guard to a Trial of Possession for the full month's production of the Olivetti Weaponry plant. In a hard fought battle he leads two binaries of OmniMechs and a Star of Elementals against five Stars of Jade Falcon OmniMechs and a Star of Elementals. At the end of the brutal Trial, he and a single other Wolf Mechwarrior are the only warriors still considered combat effective. Loading up their isorla from the battle and newly acquired Omnimechs, Battlemechs, and tanks the saKhan also elects to take all fourteen survivors of the Jade Falcon forces as bondsmen and women.
Khan Pryde of the Jade Falcons, suddenly aware of a large force of Wolves operating in her rear area is forced to at least for now call a temporary halt to further attacks into the Wolves territory. Instead she dispatches the rest of Gamma Galaxy to hunt down Ivan and his "mongrels" while she plans her next moves.
Using the time obtained by her saKhan, Khan Radick rushes to Tamar to take command. She for now does not enact her agreement with the saKhan regarding Galaxy Commander Steiner, rightly fearing that to do so would result in a civil war on Tamar itself. A conflict between those "Lyran-Wolves" who fall the former Archon and her own "True Wolves". Instead she continues to support Katrina Steiner in her raising of a 2nd Tamar Galaxy, but plans to throw them at the Hell's Horses with whoever wins weakened for her own forces. Galaxy Commander Steiner appears to suspect nothing of her lovers successor's plans. 
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===Troubles in the Lyran Alliance===
On Tharkad, the General of the Armies Adam Steiner is given approval to speak before the Estates General on Christmas Eve. While he would prefer to address them sooner he accepts this with good grace and orders the surgeons and technicians who are even now still working on his augments to continue and attempt to at least cosmetically reduce the impact of his cybernetic limbs. He also makes arrangement for the 8th Donegal Armoured Infantry, part of his former command of the 14th Donegal Guards infantry brigade to be reassigned from the 14th and assigned to the garrison of Tharkad. By coincidence they are immediately assigned to garrison duties within the Triad, even as they are brought up to full strength upon their arrival.
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===Conflict in Free Worlds League Conflict Errupts===
On the 1st of December, Captain-General Corrine Marik orders all forces loyal to her as the true Captain-General of the Free Worlds League to attack. These commands are sent out via the WoB manned HPG stations. On over sixty key worlds those same HPG stations are quickly attacked by FWLM forces who overrun the defenders, slaughtering any who resist and seize control of the HPG's. At the same time a huge task force of regular and mercenary FWLM forces jump from various locations and assemble at Ibarra before jumping into Gibson and burning for the planet at top speed.
As reports of the attacks trickle in, (many WOB HPG stations under attack are given no time to send a distress call or warning to their masters on Gibson due to the sheer ferocity and surprise element of the attacks) the various WOB rulers on Gibson realize the treacherous nature of Corrine Marik's actions. Word flashes out to all HPGs to enact a full communications blackout and for all WOB forces to converge on Gibsons while attacking any targets of opportunity upon the way. Even as huge chunks of the League's communication network goes down further reports of attacks on compounds arrive - often the last message the WOB garrison sends before the FWL troops overrun them or they sabotage their own HPG systems.
Any concerns that the Master and his various lieutenants have for the state of the Word of Blake forces and staff throughout the League however comes home with a vengeance when on the 28th of December. The assembled FWLM force jumps into the Gibson system and immediately attacks the WoB naval forces at the jump points with full nuclear salvos. Led by no less than three Thera class Aerospace Carriers the League naval forces then press in system having destroyed the four Zechetinu II corvettes patrolling the jump point with only light damage to the Marik loyal warships... As New Years Eve arrives the Master is faced with the reality that whatever might be happening throughout the rest of the League Corrine Marik had certainly dispatched overwhelming force to her attack on Gibson. Ordering key individuals to evacuate he sent orders to Paul Marik on Atreus to kill his daughter for her treachery...
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