Ithacan Fleet

**FRONTIER MILITIA'S HISTORY**

Who were the Frontier Militia many would ask? Deep in the backwaters of hellish Accordius to the never-ending shores of Harmony, the Frontier Militia acted as the sole leading defender of an adventurous, opportunistic, yet dangerous region of space called for its namesake, the Frontier. The Frontier Militia on its own acted as the thorn to the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation and its subsidiaries, the controller of the Core Systems and even for the hush hush on the nature of their operations. Before the war, those residing in the Core Systems rejoiced with the IMC for their discovery of the Jump Drive and veterans under the IMC’S Servicemen Readjustment Bill took vacation ventures into the newly uncharted Frontier. During this period of colonization, internal system wars erupted and many of the veterans and colonists that went on the journey soon found themselves abandoned.

Settling on many planets, these lost souls banded together to survive and enjoyed independence from everything. But when the IMC returned, they didn’t come back to save them. The IMC Fleet came with an eminent demand for the Frontier’s resources, citing it belonged to them since its colonization, great strife from lack of consumerism, and desperation to tend to the Core Systems’ requests for materials. A demand that was immediately met with fierce resistance but reluctance for negotiations and establishment of diplomatic relations. It all sadly descended into illegal harvesting of the Frontier’s fine & precious materials en-masse, an act that would inevitably change the path of human history within the early 28th century.

As the IMC expanded and began their illegal harvesting operations, colonists that were angered by the IMC’s governmental establishment and mistreatment throughout their expansion soon banded together to form a mutual defense pact, put aside differences and unified together under a tense agreement, defend and return the Frontier to a virtuous and prosperous state of independence, effectively declaring war on the IMC. The fatal slip that the IMC didn’t notice was that these men were generations of men and women trained in the art of using the same equipment they pride themselves on, massive bulking behemoths called ‘Titans’.

As war raged on, the initial chapters of the war in early 2690 were all left to rumors and tight lips in many veterans due to their horrific and unrelenting nature because both sides possessed the same equipment. But over time, it exploded into the ‘Frontier War’. Both sides had developed their respective technologies and incurred more victories than losses within the Frontier, but the Militia’s bloody defense of their beloved systems to the end left both sides eventually stalemated. As an end to the conflict waned, through strife and pyrrhic victories, the Militia came out on top with only a quarter of the Frontier liberated in notable battles such as the Battle of Demeter in 2710 and the Battle of Typhon in 2715. However, as the years progressed and with persistent and brutal clashes over moons to entire planets being engulfed in the fog of war, this deadlocked state put both major organizations into utterly irreversible conditions for years to come.

**FRONTIER MILITIA'S REORGANIZATION**

As time passed, all theaters of conflict were spread thin and small saboteur-like cells established themselves deep within IMC territories, particularly those of high importance or connection to the Core Systems–in hopes to sever and isolate these forces in the Frontier space and keep the backwater planets, well..backwater to govern themselves. The tactics employed by the Militia over time ranged from mundane hit and runs to unconventional, psychological, and espionage-based warfare at its core. Such tactics were employed successfully in these many backwater worlds, as the advantage of the ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ and land navigation effectively made many Frontier Militiamen a force to be reckoned with in the technological superiority and might of the IMC. Much of the organization and order of battle around this time was all situated around a ‘Brigade’, which comprised mostly of smaller saboteur-like cells and vast pirate organizations to several fleets worth of Militiamen. The effectiveness of such was questionable but an unstoppable collective drive to topple IMC ambitions in the Frontier was unlike anything that the IMC had seen in their Core System conflicts.

However, over time as the casualties mounted and the Militia suffered major losses alongside the IMC, a gleam of hope arose following the Battle of Demeter in 2710. This completely inspired the Militia to repurpose all of their pre-existing units and unify under specific branches to efficiently handle all theaters of war, primarily dividing the Militia into old-century traditional branches, such as the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Despite conflicting morals and concerns of additional casualties, these reforms were distributed to the entirety of the Frontier Militia to exercise a professional fighting force to compete with the ever-growing IMC. And it worked. Hardened veterans that survived the Battle of Demeter and its subsequent grueling conflicts became the legacy of what became the newly-reformed Frontier Militia from a mishmash ragtag group of mercenaries, bandits, terrorists, pirates, homesteaders, and criminals.

Such men were fit enough to fight on par with the likes of the IMC utilizing their skills on firearms, use of the towering powered armor machines called ‘Titans’, and knowledge of the land. This organizational change allowed newly appointed Generals and Admirals of the Militia to construct newer forms of units, assimilated mercenaries, and defecting IMC that were isolated within the Frontier. These changes allowed many arms of the Militia to create Fleets-worth of ships, reconfiguring lost IMC vessels and repurposing older tanker and cargo vessels to suit their naval niches. Eventually, the formation of unconventional-warfare-based units like the infamous Special Recon Squadron and its Marauder Corps paved the way for the victory in the Battle of Typhon, a pinnacle-turning point for the Militia via IMC defections.

As time passed with the IMC learning their enemy and so did the Militia, both sides were yet again deadlocked in a period of stalemates and continuous battles over rich-resource-based worlds or backwater planets that allowed access into further territory. One planet, in particular, was the infamous backwater planet called Accordius, where the 9th Fleet regrouped following the Battle of Typhon. But what they found was that they were centered neck-deep into an endless and grueling monogamy of local factions and mercenary groups looking to earn a few and carve their name into the planet’s surface, alongside an ever-pressuring IMC expansion for the planet’s resources.

Conflicts similar to Accordius occurred in many other worlds and the constant grinding of forces in these left many to believe that the war could never end. Soldiers with shell shock, haunted by memories of Titans, onslaughts, and brutal fighting of all other factions became the norm across these many planets. Not even many soldiers survived the local wildlife as well. Talks of masked Militia operatives in the dark hunting down IMC assets and convoys alike, cloaked mercenaries, robotic droids, and other units plagued Accordius until fighting died down and all parties abandoned Accordius for good with the lack of end to the conflict, sealing it to a fate unknown.

Both organizations eventually stuck to residing on key planets and defended their populations, protecting them from the horrors that awaited them or conflicts that would engulf entire planets. No one could predict the future and nobody could even dare to control it. Regardless of that, the Militia came out stronger than before and despite its repurposing of fleets, it’s difficult to say where the trajectory of these organizations would be going, with individual fleets dealing with their respective assignments on a hopeful endeavor to rid their once independent, prosperous, and growing systems of tyranny and exploitation. But the discovery of alien technology on Typhon had left the notion that many other worlds could harbor such weaponry to turn the tide of the Frontier War, may whoever got to it first. Militia, IMC, or worse, mercenaries.

The Circean Militia are in fact, not the Circean Militia at all. Instead, they are the 4th Militia Fleet, a fleet that was primarily made up of the brigade of a nearby system, called Ithaca. As such, holding a strong central identity, most of the members of this fleet simply refer to themselves as the Ithacan Fleet. The Ithacan Fleet differs from the MCOR and the 9th Militia Fleet we see in Typhon and Accordius in that they are much smaller, being better suited for flanking and ambush action, as well as infiltration. However, this does not mean they are by any means inferior to the 9th. This particular fleet has several accolades stemming from their Brigade days, including feats of tactical genius and active participation in civilian evacuation.

**CIRCEAN MILITIA**

Located in the Dionysus System is the planet Circes, another one of the many planets that the IMC and its research and developmental wing, the Archaeological RESearch (ARES Division) secured following the expansion into the Frontier. Many residents that fell under the restricting conditions of the IMC and the ARES Division were subject to horrid experiments on their populations and excavations to uncover any alien artifacts that could be used against the Militia and their enemies. Many corporate agencies and resorts were assimilated into the bulk of the Corporation’s garrison as a front to perpetuate such activities, sparking internal dissidence between the two bulk agencies over authority & rampant corruption. Unbeknownst to the Corporation on this resort-backwater world was that the Militia followed their trail and caught wind of this in due time before the innocent settlers of the planet could be subject to even more gruesome experiments, should they ever occur. Post-Demeter was a time of struggle for the Militia to regroup and reorganize but the idea of liberation dawned on a nearby fleet that carefully observed the planet and picked it for its noticeable importance to the IMC. Why? Both agencies were at each other’s throats and a small shoulder-devil push into conflict could pave the way for the planet’s liberation and acquisition by the Militia via a pseudo-coup d’état. Innocent lives were at stake and the Militia in its time of disparity had to dig into the shadows for this one.

Following the retreat from Accordius and many other planets behind, the Militia were left in a desperate spot for victory and choosing Circes as the basis of their operations came at the expense that they were sacrificing too many forces from their capital, Harmony. Scavenging and cannibalizing remnants of the 9th Fleet was too out of the question and the responsibility was soon given to the 4th Fleet, made up of an old contingent of Militiamen from the nearby system of Ithaca. The Ithacan Fleet as it came to be due to their strong-central identity, prided themselves on their uncharacteristically hardline dedication to duty and service to a morally-questionable pact. This led many outside the 4th Fleet to view them as ruthless and suck-ups to authority while dishing out their biased-driven motives. While much of this criticism stemmed from their egos in the field, it isn’t to say that the large ounce of pride was what kept them confident to even carry on this high-risk mission. Despite the small size of the Fleet, they had boasted many accolades for their unconventional operations, civil affairs, and naval warfare, talents that made them comparable to the larger 1st and 9th Fleet. Because of their smaller nature, they were orientated for more flanking, guerrilla-based warfare, and espionage operations which became their textbook go-to, a trustworthy enough fleet of competent soldiers to tackle a crucial operation that would capitalize on the growing dissidence and feud of the IMC forces on the planet.

Exiting via jump drives and slingshotting their way under the cover of space debris and dust, the Fleet was made up of 2 large civilians reconfigured Annapolis-class tankers called the MCS “Solace” and the MCS “Guillotine” which served as the basis of their operations, which repeatedly pinged off a snuffed civilian transponder to deter trackers. Within these 2 vessels that positioned themselves into the geosynchronous orbit of Circes’s nearby moons, they had a wide array of modified Crows and a support squadron of Hornets to support any upcoming assaults and intercept incoming hostiles. Remaining on the dark side and away from IMC detection fields, the Fleet was tasked with a clandestine mission codenamed Special Operation “Guillotine”, which was to infiltrate the planet and conduct psychological and civil-affair operations to win the favor of the people and sour the relationship between ARES and IMC to all-out civil war.

If successful, the Militia could pave the way toward victory riding the coattails of their conflict and in turn relinquish control over the planet when the dust had settled, effectively winning by proxying and baiting their enemies. However, conducting this mission wasn’t going to be as simple as it seemed on paper. The Circes civilian population hardly entrusted any foreigners with the recent black market embargoes and tight security around any imports. Entering the planet as a whole was difficult but winning the heart and minds of the people? That was a task for special ops units, not a bunch of light infantry grunts. But their hearts and minds were in the right place to do so and believed they were more than capable of toppling an entire IMC-controlled planet from where it hurt most.

**OPERATION GUILLOTINE**

At 0400 Solar Time after much debate and lack of confidence due to the overwhelming numerical odds against them, Operation Guillotine was approved by a cabal of Militia Admirals under the belief of ‘trust.’ Greeted with this news and with open excitement, the Ithacan Fleet prepped for infiltration. One by one, rows of drop-pods full of confident Militiamen were scatter-dropped in a complete arc around the planet, utilizing non-sun-spotted hemispheres of the planet and dampened ‘distortion braking’ to mask their incoming signatures. Equipment and bunker-busting supplies were dropped alongside any other civilian gear that’d hide their presence. Spearheading the insertions were small substrata of men and women from the 35th Militia Rifle Battalion “Fusiliers”, assault and exploration companies from the 73rd Special Purpose Battalion “Greenbacks”, 7th Signals Battalion “Blackbirds”, and the 5th Psychological Operations Group “Trojan” alongside a small attachment of hired Titan Pilots. These units were tasked with one mission and one mission only, bringing down the IMC through any means necessary, but their small numbers meant they had to concentrate on the prior objective; igniting a civil war on the planet.

Impacting the ground and well away from any IMC positions, Militiamen that were scattered in droves regrouped respectively in their areas around the planet in an almost invasion-like pattern. While others that became too scattered were ordered to eventually dig themselves into civilian apparel and blend into the population, much to the surprise of a few local populations who were completely unaware of the foreign intrusion. To outsiders, they didn’t know who the hell they were but to the Ithacan Fleet, this was just the money-maker. Because of the planet’s general isolation, the Ithacans had infiltrated with relative ease and carried about their duties. However, one problem arose. Finding a place to bunker down at any bunker they found, goldmine through the use of the 7th Signals Battalion, which detected a faint radio frequency right by their drop points. Tracing the frequency, the Ithacans had stumbled upon an abandoned subterranean testing and simulation facility that was used for the experimentation on BRD-01 Spectres and other robotic experimentation by ARES. All of these traces of their presence were left behind following the IMC’s move to the major city centers, unknowingly leaving all the riches and treasures to behold right into Militia hands.

This became the ample location to utilize as their base of operations to conduct their long-awaited mission on the planet. When supplies were of concern, a few local farms and greenhouses were made into a source of food and water as the men were effectively left on their own, with only cloaked drone and orbital installations providing much of the real-time intelligence and supplies they could get. The rest was up to them. As the men gathered local intelligence and expanded their zone of influence around the facility, the Militiamen were just on the trail of the IMC’s and ARES’s exploitation of the planet, discovering untold secrets and horrible data-files on tortures, black market scandals, and misinformation. Realizing their current situation was far from your run of the mill invasion, they instead devised a lucrative plan, which was to conduct false-flagging and intense cyber misinformation to gradually build off of the current distrust and push the local factions into war with each other.

The plan broke down into printing out IMC tags and uniforms that resembled that of ARES through the use of the now-reactivated 3D printers. The idea through their infiltration and intelligence, the Militia would be able to infiltrate certain sectors of the IMC’s territory and begin arrests in hopes to cause gossip and worsen the distrust the two sides have, alongside starting deliberate fights between small infantry sects to cause breakage in leadership and overall cohesion. The more separated the IMC was, the easier it was to mop up what was left. If the dominos could fall and land in their favor, this could ignite an all-out brawl between the forces and cause a rift in the power dynamic over the planet, albeit, much more intelligence was needed to determine if this would be of any success to the liberation of the IMC.

While success paid off in securing a foot on the planet, it is still unclear now if the Ithacan Fleet could even mount a successful enough ‘coup’ to ride off of due to the ever-growing presence of illegal experimentation and the increased security on the planet due to the rising dissidence. Despite their low profile, much of the Ithacan Fleet was internally disputed over the overall safety of the planet and its people, as much as they do care, their pride and service to the Fleet had outweighed their morals as a whole. This had led many of the Militiamen to conduct ‘morally gray’ operations through the same exploitation of the IMC as they do to the people. While conflict with the IMC had not yet been established, the Ithacan Fleet stuck to their low-profiled nature and stayed in the shadows, passing on misinformation, false-help requests, and instigating fights within the IMC as they remained on the planet.

These took place at random intervals to create an illusion that these were normal occurrences within the IMC and not by the hands of an outside party and to the surprise of the Ithacans, quite successful. While they weren’t looking, the Militia was piggy-backing off of the illegal surplus of equipment and corruption, redistributing it back to their bunker and collecting blackmail as side-work. Sticking to the shadows was quite difficult for this small group but their otherwise dedication to the cause made it at least manageable. Much of their day to day activities spent at the abandoned facility were training up their numbers, gathering everyday intelligence, marking down key locations and claiming areas of importance to both sides, gradually reinforcing their positions on the planet to an oblivious IMC. When the time came, a small batch of entrusted Ithacan soldiers would be dispatched to stir up trouble and cause any form of mess they could, with surveillance capturing men in civilian attire stirring up a mess to ARES employees harassing IMC garrisoned officers. Even with how small the Militia is on Circes, that semblance of freedom still lived on for Circes and the Ithacan Fleet would be there to fight for that freedom to the death, no matter the cost.