Recording, April 5 3080
JUMPSHIP RAMSES
Zenith jump point, Diass
Regulan Free States (under Regulan occupation)
***ALERT***ALERT***ALERT***ALERT***
Voice one: We’re being pinged, 10 seconds into the system and we’re getting pinged like crazy.
Voice two: Bogies coming in hot - I spy two, no, three making a hard burn right for us. And they’re reaching out with active sensors.
Voice one: Who the hell are they?
***Alarms wail***
Voice two: Sensor lock! Sensor lock. One of them has painted us with something.
Voice three: Captain, could we jump out of here?
Voice one: Is this old tub? The Ramses is barely holding together, Barrett. Trying a hotjump would rip us apart and spew us into the void.
Voice two: They’re hailing us!
SIGNAL: Unknown jumpship, this is Commander Lanba of the RPS Tulwar, you have unlawfully invaded Regulan space and we have capital weapons locked onto you.
Voice two: Holy crap! That’s a Leopard Pocket Warship, and it looks like a CV and another Leopard behind it-
SIGNAL: Tulwar, this is the jumpship Ramses, owned and operated by the mercenary unit Cavalli’s Cavaliers and we are under contract to the Regulan Free States. I’m squirting our credentials to you now.
Voice three: They’re deploying fighters. Interesting they’ve parked a whole battle group over this planet. The insurgency must be stronger than they’re letting on.
SIGNAL: Stand by, Ramses. We are assessing your credentials.
Voice two: Four fighters on approach, here’s hoping they’re just getting visuals.
Voice one: We’ll find out in a second.
SIGNAL: Stand by, Ramses. You’re verified but we’ll be conducting a routine sweep with our marines. Stand by and prepare to be boarded.
Regulans! Mad, bad and dangerous to know! The bastards are probably reading this and plotting how to paint me as a Toaster lover right now!
As soon as we dropped into the system they were painting us with capital weapons.
The Regulan Navy have parked their Shiva’s Swords squadron over the planet - a Leopard PWS, a CV and some sort of retrofitted Leopard with a full complement of marines.
Something tells me this “low key separatist group” is anything but.
Me and Roxie are shuttling down to the planet ahead of everyone else to meet the liaison and get the ball rolling.
Turns out we’ll be working with both a Lieutenant Shan Abdulin from the militia and a Captain Indira Singh, from the RSS.
This is going to be a fabulous balancing act, I’m thinking.
- Taigh Barrett
The boss and I are shuttling down dirtside now. The Regulans kindly “offered” to escort us down in one of their shuttles, complete with a squad of marines and a very young midshipman named Hansen. Turns out Hansen is practically a local - he’s from one of the “loyalist” families on Olafsvik that actively welcomed the Regulans seizing control. There’s loyalists here too.
Wheels within wheels.
Stupid kid didn’t know when to shut up (until the marine noncom politely suggested he do so) and told us all about how the 4th Hussars are hamstrung by orders and can’t put the rebellion down - they’re out on hearts and minds patrols wearing no armour and carrying no weapons bar their fancy knives.
Seems high command is desperate for this to be a Hand’s off occupation.
- Roxane Kramer
REGULAN FREE STATES
This tiny federation has a similar history to Gibson, with one major difference. Following the “scouring” campaign of Gerald Marik in the Principality of Regulus, this three-world province broke off and established a pro-Marik civilian government. Over the course of time, however, Regulan intelligence has infiltrated the government to the point that the province is no more than a Regulan satellite today. As such, it belongs to the opposition coalition in Parliament.
ROM report, 3025
UPDATE: During the later half of the Jihad, Regulan forces took all three worlds by force, quickly defeating conventional forces and urging the planetary governments to toe the line.
However, anti-Regulan and pro- nationalist sentiment would continue to run high for several decades.
The Regulan Free State - WikiWorlds Compendium
Born from Captain-General Gerald Marik’s war against the Selaj’s that he believed killed his family, this small federation bought its loyalty to the Mariks and hastily installed a pro-Marik government. The Free States soon discovered, however, that freedom on paper was worth little against constant meddling in their politics and economy by their former parent province. Not until Thomas Marik passed the Addendum to the Incorporation in 3037 did the Regulan Free States finally gain the power to chart their own course.
Since then, local cultures and planetary economies have undergone a vibrant renaissance. No longer strangled by Principality trade embargoes, Free State industry and exports are thriving. The Mongol and Kazhak languages, outlawed in the early days of secessionist rumblings and then rendered virtually irrelevant by Principality dominance of local life, have made a striking comeback to become the primary languages in this tiny province. Norwegian is also widely spoken on Olafsvik, site of a sizeable Norwegian enclave since the earliest days of human settlement.
Diass is governed by a feudal autocracy and the centre of Kazhak nationalism.
3079 UPDATE: While Prince Khalid El-Aliyev formally accepted Regulan rule over Diass, he attempted to milk numerous concessions out of his new overlords - namely that Diass would continue its free practice of Islam and Kazhak culture without interference.
While the mostly Hindi occupiers found local customs slightly distasteful, they largely obeyed directives from command to let the locals do as they liked.
However, hardline elements including Count Askar Telpekbaaya (who was also a well regarded Mullah) and Colonel Mohamed Omar - the Commander of the planetary militia’s famed 1st Cossack Regiment - railed against Regulan “interference” and quickly began a campaign of protest. When Colonel Omar’s son’s religious school was raided by troops from the 4th Regulan Hussars during a bungled arrest warrant, the militia officer was pushed over the edge.
After gathering a local corps of militia officers, he attempted to seize power but was quickly arrested by loyalist elements.
Within the week Omar was cashiered from the Militia and, along with his family, vanished from Diass City.
It’s suspected he, Count Telpekbaaya and Mohamed Ospanov (the former Defence Minister, prior to the Regulan invasion) then established a separatist organisation, calling themselves the Free States Liberation Army.
The FSLA has climbed credit for dozens of bombings, shootings and cyber attacks across the planet’s major cities, as well as several ambushes of Regulan troops.
FSLA carry out ‘coordinated attack’ on Diass Militia compound: Exclusive Photos
9NEWS LinkNet online news, April 4
Separatist troops from the Free State Liberation Army have handed the planetary military a bloody nose, overrunning a major military facility and then defeating a subsequent counter attack.
Early Tuesday morning FSLA fighters killed 27 Militia troops in the initial assault on the base in Shindand District.
Najibullah Mohebi, a member of the BenRaat ProvincialCouncil, said the fighting lasted for six hours, with the FSLA using infantry and several heavy tanks to overrun the facility.
Troops from the 4th Armoured Battalion and 1/21st Mechanized were dispatched to the scene a short time later, but quickly came under attack from IEDs and ambushes, Mr Mohebi said.
A government spokesman said 18 militia troops were killed in the series of clashes with infantry.
However, 9NEWS has obtained exclusive footage of separatist Battlemechs and tanks shattering both battalions
VIDEO BEGINS: A dozen or so soldiers are huddled in a ravine. None are firing, instead they’re clutching their rifles and looking terrified.
The camera pushes up over the lip of the trench to show a dusty expanse, broken up by occasional scrub patches. Mountains dominate the horizon.
Two tanks rumble past - both Scorpions sport a mix of rusted plates and new ones, paint applied to some bits, while other bits are just sprayed with grey primer.
Both are firing their machine guns full blast
Suddenly, a Jagermech comes charging up behind them - Autocannons blazing.
The image fizzes into static.
A later push by militia forces managed to reach the braided base, but not before rebel forces had captured 19 troops, Mr Mohebi said.
A FSLA social media channel posted video of several captured militiamen being held in a room later that night.
Some of the troops appeared wounded. 9NEWS could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.