Commander Tarrant,
Welcome to Carver V. Our mission here is to prevent this world from falling into the chaos enveloping her neighbors. The FWL Parliament does not want to see repeated here in the Carver system atrocities like those committed on Procyon and Sirius by the crazy Blakist, Alisendar Gyn. The Fedcom civil war is proving to be a breeding ground for petty tyrants and war criminals, and Parliament's normal bemoaning of the moral dangers of our action has changed to a bemoaning of our inaction. On the flip side, many of the normally more bellicose MPs are supporting the Captain-General's non-intervention policy because it oddly means they get to sell even more weapons (because we supply all sides). However, Thomas Marik's failure to intervene to save his sister from Lyran treachery has cost him a sizable portion of these followers. Thus, in an odd twist of politics, non-interventionists have aligned with staunch opponents of the Captain-General to argue that the Captain General should lead us into conflict. We live in odd times.
The Captain-General is trying to appease as many critics as he can, but with an eye towards shoring up support from as many middle ground MP's as he can. Our regiment was specifically picked because favoring us is likely to draw MP's from the Duchy of Orloff, the Protectorate, and Ohren Province back into the Captain-General's camp in addition to drawing the peaceniks into the fold. Likewise, the Gryphon's are deploying on Carver IV with the hope that their presence will draw support from the Silver Hawks Coalition, the Border Protectorate, and the Stewart Commonwealth. Our units were also picked because we have neither strong ties of affinity or animosity towards the Blakists, who have been increasingly active throughout this “Chaos March”. We need to walk a fine line here and, as always, our professionalism must show through.
Our first objective is to free the Drasken island chain in the southern hemisphere. The chain is not all that important as it only accounts for 8 percent of the landmass, but our fight is as much a PR fight as it is a military one. More importantly, Fedcom forces and the Cho clan (Capellan loyalists) are rarely involved down there, so it should be easier for us to take a foothold there uncontested. The capital of the Drasken chain, Binsburg, also is the seat of a large mining corporation whose CEO married into the Earl of Stewart's family, so we should have some support from some of the locals.
Unfortunately, because of the many forces vying for control of the planet, these ungarrisoned southern islands are swarming with rebels and blacklisted mercs. You will be dropping onto the southernmost island of the Armonia Archipelago with the goal of sweeping the rebels and bandits from the area. Intel says that a very large force of rebels has taken over the resort city of Jeffrey's Bay and are using the southern civilian airport as a base of operations. They have also occupied the abandoned military airfield on the western island. I am dropping you in with two lances geared for anti-infantry work. We need a nice press op with good pictures of a pristine Jeffrey's Bay, so keep collateral to a minimum. We also need to secure that western Airbase intact so we can have local air support on future missions. If your men avoid any collateral, I will give the company three days shore leave in the town. I hear the low-g of the planet makes the locals quite beautiful and I am sure they will be very eager to celebrate with their saviors.
Good hunting Commander!
-Col. Douglas Hoppe
C.O. 1st Orloff Grenadiers
