05-06-2012, 07:45 AM
Heroes of Harris
The Occupation of Tau-31
The Occupation of Tau-31
With the sudden end of the Kusari-Bretonian war in the Tau's, and the occupation of the Tau systems by the Gallic Royal Navy. Her Majesty's Ship, the MacDuff, was forced to retreat to the Newcastle system in order to provide additional support for Bretonian sovereign space and prevent incursion by the Gallic Navy into Newcastle.
This motion left Planet Harris, and the Edinburgh system exposed to the Gallic plague that now ran rampant through Tau-31. The withdrawal didn't come without a price to be paid by the Bretonian Armed Forces. Hundreds of civilians and soldiers were left defenseless on Harris, in what would be known as a futile attempt to secure the terraforming platform from Gallic forces.
These are the stories of those left behind, the Heroes of Harris.
Monday, December 19th, 818 A.S.
Tau-31, HMS-MacDuff - 0800hr Formation
Lieutenant Jeremy Godwin, 5th Infantry Division
One week before the Gallic Invasion.
Standing behind a podium in front of a formation of young men and women was a man wearing a crisp dress blues, the rank of Lieutenant pinned on his collar and a row of ribbons decorating his left breast. His hair slicked back, being held in place with what appeared to be a thick layer of gel. The man was Lieutenant Jeremy Godwin, young and talented officer of the 5th Infantry Division. A division that was divided up amongst the fleets and stations near the war zone. Lieutenant Godwin waited patiently for the formation to settle down before he spoke.
'Alright, lock it up. Word has it that High Command has something cooking in the oven, and it's not your wives or husbands homemade pork chops. From the sounds of it, they'll be funneling forces into Tau-31 from the Dundee system in an attempt to pincer the Kusari forces in Leeds, effectively cutting their supply into the Leeds system.' Godwin's voice boomed, something that surprised many people who thought ill of the what appeared to be a fragile man.
Sparse mumbling erupted amongst the formation, but it was shortly returned to a calming silence as Lieutenant Godwin cleared his throat. Godwin knew each soldier was looking at him with cold hardened eyes as they waited for him to continue.
'Moving onto the bad news. As many of you may not know about, the rotation of military forces has been stalled due to recent attacks in the Leeds system by Kusari forces. I'm sorry to say this, but none of us will be returning home to our families for Christmas this year. Meaning we're stuck here until rotations can actually commence. However, we have been granted shore leave on Harris for a week at the most while Command still bickers about this pincer they'll be attempting.' The Lieutenant spoke with ease, and held a slight chime in his voice that seemed to soften the expressions his men underneath him held. 'As of Zero-Nine-Hundred hours,' He said, peering down at his watch, 'You have been dismissed. I'll see you guys shore side. Transport leaves within an hour. Get whatever you need, sidearms are mandatory. Fall out.'
As soon as the formation broke, many soldiers began applauding, while others began leaving the room. Godwin merely leaned forward, resting his hands on the podium and taking in a deep breath as he looked down, pushing back thoughts of his family and home. This was the third Christmas that High Command had failed to rotate the Fifth Infantry Division out from MacDuff and Tau-31. The third Christmas in a row that something had gone wrong at home.
An uneasy silence fell over the briefing room as he finally looked up from the podium, no one remained in the room aside from him. After retrieving some files, he pushed away from the podium, he began his journey to his quarters. Grinding his teeth together with every-other step.