System: Alcyone

[3039] Neither Colonel Archibald McCarron nor his regimental commanders found much comfort in the post-Fourth Succession War era. The Chancellor was becoming more and more paranoid. Every report of her capricious nature and the brutality visited upon the Capellan people by her minions both rankled and frightened them. While first Maximilian and now Romano Liao had left them mostly to their own devices, they knew that would not last forever. They welcomed any hope of battle, for they knew that would at least keep the Chancellor and her evil eye from targeting them as she had struck out at so many of her other military leaders.

Archie McCarron was surprised when three CCAF senior colonels visited him on Menke in May of 3039, and all but stunned when they suggested he undertake an operation of such magnitude into the Federated Suns. But as he looked over the intelligence reports that they had brought with them, McCarron was quickly won over. This was by no means a full-fledged invasion, however; the CCAF was still far too weak to even consider such a possibility.

In fact, more than anything, this was designed to be more of a morale-building exercise. Having just recently driven the Canopians from their nation, the CCAF’s victory was tempered by the fact that it took five years of military action to do so. What the CCAF needed was a true victory, one that was unmistakable and could proclaim to the entire Human Sphere that the Confederation was still a military power, and who better to target than the mighty Federated Suns.

Alcyone was the very first target of Archie McCarron’s incursion into the Federated Suns in July 3039. It was also one of the most questionable from a strategic standpoint, as the world was not only the headquarters of the Alcyone PDZ but also the homeworld of the Alcyone Capellan March Militia. If Archie was trying to embark on a military expedition that he hoped to keep “below the radar” as long as possible, Alcyone was just about the worst world to pick. After all, it had responsibility for a portion of the Capellan border and was undoubtedly watching very closely for any sign of Capellan military activity.

But Archie McCarron wasn’t interested in keeping his attacks a secret. He wanted the entire AFFS to know what his mercenary regiments were able to do. Further, he struck Alcyone specifically because it was home to a march militia; there were undoubtedly large military warehouses full of materiel and supplies that the Big Mac and the CCAF could use. And so McCarron assigned Colonel Marcus Barton and his Second MAC to the strike.

Barton surprised the CMM with his appearance and maintained the initiative throughout his week on the world. Of course, it also helped that he didn’t directly attack the CMM and instead focused his efforts on striking what logistical and industrial targets he could find. Further, he made a point to break off from any engagement where he did not field the overwhelming advantage in manpower and firepower. During that week, however, Barton’s mercenaries managed to steal more than a thousand tons of supplies from an outlying planetary militia armory. They also severely damaged the Alcyone Interstellar Spaceport and Dockyards, destroying countless cargo containers — and hundreds of millions of C-Bills worth of food and civilian industrial products — in the process.

The regiment lifted off the world just hours after that attack on the spaceport, bound ultimately for Kathil. By then, reports of similar attacks on Monhegan and Bethel had already reached PDZ commander General Dain Voss on Alcyone. He immediately dispatched almost half of the CMM to track down the Big Mac, and likewise ordered the First Kittery Borderers to do the same. Neither unit, however, managed to intercept any MAC regiments until Kathil.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.