Cassandra
The world of Hartstone wasn’t that bad, Cassandra thought to herself. It was rather peaceful, with a simple charm that only a lightly settled world could have. The only settlement on the world, the capital of little more than a hundred more than tripled in size when the eight hundred, and fifty three members of the 3rd battalion were deployed from the Star Carrier class Super Carrier ‘Cave’. The Starship hadn’t remained in orbit for long before leaving for other star systems to deploy more forces to fulfill their contract with the Lord of the Nerthus.
Commander Peak, and 4th Company had made the only settlement on Hartstone their command center, close to Lord Godfrey Jolt, who’s estate overlooked the small settlement. The 4th remained the only company not split into its four bands, and spread across the world to aid in the training exercises the commander had charged them with.
The 2nd Band of 1st Company had been deployed to a small mountainous area in the northern part of the world, not far from Jolthart, with several small family estates, and hold-fasts surrounding their defensive position. There was a small lake nearby which Cassandra was able to enjoy during down time. Some of the locals of the area fished the lake, but it was rare for her to see anyone there, and sometimes she and Edmund could sneak away to enjoy the privacy of the area.
The locals of Hartstone were eager to learn to defend themselves. Cassandra had been more than a little surprised to see that their tech was more advanced than many other sections of Bolgar Space she had seen in the past, but she shouldn’t have been. The Nakon Union might have been a Bolgar world, but it was nestled between the Holy Fabian Protectorate to the west, and even shared a small border with the Kingdom of Fist but it’s borders expanded into the Old Ruins which gave it trade to much of Furse Space. There was old tech from both Furse, and Fabian space, much more advanced than that of the Bolgar nations to the south and east that they bordered.
The Nakon Union might have been more advanced than other Bolgar nations, at least in the Bolgar Expanse, other than the Kingdom of Warta, but they were still less advanced than Fabian, and Furse worlds, but that wasn’t the only issue of the Hartstone system. The star system had next to no orbital or space infrastructure to speak of. A few satellites in low orbits, but otherwise nothing to speak of. Even the lord of Hartstone held only a single small shuttle capable of FTL jumps, one of only three on the whole world.
For a minor sub-system Cassandra had been impressed with their level of tech though. It wasn’t some newly founded colony, but had been founded thousands of years before the last Skoll invasion of the Settled Worlds before the Old Ruins of Furse Space had been known as the Old Ruins, and instead home to Star Kingdoms, and even a Bolgar Kingdom. Hartstone had survived the thousand year darkness while hundreds of star systems had fallen to the Skoll, and forged the Old Ruin section of space. She wondered though, how much of that survival was luck more than anything.
The locals of Hartstone lacked military grade gear of almost any kind. There were a few rifles, and small arms weapons used by the farmers of the estates, and hold-fasts to hunt or fend off attacks by local beasts. There wasn’t even a local police force on the world, which hadn’t been much of a surprise for Cassandra. A world of little more than ten thousand didn’t need much in the way of a police force. The household guards of Lord Jolt, or other minor lords on the world, could handle most issues that came up, and so they were easy prey for raiders, pirates, and outlaws.
The people of Hartstone hadn’t survived by fighting back either. They hid in caves, hills, and other spots they could run, and hide from attackers, leaving behind their wealth to be stolen. The raids recently had become too much though, and the raiders hunted them for fresh thralls to serve on their starships, and sell. They stole their food, and farming gear, and many locals lost their lives through the long winter months.
The people of Hartstone had finally had enough of it, and greeted the 10th legion, and 3rd Battalion with glee. Almost half a battalion of full time recruits had stepped forward to take up service with the 3rd, to train with the Bands full time to learn how to defend themselves, and form a local militia force that any Furse World would already have. Each day another four hundred part time recruits took part in training drills after their own duties were done, granting the local militia of Hartstone with almost a full battalion strength of recruits. Eight percent of the world's population was an impressive feat, and it did not count what combat bots or security bots the estates could almost bring to service.
Day after day Cassandra trained the troops that had been placed with the 2nd Band of 1st Company. Their own Retinue had six Bolgar’s of Hartstone who ate, shit, and slept with them. Together they trained, and on the weekends Commander Peak gathered the two battalions together for large scale training exercises, and war games.
The battalion, and local militia also spent their time fortifying defensive positions throughout the world. Digging ditches around their own established compounds, as well as estates, and hold-fasts. They aided in the installing of surface to air, surface to orbit, and other weapon turrets throughout the world at key locations, choke points, and around the major estates, and lone settlement of Jolthart to defend the world from likely attacks.
Commander Peak had realized at once that the battalion, or locals stood no chance at holding the whole planet. He had encouraged the locals to keep to their customs of hiding in the hills, and caves. To create hidden fortified positions from which to holdout, and a series of positions to fall back to, so as to cause as much damage to the enemy as possible. They trained to protect people as they fell back, to buy them time to reach those places as enemy forces were hit with hit, and run attacks to draw them away from those who fled to safety. To force as much damage on the enemy as possible as their families escaped to places they could hold, and where they could gather, and hold supplies from which to survive the long winters.
Cassandra, and the retinue were among those who spent weeks in the wilds with the locals, and taught them how to spot defensible positions on the move. To find places from which to ambush the enemy as they moved with what was to be likely heavier equipment, and gear. From positions where to attack them from that could lure them away into smaller more manageable units.
Cassandra didn’t know if the plans, and tactics the Commander had implemented would work. They seemed as sound, and good as any other to her, as well as the locals best chance of fighting back against their attackers. It also only stood a chance of working if the attackers choose not to launch targeted strikes from orbits with their starships, which might be a guarantee from another star nations launching attacks, but never against raiders, pirates, or outlaws who had nothing to lose.
It might have worked against the frigate or patrol class starships which had attacked the world in the past. It might even have stood a chance against the escort class carrier which had raided the world three years ago, or any Support Starship with their limited manpower, and supplies, but it stood much less of a chance against a Capital Starship, or worse Starship of the Line with their much greater manpower, but also larger supply of weapons, and armored craft. Even the single battalion of the 10th would struggle against such odds, with their advanced tech, and armored military gear.
Without the support of the 10th legion, and the lack of armor, be it personal body armor, armored mechs, aircraft, or shuttles, the world of Hartstone didn’t have much chance against a dedicated attack. Lucky for them, raiders were not known for their dedication, and the lack of settlements worked in their favor against orbital strikes. Cassandra and the rest of the battalion would find out shortly though, as reports came in that in the next thirty nine minutes an unknown Cruiser would arrive in orbit of Hartstone.
