System: Monongahela

[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, and succumbing to the same madness as her father. 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 this was designed to be more of a morale-building exercise, more than anything else. 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.

On the surface, Monongahela was yet another seemingly poor target — a moderately-inhabited world with just the most basic of modern industry and a healthy ranching business. But what most analyses misses was that the world was also a forward-deployment base for the Kathil Capellan March Militia prior to the Fourth Succession War, and that it still held relatively large warehouses. Still better, the Monongahela Militia was sorely under-staffed and under-equipped. Even if there was little in the way of equipment left, the potential cost was still considered worth the risk.

This seventh target was entrusted to Carhart’s Demons. Colonel Nicholas Carhart and his Fourth MAC landed and immediately began searching for the old CMM storehouses. Like LosTech prospectors straight out of the Holo-vids, Carhart’s Demons scoured the lands, unearthing and unsealing bunkers left untouched for over a decade. The mercenaries encountered the militia only twice, and both times left no survivors. And just like clockwork, they left a week after they arrived, having scavenged 247 tons of miscellaneous weapons, spare parts, armor and rations from the bunkers.

Instead of continuing on to Kathil, however, the Demons began the trek back to the Confederation. Colonel Archie McCarron ordered them home just as soon as the extent of the damage that the AFFS was doing to their homeworld of Menke was clear.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.