System: Repulse

On 19 September the first MAF forces crossed the frontier and struck at Capellan targets on the Periphery border. This Taskforce Duo comprised the Second Canopian Light Horse, Second Canopian Cuirassiers, and the Second Canopian Fusiliers, and it struck at Kincade’s Rangers on Repulse. Formerly part of the Tikonov Reserves, the Rangers had been reallocated to the newly formed Periphery Guard on the orders of Romano Liao. Magistracy intelligence had reported both battalions of the Capellan force had been badly depleted during the Fourth Succession War and would pose little resistance to the invasion force. What they neglected to learn, however, was that the “troop depletions” were scheduled rotations to serve with the Death Commandos. Though outnumbered, the Rangers would punch well above their weight.

The Light Horse quickly learned this lesson after their landings on 1 October, when Major Sharon Lasonpiri’s force quickly came under attack from a Kincade detachment who’d been close enough to react to the landings and hit the Canopians while they were still scattered and disorganized. In the chaos, the Light Horse lost several lances of ’Mechs, possibly even a full company, while the Rangers suffered damage to roughly a company of ’Mechs, all of which were easily repairable. Though that Ranger detachment was forced to surrender, it was not an auspicious start to the Canopian campaign.

The heavier Fusiliers faired somewhat better against the Rangers, their added resilience and firepower allowing them to weather the hit-and-run strikes that the Rangers came to favor over the next few months. Grossly outnumbered, the Rangers refused Canopian attempts to draw them into a field engagement, on one day striking at a Canopian detachment in the south and the next at one several hundred miles north or west. By the end of October the Canopians controlled the major population centers but could hardly be said to control the planet.

Civil unrest on Repulse increased drastically in the early months of 3031, with bombings and attacks reaching a crescendo around the Chinese New Year. Kincade’s Rangers escalated their attacks, striking targets deep in occupied territory. The Light Horse moved swiftly to oppose these incursions, but in most cases arrived too late. On the rare occasion they were able to bring the Rangers to battle, the Liao troops demonstrated their skill and finesse, inflicting painful damage before escaping.

The attacks slackened off as Repulse’s northern hemisphere, the site of most of the fighting, entered its long harsh winter, though the Canopians clearly understood that this was a lull in the fighting rather than a victory. They were thus surprised when a group of previously hidden Liao DropShips boosted for orbit on 9 May, rendezvousing with a CCAF JumpShip at a pirate point and departing the system. The Canopians suspected a trap and spent the next three months scouring the planet for the Rangers, but to no avail. Sporadic civil resistance continued for much of the year, but it appeared that Kincade’s Rangers had abandoned Repulse, and on 6 August the world was incorporated into the Magistracy.

[3033] Fresh from their victory on Drozan, Kincade’s Rangers assaulted Repulse in May 3033. Drummond’s Destroyers, the MAF garrison on Repulse, were hit hard. After initial shock and losses, the Canopian resolve quickly hardened, and it seemed likely a new stalemate would result. News of Liao reinforcements worried the Canopians, but even when the skull insignia of the Death Commandos was reported among the Capellan forces the MAF troops’ resolve held, albeit barely. The news on 10 June of House Dai Da Chi’s arrival was more than the defenders could stand, however, and immediate plans were put in place for an evacuation. By the end of the month, the Capellan Dao flew once more over Repulse.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.