Operation LONELY ISLAND

From Mercenary Campaigns of the 32^nd Century, Galatea Free Press

After their ambush and defeat of a pirate attack on the Batman docks, Magyari’s Irregulars chose to capitalise on their momentum and strike a blow against the Ashburton pirates. While the main goal was it simply eliminate one pirate band, the hope was that they would send a message to their opponents that they were not safe, they were not beyond the mercenaries reach and that there was nowhere that they could hide. By taking out one band in their supposedly secret hideout, the Irregulars were hoping to demoralise others.

Of course, the problem was going to be finding one of those secure hideouts. Interrogation of the captives from the Batman attack had revealed that the pirates had a base on Phillip Island, but the exact location was unclear. The pirates were known to be well-informed, to the point that it was known that they had people watching the Irregulars’ dropships. As such, they would likely be tipped off about any potential move against them, and could clear out before an attack was mounted.

Instead, they took a more risky but potentially lucrative approach, code-named Operation LONELY ISLAND. Blending in to the local population, members of the Irregulars planted information suggesting a particularly valuable cargo would be leaving the Batman ports, travelling by a route that would take it near Phillip Island. The cargo was, in fact, a lance of the Irregulars’ BattleMechs with VTOL and Battle Armour support that would be armed and ready to go as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Their reasoning was that after their losses at the Batman docks, the particular pirate band would be eager for some measure of revenge.

To aid in the deception, Major Magyari moved the bulk of the unit to St. Kilda for exercises with the ADF. In order to hide the shortfall in numbers, she added an extra lance to her unit, made up of ‘Mechs salvaged from Shasta and repainted in their colours. The pirates’ informants passed on their departure, effectively greenlighting a move against this cargo.

And so the MV Sunshine, a bulk cargo freighter, set out from Batman along its route. As expected, it was subsequently shadowed by a Mauna Kea class gunboat, which followed the vessel until it reached Phillip Island. Drawing alongside, the gunboat effectively held the ship at gunpoint while a Karnov VTOL dropped an infantry team off to size command of the ship. The pirates steered the Sunshine towards Phillip island, parking it at their makeshift dock to unload its cargo.

What they instead got was a quartet of BattleMechs storming out of the vessel’s cargo bay doors and laying into their defences. The Pirates rallied their own forces, which consisted of the Mauna Kea, several light tanks hovercraft and VTOLs, conventional infantry, a Quasit MilitaMech and the same modified Yeoman that they had previously fielded. While they did hold the advantage of numbers, the mercenaries simply possessed greater firepower and capabilities. Furthermore, their initial ambush allowed them to claim the high ground overlooking the pirate docks, giving them a tactical advantage.

In shot order, the pirate forces were devastated. Of the units they had bought to the field, only a handful of infantry had managed to surrender. The rest had been destroyed or disabled trying to flee to a fallback base. Among them was the Yeoman, which apparently sank after being shot in the back by a Lamprey. With the beachead secured, the Irregulars force called for the rest of the unit so that they could secure the rest of Phillip Island.

The captive pirates and their equipment did yield a wealth of information. They revealed that they did have an off-world supplier, who had been providing them with weapons, equipment and other supplies via dropship. (Ashburton’s six moons created a wealth of pirate jump points, making it rather hard to detect an incoming ship) The Yeoman wasn’t their own design either, having come form their off-world suppliers. Later research conformed that it was a Jihad-era prototype, last known to be in possession of the RSMC. This seemed to conform the identity of their supplier, who would have a vested interest in keeping Ashburton destabilised.

Overall, the Irregulars had scored a major victory in their campaign. However, its greatest challenges were yet to come.