Zathran Defense Force Briefing

From the desk of agent [Redacted]
Operational Name: "Whisper"
Project:  Grand Survey 

The Goal of Today’s project is to give you an idea of the forces currently on world on Zathras and their tentative command structures.  There are a host of actors, each of whom has their own forces to command, and the reality of the situation is, we don’t have a firm grasp on who is helping who or what’s going to happen when push comes to shove.  This is our best guess of the resources available on world, but in the end, they are a guess.  

The Zathran Defense Force

Nominally the planetary defense force has access to the military forces of all of Zathras should the common good require it.  This briefing is focused solely on the ZDF itself, and doesn’t factor in the Canopian forces, or the personal retinues of various nobles on world.  Those briefings are listed below in their own section.  Our current best estimates have the ZDF looking something like this.

Conventional Infantry Forces:  Approximately a Regiment in strength.  Most of these soldiers are foot infantry equipped with rifles, but there is at least one company of jump trained soldiers with more advanced resources operating as close support for the Marauders.  These units are reliable, regular forces.

Combat Vehicles:  Best estimates put the ZDF in possession of two battalions of mixed armor.  Most of this armor is on the lighter side, with a predisposition towards light Hovertanks or Scorpions.  We know there are Manticores on world, but we’re not entirely certain how the Zathran Defense Force is organizing their armor.  This means they around 72 combat vehicles of varying types, with a reliable loyalty rating and regular quality.  

Aerospace Assets:  We know the ZDF has at least three wings of Aerospace Fighters This means that the ZDF has approximately 60 aerospace fighters at their disposal.  I would assume a third of them are assigned to System patrols and are based offworld, with an additional third assigned to planetary defense.  The remaining wing is assigned to whatever needs crop up, but it’s unlikely to find more than a squadron in the air at a time.  These are reliable, regular units.  

Battlemech Assets:  This is the area where the ZDF struggles.  With the core of Mason’s Marauders as their primary Battlemech Force, the ZDF has a Lance of Battlemechs at their disposal.  They are a veteran force, and i would qualify them as Fanatically loyal to the Lord Commander at this time.  There are rumors of another force of off the books operators with battlemechs, but at most this would put them at a pair of lances.  The ZDF is currently seeking to increase its forces with a crash course of Mechwarrior training, but the Company level formation that is being trained is very raw, and probably would not take the field for at least another year.  These troops are currently Unreliable and Wet Behind the Ears due to their inexperience.  

Dropship Assets:  The ZDF has a major asset going for it in the form of a Fortress class Dropship.  This is a major military asset capable of transporting a company of Battlemechs, a company of combat vehicles, and three platoons of infantry.  There are rumors of a second dropship (Leopard class) in use with the ZDF, but like the second lance of mechs, this is an off the books unit.

Jumpships/Orbital assets:  Other than a variety of satellites and other remnants of the Succession Wars, the ZDF has no Jumpships or Orbital assets.  

Recommendations:

At the earliest convenience, the ZDF should organize a provisional Battalion centered around their Fortress Dropship.   A company of vehicles (probably lighter scout vehicles) and three platoons of Jump Infantry make a powerful resource when combined with the Marauders and their associated forces.  The Fortress has the firepower to lend credible assistance and can serve as a mobile firebase to handle any problems that pop up.  

If the ZDF has an additional leopard class dropship that it’s keeping a secret, it should probably be loaded up with a lance of scouts and a pair of light aerospace fighters.  Use this as a deep recon force to track down problems that are lurking below the surface, and call in the heavy reinforcements when they’ve flushed their quarry into the open.  

The ZDF has a definite shortage in Battlemech forces, and hiring a mercenary command, making overtures to the local nobility, or offering general amnesty to the bandits roving the planet could do a lot of good to augment their Mech units.  

Zathran Royal Guard

This is a separate formation that is ostensibly loyal to the Emperor of Zathras, and we’re including them because it’s entirely believable with what we know of Archibald he would commit this force to a decisive battle for the fate of Zathras.  Our best estimates put a reinforced lance of Mechs (including Archibald’s own Big Larry) at his command.  Supplementing this is likely a lance of heavy tanks, and a company of conventional infantry.  We theorize that if the Zathrans have any regular artillery, this is where they are hiding it.  These forces are all veteran quality and border on the Fanatical.  They are personally loyal to Archibald, and will defend Zathras to the death.  

Nobles

The Nobles of Zathras represent an interesting puzzle.  With the recent civil war, most of the nobles have seen war cross their fiefdoms and have taken up arms to protect their own.  This means that most of the Zathran nobility have an interesting array of war material at their disposal.  In that regard, we are categorizing nobles in one of three categories.  Hedge Knight, Baron, and Duke.  These are purely administrative, and are meant as a rough gauge of forces commanded by each.  The other thing to consider is that the Feudal system means that the Baron and the Duke have subservient nobles that they can call to war if the need arises.  

Hedge Knight

In this usage, a Hedge Knight is the lowest tier of landed nobility among the Zathrans.  Many are recently made nobles who were given land and titles in recognition of military service by a grateful nation.  These knights are likely to be found with a battlemech, a pair of combat vehicles, and a platoon of infantry.  These knights are either responsible for fairly large tracts of unoccupied territory, or guard a specific location of strategic importance.  

Baron

Barons occupy the next rung up the administrative and military ladder.  With a small group of hedge knights at their disposal, a Baron can reliably counted on to field a lance of battlemechs, a couple of lances of combat vehicles, and a larger than average formation of infantry.  A battalion is the likeliest formation of infantry at their disposal, but larger formations are possible.

Duke

The highest level of recognized nobility after the Emperor himself, the Dukes have a claim to the largest military forces outside of the ZDF under an organized command.  With a reasonable amount of supporting nobles, it’s very credibly that a Duke could have a Company of mechs at his or her disposal alongside two companies of combat vehicles and infantry formations.  

Specific Cases

Baron Devereux

Baron Devereux appears to have recently switched his allegiance from Duke Erasmus to the Emperor, and his forces have been seen in the field alongside the Zathran Defense Forces.  

Duke Erasmus

The Duke has a disproportionately large collection of vassals and personal guard.  Current estimates put him in command of a company of mechs, and theoretically, four times that number of tanks.  The recent departure of Baron Devereux from his forces has weakened his position, but not to the point where a direct confrontation is a good idea.  He maintains a large reserve of infantry as well, but we don’t have hard numbers on that.  

Count Rahma

The Count is the other major player in the nobility.  His loyal forces are smaller than Duke Erasmus’s, and we suspect he has a short company of ten battlemechs and two companies of vehicles at his disposal.  If a battle breaks out between the Duke’s forces and the Count’s, i suspect the Count will likely be overrun and killed without supporting elements.  

Recommendations:  

Offer a grant of land and the title of Hedge Knight to any dispossesed mechwarrior willing to swear fealty to the Emperor.  The Zathrans have been collecting salvaged equipment since the end of the civil war, and that stockpile of battlemechs is of more use now in the field with loyal Zathrans than sitting in a warehouse.  

The Emperor needs to put his house in order regarding the rest of the Nobles.  There are too many plotters sneaking around the world for my liking, and the sooner everything is exposed the better.  Make peace with the nobles that want peace, and put pressure on the remaining nobles to want peace. Peace is good for business.

Clergy

The recent strife within the Church of the Returning Light has gutted its military arm and caused heartache across the surface of Zathras.  The Canopian holdings are being guarded by a combination of local religious warriors and Canopian troops.  I would expect at the Prioress’s command, Brother Aiden would be able to put a company of Battlemechs in the field.  I’m not certain what combat vehicles the Church has available, but it appears that they could field huge armies of poorly trained and equipped civilians in the field as infantry platoons.  Quantity is its own sort of quality, and I would not want to engage the Church on the field.  

Recommendations:

Make nice with the Prioress and see what additional Canopian equipment can be acquired at a discount.  

Bandits

The one saving grace for the ZDF is that the bandits haven’t organized beyond the level of lance sized units.  If they organized into a cohesive force, the amount of hurt they could put on the outlying territories would be frightening.  We conservatively estimate there are approximately two companies of battlemechs and a battalion of combat vehicles in total for the bandits.

Recommendations:

Reframe the problem, hear their concerns and put them back to work for the ZDF if possible.  Most of these groups are patriots who feel their government has abandoned them.  Prove them wrong and win back their loyalty.  

WildCards/Mercenaries

There are a lot of small mercenary commands operating on the surface of Zathras.  From the Outlaws of Iron to the mercenaries under Crash’s command, someone is funneling skilled soldiers onto the surface of Zathras without telling anyone else what is going on.  So far they’ve been deployed in roughly company sized units with a heavier usage of combat vehicles than mechs, but i suspect it’s only a matter of time before heavier units enter the fray.  If this is a prelude to a full scale invasion, then these mercenaries need to be dealt with in a convincing fashion.  

Recommendation:

Figure out who hired these people and why.  Apply missiles and lasers until they rescind said contracts and get these mercenaries off world.  Alternatively, find a merc unit that’s looking for a quiet few months of garrison duty and hire the biggest one you can afford.  A friendly battalion of mechs may cow these mercs into leaving.  

Sitrep

The ZDF theoretically has the resources to control the planet.  If you factor in the additional resources the nobles and the clergy control, there shouldn’t be an issue managing pirates, hostile mercenaries, or probing attacks.  IF the government had full control of all of its available assets.  The problem is that a lack of clarity and leadership is preventing the government from engaging all of its resources.  If the ZDF can pull its allies together into a cohesive coalition, then the situation will stabilize and the future is bright.  

If there are hostile assets working against the legitimate Zathran government, the sooner these hostiles are revealed and dealt with the better.  There are signs pointing to offworld resources backing various elements, and that interaction needs to be revealed and handled as well.  Without a firm understanding of who’s loyal to whom, the situation will continue to spiral out of control.