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Chapter 14 - A Long Journey[]
1 April 2785
Mackolla (Federated Suns)
First Prince John Davion spent two weeks at Mackolla speaking to the gathered troops, looking over their equipment, cursing mildly when he got a tour of the new ships and spotting the two Bastion Defense Stations and three Titan class Fighter Carrier Dropships up close and personal. And he had said as much.
"General Mitchell, you failed to mention those two Bastions and those Titan Dropships to me before we concluded our negotiations." First Prince John Davion said
"Highness, if I had told you about them, you would have taken some of them if not all of them from us. This way, I know Mackolla will be protected even if we are deployed somewhere." Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell replied
"An honest answer. I had forgotten how refreshing it can be to hear. Your probably right, General Mitchell, a good play on your part, but let's not make secrets a habit okay." First Prince John Davion said
That exchange brought a smile to his face every time he thought about. The First Prince had been gone for just over a week now and the 322nd Armored Division and attached troops were in the process of shifting their base back to the inhabited continent of Judea and Samaria Area, the largest continent on the planet, but also the only one currently inhabited. Currently, only the unit's engineers had moved to the only space port to start enlarging it, the Planetary Governor, having been assured by the First Prince that Mackolla would be reimbursed for the expense, helped contract the largest construction company on the planet to assist them.
A smaller team of engineers was surveying the continent by shuttle craft to locate a site for the main base of the 322nd Armored Division. Once selected, they would then have to construct a new space port for their use and also all the housing, warehouses and infrastructure that would be needed. After a decade of all-out war, every former member of the SLDF new that basing near a civilian population was a near death sentence on those civilians, so every effort was being made to locate a suitable location.
While all of this was occurring, Lieutenant General Mitchell had spent several days with his senior officers, except his sister, organizing a new TO&E so that they could fulfill their mission of providing garrison forces for surrounding systems while at the same time providing for the defense of Mackolla. In order to accomplish this task, they had taken some from the SLDF that worked while discarding what they felt didn't work. The arguments has been long and hard for every option tossed out on the table for debate. No one could miss the large TO&E of the 322nd Armor Division posted on the wall with all the remaining units then listed out.
322nd Armored Division
First Brigade
108 Alacorn MKVI
108 Manticore
108 Manticore
Second Brigade
108 Demon
108 Demon
108 Fury
Third Brigade
1st Mech Infantry Regiment (3 Batt Mech Inf)
2nd Mech Infantry Regiment (3 Batt Mech Inf)
3rd Mech Infantry Regiment (3 Batt Mech Inf)
Artillery Brigade
1st Artillery Regiment (48 Thor, 24 Chapparal)
2nd Artillery Regiment (72 Marksman Artillery)
3rd Artillery Regiment (16 Long Tom, 24 Padilla, 23 Pollux ADA)
Engineer Brigade
1st Engineer Battalion (6 Engineer Vehicle, 12 Leesup, 2 Buffel, 2 Prometheus)
2nd Engineer battalion (6 Engineer Vehicle, 12 Leesup, 2 Buffel, 1 Prometheus)
VTOL Regiment (Reinforced)
1st Scout/Attack Battalion (12 Vector Scout, 12 Vector EW, 12 Vector Attack)
2nd Transport Battalion (36 Vector Transport)
3rd Transport Battalion (36 Karnov UR)
4th Transport Battalion (36 Karnov UR)
It told everyone in the room that Lieutenant General Mitchell wanted the 322nd Armored Division to remain intact. Not that anyone could really blame him for that, but it made the task harder for everyone with that roadblock in their path. After three days, no one could agree with anything that didn't break up the 322nd Armor in some fashion.