[b]Commander Cassius Caspian
Thera ( Dominion Controlled Planet)
Outside City 001
[/b]

Cassius warmed himself on the large bonfire in front of him, eyeing the alien slabs of meat he had put on a makeshift grill. It had been a month since the recon team dropped down on the planet, and Cassius had made himself very comfortable within the recon team. All of the comfortable fat he had accumulated while working for Lord Barca was gone, revealing the slim physique common within recon teams.
	The team had finally accepted the former recon officer into their team and they were celebrating a successful recon mission with alien meat and liquor. The meat was a freshly killed farm animal commonly eaten by the locals of this system, while the liquor was surprisingly donated by a resident of the city.
	City 001 was taken without any significant damage or loss of life, something rather uncharacteristic for the Solite marine regiments. Additionally, the population of city 001 was rather sympathetic to the Solite troops as they prioritized keeping infrastructure intact, minimizing the change to their way of life. The population of city 001 was largely human, removing most of the animosity of the invading Solite troops. 
	
Cassius brushed the meat with a homemade marinade of Solite spices and herbs before walking back to a makeshift throne of ammunition and rations. A half empty bottle of local liquor sat next to the crates and was quickly snatched up by Cassius as he sat down. 

“ ten more minutes”, Cassius said in a tipsy tone before removing the cork from the bottle and taking a swig.

“ Where did you learn how to cook?” a recon commando said, clearly drunk and slurring his words

“ Mordant Prime….” Cassius answered with a smile “ We used to hold bonfires like this almost every week after an operation. There was always something fresh to eat and plenty of livestock around” Cassius continued with a drunken smile. 

The rest of the team laughed as they shared a few drinks as the meat cooked. The conquest of City 001 was largely over and small orbital transports could be seen using the spaceport within the city. On a clear day, the larger ships of Task Force 1 could be seen in low orbit of the planet , as continued operations to control the sector were under way.






[b][u]Task Force 2
13th Mordant (Acid Dogs) Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 3rd platoon (Mechanized)
Pvt. Cato Euchar
On planet Ibirius[/u][/b]

Third platoon shuffled back into the into the forward operating base after a weeklong combat patrol. The men of third platoon looked haggard as they stagged back into their barracks for a well needed rest.
	The platoon had lost three men, all replacements of troops lost during the Mordant campaign. The resistance on Ibirius was well prepared and very motivated to fight. Xenos and human fought side by side and their resistance became fore vicious by the day. Solite troops enjoyed a nearly two to one kill ratio, but the largely guerilla resistance was disheartening to say the least.
	The 13th Mordant and 2nd Marine division were veterans of guerilla campaigns on Mordant prime, but the conflict still had an effect on the new replacements the Solites had gained since leaving Solite controlled space. 

Cato, found an empty patch of pavement and promptly fell to the floor, using his pack and helmet as a makeshift pillow. The large industrial spaceport was under Solite control and the larger ships of task force 2 could land and unload their cargo onto the planet. Combat engineers and local laborers, worked day and night to erect defenses and the area around the spaceport looked more like a fortress than a spaceport.

As Cato watched the endless stream of men and material arrive on the planet, his eyes involuntarily closed as he drifted off into a well deserved nap.


[u][b]Task Force 3
Designated System : Yanna[/b][/u]

The troops of Task force three landed and started combat operations with relative ease. The PDF was largely under strength and poorly trained. The resistance was not match for the drilled and hardened troops of the third task force.
	As the last pockets of resistance were being destroyed, combat engineers worked to erect defenses and make defensive positions.