Editing Colonial Marshals

{{Update Needed|[[Touring the Stars: Herotitus]]|[[Operational Turning Points: Fronc Reaches]]}}

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[File:Colonial marshals.jpg|191px]]
| Designation    = Colonial Marshals
| Formed         = [[3058]]<ref name="TP2Ep25"/>
| Disbanded      = 
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname       = Lone Stars
| Affiliation    = [[Fronc Reaches]]
| Parent Command = [[Fronc Colonial Military]]<ref name="FM:3145p199">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 199: "Fronc Reaches"</ref>
| Sub-Command    = 
}}
==History==
The Marshals were initially sanctioned as a part of the [[Treaty of Taurus]] signed in [[3056]] which set forth a plan for the joint colonization of the star systems which lay between the [[Magistracy of Canopus|Canopian]] and [[Taurian Concordat|Taurian]] realms; as a provision of this treaty the Colonial Marshals were formed to protect their joint investments. This force was tasked to patrol and protect the property and people of the [[New Colony Region]].<ref name=FMP45/> Although the creation of the Marshals was agreed in the Treaty, the first Marshals came into service in [[3058]].<ref name="TP2Ep25">''The Periphery, Second Edition'', p. 25: "The Colonial Marshals"</ref>

The agreement between the two realms set forth the responsibilities of each. The Taurian Concordat was to equip the new force, while the Magestrix saw to their training at the new [[Canopian Institute of War]]. Citizens of both realms were welcome and encouraged to join this force and it attracted the best and brightest from both nations. Initially this experiment was an unconditional success and caused a morale boost to both parent realms and to the worlds of the New Colony region.<ref name=FMP45/>

This all changed in [[3060]]. On this Christmas eve the New Colony President [[Sherman Maltin]] led a contingent of Colonial Marshals and took hostage the visiting [[Magestrix]] [[Emma Centrella]] and [[Protector of the Realm|Protector]] [[Jeffrey Calderon]], demanding independence of the New Colony region as the ransom for their release. This led to a standoff between the rogue Marshals and the forces of the other two realms. Finally in February of [[3061]] [[Naomi Centrella]] led a Capellan force to free the hostages, in the process killing Maltin and the rogue Colonial Marshals. This raid was a partial success as they rescued the Magestrix but were unable to prevent the death of the Taurian Protector.<ref name=FMP45/>

Due to the action of the rogue Marshals the Taurian Concordat radically reduced support of the program, reducing the volume of supplies, repair parts and training to the now disgraced force. The Canopians, unwilling to abandon the project, continued to support them and new Marshal candidates were trained under the watchful eyes of the [[Magistracy Intelligence Ministry]] (MIM).<ref name=FMP45/>

As time passed new mutterings of independence surfaced in the region. Despite the angry mutterings from their allies in the Concordat the Magistrix has given tacit support the current Colonial Marshals, and specifically the Marshals leader Force Marshal McEvans, as they call for independence for the New Colony region. This seems a marked change for the Magistracy after their recent occupation of the BattleMech construction facilities on [[Detroit]]. The public face and commander of the Marshals, Force Marshal Dirk McEvans, was the leader of the faction of Colonial Marshals that did not support the actions of then President Maltin. Though McEvans does want independence from both parent realms, he and the Marshals he leads follow a more peaceful means to this end rather than rebelling against their sponsor realms.<ref name=FMP45/>

Independence for the region was finally achieved in [[3066]] when the newly named [[Fronc Reaches]] was recognized by both the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] and [[ComStar]]. In support of their declared freedom the new Fronc Reaches government hired Mercenary units to bolster the Colony Marshals forces. It is not known at this time if the hired Mercenaries are folded into the deployment and command structure of the Marshals or if they are kept as a separate supporting force.<ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 198</ref>

The Marshals are intensely loyal to the people they protect, regardless of national origin. They demonstrate a remarkable willingness to lay down their lives to protect their people. During the Jihad, their even handed rulings and adjudications earned them the respect of the people they protected, and their skill in driving off pirates and other raiders led those same people to support the Marshals.<ref name=frp11>''Field Report: Periphery'', p. 11</ref>

By [[3081]] the Marshals had managed to rebuild their regiment up to full strength again for the first time in some years; this was in part due to the recruitment of new Marshals but also because of the general reduction in pirate activity in the region during the [[Jihad]]. The Marshals had also been able to increase their ability to respond to threats rapidly by adding large quantities of non-[['Mech]] forces to their table of organization. These non-'Mech forces were generally tanks locally produced within the Reaches and charged with static defense; being able to leave the defense of particular areas to these conventional forces allowed the Marshals to redeploy their 'Mechs in a more responsive and aggressive manner when an incoming threat was detected.<ref name="J:FRp116">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 116: "Fronc Reaches"</ref>

During the [[Dark Age]] the Marshals remained the most high-profile of the Fronc Reaches military units, despite being less involved in day-to-day matters of law enforcement. Local authorities within the Reaches became stronger as time passed, and by the middle of the thirty-second century the Marshals were generally only deploying to deal with major crises on a Reaches world or to battle large pirate forces that the units of the [[Fronc Reaches Sentinels]] couldn't handle alone. The Marshals were also responsible for protecting the [[Colonial Tractors]] factory complex located in Paradiso on Fronc,<ref name="FM:3145p199">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 199: "Fronc Reaches"</ref> the primary source of BattleMechs manufactured in the Reaches at the time.<ref name="FM:3145p189">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 189: "Fronc Reaches"</ref>

[[Appian]] was raided by pirates in [[3127]]. The successful defense of this world was led by a Colonial Marshal, and a lance of Marshals supplemented the planetary militia.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3145 Capellan Confederation'', p. 28</ref>

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the Colonial Marshals'''
|-
| [[Force Marshal]]||[[Dirk McEvans]]||[[3064]] - [[3090]]<ref name=FMP45>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 45: "Colonial Marshals Unit Profile"</ref><ref name=TMW1p2>''The Marshal Way - Part 1'', p. 2</ref>
|-
| Force Marshal||[[Jan Goodman]]||[[3145]]<ref name="FM:3145p203"/>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
The individual nature of the Marshals assignments leads to their preferred method of fighting. The Marshals will use probing attacks and guerrilla tactics to keep their opponents off balance. They prefer to use sniping tactics to weaken stronger foes rather than face their opponents in an upright battle, wanting to weaken their foes and force them to retreat rather than trying to outright destroy them.<ref name=FMP45/>

==Composition History==
===3064===
'''Colonial Marshals''' (2 [[Battalion]]s/Veteran/Independent)<ref name=FMP45/>
:* CO: Force Marshal Dirk McEvans

===3079===
After the Jihad ended, the Marshals had expanded to regimental size. The expected combat losses reduced them to about ninety percent of their nominal strength.<ref name=frp11/>

===3145===
'''Colonial Marshals''' (Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)<ref name="FM:3145p203">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 203: "Fronc Reaches"</ref>
:* CO: Force Marshal Jan Goodman
:- At this point in time the Marshals were operating at eighty percent of full strength.

==Notes==
* ''[[The Periphery, 2nd Edition (sourcebook)|The Periphery, Second Edition]]'' has an in-universe publication date of Jan 3059 and notes that the Marshals came into existence "less than a year ago".<ref name="TP2Ep25"/>''[[Field Manual: Periphery]]'' notes that the Marshals were formed "shortly after" the signing of the treaty.<ref name=FMP45/>

* Though a small force the Marshals were equipped with some of the newest 'Mechs available to the Taurian Concordat in the 3060s. This includes the specifically designed ''[[Marshal (BattleMech)|Marshal]]'' and the new to the Periphery ''[[Anubis]]'' [[BattleMech]]s.<ref name=FMP45/>

* It was unclear how the devastation of the Jihad will affect the Marshals' ability to procure replacement 'Mechs.<ref name=frp11/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Periphery]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Report: Periphery]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[The Marshal Way]]''
* ''[[The Periphery, 2nd Edition (sourcebook)|The Periphery, Second Edition]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3145 Capellan Confederation]]''

[[Category: Magistracy of Canopus Commands|Colonial Marshals]]
[[Category: Fronc Reaches Commands|Colonal Marshals]]