Editing The Krushers

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image = [[Image:The Krushers logo.png|150px]]
| Designation = The Krushers
| Formed = [[3037]]
| Disbanded = [[3085]]
| Previous Designation = Kristen's Krushers
| Nickname = 
| Affiliation = [[Mercenary]]
| Parent Command = 
| Sub-Command = 
}}
'''The Krushers''', originally known as '''Kristen's Krushers''', are a [[mercenary unit]] with ties to the [[Free Worlds League]] and [[House Marik]]. They specialize in nighttime and other low-visibility operations.<ref name=FMMp71>''Field Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 71: "Kristen's Krushers Profile"</ref>

==Unit History==
===Formation===
Kristen's Krushers was founded in [[3037]] by [[Kristen Marik]], daughter of [[Captain-General]] [[Janos Marik]] and his second wife [[Ana Stewart]]. Kristen wanted to make her own way, so she served a stint in [[Langendorf's Lancers]] under an assumed name. Janos' death in [[3035]] left her with a large sum of money, in addition to her landhold as Duchess of [[Augustine]]. Kristen used her inheritance to fulfill the dream of founding her own mercenary unit.<ref name=FMMp71/>

===A Kept Unit===
The unit's first contract was with the Free Worlds League, as stipulated in the will of Janos Marik.<ref name=MSp81>''Mercenaries Supplemental Update'', p. 81</ref> Five years after they were formed, Kristen's Krushers signed a contract with [[ComStar]]. They provided [[HPG]] security, then served in an antipiracy role. The command returned to the Free Worlds League in [[3047]] and garrisoned the [[Magistracy of Canopus|Canopian]] border. "[[Thomas Marik (False)|Thomas Marik]]" did not want to see his "baby sister" leave and endanger herself, so he convinced her to sign another five-year contract in [[3052]]. Kristen wanted to leave the League in '57, but Thomas was able to sign her again, though only for two years.<ref name=FMMp71 />

By [[3059]], Kristen's Krushers was firmly a family affair, with Kristen's husband [[Jiri Rousset]] serving as the Executive Officer, her oldest child [[Ana Rousset-Marik]] a battalion commander, and her middle child [[Janos Rousset-Marik]] a company commander. Her youngest, [[Alys Rousset-Marik]], entered [[Princefield Military Academy]] in 3059 to carry on the tradition. Thomas could not persuade Kristen to stay in '59 and she moved her Krushers to [[Coventry]] under [[Lyran Alliance|Lyran]] employ.<ref name=FMMp71 /><ref>''Field Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 109</ref> It was here that the [[FedCom Civil War|Federated-Commonwealth Civil War]] found them.

===Coventry===
Kristen's Krushers garrisoned the important factory world along with the new [[1st Coventry Jaegers|First Coventry Jaegers]] and the [[Coventry Province Militia]]. The pro-[[Katherine Steiner-Davion|Katherine]] commander of the Jaegers, [[Jason Walker]], ordered the Krushers to attack the pro-[[Victor Steiner-Davion|Victor]] CPM on 25 December [[3062]]. The Jaegers contributed a token force, forcing the Krushers to act as shock troops. The fighting was particularly nasty near [[Coventry Military Academy]], so the Jaegers used artillery. Kristen protested the use of artillery against the academy, but her calls for opening up a dialogue were ignored. Though they were damaged, the Krushers defeated the CPM, with major combat operations ceasing on 17 January [[3063]].<ref name=FCCWp38>''FedCom Civil War'', pp. 37–38: "Coventry"</ref><ref name=FCCWp3840>''FedCom Civil War'', pp. 38–40: "The Eagle's Flight"</ref><ref name=FMRp84>''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 84</ref>

The Jaegers would again go on the offensive, but this time against the mercenaries. Kristen's Krushers was seen as a representative of [[House Marik]]. For the prejudiced Walker, that was enough. Following Colonel Marik's petition to rest and refit after all but annihilating the CPM, the Jaegers attacked the damaged mercenary unit. The Third Battalion took the brunt of the assault and Major Ana Marik was killed. The mercenary command executed a fighting withdrawal to the city of Lietnerton. From there, they were able to board their [[DropShip]]s and lifted offworld on 21 January. Though it was a near thing, they made it back to their [[JumpShip]]s and began the interstellar trek back to the Free Worlds League. Predictably, Kristen declared their contract with the Lyran Alliance null and void.<ref name=FCCWp38 /><ref name=FCCWp3840 /><ref name=FMRp84 />

===Flight===
After a number of jumps, the command needed supplies. They raided [[Gallery]] for food and water on 11 March. Though the raid was a success, tweaking the nose of the planet's ruling noble, General of the Armies [[Nondi Steiner]], was unwise. She declared Kristen's Krushers a hostile force, making them a target for the [[LAAF]].<ref name=FCCWp3840 />

The mercenaries were able to get to [[Arcadia (LC)|Arcadia]], a world one jump from the [[Free Worlds League]] border, when a Lyran flotilla that included the LAS ''[[Yggdrasil (Individual Mjolnir-class WarShip)|Yggdrasil]]'' caught up with them. Captain-General [[Thomas Marik]], unwilling to spark an incident with the [[Lyran Alliance]], did nothing as the Krushers scattered across the planet's surface and tried to hold off the Lyran forces, which included the [[Second Donegal Guards]], who happened to be on the planet. The mercenaries were faring poorly. By late April, they were down to two companies worth of [['Mech]]s.<ref name=FCCWp3840 />

In direct disobedience to the orders of the Captain-General, [[Tamarind]] Marshall [[Jeremy Brett]], Kristen's brother-in-law, sent the [[Sixth Marik Militia]] across the border to save the mercenaries. The Marik forces reached Arcadia on 2 May, then defeated the Lyrans and secured Arcadia as a protectorate, though the world was returned to the Lyrans after the Civil War ended. The Krushers returned to the League, with both Kristen and Janos casualties of the fighting.<ref name=FCCWp3840 /><ref name=FMRp84 /><ref name=MSp81 />

===Rebirth===
After she graduated from Princefield, Alys inherited command of the unit as well as her mother's little-used position as [[Duchess of Augustine]], though the inexperienced officer allowed her father to act as commander in all but name. The Krushers (who dropped Kristen's name after her death) under Colonel Jiri Rousset rebuilt to a force just over a battalion strong while technically under contract to the [[Free Worlds League Military]] through Alys in her capacity as Duchess. This rebuilding process was drawn-out because of the circumstances regarding the unit's exit from the Lyran Alliance. The [[Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission]] was unable to uncover the truth surrounding the battle on Coventry until after the end of the FedCom Civil War in April [[3067]]. When Jason Walker's actions came to light, the MRBC cleared The Krushers.<ref name=FMRp84 /><ref name=MSp81 /><ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 183: "Free Worlds League"</ref>

===Jihad===
Following the [[Word of Blake]] assault on [[Atreus (FWL)|Atreus]] in October [[3068]], Alys formed a resistance movement, with The Krushers at its head. Their representatives on [[Galatea]] stopped contracting out, instead hiring other mercenary commands to supplement their own operations. This, coupled with the unit's lapsed registration as a mercenary command, prompted the MRBC to reclassify The Krushers as employers.<ref name=MSp81 />

The Krushers, as the core of the Free Worlds Resistance, were active in various places across the League. They were seen on at least twelve worlds in their first three years in the resistance. Roughly a full battalion hit [[Oliver]] in [[3070]] to assist the [[Legion of the Rising Sun]], whom The Krushers had hired. They fought elements of the [[12th Division (Word of Blake)|Blakist Twelfth Division]] (née [[Sixth Free Worlds Legionnaires]]). They mauled the Blakist infantry and destroyed two companies of armor and 'Mechs at a cost of two lances.<ref name=MSp81 />

===Post-Jihad===
The post-[[Jihad]] Krushers were reduced to half their strength. Alys refused to allow anyone other than herself to contract the unit. As of [[3079]], the unit was on [[Rochelle]].<ref name=FRFWLMp16>''Field Report: FWLM'', p. 16</ref>

By [[3085]] the Krushers were one of the units that were gifted to the Republic of the Sphere.<ref>''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 167</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 Krushers'''
|-
| [[Colonel]]||[[Kristen Marik]]||[[3037]]–May [[3063]]<ref name=FMMp71/>
|-
| Colonel||[[Alys Rousset-Marik]]||[[3067]]–[[3085]]
|}

==Tactics==
Unknown.

==Composition History==
===3050===
'''Kristen’s Krushers ''' (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=20YUp57>''20 Year Update'', p. 57: "Free Worlds League Deployment Table"</ref>
:* CO: Colonel Kristen Marik<ref name=20YUp57/>
: Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on [[Claybrooke]].<ref name=20YUp57/>

===3059===
'''Kristen's Krushers''' (1 [[Regiment]]/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=FMMp71/>
* CO/First [[Battalion]]: Colonel Kristen Marik
:* XO: [[Major]] Jiri Rousset
:* Second Battalion: Major [[Rodmond Gunther]]
:* Third Battalion: Major [[Ana Rousset-Marik|Ana Marik]]
::* Second [[Company]]: [[Captain]] [[Janos Rousset-Marik]]

'''Kwick Krushers''' (2 [[Wing (Military Unit)|Wing]]s/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=FMMp71/>
:* Wing Commander: [[Paul Verhogen]]

: Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on [[Coventry]].<ref name=FMMp109>''Field Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 109</ref>

===3067===
'''The Krushers''' (officially 1 Regiment, actually just over a battalion)
* CO: Colonel Duchess [[Alys Rousset-Marik]]
:* Aide: Colonel Jiri Rousset

===3079===
'''Kristen’s Krushers ''' (Regiment/Veteran/Fanatical)<ref name=FRFWLMp16>''Field Report: FWLM'', p. 16</ref>
: Note: At this point in time the unit was stationed on [[Rochelle]].<ref name=FRFWLMp16/> Reduced to 50% of pre-Jihad strength.<ref name=FRFWLMp16/>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)|FedCom Civil War]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Report: FWLM]]''
* ''[[Mercenaries Supplemental Update]]''
* ''[[Pandora's Gambit]]''

[[Category:Mercenary Commands|Krushers, The]]