Tolstin Eukai

Tolstin Eukai
Character Profile
Died 28 January 2767
Affiliation Rim Worlds Army
Profession MechWarrior

Tolstin Eukai was a member of the Rim Worlds Army during the Star League era.

Character History[edit]

Eukai had reached the rank of General and was in command of the Rim Worlds Republic ground forces on Dieron when Stefan Amaris launched Operation APOTHEOSIS.[1]

The Rim Worlds Navy actions in the Dieron system went flawlessly, with Captains Urgur Toch and Yrorran Garcil securing the nadir and zenith jump points at 1700 hours Terran Standard Time on the 27th of December 2766. The APOTHEOSIS plans called for several events to happen concurrently, with the seizure of the two jump points being one of the first actions; after assuming control of the various Castles Brian on Dieron using acts of terrorism as cover, the Rim Worlds forces on Dieron were supposed to isolate and secure the planetary HPG at the same time as the naval forces were seizing the jump point, isolating Dieron and leaving it unable to communicate with the rest of the Hegemony. Republican forces were then to aggressively target Star League Defense Force bases and facilities on Dieron, reducing any resistance before the SLDF had any idea what had happened.[1]

It is unclear whether Eukai received incomplete orders or simply failed to understand them, but what is clear is that Eukai didn't order his forces to seize the planetary HPG at the required time. Eukai and his forces scrambled to try and initiate their phase of the plan as soon as the distress calls issued by vessels at the two jump points arrived at Dieron, seventy-five minutes after the first attacks, but by then it was too late.[1]

Despite the bulk of the SLDF being present in the Periphery attempting to deal with the Periphery Uprising there were still a substantial number of SLDF personnel present on Dieron when APOTHEOSIS began. Dieron was the headquarters of both a complete Military Region within the Draconis Combine and the SLDF 14th Army, leading to a substantial number of military personnel in place regardless of 14th Army deployments, and there were also large numbers of retired and reserve personnel on Dieron, as well as regular personnel on leave. As soon as the first distress called reached Dieron the planetary Governor, Paolo Varellas, and the senior military officer, Major General Annika Tellman, declared a state of emergency. While the Governor called for the population to peacefully oppose the Republicans in any way possible, General Tellman opened the four Castles Brian present on Dieron to anyone that wanted to flee the occupation. Governor Varellas also fired off a distress call via the planetary HPG to every Hegemony transmitter within a fifty light year radius, although all of the transmitters that could have received the distress call were already in Republican hands.[1]

The swift action by Tellman and Varellas prevented Eukai's Republican forces from seizing either the planetary capital or Fort Hallik, the Castle Brian that contained the 14th Army HQ. There were relatively few SLDF combat forces present on Dieron, but those forces that were present marshalled under Tellman's orders and fought a holding action against the Republican forces, which Eukai led in a relatively straightforward campaign to try and gain control of the world. With tens of thousands of people sheltering within the Castles Brian, including much of the planetary leadership, Tellman sealed the four Castles before the Republicans could gain access and settled in for a siege.[1]

Eukai ordered his forces to sever the SLDF communications using a mixture of conventional and nuclear strikes against the various communications relays in place, which also prevented the SLDF from operating the local Space Defense System; in turn, Tellman ordered the SLDF to destroy the auxiliary command centers for the SDS network, preventing Eukai from gaining control over it. Eukai easily assumed control of Dieron and the Republicans swiftly placed their own puppet rulers in place, but tens of thousands of former and serving SLDF personnel amongst the population took up arms against the Republicans, combining with the ever-present threat of the four intact Castles Brian to create perhaps the most threatening planetary resistance anywhere in the former Hegemony.[1]

Eukai had failed at almost every objective he was given; he had failed to secure the HPG transmitter, which had subsequently been destroyed by Republican forces to prevent the SLDF calling for assistance; he failed to gain control of the SDS, failed to reduce the four Castles Brian and failed to remove the SLDF presence from Dieron. Eukai's replacement arrived on Dieron on the 10th of January, passing orders to Eukai that ordered him to report personally to Emperor Stefan Amaris; Eukai made his appearance before the Emperor on the 28th of January, where he was publicly executed for his incompetence.[1] Eukai's death served Amaris in more ways than one; as a part of his attempts to consolidate power over the Hegemony, Amaris attempted to portray his coup in a benevolant light; Eukai was one of a number of Republican officers who were publicly executed for "war crimes", as an attempt to downplay reports of atrocities on the part of the Republican armed forces. Eukai went to his grave with the title "The Butcher of Dieron".[2]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 82-83, "Fortress Dieron"
  2. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 86, "The Usurper Emperor"

Bibliography[edit]