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The Crucible Campaign: The Liberators

The "liberators" were four admirals, three of them located in Corridor, and the Regency Chief of Naval Operations:

Christian Olympios was the newly appointed CNO after Arthurian sacked his "incompetent" predecessor, the widely esteemed Admiral Achimala Sylvester. Olympios had been the sector admiral for Deneb previously, and was politically neutral. But he abhorred the Regent's amateur military strategies and authoritarian pretensions from the very beginning, and he was one of the masterminds behind the Liberators. When Arthurian promoted him to CNO, Olympios first act was to persuade his boss to recall several combat experienced admirals from Corridor. But he vaguely worded the request in a way that implicitly recalled their forces as well. Arthurian gave his assent, and was surprised three months later by the appearance of a well equipped fleet ravaging his main base of support. Olympios later placed the Black Regent under virtual house arrest, prior to his being deposed, tried and executed by the Regency Senate. Olympios later became the second Chancellor of the Commonwealth.

Surya Ramuun was one of the most vocal opponents to Arthurian and his war plans. A conservative born on Pallique, she had advanced to the number three position in the admiralty through a sterling career as a frontline commander and administrator. Her "relocation" to sector admiral of Corridor was a controversial move, as she was fluent in Zhodani, and had fought the Dawn Heralders for nearly twenty years. But she was well versed in unconventional warfare and counterinsurgency, which came in handy in the defense of the sector against marauding Vilani forces. She was a tall blond from what was once a minor noble house, and a natural leader. But her greatest asset was her ability to command respect from the disparate officers dumped into her command by Arthurian's purges, and getting them to put aside their egos for a common cause. Ramuun was not only instrumental in defeating the Vilani, but she secured Corridor against other marauders during her subordinates dash through Deneb to Mora and Tobia despite a lack of materials and manpower. She managed Operation Polar Kilowatt, the quick invasion of the spinward-coreward quadrant of Vland Sector. Ramuun died of a cerebral hemorrhage in NE 54, still on active duty as Corridor Sector Admiral.

Elizabeth Bonesteel was widely regarded as Rhylanor's greatest living naval officer since Olav Plankwell. A dashing and flamboyant bon vivant without much of family background (and an average academic record) she had blazed her way at an unusually young age to the upper echelons of the Regency Navy in a number of successful assignments. Her tendency to speak her mind to Arthurian's handpicked "mummies" in the Admiralty got her demoted to a fleet command. The "mummies" attempted a renaissance of old-style set-piece battles not seen since the early days of the Fifth Frontier War, flying in the face of naval doctrine set down in Norris's day. By contrast Bonesteel was a master of this doctrine, and she was at her best in tactical coordination and strategic planning, and was a master of combined arms and fluid naval campaigns. Fortunately she had been a protege of Olympios, and her former commander got her placed in Corridor instead of sent to the stockade. Recalled by Arthurian, she led the Blue Fleet Group on its dash across Deneb to Pretoria, pivoted to Aramis and Inthe/Regina to smash a large Zhodani fleet group, and commanded the defense of both Rhylanor and the Great Race. She ended up being promoted to four stripes after the recapture of Lunion Subsector, and commanded the fleet that recaptured Foreven and Ziafrplians. Never an adroit politician, she retired as an honorary "skymaster" in NE 55. She officially resides on Mora, but remains an active participant upon the National Defense Council.

Hiroe Kayoi was a native of Pretoria. In contrast to Bonesteel, she was a highly active political admiral, and led the opposition from the frontlines to Arthurian after the debacle in Tienspevnekr sector. She was promptly court-martialed after returning to Mora, and was exiled to Corridor. Olympios made her his point in the sector, coordinating logistics and instructions. She and a select group of special ops troops hijacked the transfer of the Avalon Cache fleet to the recalled admirals, parceling them out to loyal Corridor forces instead of the handpicked troops assigned by the mummies. Kayoi was a solid commander honed by the Long Retreat. She did not project fearlessness like Bonesteel, rather her strength was in deed rather than word. When Arthurian's bungling opened up the Outrim to new attack by the resurgent Aslan, she moved the Red Fleet Group to Tobia, rallied the leaderless local naval forces, and slowly crushed the Aslan between the fortress worlds of Neumann and Glisten. For her decisive victory at the former, she was promoted back to full admiral. She ended the Trojan Reach campaign with a decisive victory in the Borderlands, and wheeled coreward to liberate Avalaran space from the Zhodani. After the declared end of the Crucible War, she was made the senior occupation administrator for Iadr Nsobl Theater, and established the successful occupation strategy still used by the Corps and Navy today. She retired from the Navy in NE 59, and is currently the governor of the People's Republic federation.