The History of the Reshtarc Marine Force.
During the time of Linelord K'Baal epetai-Reshtarc, the Marines of the Reshtarc Line were an impressive and much feared fighting force. Their training, equipment and tenacity were at the highest levels imaginable. The Leadership was also superior, and cooperation and moral between the Marines and the House Navy was at an all time high, due in much part to K'Baal's recognition that combined arms operations are much more successful, than two independant forces in competition. K'Baal's younger brother, Mellik, kept a high esprit de corps among his troops, and even the mighty Hurric Marines recognized the Reshtarc Marines as an excellent fighting force, even to the point of forming a friendly rivalry with the greater line's troops.
All this however, changed after the dissappearance of K'Baal and Mellik, who led a the Reshtarc Expiditionary Force into the Kinshaya Wormhole, never to return.
Korek, youngest of K'Baal's son's, took the Reshtarc throne after the High Council proclaimed K'Baal dead. Even K'Baal's eldest son, K'Paal, had dissappeared on some classified mission, and was claimed lost. The High Council demanded a new Linelord for the Empires most powerful line. And Korek took power in 2299, and became the 26th Lord of the Line.
Under Lord Korek, a decorated naval officer, the Reshtarc Navy was rebuilt, to cover the losess encured by the REF. The Marines however remained understrength. In 2320, Korek's son, M'gerth, was given command of all house troops. He was a petty dictator, who fancied himself the new linelord. His self serving actions and commands did not escape the senior generals and commanders of the Marines, who soon plotted M'gerth's death. M'Gerth acted quickly when he learned of the threat, hiring an entire assassins tong to elimnate the entire Marine General Staff and those officers that he could not count on as being loyal solely to himself.
In one night M'Gerth managed to elimnate every combat experienced officer in the House Marines. What was left to take their place were self serving "career officers" who were more concerned with advancement than leading troops to glory in combat. There were mass grumblings from the rank and file, their disapproval at having to follow such officers led to several executions among the non-commissioned officers, resulting in a massive decline in moral and combat efficency, as well as driving many of the surviving junior officers and NCO's from house service, and back into the Imperial Marine's.
The Reshtarc Marines were soon to be tested in battle however. During the Battle of Grac and the 90 Day War against the Cardassians, the House Marines took crippling losess, and were finially driven from the field of battle in disgrace. These two defeats were enough to cause Lord Korek to order the death of his own son, and vow to keep the House Marines as a reserve force, to keep them from ever embarrasing the Line again.
Over the decades the conditions within the Line Troops did not change. If anything, it became worse. The Reshtarc Marines were reduced to a peasent infantry, with little formal training, and equipment often years out of date. No longer a viable assault force, the House became dependant on Kelranni as an attack force, much to the further embasassment of the house troopers.
When K'Paal overthrew Lord K'Veth in 2370, he was disgusted at the state of dispair and degeneration that had befallen a highly motavated ground force that was once led by his uncle Mellik, to victory after victory. This situation was only further proven when the Flagship of the Reshtarc Line, the IRV Stormbringer, had an entire marine contingent, completely composed of Hurric Troops. Determined to turn the situation around, K'Paal turned to his close friend and allie, Marrik sutai-Hurric. He wanted the Hurric and his personal followers to retrain the remains of the Reshtarc Marine Force.
Marrik, after researching what remained of the troops, gave K'Paal a list of things that needed to be changed.
K'Paal took these points to heart, and asked Marrik to recruit the necessary number of Hurric trainers he would need to complete the operation. Soon House Marrik of the Hurric Line began the long process of reorginazition and retraining of the Reshtarc Mairne Force.
Meanwhile, the Hurric, fearing Marrik's close alliance with the empires most powerful family, began to censure him and his followers. Eventually leading to the Hurric asking Marrik to leave, before a Linewar ensued. This forced Marrik, and those that stood with him, to seek out K'Paal epetai-Reshtarc, who absorbed all of House Marrik, into the Resharc Line.
Posting Marrik to Commander of the Reshtarc Marine Force, and holding him, as a Reshtarc, personally responsible for the Line Ground Forces, K'Paal brought the alliance with his friend to an all new level, much to the disgust of the Hurric, who broke off all diplomatic ties with the Reshtarc.
The finial completion of training lasted just over one year, when two of the first units to be completed, the cavalry unit Reshtarc Lancers and the armor unit Marriks Maulers, were to take part in the Invasion of Cardassia in late 2372, under the command of Marrik himself. Both units won several victories in combat, including the capture of the planet Reva IV, alongside the marines of the Lines Lorenssith and Ghol'jub. It was during the occupation of Reva IV that the determination and ruthlessness of the Reshtarc Fleet was once more felt in the Empire. A food riot had broken out in the capitol city. K'Paal ordered Marrik, whose combat force was camped just outside the city, to disperse the crowds and enforce martial law on the populace. Marrik ordered the Lancers to use their explosive tipped lances, and the Maulers armored vehicles, and charge headlong into the throngs. This tactic worked only too well, many rioters learned to never doubt the extreme lengths the Reshtarc Marines would use to ensure total victory, as the death toll reached into the thousands.
When news of the combat victories and the smashing of the riot reached the Reshtarc Troops at home, a resurgence of honor and respect was felt by all the Line Marines. A new age for the Marines was born, and woe to any that douted them again.
Since their reformation, the Reshtarc Marine Force has fought numerous battles against the Cardassians and Dominion, as well as the marines of the IKS. Although in some battles the casualties have been high, the Reshtarc have yet to taste defeat again, often going to suicidial length's to achieve victory. In 2373, Lord K'Paal, becoming mentally unstable, grew wary of the growing power and influence of his Marine Leader and his allies within the line, and ordered the executions of several key leaders within the Reshtarc Marine Force. This action caused a great anger among the ground forces, who feared the past repeating itself. Eventually, a revolt by the house marines ensued, leading to the overthrow of K'Paal and the installition of the Marine Force Commander, Lord Marrik, as Linelord. The Reshtarc Marine Force would not allow itself to be returned to the shameful status it had recently recovered from.
Lord Marrik has kept the peace between the Marines and Navy of the Line, and is working to return the mutual respect and cooperation of the services that existed during the time of K'Baal. If anything, the Marine's are now in assendance in the Line, many serve as the crew of the Line Flagship, and hold more positions of power within the line than at any other time in the nearly four-hundred year history of the Reshtarc line.
Currently, the Reshtarc Marine Force has re-established itself as one of the premire fighting forces in the Empire, and the galaxy itself.
By:Andrew Gulbrandsen
©A.Gulbrandsen