THE BLUE SUN DEFENSE FORCE
Blue Sun is another location that looks to its own devices in May 2520. Abandoned by the Alliance Navy and still faced with the threat of Reavers and more usual sorts of disorder, the various worlds of Blue Sun send delegates to Meridian to discuss the creation of local defense forces. The Alliance garrison commander (loyal to the Rump Parliament) attempts to arrest these delegates for sedition, leading to a short but violent coup carried out by local militia leaders. Individual Alliance Army units on other worlds in Blue Sun make their own separate peaces with locals to avoid further bloodshed. Afterwards, the Meridian delegates express their allegiance to the Alliance in principle, but choose to officially remain neutral in the Core Civil War.
When the Alliance Navy pulled out of Blue Sun in May 2520, it left behind small Alliance Army garrisons on Meridian, Muir, Highgate, and Deadwood. These forces are down to company strength on each world. They have withdrawn to cantons in farming areas, where they are serving as both local security and as the Alliance presence on each world. Each garrison possesses a small number of ASREV's and similar craft used for liaison and patrol duties.
The "Blue Sun Defense Force" (BSDF), having only limited resources and manpower, puts out a call to any civilian vessels willing to serve in a "Blue Sun Volunteer Navy". In exchange for working designated patrol routes for fixed periods of time, or for being available for mobilization, the BSDC will pay crews a stipend - not much, just beans, bullets, and booze money. They will also supply weaponry in limited amounts.
Likewise, ground forces are primarily being supplied either by local militias or by the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), based on Meridian. The RDF is a brand new unit composed of volunteer companies from each world in Blue Sun, under a battalion command structure. The officers and NCO's are mainly Alliance Army veterans or defectors, soldiers who left service once the fighting started. It is understrength and underequipped, but serves as a nucleus for growth. If a BSDF ship carries ship's troops, they will almost certainly be RDF. The RDF is receiving some limited funding from the Coronne Mining Council, which has suffered losses on Shenzhou since the Alliance navy withdrew.
The primary opponents are pirates, now plaguing the region in numbers not seen for years. Some are "Dust Devils", a few are rumored to be Navy units turned to piracy. Most are just generally scumbags who hope to avoid the newly active Alliance Navy in other systems. A general drop in the amount of shipping in Blue Sun has caused pirates to prefer to use Blue Sun as a base and raid other systems. Instead, pirates have been making more attacks on isolated settlements to acquire supplies and slaves, in between their raids against shipping elsewhere. Blue Sun is at risk of becoming a pirate haven if something drastic isn't done.
Reavers are also making a comeback after a few good years without seeing them. The Miranda Blockade has been abandoned, though the region around it has been mined extensively by the Alliance Navy. As a result, the Reavers who have been hiding out in the Uroborus Belt and the deep Black are returning to Miranda and becoming a menace once more. Some people say they are getting craftier, but this is probably hogwash.