Warship Blue Aerie, In Orbit,

Einstein, Deep Periphery,

6^th March 3068

 

"I am very disappointed in all of you." The anger in Galaxy Commander Lizabet Danforth's voice was unmistakable to the Jade Falcon officers sitting around the conference table. After the battles of the day, the Galaxy Commander had gathered her senior officers for a debriefing, as well as to plan the next day's attack.

Placing her hands on the table while standing, Lizabet leaned forward. "Three trinaries. Three trinaries lost!” She shouted. “Against a pack of rabble money soldiers! And we've destroyed only seven units, the equivalent of two battalions! And some of these were not even mechs! What are your surat commanders thinking? Did they assume easy victories? A walk in the park? At the rate we are going, there won't be a Rho Galaxy left by the time we are finished! Who knows, we might even be the vanquished here!" She slammed her hands on the table to emphasize her point.

Star Colonel Mikos Roshak tried to mollify his furious commander. "Commander, there was no way we could have avoided those losses. Many of the troops are still unused to the dirty tricks the Inner Sphere freebirths employ. Certainly one of the losses was a result of a star captain following the rules of zellbrigen when his opponent offered to do the same…"

She waved off his explanation. "And it turned out to be a well timed trap. Star Captain Koliac was too naïve. And because of his error, he is now dead, and his entire Nova lost. It is very possible that his mechs have been salvaged by the Lancers, which makes them even more difficult to defeat the next time. I have already decided, Star Captain Daniela Mattlov will lead her Supernova against the Lancers on the fourth day, after defeating the remaining mercenary group remaining in her operations area. Her command was the only one not to have lost a single warrior in the day's battles, so I am giving her the task of facing the Lancers and regaining our lost honour."

"What about the group with the Dragoons?" Star Colonel Creed Mattlov asked. He was infuriated at the defeat of his warriors at the hands of poorly led mercenaries and a group of lowly tanks.

"The trinary that engaged them lost all its officers, so I am reassigning the surviving warriors to units that have suffered losses in the day. Despite their victory, all indications are that the Dragoons, and the other two mercenary units with them, are badly damaged as well. We cannot afford them too much time to recover. I want another trinary to go after them, one from the 124th Striker. After destroying the Dragoons and the Lancers, we will then be free to commit our best troops against the other rabble. So far, these are the most troublesome units to deal with."

"Galaxy Commander, about the aerospace support…"

"My orders have not changed. Only those units facing mercenaries with similar aerospace units will have their fighters. The remaining fighters will remain as a strategic reserve under Star Commodore Valten Folkner's command."

She paused. "One more thing, many of the battles tomorrow are star on lance battles. I expect nothing less than total victory this time. Dismissed."

As the Star Colonels filed out of the room, Valten Folkner, who had been standing impassively in a corner and watching the debriefing, unfolded his arms and sat down on one of the chairs around the conference table, giving Star Colonel Roshak an evil grin as the mechwarrior left the room.

He waited until the last Star Colonel had left the room before speaking.

"So, Galaxy Commander, what is your game?"

Lizabet blinked once, then recovered quickly.

"I have no idea what you mean."

Valten snorted. "You do not fool me. You had already suspected that this was what would happen. You knew that losses would be heavy, and some battles will be lost. You tempted them to lower their bids to dangerous levels, then sent them in without adequate air support. In short, you gave them enough opportunity to disgrace themselves. This is your intention, quiaff?"

"Aff. You are perceptive. I will be honest with you, because I may need your assistance soon. You must know that one of the Khan's motives in sending Rho Galaxy here was to relegate me to the ranks of the solahma after our success. I do not wish for such a fate, so I am forced to enact this plan that should enable me to retain my warrior status when we return."

He nodded. "By disgracing your subordinates, you remove them from running for the position of Galaxy Commander, and by commanding Rho Galaxy personally, crushing the mercenaries, you gain glory such that you can stay on as Galaxy Commander. Even better, by playing on your success and contribution to the clan by your victory here, you might even be able to challenge for the Khanship. Clever, very clever."

"And by saying all this, you are hoping to gain no small amount of credit as well, quiaff?" She did not wait for an answer. She did not have to. "Very well, if my plan succeeds, you will be well rewarded."

"Thank you. By the way, have you gone through the reports concerning the initial interrogation of the defeated mercenaries?"

"Aff. Only one commander survived, but the information we obtained was…most interesting. He claims that the Star League bases present were not just for research, but also to examine alien artifacts found here! I have never heard of such a presposterous claim!"

"I am not too sure of that. There is convincing evidence for his statements. The things he calls the Spidercrabs, for example. The scientists we have on world have examined the metal remains and said they had never seen such advanced drone technology before."

"They are just Star League discoveries which have yet to reach the glorious Star League. Of course, there may indeed be aliens about. But if so, they should already have appeared. No, this is just another Inner Sphere ploy to scare us away. No matter what, we will need to retrieve all the data and items recovered from the bases by the mechs to succeed in our mission."

The amount they did have after defeating some of the mercenaries had sent the scientists accompanying them into deep throes of ecstasy. All of them were currently so engrossed in their work that they were neglecting sleep and food in their relentless pursuit of knowledge. Already the lead scientist had informed her that it is entirely possible that some of the recovered research could have immediate military applications, once they managed to return to the homeworlds.

"Aff. It is too dangerous to stay in the hands of the Inner Sphere. We will need to wipe them out utterly. No word of this must pass to the other clans, or the Great Houses."

"So what about the four jumpships that escaped us?"

"I have sent the other ships in the fleet to some of the adjacent systems. So far, there has been no trace of the escaped ships. My guess is that they are still in system. I would wager my bloodname that they are currently hiding within the system's asteroid belt."

"Then search them out and capture them!"

"It is a huge expanse of space. It will not be easy, nor quick. They are certainly being cautious to keep their EM signatures to a minimum. The one thing in our favor is that they are unable to unfurl their jumpsails for energy collection, and must use their onboard reactors for recharging. It will certainly take them longer to achieve full charge this way, as they are sure to hot charge as slowly as possible to avoid damage to their jump coils."

"You have told me this before, so that leaves us with only four days at the most to find them before they escape."

"Neg. They will not escape, not without the mercenaries. From the reports I have just obtained from the questioning of the captured jumpship crews, the owner of those four elusive vessels is one Forsen Mandela. He is currently on the planet. I doubt that his ships, his personnel will leave the system without him."

"Which group of mercenaries is he with? What are our chances that we can capture him?"

Valten stared at her. "You would know the answer to that question best. He is with the Dragoons off the dropship Nile."

"Stravag! And how long have you known this?"

Valten smiled slyly. "Just before the briefing. It was not too important, so I did not mention it. One way or another, Forsen would have fallen into our hands, and so will his jumpships. It is just a matter of time. In fact, not defeating the Dragoons woiuld be better for us in the long run. If Forsen had been captured, there would not be any more reason for the jumpships to stick around. They will have jumped out as soon as possible. Trapping him on the planet for as long as possible gives us the time to seek out the jumpships. On the other hand, we must still exert some pressure on the mercenaries to force them to remain onworld, as well as to avoid suspicion of our true goals."

"And having your warship around will certainly keep them onworld, forcing them to defeat my Galaxy before they could leave. It seems that our plan is almost flawless. Not only will the clan prosper, but I may finally get the chance to cement my position as a warrior once and for all."

She hesitated for a while, pondering her next question.

"To confirm our alliance, and as a down payment for your aid, would you like to come to my quarters tonight?"

He did not have to think twice. "Aff. It should be…stimulating."

 

The Goosebumps, Drop Zone Epsilon,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Through the rapidly darkening skies, falling gradually into night, Star Captain Daniela Mattlov maneuvered her Warhawk through the dense hills of the area the mercenaries had called the Goosebumps, for the sheer similarity of the area to its namesake when viewed from above. Up and down the hills, her assault Star harried the fleeing mercenaries as they fled towards the sanctuary of another mercenary unit that was just situated two hundred kilometers to the north. She used the name Goosebumps as well, for it was especially appropriate for this area.

Daniela did not intend for her prey to escape.

She had sent her star of fast lights in an encircling move that would bring them across the mercenaries' path in about two minutes. That should hold up the mercs enough for her star to arrive and destroy.

Moving in a wedge formation, the star of assault clan mechs steadily advanced past the Goosebumps. Composed of Daniela's Warhawk, two Gargoyles, a Summoner, and a Night Gyr, it could put out impressive firepower.

Soon enough, explosions could be seen in the distance, signifying the arrival and attack of the light star. Urging her star on, Daniela charged her PPCs and lasers, and ran a quick systems check on her targeting computer to ensure its proper operation. No mechwarrior would want to go into battle without an optimum mech performance.

Cresting the last hill separating the embroiled mercenaries and her mechs, she saw her light star ably holding off the mercs as they tried to break through to safety. With the arrival of her star, it was a vain hope.

None of the six mercenary mechs had been destroyed yet, but all had suffered different degrees of damage. Targeting the heaviest and least damaged mech, a deadly Warhammer, Daniela paused only to issue a short challenge before triggering her weapons. “Enemy Warhammer, this is Star Captain Daniela Mattlov. Prepare to be defeated.” She fired her entire arsenal of PPCs and pulse lasers.

Almost immediately, the cockpit was suffused with a blast of hot air, as the mech's double heat sinks worked to vent the heat. Sweat broke out over her body, but true to her training, she was not distracted in the least by the discomfort.

Aided by the targeting computer, the Warhawk's weapons punched into the Warhammer, removing three tons of armor in less than a second. Incredibly, the pilot of the Warhammer managed to stay upright, and even snapped off two PPC shots in return.

One of the PPC hit the Warhawk in the left shoulder, but the damage was negligible considering the amount of protection on the mech. Disregarding the range advantage of her mech over the Warhammer, Daniela closed in with her opponent. Meanwhile, the other mechs of her star moved in, those not involved in the zellbrigen taking up overwatch positions to prevent the escape of the mercs.

If the mercenaries had no idea of their predicament before, they certainly knew it now. Combining fire on two mechs of the light star, an Adder and a Kit Fox, they tried to open a hole in the perimeter formed by the Falcons.

It was to no avail. Having broken the rules of zellbrigen, the mercs were only hastening the inevitable. The Falcon mechs, having been freed from the strict rules of dueling by the mercenaries' indiscretion, now combined fire to devastating effect.

All except the Warhammer, which Daniela had claimed for herself. Opting only to fire her two PPCs to bring her heat down to more manageable levels, she hit with only one, splashing armor off the Warhammer's torso.

With the battle now occurring at medium ranges, the mercenaries were able to bring more of their weapons to bear. With the bulk of the mercenaries pressing hard against the Falcon line to the north, only the Warhammer and a battered Griffin were holding their rear against six Falcon mechs.

The Griffin lasted for all of five seconds, as its armor was punctured in several places, the rest of the unexpended energy going on to shatter the internal structure. The fusion engine, broken in several places, released its energy in a ground shaking explosion. The poor Griffin did not even get a reply shot off. The pilot did not eject.

The Warhammer fared better, lashing out with its full arsenal of PPCs, lasers, and SRM packs as it went head to head with Daniela's Warhawk. Daniela had to struggle to keep the mech upright as all the shots hit, scouring armor all over the Warhawk. Thankfully, the wide dispersal of the damage meant that the mech was still relatively intact. Snarling her teeth in anger, she answered with a full salvo from her own weapons.

The Warhammer, already reeling from the damage inflicted by the Jade Falcon, simply stood no chance against such a potent display of clan weapon superiority. The PPCs stabbed into the heart of the mech, destroying its engine, while the pulse lasers blew both arms of the mech clean off. The pilot was smart enough to eject once the shots hit; there was no way he could have survived otherwise. Resisting the urge to blow apart the ejected pilot, and soon to be bondsman, Daniela turned her attention to the rest of the battle.

The other four mercenary mechs lasted for only a little while longer, their gambit to push to the north failing miserably. Taken apart by the concentrated firepower of the clanners, there was no other possible outcome.

For Star Captain Daniela Mattlov, it had been a long day.

 

Climbing down from the cockpit of her mech onto a nearby loading crane, Daniela Mattlov sighed heavily as she considered the task facing her and her unit in the coming days. The failure of Star Captain Koliac meant that her Supernova's tactical responsibility in the campaign had increased by as much as fifty percent. That meant less leeway for losses, both in terms of personnel and material.

Tall as a supermodel, and just as attractive, the blonde warrior had lost count of the number of times she had been approached for coupling. Even in the decidedly gender neutral and meritocratic society of the Clans, somehow many of the other male warriors she had met assumed that she got to where she was now by her looks, and not her ability as a warrior.

It always took a Circle of Equals to change their attitudes. Nobody repeated the same mistake after that. That is if they were still alive by then, she thought wryly to herself.

After checking with her second in command about the current status of the bondsmen they had just 'accepted', she stepped into her makeshift office in the camp they had captured from the defeated mercenaries. It had not taken the support crews long to set it up according clan standards.

Currently occupied by a battered desk, probably belonging to the mercenary commander who was the previous user of this portable office, the room had a spartan feel about it, exacerbated by the presence of the only other piece of furniture in the room, a simple plastic foldable chair which could double as a bed in a clinch.

Nonetheless, it was all she had at the moment, and the computer sitting on the desk was to her an essential piece of equipment, indispensable for the checking of logistics, mission objectives and the like.

Tiredly plopping herself onto the chair, she began to write up a report of the day's actions. One thing that irked her greatly was the Galaxy Commander's insistence on having commanders typing up accurate reports themselves, rather than relying on lowly techs to do the job for them. The reason was to have full accountability for officers, but Daniela personally believed that it was to make life hell for junior officers.

All the better to criticize for the higher ups, she assumed. Nobody had such problems during the clan invasion, though the inflated reports then made life very difficult for the clan in the months after Tukayyid.

Having completed the report after an hour's hammering at the keyboard, she moved onto her next task, reading up the file on her next assignment, destroying the Arch Lancers. Knowing is half the battle, she reminded herself.

Interesting, these mercenaries. She thought as she read their records. They do not lack skill, but they have managed to thrive in the madhouse of the Chaos March.

Daniela was atypical for a Jade Falcon in that she paid attention to the events in the rest of known space. Though the Chaos March was far from the Jade Falcons' present position, she believed that knowing the present situation would ease matters when the Khan finally unleashed them on the Inner Sphere.

She was particularly intrigued by the record of its commander, Major Ian Dorlacen. No mention was made of his place of birth, nor where he received his education. It stated that he trained as a mechwarrior with the Green Mountain Boys, but from what the Clan Watch had gathered of that unit from the captured jumpship personnel, she could not believe them capable of producing such a warrior.

From that assumption, she could only conclude that Dorlacen received his training elsewhere, or he actually succeeded despite the training he received. Either way, he would be a formidable opponent, and she certainly will not take him and his unit lightly.

They probably specialize in unusual tactics. Star Captain Koliac was caught out by their unexpected use of zellbrigen, as well as their willingness to fight at ranges more advantageous to us. Let the opponents settle in, then 'pull the rug' from under them. Crafty. Daniela knew that utmost caution must be held when fighting the Arch Lancers. Who knows what other filthy inner sphere tricks they have? She realized that their experience in the Chaos March must have exposed them to plenty of innovative anti-mech tactics. In all likelihood, they have incorporated these tactics into their own.

A slow cautious advance might be the best tactic to use. Though that would leave her vulnerable to hit and run tactics, with proper use of terrain and her light mechs, that could be minimized. Pressing bit by bit, she could also exploit their range advantage to the utmost. Although her tactics may not go down well with her superiors, the taste of success is always sweet.

Most importantly, she knew that she could not fail. The fate of her clan rested on Rho Galaxy’s ability to win this world.