Zenith Jump Point, Irian
Free Worlds League
19 November 3050
Thomas Marik realised immediately the hatch opened the reasons that the Commonwealth dropship was holding position without thrust instead of
maintaining a comfortable one gravity of acceleration. Hanse Davion's face was typically ruddy on public broadcasts but now it was grey and the lines were
pronounced. He's almost a decade older than me, the Captain-General reminded himself, but he's ruled half the Inner Sphere for longer than I have
governed the League.
"I was told to expect a high level envoy," he said lightly, entering the compartment. "I admit, I didn't expect you. SAFE
reported your collapse but thought you had entered a medical retreat on Argyle."
Hanse shook his head. "I haven't returned to Argyle in twenty-five years," he confessed. "Too much time in the dungeons
there."
Thomas blinked. "You mean that old tale of being replaced by an imposter and locked away was the truth?" he asked in surprise as
Hanse gestured towards a seat opposite him at the room's small table. "I thought it no more than someone's overactive imagination." The hatch
closed behind him, leaving Thomas' lone guard matching stares with the Davion marine outside it and the two rulers in unheard of privacy.
The First Prince smiled weakly. "I don't know what tale you were told, but Maxmillian Liao did indeed arrange a scheme to replace me
with a brainwashed body-double. He very nearly succeeded, only the brave intervention of some loyal officers was able to free me and then prove my identity to
the court." He shrugged. "It seems astonishing after all this time that such a plan could come so close to success, that an imposter could replace
one of the Successor Lords."
"Yes," Thomas agreed. "And yet you triumphed and went on to greater triumphs over the next decade." His eyes narrowed.
"But I doubt that you requested this meeting to discuss history, Prince Davion. Saving for yourself and your lovely bride, no two Successor Lords have met
in person since your wedding day and I doubt that you have broken that circumstance for trivialities."
"You are correct," Hanse said. "But first, some background information." He pulled out a paper chart of the Inner Sphere.
"I am sure you are aware that the 'heavy raiding' that has been reported on the Periphery is in fact an overwhelming invasion. This should show
you the extent of the problem that my wife and I face."
Thomas unfolded the chart and traced a bold orange line that ran along the border of his own Free Worlds League with the Lyran Commonwealth
and then rose erratically through the worlds of Donegal. Worlds to the left of the line were marked with blood red squares and despite a handful of salients,
it was clear that the line marked where the borders of the Commonwealth had been driven back by almost a hundred lightears, more in places for one of those
sanguine salients drive almost to the faint curved line that by convention marked out the distance of two hundred and fifty light years from Terra itself.
Closer to the top of the chart, another mass of green squares and a loose trail of brown squares marked more lost worlds before a dotted line cut across the
top of the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Draconis Combine.
The brief temptation to gloat, to jibe at the terrible losses suffered by the leviathan neighbour that had cast its shadow across his entire
reign, rose within Thomas but he clamped down on it. "How sure are you of the losses taken by the Combine and the Republic?"
"Confident," Hanse told him. He handed over a disc. "This contains full details of how we worked it out. Your own analysts can
look it over but put briefly, ComStar notifies only the rulers of a lost world. For others they continue to provide economic data, produced from past records.
We simply identified how they calculated that data and used it to pick out worlds where that calculation matched what was being reported. The Republic is half
gone. The Combine is not so badly off of course, but the invaders - Clan Smoke Jaguar being the specific group that they are facing - are perilously close to
Luthien."
Thomas' brow furrowed. "I wonder why they are doing that. Granted I could hardly see you and Takashi Kurita forming a combined
front, but that sounds almost as if..."
"I'm sure that if asked, the Primus would piously state that it was not ComStar's right to divulge that information to rival
states, and that in fact it might violate their neutrality."
"Hmm." Thomas shrugged and looked the chart over again. The only parts he was previously sure of were the sections nearer his own
borders, but they were certainly extensive losses. "So, are you going to tell me how they have managed to throw the vaunted Armed Forces of the Federated
Commonwealth back so successfully? Some of these worlds were quite well defended: I should know, some of them were being defended against my father a few
decades ago."
"Partly surprise," admitted Hanse candidly. "They didn't catch us totally offguard - there were reports of raiding in the
periphery and I was concerned enough to send three regiments of the Lyran Guards out to stiffen the periphery defenses but I never considered the possibility
of more than some heavy raiding. As far as we can estimate, the invaders have numbers at least as high as those of the Capellan Confederation's full
strength and their technology is even higher than that of the old Star League. There's a download here, but fighting them is nightmarish. You know what was
deployed on Poulsbo: a full Regimental Combat Team and more than half of a ComGuards Division. They got rolled over within a day."
"That is worrying."
"Yes. It's taken us a while to piece together a picture of their war machine Captain-General," Hanse said. "I'm providing you with that
information as well," he indicated a box of data chips on the room's shelf. "Consider it a gift. They have superior Mechs, Aerospace Fighters and
Tanks, as well as armoured infantry and some kind of ultralight mechs that are giving us fits. It's only recently, with the news from a raid carried out on
Twycross, that we've even established that they are human."
Thomas Marik was not, by profession, a soldier. He had had the customary military training that the Marik family had demanded of their scions
for almost a thousand years and since taking the reins of power had taken sufficient training that he could proficiently handle a Battlemech. He had led his
nation through the Andurien War and was as certain as he could be that there was no one with any better chance than he had of holding the League together if
the Commonwealth had decided to crush them.
But it was not until he looked into Hanse Davion's eyes that he knew the gulf that lay between his experiences and those of Hanse Davion
who had risen through the ranks of his own military with meteoric speed not entirely due to his royal birth and had ordered men to their deaths in battle
before his brother's death had elevated him to the throne of the then Federated Suns. Hanse Davion knew, far better than Thomas, the hell that was being
demanded of his soldiers. And he would still order it, no matter how much it cost him.
"Who was it?" Thomas asked. "Hasek-Davion?" He knew that the Marshal of Armies was personally directing the war
front.
Hanse looked away. "My son," he whispered.
A long silence fell between them.
"Why did you ask me to meet you here?" Thomas asked at last.
Hanse smiled sadly. "You said that you could not see me forming an alliance with Takashi," he reminded him. "You're right.
I don't believe that I could. Theodore perhaps. He's more pragmatic than his father. But even if I could, the benefits would be limited. We're both
already stripping our mutual borders to face the Clans and are fully engaged in it. And I hope that you don't imagine that there could ever be any alliance
between Romano Liao and I. So. If I want an ally in this war..."
Thomas's jaw dropped. "You want me to become your ally? To fight the clans? You've just told me how savagely they have worked
you over and your armed forces are more than three times the size of the League's military!"
"I know. But believe me, Captain-General, they will come for you. The Clans are sparing you now only so that they can concentrate on the
more dangerous of the Successor States. Once we are broken and the Combine is no more, they will turn on you."
More silence.
"My generals will argue," Thomas said thoughtfully, "And rightly, that by that point they will be garrisoning a thousand
worlds. Spread thin and weakened by many casualties. Untouched by the war and with years of preparation, we will be far better able to withstand the Clans. And
they will also tell me, Hanse Davion, that when that time comes, the Free Worlds League will not face certain rivals that until this year posed a great and
credible threat to the sovereignty and the democracy of the League." He did not meet the eyes of the man across the table.
"Perhaps," Hanse agreed calmly. "Perhaps not."
"Alright then. Tell me what you want exactly. I'm listening."
"Approval for your military industries to export to us. Priority over everyone, including your own army, for purchasing munitions,
Mechs... all the tools of war. Even with my budget I can only buy a fraction of what they build, but it will make a difference. Loans from your banks to fund
those purchases if necessary. A grace period on export duties: we'll pay you, if we survive. There are historical precendents. Something called lendlease
from Terra's twentieth century has been suggested, but I don't think that you could sell that to your parliament."
The Captain-General nodded. "The numbers would need to be looked at, but that is not unreasonable."
"I also want you to start fighting now. To hit the Star Adder flank and push them back."
"Now?"
"I know you've reinforced your borders where they attacked," Hanse said intently. "You could hit them with twenty brigades
within a week."
Thomas shook his head. "Not quite so many," he disagreed. "And that is a huge fraction of my army, Hanse. I could agree to
fight in a year, maybe in six months. But those soldiers are prepared to defend the League, not for an offensive campaign."
"Six months from now they'll be into Skye! A year from now, they'll be on Terra. Now, Thomas! Now!"
"You know how many of my soldiers will die if I send them in unprepared. I won't insult you by asking how you would feel in my
place."
Hanse nodded. "Alright. But I also know how many of my soldiers will die in that time." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"If you have troops fighting by Christmas then I have Melissa's permission to cede any world you liberate from the Star Adders to the
League."
"No."
"Don't push me, Marik."
"Push you!?" Thomas almost exploded out of his seat.
The redhaired Successor Lord nodded sharply. "I have one more card, Thomas Marik. There is a gift that I can give you. Something that I
would rather offer you without strings. But if I have to make that gift your price... I will, whatever it costs me."
"I don't believe you can offer me anything!"
"I will save your son's life!" Hanse said with cruel honesty.
The Captain-General of the Free Worlds League collapsed into his chair, colour fleeing the unscarred portions of his face.
"W-what?"
"Joshua has terminal leukaemia," Hanse said in a gentler tone. "NAIS is the finest centre of medical science in the Inner
Sphere. If anyone can save him then they can."
Thomas stared at the devil in front of him, dangling the sweetest of temptations in front of him. "You would use a child's
life!" he half-cried.
"Yes, Captain-General. Just as you would let my other children die fighting for their patrimony, along with a million other fathers'
sons and daughters. I am giving you the chance to defend your people before the Clans cross the borders and force them to fight for their homes in their homes.
If you will not take that offer, sir, then be damned to you!"
Cavanuagh II
Star Adder Occupation Zone
17 December 3050
The Clans were obviously not posting their first team on garrison duties, Colonel Roy Potempkin noted. The proposed battlefield for this
little setpiece was largley open with patches of trees and a few small lakes and ponds. It looked like it had been used as a park at one point and there was
rubble suggesting that a few buldings had been demolished in the recent past, too recently for the site to have been cleaned up.
On the far side of this expanse, the enemy tanks were lined up and he could see helicopters hovering just above the ground opposite his right
flank. The trees on the right flank of this 'Star Colonel' Hutchinson's formation masked any deployment in that direction. Unless there was
something truly remarkable behind them, this wouldn't be especially challenging: Potempkin's 1st Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente were among the
most elite mechwarriors in the Inner Sphere and he was deploying almost the entire regiment for this operation, leaving the tanks and infantry in reserve. If
the reports he'd been given were correct, then the Clanners made heavy use of infernos and Potempkin was not inclined to feed his conventional troops into
that sort of fire unless it was truly necessary.
The Colonel posted his Marauder near the middle of the Fusiliers line, on a hillock that gave him a good view of the battlefield. Thus far
these Star Adders seemed content to hold their ground. That was fine with Potempkin, the range was more than even the remarkable figures that had been quoted
to him and if he had all of the enemy pinned in position facing him, that would leave nothing to oppose the 3rd Fusiliers and the 4th Hussars, also Oriente
units, as they moved out of the landing zone to start liberating the planet... and not incidentally, annexing it into the League.
Medium battlemechs - Shadow Hawks and Wolverines mostly although there were a pair of Vindicators that dated back to the Fusiliers' last
posting on the Liao frontier - fanned out in front of his heavy lances, screening them against any probes by the helicopters. In order to target the main
force, the light attack craft would have to move inside the ranges of the skirmishers. Of course, they could just fire at the skirmishers but those would be
harder targets to hit at long range.
When that didn't provoke anything, Potempkin shifted his formation slowly forwards. They were still well outside long range missile range
when lasers began to lash out across the parkland. Only a handful of shots hit, but the fact that any of them hit at all was astonishing. Fortunately the
number of shots fired was not actually all that high and Potempkin's eyes narrowed. He had assumed that the tanks were heavies at least to be trying to
take on Mechs in a stand up fight. But if they weren't, if they were actually light enough that they each only had one of those long range lasers as their
primary armament...
"Get in close!" he snapped and with the decisive swiftness that marked a crack unit, almost a hundred battlemechs moved out at
sixty, eighty or almost a hundred kilometers an hour. There was a predator's smile on Potempkin's face as he saw the line of tanks hesitate. If they
were light tanks then they could probably outpace him and prevent a decisive engagement, but they would have to react swiftly if they were to prevent him from
entering the range of his own longer ranged weapons and they failed to do so, only two of them recognising their peril and quickly backing up and turning to
withdraw. More lasers hit, but there were no more of them than before and now long range missiles were beginning to reach out towards the tanks.
Helicopters swept overhead and the Marauder rocked as two lasers converged to batter at his right side. Without breaking stride, the Colonel
turned his autocannon and fired at the nearer of the two. Shells tore through the rotor array and sparks flew from the whirling metal. More weapons fired
upwards and the attack helicopter crashed abruptly to the floor with all the aerodynamics of a brick once its propulsion was disabled. A second exploded
outright as a Rifleman's lasers dug into bins of inferno missiles and the flaming, napalm-flooded wreck crashed into a pond, fire spreading across the
water.
Herzberg
Star Adder Occupation Zone
24 December 3050
"No," Roderick N'Buta said coolly. "I do not believe that it would be appropriate to add Ivar Hutchinson's bloodright
to those that we will be holding Trials for after the invasion. Instead, advise Leonidas Hutchinson that it is the opinion of the saKhan that any warrior who
would lower themselves to compete for such a tainted bloodright would not be desirable members of the Clan Council."
His aide paled slightly. The permanent reduction of a Bloodname House was legal, but only with the agreement of the Grand Council and at a
minimum, the N'Buta House could expect a similar challenge to one of their bloodrights the next time one fell open. For the saKhan to declare his intent to
carry it out in the middle of the invasion and with the Star Adders already on the outs with a majority of the other Khans... the consequences could be far
reaching. The Hutchinsons and their allies on the Clan Council would move solidly in opposition to the saKhan and if he failed to handle that then his tenure
as Khan would end abruptly.
"I was not appointed as saKhan to avoid difficult decisions," Roderick added in explanation. "The bloodnamed need to
understand the consequences of stupidity. I would not order this merely for defeat, but Ivar essentially threw away an entire cluster for nothing. That cannot
be excused."
He handed a datapad over to the aide. "Get the message sent," he said dismissively and then brought up a strategic display as the
younger warrior left - retreated - from his presence.
The attacks had hit three worlds right on the border with the League: Cavanaugh II, Timbiqui and Poulsbo, all worlds that had been taken by
Alpha Galaxy. That wasn't entirely unexpected, but the reports from Poulsbo suggested rather larger numbers of jumpships than would be required for the
troops that had hit that planets. Either they had an excessive number of reserves or... "They're going deeper," Roderick muttered and eyed
systems in the area. Penobscot and Pencader were both within a single jump of the border so they would be hit of course, but from Poulsbo they could jump
onwards to Khon Kaen and then start chewing into Iota Galaxy's rear area.
"We need to take the iniative back," he said thoughtfully and looked at his own deployments. Every last unit in Iota Galaxy was in
the process of preparation for redeployment against this new threat. Roderick hated breaking off this close to Bolan but Delta Galaxy could swing
'south' and take it reasonably soon. A detachment of Alpha Galaxy were on Abramkovo, having swept up that minor world, but the rest were further away,
having been guarding worlds a little further back from the border where they could respond to a threat.
The Khan considered and nodded. If the Free Worlds League wanted to play hardball then he'd give them a lesson in how the clans played
that game. Like most sports, they were more than a touch rougher about it than their Inner Sphere counterparts.
Madiun
Star Adder Occupation Zone
24 December 3050
Duke Togo scanned the contents of the orders that had just arrived, then turned to his senior . "Immediate message to the 10th Hussars
and the 191st Guards," he said calmly. "They are to leave Abramkovo to the garrison forces immediately and redeploy to retake Khon Kaen from the Free
Worlds League."
"Khon Kaen has fallen!?" Star Colonel Ravi Gena said in surprise.
The Galaxy Commander shook his head. "Not yet, but an invasion force is almost certainly en route. Iota Galaxy is moving to support us
but we will need to handle this end of the front."
"We can be on Khon Kaen at least a week before the 10th and the 101st," suggested Ravi.
"No. You are to take the 34th Armored Cavalry, 85th Cavaliers and 87th Dragoons to Timbiqui to retake that. You're going to anchor
the whole line while the Hussars and Guards bog down that spearhead. I will meet the 5th Assault Cluster and the 11th Armored Cavalry at Circinus and then
bypass their attack to hit their rear area at Cerillos."
The Star Colonel whistled. "Audacious," he admitted. "Is it not hazardous to divide our forces so widely?"
"We are outnumbered," Duke Togo said flatly. "But without their supply bases, this can work to our advantage." Then his
eyes narrowed. "Did I not just assign you a target?"
Ravi took the hint and left the compartment, leaving Duke to pack for his own departure. It took only a few moments for the large man to
throw a handful of jumpsuits into a bag, tucking his dress uniform over them and dlipping the small case that held his toiletries into a side pocket. The only
remaining personal item in the room was an almost empty bottle of wine and the Galaxy Commander removed the cork and emptied all but the dregs into a glass.
Raising it in sardonic salute to the screen of his room's comm panel, he sipped on it thoughtfully until the glass was empty.
Then he left the room, discarding glass and bottle into the trash to be cleaned away by the labourer caste steward who would prepare the room
for its next occupant.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
Free Worlds League
19 November 3050
Thomas Marik realised immediately the hatch opened the reasons that the Commonwealth dropship was holding position without thrust instead of
maintaining a comfortable one gravity of acceleration. Hanse Davion's face was typically ruddy on public broadcasts but now it was grey and the lines were
pronounced. He's almost a decade older than me, the Captain-General reminded himself, but he's ruled half the Inner Sphere for longer than I have
governed the League.
"I was told to expect a high level envoy," he said lightly, entering the compartment. "I admit, I didn't expect you. SAFE
reported your collapse but thought you had entered a medical retreat on Argyle."
Hanse shook his head. "I haven't returned to Argyle in twenty-five years," he confessed. "Too much time in the dungeons
there."
Thomas blinked. "You mean that old tale of being replaced by an imposter and locked away was the truth?" he asked in surprise as
Hanse gestured towards a seat opposite him at the room's small table. "I thought it no more than someone's overactive imagination." The hatch
closed behind him, leaving Thomas' lone guard matching stares with the Davion marine outside it and the two rulers in unheard of privacy.
The First Prince smiled weakly. "I don't know what tale you were told, but Maxmillian Liao did indeed arrange a scheme to replace me
with a brainwashed body-double. He very nearly succeeded, only the brave intervention of some loyal officers was able to free me and then prove my identity to
the court." He shrugged. "It seems astonishing after all this time that such a plan could come so close to success, that an imposter could replace
one of the Successor Lords."
"Yes," Thomas agreed. "And yet you triumphed and went on to greater triumphs over the next decade." His eyes narrowed.
"But I doubt that you requested this meeting to discuss history, Prince Davion. Saving for yourself and your lovely bride, no two Successor Lords have met
in person since your wedding day and I doubt that you have broken that circumstance for trivialities."
"You are correct," Hanse said. "But first, some background information." He pulled out a paper chart of the Inner Sphere.
"I am sure you are aware that the 'heavy raiding' that has been reported on the Periphery is in fact an overwhelming invasion. This should show
you the extent of the problem that my wife and I face."
Thomas unfolded the chart and traced a bold orange line that ran along the border of his own Free Worlds League with the Lyran Commonwealth
and then rose erratically through the worlds of Donegal. Worlds to the left of the line were marked with blood red squares and despite a handful of salients,
it was clear that the line marked where the borders of the Commonwealth had been driven back by almost a hundred lightears, more in places for one of those
sanguine salients drive almost to the faint curved line that by convention marked out the distance of two hundred and fifty light years from Terra itself.
Closer to the top of the chart, another mass of green squares and a loose trail of brown squares marked more lost worlds before a dotted line cut across the
top of the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Draconis Combine.
The brief temptation to gloat, to jibe at the terrible losses suffered by the leviathan neighbour that had cast its shadow across his entire
reign, rose within Thomas but he clamped down on it. "How sure are you of the losses taken by the Combine and the Republic?"
"Confident," Hanse told him. He handed over a disc. "This contains full details of how we worked it out. Your own analysts can
look it over but put briefly, ComStar notifies only the rulers of a lost world. For others they continue to provide economic data, produced from past records.
We simply identified how they calculated that data and used it to pick out worlds where that calculation matched what was being reported. The Republic is half
gone. The Combine is not so badly off of course, but the invaders - Clan Smoke Jaguar being the specific group that they are facing - are perilously close to
Luthien."
Thomas' brow furrowed. "I wonder why they are doing that. Granted I could hardly see you and Takashi Kurita forming a combined
front, but that sounds almost as if..."
"I'm sure that if asked, the Primus would piously state that it was not ComStar's right to divulge that information to rival
states, and that in fact it might violate their neutrality."
"Hmm." Thomas shrugged and looked the chart over again. The only parts he was previously sure of were the sections nearer his own
borders, but they were certainly extensive losses. "So, are you going to tell me how they have managed to throw the vaunted Armed Forces of the Federated
Commonwealth back so successfully? Some of these worlds were quite well defended: I should know, some of them were being defended against my father a few
decades ago."
"Partly surprise," admitted Hanse candidly. "They didn't catch us totally offguard - there were reports of raiding in the
periphery and I was concerned enough to send three regiments of the Lyran Guards out to stiffen the periphery defenses but I never considered the possibility
of more than some heavy raiding. As far as we can estimate, the invaders have numbers at least as high as those of the Capellan Confederation's full
strength and their technology is even higher than that of the old Star League. There's a download here, but fighting them is nightmarish. You know what was
deployed on Poulsbo: a full Regimental Combat Team and more than half of a ComGuards Division. They got rolled over within a day."
"That is worrying."
"Yes. It's taken us a while to piece together a picture of their war machine Captain-General," Hanse said. "I'm providing you with that
information as well," he indicated a box of data chips on the room's shelf. "Consider it a gift. They have superior Mechs, Aerospace Fighters and
Tanks, as well as armoured infantry and some kind of ultralight mechs that are giving us fits. It's only recently, with the news from a raid carried out on
Twycross, that we've even established that they are human."
Thomas Marik was not, by profession, a soldier. He had had the customary military training that the Marik family had demanded of their scions
for almost a thousand years and since taking the reins of power had taken sufficient training that he could proficiently handle a Battlemech. He had led his
nation through the Andurien War and was as certain as he could be that there was no one with any better chance than he had of holding the League together if
the Commonwealth had decided to crush them.
But it was not until he looked into Hanse Davion's eyes that he knew the gulf that lay between his experiences and those of Hanse Davion
who had risen through the ranks of his own military with meteoric speed not entirely due to his royal birth and had ordered men to their deaths in battle
before his brother's death had elevated him to the throne of the then Federated Suns. Hanse Davion knew, far better than Thomas, the hell that was being
demanded of his soldiers. And he would still order it, no matter how much it cost him.
"Who was it?" Thomas asked. "Hasek-Davion?" He knew that the Marshal of Armies was personally directing the war
front.
Hanse looked away. "My son," he whispered.
A long silence fell between them.
"Why did you ask me to meet you here?" Thomas asked at last.
Hanse smiled sadly. "You said that you could not see me forming an alliance with Takashi," he reminded him. "You're right.
I don't believe that I could. Theodore perhaps. He's more pragmatic than his father. But even if I could, the benefits would be limited. We're both
already stripping our mutual borders to face the Clans and are fully engaged in it. And I hope that you don't imagine that there could ever be any alliance
between Romano Liao and I. So. If I want an ally in this war..."
Thomas's jaw dropped. "You want me to become your ally? To fight the clans? You've just told me how savagely they have worked
you over and your armed forces are more than three times the size of the League's military!"
"I know. But believe me, Captain-General, they will come for you. The Clans are sparing you now only so that they can concentrate on the
more dangerous of the Successor States. Once we are broken and the Combine is no more, they will turn on you."
More silence.
"My generals will argue," Thomas said thoughtfully, "And rightly, that by that point they will be garrisoning a thousand
worlds. Spread thin and weakened by many casualties. Untouched by the war and with years of preparation, we will be far better able to withstand the Clans. And
they will also tell me, Hanse Davion, that when that time comes, the Free Worlds League will not face certain rivals that until this year posed a great and
credible threat to the sovereignty and the democracy of the League." He did not meet the eyes of the man across the table.
"Perhaps," Hanse agreed calmly. "Perhaps not."
"Alright then. Tell me what you want exactly. I'm listening."
"Approval for your military industries to export to us. Priority over everyone, including your own army, for purchasing munitions,
Mechs... all the tools of war. Even with my budget I can only buy a fraction of what they build, but it will make a difference. Loans from your banks to fund
those purchases if necessary. A grace period on export duties: we'll pay you, if we survive. There are historical precendents. Something called lendlease
from Terra's twentieth century has been suggested, but I don't think that you could sell that to your parliament."
The Captain-General nodded. "The numbers would need to be looked at, but that is not unreasonable."
"I also want you to start fighting now. To hit the Star Adder flank and push them back."
"Now?"
"I know you've reinforced your borders where they attacked," Hanse said intently. "You could hit them with twenty brigades
within a week."
Thomas shook his head. "Not quite so many," he disagreed. "And that is a huge fraction of my army, Hanse. I could agree to
fight in a year, maybe in six months. But those soldiers are prepared to defend the League, not for an offensive campaign."
"Six months from now they'll be into Skye! A year from now, they'll be on Terra. Now, Thomas! Now!"
"You know how many of my soldiers will die if I send them in unprepared. I won't insult you by asking how you would feel in my
place."
Hanse nodded. "Alright. But I also know how many of my soldiers will die in that time." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"If you have troops fighting by Christmas then I have Melissa's permission to cede any world you liberate from the Star Adders to the
League."
"No."
"Don't push me, Marik."
"Push you!?" Thomas almost exploded out of his seat.
The redhaired Successor Lord nodded sharply. "I have one more card, Thomas Marik. There is a gift that I can give you. Something that I
would rather offer you without strings. But if I have to make that gift your price... I will, whatever it costs me."
"I don't believe you can offer me anything!"
"I will save your son's life!" Hanse said with cruel honesty.
The Captain-General of the Free Worlds League collapsed into his chair, colour fleeing the unscarred portions of his face.
"W-what?"
"Joshua has terminal leukaemia," Hanse said in a gentler tone. "NAIS is the finest centre of medical science in the Inner
Sphere. If anyone can save him then they can."
Thomas stared at the devil in front of him, dangling the sweetest of temptations in front of him. "You would use a child's
life!" he half-cried.
"Yes, Captain-General. Just as you would let my other children die fighting for their patrimony, along with a million other fathers'
sons and daughters. I am giving you the chance to defend your people before the Clans cross the borders and force them to fight for their homes in their homes.
If you will not take that offer, sir, then be damned to you!"
Cavanuagh II
Star Adder Occupation Zone
17 December 3050
The Clans were obviously not posting their first team on garrison duties, Colonel Roy Potempkin noted. The proposed battlefield for this
little setpiece was largley open with patches of trees and a few small lakes and ponds. It looked like it had been used as a park at one point and there was
rubble suggesting that a few buldings had been demolished in the recent past, too recently for the site to have been cleaned up.
On the far side of this expanse, the enemy tanks were lined up and he could see helicopters hovering just above the ground opposite his right
flank. The trees on the right flank of this 'Star Colonel' Hutchinson's formation masked any deployment in that direction. Unless there was
something truly remarkable behind them, this wouldn't be especially challenging: Potempkin's 1st Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente were among the
most elite mechwarriors in the Inner Sphere and he was deploying almost the entire regiment for this operation, leaving the tanks and infantry in reserve. If
the reports he'd been given were correct, then the Clanners made heavy use of infernos and Potempkin was not inclined to feed his conventional troops into
that sort of fire unless it was truly necessary.
The Colonel posted his Marauder near the middle of the Fusiliers line, on a hillock that gave him a good view of the battlefield. Thus far
these Star Adders seemed content to hold their ground. That was fine with Potempkin, the range was more than even the remarkable figures that had been quoted
to him and if he had all of the enemy pinned in position facing him, that would leave nothing to oppose the 3rd Fusiliers and the 4th Hussars, also Oriente
units, as they moved out of the landing zone to start liberating the planet... and not incidentally, annexing it into the League.
Medium battlemechs - Shadow Hawks and Wolverines mostly although there were a pair of Vindicators that dated back to the Fusiliers' last
posting on the Liao frontier - fanned out in front of his heavy lances, screening them against any probes by the helicopters. In order to target the main
force, the light attack craft would have to move inside the ranges of the skirmishers. Of course, they could just fire at the skirmishers but those would be
harder targets to hit at long range.
When that didn't provoke anything, Potempkin shifted his formation slowly forwards. They were still well outside long range missile range
when lasers began to lash out across the parkland. Only a handful of shots hit, but the fact that any of them hit at all was astonishing. Fortunately the
number of shots fired was not actually all that high and Potempkin's eyes narrowed. He had assumed that the tanks were heavies at least to be trying to
take on Mechs in a stand up fight. But if they weren't, if they were actually light enough that they each only had one of those long range lasers as their
primary armament...
"Get in close!" he snapped and with the decisive swiftness that marked a crack unit, almost a hundred battlemechs moved out at
sixty, eighty or almost a hundred kilometers an hour. There was a predator's smile on Potempkin's face as he saw the line of tanks hesitate. If they
were light tanks then they could probably outpace him and prevent a decisive engagement, but they would have to react swiftly if they were to prevent him from
entering the range of his own longer ranged weapons and they failed to do so, only two of them recognising their peril and quickly backing up and turning to
withdraw. More lasers hit, but there were no more of them than before and now long range missiles were beginning to reach out towards the tanks.
Helicopters swept overhead and the Marauder rocked as two lasers converged to batter at his right side. Without breaking stride, the Colonel
turned his autocannon and fired at the nearer of the two. Shells tore through the rotor array and sparks flew from the whirling metal. More weapons fired
upwards and the attack helicopter crashed abruptly to the floor with all the aerodynamics of a brick once its propulsion was disabled. A second exploded
outright as a Rifleman's lasers dug into bins of inferno missiles and the flaming, napalm-flooded wreck crashed into a pond, fire spreading across the
water.
Herzberg
Star Adder Occupation Zone
24 December 3050
"No," Roderick N'Buta said coolly. "I do not believe that it would be appropriate to add Ivar Hutchinson's bloodright
to those that we will be holding Trials for after the invasion. Instead, advise Leonidas Hutchinson that it is the opinion of the saKhan that any warrior who
would lower themselves to compete for such a tainted bloodright would not be desirable members of the Clan Council."
His aide paled slightly. The permanent reduction of a Bloodname House was legal, but only with the agreement of the Grand Council and at a
minimum, the N'Buta House could expect a similar challenge to one of their bloodrights the next time one fell open. For the saKhan to declare his intent to
carry it out in the middle of the invasion and with the Star Adders already on the outs with a majority of the other Khans... the consequences could be far
reaching. The Hutchinsons and their allies on the Clan Council would move solidly in opposition to the saKhan and if he failed to handle that then his tenure
as Khan would end abruptly.
"I was not appointed as saKhan to avoid difficult decisions," Roderick added in explanation. "The bloodnamed need to
understand the consequences of stupidity. I would not order this merely for defeat, but Ivar essentially threw away an entire cluster for nothing. That cannot
be excused."
He handed a datapad over to the aide. "Get the message sent," he said dismissively and then brought up a strategic display as the
younger warrior left - retreated - from his presence.
The attacks had hit three worlds right on the border with the League: Cavanaugh II, Timbiqui and Poulsbo, all worlds that had been taken by
Alpha Galaxy. That wasn't entirely unexpected, but the reports from Poulsbo suggested rather larger numbers of jumpships than would be required for the
troops that had hit that planets. Either they had an excessive number of reserves or... "They're going deeper," Roderick muttered and eyed
systems in the area. Penobscot and Pencader were both within a single jump of the border so they would be hit of course, but from Poulsbo they could jump
onwards to Khon Kaen and then start chewing into Iota Galaxy's rear area.
"We need to take the iniative back," he said thoughtfully and looked at his own deployments. Every last unit in Iota Galaxy was in
the process of preparation for redeployment against this new threat. Roderick hated breaking off this close to Bolan but Delta Galaxy could swing
'south' and take it reasonably soon. A detachment of Alpha Galaxy were on Abramkovo, having swept up that minor world, but the rest were further away,
having been guarding worlds a little further back from the border where they could respond to a threat.
The Khan considered and nodded. If the Free Worlds League wanted to play hardball then he'd give them a lesson in how the clans played
that game. Like most sports, they were more than a touch rougher about it than their Inner Sphere counterparts.
Madiun
Star Adder Occupation Zone
24 December 3050
Duke Togo scanned the contents of the orders that had just arrived, then turned to his senior . "Immediate message to the 10th Hussars
and the 191st Guards," he said calmly. "They are to leave Abramkovo to the garrison forces immediately and redeploy to retake Khon Kaen from the Free
Worlds League."
"Khon Kaen has fallen!?" Star Colonel Ravi Gena said in surprise.
The Galaxy Commander shook his head. "Not yet, but an invasion force is almost certainly en route. Iota Galaxy is moving to support us
but we will need to handle this end of the front."
"We can be on Khon Kaen at least a week before the 10th and the 101st," suggested Ravi.
"No. You are to take the 34th Armored Cavalry, 85th Cavaliers and 87th Dragoons to Timbiqui to retake that. You're going to anchor
the whole line while the Hussars and Guards bog down that spearhead. I will meet the 5th Assault Cluster and the 11th Armored Cavalry at Circinus and then
bypass their attack to hit their rear area at Cerillos."
The Star Colonel whistled. "Audacious," he admitted. "Is it not hazardous to divide our forces so widely?"
"We are outnumbered," Duke Togo said flatly. "But without their supply bases, this can work to our advantage." Then his
eyes narrowed. "Did I not just assign you a target?"
Ravi took the hint and left the compartment, leaving Duke to pack for his own departure. It took only a few moments for the large man to
throw a handful of jumpsuits into a bag, tucking his dress uniform over them and dlipping the small case that held his toiletries into a side pocket. The only
remaining personal item in the room was an almost empty bottle of wine and the Galaxy Commander removed the cork and emptied all but the dregs into a glass.
Raising it in sardonic salute to the screen of his room's comm panel, he sipped on it thoughtfully until the glass was empty.
Then he left the room, discarding glass and bottle into the trash to be cleaned away by the labourer caste steward who would prepare the room
for its next occupant.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.