Grave Covenant

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Still the Kodiak remained upright and dangerous.

  Wendy swung her Gauss rifles into line with it and let fly again. Only one of the Gauss rifle projectiles hit the Kodiak.

  The silver ball shredded all but the last of the armor on the Clan 'Mech's right arm. The trio of medium lasers lanced out and stabbed into the Kodiak. One melted armor on the left side of its torso, the second burned more armor from its left arm, and the final one cored in through the crater in the middle of the 'Mech's chest. A gout of superhot steam shot back out through a hole over the 'Mech's heart, and the Kodiak shuddered.

  Gyro hit! Wendy watched as the huge 'Mech struggled to remain upright. As good as the Clan pilot was, Wendy's last shot had damaged the gyroscope that helped keep the 'Mechs upright and working. The Kodiak tottered, limbs flailing, and went over. In an effort to remain upright, the pilot posted off the right arm, but the stresses snapped the support structures, shearing the arm off at the shoulder. The severed limb rolled down the hill toward the waiting Guards while the Kodiak crashed down into a cloud of dust and greasy black smoke.

  Elsewhere along the hill crest the other Clanners fared even less well. Two Brutus assault tanks used their pair of large lasers to fill a tiny Hankyu 'Mech's chest with fire. It was inconceivable that the light little BattleMech should have survived as long as it did. When the green beams transfixed it and melted their way through its armor, green energy poured from all the joints. Smoke quickly followed and the 'Mech stopped, frozen, at the top of the hill with smoke wreathing its upper body.

  Another Kodiak ran afoul of two blocky Penetrators. The Inner Sphere 'Mechs sported a half-dozen medium pulse lasers, each of which stitched lethal laser darts all over the giant 'Mech. They savaged its armor, reducing much of it to molten slag, with one laser coring through to the center of the 'Mech. Black smoke geysered up out of the whole as the Clan 'Mech pitched over backward.

  Wendy moved her Devastator forward and surveyed the battlefield. The Clan 'Mechs were down, some smoking, some burning, others crippled and some unrecognizable as what they had been just minutes before. Heading upslope, she trained her cross hairs on the Kodiak she'd helped to bring down, and pumped one round through its left elbow. The shot shattered the joint and severed the forearm, ending the Kodiak pilot's futile attempt to get his 'Mech back on its feet.

  "Lances, report."

  Reports came back indicating that no Clan 'Mechs were operational. The damage her unit had taken wasn't bad. Most 'Mechs had lost armor only, though three had lost limbs and one pilot had died when her cockpit was crushed by a Clan Gauss rifle slug. The armor commander reported his unit operational, with the loss of only two tanks, both of which had been crushed by falling 'Mechs.

  Wendy shifted over to the regimental frequency. "Hammer One to Home Base."

  The cool voice of Marshal Anne Adelmara came back over the radio. "Report, Hammer One."

  "Enemy engaged and stopped. We had eighteen, that is one-eight, come out of the Retreat. They are all down. Casualties are minimal for us."

  "Very good, Karner, excellent. You're certainly in keeping with your family's tradition of service. The Dracs are mopping up in the Retreat, so you might still find stragglers. Remain where you are. I'll have Two Battalion head in to backtrack your friends. We'll have salvage crews coming out soon, too."

  "Understood, sir. Hammer One out." Wendy found herself smiling uncontrollably. She shifted the radio to the battalion's tactical frequency. "Listen up. Secure the area. Friendlies will be moving through to backtrack the Clanners. Be careful, but also be proud. For the first time since Tukayyid, an Inner Sphere force has showed the Clans that while they might be good at warfare, that isn't the same as being the best at it."

  32

  Wolcott, Draconis Combine Free Zone

  Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone

  30 May 3059

  Victor rubbed his burning eyes, then looked again at the holographic data display hovering over the center of the darkened briefing room's black table. The red and green icons and alphanumerics there splashed Christmassy colors over the Precentor Martial's khaki jumpsuit, and for a second Victor thought that for the Inner Sphere Christmas had indeed come early. Granted we're concentrating a lot of force on only five worlds, but this outcome is all but unbelievable.

  Victor leaned forward on the table, supporting his upper body on his hands. "If we'd gotten these results in simulations, we'd probably think we were working with faulty data."

  Phelan Kell, the room's other occupant, nodded. "Your father proved that overwhelming force can make short work of the enemy. What we didn't factor in was the Dracs' desire to kick the Jaguars in the teeth." He pointed toward an icon representing the world of Kiamba. "Hohiro used the First Kestrel Grenadiers and Third Drak0ns to hold Collins Ridge, then his First Genyosha and the Com Guards Eleventh Division herded the 362nd Assault Cluster into Hecate's Swamp. The Jags remembered only too well the trick the Dracs had tried when they first took the world away from the Combine. They didn't want to get trapped, so they moved out of there faster than they should have, and in bad order. They couldn't dislodge the Grenadiers or Drak0ns from the Ridge, so they were stuck in the open, and the Genyosha ripped them apart."

  The Precentor Martial nodded in agreement. "On Tarazed, the Seventh Jaguar Dragoons made a move toward the Mosaikan Canyon Preserve, hoping to use the network of canyons to string our forces out. The Second Genyosha moved in far more quickly than the Dragoons thought possible and hit their supply convoy hard. The Third Donegal Guards RCT deployed to cut the Dragoons off from the Preserve, then Kai and his First St. Ives Lancers joined the Genyosha and ate the Dragoons up."

  Victor smiled. "Kai apparently won the surrender of a Star of OmniMechs by challenging the Star Captain commanding it, then defeating her in single combat. He seems to have developed an affection for that Penetrator he first piloted back on Solaris, and it's done quite well for him."

  "No surprise Kai won," Phelan said. "And no surprise a Jag would be willing to bid a Star away for the right to distinguish herself in combat."

  The Precentor Martial frowned. "I'm not certain I follow your reasoning, Khan Kell."

  "It's simple. On Asgard we pounded the Fourth Jaguar Dragoons flat after forcing them to retreat along the same path the Benjamin Regulars had taken seven years ago. On Hyner the Second Sword of Light tore through the Third Jaguar Cavaliers, leaving the First Regulan Hussars and your Ninth Division to mop up." Phelan pointed toward the icon representing Port Arthur. "The Combine units going into Port Arthur didn't expect opposition, but then ran into the 168th Garrison Cluster, which was last reported on Labrea. Even though the Fifth Sword of Light is considered green, it held its own at Zouave Vale while the Seventeenth Benjamin Regulars and Second Legion of Vega came in from Disher and knocked the snot out of the Jags."

  Victor arched an eyebrow through the display at his cousin. "And your point is?"

  "My point is that we caught the Smoke Jaguars utterly and completely asleep. The preliminary information we've got coming back indicates to me that they weren't thinking in terms of defense or being hit at all. Weapon selection on OmniMechs has far too many missile launchers and auto cannons in it for a defensive array. If I had to guess, I think they were gearing up for an expansion—possibly even a renewal of the invasion."

  Victor straightened up and folded his arms across his chest. "They'd need a new ilKhan for that."

  "Like as not." Phelan smiled capriciously. "I think they've elected one, and I think he's a Smoke Jaguar."

  Focht narrowed his good gray eye. "Are you speculating, or do you have information from within the Clans?"

  "You mean to ask if I'm holding out on you?"

  Victor sliced his hands through the air. "That wasn't the question, Phelan. The Precentor Martial and I know you too well to think you'd withhold information from us. We're also aware that you've got spies back with the Wolves, and if this information has come from them, well, that's a bit
higher level of veracity than your handicapping the candidates for us. Not that we wouldn't respect your insight into that matter, too."

  The Wolf Khan nodded as if mollified, but Victor sensed there would be a price to pay for such easy acceptance of his remarks. "What I do know is that there was a return of the Khans to Strana Mechty to elect a new ilKhan. At that time there really were only three possible candidates for election, and the fact that none of the non-invading Clans have started to filter into the Inner Sphere suggests there were no surprises in the election.

  "The three candidates were Marthe Pryde of the Jade Falcons, Vlad Ward of the Wolves, and Lincoln Osis of the Smoke Jaguars. I believe Osis was chosen."

  Victor thought for a second. "You think the Wolves and the Falcons are still too weak for their Khans to be elevated to the office of ilKhan?"

  "That's part of it. The invasion started under a Smoke Jaguar, Leo Showers. After him Ulric was named ilKhan, but he agreed to the Truce of Tukayyid and made the Clans abide by it. Because of that, the Clans will be reluctant to elect a Wolf as ilKhan, and Vlad still does not have enough of a track record to be trusted. The fact that he killed the interim Jade Falcon ilKhan also makes him too volatile for the other Clans to feel safe with him in charge."

  "He murdered an ilKhan?" Victor was impressed. "I wonder if I could introduce him to my sister."

  Phelan shook his head and smiled. "I don't know which one I'd pity in that match. But, yes, Vlad killed Elias Crichell, but only after previously killing the other Jade Falcon Khan, Vandervahn Chistu. Marthe Pryde is now the senior Jade Falcon Khan. She has an excellent reputation, but she would have been hurt by the compromise at Coventry. She is also quite wary and intelligent, so she would want more time for the Falcons to recover from their war with the Wolves before she goes off into battle."

  The Precentor Martial ran a hand over his chin. "That leaves Lincoln Osis. I don't believe I met him."

  "No, I don't think you did. He wasn't part of Leo Showers' entourage. Osis is an Elemental who was made a true Khan after Tukayyid, though he was called Khan even before then."

  Focht frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

  Phelan scratched at the back of his neck. "The Smoke Jaguars throw around the term Khan a lot more loosely than most other Clans. Warriors who prove themselves exceptional leaders in battle situations are often called 'Khan' for the purposes of an operation. Osis probably deserved the honorific and his election, however. His rise to that position was the result of a lot of hard work and some rather audacious tactics." The Wolf Khan shrugged. "He is, in my estimation, something of a tactical genius."

  "That's not good." Victor looked at the icons again. "Our plans have been based on the idea that the Smoke Jaguars are more traditional than, say, the Wolves, which means we can use flexibility against them. If Osis is in charge, that could seriously compromise the situation."

  "Victor, next time try actually hearing what I'm saying."

  The Prince frowned. "Bring it again, a bit more slowly."

  "I said Osis was a tactical genius. That's not going to be very useful against us." Phelan pointed to Victor. "You're here working on strategic and operational details, but you're leaving the tactical decisions to the people on the ground. Why is that?"

  "Because trying to micromanage every assault is a quick way to guarantee failure." Victor winced. "Okay, I get your point. He's not going to be functioning at all well in this situation."

  The Precentor Martial smiled. "I would imagine his difficulties will only compound when we launch our second wave."

  Phelan nodded. "I agree. Seeing how well all our attacks have gone off so far, are you going to crank the timetable forward?"

  Victor slowly shook his head. "I'd love to, but I can't at this point. Our staging and supply operations are hitting their deadlines, but we didn't expect things to go this fast. Since we're talking about moving men and machines tens of light years—hundreds, in some cases—speeding things up isn't that easy."

  "But I thought ... the initial salvage and recovery numbers indicate we're picking up a lot of Jaguar hardware and munitions." Phelan frowned as he studied the floating numbers. "We can put that to good use."

  "Agreed, and we are. Our front-line units will be one hundred percent operational when they hit their next assignments, and the garrison units left behind will be reinforced by whatever salvage remains. That means I can begin to assign supply shipments for the third wave early, so perhaps we can bring it off sooner and be ready to follow it up, but that will only happen if the second wave achieves the same level of success as this one."

  Victor heard doubt in his own voice and he regretted it, but he knew he had to temper his elation at the first wave's success or he'd be anticipating utterly unrealistic results for the future. His job was to account for the worst-case scenario and hope for the best case. He had done that with the first wave of attacks and would continue to do so with each of the other four waves.

  Phelan's eyes hardened. "I understand what you're saying, but you can't become too hidebound here. This first wave hit five worlds, the next one will nail eight—though I would add in Nykvarn, Turtle Bay, and Labrea. The results are going to vary, but you have to look at momentum. You talked about administering shock to the Clan troops on a tactical level, well, this will be a shock that will travel straight to Osis' brain. If we push on and take twice as many worlds in this wave as we did in the last, we'll have him in complete disarray."

  The Prince drew in a hissed breath. "Nykvarn only has a Provisional Garrison Cluster available."

  "The Ryuken-go regiment is ready to go." Phelan hooked a thumb toward the door. "They're aching for a shot at the Jags. The Sixth An Ting Legion isn't going to get any experience here on Wolcott, and Sun-Tzu's Red Lancers Regiment will backstop LRMs as well as any other target. I know they're all part of your reserves, but they will take Nykvarn and, better yet, can hold it against a counterattack."

  "I can buy that." Victor's eyes narrowed. "Your analysis sounds as good as Doc Trevena's."

  "So Doc, Ragnar, and I kicked some ideas around." The Wolf Khan shrugged. "If I want you to buy an idea, I know I have to package it nicely."

  "Okay, who takes Turtle Bay?"

  "All three Legions of Vega—the Second, Eleventh, and Sixteenth."

  Victor frowned. "The Legions of Vega?"

  "Interesting." The Precentor Martial nodded enthusiastically. "The Smoke Jaguars destroyed the Fourteenth Legion of Vega on Turtle Bay—Hohiro Kurita and Shin Yodama are two of only a handful of survivors. They escaped after breaking out of a prison and staging an uprising. The Smoke Jaguars retaliated by using a planetary bombardment to raze the capital, Edo. By using the Legions to retake Turtle Bay, they would win back the honor they lost. Their success would also raise the Coordinator's stock, since he once commanded the Eleventh Legion of Vega."

  Victor punched a data request into the computer keypad at his end of the table. A representation of Turtle Bay started rotating in the air, but nothing in the data scrolling up beside it indicated the presence of any Clan troops. "Looks like it is clear, though that's what we thought about Port Arthur."

  "Port Arthur had troops on it for other reasons," Phelan said. "I suspect the Jags leave Turtle Bay ungarrisoned because the world can't be pacified. The people there know about Edo. They know they'll be dead if a Jaguar decides they should be dead, so they have nothing to lose in opposing their conquerors. Short of depopulating the planet, the Smoke Jaguars can't make it secure, so they've declared it pacified and moved on." He scratched at his throat. "We'll get it without a fight, and I can't imagine the Jaguars ever trying to take it back from us."

  Victor nodded. "I can see including it on our list of targets. Since it was one of the first worlds to fall to the Clans, taking it back this quickly should amplify the shock. Why Labrea? You think it's undefended because the 168th Garrison Cluster that showed up on Port Arthur was stationed on Labrea?"

  Phelan shook his head.
"There are troops on Labrea. Very good troops."

  "Do you know this, or are you speculating?" The Precentor Martial raised his hands. "No disrespect intended, of course."

  "Call it an educated guess." Phelan folded his arms across his chest. "A web of relationships binds the Smoke Jaguar units together. It's vaguely similar to the way sports franchises maintain farm teams to feed them new recruits, though in the case of the Jaguars, the reverse is true. The 168th Garrison Cluster is a tributary unit of the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons. The Sixth sends them broken-down warriors, hand-me-down equipment, and the like. The Dragoons also use the 168th as a valet service: the 168th cleans up after them or prepares for their arrival. The 168th arrived on Port Arthur to prepare a staging area for the Sixth Jag Dragoons to launch into the Combine."

  "So you're supposing that the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons are on Labrea?" Victor brought the image of Labrea up and opened a data window. "What do you know about them?"

  "They're a storied unit that has often ended up in conflict with the Wolves—but that was well before my time." Phelan smiled wistfully. "During the invasion they participated in the conquest of Tarnby, Byesville, and Yamarovka. They won their battles in a walkover—too fast for them to win any sort of glory. In October, 3050, an Elemental Binary—that's fifty Elementals—took the world of Byesville away from the militia with less than a half-dozen shots being fired."

  Victor smiled slowly. "And the leader of that Elemental action was Lincoln Osis?"

  "Right. The Sixth Jaguar Dragoons also fought on Tukayyid, in the Dinju Mountains. ComStar's 299th and 323rd Divisions hit them pretty hard, but those who did get out managed to do so because Osis organized their retreat. Being beaten was a bitter pill for them to swallow, but they did, and Osis' actions were rewarded with his election to the post of Khan. Since then he's devoted a significant amount of resources to rebuilding the unit. I'm sure he sees it as his showpiece—the best the Jaguars have to offer. More important than taking Labrea will be killing that unit."