Stovall said, “You keep telling yourself that.”
Jackson stood and said, “You’ll see. Eat your ration, you’ll need the energy.”
“Right.” Stovall opened the ration packet. Jackson left the tent.
Chapter Twenty One
Galen rode shotgun in his tactical skimmer and held an Eliminator shotgun at the ready while Bier drove and Wine stood up behind the medium laser swivel-mounted in the turret above the armored cargo bed. Fifty meters ahead was a troop on a Y-frame recon trike and behind was Tad in his tactical skimmer, with Capellan Marine Colonel Baek in his command car bringing up the rear. They turned right as they left the main gate of the Jasmine Panzer Brigade compound and encountered little traffic along the way. Military vehicles, mostly, cargo trucks escorted by lightly armored vehicles. Pedestrians on the sidewalks were few, generally young men and women in military uniforms, they walked together in groups of two or three. Lightly armed, in garrison uniforms, for the most part. The occasional civilian was older, elderly sometimes.
The city seemed subdued. The rooftops bristled with anti-aircraft guns of various types and sizes. Some guns were set up to sweep the streets, if the need ever arose. The outer perimeter of the Mandarin High Command compound had been expanded. Galen’s convoy paused at the checkpoint and was then allowed through, the guard presenting a proper hand salute upon recognizing Galen’s rank. Another block down that street, the convoy turned left and stopped at the entrance gate of the reinforced original wall of the compound. The guard checked Galen’s credentials, other guards inspected the other vehicles, called up to their supervisor, and then the group was allowed in.
They parked near the tunnel entrance facing out. Galen, Tad and Colonel Baek dismounted and waited. A Mandarin High Command light electric vehicle that resembled an oversized golf cart came. The Mandarin Regular Army Corporal driving it picked up the leaders and drove them into the tunnel, underground to the High Command Operations briefing room.
They were ushered to their assigned seats by a Senior Master Chief from the Capellan Space Force. Galen noticed his gimp, that his left leg seemed artificial. And his eye, his left eye, didn’t move. Or blink…
They sat in the back row toward the left corner of the room. Around the room were a few empty seats and the collection of leaders looked younger than before but more frazzled. Signs of stress here and there, hands clasping and unclasping, some sitting up perfectly straight but fidgeting, a woman in the front row who looked back over her left shoulder, then her right, ran her left hand through her hair as she the faced forward, only to repeat the process half a minute later. Her hair was wearing thin where she rubbed it, the scalp starting to show through the platinum blond bob.
The Supreme Commander entered and the leaders stood. The Supreme Commander had lost weight but didn’t look better. She looked tired, shoulders slumped. Her features hung on her face as she stood behind the podium and then hardened as she spoke, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome. Take your seats and I’ll get this briefing started.”
The leaders sat. The wall behind the Supreme Commander became a screen that showed a strategic map of the war. Not too detailed, it looked cartoony. With broad lines and labels, it resembled a tourist map. It showed a straight static front from the south, up about two thirds of the way to a point where the line angled slightly to the right. The entire Western Province was occupied by the Mosh, along with half the Northern Province. The Southern Province, snuggled up against the bottom of the Central Province, was free from immediate threat. The Eastern Province was an undeveloped wasteland, jagged mountains and deep canyons; it had yet to be settled. A few rugged individuals went there from time to time to scratch minerals from the ground, but there were no permanent settlements.
The Supreme Commander spoke, “The solar storm that we are entering has presented us with a real opportunity. It takes the Mosh fighter-bombers out of the fight. That gives us a chance to strike back.”
The screen behind her changed to show a depiction of the planet Mandarin, its sun and the solar flare. At first, Galen was alarmed. The cone ejected from their sun looked powerful enough to blast the atmosphere and possibly the outer crust away from Mandarin. A cone that large would cause the star itself to move sideways, enough to doom this planet by screwing up its orbit, leaving it well outside the habitable zone…
Galen realized the depiction was not to scale. It was exaggerated. The Supreme Commander continued her briefing. “It will take fourteen more days for our planet to move through the flare. Its intensity will neither increase nor decrease for at least three months. However, once we’ve passed through it, the flare will no longer affect us in any meaningful way. During those two weeks, to survive, we’ll have to shelter underground or in solid buildings with metal roofs, or inside armored vehicles. During the nights, near midnight, there will be time where it is safe to be outside for approximately two hours, so that presents relief for people who would otherwise suffer from being inside too long.”
The screen shifted back to a strategic battle map. The Supreme Commander continued briefing with practiced ease, but her narrative tone hinted at fatigue and sounded just a bit tired. “In the Northern Province, despite incursion by Mosh ground forces, our mobile space guns continue to harass the Mosh fleet. They target the more vulnerable support and cargo ships, chipping away at the will of the ordinary Mosh citizen’s support of the invasion. I—” She stopped, her face blank.
Galen thought the attacks to bash the Mosh cargo and transport ships would only make it harder for the Mosh to leave, their primary means of leaving the system damaged. And it would just piss the Mosh leaders off and make them more anxious to land more forces sooner rather than later. Galen also knew that the mobile space guns were lucky if they got off more than a couple of shots before Mosh counter-fire from space turned them into big char marks on the ground. But Mandarin would build more, train new crews. A drain on resources.
The Supreme Commander shook her head vigorously as if to clear it and continued, “In the North, the two Mosh clans are led by brothers, sons of the Mosh High Chief himself. They have been shown favoritism by their father, given greater resources and smaller sectors, while achieving less on the field of battle. Between them, they have suffered more than thirty percent casualties and have been handed more than a dozen tactical defeats in less than three months. Were they my Field Marshalls, they would have faced a firing squad long before now.”
Unsteady chuckles circulated around the room. There had been firing squads, ordered by the High Command and approved by this very same Supreme Commander. She pointed at the lower part of the map, the straight line. “These three clans have made steady gains and have exercised good judgment in the area of conservation of forces. They are cousins to the two leaders in the North, are the nephews of the High Chief. But recently, at the behest of the High Chief, some of their most powerful units have been taken away from them and reorganized into a mobile armored corps. Three armored divisions with support, with an able Mosh leader who distinguished himself in battle put in command. The reason for this is not clear, but this specialized corps seems to operate independently, reports directly to their High Chief, and has positioned itself behind the bend in the line.” She pointed at the junction where the straight line from the South angled slightly to the East, into the Northern Province.
Galen kept quiet and guessed that the new Mosh armored corps was put together to emulate his own Task Force. He smiled. Imitation, the highest form of flattery.
The Supreme Commander said, “We will take advantage of the petty jealously and favoritism evidenced at the highest levels of Mosh command. We will strike at a point where we can split their forces, drive a wedge between the favored sons of the High Chief and their cousins to the South. Our forces will emerge from the Kyok Forest and then drive into Guri, and beyond. Our initial forces will bypass Guri and then get in position to re-take Cherry Fork.
“The Kyok Forest is hilly terrain and densel
y forested with mature trees. Not generally considered good tank country, the Mosh won’t expect an attack from there. But the region has good logging trails and improved surface roads that can accommodate the movement of a large armored force. Most importantly, there is a heavy rail line capable of transporting the Ajax artillery pieces of the Jasmine Panzer Brigade.
“I will give a broad-brush outline of the operation so that you all understand the importance of keeping up with the timeline and the capture of every objective, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you individually. The main body of armor will push through the woods and envelop Guri. The Jasmine Panzer Brigade and its task force will bypass Guri and head toward Cherry Fork and take up positions about seventy five kilometers to the South and East of that city, just out of the range of the heaviest defensive guns of that city. They are there to secure firing positions for their Ajax guns, which will then crush the city’s defenses so that follow-on forces can capture Cherry Fork.
“But beware. The Ajax tanks cannot pass through the Kyok forest on their own. The hilly terrain is too steep and the roads too soft. They will be brought forward by rail. When the Jasmine task force bypasses Guri, Mandarin forces must then capture Guri so that the Ajax guns can be brought in to Guri’s railhead where they will be unloaded. They will then move into their firing positions to crush Cherry Fork’s defenses.
“Cherry Fork is the primary logistics hub for the forces in the North, and is also the only feasible operational base in the Western Province for the fighter-bombers that infest our skies. Taking that city will set the Mosh back significantly. They will be forced to base their logistics in the Skeleton Desert; their fighter-bombers will have to operate from the Skeleton Desert as well, meaning they won’t have the range to bother us nearly as much. I’ll expect the Mosh to pull back and establish a strong defense in the mountains east of the Skeleton Desert.
“When successful, this operation will put an end to Mosh offensive campaigns. It will put them in a position where they have to negotiate a peace and settle for accepting the Skeleton Desert as their new home. Over time, the Mosh and their culture will be absorbed into ours. Certainly, they will not lord over us. In a few generations, they will be civilized and assimilated.”
The Space Force Senior Master Chief made his way through the rows of seats, handing out flip-folders. Laminated cards spiral-bound at the top, they had a master event list with dates and times in the margins. Galen took his and shoved it into his left cargo pocket.
The Supreme Commander looked around the room and said, “As soon as you have your timeline, you may leave.”
The leaders stood and she left.
Tad flipped through his eight-page timeline booklet. “Cute.”
Galen shrugged, stood with Colonel Baek and Tad and waited for the other leaders to make their ways out of the room. “Nice plan.”
Tad said, “I couldn’t have come up with a better one myself.”
Colonel Baek said, “It’s your plan exactly, the proposal you sent up to High Command.”
“Yep.” Tad tucked his timeline in his pocket.
Galen said, “Only one flaw. We have to rely on the Mandarins to capture Guri.”
Baek said, “Either way. If we were tasked to take Guri ourselves, we’d have to rely on them to capture and secure the firing positions for the Ajax. I think that is too complex a task for them. Taking Guri is less of a challenge. It is a single, straightforward objective. They should be able to handle it.”
“Hope so,” said Galen. He turned toward the door and then stopped suddenly, snapped to attention.
The Chancellor extended his hand and Galen shook it. “Colonel Raper, so good to see you again. Lieutenant Colonel Miller, Colonel Baek. Glad you could make it.” Tad and Baek shook hands with the Chancellor. He glanced around, stood and smiled and waited until all the other leaders had left the room. He leaned forward and spoke softly, “I appreciate your cooperation in this matter. I’m counting on you to pull this off. This is it. Fail, and we’re done.”
Galen said, “Yessir. Are you well?”
The Chancellor said, “As well as can be expected, under the circumstances. I’m living down here now. The legislature has been dissolved and the High Command controls everything. The only reason they show me any respect at all is because of your obligations to me.”
Galen looked to Colonel Baek and said, “He’s right. Our unit charter binds us to defend the civil government against armed threats, at the behest of the Chancellor. We have no real obligations to the High Command.”
Baek smiled. “My orders attach me to your Brigade.”
The Chancellor smiled. “Good luck and God bless.” He then turned and left the room.
Chapter Twenty Two
Galen stood tall in the cupola hatch of his Lion tank, his combat suit providing protection from the radiation of the solar flare. His tank sat at the release point, the exit ramp of the highway his unit traveled along from the Jasmine Panzer Brigade compound. Until now; this was the exit for the secondary road that ran west into the Kyok Forest.
Armored vehicles rolled by, oversized markings painted on them to show their combat identifications. All had a two meter round circle, rescue red, painted on top of their engine compartments to identify them to friendly aircraft. The Brigade’s Interceptors would be flying in support, as well as a few Mandarin Interceptors. The Mosh didn’t have anything that could fly under these conditions. In fact, the Mosh space fleet had backed off a great distance to get away from the flare. The Mandarin Space Force, unwilling to move too far from the planet, was sheltering from the flare in the planet’s shadow. An Armored Personnel Carrier at the tail end of the Mechanized Infantry Battalion column was marked with “D 88” on each side, showing that it was the Motor Sergeant. The number ‘8’ resembling a wrench…
Others, the tanks especially, had horizontal bands of duct tape around their turrets. One band for first platoon, four bands for fourth. Many had rings painted around their main guns, a modest way to show how many enemy tanks they had killed. Kill rings. Commanders flew storm-sized unit guideons from their sensor masts. Vehicle commanders who had combat suits stood in their hatches. Comms were out, due to the solar storm. Hand and arm signals still worked. Although the gadgets inside the armored vehicles were protected, it was the keen eyes of the vehicle commanders that were best at finding targets under these circumstances.
External loud speakers allowed the vehicle crews to yell at each other over short distances, and ultrasonic bursts allowed for delayed but secure communications. Line of sight comms between vehicles through laser pulse, that was spotty and unreliable. Galen saw the last vehicle of his task force roll by, a recovery vehicle based on a Hercules tank chassis. Galen lowered his seat and closed his hatch. “Okay, driver. Get out ahead and park at the next release point.”
The task force halted for crew rest at the far end of the forest, armored vehicles bunched up bumper to bumper on either side of three parallel gravel roads. It violated doctrine but this time it was essential to hide in the woods, compressed like a spring poised to launch from the forest. Trooper Bier managed to get the Lion tank positioned at the head of the column with half an hour to spare.
It was near midnight and the solar storm would be harmless for a couple of hours. However, the units maintained comms silence to avoid alerting the Mosh. Galen stood in his cupola and removed his helmet. The sky glowed green and crimson, great streaks of upper atmosphere aglow, moving, like a distant fire. The trees of the forest seemed to like the extra energy of the solar storm, the leaves lush and dark, and sprouting new leaves at the tips of branches to capture more energy.
To the right and left and rear were the Brigade HQ tanks, Hercules tanks. Tad on his left, Spike on his right, two more tanks behind for the S-1 and S-4 commanders, with a flak panzer section behind tasked with watching their backs. In a column to the right was the Cavalry Squadron. Behind them, the Hercules heavy tank battalion. In a column to the left
were the Light Tank and Mechanized Infantry battalions, vehicles intermixed.
The Stallion medium tank battalion was lined up behind the command group, a squad of Capellan Marines riding atop each tank, protected from the storm by their medium powered body armor. Behind them were the armored vehicles of the Brigade Support Battalion. The thin-skinned and lighter elements of the Brigade and the Marine detachment were still back at the Jasmine Panzer Brigade compound, hunkering down in metal-roofed buildings and underground bunkers. They could come forward after the solar storm passed, transported quickly by the Helos and Marine assault boats. That was the plan.
Galen’s tank moved out first, alone. Bad doctrine and bad tactics usually, but under the circumstances it was best. To avoid detection, or at least present only one tank for the enemy to spot, if they spotted it. Besides, there wasn’t a Mosh weapon within twenty kilometers that could kill the Lion tank with one shot. The Lion was eight hundred meters beyond the edge of the forest as it climbed up the slope of a low hill. At the crest of the hill it stopped, found its target: the entrance to a highway tunnel. It was the main road into Guri. The task force didn’t need it, they were bypassing that town. The Mandarin forces were going to encircle the town, didn’t need the tunnel either. Not yet; they could re-open the tunnel after they took Guri.
But that tunnel was a likely place for a sizeable force of Mosh warriors to shelter themselves from the rays of the solar storm. Corporal Wine laid his main gun on the target, Colonel Raper confirmed the point of aim through the optical sites, and Corporal Wine fired the particle cannon. The face of the hill above the tunnel bulged, burst outward and then a landslide buried any evidence there had ever been a tunnel. Trooper Bier backed the Lion tank a good twenty meters, to put plenty of masking between the tank and the enemy.
The rest of the command group moved up in support of Galen’s tank and stopped. The task force units sprang from the woods, across open fields and around the right side of the hill that had the ruined tunnel, kept going around the outskirts of Guri. Rolling farmland gave way to great, flat stretches of fertile fields. Resistance was futile at best. The tanks barely slowed down as they returned fire from weak ambushes. Pop-shots mostly, weak opportunity fire from Mosh light tanks that just happened to be in a position to notice the task force’s movement.
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