JJ's Javelin was too far away to benefit from Trahn's electronic cover. Kelly expected the worst. But whether by luck or intent, the Axman's fire fell short, cratering the ground and ripping great wounds in the soil. JJ, traveling at too great a speed, could not avoid the savaged earth. The Javelin's feet slipped. The machine crashed to the ground.
The Axman absorbed the hits from JJ's salvo and ran on.
Kelly pounded after him, loosing more flights of LRMs. His fire wasn't accurate, not unexpected given the range and the fact that both 'Mechs were racing at top speed. Some missiles went home, but the damage they did was minimal. Yet, it wasn't damage he sought to do with those salvos.
The Axman's pilot frustrated him by failing to turn and engage.
The Commandos cleared the trees they'd ducked behind and found themselves too close to the charging Axman. Swarms of SRMs burst from their launchers. The Axman replied with scything lasers and the deep, dangerous bellow of its Devastator.
When the smoke cleared, Sam's Commando was down, snarled in a tangle of tree trunks. The Axman, shedding armor plates, was terrifyingly close to Snell's Commando. The former gropo was trying hard to get his machine out of the heavy 'Mech's way, but his piloting wasn't up to it. The Axman slammed into the Commando, shouldering it aside as a man would a child. Snell's Commando went down and lay still.
The Axman stomped on, still heading for the river.
Three machines down. No, just two. JJ's Javelin was back on its feet. It seemed to be limping.
"Got a tear in my left leg's myomer bundle," JJ reported.
Sam was bitching and calling for help to get her machine untangled. Snell was silent.
The Vigilantes still had an advantage against the Axman. They could still catch him. But the bandit had shown himself an exceptional pilot and a dangerous opponent. Facing a stern chase against a modified machine that had better long-range firepower than Kelly anticipated was a very different game than his planned encirclement. And the Vigilantes would be two 'Mechs down if they pressed on now. Kelly decided he didn't like the odds; it was too likely he'd lose one or more of his light 'Mechs.
If he hadn't lost one already.
His eyes turned to Snell's fallen Commando. The new recruit still wasn't answering commo.
"Let the bugger go." The order tasted bitter in his mouth, but there were other concerns. He stopped his 'Mech beside Snell's.
"JJ, give Sam a hand," he ordered as he slipped out of his harness.
He put a voice lock on the controls and clambered to the ground. Once he got Snell's cockpit open, he found the man stunned, but apparently not seriously injured. The Axman was long gone by the time all the Vigilante 'Mechs were up and their pilots ready to move again.
"That was the bandit 'Mech that raided Severagol back before the war," said JJ.
"I agree," Kelly said. "He was headed for the sheeple ranch. And those people there seemed to be expecting a 'Mech."
"And we weren't who they wanted to see," Sam said.
"I don't think it was the ranchers the Axman was coming to visit," JJ said.
Kelly felt the same way. "DiMassi?"
"Who else?"
"So what business have the bandits got with the Word of Blake?"
"We could go ask the redoubtable Adept diMassi," JJ suggested.
Unfortunately, diMassi proved more redoubtable than they had anticipated and was gone. He had slipped his bonds and was now nowhere to be seen. A search of the ranch didn't turn him up either.
Kelly checked the crested accipiter's claws. The disk was gone, too.
On the way back to base, Kelly sent his 'Mech's computer to work on his copy of the disk's contents. It had no more luck than his portable.
He made his report and turned the data over to Veck. The base computer couldn't crack the encryption either, but it did reach a conclusion: the code was Capellan.
"Politics." Veck said the word like it was profanity. "This goes up the chain. You did good, Kelly. I'd bet that this data is worth every scratch and bruise the Vigilantes took, but don't expect anything good to come from this."
While they awaited the real fallout from Kelly's discovery, the war went on. Patrol by patrol, the Vigilantes gathered experience. Aldo Snell got his count's Honored Service award, which he seemed to think was good.
Proper, at least. Sam and JJ got over the indignities visited on them by the hot-shot bandit. Sally Trahn's voice, and manner, grew calmer. And Kelly got a little more used to being in charge.
The war seemed to settle into a steady state. Weeks passed. 'Mechs occasionally sparred with 'Mechs, but no serious engagements were fought. The serious fighting, and dying, was done by conventional forces, but even there stalemate seemed the way of the world.
Only in the propaganda war did anyone seem to be making a major push, and there it was the Duvic Palatine that was on the offensive.
And offensive was exactly how Kelly found their latest tack.
The Vigilantes, according to the Duvics, were war criminals, a bunch of hooligans led by a bitter, cynical killer by the name of Tybalt Kelly. They were guilty of all manner of war crimes, from murdering a defenseless mercenary before the war started to destroying civilian property from backyard gardens to entire sheeple ranches.
When the slandering broadcasts were aired in the rec hall, most of the MechWarriors laughed at them. Veck didn't. Though Veck's sober reaction offered pause for thought, Kelly dismissed the significance of the allegations. After all, he knew the truth of the situations that the Duvics were blowing out of all proportion.
"When the war is over," he commented to Veck, "the real truth will come out. People will see that Presider Price and her cronies were just power-hungry politicians, stirring up trouble to serve themselves."
"Let's hope so," said Veck. "When this is over, there will be wounds to heal. We have politicians, too. And politicians have little use for the truth."
"What are you getting at, sir?"
Veck shrugged. "Shouldn't worry too much about after. We have to survive first. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and all the politicians will predecease us." He put a beer in Kelly's hand. "Drink to that?"
Kelly drank, though there was one who Veck might term a politician for whom he did not wish that fate.
35
Port Tsing
County Shu, Epsilon Eridani
Chaos March
3 May 3062
For a change, Gabriel Shu found himself listening as Major Ling-Marabie made yet another pitch for her Operation Bagration. Each day that the conflict dragged on, he found himself longing for a resolution more fervently. Neither side had resources for prolonged conflict.
Truth to tell, he didn't have the stomach for it either. He longed for a quick, clean decision, and in his weaker moments he came close to not caring which side came out the victor. His sense of duty kept him from stepping over that line, while the mounting costs of the past two months pushed him toward another.
Could the major be right? Could a hard, ruthless strike be the only answer? Was he being irresponsible in refusing to green light the operation? He found himself reconsidering Ling-Marabie's proposal and wondering if the road it offered, though hard, was the only one out of their problems.
"The situation is not quite as favorable as when you first proposed this," Colonel Bua observed when the major finished.
"The operation is still feasible," insisted Ling-Marabie.
"In the past weeks, we have taken notable casualties," Ismael Shu-Larabie said. "And the cost of munitions is skyrocketing. We are not as strong as we once were."
"Neither is the enemy," Ling-Marabie stated. "They face the same problems that we do. We started stronger. We remain stronger."
"For the moment," said Colonel Bua. "Our casualty rates are higher than those of the Duvics."
"Propaganda," sneered Ling-Marabie.
"You seem to be questioning Colonel Bua's evaluation, Major," Gabriel said. "Perhaps you have information th
at the colonel and I have not heard. I, for one, would be grateful to hear it because I do not find it comforting to be losing soldiers faster than the Duvics."
The major harrumphed and waved away her objection. Bua nodded thanks to Gabriel and continued.
"Casualty rates aside, the balance of power may soon shift. I believe the information recovered by Commander Kelly to be reliable. We cannot afford to ignore it."
"Are you saying we need to do something and do it soon?" asked Whitehorse.
"Exactly," said Ling-Marabie.
The major started to pitch Operation Bagration all over again. Claudia Hall pointed out that she was out of order. The argument that erupted had less to do with procedure than personalities. While his counselors wrangled, Gabriel sullenly considered the operational plan still glowering down from the wall screen. Whether quickly or slowly, their chance to seize the initiative was slipping away.
Colonel Bua was right that the threat of the forces secretly landed to aid the Duvics was great. Possibly even greater to Epsilon Eridani as a whole than to County Shu. He ought to send the information to President Benton, but he feared that it would do little good. Benton would likely dismiss the computer disk as a ploy to smear Price, just as he seemed to dismiss anything Gabriel put before him. Without evidence of Price's perfidy, Benton would not move. Unfortunately, the evidence lay at Hin-chuan, slowly being assembled into the weapon that would doom County Shu.
Gabriel stared at the map. Everything seemed so close together. Hinchuan looked a mere hop away from Lushon, but a hundred kilometers of badlands lay between the two locations. A hundred kilometers. Was that really so far? He traveled a hundred kilometers for an evening at the theater without a second thought. No, it wasn't far at all.
Of course, Hinchuan lay behind enemy lines, and that made it far away indeed. Or did it? Just how strong were the forces guarding the landing field? He passed the question to Colonel Bua through his computer screen as the others continued to argue.
MINIMAL, Bua responded. SECRECY MAIN DEFENSE.
Secrecy was indeed important to the Duvic plan. Clearly they feared to risk calling attention to the landing place of their illicit allies by garrisoning the place. His thoughts began to coalesce. Could it be that Commander Kelly's intelligence coup had given them the key to the door?
Gabriel tapped his console. "Gentlemen and ladies," he began, pausing while everyone settled down, "one thing we must agree on is that the situation will not get any better if we do nothing. Therefore, we must do something. Ultimately, as count, it is my responsibility to determine the course for the county. And so I will. Regretful though I am of the cost, I believe we must mount an offensive. Major, will you recall the stage one map for Operation Bagration?"
Ling-Marabie gave them all a triumphant grin as she entered the commands.
"We will use a variation on the Bagration plan. Instead of the Jenzo mining facility we will make our target the Huang-Lu Space Port. We stop the incoming reinforcements before they can debark. Best of all we ought to be able to keep civilian casualties and collateral damage down since the landing field at Hinchuan is isolated rather than being the heart of a populated settlement like the Lushon target."
"Laudable goal, but Hinchuan is over a hundred kilometers deeper into Duvic territory than Lushon." Ling-Marabie clearly disdained Gabriel's meddling in her perfect plan. "It throws all the timetables off. At best, it raises the butcher bill and at worst we'll be defeated in detail."
"I don't see why," Gabriel said. "The extra distance can't matter that much. We can form the strike force with our fastest BattleMechs. At their top speed, it will be no more than an hour travel time."
"Mechs do not travel at top speed in enemy territory."
Though Ling-Marabie's reply was made as to a child, Gabriel ignored the offense. "Then two hours. It will make little difference. The timetables can be revised accordingly."
"Our target will be obvious to them once our forces cross the Bechulla tributary. Hinchuan is sufficiently distant from that point that their BattleMechs will have ample time to react," stated Colonel Bua.
"Is that not what we want?"
"It could be a concern," the colonel said. "Our light forces could be destroyed, and their 'Mechs could then shift back to intercept our main force moving on the capital."
"But our forces will not move on the capital. We will engage their BattleMechs. We will have the decisive encounter at last. And we need not destroy civilians or their property to get it. We do not even need to destroy all of the Duvic forces. We need only bloody their noses and force them to retreat."
Justin Whitehorse put a voice to the confusion on the council's faces. "How so?"
"Isn't it obvious? Once we have captured Hinchuan and interned Price's Capellan support, we will surely recover more than enough documentation to expose Price's collusion. Public opinion will turn. Even our even-handed President Benton will be forced to come down against Price. We will no longer stand alone. It is Price and her cabal who will be alone, and alone they cannot stand.
"We must be swift, gentlemen and ladies. We must be decisive." Gabriel stood and drew himself tall. "Let the word be sent out. Let us strike and end this war."
36
Mirandagol District and Beyond
County Shu, Epsilon Eridani
Chaos March
6 May 3062
In the next few days, the word on Operation Bagration was passed down from the count's council through Major Ling-Marabie to Captain Veck, who outlined it for the MechWarriors of the County Shu Volunteer Battalion.
"It's a chancy plan," Veck said at the briefing. "It stretches our forces, and relies on the enemy doing exactly what we expect of him. Now, before we get down to specifics, does anyone have any questions about the mission and goals of this operation?"
Instead of a question, Bayard Sten made a statement. "You don't sound like you approve of the plan, Captain."
"It's not my job to approve it, Subcommander. Neither is it yours. Execution is our responsibility. We are the ones who will take the brass's plan and make it happen."
"Or die drying," Kelly whispered to Sam.
Veck rounded on him. "You have a better plan, Commander Kelly?"
"No, sir," Kelly snapped back.
"Then what is your problem?"
"No problem, sir."
"Question, then? Desire? Wish? Need?"
"All I ask is that the Vigilantes be given a responsible part that we may acquit ourselves with honor."
"Asking for honor is a lot like volunteering, kid." Veck shook his head. "You just don't do it if you want to keep your skin intact. As it happens, your part is already chosen. All our parts have been."
Veck dismissed the ordinary pilots, retaining the lance leaders for a planning conference where he laid it all out for them. Kelly's lance had indeed been given an honorable role. Theirs was the strike mission against Hinchuan township and the capture of Huang-Lu Space Port. Militarily, it was a sideshow to the main event of the drive on the Duvic capital, but Kelly figured it for the real heart of the offensive. Success in Hinchuan would provide the evidence to expose Duvic-Capellan collusion and bring the weight of Epsilon E opinion—and probably military power as well—down on the Duvic Palatine and its renegade leaders. It was a mission whose success would aid the county whether or not the main objective of Operation Bagration was achieved.
Kelly's lancemates gathered around him when Veck finally released him. He had barely begun to explain their assignment when JJ interrupted.
"I'm glad you didn't get a chance to ask for this honor. They might have wanted each of us to weld one of our 'Mech's arms to its back. Just to increase the honor, you see."
"Wouldn't bother me," Sally Trahn said with mocking cheeriness. "My Raven doesn't have arms that'll reach behind its back."
"For you there'd have to be a special honor. Say, freezing your knee actuators so your Raven can stump its way there and back again."
"Enoug
h," Kelly commanded. "You've got supplies to draw, and I want you all to make a thorough check of your machines. I'll have a tactical briefing for you then. If we're all lucky, we can catch a nap before we depart."
The military being the military and 'Mechs being 'Mechs, there were delays. The tactical briefing ate the remaining time, so nobody got their nap.
Nevertheless, the Vigilantes moved out on schedule, just after sunset, while the light was still making embers of the low clouds. Those clouds were part of the plan. They would hide the moons—Intel said they couldn't afford to wait until the next full dark—and shroud the land in a darkness suited to moving troops. The Vigilantes moved at a steady, but respectable pace, the sort that any chance observer might take as suitable for a unit traveling to a new camp. To aid that illusion, a convoy of trucks followed them.
And it was an illusion, for those trucks didn't carry techs and supplies, they carried footsoldiers. The soldiers were the follow-on force for the Vigilantes' mission.
When full dark fell, 'Mechs and trucks doubled back on the path. They moved more slowly, cautious in the dark. Sally Trahn was listening hard for any enemy transmissions, but she discerned no sign that the Vigilantes had been noticed. As Kelly was sure that all his lancemates were doing, he prayed that the Duvics remained ignorant. The Vigilantes' chances of success went up with each minute they remained undetected.
Two hours into the mission, they changed their course. From paralleling the "front lines," the column turned and headed directly for them. If Intel's maps were right, the force would be moving through a gap in the sentry posts. The 'Mechs crossed the line and entered enemy territory. The trucks followed for a short distance before going to ground to await the proper signal.
Somewhere behind them, other signals were being given. Searchlights would be blazing out to stab brilliant beams into the underbellies of the clouds. Comital infantry and armor would be moving by the light reflected off the clouds, leaving their jump-off points and approaching their assault positions. Soon they would engage Palatine forces and cut a hole for the CSVB to run through. Up north something similar was happening, as forces attacked in and around Severagol. Up north there were no 'Mechs to support or exploit the push since it was only a feint. Both attacks were expected to draw the Duvics' attention, the better for a lance of fast 'Mechs to slip through their territory.
Initiation to War Page 22