—==Chapter 8==—
Dive-bar, Battlement City
Embrasure, Caselton
Draconis March, Federated Suns
July 24th, 3145
Though Jules could respect brand honesty the name "Dive-bar" struck him as being entirely too on-the-nose for an actual dive bar. He supposed that it could have been unintentional, the name perhaps referencing something to do with sea diving that the Mechwarrior knew nothing about. But intentional or unintentional it fit his definition of a "dive bar" quite well.
The place was near a marina and though Caselton was not particularly known for its abundant ocean life it certainly stank of fish and the sea. Being a Mechwarrior he had expected to stick out like a sore thumb, but it seemed his contact had chosen the place well, and Jules found that by far a majority of the patrons were muscular rugged-looking men like himself.
Actually he couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of any other sort of patron, but he dismissed it. He wasn't there to seek out a dalliance partner and it wasn't his place to wonder about where all the women were on this backwater world.
He spotted the person he was there to meet sitting in a booth near the far corner of the bar and when their eyes met they motioned for him to come and join them.
The mercenary Mechwarrior did so, though he was a little surprised. He'd assumed they'd meet in a more clandestine manner, he'd imagined covert whispering from opposite booths or an intricate system of drink ordering though of course he knew that all of that could very well be his own imagination getting the better of him.
If sharing a booth was what his employer desired then so be it.
He took a seat and his employer smiled slightly, which was all Jules would get by way of greeting as the shadowy figure said, "Report."
Jules looked around, and his employer told him, "It's fine, I have people here and this place has been watched. You can speak freely, though not too loudly if you please."
The Mechwarrior nodded and said, "All right then. Fenix is meeting with Legate Popadic, and General Finnegan right now to discuss the plans for the battle of Caselton. Ariyoshi is with her, so she can report later on how it goes. Lindsay said she'd selling them on the idea of the full Swordsworn brigade showing up, but truthfully she doesn't believe Groell will send them. Not with the rumors of how close the Combine is getting to New Avalon."
His employer took a sip from a drink that looked suspiciously like muddy water and said, "That's understandable. But if I know Erik, and I like to imagine I do, he'll send her at least a token force. Likely those he deems as lacking in loyalty to him personally, people he'd likely have thrown away against the Combine anyway."
Jules frowned and asked, "With all due respect, are you sure you still know him? Don't misunderstand me, it's just I've fought alongside the man and I've been at his side for years since he took control of the Swordsworn and . . . honestly even I can't quite get a read on him. It's almost like he's two radically different people at times."
The employer laughed and said, "I wouldn't go that far. He's very good at being who he needs to be in the moment, very good at making you believe him and trust him. Once he knows you, once he knows what you expect from him he'll live up to it until he has you."
"Understood." Jules lied.
But the shadowy figure wasn't fooled. They said, "I trust Erik to be himself. That means he will look out for himself to the best of his abilities, and for the moment that means that he must keep the Federated Suns from falling. That means he needs to protect New Avalon for as long as possible and keep the Draconis March from complete collapse. However barring any promises from Daoshen Liao to make him the Duke of the Crucis Commonality—which I haven't ruled out—he'll recognize the importance of a victory symbol on the Capellan front. Not only if, but especially if he believes New Avalon is about to fall."
"Especially if that victory is his instead of his Uncle's?" Jules guessed.
"Well his uncle isn't part of the equation anymore, so he has nothing to worry about on that front." The employer reminded Jules before taking another sip of their drink and continuing, "Since Fenix isn't on his level politically speaking it will be far easier for him to usurp her successes as his own, especially if he gives her the symbol she needs—Swordsworn forces to spread the rallying cry in the Capellan March that common men and women can make a difference in this game of nobility."
So to speak, Jules thought. As a freeborn Jules knew a thing or two about being looked down on as lesser than those around him but the Inner Sphere's nobility system really struck him as being more of the same but on a grander scale. The nobles might as well be Trueborn and the rest of the galaxy Freeborn for all it seemed to matter to them.
In truth that was why he had emigrated to the Republic of the Sphere . . . there nobility was less set in stone, service brought citizenship and citizenship opened doors.
Not that that had stopped him joining Duke Aaron with the rest of the Ghost Legion when the time came. Citizenship was nice but money was just as good at opening doors.
Even though he'd been born to a Clan with—at the time—the strictest adherence to Kerensky's old visions of noble warrior uprightness Jules had to admit that being a mercenary was the life he was born for.
He liked to fight and he didn't care who or what he was fighting as long as he got paid to do it.
"It would further help Erik when our absentee Prince returns. I imagine Julian Davion will be magnanimous enough not to sack Erik outright, especially if he has no one with whom to replace him, however it would help Erik's case with the man if he could point to some successes under his watch."
Jules could understand that. He asked his employer, "Do you want me to report on Fenix's success with the General and the Legate?"
"No need. I already know how it will go. Johnetta Popadic will balk at the idea of inviting any attack on her world, especially without its defenses finished. She'll likely suggest Fenix take her forces to reinforce Tikonov instead, but as Ariyoshi will point out that would be a mistake. Tikonov is too important to the Confederation for them to afford a second failure, the force that hits it the second time will absolutely dwarf the three regiments that struck in May. She'll put Fenix off for now with some empty promises and meaningless talk, but she'll agree to the plan when Tikonov falls."
"How can you be sure?" Jules asked, surprised by his employer's presumption to just . . . guess how things would turn out.
"Once Tikonov falls Caselton is just a quick jump away, and Popadic will start to recognize how vulnerable the world is with just three mostly incomplete regiments as protection, especially if the retreating Federated Suns Lancers are pulled to other worlds like Kentares IV or even Exeter."
"Exeter?" Jules asked in surprise.
"Or Kentares, and that's just a guess," His employer admitted with a slight shrug, "But it's where I would send the forces if I had to. Exeter is a relative stronghold away from the fighting with the Confederation giving them a chance to reform. I'm sure the Combine has designs for it but I haven't heard of any outright moves for it yet and their focus is as we've discussed firmly on New Avalon, other worlds are likely to be a second thought to them for now.
"With its bloody history Kentares is likely to get away with being deemed more trouble than it's worth for a while longer, unless the Combine really is engaging in the sort of brutality rumors claim they'd never control a populace that radically against Draconis rule."
Jules nodded accepting the answer, though he would have thought any forces retreating from Tikonov would come to Caselton just out of proximity.
"In any event," His client continued, "I know Major General Edward Finnegan. Especially after New Hessen he will be spoiling for a fight and luring the Capellans to Caselton will make even more sense then than it does now, especially if he anticipates three regiments of reinforcements from dear Erik."
"And if those three regiments don't come? How can Caselton stand if Tikonov falls?" Jules asked more out of concern for his life than for the world.
"Caselton will stand because Tikonov has fallen. Daoshen's pushing too far too fast and he's had too much success . . . far too much . . ." The Employer said with a slightly baleful look in their eyes before taking another sip of their muddy drink. "Tikonov is a crown jewel of the Confederation, they will send whatever they can at her. But Caselton? Mere icing on the cake, and I trust Fenix to be able to fend off a few fat kids."
Jules reasoned, "In other words they won't attack Caselton with the same force they attack Tikonov with."
"If Dai Da Chi is provoked directly they will likely send a portion of their forces to exact revenge, but the won't risk sending everything off of Tikonov. If they view the Fusiliers as their specific target they will likely send no more than one of their battalions believing it sufficient to exterminate a mercenary force that, to the best of their knowledge contains just one BattleMech battalion of its own."
"The best of their knowledge would be quite accurate," Jules said, "The regiment doesn't even have a full Command Company. As I understand it they have a number of Pack Hunter IIs that aren't actually fit for combat that they use for training new Mechwarriors, but outside of the first battalion the best they have are some industrial MODs . . . Dig Lords and Carbines mostly."
"For now." The employer said with a slight nod, "But I intend to arrange the Command Company Fenix needs, it will give me greater control over the unit itself and . . . well, lets just say that if Lindsay is smart she'll take advantage of another opportunity I'm sending her way in the coming weeks."
"If she's smart?" Jules asked, "She's never struck me as terribly unintelligent."
"When she lost her arm she spent half a decade drowning in a bottle, she's no Justin Allard."
"Perhaps, but who is?" Jules asked, trying not to let on that he really had no idea who Justin Allard was.
The client though seemed to accept the answer with a slight raise of their glass, "Fair enough. Still she's useful, I recognized that from the start. She's not nobility but she has the financial assets to help alleviate too much of the cost of things coming back onto my own pocket book and she's loyal to the Suns to boot. She's someone who doesn't have any loyalty to Erik outside of his office, but also not someone he would view as a threat. In all those things Fenix meets my expectations, but she'll need to show me her intellect as well as her loyalty and ability if she wants to be brought any further into this little circle of ours."
Jules shrugged and said, "If you like."
"Getting back to the forces likely to hit Caselton I anticipate another two regiments to account for the militia and the Second Lancers, but no more than three in total, that could leave Tikonov too exposed. That means that no matter what Erik sends the enemy is either met on even footing or they're outnumbered. Add to that the home field advantage so to speak, and the large donation I'll be making to help in the speedy restoration of Caselton's defenses just in case Popadic needs some extra confidence and there will be no better chance to bloody the Confederation's nose.
"But if they do win Caselton has no important exports and contributes little to the grand scheme of the Federated Suns outside of a history of loyalty that would almost guarantee a popular uprising that would make the world more trouble than it's worth for the Confederation just like Kentares is for the Combine. Furthermore the same underground networks that allowed members of the Fusiliers and the resistance to oppose the Word of Blake sixty years ago will let them do the same to the Capellans."
Jules couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine at the thought of the thoroughness of his employer's scheming. How much of this could they be right about? Surely not all of it. If they were Jules couldn't help but wonder why stake the fight on Caselton?
As his employer had said the world boasted nothing by way of exports apart from loyalty to the Suns. Having been on-world a while Jules could confidently say that the world's militaristic style appealed to the clanner in him but its population was sparse and truthfully its importance seemed . . . limited.
It mattered to Lindsay because it was her home, he understood that. But what would it matter to the Confederation outside of its proximity to Tikonov? And with rumors of Liao brutality to non-compliant worlds what was to stop Daoshen Liao from simply . . . making an example of Caselton's small populace?
If we fail Caselton could end up being a symbol of fear in the Capellan March rather than one of hope, Jules thought.
He couldn't help but tell his employer, "We certainly live in interesting times."
"There was a time when an expression along those lines was considered a curse," his employer said, "and I have to admit some days it does seem as if the Federated Suns has fallen under one."
Jules wouldn't disagree with that, though he didn't believe in curses personally. A man made his own luck though if the worst should fall on Caselton Jules just hoped his own luck didn't run out.
