FSS Warspite, Capella Orbit

Capella Commonality

Capellan Confederation

August 25, 3219

"I have the distinct feeling that this is not going to be pleasant," said Edward Davion to Shenke, Kell, Hasek, and Tai-sa Katsuro Genimocho as they looked over the intelligence reports from orbital observation of Capella.

       "I would have to share that sentiment, sir," Genimocho said.  "I would like to volunteer the Samurai Guard for the duty of assaulting the spaceport."

       "Um."  Edward nodded slowly.  "Yes, I think that'll do.  It goes without saying that it'll be a top priority to take as much of the spaceport facility as possible intact.  We'll use the spaceport as a staging area for our DropShips, which should make the rest of this thing a bit easier in the long run.  All right, Shenke, let's hear what you've got."

       "Thank you, sir."  Shenke stood up, carefully avoiding eye contact with Edward.  Had he met his friend's gaze, he knew that he would have had to notice the dark circles around his eyes.  Edward Davion had slept little since the news of Anderson's assassination had reached the fleet.

       The same was probably true for every man and woman assigned to Task Force Aleph.  Edward had decided—correctly, in Shenke's opinion—that it would be less of a blow to morale to just come out and tell the fleet the truth.  Nothing could bring the First Prince back, and the troops—especially those in the AFFS—were better off hearing it from a trusted commander rather than learning it from a Capellan POW.  Five days later, the wound still hurt, but the personnel assigned to the task force had rededicated themselves to the war effort, ready once more to take it to the tyrant who had murdered their liege—or, at least, the liege of their comrades.

       Edward hoped that their dedication overpowered the desire for revenge.  Chong-lo obviously meant to keep Capella, having committed two regimental combat teams and a number of mercenaries to its defense.  The First Confederation Heavy Cavalry, under General Miriam Sinclair, was probably one of the best units under the banner of the CCAF.  Supporting Sinclair was General Wu Lin's Third Sian Regulars, recently imported from the Capellan capital.  Sinclair had also been given a BattleMech battalion operating under the name of Nigel Nirvuel's Brighton Bashers, a merc unit recently chartered under the sponsorship of the Capellan government.

       The Brighton Bashers would be no problem, but they were just the window dressing.  Edward was certain that Sinclair would use the mercenaries as a throwaway reserve, and worried more about what she would do with General Wu.  Shenke had dug up both Sinclair's and Wu's files in the Intelligence Ministry database, and they had all been surprised to discover that the two officers had worked together before, during the Confederation's short border conflict with the Taurian Concordat.  Wu Lin had a reputation as a hotheaded officer, an unstoppable force who would do his level best to destroy anything and everything he was pointed at.  Kell had observed that he would make a damned good battalion commander, but at the head of an RCT, Wu was out of his element.

       Sinclair, on the other hand, had been commanding multi-regiment forces for nearly half her CCAF career.  She was cold and calculating, with more than enough political connections to go with her considerable martial skill.  Granted, fighting against the Taurians was a walk in the part compared to combat against the militaries of the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere, but Sinclair had definite potential to be a phenomenal thorn in the Star League's already tender side.

       "Another thing we need to consider," Hasek said, "is the pace of this campaign.  The battle for Capella is going to last some time—at least a couple of months.  We need to rescue General Steiner by January 1, and we can't do that if we're still bogged down here."

       "I'd been thinking about that myself, ma'am," said Shenke, "and I think I devised something of a solution.  It will take us about three weeks to get to Sian from here.  Our battle plan for liberating General Steiner involves an attack by AFFS marines on the Capellan WarShip that's housing our people that coincides with an assault on the planet itself, specifically the Celestial Palace.  Chong-lo's capture will be the major priority, and once we have him, we force him to surrender.

       "To succeed, we need at bare minimum an RCT.  To pull this off we need to hit Sian hard and fast—faster than they're expecting."  He grimaced.  "We may even have to consider hitting the planet from orbit with our WarShips."

       "That," said Genimocho, "would be a most undesirable course of action."

       "I know," said Edward, "but it's better than destroying multiple regiments on both sides fighting for the capital.  There are at least six Capellan 'Mech regiments on Sian, and Chong-lo, cowardly bastard that he is, has probably reinforced his capital."

       "How do we even know that Chong-lo will be on Sian?" Hasek asked.

       "If he abandon's it, he essentially abandons the Confederation, and the people will recognize that," Edward said.  "Either way, we win.  He can't fight the war with the capital and the people against him.  Hell, half the military hates him anyway—remember how many people we had defecting from the units we captured on Ulan Bator?"

       "Okay, so who do we send to Sian?" Kell asked.

       "First Crucis Lancers," Shenke said.  Genimocho, to Edward's surprise, nodded adamantly.  A little too adamantly . . .

       "You planned this," Edward said.  It was a statement, not a question.

       "Guilty as charged," Shenke said.  "I even made sure that Kell would ask who we were going to send."

       "I was in on it, too," Hasek said, "but they just couldn't figure out a part for me to play."  She smiled.  "So I nod vigorously."

       "God."  Edward shook his head.  "Shenke.  Why?"

       "Face it, General, the First Crucis is the best RCT we have.  Your veterans have experience in urban combat from Tikonov—and that was some dirty fighting.  We can trust the Lancers not to get bogged down, because that's what will really kill the operation.  They'll have to always be moving, because any group that gets cut-off in that situation is dead."  Shenke smiled.  "So.  The First Crucis lands as close to the palace as is humanly possible, and then beelines it to take Chong-lo hostage.  If he's killed, the op is dead; if he gets away, the op is dead.  And once captured, it'll take a little convincing to get Chancellor Liao to surrender—which is why you have to be there, Edward."

       "Me?  Shouldn't I be commanding the force on Capella?"  Edward gestured at Kell.  "Allen here can handle that, he's as good a commander as I am."

       "Well, I have to agree, but I'm not the Commander-in-Chief of the SLDF," said Kell.  "That, Eddie my boy, is an honor held exclusively by you, yourself, and . . . you."

       "General," said Sarah Hasek, "none of us have the clout necessary to get Chong-lo to sign a peace agreement.  Not to mention the fact that you're the only one authorized to make peace on behalf of the Star League."

       "Damn."  Edward grimaced and clapped at the same time.  "I must admit, you people thought this out thoroughly.  All right, I concede the point, and will lead the attack on Sian, as Bill has laid it out for us.  However, for the brief time that I am on Capella, I will retain strategic command, as is my right as your extremely capable commander."  That drew a laugh, mostly from Kell and Shenke.  "However, when I leave with the First Crucis—and the WarShips, because I have a feeling that the fighting won't just be on the planet—"

       "Probably a good guess, sir," Kell said.

       "Thank you," Edward said.  "Anyhow, when I leave with the First Crucis, Marshal Hasek is in charge.  Bill, I regret to inform you that your services will not be needed on Sian; there's a great deal more you can do for Sarah here than during a battle that'll probably only last an hour anyway."  Shenke nodded.  "It's settled, then:  the First Crucis disembarks for Sian on December 1, 3219.  If that date works for all of you."

       "You know, I think I have something then . . ." started Genimocho.

       "Good.  Since no one but the sworn enemy of my House has a problem," said Edward with a wry smile, "I'd just love to hear what Bill has planned for us on Capella."

Prince's Palace, Tikonov

Tikonov Principality

I don't think I'm going to be able to handle six, thought Zander, bringing his simulated Masakari around the cover of a small knoll.  Especially not with two of my particle cannons out of commission.  On the other hand, I've already killed twenty-one 'Mechs, so maybe the damage is understandable . . .

       An enemy Yu Huang appeared in his HUD, trotting around in a wide circle to try to get behind him.  Zander let go with both of his remaining PPCs, relishing the sudden burst of heat that entered his cockpit while at the same time grimacing at the simulation programmer's inability to use anything but House Liao 'Mechs as adversaries.  If the Tikonov Principality were to endure for any length of time, the TPAF would fight more than just Capellans.

       The one House they would never fight—at least not during Zander's reign—was Davion.  First Anderson and then Shane had been very good to the Principality, essentially buying Zander's loyalty with financial support and shipments of foreign weapons.  With the EarthWerks and MegaMech factories up and manufacturing at full capacity, the Principality had no shortfall in either income or homegrown weapons, and Zander had already commissioned projects to design several new BattleMech models.  Soon, he hoped that the pocketbooks would be sufficiently large enough to build a shipyard complex over Tikonov, shipyards that could be used to bolster the Principality's fleet of JumpShips and DropShips . . . and to create the nation's first WarShips.

       Yes, thought Zander as he watched his two particle beams miss by a healthy margin, it's quite the little empire I'm building here.

       The Yu Huang hastily returned fire with a gauss rifle, pounding the silver melon-sized projectile into the Masakari's left arm.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending upon who one was pulling for), the two PPCs in that arm had already been fused shut in a previous engagement.  The impact did throw off Zander's aim just as he loosed his last salvo of LRMs.  The missiles flew off to explode harmlessly in the dirt, and Zander cursed softly.

       He never allowed his subordinates to see him curse, nor did he utter such words during public appearances.  Such remarks, especially from a public figure, were a sign of distress, and Zander would rather allow his enemies—and his potential allies—to think that nothing fazed him, that he was in total control of the beast he was riding.

       For the most part, that was true.

       Really, the only thing in the Principality that worried him was one Colonel Rain Jeffers.  The quintessential mercenary, Zander had discovered that she would do anything for money (and the more, the better).  He would never admit it to the public, but a healthy percentage of Tikonov's GNP went into maintaining the Lonesome Vanguards.  Jeffers never asked for any of the gifts she received, and Zander intended to keep it that way, because it kept her satisfied.

       The fact was, Jeffers knew far too much about Zander's business, especially his ascension to the Principality's throne.  As far as he knew, Jeffers was the only person who knew that it was he, not the late Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao, who had allowed the likewise deceased Lady Janice Liao fall into the hands of Capellan troops.  Lady Janice had been executed, and, once his position on Tikonov was secure, Zander had let Charlemagne take the fall for it . . . shortly before killing the former Clanner himself.

       Zander waited patiently for the PPCs to recycle—patience seemed to be in such short supply these days—and carefully aimed at the Yu Huang.  Gently, he depressed the trigger.

       The particle beams hit dead on, vaporizing the enemy 'Mech's cockpit head.  One threat out of the way, Zander thought.

       Unfortunately, Jeffers was not such an easy threat to extinguish.  Though Zander had been steadily reworking the officer corps of the Tikonov Principality Armed Forces, sweeping away the political appointees and replacing them with new, young, capable men and women, Jeffers was still his best and, truly, his only capable officer.  Add in the fact that she was a celebrity in her own right, the unofficial champion of the Principality, and it was clear to Zander that he couldn't just assassinate her as he had Charlemagne, at least not without the proper groundwork.

       Two Helioses got the drop on him, hitting the Masakari in the rear with two gauss slugs.  The simulation ended, the sim cockpit HUD informing Zander that his 'Mech's fusion reactor had exploded.

       Suddenly, Zander had an epiphany.

       And he knew.

       He knew how to negate the threat of Rain Jeffers.

       Zander allowed himself a small smile—indeed, a brief chuckle—as he emerged from the 'Mech simulator.