Arrogance is a disease that cannot be tolerated – Colonel Amanda Lee Garret, Navspecforce.
Political Generals are as fit for war as lapdogs for hunting – General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
Imperial City, Luthien, Draconis March, 3082
"Go get some sleep he says. I've been sitting HERE, in THIS chair, ALL night, with the lights off, drinking coffee!! I keep telling you Mr. Kil. This is a DISASTER. I've lost another warehouse with high-tech weaponry that was almost impossible to gain and you say it's ALRIGHT!?"
The man ranting off like no tomorrow was Thomas Chow, infamous arms dealer. Myron Kil knew his rages and was simply waiting for the end of this crappy Grand Theft Auto imitation, before using his own " Shut up, sit down, relax. What Mr. Warner may has forgotten to tell you, is that your precious equipment has been saved, before Dagger gave the order to blow up your structure. And don't you try to make me believe that you rather want your equipment in the hands of Davion supporters."
"It's not the point. I lost another hideout again. How did this Dagger blow up the thing anyway. For all I know your man's a pilot, not a demolition man. No don't tell me, you sent one with him. In a few moments Warner will trundle in and tell me it was all planned from the start!!" When he heard the whirring sound of Warners wheelchair he turned around "Well, is it mr Warner?"
"You're right, Mr Chow. Dagger and Dodd have separately informed me of the situation and I had to give them the order. You can be lucky that our man has saved your equipment. He even sent me a report of the use your gadgets had in the field. The results are positive, he says, but there are some points that need improvement. You can read it all here" and Warner handed Chow a print-out.
Chow scanned the printout and then looked up again "All right, who is this Dagger anyway? The profile on him must be horribly incomplete, because concluding from this and several other reports, he's also a mechwarrior, a dropship pilot and what do I know more."
Warner smiled "It's not incomplete, Mr Chow. We know all about Mr Clifford Dagger. We know his real name, which aliases he used, his short career in ComStar, his accomplishments during the clan invasion, some incidents during that same clan invasion, we've kept track on him from the point that ComStar shoved him through Washout Lane. He has sent me a rather disturbing report about the situation on Kentares. Now that Dresati forces have toppled the balance in Davions favor, it looks like Hanwa Banking is trying to consolidate her position on the planet. They have control of the facilties in Desert City and Rocky Point. Initially the general idea was that one of the deep water ports in the region would be targeted as a target of acquisition, but something else came up. You can read it here" and Warner handed Chow a folder containing a map, some sattelite photos and a report, signed by Captain Clifford Dagger, Colonel Theodore Devlin and Colonel Rufus Excalibur Ffolkes..
Chow opened it and started reading.
Conakry, Guinee Province, Kentares IV, Draconis March 3082
Shots rang out over the calm waters of the sea. Four different guns could be heard: the silent cough of a Carswell PPK silenced pistol, the deafening bang of an Automag .357, the equally deafening thump of a Bjorn MD 12mm slug thrower, and the staccato chattering of a FAMAS 6.65 machinegun.
As there was no decent shooting range in the makeshift Camp Conakry, Dagger decided to fabricate his own, using small oil barrels and beer cans as targets. Mesito had fabricated a catapult to launch the targets. He and Rindel engaged Dagger and Ling in a teammatch
"Yes!!" Rindel exclaimed as she hit a beer can and made it sink in one shot. "One shot left, Captain"
Clifford Dagger only shrugged and said "Pull" Mesito shot away a beer can filled with water. Before it could even hit the surface, Dagger had pulled his Automag and fired once. The can obliterated in mid-air.
"Didn't your mother teach you that a Italian gentleman always lets the girl win?" Rindel asked with a scowl.
Dagger laughed softly "She did, but Dad threatened to use me as a small arms target if I ever dared to try such a stunt. I would like to know what he would have said about this mess."
They all fell silent as they reflected on the last weeks. After Dagger and his group had arrived onboard of the Georgeson in Cape Desolation, they had to wait a few agonizing hours before John Jack reported in from Puget Sound. Jack, Mesito, Cole and Maillaux had landed in Dropship Port Lima Kilo 7 and were transported to a Skye patrol vessel, the HMS Promise under command of Captain Mark Traynor.
A few hours after that a transmission from Lt. Whatney reached both ships with the news that Steiner forces were beaten from the capital, and that Ian would make a final assault on the Palace. Warner Industries had immediately seized the opportunity and gained control of the Orbital Defense Headquarters before Dresari even though about capturing it. He also offered the entire staff, plus the two defending companies of vehicles and mechs a job as "security personnel, consultants or advisors"
"It sure beats dying from starvation, I'll give them that" Whatney commented on his new job situation. "Now that Warner Industries has a very solid base of power here on the planet, we avoid a great deal of red tape with the government here; that's for the corporate lawyers to solve."
Vallenar and Traynor presented a plan for an breakout. If the fleets of Cape Desolation and Puget Sound were combined, the strength of the "Tactical Action Group", as they called themselves was considerable. The Georgeson had weapons capable of handling an entire lance of mechs, and the Promise which started it's career as a minesweeping vessel, was efficiently rebuilt as a pocket warship, utilizing several autocannon types, ranging from medium rotary to light ultra versions, backed by an ATM launcher battery graciously provided by Warner Industries. Furthermore they had the three Lightning vessels (Django, Sabata and Silencio) from Cape Desolation and one Cyclone patrol vessel, the Santana.
Vallenar had led a vidcom - conference "Our goal is Conakry in the Guinee Province. A few months ago, that place was almost wiped off the face of the planet by two companies worth of mechs battling it out, so any LAND bases are eradicated. But.. we still have an offshore base, disguised as an oilrig . No Davionist knew we had it there, and Steiner has kept their mouth shut, foolish enough to think we might help them." On that offshore base we have stored a lance of Seafighter hovercrafts, two Aerostat ships and a company of marines. We have facilities on the base to house two lances of mechs." At that moment he looked sheepishly at Dagger "None your associates mechs pose a problem, Captain, but I'm afraid your quad-cat mech is too low built, and I don't think it's got underwater capability. You can leave her in one of our secret stashes we've set up there. We've got some impressive chassis' on Floater 1 for you to make up for it"
Dagger was not happy with, but grudgingly accepted "Be warned that I will personally puncture anyone who damages her" he growled softly. The others laughed at the display of his clanner roots.
Vallenar continued "The problems we face are these. First, the fighting on Kentares IV seems over, Johanna Dresari is now declared Duchess, and lucky for us, Ian Dresari is off chasing Steiner away. I really thought he was going to hit the O.D.H. to gain control of Steiners last satellites, but your employers beat him to it. Now that "peace" is somewhat restored here, the Senate has confronted us with different rules of engagement. I can rant on for an hour, but I'll keep it simple: don't fire until fired upon. Our second problem are the spies left over by Hanwa. There are two small infantry garrisons in Puget Sound and here in Desolation. They consist of five men each, Their job is to spy on us and report anything unusual. If we want to escape to Conakry, we'll have to take care of them… silently. I heard you had something in mind, Captain?"
Daggers plan was risky, but smart. A group of former Steiner commandoes, now employed by Dodd's Cobra's, dressed up as local fishermen and headed for the outpost. Their task was to make it look like a plundering party from Desolation. So they were to take the guards out, not just shoot them. To achieve that goal they used special ND – ammunition: a handful of hard plastic balls wrapped together in a plastic envelope and used with a grenade launcher. Although they hit with the force of a .45 bullet, the impact was spread over a much larger area, reducing a deadly shot to a vicious blow from a heavyweight boxer. The effect was stunning: two guards fell over knocked out and were tied with ropes borrowed from a nearby trawler. Another guard was hammered into unconsciousness by a rifle butt. The two men inside were so busy shifting through various intelligence reports that the teamleader decided not to spill any ammo and just sedated them with a few well placed blows on the head. The equipment was smashed or taken away and the soldiers were hogtied in the same manner as the guards. A similar act was played out in Puget Sound, allowing the Tactical Action Group a clean getaway and a spotless trip to Camp Conakry.
Which was were the real problem started. There was no real command structure, only a few groups of different composure: the Construction Battalion led by Colonel Rufus Excalibur Ffolkes, also commanding officer of Floater 1 and Camp Conakry; the two lances of Seafighter Hovercrafts under command of Major Washington Emory, reporting directly to Duchess Dresari, the hardscrabble patrol units under Emil Vallenars Command, and lastly, the Intelligence unit sent over by the ODH, consisting of two aerostat ships and three recon drones.
Emory's problem was that he couldn't bear taking orders from anyone not connected to the Kentares military. Which meant he simply didn't acknowledge the Tactical Action Group's presence. He also kept his forces away from Conakry, save one Seafighter hovercraft with engine problems, and tried to counter every order the other factions tried to issue.
"When do you think they'll let us on Floater 1 Boss" Vark asked while he carefully aimed his FAMAS at a large floating oil barrel and lobbed a grenade on it.
After the explosion Dagger answered "If it was Colonel Ffolkes call, we would have been there already. TACBOSS Emory is proving a bigger nuisance than I expected"
Ling Sima scoffed "Thinks he's the big man with his Buck Rogers hovercrafts. They sure are impressive, but they still have a defensive approach since the war ended. And I suspect Emory never had any experience fighting with them. Oh well, let's mop up here and attend Ffolkes' strategy meeting"
While the group trudged back to the camp, two vessels approached Conakry. Both represented a different era, but still, both of them were on a war-mission. One was the Dropship Crazy Horse, carrying VENOM lance's supplies. Another unpleasant consequence of the new situation on Kentares was, that the Astrid had to be removed from her orbit. Duchess Dresari might have approved Dodd's Cobra's on the planet, but she wasn't that comfortable with a (partly) Cappellan warship on her turf. Which meant she had to be allocated to new coordinates, which made it all the harder for Devlin to keep a tight schedule in ferrying over supplies. In the end he had to use the Crazy Horse as a truck as well.
The second vessel approaching Conakry was an old barge, commonly used as a freight by the locals. But this barge was a camouflaged ship utilized by Atiba's Alligators, one of three mercenary groups utilized by Hanwa Banking. Beneath her deck she carried two 120 MM mortars and a boatload of ammunition. Intel from their spies suggested that although Floater 1 was properly defended, Camp Conakry was an opportunity to test the zeal of their opponents. The only nuisance could be a Loach VTOL spotted in the vicinity.
When they entered the briefing tent, Ffolkes had started already "On the shore-base we have a few hidden facilities to repair and equip mechs and vehicles, so that's were we can equip your crafts, Major Emory. It's also out of the way of Rocky Point, were Hanwa Banking controls the Davionists, and if the night is clear, you can see the lights of Desert City, only reachable by boat, plane of mech. Does that satisfy your concern?"
Dagger noticed something strange when he sat himself down in a dark corner. Every group was sitting apart from each other, like four groups of boys and girls on a dance party not willing to even look at each other.
Base Commander Ffolkes' Oxbridge accent interrupted his thoughts again "The terrain around Desert City is controlled by three combined mercenary groups, thrown in there by Brandes to keep everyone in check. They're smart enough not to terrorize the people, but any militairy forces other than Hanwa Security trying to pass through is politely, but insistently asked to leave, or they will be fired upon. You probably can suspect attacks or intimidation attempts as soon as you enter the area. The groups are known as Belewa's Bulldogs, Umamgi's Outriders and Atiba's Alligators. Each group has their own specialty. The Outriders have a combined force of tanks, hovercrafts and aerospace assets, the Alligators are experienced coastal-fighters, utilizing Boghammer speedboats and larger Hornet vessels provided by Hanwa. But the Bulldogs are the most dangerous opponent. They have three lances of mechs, mostly older designs, but in prime condition. I've known Oba Belewa as a very smart commander. She never relies only on high-tech solutions only, but utilizes those things she can use as an advantage in the area she has to fight in. She's been harassing the supply lines with land and sea based mines. Those mines she dropped in the canals are quite crafty. They're fabricated from obsolete hot-water boilers"
Major Emory laughed loudly at this statement.
Ffolkes frowned "It's not that funny, Major. All our efforts to disarm those mines other than shooting them failed. We lost three barges carrying petrol, ore and supplies already"
Emory mumbled something incomprehensible and watched at his shoes.
While the meeting dragged on, Dagger was observing the crew of the lone Seafighter hovercraft, the Manassas. The crew was composed of Samoans, apart from engineer George City, whose Southern drawl was suddenly heard. "I managed to repair most of the engine damage done by that Boghammer strike. She'll be ready in a few hours.
Dagger pounced on City's explanation "A Boghammer strike, you say? Last time I spoke with you Major Emory, ye suggested a "mechanical failure" and assured me that our presence here was superfluous. Did you even bother ter put a guard around Conakry?" While Emory was pondering on his answer Dagger counted himself lucky that he asked Vallenar to establish at least one airborne scout. Vallenar had let Ffolkes and his sister Isabella Vallenar, who was in command of the aerospace assets, in on Daggers idea. The result was that a lone Loach chopper would fly a recon pattern around Conakry. Emory hadn't noticed it yet.
"As mather of fact, I didn't" Emory finally snapped. "There's no need to provoke the locals with drastic action"
Cole, who was sitting behind Emory, laughed grimly. When Emory looked at him he said "Drastic action? You're just like the Commissioner that almost cost me my life. If we leave ourselves open to attack, you can suspect an attack before the day is over."
It wasn't Cole's intention to sound like a prophet, but in the end he did.
The barge had stopped using it's antique engine 2 miles back. Silently sailing towards her firing position she was just another merchant ship passing through. Beneath her decks two mortar teams worked furiously on the right elevation of their weapons. They didn't want to hit a specific target; the ongoing movement of the boat would spread out the volleys over the whole camp.
The radar operator whispered "OK, the chopper is out range for now. If his pattern stays the same, he will pass in approximately 5 minutes."
The captain of the barge nodded "Then let's do what we came here for. Open the hatches, boys. Time to bring our esteemed opponents their nightcaps."
After Cole made his warning, the meeting changed its tone. Major Emory kept on saying that there was no need to be afraid. "Those groups have nothing that special here. A few patrolboats, some tanks and hovercrafts, a motley collection of old mech chassis. They would think twice before attacking…"
Ffolkes interrupted Emory vehemently "If you do not change that adamant attitude of yours major, you WILL have to get ready for some nasty surprises. The eggheads of intelligence sent here by Warner have been piling up report after distressing report about troops movements in the area on my desk. Movements never in large groups of course. They know how to keep us in check. You're right if you say that, compared to our resources, it's like a group of Seals fighting a group of Indians. But a longbow and a pack of arrows is all they need to win the war here if we let them."
Dagger let the two combatants fight their personal war and turned to Isabella Vallenar. "Any report from yer scout yet?"
"Negative, she flew the pattern three times, and she only spotted civilian traffic. After this round she'll be relieved from her duty."
The argument had reached new heights. Emory screamed "I will make sure that the Council and the Duchess will hear about this. I will make sure that Vallenar and Warner will be removed from this area. All we're going to get with cowboys like you is.."
Daggers ears peaked up as he suddenly heard a familiar sound that made his skin crawl. The whispering sound grew louder and louder like an approaching freight train. Last time he heard it was in the Clan Wars when a light star of mechs backed up by mortars attacked the airfield he was stationed at. "Out!!!" he suddenly barked "Get out of the bloody tent. There's a mortar attack coming. Get the hell outta here! Find cover now!"
Surprisingly everyone obeyed, apart from Emory, who stared at the pandemonium around him. Only seconds later, heaven crashed down on Camp Conakry
The mortar crews worked silently, trying not to look at the inferno they were creating, trying to shut out the deafening cracks of grenade impact, just trying to fire as much grenades as possible before the Loach VTOL came in range again. Both crews were able to fire all their fifteen grenades. Just as was expected, the impacts were spread out nicely over the whole base. "Close the hold, we're heading back our meeting point!" the captain shouted.
Before their departure at one of countless hideouts Colonel Belewa and Major Umamgi had argued about the best getaway. Umamgi thought it was best for the crew to abandon their barge and hitch a ride home with a squad of Boghammers, which would pass their position on the way back from a decoy attack on Floater 1. Belewa pointed out that the barge was perfectly safe if it didn't attract too much attention. Lucky for the barge's crew, Umamgi accepted. They reached their hideout without much difficulty, although the patrolling Loach VTOL flew over twice, clearly looking for troublemakers
Dagger was lying flat on the ground with hands over his ears. Although he was almost completely deaf by the exploding shells, he made out at least 24 detonations. When he finally dared to lift up his head, he could oversee the disaster.
All tents were blown away or destroyed. The only concrete buildings in the camp, the ammo supply and the intelligence center were both hit badly, and the Sprinter Dropship Denver, which had been delivering supplies, got a direct hit on one of it's engines, causing the craft to crash-land.
Dagger suddenly was aware that someone was tugging his arm. He looked up and saw George City, gesturing to the waiting Manassas "We got word that Floater 1 was attacked too! A large group Boghammers tried to breach the defences, but it seems your collection of ships threw up a wall of fire around the base. They incapacitated two of our Seafighters, the Benton and the Florida. The two remaining Seafighters are in pursuit, the Arkansas and the New Ironsides. I can't find our own commander anywhere, so that leaves me in charge of the Manassas. Wanna hitch a ride?"
Dagger nodded and shouted in his wrist-comm system while he followed City "Vark, get a squad of Greifs in the air, take one of the Switchblades. Mesito, Cole try to rescue as much personnel here as you can. Wether Emory will like it or not, we'll have to fall back to Floater 1 now." A series of clicks was the only answer.
Then Daggers comm beeped and Devlins face showed up "Need help Cliff?"
Dagger sighed "Please tell me ye've got our mechs with ya."
"I do. I've heard your orders, so I will let them down in the camp. I got one of the chassis from Vallenars stash for you. Brand new Clan design, captured by Vallenar on a raid. It's called a Blood Asp."
"I'll deal with driving lessons later. Let's mop up a few Bogs first" Dagger shouted and clambered in the cockpit of the Seafighter. When he strapped himself in the spare seat he grabbed the radio-mike. "Manassas to Intel, are you receiving me?"
"We do, this is lt. Rendino. We're hit by a mortar and lost a drone. Wing snapped clean off. The other two drones are airborne now. Any orders sir?"
I'll have them in a moment. Try to find the position of those Boghammers that attacked Floater 1. We'll make them regret. Does anyone know what happened with Ffolkes and Emory?"
"This is Colonel Ffolkes. I'm a bit bruised, but luckily that's all. Same can be said for your crew, shaken and stirred, but all right. Emory is hit pretty bad. A load of shrapnel punctured his leg. We got him into our sickbay now. He still screams that he will see us before a court martial and will have us cashiered"
Dagger growled softly and looked at George City "You heard that too Commander?"
City nodded "I say let him try it. Let that son of a bitch just try it."