WarShip FSS Warspite

Tikonov Nadir Jump Point

Tikonov Principality

May 3, 3219

"Commodore Giovanni," said Admiral Winston Adel to the commander of the Tikonov Principality's naval assets, "this is Admiral Adel of the AFFS, and General Edward Davion, commander of the Star League peacekeeper task force.  We request permission to enter Tikonov space.  My communications officer has already transmitted the pertinent information."

       The holographic representation of Giovanni that stood before them captured the commodore's expression masterfully as he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another.  Edward, who was standing next to Admiral Adel, knew that, with nine WarShips from the Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, Lyran Alliance, and Com Guard, there was little that Giovanni could do to stop them with the two aged and battle-scarred destroyers that now defended the Tikonov system.

       "On behalf of Prince Charlemagne, I welcome you to Tikonov," said Giovanni.  "The, ah, size of your force left us a bit alarmed.  We were unaware that the Star League had deemed it necessary to send so many units to Tikonov."

       "Don't worry, Commodore," said Edward quickly.  "Most of this force is destined for other worlds in the Principality.  But we'll be operating our peacekeeping mission from Tikonov itself, and we'll be leaving a regiment of combined forces to defend it."

       "I see," said Giovanni, briefly looking to something off the receiver's field of vision.  "Prince Charlemagne will be pleased to hear of the Star League's commitment to our cause.  And he has granted you permission to approach Tikonov; the proper vectors should be being transmitted to you now."

       At a nod from his commo officer, Adel smiled.  "Yes, we've just received them, thank you."

       "Then I wish you a pleasant journey," Giovanni said.  "You must forgive me for not providing your forces with a proper escort in-system.  Unfortunately, the Liao have been relentless in their attacks against our shipping."

       "Hopefully we'll be able to stop that," said Adel just before Giovanni cut the transmission.  The plastic smile fell off the admiral's face as he turned to Edward.

       "You've got your work cut out for you, sir."

       "Yes, I'd guessed as much."  Edward Davion had been chosen by the Precentor Martial himself out of a handful of candidates for the position of task force commander.  It was not a posting that he had enjoyed thus far, but he had an excellent staff to help him, most notably his second in command, General Lara Steiner.  So far, the units had been too busy to worry about any nationalism-inspired turf wars, and Edward was determined to break them in a way that would promote teamwork, not competition.  The only problem he saw would be on Tikonov, where he planned to station the command battalions from the Davion, Steiner, and Kuritan primary units.  The Drac commander was a sensible man, though, and Edward had full confidence that any rough spots would soon be worked away.

       "What time do we make planetfall?"

       "It'll be a four-day burn from here.  Only a gee of acceleration; we're not in that much of a hurry."

Prince's Palace, Tikonov

Tikonov Principality

May 7, 3219

Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao, Prince of the Tikonov Principality and General of the TPAF, sat in his smallish office in the eastern wing of the Prince's Palace, formerly the Palace of the Capellan Governor.  However, the governor had retreated with the remnants of General Hu's command, leaving behind an estate that had quickly been renovated and decked out to serve as Charlemagne's place of living and business.

       "Sir," buzzed a voice from the intercom on his desk, "the peacekeeper commander is here."

       "Show him in, please," said Charlemagne sweetly.  Better to let them think of him as the lamb until the lion showed its teeth.

       General Edward Davion walked into the room with the simple, yet precise, gate of a career military man, one who was so good at his job that he needn't worry about the petty technicalities of military life.  He was of good height, though still shorter than Charlemagne, with a trim build.  His light hair was cut close to his scalp, and his face was lined and weathered from the long road behind him.  He wore the green-and-blue uniform of his unit proudly, the small star of a shining green metal on his brass x marking him as one of the participants in the Star League action against the Republic of the Sphere's short-lived rebellion in 3199.  The rest of his "salad bar" showed numerous engagements with pirate raiders, as well as what must have been training missions and unit certifications.  Davion's right hand rested on the golden pommel of his decorative saber, the final addition to his uniform.

       The woman that followed him in was a sharp contrast to Edward Davion's plain simplicity.  General Lara Steiner, indeed a very beautiful woman, walked with an air of pride that could only be Steiner in origin.  Her polished boots clicked against the floor, and her flashy sky-blue uniform was marked with various decorations, though none quite so impressive as Davion's.  And, if Charlemagne was correct in reading those markings, Steiner had never seen battle before.

       Fantastic, he thought, a stravag simulator ace!

       "Welcome to Tikonov, Generals," he said politely, allowing none of the disdain he felt creep into his voice as he waved toward the two chairs before his desk.  "Please, have a seat."

       "Thank you, Prince," Davion said evenly.  Steiner waited until her superior had seated himself to take hers, and Charlemagne smiled inwardly at the show of respect.  Obviously, Steiner thought quite highly of her commander.  Something to remember for later, quaiff?

       "If you wouldn't mind, Prince," started Davion, "we'd like to brief you on what we intend to do here.  First of all, my staff will formally issue statements to both your troops and the Capellans informing them that the Star League expects the fighting to cease, and that my forces are authorized to use deadly force to prevent either side from continuing in the fighting."

       "Aff, I had expected as much," Charlemagne admitted.  He would much rather have preferred an option that favored Tikonov as the victim, but it seemed that this was as much as he was going to get.

       "When we've seen how the different units responded to the statements, and then we'll deploy our forces according to what the situation is.  Obviously, planets where the fighting has continued will receive more forces, and planets that we deem a lower risk will receive less or no peacekeepers.  The only world for which I've already decided on the garrison for is Tikonov."

       "Oh?" Charlemagne said, hardly surprised.

       "I intend to make Tikonov the headquarters for the task force, primarily because this planet's ComStar station is the best in the Principality, which will make it easier for me to keep in touch with my superiors on Tukayyid.  I'll have the command battalion from the units from the Federated Suns, Lyran Alliance, and Draconis Combine stationed here, which means that both myself and General Steiner will be on-planet, though that may change as the situation dictates."  General Davion paused.  "I'm also stationing the task force flagship, the Warspite, in orbit, if you don't mind."

       "Neg, it is no trouble at all."

       "Excellent," Davion said.  "There is one last thing that I must request of you."

       "Yes?"

       Davion bit his lip.  "I will need a warrant from you stating that the commanders of my peacekeeping forces are superior to your officers.  I realize that this might create conflict between garrison forces, but in the long run, I think that it'll help us avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

       Charlemagne hesitated.  He didn't like the idea of giving the Star League control over his military, but what could he do?  After all, he was the one who had secretly contacted Anderson Davion and requested that the First Prince lobby the need for peacekeepers in the first place.

       Finally, he nodded.  "Aff, I will grant the warrant, but I cannot guarantee that my forces will obey it.  They were far more loyal to my late wife than they are to me, and even more loyal to a free Tikonov.  They will do what they think is best for the Principality."

       "Thank you, Prince."  Davion smiled.  "I have no doubt that there will be little trouble to hinder our efforts to bring peace to this area.  With your leave . . ."

       "Aff, be about your business, General," Charlemagne said with a wave toward the door.  "Should you need to call on me again . . ."

       "I shan't hesitate, sir," Davion said as he walked to the door, Steiner in tow.  After he had left, Charlemagne leaned back in his chair.

       "Not quite what you expected, eh?" asked Mr. Zander as he stepped out from behind the drapery where he had been covertly observing the conversation.  Charlemagne shook his head.

       "Honestly, no, it wasn't."  The Clanner smiled to himself as he was finally able to speak like a normal man.  Zander had seen through his façade almost from the first day; there was no point in continuing it in his presence.  The ways of the Clans had despised him since the day he had been old enough to know that they did.  To spite the system that he hated, he had worked harder than anyone in his sibko, testing into the Warrior class with perfect marks . . . and then escaping it the first chance he had.  How his Clan's elders had scoffed when Star Colonel Kerensky had wed Janice Liao, heir of an Inner Sphere realm.  Charlemagne would love to see them now, now that he was lord of his own space instead of a slave to worthless tradition—tradition that had been bested by the culture he had adopted.  "General Davion is anything but a political yes-man.  Of course, being that he's the cousin of the First Prince, I don't suppose he ever had to be."

       "He is an adept soldier, as well, sir," said Zander.  "He's commanded a regiment in battle before, which is more than I can say for most Capellans officers."

       Or most of the commanders of your own Tikonov Regular Guard, he did not add.

       "Indeed.  Do we know what type of 'Mech he pilots?"

       "An Atlas.  One of the newer models, I believe, but he's been in the type since he made captain."  Zander paused for a moment, thinking.  "I believe that General Steiner has a similar 'Mech."

       "Hmm."  Kerensky-Liao had always maintained that one could deduce a great many things by knowing the type of 'Mech a general chose as his own.  His immediate impulse was to say that Edward Davion was the type to barrel straight into a fight, matching brawn for brawn in an all-out slugfest in which the winner would be the one with the most armor and the biggest guns.  Certainly, that judgment was correct with Lara Steiner.  But Charlemagne sincerely doubted it to be the case with Davion.  He had been too calm, too tactful to prescribe to that sort of theory . . . and he had survived too many military actions.  "We will have to watch this one."

       "It shouldn't be hard, he said himself that he'd be stationed on Tikonov."

       "But if we are too overt in our espionage, he will find reason to relocate his headquarters," Charlemagne pointed out.  "Be careful, Mr. Zander.  And remember who you work for."

       "My Prince," said Zander with an over-exaggerated bow, "how could I ever forget?"

Task Force Aleph HQ, Tikonov

Tikonov Principality

May 9, 3219

"Well, it's what we expected.  Maybe not what we hoped for, but definitely what we expected."  Edward crossed his armed in disgust.  "Stupid bastards.  Well, I guess we'll just have to kill them."

       Sho-sho Alfred Yamada nodded almost sadly.  "Hai, it would appear that your sentiment is correct.  Look on the bright side, though, at least they stopped fighting on New Hessen."

       "Let's not forget," said Lara Steiner from the back of the war room, "that the Capellan Confederation now occupies Slocum.  So that's two planets we don't have to worry about right now."

       " 'Right now' being the operative phrase there," Edward said, "because eventually we'll have to take Slocum back from the Capellans.  And they didn't really stop on New Hessen, they just blasted each other to death around the same time our statement arrived."

       "Well," said Leftenant Colonel Benjamin Shenke, TF Aleph's chief operations officer, "I think that for now, we can get away with leaving Kansu, Azha, and Woodstock to their own devices.  The fighting there really has died down since we ordered the cease-fire, and besides, we have bigger fish to fry."

       That's probably the biggest understatement of the day, thought Edward as he looked at the holographic map being projected before him.  It showed the Tikonov Principality, with the worlds on which fighting still raged highlighted in increasing blots of red.  The one that captured his attention was huge, the world of Bharat, where over three regiments were still embattled.  Another major concern was Acamar, where the First Acamar Light Cavalry had tied down a regiment from the Third Capellan Guard.  Edward grimaced.

       "This is going to be ugly," he muttered.  "All right, time to start breaking up forces.  I'm planning on detaching Tai-sa Kozawa to Acamar, along with a battalion from the Second Lyran Guards.  Generalmajor Byrd can handle Sector Two.  Sector Three I'm giving to the Fourth Avalon.  Sector Four will be the responsibility of Tai-sa Williamson."

       "Who," asked Lara, "are you sending to Bharat?"

       "That distinct honor falls to you, Lara," Edward said.  "I've changed my plans.  Sho-sho Yamada and I will stay on Tikonov with our command battalions, and you'll take the Twelfth Donegal to Bharat with the 3045th Com Guards as backup.  I'll keep the First Crucis and First Genyosha back as a reserve force that I'll deploy as needed."

       "Brilliant," Lara grumbled, more at the situation than at her commanding officer.  "I'm assuming that Bharat's HPG station is in reasonably good shape."

       "The Com Guard garrison seems to have held up well against both the soldiers of the Principality and the Confederation.  I think they'll be quite pleased to see you, though."

       "Understandable," Lara said with a slight smile.  "WarShip support?"

       "You'll have the ComStar ship, and the Lyran flagship, of course.  Admiral Adel?"

       "Yes, this is my area of expertise, isn't it?" the old admiral said with a smile.  "We'll be dispatching the CSS Excalibur and all four of ComStar's Lioness-class combat DropShips.  With the Peter Steiner and the two Hrothgars' aerofighter complements, you shouldn't have to worry about whatever the Capellans have to throw at you.  According to Prince Kerensky-Liao, the TPS Glorious crashed on Bharat's second moon last week.  She was hammered pretty badly in the fighting.  The Capellans had two WarShips and a number of aerofighters there, but they haven't been spotted since the destruction of the Glorious."

       "Hardly surprising," Shenke said.  "They're probably sitting on the warp points."

       "Which is why General Steiner's fleet will be using a pirate point.  However, if the Capellan WarShips do make an appearance, you'll be able to speed them on their way to hell."  Edward clapped his hands.  "Obviously, there're a lot more details to be worked out, but that's the gist of it.  Colonel Shenke . . ."

       "Yeah, I'll get working on a plan," he said.  "It'll be on your desk tomorrow.  Thank the Lord most of the troops are still on their DropShips."

       "Don't complain, Benjy," Edward said with a laugh.  "Everyone knows you like it."

       "That never ever meant that I can't complain about it," said Shenke, sniffing indignantly.

Champion Estates, Tikonov

Tikonov Principality

Mr. Zander sat back in the comfortable lounge chair that he kept next to the fireplace in his den, looking at the mercenary officer before him.  Captain Rain Jeffers, commanding officer of the Lonesome Vanguards, stood at a sharp military attention.  Really, it was inaccurate to think of Jeffers and her unit as a mercenary band.  Since Charlemagne had sent the First Vanguards and the Lonesome Devils on a suicidal mission to distract the Capellans so that the heavier merc units could attack, a mission that had cost both units their commanders, Jeffers had been understandably disgusted with Zander's employer.  However, Zander had convinced her to take leadership of the remnants of the Vanguards and the Devils, leaving her with just over four lances of 'Mechs, and had hired her as his private police force.

       "At ease, Captain Jeffers.  Have a seat?"

       "No, sir, thank you."  Jeffers fell into a more relaxed but still definitely military stance.  "You wanted to see me, sir?"

       "Absolutely, Captain, I wanted to commend your people for the excellent job you've been doing," said Zander.  "And I wished to inform you that I thought I might add in a little bonus for you."

       Jeffers nodded.  "Thank you, sir.  I'm sure my people will appreciate it."

       "I hope so.  They've certainly earned it."  Zander smiled.  "That's all, Captain, unless you'd like a drink."  He gestured at the brandy snifter that had been set on his desk.

       "No thank you, sir, I'm still on duty."

       "Of course."  Zander nodded for her to leave.  Jeffers came back to attention, saluted, and headed out.

       Mr. Zander leaned back.  Charlemagne certainly thought that everything was going well, and Zander would be content to agree with him so long as it lulled the egomaniacal Clanner into a false sense of security.  Truly, Zander had no intention of remaining Charlemagne's willing servant forever . . . and the "Prince" of Tikonov would certainly not appreciate Zander's plans.