Chapter 21
May 12, 3025
Camp Bow Wow II
New Syria
Suk II
These conference calls are getting more crowded every time, Emily thought as he stood next to her liaison. He was Captain Miles Daniels, a tall and lanky but nonetheless handsome man whose field uniform looked a half-size too tight. Compensating? It does wrap around him nicely, though. They stood in front of a small video screen currently split down the middle. LC LaPointe was on the right, and Hauptmann David Ketchum, the Militia commander for the whole planet, was on the left. Both had this look of please make this quick, or have a really good plan in mind, or stop wasting our time about them.
Emily was no diplomat, but she learned how to be a shrewd negotiator. She probably had about ten seconds to really make her introduction count, or she'd have to figure out how to assault an enemy base with half the firepower they had.
"Morning, gentlemen. I'll make this quick. Two days ago, we made contact with the main mercenary force threatening the Triple-M district. Yesterday we confirmed their location with a second recon op, and I asked to talk with both of you today to figure out the best way to bag these guys and capture two lances of 'mechs."
LaPointe seemed grumpier than the last time they spoke, when he got a slightly better end of the stick while trading for the Warhammer Emily captured. He said nothing, simply nodding while holding a long blink. Ketchum was genuinely interested, being more straightforward and not having to worry about contract negotiations as much.
She pushed a button on the laptop and the screen changed to a general slideshow of the images they gathered that would display on everyone's screens. Clothesline and two of the three Fire Javelin brothers had managed to get much close in the middle of the night, at one point going on foot to get even closer. Camel had tagged along as a guide in his Firebee until Romeo healed up, but he was worn out from a double march in two days.
"The 'mechs we scouted are primarily set up for long range fire support. My assumption is that they were a little more dependent on the lance "Jawbone" was commanding before we captured them." Some of them, anyway.
"The photos and files I sent you last night show four heavy 'mechs, two mediums and two lights, all but one in good condition. Two Locusts, one Phoenix Hawk, one Vindicator, one Rifleman, one Jagermech, one Lancelot, and one Marauder. No tanks or support vehicles aside from a couple maintenance vehicles and several large all-terrain trucks they used to loot a large chunk of the good stuff from Triple-M. Infantry seems to be sparse, but we only got one side of their compound, so there could be more, but we counted two platoons, primarily as sentries and guards for the 'mechs themselves.
Emily realized she didn't have that luxury and was relying on a more perimeter-focused guard detail. That's going to change as soon as this call is over, she promised herself.
"What I am proposing is a joint-op with all three of us, with my force acting as bait and the Militia and RoughRider forces landing north of the forest along the coastline. The Coyotes could approach from either the east or the west, making it look like we bit off more than we could chew while bringing them north to you."
She pushed another button and the slideshow ended, showing everyone's faces on all their screens again. "We're looking at about eight kilometers of dense forest between the coastline and the edge of their compound. Our east/west approach gives the Coyotes more forest to get concealed before getting danger close. Comments?"
Daniels looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut until the senior officers said their peace. LaPointe cleared his throat and said "you've clearly done your homework on this. The best the RoughRiders could offer is a two-lance dropship insertion and light air support, and this plan seems to accommodate that. We can't pull more than that from our own reserves for more than a couple of hours, given our commitment to all the water treatment plants. His eyes shifted slightly, as if he was looking at Ketchum to see what he had to say. Don't call him ketchup. Don't call him ketchup. Emily repeated the mantra in her head.
"Hauptman Ketchum, what do you think?" LaPointe spoke before she could. Whew. "Could we borrow that Leopard of yours again with a lance of lights?" The Militia forces were primarily tanks and infantry, with two lances of 'mechs. One was a medium lance set up as urban defenders and general honor-guard for more official ceremonies. The other was a lance of lights set up with their Leopard for reinforcing a tank company that came under fire anywhere on the planet.
HP Ketchum nodded, a crack of a grin breaking through the right side of his mouth. "I might have a different offer, but for now I could probably cram a platoon of anti-armor infantry with my light lance that could help crack the bigger 'mechs, but that would require baiting them closer to the coastline. They won't be mechanized, so I wouldn't rely on them as much during the planning portion of this assault. Sarna beach has a decent sized field beyond it that should give everyone a decent LZ for coming in hot without tons of sand getting blown into their joints. Anything else is pretty dense up there. Not suitable for a reinforced company of 'mechs coming in at different intervals."
Emily interjected next. "This all sounds doable. I'm grateful for your assistance. Captain Daniels has a proposal for us in regards for compensating the RoughRiders for their assistance on this op, as this is primarily the Coyotes' area of operations at the moment."
Daniels finally piped up. "Given the MRB requires a clause for an adjustment in salvage rights in the case of…if I'm remembering the lingo right…"pre-planned operations involving one or more third-parties in the assumption of risk that were not previously agreed upon in the contract." Woof, that was a mouthful, Emily thought silently. "Given three separate forces will be all taking some manner of risk, with the Coyotes in the most danger, I propose 50% salvage rights to the Coyotes, 33% to the RoughRiders, and 17% to the Militia."
LaPointe was stone-faced. "forty/ten, as we're bringing about three quarters of the firepower necessary to reinforce the Coyotes. This op is quite far away from the Militia's logistical base, so most of the loot that can be carried by the Leopard will be offset by fuel costs. We'll be likely bringing two Unions, giving the illusion that we have two companies reinforcing instead of two lances, so we'll have room to spare. We'll also be using some VTOLs for medevacs." Clever idea, Emily thought to herself. If she broke a tiny smile at that one, she couldn't be sure.
Counter-negotiations were above Daniels' pay grade, so Ketchum took over. "Thirty-five/fifteen, and instead of cluttering up the Sarna LZ even more for a lance of lights, we'll bring the entire 3rd Cavalry with the Coyotes as part of the backup, making the assault seem more authentic. They're fast enough they can withdraw in good order." Ooh, now there's an idea.
LaPointe was still rock-like, his eyes closing in deep thought. "Seems reasonable," he finally said after a long moment. "The RoughRiders can be ready tonight. Dropship insertion makes us pretty flexible on the timetable. Major?"
Emily decided to do her own moment of silence, more for dramatic effect than anything. "Hauptmann, I suggest giving the 3rd Cav a few hours to get some sleep in before tonight. 0100 is always my favorite time of day. Dropship insertion at…" she paused, closing her own eyes in thought as her brain bounced around different statistics, 'mech speeds, rough terrain data, light and weather conditions to figure out how to achieve maximum surprise for maximum surrender. "0113."
LaPointe's head actually tilted to the side, much like a dog trying to get a better perspective. "That's awfully optimistic for eight kilometers of a fighting withdrawal in a different direction, at night, through a forest. You positive about that, Major?"
Emily nodded, looking back and forth at Daniels next to her and Ketchum on the screen. "Yes, LC. I intend to use the 3rd cavalry as the back door that closes behind them you slam the front door in their face. Sound good?"
LaPointe did his own mental map wizardry and said "Actually, yes, that sounds very good. Just make sure you don't get bogged down before we come in. Let's get with our people and hash this out and we can do the final details at…" he glanced down, obviously checking his watch. "1400."
Everyone agreed and signed off. Emily turned to Daniels, grinning. "Well then, Captain. Let's go tell the 3rd Cav we get to be best buds again."
Daniels smiled, saluted, and walked off. Emily grabbed her radio on her hip. "Clothesline, Mother Hen, this is Dirk. Meet up in the office." She was so giddy she wanted to just blurt out "We just scored four times the firepower for this op!" but decided to wait until they had some privacy first. Thanks Bart, for showing me how to shake 'em down.
