Horse and Sun, Dragon Falls 01
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Galtor III
Draconis March
Federated Suns
11 May, 3025
Observatories tracked around thirty lights coming in from the Nadir jump point. They would arrive in roughly 8 days at 1.5 gees. It had only been four days since the Eridani Light Horse had arrived on Galtor III.
Fear wracked the planet. It had only been three years since Kurita was driven off the planet, and now they have returned in force. Some cursed the Star League and its 'treasures' of warfare, but mainly in that they would be attacked sooner rather than later. Galtor had already learned that being peaceful was no protection. If Kurita takes back the world, they might never be free again.
"Once more our world shall be touched by war, but never again shall we meekly submit," spoke Governor Skyles O'Hanlon through all media channels. "We must fight, for our freedom and for our children - that they would breathe free air and not be hurt and crippled and made to live in hunger and fear and pain while in view of vast fields that could feed a hundred worlds.
"We must fight, we must overcome fear. I am informed that House Kurita is attacking on a broad front along the border, we are not the only ones in danger. Galtor, Deshler, New Aberdeen, Harrow's Sun! Let me assure you that our struggle here means something. Every day matters. Every Kurita man bogged down here or eliminated means soldiers that can't hurt anyone else ever again! We all endure together and we prevail together!
"We are now and forever, proud sons of the Federated Suns! House Kurita is a terrible master, and never again shall we be slaves to the Dragon!
In a later interview, Margrave Douglass remarked about this event in Volume Three of his book series "Life of a Mechwarrior":
"We have always known that Kurita would attack soon. In fact, just two days before the Light Horse arrived, Kurita infiltrators had destroyed the underwater planetary command post out of Derry Bay. The death of General Timothy Oldham passed planetary defense command to Lt. General Wilson Mandella. We had wondered how we could coordinate planetary defense without a protected central command, so when the Eridani Light Horse came along with their self-repairing Star League Command Net, that was almost too convenient.
"Lt. General Mandella commanded the 33rd Avalon Hussars well, but he had to stand with two mercenary commanders with experience leading multiple regiments instead of just the one. After a token protest, the Light Horse, as ordered by the First Prince himself, slid perhaps too smoothly into the role of command.
"And by this, I do not mean any suspicions that perhaps the loss was in any way premeditated or allowed to happen - I mean that the Light Horse presented their Star League command capabilities as something that could immediately rebuild any compromised command authority on any world that they just happened to land on. This is an outstanding feat, but let us not forget also the value of having the right man in the right place. General Timothy Oldham was a man known for his flexible thinking and would have worked very well with the Light Horse. He was likable and knew the local forces well. The loss made our defense worse than it could have been.
"General Armstrong's command of the defense - while I can confidently say is the only reason we survived, relies too much on the eyes of god and sheer technological superiority, than being part of a greater Davion whole. The Kuritan invasion was a series of problems with certain solutions, and so instead of one cohesive defense we had to rapidly move to address pockets of instability as they appeared."
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A fearful malaise hung over the world. Raids were common in the border worlds, but Galtor since its recapture in 3022 and the death of a third of its populace in the fighting, had actually seen little combat since then. Rebuilding through the past three years had seen their standard of living and economic efficiency improve massively. No longer did some nobles and their petty hangers-on monopolize the world's entire wealth.
War would destroy all of that, again.
Families prayed and stocked up living necessities. Civilian bunkers were readied to accommodate evacuees, while many more simply packed up to move out to the mountains and hinterlands. No matter how good the defense, their lives would be wrecked and good people *will* die.
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"BROTHER EYE CONNECTING. MARGRAVE SHERIDAN DOUGLASS, YOU HAVE AN INVITATION INTO SECURE SLDVCOMNET, TAGGED #GALTORCOM. DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT?"
Margrave Douglass's Stalker STK-3H did not have built-in Satellite Uplinks like other command mechs like the Atlas, but that was less relevant now. He shifted his view to the small Urbanmech standing nearby.
"I accept."
Every MechWarrior neurohelmet had a Heads-Up Display functionality, which displayed important information to the pilot in their transparent field of view without having to take their eyes off the action. These included weapons, ammo counts, speed, heat, armor values, range, the targeting crosshair, information about the targeted and tracked element, and a rudimentary minimap. Some HUDs compressed a 360 view around the mech into a 240 degree strip along the upper edge of the viewing area, most common in the newer and more crude 'bucket-head' neurohelmets of the Succession Wars as they precluded the pilot from turning their heads easily.
As the mech was standing still and not targeting anything in particular, the Target Window and the Mini-Map windows changed into a text window. The nearby Super Urbanmech was sending data that the battle computer thought was legitimate even if they normally made no sense.
This was the difference between the basic ECM available to every BattleMech and the advanced ECM suites and their capability to deliver ghost targets even if the naked eye saw nothing there..
Bloody Light Horse and bloody BROTHER EYE could teach their Target and Tracking System new tricks!
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#GALTORCOM
**Mrg_Douglass_(12thVega) has joined the COMNET.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Ah, Margrave, good to hear from you.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) How are things at New Wuhan City?
Douglass spoke up and the comm window updated with his speech into text:
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) As far as we can ascertain.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) We are ready to lift off with my Regimental Battlegroup and the and my first and second battalions at any time.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) My third battalion will remain here alongside Dahar's 2nd Battalion to defend the city.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) On that note-
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Why aren't they here in COM?
* Lt.G_Mandella_(33Hussr) They who?
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) General Dobson of the Dahar DMM.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) New Derry.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) We have no shortage of Super Urbanmech Comms Guard.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) They were here a while ago.
**Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) has joined the COMNET.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) Bloody trashcan, what do you mean-!
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) Oh.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) So that's how that works.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Welcome back, General.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Situation report?
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) New Derry is ready.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) We have here my regimental battlegroup and my two battalions. The Galtor Irregulars are here with Liao Yao-hsiang's brigade, O'neill's Legion and the Lone Wolves.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) Call it a regiment and a half, almost two.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) Trenches and defense positions are dug in the north and south of the city.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Two battalions on New Wuhan.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Are we really not going to bother defending Changlee?
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) Kurita would be wasting time attacking Changlee.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) I don't like it, but I can see the sense in it.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) It is better to defend the Middle Way pass to be able to move down to Changlee or strike up at New Wuhan as needed.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Unless they are conducting some sort of terror mission, the port at Changlee doesn't have any tactical significance.
* Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) I do want to move French's Company out of New Wuhan down to support Ormonde's battalion over there. An all-vehicle force like that needs some more bite.
Gen_Dobson_(Dahar_DMM) But would we lose the ability to contact people halfway across the planet like this?
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) As long as he is in range of a Comms Guard Super Urbanmech, it should be fine.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Is that the reason why these things come in whole lances?
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Just one is too obvious.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) This is why you should have more Urbanmechs.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) No thank you.
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If the Light Horse with their SLDF gear could do this, then just having this Urbanmech around meant that all Davion communications were compromised. Margrave Douglass now had to wonder if his mechs were permanently compromised.
While the AFFS might not mind it as much, the 12th Vegan Rangers were an independent mercenary unit and it was dangerous to put so much of their security into the hands of other mercenaries. They would have to scrub and make up new security keys, or rip out and replace those comm systems entirely, once they were back home at Verde.
Working with the Light Horse was as much of a pain as it was a boon.
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In geostationary orbit
Galtor III
16 May, 3025
#PM
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Kurita took the bait. That is good. Magnificent, even.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) But shattering their regiments here still requires the death of many good men.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) I should be happy about this, but I am not.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Civilians will suffer the most for anyone's victory here.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) It sounds a bit too late to worry about that now.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Were you not the ones most enthusiastic to support our employer Hanse Davion in this dragon snare?
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) You already have blood on your hands before this even started.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) It has to be done. Winning here would degrade Kurita's ability to act for *years*.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) But what is most frustrating is that winning or losing would not even solve anything.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) As long as House Kurita rules, the Combine will not stop fighting.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) They will fight with their teeth and stones if they had to.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) All we are doing here is buying time.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Time for people higher up to figure out a more long-term solution.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Such has always been the soldier's lot.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Isn't it enough that we do our duty to the best of our abilities?
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) If we lose, the best case is just that we retreat in good order or die.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Worst case, Kurita just takes the planet and hold it for a hundred years more.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) They would erase all trace of the old culture and all Davion influence to make sure rebellion never happens again.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) All that fighting and a third of their population dead for *nothing*.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) If we win... we leave and just go on to another battlefield.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Can we do nothing but to destroy? Is that really... the best we can do with our time?
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Anything more would involve politics, sir.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) As you know, we are mercenaries simply to keep our independence from being nationalized as part of House Davion troops when our founder was reinstated as Duke of Verde.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) As a margrave, I myself am a landholder.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) People will not trust much when you do not have a personal stake in their welfare.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) I will drown them in Ruralmechs.
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) Sir, that sounds more like a threat.
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#SPACECOM
* SLS_Johnston Johnson Actual to all forces. Enemy battlefleet will enter the outer combat perimeter in ninety seconds.
* SLS_Johnston BROTHER EYE reports enemy DropShips: 2 Achilles, 4 Avenger, 2 Vengeance, 12 Overlord, 18 Spheroids possibly mix of Unions and cargo carriers.
* SLS_Johnston Enemy ASF on approach number approx 18 squadrons, 108 or more fighters.
Margrave Douglass was sitting ready inside a Union, in the shadow of the opposite side of the planet.
The Kurita invasion fleet was closing into the orbitals. They were but hours away. BROTHER EYE showed that Kurita chose not to take the bait of splitting their forces to deal with the defenseless bunch of JumpShips at the L1 point.
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#GALTORCOM
* Lt.G_Mandella_(33Hussr) That's… oh god.
* Lt.G_Mandella_(33Hussr) We can't stop them in space, can we?
* Mrgv_Douglass_(12thVega) If you're going to pull some weird Star League space magic, sir, better do it now.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Space magic it is, then.
* BrvG_Armstrong_(ELHc) Battlefleet Taffy, you are clear to engage.
#SPACECOM
* SLS_Johnston_) Johnston Actual to all forces. Intercept at best speed as planned.
* SLS_Heerman_) Taffy 2 acknowledges.
* SLS_Hoel_) Taffy 3 on the go.
* SLS_Samuel_) Taffy 4, laser ports open.
* SLS_White_Plains_) Taffy 5 -
* SLS_Johnston_) Not you.
* SLS_White_Plains_) … Taffy 5 holding station over New Derry.
* SLS_Gambier_Bay_) Taffy 6. Fighters out.
* 911st_AW_) Pegasus Wing, on intercept course.
* EYE_) Eye reports orbital range defenders:
* EYE_) 4 Pocket Warships, 2 Fleet Carriers
* EYE_) 10 squadrons of 48 + 16 fighters
* 22nd_SAS) This is Golen Special Air Squadron. Standing by to engage dropships.
* 22nd_SAS) Atmos boundary defenders report in.
* 12VR_Air_) Merino Air Squadron, ready op.
* Dahar_Air_) Thomas Air Squadron, holding altitude.
* EYE_) Eye reports atmospheric boundary defenders:
* EYE_) 5 squadrons of 32 fighters.
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In total, over 100 Kurita fighters with dozens more in reserve more vs approximately 80 fighters.
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ASFs were by their nature limited in range. Unlike the events on Harrow's Sun, the defenders did not try to intercept the enemy battlefleet halfway into the system. There were far too many enemy dropships, and not enough Carriers for that. Most of the defending fightercraft were based on planetary airfields. Their limited fuel stores meant a combat range of about two hours away from the planet.
Their main advantage was that the enemy needed to slow down to almost zero relative velocity to enter orbit and start the landing approach.
The invasion of Galtor III now began in earnest.