Snakebite 02
New Derry
Galtor III
11 May 3025
The Dahar Draconis March militia was composed of tough, seasoned soldiers always ready to go against House Kurita. They simply lacked prestige.
Dahar IV was a desert planet, living its way through mining. Though daytime temperatures may reach as high as 75 degrees celsius, its rich mineral reserves ensured corporations and the military maintained interest in the world. These same conditions make it hellish for invaders, and as such Dahar could both recruit and disperse its regiments all along the border with the Combine.
Miners raised on using sophisticated mining, dredging, and drilling machines were able to transition well into the mysteries of the BattleMech. After some seasons of using digging machines under the hot sun of Dahar, many men look for an easier life in the military.
Sir William Dobson was a typical Dahar man. Even as a landed noble he remained unsophisticated, stubborn, but without any sense of superior ego. Fresh from defending Elidere IV and Barlow's End, he had come to Galtor expecting it to be a more relaxed posting. Then the Light Horse appeared and word got out that Kurita was aiming to drop a multi-regiment force.
Sir Dobson did not know much about the Eridani Light Horse, and had a natural negative opinion about mercenaries. However, the Light Horse bringing along the rest of his regiment and their medical and technical support swayed him. Hanse Davion gave them full command over this massive trap, and there had to be a reason for that, right?
Seeing all the lostech the Light Horse was using, he supposed this made it all very convincing.
With the terrifying number of dropships coming out of the sky, the Dahar DMM's job was simple. They were a defensive-oriented regiment, and all they had to do was hold.
Sir Dobson was not afraid. He was, however, fretful.
The Dahar DMM could do it, no problem. But the Galtor Irregulars were a mishmash of mechs and vehicles, mostly untested as a group in real battle, and the Lone Wolves were… mercenaries. They exhibited every single trope about mercenaries that Sir Dobson could identify, down to the insistence of being paid every single day and up front. They were composed of unruly and desperate mechwarriors, unwanted by even other mercenary commands.
Would it be fine like this?
His Warhammer, painted in the deep red camo scheme of the Dahar DMM, moved through the abandoned and lifeless streets of New Derry. Signs of the hurried evacuation were everywhere, abandoned cars and personal belongings, even furniture, were scattered through the streets. Some shopfronts were broken through and looted, and if it wasn't for the Dahar DMM patrolling he was sure that the Lone Wolves would have picked this city clean by now. Just a while back he had to challenge looters, his pair of particle cannons disabling mercenary mechs like some old Western marshall bringing down the law. They were now more well-behaved.
This was part of why he distrusted mercenaries so. Granted, the 12th Vegan Rangers were mercenaries also, but they were mercenaries only by technicality. They had always been Federated Suns warriors with a Federated Suns homeworld. He lacked prior knowledge of the Eridani Light Horse, but now had confidence in the Light Horse's history of honorable conduct.
Not everyone left the city however. Some were too stubborn to leave. Stragglers and resistance fighters holed up in hastily constructed defensive positions. Sandbags and barricades closed off streets and piled behind windows for sniper and machinegun nests. The steps of his mech echoed through silent and eerie streets, a haunting reminder of the promised devastation of constant war in the 31st century.
He continued until he reached the bridges crossing the Dublin River. Smaller scattered housing extended past this point. These housed workers for the industrial zone following the coastline. Buildings too short and too flimsily-built to provide cover, the best that could be done was to dig up lawns and demolish rows of houses to improve sightlines.
His radio crackled.
"Sir, this is Tactical Officer Rowan. Patching you through to the forward scouts. Over."
"Bean's Recon Company Lead to Dahar RBG. Do you read?"
"I copy. What is it? Do you have eyes on the enemy yet?"
"That's right sir. The enemy - we can see they're two regiments, they have different camo schemes. One is gray, and the other… it's deep red. Almost like ours, sir, only without that dark charcoal undertone, you know?"
Sir Dobson absently nodded. He supposed scouts should pay attention to precise shades. Red was a popular color to use in the Combine. It was their House Color as much as Davion Yellow or Steiner Blue, Liao Green, and Marik Purple.
But who would have a bright red color scheme…?
He blinked.
"Understood, Bean Company. What's happening with the Lone Wolves and the Galtor Irregulars?"
"They're just behind the first defensive line. Lone Wolves are engaging in lance-sized detachments, mostly just skirmishes with lead elements right now. Galtor tank divisions standing by."
"All right. Just keep an eye out. Don't try to engage - if the enemy spots you, pull back and lead them towards our fire zones."
"Copy that, Dahar RBG. Bean out."
He looked to his left, and the ocean. Covered up by the buildings was the airport, and the carrier landed there. He wondered how long before BROTHER EYE could offer support again. He needed urgently to confirm if this was a Sword of Light regiment.
Around him, infantry and APCs moved towards bridge defensive works. If there was one thing the Dahar DMM knew how to do, it was digging. On both sides of the bridge, extensive trenchworks were laid out and piled into v-shaped ramparts and dry moats. These would not stop mechs, specially jump mechs, but could buy them all valuable time.
-.
Hate.
The Federated Suns and the Draconis Combine were traditional enemies. But while many regiments of the Federated Suns did not fear House Kurita at all, it was these smaller and planetarily limited militia forces that held purer reason to hate. They, who had personally experienced the savagery and injustice inherent to Kuritan rule, stood up and said- never again! They would rather die than see their wives, sons, daughters, and their parents suffer under the claws of the dragon.
Fear.
Yet nonetheless, the Dragon was mighty and highly practiced at war. The Galtor militia was largely self-funded, its people scrimped and saved and made dubious deals in the black market just to build up enough forces to defend their world.
If the Combine would wreak terror no matter what, then they should fear more what would happen if they didn't even try. There would be no agony greater than being a coward at that time.
Despair.
And do all of that while inside a shitty Scorpion Light Tank!
"Gunner, target that Panther. Make its life more difficult!" said Sgt. Colin Huan.
Dylan Rowe peered through the gunsight. Even with as cheap and barebones as Quickcell Company's 25-ton tank could be, with barely four tons of armor, at least it did have a standard AC/5 identical to that you might find on a BattleMech or literally any other better vehicle. It had a speedy autoloader and an effective range identical to that of a PPC.
Before Davion liberated Galtor, Dylan had a sister and a mother and a father. When it began to look like Kurita would lose the world, some Kurita troops turned to a rapine storm of destruction to punish Galtor for their insufficient fervor and to show the Inner Sphere the costs of baring arms against the Dragon.
Now no one could stop Dylan Rowe from enlisting. Galtor's meager means allowed many like him to make their loathing their weapon.
The young man thumbed the trigger, and sent a stream of bullets at a distant red Kuritan Panther embroiled against a Vindicator from the Lost Wolves. The shot just barely clipped its shoulder, and the samurai didn't even notice such petty damage.
Dylan licked his lips and grit his teeth. As much as he hated the Kurita inside that Mech, the way BattleMechs moved still left enraptured. The terrifying fluidity with which they moved defied reason. The training and experience of Kurita pilots was evident in the way they moved their machines.
Inside each BattleMech, unlike the cold gear-drived mechanisms of the tank he was in, myomer bundles flexed and contracted, pushing and pulling with instructions from the neurohelmet reading the mechwarrior's intent. The result was smooth and fluid motion that was almost organic in nature, allowing the machine to sharply and suddenly change direction with instinctive flair. None of the clunky predictable movements of the metal shell around him.
Terror, yes. Hate, yes. But mostly envy. He remembered the sheer threat a single Mech could embody. The awesome terror that could drive men mad. The crunch of fists through buildings, the flames sweeping through streets. The power that could save or break worlds.
"Hey! Rowe! What's wrong with you?! The gun's reloaded and we aren't short of ammunition just yet!" the tank commander yelled while jabbing at the young man with his shoulder. "Keep firing!"
"Y-yes sir!"
The Scorpion let out another burst, and this time the AC/5 stream of fire splattered against the Panther's back. This time, the Panther had noticed. It turned slightly, and even through the distance Dylan Rowe felt his heartbeat stop at the baleful feline glare of its cockpit face.
It moved its PPC to bear -
"Driver, reverse!" Sgt. Huan screeched.
The Scorpion screamed out a metallic burr as its drivetrain hurriedly spun backwards. Just barely in time, as a PPC bolt scraped the top off of the earthen bern the little 25-ton tank was hiding behind in a hull-down position. Man-made lightning blasted above the tank, showering them with a wave of hot carbonized soil.
The Scorpion tank could maybe just barely take one hit from a PPC!
"Driver… forward," Sgt. Huan ordered after a few heart-pounding moments.
Dylan anxiously peered through the gunner's sight as the Scorpion very slowly exposed the top of its turret.
The monocular sight showed Kurita Light Mech, another Panther, running full tilt with a sprinter's posture pumping its arms up and down for balance. This way even a Mech that had a running speed of up to 65-ish kilometers per hour could temporarily run even faster if at the cost of not being able to do anything else.
A Jenner joined the Panther. 35-tons with a top speed of 118 km/h, its four Medium Lasers and a SRM-4 launcher could carve open tanks huddled in the backline. Composed mainly of Scorpions and Vedettes, they were some of the cheapest and most common tanks in the Inner Sphere, their turrets all toting a single AC/5.
The AC/5 had the equivalent punch of a single Medium Laser. A Jenner, as long as it could get into range, was worth four tanks in this fight.
Might be worth ten, even. Scorpions were stupid cheap, at around 325,000 C-bills, new! A Jenner was about 3 million or so?
The Lone Wolves mechs were all engaged. More and more Kurita forces were appearing on the field.
"Driver, power forward! Full throttle! Then turn to retreat!" Sgt. Huan ordered. "Gunner! Prioritize that Jenner!"
The driver hesitated for a moment. This would fully expose the tank. "Yes, sir. Hold on for speed."
They did not, after all, wear seatbelts. Any sudden movement could throw them around, and this was why they all had to always wear helmets inside.
The tank lurched forward, mildly exceeding its maximum speed of 64 kph by going downhill. Dylan tried to keep his gunsight focused on the Jenner that was just now overtaking the Panther. However, the uneven movement of the tank and the Mech with a birdlike gait meant that his shot was wasted off into the sky.
Now in full view of the battlefield, Dylan could see the grand melee with Mechs walking and turning and twisting and pummeling each other like young gods, lords of the battlefield, striding through the battlefield in their engines of destruction. Such a dense and chaotic fight was the largest he had ever seen in his life, but it was at most two companies meeting each other.
The Panther fired.
A nearby Scorpion shuddered as its turret was blasted by a shrieking particle beam, leaving a ragged scorch mark across its top. Static discharge clung to the metallic surface of the tank and temporarily scrambled the cheap Quikscell electronics. The tank veered off as its shaken driver fought for control.
Inside their Scorpion, there was the tell-tale beeping noise of incoming LRM warning.
The tank commander roared. "Gunner, fire free! Driver, get us the hell out of here!"
The Jenner had chosen its target and Dylan screamed as he fired the AC/5 turret, now completely facing backwards, to make it back off. But the 35-ton Mech was hardly intimidated by anything like a piddly little Scorpion tank.
"You're not going to kill a Mech," they were told during the exercises with General Liao Yao-hsiang's Brigade. "In theory - in theory! Enough light tanks can cause enough damage to threaten even Assault Mechs. But there needs to be a very many of you, and there will invariably die a great many of you."
The tanks all ran like heckless chickens in all directions at speed, only some able to concentrate fire. Give the enemy too many targets to shoot at! Confuse them! Two Mechs by themselves could make eight tanks panic. AC/5 bursts zipped through the air. The pair of Kurita mechs rushed fearlessly on, deftly dodging weapons fire with contempt honed through hundreds of battles.
The Jenner caught up. It stabbed at the back of the Scorpion light tank, beams slashing like a katana. Its brace of Medium Lasers could only maintain contact for a few seconds before veering off to burn the ground, but it was enough to cut clean through the armor and into the combustion engine.
Immediately, the Scorpion locked up. "Bail! Bail!" Sgt. Huan screamed.
A quartet of SRM-4s zoomed towards the tank just as the Jenner turned to find another target, now ignoring the now immobilized Scorpion entirely.
Explosions rocked the outside of the tank, and found a way into the gap. Dylan heard a distant tearing sound and a nearby mechanical groan even as he tried to dive into the underside hatch of the tank. There was a brief hot flash of light, and then he knew nothing more.
-.
The Recon Company of Kismet Battalion of the 7th Sword of Light met Albrot's Company of the Lone Wolves - a mixed medium and light mech force - plus a company of Galtor light and medium tanks, and drove them right off the field. Of the tank force screening the first line of defense, there were almost no survivors. An effective mixed force of Jenners, Panthers, Dervishes, and Wolverines, cut through the disorganized rabble.
The 21st Galedon saw a similar tale, though faced action more westwards while the 7th Sword of Light followed the coastline leading up to New Derry. One of their battalions had even landed too close to the Lone Wolves base camp and were now being savaged, falling back and radioing for reinforcements to protect their dropships.
The two Regiments absolutely refused to hand off command to each other and so parted ways.
-.
-.
Fake Star League Site
Galtor III
Broad-faced, soft and large, Brigadier General Jakodo Naguchido looked more at home drinking too much at parties and blustering against his social inferiors than on the battlefield. However, DCMS code of conduct demanded generals to lead at the front - even Coordinators had to do so at times. There was the greatest honor in fighting with your life on the line. All that broadness hid a surprising amount of muscle like a weightlifter.
Unfortunately, while he may be a more than decent MechWarrior, his abilities as a general were much more… suspect.
If one were to complain that this was a very Steiner way of doing things, one would be correct.
The 3rd Benjamin Regulars was one of the few Kurita regiments that allowed green MechWarriors to pilot Heavy mechs. They were a Heavy Assault regiment, and the difference in mass should usually suffice. The regiment carried a great many Dragons, and Dragons as 60-ton mechs moved fast, had LRMs, had an AC/5 for direct fire, some Medium Lasers for short-range, decent armor… it meant that pilots generally always had something to contribute.
"I assure you, Warlord, we are ready and able to throw off these ponies! We will be your southern wall!" he spoke into the mech radio. "Adjutant! Go find my scouts!"
Warlord Yoriyoshi responded "... So be it. Just hold there and occupy forces for as long as you can, Brigadier General. I do not necessarily require victory." Saying this, he had already written out the 3rd Benjamin from his plans.
"We will not disappoint!" Then aside "I said, WHERE IS GAMASY AND MY SECOND BATTALION?! Bring them to ME!"
That being said, he only had his Regimental Battlegroup and just about half the regiment available. His other Overlord was still missing. The plan was to have the three battalions landing in a string along the southern face of the depot, indeed like a wall.
It was hoped that this could mean any attempt to defeat one battalion in detail would open the enemy into a pincer movement.
But with one Battalion gone missing right in the fucking minefield, that… could not happen.
-.
Now, the ELH 91st Bright Horse had a similarity to the 3rd Benjamin Regulars in that they too allowed green pilots to command Heavy Mechs. In fact, much of the regimental roster was made of rookies.
The difference, mainly, was that these Heavy Mechs were some sort of Urbanmech.
70-ton Urbanhammers.
75-ton Urbanrauders.
70-ton Urbarchers.
55-ton Urbolverines.
And so on.
Apart from being Urb, they moved and performed more or less the same as the Mechs they were emulating. They did have the advantage of DHS and Ferro-Fibrous armor however. Freed tons moved into maximizing heat neutral running and armor protection. With Light Mechs, speed is life. With Heavy mechs, armor is life. Green troops, under the leadership of veterans cannibalized out of the 121st Dark Horse forming the core of a whole new regiment, first ought to survive so that they get to build experience at all.
Naguchido and his men were not prepared for this degree of sheer urbanity.
-.
Armstrong walked at a steady 54 kph with the Regimental Battlegroup of more traditional Assault and Heavy mechs. The rest of the 91st moved on ahead. The local URBAC monitored the situation.
A nearby Super Urbanmech Comms Guard relayed the intercepted communications between Naguchido and Yoriyoshi.
"Hmm. Should we 'rescue' Gamasy Battalion?" he mused out loud. "Another Overlord would be nice to have. But that would involve us having to cut through our own minefield."
"Any battle avoided is also a battle won," replied David Reese, his present aide. "It would come with a battalion worth of assault-weight salvage."
Armstrong nodded. Most of the Eridani Light Horse command staff were still unaware of Declan III and the functionally on demand amounts of 9000-ton Dictators that could be provided. A 12-000 ton Overlord would indeed, be nice to have. They only had five of those to start with, and ten Unions to carry most of the rest. This would be three Unions worth of Drop Collars.
'Of course,' he mused silently, 'they also aren't aware we can have as many JumpShips as we want either.'
The ELH having Scout IIs out of nowhere should already be ringing alarm bells, because JumpShip production across the Inner Sphere was a well-monitored list. Just like the mystery of where Wolf's Dragoons got their ships, no one else should be able to produce new JumpShips at all. And while Wolf's Dragoons were able to mysteriously leave and resupply past the Periphery after their losses in the Marik Civil War, even they did not so blatantly display being able to have new JumpShips.
Armstrong wondered if it would be best not to discard the scarcity philosophy of the ELH so soon. If they ever lost access to Declan III and the nanolathe, bad spending habits would be hard to break. This was why the heavy Mechs of the 91st did not carry ER weaponry. Green troops should first be used to fighting and trying to make long distance hits at reduced range with enemies able to return fire.
He looked at the updated tactical map.
With his two battalions + battlegroup, he was confident enough to throw his force against a full regiment. Now much to his surprise, he found out that he actually outnumbered the enemy.
This was almost cruel.
He split the group, only taking 1st Battalion and the RBG with him to give General Naguchido the worst day of his life.
-.
-.
Medium Altitude
Continent of Eire
Galtor III
"UFO Green Flight to 91st Actual, we note Kurita aerocraft at long range. Requesting permission to engage."
These orders did not have to be micromanaged directly by the Regimental Commander. Each Battalion carried with it a LAM squadron, and two squadrons is a flight. The 91st had Red and Green.
"Numbers, Green Leader?"
"Eight fighters on radar, 91st Actual. They have noticed us and are moving to intercept."
The 1st Battalion Commander of the 91st gave their assent. "Fire at your discretion."
Overhead, twelve 40-ton Urbanmech LAMs challenged the skies versus true ASF.
An Overlord should normally have room for 6 ASF and a Union comes with 2 hangars. In total, a Regiment like the 3rd Benjamin should be able to have at least 18 craft. In practice however, in order to leave room for the RBG without having to use up extra drop collars, they had to strip out some of the ASF hangars for mech bays.
The fighters circling above the drop site was the earliest sign anyone could see that there was something there. This was how Naguchido and Yoriyoshi were able to make contact - their fighter patrols found each other.
Yoriyoshi's 17th Benjamin, because it had an extra Fortress for its RBG, had the full 18 fighters.
The 3rd Benjamin had eight.
Naguchido's fighters were also about to have their bad day.
The Urbanmech LAM was 40 tons and had a sizable 6-slot Internal Bomb Bay. This could normally fit either a single air-launched Arrow IV artillery missile, an Anti-Air Arrow IV missile, or an Anti-Ship Arrow IV, for massive damage that even a DropShip would notice. Or occupying two slots each, three Light Anti-Air Missiles.
Squadron leaders assigned mutual targets to fighters on their hud. Four of the eight distant fighters were doubled up as targets, while four others were marked for single launches. It was better to overkill and be sure of a hit than to waste the alpha strike with insufficient killing power.
Bomb bays opened, and swiftly large missiles shot off at well beyond the range of even LRMs. With three LAA from each LAM, those eight Kurita fighters now had their radars screaming about 36 high energy missiles inbound. Their radars could count the missiles individually, compared to the blob of tiny LRMs.
Fighters had standard procedures about how to evade missile locks. The Kurita fighters went into maximum burn to put the missile at an angle around the 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock position as seen through the circular radar screen. Like with all combat involving fighters, this was a matter of nerve and patience. Once the missiles have closed in enough, climb and pop countermeasures, make the missile continually lose energy turning and trying to keep the lock. Then it becomes again a matter of endurance, the pilot fighting against g-forces and their own craft. The tiny motors of LRMs could usually be defeated by this maneuver, and hits would only be minimal.
The 1-ton Light Anti-Air missile had a lot more fuel-energy to spare for its larger rocket motor than a piddly 8.33 kilogram LRM.
The LAMs were unstable disc-shaped craft in Fighter Mode, even more so than the Sholagars and Slayers that they challenged. It was obvious why their flight designation was "UFO". They turned about immediately after firing, choosing not to get into a dogfight.
But while Sholagars as light interceptors were wickedly fast, and even Slayers were faster, that mattered less in the atmosphere as trying to go too fast would make aircraft shatter themselves.
Sholagars were not fast enough for this.
Six LLAs locked on and four struck the one Sholagar. Three LAAs hit cleanly its nose, the last missile skipping past the wings as it rolled, the proximity fuse of the missile exploding from too far away to matter. While this was not enough to punch through the armor, the heavy hits compared to LRM swarm transmitted through the fragile internal structure of the aerofighter and damaged its avionics. The Sholagar spun out of control.
This would have been recoverable in space. But in an atmosphere? It was very quickly fatal. The pilot passed out from the spinning death spiral and the craft plunged down to its imminent fate.
Another Sholagar was unlucky to eat five hits. This was enough to pierce its armor and the fighter exploded into a whirling fireball.
Six LAAs swooped down on another fighter, also again a Sholagar. The fighter climbed with reckless abandon, trying to outspeed the missiles. For the most part it succeeded, only one LAA hit. Then the craft jerked in place. Something inside the fighter broke through its own actions. It hung motionless in the air for a few seconds, before dipping back down with cold engines and bobbing like a leaf in the wind. It was no more than a glider now, and the pilot could only hope for a controlled hard landing.
A fourth targeted fighter with doubled launches was a Slayer. Its armor was tough enough to shrug off all six LAA hits. However, its avionics could still be whacked out of order. Now it was locked into only being able to turn left.
The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth fighters were Slayers and Shilones. They had plenty of armor as well. With only three LAAs tracking them, they were able to shrug off the damage. Except the seventh, which was unlucky enough to turn at the wrong moment and got a missile straight up its engines. It exploded.
Within a few minutes what had been 8 Kurita craft were reduced to 4. The Light Horse fighters were zooming away back to base to re-arm. With 4 vs 12, the pilots inside Kurita Heavy Fighters could only snarl, disengage, and report what happened.
Warlord Yoriyoshi pondered the report and decided to send eight of his own heavy fighters over to Naguchido's airspace while maintaining ten over his own head. Everybody in the Inner Sphere used LRMs. They were mass and cost-efficient for their size with deep reserves. Already it was obvious to him that super-long-range missiles were good for only a single volley, while a LRM-20 could give you at least 12.
A weapon of cowards!
-.
-.
New Wuhan
Galtor III
Unlike New Derry, New Wuhan did not have the convenient wide continent-spanning river to serve as a southern barrier. The Yaonjanig River crossed from north east to well south of the city. It was a thin river easily forded. North of the city, past farmed plains, was a ragged mountain chain.
The 12th Vegan Rangers planned to make use of the southern woods as much as possible rather than fight in and around the city.
Inside his Union DropShip and accompanying the Overlord DropShip SANTIAGO, Margrave Sheridan could only clench his fists in helplessness. Colonels Johnston and McCulloch would first need to get the entire 1st Amphigean Regiment fully engaged. He could only wait, watching, as good men fought and good men died, waiting for the right moment to drop.
-.
-.
Changlee
Galtor III
The 6th Benjamin Regulars had not yet finished unloading.
The regiment milled around. The most General Saad Shazli allows was to send light mechs out to screen and patrol the area. Two companies, Tanawa and Yung's, from the 1st Battalion, slowly moved through the city to secure its airport and spaceport. People stared at them with a terrified hush from behind shuttered windows. No shots were fired and no partisans emerged to suddenly toss SRMs at their backs.
Changlee was an open city just trying to avoid any punitive destruction.
'Be careful that things might be rigged to blow.' The continued peacefulness only drove Shazli to be even more paranoid. His ulcer was leaving him cringing, sweating, and light-headed. He sent infantry ahead of mechs to go building by building. Those dropships still on landing pads at the starports could be Trojan Horses hiding mechs!
No, they were all hapless merchant vessels that surrendered immediately with holds filled with civilian cargo. It would take the 6th Benjamin several more hours to truly feel safe about this.
When reports came in of northern scouts under attack, Shazli finally let out a sigh of almost relief. Finally the shoe had dropped.
-.
-.
Elsewhere
Galtor III
There was a bleep.
#GALTORCOM
EYE - EYE am online.
Generals all over the planet let out a relieved sigh, while others felt a sudden chill.