Phoenix Lancer Operations Center Main Operations- Auburn
2359 hours local 13 December
Tinney had been here most of the night monitoring the battles on all fronts and was quietly pleased. With the West Side starting its push to the southeast to take the southern defenses in the side, he noted the cautious advances of the infantry scouts there. There would be no fighting, mech-wise, in the dark out there. For all the advanced sensors that were in some battlemech, they were HORRIBLE night fighters.
Hannings’ idea in how to assault Zathras was bearing fruit and he was glad he authorized the use of Dusal troops. As much as he wanted to do this on Lancer terms, the enclave of clansmen on Ashton were indispensable… and if he was honest with himself, perfect for the job here. The appearance of Domini cyborg troopers were a surprise- but then, Krog and his ilk would be a counter surprise for the Blakists…
“Sir, Chief Rowansberg is here,” A yeoman said to him. “Would you like her in the conference room?”
“Yes, please…” Tinney answered. “Get a Leopard alerted for movement- They will be going to Johnson….”
The yeoman nodded and departed to get the visitor situated and the drop ship alerted. He’d been here when the message from the Legion came in and he’d been surprised at the Colonel’s lack of surprise. But then, it had to be something really out there for it to show on the boss…
**
Entering the conference room, Tinney looked over at his Command Company member. “Charlotte…” He began, “Let me preface this first with an I’m sorry.”
Warrant Officer Two Charlotte Rowansberg looked at her commander. The short Brunette mechwarrior lifted an eyebrow at the apology. “Sorry? What did you do, I do or the universe do?” She asked.
“Universe and my response to it,” He replied. “There was a request for a liaison officer with an assault machine by the Legion and I have no one really but yourself I can spare right now… and its grudgingly. I’d send Diane but she is technically still the Regimental Duelist and on call.”
Charlotte nodded. “I see… and with the rest of the company back here unassigned, in theory… any and all of us are detachable as needed. Yes?” She asked then added. “And you aren’t sending CC why?”
Tinney sighed. “Because CC is likely to bring her black cloud with her… as well as get young warriors to do things they shouldn’t. I don’t need that headache out of sight and Hauptmann Pryme doesn’t need any more on his plate.” The colonel replied.
Ciara (CC) Casey was a Banshee pilot and somewhat new to the Regimental Command Company. She was also a risk-taker…. And trouble magnet. And not just because of her habit of over extension; her model-level looks and her several appearances as a Mech Jock Quarterly page 6 girl (prior to becoming a Lancer) generally caused young pilots to do dumb things to impress her. She did NOT encourage such things but young men being young men…
Which is why she was assigned to the Regimental Command Company instead of a line unit, despite her being young for the job. She was an excellent mech pilot, to be sure, but those two other things were an issue to a combat command not ready for it.
Charlotte folded her arms across her chest. “So, you’re saying I’m the safer choice?” She fixed him with a stare, daring him to say the wrong thing. She and the Colonel were friends, going back more than a few years…. And needling him over his protective nature as well as occasional faux pas was a game she got to play every so often.
“No, I’m saying I can spare YOU. With the Sakura sisters both down mechs and Smithson’s hoodlums short both a pilot and mech, CC and her Banshee will be a seamless shift,” he said. “MacManus’s Blackwatch is still inoperable, and you know it- you were there when we pirated parts to get Sean Macauley’s beast back running.
CC can take his place with her machine. Which leaves you without a lance. So, you get to be a JAFFO as needed.” A pause. “You tell me if you want to keep the Command Pack installed.”
Charlotte listened to her boss’ reasonings and she had to admit to herself, it seemed sound. “I see… and yes, I’ll hang on to it. For all we know, they may have a network without a master machine which would mean I get to do some work besides being an observer.”
A nod. “Good… its settled.” Looking at his watch, he glanced back up at her. “Ops should have a Leopard on standby for you; Can you be back here within the hour? Less would be best…”
Charlotte sighed. “Why did I expect you to ask that?”
“Because the moment I told you that you was going somewhere…”
A laugh. “Yeah that…. Good thing I repacked my go bag when we landed and at least I’m not going off planet; I know the Johnson area so its kinda a vacation. Kind of…” She said with a shrug. “I take it you will get my machine moved on board for me while I’m getting my stuff?”
A nod. “Yes, Chief Luckenbill should have it there by the time you get to the pad near the hangars.” He said. “Again, sorry… but this came up about two hours ago while I was dealing with Precentor McCormick’s combat briefing,” Tinney then picked up a small box and tossed it to her. “Before I forget….”
“Gotcha…” She replied as she caught the box. “How did that go and what’s this?” she asked as she opened the box.
“It went better than expected…. They are looking to get stuck in against the Word like you’d expect and McCormick was very accepting of prarameters. He’s a pro. As for that…. That is the rank pins to this very informal promotion. We will have the ceremony later… but you were due, Chief.” He smiled. “It will be adjusted on your mech too; stencils are easy.”
Pulling the Chief Warrant Officer Three insignia out, she stared at it for a few moments while Tinney spoke. Placing it back into the box, she looked at him. “Thank you, Colonel.”
A nod. “There are a lot of promotions coming… and all those will be dealt with as their leadership can. Yours was on the list and as y’all are in MY company… and heading right out the door, I figure this might take some of the sting out of being sent off a day after getting home.”
A smile. “It does, Colonel. It definitely does.” Coming to attention, she saluted him. “Permission to depart?”
A return salute. “Granted… go liaise with Pryme and his people. They have concerns over the missing drop ships and those warehouse bunkers we hadn’t cleared yet. One of so many damn projects… When Leslie returns, things are going to get busy.”
Phoenix Lancer Mech Bays
0230 hours local 14 December
Precentor McCormick hefted the Lancer Emergency Field bag into his mech’s cockpit storage bin. Dave had to admit, he was impressed with the emergency gear that was issue for the mercenaries. Several days field rations, light body armor and a personal defense weapon of some kind. Their issue weapon was either a carbine version of the Federated M42B system or one of the various weapons produced by Relic Arms here on Centaurus.
For him and his troops, the Lancers gave the option of using the Relic Tavor bullpups or MP-5 light submachine guns along with any of their service pistols (many being some sort of semi-auto) Pretty solid options in any event, compared to the Comguard issued pulse laser pistols. While he liked his pistol, its range was a touch lacking and when the power pack was empty, it was a pain to recharge if you didn’t have a spare. Considering they would have support and supply from the Lancers, he availed himself of one of the Tavor bullpups.
As he closed the hatch, he thought back on the past few hours. Since the meeting with Tinney and his presentation of offers, pretty much everyone elected to swap uniforms to the Lancer Standards as it made sense. A minor scramble to draw kits and get them to fit in machines happened next; this went quick and the only reason he was stowing his new kit now instead of four hours ago…. Was the planning session with the Operations Chief about where they were going to get stuck in.
What McCormick had available was a somewhat overstrength Level III formation, roughly akin to a Battalion of troops in a normal Inner Sphere force. Mixed within it was armor and battle-armor, though not terribly much of those but he had it all the same. This was in addition to the regular infantry that was security forces for the HPG facility, now guarded against looters. Those who didn’t have that duty were working with planetary militia as a supplement to their numbers; trained troops were trained troops and the Centaurus security forces were not going to refuse help.
But it still had left his heavy combat forces without a job. At least until now.
The plan as presented to him was his ComGuard would be making the first push north of Zathras once it was taken. Lancer aerospace would ensure the few Word of Blake craft would not be in the sky overhead as his forces advanced. While his troops engaged the defending Blakist forces, the Lancer Special Forces would be busy in their backfield trying to free hostages…. And as Tinney had told him, go looking to remove Dyckman from the equation.
May Blake protect the troops doing that…
For the initial push, the Good Precentor elected to be the tip of the initial spear for this. His personal Level II would be teamed with Epsilon and their combined effort would kick in the door. Based on available intelligence, a full company was expected to attempt to hold them back from the river crossing. Lancer Air had already bombed the bridge over the river up there, which would slow their reinforcements… and hinder the offensive going north.
But one thing at a time… the beauty that was a ComGuard force was its interchangeability. And when they arrived at that crossing, his most mobile elements would be on deck for it. Not that he had that many…. But he’d think of something; right now he needed to see to last minute details then grabbing some sleep. By this time tomorrow, they should be up in that area for a morning assault on the sixteenth, if Zathras gets recaptured fast enough.
Time would tell… Right now, though, he needed to do a last-minute check or three and grab some shuteye. It had been a long time since he was in the field, but the lessons of his younger days were not forgotten. Rest when you can because you might not get any for a long while was one of the hardest lessons from back then but one that had stuck with him. And unlike some of his contemporaries with the ComGuard, he made a point to learn from past errors.
As he got to the ground, he found one of his pilots waiting for him and he should not have been surprised at who it was. “Adept Morse?”
The veteran female adept stood up from the small golfcart she had acquired from somewhere. “Precentor… I figured you might be still here, and I thought you might want a lift.” Adept Adele Morse was a veteran of Task Force Serpent and one of the longest serving with him. She always seemed to be around when he was either needing a hand or over his head; both sorts of events common enough (the former far more than the latter) that he noticed it.
In checking her background just after the retaking of Centaurus, Dave had found sections of her records were sealed with a level of classification far higher than his Precentor-level could access. And as head of a Class B station, there was not terribly much that was that classified other than ROM stuff. And he was smart enough to not ask those questions; anything ROM related could be hazardous to health.
Considering how much she had done on planet in fighting the occupation alongside of him and the natives, he had eventually figured she was some sort of ROM special operative who was either assigned to him as a guard- or as a final option should he jump ship for the Word. Not that he was planning on it… but it was somewhat sobering at the time in that they thought it was a possibility.
Then about six months ago, just after his conversation with his cousin, she had handed him a set of cyphers without much a fanfare and simply said You need to know my full story now.Taking them, he then looked at her file and discovered she was exactly what he thought she was…. Her service records were rather illuminating on that score.
And sobering- as there was a set of orders that had her detailed as his watchdog almost since Serpent. And that was almost eighteen years ago… So, with his possibly looking to leave and join his cousin, she evidently had decided to do the same. And in private conversations not long afterward, said so. She too had liked it here… Both the land and the people appealed to her and their overall acceptance of folks like her meant she too had a potential home. Add in her responsibility was looking to leave, she too was done.
“Adept, I would have found a ride,” He said. “I am pretty certain that the duty driver would ensure I’d have gotten to our billets without much hassle.”
“Certainly, Precentor,” She replied, rubbing the scar that graced her jawline. “However, it might have taken a while. Our hosts have a lot going on and with the Zathras operation going as it is, you might not get aas much sleep as you like if you have to wait for him to get you back.”
A lifted eyebrow. “Its going that well?” He said, glancing at his watch. Zathras was two hours behind their zone zone.
A nod. “Yes… it would seem the committing of Clan Dusal is proving to be incredibly smart; as you would expect, Krog Dusal and his people are being rather zealous in their work.” Morse replied to him as he got aboard the cart. “The Khan of Dusal likes to break things- and if it’s a Blakist, doubly so. I expect Zathras to be pacified by the afternoon.” She started the cart and motored out of the bays heading for the barracks they were staying in.
“If that’s the case, we will be moving by afternoon today. Plan is to have us moving north by dawn sixteenth.”
“Precentor… I expect us attacking tomorrow morning,” Morse commented as the cart hit top speed. “I don’t think the Lancers are going to operational pause that long; I wouldn’t if I had them on the back foot.”
McCormick looked at his companion. “For what its worth, I agree with you. As much as I’d like a day to get a good picture of what’s ahead of us, the gods of war are not usually giving of time. If they give anything…”
A nod. “Very true. And anything that gives Precentor Dyckman time to plan a counter or hit us first, is bad.” She commented as they pulled up to the barracks. “Sir, get some rest. I will work with Adept Chong and make sure everything is as ready as can be.”
Turning to face him she continued. “Sir, pretty much everyone is all in… if last evening didn’t prove that, I am unsure what will. I will state plainly that there is none among us that doesn’t want to fight these bastards… and we all want to show the Mercenaries that the ComGuard will get the job done.”
McCormick looked at Morse for a quiet second. “Adept,” he said finally, ”I know. And they know we can too. At least the veterans among them do. Right now, though, there is more than a few items to accomplish before movement. Make sure you get some rest as well- even if not sleeping is your habit. Understood?”
“Sir.” Said with a smile.
Musings of a Gamer 