Part 174: Political Vote 9 - Sword of the Dragon
Sword of the Dragon: Political Vote 9Warlord Samsonov sat with crossed legs at the foot of his mighty Atlas, staring at a missive and completely ignoring the messenger. The big, wild-bearded man rose slowly to his feet and stared at his assembled commanders and rival generals.
His thick lips curled into a sneer.
“The Coordinator has fallen in battle,” he announced boldly.
Generals stared at him, incredulous. The Warlord’s smile broadened. As the highest ranking officer, barring Yorinaga Kurita, none could dispute his next declaration: “I am taking command of our forces.”
Tai-sho Dexter Kingsley of the 18th Deiron Regulars bowed his head.
“Warlord, what is your command?”
“The Coordinator has failed us,” Samsonov growled, smiling inwardly as he devised a cunning plan. Who could deny the savior of Luthien? Especially if Takashi never recovered from his wounds. A simple marriage, perhaps even to Yorinaga’s own daughter—to spite Takashi’s favored one—and it would be Samsonov, not a Kurita, who lead the Draconis Combine. His gaze swept over the assembled generals that comprised every regimental commander on Luthien.
“His cowardice has held us back, when we should have smashed the Clans as they were landing. We shall attack, and drive them from this world rather than letting them siege us as though we are frightened women cowering from strangers.” He stomped hard on the low table around which the other generals still knelt. “Gather your troops, we shall be as the Sword of the Dragon—the Ryuken—and we shall sweep these Clans from Luthien; and with the Black Pearl as our starting point, we’ll sweep them from the whole of the Inner Sphere; then we shall return to our most sacred duty: crushing that quisling “prince,” Hanse Davion!”
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Rachel McCloud clung silently to the straps holding her in the Union-class DropShip Bristol’s restraining couch. The five year old kicked her feet against the heavy pull of the DropShip’s acceleration as she stared across the gap at one of the other little girls sharing the cabin with her.
Rachel’s new Best Friend Forever Chastity Mulvaney offered Rachel a brave grin, then looked away as the entire DropShip shook. The soft whine of the Bristol’s laser turrets firing was one Rachel had heard before. She knew what it meant, even if none of the other children did. She hugged her knees to her chest. Her father had never had to fire the lasers before, and that meant they were in trouble.
She was too young to realize that she and the other children had been moved to one of the safest rooms on the ship, a cabin pressed right up against the Engine and as far from the outer hull as possible. Sealed behind several bulkheads, the room would likely have heat and atmosphere long enough for another DropShip to affect a rescue if the unthinkable happened.
The Bristol shook again, and again as the Capellan aerospace fighters hounding it struck. The Northwind Highlanders had never had a strong aerospace contingent, and had been content to let the Capellans handle their defense. On the bridge, standing beside the Bristol’s captain, Lieutenant William MacLeod stared nervously at trajectories screens and radars he barely understood. The seven dropships that comprised both the Northwind Highlanders and the civilian ships like the Bristol they’d hired to carry the Highlander families to safety flew in a tight formation. It rendered them easier to detect, to be certain, but the Capellans would’ve done that anyway.
Their formation also rendered the ships far more dangerous for the Capellan fighters to attack. Three more of the Capellan’s light Thrush AeroSpace fighters vanished from the screens as MacLeod’s worried vigil continued.
“Well, it looks like we won’t be taking any jobs in Capellan space for a while,” Captain McCloud of the Bristol said, his voice strained with false levity. “Still, it looks like the Capellans don’t really have their hearts in it. Then again, the Thrush isn’t exactly an anti-ship powerhouse—just the only thing they have that’s fast enough to catch us.”
“They’re followin’ orders,” MacLeod replied as the Bristol shuddered from another medium laser hit. “I dinnae think they wan’ to, but they have no choice.”
“What I don’t get,” McCloud continued, pacing easily in the gravity of their heavy acceleration, “is why the Capellans turned on you Highlanders at all. It just doesn’t make sense.”
MacLeod nodded silently, his attention returning to the holoscreen as the Capellan fighters began to pull back.
“Are you certain this is wise? Fleeing to Skye? I’m sure the Free Worlders or the Davions—”
“Would throw us right back into combat,” MacLeod interrupted. “The Highlanders have been mauled—the Marion’s Highlanders and the Second Kearney are gone. The first has less than a battalion left. McCormack’s Fusiliers are still engaged on Sirius—they’ll be lucky to escape with two battalions. That leaves us—and our command structure’s been decimated. I think Captain Jaffray’s our highest ranking, and he’ll probably wind up with a prosthetic.”
“No,” MacLeod paused momentarily, “Skye’s our only option. Or the Lyrans, but they’re likely to throw us straight at the Clans. We need time to rebuild, and reorganize.”
“Since you’re reorganizing anyway,” McCloud suggested helpfully. “You may want to consider an Aerospace wing.”
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A crimson Shadow Hawk patrolled gingerly through row after row of `Mechs, assembled here like the clay soldiers of Qin Shi Huang. Records teams were still assessing the site, were still discovering new stockpiles and Battlemech designs lost to history. The rumble of an artillery explosion echoed through the great cavern as the Mariks continued their pointless barrage. The Helm Castle Bryan had been designed to withstand direct orbital bombardment. A few artillery shells wouldn’t even scratch it.
A stark white figure flitted like a ghost through this massive subterranean tomb, slipping unremarked into the Shadow Hawk’s rear arc. The Shadow Hawk’s pilot only realized something was amiss when a pair of PPC shots tore through its rear armor like ravening wolves through a sick caribou. It staggered, then collapsed, its gyro a smoking ruin. Throughout the cavern, other `Mechs met the same fate.
Ensconced in her Battlemaster, Jeana Clay, AKA Melissa Steiner, AKA the Red Corsair put her great `Mech through a maneuver Melissa—who’d been trained as an infantryman due to her weak constitution—would’ve never been able to match.
She’d hated the deception—double deception, really, since Melissa was still pretending to be Jeana Clay on Heimdall’s orders. She admitted, quietly and to herself, that parts of the plan still confused her. She could only surmise that Aldo Lestrade had known Katrina Steiner had been the Red Corsair, and that successful raids along the Lyran / Free Worlds League borders would’ve distracted him. With Frederick Steiner now in power, and Melissa safely ensconced in Skye, Jeana’s deception was about to end.
A squad of white-robed infantry with man-portable SRM launchers darted across the aisle in front of her. Jeanna opened fire with the large laser in the Battlemaster’s chest, the laser’s bizarre, flickering beam simply tore the fire team apart. She hated waging war on infantry, but war was war and Jeana was a soldier. She understood.
From somewhere above, landing confirmation was received from the rest of the Kell Hounds, and Doctor Banzai’s regiment. ComStar had perhaps four regiments of `Mechs on planet—just enough to hold the Free Worlders at bay from their superior defensive position. The false pirates hadn’t been expecting an assault from above. They had perhaps a battalion from each regiment on duty, with the rest standing down in the Castle Brian.
Jeana wondered what Duncan Marik would think of yet more crimson-painted pirates landing on Nagayan Mountain. He’d realize she’d been lying to him, certainly.
Jeana’s Battlemaster swept away another small encampment of enemy `Mechwarriors scrambling to don their cooling vests or climb to the cockpits of their waiting battlemechs. “Red Corsairs,” she broadcast, “be aware: not all targets in red are hostile. Confirm before firing, and prepare for Hammer and Anvil.”
“We the hammer, or the anvil?” Some joker asked. Colonel Kell would probably have a talk with him, but she couldn’t fault the warrior’s exuberance. It felt good to be in a Battlemech again, and this Battlemaster was unlike anything she’d ever driven before.
“Hope for hammer,” Morgan’s voice filled the comms with calm self-control, “but be prepared to be the anvil the rest of the Hounds and B-Team will smash these pretenders against.”
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Galaxy Commander Dusk Andrews strode confidently into the Clan Council chambers aboard the flagship Stalking Viper. It was rare to call a council in the middle of a war, but the invasion was going well. Alpha Galaxy’s performance had improved dramatically when Dusk had instituted a crash course of simulations to raise her troops’ comfort with melee combat. Simulators were often sneered at by the Clans as being juvenile, but if her troops continued acting like petulant children and accepting suicidal duels with the Lyran’s melee-centric battlemechs, she would treat—and train—them like children.
Her choice had drawn some ire from the council, particularly those bloodnamed who were under her command, but that ire had quieted with Alpha’s improved performance and recent successes in combat. She’d heard Beta Galaxy’s commander had instituted similar training. In short, Dusk’s stock with the Clan Council was higher than ever.
Clad in heavy robes, the Loremaster bowed his bald head to her. He alone wore no mask, protected by his rank rather than his status as a warrior of the Clan. Dusk too had chosen to forego her mask. Let the warriors of her Clan see only confidence.
The dias in the center of the chamber turned slowly so that all the assembled warriors would have a chance to see the faces of the speakers. She timed her pacing to arrive as near to the place she was to stand as possible. It was a small gesture, but one the Clans appreciated.
The Loremaster canted his head, “We recognize Galaxy Commander Dusk Andrews. Let her codex and her valor speak for itself and the strength of the glorious future of Clan Steel Viper.”
Dusk stared out at them, her gaze challenging each and every warrior to refute her right to be there.
“Seyla,” came the assembly’s response.
“Warriors of the Steel Viper Clan,” she began boldly. “As you all know, we draw our history from the warriors of the Star League Defense Force. In the days of the Usurper, we struck the head from Stefan Amaris at Terra. Even now, the Hell’s Horses do the same to the pretenders of House Kurita on their capitol of Luthien.”
The susurrusing crowd’s tones turned quietly dire as she referenced their rival Clan’s success. Dusk smiled, she had them. “In those times, it was only the support of Skye that allowed the Star League Defense Force to reach Terra. When the rest of the Star League bent a knee to Amaris, Skye rebelled—and opened for us a corridor to Terra. It is a debt we have never been able to repay, an honor debt owed by all the Clans.”
“You also know of the visionary plan, granted to us by Khan Sanra Mercer. He walked the same path as Nicholas Kerensky and his wife, our First Khan Ellie Kinnison. Mercer was privy to the true purpose of the Clans, as shared to him by Nicholas Kerensky: to return and restore the Star League by working with the great houses for the benefit of all.”
“Fellow Warriors, we now have our chance. Our chance to make Khan Mercer’s dream a reality, and to reward the people of Skye for their long slavery under the boot of Houses Amaris and Steiner. We have recently received word: the people of Skye are free once more, they have thrown off the shackles of their Lyran oppressors. Invading those who truly helped us in the distant past would be the act of bandits, not for Clan warriors descended from the best the Star League had to offer!”
She slammed her fist into the side of her podium, the loud ‘bang’ filling the air. “I call for the Steel Vipers to send an emissary to Skye, to recognize their sovereignty and convince them to aid us in the restoration of the Star League as Khan Mercer foresaw!”
She stepped back from the podium, signaling to the Loremaster that her call was finished. The elemental strode forward, his powerful build and confident grace ever drawing the approval of the assembled warriors. “Warriors of Clan Steel Viper, a vote has been called! As sending an emissary to the Inner Sphere has never been done, and as such an action would undoubtedly draw the ire of the Grand Council, only with a two-thirds majority shall this vote pass!”
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“That’s the last of them, Melissa,” Morgan radioed. His Star League vintage Archer was blackened by fire, but unbreached. “The rest of the fakes are running—they’ll give Duncan Marik some trouble, but he shouldn’t have any trouble defeating them in time.
Jeana Clay tipped her Battlemaster forward in an approximation of a nod. “How many did we lose?”
“`Mechs lost? A battalion of Team Banzai, two companies of the Kell Hounds. Pilots got off a fair bit lighter, four dead, seven seriously wounded.”
“We’ll replace our losses with the `Mechs here, then return to Skye. They’ll need us.”
“We should abandon our current rides, in favor of the `Mechs here. We could probably take them all, but we’d have to steal some of ComStar’s dropships to do it. It’d leave us pretty vulnerable to Aerospace on the trip back, but if we’re careful we shouldn’t have any trouble reaching Skye.”
“That’d leave Duncan with nothing to oppose the Capellans with. A lot of time and effort wasted for him.”
“He’d have our old `Mechs, plus the salvage from the battle. He’s not walking away from this empty handed. It’s your call, Melissa, but Skye is going to need these `Mechs more than the Free Worlds League does.”
Steel Viper Grand Council Vote:
A) Enter negotiations with Skye (needs a 2/3rds majority to win)
B) Attack Skye, when the time comes
Red Corsairs Vote:
RC1) Take as many SLDF `Mechs as we can, leave as few Kell Hound and Team Banzi `Mechs behind as possible, steal all of ComStar’s DropShips
RC2) Take as many SLDF `Mechs as we can, leave the Kell Hound and Team Banzai `Mechs behind, steal a few of ComStar’s DropShips
RC3) Replace all of the Kell Hound and Team Banzai `Mechs with SLDF `Mechs, leave the DropShips and the rest of the `Mechs for the Free Worlds League