Part 10: Mission 4: Highway to the HPG
"Pissing off ComStar? What is the Colonel talking about?"
"No clue, Boss."
"I thought the ComGuard wasn't on this front?"
"You're right. Nearest ones should be in the Free Republic."
"Then we're leaving?"
"Don't be stupid. We're winning, not running."
That's enough. Briefing starts now."
"At 18:47 today, the local Smoke Jaguar commander ordered a call for reinforcements from adjacent systems. He must be quite desperate to do so, which is a good indication of your success."
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"Quiet! He had ordered that the local HPG station send the signal as soon as the system powers up. This facility was taken from ComStar during the invasion, and now we have to remove it from play."
"Oh shit."
"But you can't attack ComStar! They're neutral!"
"This ain't ComStar, kid. It's the Smoke Jaguars."
"I agree. Hey Spook, how are we supposed to capture the HPGs in the first place? ComStar compounds are built like Star League Fortresses.
You're not. The Smoke Jaguars moved the ComStar HPG to a different location, where they installed their own second system. You have to destroy them both.
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That's insane!
They'll have their best guarding it! We don't have any assaults!
I agree.
What sort of limits are we talking about here?
I will turn this over to your commander now. Commander?
MechWarriors! To pull this operation off, we will need to stage a wide front push at a legitimate target. Yankee Company will assist, making an assault on Ambervale. We need to drawy heavy forces away from the HPG before we make our assault.
Once there, it's a dead run int the facility to blow everything up. You'll need to pass through this town here to get to the base, and expect light 'Mech and moderate vehicle resistance. Intel reports that the alternate approaches are mined, and we don't have time to sweep them.
Wait. A frontal charge?
That's not a good sign.
It's our only option. By the time you guys arrive at F1, there will be no more than 15 minutes before the Smoke Jaguars send their message. If they do, we'll knee deep in Clanners before the month is out. Too many to fight off, and they'll open a hole in our strategic offensive.
Damn. Who am I taking?
Lynx, Hunter, Hitman, Beast, Hawk and Rooster. Your Mechs have all been spec'd for massive damage over a short period of time. You need to kill everything in your path. No finesse, no subtlety. Just get in there and kill everything. Everyone else, you're being transferred to 2nd Zulu for this Mission, as they will be running our diversions. Dismissed!
Lynx is in critical condition, and he's been transferred to Battalion. Rooster auto-ejected after that AC/10 shot rattled his cockpit. Their 'Mechs have been recovered.
The Commander went down to the DropShip to face his men directly. I'll pass that along to him.
Good man. He doesn't have to do that though. This is still war, and everyone involved knows the risks.
I've got MP's on watch, in case things get ugly.
Colonel Reese, I've been meaning to ask. About the Commander...?
Compartment Classification, Mr. Johnson.
I thought so. Lynx will be out of rotation for the rest of this Operation. In the meantime, more Pilots have been entered into rotation. I'll be adding them to 1st Zulu's rotation at the next opportunity.
Colonel, are you sure we should be giving so many pilots to the Commander? He's developing a core group, and the rest will be kept lent out to other commands for the most part.
Yankee is taking their hits, and we need him ready to handle the larger missions. This is part of it. He needs to have too many people to take personal interest in so that when the tough decisions need to be made, he can make the right sacrifices.
Good.