Chapter Two: Halley's Comet
Government Centre, Port St. Williams
Coventry, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran)
3 Jan 3053
Leftenant Susan Anne Halley stood at attention in Duke Thomas Bradford’s study, her face an impassive mask.
“Do you know why I am recommending you for this program, Leftenant Halley?”
Susan hoped her dread didn’t show. To a stranger, or perhaps someone who only knew her by acquaintance or reputation, it wouldn’t; military discipline erases tells from your countenance. This, however, was no acquaintance or liaison, this was Coventry’s Duke.
“You must have confidence that I will represent Coventry with honor, my Duke.”
It was the best she could do. Deference, decorum and common sense demanded that Susan navigate carefully between arrogance and servility when answering a direct challenge like this. Too familiar an answer would betray lack of confidence and denial of basic facts. Too stupid of an answer would insult the Duke’s judgment. Susan had an appetite for the consequences of neither foolish act.
Unfortunately for Susan, although by the normal rules of the game she had answered well, in the Duke’s inestimable judgment the opportunity presented by the situation called for a bending of the rules. This was too important to bog down in a swamp of niceties. He drew himself to his full height and scowled, repressing the fatherly affection he bore for this daughter of Coventry then thundered.
“Are you under the impression this truce from Tukayyidd is the standard by which to judge our readiness?!”
“Negative, my Duke!”
It was not a question. The gravity of the moment settled on Susan’s shoulders. Things were what they were. Social manipulation advanced the careers, the well-being and the fortunes of officers far inferior to Susan Halley in both talent and accomplishment. Both of them knew it. The rules said neither could acknowledge it.
The Duke began in a deliberate and formal tone:
“Susan Anne Halley, born in good health January 12th, 3035 at St. William General Hospital, Port St. William, Coventry to James and Mary Anne Halley of Coventry, Protectorate of Coventry, Lyran Commonwealth.
Elementary education completed, St. William Elementary School, Spring of 3050 with above average marks. Participated in school activities enthusiastically with an excellent behavioral record. Showed a particular aptitude for competitive sports.
By her own request, Susan Halley was applied and accepted into the Coventry Academy, Fall of 3050, subsequent to the Clan Invasion beginning in that year.
Leftenant Halley has completed Basic Training and MechWarrior Schools with above average grades and elected to continue into Special Forces upon acceptance to the Advanced Studies Campus. Upon completion of Officer Candidate School, Leftenant Halley applied to and was accepted into Special Forces School. Leftenant Halley is graduating from the Academy in the Spring of 3053 at age 18 in the top 20% of her class.
Leftenant Halley’s Officer Candidate and Special Forces training make her eligible for a grant offered by the Eridani Light Horse Brigade for admission in the Combat Training Program on Arc Royal operating under the nominal supervision of Grand Duke Morgan Kell. The conditions of the grant obligate Leftenant Halley to serve, upon successful graduation, a term of not less than four years in the Eridani Light Horse Brigade.
I have a letter of recommendation for this grant by Grand Duke Kell, stating his belief that this Program and Tour of Duty will produce just the sort of officers required by the Commonwealth to meet the extraordinary challenge of the Clans and that careful consideration in the matter of selecting candidates is advised, given its lengthy term.”
Duke Bradford paused. The letter of recommendation was noteworthy in itself, not as a personal recommendation for Susan, which it was not, but as a bellwether of the times. The Lyran military had long been criticized for being overly political, and the ELH grant program was part of a controversial effort, approved by senior AFFC staff, to make the Lyran officer corps a more professional institution.
That this grant basically ‘gave away’ a promising young officer like Susan to a mercenary unit for four years was arguably a small price to pay. The Light Horse were highly esteemed in the view of province governors like Duke Bradford both for the strong and unique traditions they brought to the AFFC and the invaluable service they provided as instructors and trainers at the New Avalon Institute and across the Federated Commonwealth. If the grant had specified the New Avalon academy, Bradford would have been just as pleased, but that it was Arc Royal had made it much easier to accept.
Duke Bradford signed off on this deal, himself. As the Duke of Coventry, it was his prerogative, had he wished to exercise it, to petition the AFFC, that, as a graduate of the Coventry Academy, Susan should be required to serve a term in the Coventry Militia, or at least a AFFC line unit, for a tour before being 'lent' to the ELH. Given the political climate and tensions in Tharkad and New Avalon, this petition would probably be accepted in a bid to assuage resentment and criticisms of Archon Kathrine Steiner-Davion and demonstrate that New Avalon was not getting the better of Tharkad. It might stroke an ego or two in the Estates General. This would not, however, serve Coventry. The experience and seasoning gained from an ARDC CTP grad with an ELH tour were worth the wait.
Four times the Jade Falcons had assaulted Kikuyu.
Four times the Eridani Light Horse had turned them back.
It had been an easy decision. Duke Bradford assumed that, should she survive the tour, she would return to Coventry and probably accept a posting to the Academy and a planetary militia command, sharing what she had learned from the Kell Hounds and the Light Horse. This was an ideal outcome as far as he was concerned.
“Leftenant Halley, what is your purpose in wanting to join the Eridani Light Horse? Why not a Lyran unit? Was your experience growing up on Coventry that bad?”
Susan was prepared for this question.
“Negative, my Duke! I have a deep love of Coventry. I would die for this people if it were necessary. To be frank, Duke Bradford, it is, in my mind, an ideal solution to the primary goal of protecting the Commonwealth. The existential threat posed by Clan Jade Falcon is dire. The victory of the Com Guards on Tukkayid was only May of last year. It is unknown if the Clans will continue their invasion by expanding laterally into Lyran space. If, as many predict, the Jade Falcon and Wolf Clans decide upon a joint invasion of the Commonwealth, it will be extremely difficult to stop them before they reach Tharkad. Any advantage is vital.”
Susan squared her shoulders and spoke the next words in the deliberate and measured tones that seemed befitting to the presence of the Duke of Coventry.
“The Program and the experience and knowledge to be gained from the Eridani Light Horse Brigade is nothing less, in my mind, than an imperative asset to contribute to the security of Coventry.”
Eridani Light Horse Liaison Office, Arc Royal Defense Cordon
Warrior Hall, Arc Royal
25 Mar 3058
Susan suppressed a twinge of anxiety. After years of study, lectures, simulators and field exercises, this was it. She felt the call of duty. Lance leader slots were opening due to the unexpected number of casualties being sustained in the predicted Jade Falcon Incursion, and when she was told of it, she lobbied with Major Smith at Warrior Hall to be allowed to fill one.
“I understand your petition, Lieutenant. You are almost ready for an assignment. You still have a couple of weeks until your class graduates.”
“I already have all the graduation requirements fulfilled, sir. The rest of this module is pure filler, parades and partying and you know it. Coventry is my home, sir, and I have a duty to defend it.”
“Your duty is to the Light Horse, Lieutenant,” the major bristled, then relented, “but you make a convincing case. This would seem to be an appropriate thing. The 71st is already en route to Coventry and we can arrange for you to meet them. I will make a formal request through channels. I believe General Winston herself will be in command.”
Two hours later, Susan's tablet chimed and she received orders to prepare to depart immediately for deployment with the 71st Regiment of the Eridani Light Horse Brigade RCT for combat operations on Coventry. She called the major back and offered her thanks, but the liaison stopped her in mid-sentence,
“I'm afraid there won't be time for ceremony, Lt. Halley. It took about 15 minutes of explaining and an hour and 45 minutes of getting all the records sorted out. I'm sending you your travel orders and passes, now. Come pick up a uniform and some ID and gear at my office. To make your rendezvous, you’re going to have to depart ASAP. You’re on the next DropShip.”
Major Smith stayed a little later at his office than usual to see that she got the packages and duffel, a temporary non-descript ELH fatigue uniform and gear. After everything was accounted for he held her there for a moment with a direct and penetrating look.
“Frankly, if this wasn't your home world we were talking about, I wouldn't think the Light Horse was doing you much of a favor. Word is that this is shaping up to be the biggest fight since Tukayidd. Your countrymen are taking a hell of a beating, but we are receiving updates that they are giving back better than they are getting,” he then paused and added compassionately, “Be proud.”
He took a step backward, snapped to attention and barked out (loud enough to be heard in the hallway).
“Welcome to the Brigade, Lieutenant!”
Susan braced to attention and saluted sharply in the Star League tradition, palm-forward. He returned it, they shook hands, and, just like that, it was done.
*********************
By the time Susan hit the bathroom on the first floor, she was almost out of breath from the excitement. She quickly locked the door behind her and changed into the ELH fatigues. The AFFC utilities went into the duffel. Then she opened the first package. Unit patches. That box was next. She opened the second package. Light Horse regulation sidearm. That went into the holster on the hip. The Lyran pistol went into the duffel. An ID chip to load into her NotePuter and, finally, Light Horse rank insignia, and MechWarrior and Special Forces badges and pins.
Rolled up with a band was a formal printed and signed ARDC CTP Certificate, suitable for framing. Susan smiled. The major had been nothing, if not thorough and practical. Susan had enough, right there with her, to report to any ELH command ready for orders. She dressed, checked her weapons and gear, packed the rest into the duffel and raced out of the building, accidentally ignoring an enlisted Kell Hound infantry who saluted her as she ran past, and burst out into the parking lot.
Susan jumped on her ZeroLight hovercycle and keyed the ignition. The thrusters mounted on the left and right flanks of the sleek obsidian frame whined and fired. When the fly-by-wire thrust vectors could bear the weight, Susan put her boots in the stirrups and leaned the bike forward off of the retractable stand.
The ZeroLight settled and the kickstand folded in. Jamming her heels into the stirrups, she accelerated quickly away from the building and leaned into a curving turn around the parking lot. The thruster's turbine noise rose as she poured more power into it. Nestled under the cycle's seat, the power cell drove a sizable turbine that sent hot, ducted air into the two larger thrusters in the rear, and two smaller ducts integrated with two fairings that projected forward of the seat and narrow dashboard. Strapped to the frame, under the left and right sides of the seat, just behind the rider's legs, were Susan's duffels, the one the major had given her, and the other she had brought with her.
She reached back with her left hand and grabbed the helmet hooked in the space behind the seat and between the duffels and put it on, steering the bike away from the parking rows and down the aisle with her right. The transparent faceplate projected a small map and traffic display. After securing the chin strap of the helmet, Susan reached back again into a utility pocket and pulled out her NotePuter. She pointed its face at the guard shack at the entrance of the parking lot and waited to be cleared. After a moment she received a green indicator on her helmet HUD.
Susan never decelerated but roared through the gate with her speed still increasing. By this time the left and right thrusters of the cycle had rotated to the horizontal. The ZeroLight was now moving in winged ground effect.
34th Avenue, Port St. Williams
Coventry, Lyran Alliance
21 Apr 3058
“HERE THEY COME!”
If the Falcons get any Mechs into that bunker, we're going to lose the block. Captain Avilla's words echoed repeatedly in Susan’s head as her recon lance rocked from the shockwaves of the OmniMech Star’s alpha strikes on their partial cover. Unable to simply pick off the faster Light Horse ‘Mechs with long-range ERPPCs and Gauss Rifles, while running towards the abandoned 10th Skye bunker, they were apparently determined to simply burn the whole block down around them all to provide a proper arena, instead. The Kell Hounds were right, the Falcons were hard-headed.
Madness. The Eridani charge was not intended to penetrate deeply, and Susan's little end run, on a street she knew, wasn't going to change that. The lance shifted left in the alleyway behind the first row of, now disintegrating, 1-story stone block buildings that shaped a firing line for the Light Horse attackers. But rather than press critical advantages, the Falcons set scenes for glorious showdowns.
That wasn't going to happen. As it was, Susan's cover, here, was tenuous at best and the plan called for her lance to begin withdrawing if she started taking too much fire. Although Susan was very well-trained, in the eyes of the captain, she was a greenie and was not to be thrown into the cauldron, yet.
Four times the Jade Falcons had assaulted Kikuyu.
Four times the Eridani Light Horse turned them back.
A weird thought flashed in Susan's mind. She knew where to get really good deli sandwiches about a click from here. Brushing it off and looking at the map projection, she shook off the daze and took a sip of sports drink from the tube. Her Shadow Hawk’s battle computer staccato-beeped, then settled to a tone as the targeting lock-on graphic rotated down and settled a triangle on an Omni passing between two buildings across the street.
Fire, fire, fire.
Susan stroked the trigger, sending short, controlled bursts at the Clanner's left shoulder. Four lines of fire and smoke snaked past from behind and to the right. The company First Sergeant, loaned to her, loosing a flight of short-range missiles at the same target. Both attacks found their mark, savaging the left side of the Jade Falcon OmniMech. It's arm exploded in a cloud of ferro-fibrous shrapnel, green coolant fluid, fire and smoke. It was gone. The Omni faded behind a building, never having got a proper shot off.
"WOOT!" Corporal Samuel Attenborough, behind the Top, had seen the hits.
In contrast to the corporal's spirited war-whoop, Susan's voice was calm and focused.
"Enough of that. Look sharp!"
Another Jade Falcon OmniMech appeared in the gap. This one didn't hesitate. It's torso snapped left and it unleashed an avalanche of missiles and autocannon.
"Lucre-warriors! If you do not cease this degrading tactic of ganging up on your honorable betters, you will never know true virtue!" it's pilot broadcast in the open.
"**** you!" somebody replied helpfully over the open channel.
"El-tee, I've got the other three on seismic, they are entering the bunker. Repeat, they are entering the bunker."
"Roger that, hold on."
Susan flipped to the Company channel.
"Captain, Recon."
"Shut up! Recon, go."
"I've got a star of Omnis in the 34th Ave. bunker."
"Okay, you’re out of there. What's your status?"
"We're good, minor damage, roughly 50 percent ammo."
"Break contact and fall back to the first phase line.- The company is withdrawing."
The Jade Falcon counter-attack was gaining momentum. Nobody wanted to be caught when the Falcons flooded Mechs and Elementals into the suburb. Susan was profoundly grateful that the neighborhood had been evacuated, she couldn't even think what the thick columns of smoke rising from various locations in the streets around her portended for anyone caught in the cross-fire. For being so supposedly well-disciplined these Falcons seemed quite unconcerned about the residents, of whom, Susan still considered herself one. Thank God her family was behind the line at Lietnerton.
Although she knew official ELH policy about dependents, she had been floored by the visit she had received by a squad of ELH MPs shortly after the landings. They had gone specifically to her to find out about who she had on the planet, and where they wanted to go. That had to have been the captain's doing.
"Anywhere but here," had been her father's answer.
Susan knew the tactical situation a little better. She had told the MPs to take her family out of the combat zone via the Lietnerton redoubt. She hoped they were safe. That hope was all she had, there was no time or opportunity to call. She cast a furtive eye towards the part of the city where she had grown up, but ominous smoke from the battle hung over most of the Spaceport and obscured vision from one side of the city to another.
Top noticed her silence.
"Alright, Horsemen! Tighten it up and get ready to move fast! We're heading back to the start line! Dump ammo from breached locations and watch your footing! We go down this street here on your command, El-tee, sound good?"
"Sounds good, but let me go first, and you take the rear guard."
"Roger that, El-tee."
"Recon! Move out!"
Outside Port St. Williams
Coventry, Lyran Alliance
21 Apr 3058
Heavy clouds of burning embers and red-lit smoke hung like a final sunset over Coventry's proud capitol.
The Spaceport, it was said, was no more. In its place was something from another world, a terrible, forsaken world. Fiery explosions like giant orange hellish mushrooms blossomed in a broken drumbeat for over an hour after the sun retreated behind the horizon.
"We're looking for James and Mary Halley of St. Williams!"
Trooper Harbeck had trouble making himself heard over the sirens and bullhorn-level shouting that dominated the chaos at the Coventry Militia refugee station. Homeless civilians from all over the city gathered around tables and crates where workers and volunteers passed out essentials and instructions. The Coventry Military Academy cadet who was summoned to talk to the Light Horse MP squad held up his hand a moment and spoke into his boom-mike.
"They are on the registry and I am now being made aware of Lt. Halley's status."
The cadet looked at the Trooper's rank stripes.
"They are under our care, please send my regards to Lt. Halley and assure her of our vigilance."
"Yes, sir. Could you give me a moment?"
Trooper Harbeck spoke into his own.
"Sarge! It's them. The Militia just confirmed it. Roger that, Sarge."
Harbeck looked back at the cadet.
"Pursuant to orders from CEF command, all Light Horse civilians and dependents in the war zone will be taken into the protective custody of the E-rid-ani Light Horse Brig-gade Military Po-lice, sir."
Harbeck's face turned beet-red.
"That's me, SIR! As a law enforcement officer of the Coventry Expeditionary Force, I am empowered to arrest anyone resisting this lawful order. Do you understand what I have just told you, SIR?"
Silence. Harbeck held his breath. In his ear, the sarge confirmed that the family was in the Armored Personnel Carrier and they were rolling.
"Very well, Trooper. God be with them."
Just then, the APC rolled up.
Trooper Harbeck snapped off a legal salute, palm-down, and ran for it.
********************************************************
Susan laughed. The call from Trooper Harbeck had been sweet. She relayed the info to Captain Avilla as her lance flushed coolant and re-armed from the J-27 truck parked behind the start line. The Strike lance re-upped from the second truck. Susan's orders were to escort the trucks back to the Battalion HQ. Then an overnight march to Lietnerton. Corporal Samuel Attenborough re-loaded his Raven’s SRM-6 next to her.
"Good thing the El-tee is Special Forces, mates! Sneaken' around in the dahk is their specialty."
Susan spoke up.
"You’re from Kikuyu, aren't you, Corporal?"
"Yes, ma'am. New Darwin, little town in the Easterns, ma'am."
Attenborough was maybe 19, if you squinted. Susan wondered if he would be so confident with a Toad punching its way into his cockpit. She wondered if she would.
"I bet the sheilas there chase you all day, corporal. This is Coventry, not the outback. Nice girls, corporal. Nice girls."
Top snorted.
"You must be under the impression any girl with a pulse would want this kiwi wildman. Corporal Attenborough is for wasting Falcons all day long, isn't that right, Corporal?"
He wasn't going to let Recon Lance flounder while they broke in their new El-tee. The sugar was getting on his nerves.
"That was a good move back there, Lt. Halley. That bunker was unexpected."
"It was a skateboard park before this started. 10th Skye built it up the first couple days then abandoned it. I figured the Falcons would use it as a re-armament point. I knew a shortcut. Sure enough."
"That's just the kind of what the Captain needs to know and the right way. Well done."
Attenborough chimed in.
"We are the eyes of the company, they told me. I told them their shoes were untied. Then I socked 'em"
**********************************
Her convoy moved quietly through the night and down the highway. Susan had given some orders to the drivers and pilots about how better to avoid making telltale signs of their presence and direction of movement. They followed well enough and had avoided detection by any Falcon recon. The sudden message in her queue surprised her, though. Delivery of personal mail when you're on duty wasn't really supposed to happen, but when she saw the sender's address, she understood. As she read the message, Susan felt that unique sense of dread again, the one she had felt in '53, before leaving for the ARDC.
"Lt. Susan Anne Halley,
It is with the greatest pride that I read a report of your valorous action on 34th Ave. I am told the Light Horse successfully broke the Jade Falcon line and many of our people were rescued. Coventry owes you our gratitude, both to you and the brave soldiers under your command.
My faith in you has been vindicated beyond my dreams. Please take caution in the performance of your duties. You have nothing to prove. I understand sentiment. It is, alas, part of my job as Duke. Although you belong to the proud Eridani Light Horse now, along with your family, you also belong to Coventry, and Coventry will be here, waiting for you to come home, for as long as there is breath in this body.
I would like to ask you a personal question, Lt. Halley, but you do not have to answer today. You must focus on the war, but there may be a day when the fate of Coventry depends upon all of our individual decisions about the legitimacy of Kathrine, or Victor. Susan Halley, you, all of you, risk your lives for ours. I speak for the people of Coventry when I say we now must exercise judgment to try and be worthy of what you do, even at risk to ourselves. As the Duke of Coventry, I may one day have to make a hard decision about what is best for our world, and the other worlds under my charge.
Search your heart, Lt. Halley. One day, patriotism may call upon us all to make hard decisions about Kathrine, and Victor. Can Coventry count on yours?
Duke Thomas Frederick Bradford"
Lovely. Thought. Susan. Tharkad, screwing it up, as usual. The ARDC CTP had been full of bitter Kell Hounds, or soon-to-be Kell Hounds, who had given everyone around an earful of allegations and rumor about Ryan Steiner and the events that led up to the Marik situation and the legitimacy of the Archonship. The political sundering of the Federated Commonwealth seemed to be inevitable. Duke Bradford was asking for Susan Halley. Rather pointedly, it seemed. This wasn't going away.
I don't want to deal with this, right now, I have duty, she thought and put the message into a folder marked for later review. Duke Bradford would have to wait. Just then, one of the J-27 drivers called out on the com net.
"Lt. Halley, I think you want to see this."
"What is it?"
"Four kids just ran out and dragged something out of the road as we turned that last corner near the crossroads. Looked like some kind of mine."
Susan didn't want to stop the convoy. They were on a timetable. Battalion was packing up and everyone was getting ready to redeploy to Lietnerton.
"Keep moving. If it's Falcons, everybody goes with you and you GTFO and on to Battalion. Top, I'm going to take Attenborough and check it out."
*******************************************
"You must be joking! **** the bloody Falcons!"
Kenneth was 14. His friends, 3 other boys about the same age, nodded along. They had been waiting for a Jade Falcon patrol. When they had seen it was a friendly convoy, they, at significant risk, had run out and dragged their improvised mine out of the way. Susan and the Samuel had found them, and their small cache of weapons and supplies, hiding out in an abandoned roadside market/motel that serviced the highway. It had been easy with the Beagle Active Probe mounted on Samuel’s Raven.
"Of course, lad, but you will be killed by any Jade Falcon that even suspects you are a threat. We must handle it, lads. You must take care of the people for us while we fight."
"Nothing doing! We want to fight!"
A Skulker Wheeled Scout Tank belonging to the convoy skidded to a halt nearby and dropped a loading ramp door. Corporal Attenborough jumped the rest of the way out of his 'Mech and stalked towards the erstwhile guerilla party.
"If any of you ******* GROMMETS are still standing there, and not MOUNTING UP in that damned tank when I reach you, I am going to put you ovah mah fookin' knee and you are going to wish I had stepped on that mine!!!"
The kids scattered and bolted for the car. Attenborough broke out into a run, giving chase. Susan could hear muted laughter over the comm net. She closed the hatch on her Shadow Hawk's cockpit and had some more sports drink.
Lt. Halley had an answer for Duke Bradford.
There was no stopping this war. Katherine had been wrong. The Alliance needed to know what was happening here.
The Inner Sphere needed to know.
