E.
The quiet on the Ogres bridge was more from her crew being busy than anything else.
Even the 'Coffins and Pits' were quiet, -the nicknames for the alcoves in the command room. Not a job for the claustrophobic, these small cubbys were crammed throughout the bridge.
Each 'pit' might have 3 to 5 people in it. Grav chairs set around a central holotable could rotate around to the full vid and controls inset on the walls and provided massive information capabilities to each unit. These pits often coordinated a specific combat team, and unit regalia and markings were decorated on many of the pits entrances.
The remote weapons as well as the ships main weapons were generally operated from 'coffins'. Small stairs inset around the first and second tiers led sharply down forming a very short hallway. Inset in the walls to the left and right were two to six 'coffins', -permanently reclined seats you would climb and strap into. With precision controls and wraparound 3d information integration, it allowed the operator extreme flexibility at each station.
Having these teams closely integrated into the command worked well. Information filtered in a collaborative manner. Being tied into the main holovid also added another layer of security to their information structure. And of course their main advantage: while most other combat teams would not be used to having an entire support team assisting them, on the Ogre this was the norm, not the exception.
At the opposite end of the holotable from where Brieltons command chair was, a larger set of arched stairs submerged below the first tier. This led to a comfortable lounge, consisting of foodbev and hygiene facilities and a decorated deck with some couches, chairs and tables. All set themselves in various tiers.
Much of the command crew could spend a decent amount of their shift here, as the ships sensors always gave them plenty of time to get to their posts. They weren't expected to spend an 8 hour shift in a 'coffin'.
However, the lounge was empty now. And every cubbie and coffin on the Ogre was full and busy. Maximillian had the bev machine all to himself and filled a large tray with drinks before bringing them out. There were three left when he finally reached the two generals, who were currently discussing the situation while leaning into the light wooden railing overlooking the main holovid.
The holovid showed a grand panoramic again. The sun was about to set in the next hour or so, and long shadows were apparent on the landscape.
Maximillian handed the men drinks and Brielton made a toast before they drank.
”To the Archons.. and Unfair Victories.”
General Connors spoke after sipping his drink. “You mentioned the Archons were coming earlier?”
Brielton thought for a moment, “ Ah yes, Will and Wraith.” He pressed a few keys and an additional display cube showed the two Military AeroDynes. Each less than a third of the size of the Ogre and carrying a special complement which aided the Ogre in her overall mission.
Brielton explained, despite the fact that the cube was now showing the stats as well. “The Archons Will is primarily a fast deployable aerodyne. 42 mechs as well as a mixed unit of vehicles and battlearmor can unload from her in a few minutes, hot dropping if necessary. Her twin is The Archons Wraith, our mobile Aero wing. 42 Aerofighters operate from her. She keeps a great lookout up there, and can swoop down from orbit with about 15 minutes notice.. her aeros considerably quicker.”
Brielton adjusted the holovid control, now showing their armament. “Beyond their cargo, the both of them are beasts themselves. 88 Weapon systems on each, including LT roto cannons, gauss weaponry and artemis equipped LRM's. They'll give pause to anything sent against them.“
Brielton shifted the holovid again. “Max, you'll never guess who survived- .” A recorded satelite vid had a positive ID on the 'Baron' Hakkaris and it now appeared on yet another smaller holocube within the main display.
Maximillian nearly choked on his drink. “You're sure he doesn't have a twin?” He asked incredulously, examining the video.
Brielton was shaking his head no. “I may have tipped our hand with the 'evacuate' comment.”
Brielton had explained the situation to General Connor, who was quite amused with it. It had been relatively easy to access the civilian com system they had foolishly been using. The invaders had stopped that nonsense quickly enough.
Time was growing shorter, but much of the activity in the streets surrounding the Ogre seemed to be coming to a halt. On the vivid holounit hundreds of small icons glistened on the map around the imposing dropship. Even several klicks out, dots of various equipment deposited by the busy ground forces shone like small jewels on the darkening horizon.
Brielton finished his drink and deposited the disposable cup in a waste recycler before speaking.
“I'll be rather surprised if they wait until night for their attack. But it doesen't look like their ground forces have any chance of reaching us in the next hour-”
His sentence was cut short by a warning klaxon as the bridges lights dimmed, warning of imminent danger.
Earlier, vtol elements had been swift in depositing the sensor extenders. The Ogres early warning system now tracked a two thousand mile grid of airspace, giving them a twenty minute lead on even the fastest fighters.
Information was unfolding now on the holovid. Thirty, then forty, now eighty aerospace fighters were incoming from the far east. Eta 28 minutes.
“Maximillian whistled.”That's a bit more than intelligence had suggested. The Baron has some new recruits perhaps?”
General Connors answered him, “Ill wager he's stripped his dropships of their aero wings for this assault. That'll be risky.”
Brielton agreed with the General. Any dropship wishing to debark would be left relatively undefended in the event of their aero support loss. Trapping them on planet likely, as risking the dropships without adequate protection might prove suicidal.
Brielton was studying the statistics as the fighter makeups were coming in.
Few first class heavy fighters were among them, but what disturbed him more was that the computer had determined by their speed that quite a few were loaded with conventional bombs, in addition to their normal weapons. It was not difficult to figure out whom they were intended for, and it required a small shift in Brieltons plans.
Brielton took his Command seat. “Ground forces, go pattern 'BIG', relaying coordinates now.” Brielton loaded up a larger perimeter establishment. It was weaker in some senses, but seriously decreased his troop density.
On the Holovid, the 46 BCV heavy vehicles which formed the core of the Ogres defensive force began rolling out to their new locations. 24 Heavy mechs also received new coordinates and found themselves supporting the vertices between and behind the BCV's. Inter-spread through them all were the barely noticeable battlearmor, some leapt on the BCVs and hitched rides, others jetted, clearing 90 meters per stride. The repositioning was extremely well maneuvered.
The Holovid showed the 'Barons' lighter ground forces reaching the far edges of the city now, at least 8 miles away. The larger mecha were still trodding towards their destination, but would certainly not make it to the citys edge before their aero element could engage.
General Conner of course noticed the screw-up. “They've boondoggled it. Rather obvious they wanted to hit us at once. -But I doubt the Baron has much experience coordinating combined arms across four regiments.”
Maximillian chimed in “Especially without his forward command staff.”
Brielton spoke now. “I doubt he'll have his aero attack wait for the ground forces, though it is a possibility. But that will mean night combat flying, and I'm not sure how comfortable his air command is going to be with that.”
Brielton was adjusting elements of the holovid as he spoke.
“No, I think they'll come straight at us and let the ground forces try and catch up with them. I doubt they expect much from us in the air, probably still wondering why we sent out the Fox and Justice to deal with a recon wing, when a few medium attack fighters probably would have been more effective.“
“I'd certainly bet they don't know we have the Archons Will and Wraith ready to pounce, not to mention a dozen heavy fighters of our own.” Maximillian added.
Brielton selected an airspace above his extended perimeter on the holovid control and set a schedule for all of his aero assets to intercept the incoming threat. This started a series of timed processes between the ships, all in order to coordinate their arrivals, and maximize the firepower they could project.
Flight operations began immediately in the Ogres cavernous flight deck. The mag lev lifter not only moved a pair of one hundred ton heavy fighters into place every other minute on the flight deck, but also 'catapulted' the aircraft into the atmosphere assisting their engines and further lessening the normally required liftoff distance of the bulky craft, even when burdened with the extra armament they all carried for this mission.
Under the wings of every assault aerocraft were two independently fired guided missiles which would be controlled by operators in the Ogres 'coffins'. An additional surprise for the invaders.
General Connors was observing the fighters and their loadouts on the main holoscreen. He questioned Brielton: “All heavy and assault craft? You've given up quite a bit of flexibility there.”
Brielton nodded, agreeing with the assessment. “Yes, but those roles are more than adequately covered by other elements of the Ogre's arsenal. Our aero have a very specific and narrow mission statement: defend the Ogre. They are a very large hammer in that regard. But we only present that hammer when there's a nail to bang. -My philosophy just doesn’t mesh with using them as a general assault force, unless absolutely necessary.”
Conners nodded as he considered the strategy. Up until now, the invaders had not seen a single aero from Brieltons command. They would be in for a rude surprise when Brieltons aero assets suddenly appeared to counter what they no doubt believed was the supreme air force on the planet.
Light and agile Vtol craft had been used instead of aero assets for ferrying battle armor and their 'gifts' to the edges of their defense periphery. The Ogres VTOL pilots were honed in the finer points of navigating urban battlefields. Being smaller, and ECM cloaked also, they presented a much more covert way of operating compared to their bulkier aero counterparts.
For heavier pieces, the 80 ton wheeled BCV's often ferried in components in their spacious 5 ton cargo bays to awaiting engineers, clad in special battlearmor modified for their deadly tasks. The result was an initial line of unmanned turrets and sensor banks, mined approaches to firing solutions and other devious surprises the Ogres master urban combat specialists had devised in their operations.
At 17 minutes ETA, the Ogres first set of heavy fighters lifted off, which would be proceeded by another pair every other minute until her full complement of fighters had launched.
At 11 minutes ETA the Ogres holovid alerted of a speed change in the main incoming aero group. Not coincidentally at about the same time the Archons Will and Wraith broke atmospheric orbit, in their long glide en route to relieve their sister ship.
Unlike the spheroid design of the Ogre, the Aerodynes were sleekly long and slender. They could glide into the atmosphere and make massive strafing runs before either needing to land or reengage with enough thrust to again ascend into lower orbit where the low gravity would once again allow them the maneuverability to repeat the task.
Brielton studied the situation carefully as the forces steadily closed with one another.
