Opalescent Reflections
Full House
Chapter 11
Castle Arianrod, Coventry
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
9 April 3058Victor looked up from his desk as someone knocked on the door. The operations along the frontlines were in full swing but his mother had given a hard no to his taking part in any of the attacks. Peter was off and out of contact for at least another year, so she’d rather have kept both her other sons out of the line of duty. It had taken the combined efforts of Victor and his father to give Arthur his chance, and part of the price for that was that Victor was stuck on Coventry dealing with some of the reams of paperwork being generated.
The face that came through the door was a welcome relief from those duties. “Galen!”
“Victor!” the taller blond declared brightly. “I was afraid I’d find you buried under something.”
“Not far off,” the prince replied, gesturing to his desk.
“I have taught you bad habits,” his friend said regretfully. “And I am paying for that now that I also have a desk job.” Notionally, Galen was still part of the Tenth Lyran Guards but his promotion to Leutnant-General had come with reassignment to the RCT’s staff and he was handling their interactions with the rest of the AFFC’s bureaucracy, a posting that kept him out of harm’s way.
Promotion from Colonel almost always involved such work - Victor had nearly dodged it with his double promotion following the Battle of Coventry, only to be sent to Terra to plan the military responses of the Star League. Now Galen was in the same spot: command above that of a regiment required that one demonstrate competence off the battlefield as well as on it.
“Your desk looks as bad?” Victor asked, pushing his chair back.
“Pretty much.” Galen waved him back to the chair and took the one facing him. “I heard that we had to fight a second front with AFFC command to stay supplied, paid and the like, but it wasn’t until I got this job that I found out that it really is a battle. I keep expecting to find someone face down with a sharpened pen buried in their back.”
“The theory is that it keeps us sharp,” the younger man replied. “I found a hell of a lot of corruption while I was playing hatchetman last year. If your counterparts had been doing their job properly, that wouldn’t have been the case.”
“I would be happy to trade. I have an actual Hatchetman, so I am doubly qualified.”
Victor nodded and glanced at the clock. “I also know that you wouldn’t leave your desk early unless you had more reason than socializing to drop by. I’m always glad to see you, but…”
“Where is that naive young leutnant I took under my wing?” Galen asked with mock regret. “Now you’re suspicious of everyone.” His eyes gave him away though.
“I got a grounding in politics,” Victor replied and hoped his eyes were better guarded. He had found a few gems in the forced networking of the royal court and some of those contacts were on New Avalon. As much as he wanted to believe that Omi was wrong in her assessment of Katherine’s position there, it was clear that she was surrounded by flatterers and did not seem to realize it. He really hoped that she didn’t at any rate.
Galen nodded. “That would do it. Alright, Victor, I have good news and I have bad news. What do you want first?”
“Start with the good. Hopefully the bad will help to inoculate me from any cases of victory disease. There is a lot of that going around.” Some of the career staff officers had gotten so excited by the sheer number of forces present that they were acting as if defeat of the Clans was a foregone conclusion. Victor couldn’t help but wonder how many reverses the LCAF and maybe the AFFS as well had suffered because of that mistake over the years.
The older man nodded. “First reports are in from the Rack and Pain.” Official guidelines were to use the names the worlds had used under the Star League: Dijonne and Port Vail. The next time Victor heard either used except in formal reports would be the first.
“I take it that we won?” The two worlds were the bases the Steel Vipers had used as a staging area to rejoin the invasion - even if they’d set up Inarcs as their center of operations, they were key supply bases and as such they were the main targets for Task Group Sapphire Two: no less than eight ‘mech regiments and almost fifty conventional units that had skirted the Inner Sphere to hit the Steel Vipers from behind.
“Damn right we did. The ComGuards even scored a major win: a Steel Viper convoy turned up over the Rack right next to our invasion force. CSS Manchester crippled the escort and oversaw the capture of the rest of the ships.”
“That’s a stroke of good luck!”
Galen grinned. “It gets better. The convoy was coming from the Clan homeworlds and along with a huge amount of supplies, they had tooling to build LRM guidance systems.”
Victor blinked for a moment, before he realized the full meaning of that. “That could let us crack the minimum arming range problem. Who has control of it?”
“ComStar,” Galen admitted. “But the local officers already gave ours complete access to the documentation. Even if the Primus tries to keep control of the tooling, that’s going to be a huge help.”
“Not as much letting us play with the tooling ourselves, but that may come,” Victor noted. He’d have to make sure that got fast-tracked back to Tharkad and New Avalon. His father would want samples for NAIS and the Primus would probably agree to that - for a price, but one that was affordable. Then he straightened in his chair. “And the bad news? What’s the butcher’s bill?”
His former commander looked away. “The Steel Vipers fought like captured rats. They only had a Galaxy between the two worlds, but they damn near cost us their own number in dead and wounded. Very few of their warriors were taken alive.”
Victor saw that the tension wasn’t gone from his friend’s shoulders. “And?”
“The Vipers managed to force a breakout between the Eighth Lyran Regulars and the Third Federated Commonwealth,” Galen told him. “The artillery park was overrun and they almost made it to our dropships and the forward operating base. Third Battalion of the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry got thrown in to buy time for reinforcements.”
The prince came half-way out of his chair. That was his little brother’s posting. “Galen!”
“He’s alive.” The older man didn’t meet his eyes. “But there isn’t a ‘mech left of that battalion - most of them were half the weight of the Clanners. Arthur and his lance anchored the entire defense. He’s up for a silver sunburst… and a medevac back to Tharkad.”
“Tell me!” he demanded, forcing himself back into his seat.
“His right arm is gone from above the elbow,” Galen told him. “The full medical report is on the way - he lost a lot of blood and there’s some infection, but he’s not in danger.”
Except of not being allowed off Tharkad again, Victor thought. Arthur and Yvonne were the babies of the family - far enough down the succession that they didn’t have the same obligations. Having harm come to one of them would hit his mother hard… and he wasn’t sure how his father would take it either. “How far has news gone?”
“It’s been classified,” Galen told him. “Messages are going direct to New Avalon and Tharkad under the most secure codes. Chances are that your mother knows by now.”
“And you’re the one telling me because…”
“Your chain of command is on Tharkad,” the Leutnant-General pointed out. “I got a head’s up from the Tenth the Rack once word got around. There’s not been time for an official message to get back from Tharkad.”
Victor took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, processing the thought of his lively, laughing little brother missing an arm. He’d been so eager to make his name, to show he was as good as Victor or Peter.
“Nothing I can do,” he said at last. “I assume he won’t be coming here, I’ll have to see if I can have a message sent to him in transit.”
Galen shrugged. “Most of the seriously wounded are being sent to Donegal or Tharkad once they’re fit for travel. My contacts didn’t know when that would be for your brother, but I’d imagine they’ll expedite that.”
Victor nodded grimly. “How are the Tenth?”
“Pretty good - no one got out without losses, but they’re one of the least damaged units,” Galen told him. “That means they’ll be with the next wave of attacks.”
Victor had pored over the star charts enough that he could call them to mind without needing to refer to a physical copy. The Steel Viper occupation zone formed a rough V with Pain and the Rack at one end, the Federated Commonwealth border at the other end. Inarcs was near the point of the V and the plan was to advance down the zone from both directions, ignoring the other Clans as much as possible.
Qanatir, Ma’anshan and Kwangjong-ni had been retaken at heavy cost - all three worlds had been right on the border with two frontline galaxies spread between them. But very few of those warriors had escaped. Now the main advance towards Inarcs was underway, a division of the ComGuards backing up the push to relieve or avenge their garrisons behind the lines.
“The sooner the better,” he said out loud. “The Vipers may be crumbling, but we don’t know yet how the Nova Cats are going to react.”
No one had foreseen that the Nova Cats would almost ignore the interdiction. They’d been rounding up ComStar personnel where they could, but for the most part they were then simply shipping them over into the fortified enclaves and politely - well, politely by Clan standards - refusing to let them back out. There were contingencies for the Cats involving themselves in the fighting - their territory abutted that of the Steel Vipers and they had to know that they might be next… but right now no one knew what they were planning.
No small part of the paperwork on Victor’s desk was speculation about that.
“And the Jade Falcons?” asked Galen.
“Twelve raids into the Commonwealth in the last month… and most of the ComStar enclaves behind their lines are gone,” Victor said gravely. “It’s not a question of if they attack, just when and where.”
Camora, Twycross
Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
10 April 3058It had taken Aidan half a day to find Elias Crichell after returning to Twycross. The search did nothing for his temper.
When he finally found the other Khan, it was not far from the command center where he had looked first, which was enough to convince him that Crichell had known of his presence and deliberately avoided him. The aged Khan was examining footage of a battle - not one involving the Clans. A drop port marked by green Capellan banners was marred by clouds of green smoke that streamed from hundreds of sources. An Overlord-class dropship was the only one present and it fired missiles out across the port as ‘mechs streamed out of its hatches to do battle with the defenders.
“Aidan!” The senior khan paused the replay as Aidan moved deliberately into his field of view. “You have done well dealing with ComStar!”
“Most of the HPGs are destroyed,” he acknowledged. “Even those we took somewhat intact will need repairs.”
“The Primus and her fanatics have been preparing for years to deal with such situations,” Crichell said dismissively. “Capturing any of the HPGs without their total destruction is very good. We have the knowledge and tools to rebuild them.”
Three months of sweeping across the rear-areas of the occupied worlds came back to Aidan. World after world, green omnimechs battling white-painted SLDF machines. “It needed to be done,” he said simply. “Our rear has been secured, now we can move against the real enemy.”
Crichell smiled thinly and gestured towards another seat on the couch he occupied. “Which of our enemies do you mean? There are a number, all as real as the next. I would have counted ComStar among them.”
“The Steel Vipers provoked them,” Aidan answered. “It was unnecessary.”
“This was always going to happen.” The old Khan shook his head. “Not now, I admit - it was premature. But we could never tolerate ComStar having a hand on our communications.” He paused. “And in some respects, the timing was good.”
Aidan frowned. “Would you say that if the Federated Commonwealth was taking worlds back from us rather than the Steel Vipers? Because we are likely their next target.”
“There we were fortunate. Combined with the interdiction…” A shake of the white-haired head. “Yes, it would have been a problem, but we are better placed now and there is no such attack imminent. Our raids show that forces along our border are focused on the defense.”
“You make it seem as if this is good for us.”
“Is it not?” Crichell raised his eyebrows. “You speak of our real enemies? The Vipers are no friends of ours and I think it is unlikely that their occupation zone will survive - that leaves them weakened and humiliated. It is not beyond possibility that they will face absorption unless they turn this situation around. And even if they fail, Clan Nova Cat is covering our flank and will do so far more effectively than Zalman and his Clan.”
“They still provided a considerable force that the Federated Commonwealth had to respect. If that is gone then almost a quarter of the forces facing the Steiner-Davions are unavailable to us.”
“I refuse to consider that a serious loss,” Aidan’s senior dismissed his argument. “And the Federated Commonwealth will be weakened as well - they have sent the preponderance of their forces to the furthest extreme, with little support from the rest of this so-called Star League.”
“If we do not strike now, we may have to fight them alone,” Aidan warned. “I know the Steel Vipers will refuse direct aid, but we could strike towards Terra - retake Arcturus and drive into Skye, taking some of the pressure off them. The Nova Cats would have to join us…”
“Clan Wolf would not. I count it our great good fortune that they are thoroughly distracted by their errant kin.”
Aidan raised his voice. “We are ceding the initiative!”
Crichell gave him a reproving look. “We are picking our moment. Your plan is not without merit but it is too soon and we must take Tharkad first. The Lyran capital is well placed - without it and the surrounding worlds, the logistics across their Commonwealth are poor. Taking it will seriously impair the ability of the units deployed against the Steel Vipers to rebuild their strength.”
“We are not just fighting the Federated Commonwealth. They have reinforcements from across the Inner Sphere.”
“Token forces,” the old man pronounced. “They hate and fear House Steiner-Davion’s strength. If this alliance of theirs endures, they will end up dominated by the Federated Commonwealth, so the Mariks and Liaos will compromise if they must. Take Tharkad and they will find reason to look to their own defenses, while we will have fresh Clans committing their forces.” Then he smiled smugly. “The ComGuards struck at the homeworlds. No one can deny that there is need to strike against them now - the Star Adders always claimed that the Crusade would require our full might and the Blood Spirits prate of unity, so they can take the lead.”
“The homeworlds?!” Aidan exclaimed, pushing himself upright. “Where? With what forces?!”
“Huntress,” Crichell told him, gesturing dismissively even though Ironhold and Strana Mechty were within a single jump of the named world. “It is a raid, Aidan. Our defenses are not as weak as those of the Smoke Jaguars.”
“Even so…” He paused, shook his head. “No, I see. Fear of more than that will motivate the homeworld Clans to join the invasion.”
“They have always wanted to, and now there is an excuse that the Wardens cannot reject… particularly with the Wolves humbled.” The smile on the old Khan’s face was disturbing. “Ulric Kerensky created the Zeerga and while they may be attacking him now, that has still cost him many allies. Even if he objects, he will face the same odds or worse than those he had to fight against the vote to invade.”
It occurred to Aidan that Ulric Kerensky had come surprisingly close to winning that Trial of Refusal, but he doubted Crichell took that threat seriously. “And the other Clans?” he asked, buying time to think.
“Of the invaders? The Smoke Jaguars are humiliated already and the Combine is striking at both them and the Ghost Bears. That will sway the Bears and the Jaguars have always supported widening the invasion, although they may be forced to provide access via their corridor.” Crichell paused and Aidan was not surprised. “It is not clear if the Diamond Sharks are under attack by the Inner Sphere. The Hells Horses and Ice Hellions are giving Sennet problems, but I doubt the Smoke Jaguars can continue to harass them with things as they stand. Most likely they will struggle to hold onto their current territory, but if they do…” The old man shrugged, confidence returning to him. “If they join us, so much the better. If not, they continue to pose a threat to the Combine and beyond them to the Federated Suns, which serves our purposes almost as well.”
“Better in some ways.” The words slipped out of Aidan’s mouth and he regretted giving away the insight.
Crichell gave him an appraising look. “Aff,” he said simply.
“Bringing more Clans in means more contenders for the crown of Terra,” Aidan warned.
“They have yet to face the Inner Sphere. Let them batter their way through Skye and Dieron while we will fly above them to the prize,” Crichell said sagely. “ComStar will guard Terra ferociously - and you have ensured that we retain the naval aid of the Snow Ravens. Khan McKenna knows that her Clan cannot take Terra, they lack the ground forces. But given the chance to be our ally and kingmaker…” He smiled thinly. “Thanks to you, Aidan. I will be IlKhan - there is no other now who can claim the title. And once Clan Jade Falcon is emplaced as the ilClan, you will be my obvious successor.”
“One step at a time,” Aidan said cautiously. “The opening to strike at Tharkad may arrive quickly. I should move to the front.”
“Once your troops have resupplied and made good their equipment,” the old Khan assured him. “I would not launch this campaign without you in the lead.”
Right where I can take the blame for any reverse, Aidan thought. Successor indeed?! You do not care for a single thing beyond placing your ass on the ilKhan’s throne!
“I understand your Summoner took serious damage,” Crichell continued. “I suggest that you replace it. One of the new Night Gyrs - a formidable new ‘mech suitable to the new age that is dawning.” It was an order, not a suggestion.
A cumbersome ‘mech to rein me in? “I believe you have also adopted one of the new designs,” he said out loud. “A Turkina in place of your old Warhawk.”
“The Khans should pilot machines of our Clan’s designing, after all,” the older man preened. As if the Summoner was not of Jade Falcon design!
Imperial City, Irurzun
Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine
1 May 3058“Is this confirmed?” Minoru asked the man sitting across from him.
Boris Petrov spread his hands slightly in apology. It wasn’t a meeting of the high command and Minoru had decided to enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine with Atsuko. He had to handle some reports, but she had her own and thus they had been sitting in comfortable silence, each working through their own stack of documents (held in place against the wind with stone paperweights) until the Warlord had politely asked for some of Minoru’s precious time.
“The reports are from reliable officers,” Petrov told him. “Unfortunately, they will also be in the hands of Focht and Hasek-Davion.”
“I assumed as much.”
Minoru had nothing particularly against the next Commanding General of the SLDF, in fact the Duke of New Syrtis had gone out of his way to be supportive of Omi so he could not be considered an enemy. But he would naturally put the interests of the Federated Commonwealth ahead of the Draconis Combine’s. It would be naive to think otherwise.
There was an understanding, though such promises might prove to be faithless, that the third Commanding General would probably be from the Combine. Minoru’s realm covered for a large part of the border with the Clans after all… and it seemed fairly likely that a second round of counter attacks might be expected around 3061. A good time for a DCMS officer to push for a focus against the Diamond Sharks, given that the Federated Commonwealth had had their chance to deal with their own foes. That didn’t help now.
Atsuko had pulled back slightly from the table to let the men talk but she was evidently listening. Minoru wondered if she might ask questions later or simply treat it as none of her business. He thought that not all the questions she asked were those her father had prompted her to. Hoped that they weren’t.
He rubbed his chin. “What do you expect?”
“The Ghost Bears have already proven more expensive to push back,” admitted Petrov. “And we’ve pushed them back to the point that they have reliable HPG communication between their units. I expect that instructions will be given to focus where we are seeing more results.”
“The Smoke Jaguars, in other words.”
The warlord nodded. “They are evidently in some disarray, with poorer communications and supplies. In addition, we have seen nothing of two of their frontline Galaxies - they may be experiencing the same level of distraction as the Diamond Sharks.”
The interdiction cut both ways, Minoru thought. The Clan Occupation Zones had gone black except where enclaves were secure enough that they hadn’t cut off their HPGs entirely. Unfortunately, the decision to focus on the Ghost Bears and Smoke Jaguars meant that there weren’t many of those HPGs. The Ghost Bears held worlds that had long been relatively secure with no scope for ComStar protection to be extended.
While there had been quite a number of ComStar enclaves on Smoke Jaguar worlds, most of them had been overrun - the exceptions were those liberated quickly in the first waves of attacks. The effort had undoubtedly depleted Smoke Jaguar forces and hampered their ability to respond to Operation Ruby. It still left them mostly blind about what was going on more than a single jump past the worlds being fought for.
“We are still fighting for Combine worlds,” Minoru allowed after thinking further. “It is hard for me to argue against that.”
“There is a risk of becoming over-extended and leaving a vulnerable salient between the Bears and the Wolves.”
The coordinator chuckled sardonically. “You know what Hasek-Davion’s counter will be.”
“Well… yes,” Petrov admitted.
“May I ask what it will be?” Atsuko asked quietly.
The Warlord frowned slightly and glanced at her before looking back to Minoru.
“Please,” Minoru invited. “A fresh pair of eyes may see something we have overlooked.”
Petrov thought a moment before responding. “We have no sight yet of a major counter-attack. That being the case, Marshal Hasek-Davion will wish to employ Task Force Emerald offensively - it is his own command. And he will want to do so in a way that benefits his liege lord. Liberating worlds held by Clan Wolf would restore worlds to the Federated Commonwealth and the Free Rasalhague Republic, making it a popular move.”
“Rasalhague has no representation on the Star League Council,” Minoru’s wife mused out loud. “But if their worlds were liberated, might they gain that?”
“Possibly. Or their worlds could become protectorates of the Federated Commonwealth.” Petrov grunted. “The Combine is regrettably not in a position to offer a counter-bid and if we did, they would refuse. Rasalhague fought to be free of the Combine.”
“I was a child at the time,” Atsuko allowed. “May I ask my husband’s goals in this matter?”
“Reclaiming the worlds that rest under the Ghost Bear’s paws,” he told her. “Driving them from the Inner Sphere would deprive the Diamond Sharks of an ally and open a road towards Luthien. A salient there is less risky - the Jaguars and Sharks are unlikely to cooperate.”
Atsuko lowered her eyes and said nothing for a moment. “If the Rasalhague leaders were to accept the Dragon’s protection, could some limit on their liberation be set?” she asked after a moment. “No more worlds than could be defended. My lord’s father fought to grant them their independence, so they may be persuaded that such protection - perhaps on the levels Warlord Sorenson advocates - will be relaxed once they are ready to guard themselves again.”
“We would have to find the troops for that,” Petrov pointed out in a condescending tone. “And it does not help us to fight the Ghost Bears.”
“Ah, I apologize for my poor explanation,” she answered, lowering her head. “Since Marshal Hasek-Davion wishes to recover worlds for his lord and my lord is supporting this, surely the Marshal can reasonably spare forces to assist against the Ghost Bears. As for the troops, would they not primarily need infantry until the current offensive is over?”
“True…” Minoru allowed thoughtfully. “And ComStar will want their enclaves back.” Whose mere presence would contribute to the security of those worlds.
Boris Petrov gave Atsuko a look of his own. “I believe I have new reason to be pleased by Lord Kurita’s marriage. I had not realized that you were so well-versed in diplomacy.”
Atsuko blushed. “I am sure you would have come up with a solution.”
“Perhaps so. But even if we did, we might not come up with one in time,” the Warlord told her. “In diplomacy, like war, a perfect plan too late is of little use.”
The blush didn’t escape Atsuko’s face and she backed off. “Please excuse me while I arrange some snacks for you.”
Both men politely acknowledged the excuse and watched her leave.
“Some of your court would object to her advising you in public,” Petrov counseled Minoru. “Fools, but sometimes influential.”
“I have enough fools advising me,” the Coordinator observed. “My wife is not one of them.”
“Quite.” The Warlord shook his head slightly. “The situation in the Outworlds Alliance is more promising. I imagine that Li Dok To will wish to recover his district’s capital.”
“I will allow it when the time comes,” Minoru confirmed quietly. “The Diamond Sharks are being attacked from the core by their fellow Clans. If we had known in time, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Ruby to be aimed at them.”
“When an opportunity passes, it does little good to dwell on it, Tono. Recovering Galedon and perhaps Alshain… that will still be a good start on redressing our losses.” Petrov rose to his feet. “With your permission, I will contact Marshal Hasek-Davion and General Mansdottir.”
“Individually, I hope.”
“Oh yes, very much so.” The big man beamed happily. “Divide and conquer as they say. My apologies to Lady Kurita that I cannot wait for the snacks, but I think the two of you will manage without me.”
“Go with my blessing,” Minoru told him and watched Petrov walk to the gates. As the warlord exited, he paused and bowed to the returning Atsuko. A deep bow, a degree deeper than would normally be offered to the Coordinator’s wife.
She is making a good impression, Minoru thought. I should be glad of that - no, I am glad of that. And her father is moderating the conservatives…
But Sorenson’s reforms are yielding results, and that threatens established interests. There will be backlash to that. Can I count on Marquis Hideyoshi in that case…?
And if not, can I count on my wife?
