"The Menagerie at Twycross", Part 3
- Date: June 12, 3050; 23:09 Standard Time
- Planet: Apolakkia, Zenith Jump Point
- Location: Invader-class JumpShip 'Sunset'
Hechek wasn't wrong. They should be Jumping to Twycross soon, but no alert has yet been given. She stuck her datapad back into its storage and felt irritation boiling up inside her alongside a twisting knot in her stomach. 'There had better be a good reason we're not going anywhere,' she thought to herself and began pulling herself up the corridor to the bridge.
The door to the bridge opened, causing the captain to wince and immediately tense up. "Captain." Her voice was a low contralto, deep and rich with a casual authority to it. Hechek carefully levered herself through the aperture to glance around the bridge. Nobody was meeting her gaze, giving the rather large woman nothing to latch onto. Thus she focused on the captain again, who turned around to face her. "I understand we are stopped. Why?"
"New advisory just came through. Travel to Twycross has been suspended until further notice." He yelped as she pushed off the doorframe and took hold of his suit by the front. "Ma'am-!"
Her lips peeled back in a snarl as her voice dropped lower, eyes narrowing. "I was under the impression you worked for me, not the Federated Commonwealth. Or whomever issued the warning." Her eyes darted to the viewport and pointed. "They are welcome to wait, but we're going to Jump as soon as we are charged."
"Ma'am, not only could we face being fined-"
"They can bill me."
"... or having the ship impounded." He was trying to brush her hand off, but the fingers only tightened their grip. "Which helps no-one. We could be subject to various legal issues which would-" He let out a sharp gasp as Hechek pushed him back into his seat.
Her glower remained as she folded her arms. "I assume you have a much more convincing argument, captain."
The captain rubbed at his neck nervously, then cleared his throat. His back straightened as he tried to muster up enough authority to counter that glowering expression. "If the nadir and zenith Jump Points are being used, we could experience a misjump and be destroyed. Either in a fashion where we get to feel everything go wrong or simply cease to exist completely. Nobody's sure which case happens and I'm not exactly eager to find out personally."
Hechek grunted, looking off to one side and shaking her head. The moment of silence stretched on as communication chatter was barely audible from the navigation station. Her ears caught something briefly, and she turned to look at the captain once more. "What ship was that?" At a blank expression, she pointed a finger to the navigation console. "I'll be more precise, then. What JumpShips are currently waiting on station here at this Jump Point?"
The captain turned around to start looking at the screens, finger picking out names one by one. "We have the 'Tabitha', the 'Starry Wave', the 'Namida', the 'Nogitsune'... must be a Combine ship."
"Did you say 'Namida'?" Memories were coming back, standing in the office next to her father, a short woman in a pink hat looking across the desk and focusing entirely on the elderly man who was running the company. Wanting it made clear her outfit wasn’t for sale or accepting corporate backing, much to her father’s amusement.
"Yes, why?"
Hechek pondered, weighing the issues of owing someone for help, and knowing she'd actually get the help she needed rather than a token gesture. Then again, there was more to consider about trying to get into touch. She shoved that down, and pointed. "Give them a hail, and open me a channel." She drifted to the communications station, putting on a headset and leveraging herself down into one of the seats. "Yes, 'Namida', this is 'Sunset'-"
There was an interruption of a couple electronic tones, and her face winced at the piercing noise. Then there was a clearly synthetic female voice speaking. "One moment Sunset." Two more tones, and there was a reaction from the navigation station; they must be scanning the ship. "Please identify for voice recognition software?"
Her fingers tightened slightly on the armrest of the chair. "Hechek Reisel speaking, can I-"
The same synthetic voice interrupted, along with a very soft noise being played underneath the words. "Thank you, Hechek Reisel. Verifying voice patterns. Please hold." The noise resolved into a rhythmic hum, before the voice returned. "Verified within 93% probability. Authorized." There was a soft clicking noise. "Can I inform the Captain about the nature of your call?"
Hechek counted to five before responding. "Please do, I would like to speak to them directly."
There were a couple clicks, the quality of the voice somewhat different while being the same one. "I'm sorry, this connection is outside normal duty hours for the Captain. If this is an emergency, please state the nature of the emergency."
"I have a favor I need to discuss, at length, with the Captain." Hechek spoke slowly and carefully, fingernails digging slightly into the armrest. She really hated dealing with expert systems sometimes.
A moment after she finished speaking, the voice returned. "I am afraid that does not match any acceptable criteria for an emergency override. Would you like to try a different reason?"
Hechek's eyes swept the bridge, as everyone was again studiously trying not to make eye contact. "Please pass on my message as urgent, then. I will patiently await her response."
“Press one to mark this message as urgent.” A pause, and a series of soft clicks as Hechek’s eye twitched. “User appears to lack necessary interface device. Hold please.” There were several more clicks, and then the voice almost sounded like it was sulking. "Please stay on the line, the Captain will connect shortly." Hechek let out a long breath, and closed her eyes as she began to compose what exactly she wanted to ask for and negotiate with.
- Date: June 12, 3050; 02:33 Local Time
- Planet: Twycross
- Location: Salmacis Base, Command Center
"Two hours ago, the planetary comm net was given an override signal-"
She strode to the table and leaned over it, teeth clenched as the memories became sharper. "It's not like the Damascus Signal?" They'd encountered it once before, someone using old Star League civil defense codes as a back-door to shut down the communications network of a planet. Or something like that, she had been rather fuzzy on the details then and waking up this early in the morning.
"Close. Same trick but our systems aren't affected, going to have to give thanks to our previous tech nerd for that." He made a flicking motion. "Our systems are still operational but everyone else on the planet using standard gear is receiving a broadcast." His face hardened. "It's what you were waiting for. The invaders have come, and they parked a WarShip overhead."
"You're joking." WarShips were extinct, nobody had any actual functional vessels any longer. Sure, they technically existed but only as dead husks of what they had once been. "Nobody's used one in almost two hundred years. You have to be mistaken."
Otto shook his head. "I am not. They identified themselves as Clan Smoke Jaguar, but as of yet we only have seen one DropShip dispatched. But that's not why we woke you up." He pointed to the table where a map was showing a red flashing light over some grid coordinates. Specifically, the facility at Trellshire Heavy Industries. "This is where they landed, and we got reports shortly thereafter of the security forces engaging the invaders."
The industrial complex wasn't far from here, maybe an hour's march for 'Mechs. It was used to build and refit BattleMechs for the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth, and when possible they would offer any decommissioned and refurbished equipment for sale directly. Priam Company had done business with them in the past, and while it was more expensive than salvage yards there was no doubt the results were worth the expense.
"Did you ask if they needed assistance?"
Otto cleared his throat. "I tried to reach them, but the communication disruption made it difficult. I had to use our comm system to tap into their field comms and was loudly told to perform an anatomically impossible task before they muted me." He looked down. "So far the battle is going poorly from what we can listen in on. A small dispatch of militia forces were sent to engage 'only five enemy units', but we both know how that's going to go."
"Militia. Too macho to accept aid, and too confident to assess threats properly." Olivia rolled her eyes. "Wonderful. Tell me you took some initiative with this, Otto?" She looked up to see him smirking, and began to smile. "That's why we pay you more. So what did you do?"
"I had the techs start warming up Xiphos Lance and seeing what else they could get going in such short notice. They said they have the Maxims prepped, but combat vehicle support may be out of the question."
"Xiphos Lance." Olivia stared at the table, and frowned. "The Lance Commander is Raster, right? Ellen Raster?" As he nodded, she clenched her hands. "Get them up and get them in here. I want that Lance ready to dispatch five minutes ago, do you understand me?"
"As your Executive Officer, I'm duty-bound to remind you of important facts." He lifted a hand, and gently spoke in a slow and measured tone. "Like this one in particular: we are not getting paid for this."
"I'll bill Trellshire after and charge them extra for the inconvenience, but right now that enemy is in a place too close to us, where they can repair and rearm quickly and catch us unaware. I don't know what's there but I want to know as soon as we can. Until then I need Xiphos Lance as forward observers, and if the force is small enough they might even give us time we need."
"Ma'am... we both looked over the latest intelligence reports." Otto straightened up and looked around. "One Lance won't be enough. We should scramble more support." Already the comm officer was rousing 'MechWarriors and technicians. "If we wait-"
"Any time we delay, we're giving the invaders time to solidify their hold and recover. We need to hit them now, Otto." She knocked on the edge of the table, wishing they hadn't just shipped new recruits to Minos last month. "What do we still have here? Get me full lists of personnel and equipment, I'm going to need to know what we can handle."
"What's the plan?" He was quickly calling up tables and data, and saw her expression across the table. "You're thinking-"
Olivia nodded slowly, and let out a sigh. "After Xiphos leaves, we're going to start preparing evacuation protocols. Dump all computer records into the travel kit and get the classified paper stuff ready to go. I don't know how many more DropShips are in orbit and I don't want to find out the hard way when it's too late to start evacuating."
A few minutes later, four figures walked through the doors for the command center. Leading them was a woman with short brown hair, her jacket open and rumpled from having been thrown on. This was Ellen Raster, and the patch of crossed swords on her shoulder showed her as belonging to Xiphos Lance. The gold braid around the edge of the patch showed her as the Lance Commander.
Behind her on the right was an older man with greying auburn hair cut close to his head and a calm demeanor. This was not the first time he had been roused like this, and it showed. Vandal Grey, a professional mercenary who had fallen in with Priam Company just before the White Reach campaign and lasted through it by not putting himself in a situation to die. Olivia saw him look at table and tense slightly, showing he had just read how terrible the situation was.
On the other side there Sofia Garrido, tall and imposing when she wore a serious expression like she did now. Most knew she was the commander's daughter, but hadn't quite started questioning why she wasn't given a higher position - or one where the possibility of combat was lower. The answer was simple, however. Sofia didn't want that, and Olivia had no qualms letting her daughter pick her own fights. 'Even if I don't agree, she has the right to choose.'
Finally there was an unassuming younger man who had bought his way onto the recruitment list, a tradition Olivia found less distasteful as it usually turned out to mean noble scions who were well-educated and capable of more than 'point and shoot'. Marc Boleyn was the son of a family which would only worry about his importance if two older brothers and his older sister all died in a misjump or similar accident. And so he wound up here with a Warhammer and talent enough to earn a spot on one of the major Lances of Priam Company.
'And how many are going to come back?' Olivia shook her head to clear the doubt, and straightened herself up. She had a briefing to give. "Xiphos Lance. I hope you recall the intelligence package I had distributed for review last month, courtesy of the Lyran Intelligence Corps."
"Yeah, I took a look." Vandal was the first to speak, hands behind his back as he looked down at the table again. "Pirates who aren't pirates, with 'Mechs that shouldn't exist."
Sofia tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly. "Are we sure the LIC isn't getting stories from drunk Periphery idiots?"
"I'm sure. The source this came from wouldn't have passed it on if it smelled fake or embellished. Consider this tidbit, 'MechWarrior Garrido." The olive-skinned woman leaned forward to look into their eyes one at a time. "This information doesn't come from Periphery sources, it comes from two particular sources. First, an LIC agent which had been embedded at Sommerset shortly before it was invaded. I don't know anything about him other than he went by 'Fox'-"
Vandal spoke up, but his voice was a quiet rumble. "And we would never doubt a man with that nickname, nobody like that would ever be a duplicitous bastard." The four 'MechWarriors chuckled, but only Marc tried to hide it. "The second?"
"A mercenary outfit in good standing with the Review Board which had been contracted to hunt pirates out by Erewhon. Small but not a bad outfit, from what I could find on them. They're the source of the BattleROM data dump in the packet."
"Okay, so BattleROM logs are harder to wave off." Ellen was the one to speak finally, tilting her head curiously. "So what are we in for?"
"I don't know. Just a little while ago, the planetary comm network went down and these invaders made a targeted strike on Trellshire Heavy Industries. We don't have any idea how many more invaders to expect, as there's a WarShip in orbit." Everyone tensed up, and she held up her hand. "My gut is telling me if they can keep a hold on Trellshire, they'll be coming for us next."
"Not a bad gut." Vandal exchanged glances with Ellen. They both had been through worse situations in earlier campaigns, and knew how bad this could get.
Ellen just nodded back, and straightened her spine. Despite everything else, she knew her duty. "What's the plan, ma'am?"
"I have told the techs to ready Xiphos Lance, and they've been spending the last ten minutes making sure two Maxim transports and APC hovercraft are ready to assist. You won't have any other support on this, and they've got different orders. Their job is to enact a rescue of any Trellshire workers which can be easily extracted. Your task is to keep the enemy too busy to object to this, and keep them from repairing long enough for us to mobilize the rest of our forces."
"So... we're bait." Sofia put in, frowning. "Expendable."
"Nobody is expendable." Olivia ground the words out slowly, making Ellen flinch. Sofia just met that gaze quietly. "I don't want any of you putting yourself any more at risk than you have to. Play it smart, and just keep them busy for as long as you can. If your 'Mechs start taking serious damage, withdraw. Do not surrender, because I don't know if they're taking prisoners."
Marc blinked twice, and his voice trembled slightly. "It's not in the intel packet?"
"Didn't you read it?"
"I... skimmed it."
The commander shook her head. "We don't know for sure. Our friend was circumspect about the subject of prisoners. But I want you to all know one other thing, and you should know now before you go out." She stood straight again, and glanced to Otto. "We're not going to stay on Twycross. We're giving up Salmacis."
"Commander!" Ellen planted her hands on the edge of the light table. "That's- are you really..." She trailed off at the look on Olivia's face. It was a calm and serene expression which didn't seem to carry the same uneasiness as the 'MechWarriors felt at this announcement. "You can't be serious."
"I am. The old commander, the guy before me, came to accept something rather quickly into our first major campaign. We'd been stuck on any planet which didn't have a value to anyone, fighting odds which shouldn't have even been there in the first place. We almost had our base of operations there brought down on our heads." As she spoke, Vandal's expression took on the same placid look despite Sofia and Marc looking a little sick. "Priam Company's strength isn't in our equipment, it's in our people. As long as the people survive, everything else will come back. We can rebuild. It's just... stuff."
"Save the meat, fix the metal." Ellen said with a slow nod. "The night of the Albreicht Defense." She took a deep breath, and nodded to herself. "Okay, ma'am. We'll buy you what time we can. If you don't hear from us, trust we made it out." The younger woman dipped her hand into her trouser pocket, and removed a small grey coin from it. Vandal and Otto quickly followed suit, showing their own as Olivia held hers up from a pocket inside her jacket lining.
She looked to Marc and Sofia intently. "Come back alive, you two, and you'll earn yours. Now get to work. Dismissed."
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