Here is part 2, originally was going to have some musings on the CB side but... couldn't personally work that out without VEDA and CB in general being OOC...
Territorial Waters of Sri Lanka, SLS Richard Cameron -Grand Admiral class Fleet Carrier- Flight Deck; November 5th, 2307 AD/0375 NWE
The salty air of the Indian Sea assaulted the senses as the SLS
Richard Cameron with the rest of SolGov's 1st Blue Fleet neared the troubled island of Sri Lanka. The mission is simple: kick the Human Reform League out of Sri Lanka and end the centuries-old ethnic conflict. So far, the forward elements of the 1st Blue Fleet haven't seen any HRL blue navy assets. Though SolGov's blue navy's swiftness has caught everyone off-guard as the HRL's warships have barely had time to leave port.
My mission? Search and destroy.
Black Section had done a thorough job finding the numerous targets, all defensive installations whose destruction is necessary. That is necessary to ensure that the landing operations go off without a hitch and later crush the opposition so that the Peacekeepers can actually do their job.
Peacekeepers can't keep the peace if they're getting shot at, after all. Especially the fact that Peacekeepers are armed with little in terms of lethal armament.
"So, we're going into a pucker-factor 3 situation," my WSO smirked as we climbed the steep staircase, "a good change of pace from the usual. Hopefully, we'll have
something to alleviate our boredom. Perhaps this 'Celestial Being' might give us a challenge, although they might be trying to comprehend that we're not like the locals."
"I wouldn't be so cocksure Knuckles," I corrected, "The ARP from the 4th Army indicates that Celestial Being is playing with some nasty toys. While their ranged weapons might look like particle beams, they're Q-guns in effect." Knuckles rolled his eyes as we got to our MR-01Z.
"Yeah, yeah," Knuckles playfully replied, "it would be far more interesting if they
did show up." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. I didn't survive for almost two centuries in the military by being cocky.
"Interesting is what
kills you, kid. Remember that," I sagely commented as we boarded our aircraft, "If you want to live well into your first century, then consider interesting deadly."
"Yeah, yeah, old man," Knuckles yapped as he booted the main computer and began the final preflight checklist, "Just keep an eye out for any boogies, and I'll do the rest."
I mentally roll my eyes as I looked at the ACHO with the physical weight sign as my AugReal showed what my plane was telling me. I gave the ACHO a thumbs up, and then the EMAL catapulted me into the air. I put the MR-01Z into supercruise as I climbed to 15 kilometers. As the rest of the squadron formed up. I mentally frowned at what intelligence had dug up on the HRL's defenses at Sri Lanka.
The defenses weren't much to talk about. Mostly a cavalcade of SAMs and AAGs, nothing compared to the Deep Battle-inspired layered IADS network back home. Not only that, but they're very conventional. They don't have quantum radar nor LIDAR, just regular radar. Less said about their AAGs and SAMs, the better. If anything, this is going to be like kicking puppies.
I quickly led my squadron to our assigned assault point, cruising at Mach 2.4, and prepared to let loose.
That was when my missile alert buzzed.
I quickly tasked the LAMS to start swatting the missiles away, causing blue-white streaks of flash-vaporized air to meet them. The missiles didn't even have a chance.
HRL Sri Lanka Base Dmitri
"What do you mean our SAMs aren't hurting them?" my CO practically yelled at the air defense commander over the radio, "Those jets
should be swatted out of the sky by now!" I mentally sighed as I kept the incoming combat data up to date. My CO
isn't wrong in that regard, as the Tamil Tigers and our garrison have several air defense divisions between us. Yet, SolForce has been simply
slaughtering our air defense forces. Their anti-radiation missiles are top-notch and, simply put,
ridiculous overkill. They also are high enough that our 155mm AAGs couldn't even touch them. "Get the 5th Air Squadron to scramble and prepare for a naval landing. I want everyone to their positions before they land
in force!"
"Sir," I commented, "
they're already landing." I heard a rather colorful string of curses coming from my CO, likely in response to the shitshow unfolding around us.
"Send all available units to their beachheads and
stop them; they can't be allowed to gain a foothold!" my CO ordered. Everyone in the room quickly sent the order out, but I fear we might be too late...
Tamil Tiger 7th Mobile Suit Company, 2nd Division - Tieren #890-0411
"All units, this is Command; SolGov has landed in Sinhalese and Tamil territory and has been aggressively moving up from the coastline. Current SatInt indicates that they've been establishing a massive beachhead at those sites. We must stop them before they start moving out or we're done for. The HRL's 2nd Fleet isn't going to arrive in time to save us, so we'll have to do it ourselves."
I frowned at that information, as to have one of SolGov's blue-water fleets showing up within five
days with an entire
ocean command worth of ships speaks
volumes about their military. Even though the HRL's 2nd Fleet is headquartered in Taiwan, they're spread across the Pacific and Indochina, meaning they are forced to assemble before redeploying to Sri Lanka. Given that SolGov blue-water ships have a cruising speed of
60 knots, the HRL's 2nd Fleet had to waste precious time to assemble before heading out at
half that.
That is when my sensors went off, detecting a vehicle a good kilometer distant. I quickly focused on the unknown vehicle with the Tieren's sensor array. It was an IFV and with an infantry squad. Given what the HRL has gathered on SolGov's infantry capabilities, I kept my distance while signaling my squadmates to hold our position.
"Gowthaman, are you scared of a bunch of infantrymen?" one of my squadmates -Lavinthan- asked mockingly.
"I'm cautious, Lavinthan, not scared," I flatly replied, "I've read the intelligence reports that you've apparently skipped out on. The picture they painted isn't good, given that they've kept kicking the
Enact around like a stepchild." I kept scanning for more SolGov forces as I explained. "They managed to destroy an up-armored
Flag practically every time. The only win that the
Enact managed was when it simply went for collateral damage, and I mean ensure that the buildings they were in
were dropped on them. The testing data intelligence got us is... horrifying."
That was when I heard Captain Vinnavan's voice over the radio.
"You're going in for remedial training if we live through this, Private Lavinthan. You keep ignoring the most significant part of our training: information is ammunition," Vinnavan reprimanded,
"Corporal Gowthaman, with your sighting, that makes a whole mechanized platoon sighted in our company's AO, with possibly more. Corporal Aboorna had trouble picking them up visually, using some sort of adaptive thermo-optical camouflage to mask their equipment. We might be facing more than a platoon if that's the case."
"
That wasn't in the intelligence briefing," I complained, "They did pick up on SolGov's armor shifting camouflage patterns without assistance; this thermo-optical camouflage system wasn't used." I sigh in disappointment. "Given we're likely going to be in serious trouble if they're keeping us in the dark about their full capabilities." That was when I noticed that my sensors were detecting some sort of metallic dust in the air. A short while after this, my sensor lock alert went
crazy.
"My e-sensor is going nuts!" Aboorna complained,
"I'm getting sensor lock alerts from all directions!"
That was when it hit me.
"Everyone, the metallic dust we detected isn't sensor chaff but
microsensors!" I explained, "We're
wide fucking open!" That was when the IFV opened up with its autocannon. A short stream of golden tracers whizzed by me and into my squad. Several shots hit my right arm, annihilating it.
"Shit! My right arm and torso are fucked!" Lavinthan cursed as his Tieren got wrecked,
"What are they shooting at us with? A piddly autocannon shouldn't be able to go through three centimeters of E-Carbon like this!" I'm forced to agree with Lavinthan in this case; the autocannon displayed penetration capabilities on par with a
tank cannon.
"Fall back to Line Vasily!" Vinnavan ordered,
"We've lost the element of surprise and are reacting aggressively to our presence. I've already sent what we've gained to command!" I quickly throw my Tieren into reverse as the sighted SolForce vehicles and infantry surged forward, intent on killing us. The infantry promptly started to move up, holding their fire while readying their anti-tank weapons. That was when one round hit one of my squadmates, and the effects were
devastating. The round wasn't a chemical effect warhead but some kind of shaped
plasma warhead, and it went through E-Carbon like a hot knife through butter. I heard Iniyaa
scream as her Tieren exploded due to the damage inflicted.
"Damn it, we've lost Iniyaa!"
"Command, we've encountered a SolGov vanguard in our sector, and they're starting to slaughter us! Get everyone to Vasily and dig in there!" Vinnavan exclaimed,
"They're going to slaughter us in detail if we don't solidify our lines!"
"We know Captain Vinnavan; we're getting similar reports all across the front line. SolGov forces have already penetrated our initial cordons and are moving inland. At their current rate, they'll be at Line Vasily within the hour. From SIGINT, the Sinhalese have already surrendered to SolGov forces. Retreat to Line Yelena at your best possible speed."
"Alright, you've heard Command," Vinnavan commanded,
"retreat to Line Yelena. Don't even think about fighting these guys."
That was when I sighted SolForce tanks. These tanks weren't like the ones intelligence encountered at Fort De Gaulle, although they have the distinct barrel of SolForce's EM guns. If I had to guess, due to their size, they're some kind of light tank. Yet
why would you have light tanks with your mechanized infantry?
That was when I saw one of the tanks fire, sending a projectile at incredible speeds... and right into my left torso. The damage inflicted was fatal, leaving me with only the emergency batteries to keep my sensors, communications, and life support operational. My Tieren fell over, hitting the ground with a tremendous crash.
"Gowthaman is down! What are they using for ammunition!?!"
"I don't know what it is, but it's definitely not tungsten or depleted uranium! The flight profile is too fast and straight for either!"
"Launch smoke and make a run for it!"
"This is Gowthaman; my machine is dead, and I'm only running critical instruments and on battery power. I'll try to use the blowout system and escape on foot," I stated, "Head to Yelena without me. My position is already overrun as it is."
"... roger Gowthaman. Vinnavan company, you've heard the man: pop obscurants and retreat full throttle," Vinnavan ordered,
"Just make it back in one piece, alright?"
"Understood, Captain," I answered, "I'm activating the blowout system now." My Tieren shuddered as the shaped explosive charges detonated, blowing out the cockpit hatch in its entirety. I quickly unbuckle my seat and swiftly grabbed my PDW. But as I exited, I saw SolForce infantry surrounding my now-useless Tieren.
"Drop your weapon and any grenades on the ground and put your hands in the air," one of the infantrymen ordered, "That is if you want to live. If you have a death wish, then just try us." I mentally cursed myself as I put my PDW and pistol onto the ground. Looks like I'm going to be a POW...
_________________
The Kingdom of Azadistan, Tehran - Royal Palace, Royal Office; November 5th, 2307 AD/0357 NWE
Princess Ismail smiled as I took a sip of the incredible tea that she prepared for our meeting. We had a rather pleasant conference for the last hour and a half. Talking about getting assistance for her nation and how SolGov will carry out that assistance. It was surprising that she -and her life-long friend and confidant Shirin Bakhtiar- had a detailed analysis of the problems that Azadistan was facing. It was even more surprising that she actually
sought external assistance in solving those problems.
That
is rare and a common problem with political leaders all over. A trait that had been demonized, and it took detaching leadership from politics, in general, and limiting politics to make it acceptable again.
I smiled at the two as I shifted my body. "I must admit, my experience has told me to prepare to meet leaders who are groveling at my feet for SolGov assistance. I'll admit, SolGov and I had poor expectations, expectations that you've exceeded with flying colors," I complimented, the two smiling at the praise. "Your plans and insight have merit, but there's going to be a price tag attached to this, I'm afraid."
"We thought as much," Shirin cynically commented, "What sort of price is your assistance going to cost?"
I frown slightly, trying to figure out a way to gently give them the answer. "Time, madam Shirin,
time," I answered, "you must understand that humans are resistant to change in general. Your conservatives are just
one such example. To ensure that your people -and I mean
all people- will prosper, it'll take generations of work to undertake. While we've got an immense understanding of how human-line sentients think, the only constant we
can't change without literal brainwashing is time." Ismail and Shirin's faces went pensive. "We've got to break down the psychological barriers to change people. Their biases and preconceptions. Their
memes. You can't rush things like this without unintended consequences, and I've seen that enough times in my one and a half centuries of service within the Special Actions Division."
"I see," Ismail replied pensively, "and there is no other way?"
"No, I'm afraid," I answered, but before I could explain, the doors to the office swung open, revealing a staffer.
"Princess!" the staffer exclaimed as he practically tripped over himself, "Sri Lanka has been invaded by SolGov!" Ismail then turned on her desk screen, showing a breaking news newscast.
"I see that they went ahead with it," I frowned.
"You
knew that this was going to happen?" Ismail exclaimed in fear.
"Yes, I'm afraid," I answered flatly, "Our diplomatic corps is closely tied to the military and intelligence services. You could say that they're joined to the hip at times. Though, they've bumped up the timetable by a few weeks. Something in Analytics must have spooked them, likely Celestial Being." I sighed. "Though, this level of force is going to be used
anyway, given the circumstances."
"You can't..." Ismail began before I interrupted her.
"Use force to stop the fighting?" I completed, "That is, sadly, a pretty naive way to see things, Princess Ismail." I slowly stood up and walked towards the windows. "Humanity is a very violent and irrational species, Princess Ismail. Its history is so blood-soaked that practically all of written and unwritten history is how humans made violence with each other. Killing for land, for resources, for
women, for
ideology, or for anything really." Ismail and Shirin visibly
shuddered at what I said, not liking it one bit. "People think men like Hobbes, Locke, Machiavelli, and Clausewitz are idiots when the reality is that they are
damn close to the human condition and things connected to it. It is why our
solar system is such a war-torn hell. Something that we in SolGov
don't want to have inflicted upon everyone here."
"That's pretty cynical," Shirin commented, "yet idealistic. A contradiction if I've ever heard of one."
"Cynicism is when a realist is thoroughly depressed at the world," I responded, "much like how paranoids are convinced that someone is after them for reasons real and/or imagined. Sri Lanka's current destiny is to be an example. An example of what happens when two sides
want to keep their nation broken. We're hoping to use Azadistan as an example of what happens when you ask for our aid. Yes, we'll be wrecking a lot of your culture in the process, but that's
normal for any change, I'm afraid." I paused for a moment, trying to think of something to ease the two. "My childhood dream was always to be a historian, a student of history. I find it so heartbreaking that Islam would be so self-destructive despite such great promise. Some might say that it was Islam's fate to become self-destructive as all religions do. Although, they say it without actually digging into history. What we have here is to help Islam become what it
promised to be."
That got the two to raise their eyebrows in interest.