Let Us Unite: Chapter XVIV
Date: January 25, 2863
Location: Altair, Draconis Combine
Franklin Kurita’s
Awesome shifted underneath him as the 18th Dieron Regulars and a battalion of the 1st Sword of Light moved in formation around him towards the base that was the closest to the Hegemony’s dropships.
Franklin shifted his attention to the battlecomputer that he’d installed years before. The satellites weren’t reporting enemy movements anymore, but what they did manage to get had painted a grim picture for both sides.
It was evident that they’d managed to damage one of the Hegemony dropships on its way down, but it was impossible to tell if they were blocked from offloading the kit and personnel from the few images they’d received before the satellites went down.
But in the process, Altair had lost all but a handful of their aerospace fighters, leaving them with salvaged
Riflemen and
Partisans for their anti-aircraft defenses.
In normal circumstances, the 18th Dieron Regulars, 1st Sword of Light, and supporting units would have already pushed to challenge the landing zone and grounded dropships of the Terran Hegemony.
But Franklin and all of the personnel on Altair had orders directly from the Coordinator. They were to hold Altair. And dead soldiers and destroyed equipment could hold no ground. They would be playing the long game.
“Get our artillery in position,” Franklin directed the support elements. “And have our infantry begin defensive preparations, we will hold this position for as long as possible before falling back.”
“Who do we have on CAP?” McFadden asked, her
Highlander’s battlecomputer highlighting the battlefield.
“This is Crimson Squadron, we’ve got you covered,” a flight of four Royal
Stukas streaked overhead along with dogfighter and interceptor escorts. “We’ll make sure the Arty doesn’t get to take potshots at y’all.”
“Copy that, Crimson,” McFadden nodded, sending messages to Capell back on the
Overlord. “Keep an eye out for fire support missions. We’re going to have a very busy next few days.”
“Acknowledged,” Crimson 1 replied. “You have us for the next four hours, then we rotate out with Maroon Sqaudron.”
“Understood, Good hunting, Crimson.”
“Colonel, LZ is secure, but I’ve got some bad news,” Major Bryn Capell’s voice came through on the private command channel.
“Are we secure?” Colleen asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Capell replied.
“Then go ahead.”
“We managed to offload all of the equipment off of the
Abyss. But she’s not going anywhere. The damage was more significant than predicted and engines one, three, and four are completely shot. Frankly, it’s a miracle that she made it down in one piece.”
“I assume the
Abyss’s stores are still intact,” McFadden sighed. “If they are, then that’ll end up being our repair base and supplies storage until we manage to take over one of the Combine bases. Once we’ve moved on, we’ll begin moving personnel and supplies from the
Abyss to cover our advance.”
“Understood, Colonel. I’ll handle everything else on the back end.”
“Wait one,” Colleen McFadden grinned as an idea popped into her head. “Capell, you remember that one training op where we got schooled by the General?”
“Aye, what of it?”
“Remember how we took the bait?”
“I’ll start pulling personnel and supplies out of the
Abyss now,” Bryn replied. “Give me twelve hours to get everything prepared.”
Date: February 27, 2863
Location: New Avalon, Federated Suns
“I need status reports, people!” Melissa Davion leaned over the table, a bunch of papers scattered in front of her.
“We’ve pulled back military personnel from former Hegemony worlds to reinforce the Combine and Capellan borders,” Orlando Hasek responded.
“We’re reactivating ancient ‘Mech factories,” Sandoval reported. “Older designs might have a worse reputation, but they can mostly be built in industrialmech factories. We’re sending the plans to every periphery world with infrastructure for at least repairing the Industrialmechs. It might not be the best ‘Mech, but it’s something that can at least keep some pirates at bay.”
“MIIO and DMI are reporting that the Hegemony launched strikes against Hegemony worlds held by the Combine and Capellans,” Colonel Isaac Green-Davion flipped calmly through his reports. “The Capellans immediately retreated from those worlds to reinforce their own holdings once given the opportunity. The Combine on the other hand, seem to be resisting as much as possible. They’re not going to give up Altair or similar wthout a fight.”
“Have our ambassador reach out to the Hegemony, see if they’re willing to sell any equipment to us. We have the personnel to use kit, but our production is where we’re lacking,” Melissa spoke. “Isaac, start purchasing surplus Taurian gear through proxies. We need everything we can get our hands on while we rebuild.”
Date: March 5, 2863
Location: Taurus, Taurian Concordat
“Now is the time to strike!” the current head of the Taurian Ministry of Intelligence slammed his fist on the ground. “The Davions are weak, the rest of the Star League States are struggling, we must take our worlds back while we still can!”
“No,” Ignatius shook his head, his face the very picture of peace and calm. “We have only just finished driving out the corruption and rot in our own worlds. We are still remembering who we are as a people, and you want to begin a war?”
“No,” Ignatius continued. “We will remain firm and consolidate here. We will recover what we almost lost to the ‘Loyal Opposition’. At this point, those worlds have been a part of the Federated Suns for almost as long as they were a part of the Concordat. The Star League has fallen, the Hegemony has only just returned, and the Inner Sphere stands at a tipping point.”
The Protector sighed.
“But we are not the Inner Sphere. We are the Concordat, we resist tyranny, we strive to be
better than the rest of the nations here. Are we not the nation of individual liberty? Of self-determination? We will have our revenge. But not in the way that many of you want. No, we will rise above the rest of the nations here by our superior conduct. We were once the haven for technology, for learning. And now that the eyes have turned away from us, we will do so again. But we will not forget what and who we are as a people. Our constitution is firm, the corruption has been swept away and we have an opportunity now that we have not had in decades, if not centuries. The opportunity to cement who we are in history by our deeds. Not those of war, but of righteousness.”
“How do you want us to proceed then, sir?” General Becket of the TDF asked.
“There are many worlds that have been devastated by the wars. We will send people to begin cleaning up the damage from chemical and nuclear weaponry. General, I want you to put together protective details for the cleanup crews. We’ll begin with the worlds of the Concordat and slowly work outwards. Our refining fire is now. What we say and do as a people in this moment is what people will remember of us for the rest of time.”
