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WarShip, White Aerie, Assault Orbit, Blackjack

Tamar March, Lyran Commonwealth

August 13th 3050

Galaxy Commander Samantha Clees hid her reaction from the others on the command deck as she grasped the full weight of the disaster at Blackjack. Over two full Clusters had been annihilated. The 305th Assault Cluster was gone – completely wiped out – while both the 5th Battle Cluster and the Gyrfalcon Eyrie Cluster had been gutted. What little remained of the two, even when combined with her own Galaxy Command Star, could barely form a single Cluster of marginal strength. Now, her only remaining forces beyond that combined Cluster were the Second Falcon Jaegers Cluster, led by Marthe Pryde, and the Gyrfalcon Solahma Cluster.

The First Falcon Strike Cluster was currently deployed on another planet, leaving her with the strength of perhaps two and a half Clusters aboard her current fleet. To add to their problems, they were obligated to return all AFFC personnel taken on Wotan and Winfield. Winfield was a minor burden, but the Wotan fighters – if they could be called that – numbered in the thousands. Their equipment would not be returned, of course, but transporting them all to Blackjack would still require significant resources.

Samantha Clees could very well lose the command she had worked hard to achieve. The saKhan appreciated her talents, and the Khan was not antagonistic toward her because he knew she was content in her role as Galaxy Commander and did not make waves. But someone had to answer for this debacle.

I must move on to my other targets swiftly. I will take the field and ensure our strikes are true. We will be understaffed, but aside from this Katherine Steiner-Davion, we have yet to face a true challenge to our might.

As she gathered her command and recalibrated the timing and strategy for seizing the worlds assigned to them, Marthe interrupted her.

"You have failed the Jade Falcons, Galaxy Commander. I challenge you to a Trial of Grievance for your failures on Wotan and Blackjack. You have shamed the Gyrfalcon Galaxy."

Samantha was stunned by the challenge. This was not like sibkin challenges, where an immediate drawing of a Circle of Equals would frequently occur. Challenging a superior officer typically required approval from the Clan Council or one of the Khans. During an invasion like this, she was even further shielded from having to accept.

Marthe had chosen her time well, however. Samantha knew her fate already teetered in the balance; if she showed weakness, it would give Khan Elias Critchell even more reason to doubt her position as Galaxy Commander. However, if she accepted and won, it would be much easier to smooth over the failures and place the blame on her dead Star Colonel. She would have demonstrated strength and resilience by fending off an immediate challenge.

Samantha eyed the Star Colonel. Pryde was taller than her and had the sharp eyes of their Clan's namesake. Her lean form was well-defined, but Samantha knew she had the greater strength. Even if she lost the Trial of Grievance, it would not cost her the position of Galaxy Commander – that decision rested with the Khan – but it would not help her cause. That truth did not matter here, though.

She intends to kill me in her victory. She will then be acting commander of Gyrfalcon Galaxy for the next planetary invasions since Star Colonel Rard Hoyt is still on Goat Path. Marthe would later still have to win the Trial of Position against the other Star Colonels, but she would be guaranteed an opportunity.

It was rare to kill in the Circle of Equals, but it was always permitted. The fight would continue until the circle was breeched, or one yielded.

"Are you sure you wish to challenge me? Perhaps if you had bid more strongly, this disaster would have been averted," Samantha said, buying herself time to think with the veiled insult.

"I am sure, Galaxy Commander."

If I refuse, I will lose this command. I can feel it.

"Un-augmented, here and now." Samantha Clees lifted her chin, her eyes locked onto the Star Colonel's.

"Bargained well and done."

The vicious smirk on her subordinate's face made Samantha even more glad she had accepted. She was looking forward to wiping it off.

A space was cleared and a table removed from the spartan briefing room. A circle was drawn and the two sized each other up. Unsurprising, Marthe went on the attack first. Her fist lashed out, but Samantha kept her guard up and blocked, while immediately responding by moving in close and attempting a powerful strike to her opponent's midsection.

Marthe twisted aside, avoiding the worst of it, and struck out at Samantha again. The two traded blows, with Samantha blocking the rapid-fire onslaught while returning attacks with vicious power. A devastating kick to Marthe's leg sent her to the floor of the WarShip, but the agile Star Colonel rolled to her feet before Samantha could capitalize.

The Galaxy Commander pressed in trying to keep the fight close, now she was on the offensive, hammering blows into Marthe. Her greater strength came to the fore as she connected solidly several times. She turned one block into a grab of Marthe's arm, twisting it and sending her opponent to the ground. Her knee crashed down onto Marthe's rib cage, and Marthe grunted.

"Yield your dispute with me, Marthe," Samantha demanded, still holding the arm and pinning her knee to Marthe's rib. "The dishonor of the loss on Blackjack is felt heavily, but there will be more battles to redeem our name."

Marthe coughed, and some blood dribbled from her lip.

"This softness is why we have faced these failures!"

Marthe snarled and attempted to punch Samantha with her free hand. The angle was poor, and Samantha simply lifted to avoid it. Marthe immediately tried to break the grip on her arm, but Samantha had been expecting that. She twisted again, painfully dislocating Marthe's elbow before throwing her back onto the deck.

"Last chance, I don't want to lose a warrior of your caliber to serious injury." Samnatha warned.

Marthe slowly got to her feet, cradling her arm.

"A true Jade Falcon never surrenders!" Marthe charged at Samantha, letting out a screeching war cry as she came. Samantha readied her guard, but she was surprised by an unorthodox tactic. Marthe came hurtling in with a flying knee to the face. Normally, such a move would leave the attacker very vulnerable and have a limited chance of success. Once the feet left the floor, there was no way to alter the landing. Samantha knew all this, and she knew her opponent had suffered a painful injury, combined it made her not expect such an attack.

At the last second, Samantha flinched away, but Marthe's knee still crunched painfully into her cheek, and the Galaxy Commander hit the ground, slightly dazed. Marthe wasted no time, stomping down on her midsection and driving the air from Samantha's lungs. She managed to roll away, but as she rose to her feet, Marthe landed a brutal kick to the side of her knee, destroying the ligament.

Samantha grunted in pain and tried to scoot away, reaching for the edge of the chalked in Circle of Equals. Once she was out of it, the attack had to stop. Marthe clearly had no intention of letting her. Samantha was on her back, and for a fight, that was bad. With two good legs, she could put up a defense, but not with one. As she kicked out, Marthe sidestepped and stomped down again. Samantha tried to block, but the boot smashed into her wrist painfully.

Marthe quickly circled around, and again Samantha moved, trying to use her one leg to spring toward the edge of the circle. But Marthe was relentless, cutting her off and delivering a brutal side kick to her face as Samantha tried to rise. She felt teeth fly from her mouth.

No… not like this.

The last thing Galaxy Commander Samantha Clees saw was Star Colonel Marthe Pryde's boot coming to finish her off for good.

***

Blackjack

Tamar March, Lyran Commonwealth

August 14th 3050

The casualty figures were grim. Between the WIA and KIA, we lost a lot of people out there. In the end, I had put together two ersatz regiments of infantry to bolster Colonel Withers' proper infantry regiment. Those two volunteer regiments suffered over 50% casualties; in many cases, they had been straight-up massacred by bombing runs, Elementals, or when 'Mechs blew up their bunkers.

Colonel Withers' units fared better, suffering only around 30% casualties. Some of the aerospace fighters were damaged, but they suffered no casualties. They had come in at the end, after the distracted Clan aerospace fighters lost most of their craft, shot down by our AA guns while they slaughtered my civilian aircraft who had been retrofitted with manual-release bombs. Those and my brave atmospheric conventional fighter pilots suffered over 80% casualties, the highest percentage loss of life of all my units, though in raw numbers, it was nothing compared to the infantry.

My armor had fared very well. They had rarely engaged in stand-up fights outside of a few occasions they had needed or been forced to stand and fight. I lost two companies' worth and had moderate to heavy damage on another two. My 'Mechs fared as well as could be expected, with most of the casualties coming from the former Star Guards and the trainees in the Blackjack Training Battalion. Light and medium 'Mechs simply did not last long against the Clans. Still, most of the MechWarriors had survived; it was just their 'Mechs that had been downed.

An important part of every post-battle operation was the salvage, and our operations were well underway. Most 'Mechs that were 'destroyed' could be salvaged to some extent. Sometimes, it wasn't worth the effort or possible to rebuild them, and those 'Mechs would be stripped completely down and used for spare parts for others. We should be able to recover at least a third of our own destroyed 'Mechs and perhaps 15% of the Clan 'Mechs. Not all of those 'Mechs were the vast improvements in technology like their OmniMechs; some of them were old Star League designs. Those old 'Mechs had more kick than most Inner Sphere ones to be sure, but weren't up to the same level of speed and lethality as what the Clans had shown us so far.

We did lose one of the Kit Foxes, and that was a disappointment, but Nick Westfield was confident he could cobble together enough Clan 'Mechs to form two lances. Summoners and Hellbringers were common enough, and he felt he could get two of each up and running. The light 'Mechs were almost always Kit Foxes, but there were a few other variants. Ultimately, he was confident he could get three Kit Foxes and one Adder functioning at around 95% efficiency. I was especially happy to hear it when we found a Timber Wolf with a destroyed engine and gyro, but with two working legs! The assistance of the two members of the Falcons Tech Caste had proven invaluable, and they also seemed to be happy to be here as well. They didn't have much military intelligence, but I had gained valuable insight into what life was like for non-warriors in the Clans.

Elementals were another area where we were suddenly filled with riches. Gustav accounted for four kills all on his own. The four hastily trained would-be snipers he had mentored didn't manage to kill any, but their actions did cause the Elementals to noticeably slow their approach. There had also been three police snipers who participated, and one of them scored a kill. Additionally, we had a professional mercenary, who was no doubt a member of the Blackjack criminal element, who also scored a kill-shot.

Most of the other Elemental suits were total losses, but we had gotten pretty good at jury-rigging component parts together from those suits. All told, we would be able to field an additional 10 to 15 suits, and I was thrilled with it. Even if we could only get ten, the rest of the spare parts and pieces would serve to repair what we had in case of battle damage. I was also contemplating whether I needed to restructure the sizing of what a platoon of Elemental infantry would look like in my organization.

A standard infantry platoon was twenty-eight. However, Elementals were far more dangerous than a standard platoon. They also required more room and could even be considered quasi-vehicles or even 'Mechs, just in miniature. I was toying with the idea of having each platoon be shrunk down to ten, and with three platoons to a company, it would effectively give Leftenant Rogers a promotion to Hauptmann.

It also would allow for demi-platoon to be equal to a single Point of Elementals in future batchall challenges.

Leftenant Rogers' group had done well in luring enemy Elementals into kill zones, and in one instance, they had even taken down a light OmniMech in an ambush while a lance of the Star Guards and a lance of tanks hit an already worn-down Star. Leftenant Roger's group had accomplished the task with some damage, but no losses. The mercenary jump infantry I had hired was insanely jealous of those Elemental suits. They had offered quite a bit of money for them, but I wasn't planning to share such a valuable asset.

There were very few surviving Jade Falcon warriors, but there were some. We provided medical care and guards to ensure they wouldn't fight. We suspected seven Elementals would survive, as would five MechWarriors. Unfortunately, only one MechWarrior consented to being made a bondsman. The others refused and continued their normal Clan nonsense. Even when I pointed out that I offered to fight the Trial of Possession via their ridiculous rules, so long as we could keep it fair without the technological edge, they refused.

I would turn them over to FCIS agents. As for the lone person willing to view us with 'honor' and be made a bondsman, his name was Drack. I didn't want to make him a warrior again, not that he needed to know that, but I did want his advice and perspective from another Clan's viewpoint compared to Clan Wolf. If I could get him to provide me more military details that weren't compelled through interrogation, it would be a great way to confirm what had been extracted through interrogation previously.

Via black box, we had received more information from the interrogations that had taken place, and it was concerning. We were facing four out of seventeen Clans. However, three Clans were prepared to join the fight as reserve clans should they be required. What troubled me was that for these four invading Clans, according to the interrogation report, still had the bulk of their military might excluded from invasion. Like invasions of planets, these people had bid on the right to be the Clan to attack the Inner Sphere! And since bids could be 'broken,' that meant we were in serious trouble if they called for reinforcements.

The 'corridors' that they were using to strike into the heart of the Inner Sphere could also lead to a difficult situation. Jade Falcon was striking solely at us, through the Lyran Commonwealth. The Wolves were next to them, invading mainly through the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Lyran Commonwealth boarder. The Ghost Bears were invading the FRR and the Draconis Combine. The Smoke Jaguars were just invading the Draconis Combine. Given the paltry military of the FRR, I had to assume they would be swiftly annihilated, while my nation and the Draconis Combine would put up a stiffer fight.

If all that was true, we faced a major problem. Not only could we be 'flanked,' so to speak, but as the invasion continued we would also be facing the full might of the Wolves and the Falcons, whereas now we were facing less than half the strength of the Wolves. From a strategic perspective, it might make sense to engage in talks with the FRR to help bring FedCom forces, on FRR JumpShips where possible, to their planets to get them into the fight sooner. While we had slowed down the Jade Falcons, I highly doubted the FRR had done the same to the Wolves, meaning the travel time to get more of our RCTs to the front could be reduced by weeks or even months.

But that creates a whole new set of problems.

A sovereign nation would likely not appreciate a full AFFC RCT on their world. The reality was that they would be utterly at our mercy. It was a thorny problem, but one that should be investigated. I might be able to utilize my friendship with Prince Rangar. The optics would be difficult, though, as to why Davion blood was being spilled for the FRR and not in the Lyran defense. Despite the difficulties, I sent a note about the possibility on.

I had an exhaustive list of things to do, from media appearances, funeral services, commendation recommendations, pardons, analysis, after-action reporting, more detailed reports to Morgan and Lyran State Command, as well as ensuring I kept my edge in simulator training. I had missed with one of my medium lasers during the fight, and that was just plain sloppy.

Despite my busy workload, I was incredibly satisfied with my success. Now I would have two years to train, refit, repair, and make ready. Two years without fighting on the front lines. How glorious!

***

Tharkad City, Tharkad

District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

August 27th 3050

"He did what?" Hanse shook his head at the awful news from Ridderkerk.

It was just Justin, Alex, and himself. These smaller meetings were better and more effective in his mind. Nondi Steiner's contributions were rarely of value. Marshal Regis was better, but then it wasn't as if he never called for larger meetings. Getting quick and accurate information and bouncing ideas off two of his most trusted advisors first was just more ideal.

"Six days ago, the Wolves issued their challenge. Leftenant General Ostola Stellwar responded to the batchall and attempted to repeat your daughter's success on Wotan. His two lances against a Star of enemy 'Mechs. It was a massacre, and his two lances did not maintain fire discipline either, so there were no additional concessions to allow anyone to retreat off-world. The 1st Lyran RCT, with over one hundred 'Mechs, 300 combat vehicles, thousands of infantry, a full wing of Aerospace fighters, and a battalion of artillery, were surrendered over," Justin intoned.

Hanse rubbed his eyes. They had told the commanders to respond to the batchall, but not to engage in high stakes like that. It was important to bleed the enemy, the purpose was to reduce the enemy bid, not gamble an entire RCT!

"Out of curiosity, what would he have won?" Hanse replied.

"Hmm, ten of their OmniMechs and prisoners from Planting."

Alex Mallory sighed. "This was probably inevitable. Word has spread all over Lyran media about Katherine's success on Wotan. Stellwar was always a prideful man, he probably thought he could win. My biggest worry is what they could do with those 'Mechs and vehicles. If their technology enables them to make quick modifications on our own captured material, we've given them an incredibly powerful garrison force on that world. Plus, we didn't attrite any of their firepower in taking the world. They gained momentum and materiel instead.

Hanse cursed. This really was a disaster. He looked at the star chart and grimaced at what he saw. The Jade Falcons had been struck a harsh blow on Blackjack, and more importantly, his daughter had survived unharmed. Elsewhere, the situation was not looking good. Waldorff and Roadside had been taken easily, with a JumpShip leaving the world, indicating no active resistance remained.

Since then, the Falcons had taken Goat Path and Alyina, while Denizli was now presumed to be under assault. He also knew that in less than a week, the strike force led by Daniel Allard and the Kell Hounds would be landing on Twycross.

Two RCTs and the Kell Hounds has to be enough. It must be.

Nothing was certain with the invaders.

"Well, gentlemen, do you have any good news for me?" Hanse asked, his tone laced with frustration.

Justin and Alex exchanged a glance before Alex cleared his throat and began, "Volunteer training for guerilla tactics is skyrocketing. Very soon, on worlds taken by the Jade Falcons, we'll have tens of thousands of citizens ready to make the enemy's occupation as difficult as possible. Melissa's speech in the Great Assembly has been well-received by the public, especially as the Estates General convenes. Even your numbers are up among the Lyran half. Ryan Steiner's being more cautious than usual. Your family is riding a wave of public support, even on Skye. The only thing he's dared do is have one of the media companies publish a piece on the importance of the Tamar Pact to Lyran society."

The Tamar Pact, a historically significant region of worlds, was at the forefront of the current crisis. The bulk of the worlds under threat of invasion lay within its borders. Duke Selvin Kelswa had already sent multiple urgent missives, requesting more funds, resources, and 'Mech regiments to support the region and his own fief, the world of Tamar. Ryan, clearly seeking to use this as a wedge issue, was treading carefully, aware of the current political winds and the growing public support behind the Tamar Pact.

"That is good news," Hanse replied.

Justin pulled up something on the screen. "We've received a response from Prince Haakon Magnusson. He's suspicious and refuses to provide military information on the ongoing invasion, but he has consented to us deploying up to a single battalion on each of the worlds Memmingen, Vorarlberg, and Kempten, provided his planetary commanders retain full operational control."

Hanse frowned. That was unlikely to accomplish anything but get one of his regiments chewed up. Still, close cooperation and an understanding of the FRR military situation could be crucial for planning. They also had zero intelligence on how Clan Ghost Bear behaved, and the chance to gather that information was valuable on its own.

"Reroute the JumpShips that are carrying the 20th Arcturan Guards 'Mech regiment to the borders of the FRR. From there they can be picked up and distributed. The rest of the RCT can continue their journey to Sudeten. Send Hauptmann-General Brian Kincaid with the first battalion and the entirety of what we know of the Clans as well. I won't send it over ComStar, but a physical file will work. We will extend our hand to Magnusson, even though I suspect we are sending Kincaid to his defeat."

Justin paused, "Before I send those orders out, do you wish to consult with Field Marshal Nondi Steiner?"

Hanse grimaced. "No, but I should do so anyway. We will wait until we hear word back from Daniel, but if Twycross goes well, we also need to capitalize on it and activate Katherine to strike at Beta VII."

Justin was rarely nonplused, but he set down his noteputer and stared at the First Prince.

"Why? That world is useless to us and it's been less than three weeks since she faced a large invasion. Her 'Mechs are probably still being repaired. And you want to risk your daughter for Beta VII?"

"I don't want to, but she gets results. If she issues a batchall and there is too much to defeat, she can always retreat. She beats them by their rules; that makes an attack like hers far different than the one we are unleashing on Twycross. It will further unbalance our foe, and we set up a proper guerrilla operation while she returns to Blackjack after she's won," Hanse reasoned.

"If she wins… Highness, you are tempting fate here," Justin warned. "By all accounts so far, she is holding up to the stressors of combat, and Ainsworth remains convinced she is not suffering from any sort of PTSD from full-scale battles any more than her childhood ones, but she's still seventeen. She needs time to rest, process what's happened, and prepare her command properly."

Mallory nodded. "I concur. Both from a personnel side of the equation and from a strategic perspective. The morale and fervor we have going, despite the lost worlds and regular defeats, is miraculous enough. Risking that for Beta VII isn't smart."

Hanse mulled over his advisors' words. It would be easy to keep his daughter safe, but he didn't conquer nearly half of the Capellan Confederation by taking the easy route. The faith he had in her to make appropriate decisions bordered on his confidence in Morgan Hasek-Davion at this point.

"I understand your positions, gentlemen. But in Katherine, we have a weapon that can blunt the enemy. Send word to her via black box to prepare for an attack on Beta VII. I'll leave it up to her to decide what she should take with her. In the event something terrible happens to Victor, we will scrub the invasion."

You can do this Katherine, I know it.