TBntG-2 Chpt 13

=The Bull and the Genie=
==Chapter 13 - Book II - The Ninety-five Theses==
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
-----
==Max's Terrible, Very Bad, No Good Day. Also, Candace Gets a Promotion.==
----
===Brave and the Damned===
Forbidden City - Sian, Capellan Confederation
----
Battles of the Third Succession War had been defined by raids and counter raids, and a focus on preserving forces. They had also been defined by a lack of orbital bombardment. This meant that few nations worried over much about direct drops on defended locations—to do so, they would have to come into range of the shorter ranged weapons used in the modern era, being torn to shreds both by the AA and the fact that they'd be attacked by defending forces before they got organized. Every book, every manual, said the thing to do was to drop mechs close, but not on a target. 
 
Infantry and vehicles came later, of course. 
 
But this time things played out differently. The missiles fired by the Taurian DropShips did not destroy every emplacement—and more than a few were left untouched, being too close to civilian neighborhoods. To be fair, the Liaos were not using their citizens as shields—it was just that property values in the city had led to increasing encroachment to formerly clear zones.
 
However, the short range of modern weapons meant that as more and more emplacements were punched out, the bubble of protection over the capital was increasingly threadbare. Even as fighters soared into the sky, mostly atmospheric jobs, attempting to do the job of the mostly destroyed aerospace forces—or the fleet that was even now frantically reversing its vector, the TDF forces were moving in.
 
Above, the first wave of Aerospace Fighters was heading down. The bombers were nestled into the formation, but they carried troops, not bombs. The first wave, of the power armored forces, using a fast entry doctrine wargamed out both by regular infantry officers and the SASF. 
 
Not all of the fighters or troops made it. The Liao pilots, flying their fragile conventional craft, fought with single minded fanaticism to defend their home and Chancellor. Two managed to kill Victory fighters by ramming them, but the majority of the strike made it through. 
 
The cannons on the palace had opened up, giving thanks that the enemy hadn't used those weapons on the palace. And then the Bombers opened their bays, before heading for orbit at maximum velocity.
The officers behind the cannon sighed. Dropping bombs at that range ensured they'd fall almost at random. Why the bomber pilots had panicked, they didn't know, but they wouldn't refuse such a gift…
-----
===HALO Troops with a Warrant===
Above the Royal Palace - Sian, Capellan Confederation
----
Judith checked her spin. She couldn't see anyone else, and nobody was transmitting. Bombs didn't transmit, and so they wouldn't. Below her, marked out in her thermal vision, was the palace. They'd be heading for the parts behind the big guns. There were small emplacements, designed to stop jump troops…
 
"But not us…"
 
The entire unit, nearly 120 suits, was dropping. No parachutes were deployed. 
 
Parachutes were not how the SASF did things. Judith counted down. There was a fine difference between stopping before you went splat, and boosting too soon and marking yourself out. She made certain her mouthguard was clenched between her teeth. More than a few recruits had bitten their tongues in half during drills. 
 
The range counter ticked down and…
 
Now!
 
She touched the stud and the solid fueled booster engaged, for few endless moments, punishing Judith with nearly eight Gs of braking force. Around her there were other blazing torches. 
 
C'mon, turn off, you're done enough, I'm a fucking target floating up here with a flare—the booster died and moments later explosive bolts jettisoned it, and now Judith was close enough, moving slowly enough, that her suit jets brought her down to the roof. A shocked Capellan soldier stared at her—
 
Judith cut him in half with a burst from her machine gun. 
 
"Sappers!" the order came, "Take out those AA platforms! First platoon, into the palace! Go, go, go!" 
 
"Sound off!" Judith called out. "Everyone make it down?"
 
"Willis isn't here."
 
"Dammit, well he'll have to meet up with us." Judith gestured. "Let's go." Don't be dead, you clown.
----
===Wayward Trooper===
----
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Willis tumbled through the air. A near miss had blown his booster off and he'd had to jettison early and try to brake with his internal jumpjets. He'd managed to kill most of the velocity, but it left him the hell out of position and he was coming down hard. At least there was a nice, flat roof for—
 
Four hundred plus kilograms of armored suit and wearer hit the flat roof… and went right through it in an explosion of plaster and shattering wood, Willis' howled curses echoing in his helmet. He looked around once he hit. Please don't let this be a—
 
He blinked. He was in a… buffet? There were crimson hangings on the wall, what looked like a really nice selection of food, especially for someone who had been in space eating rations for the last month, and…
 
Oh. A birthday cake. Evidently they had decided they were far enough from the palace to stay here. Or the Liaos might have just told their people that if they couldn't get to a shelter, to stay where they were, which honestly wasn't terrible advice. There were fourteen candles on the birthday cake, and a girl standing by it, staring at Willis. Willis got to his feet, towering over them. 
 
"Ah, I'll be—"
 
With a banshee shriek, the birthday girl threw her slice at Willis, following it up with the whole goddamned cake! That seemed to be the cue for everyone else to grab whatever food products were handy and start throwing them, and nobody had ever fucking put this in a drill! So Willis improvised, and, covered in everything from cake to noodle soup, ran like a little girl, heading out into the street through the window, screams and curses following him. 
 
Maybe they don't have cameras....
 
They did, and the images of a suit of powered armor fleeing in evident terror from a child's birthday celebration were printed in many books, even those not really focusing on the battle—they were just that amusing.
 
More seriously, they appeared in many professional manuals in MOUT operations, under the heading of how not everything could—or should—be resolved with lethal force.
 
Pausing, Willis checked his position and then triggered his jets jumping up and over a building, just as a pair of Militia cops jumped out of their car and opened fire on him, the bullets missing his fast moving form.
----
===Breaching the Defenses===
Royal Palace - Sian, Capellan Confederation
-----
On the roof of the palace, most of the emplacements had been taken out. More and more infantry were showing up, but as yet, no heavy weapons. That'd come later.
 
But the Taurian's were preparing for it. Enough AA batteries had been hit that a safe zone had been opened for landers, and the first small craft were coming down, bringing not just the rest of the powered armor units, but no less than a battalion of infantry. Liao battlemechs, less those destroyed by bombing or missile strikes were moving in, but Judith didn't care about them. They'd be inside the palace, and unless they wanted to bring the whole place down on their Celestial Clown, there was only so much a mech could do.
 
"Ready!" A sapper called, as he and the others pulled away from the large dome shaped structure they'd assembled out of the contents of the supply pods they'd brought.
 
The armor of the palace was strong. But it wasn't intended to deal with someone being able to actually erect a shaped-charge system, using nearly 300 kilograms of explosives.
 
The detonation was loud even through her armor, as the superheated spear blasted down through the tough material of the exterior walls, punching through them and into the actual complex, incinerating several luckless servitors. 
 
"Clear!" one of the sappers shouted. "Go! Go!" 
 
And the first platoon, Judith in the lead, headed down into the palace, even as the teams left on top readied themselves for the reinforcements from the approaching small craft.
 
Less than five minutes had passed from their entry into the atmosphere to the penetration of the palace complex.
------
===Desperate Hour of House Liao===
The Throne Room, Royal Palace - Sian System, Capellan Confederation
------
"Celestial Wisdom! The Palace has been breached!" 
 
"They are simply attempting to frighten us." 
 
Candace Liao stared at her father. Some might think he was being calm, but the way his eyes didn't even seem to see the internal monitors, even as officers shouted in panic at the…
 
Exoskeletons? No, No exoskeleton has ever moved like that. This is something new. 
 
"Do not worry, Father," Romano Liao said. "This palace will be their grave. Already our forces are moving in."
 
"Yes. They are," Justin Xiang said. He gestured at one of the monitors, as a platoon of troopers went to a pre-planned chokepoint. It would be enough to stop a company of regular troops, give them more than enough time to bring reinforcements. 
 
It lasted less than thirty seconds. One of the hulking figures went down, but another one threw a satchel. Then the monitor fuzzed and moments later, there was a soft shudder.
 
Satchel charges. And they can survive the blast at ranges unarmored troops cannot. The solution was simple. Get out of the palace where they could make use of their BattleMechs. 
 
"We must go," Candace said. "Father, this treacherous attack. We can only succeed if we remain." Less than yours. If the Taurians had wanted to respond in kind, they could have burned the city around us. 
 
"No! I will not run from these… Mockeries! Once we have defeated Hanse Davion, I will repay them for their treachery!" His eyes were wide, twitching a little. 
 
Romano walked to his side. "I understand, Father," She glanced at Candace. "I will be loyal to you. Let us send the order, deploy the special weapons against the fleet in orbit, and then, the nest of the scorpions on Taurus!" 
 
"If we did that, Hanse Davion would salt the ground this city is on, and Takashi Kurita would not be far behind!" Candace shouted, her calm deserting her. Justin's touch on her shoulder brought her back to herself. Taking a deep breath. "But these things can be discussed later, once we have moved to a safer location." 
 
"I—" Romano fell silent as an aid entered the room. 
 
"Celestial Wisdom. We have a message from Captain-General Janos Marik, regarding your requests for assistance."
 
Chancellor Maximilian Liao rose up out of his stupor, and then smirked at Candace. "You see, daughter, we do not need to flee. We will destroy them here, and with this assistance, drive off Davion and punish the Taurians for their perfidy." 
 
"What is the message?" Justin asked.
 
"Ah…" the messenger was actually shaking. "Due to our inability to stand off a periphery power, and our failures against the Federated Suns, Janos has stated that for the safety of the Capellan people, he has ordered his forces to ah, um…"
 
"WHAT!" Romano shouted.
 
"Occupy those worlds that are on his border in order to provide them with security and ensure that the Federated Suns will not take them." 
 
The room was silent, before it exploded, even as the screens showed more Taurian troops advancing down some stairwells. 
 
"Celestial Wisdom, what are you orders? Shall we pause the transfer of units to the Federated Suns border?"
 
"Idiot!" Candace snapped. "Do that and Hanse Davion shall be eating his victory lunch here!"
 
"We don't have enough forces to slow invaders on three fronts!" a general snarled.
 
"Then we must reduce that number," Candace said. "Father, it is clear that both Takashi and Janos never intended us to be an equal partner. You can negotiate with Hanse Davion. If we can obtain peace on that front, we can deal--" The room shuddered, from another detonation, this one closer. The security troops inside the command post started heading outside, the heavy doors being sealed behind them. We must make preparations for attacks like this in the future. She had to admire the Taurians. They had held this new weapon in reserve until they could use it in quantity. If they had had a hint of this new weapon, Candace could think of a dozen things they could do. But the Taurians were not going to give them the time to do that.
 
"He…he's not doing what he's supposed to do."
"Father?"
 
"He's not doing what he's supposed to do. The plan worked. I know the plan worked." Maximilian said, and refused to do more than repeat the words. 
 
"My lady!" an officer said. "We must evacuate."
 
"Yes."
 
"No!" Romano had pulled a small pistol. "You have betrayed Father. Arrest her! I will conduct the defense from this location!" The room was silent. "I said arrest her!" 
 
"What will you do?" Justin asked, conversationally. "What orders are you giving?"
 
"The rest of the military will advance on the palace. We will remain here. With the doors sealed, even if they destroy the palace, we will be safe!" 
 
"Really." Justin said. "But Candace is the eldest daughter." Nobody was paying any attention to the Chancellor, lost in the destruction of his dreams. 
 
"She is not the true heir. You heard her. She is already speaking of crawling to the Dav—" For a moment, she turned away from her sister, who produced a small pistol from under one of her long sleeves and then shot Romano in the head. Romano's expression remained for moment, before her face went slack and she fell to the ground.
 
Everyone froze, but then Candace handed the pistol to Justin before speaking to the messenger. "From your report, I take it land lines to Comstar are still intact?"
 
"Yes." The messenger couldn't pull his eyes from Romano. Then he glanced at the Chancellor, staring into nothingness, then back to Candace. "They are, Celestial Wisdom."
 
Candace nodded. "Send a message to Hanse Davion, I will request a cease fire preparatory to discussing terms of peace."
 
"Surrender?" 
 
"We were losing the war even before Janos stabbed us in the back. But right now, we have enough soldiers to make it difficult for him. Hanse is married to a Lyran and Lyran's understand business. A smaller bite might be worth it to him if it comes with saving troops. And…" she sighed. "Order troops in the palace to seek a truce."
 
"But they wish to seize the Chancellor." 
 
"I will discuss it with them. If we lose the palace, with all the command staff, all the strategic decision makers, the Davions won't need to talk to us—they'll just wait for the disorder to finish us."
-----
===Confronting the Person in Charge===
The Throne Room, Royal Palace - Sian System, Capellan Confederation
------
Judith hit the wall, her armor dented and sparking from the last hallway. Goddamn this place is huge. "Check ammo!" she called to her squad.
 
"Two-five on the machine gun," one reported, the others following. They'd have to pause and rearm, but that would give the opposition time to get organized. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with their fighting spirit. They'd lost Simpkins to a soldier who had hid in a bathroom and then came charging out with a satchel charge, reckoning that one Liao for one Taurian was a good trade. Giving them time to come up with anything clever was a bad idea.
 
"I'm seeing white flags!" the first echelon said. 
 
"Be careful with them." Judith waited, but then more reports came in. Gunfire was slowing up and then stopping and the higher level nets told of Battlemechs stopping in place. 
 
What the hell? And then, several Liao troops, sans guns, appeared, waving white flags. Judith motioned for her own people to lower their own guns, and then one officer, his less scruffy uniform indicating he hadn't been in the right appeared. 
 
"I present to you, her Celestial Wisdom, Candace Liao." he said as a women, dressed in the kind of clothes Judith couldn't afford with a year's pay, walked down the smoking hallway, ignoring the mess around her.
 
"Who is in charge?"
 
"I am," Judith said. "You're not Maximilian."
 
"No. He is indisposed. Likely permanently."
 
"Well that's fine, but I have orders to remove him."
 
"Do you have medics? I will not hide him, but first we should probably discuss peace terms to stop the fighting. I have ordered my DropShips and ground units to fire only in self-defense. Some of your troops can attend the Chancellor to ensure that we are not intending on spiriting him away." 
 
"Right," Judith said. This is a stone-cold bitch. I could kill her, hell, there's an arm of one of her troops next to her, and she's talking like we're discussing the weather. "I can get you in touch with my Commanding Officer and the Admiral. This is a little above my pay grade." 
 
"Excellent. I suggest that while I finish withdrawing our forces from the palace, you accompany me to the Comstar compound. It is close by and as a neutral site we can both be certain of safety. I will even show you some of the buildings on the way. They were built in the classical mode." 
 
"Really." Judith said, staring at the guy next to the woman, who just shrugged. Five minutes ago we were shooting and now we're talking about buildings. Did I hit my head?
 
It was then that Willis came charging in, his suit covered in dust and… White frosting?"
 
"Willis? What the hell happened to you?"
 
"Crashed a birthday party, Ma'am." 
 
"Well, congratulations, you missed the fight so it's escort duty." Judith paused, listening to her comlink. "CO says, all shooting has stopped, so fire only in self defense, but don't let your guard down. If that's okay?" she sarcastically told the Liao woman.
 
"Certainly. I would not want to be escorted by incompetents." 
 
"Right…" Judith said, as she turned and escorted the woman who acted like she wasn't in the company of a bunch of pissed-off Taurians.
 
The only other weird thing was the fact that when they came up to the ComStar gate, the Precentor stared at the armor like he'd seen a ghost… 
------
==Reflection of the Palace Raid==
-----
The Palace raid went down in history as one of the most decisive raids ever. By crippling the Capellan Command & Control, eliminating Maximilian (and via Candace & Romano Liao), it ended the Capellan Confederation, at least in the form it had existed in for centuries. The casual way Janos Marik betrayed his "ally" showed that the pact that was supposed to counterbalance the Federated Suns/Lyran Commonwealth alliance, was built on sand. While the military measures to counter powered armor have been mentioned elsewhere, one of the greatest impacts, though not one noticed at the time, was Takashi's decision to give Theodore's reforms far more scope—the Kuritan nation would have to squeeze every bit of productivity out of both military and civil sectors if it was to survive, let alone profit. These reforms threatened the classical Kuritan identity and would light the fuse that would culminate in the single worst civilian blood-letting since the Second Succession War…The Unbroken Chain: How Events Are Tied Together Throughout History.Tharkad Educational Press.
Perhaps one of the most amusing bits about the Great Raid was how the Taurian Defense Force handed their personal Bugaboo, Hanse Davion, one of the greatest victories in the history of the Inner Sphere, the elimination of a Successor State as an effective power…From: Chance and Mischance, a hundred cases where fate tossed a banana peel in front of the mighty.New Avalon Press, 3101
----
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
Book 2 - 13