BoTH Chpt 66

==Blood on the Horizon - Chapter 66 -==
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===Assessing the Situation===
Date: February 20th, 3007Location: Tybalt, Capellan Confederation
"Major, we're just about finished here at the militia base," Sheppard reported as a small image of his Mongoose appeared on the corner of the holotable. "We took some casualties, but we're still functional. There's some pretty decent salvage here too. I'm getting some teams moved up to grab the tanks here."
"Copy that," I replied to my XO. Be careful as you RTB. They've been hitting us from the surrounding rural communities. I'm having our boys and girls keep a lid on the return fire, so ensure that all your guys and gals are secure from small arms fire."
 
"Wilco, Major. We're gonna finish up the salvage ops and head back."
 
"Understood. See you then, Major Hull, out."
 
I removed the headset and set it on the holotable, disrupting an emitter and casting an odd shadow over the Mongoose's figure. 
 
I sighed as I looked at everything. We'd accomplished our main objective here, but we had one major problem.
 
The FedSuns hadn't expected anyone to finish the objectives as quickly as we had, and the Capellan March Militia units that were supposed to step in and secure Tybalt were delayed significantly. Well, that and the fact that no one had expected a smaller mercenary unit to be able to take a world like this. Instead, they expected us to simply hold down the forces here before they got redeployed to take out one of the larger units. It was one of the reasons we had such a generous salvage contract. 
 
But that left us in a bind because we were now stuck with no way forward. We had to hold the world until our relief showed up. And we had no idea when said relief would arrive…
 
This meant we were conducting counterinsurgency ops when we weren't set up for that mission. Thankfully, having power armor gave us an edge in this sort of thing. It also meant that our casualties remained low despite enemy strikes from the local militia forces. 
 
I moved to a terminal and sat down, nodding at the few people manning the Mobile HQ at the present time as I did so. 
 
"Anything new from the intel we ripped from the Lothar's Fusiliers?" I asked Lieutenant Dunham.
 
"Yes, actually," the giant of a man replied. "Just before we hit them, they got intel that the Big Mac hit the Wolf's Dragoons base at New Valencia in a deep strike as retaliation for Styk and the other worlds the FedSuns took during the last counteroffensive."
 
"So it's possible that they might detour to any of the worlds we or others hit."
 
"Aye," Dunham replied. "We should get the rest of that battalion of 'Mechs up and running, even if they're a mixture of lights and mediums. We'll need them if one of the Big Mac regiments decides to play ball."
 
"Right," I nodded, stroking my beard. "Sheppard sent over a list of what the Militia had in the motor pool that he captured. Was there anything good that we can repurpose or put to use?"
"Pair of Demolishers that were in pieces, a Behemoth that had thrown a track, and a handful of missile carriers."
 
"Once they drag those back, I want the teams putting them back into play. Even if the Big Mac doesn't decide to hit us, we might need the extra armor."
 
"Yessir, I'll relay that to the techs,"
 
"And I'm going to try to contact our Merc Liaison," I stood up and stretched. "Lord willing, they'll be able to pressure the FedSuns to move some of their garrison units faster."
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===Not Great News===
Date: February 21th, 3007
"Dammit," I swore as I looked over the response from Cunningham.
 
"I take it that we didn't get a good response," Captain Alice Johnson raised an eyebrow. 
 
"You'd be right," I sighed. "We're getting reinforcements, but they won't be here for another two to three months. And even then, we might have to hold here and ensure the garrison is backed up by some real firepower."
 
"So we're up shit creek without a paddle, and the guide decided to leave halfway through?" She asked.
 
"Pretty much," I chuckled. "And the rapids are a class VI, so we're probably dead either way."
 
"Then we might as well make it as hard for the other guys as possible," she replied. "You've already got people looking at the walls and shit, but we should also be looking into other avenues. If the worst comes to pass and we get hit by the Big Mac, we will be outnumbered. So, we need to prepare the battlefield to our liking. We've got a new weapon of war, and we should push and decide the doctrine for it before it ever becomes mainstream."
 
"Right," I nodded. "Holes for the Mithril to hide in, ambushes, and everything else we can think of."
 
"Right now, we have the time," she replied. "So make the best use of it while we can before we run out of it, and it becomes too late for us to make sure of it."
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===Preparing for a Rainy Day===
Date: February 28th, 3007
In the end, we needed to reinforce the base that the Fusiliers had been using before we captured it and them anyway. Whether the Bic Mac decided it was time for a Burger King run or not, the base had too many weak points for us to feel comfortable without reinforcing different sections. 
 
So, we were hard at work. BAR-10 was being attached to the area of the walls surrounding the base that had fallen into disrepair, anti-aircraft guns were placed, and we had tied everything into our few Rifleman computers for tracking info. If someone wanted to try to bomb us with an aerospace fighter, then they'd be fighting through our own air cover as well as the guns we had emplaced. 
 
But there was still more work to be done. There was one universal constant even nearly a thousand years into the future: Enough dirt can stop anything. So we were piling up dirt behind the walls. Even if a stray shot managed to penetrate, it would also have to go through tens of tons of packed dirt before impacting one of the buildings. 
 
But while we had been working, we received an updated report on the Big Mac. They had left New Valencia, but no one knew where they were planning to go next. That uncertainty directed our efforts as we began getting things ready.
 
Plans and backup plans were made, and now all that was left for us to do was to prepare for the future, regardless of what lay ahead.
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Chapter 66