AWF Chpt 74

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=Chapter 74=
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===Strike Force Table of Equipment===
Daniels
Federated Suns
March, 3030
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Hap flipped through his copy of the order for the Necromo raid until he came to TO&E appendix.
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Operation Righteous Cloak Tailored Force Package
Overall Commander: Colonel Edward Norton
Primary Effort: Detachment 3
Mission: Seize and secure objective
Commander: Poityr Wojski
Special Forces Operation Squad (10 man)
Flight Crew (3 man)
Karnov UR Transport – Pilot Commander (PC): Jarred Erving
Supporting Effort: 1: McFinnigan and Sons
Mission: Conduct feint, escort Primary Effort
Commander: Kelly McFinnigan
Reinforced 'Mech Company (4 Lances and Aerospace Flight)
DropShips: Excalibur class "Tir na nOg"
Leopard class "Phaidin"
Assault Lance "Anvil"
HGN-733 Highlander - Pilot: Kelly McFinnigan
CP-10-Z Cyclops - Pilot: James "Fletch" Fletcher
AWS-8Q Awesome - Pilot: Yorik Tomax
STK-3F Stalker - Pilot: Jin-seon Jessica "Ajumma" Lan
Pursuit Lance "Dullahans"
DRG-1G Grand Dragon Pilot: Patrick "Shillelagh" McFinnigan
WVR-6M Wolverine Pilot: Gerald "Grizzly" Villon
KTO-18(Modified) Kintaro - Pilot: Tatyana "Volchitsa" Fletcher
SHD-2H Shadow Hawk - Pilot: Conner MacRaith
Fire Support Lance "Hammer"
JM6-A JagerMech - Pilot: Fiona "Guardian Angel" McFinnigan
CPLT-C4 Catapult - Pilot: Eugene "Crow" Harrison
TBT-5N Trebuchet - Pilot: Rolph Horsteng
DV-6M Dervish - Pilot: Dillon "Big D" Rowel
Recon Lance "Coyote"
GRF-1N Griffin - Pilot: Harold "Haphazard" Calahad
VLK-QA(Modified) Valkyrie - Pilot: Anastasia "The Professor" Capetian-Calahad
FS9-H Firestarter - Pilot: William "Joker" Cameron
JR7-D Jenner - Pilot: Marietta Marie Rose "Mags" Camacho
Banshee Flight
STU-K5 Stuka – Pilot: Kate "Giggles" Berlin
STU-K5 Stuka – Pilot: Bob "Swanky" Doggett
Supporting Effort 2: Willards Armored Cavalry
Mission: Screening and Indirect Fire Support
Commander: Charles "Wildman" Willard
Combat Vehicle Company
Recon Lance
Condor Heavy Hover Tank – Tank Commander (TC): Michelle Moore
Pegasus Scout Hover Tank – TC: Jack Larson
Pegasus Scout Hover Tank – TC: Tim Webster
Harasser Missile Platform – TC Suzanne Marks
Strike Lance
Patton Heavy Tank – TC: Charles "Wildman" Willard
Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun – TC: William Cranston
Manticore Heavy Tank – TC: Brandon "Tex" Horst
Schrek PPC Carrier – TC: Jon Fredericks
Fire Support Lance
LRM Carrier – TC: Richard "Ricky" Robinson
LRM Carrier – TC: Ashley Torski
SRM Carrier – TC: Havier Ortega Guzman
Mobile Long Tom Artillery – Crew Chief: George Luther
Supporting Effort 3: White Tails Aerospace Squadron
Mission: Escort Dropships and provide close air support
Commander: Thomas Wildermmer
Light Aerospace Squadron (2 Flights)
White Flight
CHP-5W Chippewa Fighter – Pilot: Thomas Wildermmer
CHP-5W Chippewa Fighter – Pilot: Donny Elfens
Blue Flight
CHP-5W Chippewa Fighter – Pilot: Ken Lee
CHP-5W Chippewa Fighter – Pilot: Adam Comparta
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===Deployment to Daniels ===
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Hap folded the order and tucked it under the other papers on his knee board. At that moment Hap and his lance were 500 miles above Daniels in the McFinnigan Company's Leopard Drop Ship Phaidin. They had been on Daniels for three days. The first day was spent meeting the other companies, listening to briefings for the raid and Necromo, and settling into the facilities they were provided. The next day they started the rehearsals for the raid.
Colonel Norton and his team had created an extensive rehearsal range. It was a complex setup designed to replicate the objective on Necromo. It had a mockup of the target facility, an assortment of pop-up targets, virtual sensor targets and remote mechs and drones. It was a very impressive and expensive setup. Whatever the Capellans had, it was obviously worth a lot.
The command channel crackled in Hap's neurohelmet. "Alright commander we're disembarking the Excalibur now, give us five minutes to get the Long Tom in position and the kill box established." The voice had a strange twang to it. Hap recognized it as Charles "Wildman" Willard the commander of Willard's Armored Cavalry, the armor company assisting hired to support the raid.
"Ye have two if we're going to meet the timeline. Mr. Willard. Move yer iron turtles." Kelly replied.
"Iron Horses, Mr. McFinnigan." Willard replied, "You heard 'em boys, Getty-up! Move your asses."
Hap could hear the annoyance in Kelly's voice. Willard was a "larger-than-life" type of commander and wore an ancient style cavalry hat, tall, highly polished boots, and was generally loud in everything he said and done. He acted like some character out of a holo about the North American west. It also didn't help that everyone was on edge. This was the second or third time today they had rehearsed the raid. The previous two days had also been filled with rehearsals. To add to the frustration they were struggling to execute the operation on the Colonel's timeline.
"Damn." Joker said, "how many times have we done this, and Wildman and his team still can't get their crap together."
"This will be the fifth time we have rehearsed this operation. Based on Colonel Norton's rubric we're not improving." Anastasia said in her quite professional voice.
Colonel Norton had a scoring method for the major phases or activities of the operation. It was based on achieving an objective by a certain time. Every time they missed a suspense the Colonel would assess a point penalty and when they accrued enough points he would take away an asset or change the exercise to make it harder.
"Hey, hey Ricky, you boys ain't drivin' a hover tank, watch the edge of the-" Willard cursed under his breath, "McFinnigan, I got one of my LRM carriers high centered on the Dropship ramp."
"That's five points." Colonel Norton droned, "I'm taking away one of your LRM carriers."
"It's blocking the Long Tom and the ammo trucks." Willard added, "I'm going to need more time to get the kill box established."
"Commander McFinnigan, your artillery is frustrated on the ramp of your DropShip, what do you want to do?" Colonel Norton said.
"What do I want to do?" Kelly asked, "I want to go clear the ramp by throwing tanks into the darkest pit I can find, but fer the mission, Hammer Lance light up TRP 1."
"Acknowledge, Commander." Fiona said. Hap glanced down at his knee board. TRP 1 was one of the outmost point defense turrets for the fortress.
"White Tails, you lads in position?"
"Affirmative commander. You have air superiority, and we're stacked for CAS." replied an almost sarcastic pilot. The White Tails were the company of aerospace fighters hired for this job. They were four CHP-W5 Chippewa fighters. Hap didn't know much about aerospace fighters but Kate assured him they were a good star league era craft. They were light on armor, but they combined speed, with a lot of fight power.
What Hap did know was the White Tails were a strange company. Their company icon with a white falcon on a blue background, but they didn't paint any livery or other markings on their aircraft. Colonel Norton saw it and decided it was a good idea that everyone participating in the raid would paint their equipment white with no other markings.
Anastasia commented that it violated the Ares Conventions rules on "Combatants being clearly marked, carrying arms openly, and being identifiable for the nation they represent." To no one's surprise she received Fletch's "Ares Suggestion" speech followed up by Colonel Norton reminding her that they were conducting unconventional warfare and there would be no Ares Conventions protections. He might quite a point to her about the lack of prisoner protections.
"Banshee Flight?" McFinnigan asked.
"Banshee Flight is ready to escort." Kate said. Banshee flight's mission was to protect the Phaidin. Just before leaving Monhegan, Kelly had hired another pilot Bob "Swanky" Doggett. In spite of his name he seemed more like the quiet introvert type. In addition to the new pilot the company had also acquired another Stuka. Hap was pretty sure it had been previously owned by the mercenary pilot that had tried to renegotiate her contract mid-battle.
Doggett had brought his wife and small child with him when he signed on to McFinnigan and Sons. He generally kept to himself, although his wife was usually helping out around the galley and seemed to like the company. She was very outgoing and a contrast to her introverted husband.
"TRP 1 Destroyed." Fiona reported, "we'll need to relocate to hit the second TRP."
"We got contact from the front gates." Patrick reported, "Looks like OPFOR is moving out."
"Move the Dullahans to engage and push them toward the Anvils." Kelly responded, "Detachment 3, Coyotes, yer up." Kelly said, "Mr. Mitchellin, get yer payload on the objective."
Detachment 3 was the special operations unit that Colonel Norton selected for this mission. They were a ten man special ops team, and they had a three man flight crew for their Karnov transport. The Karnov was a unique Vertical Take Off/Landing aircraft. The prop engines of the Karnov could rotate 90 degrees so it could take off vertically and then they would move into a conventional flight configuration. It could internally carry six tons, but Hap had heard stories of them lifting light 'mechs.
"Jah, Commander. Ms. MacGregor go ahead and lets take her down."
Hap groaned. Sarah MacGregor was a very junior pilot. Hap respected Kelly's efforts to "build the bench" and letting her get some flight time, but it was just making the tedious rehearsals worse.
The Leopard started to rock and shake as it descended. The DropShip lurched hard to port and Hap wanted to reach his Griffin's hand out to steady himself, but his 'mech was still locked in the transit harness. He instead leaned in the opposite direction against his command couch as the straps locked. Through his cockpit window Hap could see Mike trying to brace himself and not fall off the catwalk as he stood at the gantry controls.
"Fruelien, as we enter the atmosphere we must use the auto-trim." Mitchellin said.
"But you told me a good pilot didn't need auto-trim." Sarah said as she overcompensated, and the Leopard banked hard to starboard and the nose dipped.
Mags cursed in Spanish as Mitchellin explained, "Jah, but at your level of experience-"
Hap watched Mike struggle to regain his balance as Joker yelled, "Use the damn Auto-trim."
There was a jolt as the Leopard 'Mech Carrier righted itself and continued a turbulent but level descent.
"Phaidin, this is Banshee 2, your heat shielding and armor are still intact, but I wouldn't try that again."
"Jah, bitershein Banshee 2." Mitchellin said. Hap wondered if Mitchellin's heavy German accent was hiding his sarcasm.
"That's 2 more points." Colonel Norton said.
"Hap, boss, I'm starting to get that feeling like right before I shoplift at the exchange." Joker said.
"Coyote 4, say again, over." Yorik said.
Hap switched over to his personal channel with Anastasia, "How are we doing for points?"
"Colonel Norton has deducted a total of…" Anastasia hummed to herself quietly, "23 points, or at least that is what he has verbally indicated. This means we're at 77 points. He generally takes away a 'mech at 80 points, armor at 75 points, and another system at 65, and then declares us failures at 50 points.
"How do you think we'll do this time?" Hap asked.
"Well, Colonel Norton took away an armor asset instead of a 'mech. We're ahead of schedule by ninety seconds" Anastasia said, "but we also lack artillery and Mags and Joker have done this exercise to the point of complacency and annoyance. I suspect we'll lose at least three points coming off the drop zone, and Colonel Norton likes to make me the 'mech he takes away from you."
"I noticed that, I think he's trying to annoy me by not 'notionally' killing Joker." Hap said.
"I believe he is reiterating the risk I'm taking in participating in combat operations." Anastasia said.
"That had occurred to me too." Hap said.
The drop ship doors opened, but the locks on the mechs were not released. This was the false insertion for the mech's, but the place where the drop ship would release the Karnov UR Transport. The VTOL would be lowered from the Leopard's aerospace bay with a specially made crane system installed for this operation. The Karnov would then get clear, and the Leopard would move forward another 400 meters and insert the 'mechs. It all had to be done in roughly thirty seconds. If there were any enemy present or if Banshee flight couldn't protect the Karnov the 'mechs would deploy here.
"Looks like we need to start paying attention again." Hap said.
Anastasia sighed, "Well, I hope I make it off the drop ship, I'm starting to get motion sick." Anastasia said as they switched back to the main command channel.
"Detachment 3 has deployed." Mitchellin said. Hap could see the Karnov move up and forward and then the tilt wings shifted so the transport could fly like a conventional fixed wing aircraft. It began to bank as the leopard lifted off again as Mitchellin said, "Mechwarriors stand by for insertion." The locks released and Hap could feel his 'mech sway slightly.
The Leopard got up to altitude and then the engines kicked in hard.
A moment later the leopard pulled hard and banked to starboard as a female voice said "Oh shit!" following by Mitchellin addiing, "Shizer!"
Mags cursed again, "Jefe, I'm out."
Before Hap could say anything Joker added, "Yeah let's bail."
"That would be-" Anastasia said, but she knew it was too late, "unwise".
Hap glanced down at his tactical display, the Leopard, the Karnov VTOL, and one of the Stukas were all in the same air space and almost on top of each other.
"Jenner pilot, what the hell! Don't-" the desperate voice of the Karnov pilot could be heard over warning klaxons as some yelled behind him, "Watch that Firestarter."
"What just happened?" Colonel Norton yelled.
"Colonel, this is Banshee Two, this is my fault." Swanky said, "I saw one of the virtual bogies moving to attack the Karnov, as I altered course to intercept I came too close to the Leopard, uh, the Phaidin."
Kate cleared her throat, "Two mechs performed an emergency egress from the Phaidin. One caused the Karnov to take evasive actions. The Karnov transport was not struck and is still flying. All aircraft and 'mechs operational. I say again, all air and ground assets operational."
"Pilot Erving, are you and your crew okay?" Colonel Norton asked.
"Roger Colonel, may need to change my flight suit before the debrief, but we're good to Charlie Mike."
"Negative you will not continue mission. ENDEX. ENDEX. ENDEX. Rehearsal over. We're executing a twenty-four hour safety stand down. I want all the leadership from each company to report to the Ops center for a debriefing."
The drop ship slowed down, leveled off and turned.
"Hey, is the dropship gonna pick us up?" Joker asked
"Negative" Mitchelin replied, "you have bailed out, so you may walk home."
"Jenner and Firestarter, when you get back to base, come see me." Pilot Erving said.
"Belay that." Yorik snapped, "You two clowns come see me first, and whatever is left of your sorry asses can go and apologize to our esteemed colleagues."
Mags and Joker gave a muted acknowledgement as Hap watched the prairies of Daniels roll beneath him. The mech bay doors were still open and Hap enjoyed the rugged and open vista. Colonel Norton had put them in the middle of nowhere on Daniels. They hadn't seen any of the planet locals since they arrived. When they conducted their first "mock raid" the local magistrate called the Ops center demanding to know what was going on, but Colonel Norton handled him. After that it was almost like being on an uninhabited planet.
The Leopard landed and Mike came to help Hap out of his Griffin. Mike was favoring his left arm as he struggled to release the armored hatch controls. When he and Hap had got it opened Hap asked, "Did you sprain your arm during the flight? You need help getting to the clinic?"
Mike shook his head, "Maybe if I were a weaker man, I might need some help, but I'm a mech tech, not some pansy ass mechwarrior always complaining every time they get a little shaken up in the cockpit."
"True, but you nearly got tossed off the catwalk, not just knocked around a plush command couch." Hap replied.
Mike rubbed his elbow and nodded as he helped Hap from his 'mech. Hap climbed down the ladder and joined Anastasia. As they walked to the ops-center they fell in step behind Commander McFinnigan, Fletch, and Commander Willard.
"Kelly, you need to get your flight crews in line." Willard said loudly.
"When yer drivers can drive in a straight line for more than a few meters, and get to their objective on time, ye can talk to me about how I'm managing my flight crews Mr. Willard." Kelly said.
"My boys are having to hurry off the ramp because your drop ship crews are taking there sweet-ass-time landing these birds."
Before Kelly could respond they arrived at the Operation Center. Ops was a Mobile Headquarters truck. Everyone got quiet as they climbed into the cab and walked into the communication's room. The Colonel's Mobile HQ looked nearly pristine which implied to Hap the importance of the mission, or the clout of Colonel Norton.
Anastasia and Hap took their seats. Hap watched Anastasia look around and he knew she was trying hard not to touch things and start playing with the comms system. It all looked like stock, almost star league era equipment. The other lance leaders, and pilots filed into the comms room and found a seat around the large table with a built in Holo projector. Hap noted that Kate made a point to sit by Anastasia.
Colonel Norton looked around at the assembled leaders, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we need to talk about the mistakes we're making. We'll start with mine. I concede I've been pushing each of you, and your teams, too hard. I need this operation executed nearly reflectively, but making you rehearse until you kill each other isn't the way. We'll slow down the pace and reduce the number of daily rehearsals."
"I think you may have overly complicated the operation too." Fletch said, "Inserting the Karnov, in one location and the 'mechs in another seems unnecessary. If I may, I suggest we just land the Phaidin at the primary LZ unload mechs and transport together and have them proceed to the objective from there."
Colonel Norton seemed to be considering the idea, "The reason I had the staggered unloading was because once it's in flight the Karnov is much faster than the 'mechs. I thought giving the 'mechs a head start would be good, but I get your point. If you could have your team re-write the execution of that phase of the operation, I'll look it over and consider your suggestion."
Fletch looked at Hap and Anastasia, "Conveniently I got a couple AFFS trained officers that could use some staff work experience. I'll have it for you later today."
"That brings us to you Commander McFinnigan." Colonel Norton pointed to the personnel files on his computer. "For the last few rehearsals, you've been using Penny and Sarah MacGregor as your primary pilots for both of your drop ships, but between them these girls have just a few dozen hours and most of that is in simulators."
"Aye, I figured it was pretty routine drops, and I could get the young ladies some experience outside ah simulator. If ye think it's causing problems I can have them resume the co-pilot role, and have Mr. Mitchellin and Mr. Hawkins be the lead pilots." Kelly said.
"Please do." Colonel Norton said, "Commander Willard, your tank crews have troubles with the roll-off phase of the operation. I'm starting to suspect at least one of your LRM carriers has an alignment problem."
Willard scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I was going to use the safety stand down to have my boys look into that."
"See that they do." Colonel Norton said. He looked around at everyone, "Is there anything else anyone would like to add?" He paused and waited, "Alright. I appreciate your professionalism. Let's talk about some of the things you are doing right."
As he reviewed the previous rehearsals it became obvious Colonel Norton favored Detachment 3. They were the priority effort for the operation, so the Colonel's preference made sense. Hap suspected the Colonel had worked with them in the past. The members of the detachment looked like they were from all over the Inner Sphere, but given the Colonel's reputation it seemed likely they were all ex AFFS special forces.
When the meeting concluded Fletch pointed at Hap and Anastasia and indicated they should stay right where they were as he talked to Kelly and moved around the table.
Hap turned to Anastasia, "It looks like we're going to be re-writing an order this afternoon. That sounds about as fun as filling out paperwork."
Anastasia stopped looking at the comms gear, "Oh! It's better. With paperwork I'm constrained to request whatever the paperwork is for, but with orders, I can move the resources of a planet with just a few words."
Kate snorted as she stood up, and squeezed Anastasia's shoulder, "God bless you, you merry little bureaucrat. Hap, try not to let her use her powers for evil."
"You know well written orders are an art form. I heard Operation Roland's Horn was written on just three sheets of paper" Anastasia said as Kate gave a final wave and exited the vehicle.
Fletch shook his head as he pulled out a cigarette pack from his first aid kit. "Art or not, the base order for Operation Roland's Horn might have been written on three sheets of paper, but, sure as hell, the annexes were like a set of encyclopedias." Fletch held up the cigarette and looked at Colonel Norton. "Am I good to smoke in here?"
"Not in my HQ, Mr. Fletcher. Everything here is almost irreplaceable." Colonel Norton replied. "And your both correct. The base order was concisely written on a few sheets of paper, but the complete OPORD was probably close to two sets of encyclopedias."
"Alright, we'll take this over to my Cyclops. Some of the best plans and orders were written on the foot of a 'mech or on the hood of a combat vehicle." Fletch said as he led Hap and Anastasia out of the Mobile HQ.
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