SotU2 Chpt 43

=Chapter 43=
==State of the Union - Book 2==
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Saunders, Saiph
Saiph Triumvirate, Chaos March
5th December, 3066
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What was left of the drop-port couldn’t provide ground control for the descending dropships, but fortunately military dropships rarely depended on such signals and the landing pads themselves were largely intact. Intended to withstand the ravening fusion torches of dropships taking off and landing, it would have taken a truly impressive level of firepower to do more than chip inconsequentially away at them.
Sabine Steiner emerged from the first dropship to land, a towering Excalibur-class vessel, and led the reinforcements out from the cockpit of her Barghest, but the ‘Mech only needed to travel a handful of Kilometers to reach Isis’ temporary command post in the city. The general’s command lance joined the battered guard force while Sabine entered what was usually a high school gymnasium.
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“You arrived in the nick of time,” Isis said in greeting. She didn’t return the salute she was offered, instead taking Sabine’s forearms and pulling her forward into a hasty half-hug. “thank you.”
“I gather it was close.” The tall blonde really did look a lot like her famous great-aunt. The Lyran-blue jumpsuit of a dismounted mechwarrior suited her, but Isis suspected that most clothes did.
Galen did salute. “I’m not saying we were about to collapse, but we were beginning to reach the point of having to make some decisions that would have been costly even in military terms.”
Even the lightest of military costs was measured in lives, Isis knew. “I take it the Lucien Davion made its escape.”
Sabine nodded. “The Capellan dropships will be in system for several more days but with their warship bailing, I doubt they’ll consider turning around.” She lowered her voice. “Which is probably for the best.”
Isis nodded and drew her aside. “Some tea is within our resources,” she offered. “Let’s step out of the command center and discuss what happens next.”
Unlike the gymnasium, which was cluttered with tables and staff officers compiling the damage done and available resources to make it good, the classroom block being used as accommodations was quiet. A simple screen cut the room Isis was living out of in half. Cots for her immediate staff and herself to sleep in were beyond the screen but that left room for tables and chairs. One table had an electric kettle and the makings for tea and coffee.
Galen pulled chairs back for the two women. “How did you get the warships from the Blakists?”
“Mansdottir cut a deal” the Lyran officer told him wearily. “and Alys managed to pin both myself and Van Creveld down that they’d be used first to relieve your position. It’s fortunate that the enemy withdrew because we don’t have the crew for an actual naval engagement.Nor the troops on hand for a major ground campaign.”
“You’re not short on dropships…?” Galen asked
“Loaded with combat engineers and relief supplies. I had to strip dropships and jumpships of personnel to get scratch crews together for the warships and priority after that was filling out the carrier’s aerospace bays - it wasn’t easy to scrape two hundred or so fighters together on short notice but it’s the only real offensive force we have.”
“I hadn’t considered that,” Galen admitted, looking a little chastened. “the original crew weren’t with the warships?”
“Enough for a cadre, but we needed more than two thousand more personnel. I’m told it’s made quite a hole in the crews for Marshal van Creveld’s supply lines.” Sabine explained.
“As much as that will annoy her, stopping Sun-Tzu was probably worth it.” observed Isis, stirring her mug of hot chocolate. It wasn’t very good, even with all the cream she’d poured into it. “What deal did Mansdottir have to agree to?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger.” Sabine wrapped her hands around her own coffee. “The Blakists are keeping three of the warships in repayment of their investment in getting the warship fleet built up in the first place.”
Isis felt a scream nearly escape her throat and barely reined it in. “They basically robbed the treasury for over a decade and now they’ve demanded more?” That was still a bit shrill and she felt Galen’s hand on her elbow. A deep breath and then a mouthful of sweet, sugary hot chocolate also helped a little. “I suppose three ships down for three ships here is still better than dying or being captured by the CCAF. Which ships did they take?”
“The Nueva Badajoz, the Olympic, and the Xanthos.” Saber told her 
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Those are all old SLDF vessels, unless I’m mistaken. Two old Aegis-class cruisers and… oh the Xanthos is going to sting!” The latter was a reconditioned battlecruiser of the Black Lion-class and one of the heaviest warships in the FWLN. Even after the Thera-class had been launched, the Xanthos was still seen as the pride of the fleet.
“Look on the bright side, at least they’re not taking any of the newer construction.” Galen comforted her. “I’m a bit more curious about the larger picture though. How far has Sun-Tzu got. Without access to the HPG, our outside news has been limited.”
Sabine leant back, apparently considering this a safer subject. “I think he bit off more than he could chew. With his best regiments tied down here, he’s not really had the forces to secure New Canton or Tall Trees.”
“That’ll reassure Count Balatine.”
“On the less promising side,” the blonde warned - though she nodded in agreement - “the reason that he wasn’t pulling more forces forwards was so that he could consolidate his position in what used to be Zion and Ohrenson Provinces. What resistance remained after the federal forces withdrew has been destroyed. You’ll have quite a fight on your hands if you want to take those worlds back.”
“And that isn’t covered by our agreement with the Star League?” Isis asked rhetorically.
“Correct.” Sabine swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “I can moving the rest of my RCT over to help push the Capellans off the rest of the Triumvirate, but neither of the two provinces occupied were part of the Coalition and no one senior enough to try to make a convincing retroactive claim is feasible.”
“And our warships aren’t going to be a reliable counter to the Capellan navy for a while.” she noted a little bleakly. “Although the longer it is before he notices that, the better our chances get. I hope someone gets their act together - he’s taken six worlds but as many more are at risk before he runs into Orloff, the Protectorate or Corinne’s holdings.”
“Now there I have -”
Sabine’s words were cut off as there was a knock on the door of the room. All three of them turned and looked, seeing a shadowy shape through the frosted glass. “Come in?” Isis called.
The door admitted Cindy Meyer, the Marik Militia colonel in fatigues - although she was wearing her dress sabre at her side, which wasn’t normal outside of a few of the more eccentric regiments. “I’m sorry to interrupt you,” she said politely, “but this is best done as soon as possible.”
“...what is?”
Meyer wrapped one hand around the hilt of the sabre, fingers white. Isis let her hand dip out of view below the table to the sidearm she’d never fired except on the practice range. Still in a watertight holster at her own hip. She could see Galen and Sabine both tensing.
“Your grace.” Meyer’s voice was tight. “When Corinne Marik proclaimed herself captain-general, I was relieved. I thought we had a hope of sane and responsible leadership. When Thomas Halas escaped, when Kirc Cameron-Jones proclaimed himself her rival I thought they would readily be brought to heel and I was disappointed that more officers didn’t see it that way. When I heard that you and your cousin were holding dozens of regiments away from Corinne’s cause, I -” Her voice almost broke. “I thought you were a half-step from being traitors.”
She raised her hand, drawing the sabre in a reverse grip. “Now when Sun-Tzu Liao sent his army and navy to seize entire provinces that had sworn themselves to her, my Captain-General did nothing!”
Isis stared at Meyer. There was resolve in the older woman’s eyes, but not any impulse to violence.
“But you did,” Meyer continued, painfully. “Even if it was a single regiment you came yourself. Rallied resistance to draw the line. And as much as I want to believe that you could have done this on Zion, the fact is that if we’d tried there we wouldn’t have had the Disinherited to even the numbers. More than that, you came yourself.”
“I did.” Isis rose slowly to her feet, removing her hand from the holster, although gripping the back of her chair as a readier weapon if Meyer was indeed going to do something rash. “As Alys did on Marik - or my uncle Jeremy on Arcadia.”
Cindy Meyer placed the sword upon the table, releasing its hilt to fall heavily on the surface, between the mugs. “As a Marik should.” Her shoulders slumped slightly. “I’ve spoken to my officers, those who remain. The senior survivors of the Third Legionnaires and the First Militia. They agree with me. My sword, and theirs, are yours to command.”
Isis felt her jaw drop slightly. She swallowed. “You realize I have no intention of going to Atreus or claiming the throne my father was once voted onto.”
“It’s enough that you’ll use us to guard the League.” Cindy Meyer told her.
“Colonel Meyer’s forces aren’t the only ones that have confidence in you.” interjected Sabine Steiner. “I’ve also been asked to convey that Bernardo, Park Place and Ibstock. The worlds most at risk if Sun-Tzu pushes further into the League. They have requested membership of the Silver Hawks Coalition. While I gather it requires your signature to be formal, the Tornadoes Regiment and the Hematite Guards are both being deployed to reinforce the new border.”
Isis lowered her eyes. So this was victory. It still tasted bitter… but perhaps there was just a little sweetness beneath that. She lifted the sword and was about to hand it back to Meyer in acceptance of what it bespoke, but the officer unclipped the scabbard and handed that over again.
“Keep it,” she told Isis. “maybe it’ll remind the next people you’re talking to, that you’ve got true steel in you.”
Sabine cleared her throat. “There’s one more thing… about your Uncle Jeremy…”
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