BeyHop Chpt 28

==Beyond Hope- Chapter 28 - The shape of the Elephant==
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===The Ground Game Begins===
Kowloon Planetary OrbitFederated Commonwealth (Lyran State)January, 3059
The light delay meant he didn't witness what happened to fully three Galaxies of his Clan's forces-the main body he'd brought.
"Savashri…" Perigard Zalman had known the Spheroids would have nuclear weapons, and that they might use them…
But this?
An irreplaceable warship group, the Ophidian and two escorting warships, were converted in an orgy of thermonuclear light and fire in the silence of space. Harjel or not, nothing could live through that.
The fighters and Dropships that were supposed to be screening them from such a fate… That Lola just swept aside the Dropships with firepower and the fighters were just mobbed. The only consolation was that the Spheroids paid a heavy price of their own in their own fighters and Dropships.
"Incoming from the planet. The Western Ocean region, My khan…" his communications tech was shaken and showed the horror he felt himself.
"Put the bitch on." 
(("Hi Perry. Looks like Helena's bored toying with your buddies. I'd say that's around fifteen thousand of your guys, more or less? About that? Maybe more if you brought enough support to keep them armed. Here's your options. Option one, is you surrender now and save what's left of your command. Option two; you go pick a fight with Helena Cameron and around forty million rockjacks who just demonstrated what mining tools do to warships-I don't recommend that one, your guys aren't good enough. Option three, is you come kill me first, and hope you can fight your way out. You up for an honor duel, jackass?"))
“If it will give me the chance to kill you, I will grant you the honor of a duel.”
(("Terms are easy then, you bring everything you've got left, I'm waiting out here in the mid-latitudes with the best of what I can spare while Helena's got most of the forces I paid for. All you have to do, is kill me in a way nobody can contest, so bring it, Perry, you poor inbred son of a test tube leak.")) There was a pause, (("Your ancestors would be outright ashamed of what you've become."))
“I’m going down there and I am going to find and kill her. While I do that, I do not care how you do it but make their world suffer.”
"Khan, your 'mech cannot handle conditions that far below crush depth." The ship's sensors officer told him, "She included coordinates. She is on a submarine vessel over the deepest part of Kowloon's ocean…and they are alone."
“Then I shall do as I promised. I will ravage her world for as long as I can to keep her on the surface to engage me. You take the shot. End her. After that we shall purge this world so it never troubles us again and free Helena Cameron in the process.”
The helm officer gave instructions and the Nightlord class vessel slid downward, unopposed by aircraft, to a bombardment approach…
Zalman’s Dropship and Mech forces slid away to begin their portion of the operation.
It was now a race. One Zalman failed to do the math on to see he’d lost even before he started.
The missiles were already streaking upward before the Warship fired the first shot but the travel time meant they would impact after the Warship’s shot.
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===Diving from a Orbital Bombardment===
Strategic Ballistic Submarine - Golden Lakes RegionKowloon System - In bound, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran State)January, 3059
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“Crash dive!” The floor went forty five degrees as the sub's bow and tail planes, dive tanks, and engine power shoved it deeper under the waves.
Half a kilometer up, near the surface, capital energy weapons were boiling sea water fruitlessly, as naval autocannon rounds and naval missiles shattered against the incomprssible surface of the Western Ocean's water.
“Their first barrage was closer than I thought it would be. Would you say half a kilometer for that Naval PPC shot?”
"I’d say so, it's going to be interesting weather off this much heating. Could be a wet winter." Liz cracked, "Maybe some nasty tropical storms later this year too."
“Aye. Which means there might actually be a nasty fire season too.”
'Oh that's a given, we're going into a mild winter and a high summer this year." Liz observed, "it's gonna be a nightmare in the Hills…how long until Helena can start chewing on his supports, I'd like to get to fire at least one of these from launch depth…I still haven't punched that part of the ticket."
"The ticket?"
"Noble's bingo- 'fought a war'. Haven't done that yet, not officially." she cracked lightly, which got the CIC crew to relax a tad. "Since I couldn't avoid it entirely, I'd like to be able to claim I actually fought instead of being cargo. I don't need Arthur's sister rubbing it in my face again."
This drew more, and more relaxed laughter.
“Well, if she’s holding to the time table, Helena should be in orbit in about half an hour.”
Liz mused, "RTO, raise the Klanner again, use the Basin relay network. I want to piss him off even more."
"Aye, mum."
"Perry!! Buddy!! I'm right here, how could the ultimate warriors miss such a slow and easy target? You shoot, and shoot, and keep missing the target!! I'm laughing at the superior being."
”We’ll see who is laughing soon enough. I’ll be in Ia Drang in an hour. I know I’m not supposed to, but you’ve earned this.”
"Well, hurry it up, that's barely bathwater you're making up there… Oh, so this is your second? No wonder he can't hit a ****** barn. All you Clanners only let your officers practice, amirite? Worse than bloody Lyrans…"
What came back was not intelligible before the click of a channel being closed a moment later.
“I think you struck a nerve.”
"You know, if they're going to Ia Drang, I should've suggested some restaurants on the lower levels under the diamond-walk…" she said with a nasty grin. "Don't ya just hate tourists?"
“Clanners are the worst too from what I hear. They don’t even tip.”
Liz puffed her chest up and said, in a snob-voice, "BAh-BAarians!"
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===Race to the Bottom===
KCGS Elizabeth CameronKowloon System, Federated Commonwealth (Lyran State)January of 3059
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"They didn't pay attention to their own briefings, did they?" Jakob said, "If I were landing an invasion force, or a punitive expedition, Ia Drang in mid-summer would NOT be where I'd want to land it."
"What's so bad about Ia Drang? The Plateau's nice."
"Aside from the crevasses and canyons that can drop you to sea level? Or the weight limits on the bridges?"
"Oh, yeah…and if he's going to the underground city…"
"Yeah."
“He’s probably thinking he can just jump jet over all that and just cruise on in. But I think they didn’t measure some of those gaps as carefully as they should have.”
"The Rabbis are going to make it hell, and the Saints will make it burn." Pol noted, "If that track is accurate, he's downriver from the Brigham Dam."
“Hmmm. Oh I see now why he’s going that way.” Jane put up a display that showed a missile track come uncomfortably close to Zalman’s Dropship.
"Rabbi Meier's people." Pol asserted, "Kahanist separatists, about the unfriendliest bunch planet-wide, when I was in the Brownwater squadrons I hated patrols up there, about the meanest ****** on the planet, and I'm a Deacon's boy from VDL, which are the second meanest ****** on the planet."
“Then if we see him or any of his warriors again they’ll probably be in pieces.”
"That depends which side of the bridge he actually lands on, Rabbi Meier's threatened to blow the dam more than once over the water fees." Pol said, "Last time I had to go up there, we confiscated a rockbreaker from his barn."
“Okay, maybe we should send something that way to nudge him into a different landing track.” Helena checked the projected path.
Pol tapped Samantha's shoulder, "Sam, send an evac alert, the stupid goddam Vipers are landing just down-river of the dam, Meier will blow that thing and a few million tons of water are about to go through lowtown and out below the Balcony."
One of the dropships angled up, as the bigger one was dropping 'mechs at the foot of the dam.
"Oh shit here it comes."
The feeds from the recon choppers were being pipped to several displays.
It begins with a massive pulse in the reservoir behind the dam, the ferrocrete and endosteel structure bent…then broke, a skyscraper sized chunk flying forward on a column of superheated steam and sublimating water.
The wall of water caught one of the dropships mid-landing and drove it through the canyon in a tumble, the other was smashed with her landing jacks down.
Dropship three barely escaped.
“******.” Helena said it first. “Keep working those comms, get responses sorted out. Control the chaos as best you can.”
"Pray the evac alert was on time." Bianh said. "And that the sidestreet bulkheads hold."
"Mama Ji's ribhouse." Pol agreed. "Best Kowloon style buffalo brisket on the planet, I swear before the lord."
“Priorities people. First that Nightlord. Second is picking up the pieces.” Helena focused her crew.
“Tracking their support forces.” Jane reported.
"They're well and truly in the stratosphere or lower?" Helena asked.'
"Yeah."
"Signal the Coasties to come out and play then. Interceptor squadrons and dogfighters, chew them up."
“You’re having a bad idea…” Jane caught on to Helena’s tone.
“Yeah. I’m going to give them three choices. Fall into the well, climb out just to be nuked, or repossess my stolen property.” Helena nodded.
Jane mused, then, "You better hurry up, U-One is coming to launch depth. Tiegre or Lizzie thinks they have a shot with those ballistic missiles."
“So it’s a race then. Three ways with three options. Well, maybe a fourth, but that depends on how smart their Warship commander is. Ball is now in their court to see which it will really be.”
Warfare is a contest of wills.
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