BoTH Chpt 55

==Blood on the Horizon - Chapter 55 -==
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===Responding to incoming Raiders===
Location: Valexa, Federated SunsDate: February 10th, 3005
"Attention!"
 
The conversations and any activity ceased as I entered the room.
 
"At ease, everyone, and take a seat. We've got a lot of shit to cover."
 
I handed the intel briefs to Sheppard and Peterson and gestured for them to pass them out to the rest of the officers. 
 
"At 1500 local time yesterday afternoon, a group of Jumpships appeared at the Zenith Point of the system. While not confirmed, it's believed that this is a part of the raids launched by the Confederation based out of Halloran. Based on what the Phoenix can tell before I had her move into hiding, it looks like we've got about a Battalion and change coming in for an attack. "
 
I waited for everyone to process things before continuing.
 
"I've already gotten our orders from Major General Fren," I looked at Captain Blaze and Captain James Monarch. "The local Militia are low on Aerospace Fighters, so you'll only have a single squadron as backup."
 
"We've got it handled," Blaze stated. "Hitman and Wardog will ensure their aerospace doesn't reach the ground."
 
"Then that leaves the ground fight to us," Sheppard said. "We won't have confirmation on what units they are until they land, but we can go ahead and start preparing killing grounds."
 
"General Fren is already getting civilians evacuated to the shelters. But the Militia is going to be defending the industrial complexes. So we have to take care of any mobile elements. The Militia doesn't have the ability to do more than hold and defend ground right now."
 
I paused. 
 
"If we can, I'd like to use them as the anvil to our hammer. If not, then we'll have to play a bit of an evasion game. Regardless, we'll each have our jobs to do."
 
"You're all dismissed; get everyone prepped and ready for combat. These won't be like the pirates we've faced before. The Capellans are a stone-cold military; don't expect them to make the same mistakes we've encountered before."
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===Ready Your Fighters===
Date: February 15th, 3006
"Wardog 1 to squadron, give ready status, and fall into formation."
 
"This is Chopper; wheels are up, and guns are loaded!"
 
"Edge reporting, all systems are green."
 
"Swordsman, here, we are ready for combat."
 
"Archer, ready-op."
 
"This is Heartbreak, following your lead."
 
"Wardog is ready, Hitman, status?"
 
"Hitman is ready," Monarch reported. "Shifting to intercept pattern now."
 
The twelve fighters streaked through the void; the twin formations mirrored as they split up to cover the eighteen fighters that deployed from the Capellan dropships to engage them.
"Keep an eye out for the Transgressors and Lightnings," the void of Mother Goose warned them. "They've got a lot of firepower in those ack-twenties. Looks like a mixture of light birds and some heavier ones aside from that."
 
"Wardog copies, we'll keep 'em on their toes."
Blaze slammed his feet down on the petals of his Eagle, and the fusion engine roared underneath him, Edge hugging his wing in her Lightning as squadron members split off.
 
"Remember folks, we're here to get rid of their escorts, not the DropShips," Blaze flipped the safeties on his twin PPCs and locked onto a Thrush that had pushed ahead of its heavier wingman.
 
"Pick your targets and take them out," Blaze squeezed the triggers and watched as one of his beams missed the lightly armed fighter, but the second beam didn't, and the Thrush's armor shattered, and the fighter began spiraling out of control. 
 
"Good hits, shifting to wingman!"
 
----
===Preparing for Warm Welcoming===
 
While the fighters engaged each other, the DropShips continued, the atmosphere glowing around them as the egg-shaped spheroids began their descent through the atmosphere.
 
"Keep an eye on the landing zones," I ordered Sheppard. "I want us to hammer them with artillery as soon as they begin offloading."
 
"We've got the most likely zones sighted in and prepped," he replied. "But there's no guarantees that they'll land there."
"Understood, but we'll need to play this aggressively; Blaze ID'd some of the dropships coming in as mixed elements of the Blackwind Lancers and Marion's Highlanders. So expect medium and heavy 'mechs backed up by infantry."
 
"Whelp, we better hope that they brought more mediums than heavies," The man laughed. "I'd hate to get smoked by the Capellans."
 
"Have our lighter elements pull back. I'll see if we can get more artillery shifted to support us."
 
"That's if we're not having to fight the governor over our deployment," Sheppard pointed out. "After all, we did spite him on that parade he wanted."
"If he hamstrings us defending his world, then that's on him," I shrugged as I leaned over the holotable in the middle of the Mobile HQ we'd recovered from Artru. "We're going to do our job and get paid. Regardless of how the governor acts."
----
===Makings of a Hot Landing Zone===
A cluster of three Union class dropships settled in a field nearly 100 kilometers from the nearest settlement. 
The dried-out husks of corn and other staple crops that had recently been harvested went up in flames as they finally came to a stop. 
 
Then, a few Leopards came down in and settled beside the trio of spheroids, two of them dispersing their lances of 'Mechs as the ramps descended from the Unions.
 
Finally, two heavy fighters drifted in and began circling the landing zone. Their armor was pockmarked, shattered, or slagged in places where they'd narrowly escaped with their lives. 
 
And all the while, a handful of infantry scouts looked on at the unloaded 'Mechs and infantry before vanishing back into the trees. 
 
The sound of rumbling followed as if a distant storm were rolling in before an explosion smashed into one of the lances that had disembarked the Leopards. The artillery had shredded the mediums and the MechWarriors ejected as more rounds crippled that lance. 
 
The two fighters streamed off toward where the artillery had come from, only to be met by anti-aircraft fire, driving them back to the dropships. 
 
"We've got good hits on target. Artillery is moving locations," the Marksman's artillery commander relayed. 
 
"Understood. Shift to Point Charlie. We'll have more escorts there."
 
And with that, the Battle of Valera had begun. 
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Chapter 55