TBntG-3 Chpt 42

=The Bull and the Genie=
==Chapter 42 - Book III - The Clan Invasion==
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==The Invasion of Oshika: Part 4==
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===Raining Fire===
Firebase Base CampOshika, Draconis Combine
It would be nice if they were stupid, Katherine thought. 
 
But they weren't. The railway line to the factory and camp was paralleled by a two lane road, steep cliffs around it. 
 
The perfect place for an ambush.
 
And so the other guy was declining to be ambushed. They didn't have enough air power to go after his mechs, mostly mediums and a few fast heavies, and he was sending light infantry up through the canyon. When light infantry ran into battlesuits, there was only one outcome, and the infantry wasn't well trained. 
 
But the fighting revealed her positions and then either some mechs or tanks would open fire and force the infantry to give way. 
 
"Dammit," she muttered, staring at the readout from the drone they had up. "That's not a guy from the BDS, or at least he hasn't drank the brew." 
 
The first few attacks had been pathetic—guys in jeeps and trucks driving up the highway, getting potted, and then the main body had shown up, they'd pulled back, and now they were pushing forward. 
 
Slowly and cautiously, checking for ambushes and mines.
 
"What makes you think so?" her XO asked.
 
"Well for one thing, look at the light infantry." 
 
"They're…"
 
"Internal security. All the people that joined up with the BDS and screamed loud enough to prove their loyalty—and he's using them as meat shields to make us reveal ourselves."
 
Not everyone would like the BDS… But even in the Federated Commonwealth there were plenty of stories about noble knights who refused to disobey their lords, even at the cost of their lives. 
 
Katherine had liked those stories, once. 
 
"He needs to push through, knows the canyon is a kill zone, so he won't move most of his forces into it… Put more people on the valley side approaches. They're hard, but this feels like the kind of guy who might want to put in a diversion when he's ready." 
 
"No artillery—they have Arrows but…" the S2 touched a button. "No ammo vehicles. So two, maybe three salvos, and they're out." 
 
Good for us. They didn't have anything that could match an Arrow's range, although their mortars and heavy missile launchers were ready to make any group coming too close unhappy. 
 
"If they're going so slow, why? This place isn't important any more," Diplomat muttered. "They cannot believe we'd leave anything for them."
 
"True. A good idea would be to dig in at the entrance. Better idea would be to get ready for our friends when they show up." Katherine tapped the monitor. "But I think someone is shouting in his ear and he doesn't have a choice. Remember what the BDS punishment for "insufficient zeal in the Dragon's name" is."
 
The problem is, slow really isn't good for us. Oh, they were dug in and ready, but mechs, even second line ones like she expected were attacking them, along with vehicles, was not something infantry liked to fight head on. The same geographic features that made it hard to attack made it hard to break out.
 
Katherine could kill the force, but in a straight up fight, it'd rip the heart out of the regiment. 
 
Two days until the main force gets here. They were shaking themselves out after the fight, and the rest of the division had its own problems. Taking the big cities were more important than relieving them, even with the high value targets from the work camp.
 
And half of them were barely capable of moving, not to mention they didn't have anything to protect them from a salvo of Arrow IV artillery missiles.
 
We need to push them in…
 
"Get me the general and when is the next Thor sat due?"
 
"Fifteen minutes, Ma'am."
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===Need to Strike===
"Major, you realize that we only have twelve sats that were not destroyed." General McDougall was from Canopus, originally someone who bought her way into the Magistracy military, but there was nothing wrong with her smarts. "I've got two mech regiments bearing down on the fourth…"
 
 Yes, General, but I just need one strike."
 
 What for?"
 
 I need to encourage our friends to stop being cautious."
 
"One Salvo." 
 
"If this doesn't work, ten wouldn't be enough." 
 
"Fine. Right now we've got some mechs arriving, so if you'll excuse me, I need to join the boys."
 
"Yes, Ma'am."
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===Artillery Fire===
The Arrow crews were standing ready. Most of the reloads had been taken for other theaters, to defend the far more important cities. But they had enough, and were tucked safely far back in the van.But Oshika's orbital defenses had been savaged, and the radar systems that would normally provide close in detection were in the captured factory.So the arrow crews had no warning, when a salvo of metal rods, moving at just over Mach 10, impacted in and around them, leaving the shattered remains laying around the ground, the blast wave strong enough to kill some of the escort troops.Thor strikes were expensive, far more so than artillery.But when used correctly, they were devastating.And the Kuritans knew one thing. Someone with only one salvo wouldn't waste it on some artillery. Orders were given and the force started moving through the canyon, hoping to punch into the valley and get into close combat with their enemies before another strike could be arranged.
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===Prying out the Enemy===
Improvised Base CampOshika, Draconis Combine
"That's good, be a good little Drac," Katherine said. "Do the right thing." All the books said that if you didn't have control over the skies and the other guy was tossing ortillery around, you needed to get in close as fast as possible.
 
Which they were doing.
 
"Sappers ready?"
 
"Yes, Ma'am." 
 
"Good, wait until I give the order." She turned to the others. "Seal them in, cut up their unit, and even if they manage to survive us, they'll be dead meat for the landing force."
 
"How close are we going to let them get?" Doc asked.
 
"We have to wait until the heavies are too far in to pull out. So… close. Very close." 
 
"Right, Ma'am." Doc looked up at the sky. "Well, lovely weather. Wouldn't want any rain to delay the relief."
 
That would be embarrassing. Then they were getting reports of the main body entering the canyon, and there was no more time for casual chit-chat.
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Book 3 - 42