SotU2 Chpt 31

=Chapter 31=
==State of the Union - Book 2==
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Dormuth, Marik
Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
17th March, 3066
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The Eleventh Atrean Dragoons didn’t appear to have anticipated that the Silver Hawks would dare strike back at them. While Alys had brought her dropships in using fake codes, there hadn’t even been a flyby inspection until three of her Union-class ships broke off from approach to the spaceport to begin a drop run. 
With a battalion of the Krushers on the ground, there was a thin, but viable perimeter around the landing pads. The ground was still glowing on infra-red sensors when Alys marched her Perseus down the dropship ramp to join them.
More and more ‘Mechs were streaming out of the dropships, followed by armored fighting vehicles and even the single company of battle armor available. Environmentally-sealed APCs rushed across the ferrocrete that had been superheated by fusion torches as the ships landed, carrying infantry who would otherwise probably suffer heatstroke.
Alys brought her weapons up to full readiness and felt the reactor shake and a wave of heat as power was generated to fill the capacitors.
The first ‘Mechs emerged from the on site hangars at a run, but they weren’t trying to attack either the Krushers or the Eagle regiment ‘mechs, instead trying to break for the gates and towards the city, where the rest of the garrison would be based.
That was the smart play, there was barely a battalion here and that left them outnumbered almost five to one. But for that reason Alys had put her best long-range firepower on that flank. If she’d wanted to run the Dragoons down and destroy them then she might have gone for a pursuit force but right now she’d settle for inflicting heavy damage.
She picked out a Hermes II running towards the spaceport’s main cargo gates and centered her crosshairs a little ahead of the light ‘Mech to allow for its speed. Out of the edges of her cockpit canopy she saw the arms of her Perseus OmniMech rise to bring the muzzles in them to bear.
The Hermes II didn’t try to dodge, perhaps mistaking her ‘Mech for an older Orion. The two designs were very similar, but while an Orion rarely mounted more than a medium laser in each arm, for a Perseus they were usually the mounts for heavy ballistic weapons.
Alys preferred a different load though and she fired from one arm and then the other, staggering the shots to cushion the brutal heat load. The black-market Clan Extended Range PPCs had set her back more than the cost of the original ‘Mech once the price tag for adding the extra capacitors she wanted was considered, but the result was the most powerful energy weapons mounted on a ‘Mech.
Her first shot narrowly missed the Hermes II, the bolt of charged particles slipping between the smaller ‘Mech’s left arm and its side. And then the second smashed into the Dragoon ‘Mech from behind, a little to the left of its spine.
The Hermes’ left arm was flung pinwheeling into the air as the energy packet ripped through the myomers and structural members of its shoulder. A little lower and the forty-ton ‘Mech would have been shattered as ammunition bins were destroyed, but it reeled wildly and barely managed to stay on its feet under the shot.
Feeling her Perseus slow as heat impaired the reaction of its myomer muscles, Alys pushed down on the pedals to force longer strides, even if it left her less stable as a firing platform. She wasn’t interested in chasing the Hermes II down, instead moving her fire to an Apollo that was trying to twist its torso around to provide covering fire from its torso missile racks as it retreated towards the gates.
Rather than her PPCs, Alys fired the LRM racks built into her Perseus shoulders, the salvo landing just after a more modest volley from a Krushers’ Thunderbolt hit the same target. A Apollo emerged from the barrage smoking, its once-proud paint stripped away by dozens of missile impacts. It didn’t fall though, instead staggering gamely after the Hermes II.
“Colonel! Contact, grid square Alpha-Golf-Seven-Niner.”
She saw from an LED inside her neurohelmet that the message was from the Krusher’s third battalion, currently pushing towards the spaceport control building. That had been Ana’s battalion, but survivors from that had been consolidated into her own first battalion. These days it was Sam Dooley’s, the Solaris veteran she’d hired on to whip the motley of mechwarriors brought in since taking over into some kind of order. Not much more than half-strength in ‘mechs, but with the Dragoons withdrawing that should be enough.
“I hear you, Sam.” Alys wheeled her Perseus behind the back of a Krushers' Longbow in case anyone took pot-shots at her while she was distracted. “Threat level?”
“Heavy tank presence, might be some assault ‘Mechs that don’t think they can bug out.” There was a crunching sound from the other woman’s cockpit. “Scratch one Manti… damn, yes, that’s a Stalker.”
Alys frowned. The space port had several objectives, the communications gear and records of the control tower weren’t vital for holding it… but if they wanted to find out about any other raids on the way, then taking it fast might be the only way. “Calling in back-up.”
Sending in reserves early might be a critical mistake if the Dragoons pushed back, but she wasn’t marrying this ground. She just wanted to send a message. “Calling in support.” A tap of a switch switched her microphone to the task force command channel. “Eagle Six, I’m requesting reinforcements for Krushers Three-One. They have heavy opposition around the control tower.”
“Understood, Eagle Six.” Cole Zhukov was older and more experienced than she was, but technically she was senior in grade. The product of inheriting one’s command rather than rising to it through the ranks. “They’ll be there in three minutes, tops.”
She was about to rejoin First Battalion as they moved in on the gates to make sure there were no Dragoon holdouts, but another channel lit up, this one from the command deck of the dropship that had brought her here.
“Colonel Rousset-Marik, we’re getting a signal from a relay satellite in orbit.” the comms officer on the other end reported. “I don’t know who it is, but it’s a military encryption and they want to speak to you.”
Alys frowned and checked her board. Nothing seemed about to explode and the Eagle Regiment’s Second battalion was visible moving up to join Dooley’s forces around the control tower. “Put them through.”
Activating a secondary monitor, she locked the legs of her Perseus and turned as much as she could in the command couch to face the screen. It lit up with a spinning FWL badge, replaced a moment later by an unfamiliar man’s face. “Am I addressing Duchess Alys Rousset-Marik?”
Tapping a control, the camera built into her helmet activated. “You are.”
The man nodded and then moved - no, he was moving the camera, she realized - with another face coming into view.
“I can’t say that I’m entirely surprised that you’re making a play for the throne.” Corinne Marik told her heavily. “But selling out to the FedCom? That, I didn’t expect, cousin.”
“We both know there’s a difference between the FedCom and the Star League.” Alys replied, thinking furiously. Corinne was here? In the system? Or was she relaying her presence through an HPG loop? “And I don’t want the throne, there are enough asses already trying to plant themselves on it.”
“Then you should have stayed on Augustine.” And then the woman leant forwards into the camera. “I wish I’d brought a warship, to make sure you don’t get off world, or at least need to bring the cruiser your patron has sent you into play - because evidence of that would show your allegiance. I’ll give you this chance; Surrender your forces and I’ll repatriate your personnel, but not your hardware back to Irian.”
She wouldn’t offer that much if she was sure of winning. But the Eleventh Dragoons weren’t going to outweigh her own forces, not with the momentum of having mauled a company’s worth of them already. “There’s usually an ‘or else’.”
Her cousin bared her teeth. “Or you can try running the gauntlet of the First Free Worlds Guards’ entire aerowing to get away. Please. Take your best shot.”
Alys tried to hide her concern. The First Guards had a reinforced wing of the most elite pilots in the entire League at their disposal, more fighters and unquestionably better piloted, than both the Eagle Regiment and the Krushers could put up between them. And if their aerowing was there, then the three crack ‘Mech battalions and supporting elements were already there.
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