OBT Forum

Oops.  I knew the Hell's Black Aces were originally Lyran--I just assigned Tanaga was as well.

Huh? Originally Lyran? I think you might be confusing the Aces with somebody else.

FM: Mercs pg 74
Ever since fleeing the Confederation in 3011, Hell’s Black Aces has built up a reputation as one of the few
aerospace-only mercenary units in existence and one of the best mercenary units period. Of Capellan heritage
originally, the mercenaries have assimilated over time a sizeable portion of Kurita pilots, who have risen
through the ranks to hold many command slots.

More good stuff, I'd watch my own industrial worlds a little closer after the Clan strike. Probably authorize some raids to gauge their strength for myself.

MA is likely recalling the founding of the Aces which occurred under contract to the Lyrans through the Blue Star Irregulars Dread Moores.

Was Takashi really that bad? I mean, they are dead and he should mourn their passing as great enemies.

Anyway, seems he still can think. The Kanrei will be a tough fight for the Clans. And I look forward to Oliver.

And somehow I think the Hounds can pull it off. On the other hand, when is Arc Royal being targeted?

April 19, 3051
Ducal Estates
City of Tierney
St. Ives Compact

“Tormano, you have to pass the abort order to Kai!” Candace Allard-Liao pleaded.

Her brother looked sick as he shook his head.  “We . . . we didn’t plan for PEGASUS to be aborted this late, Candace.  I have already sent the abort order—but he will already be moving by the time it arrives.  Especially given the cut-outs we are having to use for the operation to avoid detection by the Maskirovka.”

The Duchess of St. Ives lowered her head in resigned agreement.  “Isn’t there anything we can do?” she whispered.

Her younger brother paused, and then he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.  “Perhaps there is, Candace.”

Kai’s mother looked up from her desk with a suddenly suspicious glare in her eyes.  “Explain.”

“The FedCom has cancelled PEGASUS—hell, two-thirds of their RCTs and other units already in place have already left the Compact.  But the rest will be here for at least a month.  That gives us a month, dear sister, in which the St. Ives Armored Cavalry can still act.”

He began to pace.  “Romano can’t attack the Compact, not with the FedCom RCTs still here as garrison—and she’s only got sixteen line Regiments left in the whole CCAF.  Your Armored Cav has eight regiments by itself, Candace—and between us we have contracted four mercenary units as well.  We ignore the original plan, and move directly on Sian with everything; we’ve got just enough transport capacity to lift ten regiments in a single go.  Forget the distraction attacks, forget everything else; we hit Sian and remove our delirious sister from power before she can do more harm—before she can capture, torture, and kill your son.”

Candace squinted at her brother, and Tormano felt a cold chill running up his spine.  “I would almost say that you planned this, little brother—it has the stink of your manipulations on it.  But I don’t think you managed to arrange this massive invasion of the Lyrans.”

“Yes, it was always a contingency plan, Candace—you do remember those from when you led your own battalion, do you not?” he retorted in a more fierce tone than he felt.

“Don’t you dare try to use my son to manipulate me, Tormano—but I must admit, it does have a certain audacity to it,” she mused, her voice changing from dangerous to contemplative as she considered the possibilities.

“It has two advantages, your Grace,” Tormano continued, plowing ahead despite the bold flashing lighted signs warning DANGER:  MINEFIELDS AHEAD.  “First of all, it won’t be the Davions tearing our realm apart again—it will be you overthrowing an insane ruler and restoring the Confederation.  That alone will put many of our people on your side—especially if we can capture Romano and her spawn in the initial push.  Second, when Free Capella—and your son—launch their uprising on schedule, the CCAF and Romano will be too busy with you to deal with them.”

Candace sighed and leaned back in her seat, still glaring icy daggers at Tormano.  “Sometimes, Tormano, you remind me of Father far too much for comfort,” she finally said.

The younger Liao winced.  “You really know how to stab a guy through heart, sis.”

“How soon?” she asked.

“Everything is in place.  And with the Armored Cav taking all of the JumpShips in system—they are yours, after all—the FedCom regiments and RCTs will have no choice but to stay and defend the Compact worlds.  Give the word and we can lift in thirty-six hours.”

“We?”

“Well, it would certainly help to have a Liao at the liberation of Sian, Candace.  And since you happen to have a spare one available . . .” his voice trailed off as he grinned.

“Indeed, I do, little brother.  You will remain here as my Regent.  I will lead the Armored Cavalry on this assignment—from the cockpit of my own Vindicator.  A Liao will liberate the Confederation from madness,” she finished with a smile as Tormano’s face fell.  “And Tormano?”

“Yes, your Grace?”

“Let us inform the Archon-Prince that I fully expect him to live up to his father’s agreement with me—especially if St. Ives accomplishes this on its own and without his support.  And tell Victor that if Katherine is lost, then it will be acceptable for Kai to wed Yvonne, if he survives this campaign.”

“Of course, your Grace.”

April 28, 3051
Overlord class DropShip Warhound
Inbound to Planetary Drop
Tharkad
Ghost Bear Occupation Zone
(Lyran Commonwealth/Federated Commonwealth)

“Fifteen minutes to atmosphere!” Morgan Kell heard over his radio as he waited strapped into the cockpit of his Archer.  Suddenly, a light began flashing on the comm panel, and he frowned as he activated the link.

“Yes, Marshall Bryant,” he asked.

“That is a WarShip, Colonel Kell!  A fracking WarShip moving in towards us!” the woman screamed.

“Yes, Marshall, it is.  And it is too far out to interfere with our landings,” he continued calmly.

“But . . . but it’ll be in orbit by the time we lift, Colonel!  We have to abort right now!”

“Have you forgotten that our JumpShips need time to charge, Marshall?” the mercenary commander replied.  “The Black Aces and our own fighters will keep him at bay.”  They have to, Morgan thought, although a chill ran down his spine.

“You’re mad,” she whispered.  “I’m not suiciding just because you got this brilliant idea to rescue the Archon—and I’m damn sure not taking my people with you!”

On the tertiary command monitor next to Morgan’s knee, the one that showed the radar return of the incoming raid, she saw the Eleventh’s DropShips suddenly veer away and begin to accelerate towards the ecliptic—and the three JumpShips Morgan had ordered there far beyond the normal system jump perimeter.

“Marshall Bryant, you will return to formation at once!” he barked.  But the DropShips continued to accelerate away from the planet, their fighters also changing course to provide escort.  Damn, she’s going to steal my go-to-hell ride.

Another flashing light on his comm console began to blink.  “What do you think, Dan?” Morgan asked.

For several seconds there was only silence.  “We carry on the mission, Colonel.  We knew there was a chance it would land in the crapper, but . . . would you look at that!” the nominal commander of the Kell Hounds exclaimed.

Morgan stared at the screen, and his eyes bulged as he saw the WarShip inbound for orbit change vector and began to pursue the Eleventh outsystem!  “All ships,” he barked into the transmitter, “all combat units, we’ve got our window.  Let’s get ‘er done!”

***********************************************************************

The executive officer of GSS Bear’s Den pulled himself across the heavy gravity that the engines had created to stand beside the Star Admiral on his bridge.  “We can catch them, Star Admiral,” he said, “but it will take us eight hours to do so and then seventeen to return to orbit.  And the other group is continuing on to the planet.”

“Khan Tseng will handle the Inner Sphere rabble on the surface, Star Colonel,” the senior Bear officer replied.  “Our orders are quite explicit—do not allow any to escape.  Maintain maximum thrust on all engines until we reach weapons range.”

***********************************************************************

If Hell were cold and icy, Morgan thought, this would be it.  He side-stepped his Archer past the staccato fire of a hostile autocannon almost without thinking; damn, but these guys are good!  Better than the Genyosha, maybe better than us.  But they don’t have the numbers on their side, not anymore.  Burning ‘Mechs filled his display—a mix of Kell Hounds and Ghost Bears, but quite a few more Hounds than Bears.  And those infantry that Daniel had christened as Gremlins . . . he shuddered, as he remembered seeing Scott Bradley ripped from his own cockpit and torn into a dozen pieces by three of them.

“Well, tanks a lot,” he heard Dan mutter as a half dozen of those unworldly PPCs ripped into the Kell Hound flank.  “Boss, we’ve got tracks here.”

“Kell Hounds, form up on me,” Morgan rumbled, as he pushed his Archer forward into a charge.  “Sic ‘em!”

***********************************************************************

Damn, these freebirths are good, Khan Tseng thought as yet another autocannon salvo slammed into her Silver Grizzly.  The best we have fought so far—and they managed to arrive after the main combat formations had departed Tharkad.  Perhaps those insurgents have another method of communications, one we haven’t yet found.

And that one BattleMech, that old-style Archer that would have been outdated in the Founders Star League Defense Force, none of her weapons could attain a lock!  By Kerensky’s seed, even her sensors could barely make it out, and only in brief glimpses!  Some kind of ECM, she wondered, but then she shook the thought from her mind as she lined up a shot on a lighter BattleMech that her new reprogrammed recognition computers IDed as a Wolfhound.  Whatever it is, little freebirth, you don’t have it, she thought with a grin as she salvoed the heavy ‘Mechs entire weapons payload into its chest.

***********************************************************************

Melissa awoke with a start, pulling Katherine closer against her chest as she heard heavy gunfire just outside her bedroom, followed by two dull thuds.  The door was kicked in and infantry—Inner Sphere infantry, by God!—surged into the room.

“Clear!”  “Clear!”  “Clear!” yelled the first three, one right after another.  Oh my, Melissa thought as saw the shoulder flash on one clearly—Morgan came.

A fourth soldier entered the room.  “Major Edwin Winson, Kell Hounds Spec-Ops, ma’am.  We’re here to get you and your daughter out.  Can you move?”

Melissa nodded, her throat too tight and dry to speak.

“Ok, we’ve got an Intruder in the courtyard, ma’am, just a couple of hundred yards and we will have you out of the line of fire—let’s move.”

***********************************************************************

The tanks were supported by conventional infantry, Morgan saw, but they died in droves against the combined fire from Kell Hound ‘Mech—although his sensors did show yet another regiment of them moving in fast—faster than any tracked tank that big had any right in moving.

Suddenly, a green light lit on his console, and Morgan’s heart soared.  “Kell Hounds!  WE ARE LEAVING!  GET TO YOUR TRANSPORT!” he bellowed across the tactical net.  He, Dan, and Akira began to back up, covering the lighter ‘Mechs as they flooded aboard the Overlords and Unions, and Intruders, and Seekers, and Fortresses grounded inside the shattered walls of the Triad.  But then he saw a Ghost Bear ‘Mech that looked eerily similar to an Orion step forward.

***********************************************************************

“Well fought, freebirth,” Khan Tseng called out over the radio.  “But you cannot escape, and I would know the name of a Warrior who has fought as gallantly as you.”

“I am Morgan Kell, and the Kell Hounds follow me.  And you are?”

“Sandra Tseng, Khan of Clan Ghost Bear.  Do you yield, Morgan Kell?”

“Funny, Sandra Tseng, I was about to ask you the same thing.  But I think not quite yet.”

“Bargained well and done, Morgan Kell.  I hope you live for you shall make a fine bondsman to the Clan.”

***********************************************************************

The two ‘Mechs began to circle, and the remaining Ghost Bears stopped their fire to watch.  Hoping that Morgan knew what he was doing, Dan opened his radio.  “Kell Hounds, cease fire and board ship.  Do it now!”  He switched freqs.  “I’ve got the door, Morg,” he whispered.  “Haul ass and get aboard.”

“Is the Archon aboard?” his friend and former commander asked, his ‘Mech reeling from multiple weapon hits. 

“Yes.”

“Then lift, Dan.  Lift now—while they are distracted.”

***********************************************************************

Sandra winced as yet another twin flight of LRMs hammered her, opening his right side and breaching the armor—but luckily the remaining missiles did not set off her munitions.  He is too good, she thought, and once again targeted the Archer visually, without the aid of any of her electronic targeting systems.  It had a long time since the Khan had been forced to gauge windage and drop on BattleMech weapons, but she was putting a fair number of her shots on target anyway.  Unfortunately, so was he.

She snarled as she saw two of lasers punch through his side armor, and she slid her munitions selector on the autocannon from Slug to Cluster and triggered a burst to exploit the breach, quickly followed by another salvo from her own LRMs.  The autocannon shots found their mark, but the LRMs went high—and then suddenly the Archer exploded as one of the munitions found the ammo bin and the pilot was ejected—straight into the path of an errant missile.

***********************************************************************

“MORGAN!” Dan screamed as the ejection seat was hit by a missile designed to remove BattleMech armor; he began to target the Ghost Bear ‘Mech, but he remembered the final orders Morgan Kell had given him and he stepped back two paces and hit the ‘Mech sized button with his Thunderbolt’s fist.  The ramp began to retract even as the blast door slid into place.  But he could see the Ghost Bear below kneel and bow towards the remains of his friend, his commander, his mentor.  He squinted against the tears and changed the radio frequency.  “Take us up, Captain,” he whispered.

“Aye, aye, Colonel Dan.  We got everyone on board?”

“Everyone that’s still moving, Capt’n.  Get us moving,” he officer said quietly as he turned off the radio and began to cry.

***********************************************************************

The Bear’s Den was still sixteen hours out, having just finished off the last of Marshall Bryant’s DropShips when the Kell Hounds broke atmosphere and rendezvoused with the surviving Black Aces.  Together, the shattered regiments limped to their JumpShips and prepared to leave behind the frozen world beneath them.

Takiro, Knightmare, Irose, MechRat, any of you gurus:  I need some help here.  Having written myself into a corner, where should the Kell Hound survivors take Melissa and Kat?  Or, in other words, what world would have serious defenses that I haven't smashed all to hell and back?

 

At first I thought they would head to New Avalon, but it is way too dicey, with the entire Terran Corridor filled with Clanners.  So anyway where would you suggest?

MA

Takiro, Knightmare, Irose, MechRat, any of you gurus:  I need some help here.  Having written myself into a corner, where should the Kell Hound survivors take Melissa and Kat?  Or, in other words, what world would have serious defenses that I haven't smashed all to hell and back?

 

At first I thought they would head to New Avalon, but it is way too dicey, with the entire Terran Corridor filled with Clanners.  So anyway where would you suggest?

MA

Gallery is a House Steiner world not far from Tharkad. It is a good point to stopover take a quick accounting of what you have. Then it is on to Bolan where I would establish a Provisional Lyran Capital and attempt to turn the tide. It puts you in a good position to strike at Hesperus while some new factory worlds like Son Hoa and Loburg are expedited to get you some desperately needed supplies.