She knew it might be a mistake, but she also knew that she needed to make certain decisions if she was ever going to make this thing work.
So Lieutenant Commander McKnight stood up from the table and thrust her hand out, “If you keep up your end of the bargain, I’ll do the same to the best of my ability—and to the limits of my authority.”
He stood and took her hand in his own, giving a firm but respectful squeeze, “You’ll find I always keep to my bargains,” he said emphatically, as though the statement itself meant something significant which escaped McKnight at the moment. But before she could consider the matter further, he said, “Now let’s get down to bidness.”
“The rendezvous is scheduled for three days from now,” Lynch explained after McKnight had finally gotten over the shock of learning just how much information the arms dealer had on MSP ship movements. “If you agree, I’ll have three hundred suits of new-old stock ready for the best of the bunch.”
“I’m going to ignore, for the moment, the fact that you have a better manifest of my incoming freighter’s cargo than I do,” McKnight said as she tried to silence the dozen mental alarms which had gone off in her head after Lynch had explained the rough outline of his plan.
“That’d be wise,” he agreed with a smirk.
She shot him a withering look before continuing, “I have no idea who these Tracto-ans are.”
“Best we can tell,” Lynch said, tapping the slate containing the information he had brought to the meeting, “they was ostracized because the leading lady—that’d be the Admiral’s Lady—didn’t take too kindly to their way of doin’ things and planned on nukin’ their stronghold from orbit. Somewhere along the line she was convinced to let them evacuate before she started droppin’ bombs, and that exile was preferable to execution. There’s nearly three thousand of them in all, ‘bout half men of fighting age, so I’m guessin’ we can find three hundred ready to run into whatever hole we open up for ‘em. But then, you know these particular gene-slave types better than me. What do you think?”
McKnight bit her lip. She was well past the point of worrying about this all being an elaborate ruse of some kind on Lynch’s part; if that was the case then she had made the most profound, crushing mistake imaginable. So she pushed those thoughts from her mind and focused on the query itself.
“With recruits fresh from the surface, we’ve seen close to 70% of Lancer candidates qualify for basic power suit operation with a three week course in operation,” she said after schooling her thoughts.
“We don’t have three weeks,” he said pointedly. “We’ve got no more than two before boots need to hit the ground.”
McKnight nodded slowly, “About 20% were able to hit basic minimums with a ten day crash course.”
“Good,” he nodded, “so, more or less, we’ll fill the three hundred suits. That brings us to your ships.”
McKnight gave serious consideration to withholding the fact that she had the converted Droid Destroyer at her command, but decided against it. “This ship, the Gamer Gate, is seconded to the task force I was sent here to coordinate and command,” she explained. “But it’s not under my direct command.”
“I knew that,” he said with a nod.
“My ship,” she continued, “is one jump out of here.”
“The Droid ship,” he mused, confirming her suspicion that he already knew about it. “That might come in handy…but we haven’t come up with a great way to deploy it yet.”
“Wait…’we’?” she asked. “Who else is involved in this?”
“Aside from the sixteen independent ship commanders who’ve agreed to participate in the operation?” he riposted. “Let’s just say I’ve got a team working on this thing, and in the last few days we’ve developed most of the plan you’re seeing here.”
“So you did have previous teams,” McKnight said, deciding to address that particular ‘elephant in the room.’ “What happened to them?”
“Them Raubachs neutralized ‘em,” Lynch said with a shrug. “It goes without saying but, just for clarity’s sake, I’ll say it anyway: if they hadn’t been axed then I wouldn’t be talkin’ with you right now. Their loss is your gain.”
McKnight had been certain that the mission would be risky, but she was becoming increasingly convinced that the risks were significantly greater than she had initially believed.
“So you need three hundred Lancers,” McKnight refocused, “what else?”
“About a hundred of your Lancers would be enough to satisfy minimum projections,” Lynch said with a shake of his head. “Three hundred give ‘em a real chance to win the fight rather than just act as a diversion to our secondary objectives.”
“A diversion?!” McKnight snapped in alarm.
“Check yourself, Commander,” Lynch said in a calm, but clearly authoritative tone, “I told you I’d supply three hundred battle suits instead of just one hundred. My initial plans had called for fifty assault droids—which would have been enough to serve as a proper diversion, and have about the same tactical value as one hundred of your Lancers—but since we’re usin’ real people I thought that giving them a fighting chance at coming out alive was the right play. Was I wrong?” he asked pointedly.
McKnight was simultaneously dismayed and impressed by his commanding, but reasonable tone as he defused her anger. “No,” she said through gritted teeth. “What are these secondary objectives?”
“Good question,” he nodded, tapping the slate and showing her the new screen, “if our insertion team can get behind the lines and, with a little luck, open the door for your boys then we can push them Lancers of yours into the breach. From there, they’ll have a shot at takin’ down the HQ from the inside. If they can do that while we break in and secure the package, we’ll be able to cover the escape of two vessels instead of one. If they can’t,” he shrugged, “we still get out with the package—and deal a serious blow to the Empire in the process.”
“But the Lancers will die—an outcome which you seem to be fine with,” McKnight said coldly.
“This is war, McKnight,” Lynch said simply. “If you ain’t ready to deal with the reality of casualties during war, you’s in the wrong bidness. What we’re talkin’ about here is the potential sacrifice of three hundred Lancers to destabilize the Empire—specifically, House Raubach—which wants to roll in here and scrub out everything that don’t conform to its design. If we succeed, and if your Little Admiral can deal a serious blow to the Imperial Fleet when it finally arrives, we weaken Imperial resolve. That’ll be worth more than a Core World full of people, let alone three hundred Lancers. But,” he added when McKnight was just about to argue against the sentiment, “by my calculations, they’ll have a little better chance than a coin flip of actually succeeding. Who knows? They might even surprise little ol’ me just like the rest of y’all have done.”
“Even granting that,” McKnight said after drawing several calming breaths, “we’re still left with the problem of dealing with their reinforcements. Your own intel shows that several Imperial-controlled warships have moved into the Beta Site.”
“A few have, yes,” Lynch allowed, “but they’ve been smaller, spec-ops ships. The real heavy hitters won’t show up until a few days after we hit them. That’s why we’ve got to move now.”
“Why didn’t you move against them earlier?” McKnight asked, having considered the query since Lynch had revealed the broad strokes of his plan. “Why wait until now?”
“Because, as I said, I only have enough resources to take one shot,” he shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “And though I’ve known from the beginning that the Beta Site was their top priority out here, takin’ my time and linin’ up a good shot has been more important than expediency.”
“But now the clock’s against you,” McKnight said pointedly.
“It’s only against me because Tim did better than I thought he would,” Lynch explained. “With James IV and James III out of the picture, the only man they g
ot left with a legit claim to the Raubach reins is James II—and he’s at the Beta Site.”
McKnight did a double take. “You mean…Senator Raubach is here—in the Spineward Sectors!?”
“Yes indeedy,” Lynch grinned. “Now can you see how important this operation is?”
McKnight had assumed that when Lynch had spoken of the ‘package’ which they were going in to secure that it was a ship filled with technology similar—or possibly superior—to that which had been in the Perilous Halibut. But now it seemed that their true target was an Imperial Senator’s actual person!
The potential fallout from an Imperial Senator being abducted in the Spineward Sectors was mind-numbing to consider. But McKnight felt a savage thrill at the prospect of being part of the team that would bring him to task for his House’s abuse of the Spineward Sectors.
“I think we can agree that this is the best chance we’ll get to stop them Raubachs in their tracks,” Lynch continued as McKnight came to terms with the real nature of their mission. “The Senator apparently decided it was best to call in the cavalry rather than risk losin’ the goods their House secreted away at the Beta Site. After y’all gutted the Rim Fleet leftovers with that nifty little move of suckin’ them Droids into the fight, you cut Raubach forces in the region down to twenty two warships in total: three cutters, ten corvettes, seven destroyers and three cruisers.”
“You said you’ve got sixteen warships,” McKnight pressed after hearing her own projections of Raubach remnant forces essentially confirmed. “What’s their breakdown?”
Lynch held up a finger warningly, “You just made a mistake; I said there were sixteen independent commanders who’ll bring their ships to the party. I never said how many ships would be showin’ up.”
“Fine,” McKnight said tersely, taking his point about making assumptions from statements, “how do your forces stack up to theirs?”
“Not good,” Lynch said bluntly. “Put simply, their warships outgun ours a little over two to one in my simulations—and that’s with us gettin’ the drop on ‘em.”
McKnight nodded slowly as she realized what may well be the most important part of her insertion team’s mission, “So they’ve got stationary defenses that our dark team will need to take control over.”
“You got it,” Lynch said with a smirk that was somehow approving. “My boy Fisher will need to go with the dark team though; he’s the only man in the Sector I’d trust to direct that artillery when the dung starts to drop, and he’s been workin’ up his fire control program for over a year. Without him reachin’ the Beta Site’s HQ, we’re toast as soon as we point transfer in.”
McKnight remembered the warships which she and Captain Archibald had neutralized en route to Capital, and bit her lip as she performed silent calculations regarding the distance from their proper home world. “What are the Beta Site’s coordinates?” she asked.
“Can’t risk it yet, McKnight,” he said gravely.
“We took down two warships and chased another one off—Raubach warships,” she explained with a meaningful look, “we left the two as hulks since we couldn’t repair them expediently. I thought—”
“You thought you might call their original owners in to lend a hand. That was good thinking,” he nodded slowly. “Was they the ones from Xanatos?”
“They were,” she said, far from surprised at his already knowing their System of origin.
“That helps…” he mused. “But Xanatos is too far to send their proper forces. Let me look up a contact here on Capital, though…they might have a few pieces to put on the board, and Xanatos’ presiding Vizier owes me a favor.”
“That’s better than I would have been capable of,” she said sourly.
“Cheer up, Commander,” he said in anything but a cheerful tone, “you just tilted the board a touch back in our favor. When do I meet your elite team?”
McKnight pursed her lips hesitantly. “They’ve just gone dark,” she explained half-truthfully, “but I know where they’ll be in two hours. We need to get down to the surface if you want to meet them to review—”
“Forget it,” he waved a hand dismissively, “if they’re your best, that’s good enough for me. I’ve already seen what your people are capable of accomplishing. I’ll forward coordinates for a meet-up in eight days,” he explained, “from there, we’ll insert the strike team aboard the last freighter headed to the Beta Site. You just contact that freighter of yours and tell them to expect a parcel at the coordinates on that slate,” he gestured to the data slate containing his mission briefing as he stood from the chair. “It’ll be there in twelve hours with a transponder set to those frequencies. If they don’t pick it up in thirty hours, it self-destructs—I won’t risk that gear fallin’ into the wrong hands.”
“Understood,” she said, rising from her own chair and nodding.
“It’s gonna be fun workin’ with you, Commander,” Lynch said, offering his hand. “I think we’ll do great things together.”
Before accepting his hand, McKnight had to ask the most obvious question of all, “What’s your aim in all this, Lynch? Why are you so interested in fighting the Imperial forces? Wouldn’t a looming insurrection against overwhelming odds—odds like those presented by an invading Imperial armada—be an arms dealer’s wet dream?”
Lynch chuckled heartily, but his eyes never wavered from her own as he coyly asked, “Where’d you get the idea I was an arms dealer?” That prompted her to cock an eyebrow incredulously as he continued, “We all take steps in life’s dance that we wish we didn’t have to, McKnight. But sometimes—and more often than we’d like—that’s all we can do. Everybody’s gotta keep their feet from the fire until the chance comes to take a step or two in the direction we actually wanna go. And when that moment comes,” he said, his expression turning dark, “we’d best not miss it. This is my moment, McKnight, and if we pull through it with our skins intact I’ll tell you exactly what my aim is.”
“I want more information than that,” she said, giving his hand a meaningful look without accepting it.
“Of course you do,” he said easily. “But you ain’t gettin’ more than you already got ‘til we come back outta there with the package in hand. If what I already offered isn’t enough, don’t come to the rendezvous,” he said, keeping his hand positioned perfectly between them as he waited for her to reciprocate the gesture.
McKnight knew that he was offering more than enough to make the mission worth the MSP’s investment of resources. She actually wished she could contact Admiral Montagne, but if Lynch could break into their ComStat line then she had to assume the Imperials could do likewise.
She grudgingly accepted his hand with her own, “We’ll be in touch.”
“That we will,” he agreed as he released her from his firm grip. “I recommend you take every ship you’ve got—includin’ the Mode if you’ve still got her—to the rendezvous. Once we move, there ain’t no catchin’ up with us. We’ll make our final battle plan once we reach the rendezvous; be ready to contribute at the sit-down with the other commanders. I think they’ll listen to Tim’s protégé if she has somethin’ to say.”
“They know about Captain Middleton?” she asked in surprise.
“Of course they do,” Lynch said as he turned to leave the room, prompting her to open the door via remote the same way she had closed it. Just as Lynch reached the doorway, he said over his shoulder, “And by this time next week, the entire Sector will know about him—and about the damage he did to House Raubach.”
Before she could ask after what he meant by that, Lynch exited into the corridor and the Lancers assigned to escort him back to the shuttle bay took up their positions around him and led him to his craft.
Chapter XXII: A Daring Plan
“Of course we accept this mission,” Lu Bu said eagerly after Captain McKnight had laid out a rough version of the plan. Lu Bu’s team would have the relatively simple, if undeniably dangerous and monumentally important task of i
nfiltrating the so-called Beta Site.
“It’s going to be risky,” Captain McKnight repeated earnestly. “You’ll be accompanied by one of Lynch’s specialists, and after you’ve boarded the hostile freighter you’ll need to remain absolutely invisible for nearly a week.”
“We have some experience with this,” Lu Bu said confidently, knowing it was at least partially true. They had remained hidden aboard the Perilous Halibut for several hours after boarding it in secret, only to foil Commodore Raubach’s plans as soon as the massive bulk freighter had point transferred out of the Cagnzyz System.
To her mind, there was little difference between hiding for several hours or several days. The only issues were of a logistical nature, which she was confident they could overcome.
“I’m not going to lie, Lu,” McKnight said, leaning across the Mode’s cramped cockpit, “this mission is every bit as dangerous as Cagnzyz was.”
“It is also every bit as important,” Lu Bu countered. “We will prepare for the mission…but…”
“But what?” McKnight asked steadily, once again proving to Lu Bu’s satisfaction that she was the right woman for the job of commanding this particular task force.
“Yide will not sacrifice this ship or use it as weapon in fights,” Lu Bu explained, having recently discussed the matter with him. “He will help transport us, but he will only use this ship’s weapons defensively and prefers to use its stealth ability.”
“Is he willing to be part of something like this?” Captain McKnight pressed.
Lu Bu nodded, “We spoke about his role in missions like this one, and he agreed to insertion or extraction duties.”
McKnight exhaled in apparent relief and nodded, “That’s all it looks like we can use him for this time around, anyway. Do you have any questions?”
Lu Bu felt the urge to explain further on the matter of Yide’s reticence to lend his ship’s arsenal to future firefights. “I also have children on this ship,” she said guiltily, “and Dr. Middleton has agreed to live here with us only if—“
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