Initiation to War

by Robert N. Charrette

  Sam wiped away her tears and shot Kelly a bemused look. "Hear that? Since when does the high and mighty Lady Shu worry about MechWarriors?"

  JJ got a suddenly dry-mouthed Kelly off the hook. "A lot of things have changed around here. Didn't you hear that she negotiated your release? Won't do her public image any good to have you drop down sick as soon as you get back. From here on in the bosses can't claim what happens to you is the Doofvics fault."

  "That I'll believe," Sam said, letting the physician lead her away.

  * * *

  With Sam back to safety, Kelly had to return to business.

  Having been promoted, he was now a lance leader, replacing Veck as commander of Second Lance. In his office—his office, a concept that was more than a bit strange—he looked over paperwork and learned just how much crap Veck had been dealing with. There were little things and not so little things, as well as some things that he truly didn't think were the business of a MechWarrior. Consumption rates for lavatory supplies? He dealt with the petty things as fast as he could, but he didn't get through them that night.

  By the next morning, they had multiplied. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that he could turn his attention to what he considered the lance's most pressing issue of the moment.

  Second Lance was supposedly being brought up to full strength, but the paperwork covering transfers to the unit only listed two pilots. With Veck moved up, the Vigilantes were three 'Jocks down. So was he getting another assignee later, or was he being shorted? Or had the Phantom Major suddenly decided to revert to traditional lance strengths and hadn't bothered to inform a lowly lance commander? Or was it just a typical bureaucratic snafu?

  While he was trying to figure out who he needed to see to get the information he needed, Sam and JJ walked into the office. They didn't knock.

  Sam was back in uniform.

  He frowned. "I thought you were still on convalescence."

  "Light duty."

  He pointedly looked at the cane on which she leaned. "The medics approve that status change?"

  "That's what the computers say."

  Kelly frowned at her. She looked away and whistled. He turned to JJ, who shrugged.

  "A pulled string here and there," JJ finally admitted. "Maybe a twisted arm, but I assure you, Commander, no fundamental truths were harmed in the manipulation of the data. Subcommander Liu is truly the best qualified pilot on CSVB rolls to take a slot in First Company, Second Lance, Vanguard. She is a rated Commando pilot, and there is an empty Commando on our rolls."

  Kelly was pleased at the spirit and initiative they had shown, but—"As commander of this lance, I can't approve of this."

  "No need to, sir. You already have."

  "JJ."

  JJ looked offended. "I didn't do anything, sir. I'm a snooper, not a fixer. Takes a computer wiz to do any serious jiggering of the sort you seem to be implying has been done, and that's not me."

  But someone else in the battalion was a computer wiz. "LaJoy-Bua."

  "Now, sir, how could you think that a tech, even a senior tech, would have an interest in doctoring unit personnel records? Why I am certain if LJ-B were asked to do such a thing that she would refuse outright."

  "But a pulled string or a twisted arm might achieve compliance?"

  It was JJ's turn to look away and whistle.

  A MechWarrior, even an implacable one from the great Warrior Houses, knew there were times when a battle could not be won.

  "Light duty then."

  "Yes, sir!" Sam beamed.

  The three of them went to view the arrival of the newest soldiers of the CSVB. As they walked toward the orientation hut, JJ pointed out two unfamiliar machines near the maintenance hangars.

  "The Linebacker's my new machine," Kelly said, declining to add that it was Franny Lazlo's 'Mech refurbished. "Veck wouldn't give up his Vindicator. And because the Powers That Be demand that the leader of Second Lance have a medium 'Mech, they dug one up somewhere. The Raven could be ours, too. I don't know for sure, but I think we might be about to find out."

  Meryl LaJoy-Bua was leading a woman in CSVB coveralls toward them. The stranger had a cooling vest slung over her shoulder. Offering a careless salute, the tech made introductions.

  "This here is Sally Trahn, latest in a long line of family Trahn MechWarriors. Harry was her cousin. Sally—excuse me, I ought to show some respect—Subcommander Trahn, this is the old man. The guy's JJ Jurewicz, Javelin. And the gal's the prodigally famous captured MechWarrior Samantha Liu."

  Trahn started a bow, aborted it, and made a sloppy salute. "I am honored to meet you, Commander, and to be a part of First Company. I will do my best to live up to the reputation of Veck's Vigilantes."

  "Kelly's Vigilantes," said Sam.

  Trahn looked confused.

  "The official nickname of this lance is Kelly's Vigilantes," JJ said, exchanging a wink with Sam.

  "The Vigilantes," Kelly said, deliberately omitting any possessive, "are pleased to have you. I am sure you'll do your family honor."

  "I just hope I survive," Sally Trahn said candidly.

  32

  Port Tsing

  County Shu, Epsilon Eridani

  Chaos March

  5 April 3062

  Gabriel Shu stared at the display screen, letting the silence drag out. Some of his hesitation to speak was petty. Hadn't his counselors dismayed and distressed him with their reports and presentations? Didn't they deserve a bit of discomfort as well, waiting in suspense while their lord and master considered the reports and proposals? Yet more than such petty considerations tied his tongue. In truth, he felt more than a little lost among all he was hearing, overwhelmed by the reality of County Shu at war.

  Another three weeks had passed since the return of prisoner of war Liu, and still the battle dragged on with no appreciable change. County Shu had been primarily on the defense. The Duvics continued their running game, tying up Shu forces in a never-ending round of cat and mouse.

  Major Essie Ling-Marabie cleared her throat, a not very subtle demand for a response to her presentation.

  The major had grown self-important and somewhat pompous since the beginning of the hostilities, though her performance didn't exactly justify such attitudes. Still, her forces had stalled the Duvic attacks, even though they had failed to recover much of the county's real estate. Certain voices whispered that she should be replaced, but those same voices suggested no one better qualified to lead the county's military forces. At least no one Gabriel could appoint and still satisfy political considerations.

  The major again cleared her throat, a bit louder this time. It was a justified call back to the realities of the council meeting.

  "So," he began. "This Operation Bagration is your great plan to end our travails, is it? A broad-front assault on the Duvic capital?"

  "A decisive offensive," Ling-Marabie responded enthusiastically. "With the Duvic BattleMech forces drawn to our diversionary attack against Lushon and the demonstration at Severagol, we can easily slash our way through their lines, smash our way to the capital, and bring them to their knees. We can force them to call off their war."

  Gabriel was all for an end to the war, but this method didn't seem right to him. "The attack on Lushon bothers me. They have no military presence there. Is that not correct, Colonel Bua?"

  The stone-faced colonel replied, "Nothing significant. A small militia garrison. No more than a company of infantry and a battery of anti-armor support. Nothing that would pose a threat to a BattleMech assault. Their defense plan seems to rely on reaction forces."

  Gabriel considered that. "So, our BattleMechs make themselves a threat by destroying the mining facilities and transport net, sowing devastation, and causing maximum confusion. The Duvics react to the threat and we force them off balance. Is that correct, Major Ling-Marabie?"

  "Correct. We capture the enemy's attention and deprive him of strategic resources at the same time. Once the enemy commits to counter our thrust, our
follow-up force advances on a different axis of attack, moving on the capital. Their field force is effectively neutralized as they will be unable to turn their backs on our forces at Lushon and Severagol. Once we reach their capital, the Duvics will capitulate."

  Duvic capitulation sounded good, but . . . "It seems to me that this plan would entail significant civilian casualties and rather extensive collateral damage."

  "Fortunes of war," Ling-Marabie shrugged. "They started it."

  The major's callous remark angered Gabriel. "The people of the Duvic Palatine did not start this nightmare farce. They should not have to pay for it."

  Ling-Marabie sat back, eyes narrowed. "Unless you expand the list of military targets, this war cannot be concluded."

  Raising his hand to still the expected objections to and support for the major's position, Gabriel said, "Saving their lamentable attack on Severagol, Duvic seems to be willing to confine the fighting to military objectives. I would like to believe that Palatine Price has realized that our states have been manipulated into this war."

  Gabriel ignored the suppressed groan from Justin Whitehorse. The old man had little faith in the outside agitator theory that Gabriel espoused. Truth to tell, Gabriel was losing faith in the theory himself, but this was not the moment to make public such doubts.

  "We may be at war," he continued, "but we are at war on Epsilon Eridani. This is our home planet. What is destroyed hurts all of us. As count, I am the caretaker of my land and, to a lesser degree, the other lands of this planet. It is an ancient and venerated trust. We will not callously widen the circle of destruction while I am in charge. We will honor the bounds of war as long as the Duvic Palatine does the same."

  "Restricting the war is a ploy on their part," complained Ling-Marabie. "They know their facilities are more vulnerable than ours. They are afraid of how much damage we can do to them, so they hide behind the conventions of war. They have a chance as long as they don't take on our 'Mechs in a stand-up fight."

  "What sort of chance?" Ismael Shu-Larabie wanted to know.

  "Small, but not negligible. Our 'Mech force has a higher average tonnage and greater numbers, but they have the heaviest machines. Their strategy seems to rely on promoting individual encounters where they can apply a local superiority in tonnage."

  "And you let them get away with it," Justin Whitehorse accused.

  "It is not my choice," Ling-Marabie snapped. "They have veteran pilots who are running rings around the incompetents and under-trained novices with whom I am saddled."

  "Are you sure it's not the MechWarriors who are saddled, Major?" Romano smiled sweetly as she fired her dart at Ling-Marabie.

  "Enough," Gabriel ordered, shutting off the major's indignant reply. "We have ample problems without turning on ourselves. Colonel Bua, do you observe this sniping strategy?"

  "Regarding the commitment of BattleMech forces? Yes."

  "But you see another strategy in play using conventional forces."

  "Of course there's another strategy for conventional forces," Ling-Marabie answered for the intelligence officer. "There's always another strategy for them. Doesn't really matter though, does it? BattleMechs are the decisive factor. It is what happens in the 'Mech conflict that will decide this war."

  "Do you agree, Colonel Bua?" Governor Hall asked.

  "In part," Bua said, leaning in to the conference table. "BattleMechs can be decisive. Whether they will be in this conflict remains to be seen. We cannot ignore conventional forces when they comprise the great bulk of the armies involved. However, as I recall, the count asked for my opinion on the BattleMech strategy in use by our enemy, and there, I believe, Major Ling-Marabie has spoken truly. The Duvic BattleMechs are rarely seen operating in support of their conventional forces. They make attacks on our unsupported forces and evade our BattleMech concentrations. They do seem to be making a practice of ambushing lone or paired machines and luring away portions of a unit and counter-attacking with local superior force."

  "We cannot allow this," Gabriel said.

  "How can we stop it?" asked Whitehorse.

  "We bring them to battle," asserted Ling-Marabie.

  "They don't seem to be accepting your invitation, Major," Romano said. "Perhaps it wasn't properly engraved."

  "Operation Bagration—"

  "That operation is not one we will be undertaking at this time," Gabriel declared. "We will find other options. We will not allow the Duvic BattleMechs to continue mauling our conventional forces. We will not allow them to continue whittling down our BattleMech forces. And since we are fighting this war, we will start winning it."

  The major huffed angrily. "Starting where exactly?"

  "Their BattleMechs," Gabriel snapped back, angry himself. "You said they would be decisive. Deal with them!"

  "Would the count care to share his wisdom and explain how?"

  Gabriel sputtered, at a loss for words. Colonel Bua stepped in, his composure a shield behind which Gabriel could suppress his anger and begin to think again.

  "Perhaps we might employ combat patrols," the colonel suggested calmly. "Since the Duvic MechWarriors are using tactics similar to those employed by the raiders, we might profitably deal with them as we were planning to deal with the raiders."

  Ling-Marabie grumbled. "So it is still a game of hide-and-seek."

  "Make it seek-and-find," Gabriel ordered. "And remember that it is no game, Major."

  "War is my business, Count Shu. I do not need to be told to take it seriously."

  The major clearly intended to say more, but Romano didn't give her a chance. "Serious business indeed, Major. Best you be about it, yes? I would wager that we all have business we ought to be about." She beamed at them all. "And since there seems little more will be accomplished here this morning. I would venture to say this session is over. Gabriel?"

  Grateful for her cue, he confirmed, "It is closed."

  His formal pronouncement left his counselors no choice but to fold their arguments away for another day. Their leaving seemed to freshen the air in the conference room. Romano, being family, wasn't required to leave. She didn't, and he was glad of that.

  "Thank you for shutting Ling-Marabie down," he said.

  "Not necessary. She's become such a pill. Every day I grow ever more weary of listening to her voice.

  "What a flock!" she exclaimed. "But I suppose one doesn't get to choose one's political family in an autocracy. Counselors! Was there ever one born who did not grow up to be a moaning warbler, a dither chicken, or a storm crow?"

  "They do seem to bring nothing but bad news," he said.

  "Not all bad."

  "You're right," he admitted. "All is not darkness among the reports. I see that your Commander Kelly seems to be settling in well. I gather he is not one of Ling-Marabie's incompetents or under-trained novices."

  Romano's reply was a curt, "He's not mine."

  "Is that a hint of pique I detect?"

  "Is that a nose I see where it doesn't belong?"

  "I am a concerned brother."

  "And I am a concerned sister. I'm concerned that you are wasting your concern on unimportant matters. Don't you know there's a war on?"

  He did know, all too well.

  Just as she knew all too well how to shut him up. She left him then, and the weight of the count's burden settled again on his back.

  33

  Mirandagol District

  County Shu, Epsilon Eridani

  Chaos March

  19 April 3062

  The refurbished Vigilante 'Mechs, which was to say all of them, had no small amount of teething problems. Even Sally Trahn's "new" Raven was cobbled together from various chassis in the family's boneyard and included parts from Harry's ill-fated machine. Considering that replacement parts for just about everything that wasn't standard to a Lineholder was rarer than Steiner-Davion sympathizers at the Capellan court, the techs had done a pretty good job. Even Lineholder parts, though produced on Epsilon E, were in s
hort supply. President Benton's Isolation Edict had seen to that. The edict laid heavy fines on any suppliers encouraging the internecine strife between County Shu and the Duvic Palatine by selling ammunition and any other goods or services rated as "military." It all meant that rebuilds and jury-rigs had been the order of the past month of refurbishing. As a result, not a one of their 'Mechs operated smoothly or without problems.

  The good news was that each day they got better, because each night, LaJoy-Bua's team found and squashed some software bug, or integrated a hybrid subsystem more fully, or remachined some part to yield a smoother interface with its foreign mate.

  The bad news was that with the fine details of their mounts changing underneath them daily, the new lance members were having trouble bringing up their skills. At least, Kelly hoped that was the problem.

  Sally Trahn didn't seem to have her cousin's aptitude for 'Mech piloting. In fact, she seemed as klutzy in her Raven as she was out of it. The Raven did have a tendency toward slow response in its left leg actuators but that was an excuse, not a reason. A good MechWarrior could and would compensate for the lag.

  Aldo Snell had inherited Kelly's Commando. Snell had been a groundpounder before becoming a "special manual" man. His record among the gropos had been admirable, and he brought the same dedication and earnestness to his new assignment. Unfortunately, like his fellow special manual men, he hadn't had a chance to hone any real BattleMech skills. With time, that would change. But no one knew how much time they had, and with JJ reporting rumors of stepped up Duvic activities, Kelly was sure that the Vigilantes, with five functional BattleMechs, wouldn't be sidelined for long.

  The new additions had to be ready for combat, and ready soon. It was Kelly's responsibility to see that they were. It was a responsibility that, even with JJ and Sam buddying up to mentor the newcomers, he despaired of discharging well.