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By Saturday, March 23, the eight of us were in my office again. Each leader presented a short summary of their distinctive plan as they handed me the documents. Though I need to examine them all in depth and combine them with Epsilon's general strategy, they seemed to account for everything. The proposals ranged in size from four hundred twenty to five hundred seventy-two pages apiece. Tom and I would be busy combining it into one homogenized approach.
"I'll need some time to look these over. In the meantime, I'll buy you all breakfast." I said as I rose to my feet.
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We resumed discussions at thirteen hundred hours on Tuesday, March 26.
"We've analyzed all your proposals. The only modifications are at the very beginning. And, those are only to combine it into a collective strategy. All of you provided very complete, concise, and thoughtful schemes. So, I am returning them approved but within the overall battle plan. Please note the assigned Mission Number on all documents, from now on.
I've programmed all the variations, I could see based on counter-moves the Isesinis might make. However, there aren't a lot of those if the SOCC and Epsilon SF parts of the operations go as planned. An abort will be triggered automatically if that campaign fails or falls short by any substantial amount. We'd go at a later date once we have a way around that. But, as far as I know, the enemy still does not see our covert vessels or understand why we destroy so many of their warships and Bases so readily. So, I am assuming we will not need to invoke the Mission Termination.
Half of Epsilon SF and half of SOCC are employed in the mining operation. Current reports indicate they have nearly completed their task. The other half of Epsilon SF and a Fleet from SOCC are mining the opposing vessels along the corridor we intend to use for entry and withdrawal.
There are only two systems known to the OFSA on a vector somewhat close to Eta Pegasus. They are HR 8799, and Alpha Pegasus referred to as Markab by us. The first is an inhospitable place and the second offers resources we may need. So, we will stage at Markab. Though it brings us closer to our antagonists, it is still about twenty parsecs from Eta Pegasus. That means a week in a vortex if we do that leg at thirty percent. So, we will land there first and then one and a half light-years from our enemy in open space. And, that could be a dicey move. Though it is easy to hide a single craft in the void, it becomes almost impossible when you're trying to conceal around nearly two thousand warships, bases, mobile hospitals, and supply ships - each bigger than a large town. We are projecting a parking lot that is a sphere with a thousand kilometer radius. And, that many exit thresholds create quite an energy reading on any nearby sensors.
But, we have cloaked SOCC squads patrolling the region, and the Suvayeek are meticulously surveilling the site. Right now, that spot is vacant and there are no patrols or deployments within ten light-years except Eta Pegasus.
So, we'll stop at Markab for a full day then move on to our staging point. We'll launch our attack from there, after another day's rest.
At around eleven hundred on April 13, our reserve Epsilon, Spiel, and Polemista force of three hundred eighty-four warships will head out to their assigned positions. They must plan for re-entry to standard space by four hundred hours April 14. At twenty-one hundred hours, twenty-six minutes, on April 13, the main force will launch for Eta at twenty percent. Our assault time is scheduled for precisely six hundred, April 14. At three hundred hours forty-five minutes on April 14, SOCC and Epsilon SF vessels along the corridor will activate all detonators. They must be satisfied they've allowed a few rival ships to send off messages. At five forty-five in the morning, SOCC and Epsilon ships at the target planet will begin detonation of orbiting assets.
When we break into space at six hundred, we need half a Threatre to fan out and circle the globe along its equator and a similar group to travel a polar orbital path. They should be at different altitudes, both much higher than the main body of OFSA vessels - but not in synchronous trajectories. Their job will be to look for surviving Isesinis HQ Stations, Cruisers, Carriers, Observation Platforms, Shipyards and Communication Satellites and destroy them. The remaining part of the main force will take up their positions in stationary paths over their assigned targets. Tier 1-1 Theatre1 will have six Fleets directly above the Capital City. They are to target all large government buildings, Royal Residences, commercial transportation systems, air transport concerns, spaceports, troop bases, military manufacturing and assembly facilities, and known martial formations within ten kilometers of the municipality. All other groups will program their specified targets into their control systems.At six hundred hours fifteen minutes, all of these vessels will begin bombarding their assigned targets. I have estimated it will take half an hour to raze all listed targets not already destroyed in the previous mission. But, the six Fleets over the Capital will cease firing in the inner five-kilometer radius of their objectives and employ dense creeping fire to widen their outer perimeter to fifteen kilometers.
At six hundred hours thirty minutes, General Shellots will begin dispatching his force to the surface. Around a quarter million will land in that wave. That will take thirty-six hours. But, he requires eight hours to get the first hundred thousand troops on the ground. Until then, we will continue firing into the donut created around the Capital's center. I cannot stress how important it is to impress on your tactical and weapons control personnel how essential accuracy is during this phase. We cannot afford a mistake. We do not need our own killed by friendly fire.
Once the General has his first Division on land, I will be making decisions based on his needs. On the ground, he's the boss. Make sure your Corps Commanders know its a joint mission under his direction. Any of your people you place on the planet for support are just that - no matter their rank. Donald Shellots is in charge.
If anything goes wrong and we are forced to withdraw, one Polemista and one Spiel Theatre will come forward in the Corridor and assist our retreat while the rest of their Fleets and the Epsilon reserve guard the corridor.
When the Marines have secured the Capital, a second contingent will join the first over the period of a week as all ground forces expand our circle of influence until we've acquired and pacified the entire continent. Thank goodness all civilization is on just one. I expect those operations to require up to a month.
Marine priorities are the capture of the Emperor and the submission of the planet. They are also attempting the destruction of anything that can be used to reconstitute their Space Military. However, we'd like to leave them with a limited functioning Army, Navy, and Police Force for enforcement reasons. We are not trying to bomb them into the stone ages with this operation - just remove them from interstellar space warfare.
Any questions?" I finish as I scan everyone around the room.
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Lieutenant General Montpelier had dispatched Major General John Corkeran to oversee the first wave of surface landings. They'd pinpointed the government center which had been brutally shelled from orbital platforms. Corkeran arrived in the first wave with his First Division's Alpha Brigade. More than thirty thousand Marines were able to land, acquire their heavy armor and artillery, and establish their Regimental and Battalion Headquarters as Corkeran entrenched the Divisional one. Ten Companies were immediately dispatched to probe the area seeking residual enemy forces. They were to deal with smaller contingents and call for help if needed. General Corkeran's operation became the temporary communications' hub. It reported to Montpelier while initiating and relaying orders to outlying Brigade Commands. By midday, his second Brigade had landed permitting the establishment of a ring of eight Regimental Headquarters that surrounded the central operation.
All the while, dust and smoke wafted over the region carried fro
m the continuous flashes and rhythmic thunderous explosions just outside their perimeter. All of Corkeran's troops wore environmental protective gear to deal with all the pollution. Looking up in any direction, John observed the similarity to being in the calm eye of a powerful storm. Ground level was a wasteland full of craters, pits, rubble, scrap, bodies, and various limbs.
Major General Iflan Idanderfor landed among the first LCs carrying Beta Brigade. He established his HQ alongside Corkeran's. Montpellier went ashore with the first wave of troops from Second Division and grounded his base alongside the other two. But Division Two, Three and General Mashuka's First Division would move to outer boundary positions one hundred and twenty degrees apart and distribute their Brigades amongst the ones already on that border. As Division One held the center and the bombardment was expanded outward, they advanced, swelling their limit to the most distant area previously bombed. By twenty-two hundred hours April 15, 2272, a complete Corp with an additional Division was on the ground and prepared to protect the landing area as another similar-sized assemblage landed over the next week. Meanwhile, the aerial assault ceased on the third day. Marine Companies would call in this type of support if needed as they fan out throughout the continent. By April 17, Lieutenant Generals Montpelier, Yberil, and Mashuka were all ensconced in their Centres with flexible webs of subordinate Command Centers that would follow the action.
This massive Eta Pegasus Marine Central Command with its ten Senior Headquarters and all the HQ Staffs was a sight to behold. But, that's what it takes to control the movement of just over half a million troops and all their supportive hardware.
However, it quickly became apparent the Isesinis civilization reflected the Communist Dictatorships of Earth's twentieth century. As OFSA Marines moved on each military production plant, they'd find sizable bases of Isesinis forces placed nearby as protection. So, it was not uncommon for pitched battles to ensue requiring targeted aerial bombardment or Mobile Fifth RAC Raptor support. And, it was also evident that the enemy wasn't going to submit easily. Constant counter attacks on the Central Command proved that.
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On Thursday, April 18, 2272, Captain Joe Markland, Two Corp's, Second Brigade, Fourth Regiment, Able Company Commander, received orders to secure an aerospace engine factory in Ikuk, a medium-sized city in the Isesinis Northern Province. He sent Platoons One and Two towards an easterly entrance as Four and Five headed to the western one. He led the third platoon himself as they attempted penetration at the front doorway.
The entire manufacturing operation protruded from the sheer granite face of a lofty hill and was shielded by a rocky ledge that jutted over the whole exposed factory roof. Another group of buildings half a mile to its east occupied a similar recess in the solid wall. Its military guard dressed in the customary Isesinis armor led Markland to assume it was an armed garrison.
Captain Markland planned to assault the factory without engaging the barracks. Approaching in silence by stealth would allow them to take the plant without facing the military. And, if the enemy became aware of the action, their troops would need ten minutes to reach the battle site giving Able Company plenty of time to prepare a defense.
But from the moment the three spearheads gained access, he realized he'd dangerously underestimated the situation. The concentrated resistance was conducted by the six-foot-tall armored soldiers, but he couldn't help being amazed at the sight of the swarthy diminutive factory workers scampering to safety. Markland had never seen the Isesinis out of their protective gear. He'd later realize that five hundred enemy troops guarded the establishment from within.
All the action was in corridors leading to the central production area. Close-quarter hand-weapon and physical fighting ensued as Captain Markland observed a large contingent leaving the nearby enemy garrison in answer to a call for help. He ordered his platoons to pull back to rocky outcroppings outside the building - some defending against those coming from within and some facing troops arriving. Meanwhile, he called for help. Fourth Regiment advised they'd directed two Companies to assist, but they were at least an hour away. By that time, Isesinis forces were targeting his five platoons with barrages of mortar and light artillery fire. Arms, legs, heads, dirt, blood, and pieces of flesh rained down as his people were being blown to bits. He called for aerial support and was advised the Carrier FSS Thor was sending down ten fighters that would arrive in ten minutes - a lifetime when you're under withering fire.
"I want A-Platoon to hit those incoming troops with mortar fire. Lay it on, and don't stop until the Raptors get here. You and B-Platoon have to keep up the covering fire. C, D, and E-Platoons return fire on those bastards coming from the factory. We've got enough ammo to sustain a constant stream for an hour. So, we should be okay until our fighters arrive!" Markland yelled into his communicator.
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Das Kil Stip had analyzed the attackers' formations over the past couple of days and realized there was a possible penetration point he could use for a counter attack. Aerial reconnaissance showed a sizeable Central Command and a dozen or so peripheral ones ringing the main one. The weakness was in their spacing. The OFSA had cleared a five-kilometer disc creating a sixteen-kilometer inner front for them to secure. That meant those Brigade Commands were at least a kilometer apart. Even with deployed guards, there were weaknesses a half kilometer from each Headquarters.
When communications crackled to life on April 18, reporting a noteworthy battle developing at Ikuk, he knew his time had arrived. The Marines would be busy supporting that action and all their other movements throughout the regions they'd expanded into. He'd already developed a plan and was just awaiting the right moment. This was it.
He would send two of his three Divisions to penetrate the OFSA boundary a kilometer apart and head for the hub in two columns, while the third held back in reserve. The objective would be to take out the Central Command decapitating the serpent.
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At ten hundred on Saturday, April 20, Corporal Joe Camp was just thinking how lucky he'd been that Diamond Company had drawn picket duty on the outer perimeter of the five-kilometer diameter area now occupied by the Mobile Fifth Marine Army. At six feet two inches tall, with an athletic build, natural good looks, and a handsome face trimmed with a mustache and goatee, he refused to don the environmental safety gear that might hide his face. Joe loved to be "cool" and would take risks to maintain that image.
Diamond Company was part of Second Corps, First Division, Third Brigade's contingent. Corporal Camp was just moving from one guard station to another checking on the soldiers in his squad as he mulled over just how calm things were on the boundary.
"Inky Black!" He called as he approached Private Selemina's position expecting her to return the countersign. He stopped short when it wasn't.
"Inky Black!" There was still no reply.
"This is Camp. I need a squad at position DCS1 - ASAP." He whispered into his internal comm as he crouched low peering toward his soldier's location. He was positive the flash of blue he saw was Isesinis body armor.
What seemed like an hour was only five minutes. Camp was joined by another Corporal and ten Marines. Using only hand signals, he indicated the position, a man was down, and the enemy was on site. Then he signaled they should split into two spearheads making contact ninety degrees from each other. His counterpart agreed and silently ordered his people accordingly. Each NCO took a column.
Camp abruptly raised his closed fist stopping his contingent about ten meters short and signaled the presence of fifty moving Isesinis troops. In the lowest possible tones, he advised the Company Commander of the breach and explained he believed it to be the result of the actions by a sizeable force.
"Red Dog. I repeat. Re
d Dog at DCS1!" The metallic voice would not just be heard by him but every person manning this section of the perimeter.
He signaled his group to turn back. The other Corporal and his men approached their starting point at the same time.
"Let's get to cover." He whispered as his counterpart nodded. All Federation Marines in the area would all be seeking protection after monitoring the call.
Corporal Camp was the last man down the sewer opening and was still sliding its lid in place when all hell broke loose. Raptors were reeking havoc on the formation he'd encountered.
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In his office, Shellots was concerned. The Raptors sent to assist Camp's squad had spotted widespread enemy incursions in that section of the line, from the air. Regular reports were arriving from the five senior Commands on the surface. He sent down orders that Second Corps First Division should handle it until help joined in to fortify the central headquarters. Then, he ordered his reserve Division down to assist those resisting the enemy counterattack. Finally, he asked for continuous Raptor support in that area. When he attempted communications with his ground HQ, only silence was returned.
After a moment of near panic, he called me to ask for continuous live reconnaissance imaging from over the Headquarter's region. It was all still there with no signs of damage or enemy troops when he was finally able to examine the scene. All he could do was wait.
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By seventeen hundred on April 20, two full Divisions were engaged in the operation to repel the intruders. In numbers, it was a pretty even match. Roughly sixty-five thousand troops from each side met each other. But Federation Marines had three distinct advantages. They were supported by light and medium armor, had control of all airspace, and though well protected did not wear the bulky robotic suits that slowed their opponents. And, of course, they knew head-shots didn't work. You needed to target the Isesinis in the center of the chest to actually hit the suit's operator.
Righteous Reign The Series: E-version Boxed Set Edition Page 148
