It was enough. His new bookmaking business surged. People came from across Wen Ho, and even from Dai- pan once that city's population returned from evacuation. Before long the new patrons were bumping elbows with those engaged in more traditional games, and Krauss couldn't help but notice that the new patrons outnumbered the old. He pushed the traditional gamers into an ever-shrinking corner of his hall, until he'd finally come up with the trailer idea. He'd have two halls in one—a traditional gaming hall for the old-timers, and his new current-events betting parlor, which was the source of most of his profits these days.
He checked the latest odds. Five to one that Capellan troops would return within half a year. Twenty to one that they wouldn't return at all. Fifty to one that Legate Juk would stage a military coup. Thirty-five to one that the Triarii commander. Major Anderton, would. Five hundred to one that someone from outside Prefecture X would go into that walled-off area and return to tell the tale. Twenty-five to one that the Republic would rise again from its shrunken borders. A thousand to one that it would do so in the next twelve months.
He'd hired new staff, all off site, a team of number crunchers who could gaze into their terminals and tell him which odds looked like good bets and which he'd be likely to take a bath on. They had saved his life—in general, he had little idea about what was going on outside the doors of his own parlor, and was quite ill equipped to lay accurate odds on the affairs of the surrounding systems. He still didn't understand much about what was going on out there, but his number crunchers did, and that was all that mattered.
The lumpy man was in the hall today, like every day. He'd become the perfect customer—showing up nearly every day, bringing in more and more friends, betting often, losing almost as often. Losing didn't seem to affect the man. He appeared more interested in making interesting bets than in actually winning anything. Krauss had no idea where the man's money came from, and he didn't care as long as it kept flowing into his pockets.
"Five-to-one odds the Cappies will return," the lumpy man was saying. "It's a joke. Is there anyone out there betting they won't return? That shouldn't even be an even-money bet. Should be a hundred to one that they won't come back, not five to one that they will soon. In fact, I think you should be taking action on the date they'll get here. I've already got November fifth circled on my calendar."
Krauss liked the idea. He fired off a quick message to his number crunchers, who got odds back to him within ten minutes. They were true wonders, those boys.
"I can give you forty-five-to-one odds for November fifth," he told the lumpy man.
"Forty-five to one? You've got a deal."
"How much am I putting you down for?"
The lumpy man waved a handful of bills in front of Krauss. "How's a hundred fifty C-bills sound?"
A piercing wail cut through the air. Its pitch rose, then it held a high note and throbbed. Krauss felt the inside of his skull turn to jelly.
Everyone in the hall was still. Most of them were looking up, as if the plaster ceiling of the gaming hall could tell them anything about the noise they had just heard.
The wail fell a little, then returned to its high banshee cry. Krauss lowered his eyes and saw that the lumpy man remained frozen, looking through the air at nothing. His handful of money remained in front of Krauss' face.
"I'll take that bet," Krauss said, snatching the cash. "You lose."
* * *
In truth, Danai had no intention of bothering with Wen Ho or Daipan this time around. She'd seen how willing the defenders had been to give up on them during her first invasion, and she didn't think the situation would be any different even with Triarii assistance.
They'd concentrate on JifangPoCity, so she would focus there as well.
She'd landed northeast of Wen Ho this time. She planned to charge north, skirting Daipan, and move toward the capital. By the time she got there, the defenders should not only know she was coming, but they should realize she was ready to hit much harder this time.
She was pacing herself, staying in the middle of her force with the rest of her command lance. When push came to shove, she'd make sure she was right in front doing the pushing, but for now she needed to direct the action, to set it up so that her eventual participation would be as meaningful as possible.
The reconnaissance company was leading her battalion forward, but they didn't have the primary responsibility for locating the defenders. She had her aero squads with her this time, and she was going to use them.
She was ten kilometers outside of Jifang and closing in at a moderate speed. It wouldn't take them long to reach the outskirts of the city, so she would soon need a detailed description of the defenders' numbers and positions.
At exactly the right moment, her comm came to life. "Sao-shao Liao-Centrella, Sao-shao Liao-Centrella, this is Sao-wei Feng, do you read, over?"
Danai rolled her eyes. Donny Feng talked like a character in a military holovid, the formality of his words balanced somewhat by the enthusiasm of his delivery. He was like a boy playing soldier with the absolute best toys in the universe.
"I read you, Feng. What've you got?"
Feng's voice sounded disappointed when he replied— he was always much happier when people played along with him and echoed his tone.
"The enemy appears to have you on their sensors and are mobilizing in response. Repeat, the enemy appears . . ."
"I got it the first time," Danai interrupted. "Who's mobilizing where?"
"Sensors show a smaller force, mostly artillery, smaller vehicles and battle armor units remaining downtown while the larger units have moved east. Repeat, larger units have moved east."
"How many larger units you got?"
"We read six companies of 'Mechs and fourteen of armored vehicles, along with nearly a battalion of infantry. Sensors cannot detect all units within the city, but we estimate another battalion of infantry and several artillery units to be ensconced therein. Over."
"Okay. Go after the ones heading east. Wait until they're clear of the city, then sweep by on a few runs until we get there. Keep them occupied, but don't get yourself into any trouble. Break off before things get too heavy."
"Roger, confirm that aero units are to engage defenders moving in easterly direction away from JifangPoCity. Will make first run in approximately seven minutes. Over."
Danai decided it wouldn't hurt her to humor Feng a little bit.
"Confirmation received," she said. "Proposed timeframe is acceptable. Execute plan and report. Over and out."
"Roger and out," Feng said with abundant joy.
Danai didn't want anything to do with the units downtown. First of all, the big fish, most likely including Anderton, were in the group heading east. Second of all, the defenders had had almost a year to devise defenses around town, traps that would make the building they'd blown up in Daipan seem like child's play. It was time for some nice, open-field slugging.
She shifted her units so they were moving almost due east, roughly parallel to the city's northern boundary. She hoped it looked like she was trying to get around the defenders' flanks, but it didn't matter if her maneuver fooled the defenders of Aldebaran. In the end, she'd charge them straight on to see if they could take it.
Exactly seven minutes later Feng's voice came over her comm again. "Sao-shao Liao-Centrella, this is Sao- wei Feng reporting. We are commencing our first strafing run on the enemy battalions. Repeat, strafing to begin immediately."
"Roger, report received and noted. Proceed, over and out."
Talking like that could be habit-forming, she thought.
She counted to fifteen in her head, then decided the combined Triarii-Aldebaran forces outside the city might now be a little distracted by Feng's two squads roaring overhead. She had most of her battalion turn again, heading north, running hard, charging toward the enemy lines. She had Bell lead one company of 'Mechs that continued east, hopefully far enough to get out of sensor range. Then it would be up to him to find a goo
d way to come back in.
She started running forward, eager to move faster as she saw smoke rising in the distance, but Yen-lo-wang wasn't yet warm enough to move at its top speed, and she shouldn't break a hundred kilometers per hour yet even if she could. Outnumbered on open land, it wouldn't be wise to separate from her battalion. Yet.
The smoke rose higher, blending into the autumn gray above. There wasn't enough of it. For all Danai knew, the planes had just set some grass or some old barns on fire. It wouldn't be difficult—apparently the area hadn't had much rain since they left, and the grasslands were a tinderbox. There wasn't enough to indicate that the enemies ahead had been badly damaged. The first aero run had likely been little more than a brief distraction.
The enemy was now close enough to start showing up on her sensors. Typical of the Triarii. their march out of the city had been tight and orderly. They appeared to be divided into five groups, each with a mix of 'Mechs, infantry and vehicles. None of the groups were sitting still, waiting for Danai to hit them. They were fanning out, making an inverted vee whose point was charging toward the Capelians—though they didn't appear anxious to engage Danai's battalion. Their advance was about the slowest forward motion she had ever seen. She would make up for it with speed of her own.
"Artillery, set up," she ordered. "Get ready for a long afternoon—I think they're going to keep us at arm's length as long as they can."
Right after she gave the order, the first artillery shots soared into the air. but from the wrong direction. The Triarii artillery was firing.
The shots were poorly aimed, landing short of Danai's forward units. Still, since these units were the lightly armored reconnaissance vehicles, it would be best to get them moving before the defenders' spotting improved. She ordered them off to the flanks so they could keep an eye on any surprises Anderton might want to bring up.
The next minute was a good one. The artillery behind her fired into enemy lines, while Feng led his units on another run. Danai, watching her sensors, was impressed that, except for minor evasive maneuvers, the Triarii maintained their formation. She was certain some of the units ahead must be part of the militia, but in the past ten months Anderton had apparently instilled some discipline in them, so much so that they were all now essentially Triarii. Whether he'd managed to give them some fighting skill along with the parade discipline remained to be seen.
She was now close enough to see flames at the base of a couple of smoke columns. Sure enough, it looked like the landscape was burning instead of the Triarii. -Hopefully the second aero run had done more actual damage.
Her fingers danced over her control sticks, waiting for the chance to fire at something. The anticipation had her heart racing, and she almost felt happy.
Then, in an instant, the confrontation went from minor artillery skirmish to full-fledged battle. As if on some unspoken signal, PPCs, gauss rifles and autocan- nons on each side opened fire. The air sang with speeding rounds, but most of them hit dirt. The shots were more for intimidation than for damage.
Danai still hadn't fired. She had a whole line of Capellan 'Mechs and vehicles in front of her and no clear view of the enemy. She checked her sensors and gave obvious orders to keep herself occupied.
"All companies press forward but keep your heads up. Don't let them concentrate fire in any one place. Keep them moving back so they don't get their feet under them."
"Two plus two is four," Bell said.
"What?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were saying things we had learned in the first year of school."
"Very funny," Danai said. "Where in the hell are you?"
"Making my way, making my way. I'll be there—when you need me most. When the situation is direst, when you call for help but no help seems available, then will I sweep forward and wipe the field clean of offending elements . . ."
"Yes, right, fine, shut up. Don't wait for the damn last moment. Get in here."
"Of course, Sao-shao."
She looked ahead. The fire was getting heavier, both sides shooting lasers through the smoke as well as shells and slugs and cannon rounds. Danai caught one gleam of golden fire erupting in the enemy lines, a fusion engine breached by a lucky shot. She took it as a good sign.
The smaller Republican 'Mechs, Locusts and Spiders, were darting back and forth on the front lines along with armored vehicles, hitting larger targets with quick shots and then scooting away. In front of Danai, Rang Yu Company scattered a little to avoid enemy fire and get off shots of their own. Their movement opened up a hole in front of Danai. She quickly got an Artemis lock on a Kelswa tank and fired her LRMs, twenty parallel sets of contrails marking the path to their target. She followed up with a laser shot at a retreating Locust, searing its back just as the LRMs made contact with the Kelswa in a rapid series of explosions. The tank skidded to a stop, where other elements of Danai's battalion hammered it into oblivion.
It was a nice takeout, but the enemy fire was getting heavier as the legs of the enemy's vee spread and more units drew into firing range. Danai couldn't afford to get into an open-field slugging match with the Republican forces—they could bring their superior numbers to bear, and the Capellans, superior warriors or not, wouldn't be able to withstand that barrage.
She knew what she needed to do. It would work if Bell was fast enough.
"Bell! I'm getting impatient!"
"You and me both," he replied. "I didn't get into this thing just to jog around all day. But we're coming. I'm going to guess you want me on the east leg of their formation?"
"Wow—you really did read a book on tactics once, didn't you? Yes, that's where I'd like you. That's where I'd like you now."
"Be there before you know it."
That was that. The next thing she needed to do was hold her lines under the increasingly heavy fire while keeping the Republican troops occupied.
"Clara, Sandra, I'm moving up. I'll be doing a lot of back-and-forth. Cover me."
"Yes, Sao-shao."
"You got it, Danai."
She dashed forward for five steps, then veered to her right—in the nick of time, it turned out, as a volley of metal and energy flew into the spot she'd just left. She loved her ax and shield, but she also knew they made her a visible and obvious target.
Let them come, she thought.
There was a cluster of 'Mechs and vehicles a good half kilometer in front of her, bunched too tightly in a formation more suited to parades than combat. She blasted both her long-range weapons at them, then turned left as their return fire darted toward her. A gauss slug slipped over her shield and caught her shoulder, not quite penetrating to the joint's actuator but getting deeper into Yen-lo-wang's body than she liked.
Then fire came from her left, and things suddenly got too hot to handle. At least a half-dozen weapons had her in their sights. She tried to plant her left foot and push off to the right, but it was difficult to make fifty tons of metal stop on a dime. She slowed up enough that most of the latest volley of fire missed her, but a few autocannon rounds peppered her shield. She tried to get into a run to her right, moving back a little, but the group that had made such an inviting target earlier was now a considerable threat, moving forward, squaring up for their shots. Their next volley would be a doozy.
But it didn't come. 'Mechs, vehicles and infantry troopers alike turned around instead of firing, wheeling to meet the company of 'Mechs closing in from the northeast. Bell's Yu Huang anchored the attack, fists and chest guns blazing with fire as he slugged away with his full complement of weapons. He laid down enough fire for three 'Mechs as he advanced, which just made the blasts from his supporting troops more devastating.
"All units hit the right nowV Danai called, then led the charge forward.
The right side of the Republican lines, which had been advancing with steady confidence, wavered. The fire hitting them from both sides ripped vehicles in two, splintered entire infantry platoons with single blows and sent their 'Mechs reeling int
o the dry grass of the battlefield. Dust rose each time one of the big machines thumped to the ground, while shells cut the air over the fallen behemoths. At some points enough fire poured into one spot that the air itself seemed to catch fire, igniting and then imploding around the poor victim caught in the middle.
Danai sped ahead, the hard earth letting her move at top speed. Her laser cut a path in front of her, while selected volleys with her missiles picked off anyone who threatened to get in her way.
Then she was at the enemy lines, ax swinging, catching a tank as it hurried into retreat, the force of the blow sending it tumbling into a cluster of infantry. Lasers flashed in front as well as behind her, and cannon slugs buried themselves in her exterior. So far her armor was doing its job, though some of the close-range shells were coming perilously near vital spots.
Just as quickly as she hit the lines, she was through. She could see the horned helmetlike top of Bell's Yu Huang less than two hundred meters away, smoke trails drifting out of the pyramid-shaped missile launchers hunched on his shoulders.
"Everyone keep moving northeast. Bell, that includes you and your company. Let's see what kind of damage we just did."
Danai stayed near the Republican lines, sweeping her ax down near her feet to crush scurrying infantry and battle-armor troopers, long enough to make sure her entire battalion came through. Sandra, naturally, came with the last of the stragglers, but she laid down a ferocious volley of gauss and PPC fire to dissuade the Republicans from attempting to close on the Capellan rear. Then, mainly for effect, she fired her jump jets, and both sides were treated to the sight of the bulky Marauder II, with its heavy arms and squat, headless torso, rising into the air. Danai was surprised that the force required to lift the behemoth off the ground didn't knock the entire planet off its normal orbit.
She ran forward as Sandra approached the ground, monitoring her sensors to see what they had accomplished.
Principles of Desolation Page 25
