B19

The Council Chamber was stuffed full of people, not only my Baronial Council but also two observers and liaisons between the Council and Baroness El-Fadil of Lackhove and Baroness Konstantinos of Koskenkorva. Anastasia Siopis was the current proxy for Baroness Konstantinos of Koskenkorva and niece of the Baronet of Neo-Ithaka. Meanwhile, Baroness El-Fadil had sent her brother, the former overall commander of the Lackhove Auxialary Battalions and currently, the Colonel of the Sixth Baronial Guards Regiment, Colonel Mahmoud El-Fadil. Owing to the needs of their fiefs and the distances involved, obviously neither Baroness El-Fadil of Lackhove nor Baroness Konstantinos of Koskenkorva could be present personally for the strategy meeting. As it stood, however, they would be informed and consulted via their proxies and the use of a K-Class Transmitter, just as soon as the meeting was over. Once everyone had arrived, the meeting began.

"Let's start with the obvious. Redjack Ryan has essentially declared war on us. What is the current state of our forces and how can we best utilize them?" I questioned.

"Well, the First through Third Baronial Guards Regiments have finished replacing and replenishing lost men and materiel from Morgraine's War, while the exercises you've had the Fourth and Fifth Regiments running have given them substantially more practice, even if they haven't actively seen combat recently. The Fourth has actually gotten up to elite status, while the Fifth has gotten to veteran status. The issue is that while we were able to fold the remaining Lackhove Auxiliaries into the Sixth Baronial Guards Regiment for a regular unit at full strength, we've had to outfit them more sparingly with Rim Worlds Republic Equipment. The Seventh meanwhile is still recruiting and kitting out on Gotterdamerung and Koskenkorva and it'll be a while before we can turn those green recruits and former militia into something we can actually expect to fight well." Informed General Jorgensen.

"I see. Colonel El-Fadil, how fares the Sixth?" I pressed.

"The equipment you've sent us generally outclasses the equipment that we've had access to as the Lackhove Auxiliary. Even the non-cached equipment is better than what we've had. Those Riflemen Variants that you have been producing are quite something, even if they are not the equal of the Gauss Rifle-armed Rampage designs. Ultra-autocannons, Ferro-Fibrous Armor, more sophisticated Tracking and Targeting systems, and specialized ammunition will go a long way on the battlefield. The home-grown combat vehicles you have provided are also in many cases better than the ones we had, thanks to the Ferro-Fibrous Armor and Upgraded Engines. Especially, we've found the Galleon Variant and Harasser Variant to be a potent pairing." Nodded Colonel El-Fadil.

I'd hoped they would be. In the past six months, we've managed to get production of variants of the Galleon Light Tank and Harasser Missile Platform into service. Both feature upgraded fusion engines, targeting and tracking systems, and ferro-fibrous armor. Unfortunately, we were still working on getting working Extended-Range Laser and Pulse Laser prototypes into production outside of the limited production capabilities of the Iron Land Cache's facilities, so we made do by adding a pair of Rocket Launcher Tens to the Galleon, which was a low-tech solution, but better than nothing. Meanwhile, we've added Artemis-Four Fire Control Capability to the Harraser's Missile Armament. They've tested well in war games, but I was sensing that Colonel El-Fadil had reservations.

"I'm guessing that there is a but coming, Colonel." I prodded.

"It is simply that while they are better than some of the equipment we had previously, they are untested in real combat as of yet. As with all new technologies, I am loath to risk them in a war where our opponent may yet nuke a city to deny it to our forces." Sighed Major El-Fadil.

"And that's the crux of the matter, isn't it? If Redjack Ryan is willing to use Nuclear Attacks, as we've seen he's capable of already, what do we do then? Koskenkorva has suffered enough already, we don't want to have to send troops into an area that might get nuked by a sore loser." Opined Anastasia Siopis.

"I'm not throwing the Seventh at Redjack Ryan unless I absolutely have to. They haven't even been fully stood up and kitted out yet. Nor am I asking your Baroness to commit her personal battalion to the fight." I insisted.

"She has a point, My Lord." Shrugged General Jorgensen.

"True, however, perhaps Minister Simowitz can shed some light on that? What did Captain Upsalom say during interrogation?" I queried.

"Almost nothing. Minister Jonsson's police interrogators couldn't get anything out of her. Fortunately, the Ministry of the Interior has ways beyond the Police's Psychological Warfare to get someone to crack." Offered Minister Simowitz.

"My men are used to interrogating criminals, not prisoners of war. Criminals will turn on each other if you offer them a shot at a better deal. Mechwarriors are made of sterner stuff." Shrugged Minister Jonsson.

"So you used chemical interrogation, I take it?" I sighed. I didn't like relying on that sort of thing too often as it could cause mental impairment in a high enough dosage. Fortunately, Minister Simowitz's agents knew how to administer drugs carefully, but there was always a risk of accidents. One slip-up and any information we'd extract is likely to be as unreliable as information extracted via torture, if not for the same reasons.

"I assure you, my interrogators are highly trained. I understand your scruples with the use of the various truth serums we have access to, but you should have more faith in my agents. As it is, we have an inventory of forces under Redjack Ryan's command, their dispositions, notable commanders, the works. Plus, Captain Upsalom is currently hooked up with enough detox medicine that she'll likely be more healthy coming out of interrogation than she was going in." Shrugged Minister Simowitz.

"It's true, some of the Ministry of Health and Education's Doctors are looking her over. If anything, this stint as a prisoner of war is likely to help her kick what I've been assured was a nasty Brace habit just from the detox we have her on." Added Minister O'Neill.

"All right, so how many nuclear devices does Redjack Ryan have?" I asked.

"According to Captain Upsalom, he'd only managed to buy two, the one we disarmed and one that's being converted into a bomb-pumped laser for his flagship, the Summoner's Gale. I think he was expecting to have to face us at some point and was hoping to take out the flagship of whichever flotilla we sent at him with a surprise decapitation strike via a bomb-pumped laser." Informed Minister Simowitz.

"With his technicians? It'd be jury-rigged, but it is theoretically feasible. Your father did invest in Butte Hold pretty heavily, and that includes technical capability. At least some of the better technicians stayed rather than move here." Offered Minister Macszek.

"What about his forces?" I questioned.

"Currently, Ryan's Rebels has five regiments on Butte Hold, though, of those, only three are considered reliable, at least according to Captain Upsalom. The First Regiment is stationed in barracks near Butte City in a fortified base with its own Spaceport that the locals call Raider's Roost. The Second is stationed near Singlestown and the Third is stationed near Grenid. The Fourth is stationed near Urt and the Fifth is stationed near Mater. Meanwhile, there are two groups of Aerospace Fighters at bases at Thieves' Harbor and the Yonker Oasis. The First through Third are entirely made up of Pirates, Bandits, and Former Mercenaries that flocked to Redjack Ryan's banner, but the Fourth and Fifth are comprised entirely of locals. There's a good chance that we may be able to flip the Fourth and Fifth to our side by winning against the Third at Grenid." Informed Minister Simowitz.

"I see. What's the composition of forces we're talking about? And what about flipping Aerospace Groups?" I pressed.

"The Aerospace Forces are all loyal to Redjack Ryan. Flipping them isn't in the cards. As to the composition of forces? In theory, they're similar to our own. Combined Arms Regiments with a mix of Battlemechs, Combat Vehicles, Infantry, and Artillery. In Practice? They're not our equal in experience, discipline, or equipment. The First Regiment are elites, but the Second is only at Veteran status, while the Third and Fourth are Regulars and the Fifth is Green, barely more than a glorified militia. As to equipment? A lot of his Battlemechs are Clints, with a scattering of Quickdraws, Warhammers, and Thunderbolts as heavy elements. Only the First Regiment's Command Lance has any Assault Mechs, and those consist of one Stalker, one Banshee, and one Awesome. Meanwhile, most of the combat vehicles are things your father produced under license, like the Scorpions, Manticores, and Bulldogs he got the license to build from Quikscell. Granted your father always had much higher manufacturing standards than Quikscell did." Reported Minister Simowitz.

"And the Aerospace Fighters?" I queried.

"The same ones we had plants for on Butte Hold. Sabres, Corsairs, and Stukas." Answered Minister Simowitz.

"Right, so just how accurate is this intelligence? How long ago did Captain Upsalom leave Butte Hold anyway?" Asked Minister Huber, speaking up.

"It should only be around twenty-ish days old. Not enough time to meaningfully stand up another regiment. Not unless he had access to a large pool of trained reserves like the Lackhove Auxiliary gave us." Responded Minister Simowitz.

"So, the question then becomes can we take the fight to Redjack Ryan and reclaim Butte Hold on our own?" I queried.

"Don't forget our other commitments. We have the situation on Sigurd to deal with at the same time, and the Belter Pirates of Star's end need to be taken care of not too long afterward." Reminded Minister Kowalski.

"I'm hoping we can avoid getting too badly mauled here. The treasury is fit to burst for the first time in ages and I'd rather we spent it on further growth, rather than having to repair and recruit to fill out mauled regiments." Opined Minister Kokkonen.

"At the same time, Butte Hold's Factories should be taken as intact as possible. They'll be able to increase our industrial output by half again as much as we can currently produce. Plus with Sigurd's mines, we should be more than able to build up our holdings exponentially once we've managed to finish up both operations." Chimed in Minister Kovar.

"Just to add to Pauliina and Viktoria's statements, there's been a large uptick in migration to the periphery as the Succession Wars keep going. Normally, people like to head to the Rimward Periphery, since the Taurians, Canopians, and Aurigans are so well-established, but all three of them have closed their borders to future immigrants as of three days ago. While that normally means that Migration would go to the Outworlds Alliance, however, word is that Neil Avellar is only willing to take in a certain amount every year in order to preserve the cultural makeup of the Alliance. We're likely to get a bunch of immigrants once they reach their quota, and that could pose an opportunity for growth in a big way. I'd like for us to not be too torn up by conflict when that happens." Added Minister O'Neill.

"General, do we think we can win this in a reasonable time frame with a minimum of casualties?" I asked.

"It's possible. We'd need to force Redjack Ryan to fight on our terms. I can't think of a better way to do that than to flip his two locally led and manned regiments with a quick victory at Grenid. We'd also need to destroy the Thieve's Harbor airbase as a priority to do that, but if we can accomplish both of those, then it's likely that the Fourth and Fifth Regiments of Ryan's Rebels will join us. That should put half the Planet in our hands, which isn't something that Redjack Ryan can afford to dig in against or he'll have a bigger mutiny on his hands from looking weak. He'll need a show of strength to avoid a stab in the back from ambitious underlings, which means sallying forth to attack. That should force him to fight on our terms and leave the major industrial complexes in Butte City, Urt, Mater, and Singlestown off the battlefield." Shrugged General Jorgensen.

"Have a plan on my desk for that by this time tomorrow. I want us ready to go within a week from tomorrow. And General? Tell Commodore Singh that he'll be seeing action sooner than he anticipated." I intoned.

Commodore Ramesh Singh of Lackhove had been placed in command of what we'd called, the Fleet Reserve. A hodgepodge collection of captured, converted, and newly acquired Dropships and JumpShips that had yet to truly be sorted into Flotillas. I still required our Third Flotilla to be hidden, as they mostly served as a defense for our single shipyard in the Iron Land Asteroid Belt. Plus, it was far too early to reveal that we had WarShips just yet. True, one light cruiser, two military transports, and six corvettes were hardly a massive fleet by WarShip standards, but outside of ComStar's Mothballed Fleets, they were the only WarShips around outside of Clan Space. That left Commodore Singh and the Fleet Reserve to handle our Jarnfolk problem at Sigurd since I'd be taking both the First and Second Flotillas with me to Butte Hold.

"Against the Jarnfolk, my Lord?" Questioned General Jorgensen.

"Exactly." I nodded.

"Is that wise? By all accounts, the Jarnfolk are veteran spacers." Frowned General Jorgensen.

"True, but they also live and die by their ships' economic output. This is just Jarnfolk associated with a single Tradefleet if the intelligence is correct." I grinned.

"You think they won't fight if it means their livelihoods are crippled beyond repair? Wouldn't that make a blockade unenforceable, and thus pointless?" Queried General Jorgensen.

"I think that if a Jarnfolk Great House's Tradefleet is gutted of ships based on petty squabbles with outsiders, that Great House's rivals will start circling like sharks sensing blood." I smirked.

"That's a keen insight into the Jarnfolk that I have to say very few possess. I know your father had business dealings with one of their Great Houses, but I wasn't aware he'd passed any insights onto you." Frowned Minister Kowalski.

"I did receive a large swathe of information from him as part of his will, Minister. That said, this is my assessment, and unless anyone has any intelligence suggesting otherwise, this is what we're going with for Sigurd." I ordered.

No one spoke up and I nodded before dismissing my council to carry out their duties. Anastasia Siopis and Mahmoud El-Fadil went to go use the K-Class Transmitter in the Baronial Palace's Communications suite so as to let their Baronesses know what was going on while everyone else left to their various ministries to begin making preparations for the attack on Butte Hold and the Breaking of the Jarnfolk Blockade over Sigurd. In the meantime, I headed to my study to do paperwork over a late dinner of Steak and Eggs from the kitchen. A plan was sent to my desk the next day for the invasion of Butte Hold. The timetable was exactly as I wanted it, even if it was tighter than I'd otherwise like. By this time next week, we would already be on our way to invade. I signed off on the plan and went to go make my own preparations.

I would soon be at war once again, after all, and I wanted to make damn sure I was ready. . .

XXXX

AN: OK, so here we get a bit of info on the state of forces and the general shape of Ryan's Rebels, Butte Hold, and the plan to defeat them. Of note, the Baroness of Lackhove seems to be taking her position as vassal pretty seriously, allowing her forces to be folded into a Sixth Baronial Guards Regiment and even sending her Brother to not only command that Regiment but act as her Liason with Jozef. Meanwhile, the Baroness of Koskenkorva is being more conservative, sending a relative of a minor noble not even from the capital, while keeping the remnants of her own forces back to Koskenkorva. She's still allowing the Baronial Guards to Recruit from her populace, mind you, but she maintains a Battalion of her own personal troops as insurance.

Meanwhile, Redjack Ryan has been busy. He has five regiments, though, of those, only three are considered reliable, given how the other two are completely made up of locals even including the officers. Not only that, but he has another Nuke that he's converted into a bomb-pumped laser for use in a surprise alpha strike against the Flagship of Jozef's Fleets. If they hadn't gotten that information out of Ivy Upsalom via Sodium Pentathol-enhanced interrogation, it's likely such an unusual weapon would have caught them flat-footed and probably succeeded in taking out the Flagship of the Invasion Flotilla.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the beginning of the War with Redjack Ryan.

Stay tuned. . .