B21

Thieves' Harbor Aerospace Base had been on high alert ever since word had come down of the Enemy's numbers compared to their own. Colonel 'Madcap' Erich Detmayer had gone even further, ordering all three of his Ground Air Wings in the air flying constant combat patrols the moment that it became clear that they'd lost in space to avoid being destroyed on the ground. Of the three Wings of Fighters he'd had available to him, the two he figured he'd be able to rely on most were Sakumo's Scourges and Denisov's Destroyers. Raczak's Roughnecks were locally raised and had been sent to Urt to run CAP over the valuable industrial city there for the Fourth Ryan's Rebels Regiment under Colonel Sapowski, another locally raised regiment. Meanwhile, both Saburo 'Shogun' Sakumo and Alexei 'Cossak' Denisov were hardened pirates with a mix of pirates and former mercenaries under their command.

Sakumo and Denisov would be Detmayer's spearhead since they weren't local. There had already been concerns that the local forces might switch sides, given who they were going to be fighting. It's why the Third Ryan's Rebels Regiment under Colonel Starke had been moved out of the Raider's Roost to Grenid in advance of the fighting. It was to keep an eye on the Fourth at Urt and the Fifth at Mater to ensure nobody forgot just what side their bread was buttered on. It was also why Denisov's Destroyers had been moved out of the Raider's Roost to Thieves' Harbor Aerospace Base so that if Raczak wanted to defect, he'd be facing both Sakumo and Denisov to do so. It wasn't a perfect solution, mind you, but they hadn't thought that the Boy would be able to mobilize anything for two months. He was supposed to be dealing with nuclear fallout in his capital, after all.

Personally, Detmayer blamed Upsalom for that. Ivy Upsalom was the worst sort of braggart, even for a Mechwarrior and a Pirate, two professions that bred braggarts like shit bred flies. She always had to make a production about every engagement, whether it was bragging about the kills she'd rack up on the eve of battle or loudly challenging enemy Mechwarriors to duels in the middle of combat so she could prove that she was the best. Detmayer had no illusions that she wouldn't have gotten drunk while waiting for the Boy to meet with her before boasting about the contingency plan with the smuggled Nuke. That was exactly the sort of SNAFU she'd get into. Now it was up to the rest of them to get everyone out of it. With a growl, Detmayer promised himself that if she was still alive, he'd wring her neck himself.

Provided they won this battle, of course. Speaking of which, the threat board lit up as his Ground Air Wings engaged the enemy. He'd known the enemy had long-range attack capabilities, which was why he'd prepared the area of battle ahead of time with SAM LRM Launchers hidden in the canyons and ravines that made up the western edge of the Yonker Desert. Both Sakumo's Scourges and Denisov's Destroyers had orders to skirmish briefly before running to the Canyon in the hopes that they'd be able to hit the enemy ASF with a sucker-punch blow from hidden SAM LRM Launchers. As he watched the number of aircraft under his command dwindle from one-hundred-eight down to seventy-two in the first exchange of the engagement, he knew that Sakumo and Denisov would have to pull back soon for his plan to work. It was as the number of Friendlies reached fifty-six that they did.

And the enemy forces took the bait. . .

XXXX

Marta 'Thunderbolt' Sobańska and her squadron were chasing the bandits through a series of winding desert canyons. The Enemy had broken up into various squadrons after the initial skirmishing and raced for the dubious shelter of the canyons. Marta's Squadron had gone after one of the ones with a paint job that nobody who was descended from the old Principality of Rasalhague could fail to recognize. The Thor's Hammer and Gravestones were the same as the unit insignia of the Fifth Rasalhague Regulars, the damned lapdogs, and collaborators of the Combine Occupation of Rasalhague. The Fifth was called the Crushers of Insurrections for a reason, and Marta's Great Uncle had been one of those insurrectionists crushed by the Fifth. That paint job adorned what had to be the Squadron Leader, in a Corsair that had been customized to swap out the Medium and Small Lasers for an SRM-Six Pod plus ammo.

"Thunderbolt Squadron, be advised, we've gotten word of hidden Missile Systems in the Canyons. Breaker and Icestorm Squadrons have lost members to ambushes and other groups are reporting similar surprises." Came the voice of her Group Leader, Torstein Danielson, over the comms unit.

"Copy, Group Leader, we'll be cautious." Returned Marta.

"Thunderbolt, this is Echo, I'm picking up some sort of weak signal up ahead, around the bend the Bandits just flew around, over." Commed in Mollie 'Echo' McGuire, Marta's Wingmate.

"Copy Echo, that's got to be a missile launcher. Everyone launch countermeasures as soon as we're around the bend, then light up the emplacement. Let's show them why you don't mess with Thunderbolt Squadron!" Commanded Marta.

Six affirmatives responded and soon enough, Thunderbolt Squadron was around the bend, pulling up and launching chaff in preparation for the surprise attack. Sure enough, a tarp was thrown off a hidden LRM-Ten Launcher configured for Surface-to-Air attack that then fired a salvo from the bottom of the Canyon. Several missiles went awry detonating too soon or going off course thanks to chaff. One exploded in close proximity to Marta's Vulcan, peppering the Ferro-Aluminium Armor with shrapnel and lodging a piece of shrapnel in between armor plates, scarring her baby with a trivial wound. In retaliation, laser and SRM fire carpeted the SAM sites, Thunderbolt Squadron using their supplemental, non-Gauss, weapons for the first time out of combat. The Launcher didn't stand a chance and went up in a ball of fire.

Thunderbolt Squadron didn't have too much time to celebrate, however as the enemy squadron they'd been chasing pounced on them from above while they'd been destroying the Launcher. The Bandits were in a mix of Corsairs and Sabres, lasers firing even as Thunderbolt Squadron scrambled to evade. One of her Pilots, Jan 'Hammer' Cerny got hit with a beam Large Laser that managed to get through a weakened section of armor and put a hole in his fuselage that forced him to make an emergency landing, but he'd live and his Vulcan would be repaired. Meanwhile, everyone else took glancing blows, the advanced armor turning what would have been sure kills into flesh wounds.

With the enemy's surprise attack spent, however, they were easy prey for the remainder of Thunderbolt Squadron. Vengeance was wreaked on the enemy with SRM, Laser, or Gauss Rifle Fire. Marta managed to take out their Squadron Leader herself with a Gauss Rifle slug that ripped straight through the Man's Corsair as he tried to evade and come around for a second pass. He banked to the right to avoid a Laser hit from Echo only to be speared by Marta's fire instead. She wouldn't find out until after the fighting was finished that she'd taken out Alexei Denisov, one of two enemy Wing Commanders.

The news was similar across all squadrons, with all squadrons suffering a casualty or two destroyed or damaged to sudden ambushes in the tight confines of the Canyons, but managing to destroy their opponents utterly. The total number was thirty-five Aerospace Fighters destroyed or damaged, five pilots killed, and six pilots wounded. The enemy had lost all one-hundred-eight Fighters and their pilots plus around twenty-six missile sites plus their crews. In the aftermath of such lopsided losses, the commander of the Thieves' Harbor Aerospace Base fled for the Raider's Roost, leaving a Junior Subordinate to surrender. That Subordinate, Captain Maximilian Nordenfeldt of the Security Forces of the Base was local.

He would be instrumental in getting the other Local Forces on the Western Hemisphere of Butte Hold to stand back during the next phase of operations. . .

XXXX

Colonels Frankowski and Lindqvist had immediately given the order to begin landing the First and Second Baronial Guards Regiments as soon as the skies over the Western Hemisphere of Butte Hold were clear. They needed to set up a foothold on the Planet for the second wave of troops to land, preferably while also forcing any enemy forces in the vicinity to back off in a short engagement. The chosen landing zone was on the Coastal Plain of the small, secondary, continent of Grenid, near the town of Stahlborg. Grenid had a number of important mines in the more rugged interior, along with a decent amount of agriculture on the coastal plain. The main prize, though, was the City of Grenid itself, which contained a decent amount of industry and was defended by the Third Ryan's Rebels Regiment.

As they landed, they seemed to have taken the Stahlborg Militia by surprise, because only a handful of Militia managed to make any kind of attack on the landing zones, mostly using locally produced combat vehicles like the Scimitar Light Tank, and mechanized infantry in Hover APCs. It was only around six platoons, however, which were easily swept aside by the Rampages, Griffins, and Dragoons of the First and Second Baronial Guards. It wasn't until a truck came from Stahlborg under a white flag that either of the Colonels realized why the response had been so anemic. Apparently, Grenid was where Redjack Ryan offered land to Pirates who'd been looking to retire in exchange for taking Militia Duty. Those counterattacking Platoons were the Pirate Cadres of the Grenid Militia, with the rest being locals who didn't want to fight the Returning Poniatowskis.

The Mayors of Stahlborg, Dahlgren, Ostrobrzych, Biabony, Liatakarinpohja, Kosov, and Darmagh all agreed to surrender and stand down their militias, only for the Pirate Platoons to denounce that move and move to attack the landing zone from the Mustering Point near Kotov. There were still three-hundred-fifty Militiamen at the Mustering Point, waiting for someone to relieve them of duty. Colonel Frankowski sent ahead Major Wladyslaw Krupa and Delta Battalion to do so while the rest of the First and Second Regiments offloaded and prepared for the Arrival of the Third and Fourth Regiments.

Meanwhile, Colonels Frankowski and Lindqvist accepted the surrenders of the various mayors there at the Landing Zone. Neither was willing to leave the Landing Zone at this time. Colonel Frankowski reasoned that it wouldn't take long for the Third Ryan's Rebels to try to counterattack, and Colonel Lindqvist agreed with him. Both reasoned it would be better to have more boots on the ground before that happened. Both would prove to be right as no sooner had the Third and Fourth Regiments begun unloading, then news arrived from Kosov from Major Krupa. The Third Ryan's Rebels had sallied and attacked Kosov.

Major Krupa was taking heavy fire. . .

XXXX

I stepped off the Dropship in my red-painted, Heavy Metal Custom, Royal Highlander to find a buzz of activity. Colonels Frankowski and Lindqvist were busily preparing what looked like a hasty attack with what forces had landed, which wasn't a part of the plan. If they were doing this before the majority of the Second Wave had landed, something must have gone drastically wrong. I immediately commed for a Status Report from my cockpit.

"My Lord, it seems that Ryan's Rebels were cagier than we'd thought. They found out the bulk of the Grenid Militia were planning to surrender and used it to set a trap for us. We sent Major Krupa of Delta Battalion of the First Baronial Guards Regiment to the Militia Mustering Point at Kosov to disband the Militia there." Began Colonel Frankowski.

"And? I take it something happened?" I questioned.

"Indeed, My Lord. The Third Ryan's Rebels Regiment attacked Kosov while Major Krupa and his Battalion were there. They're hoping to destroy one of our battalions ahead of the main engagement with us." Answered Colonel Lindqvist.

"Which gives us only one option. I refuse to leave the Major and Delta Battalion to be destroyed, so we mount a relief." I nodded.

"Just so My Lord. It should take us around three hours to make it to Kosov, which would put us arriving after midnight." Concurred Colonel Frankowski.

"Night fighting is a dangerous prospect for anyone that doesn't have our advanced targeting and tracking computers." I pointed out.

"Even with them the potential for ambush is high, My Lord." Informed Colonel Lindqvist.

"Fortunately, the area between here and Kosov has surrendered." Grinned Colonel Frankowski.

"Then it's settled. Colonel Kadlec can handle the continued landings. The First and Second, along with myself, will go relieve Kosov." I commanded.

"As you wish, My Lord." Agreed Colonel Frankowski. I could tell that neither he nor Colonel Lindqvist wanted me to tag along, but they knew I could handle myself after Gotterdamerung and didn't argue. Forty-five minutes later, we moved out for Kosov.

Hopefully, Major Krupa would still be holding out by the time we arrived. . .

XXXX

AN: So yeah Ryan's Rebels are turning out to be a lot cagier than Morgraine's Valkyries were. Between hidden LRM SAM Launchers and Canyon Dogfights, plus this latest counterattack, they definitely have cunning down. That's only to be expected of a bunch of glorified pirates, however, and will only help them so much against the sheer disparity of forces they're up against.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the Battle of Kosov.

Stay tuned. . .