015. Can we just say we went there, or do we actually have to go?

Colonel Marzio Cocci observed the latest exercise.

Tomorrow, three Regiments of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery would arrive.

He was waiting, ready, knowing everything he had done. It had been to prepare for the coming campaign.

The 1st Lyran Regulars had been drilling alongside his men for the last two months, developing the strategy they needed to utilise if they were to demonstrate the superiority of the Commonwealth.

Three full regiments with armour and infantry support were arriving, fresh regiments at that.

While they would have been terror inducing not just three months ago, things had changed.

In the words of Shandar Lennox, Precentor of Comstar during a lecture on pre-star league history.

"By the mid-25th century, the BattleMech became a frontline weapon system, gradually replacing more conventional equipment. This change revolutionised the technological aspects of warfare as much as the Ares Conventions affected the strategic and tactical aspects. It also made it easier to abide by the Ares Conventions. Fewer combatants were needed, which invited fewer potential violations. Military training evolved into a proud tradition, with intensive preparation required to become a skilled warrior. Though regular foot infantry and armour would continue to have their secondary roles, the concept of 'quality of manpower' forever replaced the advantages of sheer numbers."

This had changed.

Now, quantity had usurped quality with the mass of industrialised weaponry he had been receiving from the very factories of Romulus itself.

Cocci knew that he was a mercenary commander of infantry, knew that against the Combine that dedicated its very existence to the purpose of war... that things might be uneven in this upcoming fight.

But he had spent his time learning about his enemy.

Knew that the Kuritan military indoctrination created pebble soldiers. Unable to offer any kind of initiative outside of the orders given by their superiors. Knew that when pushed into the defence, without any orders, the DCMS defaulted to massed charges at the enemy to break through. Knew that since the start of the third succession war, the Katana Principle had been enshrined, to withdraw when facing an unwinnable fight.

To better preserve equipment in the face of the extinction of industry.

He knew that Combine efforts on the border were weakening, knew that this might be their last gasp before a period of reorganisation and rebuilding. That their pre-existing commitments were bleeding them dry.

The Tamar Fly-Trap had caught six regiments, that they had taken 20 worlds... and yet were still losing more men, losing more mechs, and aerospace. The Lyran Commonwealth was a quagmire for the Combine, and he was about to do his part to make it even worse.

He knew that the Commonwealth, from the available statistics, had been able to somehow stiffen the LCAF. Whereas at the start of the third succession war, it was more likely than not that Social generals would flee before firing a single shot in anger. Now they were equally likely to stand and fight.

With the bolstering of planetary militia? They were nearly certain that the LCAF regular forces would fight, especially with the militia to back them up.

He knew that the Combine was at its weakest ebb.

That Hohiro Kurita had spent the last 20 years of his power stripping the Combine peoples of their willpower to fight. Given that the average Combine citizen was to start working at 15 and have their first child at 16, that was nearly an entire generation of Combine citizenry.

Stripping the medical services of nearly all funding.

Forcing all to speak the Japanese language.

Forcing all civilian companies to be folded into the DCMS structure.

Many of these measures were rejected... and yet... already morale was low and dropping even lower.

Worse was the role of the Coordinator in the Combine. That of the Ku, the space, the gap in the wheel. Located in the centre, the Ku, or the Coordinator is the axle, so fundamental to the wheel that without it, there would be no wheel. And so, according to Combine literature, the Coordinator is the Combine, for without the Coordinator there would be no Combine.

It meant that with incompetent Coordinators, the entire Combine became incompetent. With competent Coordinators, the entire Combine became competent. Case in point, Hohiro's father, who had the same military budget for 20 years. After all, a Coordinator had to sign off on the budget for it to become official. Units were reduced to horse trading as the factories produced thousands of battlemech left knee actuators, and no right knee actuators. The budget having called for left knee production to meet stock shortages and never adjusted, even after the shortage became a surplus. So great was his depression that he allowed the DCMS to decay away in his last years.

Hohiro? A militant idiot who forgot that the Combine was already completely devoted to the DCMS. Even more devotion? Killing anyone who spoke out, crushing anyone that tried to ease the pressure? Either he would die, or the Combine would collapse.

It was said of his command as heir, if one did not have the scars of flogging on their body, it was because they were either Hohiro himself, or a completely new recruit. An utterly charming individual, to put in charge of running a stellar empire.

For Cocci, backed by Phan Eggers and by extension LCAF-MI... well, this would hopefully be the first kick to knock down the decaying structure that was the Combine. Plans had been made and as Marzio observed the stabilised guns of the Daimler Armoured Cars, he smiled at some... upgrades that had been made to the vehicles... he was ready to play his role in phase 1.

He had read certain excerpts from the Dictum Honorium, the line, "It is too much to expect of enemies that they flow the proper path of virtue. Nevertheless, even animals have their own diluted forms of honour, inferior thought they may be. Draconians must always be conscious of preserving and maintaining honour when possible. This means that enemies should also be treated as if they were people, unless there is evidence they are not worthy of such treatment."

He would enjoy demonstrating to them the might of a mere animal.

And they would be coming for him. The Combine Art of the Vendetta refused to allow any other option. For the weapons of Eggers General Utility had been instrumental in the annihilation of several Combine battalions and companies.

The loss of face was inconceivable.

Not striking out to extract retributive justice?

Impossible.

While it may not be official, he had heard that the Eggers family had been elevated to a dukedom. Which meant that for the DCMS, the Archon himself had stepped in on this matter and made it a Commonwealth issue. An important aspect for foreign Vendettas as they must be of higher rank and none save the Coordinator was as high as the Archon.

As such, a Vendetta was permissible in the eyes of the tradition-bound idiots of the DCMS. Whether or not the Coordinator sanctioned it was irrelevant, the DCMS had to regain its honour. Better to ask for the honour of seppuku later, knowing that they had restored the honour of the DCMS.

These three regiments were headed for him and only him, he knew that, they all knew it.

The question now was just who was it that was coming, and how the tactics on the ground would be adapted to meet the enemy.

If it was a regular House unit, he would attack, force them to react instinctively with an attack. If it were a mercenary command, he would draw them in and refuse battle. The key was time, he needed to ensure that they remained here on Romulus and intact. The key was that they needed to be intact.

Draw them in and hold them close. The longer he held them... the more dishonour they would gain, heaping it on with a shovel.

The armoured cars were moving, the artillery on the hastily assembled 'forts', or rather earthworks pounding away at imagined targets just a hundred metres away to cover a 'retreat'. Universal Carriers pulling their 2-pdr guns along to simulate a relocation in the event of an encroaching mech force.

Again and again they had drilled until the men were capable of pulling out a staggered withdrawal in their sleep. Understanding mobility was what kept them alive in the face of an enemy Battlemech force.

Nothing to the standard of the DCMS of course, where soldiers are forced to march for four days without sleep, only surviving on 10 minute naps.

Incredibly stupid, but that was the DCMS for you, overwhelming loyalty over everything else.

Especially effectiveness.

"Word from the First Regulars sir, we're facing the Second Sword of Light, the Fourth Prosperina Hussars, and the Ninth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre."

He grinned. All House units. All Combine warrior idiots, the Sword of Light being the most Combine warrior-y of them all. If it had been a mercenary command he would need to do a bit more thinking, but the Combine? He knew exactly how to draw them in.

Phase one was starting, Operation Sleipnir was moving along right on schedule.

Specifically, these were all free-floating regiments, the Rasalhague Military District's units were not present. Specifically, the Kirkbach Prefecture's units were entirely missing from this punitive strike.

It was rather clear here that there was an issue back in the Kirkbach Prefecture, not surprising when New Caledonia, Csesztreg, and Harvest were located in the Prefecture. Worlds so rebellious that their militia were forced to serve off-planet, rather notable given the Rasalhague District was alreadyrebellious.

His grinned widened even further.

Win or lose on Romulus, the Lyran Commonwealth had already won.

But, well, Cocci had no plans to lose here.

Not after the Little Boss had provided him with so much trust.

The funds to expand the men to a total of 12,000 a month after they had arrived.

Eggers Armaments; Romulus Division producing the 'up-teched' equipment they needed. Located in Romulus city, it meant that when the campaign started, he would never worry about having his supply lines cut.

The Daimler Armoured cars being a key example. The loader had been replaced with an autoloader. The gun lightened with modern metallurgy techniques.

The gun was essentially an automatic at this point, the same rate of fire as with a loader, yet freeing up a crew member.

A ton of armour protected each vehicle now, the wheels remained, as always, a vulnerability.

An upgraded engine, a gun stabiliser, modern sights to take advantage of the 1,600 metre range... and... well, it was nearly an entirely new vehicle.

Modern engineering mated with pre-space ingenuity.

That wasn't even mentioning the mounted guns, the loader replaced with the autoloader. Now one needed to feed in a box (the machinists had mentioned something about a Krag–Jørgensen feeder system) of ammunition and not individual shells.

The only weapon that was still hand-loaded was the 25-pdr artillery pieces.

A nigh perfect system already, anything beyond refining its design with modern metallurgy would just add weight and unwieldiness.

With the claymore that was the Eggers Defence Force in his hands, Cocci waited with bated breath.

The blade had been sharpened and polished, now one only needed an enemy to test it upon.

One more day and phase 2 of Operation Svaðilfari, Operation Sleipnir was about to begin.

+_+

The Combine forces landed at 5am on the 5th day of the month, as was expected, five being such an auspicious number.

It was too bad then that they were met with a minefield after leaving to secure the drop zone. That was what happened when you fixated on one enemy and tried to land as close to them as possible.

The only clearings available for mech scale units being mined, the Eggers Defence Force units they had been aiming for being made of inflatable floats. The beheading stroke they had been aiming at, instead forcing them to pause.

Any momentum broken.

Damage had been done, and the Combine had developed an instant disdain for his men as cowards.

Perfect.

"Enemy, has made contact with first reconnaissance company, sir. Engaging now."

Cocci listened to his aides.

"Have them fall back. Artillery to cover the retreat."

"Transmitting now sir."

The skirmishes had been continuing for the last few days. The three regiments wished to push through, that much was true. Surrounding Romulus City, the planetary capital, Eggers Defence Force had established strong defensive positions. Acting as mobile reserves was the 1st Lyran Regulars. Ready to smash any 'breakthroughs' in the line.

With the area extensively mined (who knew wooden boxes with explosives wrapped in plastic bags would be invisible to sensors?), the Combine had been carefully probing for the last few days. Unwilling to risk a push in the wrong area, the Sun Zhang Academy Cadre, consisting of light mechs, would find itself out of the fight very soon.

Being ordered to march through a minefield to reach the enemy that much faster did that to you. Just as expected of the Sun Zhang academy. Aggression above all else. That tactic only worked once, however. If decimated, the Sun Zhang regiment would be in no position to try again.

The other two regiments were of a slightly higher concern, but they were holding themselves back. Waiting for the killing blow as it were, he didn't know the Japanese word for this back and forth and he didn't care. He was here to spend time, possibly destroy the regiments, but if they left this intact... they probably would kill themselves out of shame.

Poke and prod.

Never offer a large target that they might finally unleash their bushido upon and charge forth, always poking with light units. Artillery to destroy their infantry and vehicle units, retreating all the while. Cutting out their eyes and ears, in other words.

Poke and prod.

With all of them cloistered into a single drop zone to concentrate their firepower, learning their lessons after the annihilation of the Fifth Sword of Light, and Fifth Sun Zhang Academy Cadre. Attack in one motion, do not do so piecemeal... it had then created the problem that every single unit had faced since the advent of artillery.

Namely, that large concentrations of units were vulnerable to artillery.

Not that they had hit the drop-zone just yet, only dropping shells around the exterior, giving, at the very least, the illusion of safety. Rats with their backs against the wall get suicidal, Draconis Combine soldiery with their backs against the wall get suicidal.

With the eyes in the sky, he couldn't let them suicide themselves just yet.

The similarities were rather startling.

"Böðvar on the line for you sir."

A hand to the plastisteel handset."

"Cocci."

"Just hit the bastards trying to break through Sector 8. This is the third time they've tried that in the three hours. Lost 3 mechs to your mines and my guns, what a way to go huh? What do you say about holding off a little on the probing strikes? Your big shindig with Military Intelligence hasn't started yet. Has it?"

"I hear you, we'll hold off for 4 hours and hit them again. Keep your own forces safe Víglundsson, we need to keep this up for another two days at least."

"Yes, yes, the 1st Regulars will not let these bastards get away. We've got them where we want them!"

It was a careful balancing act at this moment.

Keep them off balanced, but not so unbalanced they would default into a suicidal charge. Yet not allowing a chance to form a 'good' plan. Feeding them units to satisfy their need to kill things kept them docile... for now.

After all, Draconis officer training revolved around 'a good plan today is better than a better plan tomorrow', thinking.

"Colonel Cocci, why aren't the Combine just breaking through? Surely, the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery would have attacked by now?" The observer, sent from Military Intelligence to compile information regarding the campaign asked.

"They are, no doubt, of the firm belief that they are doing significant damage to my forces. It is part of the new doctrine, where the meat is more valuable than the metal as the Mechwarriors might say. I can replace fifty Daimlers a day. I cannot replace one hundred men in a day. Thus, when damaged, the men have been trained to bail out and catch a ride on another vehicle. In this manner, I cause them damage, I abandon vehicles to them, yet maintaining my force integrity."

The observer nodded seriously, looking at the reams of data he had available to him.

"Over the last 3 days of combat, you have lost 94 vehicles and 23 soldiers. The Combine has lost 32 confirmed mech kills... your tactics are working?" He sounded so surprised.

"Correct, they believe that eventually they will cause so much damage to my forces that we cannot defend this city any longer, giving them the opportunity to strike deep and annihilate my regiments."

Marzio was aware that this wouldn't work more than a few times. When everyone realised just how fast you could produce primitive vehicles... well, the calculus would change.

But in the here and now?

The enemy was still in the third succession war mindset.

They were doing significant damage and that justified their continued presence on Romulus. Eventually, they would annihilate his command and regain the honour lost across the border frontline.

That mindset was why their aerospace was giving the city a wide berth. Quad 2pdr-Pom-Poms, different again from the QF 2pdr, armed with flak shells and VT fuses (thanks to some very clever Machinists), had sandblasted their armour. Withdrawing before suffering structural damage, they constantly circled the city, trying to find a weakness to exploit.

Too bad, this wasn't exactly how things were turning out.

Training regarding the act of bailing out at the slightest hint of damage had him retaining his men. The Combine vindictively shooting the abandoned vehicles until they were destroyed.

Not realising just how pointless that was when he could just replace every single destroyed Daimler or Universal Carrier with 50 more.

The constant standoff meant everything was going to plan.

For the men and women? The fact that there were three regiments trying to push through them and failing miserably? That was morale boosting enough. Especially against the Combine who's reputation as fearsome fighters had led to many Lyran 'generals' fleeing the battlefield at the mere sight of the insignia of the Sword of Light.

Not to mention the fact that they were receiving emergency pay. Due to the attack, the invasion clause in the contract had been activated and the contract automatically extended until the end of the conflict.

He wasn't sure why Little Boss had been so intent on them only being on contract for 3 months. In the end, however, everyone should be happy with more money. Hell, Little Boss was such a patriot he wouldn't begrudge them doing their duty and smashing Combine scum.

Now that he thought about it, the original contract would be finished in... oh, about 3 hours.

+_+

For the citizens of the Combine, life was not exactly... great.

One might say, it was rather shit.

Working 16 hour days, having little to no time or even effort to relax.

Being constantly surveilled by the ISF.

The threat of having our head cut off and stuck in a rice field being a very real concern. Sedition being nothing more than humming the wrong song while working in some cases.

Leaving school at the age of ten, working at the latest by fifteen. Expected to start a family in the same year.

1 in 4 citizens are conscripted to the DCMS, 1 in 2 in times of hardship like it was now under Hohiro Kurita.

All civilian goods are second grade, anything that was of first grade was automatically appropriated by the DCMS.

Civilian clothes were of the roughest fabric, the best was left for the DCMS.

Under Hohiro, the focus of the DCMS as the output of the Combine had turned into the sole purpose of all citizens. Civilian companies, or rather Indirect Service industries (Direct Service being for the military), were being taken over and forcibly converted to produce yet more for the DCMS.

Now Hohiro Kurita had signed the edict that forced all Draconis citizenry to speak and write Japanese regardless of who they were.

The ISF was slaughtering anyone who spoke out against this, as vital food shipments from the Lyran Commonwealth were instead being diverted to the DCMS.

Worlds were starving.

Under the Economic Relocation Program, worlds that were on the verge of falling apart, had their populations evacuated to industrialised worlds. Worlds that themselves began to struggle due to the artificially high populations. With the diversion of food shipments, these worlds, teetering on the brink as they were, now slid into starvation mode.

Rationing was standard in the Combine due to a lack of industry, a lack of agriculture. In other words, a lack of developed worlds.

Many of which, historically, had been destroyed to deny them to the enemy. This had seen the Combine only remain economically developing through one method.

Conquest.

For all their powerful military, that their borders had barely shifted during the succession wars... well, that demonstrated just how weak the industry supporting the DCMS actually was. For all their victories, they could not consolidate the gains made, their civilian industry too weak to expand to new worlds.

Hohiro's actions, following Hugai Kurita, depressed and barely responsive for the latter years of his reign... it was a shift between different extremes.

Creating a population that had seen two of the 'weakest' Coordinators to date. Militarily strong perhaps, but the Coordinator embodies the Combine, they must take the moderate route, balancing the five pillars of economy, military, society and culture, and the coordinator.

Into this state of extreme morale depression, the Lyran Commonwealth had been flooding the Combine with their culture. Smuggling it in, the music and movies, had provided a sharp counterpoint to the Soaps that occupied the minds of the commoners. A two month long campaign at this rate using pirate radio to jam the airwaves of worlds throughout the Combine.

Most were concentrated in the Rasalhague Military District however.

Offering something new... something better.

The DCMS and ISF officers understood this could not last forever, the cost of such a campaign would have to be enormous. Yet, for this briefest moment of time, there had been hints of sedition in the minds of the citizenry.

Into this had been smuggled machining tools for primitive weapons that none in the ISF had been able to identify for how primitive they were, looking more like the tools needed to build water pipes than weapons.

Weapons that merely required Brass, Tin, and Steel. Ammunition that could be made from the fertiliser producing machines that had also been smuggled in lest they be confiscated.

Word had been received that the traditional raiding season had instead seen entire battalions destroyed up and down the border. Their parent units the weakest they had been for a long time indeed.

It had created an environment where the ISF couldn't completely suppress notions of rebellion.

When three entire Mech Regiments had left for the Commonwealth, an opportunity had been identified.

It had created an environment where the first shots in a Rasalhague wide revolt were met not with shock, but resignation.

All the ingredients necessary for a revolution had been mixed together with a heavy hand indeed.

+_+

Alessandro Steiner looked at the LIC officers before him, shock colouring his face.

"Repeat that."

"Phase 2 of Operation Sleipnir has been completed sir."

"... I had thought that success would take some years yet?"

Operation Sleipnir was an LCAF-MI and LIC joint operation to disrupt the Draconis Combine. Using the new weapons developed by Eggers General Utility, the Rasalhague district has been provided with the tools necessary to produce their own arms. In combination with a cultural media blitz per Operation Svaðilfari, and the unusual weakness of the DCMS due to Hohiro Kurita's actions, Operation Sleipnir was just waiting for the optimal time to be carried out.

The Archon was still shocked.

He had not thought it would work at all. What was the point of his military campaigns if something as simple as this would work?

"Phase 2 is the civil war... the unit annihilations... the units all along the border have been depleted haven't they? What better time for a rebellion than now?" Wonder filled his voice, he hadn't exactly been optimistic... but now that it worked out. What could he do but say yes?

"Yes Archon. The Rasalhague populace have taken this chance to force the DCMS off their worlds. The civilian population is using the primitive weapons to great effect so far. They are quality-wise, outmatched severely, but the population numbers in the billions. They have the population advantage, and with the factories we have built on their worlds, they have the tonnage advantage."

For someone who had to plan everything, expecting everything to fall apart without his touch. The success of the LCAF-MI and LIC was a shock.

"The Haber discs and fusion engines we have smuggled onto their worlds will produce both fertilizer and powder. Food self-sufficiency and ammunition self-sufficiency. We predict this will tie the Combine down for a decade at the very least without our intervention."

"And the LCAF?"

"The LCAF is already moving in to assist the rebels, several House and mercenary commands have jumped as of three hours ago. Using your pre-authorisation, the jumpships were just waiting for the first shots."

"And nobody woke me for this?"

"You forbade anyone from entering your offices regardless of the reason sir."

Alessandro paused, right, he had said that hadn't he.

"Phase 3 has started then, what is the timetable for phase 4?"

"One week, my Archon."

"What do the Norns recommend for my speech?"

"That we recognise the Rasalhague as its own theatre and Protectorate. LIC has been in talks with several individuals in the Rasalhague Protectorate. Returning some worlds to the Tamar Pact has been accepted. The historical Rasalhague worlds being part of the Commonwealth as provisional members has been accepted."

Alessandro sighed, he had planned for this. Just hadn't planned for it to happen so fast. Things were spinning out of his control.

He reminded himself why they were doing this, so long as troops were moved across the border to assist the rebels, the Norns predicted the potential collapse of the Combine within the next 10 years. The Federated Suns will not let this chance go and join in. In his own lifetime the possibility of the Combine disappearing from existence was very real indeed.

The Archon, for all his arrogance, had always been weak to moments he could not plan out ahead of time.

Not trusting the hand he had been given.

Yet... what could he do but accept? As he had planned, things were moving. Contrary to his plan, he hadn't been there to do the moving.

The frustration he felt was unimaginable.

Still, he had written the speech, that much remained true.

+_+

"Sir, word from the HPG. Phase 3 has begun."

Marzio's face split into a sinister smile.

"Alert Víglundsson, Phase 3 has begun."

"Sir."

Marzio reached up to pull at his cheeks.

Stop it.

You can't do that, he thought to himself, excited at the sheer... excess that was about to occur.

The observer looked at him in askance.

"What's going on? Phase 3?"

"Ah. Phase 3. Worlds in the Combine have been pushed to rebel thanks to our friends in the LIC. Phase 1 was to draw the Combine's free-floating regiments to Romulus and hold them here. Destroying them would cause alarm from the jumpships they have in orbit, and they would report back to the Combine. Increasing readiness in case of a counter-attack, you know? Making it more difficult for our forces to transit in-system. So, we hold them, draw this out, and leave no cause for concern. Just a routine raid."

His voice grew more savage as he continued.

"But Phase 3 changed this?"

"Yes, Phase 3 is when the units on the border jumped into the Combine to assist the rebels. Now we destroy the buffet in front of us, so they cannot return to reinforce the Rasalhague Military District. Whatever warning they might give will not matter how."

"Sir, the 2nd and 10th Regulars have linked IFF pings with us. They're powering up their mechs and vehicles. Will move to surround the enemy dropzone in 3 minutes."

"And so the snake trap closes. Get me a line to our artillery, I want a full salvo on each of their dropships. I'm told that to call someone a dragon's egg in the Combine is an insult. It means that they are weak, fragile, inexperienced, like a baby before it has hatched. Let's demonstrate why everyone is an eggshell in the face of artillery."

15 kilometres away the Draconis Dropships waited, engines idle in case they were tricked like on Skondia.

15 kilometres was in range of the newly improved QF 25-pdr. The barrel and breech able to handle 2 super charges, able to send a shell out to 20 kilometres without destroying the barrel.

20 kilometres coincidently was further than the dropships were.

No doubt the Draconis officers thought they had trapped him here on this planet with their ASF and Dropship superiority.

Now.

Now they would learn that it was not he who was trapped in there with them.

It was they who were trapped in here with the 1st Lyran Regulars, the 2nd Lyran Regulars, the 10th Lyran Regulars... and the Eggers Defence Force.

A.N.

So, nobody guessed correctly how Huu would be forced to go on holiday. Got close, but contract extending upon invasion was it.

For the same prize (perspective based in the Lyran Commonwealth), correct guess as to which planet he will go on holiday to will win. Remember Huu is almost a Hermit, this means the Pleasure Pit (as funny as that would be) is out of the running.

Edit: Just putting it here that if anything in this about the Combine seems insane to you, please know that I pulled everything from either the House Steiner Handbook or the House Kurita Handbook.

I'm still waiting for a chance to introduce Qi and the ability to fly across canyons with it.