After leaving the ch stables occupied by the Mudriders, Ves payed a visit to the facility that held the Avatars of Myth.
lkor already used the budget provided by Ves to good use. The ch stables looked like a bunker that could withstand a lot more punishnt than the one he visited before. It had also been built on top of a collapsible tunnel that led to an underground network.
"Ves." lkor greeted him as he arrived. "I believe you have t the Oodis Mudriders?"
"They look like they have sothing to prove."
"You can’t trust what you see. They purposely put their best foot forward." lkor admonished him as he led him past the chs of his own personal force.
They all looked decent, but the two gold label Blackbeaks took the crown. The two offensive knights radiated a subtle flavor that spoke of bloodthirst and anticipation. Ves ntally nodded in satisfaction. Their X-Factor should enhance the two chs by a small but noticeable margin.
After finishing the small tour, lkor led Ves to an underground command center of so sorts. A dozen or so new hires staffed the various workstations in the highly secure chamber. Ves recognized them as part of his own personal force due to the temporary uniforms they wore that matched lkor’s own.
His cousin seed to have opted for a sober black uniform of stiff high-quality fabric along with touches of blue. The uniform gave those who wore them a lot of stature, and Ves approved of the look. Perhaps he would instruct lkor to turn permanent.
"This is our first command center. Here, we will coordinate our surface defense. There are other command centers underground, but it’s not necessary to use them yet. The chances that the Vesians are bringing tunneling machines are very low."
In the middle of the command center hovered a projection of the star system and the ch Nursery’s vicinity.
"From our latest observations, the Vesian combat carriers are making swift progress to the inner system. They’ll arrive in orbit in about eleven hours. That’s very short, and we don’t have enough ti to bolster our defenses."
Ves studied the space plot and traced the trajectory of the Vesian ships. "Is there any way to threaten their ships?"
"No. I’ve already made so inquiries and it’s impossible for us to damage them. They’re very well-guarded by an entire company of spaceborn chs. As you know, the ch Corps isn’t maintaining any garrisons in this star system. Instead, the job of defending the system and planet is left to Walter’s Whalers."
"I see."
Even with their recent windfalls, it took ti for the Whalers to train competent ch pilots anc acquire new chs. This raid happened way too soon for the Whalers to put a strong resistance. Ves did not forget that they lost a lot of ch pilots in the Glowing Planet campaign.
Ves also had a first-hand look at how they operated back then. Typical for gangs, battles in space was not their strong suit. They much preferred to operate on land, as that was more intuitive and required less brain power to understand.
In order to excel in space like a true spaceborn fighting force, the Whalers would need to hire a lot of ship captains and ch officers who understood orbital chanics and other highly technical knowledge.
Let alone orbital chanics, Ves doubted that the average gang mber learned how to count past ten.
"Okay, it’s hopeless to contest the Vesians in space, but the Whalers are much better off on the ground, right?"
lkor nodded. "That’s one thing that’s gone right. Dietrich has been in touch with us and they’ve promised to defend Freslin and the ch Nursery, depending on where the Vesians planned to strike. However, he did warn us that while the chs are much better than what they used to have, the ch pilots are mostly green and untested. They won’t be able to stand their ground in a pitched battle."
That ant instead of relying on the Whalers to be the main force that blunted the Vesian spearhead, they could only be employed to perform less critical roles.
Ves let out a grunt in frustration. "Seems like everyone is doing their best to shirk responsibility for the most arduous task. Will Sanyal-Ablin do their jobs at least?"
"They’ve inford that they are committed to fulfill their contracts, and for once, I believe them. The credibility of SASS as a whole is on the line here."
That ant that the ch Nursery could at least depend on a core of twenty-four very capable chs to hold the line. At least the LMC got their money’s worth in that regard.
The defense picture started to beco clear to Ves. He looked at the map that showed the ch Nursery and its surroundings. Ves chose to plant the highly defensible manufacturing complex in a complex forest environnt tens of kiloters away from Freslin.
This was near enough for his employees to live in the second-largest city of Cloudy Curtain and commute to the ch Nursery every day. It was also far enough away from the city that attack on the ch Nursery would not pull in innocent bystanders.
lkor swiped his finger at the star-shaped walls of the ch Nursery. "The Vesians have co to raid our location, so they won’t be wasting ti on whittling us down. Standard Vesian doctrine calls for concentrating their force and breaching our defense line in a single powerful push. This strategy works well enough against most company-own premises."
Inside the complex, Sanyal-Ablin’s chs and weapon emplacents ford a stiff defense, especially against missiles and aerial threats.
"We’ve got a lot of turrets."
"Don’t depend on them to repel two entire companies of Vesian chs. They’re mostly employed for anti-air duty. If the Vesians are stupid enough to fly a ch over our heads, every turret will be able to draw a bead on such an exposed target."
It was a little more problematic for the turrets to target landbound chs. In addition, they made for very obvious targets. Their complete lack of mobility easily turned them into punching bags for agile chs that could dodge the incoming turret fire.
"Well, the Vesians won’t drop down on top of us at the very least." Ves consoled himself. "So if I’m reading this map correctly, the SASS chs will hold the wall while the Whaler reinforcents will wait at the outskirts of Freslin?"
"That’s correct. The Whalers are obliged to defend their citizens first in case the Vesians split. If the raiding force doesn’t decide to hit Freslin, then the Whaler chs will be departing in our direction and hit the Vesians from the flanks."
That sounded identical to what the Oodis Mudriders requested. The difference was that Ves knew that the quality of the ch pilots from the Whalers precluded them from being employed in the most difficult position.
"I see. That’s why you’re so adamant that the Oodis Mudriders join the Sanyal-Ablin chs on the walls. We don’t have too many front-facing resistance otherwise."
lkor nodded his head but let out a breath in concern. "Really Ves, you could have spent more ti and resources on bolstering your defences. Rushing the construction of the ch Nursery helped a lot, but the base builders haven’t completely finished building all of the systems that makes this complex defensible."
"Well, I can’t help the timing of the 3rd Imodris Legion. Who is leading that unit?"
"A descendant of the Duchess of Imodris nad Lady Amalia. She’s young and way down the line of suggestion, so she’s certainly set out to make a na for herself."
That sounded really bad for Cloudy Curtain and the rest of the Bentheim region. Two types of leaders typically took charge of the Vesian legions. The most common type would be career officers, who mostly inherited the position from their parents. They were much like the Larkinsons in that they possessed a strong military heritage.
It was the other type of leader that posed a huge threat to the LMC. ch legions led by ambitious heirs often did whatever it took to earn military rits. At the highest level of non-royal nobility, the fight to inherit a dukedom often led to lots of tears.
"Okay, if it’s soone like Lady Amalia, then we can expect the Vesian raiding force won’t be cowed by our defenses." Ves recalled the few instances where he witnessed the Vesians in battle.
One particular mont stood out. It was when the fleets of the ch Legion and ch Corps temporary banded together to escape the Glowing Planet. Once they shook off the pirates, their fleeting reticence quickly dissolved, and both sides started slinging punches at each other without any regard for caution.
lkor laid down the most pressing issue. "Twenty-four chs from Sanyal-Ablin will hold the walls. The squad of chs under my command will stay back as a reserve. The thirty chs sent by the Whalers will approach the Vesians from the direction of Freslin once they’ve committed to the assault."
That amounted to sixty-three chs, which sounded deceptively impressive. In truth, Ves would be a fool to assu they would all be completely willing to commit to the fight.
The Whaler chs especially ford the most unstable elent. They could only be used as a distraction as best.
The Vesians definitely wouldn’t expose any weaknesses for them to exploit. While their nobles often fought among themselves, their individual unit cohesion was extrely high.
Therefore, the lynchpin of the defense of the ch Nursery rested on the role of the Oodis Mudriders.
"Will the Oodis Mudriders really be useful if they stand the line?"
"Definitely. Don’t mistake them for being only good for skirmishing maneuvers. A rcenary corps of that caliber won’t leave any gaps in the training of their ch pilots. Besides, the ch Nursery’s premises are large enough that they can still run around as much as they want to inside our defensive periter."
"Alright, so they’ll definitely be useful if they defend the ch Nursery from the inside. But won’t they be more effective if we accept Commander Husaan’s request to let them range outside the periter?"
lkor conceded that point. "That’s true, but this isn’t a situation where everyone gets what they want. The Vesians are upon us in less than half a standard day, and we only have so many chs to go around. You have to realize that the Vesians will attempt to breach the walls in a single go with all they got. It’s vitally important we contain that initial push, and that requires a lot more than the twenty-four chs than what Sanyal-Ablin is offering."
"Well, we’ve also got the Avatars of Myth."
"Ves, don’t tell what to do." lkor curtly rebuked Ves. "Even though the Vesians are likely to employ the direct approach, there’s always the chance they’ll sneak around or pull of sothing else. A reserve is always needed to provide against contingencies, and they also need to be so of our best and most reliable people. No one else but my Avatars can fulfill this role."
This left a fairly bleak picture for the ch Nursery’s defense. lkor truly convinced him of the necessity to leash the Mudriders to the walls. Commander Husaan and the rest of the rcenaries wouldn’t be glad to hear that, but the rcenary contract they signed with the LMC didn’t leave them many options for refusal.
"Seeing as you’ve failed to convince them, I guess I’ll go ahead and talk to Commander Husaan myself." Ves replied and turned to leave the command center. "Do you have any suggestions on how to handle the Mudriders?"
"They’re a disgraced rcenary corps. Those who remained care a lot about their own honor. As career rcenaries, the thing they hate the most is retiring in ignomy with a permanent black mark on their records. Maybe you can use their honor against them. I’m not the most silver-tongued person, so I haven’t been able to do that myself. I hope you have better luck."
"Hah." Ves smirked. "As if I’m any better. It’s more like my mouth is made of wood."
User Comments
0 comments from readers