Collection
Chapter 75
-VB-
Major Joshua Park (Mercenary Liaison, Draconis March)
Galatia, Federated Suns
3008 June 20th
Joshua looked over the paperwork while he waited for the new mercenary company to arrive.
He looked at the widescreen UniPad, a flatscreen noteputer with more processing power and digital storage, and read some of the details about the mercenary company… and immediately knew that it had to be some kind of deniable asset from the Arlaoskas Union.
MRB Mercenary Company Registry
Unit Name: Red Free Company
Unit Size: Battalion
Affiliation: Independent
Registeration Date: 3007 September 10
Current Employer: n/a
Past Employers: n/a
Commanding Officer: Colonel Jason “Alpharius” Edwardson
Unit Assets:
-1x Mule-class Jumpship (Command Ship)
-1x Tarsus-class Jumpship
-2x Slasher-class Warships
-2x Union Dropships
-2x Glimmer Assault Dropship
-Mech Command Company
--Command Lance (1x “Saladin” Heavy Mech, 1x “Monarch” Heavy mech, 2x “Everest” Medium Mech)
--Recon Lance (1x Locust, 2x Spider, 1x Phoenix Hawk)
--Brawler Lance (4x GM Kai)
--Brawler Lance (4x GM Kai)
-Mech Assault Company
--Flanker Lance (4x Strife Wanzer)
--Brawler Lance (3x Avalanche Wanzer, 1x Zephyr Wanzer)
--Brawler Lance (3x Avalanche Wanzer, 1x Zephyr Wanzer)
--Scout Lance (4x Frost Wanzer)
-1x recon infantry company
-2x armored infantry companies
-1x armored vehicle company
Not only was that a lot of metal, it was also a lot of Union-tech.
Monarch? Saladin? Everest? Yetta Dragoon power armor? He’s never heard of any of them, but if whoever or whatever (cuz artificial intelligences were a thing now) put this mercenary company used them together with the GM Kais, then they must be pretty good. Especially since GM Kais that made its way into the Federated Suns was almost always used by either ace mechwarriors or field commanders.
Worse were the warships and dropships. He’s never heard of a Glimmer-class dropship or Tarsus-class jumpship.
But he knew what the Mule-class jumpship and Slasher-class warships were. Who involved in military matters wouldn’t? The Mule-class jumpship was the fastest growing jumpship class. Only the Arlaoskas Union, the Taurian Concordat, and that other weird periphery nation called Aurigan Coalition made them from shipyards that the Arlaoskas Union set up before and after their founding. The Mule-class jumpship had one fatal issue that made his superiors and mercenaries hate the Union’s guts: the Mule lacked dropship collars and any attempt to fix that issue or modify the jumpship resulted in a very broken jumpship that could no longer be used.
The Slasher-class warships… Those were dangerous. They were the primary patrol ships the Arlaoskas Union used to patrol their space. It was also quickly becoming outdated among a deluge of warship designs that the Union was quick to produce, and the Free Worlds League was buying up as many Slashers as they could to use against the dying Capellans and the resistant Lyran Commonwealth. If what he heard about them remained true, then a single Slasher was powerful enough to take down a dozen Achilles assault dropships by itself and still have armor left over.
The Glimmers were unknown to him.
His superiors would want to know about … all of this, of course, if they didn’t know already.
Then his radio crackled. “Port Tower to Major Park, over.”
He pulled it out and pressed down on the button. “This is Major Park, PT, over.”
“A mercenary company declaring themselves to be ‘Red Free Company’ is in orbit waiting for permission to land in the port, over.”
“That’s the mercenary company our bosses sent. Let them down, over.”
“Roger that, over.”
He waited as those dropships began their descent, and he first noted the re-entry flames as they crossed the sky. As minutes went by, those fires went out, and soon, he had a small fleet of dropships descending down toward the spaceport.
He immediately recognized the Union dropships; they were so ubiquitous among mercenaries and militaries that it would be impossible for him to not recognize them.
The most striking of the ships was the biggest ship of them all: a big, fat, and ugly bulbous thing that dominated the center of their fleet’s formation. It was the Mule-class jumpship, one of the few jumpships that could actually land on planets.
And then he noticed the two “rusted” cyan colored dropships.
‘Those have to be the Glimmers,’ he thought to himself.
Finally, there were the actually rust-colored ships with two pairs of solar paneled wings. Those he recognized instantly as the Slasher-class patrol ships. The warships didn’t land, choosing instead to turn back after escorting the jumpship and dropships halfway down and climbing back to go back to orbit.
Joshua watched the five ships fire their main and maneuvering thrusters to steady their landing, and they did so with veteran pilots’ accuracy and precision just half a click from his position.
Once they landed and all of their thrusters shut off, he began to make his way toward them.
And then from the Mule jumpship, a small door opened inward, and a mechanical staircase slid out at a strict 45 degree angle. And it was only once the staircase landed with a clank that people began to come out of the jumpship.
Joseph stared when the first person to step out of the Mule jumpship was a hulking man with a single giant optic lens dominating a full-faced helmet and a cloak that covered the rest of his body.
The man looked around and then stopped when he saw Joseph.
After a moment where their gazes met, the man made his way down the staircase neither quickly or slowly but at an even pace. Unhurried, unbothered, and calm.
Joseph started walking again, too, and they met somewhere at the halfway point.
“Greetings, major of the AFFS,” the man spoke through a vocal synthesizer. It sounded rough, slightly garbled, and staticky. “I am Jason Edwardson, though my friends call me Alpharius.”
“... Good morning, Colonel Edwardson. I am Major Joshua Park. I will be your liaison officer for the duration of your employment in the AFFS.”
“Well met, then,” the strange man replied.
Joseph looked over the man. “... Are you from the Union?”
The man stiffened. “... Does it matter?” he asked.
No, not right now, but it may impact our future relationship if you are honest about your point of origin. I have been told at length that the First Prince wishes to retain a good relationship the Federated Suns has with the Union, and knowing that the only mercenary command to have originated from the Union is working with the Federated Suns would go some distance to reassure the First Prince of the Union’s intentions.”
Assuming they weren’t here to spy, of course. But why come here to the Draconis Combine if that was the case? The Union had enough warships - and those terrifying drones - to drown out anything the Federated Suns could offer up to serve as resistance.
No, they were here to be mercenaries.
The man looked at him, and Joseph couldn’t see through the lens dominating the helmet.
“... Yes, we are from the Union.”
Joseph stared at the man and then nodded. “Thank you. I will keep it out of … unnecessary documentation.”
“Wonderful. Now, allow me to let you do your job. I have been told that we will be fighting a unit of the Draconis Combine armed with the ‘latest Union arms.’ Who exactly are we fighting and what is their approximate war gear?”
“Well, we know that the 24th Dieron Regulars are on their way here. Which makes us wonder how you got here quicker than them…”
“Pirate point.”
“... Pirate point. You mean -.”
“Yes.”
“... Sure. Why not? That’s possible. You guys are from the Union. You lot make the impossible happen every other day.”
-VB-
Galatia, 3008
Friendlies:
1st Galatian Militia (Regiment/Regular/Reliable), 33% combat readiness
-11th Command Mech Lance
-12th Recon Mech Lance
-13th Light Mechanized Company
-14th Infantry Company
-15th Infantry Company
3rd Deneb Cavalry (Regiment/Regular/Reliable), 25% combat readiness
Red Free Company (Battalion/Green/Reliable), 100% combat readiness
-simplified contract terms: disable, capture, or destroy OPFOR equivalent to at least quarter of your tonnage if defense is possible, half if defense is not possible. Victory condition: Galatia remains in FedSuns’ hands.
-contract payout: 30 million C-Bills, 50% salvage right
Incoming Enemies:
24th Dieron Regulars “Headtakers” (Regiment/Green/Reliable), 95% combat readiness
-Command Battalion (40 mechs)
-Assault Battalion (40 mechs)
-Assault Battalion (38 mechs)
-Recon/Skirmish Battalion (40 mechs)
-1x Infantry Company
-1x Heavy Mechanized Company (12 armored vehicles)
-2x Flights (12 aerospace fighters)
-VB-
A/N:
Yetta Dragoon armor is from a Rimworld mod.
Glimmer is a Starsector Remnant frigate.
Tarsus is a destroyer-sized freighter from Starsector.