Collection 39 (Patreon)

Collection

Chapter 39

-VB-

Edward Arlaoskas

Jamestown-Arlaoskas Shipyard, Taurian Concordat

3004 July

I received a message from the Corlaos Shipyard almost as soon as they detected a potential problem. 

I read through the message, looked at the list of the ships that this invading force flying Capellan colors brought with them, and then looked at the ships that were defending Corlaos Shipyard. 

I determined within five minutes of receiving the message that…. I didn’t need to worry. But I was also going to head on over just in case. I didn’t know whether or not the Capellans brought nukes with them, and as powerful as each of my ships are compared to Inner Sphere ships, nukes were still nukes and needed to be respected for what they were. 

I quickly messaged everyone and we held a vote. 

I was going to go and fight them; since travel from Coromodir Star to Coromodir VII normally took up to ten days, I just needed to be there by then. Everyone chose to follow me to the fight. Then I contacted Jacob, who knew the situation and immediately transferred over two of the latest manufactured and fitted Mules. 

Once I determined that, I contacted the Protector. 

“Fleetmaster Arlaoskas, is something happening? Several of your ships have changed course toward your ship,” she said. “And then you contacted me.”

She had suspicions that something was happening. She was sharp. 

“Yes. I just received intel that the Capellan Confederation has invaded the Aurigan Coalition, and are attacking Coromodir itself. It’s funny how none of us have heard about their ships passing through the rest of the Aurigan Coalition, wouldn’t you say?” I asked her knowingly. 

She stared at me before her eyes hardened. 

“So it’s true. ComStar plays with us.”

Unlike everything else I’ve told her, this was definitive proof that ComStar was not as neutral as it said it was. 

“Yes. But right now, I need to go and deal with the Capellans.”

She nodded. “I cannot help you in this, you understand.”

I did. “I do. The Taurian Concordat is not at war with the Capellan Confederation nor is it an ally of the Aurigan Coalition. You have no pretext to help the Coalition.”

“You are not worried? Or afraid?” she asked me. I knew that she was prodding for information.

I chuckled. “Afraid, Protector? I’m worried that the battle will be boring,” I drawled at the end. “After all, they don’t know what they will be facing. Hell, I’ll have arrived to defend Coromodir V, Coromodir VI, and the Corlaos Shipyard faster than the Capellans will be there to invade!” 

There was a “ding” of realization as she remembered just how quickly I had moved from New Vandenburg to Jamestown. When one can cross just a little over forty lightyears in just five hours, a hundred lightyears was not that big of a distance. 

The two Mules lined up alongside The Maw and transports from all over the system began to ferry my family members over from their shore leave. 

As I sat there waiting in the bridge of The Maw, I found myself asking a few questions. 

And more importantly, Manager Jacob’s words echoed in my ears. 

“Full of ambition that you portray in manners that you claim are in self-defense but create situations designed to goad your current enemies into acting time and time again. It is my humble opinion that if you truly want to accomplish something, then you should do away with the veil of an honest man doing honest work. It doesn’t fit you.”

My fingers drummed on the console. 

Despite being less than a month old at the time, he had hit the nail on the coffin with surprising accuracy. Or should I say that Jacob had merely stated something so very obvious to the artificial intelligence whose capabilities exceeded human norm? 

My fingers drummed away. 

Did I truly have a reason to deny anymore? Was I playing my game safely or skittishly? 

Was I just avoiding the outbreak of a large-scale conflict because I didn’t want to be responsible for killing people? 

I took a deep breath in.

Have I grown large enough to guarantee victory? 

Am I prepared enough? Three shipyards across the periphery with artificial intelligence that were aligned with me… for the most part. If they weren’t, then I was already creating the Inner Sphere’s equivalent of the Remnants. 

My fingers tapped away. 

I already made the decision to go and defend the Aurgians and my shipyard. 

So why was I hesitating? 

I was already a killer of men and women. I’ve destroyed dropships and jumpships alike. 

My fingers tapped away … and then stopped. 

“Perhaps I should visit Terra.”

I knew that Terra had SDS still active under the care of ComStar, though hidden away. Just The Maw wouldn’t be enough. I would need a lot more ships and crew. 

Yes. 

That was a good goal. 

I was going to 4X this shit. 

Explore.

Expand.

Exploit. 

Exterminate.

And Capellan Confederation had just volunteered itself. 

-VB-

Colonel Samuel Kingston of Kingston’s Legionnaires 

En Route to Coromodir VII, Aurigan Coalition

3004 July

The Capellan Confederation put much into this. 

2 Overlord-class dropships.

6 Intruder-class dropships. 

5 Union-class dropships. 

10 Leopard-class dropships.

6 Leopard CV-class dropships.

7 Achilles-class dropships.

4 Avenger-class dropships. 

170 battlemechs, average 40 tons.

85 aerospace fighters, average 30 tons. 

2 infantry battalions. 

This was three full regiments worth of mechs, fighters, and infantry. This was not something the Capellan Confederation put together to use against a target on a whim. This was a heavy investment into whatever raid or deep strike that the state had planned.

And it was a trust in Samuel’s ability as the commanding officer of the Kingston’s Legionnaires. 

He had repaid that trust with results.

Samuel crushed the periphery upstarts on Fjaldr, Bringdam, Ryans Fate, Panzyr, and Itrom. Though he left no military or civilian officers to oversee the integration of those worlds, he’d mauled them so thoroughly that it was a foregone conclusion. 

The Capellan Confederation would come out of this little campaign as the victor, and the resources of these foreign worlds would be put to use strengthening the greater state. It wasn’t as if the periphery hicks were using them properly. 

“Colonel.”

He looked down from where he stood on the bridge of his Overlord dropship. The one who’d spoken up to him had been the ship’s communications officer. 

“What is it, lieutenant?” 

“We have an incoming communication attempt from a ‘Corlaos Shipyard.’”

He sniffed. 

The shipyard. 

The shipyard. The one that was apparently popping out a jumpship every month or so. 

It was something that these barbarians didn’t deserve. 

“Put them on screen.”

And the communication went directly to the holovid projector next to his captain’s seat. 

There was no face on the other side, only audio.

“This is Colonel Samuel Kingston of the Kingston’s Legionnaires, here in Coromodir System to bring the periphery into the grace of the Capellan Confederation. You will surrender, Corlaos Shipyard, so that you can be put to use benefiting the glorious confederation.”

Silence. 

Then laughter. 

“You have no idea who you just ticked off, don’t you?”

Samuel frowned. “You mean the Leaguer.” He had been briefed on how the shipyard came to be. 

It was why he had been put in charge of so many assault dropships and dropships in general. The video of the Leaguer’s dropships punching through a jumpship with ease was a strategically important information mine, and the strategists above his pay grade had put it to good use. That and the information provided to them by the Maskirovka about the odd carrier dropship whose size had been obviously exaggerated by the Free Worlds League. 

Forty dropships and 85 aerospace fighters would be more than enough to take care of those dropships, but they wouldn’t be here. The confederation had waited until the man and his ships were far away from these Aurigans. 

The plan was foolproof, and whoever was on the other side of this call on the shipyard was a fool putting up a brave face. 

“You are defenseless. I highly recommend you surrender. If you do and cooperate to bring the shipyard into operation for the sake of the confederation, then you may see your servitorship duration reduced.” He had no way to guarantee this, of course, but it was an offer nonetheless. 

“... ComStar didn’t tell you everything. Makes sense.”

He frowned. ComStar? Samuel knew that the Leaguer had issues with -.

…

…

Why would the Maskirovka had informants this deep in the periphery?

‘I see,’ he thought to himself. ‘ComStar is using us to get back at these upstarts. Their pride gets satisfied with their deaths and the Capellan Confederation gets a shipyard in exchange.’

It would be a fair deal, if that was what was happening. 

But, once again, that was above his pay grade. He was here to carry out the will of the chancellor and that of the Capellan Confederation. 

“One final chance to surrender.”

“... come and take it, if you can.”

And the shipyard hung up on him.

Samuel sniffed. “Mannerless cur incapable of understanding mercy when it is in his face.”