<continued from Part I>
Katherine, Cephaid Delphanis 78, March 1, 2171
One month ago, the last chapter of the on-and-off d'N'ra-Katherine War came
to a close, almost half-a-year after the "Treaties" of Aberwek and Finland
supposedly ended hostilities. Civilian and combatant casualties numbered in
excess of one-hundred fifteen-thousand. In response to the resultant civil
war, the Confederation arrive en force to confiscate of the most of the
Katherine colonial war vessels and heavy weaponry; effectively gutting
Katherine's space combat operational capability. It was the first action
ever taken against a Terran colony by the Confederation, and it was an
action that sparked a wave of protests throughout the Terran colonies and on
Earth itself. The Katherine Colonies were given no more than a fourth of
the cephaid cluster to expand; although the humans were clearly interested
in the huge helium-3 and tritium deposits within the sixty-first stellar
system's gas-giants. Unfortunately, that was not only within d'N'ra space;
Cephaid Delphanis 61 was the d'N'ra's home system. The main architects of
the cease-fires concluding of the war were, of course, delegates from the
cetacean Eridani; who had in all instances shown their unilateral sympathy
for the d'N'ra--and their distaste for the Terran handling of the situation.
In their view, Katherine's designs were inherently imperialistic and the
Confederation "could and would not accept" any subordinate nation-state's
belligerence towards a "friendly" or an "uncontacted" foreign government.
Not to mention that the blame of Katherine's war lay solely on the
shoulders of the the UPC, which admitted of the d'N'ra into the Council as
tertiary, non-voting alliance members. Consequently, the military actions
Katherine's hardline element pursued in 2170 were deemed criminal in nature.
The Department of the Interior immediately suspended Katherinian privileges
for unrestricted space commerce, and installed a temporary peace-keeping
force to support the new, UPC-endorsed military establishment. At the same
time, the Confederation encouraged the immigration of moderates and
non-Terrans to populate the Katherine colonies in time for the next free
election--March of 2175.
Civil war, long since expected by both sides, erupted in full force once
news of the Confederation's plans were made public. At first, most of the
fighting leveled off around the area of "police actions." One of the major
rebel groups, a religious faction--"The Sword of the Lord"--attacked an
outlying Normandy-Meurceurian city--Pinchot, only five-hundred kilometers
from Katherine Capitol. Immediately, the Confederation Congress--led by the
stunned and confused Democratic-Unificationists--demanded the removal of the
armed peacekeeping presence, leaving the military government the
Normandy-Meurceurians had installed to fend for itself. The fact that
non-humans had led the call for the pull-out only worsened matters.
Politicians who also represented a deep, alien resentment of years of Terran
"aristocracy" as well as pro-Earth policies and programs that had created
such situations as the Katherine Civil Wars. That reason alone gave current
council enough justification to forge an anti-Terran coalition. Still, the
necessity to maintain internal peace on Katherine grew more and more
problematic--the UPC had a constitutional obligation to diffuse "internal
problems." Finnally, the Defense Force succeeded in convincing the Council
of need to maintain a reasonable, military presence on Katherine. Citing
several moral outlines that the Eridani and Mutan were sure to accept, the
Terran delegation managed push an amendment of the previous non-action
commitment. Unfortunately, the 24th Congress refused to let anything
heavier than a single RSF-Army calvary regiment onworld--acting as an
observation force.
The observation action, approved by the DeForce after the congressional
go-ahead in June 2170, had blossomed into a full blown police action by the
following March. On an even darker note, the involvement of the
Confederation forces had escalated exponentially in comparison to that of
the original intent outlined even by Bravo Eight DeForce Command. With no
political reason to back out of the embarrassingly deteriorating situation,
the Defense Council recommended to the UPC Council to weather the storm--no
matter what the outcome. Caught in a deep political trap, the UPC
immediately agreed--through implication--that inaction was the best and
probably only recourse left.
That leads up to today. The battlefield outside the Glorious Gardens of
the Saint Augusto Morales--surrounding the capital city of
Normandy-Meuceur--was littered with the remains of mecha, decomposing
bodies, and assorted debris. Death and destruction reigned had unopposed,
as chaos besieged what little order was left on the global battlefield.
New Orsay, a frontier colony on the western side of Katherine's large,
central continent, had pressed its advantage in seizing the world power
Katherine Capitol and Normandy-Meurceur had built up since the landing of
the RVM Ghastona nearly ninety years ago. On the eve of the nation-state's
fiftieth autonomous anniversary, New Orsian forces took ground around the
once gleaming religious center of the Intersteller Retributionalists--once a
predominantly NC population center. The New Christian forces intended to
take it back and reconfigure it to a "less idolizing" paradise of simplicity
and corporealism. Peace was a distant dream; terrorists and politicians
alike worked to undermine any notion of human unity; instead, dividing
Katherine's political force into dangerous, squabbling factions. Not even
the perverse unity born in genocidal blood prevailed in these ominous times;
the memory of an age when both New Christian and Intersteller
Retributionalist had stood in the face of "Satan's spawn" and ignited a
cosmic-scale holy war had faded from Katherine forever
Now, with their war lost and their belligerent spirits broken, the
savage excuses for human beings turned to fight each other in an attempt to
satisfy nearly a century of bloodlust. Nevertheless, assertions of the
"inherently brutal and savage character of the Katherinian people" dripped
of dishonest, bigoted exaggeration.
However...
"That's the way they think." Lieutenant Colonel Westphal James Green,
acting commander of the 7th Calvary Regiment, knew his ratings and
officers--almost all Terran--had been fed the party line since the
operation's get-go. "Fanatical traitors--no interest in peace. You just
make sure they don't shoot each other up."
He tried to remove the sardonic grin from his face as the laughable line
milled about his mind. No star-nation held more for the wretched folk on
this rainy, dismal ball of rock than Terra--and her colonies, and anything
power that could turn that fervant Terran stance in the opposite direction
warranted Green's respect and attention. Terra was Katherine's most
outspoken advocate--at least back when she held the power to resist
criticism for that stance. However, Green, a student of history and
politics, knew that the population of Earth--either human or affiliated
races (Karbarrans, Praxians, Tirolians, and Zentraedi)--had exponentially
rebounded since the twenty-first century; peaking somewhere high,
double-digited billions (including colonials). Nevertheless, Terra's
population count paled in comparison to the hundreds of billions that five
far more fruitful races boasted. The colonies and the homeworld could never
hope to sustain a majority apportion in either the House of Representatives
or the House of Committees--the two segments of the tricameral Council based
on demographic apportionment.
Generalization, abstraction, and simplification were psychological
assurances--these men were mostly uneducated of the political complexities
that surrounded the dismal circumstances about them. Very few knew the
history of the Katherinian people, or had even heard of the Ghastona. Very
few had any familiarity with the doctrine of Katherine's major cult faiths;
ignorant of the religious bent on tearing this world apart.
The Headquarters Mobile Suit Platoon, Bravo (and now, Headquarters)
Troop, First of Seventh Armor (Light) Calvary Regiment, lay quietly their
trenches dug across the southern edge of Thresond's Ridge; spreading across
the west end of Katherine Capitol down towards the river. Fifteen
gargantuan mecha, all LBS-12E Archers, peered down on the low ground as
small specks that marked their foot-laiden scouts moved in through the field
below. In all practical terms, the squadron piloted immense, mechanical
foot soldiers, metallic infantry mounting weaponry powerful enough to take
out even the heaviest of artillery. Ten of them had their 35mm GBU-27
autocannons primed, and were kneeling like infantry soldier against a
natural embankment in the hill. On higher ground, the four of the remaining
five were carrying EU-19 "Decimator" particle cannons; capable of vaporizing
infantry units at ranges of five-hundred meters, or causing massive blow-out
up to ten kilometers away. The rearmost Archer mounted a 105mm transuranic
mobile gun; braced against its left shoulder and mounted on a titanium tripod.
Weary and tired, the Seventh Regiment had suffered its first casualties
during the drop. A shuttle carrying an entire company had fallen to a
ground-launch interceptor missile--tipped with a tac-nuke warhead. Within
the fireball that wrenched at the back of Colonel Green's mind, his imagined
conjured images of the bodies of Brigadier Colonel Marisa Illyushin--CO of
the Seventh Regiment--and the First Battalion's CO, Major Yuri Kamensky,
burn away into little more than black ash. The overkill strike had been
doubly avenged, yet Lieutenant Colonel Green--the observation force's S-3
intelligence officer, and now, the most senior man in the outfit--understood
completely the reason why they had taken on those casualties. Thanks to the
Council's refusal to approve an aerial contingent, two hundred thirty four
people had died--unnecessarily--before even setting foot on the ground; a
battalion short and mired in a confusing political whirlwind.
Four VCF-2S Patriarchs, a two-form Gamma Fighter, raced across the sky
towards the engagement zone's southeast perimeter. The compact,
bloated-wedge shape owed much to its VCF-1 Logan ancestor, but its powerful
engines--two curved fixtures, one on each wing--were far more powerful than
those of the older, limited-range attack vehicle. Once again, the lack of
aerospace support removed another major support pillar from under the
Seventh's weak disposition. Green gritted his teeth angrily. Seventh
Calvary had to rely on the NMF's air forces, which their military leadership
felt compelled to direct exclusively through their command structure.
Despite the outmoded equipment the NMF arrogantly paraded about, a measure
of relief coursed through Green as he remembered that Orsian weapons were
equally deplorable--if not worse--and his deployment strategy had reinforced
Green's opinion that he was dealing with an pretty inept enemy.
Nevertheless, the lieutenant colonel realized that they would be entrenched
against an innumerable and prepared enemy; a foe bent on the complete
destruction of the city they were tasked to protect. Orsians, the
Normandy-Meurceur forces believed, would not honor any cease-fire proposed
by the Confederation, and Green soon began to face the possibility that this
stand would prove fatally futile to this entire formation. An enemy willing
to cut a swath of indiscriminate destruction, no matter what the cost, was
an enemy that no man could utterly defeat.
Their enemies were human, he kept reminding himself. However, some time
ago, even that realization did not prevent humanity from discriminating and
attempting to slaughter one another. This world was almost a museum of that
period of human history, yet Green had to wonder if the idea of inter-human
warfare was as archaic an ideal as he thought. There were still many
disillusioned factions on his own world, and other colonies throughout the
solar system and the local group--not just distant colonies such as this
one--were beginning to feel more independent of their "seed world" every
year. The division between what was normally a unified Terran-interest
front had allowed non-humans to dominate the Council for two four-year
terms. Even when Earth, her colonies, and allied interests regained control
of the Council, they were often divided on the focus and goal of their efforts.
Here, Green noted, the result of irreconcilable differences was war.
"Enemy Destroids and Mobile Suits have begun to regroup towards the
western slope of the hill," his operations officer informed him. Enemy,
Green repeated to himself, wondering whether the goal of this mission had
been completely and irrecoverably forgotten. "However, they've been buzzing
our fly-boys pretty close for the past couple of days." Actual firing had
not yet occurred between the Confederation forces and the Orsians forces,
although the threat was still quite real. Three Confederation transports
had been fired upon and warded off by Orsian anti-aircraft artillery and
missiles; neither side of the conflict possessed energy weapons. As for the
Orsian Air Force units the ops officer was talking about, they were outdated
SF-15C-III Crimean Eagles from the previous century; missile and gun
fighters that had evolved into the non-transformable PF-15 Crimean
trans-atmospheric fighters that the Confederation employed as part of its
peace-keeping mission's space-borne contingent.
The western slope was towards the least fortified area of the city,
where Katherinian Military Forces: Army--mostly from Normandy-Meurceur and
her two subordinate provinces--positioned heavy tanks and the few Destroids
they had brought along with them during the Intersteller Retributionalist
immigrations. The guns were trained on the Orsian forces and under orders
not to fire unless the Confederation Military-Officer-In-Charge--Green, in
this case--gave the order. Unfortunately, the MOC soon realized that he was
obligated to operate through proper Katherinian military channels; Green was
opposed to the participation of the NMFs participation in the fortification.
It definitely drew Orsian criticism of their "peaceful enclave" and
characterized it as a united Katherinian-Confederation base of operation
through which both parties were planning the destruction of the Orsian
sovereignty. They had fought successfully to the foot of the Capitol
itself, cutting off civilian traffic and nearly twenty-percent of the water
supply. However, the Confederation had beat the Orsians to the nearby
reservoirs and hydro-electric plants; neither side was willing to engage
each other over those assets, initiating a savagely costly, brutal battle in
that fashion. The Orsians might have, if they had the reserve to take the
ground below the hill to divide Green's forces. In that case, they might as
well take the hill and move into the city--the Headquarters Platoon was the
only heavy mecha unit here, while the First and Second--along with all of
Charlie Troop--safeguarded Katherine Capitol's lifeblood.
"Can we confirm their heading?"
"Recon Alpha and Bravo are passing over that area right now, sir," the
ops officer responded. He tapped his laptop terminal--plugged into a
whole-force-accessable communications network--which may have taken in some
damage during last night's rain storm. He sniffled a bit, prompting Green
to worry about a potential cold--possibly a sinus headache, too--spreading
through the command center. "Sorry, sir."
"Just make sure to get some extra tissues when you go on break."
"Yes, sir," the ops officer responded. He was entirely too young, but
the first week of fighting had seen his senior staff wiped out, by a
goddamned surprise shelling! The operations officer, a young first
lieutenant, had been bumped up from communications--manned by a superfluous
staff sergeant in Fifth Squadron's order of battle. Green straightened his
fatigues as he beckoned his S-2 to continue.
"The Goussae will be moving up into the Emilia River soon," he said.
"Commander Saint-Just sent a flash message fifteen minutes ago. Four ASW
destroyers are moving up the coast, but he doesn't know if they've seen him
yet."
Green frowned. Although the Katherinian were under his reluctant
control, they were rather obstinate in following orders from off-worlders.
The General of Normandy's 1st "Lightning" Brigade and its counterpart Naval
Battle Squadron was as opposed to the Confederation peace-keeping presence
as Green was to the Katherinian show of military force.
"Comm, send to Commander Richardson. We'll be maintaining a river-bank
observation of pursuing contact until 2300h," Green ordered. "Lieutenant
Shafferton, I want a beach-front artillery team mobilized in fifteen
minutes--get them on the shore now! I don't want anything happening on land
to interrupt that convoy in any way."
"Yes, sir!" the operations officer and the commo rating replied
simultaneously, scurring to comply with their orders. Green stared out onto
the battle-field. Within the next hour or so, blood would be shed on the
fields below him. Hell was erupting around him with the white-hot intensity
of a full-blown star.
God help us, the colonel thought grimly. "Prepare to send to General de
Berrs. We're in position and awaiting engagement orders. Over." As the
courier saluted and rushed out to carry out his orders, Green turned back to
the tactical display, resolving to avert his eyes from the lush, green field
below--destined to resembled a charred, grey nightmare before the day was
out--until his task was complete.
-------==========*****End Presode One*****==========-------
* * *
+-----------------+-<The Badass Reverend of Funk Prez>---+
| Presley H. | Political Science / Computer Science |
| Cannady II | and Electrical Engineering Undergrad |
|<revprez@mit.edu>| at the Mass. Institute of Technology |
+-----------------+-<Anime Manga Development Group>------+
+ Author of Liars and Dreamers, a Robotech fanfic +
+-------<http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/1731/index.html>-+
| MIDN 4/c A-2-2 SQD, MIT-Harvard-Tufts NROTC Battalion |
|_|"The art of war is of vital importance to the state"|_|