The screen behind her changed to show a depiction of the planet Mandarin, its sun and the solar flare. At first, Galen was alarmed. The cone ejected from their sun looked powerful enough to blast the atmosphere and possibly the outer crust away from Mandarin. A cone that large would cause the star itself to move sideways, enough to doom this planet by screwing up its orbit, leaving it well outside the habitable zone…
Galen realized the depiction was not to scale. It was exaggerated. The Supreme Commander continued her briefing. “It will take fourteen more days for our planet to move through the flare. Its intensity will neither increase nor decrease for at least three months. However, once we’ve passed through it, the flare will no longer affect us in any meaningful way. During those two weeks, to survive, we’ll have to shelter underground or in solid buildings with metal roofs, or inside armored vehicles. During the nights, near midnight, there will be time where it is safe to be outside for approximately two hours, so that presents relief for people who would otherwise suffer from being inside too long.”
The screen shifted back to a strategic battle map. The Supreme Commander continued briefing with practiced ease, but her narrative tone hinted at fatigue and sounded just a bit tired. “In the Northern Province, despite incursion by Mosh ground forces, our mobile space guns continue to harass the Mosh fleet. They target the more vulnerable support and cargo ships, chipping away at the will of the ordinary Mosh citizen’s support of the invasion. I—” She stopped, her face blank.
Galen thought the attacks to bash the Mosh cargo and transport ships would only make it harder for the Mosh to leave, their primary means of leaving the system damaged. And it would just piss the Mosh leaders off and make them more anxious to land more forces sooner rather than later. Galen also knew that the mobile space guns were lucky if they got off more than a couple of shots before Mosh counter-fire from space turned them into big char marks on the ground. But Mandarin would build more, train new crews. A drain on resources.
The Supreme Commander shook her head vigorously as if to clear it and continued, “In the North, the two Mosh clans are led by brothers, sons of the Mosh High Chief himself. They have been shown favoritism by their father, given greater resources and smaller sectors, while achieving less on the field of battle. Between them, they have suffered more than thirty percent casualties and have been handed more than a dozen tactical defeats in less than three months. Were they my Field Marshalls, they would have faced a firing squad long before now.”
Unsteady chuckles circulated around the room. There had been firing squads, ordered by the High Command and approved by this very same Supreme Commander. She pointed at the lower part of the map, the straight line. “These three clans have made steady gains and have exercised good judgment in the area of conservation of forces. They are cousins to the two leaders in the North, are the nephews of the High Chief. But recently, at the behest of the High Chief, some of their most powerful units have been taken away from them and reorganized into a mobile armored corps. Three armored divisions with support, with an able Mosh leader who distinguished himself in battle put in command. The reason for this is not clear, but this specialized corps seems to operate independently, reports directly to their High Chief, and has positioned itself behind the bend in the line.” She pointed at the junction where the straight line from the South angled slightly to the East, into the Northern Province.
Galen kept quiet and guessed that the new Mosh armored corps was put together to emulate his own Task Force. He smiled. Imitation, the highest form of flattery.
The Supreme Commander said, “We will take advantage of the petty jealously and favoritism evidenced at the highest levels of Mosh command. We will strike at a point where we can split their forces, drive a wedge between the favored sons of the High Chief and their cousins to the South. Our forces will emerge from the Kyok Forest and then drive into Guri, and beyond. Our initial forces will bypass Guri and then get in position to re-take Cherry Fork.
“The Kyok Forest is hilly terrain and densely forested with mature trees. Not generally considered good tank country, the Mosh won’t expect an attack from there. But the region has good logging trails and improved surface roads that can accommodate the movement of a large armored force. Most importantly, there is a heavy rail line capable of transporting the Ajax artillery pieces of the Jasmine Panzer Brigade.
“I will give a broad-brush outline of the operation so that you all understand the importance of keeping up with the timeline and the capture of every objective, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you individually. The main body of armor will push through the woods and envelop Guri. The Jasmine Panzer Brigade and its task force will bypass Guri and head toward Cherry Fork and take up positions about seventy five kilometers to the South and East of that city, just out of the range of the heaviest defensive guns of that city. They are there to secure firing positions for their Ajax guns, which will then crush the city’s defenses so that follow-on forces can capture Cherry Fork.
“But beware. The Ajax tanks cannot pass through the Kyok forest on their own. The hilly terrain is too steep and the roads too soft. They will be brought forward by rail. When the Jasmine task force bypasses Guri, Mandarin forces must then capture Guri so that the Ajax guns can be brought in to Guri’s railhead where they will be unloaded. They will then move into their firing positions to crush Cherry Fork’s defenses.
“Cherry Fork is the primary logistics hub for the forces in the North, and is also the only feasible operational base in the Western Province for the fighter-bombers that infest our skies. Taking that city will set the Mosh back significantly. They will be forced to base their logistics in the Skeleton Desert; their fighter-bombers will have to operate from the Skeleton Desert as well, meaning they won’t have the range to bother us nearly as much. I’ll expect the Mosh to pull back and establish a strong defense in the mountains east of the Skeleton Desert.
“When successful, this operation will put an end to Mosh offensive campaigns. It will put them in a position where they have to negotiate a peace and settle for accepting the Skeleton Desert as their new home. Over time, the Mosh and their culture will be absorbed into ours. Certainly, they will not lord over us. In a few generations, they will be civilized and assimilated.”
The Space Force Senior Master Chief made his way through the rows of seats, handing out flip-folders. Laminated cards spiral-bound at the top, they had a master event list with dates and times in the margins. Galen took his and shoved it into his left cargo pocket.
The Supreme Commander looked around the room and said, “As soon as you have your timeline, you may leave.”
The leaders stood and she left.
Tad flipped through his eight-page timeline booklet. “Cute.”
Galen shrugged, stood with Colonel Baek and Tad and waited for the other leaders to make their ways out of the room. “Nice plan.”
Tad said, “I couldn’t have come up with a better one myself.”
Colonel Baek said, “It’s your plan exactly, the proposal you sent up to High Command.”
“Yep.” Tad tucked his timeline in his pocket.
Galen said, “Only one flaw. We have to rely on the Mandarins to capture Guri.”
Baek said, “Either way. If we were tasked to take Guri ourselves, we’d have to rely on them to capture and secure the firing positions for the Ajax. I think that is too complex a task for them. Taking Guri is less of a challenge. It is a single, straightforward objective. They should be able to handle it.”