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Operation Overlord II
Massive fanfiction about the retaking of Terra from the WoB
by Collective of Authors |
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Overlord Dropship Phoenix’s Redemption, 0956 hours, 28 November, 3058; Un-named star system
Trebor stood up at his command console on the bridge and looked about. Meeting the eyes of all on the deck, he nodded and went over to the off-bridge conference room. The ship captain motioned at the communications specialist to start the ship-to-ship links for the Colonel’s speech. After the tech signaled the system was ready, the captain moved to the conference room’s hatchway. “Ready when you are, sir.”
Trebor looked up from a book he held in his hands. “Very well. Two minutes then; I need to collect my thoughts a bit.”
“Yes sir.”
Moving to a portal, Trebor stared out into the blackness of the area space. He mentally counted the assembled ships and sighed. “17 Jump-ships, 37 Drop-ships and four times as many fighters and small craft. And all being bet on a three-month-old revision of a three-century-old op-order. I have to be crazy,” he snorted. “and so are all of them.” Turning back toward the hatch, he exited back on to the bridge and took position at his command chair. Nodding to the tech, he took a deep breath and upon the signal from commo, began.
“To all of the assembled forces of Operation Overlord; I ask for you undivided attention.”
“This night we embark on a Great Crusade; to remove a cancer at the Heart of our peoples and Home of our race. You, the assembled soldiers, the sword of this quest, come from all over the Inner Sphere and beyond. Commonwealth, Rasalhauge, Combine, League, Confederation and even Clan; you are the hope of one world and the chance of all of our respective peoples. For if the Word of Blake is allowed to hold the Cradle of Humanity, all of our gains in the last 20 years in science, relations, and knowledge will be forever in jeopardy by a faction known for Repression. Some of you are wondering why we are doing this, honoring a contract made almost three hundred years ago.”
In the mess area of Pendragon’s Swords drop ship, the troops of the unit looked at one another with grim smiles. They had guessed a while ago the reasons why the Blakists were left alone, while Major Pendragon shook his head at the confirmation of info gotten to him from a trusted source in the League. This mission would be the largest gamble ever made against an entrenched force since the original recapture of Terra from Amaris. And he had agreed to be apart of this….
“It is about Honor; it is about Duty; it is about Loyalty; it is about Responsibility. Long ago, my ancestor was in the SLDF- a commander of one of its divisions. He along with his troops agreed to stay behind and protect Terra from any external threat. My ancestor and Colonel Burns’ were two of the hidden ten that stayed. They all vowed to act if Terra was in danger."
On board Zulu IV, Colonel Burns of the Iron Jackals sat in his religion’s prayer position listening to Rolyat’s words. Smiling inwardly, he was glad it was not him giving this speech and did not envy his counterpart. Looking at his command staff, he took note of their expressions; filing away the names of those whom did not respect the reason behind the speech. Oh…. he had a job for those commanders during the assault on Salinas and while the glory would be great, Allah would spare those who gave honor to this most holy of missions…. And bring terrible punishment to those who would defile his ancestor’s memory and family vow.
"Over the years since, many of the units involved in the pledge were destroyed in the wars that followed the Exodus. Today, only the Iron Jackals and a few smaller units remain from that time. The Lancers, through me, carry the legacy of my forebears and I am bound by Honor to carry out the contract. We are bound by Duty to not only honor the contract, but to do the job as best as possible. It is out of Loyalty to the man who commanded our forebears to protect Terra and out of Loyalty to the oaths we swear to protect those who can’t protect themselves. It is our Responsibility to do what is right and obey those oaths, lest they become hollow."
Captain Irwin looked at his XO and smiled shakily. “Well, I told you we would be apart of something big, didn’t I?
“Yes you did, Andy; but you never said anything about how when or how long this has been planned. I bet the damn battleplan is a couple hundert’ year old!!” His exec retorted.
“Well, no- the plan is only three months old at the oldest. The original orders are only that old though.”
“Jeeez-sus Christ!!” The exec threw up his hands. “Well, I hope the salvage is good; I wanna be able to fix my Marauder up when this is over.”
Andy chuckled at this. “The salvage will be outstanding- I guarantee it. What I can guarantee is we’ll be around to claim it.”
The exec looked at Andy and somberly agreed. “Yeah, I know…. Always wanted to be rich- just never really expected it to be this damn dangerous getting’ there……
“Tell me about it….”
“Some of you have come to be involved recently; for those who agreed to join when approached with nothing more than obscure specifics, I thank you for trusting me and those acting for me. To those who’s own former commanders that came to be apart of this contract long ago, I thank you for the Honor and Responsibility you show in honoring it."
General Barton sat in his Jump-couch and just listened. His Spartans were one of those that came late to the contract and wound up being one of the largest units involved. Musing over the history of the Lancers and its commander, he understood Trebor’s apprehension of the invasion. “Quite similar to Eisenhower prior to the original Overlord,” he thought. “Nothing wrong in that…. I just hope he’s right about the pooling of the Aerospace resources; I really don’t want to caught with out any at all….”
“Every obstacle must be overcome, every inconvenience suffered, and every risk run to ensure that our blow is decisive. We cannot afford to fail…for the entire future could rest in our hands."
"Good luck to all of you and Godspeed.”
With a hand motion, Trebor signaled the tech to cut the feed. Once done, he then turned to the ship’s captain. “Captain Carlson, the conn is now yours; lets get this circus moving. I don’t think the Blakist are going to be just sitting around for us… do you?”
Carlson grinned. “No Sir.”
“Very well. Ah’m out of here; the bridge is yours.” With that, Trebor turned and left the deck.
Carlson stared after him for a moment and then turned to the rest of the bridge crew. “Alright people!! Let’s get this show on the road! Commo- signal to all ships Condition Yellow- stand by to Jump in T minus 10! Receive confirmations and log on my mark….Mark!”
“Mark!” the tech parroted as he passed the signal to all of the ships in the flotilla. Recording responses as they came in, the tech turned to his captain and gave the word. “All ships report in- ready to jump in T-minus 7 minutes”
“Very Well, Commo. Weapons officer- Status of Redemption’s guns?”
“Green Lights, Captain”
“Good. CAG?”
The CAG officer checked his status board prior to answering. “All fighter carriers report machines manned and ready for jump, sir”
Carlson nodded and watched the clock tick down as the different sections reported in and acknowledgements given. Finally, there was just the clock.……
“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Mark! All Ships, All Ships: Stand by to Jump!” three seconds passed then the fateful command was given.
“Jump.”
The battle to recapture Earth had now begun. |
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