Furnace (Hunter-Killer #1)

Chapter 15 - Hit Them Where it Hurts

More lines smeared the display, these ones arcs of interlocking red that showed the Scraegan patrol patterns. The deployment, he realised, was timed to slam right into the teeth of the local defence. His brow furrowed and he glanced around, seeing similar expressions of unease.

Colonel Aggathor obviously saw them too. "While normally that might seem counter intuitive, we are deploying in a strength the Scraegans have rarely seen, and they will not be expecting us to launch an assault here at all, let alone bring fifty Hunter-Killers straight into their patrol packs. The goal here is to eliminate as much of the local defence forces as possible with a hard, fast strike.

"When we have driven off these forces we will split into three groups. Goliaths from all squadrons will fall back to bombardment range. The surface entrance to this compound is a rock slab the size of a house – the Goliaths will smash this thing to rubble. As the bombardment finishes HKs Warlock, Rupture, Thresher, Arcade and Savant will proceed with a full assault on the base. We cut deep as fast as we can and find the station commander. Goliaths will remain at bombardment range and all remaining units will run perimeter patrol and provide close support to Scout Cadre units in the event of Scraegan reinforcements."

"Sir?" one of the Northern commanders raised a hand.

"It's Hauzer, yes?"

"Yes, sir," the man confirmed. "How quickly are we anticipating a Scraegan response? As soon as they see the strength we're committing they are going to scramble to match it."

"Yes they are," Aggathor agreed. "Colonel Hackley's estimates based on correlation of Scraegan movements in the sector estimate we will have a little over an hour until they can pull a large relief force together. That does not mean there will not be smaller units dispatched sooner to try and slow us down. Speed is everything in this operation, boys and girls."

"If we get bogged down in there," Ryke piped up. "We may need to pull back before we can complete the objective. If we can't find this Alpha and subdue it, we can't stay be caught in there when the reinforcements arrive."

"Couldn't agree more," Aggathor grunted. "So no sightseeing tours, alright?" A ripple of laughter passed through the group and the grizzled colonel gave them a wry smile. "I know it isn't perfect. There are a lot of unknowns to juggle. That being said, I don't know about you but I'd like to give these bastards a hell of a bloody nose. Colonel Hackley was right about one thing – we need to up the tempo of this war; get the Scraegans back on their heels for once."

Ryke nodded in agreement, and around him the other pilots did the same, all of them able to relate to Aggathor's simple reframing of the mission. Could they accomplish everything that the mission briefing hoped? Maybe not. Could they make the Scraegans feel fear? Ryke was determined to find out.

"That's the state of play," Aggathor continued, killing the view screen. "We depart in two hours. Make sure all your mechs are checked and double checked by the engineers before we ship out. I don't want anyone finding the River because of a mechanical fault. Dismissed!"

The pilots shot upright, voices chattering and commanders snapping out orders and prep assignments. Ryke stood a little slower, happy to let the others bundle from the briefing room before he and the rest of HK-Rupture followed them. As they walked he reeled through the pre-flight checks he expected of each pilot: ordinance loading, munitions tallies, joint cleans, gimble and gyro calibrations and hydration packs. All of these and more ought to be already have been green-lighted by the engineers between missions – in fairness they generally were – but no self-respecting pilot was about to walk into a combat zone without doing their own checks first.