Joint Log | Gen. Sharpe & Col. Harper | "United We Stand - Divided We Fall"

Posted on 241507.11 @ 1:31am by General Richard Sharpe & Colonel Patrick Harper

Mission: The Krigoran War [GQ]

Dawn.

The ancient precursor to military operations since mankind first set out to kill one another. The dawn was always considered to be the best time to start a military campaign, as it would give the maximum amount of light to fight throughout the day. So too today would it bring about the massive military assault that would be a decisive battle.

As the light crept over the high sweeping hills, a flight of strike Tigersharks banked left sharply, and unleashed a salvo of micro-torpedoes onto the massed military force that was, at this moment, surging towards the 89th MECH. They rained destruction and hell down on the Krigoran military force, yet still they pushed forward to where the encircled and vastly outnumbered marine brigade were bottled up.

Despite all the best planning, consideration, talent and intelligence he could possess, Harper had still led his Brigade slap bang into the middle of a goddamn ambush, and there was no way to break out. He'd tried, committing his infantry into a frontal assault, with the armoured Battalion trying to break out of the rear. All that had happened had been that they'd become bogged down in their own fight, as the enemy had seemingly predicted his entire strategy, and had amassed forces exactly where he'd surged - to counter him point for point. They were being hammered, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Back at the Spaceport, a message was dispatched to the Commanding General of the 3rd MEF that the 89th MECH had been cut off, surrounded and was endanger of being overrun. General Trident advised that he had no reserves from which to provide support, and any support that could be provided would be too far away to support the beleaguered brigade. This news was not warmly received by the CG, who had promptly thrown a tea-mug at the far wall.

"Get Valenar in here now!" He barked through the door.

A few moments later, the slender female one-star entered the room. "You bellowed?"

"He-" He began, cut off by her terseness. "Very funny." He quipped. "I have a brigade cut off two hundred and eleven miles due east of here, and I have no ground forces to deploy. Do you have any air assets to assist?"

"Most of my assets are tied up in other operations. They are getting air support, Richard, but we cannot bring it down effectively. Especially along the front, where the forces are intermixed. There are no clear lines, and I don't want to bomb Harper's boys." Innovindil replied, clearly concerned but unable to assist.

Sharpe thumped his fist down hard on his desk. "We cannot sit back and let an entire brigade get wiped out!"

"Respectfully sir, if this wasn't Harper's brigade, would you be as worked up as you are now?" Innovindil asked, throwing a glass of cold water over her CG.

"I won't deny I have a personal stake in this, but I'm not going to sit back and allow a marine brigade to be taken out just because the CO is a good friend of mine." He replied, coldly. "There must be something we can do..."

"All that can be done, has been done Richard. Trident has done all he can. He simply doesn't have the forces to deploy rapidly to provide support." Innovindil replied.

"Rapid deployment..." Richard said, then rummaged around on his desk through the PADDs, and found one he was looking for. "Get me Major Askin, at once!" He barked, startling the calm looking Elvian General for a very brief moment, before she swiftly left the room, as if on a breeze.

A few moments later, a rather harried looking Andorian burst into the General's office, and came to a breathless salute. "Major Askin reporting as ordered!" He breathed. He'd been summoned by a four-star, one did not dither when that happened.

"Major, your unit is fresh in, right? Not deployed yet?" Sharpe asked, knowing the answer, because he controlled deployments.

"Yes sir. Most of our equipment is here, we're a bit short on supplies right now, but we're mostly physically here." He replied.

"Good, prepare your people for immediate deployment. Get whatever you can, scrounge, beg, borrow, steal - whatever it takes. You're being cav-dropped east to an encircled brigade - here." Sharpe said, pointing at a point on the map.

"Very good sir." Askin said.

"Oh and Major..." Sharpe said, casually.

"Yes General?" Askin asked.

"I'm coming with you." Sharpe replied.

"Sir?" Askin asked, not entirely sure he understood.

"You heard. I spent ten years in the Air-Cav, I know what I'm doing. I'm going."

"Respectfully sir, aren't you supposed to be leading the entire theatre of war?" Askin asked.

"I need a vacation." Sharpe replied. "Tell General Swift to get in here on your way out."

---- Later ----

Wearing battle fatigue and carrying an assault rifle over his shoulder, Sharpe stepped onto the LAAT (Low Altitude Assault Transport) and grabbed one of the handles on the roof as the ship took off. It, along with the swarm of others, escorted as they were by Valkryie fighters, were heading east.

Sharpe had faced a deluge of verbal abuse from his staff for leaving his HQ to fight - but in the end, he was the CG, and unless Malone ordered him otherwise, he was going to fight. He had no doubt Swift or someone similar had indeed contacted Malone, but no comm had come by the time he'd left his HQ, and therefore he was going. Besides - it was going to be fun.

---- To be continued ----