Mordechai Nixon pulled the sleeves of his standard issue uniform up and then adjusted his glasses. All the other Star Colonels were yelling over one another while Galaxy Commander Rain Eun-Chui tried to maintain control. For the commander of the 51^st Battle Cluster, on loan to Galaxy Commander Eun-Chui’s, this was night and day compared to the briefings they used to hold with saKhan Kathya Olezko. While the saKhan clearly gave out orders and only asked for bids when really required, Galaxy Commander Eun-Chui was playing by “the old rules”, even though that was not what the Khan had asked for.

The plan was to invade Maximilian, a world from the Marian Hegemony. Reports had told them it was defended by elements of the First Marian Legion and some foreign mercenaries. This was comparable to what Mordechai and his unit had faced during the battle of Thadora’s Land, where planetary militias and a mercenary outfit were supported by a large pirate organization. The problem was now that “planning” for this offensive was almost out the window because everyone wanted as much glory and honor as they could, which is the opposite of what you need for a clean operation. Even Mordechai’s counterpart from the 428^th Assault Cluster, also on loan to Steel Fang Galaxy had jumped into the bidding war, not realizing it was only making things worse.

Mordechai walked closer to the holomap, ignoring the bragging and posturing from the other warriors. The only other officer which responded to his action was the Galaxy Commander, who got close to him with a worried look in her eyes. “The real problem in this wave of the strikes against the Marian is Valerius”, began Mordechai calmly. The Galaxy Commander nodded in response: “But we do need to take Blantleff and Maximilian before we can attack the more fortress world of Valerius, quiaff?” The commotion started dying down a bit around them, and Mordechai continued: “Aff, Galaxy Commander. I am fully confident Fer-De-Lance will pacify Blantleff from my understanding of their situation and reports.”

A Watch officer got closer to the Star Colonel and Galaxy Commander, carrying a report from AsRoc. The other Star Colonels and officers quieted down even more as Mordechai started zooming in on objectives on the map of Maximilian. “This world is small but not insignificant. Quite comparable to Thadora’s Land, where I was stationed before.” Glowing insignas started popping up on the holomap. I Legio had 2 Cohors and reserves on the planet, while the unknown mercenaries had the equivalent of about a battalion. Adding regular planetary militia, Steel Fang Galaxy had its work cut out for them.

The Galaxy Commander zoomed in on an element of I Legio: “The Legions were getting ready to attack the Lothian League, quiaff? They are ready and equipped as well, it is not like we are attacking unaware targets.” Finally, thought Mordechai Nixon, we have some calm to think about this. “Their equipment might not be a match for our superior Clan equipment, or even some of the Successor States equipment. But AsRoc has reported that a large-scale upgrade program has been ongoing since the Marian war against the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey. Also, the Marians are specialists in combined arms deployment.” The commander of the 1^st Steel Fang Striker, Corinne Monet, was next to talk: “The Marians also are specialists in combined arms deployment. They have a lot of Battle Armors, both the more common ones the Inner Sphere used and two models more common only to them.” Star Colonel Marl, the commander of Steel Fang’s infantry units, snarled: “They are no match for our troops!”

Surprisingly, the Galaxy Commander cut him off. Mordechai had not expected the diminutive woman to finally take charge of the situation: “That is how we lost during Operation REVIVAL, Star Colonel Marl. Never underestimate a foe.” Marl was happy with that answer, Mordechai noticed. Maybe that jab had been intentional to get the other officers to stop and listen. The asian army leader continued: “Our troops are still green in general. Thanks to the saKhan, we have the 51^st and 428^th to support us here that have more combat experience.” Mordechai took the lead afterwards: “While I understand why people want to bid and try to get the best assignments as we burn towards Maximilian, we cannot afford to put the wrong troops in the wrong location. If we have too many losses here, we will not be able to go to Valerius.”

There were a few squeaks of opposition here and there but calm now prevailed. “We have 4 front-line units here and your own support Cluster, Star Colonel Nixon”, continued the Galaxy Commander. “The enemy is spread out throughout the entire planet, however, nothing truly centralized. We need to draw them in into more devastating battles rather than play whack-a-mole throughout an entire world.” The Watch officer pulled out a few locations and zoomed them in for the rest of the warriors to see and started: “The Legion is focused on getting their troops ready for an invasion. They have stockpiles in a lot of locations across the planet, including a few larger motor pools.”

Mordechai took the lead at that point: “One of those motor pool is near the main planetary starport. Capturing that location quickly should be a priority, and taking down their fortification would be simple for my artillery units.” The Star Colonel fully expected the other commanders to challenge him on this, but the following silence was deafening. It was Star Colonel Callaghan of Beta Newt that went next: “While I know you got a few transfers that will make your unit tougher, you will need protection for your artillery because I assume the enemy will have that location heavily reinforced. All our other units are at least well trained; I only have fresh sibkins in my unit. We can provide support for this operation to blood my troops.”

The Galaxy Commander was pushing units around the map like an actual general now, and not a Clan warrior waiting for bids and brags. Elements of her Viper Fusiliers were combined with other units to allow for combinations of heavier elements with faster cavalry elements. The big lynchpin was the assault on the planetary starport and the motor pool, where two Clusters were now zoomed in, with specific elements being given more clear orders.

The Clans had taken war for a game during Operation REVIVAL, and arguably for quite a bit of time after as well. The Clans that had been mostly destroyed during the Wars of Reaving had been rescued by the Rim Worlds Republic and the Wolverines and now had to adapt to the realities of war. They hadn’t had wars since then, mind you. For most of the soldiers in this Galaxy, this was the first time they did anything bigger than a Trial fight or random pirate raids while training with the Burrocks. While they technically outnumbered (and likely outpowered) their enemies on Maximilian, the I Legio had the benefit of experience and a very recent fight with a more advanced, better organized enemy.

“This is not the time to take chances”, said the Galaxy Commander, in a somber tone. “We do not know who or what those mercenaries are, while I Legio is the elite of the Marian Hegemony. A set of our troops are advanced bioroid units, while our loaned units are standard warriors. This will be both a test of our resolve and a test of our new equipment.” Mordechai agreed as he zoomed in the area around the spaceport. A flat plain, as with most spaceports, but a few hills to the north and an average size city to the west. Not an easy fight, but he had to make this work.