Justin pointed to the crests. "The majority of worlds taken from the Commonwealth in the first wave were captured by troops wearing this Jade Falcon crest. Icar and Chateau fell to the Wolves. Their 'Mechs are similar, but we have seen no combined operations. They appear to share a similar origin, yet the two forces are not working together."
Alex brought the map back up, then focused it down on the rim sector where the invasion had begun to nibble away at the Commonwealth. Invaded and conquered worlds burned green on the map, while bright blue pin pricks of light represented the Commonwealth's other worlds. "The four new invasion sites were hit by Jade Falcon troops alone. Reports have come in slowly, but we think the Jade Falcons concentrated their attack forces from the ten worlds they took to attack the next four. There is even a possibility that they reinforced Trell I because Leftenant-General Hawksworth's guerrilla tactics still appear to be giving them some trouble."
I pray to God you survive, Hawksworth. I want to pin a medal on your chest for being smart enough to get Victor out of there.Hanse's blue eyes narrowed. "How long can the Twelfth Donegal hold out?"
Justin's face darkened. "As an effective fighting force? Not much longer. Their 'Mechs have to be virtually out of supply. Their energy weapons will continue to work as long as there's fuel for the fusion engines, which is no problem on a world producing hydrogen, but the lack of repair facilities and missiles will put them at a great disadvantage. I'd be very surprised if they survived even a month more."
Alex nodded in agreement, but added a caveat. "Trell I does have a couple of hidden supply stations within Hawksworth's operational area. They were part of our advance line of supply when we feared the Ronin renegades would come through Rasalhague and hit our worlds. Hawksworth knows where they are. If he can reach them, he'll be able to resupply and maintain a good defensive position. Of course, any pitched battle against the 'Mechs these invaders are using would be foolish, at best."
Hanse leaned back in his chair as the others settled into silence. We always expected an invasion, but I expected Kurita or the Free Wolds League to launch it. We never dreamed of an attack by invaders from beyond the Periphery in 'Mechs the like of which we've never seen ... In their first wave, they almost robbed me of my son and then they sliced a chunk from my wife's realm. So far, the only way to combat them is with the desperate tactics of guerrilla war. That could work in isolated cases where the conditions of a world are favorable, but it cannot throw the invaders back.
The Prince took a deep breath. "But who the hell are they?"
For the first time in Hanse's memory, the Secretary of Intelligence let frustration flash over his face. "I don't know, Highness. So many theories have been put forward, but we don't have enough information to sort the fact from the fiction."
Melissa folded her hands in front of her, and tapped the tip of one thumb against the other. "Are they Kerensky's people come back?"
Justin looked at bis aide, and the slender man hit a few keys on the computer, summoning another holographic image above the center of the table. "We cannot be certain, of course, but their unit organization points away from a Star League genesis. As you know, we organize our troops on the old Star League four/three system: four 'Mechs make a lance, three lances make a company, three companies make a battalion, and three battalions make a regiment—with the battalion and regimental command lances adding up to about two dozen 'Mechs."
The gentle click of keys brought up another table of organization beside the first. "As nearly as we can extrapolate from the data gathered by your son and Hauptmann Cox, the invaders work on a system based on the number five. Five 'Mechs make up a lance, and five of those units make up the next highest unit, and so on."
Anger knotted Hanse's eyebrows together. "So, if it's not Kerensky descendants, then who?"
Justin interlaced his fingers behind his neck and shot a glance at Melissa. "Perhaps it has some connection to the time, some forty years ago, when Katrina Steiner disguised herself as the pirate the Red Corsair, while she, Morgan Kell, and Arthur Luvon escaped into the Periphery to elude Alessandro Steiner's assassins. That was when they found a Star League-research center on an uncharted planet that had recently been ravaged by pirates. Many of the items they brought back after the year in hiding remained mysterious for decades. You know, of course, that this is the origin of the Black Boxes that helped us circumvent the ComStar Communications Interdiction during the Fourth Succession War. Until the pirates overran them, that small research station had been able to continue experimenting and learning while the rest of the Inner Sphere went into a technological decline because of centuries of war."
Melissa chewed her lower lip for a moment. "So you're suggesting that if there was one research station that escaped discovery all those years, there could be others?"
The Secretary of Intelligence nodded emphatically. "There could be thousands more, Highness, but it only needed one—one that engaged in weapons research. The 'Mechs these invaders have are definitely built along the lines of our BattleMechs. They just happen to be more powerful and run a lot cooler. Getting more power out of a fusion engine and creating better heat sinks are two of the prime focii for research at the New Avalon Institute of Science. It could be that the invaders just had a three-century head start on us."
Hanse's right hand convulsed down into a fist. "And they started from a level of technology we have yet to reach. What do you think happened then, Justin? Could a base able to produce such powerful 'Mechs fall to Periphery bandits who now turn their resources against us?"
"Probably not." Justin shrugged helplessly. "All we can say for certain is that whoever they are, their technology supersedes anything from the days of the Star League. Other than that, all we can do with our current information is continue to guess."
How can we grapple with an enemy who outguns us and outmaneuvers us when we can't figure out who they are and what they want? It's like wrestling with smoke."Your ideas have merit, and I know you'll keep working on the problem. Identifying the invaders is of paramount importance."
"Of course, my Prince."
Davion's blue eyes flicked up and met Justin's dark gaze. "Have we had anyword from General Hawksworth?"
"No, Highness. It is believed he destroyed his Black Box just after sending Victor away. We are not certain if any of the supply depots have a working model. If they do, a message could be on its way to us now." The spymaster knotted his fists in frustration. "Even if he had sent us a message, it would take over a week to reach Tharkad. And if he sent it here to New Avalon, it would take almost a month."
The Archon leaned forward. "He hasn't been able to send a message out through ComStar?"
Justin shook his head. "Either the invaders have quarantined all ComStar outposts, or else ComStar is working with the invaders so they won't interfere with their business of running messages between the stars. We know ComStar is filtering some messages because the news that Victor escaped Trell I came more quickly through a message by Hauptmann Cox to his family than did Victor's priority message to the Court."
The Prince frowned deeply. "If ComStar is filtering messages, we'll never be able to learn the true extent of the invasion. We cannot be certain if or where our enemies have been hit."
Justin smiled briefly and glanced at Alex. "I think, my Prince, that we have beaten ComStar at their own game." He nodded to his aide. "You came up with this brainchild, Alex. You explain it."
Alex nodded and summoned a stream of data to replace the map. "ComStar, for reasons known only to its leaders, has chosen not to broadcast news of the invasion. I suspect they want to avoid panicking the public until the various governments have had a chance to react to the threat. Regardless, they have continued to supply commodity and production reports from all the worlds that have been hit. For all intents and purposes, things look normal out there."