_Chapter_Art.jpg){kind=link}
Chapter 76[]
Can you tell me where can we start over?[]
KCGS Dinh Diep
Landmark Class Destroyer
In Transit with Arc Royal Fleet
Lyran Alliance
3067
[KCGS Ia Drang in route with the Arc Royal Fleet. Heading to Tharkad...]
"It's not enough to know the classic formations." Commodore Bianh Vu Dao explained, "You have to know why they formed up like that."
Division 2 was split, with 1st MEU and 11th cutter squadron working over the naval base at Gibbs and tying down the Loyalist fleet there, while the other two thirds of the Division were escorting the main body of Margrave Kell's forces. (The other forces that had joined with him in supporting Peter, the third Steiner-Davion, as a compromise alternative to two older siblings that had, in one way or another, disappointed the Lyran People gravely.)
"Thus, 'wall of battle'?" Peter asked.
"Yes Your Highness. Wall of Battle came about because the Hegemony had an enormous budget and could afford that many battleships...though they called them 'battle cruisers'. The concept was unified interlocking fire. That meant they didn't have to invest as much into point defenses as...say...we did. Numbers and rarity, plus lack of practice. That meant that the Clans, while knowing the wall of battle, didn't train in the why of it the way we did. Which is why our destroyers are in formation with the Clan Wolf-in-Exile battleship, instead of ranging ahead of the formation."
"and the Cutters?" Peter further asked
"They're doing what the SLDF used Corvettes for. They're operating as either point defense units or ranging ahead to gather intelligence. When opportunity rises, they will strike vulnerable points in the other side's support structure. This frees up the fighter wings to engage in attack missions instead of having to hold back and try to intercept missiles." she handed the Archon (Designate) a bulb of fruit juice. "Drink up, when we go into battle stations, you'll need the extra electrolytes."
"and orbital bombardment?"
"Ask the Clanners for that. It's a line I won't cross and frankly, Highness. You can cashier me or put me in prison for defying your orders and I still won't." Bianh stated, "Planets are already deathtrap enough without adding the kind of destruction a Warship can rain down. Suffice to say, when they do the coronation. I'll be happily up here in a sane environment, watching on the news channels like everyone else."
"You...speak as if you've seen one."
"I have." she told him, "When we hit The Rack in '63, part of the mission was orbital fire support. I was XO on the Landmark, I had to go down with a surface team after to do BDA. So I won't be doing it to a world with billions of citizens."
"I won't ask you to." Peter said with a somewhat hidden shiver. Then he paused, "Are there conditions where you would again?"
She mused. "Genocide." she said, "If we're going after someone who's committed or attempted, genocide? Then the Elbar Declaration trumps the Ares Conventions. Certain war crimes on ''That level merit orbital bombardment...you need to get back to the Flagship, Your Highness, among other things, I don't have anywhere to carry your battlemech."
Peter grinned, "Right." and headed back down to the launch bay, and the shuttle to take him to the Taskforce Flagship.
one more jump... she thought