Sinclair shook his head. “Pacifying Huntress cost the task force too much, and Prince Victor has no idea what he’ll face on Strana Mechty. Remember, they’re trying to shut down the entire war.” He shrugged. “The six Damocles Commando teams are all they can afford to spare.”

“Nothing like feeling expendable,” Dominic said, his light tone exaggerated to the point of sarcasm.

Tessa McCaughnell tugged at the thick braid of red-blonde hair laying over one shoulder, then leaned over to slap Dominic on the arm. “We’re no’ here to take on the lot of them,” she reminded her new lancemate, a Scottish burr coloring her speech. “Just to give Brendon Corbett some sleepless nights until the Prince shows up a-riding the black coach.” She looked toward Keith Andrew and then back to Connor Sinclair for support.

Nodding his appreciation for the backup, the lieutenant forestalled further outbursts with a raised hand. “Also the Clans are known for absorbing the weak. If we make Corbett appear ineffective, Clan Wolf or maybe the Diamond Sharks will finish the job for us.” He offered a tentative smile. “Then we can all go home.”

That pulled answering nods from everyone. Living off WarShips in Clan space was no substitute for the worlds of the Inner Sphere... for home.

He turned back to the flat-D screen. “So here’s our little part in the raiding.” He brushed a hand over the snow-capped mountain range which locked away a hook-shaped peninsular region from the mainland. “This peninsula appears to be the only land really improved by the Smoke Jaguars. Our recon probes found a few minor towns and only one small city. What little they have in production capacity and command assets will be concentrated here. Insertion of our BattleMechs^® will be made via drop-pods on our next turn around the planet, a low-orbit pass over the area. The Black Hammer and Eclipse will deploy six lance-size commando teams. We’re Commando One, but don’t let that go to your head. It just means we hit the ground first.”

Sober expressions greeted him. BattleMechs^® might be the pinnacle of military technology, walking the battlefields of the 31st century with titanic measure, but the Clans bred talented warriors and had made a few technological advances in their years of isolation away from the Inner Sphere. They owned too many advantages not to take them serious. Dead serious.

“The good news is that we aren’t supposed to see any heavy resistance. The bad news is that we aren’t supposed to see any heavy resistance. We’ll certainly try to keep it to a minimum, and three Mobile Field Base vehicles will drop with us giving the commando good on-site repair and refit capability. We recon this first operations area,” he pointed to the inside edge of the peninsula’s hook, “taking targets of opportunity, and then hit a facility out at the tip of the peninsula which Intelligence believe is a ‘Mech production factory. Once all six teams have completed their objectives, we rendezvous for DropShip pickup.”

Sinclair reached over to the keyboard and hit the power toggle. The image on the screen winked out of existence with a light hum cut off by a popping noise. “Any questions?” No one -- not even Dominic -- raised a hand. “Then let’s get buttoned up.”

Connor nodded a dismissal. These were good warriors, if a bit nervous for their first mission with each other. His job was to hold them together long enough to grow comfortable as a team, to complete the mission and make it home. The lieutenant stepped in the direction of the door, stopped in front of the Star League ensign to stare into the hub of the silver Cameron star. One tine ran off in a long spike to the right, the guiding light of the Star League. “Let’s all remember why we are here,” he said, “and what we represent.” Then he was through the door and heading for the Black Hammer’s ‘Mech bay.

He hoped that reminding them of their higher duty owed the Star League might assuage some of the doubts they must certainly still feel.