[center][b][h2][color=f26522]Jonathan McCord[/color][/h2][/b][/center]

Jon considered the words as they were spoken, listening carefully. The majority of the Guard in the south, FPA divided, loyalists dissolved and most interestingly, the Fists split up into three lances. It wasn’t the objective, but the tactician within him couldn’t help but look at the mechs within the cave and the open country on the map and think about how they could win. The Colonel was right, they obviously couldn’t trade against attrition, but off-paper, on the field, he could see the dagger forming. He breathed in a bit deeply and crossed his arms and thought as the briefing continued. [i]It was possible[/i]. There was a glimmer of it in the Colonel’s tone, but he understandably needed to keep his people focused. They could still lose easier than they could win. 

The unassociated callsigns of the mechwarriors that would be within his taskforce didn’t mean a lot to Jon other than novelty. He wasn’t sure about the connections to the machines other than the Raven pilot, but he was reasonably certain two of them were standing right in front of him and that [i]Steel Rain[/i] would be the Von Luckner. It just fit. The Green Knights seemed to have a more casual nicknaming culture than the TDF. More slides clicked and he found it amusing how quickly the whole presentation had been thrown together and how both the Colonel and Cassandra seemed to be in their element addressing everyone, both for different reasons. When his name was mentioned more than a few scrutinizing glances were directed his way: The private that had confiscated his rifle, a senior tech with two prosthetic limbs and a host of others gave the most critical glances. Being accompanied by the infantry force was a good thing, not just tactically, but he and Dalton had a common doctrine. Jon knew better than to think it made them friends, but on the field, they would be of a similar mind. 

“Reasonably doable” was about the most command-centric phrase he had ever heard and produced the [i]tiniest[/i] of smirks across his normally permanent poker face. That was a gem that deserved to be saved for later. People that were willing to blow themselves up for a cause weren’t usually keen on reason or being captured. Likely the best they could hope for was that if any of the fanatics survived the ambush, they’d be too maimed to resist or kill themselves before the infantry could move in. He wondered how many EOD grunts were in the company. Running a successful maneuver and then losing men after action would be shit. The thought put a tension in his chest and he exhaled while the briefing continued through the other ops that didn’t involve him. He knew the area around the dam well as it was within his AO under his contract with Cassandra. They would have surprise, but he doubted the Knights knew the country as well as him and crazy people with bombs strapped to their bodies, or whatever else, tended to be unpredictable. 

Marit spoke up and posed a good question about the intel on the Fists and the Colonel was likewise quick to answer. Considering the Knights’ raid, an end-around the base of the mountains wouldn’t make a lot of sense from their intel perspective, but it wasn’t out of the question either. The dam was another story. 

The Tie Shan River Dam was different from most inland hydro-electric structures, working almost like a lock system and a dam in one. When the tide receded, the water was released through the generators and likewise when it rose, the flow was restricted keeping the shoreline along the east side at roughly the same level all the time and making for some pretty good fishing. The work shifts mirrored this schedule by design. Jon reckoned if he was a crazy bastard, the best time to hit it would be at shift change in the morning, right after third was headed home and when first had just arrived. The generators would be getting their first big run of the day and most of the workers and security would only barely be awake a couple hours at most. There would be just enough light to be inconspicuous in a large truck and still be able to navigate the narrow highway near the dam. The energy that even a small explosion would multiply while the blades were turning at full rpm would rip apart the whole structure. 

He only nodded at Raven’s suggestion and glanced briefly in Cassandra’s direction at the hint of a timetable. A motion he knew would not go unnoticed with her. They would be flying out soon and he could get himself in position before the others arrived. He knew of a good spot and the sight of his Marauder was not unknown to the dam crew. Whether or not to tell the employees to come to work would be up to Cassandra. The dam had to run, but any tip that AVC was wise to the Sword’s scheme would likely result in somebody else, somebody without the time to or capability to prepare, getting suicide bombed. Jon was glad he didn’t have to make that call. If they were there, he could at least prep them; more eyes open and alert would be to their advantage. 

The only other thing was the biggest one: [i]Who was going to be in charge of this little soiree?[/i] He knew who it wasn’t going to be.