Sgt. Golem: Royal Mech Hussar - Stubs Soon!

Angelica looked down at the shiny captain's epaulets in Colonel Mazur's hand. "Congratulations," he said.

The butterflies in her stomach were intense. She tried not to let her hands shake as she reached out and took them.

"Sir, we only have one wing, and it’s understrength. Captains are normally in charge of a squadron."

“Exactly. As soon as you're back in Polish territory your unit will be brought up to squadron strength. Command has noticed what you've been doing here and rewarded you appropriately. More importantly, this will make it easier for you to deal with a Hungarian airship crew."

"So it's true then?"

Mazur nodded. "They're giving you the captured Russian airship. It's small, but it'll hold your wing well enough."

"I had hoped we would be going home, sir."

Mazur shook his head. "Our work here isn't done. Goodwill with the Hungarians outweighs any impact a single wing would have on the lines back home. After your actions at the party, fending off the Russian attack, you've made a name for yourselves among our allies. They take it as an important favor from Poland, sending a group of heroes of your stature to defend their borders."

"But sir, we only have four mechs, and only two of them are trained Polish hussars..."

Mazur was nodding as she trailed off. "I know. That's why I've secured for you a Hungarian Hussar to bring you up to full strength."

"But sir, we already have a foreign rider-"

Col Mazur interrupted, "Already inducted into the Polish army.”

“And Eva, she's so young and completely untrained.”

The Colonel shook his head. "Captain, when did you start your training as a Hussar? 13? She's older than that. From the impact of her mech last night, her training is more than adequate."

Angelica stared at him. How could she explain that she suspected Eva hadn't even been controlling her mech for most of that battle? “Sir, we’re critically short on support personnel.” Her eyes stung as she tried not to think of Alexander. That was too fresh a wound.

Mazur nodded. "Yes. I've been informed by retired Hungarian General Nádasdy that even now, Sergeant Golem is receiving extra training. I believe he, plus whatever Polish personnel he requisitions to assist him in his duties, will be more than adequate for your needs."

Angelica bit off her own response. One Hungarian mech hardly got them to full strength. She and Hannah were properly trained Polish riders, but Tamara was a Russian deserter and Eva, a complete unknown. Taking that rag-tag force plus one random Hungarian into combat made her physically ill.

Mazur lowered his voice and adopted a tone of sympathy. "Look, captain, I understand this is a lot to ask. You've already been through so much. Being sent into combat feels like throwing you to the meat grinder. But you must understand just how important this is to our allies. It's a small sacrifice for Poland to make, that could reap big rewards. We have to stabilize Hungary's border before they can help us. Every day that the situation to the east is in question is another day that they won’t come to our aid.”

Angelica forced herself to consider Mazur’s words carefully. “Sir? I haven’t heard any news from home. How bad is it?”

He looked grim. “We fought off the Russians' initial onslaught, but it’s not good. I can't give you the details, and honestly, they couldn't give me very much over the wireless. What I did get was enough to paint a pretty scary picture. We’re fighting holding actions and losing ground every day. The quicker we can fight off this Russian incursion into Hungary, the better. Even if we can't fight them off completely, the more Russian divisions we tie up on the Hungarian-Romanian border, the fewer they have to send into Poland. I understand this is a lot to ask, but your people have already proved themselves several times over. Trust in them, and you'll be fine."

That was easy for him to say, Angelica thought. For one thing, he wasn't even going to be there. For two, he wasn't even a Hussar. He didn't understand what it was like to ride your mech into combat, knowing that you had to trust everything to just a handful of comrades. She liked Eva well enough, but trust? Tamara had proven herself, but she was still a serious question mark. And Hannah. Hannah had been shaky ever since Rzeszowe. Angelica felt like her old friend was hanging by a thread. Could they really handle being thrown into another front so soon after losing – She tried not to think about Alexander. The pain was too fresh, too close.

Sergeant Golem would have to pick up even more of the maintenance and support duties. And he himself was the biggest question mark of all. They were putting a lot of faith into a golem who was, objectively, completely out of spec and probably the work of dark magic.

Her wing had done miraculous work the night of the party, but that had been mostly luck. They didn't have clearly defined roles. Eva's mech didn't even have weaponry. Would she even know how to use a gun with her machine? And worst of all, who the hell was this Hungarian girl that the Colonel had gotten for them?

The Colonel stepped closer and reached up to unfasten her lieutenant’s epaulets. “Command is always terrifying, Captain. The day it stops being so is the day you should retire. Responsibility weighs heavily. But Poland believes in you. I believe in you. You can do this." He finished attaching her new insignia and stepped back.

He went over to his car and, from the back seat, took out a thin portfolio. "I have to get back to the Polish Embassy and brief the Ambassador on the latest updates. Here are your orders. Everything should be there."

She took the proffered folder and returned Mazur's salute.

"Good luck, Captain. I know you and your unit will do Poland proud."

Angelica felt like throwing up.

As the Colonel drove away, Hannah and Tamara came over. "Congratulations," Hannah said, staring at her new captain's insignia.

"Thanks," Angelica said without feeling.

"Captain, huh?" Tamara said with amusement. "Well, congratulations from me also."

Angelica looked around. She needed to brief her team, but she should have all of the heads there when she did so. "Is Sergeant Golem back?"

Tamara shook her head. "I haven't seen him.”

“Can you find Sergeant Wysocki? And Lewis? I need to go over our orders with everyone."

“Yes, captain,” Tamara said with a laugh as she threw a quick salute.

"Eva is in the hauler. I'll go get her," Hannah said.

A few minutes later, both of them had returned.

"Captain Lewis isn't around," Hannah said with an apologetic tone. “But Eva’s coming.”

Tamara raised an eyebrow. "Is the American part of our unit?"

"He is for now," Angelica said. She had been thumbing through the papers. He was attached to their unit as their liaison with a Hungarian airship crew.

Angelica waited until the others were assembled. She held up the folder that she had been leafing through. "I just received our orders from Colonel Mazur. We're headed east to the Romanian border."

"So it's true then, the Russians invaded?" Sergeant Wysocki asked.

Angelica nodded. "They sent troops up three passes last night." She glanced at the names of the passes in her report but decided not to list them off. No sense letting information out while they were still in town and might let something slip. "So far, it appears the Hungarians are holding them at the two northern passes. There was a major breakthrough in the south. The Hungarian army is throwing their entire reserve there.” She gave her team an ironic smile. “Their reserve except for us. We're going north and standing by for whatever comes next. If the Russians break through one of the northern passes, we will move to counter them.”

"So we don't know where we're going specifically yet?" Tamara asked.

Angelica shook her head. "No. We are supposed to get an update while we are enroute which will tell us our target.”

"Good." Tamara cracked her knuckles. "I hate waiting around."

Hannah was frowning. “We are still under strength.”

Angelica nodded. “The Hungarians are also giving us another Hussar to join the team."

"Do we know who?" Hannah asked.

Angelica shook her head.

“Oh, I think I know.” Eva's eyes were wide, and her hand went over her mouth to cover a smile. “It’s Countess Veronica!”

Angelica frowned. "How would you know?"

Eva pointed. "Because she's driving up right now in a car with Captain Lewis."

Everyone turned to see Veronica pulling up in a long sedan. Frank grinned ruefully as he got out of the car and opened the door for her. Veronica waved, and Eva bounded over.

“You’re joining our wing?”

"I guess so." Veronica seemed unusually reserved.

“Where's the Colonel?" Captain Lewis asked.

Angelica straightened up. "He's not coming. For this operation, I am in command. Captain Lewis, you've been assigned to us for the duration as liaison to our Hungarian Zeppelin crew."

Frank appeared to consider the news. His eyes fell on her shiny new epaulets "Got it, Captain Angelica. When do we leave?"

***

I had very few possessions, so it took me no time at all to load them into my duffel bag. When I finished, I stepped out of my cramped room. Angelica was waiting for me in the hauler’s tiny wardroom. "Sergeant, can I talk to you?"

"Certainly, Captain. Congratulations on the promotion, by the way."

"I wanted to ask you about our team." I frowned but let her continue. "We have an unusual mix of skills," she said hesitantly.

“That’s one way of putting it.”

"I wanted your opinions on how we could turn them into an effective fighting force. I know you were speaking about... you had been talking with Alexander about roles and armaments of a Hussar wing, and I was interested in hearing your thoughts."

"Ah, that's a tricky one.” I thought for a moment before continuing. "You and Hannah are trained in standard Polish tactics."

Angelica nodded. "Her role is primarily as a shielder, but Hannah's been trained in all the standard weapons. Heavy machine gun packs, auto cannons, and mech portable howitzers. We get basic familiarization for weapons like mortars, but..." She trailed off.

I completed her sentence. "But we don't have any on hand."

"That's right.”

I thought about it. "We're pretty limited. We should resupply from anything the Hungarians have to offer. I'll have to check, but our auto cannon stores were limited, and we already burned through a lot of our howitzer ammunition."

Angelica nodded. "A hauler isn't expected to go into combat unsupported. They just don't have the room to carry that much ammunition and spares. They're more for mech recovery on the battlefield than long duration combat support. We would ordinarily expect to have an entire company behind us when we're at the front."

"We're going to be in mountainous terrain, right?” I asked. “Against mostly infantry?"

Angelica nodded.

"So, auto cannons and machine guns seem to be the way to go. Anything heavier would probably limit our mobility. I'm not a big fan of the huge shield."

Angelica frowned. "I suppose it is a bit archaic."

I nodded. "Especially if you're not on a flat battlefield. In the mountains, we're probably not going to be in any kind of formation that could use a focal point like that. We'd be better off carrying as much firepower as we can and keeping everyone spread out and under cover. Mobility and terrain are going to be our strengths."

"Tamara spoke highly of the auto cannon you gave her. The long barrel .35."

I nodded. "Good. I thought it would play to her strengths."

"So you think we should keep her on that?"

I nodded again. "Designated marksman duties is what we called it in my world.”

"I'm most concerned about our two unknowns, Eva and Veronica."

"I heard Veronica was running around last night with only a sword." I shook my head, trying to picture it.

“Yes, I haven’t had time to ask her about her skills and expertise, or even her preferences for that matter.”

I frowned, trying to think of a delicate way to put it. “I think the big mech swords are also somewhat archaic.”

Angelica smiled and nodded. “I know. Everyone still keeps them in inventory, but only the old guard has any fondness for them. They’ve been obsolete as a concept for decades unless it comes to close quarters combat. Veronica did some good work the other night…” She trailed off.

“But you think she got lucky.”

Angelica gave a small shy smile. "Yes, though I wouldn't say it to her face."

I laughed. "So, we should feel her out about putting her on an autocannon."

Angelica nodded. "Yes.

“Or a dual machine gun pack,” I continued, “if she has a preference for slaughtering infantry.”

“Maybe, though she strikes me as the one-on-one duelist type." Angelica's smile had returned. She had seemed stressed and preoccupied when she came in, but now she was relaxing.

“A short-barreled autocannon it is then,” I said. “Up close and personal, with plenty of ammunition. I think that makes the most sense until we know more of her strengths and weaknesses. It suits what we do know, and it's versatile. That just leaves the hardest of all,” I said. “Eva.”

Angelica's frown was back. "Does that beast of hers even know how to use weapons?"

"Well, it was hauling around a tree trunk at Dukla pass."

Angelica snorted. "I meant some sort of gun."

"I don't know. I guess we can try her and see. Even if she's used one, she can't have had much experience with it. I doubt the troops at Dukla were loaning her weapons and ammunition to get practice in." My impression was she had just been hanging around the fortress and they had been treating her mech like a stray dog.

"Excuse me," Eva poked her head in the door. I hope she hadn't heard us talking about her. "Captain? Sergeant? I can't find my mech."

Angelica goggled at her. "What? What do you mean you can't find it?"

"Well, I've been out of magic all day, you see, and..." We waited as Eva twisted a toe in embarrassment. "I know it's somewhere up north by the gate. It seems to think it should protect us, in case the Russians come back. But it's not answering my commands to come back."

"Not answering?" Angelica's voice was incredulous.

Eva shook her head. "No. I can usually make it do what I want, if I have a little istota to burn, but I've been tapped out since last night. I need someone to give me a ride up there. If we can just find it, I'm sure I can get it to come back."

I could hear Angelica letting out a long sigh through her nose. Her jaw was tight. I was beginning to share her concern about Eva's mech and its utility on our combat team.

“Right,” she said. “Sergeant Golem? Take the scout car and go retrieve our mech. We’re supposed to be loading on an airship by dawn tomorrow, so move.”