Ingrid smarted a bit with the nudge. These lash-wounds take a while to heal, still visible with her lack of dress uniform at the moment. "I won't be stiff," she said as she rolled her shoulder. "I'll be prepared to move with the course of things, and..."
...she slowly looked up toward the taller man. Realization came to the forefront and she could barely contain her quite famous Daschke anger, "Stiff...is that why you call me Ramrod? Is that why it...nevermind," she exhaled in a most pained way, "forget it, leave this for when we return. Fucking hell..."
Moving past that, this was shaping up to be not only the most important hour of her life, but the most dangerous (the two were likely correlated). Not only that, but things were shaping up to turn out like the stories of heroes that she loved so much. The Colonel, what a man, had offered himself as the scapegoat! Others had concerns, but Ingrid had respect. She wasn't blind to the danger he was putting himself in, but by god it was the perfect sort of danger for a man like him. Two men, two 'mechs, arms and honor flying in the battlefield for a gallant cause! The fact that it wasn't going to be an honorable fight on the side of their enemies, and yet he was going through with it all in the name of the greater good of hundreds of others...
...it was no wonder that, out of the many companies who would have wanted an experienced Lyran officer in their ranks, she joined this one. This was the Colonel that she had seen, what felt like ages ago.
"Colonel, you have my vote of confidence, as if you needed it." She smiled genuinely. "I'd offer my cuirass to give you proper dress for the occassion, but...it wouldn't fit. You'll do fine without it. Regardless," she stood up with her head held high with pride, but also her neck brace, "I won't disappoint. We will finish this and return for you, mark my words."
Given a moment of time, she rose to the stand and offered her own words to the 'mech forces she would be commanding on the field. Her hand went up for a moment of quiet past the earlier hubub, which she received. "I'd ask that the charges be placed, yes. We're going to be the main force behind this prison break, and we can't afford losses early on in the operation - one pass from the Mechbuster could stop us cold. We will make up for the slack. Now, if you wouldn't mind listening to my own suggestion, lance..."
"The core of this struggle will come from getting to the fort in time, and the most obvious way to achieve this would be to run straight in - hence why I figure the main road is mined. They will be coming loaded for bear. I wouldn't doubt they're vibrabombs, they know what we're bringing now, or otherwise remotely detonated. My suggestion is this." It was an odd feeling to be 'suggesting' in this situation, but all she could do was append onto the Colonel's plan. She traced a finger along the southern edge of the operational zone and swung upward, through the narrow pass between two hills. "The entirety of our 'mech forces head through here directly, without pause, damn the turrets. The field is open and wide, and we'll be dealing with our enemy's air support, so the cover provided by the river and the hills to the immediate south of the Fort will be useful. Getting inside the minimum arming distance for these LRM emplacements would neuter much of their effectiveness, and they will be our main concern until we get to the generator."
Adding onto the line provided earlier, she split it off at two points. "Everyone moves as a group, with only the fire support - the Archer - able to afford to lag behind. Still, we need to be roughly one section up until this point." The large hill to the south, bristling with emplacements, was indicated. "The Phoenix Hawk should be best suited for being the close-in threat to the turrets while others move along, and the Shadow Hawk can make good work taking out the turrets from a distance while in cover. Use your jumpjets, they will save valuable time, as your avoiding death is more important than immediately killing their capability to retaliate. They can move through and then enclose themselves between the wall and the hill itself - it'll be difficult for the heavy turret to aim low and close like that, and it'll give your entire backside freedom from anything coming from behind."
"The remainder, which most likely will be myself and Alleycat, will have to make the move into Tieshan itself and offer support in pulling out our people. It won't be an easy entrance; I'll at least go first to give the Raven less opportunities to receive a mine to the foot, provided she detects them. If we get through that, it will be a quick duck into the south pocket, where I'll go for the generator directly and you'll provide designation for the Thumpers. Once that is done, that which we know of ahead of time should be dealt with. The fire support should move up to the front gate and the Phoenix Hawk should move in to begin helping us take out the remaining prisoners, should that be required."
"...I cannot ask that you consider your company over your loved ones, if it becomes a choice. I know I'd be that weak. I have my own person I'm looking for in the fort, and God willing, I'll find her."
"I admit," she said with a beleagured nod to the tank crew in the audience, "that this plan does have the glaring flaw of leaving the Von Lucker in a grey area. This isn't a...lack of thought on my part toward those not in possession of a Battlemech, but genuine uncertainty as to how to approach a heavily fortified complex with its least mobile piece of machinery. In a best case scenario, they are using vibrabomb mines and they are not tuned for the Von Luckner's weight specifically. If you approach them and they prematurely detonate, everything is grand, but can we really afford to be wishful?" She pointed back at the southern edge of the bridge and added "Otherwise, we will have Mechwarrior Saarinen take the time to fire at the route on approach. LRMs spread out over a wide enough area should give you room to drive along the road, where you'll serve as the main screen for any enemy elements coming in from the northwest. If resistance turns out to be too much attempt to link with Desperado."
It was quite the statement to essentially say "You're going to be the first in line to die in case we fuck up" to a group of people who she had just threatened to kill some days ago. Not escaping any allegations of Mechwarrior favoritism this time, she stood by her judgment. "Provided that they're going to be light militia forces, the Von Luckner should be a strong enough deterrent to make them keep distance. If the Crimson Fists come down, then we may have other issues...whatever the case is, avoid a mobility kill on your part. We most likely won't be taking and retaining the Fort, so anything lost on the field will most likely remain lost."
"And on the matter of a nuclear weapon, I cannot imagine a situation in which it is warranted to use such a thing," she said to no surprise at all among those listening. "Beyond the shame it would bring, the potential for loss of life among the prisoners is catastrophic in most scenarios I can imagine...the fallout alone would condemn enough civilians to make me think that a direct nuclear strike on the Fort is unconsciable to the point where I cannot authorize it."
"...I do choose my words carefully." She closed her eyes, and clarified that "In the event of my own death, I am not in a position to make objections. Were both the Colonel and I to be unable to withhold its usage, the situation itself would most likely be dire..." She gave a narrow and weary look to those present. Even if she seemed to be the kind of high-born woman who remained pristine in most situations, the salt and cold and struggle on this planet had visibly aged her in a way she wouldn't realize until she had left Espia behind. "Do with this information as you will. Forgive me for being selfish."