Red Walker

by Scott Allen

  There were none. The men lay down in their gullies next to their stealthcycles, looking like lumps of dirt or snow in the moonlight.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  At 0200, in the profound darkness, the sergeant and his squad spread out and rode off in the prescribed pattern, and Dana and the rest of the platoon did likewise toward the east side of the town. They saw no movement from the town. Soon the two groups were out of contact with each other. It took perhaps twenty minutes. Dana’s squad stopped at the foot of the hill below the town. When they heard the crack of the sniper rifles, they released their raptor drones, and a few minutes later, charged up the slope just behind their camera drones. There were only a few perimeter guards, and they dispatched those quickly. As they passed by their “bodies,” they were stunned to see that they were women. They were facing a headquarters company of women. They did not stop. Their night-vision camera drone pictures on their facial displays showed them where enemy soldiers were, inside and out of buildings.

  They moved down the street, dimly seeing the rapid swoop as their raptor drones dove on enemy camera drones. They rushed into buildings, seeing enemy soldiers, still surprised that their night-vision showed female outlines, but shot quickly anyway. If their uniforms still showed green on their facial displays, meaning still alive, they shot again until they showed dark blue. Anyone who was “dead” was obligated to lie down and be still. Dana’s team would shout “clear” as they cleared a building, and Dana and the others could see which building that was. It was obvious, as it had been on previous missions, that they were barely visible to enemy soldiers. Nonetheless, two of Dana’s platoon were “shot and wounded,” and everyone marked their positions. Dana called for the reserve team to rescue them. It took only eight minutes to reach the red building. Dana gave the order to the teams on the sides to enter, while he and his three men entered from the front.

  The enemy was ready. The bottom floor was filled with female soldiers taking cover behind furniture and communications equipment. Dana’s platoon was well-trained, knew how to take cover and how to shoot and use their simulated grenades, and soon cleared out the ground floor with the loss of one man. They destroyed all the communications equipment, and stole all the small memory devices. Obviously, the top officers were on the second floor. His men launched sim grenades up the two stairways and rushed behind them, shooting like maniacs. The generals were there, with red sashes across their chests, and other colonels and majors, all hiding behind desks and chairs, armed with old-fashioned simulated pistols. His men rapidly mowed down the officers. Dana ordered the men to look in every corner and closet, where they found a few more and “killed” them. He had heard nothing from Sergeant Hudson or his squad, so he assumed they had come around to the east.

  Dana ordered retreat. “Keep an eye out for enemy soldiers returning from the southwest of town as we retreat. My team will act as rear guard. Reserve team, pick up the dead man.” On his facial display, he could see his men moving rapidly out of town toward their parked ‘cycles. There were some enemy soldiers approaching from behind them, now, and Dana and his team turned around and sprayed them to keep them at bay. Finally, they were all mounted and moving fast towards the rear. The “dead” and “wounded” platoon members were on their stealthcycles, which were slaved to other platoon members’ ‘cycles. Dana called out for Sergeant Hudson several times, and finally heard his voice, saying he and his squad were behind and to Dana’s right, moving fast.

  “Casualties, Sergeant?” asked Dana.

  “One dead, Dana,” Hudson replied.

  “That’s one dead, sir,” said Dana.

  “One dead, sir,” said Hudson, with a note of sarcasm in his voice.

  “How did that happen, Sergeant?” asked Dana.

  “When we started firing, the enemy moved back out of range of our snipers, so I ordered us forward. It was a ruse, sir. They had soldiers hidden in the nearby buildings, and they started firing. We pulled back, but Allyson bought it.”

  “You didn’t consider that they were trying to sucker you in?” said Dana with some irritation in his voice. He hoped the other men, listening in, would take a lesson from his dressing down of Hudson.

  Hudson kept his voice flat, “It was a calculated risk to advance the mission, … sir.”

  “Did you blow him up with his stealth suit?” asked Dana.

  Hudson paused, then said, “Uh … no time, sir.”

  “Damn it, Hudson, you just gave the enemy our technology! Go back there with your squad and pick up or destroy the ‘suit and ‘cycle, now!” Dana yelled.

  Hudson said, “Yes, sir.” He and his men turned back.

  Dana let the “death” drop. It was a man uselessly “dead,” and would appear in his report.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  When they reached the base, the platoon was called, as usual, into a small auditorium for an after-action analysis by the Captain and Sergeant Carroll. Dana was feeling pretty good. He felt they had accomplished their mission with acceptable casualties.

  The Captain said as much, showing on a big viewscreen a birds-eye view of the action. Mission accomplished, acceptable casualties, kudos to Lt. Dana for thinking of the diversionary tactic, which was the key to success. He noted that this was the most difficult mission yet, and that they had fully intended to rattle the platoon by having the opposition be female soldiers. Almost everyone had behaved professionally. He congratulated them on avoiding civilian casualties. He had more words about the actions of certain men, noting those who had habitually been first into dangerous buildings. He said he regretted that the diversionary team on the southwest side had taken one death, but he did not comment further on whether Hudson’s decision to go forward had been reckless. He did say, “You almost lost a stealthsuit and ‘cycle. That was serious, and never should have been allowed to happen. It was good that you went back to destroy them.” Then, finally, “good work, Lieutenant,” he said with warmth to Dana. “Good work, men, this was a rough assignment,” he said with equal warmth to the rest. They were dismissed. Dana noticed that Sergeant Carroll pulled Hudson aside for a talk with the Captain.

  There were more simulated missions, until all 29 men in the platoon had taken a turn at acting lieutenant and acting platoon sergeant at least once. The ninth week was almost up. Each mission had been more difficult than the last, and they failed at about half of them. But, they learned.

  One day each man of the platoon was called, one at a time, into the Captain’s office to meet with the Captain and Sergeant Carroll. As they returned, the word was passed that each one was being given a final evaluation of his performance, a request to select specialties that he might want for the last two weeks of training, and each was being asked which of his comrades he would find acceptable as platoon lieutenant, sergeant, and corporals, and anyone they were worried about as a comrade. They were all keeping quiet about what they had said about each other.

  At Dana’s opportunity, he said he would be happy to take any specialty in the platoon that was needed, but thought he might be best at scout/sniper. The Captain and Sergeant agreed he would be good at that. When asked about any men he had reservations about, Dana replied that he was worried about Hudson. He was out for revenge, reckless, and likely to be insubordinate. The two noted this in their tablet viewscreens. They asked who he would follow if they were appointed lieutenant or sergeant. Dana mentioned several men he thought had leadership qualities. The Captain and Sergeant looked at each other, and then made notes. Dana left.

  The men had the rest of the day off, to fix rips in their uniforms, clean equipment, and just relax. In the afternoon, each one was given a cold beer. Most of them had never had one before, and a few expressed wonder that anyone could like something so bitter. Others enjoyed it. That provoked a bull session about a lot of things. One of them was women.

  One of the men pointed out that once the war was won, there would be about 20 American women for every man, and probably most of those wo
men would be interested in men, once the men and women were free. “Do you realize we could each have our pick of women?” he said with some relish. A number of the other men chimed in about how they would deal with this situation, many saying they would try to have as much sex with as many women as possible. A few of them began to describe their ideal woman, which, in physical terms, was exactly consistent with the book of Nance’s that Dana had read. There was an argument about how many women could possibly fit that ideal, with some arguing that with so many available women, there had to be enough of them close to the ideal, and others saying that American women had been indoctrinated to hate men, and that they would have no desire to look good to please them. Hudson, not entirely to Dana’s surprise, said he thought they could just have their way with whatever women they wanted. He said he wanted no part of them but their bodies. Most of the men looked a little uncomfortable at this. They all agreed that the women running things, and the Male Control officers, deserved imprisonment or death.

  Dana just listened. He didn’t, and had never, mentioned Nance. He was not surprised at the lack of humanity the men showed. Their contact with women had been so tension-filled, dangerous, and deadly, he couldn’t blame them for their warped view.

  The conversation turned to long-term relationships. Most of the men expressed no interest. One man, that everyone considered the platoon intellectual, said that all women would really want from them was access to their money. He said it was called “hypergamy,” and that it was part of the way women had evolved. They looked for a dominant man with resources when they wanted a long-term relationship. Again, this was consistent with Nance’s book, Dana thought. Most of the men seemed to agree that women were superficial and not good for much but sex. The whole notion of “being in love” was a temporary state for women until a more dominant, richer man came along. Dana internally shook his head – they were calling women superficial when they, themselves, were only interested in women’s bodies. They found nothing about women admirable or worthy. Dana suspected women would think the same of them, with that attitude. But, that was not the problem in front of him. Winning the war was.

  Each man was called into meet with the Captain and Sergeant Carroll the next day. The first ones back each said they would be receiving specialized training as medics, rocketmen, sniper-scouts, communication experts, and the like. When Dana’s turn came, he was surprised. The Captain said he was being appointed platoon lieutenant. He handed Dana three silver bars for his shoulders and his hat. Dana recovered quickly, and said, “Thank you, sir!”

  The Captain replied, “Don’t thank me. It’s a burden. But, the men were almost universal in saying they would follow you. I agree that you’re going to have a problem with Hudson. He has a little following of two other men who share his attitude, and he seems to be their faction leader. He is going to be made a medical specialist, and we hope that will keep him out of trouble. You will have a platoon sergeant, and in addition, six of the men are being promoted to corporal. The sergeant will be Blaine. Don’t tell him.” That was good, Dana admired Blaine.

  “For you, the next two weeks will be spent learning more about leadership and tactics with the other new lieutenants and sergeants. I wish you well, Dana. We’re going to depend on you a lot. I thought you might be officer material when I met you. You’ll get a raise, too.

  “There is one responsibility you will have that will not fall on most junior officers in the rest of the army. Since we rely on stealth and teamwork behind enemy lines to accomplish our missions and return alive, you, like all other officers leading men in hot zones behind enemy lines, are authorized to summarily execute anyone in your command, or even outside it, that is mutinous or endangers your mission. In normal cases, an insubordinate or mutinous soldier can be sent back behind the lines for court martial. You won’t have that luxury. But, if you have to execute someone, you will be held accountable for it. Like I said, this position is a burden. Dismissed.”

  Dana returned to the barracks and told the men about his promotion. There were a lot of congratulations all around, a lot of “Hey, that’s great,” and so on. Dana noticed that the congratulations from Hudson and a few other men lacked sincerity.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  In a week, they were ready for their first assignment. The war would begin in two days. All of the officers in the battalion were called before the Colonel in the small auditorium, and were briefed on assignments. The Colonel said, “All the commandos will go in tomorrow, five to twelve hours ahead of the main army. We intend that the initial attack will take place at dawn at certain points along the border with the new Mexican territories and the United States, from Texas to Colorado. It will be slightly before dawn here, into southwestern Nebraska from northeast Colorado. We intend to achieve complete surprise. They know we are going to attack, but not when and where. The timing of your attacks is critical. The enemy artillery, rocket launchers, and command and control must be neutralized less than an hour before the Rebellion crosses the border. So, depending on your mission, you will have a few hours to reach the target, and then fifteen minutes to an hour to neutralize it. After that, you will receive new orders.”

  They broke up into companies, and Captain Evan spoke to his five lieutenants along with their sergeants. “We are going after the enemy’s Fifth Division headquarters, which is located about 12 kilometers from the border. That’s unusually close. Now, you would think that we could take it out with missiles, but our satellites tell us that the command post is mobile. So, then, you would think we could use radio-seeking missiles to lock onto it while it’s moving. No, they’ve got a trick up their sleeves. They are not using radio to communicate at all. They are using buried fiber optic cable, of all things.” He opened up a map on the viewscreen.

  “They have twenty deeply-buried posts along a forty-kilometer road where they can tap into the cables that run to their front-line command posts, and back to their Army headquarters in central Nebraska. Our missiles can’t reach something that deep. They keep at least a hundred vehicles moving up and down that forty kilometers, 24/7. The divisional brass will stop at one buried command post for a few hours or more, then move to another one, at random. We think there are always two command posts in operation, so there is no break in command and control. It sounds bizarre, I know. They must have used thousands of kilometers of buried cable. Just before we arrive at those posts, some intelligent missiles will be sent to destroy the road at multiple points. That will trap their brass in whatever post they happen to be using.

  “Our company is responsible for the northernmost five buried command posts. We are to be in position, one platoon to a command post, ready to destroy each post and all of its communications equipment, take all memory devices, and kill anyone above the rank of captain in the post or the vicinity at exactly 0500. Junior officers might be salvageable, field officers and senior officers, according to our brass, are not. Secure any lower-ranking personnel that surrender, so the main army can send them to the rear. We do not murder the innocent without necessity. Kill them only if they resist. Then, all platoons will retreat to this spot,” the Captain pointed to an isolated area a few kilometers to the west.

  “We anticipate that it will take us two hours, at slow speed, to get through the weak spots in the lines at the border, without alerting the enemy. Then we can move rapidly to our assigned action posts and commence our attacks. If your command post is staffed with brass, notify me. If a serious battle develops, I will get the nearest platoons to your aid as soon as they have destroyed their command posts.” He asked for questions, but there were none.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Dana felt thrills of fear and excitement running though his body as he and his platoon mounted up and waited for the signal to move out. Every possible precaution had been taken, but Dana knew that some, perhaps most, of his platoon would die before the war was over. He might, as well. But, he had to present a calm front to the men, and kept his voice steady as he gave in
structions over the comm. The order to move out came, and Dana ordered his men forward across the invisible border.

  Dana and his platoon slipped through the enemy lines quite easily. They did see some vehicles moving along roads, but they avoided roads. They used trees and rock outcroppings for cover, where they could find them, as they traveled, 28 men spread out over a 200 meter front. Finally, they came close to the north-south road along which the command posts lay, and identified their target. It was 0445. Dana sent half the platoon under Blaine to the north side of the concealed concrete bunker that held the stairway down into the underground headquarters. He told Blaine to lay low and watch for the approach of any vehicles, while he and the other half went to ground on the south side. He had his comm corporal send a burst transmission to the captain that they were in place. He gave orders to Blaine to destroy any vehicles on the road within half a kilometer of their position when the balloon went up. “Use the snipers and rocketmen,” Dana said. At 0459, they heard three explosions as missiles hit the road.

  Dana immediately gave the order to blow in the front door and throw grenades down the steep stairwell. He was first through the door and down the long stairwell, carbine ready. When they reached the underground bunker, they saw two corporals sitting on the floor, stunned, communication equipment hanging around their necks. Dana yelled for them to put up their hands and surrender. They did. Then, a colonel emerged from a door holding a pistol, screaming, “Shoot them, damn you!” at the corporals. Before Dana’s men could react, she had shot one of the corporals in the back, and the men saw blood blossom on the front of her blouse as she screamed. The colonel was immediately cut down by every member of Dana’s platoon that was in the door.