“A ridge runs along much of the northern side of the river. Not a large land feature, but significant enough we can use it to our advantage. Even though the highest point is no more than a hundred meters above the rolling ground north and south, it gives us the high ground if we can take it first. Most of the ridge has heavy tree cover which thins in the vicinity of the bridges. Note the marshy areas in the northwest, east, and southeast portions of the zone.
“There are bound to be paths and roads through the trees that are not visible on imagery. Notice the eastern bridge and the road that leads to it. Parts of it are totally obscured by tree cover. Much of the forested areas are denser than that section.
“Focus on the river that divides the field. It is likely this waterway will feature heavily in our operations. When the battle commences, it will be a race to the bridges within the red zone. If we can keep them on their side of the river from the start, it’s to our advantage. We can bleed them when they try to force their way across.
“If we can compel our allies to work with us, we can fight and win at the river. Should they have other plans, we may need to adjust. That said, the river will be key and we need to get there first. Keep that in mind.
“Tomorrow afternoon local time, the heavy lift platform should be down and we will offload. First thing tomorrow I meet with our allies and we will decide our strategy, but know this: the Red Light Company is here for a fight.”
Hawkwood tapped at the lectern again. “I have sent what we know about Keen Steel’s forces to your data-receivers. Their vehicles came planetside today. This is just in from intel section. Sources indicate they did not bring all of their available armor. Intel seems to think it’s because of the terrain. The heavy woods are not tank country. We’ll have more info before we move to the marshalling area.”
“I’m guessing they brought more than their standard number of infantry?” Senior Sergeant Mitchell offered.
“It looks that way. Mechanized infantry in APCs, exosuit infantry, and at least some troopers utilizing HACS as well.”
“HACS, sir?” CPT Posey asked, obviously unfamiliar with the acronym.
“Heavy armored combat suit. Same concept as an exosuit, but bigger, stronger, tougher, and more heavily armed.”
“Think of a hack as a very small walker filled with a trooper,” Senior Sergeant Brown added.
“Hacks,” Holden said with a sneer. “That’ll be fun. Tough bastards with a lot of punch, but eleven millimeter rounds will stop them if said rounds are put in the right place. Rifle grenades and those fired from thirty-five millimeter launchers will too.”
Several mean chuckles came from the ranks.
“Tough as hacks or tanks might be,” Hawkwood said, “they can be killed. So can we, but speaking for myself, I didn’t come here to lose or die. I doubt many of you did either.”
Senior Sergeant Forrester raised a hand and said, “I’m sure you’re correct that the river will be where the fight is, particularly the bridges. I have no doubt there will be a race for the crossings. I take it we don’t know how far outside the red zone are our marshalling areas will be?”
“We don’t know yet. I was told at least five klicks but I’m guessing they’ll be farther away than that. Until we know more, we’ll form several plans.”
. . .
A Gathering Storm
. . .
A trio of veteran mercs walked past a group gathered outside to await Commander Hawkwood’s return from meeting with the leaders of the light infantry companies that would be their allies in the coming fight. One of the three troopers wore a scabbarded blade of perhaps half a meter’s length. His companions carried sheathed knives of impressive size as well. It was something the greeners noticed was quite common now that they were in field barracks.
“I keep hearing troopers mention things like, ‘when the swords come out,’ and now I see a bunch of them wearing them,” a trooper asked. “What am I missing?”
“That’s right,” Vincent said. “Looks like it’s more than just a saying.”
“The Red Light is a unit that follows the old Path of Light Infantry,” Sergeant Bellvue said. “It’s a concept that sources back to the first days of mercenary forces under the Accords. Part of the tradition is being highly skilled at close-in fighting be it with firearms, blades, or unarmed. The short sword is the unofficial edged weapon of the Red Light, but you’ll see lots of other blades carried by troopers. Knowing that pack of grunts closing in on your position might choose to cut you to pieces gives some opponents the yips. That can come in handy sometimes.”
“Why didn’t we learn of this after we signed on?” Vincent asked.
“No time. I’d wager Hawkwood will keep up with the tradition, but getting the unit up and operational comes first.”
“We were taught some knife-fighting at CII. A lot of the cadre there thought it was a waste of time though. I guess they were wrong.”
“Well, you have a leg up on most of the other greeners then, but being with the sniper team it probably won’t come up. Then again, it won’t hurt to have such skills. Stick with the standard issue combat knife. It’s enough and you’ll be sneaking and peeking from your belly most of the time. You don’t want to be wrestling with arm’s length of steel while you’re doing it.”
. . .
Hawkwood burst into the company office looking as if he was ready to kill. Holden and Winger followed on his heels looking none too happy themselves.
“Those craven Savon Company bastards,” Hawkwood spat.
“I take it the meeting didn’t go well,” Forrester said trying to lighten the mood while intel and administrative troopers looked on with concern.
“It could’ve been better,” Holden said. “We’re not all in agreement about how the battle should be conducted.”
Winger nodded. “Savon’s commander seems to be looking for a way to negotiate an end to a fight that hasn’t started yet. Commander Orff from Carmag has some concerns about Jack’s plan, but he’s onboard. Commander Newcomen is the problem.”
“As I said, Newcomen’s craven,” Hawkwood growled. “We did get him to agree to let the battle commence before surrendering. As a matter of fact, he agreed to actually take an active part if we can deal with all of Keen Steel’s heavy armor,” he said sourly.
“They’re willing to fight, but not against the big stuff,” Winger said. “We pointed out that armor is vulnerable in heavy woods, but Newcomen’s people were truly crapping their pants over the prospect of tanks and heavy walkers.”
“So what is Savon’s plan?” Forrester asked.
“They didn’t seem to have one. They certainly didn’t like Jack’s presentation,” Holden replied.
“I think Savon’ll cover our flanks from infantry,” Hawkwood said, “but if tanks or heavy walkers show up, they’ll either fall back into marshes or deep woods and dig in or simply surrender. They know they must fight or risk not fulfilling the contract. Once taking sufficient casualties, fighting long enough, or ending up in a highly disadvantageous position, surrender becomes an option. I aim to see to it they don’t have that option.”
Forrester nodded his head. “Put them in the woods away from the roads then. Intel says Keen Steel doesn’t operate any super-heavy vehicles so no armor except for small walkers and exosuit infantry can pass through forest.”
Hawkwood smiled. “That was our thought as well. Still, the Red Light is going to be doing the heavy lifting.”
“Give the other companies support and they’ll hold,” Winger said.
“Likely,” Holden agreed. “Newcomen might not be worth much, but there are some strac troopers in Savon’s ranks. They don’t want to risk losing it all if Keen Steel insists on an unconditional surrender.”
“Maybe it’ll work out,” Forrester said. “I have some good news: the heavy lifter is on the way down. Once it has planeted, we can have it unloaded by this evening.”
. . .
The heavy lift platform
arrived as planned. Knowing their opponents would have eyes on them, the Red Light moved quickly and revealed as little as possible. Even so, nearly every mercenary outfit kept extensive records on the others as they were all potential allies or opponents.
The Red Light’s intel section was not sleeping either and had discovered a great deal about their opponents, most of which confirmed what they already knew while some was baffling or caused worry. Looking over the battlefield on a large display table, many of the senior ranking soldiers and members of the intelligence staff of the Red Light discussed the upcoming operations.
Ensign Marie Battaglia and her husband Sergeant Frank Lorenzo were intelligence specialists Hawkwood brought aboard and their efforts had provided much, but also created many questions.
“You say they only have two extendable bridging vehicles?” Captain Posey asked.
“Correct,” Battaglia replied. “Limited engineering capability and not as many transports bearing construction materials as we would expect. We speculate they seek to take the center crossing and bridging operations are a fallback option.”
Looking at Captain Posey, Hawkwood said, “Where would they try to put a bridge across if they cannot take the center bridge?”
Posey looked over the map for a moment before speaking. “Since we cannot look at the actual ground, I can only speculate. From what I can see, there is nothing that indicates a fordable portion along our section of the waterway. The river is too wide for any extendable bridge they might have and I doubt they wish to take the time to construct an erector. That means a pontoon bridge. Looking at photographic and cartography images, I’d say most of the riverbanks appear steep, too steep for most vehicles to descend to a low bridge and climb out on the opposite bank. That means they’ll need to dig ramps or locate suitable banks if they exist. It is possible flooding waters have altered the banks. Note the creeks that flow into the river. There may be slumping in areas that might provide a shallow plane, but the imagery is recent. Unless they know something we do not….”
“If they did try bridging operations, where are the likely points?”
“The island and nearby banks is a possibility, but I am doubtful. If the situation allows, my engineering people will put eyeballs on every meter of bank to see if there are any feasible locations. Considering what Keen Steel must do to achieve victory, their lack of engineering assets makes me think they have knowledge we do not, or as intel suggested, they have a plan to take the center bridge.”
“There’s a lot of big timber in the wooded areas along the river,” Senior Sergeant Brown said. “It’s ancient tech, but could they construct wooden bridges?”
Posey’s brow furrowed as he thought. “They could… if they had the know-how. It would also require specialty equipment and—in short, yes, it’s a possibility. It’s something to watch for I suppose. It would be quite apparent if they did.”
“What about infantry? Will they be able to cross?”
Posey nodded. “Certainly. Conventional infantry and perhaps some exosuit troopers could cross via light bridges, though that would be a challenge to construct without detection. Small boats would be very feasible and if they can place rope or cable reaction ferries to utilize the river’s current to bring them across, they would have a relatively easy time of it with rapidity.”
“That’ll mean a lot of patrols along the river if we can keep Keen Steel on the southern side,” Holden said.
“They brought a single vertibird?” Winger asked. “Why just one?”
“We don’t have an answer for that,” Lorenzo replied. “Medevac is a possibility, but given that they tried to hide the fact of its presence by transporting it in a container for engineering vehicles, we’re certain it’s not. Why hide a medical vehicle?”
“Is the vertibird capable of lifting bridging sections?” Posey asked.
“We don’t know what type of aircraft it is so its capabilities are unknown. If it was able to aid in bridging, it would only work if such operations were in an area free of fire. Aircraft are highly vulnerable to a wide range of attacks.”
“If it flies it dies,” Posey replied with a nod.
“So it appears it will be a race for the bridges. They will try to hold them so they can cross while we need to hold them only long enough to destroy them,” Hawkwood said. “If the marshalling areas are not far from the red zone it favors Keen Steel. The opposite favors us. I assume the arbiters will strive to provide a neutral field or present possible advantages to each side.”
“On the combat side, what are we looking at?” Winger asked.
Tapping at his console, Lorenzo said, “The latest we have should be on your devices now. Their primary attack force consists of three heavy tanks in the one-hundred and ten tonne range, a quartet of battle tanks ranging from seventy to eighty-five tonnes, six other tanks in the fifty to sixty tonne range, and two heavy walkers we estimate to be over sixty tonnes as they—”
“Fifty-eight,” Senior Sergeant Brown said running a finger down the data receiver on his arm. “Unless they have some other gear or weapons on them not listed on this report.”
“The report is accurate,” Lorenzo said. “I’ll change the data entry based on your expertise.”
“That’s not nearly their usual number for deployment,” Hawkwood said.
“It certainly is not,” Battaglia replied. “However, they have increased the amount of armored transports in comparison to most of their recent deployments.”
“More APCs means more grunts,” Winger said.
Hawkwood nodded in agreement. “I am guessing they think to counter our infantry with theirs and the heavy armor will simply crush us if we stand. Or they will push through us and roll north to hold the victory point. We’d have no way to dislodge them if they were to dig in.”
“South of the river is where we need to keep them,” Winger said, “but if they do cross, it’ll be the trees where it’s decided. If they make it into the more open ground north of the woods in any number, it’s over.”
. . .
“Why are there helmets and frag vests cluttering up the cabinet, rook?” Jackson asked after he dropped from the walker’s lower hatch. “Lunatic ain’t no infantry barracks.”
Myles smiled. “I was talking to Brownie about what happens if a walker goes down and the crew finds themselves in the middle of the shooting. I mentioned it might be smart to have gear in case we need to bail sometime.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, pal.”
“Didn’t you say you’ve had more than one walker shot out from under you?”
“I did say that. That’s why there’s a submachine gun in the cabinet. What the hell good is a vest and a hat going to do me? We already wear the crew-suit. It has the same doc-dots inside and the same med interface as the combat suit.”
“What good? A lot more than a bald head, a big moustache, and a bare suit. Remember, Sarge, I was trained to fight in that stuff. The frag vest stops flak and the hat is a helmet. It’s armor. It’s supposed keep you from needing the med interface to do anything. Armor, Jacks. Maybe not much compared to what Lunatic offers, but it’s better than running around naked with a chatter gun in your hands.”
“Maybe you have something,” he said with a shrug. “Usually I stay near the vehicle until help arrives and hope I don’t need to use my submachine gun because I’m shit with small arms. If it comes to us running for our lives, you take the lead seeing as you have grunt training you’re not using.”
“Well you and Brownie are to blame for that.”
“You could have told Hawkwood no.”
“I figured you needed the help. Somebody needs to guard that treasure of a moustache living under your nose. Keep us upright and that stuff can stay in storage.”
“Let’s do that. I have something too,” he said pointing past Myles’ shoulder.
Attached to the inside of Lunatic Red’s left leg was a small box made of ballistic material with a hinged cover. Swi
nging the cover open, Myles found a field phone of the same type commonly used by ground units.
“Hey, that’s new,” Rivers said. “They do that with tanks. Commo for when everything’s jammed, right?”
“You got it in one. Some trooper that served in a mech unit suggested it to Brownie. A simple field phone. Wired so unless someone cuts it, there isn’t any way to jam it.”
“Makes sense,” Warrant Officer Nash said as she and her loader Private, 1st Class Cornelius Napier joined Sam and Myles. “We didn’t work together during the field exercises, but Sergeant Brown tells me the V-MACs are mostly used to support the infantry.”
Jackson nodded, but his sour expression made it clear he wasn’t happy the two were there. “Scouting also, especially where wheeled or tracked vehicles can’t cut it. The infantry is the core of the Red Light. Everything else supports it. That includes us.”
“What about coordination then? What happens if we’re not in a position where the field phone can be used, we just use best judgment?” Nash asked. “That’s not something we drilled on at Moore. They had us working alongside the rapid attack tracks and APCs.”
“Talk with the units you’ll be supporting beforehand if possible,” Jacks said in a matter of fact manner. The displeased expression did not abate. “The platoon leaders can tell you what they need. Most of them have more years as a merc than the four of us combined. Tight-beamed coms are used occasionally but it’s easy to detect. When in doubt, identify threats to the grunts, prioritize them, and use the appropriate weapon and round to eliminate them. Basic walker operation.”
Nash scowled. “Do you have a problem with me? Something you don’t like?”
“I don’t know you well enough to dislike you or have a problem with you. You seem competent based on how you did at the ranges. Do well in the field and we’ll get along fine, but I’m not looking for a friend.”
Free Company- Red Zone Page 11
