Chandra watched as Taylor and Parker fell asleep against each other in the trench, looking at them with a warm heart. It pleased her that in the middle of such bloodshed and near apocalyptic disaster, there was still time and room for love. She thought back to Friday, and the spark of feelings she had begun to feel for him; and the sorrow his death had brought.
For two days the Company held put in the tree line. They were well supplied, but it was a painstaking waiting game. The artillery roared throughout most of the daylight hours, and the infantry sat uneasily awaiting combat. They watched as the base, they’d recently known as home, was flattened by their own forces.
On the morning of the third day, Chandra awoke to Blinker tapping her on the shoulder with the field phone in his hand. She rubbed her eyes as she yawned and took it from him. Taylor woke and stood up, waiting to hear their orders. She listened carefully for a few moments and put the phone down, looking up with a sigh.
“It’s time. We’re going over the top.”
Taylor smiled at her reference to the First World War. The fact they were only a few kilometres away from the bloody battlegrounds was a vicious reminder of how brutal a war could be. Taylor remembered documentaries which had calculated death tolls in their tens and hundreds of thousands, but it was never something he could ever fully comprehend. Now those horrendous numbers had meaning to him. Every single digit of those vast numbers now meant something to Mitch. He realised that each one was someone like himself, Eli, Chandra and the rest.
“Form up! Form up!” she yelled.
The Company hadn’t removed their equipment since setting up in the trenches, and their bodies were sore and creaky. They began to stretch and groan as they readied themselves to begin the assault.
“When do we advance?” asked Taylor.
Before Chandra could respond, they heard German techno music pulsate from huge speakers fitted on tanks concealed within the forest. Their engines roared to life, and the vehicles instantly lurched forward towards the battered ruins of Ramstein. The raucous music made the troops’ ears vibrate, and it was a brutal way to begin the morning, but it certainly got their pulses racing and their blood boiling.
Chandra leapt up out of her trench and down on the edge, looking down on the troops. They stood silently waiting her orders; as the music made them angrier and blood hungry. She could see that other infantry companies on their flanks were readying themselves, and she could make out Reitech suits scattered throughout.
“For once, we go forward together! We lost France after a bitter fight, but this is the only ground the enemy has taken in Germany. For you marines, Ramstein is US soil, so would you let them keep it? We have turned the tide of this war, and it’s now our job to seize this opportunity and drive them back to the sea!”
She got no response from the troops, but she knew they were each readying themselves for combat in their own way, and her words were coaching them along. A loud whistle blew out to the north, shortly followed by infantry clambering out of their trenches and continuing on after the advancing armour.
The first enemy artillery rounds were already striking the open plain, and Chandra watched. She turned to the Company and lifted her rifle into the air.
“Let’s give those bastards hell!”
They cheered as they leapt from their trenches and took to a quick jogging pace. Up on their feet, and closing the ground fast, they could begin to see the devastation their guns had rained down. There was barely a wall still standing in the eastern half of the former US Air Force base.
Light pulses surged towards them from the entrenched Mechs, but in lesser number than they had expected. Motor rounds from the advancing tanks continued to pound the Mech positions and limit their fire as much as possible, until they got within eight hundred metres of the positions. Chandra quickened to catch up with the armour, and as she closed within a kilometre of the trenches, she activated her jump pack.
“Jump!” she screamed.
The Major felt her stomach queasy as she was launched into the air at an immense speed. The others leapt into the air after her. As she reached the apex point above the enemy, she rained down fire on full auto until she quickly began her descent. Fear overcame her, as she descended at high speed towards the enemy and wasn’t sure if she would slow down. She didn’t know what she feared more, crashing to the ground or landing among the enemy.
“Shit!” she screamed.
As she thundered down to earth, her boosters kicked in and rapidly slowed her descent. She targeted the nearest Mech that was lifting its cannon towards her, and fired three rounds down into its head and shoulders. She had no control left of her landing point, crashing down onto the body of the creature as it was still keeling over and disappearing into the trench.
Taylor landed a split second after Chandra and sunk into the mud a few metres from her. He gasped to get his breath back from the death-defying leap, and saw the enemy turned their guns on him. Before he could fire his first round, the rest of the Company dropped in all round and opened fire down into the trenches.
Chandra clambered out of the trench and got to her feet. She could see Taylor and the others blazing away from the tops of the trenches, in what was more of an execution than a fight. Only two-dozen Mechs had survived the artillery barrage in their sector and were completely overwhelmed by their airborne assault.
Taylor looked around to see that their Company had already gone silent. The other infantry companies were nearing the enemy positions and taking heavy fire as they rushed across the open terrain.
“Major!” he shouted.
She turned to see him pointing south where a vicious volley of fire from the Mechs was mowing down allied troops. Mitch didn’t wait for her orders. He took to his feet and rushed along the enemy lines to attack their flank; and was immediately joined by the rest of the Company. Chandra knew they were as loyal to him as they were to her, but she never let it bother her. She chased after the troops.
A number of the Mechs to the south could see the Inter-Allied Company rushing flank and turned to fight them. Taylor opened fire, charging with his shield held out before him. He reached the trenches, kept firing, and rushed past the burning body of the first creature and continued along their line. Some of the beasts he didn’t even have time to stop and fire upon, but he knew his comrades were at his back.
Fire ripped through the trenches as the Company fired into the backs of the Mechs. Taylor reached a broad dugout at the end of the trench lines where three Mechs stood in position, firing at the incoming allies. He came to a quick halt and opened fire on full auto. He watched with joy as the creatures spasmed when the rounds penetrated their armour, and they finally tumbled into the mud.
The Major turned to see the other Mech forces had been utterly overwhelmed by their superior numbers and blitz attack. It was scarcely believable for any of them that they had finally led a successful attack against the invaders. For the first time since the war began, they were taking ground. Cheers erupted across the trenches and soon expanded to the others as the several kilometre-long perimeter of the base was claimed.
“You did this!” Taylor shouted to Chandra. “You broke their line!”
“No, Major, we did, together,” she replied.
A second wave of allied troops reached them ten minutes later. They were astonished to see the work had already been done. They advanced on and took up positions in the ruins of the base, leaving the troops of Inter-Allied to rest among their vanquished enemy. Chandra walked through the troops, thanking them for their efforts.
“We should carry on to Paris!” shouted Blinker.
“Yeah, why stop here?” yelled Monty.
Chandra smiled at their enthusiasm.
“Ma’am, why not, there’s no stopping us!”
She hesitated, knowing she must address the issue even though it could douse their high spirits.
“I like your thinking, I really do. But let us not forget how we have been caught out before
. We have won a valuable victory here today, but let’s not stick our heads up to get them chopped off. You just keep doing what you’re doing, both of you. Get us a line to HQ, if you would.”
When she had finally made her way around them all to praise their efforts, she strode back up to Taylor who was looking down at the lifeless bodies of the creatures. Chandra could already see some of the emptiness in Taylor’s eyes that had overcome Jones. She opened her mouth to speak some words of comfort, but was interrupted by Blinker.
“Ma’am!” he cried.
The Private rushed towards her from the field they had just come from. The cable trailed behind him with the spindle in one hand.
“General Schulz for you, Ma’am.”
She snatched the handset from his hands.
“Chandra here.”
“Major, congratulations, and well done. Please convey my thanks to your troops, and Major Taylor in particular.”
Chandra turned to Mitch with a wicked smile. Schulz is realising he must live with Taylor, no matter what, she thought.
“You must excuse me, Major. There is work to be done, and a lot is changing.”
Her ears pricked up at the General’s passing comments, but he was gone before she could pry any further. A matter of minutes later, shouts rang out across the line and cheers rang out. She could see in the distance that word was being passed along the line; causing the kind of excitement she hadn’t seen in months. Soldiers rushed back and forth as the news spread. Suddenly, Yorath appeared in such a frenzy that he could barely contain himself.
“They’re coming!” he yelled.
“Who? Who is coming?”
“Field Marshall Copley, and the whole bloody British army! They’ve crossed the channel!”
“What? Are you certain?”
“Yeah, British forces north of here are pushing forward to try and bridge the gap!”
She looked north and could see a huge dust cloud that was unmistakably the sign of an army on the move.
“Bloody hell, they’ve finally done it!”
She looked around to see the troops leaping in excitement. She spun back around to Blinker.
“Get a line to command. We need orders!” she yelled.
She looked to see some new life in Taylor’s eyes.
“About time your people did some of the work,” he jested.
An hour later, they were on the move to secure the rest of Ramstein but met little resistance. By nightfall, they once again occupied the trenches which just days before they had fled from under a brutal barrage and assault from the unrelenting enemy. They knew that the next day they would be pushing forward to the enemy stronghold of Saarbrucken, but for that night they could rest in the knowledge they had struck a vicious blow to the enemy. Chandra and Taylor sat once again in a trench as they had done the previous night.
“If they pulled out of Ramstein, they must be readying their defences for our advance. It’ll be a hard fight gaining the next ground. They have over stretched themselves, but once they organise properly, we’ll be up to our eyeballs in shit,” said Taylor.
“Can’t beat a bit of positivity,” she replied.
“We did well today, but let’s not forget what lies ahead.”
“We’ll take it as it comes, as we have done everything else. With any luck, we’ll see some reinforcements before long, and get us back to battalion strength.”
“I wouldn’t hold out your hopes.”
They slept uneasily as they each dreamt of the road ahead. When morning came, they awaited their orders to once again move forward; but thirty minutes after sunrise came, they heard booming engines high in the sky. The thick cloud cover of the dreary morning hid the source of the sound, and they all knew it was not human.
Chandra and Taylor watched the skies for several minutes until huge vessels broke through the clouds and roared northeast. They counted nine ships, and each looked as large as the Navy’s most powerful carriers. The vessels were so vast that it was barely conceivable they were able to fly.
“My god, where are they heading?” asked Chandra.
“That’s the way to Berlin, and they’re opening another front right behind our armies,” replied Taylor.
“How, I thought everything they had was right here, so where are these forces coming from?”
“I have seen them before, when we first encountered this enemy.”
“The Moon?”
Taylor nodded. Though there was little fear or concern in his eyes.
“You think they are feeling the pressure we are putting on them here? Enough that they’d send in everything they had?” she asked.
“I’d bet good money on it. They underestimated the human resolve and ability to adapt and overcome. I think they expected a much easier time of it on this planet.”
“Still, this is going to cause us more than a few problems. We can’t keep moving forward while they threaten us to the east.”
As the droning engines faded into the distance, their attention was drawn to a jeep tearing along the craggy road towards them from the east. Only the driver was aboard, and there were no weapons or supplies visible. The two officers stood and waited for the vehicle. They both knew that its driver must certainly be coming to find one of them. A few minutes later, it skidded into view as the wheels locked, and it glided across the slick mud. The driver shouted out from behind the wheel.
“General Schulz requests both of your presence, immediately!” he yelled.
“You here to give us a lift?” asked Chandra.
“Sure thing, the General was quite adamant about the urgency of the matter.”
She turned and paced back to where the Company was awaiting the advance west which was clearly on hold. The re-taking of Ramstein with minimal casualties had done a lot to boost morale, and she could tell they were eager to push forward but now knew it would not happen.
“Captain Jones!” she shouted.
The Major couldn’t identify him among the troops until she could make out the outline of his back facing her. He had the look of a man that had lost all will to continue, but she refused to repeat the call she knew he had heard. He finally turned and got to his feet slowly and wearily. His face was bitter and cold. It was not a hatred of the enemy he expressed, but a lack of care for life.
“Captain, you’re in charge until we return!”
Jones didn’t even acknowledge her words, but she knew he had heard as well as the rest of the troops nearby. Sergeant Silva leapt to her side for a quiet word as she turned to leave. It was clear he shared some of her concerns.
“Major, are you sure Captain Jones is fit for this?” he whispered.
Taylor overhead the comments and interrupted her before she could reply.
“Jones is one of the finest soldiers I have ever known. He’ll handle it.”
Chandra sighed. It was an uncomfortable position she was being put in.
“There’s no doubt that Charlie should have been given more time to recover before returning to his duties, but we cannot afford such luxuries these days. We need every capable soldier we can get. He’s still the same man, after all. Remember that.”
“Ma’am, with all due respect, I am not sure he is,” replied Silva.
She stopped and turned back to look at the Captain who she had come to know as such a good friend. Perhaps he isn’t the same man we used to know, she thought. Reluctantly, she nodded in agreement that Silva might be talking some hard truths.
“Captain Jones is the ranking officer while we are away, but keep an eye on him. If he shows any signs of being unfit for duty, then as a platoon leader, you have a responsibility to the wellbeing of these troops. You must do what is best for the Company. I pray that day never comes. Let’s not forget the horrors the Captain has been through. He has been deceived and abandoned by allies before, so let’s not allow him lose all hope.”
A few moments later, the two Majors were aboard the jeep and on their way east to Headquarters. They passed
over the crater-ridden muddy battlefield that had seen days of bombardment and fighting. Mech bodies still littered the terrain. The human dead were recovered periodically, but nobody had the care nor will to treat their fallen enemies with any respect. The occasional pyre burned in the distance where troops had gathered some bodies together in an attempt to cleanse the area.
Chandra and Taylor stood awaiting the General as he poured over maps and enemy locations. He finally looked up at the two but with a pale face. They could both see the fear in his eyes. The war was not going the way he wanted it to.
“Major Chandra, please come forward,” he called.
She paced up to the General’s table with Taylor close behind. Schulz scowled at Mitch, but he ignored the look.
“Major Taylor, let us set aside any reservations we have towards each other. We need all the help we have got, and we are on a tight schedule.”
Mitch nodded in agreement. He still hated Schulz and blamed him for much of their hardships in the previous few months, but he also knew there was little to be done about it.
“I am here to fight as always, Sir,” he replied.
Schulz begrudgingly accepted the Major’s words while he knew full well that he was stubbornly refusing to accept any wrongdoing.
“You surely must have seen new enemy forces enter our atmosphere. They’ve recently put down just west of Berlin, and we predict that fighting will be underway within the next few hours. You know how thinly we are spread. What you achieved yesterday was impressive, and I thank you both for it. But this presents a great problem for us.”
“Not enough troops to fight on another front?” asked Chandra.
“Precisely. The armies of Earth are fighting all over, and few as hard and often as yourselves. Berlin is lightly defended and to provide assistance would mean weakening our presence here. Splitting our forces could lead to the utter destruction of our armies here in Germany.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Taylor.
Battle Earth III be-3 Page 17
