C.R.O.W. (The Union Series)

by Richards, Phillip

  ‘Prepare to move,’ the boss whispered.

  We carried out the drill without thinking; safety catch, pouch.

  The boss patted the guide to tell him we were ready and then one by one we moved off again into the darkness.

  We continued down the tunnel for a few hundred metres, which snaked to the left and right several times at sharp angles. This was in order to confuse any munitions sent into the tunnel, which was large enough to fit aircraft, let alone smart missiles and smaller drones. Occasionally I noticed damaged machinery and small craters that identified where the tunnel’s defences and booby traps would have been destroyed by our engineers.

  A smaller tunnel opened up to our right, marked by red light sticks which had been crudely hung around it on nails. One by one the men in front of me disappeared into the tunnel, briefly turning to check that they were visible to the man behind so that he didn’t keep walking into the dark.

  Brown turned to face me before he disappeared into the smaller tunnel, giving me an ‘okay’ sign with his forefinger and thumb. In trooper speak this didn’t actually mean ‘okay’, it meant ‘this is pump’. I chuckled quietly to myself, which didn’t make any sense to me because I disliked Brown and I was in one of the most terrifying places in the universe. Perhaps it was the simple way we drop troopers would describe such a complex and terrible situation that made me chuckle. After all, it was pretty ‘pump’.

  The smaller tunnel was no more than two metres across, again perfectly cylindrical and with a similar ribbed surface. The walkway was somehow raised so that the ground was flat and there was no lighting except that from our rifle torches. Without using our visors, we would be walking in absolute pitch-black.

  My pulse raced as my mind cooked up visions of nightmarish aliens and monsters that lurked in the tiny man-sized tunnel. Brown and Sam seemed so far away from me and I felt isolated and vulnerable. I gripped my rifle tightly, my finger hovering over the power up button; the weight of the weapon feeling reassuring in my hands.

  There are far worse things lurking in these tunnels than aliens and monsters, I told myself. If a monster grabbed me at least I could fight it. If the Chinese in some tunnel nearby picked up our vibrations they could detonate bombs that would pulverize us into the rock, just by pressing a button. Even though the walls of the tunnel were no more than a metre from me in any direction, I felt more exposed than if I patrolled across an open desert.

  We came to junctions and turns, all of which were marked by light sticks artfully arranged into arrows that pointed us in the right direction. The tunnels had become a maze; we were in some form of defensive complex, a collection of tunnels designed to be near impossible to clear without severe casualties, many of which would be connected with trenches and bunker positions on the hill surface. Often tunnels would open into large caves strewn with boulders and debris where bombs had been blown, either by the Chinese or the Union. The trail of light sticks led us through the caves so that we didn’t trip and fall on the rubble.

  We began to pass troopers of the 4th battalion, many of whom rested in the caves, some in thermal bags, others huddled in groups around torchlight like the homeless might huddle around a fire on Earth. Engineers worked along the walls installing listening devices, laying walking mats or working with other fancy bits of equipment I couldn’t recognise.

  We were regarded with indifference by many of the troopers we passed; they were far more interested in whatever it was they were doing, which generally appeared to be recovering from their battle to secure the complex.

  Eventually we arrived inside a chamber lit by light sticks, large enough to house a gravtank. It was lined with computer monitors, with cables and pipes hanging from the ceiling like the roots of a plant growing above us. Virtually all of the wires had been cut, the console screens were smashed and pipes burst. The Chinese had made a good job of destroying everything they left for us, no sense letting us have their equipment intact. I assumed the room had been some form of control room, from which the enemy would have monitored the array of sensors, cameras and defence equipment that helped them to slow us down. A lot of our comrades would have been killed by men in that room, I thought.

  ‘Wait here, fellas, I’ll let them know you’s’re here,’ the lead guide disappeared into another tunnel, followed by the others.

  Happy we were in a relatively secure location; our sections huddled together while we waited for the guides to return. I felt safe knowing that all the tunnels around us would be occupied by friendly forces, and welcomed the sight of troopers occasionally passing through the chamber going about their business.

  ‘I don’t know about you but that was one of the spookiest patrols I’ve ever done,’ Sam said to Westy.

  Westy nodded, ‘I’ve never been in an enemy warren before, not even on Eden.’

  ‘They must have had it bad down here,’ Stevo said gloomily, sliding down to the ground against a wall.

  Westy didn’t acknowledge Stevo, ‘We keep it together down here, boys, we stay alive. I don’t want to lose any more blokes in this hole, alright?’

  We nodded assent.

  ‘What do you think they’ll have us doing?’ Brown asked.

  ‘I don’t know, do I?’ Westy snapped, surprising all of us, ‘Don’t worry about that just yet.’

  We stood in silence. I noticed that both the boss and Sergeant Evans had found two separate corners of the chamber to sit alone, and I wondered if the latter would ever forgive the boss - or me.

  ‘You alright, mate?’ Ray nudged me, and I realised I had been staring into space. My head was awash with fear and misery.

  I shook it off and lied, ‘Yeah, mate, you?’

  ‘I wouldn’t worry about me, man’ he laughed, ‘I’m not the one staring into space like a shuttle crash victim!’

  Ray was a friendly lad, and he had not meant to offend me, so I laughed with him, ‘Alright, mate! This is just a lot to take in, that’s all.’

  ‘What is?’ Ray mocked, ‘You’re a trooper, in a cave. That’s some pretty simple stuff.’

  I threw up my arms defensively, ‘Look at this place. This is mental! It’s like a vision of hell!’

  ‘Could be worse, mate…’ Sam answered.

  ‘How, exactly?’ I demanded, ‘How could this be worse?’

  ‘Well… We could be in Pompey, couldn’t we?’

  ‘Oh that’s right, bring Pompey into it, why don’t you,’ Ray retorted, ‘Where are you from again?’

  ‘Chichester,’ Sam replied.

  ‘Well, that answers a few questions, then, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Where is Chichester, Ray?’

  ‘How the hell should I know, you wand?’

  Sam snorted, ‘Brilliant, I’m stuck in a section of morons.’

  It’s amazing how a bit of banter with your mates can take your mind off things, Ray and Sam seemed to thrive off it. Brown on the other hand, stayed quiet, not wanting to be join in any conversation that I was involved in, I figured. He hadn’t really said much at all since the landing. I didn’t care, he hated me and I hated him in equal measure. The less he spoke the better.

  A man walked into the chamber with his rifle held low at his side. Despite his visor hiding the details of his face in the low light I could clearly make out his insignia on his chest; a major.

  Westy almost snapped to attention, but thought better of it, ‘Alright, Sir,’ he said instead.

  ‘Almost, Corporal, almost,’ the major warned light heartedly as he exchanged handshakes with the boss. You didn’t salute or brace up to an officer in the field, lest you made him a target, apart from to call him ‘Sir’ and show him the respect that his rank earned him.

  A smile was just about visible on the major’s face as he pointed through the solid wall that Stevo had slouched against, and where he now stood bolt upright, ‘Chill out, fellas, the enemy is out there, not in this room.’

  The major looked at each of us and nodded approvingly, ‘Good to see you b
oys, very good indeed. We need every bit of manpower we can get, and I make no apologies for having you pulled down here. I’m the battalion second-in-command, as you can imagine the Commanding Officer himself is pretty busy,’ he shook the boss’s hand, ‘How many more platoons do I have coming down from your battalion, Lieutenant, do you know?’

  I had never met anybody from my own battalion’s headquarters, since they had come to New Earth on a completely different ship to ours. The major looked tired, and maybe even a little edgy, but he still maintained a level of haughtiness that was often expected of the officers in the higher ranks.

  ‘We’re it, Sir,’ the boss told him, ‘The battalion has no more to spare.’

  ‘Oh.’ The major shook his head sadly when he realised what that meant, ‘I’m sorry to hear that. But at least you’re here, because mark my words we need you. So, one platoon…’ The major was clearly doing some form of calculations in his head. Battlefield replacements would be steadily moving in to bolster his battalion for its next move. The main effort for the brigade was to secure the warrens before Jersey City could be taken, therefore all the battalions that made up the brigade would be sending down troops to support that effort. More platoons from elsewhere on the surface would be following our route down the same tunnels, one by one, as they would be in many other tunnels leading into the warrens. I wondered if somewhere else in a separate tunnel casualties were coming out at the same rate.

  ‘This defence complex is the location of our headquarter element, as well as the Regimental Aid Post,’ the major explained as if he read my mind. The Regimental Aid Post was where casualties would be treated after the medics in the companies had done as best they could with them. At this early stage of the invasion that was as close to a hospital as you were going to get, since there was little chance of you being lifted off the surface. I couldn’t even imagine being a casualty underground in this hellish place, but better treated in here than out on the surface where Chinese ships and saucers could get you.

  ‘It’s presently defended by our C Company,’ the major continued, ‘Who are resting after combat further down underground. A and B Company are located in two other defence complexes where they are preparing to assault deeper.

  We believe the enemy are completely trapped within this particular warren and their morale is shaken by the loss of orbital top cover. They’re desperately hoping that we will lose top cover so that they can go back onto the offensive. As it stands there is estimated to be several companies of these traitorous bastards down here, including aircraft, artillery and God knows what else, just waiting for that moment. Half of it is useless down here, but if they were to break back to the surface with orbital cover we would be in a lot of trouble indeed.’

  Corporal Jones, One section’s new section commander nodded, ‘Which company are we going to then, Sir?’

  None of us even raised an eyebrow when we were told where we were going. Let’s face it, I thought, it wasn’t going to be C Company on rest, was it?

  ‘A company will be taking you.’

  A company, just like my own company who were still perched up on the hills overlooking Jersey City. I could only hope that it would not be quite as ill-fated as we had been.

  #

  A company gave us a frosty reception when we entered their part of the warren, another collection of caves almost a kilometre beneath the surface of New Earth. In amongst the masses of red glowing light sticks they regarded us with almost hateful eyes, as if we were the enemy himself.

  ‘Don’t worry about them,’ our new guide said when we came to a halt in a small empty cave, ‘They’ve been through a lot.’

  ‘No shit,’ Sam replied testily, ‘Haven’t we all?’

  The guide ignored Sam’s response and turned to the boss, ‘Just hang tight here, Sir.’

  ‘No worries. Sit down lads, chill.’

  As the guide disappeared into a connecting tunnel we sat down either side of the cave. It was long and narrow, only a little wider than a dropship crew compartment, so our outstretched feet interlocked together along its length.

  ‘You all alright?’ Westy asked us.

  We chorused a very unenthusiastic ‘Yeah’.

  ‘Pump, ain’t it,’ he smiled.

  Another ‘Yeah’ resounded.

  ‘I tell you what,’ Sam said, ‘If we get one more cocky northern 4th battalion guide with a chip on his shoulder, I’m gonna have to hurt him.’

  ‘Roger that,’ Ray concurred.

  ‘I get it, they’ve had a crappy time, but what about us? We’re the remains of two sections!’

  ‘There’s no point getting yourselves wound up, boys,’ Westy said, ‘Let’s just get this done and get out of this hole.’

  With my visor set to normal vision, I scanned the hellish cave in which we sat, the red light sticks casting dark shadows along its jagged walls.

  ‘This place is like something out of a horror movie,’ I said.

  ‘It wasn’t made to look nice, mate,’ Sam answered.

  Ray sighed, ‘Is there anything on this planet that doesn’t look awful?’

  ‘The sea looked nice,’ Brown said.

  ‘Yeah, it was weren’t it? Do you know what?’ Ray leant forward enthusiastically, ‘If we get out of here in one piece I’m gonna swim in that sea. Who’s up for it?’

  ‘That’s a big ‘if’, Ray,’ Stevo said.

  We ignored Stevo, ‘Can you even swim with one of these respirators on?’ I asked.

  Sam shook his head, ‘Nah, you got to wear a special one, I think.’

  ‘A special one?’

  ‘Yeah, one that doesn’t get clogged up by water.’

  ‘Well, what if you kept your head out?’

  Westy sighed tiredly, ‘Are we really going to have a conversation about respirators and swimming right now?’

  Ray laughed, ‘Looks that way.’

  It’s funny when I look back at it, some of the ridiculous stuff that we troopers would talk about in the most inappropriate places. Down hundreds of metres beneath the surface of New Earth, waiting for the unknown to happen, we had a full-blown conversation about whether somebody had designed a respirator that worked both above and below the water. Ray pointed out that the Chinese probably had them already. Well sod it, they had everything else, supposedly.

  After several minutes the guide emerged from the tunnels again and looked to the boss, ‘This way, Sir.’

  We were spared the formality of being greeted by the company commander. I doubted that being as close to the enemy as he was that he was really interested in meeting new arrivals. The OC of a company of drop troops operating underground was often subordinate to the engineer masterminds that worked around him. He might know how to lead his men into battle on the surface, but he had no idea of what layers of rock made up the crust of New Earth, or what methods the enemy might use to slow our advance. But that didn’t mean his job wasn’t difficult for him, quite the opposite in fact. Organising a company of three platoons to fit the engineers plan in the mazes of tunnels and caverns that made up the warrens was no simple feat.

  Instead the platoon was escorted deeper into the underground network. As we patrolled downwards I noticed the guide begin to move more and more cautiously, until eventually he was creeping forward with delicate steps on the mats.

  I made sure I kept my spacing to ten metres, hoping that if the Chinese blew us up it wouldn’t be me who got it.

  An IR torch flashed ahead of us in the gloom. We had found our new company, and the front line.

  16: Battle in the Dark

  We huddled silently in the small tunnel. It was far smaller than the tunnels we had been used to, so small that two men would struggle to pass each other without having to remove their kit. The tunnel had been cut out of the rock by a robotic laser drill an hour or so ago. before it had been destroyed by a detonation, most likely caused by Chinese engineers.

  The sound created by the powerful explosion, even a few hundred me
tres away from the drill with our headphones on was simply ear splitting, shaking the very ground beneath our feet and engulfing us in clouds of dust that took minutes to settle. The resulting collapse of the tunnel had rendered it impassable to us.

  The Chinese had rigged much of the tunnel systems that led to their underground lair with explosives, so much so that it was impossible for anybody to use them to move around. Instead we had been forced to resort to digging our own tunnels, using automated diggers like the laser drill which were fast and not much noisier than a team of men with pick axes and spades. Robots, although no replacement for infantry even in this day and age, always had their uses and this was definitely one of those times. I was glad that it hadn’t been me digging down in that tunnel!

  Brown was crouched so close in front of me I could hear his respirator sucking in air, ‘What happens now, then?

  My reply was so quiet it would barely stir a mouse, ‘I don’t know. I think the engineers are trying to think of what to do next.’

  ‘Get the hell out of this hole, that’s what we should do.’

  We looked on up the tunnel, listening. I doubted my respirator could hear as efficiently as the listening tools that the engineers would attach to the walls, but I still strained to hear the sound of the Chinese tunnelling. Sometimes I would hold my breath, sure I had heard something.

  Minutes passed as our section sat and waited for something to happen. We were at the front of the whole company, much to our dismay. Having had no experience of combat with the enemy underground, nobody amongst us was amused at being made to lead the company into the caves. Not that we had a choice, the boss wasn’t in a position to argue.

  A message was passed verbally up the tunnel. Sam tapped my shoulder from behind, whispering, ‘Engineers have picked up an enemy tunnel.’

  I repeated the message to Brown, who carried it on down the line.

  An enemy tunnel was somewhere within the rock a few hundred metres from where I was crouched. I wondered if they were listening in to us too. A stupid thought, of course they were.