“Hey, Paul, what’s going on?” Lander asked as he came up behind Thompson.
“Figured, I would get some practice in; it beats sitting around the tent worrying,” Thompson said.
“Paul, I’ve got to ask you about earlier, what the hell has been going on with you?” Lander asked.
“Really, are you going to ask that question, Chet? I think I already made myself pretty clear then, but I’m over it now,” Thompson said, then took a more couple shots down range.
“Are you? You sure don’t look like it,” Lander said.
“Chet, how long have we known each other, ten … eleven years?” Thompson asked as he turned around and put his rifle down on the barrel to his right. “And in that time, have you ever noticed that when I feel uneasy by a situation I tend to become a huge asshole?”
“Yeah, but you’re an asshole all the time, Paul,” Lander said with a smirk.
“Heh, you dick, but seriously though, Chet, think about it, we’re going to the front with an elite commando squad. We’re inexperienced and we have terrible equipment. We’re there to act as decoys, so we get shot and the commandos don’t,” Thompson said.
“I don’t think that’s true, Paul, they’re just under-strength; they need everyone available,” Lander said.
“Under-strength? Don’t make me laugh. Then why are they keeping the factories running? They should be pulling everyone off the lines. Why are they having inexperienced reservists fight with the commandos and not the Regs?” Thompson asked as he was becoming increasingly frustrated.
“I don’t know, but I do know you’re not the only one who’s irked about it; hell, I’m sure others are more pissed about it than you are. If we were really going to be decoys then how come it’s not the whole platoon tagging along with the Dark Horses? I think that it’s just us, because they don’t want us there, more than we don’t want to be there,” Lander said.
“Yeah, but why have us there in the first place? I just don’t get it,” Thompson said.
“You just need to calm down. Our best chance for making it out of this is to stay calm and do exactly what the Dark Horses tell us, don’t you agree?” Lander said, though deep down he knew he was more unsure than Thompson was.
Thompson crossed his arms and stood there silently for a moment.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Chet,” Thompson said.
“So, how was the target practice?” Lander asked.
“Pfft… not good. You can’t see anything past a hundred meters,” Thompson said slightly joking.
“Heh… I would think not,” Lander said, cracking a smile.
“Are you two using the range?” A woman’s voice asked behind the two.
Lander turned around and saw it was a young, short woman, with dark hair, and a fifty-caliber sniper rifle; she was a member of the Dark Horse Commando Squad, judging by her unit patch on her uniform.
“Umm …” Lander tried to say “No.”
“No, I’m actually done here. It’s too dark to see anything anyway,” Thompson said.
“Not a problem for me, I have a night vision scope. Any of you want to spot for me?” the woman asked.
“Sure, why don’t you take this one, Chet, I’ve had enough shooting for one night,” Thompson said as he patted Lander on the right shoulder and headed towards the camp.
“Do you know how use one of these night vision spotter scopes, Chet?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, I think I can figure it out. The name is Chet Lander, umm … Sergeant Chet Lander by the way. I’m the squad leader of the reservist squad that’s going to be fighting alongside yours, and your name?” Lander asked as the woman handed him the spotter scope.
“I’m Specialist Akiyama Hiromi, but you can call me Akiyama, which is my family name,” Akiyama said.
“I see. So you’re the sniper of the Dark Horse Commando Squad?” Lander asked as he followed Akiyama to the shooting booth.
“That’s correct,” Akiyama said as she got her rifle ready on one of the crudely built tables that Lander’s squad had hastily constructed.
“So, don’t snipers usually work in teams?” Lander asked as he looked around for her regular spotter.
Akiyama looked up from her rifle at Lander.
“I don’t have a dedicated spotter. The person who usually spots for me is drinking right now,” Akiyama said as her eyes drifted back to her weapon.
“Well, I’ll help you out as much as I can,” Lander said.
“Good, because if you do a decent enough job you’ll be spotting for me,” Akiyama said, then looked at Lander’s uniform. “We’re going to have to make sure your unit gets some thermals. We can’t have you giving away our positions.”
“Yes, I agree, but it’s all they gave us,” Lander said.
“We’ll figure out something. Captain Fischer isn’t going to let you go to the front dressed like that; I’m sure of it,” Akiyama said as she walked over with her rifle to the booth and laid down in the prone position.
Lander laid down next to her and set up the night vision spotter scope.
“So, I think the farthest target out there is seven-hundred meters down range, a marksman with the 1st Platoon, put it out there I was told, but …” Lander said as he turned on his scope and peered through it. “Oh, I guess you can see it, never mind.”
“The target I’m aiming for is small, no more than sixty centimeters square. Do you see it?” Akiyama asked as she looked through her scope.
“Umm… yes. Yes, I see it. The old yield sign out there?” Lander asked.
“Right, I’m going to be using infrared tracers so you’ll be able to see the bullet go down range. Just tell me where the bullet goes. I can make my own adjustments,” Akiyama said.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Lander said.
Akiyama nodded and looked through her scope as Lander looked through his. After a few seconds, Akiyama fired; the loud report and shockwave of the fifty-caliber sniper rifle caught Lander off guard and he lost the target as the shot went down range.
“Shit!” Lander exclaimed as he put his finger in his ringing ear.
“Was I on target?” Akiyama asked.
“Umm… sorry, Akiyama, but I missed it,” Lander said, with an apologizing tone.
“Hmm… let’s try again, shall we?” Akiyama said; she worked the bolt, ejected the spent round, and inserted the next one. “Get ready.”
Akiyama fired and this time Lander was ready for it. The muzzle flash lit up the scope, and from the flash, a small, white line shot out from it, arching over the closer targets as it headed to the yield sign, but then continued sailing past it.
“That’s a miss, high. About a meter above the target,” Lander said.
“Okay,” Akiyama said as she made some adjustments to her scope. “Get ready.”
Akiyama took just a second longer this time and fired. The white line flew towards the target and landed just short, kicking up a nice cloud of dust.
“Miss. Umm… I would say a meter short,” Lander said.
“Hmm… a meter high, huh?” Akiyama said with a smirk as she adjusted the scope again. “Get ready.”
Akiyama with no hesitation, fired. The white line flew toward the target and impacted, taking off the entire right side of the sign, and twisting it around.
“Wow… that’s a hit just right from dead center,” Lander said.
“You’re surprised?” Akiyama asked as she looked at Lander.
“Oh no… no, I mean just what that bullet did to the target,” Lander said, worrying that what he said earlier came out wrong.
“Let’s go for the left side of the sign now, since it’s the only thing left,” Akiyama said as she went back to her scope.
“Heh… yeah sure,” Lander said.
Akiyama fired. The white line went down range and hit what was left of the yield sign, causing it to mostly disappear from Lander’s scope.
“Umm… I believe you disintegrated it, Akiyama,” Lander said.
<
br /> “Now, if we can only get the robots to build yield signs,” Akiyama said with a smirk.
Lander looked at the rifle a little closer; it looked like it had been around for a long time. It had the old insignia of the U.S. Marine Corps carved onto the butt of the gun.
“That’s a nice rifle. What kind is it?” Lander asked.
“It’s a McMillan Tac-50,” Akiyama said as she got into a kneeling position.
“Wow, I had no idea they still made rifles like those,” Lander said, feigning stupidity.
“No, not anymore, which makes it hard to find ammo, so I usually make my own. Can you grab those casings for me, please?” Akiyama said as she picked up her rifle and headed to the table.
Lander handed her the casings and she put them in her back-pack.
“I think all snipers nowadays use the new laser snipers, how come you still use this one?” Lander asked.
Akiyama stared off for a bit and then looked at Lander.
“Sergeant Lander, you’re going to be my spotter for the upcoming battle. I’m going to make sure the Captain finds your squad some thermals. See you tomorrow,” Akiyama said as she gave Lander a quick smile and then headed off with her rifle over her shoulder.
Lander, still holding the night vision spotter scope in his left hand dropped it down to his side, gave a quick wave goodbye, and headed back to his squad’s tent.
At least we might get some new camo, that’ll make everyone a little happier, Lander thought. He turned his head and looked south, toward the direction of the electric hum; it was getting noticeably louder now. I just hope it will do us some good.
Chapter 22
“Good morning everyone. Okay, let’s get this thing started. This should be our last briefing before we head up to the front,” Fischer said as he entered the briefing tent.
“No more briefings!” Rhodes yelled-out jokingly.
“Heh, well if things get too bad, then this will be our last one. Let’s get down to brass tacks. As you all know, our situation is far from ideal. We’re going to get hit hard on two under-defended flanks and we don’t have nearly enough people for the front. Unfortunately, we’re going to be supplemented by some reservists; who’s representatives are here right now,” Fischer said as Lander and the two other representatives waved.
Fischer grabbed out a brand new thermal camouflage uniform that was underneath the table he was talking in front of.
“I was able to acquire some new thermals for the reservists joining us on the line, from what I understood they were issued ancient ACUs, as you all know provide zero thermal concealment,” Fischer said as he put the uniform back under the table and then glanced at Lander. “Sergeant Lander, is it? How do your troops like the new Gen Fours?”
“Umm… they’re great thank you, Captain Fischer, sir,” Lander said.
“Very good, I had to pull a lot of strings to get those here in time,” Fischer said.
“Umm… Captain Fischer, sir, our units are armed with really out-of-date weapons too. Are we going to get those replaced as well?” Lander asked as the other representatives nodded.
“I know this is tough, Sergeant, but we have make do with what we got for now. Eventually, there will be some new laser rifles made available,” Fischer said.
“They’ll just be slightly used ones!” Hartford said from the back of the tent.
“Okay, quiet,” Fischer said as he turned on the holo-projector. “At 0900 hours we’ll depart from the High School Soccer field, near that makeshift shooting range, which is being dismantled. Trucks will take us to our AOs; no Phaeton’s this time. All available Phaetons are going to be used for air support and medical evac. Captain Haggardson, is your squadron ready?” Fischer asked.
“You can count on the Diamond Aces and hopefully the 19th too, sir,” Haggardson said with a smirk.
“Good. The Master Blasters along with the 1st Platoon from Captain Ho-Wan’s Reservist Company will help the Regs hold the west side of the line. Is everything ready, Rhodes?” Fischer asked.
“The bridges are ready to blow and everything is primed, Fish! After this battle I’ll even let the 1st Platooners try for the pot, ha-ha,” Rhodes chuckled; the 1st Platoon commander looked a little confused.
“The Red Hats will be on the east side of the line with the 2nd Platoon. Is everything good, Harlan?”
“Yeah, just ready to get this over with, Fischer,” Harlan said.
“Sergeant Lander, your squad will be working close with mine, I heard Akiyama recruited you as her new spotter. Congratulations,” Fischer said, Jones across the room leaned over to look at Lander and didn’t seem too pleased.
“Umm… thank you, sir. My troops will do their best,” Lander said.
“I’m sure they will, Sergeant. Okay, as of recent intel reports the HRUO armies haven’t changed course. We’re still going to be flanked by the two armies at Leesville and Sherman. The 4th LRR will be defending those towns, but there is going to be no way they’ll hold them for more than a few hours; they aren’t expected to get hit until a full six hours after the main assault happens. We must make sure that we do as much damage before we have to fallback to the second line. If we fallback too soon then the 4th will be cut-off, so it’s imperative that we hold. Everyone understand?” Fischer asked as everyone nodded.
Jones slowly raised his hand.
“Yes, Jones?” Fischer asked.
“Yes, when do you want me to use the stop code?” Jones asked.
“Not until we have to fallback from the first to the second line, Jones. We only get to use it once and that seems like it will be the best time to use it,” Fischer said as Jones nodded in agreement.
“Anymore questions?” Fischer asked.
Brookes raised her hand.
“Yes, Lieutenant Brookes?” Fischer asked.
“Umm… stop code, sir?” Brookes asked.
“Jones can fill you in on the details, but the short answer is we have the HRUO army stop command that gets issued to all of the robots. We broadcast it out and the robots stop, but they’ll only stop for about ten or twenty minutes, or until the robots get issued new codes, but like I said you’ll have to ask Jones about that.
“Okay.”
“Are we going to have full artillery support when we’re at the first line?” Rhodes asked.
“No, not at the first line; we’ll be out-of-range of the heavy plasma mortars until we retreat back to the second line. I think this might work well, since the valley narrows just below the second line, so they’ll be able to pick them off as they come through one-by-one,” Fischer said.
Fischer looked around the room, everyone, especially the reservists seemed to be anxious about what was going to happen. They we’re going to try to fight an almost impossible battle. He thought that this seemed to be a good a time as any to end the briefing and get out to the front. He thought having everyone out there would be the best thing for getting rid of the nerves.
“Okay everyone, I said this was going to be a short briefing so let’s get out there, dismissed,” Fischer said as he shut down the holo-projector.
Everyone left the tent, except for Harlan who hung back from the rest as they left.
“Hey, Fischer?” Harlan asked.
“Yeah?”
“Listen, I want to apologize for last night Fischer; it was unprofessional for me to let my emotions get the best of me.”
“Don’t worry about it, Harlan. To tell you the truth, I’d been more concerned that they never affected you that much in the past. I can’t tell you how many times Rhodes and I let our emotions get the better of us. The best thing to do is to keep focused on the mission and to push everything else out of your mind.”
“Thanks, Fischer, and don’t worry about me, I’m good to go. The Red Hats and I are ready to destroy some robots.”
“Come on, Harlan, let’s go grab some breakfast, while we still can,” Fischer said as he and Harlan left the tent.
*****
; All the units were gathered up on the High School soccer field as they waited in the cold for Martin, Hartford, and Sanchez to arrive with the trucks to take them to the front.
“Geez… Fish, what’s taking them so long?” Rhodes asked.
“I don’t know, it’s going to be hard to hear them coming up with that damn electric hum getting louder,” Fischer said.
Just then three school buses pulled in onto the soccer field.
“Well, it looks like our transport is here,” Rhodes said as he pointed to the buses driving closer.
“Son of a… that better not be them,” Fischer said as the first bus pulled up right in front of him and stopped. Fischer could see Sergeant Martin was driving it.
“We got some transport, Cap,” Martin said gleefully as he exited the bus
“School buses? Where are the trucks?” a flabbergasted Fischer asked; he was sure it had to be Sanchez’s or Hartford’s idea.
Sanchez and Hartford came running up from their buses.
“Nice buses,” Rhodes said to Hartford.
“Courtesy of the Grantsburg school district heh-heh,” Hartford responded with a grin.
“So what do you think, Cap?” Sanchez asked, not yet noticing Fischer’s response.
“Is this your guys’ idea of some kind of joke?” Fischer asked.
“What? No, sir, we were at the motor pool for about twenty minutes and… well, you tell him, Martin,” Sanchez said.
“They’re out of trucks, Cap. The word is that Williams is moving the Reservists from the town center and placing them in the passes behind 4th Regiment’s lines of defense,” Martin said.
“Dammit, so we have no reserve behind us?” Fischer asked.
“As for right now -- no, sir; I thought you said Williams agreed to keep a reserve back?”
“He said he was; in fact, when I spoke with him no more than an hour ago, he agreed to keep a reserve in town to protect our withdrawal and the mortar brigade,” Fischer said and then looked back behind him. “Jones, get up here.”
Robot Wars: Thrown Into the Fray Page 14
