Esther pulled up the captain’s vitals, and her heart fell. His booster had injected him with shock-suppressing nanos, which was why he was still functioning in command with his right leg missing.
“Give me two minutes, Colonel. I’ll get some out of the kill zone, and then you bring the wrath of God down on my head.”
“I can’t. You won’t survive.”
“I’m not going to survive anyway, Colonel. You and I know that. And there’s got to be five hundred of the bastards here. Take them out. Now I’ve got to give some orders, so if you don’t mind.”
He switched to his company net. Esther listened in as he gave the command for as many of his Marines to break out down the hillside as possible.
Esther switched to Captain Kingery and ordered, “Give me all your crew served at this point,” highlighting the direction Wes McLamb had given his surviving Marines. “Blast a clear path for them.”
For Kingery to shift all of his crew-served put his own company at risk, but he never hesitated. Within seconds, all eight M249s started pounding rounds across the valley floor to impact on the far hillside.
“Staff Sergeant Lola, walk a line of mortars along this route. We’ll have Alpha following the impacts.”
Esther relayed the fire support to McLamb, then brought up the company disposition. Now down to 48, she could see some movement as they started to maneuver. Only some movement, though. At least eight were remaining in place.
“You’ve got to try, Wes. And what about Khan and Bronstein? And the others?”
“Corporal Ting’s got a broken back, but she’s still got her arms, and she’s covering the rest. I told the others to get out of here, but you know Kahn. Never was much for obeying orders.” He paused, and Esther heard the sound of him firing. “You just make sure the Fujiyama scours this place.”
“Colonel,” Major Frazier cut in. “The Lusty Sara’s still operational. Let me go get McLamb and the rest.”
The Lusty Sara was the Bravo Command Aardvark, and for a moment, Esther’s heart jumped at the thought, but she knew it wouldn’t work. There wasn’t time, for one, and she doubted the trac could make it through in one piece. Even if she did, there wasn’t a way she could climb the hill to McLamb’s position.
“Can’t do it, Mark. And I need you with Jean to keep the AA from coming up our asses.
“Lieutenant Creighton, on my order, I want 100 megajoules on top of Captain McLamb’s position. Give me a spread of 150 meters.”
“A hundred, Colonel?” he asked incredulously. “That’s . . . I mean, the Fujiyama can give it if we twin the cannons, but for five seconds, top, and then she’s got to do some serious cooling.”
“Just do it,” she ordered. “You’ve got about a minute-and-a-half.”
The first crump of the mortars reached her, followed by “Move, move, move!” on the Alpha Company command net.
“Colonel, we’ve got heavy firing coming from the south,” Captain Peaslee passed to her.
“Just take care of it, Captain,” Esther said, cutting him off.
Peaslee was surprising her with his, well, competency in battle, but for the moment, she was focused on what remained of the company on the opposite side of the valley. She watched her display as the blue dots flowed together and down the hill. Within a minute, five of them had fallen, yet the intense mortar and automatic fire opened a path so that most of them burst through the first ring of resistance. Could they get far enough, though? In a moment, the AA would figure out that was happening. By closing with the Marines, they had eliminated the threat of the Mount Fuji overhead. If the Marines created a gap, the packed-together AA became a prime target.
“Wes, how are you holding out?”
“Not so good, Colonel. Took another two hits. I . . . well, hello, guys. Glad you can join me here on this lovely day. I’d say now, Esther.”
Esther turned on the captain’s feed, and five AA fighters stood before him, Gentry P40’s pointed at his chest.
One of the men said “Esther?”
“Yeah, she can be a real bitch, but I’m damned proud to have served with her,” he said to the AA fighter, then to her, “Let it rain!”
Esther’s heart fell, and she turned to the waiting Creighton and said, “Fire.”
She kept the feed running as one of the other fighters said, “Fuck this asshole” and raised his rifle.
And the feed went blank as a crack of displaced ionized air rolled across the valley, Esther’s nostril hair almost standing erect as the tang assaulted her senses. One hundred megajoules were enough to breach a battleship, and even with atmospheric attenuation, it was still a powerful punch. For five long seconds, the air above the far hillside seemed to come alive and immense power passed through it. And then it was over. Nothing looked that different. The trees were undoubtedly dead, but that wouldn’t show up for a day or so.
Hesitantly, she brought up the company disposition. The bright blue avatars of thirty-two Marines showed up, thirty-two where this morning were one-hundred-and-twenty-six.
“This is Gunny Keating. I’m assuming command of Alpha Company and am awaiting orders,” the new company commander passed on the battalion command net, his AI giving him access.
Esther simply wanted to sink down to the dirt and do nothing. Most of Alpha Company was gone, and she’d not only given the order that put the company in that position, but she’d also given the order to the Mount Fuji that directly killed at least twenty of them.
“Ess, the fight’s not over,” Noah said over the P2P. “Get off your ass and command.”
She looked back in his direction but couldn’t spot him. He was right, though. She still commanded a powerful fighting force. At the moment, she was strung out in the valley and on the high ground to the west. She was too exposed and had to consolidate her forces.
“I’ve got it, Noah,” she said, energy flowing through her.
This was her battalion, and she was going to wield it like Thor’s hammer.
Chapter 22
Noah
“Gunny, take Alpha back along the same route. I do not want you on the valley floor until after you pass the bend. Link up with Bravo,” Esther passed on the command net.
Noah let out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He’d sensed his sister freezing up for a second, and the battalion couldn’t afford that. Listening to her now, it seemed she was back on track.
Not that he blamed her. He’d listened in with her comms with Captain McLamb, and he’d been devastated when the Mount Fuji had let loose with her cannons. It was bad enough for him, but he hadn’t given the orders. He couldn’t imagine how she felt. But she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it. The battalion was in a shit sandwich, and they need firm leadership if they were going to get themselves out of it. Esther had a proven track record of tactical prowess, and they needed her focused on the mission.
He’d almost rushed forward when the Alpha Command trac had been hit, but he could see most of the Marines, with Esther being the last one, stumble out. Only the driver and Sergeant Jones had been killed, and while a few of the others were wounded, the rest of the command was still in the fight. They no longer had the full array of their equipment, but they could fight the battalion on foot with their PAs and repeaters.
Esther was issuing orders to consolidate the battalion on Charlie’s position. That would reduce their vulnerability, but Noah didn’t know how they would then prosecute their mission. He was pretty sure that the powers that be didn’t want a defensive standoff.
Should have thought of that when you had us marching out the gates in full view of God and planet.
Noah drummed the Three Musketeers along the stock of his M90, one finger after the other before repeating, a habit he’d recently picked up. It annoyed the heck out of Esther and a couple of his first sergeants, but the soft click-click-click helped steady his thinking. He looked back to where Bravo was engaged with the AA who’d been up on the highlands along their route.
The militia arty was gamely trying to support the company, but most of the enemy fighters were just beyond their range. Esther had ordered them to displace forward to where they could better support the battalion, but they were slow in responding.
He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should backtrack and join them, but in the end, he decided to move ahead with the Alpha Command.
“Come on, Coffman,” he said to the lance corporal. “We’re climbing up there,” he said, pointing up the slope.
The young Marine looked up, shrugged up his pack, and started forward.
“Bet you wish you were back on the Fujiyama, fixing the aircon.”
“I told you, Sergeant Major, that was all well and good, but I’m a Marine, not a squid. This is where I belong.”
Noah had been surprised to see Coffman when they landed at the Raipur spaceport, but the young Marine had been right then and was right now. This is where he belonged. Because he’d been out of the loop, though, with Captain Peaslee’s security team, Noah had hijacked the young man. Noah didn’t have a specific mission other than to advise his sister, and she had the entire Alpha Command for that. So, he’d intended on making himself seen among the troops where needed, and it was better to have Coffman with him than to wander alone through an active battlefield.
He and Coffman started up the hillside. Noah started to feel it after climbing a couple of hundred meters, but with the younger Marine seemingly having no problem, he sucked it up and tried to hide the effort it was taking him. Still, he let out a sigh of relief as the top flattened out a bit.
He took a moment to look back over the valley. The sounds of firing reached up to him, but it looked deceptively peaceful. It seemed surreal to think that down there, 600 meters away, Bravo Company was in contact with the AA fighters. He caught a quick glimpse of a Marine running, then dropping back out of sight. Wondering if the Marine had been hit, he quickly thumbtacked the position on his display, he pulled up a name: PFC Colin Dodderly, who was still in full health.
“OK, Coffman, let’s find the Alpha Command,” he said, turning away from Bravo and trudging forward.
“Good to see you, Sergeant Major,” Captain Peaslee said as the two Marines reached the command’s perimeter.
“Always a pleasure to see you, too, sir. What’s the situation up here?”
“The CO’s over there about 30 meters. She’s putting together a frag.”
“You know her, sir. We’re not going to sit up here and let them bring the battle to us.”
“Roger that.”
There was an explosion about 150 meters away, and the captain said, “That’s in Charlie’s area.”
“Incoming or outgoing,” Noah asked, checking his display as the captain merely shrugged.
No new casualties registered, but that wasn’t proof one way or the other.
“You still have that squad from Bravo?”
“Sure do. They came with us when we displaced up here.”
“OK, well, I’m going to check in with the CP.”
The captain pointed the direction, and the two Marines made their way forward until Noah could see the Marines and sailor from the command group sitting on the ground, backs up against a rock face. Esther nodded to him as he came up but didn’t stop what she was doing.
He sunk to the ground and brought up the Alpha Command net.
“You tell me when that probability hits 60%,” Esther passed to someone.
Probability for what? Noah wondered.
“If that is them, then we’ve got to strike. We can cut off the head of the snake.”
“What about the militia?” Major Kutzman asked.
“Do you really think they can be counted on?” Esther countered.
“Well enough. But we don’t have much choice. Charlie’s at eighty-eight percent and Bravo’s at ninety-six, but Alpha . . .”
The major didn’t need to go further. Alpha Company’s 32 remaining effectives, now commanded by Gunny Keating, had linked up with Captain Gill and Bravo, but it was barely above platoon strength.
“I understand that. But I think they would slow down an assault. If we bring Bravo forward, we can leave Weapons to keep the AA from crawling up our asses. Maybe we can bring up the militia to give Weapons some more bodies.”
“I think that would be a good idea, Colonel,” the Three said. “What about Alpha?”
“Wait one,” Esther said, and Noah could see her connect to someone else.
He couldn’t hear what she was saying, and if she was on the P2P, he wasn’t sure he should break in.
A moment later, she came back on the Alpha Command net and said, “Gunny says Alpha wants to fight. If we bring up the militia, and think we can afford to let the company come forward with Bravo.
“Three, start to displace Bravo to the assembly area we selected. Center peel with enough time for Weapons and the militia to fill in. Then, have Weapons and the militia slowly withdraw as they can to Cardinal. Destiny, you grab me the moment we hit sixty percent. OK. people, we’ve got work to do.”
She cut off the net and sat back. Noah took this as his cue. He got up, his back creaking, and walked over to her, offering her a Zap energy bar he took out of his cargo pocket. With a smile, she took it, popped the wrapper and took a bite.
“Sixty percent probability of what?” he asked.
“You’re part of the Alpha Command, Noah. If you’d been here, you’d already know.”
“We already discussed this. I think I’m doing more by being seen.”
“I know, Noah, I know. It’s just . . .”
“You had to call in the strike, Ess. You know that. Wes knew that.”
“I know. But that doesn’t make it easier.” She shook her head quickly, as if trying to jar the memory out of her mind and then said, “The Fujiyama thinks they’ve located the Azaad Andolanalph command.”
“Really? They spotted them?”
“No, not that. But by analyzing communications patterns.”
“Comms?”
“Yeah, I know. But the more they pick up, the better it looks.”
Any command structure, almost by definition, had to communicate with its units. Comms can be scrambled, but the mere presence of the comms could give a wealth of intel simply by existing, never mind its content. To combat that, the Marine Corps comms randomly bounced around hundreds, it not thousands, of relays all around the planet and in orbit. The shifts took place several times a second, unnoticeable by the user, but too short in duration to allow for tracing. This wasn’t a particularly high-tech innovation, but somehow, the AAs evidently used an ancient routing system that the Mount Fuji’s AIs were mapping.
“And if it is them?”
“Then we take them out, of course. We think it’s about 250 meters north-northwest from Pelican. If they are there, they’re in pretty restricted terrain. I want to send Bravo forward on the far side ridge and down in the opposite canyon while Charlie pushes forward on this side of the slope. Bravo can climb out almost abreast of the AA CP.”
Noah pulled up his relief map, studied it for a moment, and then said, “That’s some pretty rough terrain there.”
“Which is why they won’t expect it. I mean, who would try and get through there?”
“Except for us,” Noah said, nodding.
Esther had a point. The terrain looked impassable, and sometimes appearances were the reality. He wondered if she was biting off more than the battalion could chew.
“And if Bravo can’t cross the terrain?”
“Then they come back over and join Charlie. Together, they sweep the high ground clean.”
“That’s kind of a narrow frontage for two companies. And do we have the numbers of bad guys between here and Pelican?”
“They’re out there, maybe three or four thousand, which is why I want Jean to bypass them.”
“And what about you? I mean, the Alpha Command? You’ve been here for more than an hour. That’s a pretty long time to stay in one position.�
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“We’ll be following in trace of Charlie. Look, Noah, I know you think this is risky, and maybe it is. But we can’t just sit here and let the AA define the battle. We need to make this on our terms if we’re going to get out of this in one piece.”
“Colonel? The Fujiyama just recalculated. We’re at seventy-four percent,” Captain Montoya said.
Esther jumped up, shoving the rest of the CCC bar into her mouth and shouted to the Three, “We’re on. Let’s kick it off!”
Noah was not feeling overly confident. He knew that the AA fighters could not stand up to Marines man-to-man, so Esther was doing her best to diminish the enemy’s superiority in numbers by only meeting them at equal numbers or better. Esther had a reputation for tactical innovation, but it hadn’t always worked during training. If this worked, she’d be hailed as the second coming of Sun Tzu. If it didn’t, they might not survive the coming hours.
***************
To Noah’s great relief and welcomed surprise, Bravo Company seemed to be up to the task. They’d had mountain warfare training, to be sure, but still, the eight klicks had been hellaciously difficult, taking the company through the short Nayi Bharat night and into the morning. More than a few AA drones had been picked up on the south side of the ridge, but from all indications, the Mount Fuji had managed to spoof them.
Shortly before nightfall, Esther had implemented her second frag order. Charlie had encountered stiffer resistance to its advance, and the estimated numbers of AA fighters all along the high ground had continued to rise, to include a sizable force defending the enemy CP. If Bravo was to have a chance in knocking out the AA command cell, some of those forces, at least, had to be drawn away.
Esther’s plan, and Noah had to give it mad props, was to have Charlie set up a hasty defense as night fell, then at dawn, begin a feint withdrawal as if trying to link up with the militia. The hope was that as they retreated, the AA would smell victory and follow with the bulk of their forces in the area.
It had been rather hairy during the night. The AA launched three assaults, and Charlie had pushed back each using only half of their forces in an attempt to fool the AA as to how many Marines were still effective. But the ruse seemed to have worked. When Charlie started pulling back this morning, what surveillance they had seemed to indicate the AA was chasing the company.
Blood United (The United Federation Marine Corps' Lysander Twins Book 5) Page 21
