by Gary Beller
“That’s not a flank attack,” Ben said, “They are going for a head on assault. One Bravo Actual, Phantom Six. 1st Division is stepping off their attack, going head to head with the enemy.”
“Out fucking standing, Phantom Six. Hold your line, reinforcements are coming.” Westover said.
***
Tom ordered his entire force forward, leaving the Artillery in place but moving all his troops towards the battle. The Narcanian Militia occupied the defensive lines the Marines abandoned. Tom promised the Narcanians he would return if they were attacked, but felt fairly sure the main attack was underway on the other side of the spine.
Back on the Spine, Ben watched as 2nd and 3rd Brigades raced out of the woods. The infantry had mounted on the Light Armored Vehicles and tanks to cover the ground quicker and protect themselves during transit. The enemy’s advance trekked on, but slowed significantly by the artillery batteries firing on them. A Banor tank fired its’ main gun, hitting one of the tanks guarding the gap in the power plant, causing it to explode. “Aww shit.” Flesher said over the radio. “Slammer 3 is down.”
“Hold the line, Slammer 6.” Ben ordered.
“Yes, Sir.” Flesher said. “Chopper 2, Chopper 3, move forward.”
The two reserve tanks moved forward and pushed past the burnt out hulk of Slammer 3. Out in the field, infantry dismounted and moved forward. Tanks from 3rd Brigade provided covering fire from their main guns and light autocannons as the Infantry moved forward.
“Phantom Six, Phantom White, orders?” Sid asked.
“Engage any targets in range.” Ben ordered.
John and Dani opened fire first, firing in alternating bursts. Their weapons, along with the rapid-firing rifles from Marines on Ben’s side of the gap,
CHAPTER 21
The enemy troops fell back, pursued momentarily by the balance of 1st Division, until Lieutenant General Hardfighter called it off. Instead of pursuing the enemy into the woods, and the unknown, he chose to regroup the two brigades of 1st Division with the entire 2nd Division, and ordered 1SMU back to the Narcanian Colony to await further orders.
Ben was feeling flustered as he got back, but was surprised to see Kay Jay waiting for him, as well as Major Charles Middleton, commanding 9SMU. “What’s going on?” Ben asked.
“We were told to report to you. Word is orders are coming down from on high.” Kay Jay said.
As if on cue, a truck rolled up. It looked like any of the other dozens of trucks in service with Marine Expeditionary Corps Lima, except for the man standing behind the autocannon atop the vehicle. No one dared salute, for fear of enemy snipers, but the sudden and unannounced arrival of the Praxis Hardfighter at the Colony was met with enthusiasm. “Peirce, Westover,” He yelled, climbing off the truck.
“Yes, Sir.” Westover said, approaching from nearby. Ben walked over and slung his carbine. “Sir.” He nodded.
“Alright, so here’s the deal boys.” Praxis said, pulling a tablet from the back of his truck, and pulling up the map. “We have one long line, running from the Andar Spine, south several miles to where we link up with the Kntarian military. Your brigade is here, and two miles to the north is the Valderans. Now, somewhere out in the woods to the west, is the Banor Army.”
“Okay. Sounds simple, we find them and kill them.” Ben said.
“Seems so, doesn’t it?” Praxis said, smiling. “Problem is, we don’t know if they are forming as a coherent unit or spreading out. But, we do have a theory.” He moved the map west, away from the colony. “These are the Andar Mountains. Unfamiliar territory for us, but maybe not so for the Banor. We think they may have scouted and mapped the mountains during their occupation, and plan to use them as a line of last resort.”
“Like a natural panic room, in the event we show up here and want something to kill?” Westover said.
“Have we ever showed up anywhere NOT wanting something to kill?” Ben asked.
“Are we counting the Officer’s club?”
“Knock it off fuckheads.” Praxis said. “So we need boots on the ground in the mountains. I ordered three Special Missions Units to group here, and we’ll send them out.”
“Ahh, Special Reconnaissance. My favorite.” Ben said.
“Then I really hope you enjoy it.” Praxis said. “I want the SMUs up there just keeping eyes out. We have a supply truck rolling up, have each Operator load up with food, power packs, and everything else you will need.”
“Okay. But how do we get there?” Ben asked.
“Light jumpers will carry four man teams to strategic points around the mountains. Three or four person teams, however you can divide the work. I want at least eighteen patrols out there.”
“Aye sir.” Ben said. “Who are we reporting to if we find anything?”
“If you find anything, report it to me.” Praxis said.
“Roger that.” Ben said. The supply truck rolled up a moment later. The supply team unloaded grenades, field rations, particle weapon power packs, projectiles, and other supplies by the case. Ben called the Special Missions Operators over to gather up gear. While Praxis talked with Tom, Ben circled up the Special Missions Operators.
“Alright, here’s the deal. We’re going out into the mountains in small teams for special reconnaissance patrols. I want sniper teams taking high ground as much as possible; find spots that give you good visibility. Everyone else will be dropped for foot patrols. No idea how long we will be out there, so make sure you bring enough rations for a few days. Report anything you find up the chain to headquarters immediately.”
“Aye Sir.” The Operators said.
“Don’t be stupid out there, either. Aside from sniper teams, we’ll be rolling out in groups of 3 or 4, and we don’t have enough corpsmen for every team. Observe and report is all we are looking for here, don’t try and be a hero and take on the whole goddamned Banor Army. If you can fuck with their heads a bit, though that’s fine by me.”
Ben was about to dismiss the Marines to finish gearing up when General Hardfighter stepped up next to Ben. “Listen up for a moment.” Praxis said, “I know I have asked a lot of you, and I am doing it again. But understand the importance of your mission: The work you have done so far has laid the foundations for our successes here on Chiodrick, and your mission now will guarantee that success.”
“Sir?” Kate said, raising her hand, “What if the enemy isn’t in the mountains?”
“I have accounted for that, First Sergeant. We’ve put Recon teams out in the woods ahead of the rest of the line. Just keep your sights on your target.”
“Aye, Sir.” Kate said.
“Alright. Go out and find me some enemies to kill.” Praxis said.
***
Once Ben had the assignments from the team leaders, the jumpers came in. Ben boarded the lead jumper, along with Jenny, Wilkie, and Ashlie. “Been a while since we’ve done small unit raids like this,” Jenny said.
“Yeah no kidding.” Ashlie said.
Wilkie looked at the two women, “This is normal?”
“Depends on the situation,” Ben explained, “Most of what you’ve done with us has been long-range, direct action strikes behind enemy lines. We go in on those ops with a heavier strike package because there is no contingency if shit gets fucked, other than to fall back. Here, we have two hundred thousand or so allied troops behind us, plus the ability to be quickly extracted in case of trouble, so we can roll with smaller sub units.”
“And this is a special reconnaissance mission, not direct action like we’ve been doing.” Ashlie said.
The jumper took off and cruised at tree top level. Darkness was beginning to set as the ship crossed into the mountains. The pilot found a suitable spot and pulled into a hover, then dropped the rear ramp, which landed on a solid rock.
“Switch to low-light.” Ben ordered, following through himself. The faceplate on his helmet darkened, then took on a green glow. The two low-light, wide angle sensors on his helmet projected images
inside the faceplate. Ben raised his rifle and cleared the landing zone before signaling for the other three.
Ashlie was the last off the ramp, and pressed against the rock face behind her. When the jumper raised its ramp, she gained a new appreciation for the pilot’s skillful flying: He had held the ship in a hover, despite the updrafts, over the edge of a sheer, 100 meter cliff face. “Which way, Sir?” She asked.
“For right now, we hold tight.” He said as reports came in from the various sub units. “This is our first bivouac.”
“Do we start a fire? It’s gonna get cold up here.” Wilkie asked.
“Negative.” Ben said, “Activate the heating unit inside your body armor.” Ben said, sliding a hand under his chest plate and pulling the small ring to activate it. The heater felt warm rather than hot, but was just enough to keep his core body temperature up.
Ashlie dropped her gear and looked around. “So we just sit and watch the valley for the night?”
“Yup.” Ben said. “Phantom Six to Scorpio one.”
“Scorpio 1 copies, Phantom Six. Go ahead.” Kate said, from her perch high above the valley.
“You have over watch?”
“Affirmative, Phantom Six. Scorpio one out.” She turned to DJ. “Do you see where Phantom Six is?”
“Yeah, I have three elements forward of our position marked on my map.” DJ said.
“Okay. Scorpio two has the other elements in his sector.” Kate said. While most of the Operators had been dropped in groups of three or four, the sniper elements had been dropped independently, with just a sniper and spotter in each team, and positioned higher up covering the other units.
Ben pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pack and sat down to observe the valley. Although called binoculars in the equipment manual, the device actually was much more complicated. They featured adjustable zoom for daytime, low-light, and thermal modes as well as a laser rangefinder. Ben wasn’t sure he would see the Banor directly, having acclimated themselves to the planet. Instead he looked for wildlife acting unnatural.
“Anything?” Wilkie asked.
“Some kind of big cat stalking what appears to be this world’s version of a mountain goat. A bunch of nocturnal birds waking up and some kind of rabbit things finishing up a burrow.” Ben said.
“Well nice to know its business as usual for the native species. Anything on the vermin we came to rid this place of?”
“Patience is a virtue. Right now this is our only viable way of getting to that colony. They will come to us.” Jenny said. She had lain prone and was searching with the scope on her rifle. “Got movemen—Oh nope. Never mind, that was just a lizard.”
Ashlie and Wilkie laughed at Jenny’s remark. Ben sat straighter. “Got something.” He said.
“Scorpio 1 to Phantom Six,” Kate spoke quietly.
“You see it, too? Yellow light moving along the valley floor?” Ben asked.
“Yes sir. And looks like it lit up some torches behind it. Marking the trail.”
“Got it. Kate, Radio it back to Headquarters. We’re going in to investigate.” Ben said. “Gear up.”
CHAPTER 22
Ben and Ashlie moved quietly down the hillside, staying about ten meters above the valley floor. Wilkie and Jenny had dashed across to the other side, to provide crossfire, and both pairs moved quietly towards the light. “Anyone feel like a mosquito?” Wilkie asked.
“What the actual…Shut up.” Ben said.
“Phantom Six, hold position. Contact approaching from around the next bend.”
Ben and Ashlie laid low and waited as the light grew brighter coming around the bend. Ben raised his carbine and focused through the gun sight. The device filtered some of the torch’s light out, revealing the wolf-like face of a Banor soldier. “Target is hostile. Standby to fire on my signal.” Ben said quietly in his comm.
Holding his breath, Ben waited as two more soldiers came around the corner. They looked comfortable, weapons slung over their backs. “This almost isn’t fair.” Ashley said quietly.
“The only fair fight is the fight you lost.” Ben said. Another heartbeat and the valley floor seemed full of Banor soldiers, marching two by two in tight columns. Ben targeted the torchbearer and fired. The soldier carrying the torch took the particle beam squarely in his forehead and crumpled to the ground, dropping the torch into the short grasses along the hillside.
Wilkie, Jenny and Ashley joined in. The enemy soldiers attempted to regroup, but there was no cover to be found. Some tried running up the walls, others tried falling back. Wilkie slid down the hill, shooting as he went, stopping and kicking out the bipod on his weapon and filling the valley with particle beams. Ashlie and Jenny both fired forty-millimeter grenades, showering the area with shrapnel.
The torch laying in the grass and the heat from the particle beams caught the grass on fire. “Push forward!”
Ben, Ashlie, Jenny and Wilkie rose up and charged forward. Ben threw a grenade, which levelled a quartet of enemy troops trying to cover their comrades’ retreat. More enemy soldiers tried fighting the charging quartet of Operators, only to be mown down. Enemy fire came back strong, forcing the four Operators to cover. “I think we overplayed this hand, Boss!” Jenny yelled.
“Yeah!” Ben yelled, but Jenny never heard, as his yell was drowned out by the roar of a Bearcat’s engines. The fighter’s rapid-firing auto cannons fired into the enemy troops. “Fall back.” Ben ordered. Small arms fire streamed up as a second fighter made a strafing run.
“Kitten 100 to Phantom Six, We’ll take it from here.” Kristen McQueen said.
***
Along the valley, other elements of 1SMU also opened fire on Banor troops. The Starfighters of Satan’s Kittens squadron made gun runs down the length of the enemy lines, while fighters from the Black Knights made an armed reconnaissance flight.
Further down the valley from where Ben’s squad was, Sid and her squad made headway towards the enemy column. Dani Burke set herself up, using her Ka-Bar to dig a small pit and dropping the legs of her closed bipod into it. She now had a stable and flexible firing position, while Sid and Staff Sergeant Tony Green set up with their battle rifles.
Sid laid out the firing lines, as a Bearcat pressed its attack and forced enemy troops to back up. “Let ‘em have it!“ She ordered. Along their front, the three Marines fired at any enemy troops that moved. For all practical purposes, Sid and Tony were using divergent fire to force the enemy towards the center, where Dani’s gun cut them down.
Along a branch of the valley, Rob, John, Geoff and Johnson chased down an enemy patrol that had tried finding a way out of the ambush set by Ben’s squad. The enemy troops stopped and turned, trying to make a stand. John fired his weapon from the hip, spraying fire across the group, burning them down.
Ahead of them, at the junction of the valleys, a Goshawk screamed by, making a staffing run. “Press forward, men.” Rob said, taking point. “
“Doc, stay with me.” John said, to Mason.
“Hey, asshole, I outrank you.” Mason said, but followed him anyway.
“Outrank me all you want, Chief. My job is to keep you alive so you can keep us alive. And besides, you followed, didn’t you?’
“Shut up, John.” Rob said, from across the valley floor. “Phantom 6, Phantom 602, approaching Intersection of Valley Alpha and South Branch.”
“602, Approach quietly. Enemy forces are going to be on your right, looks like they might be setting up for a push.” Ben said.
“Roger that, sir. Set the L?”
Ben considered it for a moment. “Roger that, 602.”
Ben and Rob aligned their two teams to form an L-shape, with the added advantage of the holding the high-ground in two of the three converging sections. Ben and Wilkie were set up opposite Ashlie and Jenny along the enemy’s path of advance, both pairs working their way about half-way up the rock face to find advantageous firing positions. Forming the L in the merging branch, John and Geoff were on the nea
rside of the valley to Ben, with Rob and Frankie Johnson on the far end.
By agreement, Ben would open the engagement. A part of him was still hesitant to believe the enemy was still trying to attack, but he also knew how much having an offensive path probably meant to their strategy. Farther down the valley and its diverging and merging branches, contact with Operators was only sporadic at best. Here, now, the enemy was faced with strong opposition that obstructed their advance.
Ben waited for the advance guard to pass the intersection. A squad was detached to guard the flank as they passed, but for the moment Rob’s detachment left them alone. Ben waited until the enemy column had advanced far enough before shouldering his weapon. He identified an officer, placed his scope’s reticule over the center of the alien’s chest, and fired.
The single shot caught the entire column by surprise. Several medics attended to the fallen officer, while Banor soldiers fired randomly. Ben flicked his selector switch over to rapid fire and let loose.
On the flanks, John opened up on the flank guard, cutting them down. Rob and Frankie fired past the flank guards and into the surprised infantry trying to protect their fallen leader. The Banor soldiers were overwhelmed by the intensity and accuracy of the fire coming from the Marines, and their return fire was sporadic at best.
Kate and D. J. had moved closer into range of the ambush. Kate set her rifle across her backpack, giving her a stable shooting platform, and lined up. “Range?” She asked.
“Nearest point, one five seven zero. Farthest point, one seven two five.” D. J. said, checking his spotting scope.
Kate dialed in her scope, running calculations based on information she had gathered on the valley, and set her scope’s zero point at one thousand six hundred fifty meters, just off of the midpoint, leaning toward the farther end. She zeroed in and found her first target. Normally she would specifically target officers, but the enemy was so discombobulated that she didn’t waste time scanning. “Go ahead and engage with your rifle D. J.” She said, pulling the trigger.
