Colonel (UC)

by Rick Shelley

  He tried to monitor his 4th Battalion's attack on the New Spartan line most closely. As soon as they managed a breakthrough, 1/they did, things would heat up all along the lines. Lon had everyone alerted to put as much pressure on the enemy as possible. "Don't let them reinforce their people in front of 4th Battalion," Lon told all of the other line battalion commanders. "As soon as the tanks and 4th turn the corner, we're going to hit them with everything we've got, all along the line, try to end this quickly."

  Even while planning for that, Lon kept asking himself, What will the enemy do to stop us? They must have some plan, some ace still up their sleeve. It can't be this easy, not against pros.

  The answer came just as Lieutenant Colonel Parker Watson was reporting that 4th Battalion had cracked the enemy line and was starting to feed men to the left, while leaving one company in place to keep the New Spartans from hitting their flank from the south. Lon's mapboard showed the sudden appearance of more enemy electronics, well to the north of 7th Regiment—behind them. Twenty seconds later, CIC reported that a considerable number of rockets had been launched from the newly revealed enemy position.

  "Everyone down!" Lon said on the channel that connected him to all his battalion and company commanders. "Incoming!" He took what cover he could himself, scanning the headquarters area on his way down to make certain that everyone else also was taking cover.

  The distance was not extreme. The first enemy rockets started to fall within seconds after the warning. The New Spartans had obviously pinpointed the location of virtually all the Dirigenter infantry units. Rockets were fired as quickly as launchers could be reloaded. The New Spartan batteries that had been identified earlier also joined in. As many as a dozen enemy rockets at a time might be in the air.

  For three minutes, the rocket fire was primarily New Spartan. The Dirigenter units had to move before they could start firing back—counterbattery fire, targeting the enemy launchers while trying to avoid being targeted themselves. As the artillery units dueled, the New Spartan infantry gained a breather, and Parker Watson's battalion had to dig in where they were instead of starting to roll up the enemy line.

  At the same time, the New Spartans did move. Those trapped between 7th and 15th Regiments slid clockwise around the semicircle, running the gauntlet. The New Spartans in the southwestern portion of the line surrounding University City moved toward the Elysian capital, pushing aside two companies of the local defense force that were rushing to block them.

  As soon as Lon received those reports, he called Watson. "Parker, you're going to have to turn your battalion the other way. I want you to overtake the New Spartans before they get into the city, if you can; at least don't give them a chance to set up solid defensive positions. Forget about trying to close the zipper. The New Spartans there are moving away from you. As soon as I can get a few Shrikes in, I'll set them against the enemy van in front of you, to slow them down. Keep 7th Regiment's tanks with you. I'm going to direct 15th Regiment's tanks across the arc to try to hit the New Spartans' main force."

  Watson's acknowledgment was lost in the blast of an enemy rocket that impacted eighty yards from Lon. Lon felt the ground shake violently. Rock, dirt, and other debris rained down on him for nearly a minute following the blast. The ringing in his ears was even slower to fade.

  When he was able to lift his head past the ridge of dirt surrounding his trench, he saw that many of the trees that had sheltered regimental headquarters had been broken or knocked over.

  It looks like a war zone at last, seemed to echo through Lon's head. Then casualty reports started to come in.

  From both ends of the semicircle the New Spartans moved toward University City. Parker Watson's men weren't able to stop the units moving from the western flank of their initianine, and those on the eastern flank had no opposition at all. But the New Spartans who had been on the northern arc of the perimeter had to move east, away from the city; that meant about 60 percent of their strength… their known strength, Lon reminded himself—known strength north of the River Styx. CIC was no longer certain how many men the New Spartans might have south of the river. The bridges across it had been blown, cutting them off from the main fight. CIC was also no longer certain what the total number of New Spartans on the world might be. The exposure of more rocket artillery units had been a complete surprise. There might be significantly more infantrymen as well.

  "There's a good chance they're going to be short on rockets," Lon said on a conference call that included Colonel Jensen and battalion commanders from both regiments. "They've used one hell of a lot, and their supplies can't be infinite. If we can keep them from resupplying the rocket batteries, we'll save ourselves a lot of grief later on. Agamemnon and Odysseus are on alert for that, to intercept any enemy shuttles. I don't know if the New Spartans have any resupply setup like ours, but even if they do, I doubt that it's set up to handle anything as large as rockets for those launchers." The resupply rockets the Dirigenters used were not identical to those Lon's company had tested more than twenty years before, but they were direct descendants. These rockets could be launched by shuttle, Shrike, or directly from a ship in orbit, with the final stage of their descent guided by a man on the ground. A trained operator could soft-land a rocket within ten feet of a mark, close enough to retrieve its cargo—up to five thousand rounds of rifle ammunition or two cases of rocket-propelled grenades—controlling the landing through his helmet radio. Everyone received some training in the operation, and at least two men in every line squad drilled enough to be considered experts.

  "We don't know how many they stockpiled before we got here," Tefford Ives pointed out. "They might have more rockets for their artillery than we do, on the ground."

  "Possible, but unless they knew we were coming it wouldn't have made much sense, and they didn't put a lot of shuttles on the ground after we appeared in-system," Vel Osterman said.

  "We can't underestimate the possibility," Fal Jensen said. "They had the launchers on the ground. They had to plan for enough firepower to handle the armor and artillery the Elysians have. If the New Spartans are anywhere near as thorough as we are, they would have included enough and to spare for that."

  "Whatever," Lon said. "CIC says they've used a hundred rockets this morning, and the two launchers we're sure we've destroyed might each have had eight to ten left onboard. The estimate is that each of their launchers can carry two dozen, plus whatever their attendant supply trucks carry."

  "Either way, it could be difficult for either of us to resupply our heavy weapons," Ives said. "They're sure to go after our shuttles, and I assume we'll go after any they launch."

  "Both of us have to use our fighters to defend our ships, ahead of anything else," Lon said. "That gives both sides room to maneuver, to get things in and out. Maybe we have a slight advantage, since our shuttles are armed and theirs aren't. Whatever the situation, we'll deal with it.

  "Right now, there's one other thing. I'm going to send an MR to Diligent within the next hour or so. Link your reports through to CIC on Peregrine, anything that needs to go out, casualties and operational status, and any personal mail that might have collected." Lon shrugged. "There shouldn't be much of that, since we sent mail back just ahead of the landing.

  "Fal, I'll give them the news on Colonel Hayley, that he's going to need extensive time for regeneration and rehabilitation, that I've taken over command of the contract, and that you have assumed command of 15th Regiment. As soon as I finish my report, the MR will be launched, so don't dally. Get your men reorganized—fed if there's time. Figure we'll be moving in an hour or so. I'll give you detailed deployments shortly, but we're going to have to operate in two main sections again now that the New Spartans have split up. We have to deal with the units moving into University City and those we forced out into the wild."

  An hour, Lon thought after he had acknowledgments from all the others. I have to finish my report on what's happened so far. And I have to decide whether or not to ask
for another regiment. The easy decision would be to opt for requesting help. But reinforcement will require a month. We'd still have to hold out that long. Lon shook his head. He worried over the question until that was the only item left to add to his report, taking every minute he could before he dictated the last sentences. Asking for reinforcement if it wasn't absolutely necessary would be almost as bad as not asking for it if it was. Almost.

  "It is a close call. We have really not been able to fully assess the situation yet, or to determine exactly how many men the New Spartans have deployed on Elysium. Reinforcement might be necessary, it is perhaps even extremely likely, but I think I should take more time before making that decision. I would suggest alerting the troops for possible deployment, subject to my next report. I will try to get that out within the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours."

  Not very satisfactory, Lon thought, putting off the decision that way. Wishy-washy. But he didn't change it. Peregrine launched the message rocket two minutes later.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The senior medical officer of 15th Regiment had been killed by the rocket that had wounded Colonel Hayley. Six other men had been killed by the same explosion. The only thing that had saved Hayley was that a portable trauma tube had been close and had—somehow—avoided serious damage. The medtech who had treated the colonel told Lon that it had been a miracle that Hayley had survived. "I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that if we'd been five seconds slower getting him into the tube he wouldn't have made it. I didn't think he was going to make it as it was." Listening to the detailed listing of Hayley's injuries had been almost enough to make Lon physically ill.

  The back of Bob Hayley's head had been literally blown off, along with a significant percentage of his brain. That was the injury that mattered. The fractures and shrapnel penetrations were minor by comparison. Hayley would require three weeks for the physical regeneration of lost brain tissue and the missing section of his skull, most of that time sealed in a trauma tube. After that there would be months of rehabilitation. The SMO on the flagship said that Hayley would have to learn how to walk and talk again, and the odds were strong that he would never regain much memory of his life before the injury. "I don't think there's one chance in a million he'll be able to continue in the Corps," the ship's SMO said. "But he will survive."

  It was some hours later before Lon thought, There goes

  the odds-on favorite for election to General… not that we were likely to make it home in time for him to get it this year. He shook his head. Even if we were going to make it home in time, the Council wouldn't give it to him this year, not after we lost so many men making our landing here. There'd have to be a board of inquiry first. Even if a board cleared him of misjudgment, losing so many men would remain a mark against Hayley and might keep him from ever becoming General.

  By noon, the fighting had decreased to almost nothing. Parker Watson's battalion, 4th of the 7th, was skirmishing with the enemy on the outskirts of University City. Vel Osterman's battalion, 2nd of the 7th, was moving toward the enemy rocket artillery north of the city. Fal Jensen was moving 15th Regiment east to stay between the bulk of the New Spartan forces and the Elysian capital. His 4th Battalion was angling toward the southeast, looking to engage the enemy troops who had moved toward the capital on that end of the perimeter.

  Lon was moving with his remaining two line battalions—closer to University City, staying on the north, ready to move whichever way necessary, depending on how the situation developed through the next hours… or days. He wanted to be able to move into the capital to prevent the two elements of the New Spartan force from linking up inside the metropolitan area. The rocket and howitzer batteries of both heavy-weapons battalions were moving closer to Lon's 1st and 3rd Battalions. The tanks were moving to reinforce both regiments' 4th Battalions on the edges of University City.

  Chancellor Berlino and his companions had just landed, without incident, near Lon's position. Overhead, the two fleets were moving farther apart, and higher, away from Elysium. But not too much higher. Both wanted to stay close enough to use their fighters to support operations on the ground.

  Berlino and the two other Elysian cabinet ministers were escorted to Lon's command post by two platoons from 7th's 3rd Battalion. The chancellor appeared quite shaken, his eyes wide, constantly moving, looking around as if he feared attack at every step. Thomas Beoch, the minister for external affairs, and Flora Chiou, the treasurer, simply looked exhausted.

  "I can't offer you much hospitality," Lon said. "Sorry. We thought it safer to bring you in well outside the city. Too much chance that the New Spartans would shoot the shuttle down. They have at least a battalion of troops near your main spaceport. They might control it. They're certainly close enough to shoot down any shuttle trying to land there. Make yourselves as comfortable as you can. Sitting on the ground might not look dignified, but that's all we have."

  "I'm not too proud to sit on the grass," Chiou said. Beoch simply dropped to the ground next to her. Berlino was slower to sit, but that seemed to be just because of his nervousness.

  "I've been following the reports from your CIC," Berlino said when he finally did sit. "Up until we got off the shuttle. Any significant change, Colonel?"

  Lon shook his head. "I wish I could say that there is, Chancellor, but there isn't. As soon as we can do so safely, we'll get you into the city, back to your colleagues and families. It appears that, so far, the New Spartans aren't trying to fully occupy the capital. There aren't enough of them on that side to manage, not with most of your defense force still active and nearby. Right now we're not sure if they're just trying to get as far from us as they can or if they hope to fortify sections of the city to try to hold against us."

  Berlino nodded slowly. "I was able to follow that much. How do you intend to proceed?"

  "We have three immediate goals on the ground," Lon said. "We want to neutralize—destroy—their artillery. We need to isolate the troops they have inside University City. And we want to keep those troops and their main force from reuniting, mostly by keeping the main force away from the capital. The artillery and the enemy force inside the city will be our priorities. After that we can worry about their main force. As long as they're away from the urban areas, they're the minor threat, unable to cause major difficulties for your people. We can take our time with them."

  "I agree," Berlino said. "Our first concern has to be the enemy force inside University City. Is it possible that they willtry to use our civilian populace as… hostages?"

  "Possible but not probable," Lon said. "I doubt that the New Spartans are much more likely to do that than we would be, and Dirigenters would absolutely not use unarmed civilians as hostages or shields. But you can assume that the New Spartans will deal harshly, and summarily, with anyone they catch or strongly suspect of actively operating against them. Combatant civilians forfeit any special consideration."

  "Our people will resist, strongly," Chiou said, lifting her head for the first time. She had been staring at the ground in front of her. "We cherish our independence, and there was intense anger over the invasion from the start. Many of our people will seize any opportunity to strike at the invaders."

  "I agree," Berlino said. "There will certainly be acts of resistance, which means that the sooner we can… evict the invaders from the city, the fewer of our people are likely to pay the… ultimate price."

  "We're doing our best to keep the enemy too busy to worry much about civilians, Chancellor," Lon said. "But we're limited, too, if we want to avoid civilian casualties and excessive damage to buildings and so forth. And we do want to avoid those."

  "We can repair or replace buildings, Colonel," Berlino said.

  "People aren't so easy to replace," Lon said. "We hate to see lives wasted—civilians, our own, even those of our enemies. We'll do what we have to do, Chancellor, but as economically as possible."

  "Speaking of economics, Colonel," Berlino said, "I will authorize brin
ging in a third regiment if you think it's needed. And another fighting ship with its aircraft."

  "I haven't decided yet, Chancellor," Lon said. "I warned Diligent that it is possible, but…" He shook his head.

  "But what, Colonel?"

  "You know the limits of interstellar travel, Chancellor. It will take a month to get reinforcements in. And if we don't have enough people here now to do the job, there might not be enough of us left in a month to be an effective fighting force. One regiment might not be enough to do more than cover an evacuation of survivors, and that wouldn't do your people any good. I know we made provisions in the contract for reinforcement, but the scenario involved was if we arrived and knew right away that the New Spartans had brought in more men, we would have waited in space for our reinforcements, not landed the way we did. The only way I could be… fairly certain of maintaining an effective force for a month would be to simply pull out into the wilds, away from the enemy, to wait for reinforcements. That would give the New Spartans a month to do… whatever they want to your cities and people. We don't even have a realistic option of returning to our ships to wait. A withdrawal like that might cost another six hundred men, the way the landing did, or more."

  "Besides, if you pulled away from the enemy, disengaged," Chiou said, "I doubt that the New Spartans would simply sit around and wait for the next act. We can't count on their continued willingness to simply lay siege to University City."

  "There is that," Lon conceded. "We've joined the fight. There's no way to back off." No honorable way, he thought. No way that does not concede victory to the New Spartans and relegate us to second-best status.

  In the next hour, Lon moved his command post again, this time to the ruins of a farmhouse. Only the plascrete shell of the house remained intact. The interior had been burned out; the roof had collapsed. Lon's men cleared out enough of the rubble to let him set up an "office" inside, for what minimal protection it would provide. They checked for mines, booby traps, and electronic snoops, then set up their sentry posts outside.