by Mark Rounds
The Ref looked hard at both of them and then shrugged. Without a word, he mounted his grav sled and flew away.
#
Jarl and his little band were moving quietly through the brush when the 'cease fire' sounded. Dietz rolled over on to his back and sighed. He was just opening his canteen when Jarl thumped him in the stomach.
"Umph!" exclaimed Dietz more in surprise than in pain. "What did you do that for?"
"No one knows we're here stupid," said Jarl conspiratorially. "I say we just keep on moving. Who will know?"
"Jarl, that's not such a good idea..." said Dietz.
"Give it a rest," said Jarl with some exasperation. "We'll just keep on going. If we get caught, we'll hang our head in shame and let them ferry us back."
"You're the boss," said Dietz as he picked up his pack.
"Damn right," said Jarl. "I'll recon up ahead while you guys get put back together."
Jarl had just gotten out of sight when the pressor beam hit him. It drove him to the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs. As soon as he got some air flowing the right way, he began to struggle. The harder he thrashed, the harder the pressor beam forced him to the ground until it was all he could to breathe.
Dietz crawled just far enough forward to see Jarl.
"Jarl," he said quietly, "I tried to tell you that the Refs have IR sensors, ground pass radar, and God knows what else. Not only can they tell where you are, they can hear you, and probably tell what you had for breakfast."
"Alright already," said Jarl breathlessly. "I give. I promise I will stay right here until the horn sounds."
"It doesn't work that way, Lieutenant Estaban," said a disembodied voice.
They looked around and finally spotted a remote probe no bigger than a softball hovering on its own little impeller. It floated almost silently about a meter from Jarl's nose.
"Trooper Dietz is right," said the voice coming from the sensor. "We Refs can see you anywhere on the field of battle. We can hear and record anything you say. By trying to move during the break, you have proven yourself untrustworthy. This beam will stay on you for five minutes after the horn which initiates combat sounds. If you relax the beam won't press so hard but it will stay on you. You have the right to lodge a complaint after the game, if you think this penalty is too harsh."
The probe resumed its camouflaged mode. Even though Jarl knew exactly where to look, it was almost invisible. Jarl renewed his struggling and found that the beam pressed down harder and harder until it stopped his movement and nearly stopped his breathing. He remained still and after a bit, it started to relent.
"Hey Dietz," said Jarl after the beam let up a little, "can you come over here and loosen my canteen?"
"Not on your life," said Dietz shaking his head. "Even if the Refs allowed me to move that far, which is doubtful, the second any portion of my body got under that pressor, I'll be welded to the ground, just like you are. I suggest that you just take it easy and rest as much as you are able."
As Jarl proceeded to verbally abuse everything from the bureaucracy of the games to Dietz's parents and eating habits, Sam Dietz had a good laugh. Jarl, he knew, was a good man, but he needed to be taken down a peg every so often. Sam mused that this little episode might last as long as a week.
#
"They have done well," sighed Commodore r Hong.
"Not too shabby at that," agreed Bernard. "But the worst part is yet to come."
"How do you mean?" asked Commodore Hong.
"Well, the Krasni have tried just about every maneuver tactic I can think of. All that leaves is some form of full out assault. They might try some kind of flanking maneuver or maybe some kind of diversion. But I don't think it likely. Anything they do will be in full view of our side's forces.
“No, they are going to have to attack right up the hill. I assume they will use smoke to cover their advance, and shell the kids heavily. But in the end, it will depend on how badly they want to win and how many casualties they are willing to take to get up the hill."
"What can be done?"
"Oh, Sergeant Major Jefferson will know all the standard tricks," answered Bernard. "Things like booby traps in the most likely avenues of approach, well-spaced fighting positions and the like, but the winner will be the side with the best morale and the strongest motivation to win."
"You know them better than I, Commodore," said a troubled Bernard. “Will they win?"
"Oh, I don't know," answered Commodore Hong, "one of them is your son. What do you think?"
"My son and I have not gotten along well since the passing of my wife."
"I am sorry, Excellency, I had no right to intrude," said Commodore Hong in a subdued voice.
"Nothing to be sorry about," said a smiling Bernard. It was a bittersweet smile none the less, "My wife and I had a very good marriage and that is unusual in my profession. Because of the demands of my gaming and then my current business activities, I left most of the child rearing to my wife.
“The arrangement worked well until I refused to sell some fairly high tech stuff to one of the revolutionary councils. They retaliated by blowing up the tube car my wife was traveling in. The Commonality cops nailed them of course, and I guess they are brain wiped servants in one of the orbital habitats, but it didn't help poor Taol and me.
“I tried to raise him, but my business was just starting to grow then. I was away a great deal, maybe too much. Anyway, Taol was raised by nannies and an odd assortment of my friends who were trying to help. I was called only when things went wrong. His view of me was not the most flattering. He grew up into a fine young man in spite of me. I think half of the motivation for this stunt is just for him to prove himself to me."
"Don't grade yourself too harshly,” said Commodore Hong kindly. “You tried, which is more than most do. He could have gone to the crèches."
"Not my son!" said a suddenly animated Bernard. "I gave all I thought I could. I hope he can forgive me. But that still does not answer my question. What kind of backbone do you think they will have for this thing?"
"They are the finest group of young people I know," answered Commodore Hong with conviction, "but I have my reservations. I have spent most of my adult life training cadets to become officers. I have had some classes as good as this group but none better. The point is; there is an internal process they go through when they realize that it is no longer a game. I am not convinced they have made that connection yet."
"I guess we'll soon see," said Bernard.
Chapter XIV
"WARNING, ALL NON-COMBATANTS SHOULD NOW LEAVE THE FIELD. COMBAT WILL BEGIN IN FIVE MINUTES,” blared the loud speakers.
The camera crews headed back for their bunkers. Taol noticed that all the ground crews were going like a bat out of hell toward the service entrances.
“Apparently, they didn't get combat pay,” he thought sardonically.
There was some scurrying by the Legion’s troops to gather ammunition and to seat fresh clips in their weapons. Taol realized with a start that he had yet to fire a round, so he rested in his track and played out countless scenarios in his mind that might take place when the game commenced. Taol couldn't see any possible action the Krasni could try that they hadn't already tried. All that was left was a frontal assault.
He stayed off the air with that revelation because morale was pretty high right now. The Legion had bloodied the Krasni's nose every time they closed. So far, the Legion had been able to out-think the Krasni, but there was precious little planning and preparation that could outmaneuver a frontal assault. They had the terrain feature the Krasni wanted and that was that. Suddenly the load speaker was active again.
"WARNING, WARNING, COMBAT BEGINS IN THREE MINUTES. ALL REFS AND REGENS SHOULD BE AIRBORNE AT THIS TIME."
Most of the grav sleds were off the ground already. The few that were left to make some last minute adjustments hopped up at that last warning.
Taol mulled that fact over in his mind that the
Krasni were trained, steady mercenaries doing the job they knew best. It was very much in their favor. They would cover their movement with the available terrain and smoke. They would also shell the Legion with every round of high explosive they could spare before beginning the assault.
On the other hand, the Legion had the best natural defensive position in the habitat. The former cadets were dug in and had test fired most of their weapons, so they had a rough idea of how to correct for the habitat's spin. Taol hoped it was enough to make a difference.
"RESUME POSITIONS! COMBAT WILL BEGIN IN TWO MINUTES!"
Time was running out. These last minutes seemed to drag on into eternity. Suddenly, over the Legion’s own radio net and through several vehicle loudspeakers came music. Harm was at it again. The beginning notes of "Stars and Stripes Forever" were wafting over the battle area. It looked like The Condor Legion had acquired a theme song. The magic had worked again because the radio chatter died away and Taol could hear laughter.
"TAKE COVER! RESUME COMBAT, RESUME COMBAT."
Chapter XV
Colonel Sokolov had not been idle during the break. Most of his command team was in his general vicinity when the break commenced. They had laid out a plan for the final assault on the hill. As soon as the prohibition against movement was lifted, the Krasni Commander called for a staff meeting to brief the action. Warlord Montgomery was noticed only by his absence. As soon as Lieutenant Ustinov returned from his patrol, Sokolov began his briefing.
"Our attack will begin with an intensive barrage that will be laid down by our three remaining heavy vehicles," began the Colonel. "The barrage will begin with a few smoke rounds to register our tubes. We will then expend approximately two thirds of our remaining high explosive ammunition. The last portion of the barrage will contain all of our remaining smoke rounds. We will use this smoke to cover our approach to the hill.
“After the barrage is complete, we will use Ustinov's Tank Destroyer and our remaining special weapons vehicle to support our advance. The Sherman tank will accompany the infantry during the assault. Our heavy tank will provide fire support and act as a reserve with the remaining headquarters troops. Additional fire support will be provided by our infantry halftracks at the edge of the woods with their heavy machine guns. The infantry will jump off as soon as the smoke starts hitting the hill."
Sokolov paused for a moment and surveyed the faces of his troops.
"I know this battle has not gone as well as it should have," he said gravely. "Part of the fault is mine for listening to that old charlatan, Montgomery. He has spent money on bribes that should have gone for troops and weapons. His plans have been transparent to mere cadets. This will change. He is now in the rear area, unable to influence events. Furthermore, this next action is pure Krasni, the plan is mine, and the expertise is yours. We will not fail! Are there any questions?"
He knew there wouldn't be. They had practiced this operation enough times in training that any green recruit could have given the briefing he just gave. It didn't matter that he had Ok'd the bribes and had originally thought that too much money had been spent on equipment. It was now all laid at Monty's doorstep. At the end of this action, firing Monty would clear him and his staff from any reservations, provided Monty survived this outing. Provided they all survived it.
Colonel Sokolov had some reservations of his own. He knew the cadets had at least two 75mm anti-tank guns. These weapons might pose a problem to the Sherman tank accompanying the assault troops, even though it was of the 'Jumbo' or special assault variety. It had almost twice the armor of the standard Sherman, but all that steel made it slow and ponderous going up any kind of grade.
His infantry was some of the steadiest in the Games but their morale had been seriously affected. The high level of casualties taken so far had caused his troopers to second guess their own abilities. The fact that none of their current actions had resulted in any successes or even serious casualties for the enemy contributed to this feeling. If this assault faltered, it would die. For that reason, he intended to go with them. Sokolov knew that if they started to run he could not stop them but maybe his presence would give them enough backbone to get over the top. Only time would tell.
#
After the game restarted, there was fifteen minutes of silence. The lack of action made the waiting even worse. Jeffy tried to break up the boredom by having the troopers continue to improve their positions. He had several trees dropped to harden the Legion’s lines and he continued the work the light infantry had started on building a secondary line of resistance. He also had the front-line troops set booby traps forward of their positions. This drew some sniping, but it was at long range and inaccurate.
The work got everybody's minds off of the upcoming action. It also went through Harm's dwindling stock of explosives and mines in about ten minutes flat.
"Sar Major, contact me on the command frequency," said Taol as soon as all his projects were underway.
"Yes sir," replied Jeffy. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if we should hold back some of our mines and cratering charges for later?" ask Taol.
"Sir, “said Jeffy thoughtfully, “I figure the Krasni morale is only good enough for one serious try at the hilltop. If we can stop that we won't need to have any in reserve. I think we should make our current positions as hard as possible. I'd love to build overhead cover and include all the dirty tricks I've learned over the years, but time and resources are restraining us."
"I guess you're right, Jeffy," said Taol. "I am feeling a little antsy."
"You're doing fine sir,” said Jeffy reassuringly. “Just keep it together through this next action and we will be done."
"Some Commander I am," said Taol quietly, "having to be reassured be my senior NCO."
"Read your history sir,” said Jeffy. “Senior NCO's have been doing this very thing for young officers for thousands of years and through hundreds of wars. The function of the NCO has always been to make a unit deadly. Part of that job is to keep the commander's mind clear enough to do his job."
"What is the commander's job Jeffy?"
"To point the weapon the NCO's have made for him out of his unit and pull the trigger. Aim carefully Taol."
So now Taol knew the difference. His voyage of self-examination was cut short by the Krasni. Taol heard the shouts of 'incoming'. These shouts were followed by muffled impacts on the forward face of the hill.
"What's happening?" asked Taol.
"My guess is that they are beginning to range their direct fire weapons for what will pass as an artillery barrage. Let's get back to the regular communications net."
#
"What's the purpose of that, I wonder?" asked Commodore Hong.
Bernard Ubner looked up from his drink to the screen for a moment and then said, "I think the Krasni are beginning range their weapons. You can see they are using smoke rounds. My guess is that they are using smoke, so they can see the impacts better."
"I see," said Commodore Hong. "Then I suppose our kids are in for an artillery barrage? In the Survey Corps we rarely get shelled. That wasn’t part of the curriculum at the Academy."
"This is one of the things in combat that really tests the mettle of the defending troops," answered Bernard. "When you can see the enemy, and have some chance of harming him, combat is scary but somewhat exciting. The feeling of the hunt and the savage joy of physical combat is a natural high that can become addictive. But real, gut wrenching terror comes from just sitting there and taking it. Even the best, most seasoned troops are in some danger of breaking and running from a prolonged artillery barrage."
"This phase of the battle concerns you then?" asked Commodore Hong.
"Somewhat, sure,” said Bernard after a moment’s thought. “But this will not be as bad as a real barrage with dedicated artillery pieces and crews. I can only see two or maybe three weapons firing. That will reduce the impact of the shelling. I also don't think the Krasni are well enough supplied for a
prolonged bombardment. Finally, this game is only scheduled for a little less than two more hours. The Krasni commander will want to leave his ground troops some time to do their job. This should not last more than ten or fifteen minutes, tops."
"I hope you are right Bernard."
"So do I, sir."
#
Taol watched as the Krasni gunners walked their smoke rounds on target. With each shot they got closer and closer to the top of the hill. He could feel the bile rising in his stomach as the rounds approached the Legion’s position.
Sergeant Mason broke the silence and said, "Colonel Ubner do you want me to silence that incoming fire?"
Taol thought a moment. The Legion had only one direct fire weapon of any consequence on that flank. That was Mason's 75. If we opened fire with it now, Krasni gunners would have a real target to hit, not just a hilltop.
"Negative Sergeant," Taol replied. "That would give your position away. Sit tight until you have a real target in close."
"But sir," countered Sergeant Mason, "I think I can...."
"Colonel's right, Mason," said Jeffy. "You would have three guns banging away at you. They would be on target and you would still have to compensate for spin. You might get one of them, but they would surely pop you. Then we would be without anti-tank support up front. Sit tight sergeant, you'll have targets soon enough."
The truth was, Taol wanted him to fire. He understood all too well what the good sergeant was feeling. In fact, he wanted to go help crew the gun, pull the lanyard, anything but sit in his track surrounded by radios. But that action would only waste valuable resources and accomplish little.
