Armored Warrior Panzerter: Eve of Battle
Page 6
“Aw they got you in a neck brace, sir?” Smith said. “Those suck.” Rieter rolled his eyes as the nurse walked out.
“Tell me about it,” he said. “How roughed up are you Smith?”
“Sprained back and a concussion,” he said. “Nothing too bad, I was worse after the battle for three rivers, would probably be dead if the Merlin brothers didn’t pull me out of my panzerter back then.” Rieter sighed and relaxed, but only slightly.
“For what it’s worth, Smith, I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “In the context of being in Fox, I’d rather you weren’t in a hospital bed.” Smith chuckled.
“It’s not all that bad,” he replied. “That Nurse Amelia, she’s pretty timely with food and apple juice, she’s also just plain pretty, or was back in the day.” Reiter squinted.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “She didn’t even look like she hit thirty yet.”
“I mean she’s probably at least ten years older than me,” Smith replied. “That seems pretty old.” Rieter felt like rolling his eyes until they generated lift.
“Smith, you’re like 17,” he said. “Why are you talking about anyone in their twenties like their your grandmother?” He tried to shake his head. “Besides, you don’t actually know how old she is, you’re guessing at best.”
“Good point, I’ll ask her when she gets back,” Smith said.
“What? No!” Reiter replied. “Full stop, you never ask a woman how old she is or how much she weighs.”
“Really?” Smith replied, “Huh, who would have thought?”
“Literally anybody who’s been around a woman,” Reiter replied. “Didn’t your mother teach you anything?” Smith chuckled nervously.
“I grew up in a house with 12 brothers,” he said. “Mom didn’t really have time for me.”
“Oh, well, I’m sorry I assumed,” Rieter said. “Though I will never pass up an opportunity to learn more about my soldiers.” He tried to look back at Smith. “You had twelve brothers?”
“Who has 12 brothers?” Kozma asked as he walked in with Wesser. Rieter smiled, seeing Wesser with a bandage on her arm and one around her head, but her expression was downcast.
“I do, sir,” Smith said. “Oh ma’am, Captain Reiter wanted to know if you were ok, hey sir, LT Wesser seems physically ok, but she looks sad.”
“I see that Smith,” Reiter said. “Wesser, if you need to talk, pull up a chair.” He strained to look over at Kozma. “I’ll get you in a minute, talk to Smith for now.” He tried to sit up more. “And teach him how to address women, politely.” I wish I could take this damn thing off.
As if summoned by magic, Amelia appeared at his side. She nimbly undid his straps and removed the neck brace. “You’re X-rays from the medevac came back negative for a neck or spinal injury. You definitely have a concussion, however.” She stood over him. “Two days bedrest and light duty along with some prescribed meds, oh and your Adamski friend was the one in surgery.”
Reiter sat up. “What happened? How is he?” Amelia set a soft hand on Reiter’s.
“I’m sorry, but he lost both of his legs,” she said. “He’ll have to go to the rear to be fitted for prosthetics and receive physical therapy.” Reiter’s stomach sank. He slumped back into bed. “And the others?”
“Well Ms. Wesser is here, and your infantrymen are mostly ok, the ones you named have their own lists of dead,” she said. Reiter closed his eyes. She set a soft hand on his forehead.
“Thank you for everything,” he said. Amelia gave him a warm smile before vanishing to assist some other wounded soldier. Reiter looked over at Wesser, propped up on his elbows.
“Alright, so what is it?” he asked.
“To our best knowledge,” Kennedy began. “There’s a Cavalry Regiment screening the bridges, just behind them is a Panzerter Regiment.” He marked the relative positions of company sized elements within the zoomed in section of map on the holographic battle map. “I don’t doubt for a second that our Battalion is the best in the division, but taking on two regiments of Tharcians head on is more than we can chew.”
Ballard and Knight sat across the table from him. His other company commanders were otherwise occupied. G-SRLT Irvin was running her company and the Motor battalion remnants through base defense drills while G-SRLT Spears spent the day reviewing the defensive fortifications with his subordinates.
Each of them ate out of their own paper box filled with a pasta made from local ingredients. He’d never eaten lamb before, more had he drank the sweetened tea Gallacians seemed to love. Nevertheless, he held a tall can of the stuff, same as the two other men who ate as they worked.
“If there’s one thing I learned about Tharcian scouts, it’s that they always have artillery on the phone,” Ballard said. Knight pointed to the two main roads that led to the bridges.
“If that’s the case, why didn’t they use it earlier today?” Knight asked. Ballard shrugged.
“Maybe they thought it would be overkill to use on a motor batt,” he replied. “And our reinforcements surprised them.”
“Either way it’s safer we assume they do have that capability,” Kennedy said. “So we should keep our formations dispersed.” He tapped on an access road that ran between the two main ones. “They’ll use this to reinforce one side or the other quickly, it’s best we do something about this.” Ballard scratched at his chin.
“The bridges are mostly for our support vehicles, right?” he asked. “Because our combat vehicles can ford these rivers, we just need to watch the ice.” Knight raised an eyebrow.
“I believe that’s correct,” he said. “Are you implying we forgo using the bridges entirely during the operation?” Ballard shook his head.
“Not exactly, what are the odds they’ve rigged them to blow if it looked like they’d lose?” he asked.
“I’m not taking that bet,” Kennedy said. “They’re definitely rigged to explode.” Ballard tapped on the more Northern of the two bridges.
“So let’s only seize one,” he said. “There’s no point in wasting effort trying to take both bridges when the one will explode when the other falls.”
“And if we seize that bridge, it will keep our supply line away from enemy strongholds like Grunbeck,” Knight added. “Though there’s still the matter of reinforcements along this road.”
“So we feint,” Kennedy said. “We’ll concentrate the bulk of our forces on the North Bridge, but our initial wave will seize both of these intersections.” He traced his finger from the southern intersection to the Northern one. “Once this intersection is clear, our follow-on forces will clear this access road and join the other half of the attack.” Kennedy took a swig of his tea. It’s an interesting taste, I’ve never eaten a mango before, but I guess I could get used to it.
While the other two men paused to eat, he labeled their objectives. The Northern road became route 34 and the Southern Route 35 with the access road Special Route 105. With the need to take it first, Kennedy named the Southern intersection Objective Alpha, and the other Objective Bravo. Finally he tagged the Northern Bridge as Objective Charlie.
“Now there’s the approach,” he said. “Now to assign objectives.”
Ballard raised a hand. “I’ll volunteer my company to take Objective Alpha,” he said. “We’ve got more veteran pilots and can hold off a sudden counterattack.” Kennedy nodded.
“I’ll have the Recon platoon follow you,” he said. “That way it looks like you have infantry support and their sensors can help clear the SR 105.” Knight pointed to the Objective Bravo.
“That lives the other panzerter company to take this,” he said. “I assume you’ll send the infantry company along with them?” Kennedy pointed towards the bridge.
“Yes, and your Red Guards will be right on their heels,” he said. “We believe they have a panzerter regiment across the river, your team will blunt any counterattack to retake the bridge while the infantry disable the explosives.”
“Are you
worried about remote detonation?” Ballard asked. Kennedy shook his head.
“For something like this, the Tharcians are more likely to use a command wire,” he said. “And if they didn’t, the IFVs have the same short range jamming equipment panzerters have, so I’m not worried about radio controlled bombs.” He zoomed out of the map, revealing the entire AO. “Threats of follow on attacks here and here should keep them from committing to retaking the bridge.”
“So now the big question is, how do we avoid another ambush?” Knight asked. Kennedy zoomed back in on their specific battle map.
“So Todd took to the main roads and did so slowly,” he said. “We will not do that, but rather use the roads and a few other landmarks to guide ourselves.” He looked at Ballard.
“Ballard, when your group passes a lumber mill, you’ll be halfway to your objective,” he said. Pointing at the center of the wooded area, he continued. “The rest of us will proceed to the center until we run into an estate.” He pulled up a compass on the battle map.
“From there, Irvin will lead off at 42 degrees North-Northeast with the infantry and red guards behind her.” He looked from one man to the other. “Those scouts will be watching the road, destroy them quickly and as quietly as you can, we don’t want to sound the alarm too soon.”
Taking another swing of tea, he pointed to the estate. “This manor will serve as our headquarters and medevac point as well as a rally point for your companies to retreat to if they get overwhelmed.” Kennedy looked at his watch. “I’ll take care of some administrative things, but let’s round everyone up for the Battalion mission brief at dinner, I want maximum time for your people to conduct drills.” The other men nodded.
“Drills with the whole Red Guard will have to wait,” Knight said. “But I will coordinate drills with Spears’ people so they get used to working with us.” Kennedy nodded and they threw out their trash. No better time to receive information than when you’re eating after all.
“Alright, I’ll see you two in a few hours,” he said.
Rieter stood in a warehouse serving as a mechanic shop, gazing up at the Lowe. The towering black machine lay covered in mechanics like parasites. Just as he’d thought, the entire right knee needed to be replaced along with the left ankle and the parts immediately around it. Fortunately, they’d recovered his damaged foot, so they were able to salvage most of that leg.
Other Panzerters lay in the massive facility, some were being stripped for parts, others were hurriedly being repaired. At least we have plenty of spare parts. Whatever parts of the Lowe team in Garden City had been hurriedly donated to the regiment as they moved their data and team east.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Wesser said. “It could have been much worse.” Reiter hadn’t heard her approach over the shriek of torches and welding. He waved her to follow him and they left the facility.
“As far as the tactical situation goes, it’s not good,” he said. “The Lowe and Drones are the only hard counter we have to the Union’s fatman units, hopefully those red ones aren’t looking much better.” They walked out of the massive bay doors, normally used for loading products.
“I heard the infantry managed to take one down,” Wesser replied. Reiter gestured, more or less.
“Iagar threw a thermite into the cockpit,” he replied. “The pilot survived long enough to crush him, but they’re most certainly dead from these injuries.” They walked down a winding sidewalk that took them back towards main street. “About our conversation the other day.”
“Yes sir?” She replied. Rieter set a hand on her shoulder.
“You didn’t fail,” he said. “At least not in the sense that matters, I know people way over our heads will blame us for the deaths of our soldiers, but my attitude is a little different.”
Wesser twisted a stray strand of hair hanging out of her bun. “Well sir, in your words, why didn’t I fail?”
“We don’t shoulder 100% of the blame for enemy action,” he said. “The enemy is still out there doing their best to kill us, sometimes they’re just competent.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Anyway, we did our jobs, and without drones in the air, we didn’t have any warning for what happens, but that’s nature of this war.”
“The nature of this war?” she asked.
Rieter shook his head. “Don’t mistake me for saying this, but we have yet to score a single major victory against the Union,” he said. “All we managed to do is get a few ugly draws, things don’t go our way most of the time and we need to plan to beat adversity when it happens.” Looking up, he smiled.
A second Lowe rolled in on a massive flatbed. He recognized its silhouette from its large body and similar shape to his own. “Is that the second Lowe?” Wesser asked. Rieter nodded.
“One weapon rarely decides a war,” he said. “But we start churning out more of these, and our odds look a lot better.” He stood by and watched as the second Lowe disappeared into the repair bay to be fitted for combat. “Much better.”
He turned to walk back to the main road when his foot slid out from under him. His ass struck the sidewalk hard, and he cried out. Behind him, Wesser stifled a giggle. “I’m sorry, you just reminded me of something that happened in my ju-jitsu class back home.”
Rieter ground while his hips and back throbbed. “Ju-jitsu?” he asked.
Wesser nodded. “Yes, I learned Olympian ju-jitsu when I was a teenager,” she said. “I’m a small girl, I need to defend myself somehow.”
Before Rieter could comment, he pictured a ju-jitsu fighter. Catching an attack and redirecting it. Then it struck him. He lept to his feet, brushing the snow from him. “I need to talk to Hawke,” he said. Wesser’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t mean to laugh!” she cried. Rieter shook his head and patted hers.
“You’re not in trouble,” he said. “Quite the contrary, if I weren’t worried about my career, I’d kiss you.”
The LT stepped back as Rieter rubbed his lower back. “I don’t need to use ju-jitsu on you, do I?” Reiter grinned and shook his head.
“No, but the visual gave me an idea,” he said. “One I need to push up.” Carefully avoiding the ice he just slipped on, Rieter ran towards the diner. As he ran, ideas began forming in his head. Like the funnel of a tornado, his mind spun, gathering steam, until it whipped about at F5 speeds.
The Union would attack again. It was inevitable. They only seemed to have two settings: attack and preparing to attack. In the war’s current state, the Union would advance little by little, preparing to attack as Tharcians scrambled to mount a defense.
But, what if, like a martial artist, they managed to use the Union’s own aggression against them? Rieter’s thoughts grew clearer and clearer. They could create an opening, a planned channel for the Union to attack along. Meanwhile, they struck at their command and control, attacked their supply chain. And while that happens, we trap their spearhead in our channel.
It could work. It was realistic. He didn’t have absurd visions of driving the Union all the way back to their own border, just throwing them out of this province.
As he stumbled into the diner, the welcoming bells chimed. “I need to speak with Col Hawke,” he said to an orderly. “I have a plan I want him to hear.” The administrator, a sergeant, grunted.
“I’m sure if he wanted to hear a plan from a company commander, he’d ask,” the sergeant said. “As it stands he’s in a teleconference with the other regimental commanders, so he’s busy, return to your duties and maybe he’ll ask for you.” Reiter’s eyes narrowed.
“To be clear, I don’t have an issue with being turned away,” he said. “What I won’t accept is a complete lack of respect or discipline from an NCO.” The sergeant rolled his eyes.
“Look, I just wanted free college,” he said. “I didn’t sign up to get involved in this stupid war.” Maybe it was the raised voices, maybe it was some kind of old NCO sixth sense, but a towering Master Sergeant walked out from behind the bar area.
“I apologize,” he quickly said. “I meant no offense, uh, sir.” Reiter smiled.
“Apology accepted,” he said before walking over to the bar where the Master Sergeant stood. “If it’s possible, I need to speak to Colonel Hawke, I may have come up with a plan to kick the Union out of Germania.”
The old MSG cracked open a soda, a Highland Sap, and leaned over the bar. “He’s in a meeting right now, but I’ll let him know you’re here.” He pulled a pen and pad out of his shoulder pocket. “Here, you look like you’re ‘in the zone’, jot down your key points before you forget them.”
Reiter thanked the gal MSG, Friermann his nametape read, and scrawled his thoughts across his notepad. When the door to Hawke’s cramped office finally opened, Rieter had multiple pages filled with notes and thoughts.
“Captain Rieter, Friermann said you had something for me?” Hawke asked. Rieter grinned and held up his notes.
“Ye sir, I figured it out,” he said. “A way to kick the Union’s ass and throw off their mojo.”
Chaney chafed in his dress uniform. The green coat with its elaborate red-gold piping wore too tightly on his broad shoulders, a hair too short on his arms, and much too tightly around his neck. It’s like whoever made this never saw another human being before, or they were lazy.
Deep under the dome of Congregation, he sat around a large oak table with other general officers and a few surface side admirals. The conference room featured elaborately paneled wooden walls as well as four marble fire places. Soft lamps, including the small chandelier above the table, filled the room with an almost red glow.
Sitting at where the head of the oak table would have been was none other than the Secretary of the National Committee. For the occasion she’d chosen to where a simple sea green gown that went down to over her ankles. A turquoise necklace accented the dress and her bronze skin and hair.