HADRON Emergent

by Stephen Arseneault

  The general replied, “The whole operation here depends on it.”

  The colonel said, “We’ll be firing from the hills straight south of town. You have any personnel there for a possible evac should my pilot go down?”

  The general nodded. “We’ll take care of him.”

  As the Dedrus troops approached the Highway 11 bridge, the armored column to the north began moving through Stickley Run. The rotors of an Apache thumped over the heads of Mace and others as it hurried toward its targets.

  Jenny remarked. “I do miss that sound.”

  A scout said, “General, the Dedrus are crossing.”

  A voice joined the general channel. “This is Major Delorme. I have targeting on the roadway bridge. Should have my firing position in about thirty seconds.”

  The colonel in charge of the main operation said, “General, we have our target number of vehicles through the quarries, sir.”

  The general replied, “Hold your fire, Colonel. If those bridges don’t fall we’re signaling a full retreat.”

  The scout said, “Hellfire on the way… scratch one bridge! Dedrus are scattering!”

  Several laser bolts zipped past the hillside where the Apache had taken cover.

  The pilot said, “Wish me luck, sirs. I’ll have to fully expose myself for this next shot.”

  A video feed from the Apache flashed up on Johnny’s holo-display. For several seconds an image of the railroad bridge was shown. A bright flash signaled its end. Then the camera view of the Apache went black as a Dedrus laser impacted the FLIR module.

  The pilot yelled, “Going down!”

  The general replied, “Go west if you can, Major. Help is on the way.”

  Seconds later the major replied, “On the ground. Bird is shot. I have one Hellfire remaining. Sure would like to carry it out of here if I can get some help.”

  The colonel cut in. “Four-man team coming your way, Major. Do what you can to have it ready. General, two-thirds of the armor has crossed through.”

  The general replied, “You have the green light, Mr. Anderson. This is your show now.”

  The units manning the Javelin and TOW missiles began their operations. Eight Dedrus APC’s exploded within several seconds. Laser fire erupted, blanketing the positions the missiles had come from. The remaining vehicles opened their hatches and the troops they carried streamed out. Weapons fire by the engaging Humans did little more than knock the Dedrus off balance. The occasional 50 cal round from a sniper rifle found its mark up under the chin, where a deflected round could find a soft spot in the battlesuit armor.

  As the Dedrus troops dispersed, the Abrams tanks emerged from the woods. Twelve Dedrus APC’s caught rounds from their 120mm smooth-bore cannons as the first volley was released. At the same moment, shells from the 155mm howitzers began to fall on the infantry troops who covered the field going back toward the interstate. The Abrams managed another two volleys, taking out twenty-seven Dedrus APC’s before being forced back into the woods by the laser fire from the ground troops.

  Eight of the sixteen tanks were immobilized and abandoned before reaching the cover from where they had emerged. Four of the remaining eight took heavy damage.

  Shells from the howitzers rained down on the open fields. Mortar rounds fell on the interstate. Snipers did their best to eliminate as many of the battlesuited infantry as they could. The newly arrived Dedrus troops began to ford the Shenandoah River just upstream from the downed bridges.

  Fourteen minutes after the operation had begun, the colonel in charge called for a retreat. Nothing was to be gained with a continued fight. The opposing force was too large and too powerful. The Human force moved out with haste.

  Chapter 24

  *

  A lieutenant approached the general’s APC. “Sir, we should have casualty estimates in about four minutes.”

  The general nodded. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Bring them when you have them.”

  As the howitzer shells stopped falling, the video image of the battlefield came to life. Thousands of Dedrus fighters were reforming their lines.

  Johnny shook his head. “All that and they’re still getting up. Hard to believe anyone would come through that.”

  The lieutenant returned. “Sir, we count thirty-one APC’s destroyed… and ninety-four hundred troops killed or disabled. We lost twelve of our Abrams, the Apache, and have accounted for four hundred eighty-six of our men lost.”

  The general scowled as he looked over at Mace. “All that planning and we still lost good men.”

  Mace replied, “A twenty to one ratio is nothing to sneeze at, General. We could easily sustain those numbers. Not that we want to sustain any loss, but I’d say your planning paid off.”

  The general shook his head. “Those are early numbers, Mr. Hardy. Our counts have been coming in much higher than initial reports for our own troops. And lower for the Dedrus. They just keep getting up.

  “And as far as the outcome of this battle, even with their losses, they have another twenty-five thousand or more troops than they had when we planned this. And we were hoping for at least fifty kills on those APC’s. Harrisonburg is now a crucial battle for us. We have to knock their numbers down. If that column makes it to Charleston before our reserves do, we’ll have a tough time stopping them anywhere.”

  As the general’s APC began to move toward Harrisonburg, word came in from the squad sent to rescue the Apache pilot. “Sir, the rescue team reports the major is safe and the Hellfire missile has been recovered. They’re moving down Highway 11 toward Woodstock, where they’ll be connecting with our artillery unit.”

  The general nodded. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  The general’s aide then held up a hand as a new message came in. “Sir, our sniper and mortar teams that were positioned to the west of I-81 have been captured and executed.”

  The general growled before lowering and shaking his head. “That’s my fault. I shouldn’t have allowed a change that late. We had no emergency egress set up for those boys.”

  Mace said, “No way you could have guessed that other column was gonna show, General.”

  The general frowned. “I shouldn’t have allowed it, Mr. Hardy. They entrusted me with this position so that mistakes like that would not happen. We needed those mortars in Lexington. Now we’ll have to adjust our projections to account for their loss. This fight just got tougher. Lieutenant, where does that put the latest counts?”

  The lieutenant contacted the staff. “New estimates are… twenty-eight APC’s destroyed… sixty-five hundred Dedrus killed or incapacitated—as you said, they just keep getting up. We lost the Apache… fourteen of our sixteen Abrams, and… six hundred twelve men, sir. The Javelin and TOW teams took it hard as well. We lost eighteen launchers and thirty-two missiles.”

  The general took a deep breath. “Connect me with the colonel.”

  “This is Derrick.”

  “Tell me about the missile teams.”

  The colonel replied, “Major Conrad thought it best to give one more salvo. That turned out to be a mistake. We gave him the leeway to make that call if he thought it would be effective. It did account for six of our APC kills.”

  The general scowled. “His leeway was intended to only be allowed if the risk was minimal. Put the major on the channel, Colonel.”

  “Sorry, General, the major’s position was overrun. He was lost. We need to adjust our metrics for those Dedrus fighters. They moved up from their positions at double the speed we projected. Their battlesuits must have some muscular assistance built in.”

  Mace said, “Our suits have the same. On a flat surface I can hit more than double the speed running as I can without it. Those hardened troops must have the assistance built into their suits.”

  Shortly after, the APC arrived in Harrisonburg.

  The general stepped out onto a concrete parking pad. “Mr. Hardy, I can have another transport take you ahead to Lexington or you can wait here. I have a briefing that
will take at least twenty-five minutes before I’ll be heading out. I’d invite you to listen in, but this isn’t my briefing. General Wallace is a stickler for security.”

  Mace stood. “We’ll wait here if it’s all the same.”

  The general nodded, turned and walked off.

  Johnny and the others followed Mace out onto the concrete parking area where the APC had come to a stop.

  Mace turned to Durrok Furke. “Mr. Furke, would you be willing to run ahead to the cave to brief Mr. Collins?”

  “You only need ask.”

  Mace nodded. “Please do.”

  The Targarian turned and sprinted toward the southwest.

  Johnny said, “How many Dedrus are coming this way?”

  “Just over two hundred thousand,” said Mace.

  Johnny winced. “And all that firepower they unleashed at Strasburg barely put a dent in their numbers. Did the general say what size force we have here?”

  “Six thousand. About double what Tibbet had at Strasburg.”

  Jane placed her hands on her hips. “We need to be a part of this defense. It’s silly for us to be standing by and watching when we could have effect.”

  Mace nodded. “I agree. Maybe we go back up the road and take a toll as they come this way. If we just sit and wait they will be passing us by. We could harass at-will.”

  Johnny scowled. “I guess I get left out of this operation.”

  Jane replied, “Nothing we can do about that.”

  Johnny said, “I could run and gun… or gun and run, whichever.”

  Jane shook her head. “You’d just be a big target out there.”

  Jenny crossed her arms. “How much damage can the four of us do?”

  Fatso Geerok stepped forward. “As much as we can. A battle is won or lost when the fighting ends. A war ends with the last battle. We are willing and able to fight. If we inflict a hundred or a thousand or five thousand casualties, it all applies to the war effort.”

  Jenny stared at Geerok for several seconds, before returning a half laugh. “I know how it works. I was just making a rhetorical statement.”

  Geerok bowed. “My apologies.”

  Mace said, “Johnny, you’ll have to hang out with General Tibbet. I’ll inform him of our plans.”

  Johnny replied, “I’ll try to keep you informed on a comm. I can broadcast from behind the lines. You just can’t respond.”

  Mace patted him on the shoulder. “That would be helpful. Let us know when they’re giving up the fight here or if something changes.”

  Mace turned toward the building being used as the command center for Harrisonburg.

  Johnny said, “Where you going? The briefing still has fifteen to twenty minutes.”

  Mace smiled just before his holo-projector kicked on. “General Wallace won’t even know I’m there.”

  Five minutes passed before Mace reappeared. “We have the nod from Tibbet and Wallace. It will be up to us to look after our own safety and not to interfere with their operations. Johnny, you’ll stick with General Wallace and inform us if and when artillery or mortars are coming down. We’ll be working on the tail end of that column so as to stay out of their way.”

  Mace gestured toward the tent. “Wallace said you could join them, but you have to remain silent and out of the way. He’s promised to keep you informed.”

  Johnny replied, “All of you take care out there. And don’t let Jane steal all the glory from the rest of you.”

  Jane shook her head. “Glory is the last thing I’m looking for.”

  Mace said, “We’ll keep close. Tibbet gave me the current coordinates of the back of that column. They have troops coming down both I-81 and Highway 11. We’ll be going out here to Highway 42 to work our way up and around them. We should be catching the tail end as they’re approaching Woodstock. That’s where we make our hit.

  “Jenny and I will take the interstate as that has the bulk of their force. Jane, you and Geerok hit Highway 11 at the bridge going over Pughs Run. We’ll be doing the same on the interstate. And our strategy here is simple… fire and run. And keep changing directions so they can’t pick up on any pattern. And each of us needs to stay within earshot of our partner. Talk to each other. As Mr. Geerok said, maybe we get a hundred, maybe a thousand. Either way, we’re at least doing something.”

  The fifty kilometer run to Woodstock took nearly an hour. Another ten minutes saw the two teams in position at the target bridges.

  Mace stood in the center of the interstate, looking down on the creek called Pughs Run. “I’ll take the northbound, you take south. We stay here in the median. If you cross over to the outside, make sure your aim doesn’t come in my direction.”

  Jenny smirked. “I’ll race you up to the next bridge.”

  Mace replied, “Just don’t give them any patterns to zero in on. For the moment, we keep between here and that next bridge. If we get this area cleaned out, we move toward the back of the column. Looks like we have at least a kilometer or two of troops making their way toward us.”

  The marching columns were three-wide in each of the four directional lanes. Mace was the first to fire, sending two Dedrus soldiers flying as two others were knocked to the ground. Jenny followed with an identical shot. The marching columns of soldiers were soon scattering. The occasional laser bolt impacted the ground where Mace or Jenny had been. Jane and Fatso Geerok were following a similar strategy.

  Fifteen minutes after the melee began, Johnny broadcast a message. “Just a heads-up: the front of the column has reached New Market. That’s about thirty kilometers and three hours from the Harrisonburg defense line. The artillery units are about to drop a nightmare on the interstate between New Market and Mt. Jackson. Barrage will last about six minutes. I’m sure you aren’t near that area, and if so, then keep it that way. Depending on the effectiveness of this attack, they have one more like it planned. Unfortunately, that will expend the artillery stockpile for this force.

  “And just so you know… the first reports are coming in about you from the spotting scouts positioned along the way. The generals were both impressed with what they heard. Not that it’s a competition or anything, but the report was approximately a hundred forty-seven dead or incapacitated on the interstate and a hundred eighty-two along Highway 11. I don’t know who took which one, but keep up the good work.”

  More than three hundred 155mm shells rained down on the Dedrus as they marched on New Market, West Virginia. An immediate dispersal order went out, emptying the roadways as repeated explosions tore through the pot-holed interstate and the concrete substrate beneath. Chunks of rock and tar flew in all directions. When the barrage had come to an end, another three thousand Dedrus fighters had perished, along with eight of the remaining APC’s.

  The tail end of the column was in disarray as the Dedrus soldiers under assault scattered and sought cover in the woods surrounding the roadway, always moving ever forward. The progress of the column had slowed only slightly. The bulk of the force continued to close on Harrisonburg.

  Mace found Jenny. “I think we’re done here for now.”

  Johnny came over the comm. “Howitzer shelling is complete. Latest count is seven APC’s and about three thousand fighters. The scouts place your numbers at about three-seventy and four-fifty. The latest report puts effort right along Saumsville Road. If you’re looking for one another, that might be the place.”

  Jenny said, “That’s Saumsville. Should we go get them or wait for them to come to us?”

  Mace replied, “We’ll go.”

  After half an hour of yells, Jane and her Mawga partner were located. The foursome made their way back to Harrisonburg and to the command building where Johnny was waiting.

  “Tibbet just left a few minutes ago. He left me with a Humvee. The Dedrus have picked up their pace and are now approaching the town of Tenth Legion. They’re expecting the front of that force to reach here in about forty-five minutes. You probably came across the trench-rows they plan o
n using. They have five sets of them that stretch out a half kilometer from either side of the interstate.

  “The first two are filled with jugs of oil sludge that will be set afire once the first troops have crossed over. As the sludge pots burn down they each have a batch of poor-mans C4 explosive packed beneath a stack of gravel. Our boys will be fighting from the next three rows of trenches with their rifles and hand grenades. Each man has four grenades.

  “When the grenades are gone, the rifles are to used to assist with their retreats. Just after the trenches is a field where mortars and snipers will rain down their terror. Next will be a dug-in line of twenty-four Abrams. When those fall, howitzers will unleash another barrage of three hundred shells. Before those start, General Wallace’s army will be in full retreat. They will turn at Lexington and head over to White Sulfur Springs.”

  Jane said, “White Sulfur Springs is almost to the cave.”

  Johnny nodded. “Stanislaw has the generals planning to use the cave as the HQ for after Sulfur Springs. Mr. Collins will not be happy about that.”

  Mace asked, “Any word from the other forces?”

  Johnny frowned. “Similar to here. The northern force has pushed through Philly and is approaching New York. After that, fighting will fall to Hartford and then to Boston. The southern group plowed through the defenses at Richmond and are now converging on Norfolk. Reports from there say the Dedrus tactics are slowly changing. They’re getting harder to kill as they adapt to our strategies. The generals expect them to reach parity with our forces in about a week, which is bad news. We have about four hundred thousand fighters trained but spread across North America. At the moment they have closer to six hundred thousand. And they have better weapons.”

  Jenny said, “Sounds like we could improve our odds if we had some of their laser weapons.”

  Johnny shook his head. “The stock of those laser rifles has a sensor built in. They will only recognize Dedrus soldiers. We’re stuck with what we have.”

  Chapter 25