by Cliff Deane
The moon was full, the air was still, and the mercenary force was far from alert, as they did not believe the Colonel’s Ghost Force was real. Suddenly, Super Cobras screamed overhead. Seconds later the sound of 30 mm rounds, and Hellfire Missiles crashing mercilessly into the Light Armored Vehicles which also held the Reaction Forces. By 0356 the LAV IIIs of the Merc Battalion were burning hulks.
Half of the Cobras continued on to the Days Inn while the remainder made a devastating pass through the Mortar positions. Those Cobras tasked to take down the Days Inn had moderately underestimated the time it would take to level the three wings of the Motel. Susan called the Cobras, now heading to overwatch positions and redirected them to assist in the complete the destruction of the Motel.
At 0357 hours, the ROA Mortar Crews began pouring a deadly and accurate barrage onto the merc fighting positions.
By 0400 the M-88s, with blades lowered were creating two lanes through the enemy minefields. The tanks rumbled just behind the M-88s which cleared their path in under five minutes before splitting off and allowing the Abrams Tanks to seek out and destroy any surviving enemy positions.
The tanks, using Infra-Red targeting found their way to every single hostile firing position. Camouflage means nothing to IR. There were several pitiful attempts by defenders who managed to fire their LAWs Rockets at the tanks, which served no purpose what-so-ever, well, other than pissing off the crews.
By 0405 hours the main attack was ended, and mop-up missions began. There were no mercenary survivors, nor did any of the ROA Troopers receive even a scratch.
The surrounding area was lit up by the light of the burning Days Inn. All offensive operations ceased at 0415 hours. The mercenary fighters were caught completely unaware, and as the ROA Force Flanking Maneuver met zero resistance, the entire battle was mostly unopposed.
A glorious sun made its appearance at 0636:57 on 4 November. The sky became a bright yellow that held no hint of red, and the morning air was crisp. As the daylight brought the results into focus, the inspection process began. Most of the small arms were found intact in the enemy foxholes. Other, more substantial weapons were utterly destroyed.
The Holiday Inn provided a significant quantity of small arms, and ammunition, enough for Gus to keep his promise to his new friends, Tyler and Millard.
Steiner
4 November 0400
Naval Air Station
Corpus Christi, TX
Steiner’s Sergeant Major sent a runner to alert him that he was immediately needed in the Commo Room.
He rushed in to find the Sergeant Major telling the Radio Operator to keep trying.
“What is it, Kurt?” asked Steiner as he made his way to the Sergeant Major’s side.
“Sir, all communications with Bravo and Charlie Companies have been lost. Everything was progressing as planned when commo was abruptly cut. The last transmission was lost during a routine transmission, except for the sudden excitement of the Operator’s voice. The last thing we heard was a partial word, chah as contact was lost. We have not been able to regain any commo since that cryptic transmission.”
Steiner’s brain went into hyperdrive as he said, “Kurt, come with me.” He led his Sergeant Major to a Conference Room in the Headquarters Building of the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.
“So,” said Steiner, “we were being stalked. It appears that they must be a formidable force to so easily defeat our defense of Jennings. Tell me, Kurt, what do you make of the final or partial word?”
The Sergeant Major sighed deeply and said, “Herr Oberst, I will have to give this much thought, chah, sir, I just do not yet know what this could mean. Have you any idea?”
“Yes, my friend, I know exactly what it means. The spelling is not c-h-a-h; it is c-h-o. The Radioman was trying to tell us that our tormentors have choppers, Attack Helicopters.”
“Moj Bog, (Slovenian for My God), Sir, we must immediately get all of our equipment and personnel undercover, and we must also send a LRRP back toward Jennings to gain some intel of who these bastards are.”
“Yes, Kurt, I agree, please see to it. Considering this dilemma, I can only be sure of one thing, winter is upon us, and they must be just as tired as are we. Hopefully, they will believe that we have been destroyed with the rest of the command. Yes, I think that they will winter at Ft Polk
What? No! Wait, that can’t be right.
4 November 0825
Holiday Inn
ROA, 1st Armored Brigade
Levi designated 4 and 5 November as days of rest, well, as soon as every piece of equipment was cleaned and ready for combat.
There were, of course, those Officers and Senior NCOs who were tasked to do the bean counting of the merc equipment and bodies. Concerning the dead, much of the count was estimated as it was impossible to identify individual human remains from the six-story, collapsed and burned, Days Inn, as well as the fighting positions that jousted with 70-ton tanks that ran over them. Still, all in all, a disconcerting picture began to reach clarity as the day wore on.
Gus knocked on Levi’s office door and entered; he was wearing a long, sad face.
Levi immediately read Gus’ body language and said, “Now, Gus, dammit, don’t you come in here with bad news. Oh, crap, what is it?”
Gus sat down and wearily said, “My friend, we got trouble, right here in River City.”
“Come on Gus what bad news could there be, the weather is cooperating, and Steiner and his band of outlaws are dead?”
Gus looked up at Levi and said, “Sit down; you’re not going to like what I have to say.”
“Oh, crap, Gus, come on, spill it,” said an anxious Levi.
“Okay, he ain’t dead.”
Levi looked confused as he said, “What, who ain’t dead?”
Gus took a very deep breath before saying, “Steiner, he ain’t dead. We have searched through everything, and there is no sign of him, his Sergeant Major, and at least, one company of men, equipment, and vehicles. Sir, Steiner and a company-sized force have slipped away without being spotted.”
Levi snapped at Gus by asking, “Gus, we have had people watching this place for three days and nights. If a company-sized unit departed, we would know about it. It just ain’t possible.”
Gus remained calm and said, “Listen, sir, I’m telling you he is gone, and so are approximately sixteen LAVs and other company-level vehicles. I’m telling you that he must have departed before 1 November, because he and a company are missing; the numbers just do not add up.
I sent up a flight of Snakes to see if they could follow his trail. Susan reported to me that the vehicle congestion on I-10 has thinned out to the point of making I-10 travel easy. They could be heading anywhere.”
Levi pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to the U.S. roadmap tacked to the wall. “Well, if you’re right, and dammit, you always are, he left no later than 31 October, and with no major traffic lash-ups, hell, Gus he’s already in Corpus Christi. That would put him there no later than 2 November. Shit, by now he could be heading west to Phoenix, or south to Brownsville and then on into Mexico. My guess is that he’ll go to the Naval Air Station to rest and refit. That would take him to today…”
Gus interrupted, saying, “Levi, my friend, it doesn’t matter where Steiner is now; we are spent. Oh, the troops would follow you straight into hell, but they are tired, and the civilian side of the house does not want to leave Ft Polk. The land and water are good, and basically, that is where they want to put down roots. Levi, old friend, I don’t blame them.”
Levi looked at Gus in confusion for a few seconds, before sitting down. He finally said, “Yes, of course, you, and they, are correct. All right, let’s put down roots and try to make a go of it inside the confines of the Fort.”
Levi seemed to age many years in those few seconds of realization that the ROA had stalled, and reached its Promised Land.
“Gus,” said Levi, “you’re right, we are tired, and the thought of se
ttling down certainly has its attractions. In the Spring, I guess I’ll finally get a move on and continue to head west. Did you know my parents were from Prescott, up in Arizona, and I think Susan, Katie, and I might just head on up that way to see what’s shakin’.
Yeah, let’s head back to Polk and start to rebuild The Republic of America.”
Gus could sense that Levi was merely rambling now, so he walked over to his friend and placing his hand on Levi’s shoulder, said, “Yeah, buddy, I feel the same, a good winter’s nap and come Spring, you and I with Susan and Kate will head West.
Wait, don’t you say shit about going without me, because that just ain’t gonna happen. You know, of course, that if you asked, every single trooper would join up, but I don’t think that is such a good idea. The folks staying here will need the military side of the house, and we can’t take everyone and just bail out on them. You know, I think we should plan on taking a company-sized unit, along with a portion of the Air Arm, and some of the Maintenance folks.
Hell, if we go that route, we can travel faster, have fewer to feed, and we still might catch that bastard, Steiner. So, Levi, whadaya say?”
Levi smiled at his closest friend, and said, “As always, you present a great plan, yeah, I like that plan. Okay, let’s run with it.”
The end…
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VIGILANTE: INDIAN TERRITORY
If you’re ready for Chapter 1
sit back, relax, and grab a snack;
Chapter 1 of
VIGILANTE: INDIAN TERRITORY
begins on the next page.
In Chapter 1 of Book 6 in the Vigilante series we must go back in time to that fateful day when the Coronal Mass Ejection turned the world dark.
VIGILANTE: INDIAN TERRITORY
A novel by Cliff Deane
***
Chapter 1
Chief Daniel Two-Dogs
March 28 0600
Montezuma’s Castle
Indian Reservation (Rez)
Camp Verde, AZ
Chief Daniel Two-Dogs, a natural leader and a direct descendant of Geronimo, the prominent Warrior Leader and Medicine Man from the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua Apache climbed the steep rock walls up to the U.S. National Monument named Montezuma’s Castle and watched as the dawn light of the sun banished the darkness.
In his own visions, he knew that his time was near. His thoughts drifted to his Great-grandfather, Harlyn Geronimo, a Medicine Man steeped in Apache tradition, and the great-grandson of the warrior Geronimo. Harlyn successfully spoke against the mission to kill Osama bin Laden being named Geronimo.
Daniel Two-Dogs was a successful and respected horse and cattle rancher near the Verde Valley in Central Arizona. At thirty-five years of age, and in the prime of his life, Daniel stood 6’1”. He wore his shiny black hair in the traditional style of his Chiricahua culture.
Over the last few years, more than two hundred young, strong, and able Apache men were felt drawn, even compelled to join Daniel Two-Dogs. He became their new War Chief and Medicine Man. This band of Chiricahua listened to, and learned from, their Chief how, to live in harmony with the Earth, and to farm the land along Beaver Creek flowing just below the magnificent cliff dwellings of Montezuma’s Castle.
At twenty-five, Daniel married but became a widower when his wife and child died in childbirth only two years later. He never again questioned his grandfather who had warned him that this marriage was not the one fated for Daniel.
He was an honor graduate of Arizona State University holding a Bachelor’s Degree with majors, in Arid Land Agriculture, and equine ranching. He minored in Political Science, and Public Speaking. His Master’s Degree was in Political Science, City Administration, and Management, culminating in his becoming a Civil Engineer.
He served for three years in the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group, rising to the rank of Sergeant, with specialties in tactics and combat medicine.
The arduous demands of Daniel’s military and educational endeavors were laid out by his Great-grandfather, a Medicine Man who received visions sent by the Great Spirit. These visions taught him that the Earth would undergo a significant cleansing which would allow the “People” to reclaim their ancestral lands and return to a time when the “People” would once again live in harmony with the Earth.
Daniel’s parents scoffed at the old man’s Peyote driven visions, and he was unable to thoroughly learn from his Great-grandfather until his parents were killed in a head-on automobile collision when he was nine. Daniel then lived with his Great-grandfather and was introduced to the world of the Apache Medicine Man; the path he must take to be ready to fulfill his destiny as the founder of a new Nation of The People, which would encompass all tribes.
Daniel learned how to deal with the White Government in Washington and took advantage of every benefit, educational and otherwise that was offered by the U.S. Government. These benefits allowed him Higher educational scholarships and funds to support him while attending University.
He immersed himself in his education, turning down offers to join several fraternities; Daniel was considered friendly, but very serious about his studies. Daniel’s grandfather had warned him not to fall into the White ways, for this was not to be his path.
Daniel had no qualms about using the White Government’s money to further his education, and he also had no doubts about the resentment he held for that same government that seemed hell-bent on keeping the predominance of Native Americans in poverty. The handouts given to his people had ripped the heart from the Apache Nation and left them as little more than wards of the state.
To his grandfather, even as a young man still in his teens, Daniel promised that he would see the heart of the Apache returned to his people. Those who were unwilling to lose the White Man’s handouts would be left to their own fates, but those who were willing to regain their self-respect and their stolen lands would form the backbone of a new Apache Nation, stretching from Arizona to Texas and into Northern Mexico.
*
29 March 3:23 a.m.
The Rez,
Montezuma’s Castle
Harlyn Geronimo, an Apache Chief, and Medicine Man had seen in a vision that this night would hold an event in the sky that would change the world forever. In this vision, he was directed to watch the night sky in the dark hours of the early morning.
Chief Daniel Two-Dogs sat with his Great-grandfather, confident that his vision would prove to be true, compelling Daniel to finally begin to fulfill his role in leading The People into a rebirth.
In the latest Tribal Council, Harlyn Geronimo had spoken of this celestial event and encouraged The People to watch the sky in the early morning hours of 29 March. He promised a sign that could not be denied.
Many, but far from a majority of The People sat outside and watched the sky for the prophesied sign. Most had fallen asleep but were awakened by the incredible glow which illuminated the northeastern sky at precisely 3:23 a.m. and lasting for nearly an hour. There was no sound, only a yellow-red light.
Within seconds those watching the heavens began seeing explosions. At first, this was a mystery until it was realized that these explosions were civilian jetliners that lost power and fell from the sky.
Chief Harlyn was not asleep. He knew something of great importance was about to happen, and so together, he and Daniel witnessed the dawn of a new age.
All those who witnessed the event realized that the old Medicine Man had indeed been visited in his visions by the Great Spirit. They also now knew that his words held iron and as such must be honored and obeyed.
*
29 March
World Overview
Big Ben still kept the time in London, as did all timekeeping devices which held no electronics. Solar powered watches and those which must be wound continued to mark time. Modern ti
mepieces using a circuit board all stopped at twenty-three minutes past the local hour at the time of the event.
Around the world, the electric grid ground to a halt and collapsed as all transformers, large and small failed as one. As the transformers exploded from the pulse coursing through the network, many fires erupted from gas lines and propane tanks. With no Fire Department, these fires raged out of control destroying vast segments of cities and towns.
All vehicles manufactured after 1978; trucks, buses, and trains all stopped. Around the world, planes fell from the sky by the thousands making these passengers the first casualties of a massive Coronal Mass Ejection from our sun that merely brushed the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere. These deaths would not be the last.
There are only two things known to man that can cause the destruction of our electric grid; an Electro-Magnetic Pulse or EMP, brought on by a thermo-nuclear device detonated high in the atmosphere, and an EMP produced by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
Those with pacemakers died quickly as did anyone being kept alive by any means electrical.
This massive EMP, however, would prove to be more than a predictor of three-hundred million Americans who would die within one year. The primary culprit would arise from our inability to process and transport food around the country. Starvation, disease from non-potable water were the prime contributors. These modern three horsemen of the apocalypse would kill 6,300,000,000 human beings worldwide within one year. How can the human mind even begin to process the deaths of six billion, three hundred million people…or remove the bodies?