Zombie Night In Canada (Book 2): 2nd Period
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If you enjoyed this and want to continue in the same universe, check out these other books:
The Saga of Micky Wheeler
Zombie Night in Canada: Face-off (forthcoming)
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Read an Excerpt from Zombie Night in Canada – 3rd Period
January 3rd
“Okay, the weather guys confirmed we’re good to go!” Sergeant Simpson said to the platoon, assembled in the hangar in front of him. Everyone was sipping blistering hot coffee to ward off the cold.
“Billy Bishop Airport has been secured. The pathfinders and engineers dropped yesterday have mopped up the few infected and are working on clearing the runways and getting power back up and running. By the time we get there, we’ll just land and head into the city to begin salvage ops. Let’s complete our final checks and load ‘em up!”
Xander’s unit was one of several picked to be part of Op Scavenger Hunt; the day before the entire platoon had driven in a convoy to CFB Cold Lake, then spent hours loading several cargo aircraft in the freezing cold, and then they flew to North Bay, where somehow, units of the Canadian Army and Army Reserve, bolstered by dozens of RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police officers, had held the line against tens of thousands of infected pouring north from Toronto. Once spring came though, there were a couple million infected frozen in the fields north of Barrie, meaning North Bay would likely have to be abandoned. But until then, it was the perfect staging base for this mission.
Xander and the rest of the section checked their own packs, then double checked their partner’s packs and headed out onto the tarmac. The cold wind bit into Xander’s exposed skin, so he tugged his ski mask down over his face. Even through the layers of winter gear, the cold seeped in and chilled his bones. As they jogged through the backwash from the engines, the wind chill dialed up several notches and froze Xander even more.
“Go, go, go!” Sergeant Simpson shouted over the roaring turbo-prop engines on the waiting Hercules aircraft.
The unit filed up the ramp and into the cargo hold, squeezing past half a dozen stacked pallets of supplies and equipment, then shrugged off their packs and fell into the jump seats. Inside the plane, it was slightly warmer than outside, but nowhere near as warm it as Xander thought it should be. He pulled off his mitts, then blew into his hands and rubbed them together vigorously.
At least there is no wind in here, Xander thought.
After Second Platoon boarded, motors whined as the ramp slowly closed, sealing out the howling winter weather outside. Inside the cargo hold, the air slowly began to warm.
The load master walked up and down both rows, handing out ear plugs to each soldier. After Xander rolled them up and shoved them in, the roar of the engines was reduced to a dull throbbing sound.
Shortly afterwards, the plane began moving down the runway and took off. After the plane had leveled off, Dan stood up and told the platoon, “You know the deal, we’ll be in the air for just over an hour, and if you’re smart, you’ll try and get some sleep, because it’ll be hard to come by after we land.”
Even with the roaring engines, Xander was asleep thirty seconds later.
Glossary
Battalion: generally the smallest independent fighting force on the modern battlefield. A battalion typically consists of three to four companies of troops, each with three to four platoons of approximately forty soldiers. A heavy weapons platoon is usually attached and may include mortars and light artillery. Depending on the mission, specialist units such as engineers may also be attached.
Battle Group: A battle group is typically a reinforced company that will include a variety of elements, including infantry, armour and artillery. Specialist units such as engineers may also be attached depending on the mission.
Brigade Group: a major military formation that typically includes infantry, armoured and artillery units, with a wide variety of support units such as engineers, communications, supply and medical. In the Canadian Army, Brigade groups resemble small divisions in their capabilities and size.
C-7: Standard infantry rifle of the Canadian Forces, derived from the M-16. The current configuration (C7A2) is closer in appearance and function to the M-4 and the original M-16A2.
C-9: Standard section-level support light machinegun; in US service known as the Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).
CC-117: A long-range heavy lift cargo transport plane, known in international service as the C-17 Globemaster.
CC-188: The standard multi-role fighter of the Royal Canadian Air Force, known in international service as the F-18 Hornet.
CC-130: A medium range cargo transport plane, known in international service as the C-130J Super Hercules.
CAF: Canadian Armed Forces
CFB: Canadian Forces Base
Company/Squadron/Battery: a small field unit comprised of three or four platoons of about forty soldiers each. In the Canadian Army, infantry are organized into companies, armoured units into squadrons and artillery units into batteries.
Coyote: The standard reconnaissance vehicle of the Canadian Army, derived from the Light Assault Vehicle (LAV) III chassis. It is armed with a turret-mounted 25 mm chain gun and heavy machinegun and carrying state-of-the-art reconnaissance equipment including IR/Night Vision scopes, long range cameras, and other devices. Some are equipped with three metre masts that extend upwards and increase the range of reconnaissance equipment.
E-LAV: Light Assault Vehicle adapted for use by combat engineers, typically equipped with a bulldozer blade and Nanuk Remote Weapon System (RWS).
Griffon: standard light helicopter of the Canadian Forces, used in recce, troop transport and limited attack roles.
Kodiak APC: The standard Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) of the Canadian Army, derived from the LAV III chassis.
LAV III: Light Assault Vehicle; an eight wheeled, fully armoured vehicle available in a variety of configurations.
Leopard 2A6M CAN: The Canadian Army’s main battle tank, called the Leopard 2 A6M internationally. The latest production model, the Leopard 2 is considered one of the best tanks in the world, on par with the M1A2 Abrams or the British Army’s Challenger Mk II.
Recce: Reconnaissance. In US military terms, recon.
Nanuk RWS: Remote Weapon System – a turret operated from inside the safety of an armoured vehicle. Armament is typically a machinegun firing 5.56, 7.62 or 12.7 mm rounds, although a grenade launcher or anti-tank missile launcher can also be mounted.
SAR: Search and Rescue.
Section: Analogous to a squad in the US Army. Typically eight soldiers, employed in two four man fireteams (1 & 2). These are further broken down into four two-person assault groups, Alpha (command), Bravo, Charlie and Delta. Bravo and Delta are usually centered around a C-9 light machinegun, while Charlie is the assault team. In this series, the section is still formed into four two person assault groups, each designed to provide support to one another in close combat situations.