“We’ve got a job to do, Sergeant. This equipment could substantially change our odds in combat. We need to know if it’s up to the task ASAP.”
“I’ve already been briefed, Sir.”
“Then let’s get to the range.”
“Major, we’ve set up a temporary weapons testing area for you here.”
He turned to see several Mech armours propped up like manikins at two hundred metres away. His heart pounded in shock. The sight of them on open ground had been a thing to fear for them all in the previous days.
“We’ve been able to salvage a few of their armours for testing.”
Taylor lowered his head in relief. For just a split second, he’d thought their enemy had reached them in Ramstein.
“When you’re ready, Major.”
He nodded and turned back to the Mech armours. He’d never had so much time to stare at them before. The sight of the enemy had always required immediate and decisive action, not careful targeting. He lifted the launcher to his shoulder and took aim. With the straight trajectory that Reiter had promised, he aimed it like a rifle, rather than the elevated indirect firing of the launchers they had become so accustomed to.
The Major squeezed the trigger, and a loud crack rang out as a pulse of energy ignited in the barrel of the weapon, sending a grenade hurtling down the range. The round flew faster than Taylor had seen a grenade fly and struck its target almost instantly. It exploded on impact with a relatively small charge.
“You see, Major, with a more accurate round, we can make the ammunition smaller for more targeted shooting. These should be able to replace the assault rifle in combat usage.”
He turned to Reiter quickly.
“And a round from this will take a Mech down?”
“Like a rifle round against a human? Not necessarily. It has the ability to pierce their armour and deliver severe damage, but we do not yet fully understand the aliens’ constitution.”
“What does that mean in the real world?” Parker asked.
“That if the first round doesn’t put them down, you shoot them again until they do,” snapped Taylor.
“Precisely, Major, let’s go and investigate the results of your shooting.”
Taylor released his grip on the weapon and let it rest on its sling at his side. The suit took up the weight, but it was an unsettling feeling not having the weight to reassure him that it was at his side. As they strolled towards the targets, Taylor took a deep breath of the fresh air. He had wondered what had felt so different since they had arrived and finally he realised. Gone was the sickening smell of a burning city, the taste of dust and sulphur, and the smell of electrical burning and red hot metal.
He breathed in slowly and heavily, enjoying the cool and clean air, as he knew it would be a luxury he would soon lose again. He looked over at Parker as they strode forward, glad to have her at his side.
“How is the Company?” he asked.
“Heading to defend the bridge where we saved your ass, last time I saw them.”
He smiled. The north had been one of the safest areas of the city up until now. Then he thought back to his near death experience, realising that it was probably no longer the case. They reached the battered Mech armour. A hole over five centimetres wide had been ripped into the chest plate, and it still smouldered. Taylor pulled out his knife and thrust it into the breach to see if it had cleared the armour. The blade met no resistance and ran up to the guard.
“You see, Major. Small projectiles with enough explosive to puncture. These are high velocity, low calibre armour penetrating rounds.”
He turned and looked down at the experimental equipment he was wearing. He thought about it for a moment, and then peered up at the many faces that were waiting for his comment.
“With this equipment a soldier will run faster and for longer, be better protected, and do more damage. It’ll double our combat effectiveness overnight.”
Reiter smiled. He knew the progress they had made was great, but he still loved hearing it. Taylor turned to Reyes.
“You can give the General my approval,” he turned to Reiter.
“Get this into production. I don’t care what you’ve got to do. Get it made, and get it to the front line.”
Chandra sat back in her chair, resting her aching leg. It was obvious to them all that the intensity of the fighting had increased in both the south and the west. The ground rumbled almost continually as artillery from both sides pounded those positions. Their area was mostly quiet, and the troops were getting what rest they could. She tilted her head back and peered up to the sky, but the silence was broken by the sound of a chair being dragged up beside her. Captain Friday roughly slammed the chair down and then sat in front of her.
“Any news from Taylor?” he asked.
“I assumed you’d be the first to know if we had.”
“You’re still in charge here, Ma’am.”
“Yes, but Major Taylor has made it quite clear that he will treat the rules as he pleases when it comes to his own.”
Friday smiled. Chandra was having a jab at Mitch, but in a friendly fashion.
“We don’t all share a bed with the Major.”
“You know a relationship such as that in the military can only end badly. In this war, it’ll only be harder.”
“So we give up on love because of the risk of losing it?”
Chandra sat up slightly into a less casual position.
“I didn’t peg you as the emotional and sentimental type, Captain.”
She watched as he took a deep breath and sighed with the fatigue of the situation. He’d never presented himself as anything but utterly professional, but it was clear he was feeling the pressure.
“Is that what Parker and the Major have, truly?” she asked.
Friday sat back and thought for a moment, not wanting to give any snap response. He knew she’d never have been the one to admit it, and it had never been her intention, but it had come to it. He stared out into the smoky sky, wishing he had someone like her. He finally nodded and looked down at the Major.
“Yes, neither of them has said it, but it’s there for all to see.”
“And it doesn’t bother you? That your Major is fraternising with an NCO in your own unit? That he forced you all to break the orders of a General for her?”
The Captain didn’t fire back a response. It was unusual for him to stay silent and unable to find his words. He was thinking would he have done the same as the Major did. Chandra could see the conflict in his eyes. For such a cool and calculating man, he had been deeply affected by his leader’s actions. It had seemed to endear his unit to Taylor more than ever. He turned and stared into her eyes, piercing right through her.
“You think we’ll make it through this war?”
He didn’t address her by rank. It was the first time the marine officer had ever addressed her as a friend, and the sentiment did not go unnoticed.
“I don’t think it really matters, Captain. We have no way of predicting it. All we can do is fight on and take some relief in the fact that every minute we hold them back, we increase the chances of the survival of our entire race.”
“That’s a cold way to look at our lives,” he whispered.
“Seems little point in doing it any other way. We either wallow in the misery around us, or we think of the good we are doing.”
The Captain wondered if she believed that.
“Incoming!”
The two officers leapt off their seats and to the ground, crawling to the wall for cover. Dozens of energy pulses smashed into the buildings around them, shaking their position. Living under artillery fire had become one constant in their life, but it was never any easier to experience. They never knew where the round would land or when their time would be up.
The barrages were a valuable tool in striking at the morale of their troops. Chandra only hoped that their efforts were doing the same for the enemy. They huddled together against the wall for over ten mi
nutes as the entire position was pounded repeatedly. Both remained silent, staring at each other. They were just half a metre from one another, and they could each see the despair in one another’s faces.
Friday thought about the evening the two could have were they out of the war. Despite her tough character and steady resolve, her beauty was still undeniable. Underneath her dirty and bloody armour was the body of a well toned and beautiful Indian woman. She was clearly many generations removed from her home country, having nothing left of her accent, but she still clung onto her family’s heritage. As the prolonged barrage continued all around them, the Major spoke.
“Paris! The City of Romance!”
Friday laughed.
“I guess times change!”
The Captain smiled that she was thinking it as well.
A soldier ran towards them. He was hunched low as he ran through a hail of debris. The man rolled across the floor, hitting the wall hard between the two of them. It was Captain Jones.
“Nice of you to join us, Captain!” shouted Chandra.
“Major, we’ve got incoming forces in large numbers!”
“How large?”
“A major offensive!”
Chandra shook her head in disbelief, as if the bombardment was not enough, surely they couldn’t weather this much longer. Just as she thought it, the last energy pulses smashed into the ground below them. She first felt relief, and then the realisation that it was the pre-cursor to an assault. She jumped up from behind the wall to look out across the ravished wasteland their position had become. They had taken only light casualties, the trenches and hull down positions safeguarding most of their personnel and equipment.
Before she could open her mouth, the sound of tracks resounded in the distance, previously hidden by the earth shattering bombardment. She dipped her head in despair. The Major had anticipated the attack, but Jones’ confirmation of it didn’t make it any easier to stomach. She turned back to the two Captains with her. They both stared back in anticipation of her orders.
She could only think that they were all going to die there. When she didn’t respond to them, Jones couldn’t wait any longer.
“Major! What are your orders?”
She shot a glance into his eyes. Her face was distraught and her colour draining. She quickly snapped out of it, knowing she had to be decisive.
“Take up positions! We have to hold!”
She could see that both men could not believe they were being asked to hold, but they followed her without question. She watched as they rushed off to their defensive positions across the street. Chandra turned back to the bridge and to the alien weapon. Monty was resting on it as he looked out towards the sound of the enemy vehicles rolling towards their position.
The cannons of the tanks in the street below roared out. From her elevated position at the side of the street, the Major couldn’t see down the length of the bridge, but it was clear Becker was already able to engage them.
“Everyone in position! Fire at will!”
Green rushed up in carrying a box of ammunition and scurried to the wall. He had another soldier with him.
“Good timing, Lieutenant!”
The man nodded as he unloaded the ammunition and threw it out to the troops. He signalled for the other man to continue on up to the next floor of the building. The sound of the rumbling enemy vehicles was audible even over the volley of fire from their own tanks. The first energy pulses were rushing over the fallen bridge and pounding their positions.
Although the artillery barrage against them had stopped, she could still hear and feel the impacts of it continuing across the city, more frequent and intense than ever.
“This must be it, Major, the offensive everyone has been waiting for!” shouted Green.
Damn right, she thought as she stood up and propped her rifle into the wall. Shells were being traded evenly now across the bridge, but the dug in positions were ensuring a solid advantage for Becker. Two armoured vehicles appeared between the buildings the other side of the fallen bridge, but they instantly burst into flames as they were hit by multiple cannon shells.
Both the vehicles were smashed aside as one of the vast bridging vehicles struck them and burst through the wrecks, pushing them to the sides of the street.
“Take it out!” shouted Chandra.
She knew her words would go unheard by the crews, but it was mostly instinctive action. She turned to Monty and back at the bridging vehicle that reached the edge of the crossing. She grabbed hold of the alien weapon from the soldier and took aim at the vehicle. The first shot fired out and landed just shy of its tracks.
“Damn it!”
Chandra pulled the trigger once again, but nothing happened.
“I think they have a recharge rate, Major!” shouted Monty.
She shot a disdainful glance at the man. She knew he was right, but she was in a panic and didn’t appreciate the obvious comment. She heard a click from the weapon and so turned back and fired. The blast ripped into the structure of the tank, burning a hole through its hull, but it seemed to make little difference.
The tank came to a halt and immediately began to unfold and expand across the river that had kept them safe. She fired again as cannon shells continued to pound the vehicle, but it was too late. The thick metal ramp struck across to south side. Mechs rushed out from between the wreckage of the burning tanks and sprang towards them in their daunting armoured suits.
“Monty, take the gun!”
Chandra lifted her rifle and quickly took aim. The bridge erupted into a cloud of fire and smoke as rifle, cannon and grenade fire combined to ravage the oncoming charge. Pieces of Mech armour blasted out into the air and off the side of the bridge, but more burst through the dust behind them. An energy pulse ripped into one of Becker’s tanks and it burst into flames. The sound was deafening as the vehicle rocked and shards of the turret smashed into the wall beside the Major. She ducked down for cover before quickly leaping up to the battlements once more.
The Major looked down to the trenches below and could see a dozen Mechs within a few metres of their positions. One had managed to get into hand-to-hand combat and crushed one of the soldiers. This is over, thought Chandra.
She looked across the street at the devastation before her, dozens of their troops lay dead or dying, and half of the tanks were belching black smoke.
“Major, we have to get out of here!” shouted Green.
She froze there for just a moment, unable to look away from the vicious scene. Never could she have imagined she would see such dire days. She had read about such total war but had never been able to comprehend how it would feel. She turned to him.
“Get word to the Commander. We need to retreat east immediately!”
Green nodded. He was as much relieved as he was in shock that they once more had to take flight. She lifted her rifle from the wall and rushed to the stairs, and the others quickly followed suit. She shouted her command up the stairway to the rest before heading for the street. The road was barely recognisable any longer as it was covered in bricks, dust, bodies and blood. The guns of Becker’s tanks continued to bellow. She leapt onto the roof of his vehicle and huddled beside it, knocking on the lid.
The confident German appeared at the hatch, doing his best to hide the despair he was clearly feeling. Chandra could feel heat rush out from the hatch combined with the smell of sweat and sulphur. He looked out across the bridge. The first enemy rush had been halted, but it was clear they were preparing for a second push in greater numbers.
“Captain, we’re done here.”
Becker nodded, relieved to finally have the command.
“We’d sure appreciate a lift out of this hell hole.”
“You got it, Major.”
She leapt from the tank as a yellow signal flare blasted out from the vehicle, signalling the retreat to the Captain’s remaining crew. Chandra ran along the lines, shouting for the troops to climb aboard. The dead were scattered amo
ng the living; there were few wounded.
“Onto the vehicles! Move out!”
Gunfire continued in an irregular pattern as the troops laid down fire to keep the bridge clear. Only six of Becker’s tanks were still running, one with its turret torn off. They reversed back out of their hull down dugouts and onto the debris strewn road. The street erupted into a frenzy of movement as the remaining troops clambered onto the vehicles. It was a desperate retreat, and the only relief for the survivors.
It was clear to Chandra that the enemy had only been temporarily halted, and it wouldn’t be long before they swarmed across the river. She leapt up onto Becker’s vehicle as Lieutenant Green appeared. She offered out her hand and hauled him up beside the turret.
“Major, the Mech forces are engulfing the city, much longer and we’ll be cut off.”
“What are the Commander’s orders?”
“Retreat, all forces retreat east, and with all haste!”
She gasped as she looked back across the bridge. It’s over; the only city we held has fallen. Chandra tapped on the hatch, calling up Becker.
“Get us out of here, Captain!” she shouted.
The vehicle turned and lurched forward as two more men were hoisted aboard. She watched as the last few troops were helped up as the vehicles got underway. Through the smoke of the flare and debris from the battle, she could already make out the intimidating silhouettes of the invaders advancing across the river. Is there any hope?
Chapter 6
“Major Taylor, your presence is requested in the conference room.”
He leaned down and unclipped the last straps of the exoskeleton he had been testing. It was a relief to see equipment that could change the course of the war, but he could not help but think of his friends in Paris. Mitch followed one of the staff into the room. It was thirty metres long with vast screens set up displaying General White and several other high ranking officers of other militaries.
“Major, we are all eager to hear your report on the new equipment, but sadly we do not have time. All we need to know, is will it work? Will it make our troops fight better?”
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