Robot Wars: Thrown Into the Fray

by Nicholas Haring

  “Hit! Dead-on! Good work, Lieutenant. You’re eight for ten on the stationary targets,” Fischer said, still peering through his binoculars.

  “Thank you, sir,” Brookes replied.

  “Jones, get Brookes set up for the moving targets,” Fischer said.

  “Yes, sir!” Jones said as he jumped to his feet and ran down the maintenance trench to the right of the course.

  “While he’s getting you set up, Lieutenant, you can take a break,” Fischer said and then looked back over to Akiyama who was sitting on a bench. “Okay, Akiyama, you’re up!”

  Brookes slowly got up off her knees; they felt like they were made of glass.

  “Ugh… I need to get some damn knee pads,” Brookes grumbled.

  Brookes walked past Fischer, whose attention was now focused on Akiyama’s targets, over to the bench where Cross and Kazir were sitting. She began to sit down, grimacing in pain as she bent her knees.

  “Let me take a look at your knees, ma’am” Cross said; she was already beginning to take a look at them before Brookes could say anything.

  “Hmm… you have swelling in both knees and it looks like you’re quite fatigued …” Cross said as Brookes stomach growled. “And hungry as well; Kazir, can you hand me my medical bag, please?”

  Kazir bent over and gave Cross her medical bag, which she then commenced to dig around in.

  “Ah-ha… here we go thirty-percent Methyl Salicylate and fifteen-percent Menthol,” Cross said as she pulled out a small, red and white tube.

  “What is that?” Brookes asked.

  “It’s Bengay,” Cross said frankly as she put it on her hands and rubbed it on Brookes’ knees.

  “That’s much better, thank you, Cross,” Brookes said.

  “Here take these. These are crystalline xanthine alkaloid capsules,” Cross said, handing Brookes the two grey-colored pills.

  “What are these again?” Brookes asked, and then put them into her mouth.

  “They’re caffeine pills,” Cross said.

  After about ten minutes Brookes felt much better. She looked over to Cross, who was watching Akiyama snipe targets.

  “So, Cross, how old are you?” Brookes asked, trying to strike up a conversation or some small talk; it had occurred to her that she really didn’t know that much about her squad-mates.

  “I’m twenty,” Cross responded as she kept watching Akiyama.

  “Oh, so you’ve been with the unit for how long?” Brookes asked.

  “One year; right after I got out of Medic School -- after boot,” Cross said; her eyes had drifted from Akiyama to the dirt road in front of them.

  “I see. Why did you choose to go to Medic School?” Brookes asked, but she began to wonder if she was prodding.

  “I’ve always had an interest in medicine and helping people,” Cross said with a forced smile, looking back at Brookes.

  “Oh, I see.”

  The two sat silently for a little bit.

  “You seem pretty smart and knowledgeable, Cross. I’m surprised you never got into Medical School,” Brookes said, but felt as though she maybe shouldn’t have said it.

  “Yeah, well, things just don’t work out sometimes; excuse me, Lieutenant,” Cross said, and then got up and headed for Kazir, who had walked over to where Martin and Sanchez were at, using the Laser Rifle range to her left.

  “Crap,” Brookes said to herself; she always seemed to have a knack for saying the wrong things when it came to small talk.

  Jones came running out of the maintenance trench and back to Fischer. They talked for a little, but Brookes couldn’t make out what they were saying. Jones finished talking to Fischer and then jogged over to the bench where Brookes was sitting.

  “The moving targets are broken, sorry, ma’am,” Jones said as he sat down next to Brookes.

  “That stinks,” Brookes said; she looked over at Cross who was talking with Kazir.

  “Isn’t she amazing?” Jones asked.

  “Who? Cross?” Brookes asked.

  “Yeah, but no, I was referring to Akiyama; she’s just amazing, isn’t she? She could thread a needle with a bullet.”

  “Yeah, she’s pretty good. Hey, Jones, why does she still use a fifty-caliber sniper rifle? It’s a bit old-fashioned, don’t you think?”

  “Oh… no-no-no, it takes real skill to use one of those. The laser snipers are all point and shoot; you don’t even have to lead your targets, but with a bullet you have to account for everything,” Jones said as he continued to watch her shoot.

  “Wouldn’t the bullets just bounce off the robots heavy armor?” Brookes asked.

  Jones shook his head and smirked.

  “She aims for the thinly protected sensors at the top. Or in the case of the Mark Fours, she knocks out the PPDL. We then wait for them to get close, and then I sneak up and disable them. It’s been the most effective way of taking them down so far,” Jones said.

  Brookes still thought that a laser sniper was more practical, but she didn’t want to upset another squad-mate. Akiyama took aim at a mock Mark Four, a thousand meters down range, and then fired; a second later the mock PPDL on top of the target disappeared.

  “Wow, nice shot!” Brookes said.

  “I wish the moving targets were working. It’s something to see when Akiyama hits a moving Mark One-sized target at five-hundred meters,” Jones boasted.

  “Yeah, I bet it is quite the sight,” Brookes responded.

  Brookes looked over at Jones; he seemed to be fawning over Akiyama. She had a feeling that Jones probably had feelings for her.

  “So, are Akiyama and you …?” Brookes asked.

  “What me? No, no. I mean I wish, but it wouldn’t happen in a million years,” Jones said as he began to blush.

  “Why don’t you talk to her about it?” Brookes asked.

  “No way, I couldn’t. I mean I already know what the answer would be; rejection,” Jones said.

  Brookes didn’t want to push Jones too far as he was beginning to squirm with anxiety.

  “Okay,” Brookes said.

  “You won’t tell Akiyama, will you?” Jones said. He was now in full freak-out mode.

  Brookes made a zipper motion across her mouth.

  “Lips are sealed, and besides, it’s your job to tell her, not mine; which I would suggest you do,” Brookes said.

  “Yeah, maybe one of these days …” Jones said with a forlorn tone in his voice.

  Oh brother, Brookes thought as she rolled her eyes.

  “Jones!” Fischer yelled, probably awakening Jones from some fantasy daydream of his. “I need you to go shut down the range and jot down on the log that the moving targets were malfunctioning!”

  “Yes, sir!” Jones said as he quickly got up and ran back down into the maintenance trench.

  “All right, everyone let’s go to lunch!” Fischer said as everyone began to leave the ranges.

  Chapter 9

  Lander pulled up to his house in Thompson’s car; he had been driving it to let Thompson get some sleep. But after Lander had stopped to pick up some donuts, any chance for Thompson to get any sleep after that quickly ended; he eyed the donuts the entire way to Lander’s house. Lander left the car running and got out with the box of donuts slung under his right arm.

  “Hey, Chet, can I get one of those?” Thompson asked as almost a begging dog would ask if it could talk.

  “Heh… yeah, Paul, I was gonna give you dibs,” Lander said. He opened the box and Thompson grabbed a couple.

  Thompson with a donut in his mouth and another in his hand said something that vaguely sounded like “See you later.” Lander waved goodbye and Thompson drove off. Lander walked up to the house and tried the door knob, but it was locked. Lander searched for his keys before remembering he didn’t bring them, and then knocked on the door. Deborah came answering.

  “Chet, you’re back, and most importantly you brought the donuts,” Deborah said jokingly with a slight cough.

  “Is the munchkin
still sleep?” Lander asked as he walked inside and handed the box of donuts to Deborah. Deborah rolled her eyes.

  “What do you think, Chet?”

  “So are you feeling better this morning, Deb?”

  “A little better, I took some medicine earlier; I think it’s starting to kick-in.”

  Lander figured he would go get Carly out of bed.

  “I’ll go get Carly up ‘kay, Deb?” Lander said as he went down the hallway to the bedrooms.

  “Okay, tell her if she doesn’t wake up; mommy and daddy will eat all of the donuts,” Deborah said as she walked into the kitchen with the donuts. Lander knew that wasn’t an idle threat either.

  Lander cracked open Carly’s door to see if she was still sleeping; she was. Lander slowly opened the door and walked up to the bed and sat down next to her.

  “Good morning, munchkin,” Lander said, but this just caused Carly to turn over.

  Lander then flicked Carly’s arm lightly, which she always hated.

  “Stop it, daddy, I’m trying to sleep,” Carly said as she rolled further away and pulled her quilt over head.

  Lander went over to her window and opened the blinds and then removed her quilt exposing her face to the morning sun.

  “Come on, Carly, wake up before mom and I eat all of the donuts,” Lander said.

  Carly slowly got out of bed, almost as though to tell her dad that she was doing this only for the donuts and nothing else. Lander herded Carly to the kitchen table where Deborah was reading a newspaper. Carly sat in her booster chair and Lander pushed her chair closer to the table so she could reach.

  “Would you like a donut, Carly?” Lander asked. Carly quickly nodded and smiled.

  “Can I have two?” Carly asked as Lander looked over to Deborah.

  “No,” Deborah said, looking up from the paper.

  “If you eat this one and are still hungry you can have another, okay?” Lander said to Carly, who smiled upon hearing this.

  Deborah gave a quick glance to Lander, her eyes read “Really?”, and then she was back to reading.

  Lander grabbed a donut and poured himself a glass of milk.

  “So what happened this morning, Chet?” Deborah asked.

  “Well, they assigned us to Companies, but they also told us they needed some of us to stay and work in the factories, and that they would call and let us know some time before two this afternoon - which if they don’t call - is when I’ll have to report-in,” Lander said as he took a couple of bites out of his donut.

  “The news hasn’t been saying much of anything. Did they tell you what is going on? Why did they call up the reservists in the first place?” Deborah asked worriedly.

  “They only said that they needed our help defending the town. I think it might be really serious, but who knows what is really going to happen,” Lander said as he drank some milk.

  “Can I have another donut?” Carly asked.

  Lander reached in and gave her another.

  “Don’t tell mom,” Lander whispered jokingly to Carly as she smiled, while Deborah sighed and shook her head.

  “I’m going to check the TV again,” Deborah said as she got up from the table.

  Lander could tell Deborah looked visibly consumed with worry and got up from the table as well.

  “Make sure you wash your hands and brush your teeth, okay, munchkin?” Lander said to Carly as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

  “…continuing our top local story; authorities have stated the reason for the closure of Highways 23 & 64 and all other public roads out of Grantsburg, citing public safety and security concerns. The roads are to remain closed for the next few days. Only those with special travel permits may have access. Local reservists have also been called up, but sources for our station state that this is just a temporary precaution at the moment. In national news, internet pop sensation…” Deborah was watching the local TV news when Lander walked into the living room.

  She looked up at him. Her eyes were blinking rapidly, a nervous tic she had ever since he had known her.

  “I’m sure you’ll get called for the factory work, right?” Deborah said as she was shaking a little.

  Lander bent over and put his arms around her.

  “I’m sure I will. They wouldn’t promote me not to use me. Don’t worry, Deb, everything will be fine,” Lander said.

  “I don’t know, Chet. I have a bad feeling,” Deborah said.

  “You’re worrying too much. You’ll see,” Lander said optimistically, which he thought might help Deborah a little.

  The hours rolled by as Lander waited anxiously for the phone call that he hoped would save him from any possible fighting. Lunch came around, but Lander didn’t have much of an appetite; his stomach was twisted in knots and his heart began racing every now and then. Deborah would often catch him staring blankly at his phone. One o’clock came and went.

  “I think I might have to head in to the fitting area, Deb,” Lander said as Deborah nodded.

  Lander went to go get his things ready.

  “Chet, you should call the factory; they may’ve made a mistake,” Deborah said, grasping for this one last hope.

  “I’m not sure it would do any good at this point, Deb,” Lander said as he looked at Deborah; she looked as though she was about to tear up.

  “Hey… hey, it will be ok, Deb, I promise,” Lander said. He zipped up his duffel bag, and then turned to give Deborah a hug.

  Lander knocked on the wall outside of Carly’s bedroom door to get her attention; she was busy coloring.

  “Hey, munchkin,” Lander said.

  “Hey, daddy, you wanna see my purple T-Rex?” Carly asked as she held up her coloring book.

  “Wow, very good, Carly, you stayed in the lines,” Lander said, causing Carly to smile.

  “Hey, Carly, daddy is going to be gone for a little bit,” Lander said as Carly got up to hug him.

  “Where are you going?” Carly asked as she buried her head into his thigh.

  “Not far, I’ll still be in town. I just have to do some army stuff for a few days and then I’ll be right back,” Lander said.

  “Promise?” Carly asked as she looked up at him.

  “Promise,” Lander responded, though he wasn’t sure if he could keep it.

  Chapter 10

  “You not eatin’, Cap?” Martin asked.

  “No, I have another officers meeting with the brass,” Fischer responded, breaking away from the rest of the squad as they headed into the Mess.

  “All right then, more Salisbury steak for the rest of us,” Martin said jokingly, as everyone except for Brookes maybe, knew that it was terrible beyond any expectation.

  “Heh, make sure Brookes gets my share, okay?” Fischer responded as he was walking away; Martin gave him a thumbs up and headed inside.

  Fischer entered General Snow’s office; there, Lieutenant Harlan, Captain Rhodes, and Major Rayne were already waiting. Fischer saluted when he came into the room.

  “Glad you could join us, Captain Fischer,” Snow said as she returned Fischer’s salute.

  “Now, that you’re here, Fischer, I can tell you all that our forces on the Beltway Front repulsed a major HRUO attack earlier this morning, so I’m pulling back CS-12 umm… Captain Thomas Hazzard’s ‘Jackboots’ off the line and bringing them back to Orion. They even may have enough time to rest and refit, and help out with the defense of Grantsburg,” Snow said.

  “Excellent, ma’am, we’ll be able to send out the entire battalion together,” Rayne said enthusiastically.

  “Actually, Major, the remaining 2nd Battalion squads will leave for Grantsburg Airbase tomorrow. The UMI has recalculated their estimates and moved the expected attack up. It’s now looking like it will happen Monday night or Tuesday morning,” Snow said.

  “General Snow, my troops need more time to rest, ma’am,” Rayne said with some shock. He began looking for agreement with Fischer and the others.

  “Genera
l Snow, ma’am, my unit is the most beat-up out of all the squads, but I assure you, we will be ready to go when you need us,” Harlan said resolutely.

  Rhodes and Fischer both nodded in agreement.

  “Good. There is a silver lining to this cloud. I’ve managed to acquire additional support for our defense,” Snow said, and then looked at her computer. “I was able to secure an armored regiment and an artillery battalion. The 19th Phaeton Squadron will also be able to provide full on-station support as well.”

  Everyone was a little relieved by this news, but Fischer was unsure. Undoubtedly, this support would be coming from the Beltway Front and it would take some time to arrive - if it ever did – meanwhile, it would be up to the 2nd Battalion to hold the line.

  “Captain Fischer, since you’re the senior squad commander, you’ll be in command of the 2nd Battalion forces in Grantsburg. General Williams will more than likely assign some local units under your command. I’ll be retaining Major Rayne here, until CS-12 arrives, then when they’re ready they’ll join you out there,” Snow said.

  “I’ll make sure they get ready as soon as possible, Fischer,” Rayne said as he looked over to Fischer and then back to Snow.

  “Ma’am, we can hold that line, but if worse comes to worse. Do I have permission to blow the bridges over the Otter Tail?” Fischer asked.

  Snow seemed to think about it for a moment.

  Captain Fischer -- as a last resort –- yes, you should blow the bridges. General Williams may protest, but he won’t stop you. You have my utmost confidence in whatever course of action you decide on. I don’t want a single robot to cross that river, do you understand me?” Snow said sternly.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Fischer replied.

  “Who will you have rig the bridges? Should I get a company of engineers down there?” Snow asked.

  Before Fischer could respond Rhodes perked up.

  “The Master Blasters will rig those bridges. We’re experts in demolition after all, ma’am,” Rhodes said smugly.

  “Good enough. Well, dismissed everyone. You leave for Grantsburg tomorrow at 1300 hours,” Snow said as she stood up from her desk and saluted.