RECCE (The Union Series Book 4)

by Phillip Richards

  ‘I’m not going to deliver you a fancy speech,’ he said. ‘I have some idea what you’ve been through and I don’t seek to patronise you. Your injured comrades are being evacuated to Paraiso, and my CSM tells me that they will all survive. As for your platoon commander, rest assured that we will find him in the warren. We aren’t going anywhere until we do. In the meantime, rest here and let us take over.’

  Nobody said anything. I felt a small lift in the platoon’s spirits as they realised the missing troopers might be saved, but it didn’t change the fact that their mission had been turned upside down by a foe they couldn’t hope to strike back at.

  ‘Sergeant Major, can I speak with you and your NCO’s?’ the OC asked, after a moment.

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  The OC led the platoon NCO’s away from the men, closing us all in to a small impact crater. He perched himself on the lip of the crater and gestured for us all to join him.

  ‘I’ve pulled you to one side because I feel the need to speak with you all in a less formal environment,’ the OC began, addressing us all. ‘I will be sending a search party underground soon, but not until I’m happy the Militia are contained within Cellini - so we have a few free moments. There are obviously a lot of questions - all of which deserve an honest answer. Feel free to share whatever we discuss with your men. It’s time we dropped all of this cloak-and-dagger political nonsense. Sergeant Major, would you like to start off?’

  ‘I thought we’d been left for dead,’ the sergeant major said bluntly.

  I looked across the crater at the sergeant major, surprised by his admission - he had appeared utterly confident during the Militia offensive, never showing the slightest hint of doubt.

  ‘There was never any chance of us abandoning you,’ the OC assured him, ‘or brigade for that matter. The brigade commander himself has tasked my company to come to your aid, and he has pledged the remainder of our battalion as support. Yes, EJOC want us to minimise our footprint here in the Bosque, but there’s no way they can persuade the brigade to abandon a platoon of troopers to their deaths.’

  ‘So what happened?’ I asked. ‘Why did it take so long for somebody to turn up?’

  ‘Very little information has filtered through to us,’ the OC replied, ‘or anyone else for that matter. Communications have been exceptionally difficult, and much of what you were sending either didn’t get through or was distorted. Some of your transmissions weren’t even being answered by brigade - they were instead being answered by someone posing as brigade …’

  I raised an eyebrow. ‘The Guard were hacking into our net?’

  The OC smiled thinly. ‘Their electronic warfare capability is pretty limited out here. I’m afraid that your ultimate adversary has been much closer to home ...’

  We stared at him with blank faces.

  ‘Think about it,’ the OC said, tapping his temple with a single finger. ‘Who stands to lose the most from this deal between EJOC and the Alliance? Who loses land if our old enemies return as friends?’

  I gasped as I suddenly realised what he was trying to tell us. ‘Paraiso …’

  ‘You said it, Corporal, not me.’

  ‘My God ...’

  The OC nodded. ‘Indeed.’

  So, Paraiso had known of our operation, and had been working behind the scenes to spoil our operation all along. The province was rich and powerful, and it would forever remain that way so long as the conflict on Eden continued. Money talked, and Paraiso’s influence over EJOC was substantial, and they wouldn’t have found it difficult to generate support against us. It explained almost everything - from the lack of air support to the apparent ability of the Guard inner circle to co-operate with the Militia. Both sides were probably barely communicating with each other at all - they were simply doing as Paraiso told them, persuaded by the promise of money and power.

  ‘So …’ the OC continued. ‘Sergeant Major, explain to me what happened underground.’

  The sergeant major quickly explained to the OC about our meeting with the Guard in the warrens, and their claim that the platoon commander had been sent up to the surface. Obviously that had been a lie, told to us by men who believed that we would never survive to find out.

  ‘Are your men ready to lead the way back down into the warren?’ the OC asked. ‘We’re not leaving without your platoon commander.’

  ‘Of course,’ the sergeant major replied without hesitation. ‘The lads are tired, but nobody’s going anywhere until we find the others. We’ve already lost two troopers … we won’t lose four more.’

  I realised he was referring to Butcher and Sanneh, as if both of them had died, but we had only seen Sanneh being executed. I wondered if he was still wandering around the forest, trying to find a way to marry up with his platoon, or if he had been captured by the Militia and kept as another psychological weapon for Helstrom to use against us.

  We couldn’t simply leave. The lads were beyond weary, and the thought of returning into the warren was enough to turn a man’s stomach, but none of them would want to abandon their comrades. They would all volunteer to return to the underground fortress without even flinching. Our faith in EJOC was all but destroyed, but our faith in our comradeship as troopers was as strong as ever. Brigade were unwilling to leave us to die, and so we couldn’t leave our own men to die either.

  ‘What about the missiles?’ the OC asked. ‘We need to extract them before we withdraw from here. I suspect the Militia will resume their attack on the warren once we leave, and if they find the missiles then we won’t have gained anything from this operation at all. Do you have any idea where they might be?’

  The sergeant major shook his head. ‘No, sir. Our mission was simply to help the Guard hold on to Hill Kilo so that the Militia couldn’t get to the missiles. It was assumed that we didn’t need to know where they were.’

  It occurred to me that there were still so many unanswered questions surrounding the hidden missiles. Why did so few people know where they were? Why did we even know they were there? Who had told us?

  The OC looked pained. ‘That’s unfortunate. If you don’t know where the missiles are then the chance of finding them in a complex warren such as this one is close to zero.’

  It was so frustrating to think that our ultimate objective might not be achieved. Even with the help of Rusakov and the other Guard defectors, the Militia were likely to capture Hill Kilo as soon as we left it, and the missiles would fall into Helstrom’s hands.

  All we could do now was help B Company find the remainder of our platoon, including Mr Barkley, and hopefully minimise the damage caused by our failed operation. I wondered if he was simply hiding out in the tunnels, or if he was held captive by the Guard. Was Yulia with him too, and if so what did they hope to gain from them? Did it have something to do with the missiles?

  I suddenly remembered the words that Yulia had said just before she was marched away by the Guard: ‘I know what you’re looking for!’

  ‘We can find them!’ I blurted.

  All eyes fell on me, wondering what had suddenly caused me to speak out with such confidence.

  The sergeant major frowned. ‘How can we find them if we don’t know where to look?’

  ‘We don’t,’ I said, ‘but we know someone who does …’

  # # #

  Author’s Notes

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  I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading Recce. I think it’s certainly the most complicated of all my books, especially considering the number of factions involved. The complexity of the political situation on Eden isn’t as alien as you might think, however. Modern conflict is never as simple as “red versus blue”, the conflict in Syria being one example of how more than two factions can compete over the same battlefield. The political argument between NATO members over whether or not to intervene in Syria could be compared to the bickering within EJOC.

  There are clearly quite a few unresolved issues left behind at the end of this book. Ther
e is the obvious question surrounding the missiles, Yulia, and the missing troopers, and then there is the cooling of relations between Andy and the platoon commander, as well as Myers’s depression. The original plan was to resolve all of these issues in a single book, but when Recce grew longer and longer I decided that it would make sense to have a “Part 2”, which would complete Andy’s tour in Eden. I plan to end his tour with a bang, especially when you consider that there is an awful lot of military hardware now waiting in orbit …

  Andy Moralee has turned a corner, and you may notice he has become more focused to the mission, as well as slightly more aware of his men and their feelings. His previous act in Dakar hasn’t brought an end to his inner conflict, but it has given him a renewed sense of self-worth and duty to those around him. I did this, intentionally, because I was worried that Andy was getting a little too dark and I didn’t think it right to have another book with him contemplating suicide all the way through.

  A large part of Recce is loosely based upon an exercise in Wales, in particular the capture and defence of Cellini. I am aware as you are that Cellini Village clearly isn't a village at all - but it's naming as a “village” is no accident. It is a nod to anyone who has climbed the rank ladder. Any infantry soldier with rank serving within the British Army will probably recognise the name, and though my description may not resemble the Brecon village we know and love (?), the capture and defence of Cellini might be familiar. Soldiers who have been to Cellini might also remember the unstoppable horde of enemy that broke through their lines with frightful ease, as well as the “insiders” who were conveniently making sure their defences failed … Other aspects of the book are based upon recent experiences in Eastern Europe and past operations in Iraq.

  It has been far harder to write Recce than previous books. External pressures, coupled with a desire to test myself by creating a slightly more complex storyline, have slowed me significantly. I genuinely hope that you enjoy Recce, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. Either way, please do me the honour of writing a review on Amazon, even if it’s negative. Not only do your honest reviews help other potential readers to make informed choices, but they also provide the feedback I need to develop further as a writer. Alternatively, feel free to drop a message on my Amazon author page, or follow me on twitter: @PhilAuthor

  Thanks for reading!

  Phillip Richards

  Books In The Union Series

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  C.R.O.W. - Book One of The Union Series: Andy Moralee knew that life with his new company of Dropship Infantry would be hard, but nothing could prepare him for life in one of the toughest units in the Union army. New arrivals, nicknamed ‘Crow’ by their platoons, are the lowest form of life in his Company, and he finds himself at the mercy of unforgiving commanders and bullies, all the time knowing that the real enemy are waiting for him at the end of his journey through the void. The enemy know that the Union are coming, they have dug in and fortified, and they are ready.

  C.R.O.W is a Military Science Fiction novel that follows Andy Moralee across the cosmos, and into combat against a well-equipped enemy prepared to fight to the very end.

  Amazon links:

  www.amazon.com (US/Worldwide)

  www.amazon.co.uk (UK)

  LANCEJACK - Book Two of The Union Series: Andy Moralee is no longer the young and terrified recruit who had last set foot upon New Earth two years ago. Decorated for his bravery during the final hours of the invasion and promoted to lance corporal, he is still troubled by his memories and haunted by nightmares. He finds himself unable to cope with life back on Earth, and so he returns to the red planet, the only place where he feels he belongs. But New Earth has changed as well. A growing insurgency threatens to turn the planet into a battleground once again, but this time the enemy has the ability to melt away into the population, and even turn the Union's weapons against them. Nobody can be trusted, even old friends. Quickly swept up in the gathering storm Andy finds himself in the command of a section that resents his early promotion, and during the battle that follows his leadership, his loyalty, and even his faith in his comrades are put to the ultimate test in the face of an enemy that will stop at nothing.

  Amazon links:

  www.amazon.com (US/Worldwide)

  www.amazon.co.uk (UK)

  EDEN - Book Three of The Union Series: Eden's beauty was testament to a centuries-old dream to turn a barren, rocky world into a paradise where mankind could live in peace. But Eden wasn't paradise. Torn apart by decades of colonial rivalry, the provinces were deeply divided, and as two rogue provinces begin yet another bitter fight, the Union is forced to step in before they go too far, causing the entire planet to descend into war.

  Andy Moralee finds himself quickly sucked into the conflict, and nothing could have prepared him for the depths that humanity had sunk to out in the forest - where loyalty was achieved at the end of a gun. Ordered to ally with one side of Eden’s warring factions, he fears he now has two enemies to watch.

  In a desperate moment, Andy must choose between his mission and the only thing that separates him from the evil that lives in the forest … his soul.

  Amazon Links:

  www.amazon.com - US/Worldwide

  www.amazon.co.uk - UK

  http://militarysciencefictionblog.blogspot.co.uk

  www.theelectronicbookcompany.com

  www.facebook.com/quality.ebooks