The Phantom's Valor (Special Missions Unit Book 2)

by Gary Beller

  With that settled, Ben got to business. “I know we just returned, but don’t get too comfortable. We are moving out in two days, for Chiodrick III.” Ben pulled up the planet on the display behind him. “We will be spearheading the assault to kick the Banor off the planet. Higher headquarters wants to drop the heavy end of the hammer on these guys, but to do that we are going in to gather intelligence and make life difficult for the Banor.” Ben zoomed in on the northern continent. “Our mission is a reconnaissance in force. We will report to higher headquarters locations of enemy troop concentrations and composition. If at all possible, we are also to cause as much discontent within the enemy ranks as possible, striking high value targets of opportunity, such as command posts, artillery batteries, stuff like that.”

  Sid looked over the mission plan. “Heinous fuckery most foul.” She said with a chuckle.

  “Indeed, Major.” Ben said, smiling. “We won’t be going in alone, either. We will be one of eight special missions units involved in this operation, along with two Raider Battalions. We will be spread out along and behind the enemy’s lines, though, and every unit is moving on foot unless we can secure transportation on-site.”

  “How long after we land will the main landings take place?” John asked.

  “One week.” Ben said. “This isn’t a normal mission for us, we will be behind enemy lines for an extended period of time, so we will have to bring everything we need with us. We won’t be resupplied until the main body of troops land, and we can link up with them. If we run out of anything, we will have to improvise, adapt, and overcome.”

  “And if anyone is wounded?” Geoff asked.

  “Treat them as best as you two can,” Ben said to Geoff and Ashlie, “Aside from that, if you are wounded, my advice is drink water and stay motivated.”

  “How many enemies do we expect?” Rob asked.

  “The enemy force is a field army, eight total divisions, likely a complete combined arms package with armor, artillery, and air assets. Which would mean somewhere better than 100,000 ground troops. The number and location of armor and artillery units is unknown.”

  “Do we know what kind of armor, sir?” Kate asked.

  “Probably a mix of heavy armor and personnel carriers. Since they have dug in and are intending to defend, their artillery units are probably heavy emplacement pieces, set up to have interlocking fire zones. If we can knock out a battery or two, the regular Grunts would be greatly appreciative.”

  Ben dismissed the Marines, and made the rounds of each of the 8 Special Missions Units. His order of battle was 1st, 2nd, 9th, 13th, 14th, 22nd, 33rd and 67th Special Missions Units, plus 1st Raider Battalion from Danny’s Brigade and 4th Raiders Battalion from Expeditionary Corps Mike’s Special Operations Brigade. When he returned to his quarters that night, Ashlie was on the porch waiting for him. “So, tell me about this third diamond, Colonel.” She said.

  “Someone has to be in command on the ground.” Ben shrugged. “And someone needed enough rank to push around the Lieutenant Colonels running the SMUs and Battalions. Shouldn’t you be home?”

  “I’m being nosey in an official capacity. So, basically, you’ve been made a regimental commander?”

  “In all but title. My official title is Commander, Task Force 136.” Ben said, sitting next to her.

  “A numbered Task Force…that’s original. I was thinking something like Task Force Badass.”

  “Well,” Ben smiled, “We couldn’t give away the nature of the unit if the enemy intercepts the unit ID in message traffic.”

  “Okay. Makes sense.” She said.

  “I got my ass chewed by the President, making this promotion one I couldn’t turn down.” Ben said.

  “Ah, a Big League Ass chewing. Why?” Ashlie asked, concern showing on her face.

  “Refusing promotions.”

  “You do that a lot, don’t you?” Ashlie asked, standing to lean against the rail.

  “Yeah.” Ben admitted.

  “How many?”

  “Five. Maybe six. Last one was for an independent large-scale command on the far edge.”

  “Well shit.” Ashlie said.

  ***

  That evening, the Phantoms gathered at Ben’s place, sitting around his back yard with a small bonfire going. Kristen McQueen and Lizzy Hansen came over, too.

  “Deploying already?” Kristen asked.

  “Yeah. Off to do some magical ninja shit.” Ben said, handing her a beer.

  “Gonna be weird, you know, you not having to salute me and all.” Kristen said with a giggle. “I really enjoyed that.”

  “I bet.” Ben said with a smirk. “About time I started catching up with my classmates.” He said. Most of his Academy classmates were Colonels or Brigadier Generals, and Ben had felt behind the curve at Lieutenant Colonel.

  “Yeah, slacker.” Kristen said, elbowing him. “Rickles is back?”

  “Yes, she is. Hell of a motivated Marine right there. Your cousin told me there was a fifty-fifty chance she would face a medical board for retirement. And here she is, back with Special Missions.”

  “Hell of a thing.” Kristen said.

  John was sitting, looking into the fire drinking a beer when the new Marine, Danielle Burke, approached him. “Sergeant Roberts, is this seat taken?” She asked.

  “No. Not at all.” He said, welcoming the company. She sat down and leaned back. “So, how long have you been with this unit?” She asked him.

  “About 5 months.” John said, “Your first special missions assignment?” he asked.

  “No. I was with another unit for about a year. General Hardfighter put out a notice saying 1SMU was in need of a new gunner, so I volunteered.” She said.

  “That’s good. Welcome to the Phantoms.” John said with a smile.

  “Thank you.” She said, turning to look at him. “You can call me Dani. We’ll be working together, I figure we ought to be on a first name basis.”

  “John,” he said, extending his hand, “A pleasure, Dani.”

  The two sat and talked for a while, John being a bit awkward at first, but loosening up as the conversation, and the beer, went on. He learned Dani had been married, but had divorced recently, and her teammates at 9SMU had helped get her through it.

  “What about you? Some special girl waiting at home for you?” She asked with a cheesy grin.

  “Nah,” He said, “I was dating a girl for a bit, she works for my grandparents, but we broke up right before we redeployed. Now I’m just trying to focus on the job.” John said.

  “That’s a good place to be focused right now. Think this one’s gonna be rough?” She asked.

  “Yeah, it’s gonna be a long one…How tough it is, that I don’t know.”

  ***

  The next morning, crates of supplies arrived for the Special Missions Units. Several containers held a variety of Field Sustenance Rations, or as the Marines called them, First Strike Rations. Since the Marines would be in the field for an extended period of time, and expected to carry most of their gear with them, most of the rations came in the form of lightweight meal replacement bars: each one contained a small meals’ worth of calories and nutrients in a small, easily stowable package, and each Marine was issued two cartons of twenty-one bars, as well as seven full-sized field rations.

  Additional equipment for the Marines included a compact, one person tent, additional power supplies for their weapons, and demolitions kits. Sid, Jenny, and Wilkie took on the task of demolitions. Ashlie and Geoff both received additional medical supplies, in addition to the normal medical kits they carried, and passed out a special “Blowout kit” to each Marine. The Blowout kit included bandages, tourniquets, and some medicine.

  As Ben supervised, he sat down next to John. John was reassembling his weapon, reconnecting the accelerator barrel into the electron screen, and then screwing it into the energizing chamber. The heavy assault weapon had a rate of fire of fifteen beams per second, as compared to the standard battle rifle an
d compact rifle rate of fire of five beams per second, although each beam produced roughly the same hitting power. Because of the higher rate of fire, the assault weapons used a larger, heavier power pack. Once John was done, he handed it to Ben for inspection.

  John had, obviously, taken liberties with the weapon. A spring-loaded, retractable bayonet was fitted below the muzzle, and he had replaced the standard issue bipod with a forward grippod. The grippod could act as a forward vertical handgrip, a monopod, or a bipod. He had also fitted it with a non-standard, Day/Night Advanced Combat Optic system, capable of up to four power zoom, and fitted a laser rangefinder to it. “Nice work, Sergeant,” Ben said, handing him back the weapon.

  “Thank you, Colonel.” John said. “This is a lot of weight to haul around.”

  “Welcome to the ‘Light Infantry’, Son.” Ben said with a grin, and moved on. Everyone who carried an under-barrel grenade launcher was given a bandoleer of grenades, in various types: four basic fragmentation, two shaped-charge armor penetrating, and four canister rounds. Although fragmentation and shaped charge were long-range shells, the canister rounds were designed for use within 100 meters. On firing, the round discarded its outer casing and released over forty spherical metal balls, each just around seven millimeters around. The effect was that the launcher became a large-bore shotgun. Ashlie had a look of disgust on seeing the shells in her bandoleer, but didn’t try to get rid of them.

  D. J. and Erica, the spotters for the Snipers, swapped out their normal rifles for Designated Marksmen Rifles. These weapons were scoped, and configured for range and accuracy rather than rate of fire. Both also drew lightweight grenade launchers to replace the under barrel units on their previous weapons.

  By the end of the day, the teams were packed up and ready to go.

  CHAPTER 14

  The climate on the northern continent in the western hemisphere of Chiodrick III was warm, but not oppressively so the way it was on Koliath. Quietly, Ben lead the Phantoms through the woods, following a map Intelligence had provided him based on local resistance reports. “What are we looking for, anyway?” Sid asked him from behind.

  “The enemy, Major.” Ben replied. They entered a clearing in the woods, showing a hill recognizable on the map, and Ben called them to a halt right inside the tree line. “Major, you will take Phantom White and follow this creek,” He said, pointing to the meandering creek running across the open ground, “Two miles due west. There is another hill of comparable height there. You will establish your command post atop that hill, with Gene and Erica. Send patrols out to investigate anything that could be the enemy, but do not engage, as you will not have backup. Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir.” She said. She took her half of the team, including John as heavy weapons gunner, and headed out. Ben turned to the remainder of his team. “Okay, let’s get up top and see what we can see.” Ben said. It took them half an hour to reach the peak, but once there Ben realized he had a commanding view.

  “Who’s got the camera?” Ben asked.

  DJ handed him the camera, and Ben hooked it into DJ’s spotting scope. Beyond the low hills, in the flatlands, Ben could see three artillery batteries dug in to cover the surrounding countryside, and, using rangefinder data and geometric measurements, he mapped each battery from his position, their distance from each other, and made notes of what appeared to be armor and infantry concentrations scattered around the area.

  Each artillery battery was set up with its six guns in two parallel lines, each slightly offset so the guns to the rear would not be firing directly over the heads of the guns in front. The arrangement gave the guns a full three hundred sixty degree field of fire. Ben did the math on what he was facing in front of him, and presumed what he was seeing was probably an enemy division.

  “What’s the plan, boss?” Kate asked.

  “Are any of those batteries in range of your weapons from this position?” Ben asked her.

  “Only the one dead ahead of us, sir.” She said. “I can start picking off gunners from here, but I am not sure I’ll be able to disable those guns.”

  As Ben thought over his options, he looked through the scope. He saw gun crews running to man two of the guns. They swung them around to Ben’s left, away from where he had sent Major Dawn, but not coming all the way to face him. A moment later the guns began firing. “What are they shooting at?” Ben wondered aloud, swinging the scope in the direction they were firing.

  In the field below the ridge line, he saw them. They weren’t Marines. Humanoids, with green and blue splotched skin, moving across the field towards an enemy battery. “Narcanians!” Ben yelled. The Narcanians were neutral, but had no particular like for either the Banor or the Humans. “Kate, start picking off those gun crews.” He ordered, as he watched enemy artillery fire fall around the attacking troops. “Phantom White, Phantom Six, pull back to my position, new orders to follow” Ben ordered quickly. The Narcanians received the brunt of several shells before Kate was finally able to get a good shot on the gun crews. In short order, she silenced one of the guns, but the second gun kept firing.

  “Range?” Ben asked.

  “2,120 meters” Kate said.

  “Keep firing on that second gun crew, that’s all we can do from here.” Ben said. Kate lined up a shot and fired again twice, this time Ben saw the gun recoil, its deadly shell already on the way to kill or wound Narcanian troops. But the gun did a funny thing: instead of returning to battery, ready to reload, the gun tube continued to travel rearwards, its recoil unchecked, until it came off its mounting.

  “What the hell?” Ben asked.

  “Not a permanent solution, but it will work.” Kate said, shooting twice at the first gun, whose crew she had killed. “I blew out the hydraulic cylinders on the recoil system. If they have the parts, that gun could be functional in a few hours.

  “Alright, options?” Ben asked.

  “We could make an assault against that battery.” Rob said first.

  “Negative, there are batteries on either flank, if we assault one the other two will start dropping rounds on our heads.” Kate said.

  “Sir, this ridgeline extends several miles in either direction, if we stay below the top of the ridge, the enemy will not see us, and we can link up with the Narcanians.” Rickles said.

  “I like that idea. Any chatter on the comms?” Ben asked her.

  “Nothing right now. Either the Narcanians are on a different set of frequencies that I can’t pick up, or they just aren’t talking.”

  “Standby.” Ben said. He switched to his command net on his own radio and extended the antenna. “136 Actual to all call signs this net. Midnight.” The single command informed any friendly troops that he was temporarily unavailable, then collapsed the antenna and stowed it. “Any other ideas?” Ben asked. Kate and Gene both began firing rapidly, then DJ yelled, “Incoming!” and the sniper teams rolled backwards down the hill towards the rest of the team.

  The hillside right in front of where they had just been exploded. The Artillery round fell just short, but close enough to send dirt and rocks flying over them. The shrapnel flew over everyone’s heads, but it was close enough. A moment later a second round hit in nearly the same place. “Alright, follow me.” Ben said, sliding down the hill and moving along the hillside below the height of the ridge, towards the Narcanians. Behind them, artillery rounds impacted the peak of the hill, obliterating the spot where Kate and DJ had been shooting from. Several more rounds fell over the top as well.

  The Marines were slowed down on their run both by the slopping, uneven terrain and the weight of the field gear they carried. After ten minutes, Ben halted them on another larger hill, then climbed to the top himself to see what the situation was. The Narcanians were dug in, fighting at range against Banor infantry.

  As Ben turned to head back down, he saw movement: More Narcanian troops, coming forward to reinforce the already embattled company. Sliding down to where the team was set up, he urged them forward. “Nar
canians have reinforcements on the way, looks like that unit was an advance party. We go forward a half a klick and get on the ridge, we’ll be within small arms range to provide cross fire against the Banor troops.”

  Ben led his team forward, and found a suitable spot from which they could fan out. Ben ran along the line of troops, giving directions for firing. He ordered Geoff and Ashlie to sit back about ten meters, and stay out of sight: If the Banor responded again with accurate artillery fire, he didn’t want his two Corpsmen becoming casualties.

  Ben lined up his scope on an officer directing what appeared to be a heavy weapons team, and fired. The particle beam caught the alien high on his torso and dropped him. Kate and Gene likewise targeted officers, while the rest of the team fired into the line of Banor soldiers. John and Dani worked their rapid-firing weapons up and down the line, their fire crossing at times. “Enemy armor on the right!” Kate called.

  “Hope they have heavy weapons!” Ben yelled back. The Narcanian reinforcements had finally joined the battle now, pouring onto the enemy. Although Ben had suspected these Narcanian troops to be partisan resistance fighters, their commander displayed an excellent tactical sense. They had deployed heavy, rapid-firing weapons into critical points along the lines, with interlocking fields of fire, and angled their left flank away from the enemy, anticipating a flanking move. “Kate, range on that armor?”

  “1000 meters, sir.” She said,

  “DJ, Can you put an AP round on the lead vehicle?” He asked.

  “Yes Sir.” He said with a grin. DJ took careful aim, then fired and quickly reloaded. The round landed on the top of the turret and exploded. Inside the tank, the explosively formed penetrator ripped through the vulnerable top armor, cut through the commander, sitting on the left side of the turret, and exited the crew compartment through the floor, striking the heavy particle cannon’s capacitors. The resulting secondary explosion blew the turret off the tank and damaged the anti-gravity drive system, causing it to crash into the ground.