by Gary Beller
The Phantoms continued forward, leapfrogging from block to block, making their way towards the rally point to meet with the Army teams. During one crossing, a group of Banor soldiers attempted to stop them, filling the air with green energy. John and Dani Burke responded in kind, along with fire from the grenadiers, silencing the opposition and moving onward.
CHAPTER 27
The Phantoms arrived at the rally point and found the Army teams waiting for them. “Any trouble?” The leader of ODA 310 asked.
“Not too much. You guys?” Ben asked.
“Naw. Most of the enemy is engaging I Corps and XVII Corps. Doesn’t leave too many for us to handle.” The Major in command said.
“Alright. Well, let’s do this.” Ben said.
“Got a plan, sir?” The Major asked.
“Kick in the doors and make your way to the Operations Center. Bonus points if you find the Commanding General’s office.”
“Works for me. Let’s make some grass grow, mates.” The Major replied.
The teams moved forward to the command center. Amidst the destruction of the orbital bombardment, the command center had avoided significant damage. Weather that was by design or dumb luck, Ben didn’t know. Ben and his team took the north door, with ODA 310 on the east door, and ODA 314 on the south. “On my mark.” Ben said. “Three, two, one, Go Go Go.”
Rob kicked the door in, while three Marines tossed in Grenades. Waiting until they heard the detonations, the Marines stormed through, clearing the entry way. A small security detachment had been waiting, but the grenades took them out. “Blue to the right, white to the left.” Ben ordered.
“Roger that.” Sid said, taking her team down the left.
“Phantom Six to 310 Actual, we are in.”
“310 is in.”
“314 is in.” Came the reports from the Army units.
Ben led the team down the corridor and up a stairwell. He swept his carbine over the top landing, then motioned the team forward. Another security team ran out, barking at them. Rob barked back, confusing them for a moment. Ben broke up the standoff by shooting their officer in the face. The remaining Banor were cut down by John and Rob. “Sir, gimme two seconds?” John said, kneeling down.
Ben looked and realized John’s weapon was smoking from the barrel. John disconnected the barrel, and locked a replacement barrel in its place, then collapsed the shoulder stock. He shrugged and discarded the damaged component and gave a thumbs up. The damage had been fortunate, giving John an opportunity to swap out the long-range barrel for a close quarters barrel.
“Good to go, kid?” Ben asked.
“Yeah.” John said.
“Go.” Ben led them around the corner.
Three Banor soldiers were waiting. John fired a quick burst, dropping one with a half-dozen smoking holes in his chest. Ben put two in the chest of another and Ashlie spun one around with a hit to the shoulder, finishing the alien off with a shot to the back. The team moved forward again, finding a large set of doors. “Rob?”
“Yeah, this is the place.” Rob said.
“Alright.” Ben said. “310, 314, we found the Operations Center.”
“Roger that, we are working our way up.” The Major said.
“Phantom Six to 601.”
“601 reads.”
“Check the west side; see if you can find the General’s office.” Ben ordered.
“Aye sir. Army’s coming, we just passed ODA 314”
“Roger that.” Ben turned to John. “Set charges.”
John set the charges and stepped back. The Marines stacked up on the door as the Major radioed. “310 is ready.”
“Blow the door.” Ben ordered.
Explosions rang through the corridors as the doors blew open. Going through the door, the Marines and soldiers found the headquarters burned out. A trio of large holes in the ceiling threw sunlight on the room. “Aww shit. Phantom Six to Lima Six.”
“Go ahead, Phantom Six.” Praxis said.
“Command Center took three direct hits, there’s nothing salvageable in here.”
“Well shit. Any casualties?”
The major leading the two Army teams shook his head no. “Negative.”
“Alright. Find some enemies, take out your frustration on them.”
“Roger that.” Ben said. Through the hole in the roof, Ben saw a large antenna. “Sid, take charge. I have something to do.”
“Aye, Sir…” She said, confused.
Ben found the roof access, then made his way to the antenna and began climbing. When he got to the top, he used a D-Ring to secure himself, then pulled a Coalition flag from his thigh pocket. The flag normally flew from the flag pole in front of his quarters, but he took it with him on deployments. Working quickly, he tied the flag off to the top and let it unfurl into the breeze.
Ben made his way down and found his team. “Nice touch,” The Major said.
“Thanks. Let’s get out of here.”
Ben led everyone out of the building. “So, Major, will you guys be joining us, or making hell all on your own?”
“Love to stick around and raise hell with you lot, but the Senior Leadership wishes us to return. Till the next one, Colonel Pierce.”
“Likewise, Major…?” Ben asked.
“Patrick James, Sir.” He said, his accent strongly suggesting Australia.
The Marine and Army teams went their separate ways, but both were moving towards the enemy. “Hey…Sir?” Kate said.
“Yeah First Sergeant?”
“It occurs to me that we are inside the enemy’s defensive lines….Time for some extra credit?”
“Yeah. Okay.” Ben said. “Let’s go break shit.”
Ben led the team back towards Expeditionary Corps Lima’s sector of the battle. On their way, they came across a company of Elites, preparing to join the fight. They appeared to be gearing up and not ready for a fight. Ben deployed the Marines and attacked.
In the initial assault, John and Danni took down a dozen or more, while the rest of the team fired as fast as they could. The enemy company scrambled for weapons and cover, and in the mayhem the Banor suffered heavy casualties. By the time the Banor got themselves together, it was too late. The Marines pressed home their attack, driving the elites back away from the Banor lines.
The enemy company continued to retreat down a main road, pursued by the Marines. They stopped abruptly as a pair of rockets slammed into their unit. Once again, Coalition air power was paying off. A Goshawk swept in and dropped two anti-personnel bombs, which detonated two meters above the ground.
“Phantoms, Fall back.” Ben said, removing the team from the impact zone of the airstrikes, but keeping the enemy under fire as they backed off. Ben’s squad laid down heavy cover fire while Sid’s pulled back. Finding cover, Sid’s team laid down fire allowing Ben’s half to disengage. Taking cover again, Ben’s team laid covering fire for the final pull back of Sid’s squad. Enemy fire was slacking off, but still coming in. John was firing into the few remaining enemies when he saw Forshaw go down. John jumped up and ran forward, firing as he went. “Marine Down!” He yelled, arriving to where Forshaw was laying, and grabbed him by the handle on his body armor.
“Suppressing fire!” Ben ordered, running forward, screening Ashlie as she ran to help John with the wounded Marine. Danni, likewise, provided cover for Geoff as he ran out. Together, the Marines and Corpsmen withdrew Forshaw to cover.
“Jake, talk to me.” Ashlie said.
“I’m okay, Doc…tis but a flesh wound!” He said, quoting the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
“We’ll take care of you, Jake.” Ashlie said.
“Let me know when it’s okay to move.” Ben said.
Geoff pulled Forshaw’s body armor open and examined the wound. He had two particle beam wounds in his upper abdomen. “Boss, I need to evac him.” Mason said.
“I’m on it.” Ben said. “Phantom Six to Control. I need a casualty evacuation, my posit
ion.”
“Phantom Six, Control, your location is still too hot for jumpers. You’ll have to wait for ground convoy.” Ben looked to Mason, who was shaking his head. “Control, need that evac expedited now.”
“We are sending it, a lot of traffic though.”
“Dammit.” Ben said, looking back to the Corpsmen. They had done what they could for Forshaw, who was sitting up. “Forshaw, Status?”
“Good to go, Sir.” Forshaw said.
“That’s bullshit, but good enough for now.” Ben said, handing him his rifle. “Can you move?”
“I say yes…Doc says no.” Forshaw said.
“Alright. We’ll make the convoy’s job easier. Geoff, Ashlie, stay with your patient. We’re going to move towards the convoy’s route. They fight to us, we fight to them.”
“Plan sir?” Rob asked.
“No fancy stuff this time, just basics.” Ben said. “Let’s move out.”
Sid’s half of the team moved first, with Ben’s providing cover, moving across a street, then covering while Ben’s half moved. They continued like that for more than a mile, moving slowly to allow Sergeant Forshaw to keep up.
Ben held the team as he heard weapons’ fire. He climbed a debris pile to get a look, and saw a pair of tanks leading a column of armored assault vehicles. The armored column was engaging Banor infantry, pushing them back. He came back down the hill and grabbed John, Dani, Jenny, Jackson and Rob. “Kate, Gene, find a spot and lay down some fire.” He ordered, and took his squad down the street.
As he turned the corner, he saw the enemy infantry setting up a heavy weapon to target the tanks. “Anti-Tank crew served, Eleven o’clock.” Ben called as he fired his carbine. John and Dani added the weight of their weapons to it, quickly putting the enemy crew permanently out of action. The Banor infantry held their ground, but seemed momentarily confused by the sudden flank attack.
As the enemy turned to confront the attack on their flank, the Armored Assault Vehicles laid into them with their automatic grenade launchers and autocannons. A pair of Bearcat fighters rolled in and began launching rockets and firing. Ben first assumed they were missing, but realized they were interdicting reinforcements coming up. As the Bearcats pulled off, two Goshawks streaked in and dropped heavy anti-personnel bombs.
Ben waved the lead vehicle over. The Tanks pulled aside and allowed the armored assault vehicles to roll up. The ramps dropped and 2SMU dismounted and established a perimeter while Navy medical personnel stepped off to tend to Forshaw.
As they loaded him up, Ben walked forward to where Kay Jay was directing her Marines. “About time, Kay Jay!”
“Sorry, we were otherwise engaged.”
“Business has been good?” Ben asked.
“We’re making a killing.” Kay Jay replied, firing her pistol at a Banor soldier.
Ben waved 1SMU forward, and put them on a line alongside 2SMU and the tanks. More Banor soldiers rushed in, and fell into line. “We’re gonna have a long day.” Rob said.
“Yeah…Probably.” Ben said.
“Orders, sir?” Kate asked.
“Kill them. Kill every one of them.” Ben said
CHAPTER 28
The fight lasted into the early evening, when the overwhelming weight of allied firepower finally overwhelmed the Banor lines. The Banor fell back to the river, and established a perimeter. Unfortunately, the Banor forgot to account for the forces across the river and found themselves completely encircled. Praxis and his fellow Generals called off direct assaults, instead letting artillery and airpower degrade the enemy’s will.
The tanks came up and added their firepower into it, but the Infantry settled in and waited. Eventually, every Marine and Soldier knew the battle would have to be decided by them, but after a long and bloody day, they were content to let the big guns conduct the action while they ate.
Ben’s entire task force was behind the main line, a mile from the front. Danny popped in and told Ben not to expect any action until morning at the least. “Barring some surprise, Task Force 136 can hang out back here; we have enough troops that you won’t be missed even if there is an attack.”
“You sure, Sir?” Ben asked.
“Yeah. Rest your Marines, Colonel.” Danny said, and began to walk away.
“Sir.” Ben said.
“Yeah?”
“What’s General Westover’s status?” He asked.
Danny turned back and sat down. Danny and Praxis had grown up with Tom Westover, and Danny took his wounding pretty hard. “He’s in pretty bad shape. Took two to the chest, one of which hit his lung, the other clipped his spine.”
“Well shit.” Ben said.
“How’s Forshaw?” Danny asked.
“He’s not as bad. Took one solid hit but it missed everything important, took a glancing shot that tore up his pectoral pretty bad, but he was able to walk and get himself to the ambulance.” Ben reported.
“I understand John Roberts ran out and pulled him back under fire?” Danny asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Follow me for a moment.” Danny said.
He led Ben past the assembly areas for the various special missions units and into the Delta Squadron area to where his truck was parked. Opening one of the storage compartments, Danny removed a small box, then they walked back to 1SMU.
“Roberts,” Danny said, “We need to talk, Son.”
John stood up and jogged over. “Yes, Sir!” He said, but didn’t salute. Even with the enemy bottled up, Snipers could still be an issue, and snipers liked shooting officers. Salutes were an easy way to identify officers, so they were skipped in combat.
“Phantoms, eyes on me.” Danny said, his voice booming. “The Colonel tells me this young Marine here saved the life of a fellow marine by running into incoming fire to pull back a wounded comrade. I don’t know where Sergeant Roberts learned to do such things, but I can assure you, those sorts of actions do not go unnoticed under my command. Mister Roberts, I am sorry to do this here, rather unceremoniously, but…” He pulled the rank tab off Roberts’ vest. “In honor of your excellent service and conspicuous acts of bravery, you are hereby promoted to Staff Sergeant.”
Danny placed the new rank tab on him: Three chevrons pointing up over one chevron pointing down, with crossed muskets in the center gap. “Congratulations, Staff Sergeant.” Danny said, shaking his hand.
“Thank you, Sir.” John said.
“Keep up the good work, Roberts.”
“Just make sure the rest of you don’t do something crazy or stupid trying to get an extra stripe.” Ben said.
***
Kristen McQueen rolled into her attack run, her third of the evening. Fighters were stacked up at 300 meter intervals, between 300 meters above ground level up to 2,700 meters in their holding pattern.
“Kittens One Flight, lock on.” She commanded, then gave a five count. “Five...Four…Three…Two…One… Weapons free.”
The four fighters released their bombs and pulled off. The bombs’ casings opened, releasing dozens of baseball-sized bomblets. Kristen tapped a control on her throttle activating the rear-facing camera. “Ooh, Pretty,” She said as the bomblets exploded, raining shrapnel on the Banor soldiers.
The three squadrons under her command made their runs and returned to their temporary base to rearm. “Colonel McQueen!” An officer waved, running up to her ship.
“Yes, Major?” She asked.
“Ma’am, General McGuire says to hold on the field.”
“Why?” Kristen asked. She was answered by a rumble from the direction of the enemy base. “Orbital bombardment….Got it.”
The orbital bombardment was short but intense, forcing the Banor to pull back their lines. Praxis Hardfighter sat atop his command truck mulling over his options. “How long is the enemy’s front, Sergeant Major?”
“2 Kilometers end to end and we guess about 33,000 enemy soldiers are holding it down.” The Corps Sergeant Major, Kiefe Meijer said as he puffed a cigar.
“Do you think they will make a breakout attempt?” Hardfighter asked.
“I can’t imagine they wouldn’t. We have the river crossings tied down, artillery sighted in, so they can’t retreat. All they can do is advance.”
“Major Riems!” Praxis called.
“Yes, Sir?” The Major asked.
“Take a message, Major. To all commands: make preparations to receive infantry assaults in their front. I want interlocking fields of fire for rifles and support weapons. Mortar and Artillery pre-sighted. I want everyone on the line up to Regimental level; Brigades can assign reserves as needed.”
“Aye, Sir.” The Major said, scribbling frantically on his note pad, then turning to pass the word.
As Riems left, a Captain approached. “Sir, updated casualty reports.” He said, as he handed a tablet to the General.
Praxis looked over the report. Of the nearly half-million allied troops who began the assault earlier in the day, 53,890 had been killed or wounded. He handed the tablet to Meijer. “Turning into one costly little camping trip, sir.” Meijer said.
“And there will be more before it’s all said and done. We knew this world would not fall easily.” Praxis pulled a cigar from one of the pouches on his vest, and lit it. “Only thing we can really do, Sergeant Major. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. Sergeant Armitage, Take me to the front.”
“Yes, Sir.” Praxis’ driver said.
***
Ben saw Praxis’ truck speed past, cigar smoke trailing behind it, and the General waving from the gun turret. Sid looked at him and shrugged. “Fuck it. Gear up.” Ben said.
Sid stood and pulled on her helmet. “Phantoms, on your feet!”
“I thought the boss said chill out?” John said.
“His boss is heading to the front. Can’t let the Commanding General get more kills than us, its bad form.” Ben said.
The Phantoms were up and moving quickly, and fell in on the front line. “Chaos Six, Phantom Six.”
“Chaos Six reads, Phantom Six.” Danny said.