Crimson Worlds Collection I

by Jay Allan

  "This gets stranger and stranger, Erik." Jax sometimes called Cain colonel and others Erik. It was moderately insubordinate, but they were like brothers, and neither one gave a shit for military formality. At least not when it was just the two of them talking. "We need to report this to the general."

  Cain sighed. "He's probably on the way down now. I might not be able to reach him until he lands." His tone changed slightly. "Hector, see if you can reach General Holm."

  "General Holm is in the launch bay of the Tinian. He is scheduled to depart in seven minutes."

  "How about General Gilson?" Erik was looking out over the battlefield as he waited for Hector's response.

  "Negative, Colonel Cain. Major General Gilson is currently en route to the surface. Estimated time to landing, eleven minutes."

  "Ok, Hector, let me know when General Holm lands."

  "Of course, Colonel Cain."

  Cain took a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds before exhaling. "Alright, Jax. Let's worry about our day job. We need to keep these LZs secure, so focus on that for now." He looked out over the plain, watching the scouts prowling around, shooting video and collecting debris samples. "Send another search team over here to scour all of this, and dispatch some scouts to look around to see if there was fighting anywhere else." He turned to look back at Jax. "Then I want you to set up some defensive positions covering any approaches to the LZs from the north. If the enemy is planning anything I want us to be ready for it."

  "Yes, sir." He pointed north and east. "I already sent three heavy weapons teams to stake out strong positions. "I was planning to send one of the battalions to deploy north and set up a defensive line."

  "Perfect." He looked back over the debris-strewn field below them. "And if your people find anything out there - anything at all - report it to me immediately."

  "You got it, Erik." Jax gave a rough armored salute and turned to walk down the hill. He was going to personally see to the setup of that defensive line.

  "And Jax?"

  He looked back at Cain. "Yes, Erik?"

  "Be careful, brother. There's a lot of weird shit going on here."

  Jax pointed at Cain. "You too, Erik." He paused a second, facing Cain along the crest before turning and trotting down the hillside.

  Chapter 15

  1st Brigade HQ

  Base of the Lysandra Plateau

  Epsilon Eridani IV

  "Colonel, 2nd Battalion is running into heavy resistance outside the abandoned mineworks." No one but Cain would have caught the stress in Jax's voice. "They are reporting major enemy troop concentrations to the north and east." After a brief pause: "Damn it, Erik, they must have had reinforcements hidden in those old tunnels."

  "Ok, Jax. I have 4th battalion in reserve. I'm sending up a company and one of the battalion heavy weapons to support the 2nd." Cain appeared totally calm to any outside observer. He knew trouble was coming - he'd been expecting it all along - and he was sure this was just the beginning. "Jax, you run over there and direct the deployment of the reinforcements. Make sure they are used to maximum effect, because it's all they're getting; I've got to keep some reserves uncommitted."

  "Yes, sir." Jax was worried too; Cain could tell. "On my way now."

  "Hector, advise Colonel Kendall that she is to dispatch a company from the brigade reserve along with one of the heavy weapons teams. I want them at 2nd Battalion's position in fifteen minutes. Understood?"

  "Of course, I understand." God, Hector is a pain in the ass, Cain thought. "Relaying your orders now, Colonel."

  Cain comlinked Anne Delacorte. "Captain, I need you to report to me at once."

  "Yes, Colonel Cain." Her reply was immediate and firm. "Be there in two minutes, max."

  "Colonel Kendall confirms receipt of your orders," said Hector. "ETA to arrival at designated coordinates, ten minutes."

  "Thank you, Hector." It really wasn't necessary to thank the AI, but it was easy to forget he (it?) was a machine. Maybe there was something to the annoying personality after all.

  Cain's troops had been on the ground a week, which is a long time to be living in powered armor. He'd ordered each battalion to rotate one company at a time out of the line to get some rest, but it was difficult to sleep in armor, so most of the troops just sat around and tried to relax. Everyone was getting brittle and strung out on stimulants. Normally, on an Earthlike world, the troops could pop their suits and get some real rest, but General Holm wasn't taking any chances after the plague that had wiped out the population. Supposedly, the virus had died out once there were no more humans to host it, but he wasn't in the mood to take chances, and when he'd asked Sarah Linden her opinion, she'd agreed completely. Everyone was to remain suited up whenever possible.

  The whole campaign had so far been a confused affair, with no real front lines or rational axes of advance. There were no population centers remaining or other landmarks of any importance, so the fight was just a confused melee, with each side trying to wipe out the other, wherever they were. The defenders were dispersed all over the place, taking advantage of strong positions and natural cover and daring the attackers to come dig them out.

  There was only one major continent on Carson's World, and the mines and settlements had all been well to the south. In the north, the geology was relatively unstable, with several mountain ranges and considerable volcanic activity. After Cain's brigade had secured the initial landing area, they were sent to cover the northern flank in case any enemy formations had deployed in the rugged terrain.

  They'd met considerable resistance as they headed north, and it soon became clear there were far more enemy troops concealed on Carson's World than had been initially apparent. Cain didn't like it one bit. They're bleeding us, he thought grimly. Just putting out enough force to make us launch costly attacks.

  "Captain Warren?" The political officer was standing a few meters away.

  "Yes, Colonel Cain? How may I help you?"

  Cain flashed a message to Warren's armor over the laser-link. "I want to get this update to General Holm immediately, but I don't want to send it over the comlink. It draws some conclusions of mine about enemy intentions and, if I am right, I don't want to risk the enemy hearing it." When Warren hesitated he added, "With the tactical situation at present, I don't have an officer available to send right now. I called Captain Delacorte, but I was going to dispatch her to the abandoned mine to scout near the enemy positions."

  "I'd be happy to assist, Colonel." Cain would have given two month's pay to see Warren's expression when he thought about Cain asking him to scout up at the front line instead of Delacorte. At least his hinting at the alternative task erased Warren's objections to being a messenger.

  "Thank you, Captain. Please transmit only on line of sight to the general over the laser-link communicator." Good, Cain thought, that gets rid of him for a while.

  "Captain Delacorte, reporting as ordered, sir." Erik had been watching Warren make his way back toward corps HQ when Anne walked up behind him.

  "Prompt as always, Captain." Cain smiled - again, a wasted gesture in armor - as he turned to face her. "I have a mission for you." Cain switched to direct laser communication. He didn't want anyone else hearing this. "Anne, I want you to make contact with Captains Clarke, Teller and Hamilton. They're all out with the teams scouting to the northwest. I need to know if they've found anything yet. They're under orders not to transmit in the open."

  "Yes, sir. I'll find them and bring you a report."

  "Thank you, captain. Remember, line of sight communication only on this." He hesitated slightly. "Anne...be careful. We have no idea what is out there, but I have a bad feeling. Take one of the reserve teams with you."

  "Yes, colonel." She gave the best imitation of a salute she could manage in armor and trotted off.

  He was just about to check in with Jax when his comlink went crazy. Every battalion commander was reporting massive enemy activity. They were being attacked in force.

/>   First Division headquarters was a beehive of activity. Reports had been coming in non-stop for the last hour. Enemy forces were counter-attacking all along the lines, with the heaviest blows coming in the northern sector of the Lysandra Plateau.

  Catherine Gilson stood in the middle of her command post, snapping orders into her comlink. Colonel Cain had reported a massive attack on 1st Brigade's positions on the plateau. His data suggested two enemy division strength formations were assaulting his hastily-formed lines. It seemed impossible that the enemy had that kind of strength here, but Cain was the last person she'd suspect of panicking or exaggerating. She'd been about to send most of the divisional reserve to reinforce 1st Brigade when she started getting reports of 2nd Brigade falling back under sustained attack. She decided to hold the reserve until she had a better idea of the overall situation.

  She reported the incomplete data she had to General Holm, who also took Erik Cain's report very seriously. He released two air assault wings to her, and she sent them on a series of sorties in support of First Brigade. That's when she got the real surprise - the enemy had air assets too, and they'd engaged her own.

  Above the plateau, and over the rocky foothills to the south, a great air battle raged, while on the ground her division was hammered by repeated attacks. "General Holm, Gilson reporting."

  "Yes, General Gilson?" Holm sounded stressed. Clearly she wasn't the only one calling him with problems. "What is your status?"

  "Sir, Colonel Cain's people are under massive attack. The air assets I sent to aid him have been intercepted by enemy fighters. They are heavily engaged and are unable to provide close ground support at this time."

  "Yes, I am getting multiple reports of enemy air wings. Our pilots are facing a considerable battle for air supremacy. What other aid do you have available to dispatch to Colonel Cain's position?"

  "Sir, any meaningful reinforcements sent to Colonel Cain will leave me with almost no divisional reserves." She paused. "And 2nd Brigade is falling back and will likely need support as well."

  Holm grimaced as he thought to himself. Erik Cain is not overreacting, he knew that much, so he figured he really needed the reinforcements. "Dispatch your reserves to reinforce 1st Brigade. I am sending you the Oceanian Regiment to give you a divisional reserve. They are currently unengaged and at full strength."

  "Yes, sir."

  "And Catherine?"

  "Yes, sir?"

  "I'm authorizing your division to deploy specials if you need them. With the size and intensity of this attack, I'm sure the enemy is going to go nuclear anyway. For once, let's escalate first. Pick your moment...when it will have the biggest impact.

  "Yes, General Holm." He could tell she was already thinking of her tactical deployments. "Thank you, sir."

  "Just make it count, Cate. And hold that line. Holm out."

  Cain stood in a hastily-dug trench, peering carefully over the edge, his visor amplification cranked up. The enemy had tried to take the position three times, and the ground in front was littered with the dead and dying. His troops were heavily outnumbered, and it was getting worse. The attackers seemed to have endless reinforcements, while Cain had just deployed the last of his reserves. He'd moved up to the trench himself after the second assault. The general would probably yell at him, but his troopers needed him close right now. When the enemy had come at them the third time, Cain was on the line firing with his troopers.

  It turned out to be a great way to get rid of Captain Warren. The political officer expressed concern about Cain exposing himself up on the front lines, but he declined to come along himself. Yes, that is what soldiers do, Cain had thought. We fight, you useless fucking peacock. He thought it, but he'd managed not to say it. Barely.

  The enemy forces his troops were facing were mostly South American Imperial Guard, front line troops, but not the equal of Cain's veterans. Still, I Corps had been caught flat-footed. Alliance Intelligence had been sure it would be several months before the empire could deploy in force. I've got some news for you guys, Erik thought. They're here in force. Of course, Cain and General Holm - and Admiral Compton as well - had all been worried about this operation from the beginning. But they'd been given no choice. They were ordered here, and they went in.

  Cain had to admit that even he was surprised by the scale of the enemy attack. He'd expected trouble here, but even his worst estimates fell well short of the reality he now faced. There were Imperial troops here with the CAC forces, and some of his units had run into Janissaries as well. Even worse, he was hearing chatter on the comlink about Europan units as well. If true, there were forces here from four of the Superpowers, which meant they almost certainly outnumbered I Corps. By how much he could only guess.

  He'd moved half his troops back to a second line a klick away from the first. It would weaken his forward defense, but he was worried about enemy nukes, and he didn't want his forces concentrated enough to be vulnerable to catastrophic damage from a couple warheads. Left to themselves, troops tended to bunch together, especially in tough fights.

  Now he'd gotten the clearance to use his own nuclear weapons, and he had a surprise planned. For once we get to act rather than react, he thought. Alliance doctrine tended to shy away from taking the initiative in the escalation of battles. "And they know that too," Cain muttered to himself, thinking of the enemy commanders.

  "Jax, three minutes." He'd sent Jax back to command the second line and to supervise the nuclear barrage he was launching in 180 seconds. "Everything ready?"

  "Everything is good, Colonel." Cain couldn't remember anything he'd ever asked Jax to do that the big man didn't get done. "Bombardment impact in one-six-five seconds. Second wave will advance three minutes later."

  "Excellent." Cain was attacking with the first line ninety seconds after his nukes hit, just long enough for the shockwaves to subside. His entire brigade had been pushed back with heavy casualties by clearly superior forces; the last thing the enemy would expect was an attack. Erik didn't exactly have clearance to go on the offensive, but he hadn't been ordered to stand fast either, so he managed to justify his actions. To himself, at least. Whether he'd be able to make that case to others would largely depend on what transpired in the next hour or so.

  "Colonel, nuclear barrage in sixty seconds. I suggest that you move deeper into the trench." Hector's advice was sound. The warheads would be hitting the enemy position close to Cain's own - he needed to keep his head down.

  "Hector, put me on comlink with the regiment."

  "Com active, Colonel."

  "First Regiment, this is Colonel Cain. I want everyone to grab some dirt and stay hidden until the shockwaves have subsided. Anybody pokes his head up and gets it blown off is going to have to deal with me...and trust me, you don't want that." He paused. "When you get the alert we are going up and over immediately and take the enemy position. This is a limited offensive, so don't get carried away. We're going to tear up their lines and disrupt their logistics, and then we are coming back."

  "Fifteen seconds, Colonel."

  "Broadcast countdown to the regiment, Hector."

  "Ten, nine, eight..."

  Jax's mortar crews are firing now, he thought.

  "Five, four..."

  Cain slid down the side of the trench and crouched, lowering his blast shield.

  "Two, one..."

  In his suit with his visor covered, Cain couldn't see the blinding flashes as eight 20kt warheads detonated along the enemy front line, but he heard the explosions and the sounds of dirt and rocks bouncing off his armored back. He counted silently to himself - Hector could have easily kept a countdown, but it gave Erik something to do.

  "Ok, 1st Regiment, let's go." He jumped out of the trench and moved quickly toward the enemy position, waddling side to side in the motion that allowed an armored soldier to run without bounding into the air. All along the trench lines, at 20 meter intervals, the men and women of the 1st Regiment followed their brigade commander into the re
sidual atomic maelstrom.

  The scene was surreal. Silhouetted against the patchy dawn light were eight mushroom clouds in a nearly perfect line. Cain knew better than most what was happening along that enemy position. A nuclear explosion had come close to killing him, and it took a year in the hospital before he could return to duty. The death and misery he had just inflicted on the Imperial troops was almost unimaginable. Welcome to the war, he thought grimly.

  He knew the enemy would retaliate with their own atomic weapons, so he was determined to do the maximum amount of damage and get his troops back to cover before they were targeted. It only took a few minutes to get to the enemy lines. He was near a hotspot, and his radiation monitor was reading in the lethal range. He'd be fine in his armor, but even a minor wound would breach his suit and expose him.

  The enemy trench had been obliterated, and there was a large crater just off to his right. All around there were bodies, armor black from the heat and twisted and torn apart. There were no live enemies he could detect and no nearby fire.

  His scanners showed firefights to the east and west, in between warhead impact points, where some enemy troops had survived. The defenders were dazed and disoriented, though, and Cain's troops quickly wiped out most of them, sending the rest fleeing to the rear.

  "Colonel, we are receiving multiple reports of enemy supply convoys." One of Hector's jobs was to monitor all the incoming messages - there was no way a human could listen to them all - and alert Cain to the ones requiring his attention.

  "Show me."

  Hector put up a schematic on Erik's visor. "It appears that there are two primary locations. Reports are similar. Enemy anti-gravs carrying palettes of weaponry and supplies. Types and quantities not yet available."

  "We caught them resupplying." Cain's voice was dark, almost sinister.

  "It appears so, Colonel." Cain hadn't really been speaking to Hector; he'd just been talking out loud. This is an opportunity, he thought. Let's not waste it. "Hector, get me Colonel Jax."