by Mark Rounds
The echo of the blast had not died out before she raised her head and weapon above the edge of her foxhole and emptied the entire clip of her submachine gun into the general direction of the enemy vehicle.
As she had hoped, the rest of the light infantry heard her fire and popped up to support her. Before she had finished with her clip, all three panzer fausts teams had fired. The range was less than fifty meters. The effect was devastating.
#
Luckily, Igor had his head below the lip of the turret when the daisy chains went off. The first thing he heard was a loud series of variously sized explosions. An instant later, the vehicle was peppered with thousands of small fragments.
"Nikolai, back up. FAST!" shouted Igor.
But it was too late. A forty meter tall yellow pine crashed down across the front of the tank destroyer, crushing Nikolai in his seat. A second tree fell in front of the tank, and a third crashed down on the engine compartment.
Igor. Jumped. Straight. Up. The combination of adrenalin and a gravity field less than half of what he was accustomed to allowed him to clear the top of the turret by more than a meter. He tumbled backwards over the turret and the fallen tree where the engine compartment had been.
Igor was dazed by the impact of his head against the railing at the back of the turret, but he had sense enough to keep rolling when he found the ground. He just cleared the lip of the hill when he heard small arms fire begin to rattle off the armored hide of the Hellcat.
A moment later, he heard the sound that all tankers dread, the whoosh of anti-tank rockets. There were multiple impacts as several rockets hit the Hellcat almost simultaneously. This was followed by a massive secondary explosion as the internal store of ammunition went up.
Igor scrambled to the nearest cover he could find and took stock. He was bruised over what felt like the entire surface of his body, but no bones seemed to be broken. He silently thanked his ancestors for his robust constitution.
He had an American forty-five caliber semi-automatic pistol with a couple extra clips on his web belt. He also had two grenades and a canteen filled with water and a knife in his boot. He was going to have to make a notable contribution with just these resources, to get the position he coveted.
"Oh well," he mused silently. "Nobody said it would be easy."
#
Monty's command vehicle had just crossed the top of a low hill when Igor's Hellcat was disabled, and thus he had a clear view of the incident.
The first thing he saw were the explosions in the trees around the Hellcat. The infantry riding on the outside seemed to be hit with a solid wall of fragments a split second later. The result sickened even his combat hardened stomach and he had to look away.
The crash of falling trees and the staccato rattle of small arms fire drew his attention back to the scene. He witnessed several small explosions followed by one massive explosion which totally obliterated the wreckage.
"Halt the column," said a subdued Monty into the radio. He switched his set to the command frequency and continued, "Colonel Sokolov, come back to my halftrack at once. We need to talk."
Within seconds, the colonel's jeep roared up. From the look in his eyes, it was obvious that he had seen the action on the hill as well.
"Well Warlord," said Sokolov sarcastically, "It looks as though your plan didn't work after all. Not only do they have the hill, but the defense seems to be dug in and organized. Igor didn't stand a chance."
"Colonel," said Monty in a clipped tone that brooked no argument. "I am sorry about Sergeant Donyev, but if he hadn't halted because of those two cycles and the smoke, he would be alive, and we would be fighting for the hill top against disorganized infantry."
Sokolov was angry but he wasn't stupid. He knew that now was not the time to argue. He would bide his time and settle the score after the battle.
"Very well," the Colonel continued icily. "We have an enemy team among our vehicles and dug in infantry on the hill. What would you suggest?"
"They can't have their whole force up there yet," said an obviously relieved Monty. "What we are seeing must be the motorcycle infantry our agent told us about. We can either assault now, or send pincers around the flanks of the hills to ambush the relieving forces."
"A frontal assault is out of the question," the Colonel stated flatly. "After that last firepower demonstration those cadets just pulled, none of my troopers will be motivated enough to rush the hill. The attack would stall out before they got half way up. Then all our assets would be committed and visible when the rest of their forces joined up. We might win but the casualties would be high."
"You're right, of course," said Monty dejectedly. "We will send out pincers to the left and right in hopes of catching the enemy reinforcements. Send one Hellcat and an infantry squad to each flank. That will leave us five squads for a frontal assault plus special weapons if we need them. That should be plenty.
“Use the rest of our force to pin down the infantry on the hill. This plan will only work if we can get something around the hill unnoticed."
"A good plan," said Sokolov. "I will give the orders."
Even Sokolov had to admit it was better than any plan he could have come up with. He still needed that old relic but, one day, his luck would run out.
"Move quickly," said Monty. "Every second lost means the enemy forces are closer to the hill. If their whole force unites, we are truly in a world of hurt."
"Yes Warlord," said Sokolov as he turned to leave.
"One more thing, Colonel," said Monty. "Have the heavy tank stay back here. We can use it to support your attack with long range fire."
"Warlord," said Sokolov in a concerned voice. "Coriolis forces will drive long range fire off target."
"Don't worry Colonel," reassured Monty. "If we don't move it and use a few rounds to sight in, we'll get the offset right. Its firepower isn't part of the plan until and unless we have to assault with infantry. Now hurry! We are burning precious time."
"Yes Warlord," said Sokolov as he hurried off to get things going.
Monty turned to his 'advisor' and said, "I thought you said they would not have a sizeable speed advantage on our equipment?"
The "technical advisor" said, "Warlord, the timing was within seconds."
"Seconds are critical you boob!" shouted an angry Montgomery. "Get out of my sight, before I make you walk point."
“It might be time to find another unit," mused Monty silently as his 'advisor' left the half-track. "This gang of Krasni rejects might be just starting to learn."
Chapter X
Jarl and his troops used the smoke to reach the brush at the bottom of the hill. There, they ditched their cycles and proceeded on foot. The noise of their cycles engine would give away any chance they might have at surprise and that edge would be critical to the success of their mission.
They set up ambush positions near the road. They also set up grenade booby traps around their location, leaving a path for retreat. Then, all there was left to do was wait. So they waited.
#
As soon the smoke cleared, Haloran got her troops out of their holes. She knew that she had just a few moments before the Krasni attack began, and she wanted to make the hill top as secure as possible. All the troopers had fighting positions dug, but they needed to drop some trees to cover the front and dig some hull down positions for the armored cars and anti-tank units.
She tried hard not to look at the wreck of the tank destroyer, but the carnage drew her gaze back again and again. She had done it, she was responsible. And the worst of it was, those troopers riding in and on the vehicle died the kind of death contestants in the games, even with the best of medical attention, didn't come back from.
She hardly had time to get maudlin. Her troopers began to call for the all clear. As soon as they were down, charges started going off. After about thirty seconds, the last boom and rattle ceased. Haloran quickly toured the hill. She liked what she saw. Not only were there fighting positions
for each trooper, there were several vehicle positions dug and there were even a few secondary positions completed in case the forward positions were overrun.
She had not quite finished when they started to receive machine gun fire. It was high and wildly off to the right at first. This told the defending troops that they were being fired on from considerable range. That was the Coriolis effect messing with the enemy’s aiming again. Even so, the Krasni had taken their time getting in position.
Haloran had not set lookouts because she needed everyone to dig in. The advantage was the good defenses they were now hiding in. The disadvantage was that they did not see the Krasni ambush unit that went around to the north. The one on the south was visible, but well out of range. All that was left was the waiting, so they watched the Krasni, and waited.
#
Finally, the hill came into view and it was bigger than Taol had imagined with heavy forest covering all but the south quarter. The road wound around the bare south side of the hill. One of the anti-tank halftracks was in the lead, followed by one carrying infantry. The vehicle had just crested the hill when they began receiving some large caliber fire. It was high and well to the right, due to the Coriolis Effect. The first round cleared the top of the hill by twenty meters and impacted high up on the side of the habitat.
"WHANG!!!!!"
The whole habitat rang like an old tin pot. The Refs loudspeakers came on with deafening volume.
"PLEASE DO NOT HIT THE WALLS WITH ARMOR PIERCING ROUNDS. EXPLOSIVE DEPRESSURIZATION COULD RESULT."
They didn't mention this on any of the holocasts Taol ever remembered seeing. Apparently that one hit near the upper edge of the armor belt. Taol soberly remembered that explosive decompression was another of the "deaths" contestants in the games didn't come back from.
"What's going on up there?" said Taol into the microphone in an attempt to get his mind back on the game.
"Colonel," said Mason, who was in command of the anti-tank section, "we're getting some fire from an American tank destroyer. They don't seem to be able to hit the broad side of a barn. With your permission, I'm going to press on and reinforce the troopers on top of the hill."
That tone of voice meant that he was going to do it anyway, unless Taol physically restrained him. If he said no, the good sergeant's radio would suddenly malfunction. Oh well, Taol’s father had always told him never give an order that would not be obeyed so....
"Go ahead, sergeant," replied Taol.
Taol wondered why the Krasni had sent forces out in the open. Even at long range the Legion gunners would eventually pick them off. But what if they were a diversion to draw their attention while other forces worked around the more heavily wooded side of the hill? Taol realized that they had to cover their rear.
"Stoltz, switch to command net," said Taol. Without waiting for a reply, he switched frequencies and waited.
"Stoltz here Colonel," she replied.
"Set up an ambush back behind the hill in the woods, a little north of here,” said Taol. “I've got a feeling that the Krasni may be trying to work the back side of the hill."
"Roger, wilco, and out," she replied.
“Apparently someone other than myself watched too much holo growing up,” thought Taol wryly to himself.
Taol’s reverie was cut short as soon as he switched back to the common frequency by Sergeant Mason.
"Colonel," said Sergeant Mason, "we are in position on the hill top."
"How do the positions look," asked Taol.
"Real fine, sir. The infantry with me didn't have to dig in at all. We are improving things up here as enemy action allows."
"Is the route up the hill clear?" asked Taol.
"Well, if we keep using that road up the hill,” said Sergeant Mason after a moment’s thought, “that TD will get the range sooner or later."
"Right, I'll get back to you," said Taol who switched the frequency knob back to the command net.
"Jeffy, you up?" he asked.
"Affirmative sir."
"Good, did you catch Sergeant Mason on common?"
"Sure did. Do you have something in mind on that subject?"
"What do you think about cutting cross country and skipping the upper part of the road all together? It won't mean thirty seconds’ time wise and I'd rather not give the Krasni some more targets to zero in on."
"My thoughts exactly, I'll get started." Jeffy answered.
Taol switched back over to common and halted the troops. He sent the rest of the unit up the back side of the hill. It was a little slower going, but the Legions’ troops avoided enemy fire from the Krasni TD. It was only as his vehicle rolled over the top that Taol realized that Jeffy was testing him again.
#
Jarl watched the Krasni column roll by. He steadied Dietz on the panzer faust. Jarl did not want to fire at or near an infantry carrier. If they missed, the reaction would be immediate and they had no illusions about tangling with the Krasni infantry at close range.
Then he saw a very different sort of halftrack go by. It carried four heavy machine guns in an anti-aircraft mount. While there was no air threat to worry about, this weapon would be devastating at close range against infantry. It was probably the lynch pin any Krasni infantry attack. Jarl tapped Dietz on the helmet. The reply was the whoosh of an anti-tank rocket.
The rocket struck just below the cargo bay. The thin skin of the halftrack was no match for a weapon designed to punch through the frontal armor of a Sherman tank. Within seconds the AAA mount was burning, and the driver had bailed out of the ruined vehicle. It was still rolling down the road, a portable inferno. The heavy machine gun ammo in the back was beginning to cook off in the flames, causing more confusion.
Jarl tore his eyes away and got his troops moving. The Krasni had not returned fire so far and he did not want to be anywhere in the vicinity in case the Krasni had another of those monsters in the wings.
#
Monty heard the sound made by the explosion.
"What’s the hell is happening?" he said in English into his microphone.
He was answered by a chorus of rapid, unintelligible Russian. This had happened before, usually when the Krasni troopers got excited. As usual, Colonel Sokolov cut through the turmoil shouting questions and giving orders in English, for the benefit of their non-Krasni Commander.
"Warlord, we have been attacked by a single anti-tank rocket," said Sokolov in a businesslike voice. "Three troopers are dead, and a half dozen have been injured too badly to carry on. One of the quad fifty tracks has been completely destroyed."
"Pursue those cadets, Colonel," shouted Monty. He wasn't using a microphone now but shouting at the top of his lungs from the gunner’s cupola on his command vehicle. “Get them now, or they will hit us again. MOVE!!"
The Colonel ordered a section of infantry to dismount and get after Jarl's unit. They had barely got off the road before one of them stumbled into one of the grenades left by Jarl and his band of merry men.
There was an explosion followed by a blood curdling scream. The infantry section hurried back into view. They were carrying one of their number who was missing his leg below the knee. The Krasni troopers set their comrade down gently on the ground and headed off into the brush.
"Halt!" bellowed a voice that could be heard over the confusion of any moderately sized stock exchange.
"They have enough of a lead on you now that they can and will ambush you again," said Sokolov in a normal tone of voice. "Mount up, we have bigger fish to fry."
Sokolov stalked away not even looking at Monty. The Warlord knew better than to push it now.
A moment later, in Monty's command track, the Warlord reviewed the situation with his 'advisor'.
"Is this part of the plan?" asked Monty.
"No Warlord," answered the shaded figure. "All the briefings I heard indicated that they were to sit tight and hold the hilltop."
"Then they are freelancing?” asked Monty rhetorically. "It was the rig
ht move at the right time. I would not have thought those cadet officers could manage that sort of tactical evaluation so quickly.
“Get back to the heavy tank and brief them on likely targets in the fortified area at the top of the hill. It might help us recoup some of the outrageous sum we are paying you," said Monty to his ‘special advisor.’
"The cadets seemed to outguess our every move," mused Monty after the quiet little man had left. Sokolov was beginning to suspect what Monty had known all along, that he, Montgomery, was nothing more than a glorified business agent. His time with this firm was limited. It might be opportune to protect himself in case a certain Krasni Mercenary attempted to reduce his expenses by removing him.
With that thought, Monty picked up the microphone and spoke.
"Colonel, if you would detach a section of infantry, I think I will take up positions to defend the heavy tank. With that group of cadets behind our lines, it might be appropriate to cover it."
"Certainly, Warlord," said an obviously relieved Sokolov. He gave the order to send some infantry back to the heavy tank.
"This might work out better than I had planned,” Sokolov mused, “with that martinet out of the way, I might be able to pull this off after all."
As an afterthought, he sent Yosep back with the infantry. His orders were simple. If Monty attempts to interfere too much, see that he has an accident. It would also do well to eliminate the 'advisor' if the need arose.
Chapter XI
Stoltz ordered her driver to pull aside and let the rest of the column pass. As they drove by, she surveyed the densely wooded hill side she was to cover. There were several lines of approach but they all funneled into a single passable ravine. The trouble was, it was obviously the only route through which a vehicle could pass to get around the objective. Any commander who had been through two weeks of basic training would stop before that ravine and send in a patrol. The question was, how far back would they stop?