Battle Earth III (15 page)

* * *

The troops of the 2
^nd
Inter-Allied watched for two days as the wounded were ferried back from the front, and the artillery and bombardments drew nearer. They could tell the enemy was now just two kilometres away, and so they waited anxiously each day to see if they would have to fight. They could only hope the losses on the enemy side were as significant.

“Giving ground every hour doesn’t seem like the best move,” mused Campbell.

“It’s a solid tactic. It may seem like we are giving up ground and losing a lot for it, but you lose troops however you fight. Think about it, you set up one big wall, and if there is one breach in that wall, you are finished. Spread your forces in deeper layers, and each breach by the enemy is less significant. They get further and further away from their resources and can never bring everything to bear against one target.”

“And the troops at those front tiers? Are they expendable?”

“In a way, yes, but soldiers fight, and soldiers die. Sacrifices have to be made.”

“Not always wisely, though. It wasn’t so long ago you said Schulz had no care for the soldiers in his command, has that changed?”

“Probably not, he is a bastard, but that doesn’t make him wrong.”

Taylor could hear a few vehicles heading towards them from the east. They had gotten used to seeing trucks transporting troops forward and casualties back, but he stood up beside the trench to look out. He didn’t recognise the trucks. They weren’t military issue.

“What the hell is this?” he asked.

Three trucks rolled towards their position. They were similar in size and layout to a regular army truck but of distinctly civilian usage. Chandra walked up to him and watched out of curiosity as they drew up to a halt. They half expected to be asked directions for somewhere, but could not understand why. It was a peculiar thing to see such shiny civilian vehicles in their warzone. The driver of the first leaned out and shouted.

“Major Taylor here?”

“You’re speaking to him.”

The passenger door on the other side of the truck opened, and they heard someone jump out. Seconds later, the passenger strode into view, and they were relieved to see it was Doctor Reiter.

“Major, I am glad to see you are no longer behind bars.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me of it,” jested Taylor.

“I hear the brass have been keeping you busy?” asked Chandra.

“Most certainly, Major, but I am sorry to see that you are no longer reaping the benefits of my work. I was sad to hear of the removal of the equipment from your Company and protested most vehemently on the subject.”

“We’ve been fighting an uphill battle since. Your equipment gave us a fighting chance, but we’ve lost some good people these last weeks.”

“Then you’ll be glad to know that I am here to rectify that. I am returning all of the Reitech equipment which was issued you.”

“Shit, are you serious?” asked Taylor. “Has General Schulz authorised this?”

Reiter shook his head and smiled.

“The General may decide what equipment he issues from the factory, but what equipment I build for myself and my testing, is to do with as I please. Your people remain the best test bed for my creations.”

“We’re getting it all back? Everything we had from you?” asked Chandra in amazement.

Reiter nodded. Taylor turned back to the trenches.

“Form up, and collect your gear!” he yelled.

A cheer rang out down the line as the troops hopped out of their trenches with an enthusiasm none of them had seen in a long time, not since before Taylor’s arrest. Reiter gave a hand signal that was answered with a number of his assistants opening up the sides of the vehicles and hauling box loads of equipment to the edge of their trucks. The Company, who were desperate to get their hands on the gear, mobbed them.

“I can’t thank you enough. Your timing couldn’t be better.”

“Yes, I can see,” mused Reiter as he saw explosions erupt in the distance. “Now, last time we spoke you aired a concern about close quarter combat, and your lack of effective equipment at such ranges.”

“Yeah, when those Mechs get close, they tear our guys apart,” replied Chandra.

“Well, the return of your suits will go a long way to improving your strength and torso protection. However, I have a number of devices I believe will suit your needs. Follow me.”

The quirky scientist led the two officers to the last truck, signalling for two of his assistants to lower boxes from the side with the robotic lifter. He flicked the catches and threw open the lid.

“The shield technology, you got it working?” asked Chandra.

“The targeting issue, yes,” he replied

He lifted out a pair of protective glasses that appeared little more than shooting glasses, but with tiny power cells added.

“With this targeting device, you can aim and track your weapon independently, and in doing so, allow you to use it singlehandedly, providing you have the power of the exosuit to support the weight, of course. This will enable the use of the shield, as I predicted, to stand up to a number of pulse impacts.”

“Outstanding,” replied Taylor.

“Lastly, this little gem.”

Reiter pulled out an implement that was almost a metre long and resembled a Roman Gladius, more than anything else.

“You wanted the ability to fight in close combat when such occasions arise. This is essentially a cutting torch with its own power pack. It’ll charge off your suit when sheathed in the sheath designed for it.”

Reiter handed it to Taylor, who looked at the odd looking device with a puzzled expression.

“This will really work?” he asked doubtfully.

Reiter looked up to his assistants and gestured for them to lower the next piece; a chest plate from a Mech’s armour.

“I am calling this device the assegai, after the fearsome Zulu short fighting spear. When the device is drawn from the sheath, and grasped by the hand, it is active. If it is sheathed, or released from your grip, it immediately powers down.”

Reiter nodded for Taylor to pull the weapon from its sheath. It weighed almost ten kilos and was a clumsy object without the power of the exoskeleton suits. He drew the assegai from its sheath, and the tubular blade was glowing and emanating enough heat for his chin to feel rather warm. Reiter pointed for him to test the weapon on the plate of armour that had been lowered down beside the truck. He turned to Chandra and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Go on, try it,” pressed Reiter.

Taylor took a few steps up to the armour and pushed the assegai forward with force. To his surprise, he met almost no resistance and was taken off balance as the blade drove through the armour and up to its hilt.

“Christ,” cried Taylor.

“I don’t doubt that the assegai will be most effective at such ranges, but better it be you than me that has to do as such,” claimed Reiter.

“You’ve done a damn fine job here. Does General Schulz know of this new gear?”

“I have told him that it is being tested...”

“Not by whom, I assume?”

Reiter smiled in response to the question she already knew the answer.

“Lastly.”

“Not more? How do you find the time for all of this?” she asked.

“My dear, Major, few of my ideas are new. They are pet projects I have toyed with my entire life, or borrowed from by gone ages.”

“What else have you got?”

“These flying enemy soldiers, I hear about. You most probably know that man-portable jet packs are not a new idea. No, no, in fact they have existed for hundreds of years. However, they always faced one major flaw, the age-old problem of power and fuel to weight ratio. Any device with enough power and fuel to be useful was too large and bulky. Anything compact enough, could only allow minimal flight.”

“Go on,” replied Chandra.

I have added on a booster pack to all of the suits I have returned to you. In addition to the aerial decent thrusters that you have used previously, you will now be able to make jumps of approximately a kilometre. The suit will have enough power for perhaps two or three of these.”

“You mean we can fly?” asked Chandra in shock.

“Precisely, but only for those short periods, and you will need cooling off for up to ten minutes.”

“And if we run out of power?” asked Taylor.

“Anymore than two jumps before charging the suit, which would require cable charging or a day in sunlight, and the suit will be a dead weight.”

“You mean it’ll stop completely?”

“Precisely.”

“Shit, that’s something to remember,” Taylor muttered.

“Anyone else got these exo suits and guns yet?” asked Chandra.

General White has issued the first sets to Ranger and Delta units, I believe, as well as a select number of marines and others. They should be seeing use about now.”

“Good to know, finally kicking some ass on the home front,” replied Taylor.

“Now you must excuse me. This fighting stuff isn’t for me, and I have plenty more work to do.”

Chandra looked up at the eccentric scientist with a smile. She was fully aware he had gone above and beyond the call of duty to assist them.

“We won’t forget this.”

Reiter turned back one last time before he climbed onto the truck.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing, all of you, and good luck!”

The two officers turned and looked in amazement at the masses of equipment left for them, and that the troops were already eagerly rooting through. Chandra turned to Taylor.

“This big push through Ramstein, if they’d been able to do it weeks ago, they would have.”

“You’re thinking they’ve thrown in everything they’ve got?” asked Taylor.

“Yep, one big push to try and break our armies. If you can stop them here, we may just pull victory out of the hat.”

“It’s a tall order,” he replied.

“Tell me a single stage in this war that’s been simple? This enemy underestimated us. They underestimated our ability to adapt and overcome. I believe they are starting to see the possibility for failure.”

“Then let’s make sure they do.”

* * *

The fighting had raged on in the distance and gradually closed on the troops of the 2
^nd
Inter-Allied. They had watched as the wounded poured back towards peaceful lands. For once they were eagerly awaiting their foes. Taylor looked down and admired the new equipment he wore. He knew in his head it weighed more than he could ever manage, but it felt less of a burden than the gear he’d become so accustomed to in the corps.

“You know if it wasn’t for Reiter, we’d probably be dying here?” asked Chandra.

Taylor nodded at the grim realisation that hadn’t struck his mind.

“Let’s not fear for what could have been. We’re here now, and ready to make those bastards pay.”

“You know back in Ramstein, Jones was sent back to us the day we broke you out?”

“What of it?”

“He should never have been cleared for duty. You should have seen him out at the trenches. He wanted to die. He stood up in plain view of their fire and wanted to die.”

“And yet he’s still here?” replied Taylor.

“Not of his own accord. Silva dragged him from danger.”

Taylor sighed. He had not seen Jones since that frightful experience at the prison. But it was enough for him to understand that no man could go through what he had and come out the same. It was the horror of being left behind he had so feared and been saved from. Morbid curiosity made him wonder all the time what terrors Jones experienced at the hands of the enemy. But every time Taylor thought of it, his stomach churned at the idea of being stuck in the situation himself.

“What do you suggest we do?” he asked.

“I didn’t say I had an answer. You just needed to know.”

“I am not sure any of us will come out of this sane, but he’s alive and with us. Surely that’s enough, right now?”

“Enough for what? Enough that he keeps pulling the trigger and knocking the Mechs down? Jones is worth more than that to all of us, you know that?”

Jones turned to Chandra with a scornful look.

“How dare you question that? I gave up everything for Charlie...”

Taylor’s voice faded off as he looked around, checking none of the others could hear their discussion. Before he could continue, an explosion erupted just a few metres away. The two officers cowered down in their trench as they were showered in mud and clay. They looked up to see the remnants of the forward units retreating back towards them under fire.

“This has got to stop. Those alien scum don’t get past this trench, do you hear me?” yelled Chandra.

Taylor looked around to see everyone’s concern. The retreat did not help their spirits, but they were strong in the face of it all. As the retreating troops reached their trenches, Chandra stood up tall on the edge and called to them.

“Rally on us! Rally and fight with the Immortals!”

The hundreds of fleeing troops were mostly Polish and Czech forces. They looked in surprise at the Major’s heavy load out of equipment. They had all heard of the Immortals and their daring victories. Many slowed and began to listen.

“Fight with us! Join us, and end this fight!” she cried.

Troops of the 2
^nd
Inter-Allied stood up in their trenches and followed their Major’s example, beckoning for the incoming soldiers to join them. Energy pulses continued to smash the ground, encouraging the Inter-Allied to pick up their pace. Chandra could make out the silhouettes of the Mechs advancing and hissed at the sight of them.

“Come on, into the trenches!”

Pulses from the enemy armour erupted amongst them, instantly killing a dozen as they desperately retreated across the open ground. She hated Schulz for putting them out there to die, but she still understood the necessity for doing so.

The fleeing troops slid into the trenches and landed hard among the Company. A Polish Sergeant rolled in beside Chandra and landed hard, almost breaking his neck. She reached forward and hauled him to his feet. Being without the Reitech suits for so long had made her forget what strength it gave. The man looked up at her in fear as his arm was nearly wrenched from its socket, and he flew into the trench wall beside her.

“Sorry about that, Sergeant!”

“No problem, Sergeant Jankowski at your service,” the man replied cheerfully as he winced in pain.

He ducked back down as further pulses smashed around them.

“They’re coming in fucking hard, Major. You honestly think you can stop them?” he asked.

She turned to see allied armour rolling down the roads to assist them. She looked north and south and could see lines of infantry dug in and in desperate need of a morale boost. Finally, she turned back to the Sergeant.

“We’ve done enough retreating for one day. It’s time to give them a taste of their own blood!”

The Pole smiled, but she could still see the doubt in his eyes.

“Be ready for ‘em!” she yelled.

Taylor looked down at the huge rifle he held in one hand and admired it. It felt damn good to be back in the line. As much as he was grateful to be free, the rest of them were relieved to finally have back the equipment they had become so attached to.

“Eight hundred metres, wait for it!” Chandra ordered.

Taylor felt his finger close around the trigger in anticipation. As Chandra shouted out her last command, the roar of the tanks at their backs overwhelmed her voice, but it didn’t matter. They all knew what time it was. The Company opened fire with everything it had, and the other troops who had joined them assisted. The gunfire rang out at such a rate it sounded like a constant drone.

In the first volley, Taylor saw fifty Mechs killed instantly and riddled with fire. The Poles and Czechs watched in astonishment and cheered. They knew their weapons had little to do with the destruction, but they continued firing anyway. They were caught up in the excitement of seeing so many of the enemy fall before them.

Energy pulses still rushed overhead and hit their positions, but the enemy couldn’t put out the rate of fire of the allied troops, who were overwhelming them with the help of Reiter’s equipment. They all watched in amazement as their armoured foes dropped like flies at three hundred metres, and their tanks could do little better.

As the incoming fire began to calm, Chandra stood up to look far along the line. She could see the trenches on their flanks only just holding while they were making mince meat of the Krycenaeans. She took a pace further up, out of the firing shelf and out onto the open plane, where she stood for all to see. She did not flinch nor kneel. Many of the allies stood and waited for her to speak.

“Let’s finish these bastards now, and drive them back from where they came!”

She turned and leapt across the open trench work; jogging towards the oncoming enemy with her shield held out in front and continuing to fire as she drove forward. The Company watched as two pulses smashed into her shield and barely slowed her. They were still doubtful of the new equipment, but Chandra was all the proof they needed. Taylor leapt out of the trench after her.

“Kill them all!” he shouted.

The Company launched out of the defences, and the other troops soon followed. They were inspired by the officer’s valour and unfaltering courage. The Company rushed forwards with their shields close together, providing plenty of cover for the other allies behind them. For the first time in weeks, Chandra could see doubt in the Mechs. She couldn’t see their faces, but their body language spoke volumes.

The creatures were turning and looking for support, but they weren’t finding any. As the Company advanced, they took shots at the enemies on their flanks which drew attention from the other trenches. The allied soldiers for a kilometre either side watched with open mouths as they rushed forward towards their enemy.

The thought of closing against the Mechs was frightening, and something to be avoided at all costs. General Schulz watched from a hilltop three kilometres away through a digital viewing screen. He was speechless as he saw them rush across open terrain.

Taylor and the others quickly realised they could fire with a fair accuracy even at high speed, thanks to Reiter’s tracking devices. They were closing the distance fast with the enemy who were being whittled down at quite a rate. Taylor rushed forward to get to close quarters first. The Mech he charged fired at close range, jolting his shield arm with the impact. The burning light almost blinded him, and he felt it singe the hair on his arm underneath his gear.

Firing as he ran, the Major hit the Mech with two shots square in the chest, but he didn’t slow down. He lifted his shield and smashed it into the creature at an almost sprinting speed. Much to his surprise, he smashed the huge beast onto its back as if they were football players. He lowered his rifle and fired a further two rounds into its faceplate, and thick blue blood gushed out from the holes.

Chandra fired on full auto as she rushed towards a Mech, and knew she had killed her target before it had even hit the ground. But as she turned to find another target, a broad door on a burning tank she was passing flew open and smashed into her shield. The impact launched her into the air, and she tumbled several times in the mud.

She landed nimbly on to her knees and looked up to see a creature half climbing out of the hatch. Before it could get its second foot from the opening, Captain Jones thrust his assegai up into its stomach region, driving it high into its torso. Blood seeped down the weapon and over Jones’ hand, and he stood marvelling at his work.

Jones drew out the blade and watched the beast tumble lifelessly out of the vehicle down into the mud. He looked over to Chandra who looked in disgust at the gory sight.

“They really do work,” he stated.

The Major was glad they had the assegai devices, but she doubted it was necessary in that moment to use them.
Jones is fuelling a blood lust,
she thought.
Nobody chooses
to
fight these creatures in close quarters unless they have no other choice.
It was further confirmation that Jones was on the suicidal path she had predicted, but there was no time to be concerned with it in that moment.

Chandra turned to see that Taylor had climbed up onto the wreck of a Mech vehicle and was using it as a vantage point to pick and choose his targets at their flank; and so assist their troops to the north. She turned around to see the allied armour at their backs had advanced and were already spreading out to assist.

“We’ve done it!” shouted Monty.

“We’ve fucking broken through the bastards!” cried Blinker.

Cheers rang out across the trench works either side of their positions, and they could see the Mech forces already turning to face them. Chandra knew their breach would allow them to roll up the enemy flank, a fact she was all too eager to exploit. The allied tanks turned sharply to head north to help. She turned to the south and screamed.

“Forwards!”

She raised her weapon towards their enemies, screaming with all the power of her lungs. Taylor’s face lit up in a frenzy as he leapt from the ruined vehicle. They fired on the move as they had done before. Only two of their Company fell, one wounded and one killed. Taylor rushed to the flank of an advancing enemy tank and drew out his assegai. He thrust it into the side door mechanism and cut through the lock like butter.

Chandra watched as Taylor sheathed the assegai and ripped the door from its hinges while it continued forward. He lifted his rifle and put the barrel through the opening, firing into the compartment with a bloodthirsty grin on his face and his teeth clenched. She could tell he was enjoying dealing out death; she was only glad he had vented his anger on the enemy and not their Generals.

Two hours later, they stood at the heart of a burning battlefield. The bodies of allied soldiers littered the fields; only outnumbered by the debris and wreckage of the Krycenaean forces that had been mauled on the open plain. Chandra eventually found Taylor once again. The marine Major had enemy blood trickling down his face and staining his uniform.

She knew that Jones was not the same man she used to know, but neither was Taylor. Jones had a death wish, but Taylor was hungry for blood. He smiled as he panted and scooped in the stale air. Cries of excitement continued down the allied lines. The only words they could make out were ‘Immortals!’ being screamed en mass.

“We’ve done it, broken the cycle,” said Chandra.

“You think that’ll be enough for the brass?” asked Taylor.

“Well, we didn’t exactly stick to the plan, but fuck ‘em. No one can doubt what we have achieved here today.”

“Why should it stop? We’ve got them on the run, so let’s keep moving forward and finish them!”

Chandra stepped up closer to the Major and whispered.

“All in good time, let’s savour what we have and re-group.”

Taylor’s wide eyes settled as he calmed himself. He knew she was right and was starting to see the brutal and bloodthirsty hunger within him that he didn’t like. He hunched his shoulders down in shame and looked away from Chandra. She grabbed him, stopping him from walking away.

“Hey! You’ve done a great job here today, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If Schulz wants to bitch about it, then tough shit!”