COMMAND AND CONQUER
MEN OF HONOUR
CHAPTER ONE
July 27, 1425Hrs
PRIVATE JUN HI XIANG LAY QUIETLY IN HIS TWO-MAN FOXHOLE, HIS HANDS LOOSELY HOLDING THE AK-47 AS HIS HELMET COVERED HIS EYES AGAINST THE HOT MIDDAY SUN. HE TIPPED HIS HELMET BACK AS FOOTSTEPS APPROACHED AND WAS GLAD TO SEE HIS COMRADE GHUN SHI WEN BRING TWO SMALL STEEL CONTAINERS OF CHOW. WEN LEANT AGAINST THE WALL OPPOSITE XIANG AND HANDED OVER THE FOOD AND BOTH EAGERLY DUG IN, WOLFING DOWN THEIR FIRST MEAL IN TWO DAYS.
GDI had recently seized control of the road into and out of the valley and all Nod People's Republican Army supply convoys had to be diverted through the hills. That meant an extra four days travel for the strained trucks if they weren't ambushed by GDI friendly militia.
"The attack happens soon," commented Shi Wen between mouthfuls. "The commanding officer was saying how we will drive those GDI dogs away from the road so our convoys can get through." Xiang Nodded, munching on the Chinese equivalent of Sloppy Joes.
"I hope not too many of our men die. With GDI on one side and the militia forces on the other I'm beginning to feel like a sandwich." Both men laughed and almost simultaneously took a drink from their canteens.
On the other side of the camp two shrill bells sounded, summoning the men for a briefing. Wen and Xiang helped each other out of the foxhole and walked over to the roughly set up briefing hall, their assault rifles loosely at their sides. They had been close friends since childhood and had enlisted in the army at the same time. They quickly and quietly took a seat at the back of the hall and listened intently.
"Today we will strike. Two platoons will strike from the left and right and two at the centre. The GDI forces are well dug in with four guard towers overlooking the ground base. Six hundred men are estimated to be here although only four hundred fifty are fighting men, the rest are logistical and medical. Fight well, fight strong." The briefing lasted another fifty- five minutes, the room splitting into platoons and the commanders going into the attack in detail.
**********
1659Hrs
SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN MILLS SLAMMED THE CARDS DOWN ON THE TABLE AND GRINNED.
"Read 'em and weep, private," commented Mills as the young private looked at the ace high straight flush. If they had been playing for money he would have just lost a bomb. At that moment a large siren echoed throughout the base, accompanied by a voice echoing over the loud speaker.
"Prepare for attack. This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill. Estimate division size moving towards our position. All hands on board."
It took ten seconds for the camp to become one of control to one of frenzy. Men darted for the barracks to grab their assault rifles to battle the oncoming threat. Many carried the M16 but some were snipers, using the 7.62mm M21, M24 or the larger .50-cal Barret M82A1. Mills hastily got his company together and led them to the northeast edge of the base as practiced in the drills. They occupied trenches built only days earlier for just such an occasion.
In guard tower One private Ronny Herald readied his M240 machine gun. The heavy weapon sat easily on a tripod; it's long nose peering over the edge of the construct. Next to him stood private William Burns, his gunner assistant. Adrenaline coursed through their veins as they waited for the enemy to approach. The same was done in the four other guard towers defending the base.
Second lieutenant Emily Hendridge quickly climbed the ladder, joining Herald and Burns in the tower.
"Hey boys, mind if I join in the action?"
"Not at all lieutenant, just leave some for us." The three shared a chuckle as Hendridge checked the magazine on her M21. She was also a lookout; a comm. unit straddled her neck so she could inform commanders of closely approaching enemies.
PRA squads two and three, platoon five were the first to approach the base, directly in front. For a while their jungle green coloured camouflage protected them but their movement was picked out by the keen eye of a sniper who informed the front line. Patiently the men on the front line waited as their unseen enemy approached, peering down the gun sights on their rifles.
Corporal Frank Bligh firmly held the pistol grip of the M60, one of nine in the front line. In the supply commander's mind he had ample ammunition, twenty two hundred rounds or so, but he had his doubts. PRA divisions were roughly twelve hundred in number. The GDI base battalion was roughly four hundred fifty fighting men. The estimated size of the enemy division was almost twelve hundred providing they hadn't received any reinforcements. Holding back that many enemies would take a lot of ammunition.
The base camp was at the top of a small plateau and the only way to reach it was to make the light trek up the side. The GDI frontline overlooked that edge and was waiting for the imminent first 'Yellow Skin' to show. It did.
The forty soldiers from squad two and three made a charge over the edge, firing their AKs from the hip. They only took down a handful of troops before being cut down themselves, their blood staining the ground a deep red. The rest of platoon five stopped, laying prone in the long grass just below the lip.
"We got hostiles, inbound from the north," radioed Hendridge as the entire PRA platoon two moved slowly forward. They were playing it safe but there wasn't as much jungle on that side and the men were badly exposed to the guard tower. Hendridge started to pick off soldiers, emptying her clip in a little under ten mintues. Platoon two lost eleven men from the front line of their attack.
On the opposite side all hell broke loose. Platoon one and three charged as one, almost two hundred sixty men running over the lip of the plateau, firing accurately at the GDI lines. Guard towers three and four opened fire with their M240s simultaneously, mowing down almost fifty troops. The remaining soldiers hastily retreated, having killed another three dozen soldiers for their efforts.
Then all was silent. Some of the troops in the GDI camp smiled and joked with the soldier next to them. They believed that the PRA had actually retreated, having not expected such fierce resistance. They allowed their guard to drop, a lethal mistake on the front line.
Sergeant Shu Xin-Xin was proud to serve in the People's Republican Army under the gallant leadership of Grand Lord Kane of the Brotherhood of Nod. He led a small squad of six men in platoon three and their specialty was 'hit and run' attacks. Up to this point the PRA had lost a little over one hundred troops and the GDI forces were heavily dug in. The guard towers were the worst. The machine gunners in those could see further and hence provide more accurate fire. He had seen the fifty men get torn to pieces. It was time for Nod PRA to play smart.
Xin-Xin grabbed his RPG launcher and proceeded to just below the lip. He quickly readied the small rocket launcher and moved forward on his belly before taking aim at the tower. He pulled the trigger but not before a hail of 5.56mm rounds were fired in his direction from an M16.
The rocket propelled grenade had its desired affect, slamming into the tower a quarter of the way up. Three legs disintegrated and the fourth snapped loudly under the weight above it. The tower fell sideways and immediately burst into flames. The three occupants were killed instantly. In the base defence the PRA now had a small hole to exploit. A small hole but a hole nonetheless.
Xin-Xin made his way back down to the troops and directed a private to take out the other while he loaded another round into the RPG launcher. The private was unlucky, receiving a fateful shower of white-hot 5.56.
Second lieutenant Mills had seen the grenade slam into the tower and knew the tower fifty metres behind him would be a target for another RPG. He didn't know where the round had been fired from; the lip had worked against his position.
He noticed movement and opened fire. Dirt around the lip was sprayed up but Mills missed as several grenades were lobbed over the lip towards his position.
"Grenades," called a quick private not far from Mills' position. Most were thrown back harmlessly but one corporal was too slow. The grenade exploded in his hand, blowing his arm and half his face off.
"Medic, we need a medic!" called a soldier near him. The grenade had not only killed the corporal but injured four others around him. A medic soon arrived and went about his business, giving morphine and bandaging wounds.
A swarm of Chinese fighters ran over the crest, firing their AK rifles on fully automatic at the GDI trenches. Too many GDI soldiers were killed before the twenty strong charge were cut down by M60 fire.
"Hold the line! We can't let them breach us!" The command was echoed down the line by squad and platoon leaders. GDI troops moved to take position were there were holes in the line. The defending soldiers were down to three-quarters of their original fighting force, the number dropping as the PRA made sporadic attacks along the line. Seven more attempts had been made to take down the remaining three guard towers but all had been stopped by sharp-eyed snipers or machine-gunners.
Colonel Michael Harrison stood grimly in the command tent, listening to the sound of fighting outside. He wasn't sure if his men could hold the line until reinforcements arrived and god knows when that would be.
It had been two hours since the first shots had been fired and almost an hour since the call for reinforcements had been made. Harrison knew one of the only things to do would be to call for close air support.
"Private, get over here, I gota get on the squawker." A private rushed over, handing the radio receiver to the colonel.
"This is Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot to Lima Alpha, do you copy?" Lima Alpha was a GDI airbase approximately five minutes flying time at max speed.
"Roger Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot. What's up? Over."
"We are under attack and request close air support, over."
"Roger that Foxtrot. Three Orcas can make it to your position in approximately fifteen minutes. We have another four birds approximately thirty five minutes out. How bad is the situation? Over."
"It's bad. They've hit us with one of their divisions, probably close to twelve hundred men. Send what you can or our position will be over run. Over."
"Roger Foxtrot. Birds have been dispatched. Out" Harrison gave the receiver back to the private and grabbed his M16 from the corner. He was no use inside a darkened green tent. What he saw as he stepped out of the door was horrific. Three squads of PRA troops had spilled over the lip into a hole that had been created and now hand-to-hand combat was underway.
Private Schmidt never got a chance to fix his bayonet as fourteen 7.62mm rounds tore open his head. The thirty seven Chinese soldiers had gone left and right when they had entered the trench, firing at point blank range. Second lieutenant Mills took aim and fired a burst, dropping two closing PRA troops with bullets to the head. It bought him some time and he fixed his bayonet. Four more PRA troops charged at him, firing at from the hip. Thankfully they were to hyped on adrenaline to control their rounds and none hit Mills or the soldiers behind him. Mills used his bayonet skilfully, taking out the four soldiers as they got close.
Harrison ran forward, emptying his thirty round magazine into a dozen PRA troops. Only four were left in the trench now. They were taken out by pistol fire and bayonets. The GDI troops had suffered close to forty casualties from the PRA charge and were now close to half their fighting force.
CHAPTER TWO
1914Hrs
THE THREE ORCA VTOL AIRCRAFT SCREAMED LOW TOWARDS THE BATTLEFIELD, LIGHTS OUT TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM SURPRISE. UPON REACHING THE HOT ZONE THEY SPLIT UP, THE CENTRE LEAVING AN AIRBORNE FLARE THAT LIT THE BATTLEFIELD WITH AN EERIE WHITE LIGHT. THE SIGHT SHOCKED THE PILOTS; CLOSE TO EIGHT HUNDRED TROOPS HAD TAKEN UP POSITIONS AMONGST THE LONG GRASS.
Pilot Jennifer Ziao pressed a button on her console and armed the two rockets under each wing as she circled. The two pilots in the other Orcas did the same, each flying a different pattern to the others.
"Papa Oscar one making attack run." Jennifer brought her aircraft around in a grateful arc and flew straight and level towards the battlefield. She fired off her four rockets and pulled up to clear the explosion. The two other pilots followed, dropping in different areas. Ziao should have been glad she couldn't hear what the infantry did from the trenches.
Close to fifteen hundred kilograms of napalm was dropped on the PRA infantry, cutting their numbers in half. Men staggered around on fire, the sticky jelly burning furiously. Napalm was the easiest way to clear a battlefield and many PRA troops shot their burning comrades to put them out of their misery.
Ziao led her flight north to scout out the area.
"Holy damn," she muttered to herself at the sight she saw. The trail the PRA division had earlier used was now full again of another two PRA divisions.
"This is Papa Oscar to Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot, do you read? Over."
"Roger Papa Oscar. Go ahead, over."
"You got another two divisions moving through the mountains, estimate twenty five hundred men. Over."
Harrison stood with the receiver to his ear, aghast at what he had just heard.
"Repeat Papa Oscar. Repeat your previous information. Over."
"Two PRA divisions are reinforcing. They're coming down the mountain as we speak. Over"
"Roger that Papa Oscar. Think you can hang around? Over."
"My flight needs to re-arm. Flight Papa Foxtrot is inbound though, about five minutes out." Ziao desperately wanted to cut into the PRA divisions but the flight's Orca 'D's were an older model and weren't equipped with the 20mm chain gun on the nose.
"Roger that Papa Oscar. Re-arm and then return. Hopefully we'll still be here. Out."
It was now low light, making it difficult for both sides to see what was happening. GDI troops were running low on ammunition and unless reinforcements came they would have to resort to shooting spit wads.
Tracer fire lit up the night sky, the bullets soaring into the heart of the GDI encampment. Forty PRA troops ran over the lip, firing at the entrenched GDI position. They were wiped out but not before killing a handful of troops. There was no-one available to patch the hole, leaving a gap that if not filled the PRA would exploit. Harrison filled it himself, diving almost headfirst into the trench to avoid a volley of AK fire.
Jun Hi Xiang watched as the four men moved quickly to the lip, the moonlight shining off the red grenades in the RPG launchers. Sharp GDI eyes caught them and fired heavily at them but not before one managed to fire his grenade. The platform of the tower exploded upwards but the three inside were torn to shreds before they felt anything, the round exploding a second after it burst through the floor. The base was now unprotected on two corners.
Sixty-seven PRA troops ran forward, heading for the hole that had just been created in the defence. None of them saw the Orca before it was too late. All sixty-seven troops were engulfed in flames. Xiang watched as the flying demon swooped low over him and turned and fired. Twenty eight rounds of 7.62mm ricocheted off the belly of the aircraft but it was the most heavily armoured area. The metallic bird turned and headed back to where it had come from, smoke leaking from the left side engine where several rounds had hit it.
In the valley below the GDI camp there were now close to nine hundred men, the first from the two platoons had reached the valley and were moving forward. Harrison looked grimly around. His force was now down to less then one hundred twenty men and two guard towers had been taken out. The whine of aircraft engines behind him alerted him that at least one transport had brought reinforcements.
The fourteen Orca 'F' transports lifted off ten minutes later, having delivered ammunition and fourteen squads of fighters. That meant Harrison had close to one hundred seventy men to plug the holes. A newly arrived major walked over to him and extended his hand.
"Colonel Harrison? I'm Major Douglas French." Harrison gladly took his hand, noticing that the major hadn't saluted as military doctrine required. Harrison let it go.
"Good to see you major. HQ sending anymore reinforcements? Sure could use them."
"Probably about another five Orca loads. Be a while though, Nod hit the supply camps at Ming Tei and Sung Lo as well and they all need reinforcements. HQ is scrambling what they can but it will be a while. You'll get arty support at about oh-two hundred."
Harrison looked at his watch. Artillery support was still another four hours out.
"Well, it's better then nothing." Harrison and French ducked as stray tracer rounds tore past their ears. They had not been aimed at the two but had been very close, the bullets popping as they went past. Soon the two were back in the trenches. Harrison was pleased to note that the new troops had dispersed into the holes made by the PRA troops and the ammunition had been distributed evenly. The only thing left to do now was pick off the lone scouts that got too close and wait for the rest of the Nod bastards to attack.
**********
2209hrs
LIEUTENANT JENNIFER ZIAO MADE HERSELF COMFORTABLE IN THE ORCA 'H' THAT HER FLIGHT HAD BEEN CLEARED TO USE JUST MINUTES EARLIER. THE CLEARANCE HAD COME AFTER ZIAO HAD HAD A LARGE SHOUTING MATCH WITH HER CO. SHE ONLY REALISED NOW THAT SHE WOULD PROBABLY GET HERSELF SOME SORT OF PUNISHMENT WHEN THIS WAS ALL OVER.
The sound of the two engines turned to a whine as the Orca gracefully lifted off, two others following her moments later. They quickly set their course to the hot zone, pushing their aircraft to its limit. Five minutes later they arrived at the battlefield. Ziao's wingman zoomed low and dropped a series of flares. Once again the battlefield was drenched in white light.
"Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot this is Papa Oscar, do you read? Over." It took a few seconds for the camp to respond, giving Ziao a fear that the GDI troops had been wiped out.
"Papa Oscar this is Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot. Read you loud and clear. Over."
"Anything in particular you want us to hit? We got the 'H's now so we can hang around a bit longer. Over."
"Roger that. Your free to fire at anything you deem to be a threat. Keep constant radio contact, we can't see what's happening down there. Over."
"Roger that. I'm your eye in the sky. Out." Ziao turned as four steady lines of tracers lit up the night sky. Her wingman jinked hard left and right but the tracers followed, thudding hard into his aircraft. A second later it was blasted out of the sky by an RPG, the pilot turned to a fine red mist.
Ziao angled the sleek craft towards where her wingman had just been and unleashed a storm of 20mm cannon along with two rockets. They exploded in a blinding flash of a mushroom cloud and incinerated everything within a twenty-metre radius. She continued circling, taking out threats both to the ground forces and to her own personal safety. Like most aircraft though the Orcas had limited munitions and fuel and after forty five minutes had to return to Hong Li Sung airfield to rearm and refuel.
**********
There had been no movement towards the trenches since the Orca had been shot down. Harrison and French didn't like it. The last remaining flare hung over the battlefield but seconds after Harrison focused on it, it extinguished, returning everything to eerie darkness.
The enemy were making the GDI troops fight on their terms, hitting them to find their weakness and then retreating. Three M60s had been taken out, mostly by stray rounds that had shattered the barrels or ammunition feeds. Two towers had been destroyed, removing another two machine-guns from the defensive line up. Over half of Harrison's troops had been killed or wounded. They were the ones that had seen battle before today. The new troops, under French's own admission were mostly green, fresh out of basic two days earlier.
On instinct Harrison looked at his watch. Three minutes till arty was supposed to be up and running. Harrison knew it wouldn't be. Soldiers didn't always operate well at night, more so when the battle was unseen. Arty support wouldn't be readied at oh-two-hundred. Harrison just hoped it was ready before the PRA launched a full-scale charge.
Further down the line, Corporal Frank Bligh gingerly held the M16 in his hands, his bent and broken M60 lying just over the edge of the trench. A total of fourteen rounds had hit it and Bligh knew he was lucky the jolly thing hadn't exploded. The M16 was lighter then the M60 and Bligh hated the fact that it held seventy less rounds then the M60. But it was a weapon nevertheless and for that Bligh was glad. He turned to the sound of a plastic wrapper in the hands of his assistant gunner.
"What the hell are you doing?" The assistant looked at Bligh and then replied between chews.
"The way I figure it, it is like this. We'll run out of ammo before we take the bastards out. When I do I'm spitting chewing gum at 'em." Bligh just laughed and faced forward again.
Not far away second lieutenant Mills checked his clip for the fifth time in ten minutes before peering out into the inky blackness. A seasoned veteran of combat he didn't like the Chinese's latest ploy. The worst was that he couldn't see more then five metres in the inky blackness, HQ having failed to send NVGs with the ammunition. He looked skyward as several shrill whistles echoed in the night air.
The forty seven mortar shells, a mix of 120mm, 80mm and 60mm thudded into the base, luckily falling well behind the trenches. Explosions lit the night sky as another forty seven rounds fell into the base, shredding whatever they hit. This time the rounds were closer, severely injuring close to a dozen troops. Between the explosions one sound was heard.
The sound of close to six hundred men screaming a battle cry at the top of their lungs.
Chapter Three
July 28, 0220Hrs
THE FIRST WAVE OF ONE HUNDRED THIRTY MEN CRESTED THE PLATEAU AT TWO-TWENTY IN THE MORNING, THE BATTLE CRY BECOMING AUDIBLE OVER THE PERSISTENT MORTAR BARRAGE. THE MEN IN THE TRENCHES FIRED AT WHATEVER MOVED BUT THERE WERE TOO MANY MEN TO HANDLE.
"Colonel, you have to call it!" Major French fired another twenty rounds into the oncoming PRA soldiers. Only four squads had been killed and another twenty men or so incapacitated, the sixty-five metres between the lip and the trenches becoming a killing ground.
French was referring to the American code 'Broken Arrow' that had been in use since the Korean War. Every available combat aircraft was called in for close air support, taking target directions from a radioman on the ground. Between three round bursts Harrison turned to his radioman.
"Call it."
Private Daniels grabbed his receiver, his voice holding an excited tension. "This is Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot. Broken Arrow, repeat, Broken arrow. We are under heavy attack and request Broken Arrow."
Ziao heard the call on her radio and felt ashamed that she was stuck waiting for a glitch in her aiming system to be fixed but it wasn't her fault. A total of fifteen rounds had hit the IR and weapons system dome on the rear wing of the Orca but luckily only three had passed through the heavy armour plating.
Three A-10 Warthogs that were on a mission to strike a Chinese armoured battalion quickly changed course, leaving bent trees in their wake as they soared at Mach 1.1 to their destination. Five minutes later they arrived and headed for the front line of the PRA troops as directed by Daniels.
Between the three of them close to five thousand kilos of explosives and napalm was dropped, reducing the now ninety men to smouldering ashes and shredded body parts. Daniels directed another A-10 to the front line to take out the remaining forty five as another one hundred or so men moved to where the first line had been taken out. GDI troops had taken close to seventy casualties so far, the Chinese mortars becoming precise and deadly. Just as Daniels directed in several lone Orcas the commander of the artillery position made himself heard.
"Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot this is Zulu Echo. Hear you boys need a little help over there. What are the co-ordinates?" Daniels relayed a set of co- ordinates and five minutes later a shower of 105mm howitzer fire landed in the valley, landing close enough to the front line of mortars to completely destroy them. The barrage of PRA mortar fire stopped for several moments while the operators regrouped but then started again, the rounds landing in the trenches, killing close to forty men. Daniels marched the artillery to strike again, this time fifty metres forward. The ninety seven shells destroyed the remaining mortars, providing welcome relief for the GDI troops.
Bligh slammed another clip into the M16, lifted it to his shoulder and fired as his assistant took a burst to the face. Bligh hardly noticed, just wanting to survive as fourteen PRA soldiers charged directly at his position. The last fell directly in front of Bligh, his head spraying blood over a shocked Bligh as his rifle continued to click repeatedly from lack of 5.56mm ammunition. It took him five minutes to realise he had fired an entire magazine into fourteen men just like himself and another two to recover enough to load a fresh clip.
Twenty six minutes after the Broken Arrow call was made Jennifer Ziao led her wingman low over the battlefield, Ziao dropping a line of illumination flares. What she saw made her feel like sending her Orca into a series of victory rolls.
The remaining hundred seventy troops were in a full retreat, leaving those unable to run in the valley to be collected by the battle weary GDI. She watched as another Orca from a different airfield swooped low over the retreating soldiers, turning some to mush with 20mm and dropping two pods of napalm into their ranks, killing another forty-five. She added her own munitions, as did her wingman, killing another sixty.
"Papa Oscar to Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot, do you read? Over."
"Roger Papa Oscar, read you loud and clear, over."
"PRA forces are in a full retreat. Looks like you boys are gonna get it easy for a while. Over."
"Roger that Papa. For a while anyway. Thanks for your help, it's been much appreciated. Over."
"It's been a pleasure, glad I could help. Out."
Ziao turned and flew low over the GDI camp and in the light of the half dozen fires the troops could see her wave in the aviators' way, rolling her aircraft from side to side.
Harrison looked out towards the edge of the plateau, Major French standing beside him. The sixty-five metres had become a killing zone. Many PRA troops had almost made it into the trenches, their lifeless bodies hanging limply over the edges. Other bodies were simply unrecognisable as once having been human, napalm and rock-eye cluster bombs having taken their toll.
0625hrs
SECOND LIEUTENANT MILLS LED A TWELVE-MAN SQUAD OF WEARY TROOPS CAREFULLY THROUGH THE VALLEY; AROUND ARTILLERY CRATERS AND OVER NAPALM SCORCH MARKS. THE SEARCH FOR PRA SURVIVORS HAD BEGUN AT FIRST LIGHT, AN HOUR AND A QUARTER EARLIER. ANOTHER THIRTEEN GDI TROOPS HAD BEEN KILLED BY CHINESE SOLDIERS THAT HAD REFUSED TO SURRENDER, DESPITE THEIR URGENTLY REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. IN RETALIATION THEY HAD RECEIVED THREE ROUND BURSTS TO THE CHEST.
Jun Hi Xiang heard the sound of M16 fire and wondered when the GDI troops would come and kill him as tears streamed down his blackened face. He looked down at Ghun Shi Wen's face as he held his head in his hands. Wen had been killed when a group of Orcas had swooped low over the valley, firing their cannons. Wen had stood to fire and his body had been riddled with more then fifty rounds from the chest down.
Mills lifted his rifle and aimed at the sitting Chinese trooper that had no visible injuries. As Mills got closer he realised that the young soldier was crying and holding another soldier, his gun several metres away. Mills lowered his gun and instructed his squad to do so. Two of them lifted Xiang, Wen's body violently thudding into the ground.
"No, let me stay with him," screamed Xiang in Chinese as one of the soldiers tied his hands together behind his back. Xiang's screams of despair lasted another twenty minutes as Mills' squad led him back to base camp.
French and Harrison watched as a steady stream of prisoners was marched or lifted over the plateau lip on stretchers. It had since been cleaned; the bodies piled up to be given a halfway decent burial by the UN commissioned GDI forces. One prisoner caught Harrison's ear, a young Chinese private crying out in despair for a fallen comrade.
Harrison realised in his heart that what had happened was wrong. An eye for an eye. Wasn't that what was taught in these rugged times? But Harrison realised as he led French to the makeshift command tent that it was wrong. The Chinese troops had been young men like the ones under his command. Many had been slaughtered, attempting a mission that was futile for the Nod cause.
Close to three hundred GDI soldiers had been killed in defending themselves. Harrison wished he could get all his men medals for what they had done but it wasn't possible. Command would deem that they hadn't gone 'Above and Beyond' the call of duty.
As Harrison poured French and himself a shot of whiskey he remembered a quote he had heard at the Officer's Academy:
"No person was ever honoured for what he received. Honour has been the reward for what he gave."
MEN OF HONOUR
CHAPTER ONE
July 27, 1425Hrs
PRIVATE JUN HI XIANG LAY QUIETLY IN HIS TWO-MAN FOXHOLE, HIS HANDS LOOSELY HOLDING THE AK-47 AS HIS HELMET COVERED HIS EYES AGAINST THE HOT MIDDAY SUN. HE TIPPED HIS HELMET BACK AS FOOTSTEPS APPROACHED AND WAS GLAD TO SEE HIS COMRADE GHUN SHI WEN BRING TWO SMALL STEEL CONTAINERS OF CHOW. WEN LEANT AGAINST THE WALL OPPOSITE XIANG AND HANDED OVER THE FOOD AND BOTH EAGERLY DUG IN, WOLFING DOWN THEIR FIRST MEAL IN TWO DAYS.
GDI had recently seized control of the road into and out of the valley and all Nod People's Republican Army supply convoys had to be diverted through the hills. That meant an extra four days travel for the strained trucks if they weren't ambushed by GDI friendly militia.
"The attack happens soon," commented Shi Wen between mouthfuls. "The commanding officer was saying how we will drive those GDI dogs away from the road so our convoys can get through." Xiang Nodded, munching on the Chinese equivalent of Sloppy Joes.
"I hope not too many of our men die. With GDI on one side and the militia forces on the other I'm beginning to feel like a sandwich." Both men laughed and almost simultaneously took a drink from their canteens.
On the other side of the camp two shrill bells sounded, summoning the men for a briefing. Wen and Xiang helped each other out of the foxhole and walked over to the roughly set up briefing hall, their assault rifles loosely at their sides. They had been close friends since childhood and had enlisted in the army at the same time. They quickly and quietly took a seat at the back of the hall and listened intently.
"Today we will strike. Two platoons will strike from the left and right and two at the centre. The GDI forces are well dug in with four guard towers overlooking the ground base. Six hundred men are estimated to be here although only four hundred fifty are fighting men, the rest are logistical and medical. Fight well, fight strong." The briefing lasted another fifty- five minutes, the room splitting into platoons and the commanders going into the attack in detail.
**********
1659Hrs
SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN MILLS SLAMMED THE CARDS DOWN ON THE TABLE AND GRINNED.
"Read 'em and weep, private," commented Mills as the young private looked at the ace high straight flush. If they had been playing for money he would have just lost a bomb. At that moment a large siren echoed throughout the base, accompanied by a voice echoing over the loud speaker.
"Prepare for attack. This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill. Estimate division size moving towards our position. All hands on board."
It took ten seconds for the camp to become one of control to one of frenzy. Men darted for the barracks to grab their assault rifles to battle the oncoming threat. Many carried the M16 but some were snipers, using the 7.62mm M21, M24 or the larger .50-cal Barret M82A1. Mills hastily got his company together and led them to the northeast edge of the base as practiced in the drills. They occupied trenches built only days earlier for just such an occasion.
In guard tower One private Ronny Herald readied his M240 machine gun. The heavy weapon sat easily on a tripod; it's long nose peering over the edge of the construct. Next to him stood private William Burns, his gunner assistant. Adrenaline coursed through their veins as they waited for the enemy to approach. The same was done in the four other guard towers defending the base.
Second lieutenant Emily Hendridge quickly climbed the ladder, joining Herald and Burns in the tower.
"Hey boys, mind if I join in the action?"
"Not at all lieutenant, just leave some for us." The three shared a chuckle as Hendridge checked the magazine on her M21. She was also a lookout; a comm. unit straddled her neck so she could inform commanders of closely approaching enemies.
PRA squads two and three, platoon five were the first to approach the base, directly in front. For a while their jungle green coloured camouflage protected them but their movement was picked out by the keen eye of a sniper who informed the front line. Patiently the men on the front line waited as their unseen enemy approached, peering down the gun sights on their rifles.
Corporal Frank Bligh firmly held the pistol grip of the M60, one of nine in the front line. In the supply commander's mind he had ample ammunition, twenty two hundred rounds or so, but he had his doubts. PRA divisions were roughly twelve hundred in number. The GDI base battalion was roughly four hundred fifty fighting men. The estimated size of the enemy division was almost twelve hundred providing they hadn't received any reinforcements. Holding back that many enemies would take a lot of ammunition.
The base camp was at the top of a small plateau and the only way to reach it was to make the light trek up the side. The GDI frontline overlooked that edge and was waiting for the imminent first 'Yellow Skin' to show. It did.
The forty soldiers from squad two and three made a charge over the edge, firing their AKs from the hip. They only took down a handful of troops before being cut down themselves, their blood staining the ground a deep red. The rest of platoon five stopped, laying prone in the long grass just below the lip.
"We got hostiles, inbound from the north," radioed Hendridge as the entire PRA platoon two moved slowly forward. They were playing it safe but there wasn't as much jungle on that side and the men were badly exposed to the guard tower. Hendridge started to pick off soldiers, emptying her clip in a little under ten mintues. Platoon two lost eleven men from the front line of their attack.
On the opposite side all hell broke loose. Platoon one and three charged as one, almost two hundred sixty men running over the lip of the plateau, firing accurately at the GDI lines. Guard towers three and four opened fire with their M240s simultaneously, mowing down almost fifty troops. The remaining soldiers hastily retreated, having killed another three dozen soldiers for their efforts.
Then all was silent. Some of the troops in the GDI camp smiled and joked with the soldier next to them. They believed that the PRA had actually retreated, having not expected such fierce resistance. They allowed their guard to drop, a lethal mistake on the front line.
Sergeant Shu Xin-Xin was proud to serve in the People's Republican Army under the gallant leadership of Grand Lord Kane of the Brotherhood of Nod. He led a small squad of six men in platoon three and their specialty was 'hit and run' attacks. Up to this point the PRA had lost a little over one hundred troops and the GDI forces were heavily dug in. The guard towers were the worst. The machine gunners in those could see further and hence provide more accurate fire. He had seen the fifty men get torn to pieces. It was time for Nod PRA to play smart.
Xin-Xin grabbed his RPG launcher and proceeded to just below the lip. He quickly readied the small rocket launcher and moved forward on his belly before taking aim at the tower. He pulled the trigger but not before a hail of 5.56mm rounds were fired in his direction from an M16.
The rocket propelled grenade had its desired affect, slamming into the tower a quarter of the way up. Three legs disintegrated and the fourth snapped loudly under the weight above it. The tower fell sideways and immediately burst into flames. The three occupants were killed instantly. In the base defence the PRA now had a small hole to exploit. A small hole but a hole nonetheless.
Xin-Xin made his way back down to the troops and directed a private to take out the other while he loaded another round into the RPG launcher. The private was unlucky, receiving a fateful shower of white-hot 5.56.
Second lieutenant Mills had seen the grenade slam into the tower and knew the tower fifty metres behind him would be a target for another RPG. He didn't know where the round had been fired from; the lip had worked against his position.
He noticed movement and opened fire. Dirt around the lip was sprayed up but Mills missed as several grenades were lobbed over the lip towards his position.
"Grenades," called a quick private not far from Mills' position. Most were thrown back harmlessly but one corporal was too slow. The grenade exploded in his hand, blowing his arm and half his face off.
"Medic, we need a medic!" called a soldier near him. The grenade had not only killed the corporal but injured four others around him. A medic soon arrived and went about his business, giving morphine and bandaging wounds.
A swarm of Chinese fighters ran over the crest, firing their AK rifles on fully automatic at the GDI trenches. Too many GDI soldiers were killed before the twenty strong charge were cut down by M60 fire.
"Hold the line! We can't let them breach us!" The command was echoed down the line by squad and platoon leaders. GDI troops moved to take position were there were holes in the line. The defending soldiers were down to three-quarters of their original fighting force, the number dropping as the PRA made sporadic attacks along the line. Seven more attempts had been made to take down the remaining three guard towers but all had been stopped by sharp-eyed snipers or machine-gunners.
Colonel Michael Harrison stood grimly in the command tent, listening to the sound of fighting outside. He wasn't sure if his men could hold the line until reinforcements arrived and god knows when that would be.
It had been two hours since the first shots had been fired and almost an hour since the call for reinforcements had been made. Harrison knew one of the only things to do would be to call for close air support.
"Private, get over here, I gota get on the squawker." A private rushed over, handing the radio receiver to the colonel.
"This is Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot to Lima Alpha, do you copy?" Lima Alpha was a GDI airbase approximately five minutes flying time at max speed.
"Roger Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot. What's up? Over."
"We are under attack and request close air support, over."
"Roger that Foxtrot. Three Orcas can make it to your position in approximately fifteen minutes. We have another four birds approximately thirty five minutes out. How bad is the situation? Over."
"It's bad. They've hit us with one of their divisions, probably close to twelve hundred men. Send what you can or our position will be over run. Over."
"Roger Foxtrot. Birds have been dispatched. Out" Harrison gave the receiver back to the private and grabbed his M16 from the corner. He was no use inside a darkened green tent. What he saw as he stepped out of the door was horrific. Three squads of PRA troops had spilled over the lip into a hole that had been created and now hand-to-hand combat was underway.
Private Schmidt never got a chance to fix his bayonet as fourteen 7.62mm rounds tore open his head. The thirty seven Chinese soldiers had gone left and right when they had entered the trench, firing at point blank range. Second lieutenant Mills took aim and fired a burst, dropping two closing PRA troops with bullets to the head. It bought him some time and he fixed his bayonet. Four more PRA troops charged at him, firing at from the hip. Thankfully they were to hyped on adrenaline to control their rounds and none hit Mills or the soldiers behind him. Mills used his bayonet skilfully, taking out the four soldiers as they got close.
Harrison ran forward, emptying his thirty round magazine into a dozen PRA troops. Only four were left in the trench now. They were taken out by pistol fire and bayonets. The GDI troops had suffered close to forty casualties from the PRA charge and were now close to half their fighting force.
CHAPTER TWO
1914Hrs
THE THREE ORCA VTOL AIRCRAFT SCREAMED LOW TOWARDS THE BATTLEFIELD, LIGHTS OUT TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM SURPRISE. UPON REACHING THE HOT ZONE THEY SPLIT UP, THE CENTRE LEAVING AN AIRBORNE FLARE THAT LIT THE BATTLEFIELD WITH AN EERIE WHITE LIGHT. THE SIGHT SHOCKED THE PILOTS; CLOSE TO EIGHT HUNDRED TROOPS HAD TAKEN UP POSITIONS AMONGST THE LONG GRASS.
Pilot Jennifer Ziao pressed a button on her console and armed the two rockets under each wing as she circled. The two pilots in the other Orcas did the same, each flying a different pattern to the others.
"Papa Oscar one making attack run." Jennifer brought her aircraft around in a grateful arc and flew straight and level towards the battlefield. She fired off her four rockets and pulled up to clear the explosion. The two other pilots followed, dropping in different areas. Ziao should have been glad she couldn't hear what the infantry did from the trenches.
Close to fifteen hundred kilograms of napalm was dropped on the PRA infantry, cutting their numbers in half. Men staggered around on fire, the sticky jelly burning furiously. Napalm was the easiest way to clear a battlefield and many PRA troops shot their burning comrades to put them out of their misery.
Ziao led her flight north to scout out the area.
"Holy damn," she muttered to herself at the sight she saw. The trail the PRA division had earlier used was now full again of another two PRA divisions.
"This is Papa Oscar to Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot, do you read? Over."
"Roger Papa Oscar. Go ahead, over."
"You got another two divisions moving through the mountains, estimate twenty five hundred men. Over."
Harrison stood with the receiver to his ear, aghast at what he had just heard.
"Repeat Papa Oscar. Repeat your previous information. Over."
"Two PRA divisions are reinforcing. They're coming down the mountain as we speak. Over"
"Roger that Papa Oscar. Think you can hang around? Over."
"My flight needs to re-arm. Flight Papa Foxtrot is inbound though, about five minutes out." Ziao desperately wanted to cut into the PRA divisions but the flight's Orca 'D's were an older model and weren't equipped with the 20mm chain gun on the nose.
"Roger that Papa Oscar. Re-arm and then return. Hopefully we'll still be here. Out."
It was now low light, making it difficult for both sides to see what was happening. GDI troops were running low on ammunition and unless reinforcements came they would have to resort to shooting spit wads.
Tracer fire lit up the night sky, the bullets soaring into the heart of the GDI encampment. Forty PRA troops ran over the lip, firing at the entrenched GDI position. They were wiped out but not before killing a handful of troops. There was no-one available to patch the hole, leaving a gap that if not filled the PRA would exploit. Harrison filled it himself, diving almost headfirst into the trench to avoid a volley of AK fire.
Jun Hi Xiang watched as the four men moved quickly to the lip, the moonlight shining off the red grenades in the RPG launchers. Sharp GDI eyes caught them and fired heavily at them but not before one managed to fire his grenade. The platform of the tower exploded upwards but the three inside were torn to shreds before they felt anything, the round exploding a second after it burst through the floor. The base was now unprotected on two corners.
Sixty-seven PRA troops ran forward, heading for the hole that had just been created in the defence. None of them saw the Orca before it was too late. All sixty-seven troops were engulfed in flames. Xiang watched as the flying demon swooped low over him and turned and fired. Twenty eight rounds of 7.62mm ricocheted off the belly of the aircraft but it was the most heavily armoured area. The metallic bird turned and headed back to where it had come from, smoke leaking from the left side engine where several rounds had hit it.
In the valley below the GDI camp there were now close to nine hundred men, the first from the two platoons had reached the valley and were moving forward. Harrison looked grimly around. His force was now down to less then one hundred twenty men and two guard towers had been taken out. The whine of aircraft engines behind him alerted him that at least one transport had brought reinforcements.
The fourteen Orca 'F' transports lifted off ten minutes later, having delivered ammunition and fourteen squads of fighters. That meant Harrison had close to one hundred seventy men to plug the holes. A newly arrived major walked over to him and extended his hand.
"Colonel Harrison? I'm Major Douglas French." Harrison gladly took his hand, noticing that the major hadn't saluted as military doctrine required. Harrison let it go.
"Good to see you major. HQ sending anymore reinforcements? Sure could use them."
"Probably about another five Orca loads. Be a while though, Nod hit the supply camps at Ming Tei and Sung Lo as well and they all need reinforcements. HQ is scrambling what they can but it will be a while. You'll get arty support at about oh-two hundred."
Harrison looked at his watch. Artillery support was still another four hours out.
"Well, it's better then nothing." Harrison and French ducked as stray tracer rounds tore past their ears. They had not been aimed at the two but had been very close, the bullets popping as they went past. Soon the two were back in the trenches. Harrison was pleased to note that the new troops had dispersed into the holes made by the PRA troops and the ammunition had been distributed evenly. The only thing left to do now was pick off the lone scouts that got too close and wait for the rest of the Nod bastards to attack.
**********
2209hrs
LIEUTENANT JENNIFER ZIAO MADE HERSELF COMFORTABLE IN THE ORCA 'H' THAT HER FLIGHT HAD BEEN CLEARED TO USE JUST MINUTES EARLIER. THE CLEARANCE HAD COME AFTER ZIAO HAD HAD A LARGE SHOUTING MATCH WITH HER CO. SHE ONLY REALISED NOW THAT SHE WOULD PROBABLY GET HERSELF SOME SORT OF PUNISHMENT WHEN THIS WAS ALL OVER.
The sound of the two engines turned to a whine as the Orca gracefully lifted off, two others following her moments later. They quickly set their course to the hot zone, pushing their aircraft to its limit. Five minutes later they arrived at the battlefield. Ziao's wingman zoomed low and dropped a series of flares. Once again the battlefield was drenched in white light.
"Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot this is Papa Oscar, do you read? Over." It took a few seconds for the camp to respond, giving Ziao a fear that the GDI troops had been wiped out.
"Papa Oscar this is Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot. Read you loud and clear. Over."
"Anything in particular you want us to hit? We got the 'H's now so we can hang around a bit longer. Over."
"Roger that. Your free to fire at anything you deem to be a threat. Keep constant radio contact, we can't see what's happening down there. Over."
"Roger that. I'm your eye in the sky. Out." Ziao turned as four steady lines of tracers lit up the night sky. Her wingman jinked hard left and right but the tracers followed, thudding hard into his aircraft. A second later it was blasted out of the sky by an RPG, the pilot turned to a fine red mist.
Ziao angled the sleek craft towards where her wingman had just been and unleashed a storm of 20mm cannon along with two rockets. They exploded in a blinding flash of a mushroom cloud and incinerated everything within a twenty-metre radius. She continued circling, taking out threats both to the ground forces and to her own personal safety. Like most aircraft though the Orcas had limited munitions and fuel and after forty five minutes had to return to Hong Li Sung airfield to rearm and refuel.
**********
There had been no movement towards the trenches since the Orca had been shot down. Harrison and French didn't like it. The last remaining flare hung over the battlefield but seconds after Harrison focused on it, it extinguished, returning everything to eerie darkness.
The enemy were making the GDI troops fight on their terms, hitting them to find their weakness and then retreating. Three M60s had been taken out, mostly by stray rounds that had shattered the barrels or ammunition feeds. Two towers had been destroyed, removing another two machine-guns from the defensive line up. Over half of Harrison's troops had been killed or wounded. They were the ones that had seen battle before today. The new troops, under French's own admission were mostly green, fresh out of basic two days earlier.
On instinct Harrison looked at his watch. Three minutes till arty was supposed to be up and running. Harrison knew it wouldn't be. Soldiers didn't always operate well at night, more so when the battle was unseen. Arty support wouldn't be readied at oh-two-hundred. Harrison just hoped it was ready before the PRA launched a full-scale charge.
Further down the line, Corporal Frank Bligh gingerly held the M16 in his hands, his bent and broken M60 lying just over the edge of the trench. A total of fourteen rounds had hit it and Bligh knew he was lucky the jolly thing hadn't exploded. The M16 was lighter then the M60 and Bligh hated the fact that it held seventy less rounds then the M60. But it was a weapon nevertheless and for that Bligh was glad. He turned to the sound of a plastic wrapper in the hands of his assistant gunner.
"What the hell are you doing?" The assistant looked at Bligh and then replied between chews.
"The way I figure it, it is like this. We'll run out of ammo before we take the bastards out. When I do I'm spitting chewing gum at 'em." Bligh just laughed and faced forward again.
Not far away second lieutenant Mills checked his clip for the fifth time in ten minutes before peering out into the inky blackness. A seasoned veteran of combat he didn't like the Chinese's latest ploy. The worst was that he couldn't see more then five metres in the inky blackness, HQ having failed to send NVGs with the ammunition. He looked skyward as several shrill whistles echoed in the night air.
The forty seven mortar shells, a mix of 120mm, 80mm and 60mm thudded into the base, luckily falling well behind the trenches. Explosions lit the night sky as another forty seven rounds fell into the base, shredding whatever they hit. This time the rounds were closer, severely injuring close to a dozen troops. Between the explosions one sound was heard.
The sound of close to six hundred men screaming a battle cry at the top of their lungs.
Chapter Three
July 28, 0220Hrs
THE FIRST WAVE OF ONE HUNDRED THIRTY MEN CRESTED THE PLATEAU AT TWO-TWENTY IN THE MORNING, THE BATTLE CRY BECOMING AUDIBLE OVER THE PERSISTENT MORTAR BARRAGE. THE MEN IN THE TRENCHES FIRED AT WHATEVER MOVED BUT THERE WERE TOO MANY MEN TO HANDLE.
"Colonel, you have to call it!" Major French fired another twenty rounds into the oncoming PRA soldiers. Only four squads had been killed and another twenty men or so incapacitated, the sixty-five metres between the lip and the trenches becoming a killing ground.
French was referring to the American code 'Broken Arrow' that had been in use since the Korean War. Every available combat aircraft was called in for close air support, taking target directions from a radioman on the ground. Between three round bursts Harrison turned to his radioman.
"Call it."
Private Daniels grabbed his receiver, his voice holding an excited tension. "This is Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot. Broken Arrow, repeat, Broken arrow. We are under heavy attack and request Broken Arrow."
Ziao heard the call on her radio and felt ashamed that she was stuck waiting for a glitch in her aiming system to be fixed but it wasn't her fault. A total of fifteen rounds had hit the IR and weapons system dome on the rear wing of the Orca but luckily only three had passed through the heavy armour plating.
Three A-10 Warthogs that were on a mission to strike a Chinese armoured battalion quickly changed course, leaving bent trees in their wake as they soared at Mach 1.1 to their destination. Five minutes later they arrived and headed for the front line of the PRA troops as directed by Daniels.
Between the three of them close to five thousand kilos of explosives and napalm was dropped, reducing the now ninety men to smouldering ashes and shredded body parts. Daniels directed another A-10 to the front line to take out the remaining forty five as another one hundred or so men moved to where the first line had been taken out. GDI troops had taken close to seventy casualties so far, the Chinese mortars becoming precise and deadly. Just as Daniels directed in several lone Orcas the commander of the artillery position made himself heard.
"Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot this is Zulu Echo. Hear you boys need a little help over there. What are the co-ordinates?" Daniels relayed a set of co- ordinates and five minutes later a shower of 105mm howitzer fire landed in the valley, landing close enough to the front line of mortars to completely destroy them. The barrage of PRA mortar fire stopped for several moments while the operators regrouped but then started again, the rounds landing in the trenches, killing close to forty men. Daniels marched the artillery to strike again, this time fifty metres forward. The ninety seven shells destroyed the remaining mortars, providing welcome relief for the GDI troops.
Bligh slammed another clip into the M16, lifted it to his shoulder and fired as his assistant took a burst to the face. Bligh hardly noticed, just wanting to survive as fourteen PRA soldiers charged directly at his position. The last fell directly in front of Bligh, his head spraying blood over a shocked Bligh as his rifle continued to click repeatedly from lack of 5.56mm ammunition. It took him five minutes to realise he had fired an entire magazine into fourteen men just like himself and another two to recover enough to load a fresh clip.
Twenty six minutes after the Broken Arrow call was made Jennifer Ziao led her wingman low over the battlefield, Ziao dropping a line of illumination flares. What she saw made her feel like sending her Orca into a series of victory rolls.
The remaining hundred seventy troops were in a full retreat, leaving those unable to run in the valley to be collected by the battle weary GDI. She watched as another Orca from a different airfield swooped low over the retreating soldiers, turning some to mush with 20mm and dropping two pods of napalm into their ranks, killing another forty-five. She added her own munitions, as did her wingman, killing another sixty.
"Papa Oscar to Foxtrot Echo Foxtrot, do you read? Over."
"Roger Papa Oscar, read you loud and clear, over."
"PRA forces are in a full retreat. Looks like you boys are gonna get it easy for a while. Over."
"Roger that Papa. For a while anyway. Thanks for your help, it's been much appreciated. Over."
"It's been a pleasure, glad I could help. Out."
Ziao turned and flew low over the GDI camp and in the light of the half dozen fires the troops could see her wave in the aviators' way, rolling her aircraft from side to side.
Harrison looked out towards the edge of the plateau, Major French standing beside him. The sixty-five metres had become a killing zone. Many PRA troops had almost made it into the trenches, their lifeless bodies hanging limply over the edges. Other bodies were simply unrecognisable as once having been human, napalm and rock-eye cluster bombs having taken their toll.
0625hrs
SECOND LIEUTENANT MILLS LED A TWELVE-MAN SQUAD OF WEARY TROOPS CAREFULLY THROUGH THE VALLEY; AROUND ARTILLERY CRATERS AND OVER NAPALM SCORCH MARKS. THE SEARCH FOR PRA SURVIVORS HAD BEGUN AT FIRST LIGHT, AN HOUR AND A QUARTER EARLIER. ANOTHER THIRTEEN GDI TROOPS HAD BEEN KILLED BY CHINESE SOLDIERS THAT HAD REFUSED TO SURRENDER, DESPITE THEIR URGENTLY REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. IN RETALIATION THEY HAD RECEIVED THREE ROUND BURSTS TO THE CHEST.
Jun Hi Xiang heard the sound of M16 fire and wondered when the GDI troops would come and kill him as tears streamed down his blackened face. He looked down at Ghun Shi Wen's face as he held his head in his hands. Wen had been killed when a group of Orcas had swooped low over the valley, firing their cannons. Wen had stood to fire and his body had been riddled with more then fifty rounds from the chest down.
Mills lifted his rifle and aimed at the sitting Chinese trooper that had no visible injuries. As Mills got closer he realised that the young soldier was crying and holding another soldier, his gun several metres away. Mills lowered his gun and instructed his squad to do so. Two of them lifted Xiang, Wen's body violently thudding into the ground.
"No, let me stay with him," screamed Xiang in Chinese as one of the soldiers tied his hands together behind his back. Xiang's screams of despair lasted another twenty minutes as Mills' squad led him back to base camp.
French and Harrison watched as a steady stream of prisoners was marched or lifted over the plateau lip on stretchers. It had since been cleaned; the bodies piled up to be given a halfway decent burial by the UN commissioned GDI forces. One prisoner caught Harrison's ear, a young Chinese private crying out in despair for a fallen comrade.
Harrison realised in his heart that what had happened was wrong. An eye for an eye. Wasn't that what was taught in these rugged times? But Harrison realised as he led French to the makeshift command tent that it was wrong. The Chinese troops had been young men like the ones under his command. Many had been slaughtered, attempting a mission that was futile for the Nod cause.
Close to three hundred GDI soldiers had been killed in defending themselves. Harrison wished he could get all his men medals for what they had done but it wasn't possible. Command would deem that they hadn't gone 'Above and Beyond' the call of duty.
As Harrison poured French and himself a shot of whiskey he remembered a quote he had heard at the Officer's Academy:
"No person was ever honoured for what he received. Honour has been the reward for what he gave."