Chapter 3

King Lancelot had expected that his forces would push the Elysians back towards the shore once they made it past the seawall but that never happened. With the bulk of his forces massed along the East Coast in anticipation of an attack here, it would be some time before they could be moved into position and in the meantime, those fighting the Elysians would have to throw whatever manpower they could into a defensive fight. Offensives were okay so long as they were skirmishes and not full on battles where the Imperial Troops were certain to lose.

Worse still, communications were being hampered by the fact that his messenger Pteranodons were being shot down by Elysian Troops with shotguns, forcing him to employ slower but more reliable ground based Indomimus Rex messengers. But because they were slower, by the time the news that Los Angeles has fallen arrived at the White Palace, the whole of California, Oregon, and Leister had been captured along with Arizona. Even though there was a central command in the Elysian Military, it served nothing more than to oversee the situation on the battlefield and report back to the president the current state of the war.

Generals and commanders on the ground were not bound by specific rules of engagement and could use any method they pleased to achieve a specific objective given by high command, though mobile warfare seemed to be everyone's tactic. This decentralized method of command allowed Elysian officers to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing battlefield and make the necessary decision. By contrast, Imperial Officers of North Cretaceous had to lead their men as ordered by Field Marshall Brad Sloane, the total commander of North Cretaceous Forces. And Brad didn't exactly lead from the front either.

He gave orders from his office and never stepped foot on the frontlines where his soldiers fought. When the order was given, his subordinate officers would follow the battle from lookout posts and direct the lower field officers who in turn would lead the men into battle, all of them taking great care not to change their plans without the Field Marshall's permission. Those who disobeyed him were stripped of all titles and disappeared while another officer took their place. It didn't matter if they were more experienced than Brad, he saw himself as the undisputed commander of the army and would not let a lowly subordinate change his plan.

The further failures at Nevada and Arizona didn't change his ways either and now, Idaho was the next doomed state. From the airbase established near Las Vegas, Colonel Richard May and Littlefoot boarded a C-130 Transport which was part of a flight of six transporting the entire Marine Battalion North. Capturing Idaho was vital to the war effort as it would not only cripple one of the enemy's main sources of food but also provide the army with an easy way to feed its soldiers. Air Cavalry units have already been dropped into key areas to conduct reconnaissance missions side-by-side with LRRPs.

"So I won't be playing any part in the fighting?" Littlefoot asked. "Or will I be carrying explosives once more?"

"No, command wants to use you as a test-bed for an experimental piece of gear." He answers. "Apparently it's some sort of automated gun turret."

"I'm getting turned into a tank?"

"Probably."

"Sounds dangerous and fun at the same time."

By 1320 hours, the Leister airfield slipped under the wings of the C-130 and they were soon on the ground. While the Marines assembled at the assembly area with the Colonel, Littlefoot was led to the armory where he met up with PFC. Robert Wayland. Like him, Robert too was testing an experimental weapon, a XM60E1LWHB, a lightened version of the standard issue M60E1 machine gun with a thicker "heavy barrel". It was hoped that this would become the replacement for the venerable M60E1.

"Are you sure you have the right gun?" Littlefoot asks. "That looks exactly like what you were carrying in Los Angeles."

"Well, it's considerably lighter and slightly shortened." He explains. "Though I would've loved it if they added MIL-1913 Picatinny Rail to allow users to add accessories if they desired."

Suddenly an engineer pulls Littlefoot away and takes him to a backroom where he dons his new piece of kit for the first time. Engineers have spent months fabricating the Kevlar Armor which covered every single part of his body and was capable of stopping a full powered 7.62x51mm Armor Piercing round. Head protection was equally impressive. Instead of a standard issue helmet, Littlefoot had a full face helmet with Kevlar on the inside to protect him from shrapnel.

Small holes were cut in the area where his nostrils were to allow him to breathe easier and the two ports where his eyes looked out from were fitted with bulletproof glass. On every single one of his legs were Kevlar boots for protection and care was made to place extra "hard plates" in the area where his vitals were. Finally, came the most important part of his kit; the AWS. It was, like Delta Arms said, an automatic machine gun turret and the machine gun they chose couldn't be better suited.

It was a M60C, designed primarily as offensive armament for aircraft and helicopters. The electronically operated nature of this firearm made it the perfect candidate for the AWS and with some modifications, James had a big ammunition box fitted onto the side which held up to 30,000 rounds of 7.62x51mm Armor Piercing Ammunition. Decked out in armor and armed with a machine gun capable of mowing down an entire army within a matter of seconds, Littlefoot would supplement the SAW gunners and smoke as many bad guys as he could while the Marines advanced.

On two separate occasions, Littlefoot made history. First, he showed that dinosaurs could be more than cannon fodder and now, he was about to become the first ever dinosaur to go into combat with the Elysian Devildogs. They left the base precisely one hour after arrival in a convoy of AAVs, heading towards the state owned Wesley Potato Farm, one of the largest potato farms and the kingdom's main source of potatoes. Directly behind the AAVs was a small troop of tanks. Since the enemy had no armored vehicles of its own, there was no need to put the tanks up front.

Everything was the same along the front as Elysian forces were once again on the move, smashing their way through Imperial defenses as they surged towards the capitol. Upon their arrival at the Wesley Potato Farm, the AAVs were met with absolute silence, highly unusual considering how important this farm was to North Cretaceous. Chaos and confusion on all other fronts was ruled out as captured messages from messengers who were shot down clearly indicated that all defenders stationed at potato farms are to hold out until explicitly ordered to pull back.

Knowing that he was the most armored of his comrades, Littlefoot volunteered to disembark from the AAV and investigate. When he did, there was still no sign of enemy action and the only thing which greeted him was the eerie silence. Other Marines including PFC. Robert Wayland were soon out of their AAVs and they began moving into the storage warehouses and administration building. Things quickly got weirder when they find these buildings empty as well.

Did the field commander panic and order a general retreat? Or did these defenders simply abandon their post out of fear? The fact that they've left all their belongings here seemed to suggest the latter. On the top floor of the administration building, PFC Robert looks out from the window while clutching his XM60E1LWHB. Compared to the M60E1 he had been carrying before, this gun was indeed lighter, so light that he could hold it one handed comfortably if he so desired.

Below him, the other Marines slowly moved out of the warehouses and carefully moved onto the farm itself. Suddenly, the sky darkened and as the men looked up, they were horrified to find hundreds of thousands of arrows raining down upon them. Fearful and in panic, they ran back towards the warehouses. Some were too slow and fell before they reached the doors while others hit the deck and prayed that their armor would be able to stop the large amount of arrows which would almost certainly hit them.

Inside the warehouse, Littlefoot was surprised to find panicked Marines running through the door. Suddenly the sound of machine gun fire catches his attention. It came from the administration building and there was only one man there who had a machine gun; PFC Robert Wayland. Littlefoot ran outside the warehouse, ignoring the Marines who shouted for him to stay inside. When he went through the door, the Apatosaurus found himself staring at the largest wave of men he had ever seen

So that's where they were, he thought. The defenders were extremely cunning in their defensive plan. Not only did they not fight toe to toe with the attackers but they lured the enemy into an area where they were weakest and enlisted the help of a nearby Ballista battery to deal heavy casualties. And now with the enemy in disarray, they charged, hoping to overwhelm them and capture some of the advanced "steel carriages" which almost certainly brought them into the battlefield.

Unfortunately for them, they failed to account for an armored Apatosaurus who had a rather nasty surprise for them. Littlefoot hits the deck and buried his head behind his front legs just as the computer on board the AWS identified the targets ahead of him.

RATATATATATATATATATATATATA

Seconds after its carrier hit the deck, the M60C machine gun roared to life, guided by the AWS as it mowed down the attackers before they could get close. Suddenly, the sky darkened once more. The ballista battery had fired another salvo but Littlefoot refused to budge. Almost thirty arrows struck his armor but they failed to even scrape the paint off the AWS and it kept firing as the second wave came charging. From the top floor of the administration building, PFC Robert Wayland stared in awe as he watched the motionless Sauropod mow down the advancing imperial soldiers.

Robert could've been firing in support but he was too much in awe to do anything. A brave soul the young Apatosaurus was, so much so that his life mattered not if others lived. The firing continued for several minutes(in bursts as the machine was programmed not to allow the weapon to overheat quickly)and when it stopped, bodies littered the field which was the potato plantation. Several minutes passed before some of the Marines emerged from the warehouse where they find that Littlefoot still hadn't moved.

He was lying motionless where he was and the arrows stuck in him seem to suggest the worse. PFC. Robert Wayland rushed down from the administration building to join the rest of his comrades just as the radioman received reports that the Ballista Battery had been silenced by advancing Elysian Forces. Before the Potato Farm engagement, only a few of the Marines saw Littlefoot as one of their own due to the fact that he was a dinosaur.

All that has changed. Today all of Bravo Company witnessed the true bravery of the Apatosaurus who single handedly held back the enemy attack while his comrades were in disarray. Robert removed the Apatosaurus' full head armor and placed his hand on his nose to check for breathing.

When he did, he closed his eyes and sighed.