The airplanes transporting the 3rd Airborne Task Force were flying, in the middle of the night, above the Sino-Vietnamese border, escorted by the Dassault fighter jets of the Federal Air Force. Inside one of those planes, the entire 26th Battalion was silent, with its soldiers waiting to meet their destiny.
Giulio, however, felt an insane excitement at the idea of his Baptism of Fire. Partly, it was explained with the mixture of brandy and methamphetamine he had taken before the departure, partly, it was genuine.
"You ready, Sir?" Asked Corporal Martina Zorzi.
Giulio nodded. "You should really give a try to the methamphetamine, it helps."
"I think I'll pass..." She replied, giving him a disapproving look.
"Too bad." He shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, for God's sake, this place is feeling like a bloody funeral!" Shouted Giulio, standing up.
Immediately, the girl stood up and gently pushed him back to his seat. "Because we are about to go on a suicide mission and you, our commander, are drunk and on drugs."
"Don't shush me!" Replied Giulio, standing up. "We all need to cheer up! We need music!"
Thus, Giulio headed to a stereo that was on the airplane and began to search for an appropriate music.
"What are you doing?" Asked Major De Cristoforis.
"Just looking for a soundtrack."
"Galahad, please! Spare us! This is not Apocalypse Now!" Protested the officer.
Giulio did not listen to him. "Found it! Creedence Clearwater!"
"Here we go..." Complained, powerless, the major.
Soon, the notes of Bad Moon Rising invaded every corner of the airplane, until that moment so deadly silent, bringing in a new somewhat annoying, vitality.
"I see the bad moon a-rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightning
I see bad times today
Don't go around tonight
Well, it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise (...)"
The Operation Becherny was a major military operation, organised by Supreme Command of the European Armed Forces in Indochina with the objective of taking down the Chongzuo Air and Missile Base, in Southern China. From the success of this operation, according to Hanoi, depended the possibility of relieving the European forces in Northern Vietnam and Laos from Chinese air and missile attacks, as well as the capability of launching a major offensive in Chinese territory, aiming at seizing the city of Chongzuo.
The operation was to be a joint operation between all the Armed Forces, including the National Guard and consisted of an air landing near the base, to be carried on by the 3rd Army Airborne Task Force, supported by the 5th Airborne Brigade "Valmy" of the National Guard. The air landing was to be preceded by an air raid along the border, to destroy detection and interdiction systems, as well as to mislead the Chinese into believing that there would have been an offensive up North, where instead the 6th Polish Division was to engage the local Chinese forces. While the Army airborne units were to depart from Hanoi, the National Guard was to be transported to the location from the Beibu Gulf, departing from amphibious vessels of the Federal Navy, which was also bombing the naval installations of Fangchenggang, Qinzhou and Beihai.
When the airplanes transporting the 3rd left from the Hanoi Military Airport, the Polish troops had already engaged the Chinese, supported by the Air Force, which had just finished clearing the way for the airborne task force. However, the Navy had just been faced by a way harsher resistance than expected, in the Beibu Gulf, leading to a naval battle, making it impossible for the National Guard to send its troops.
Absence of support from the National Guard would have meant that the 3rd Task Force would have been way more exposed to the enemy and many officers began demand that the operation would be suspended. Yet, General Anou was inflexible: with or without the National Guard, his task force would attack.
"Brigadier General Anou is a stupid moron." Commented Major De Cristoforis, as he gathered his officers. "He wants to attack without half of the intended force."
"And he hasn't even bothered updating the plan." Noted Captain Mariani.
The discussion continued with all the officers expressing their anger and frustration, while only Giulio remained shut, just looking at the maps and the reports they had.
"Galahad-Canossa." Called then the Major. "Don't you have anything to contribute? Or are you still too high to be able to think?"
"As a matter of facts, sir, I was studying the maps and the intelligence reports, trying to figure out whether we could to something to compensate the reduction of our force.
"And?" Asked another Captain.
"We would need to make some important changes to the plan, but we can do it."
"Then we can't." Objected Major De Cristoforis. "General Anou refuses to make any change."
"What if we deliberately disobey him?" Asked Giulio.
"Do you want to go to the court martial?" Asked alarmed another officer.
"Still better than getting killed."
"I do not usually encourage disobeying orders, but if the plan is good, I may open an exception." Said then the Major.
At this point, Giulio began to explain: "Looking at the structure of the base, you can see that a part of its perimeter crosses those hills, which are covered by the jungle. Very well, based on our intelligence, their controls over there should be rather limited and inefficient, since entering there, presumes a longer walk, before reaching any important structure. Now, we can try sneaking in through the forest. Probably, General Anou will lose his nerves and proceed with the plan, by launching a frontal attack from the North, leading the Chinks to concentrate there. This should allow us to target the power plant, which we should disable first. Then we strike at the communication and intelligence structures and at the command, aiming at capturing the commanders, instead of going after the arsenals, then if we have time spared or if we are reinforced, we destroy the fuel depots, the control tower and all that stuff."
Everybody stood silent, just looking at Giulio and waiting for Major De Cristoforis to decide on whether the plan was valid or just the insanity of someone who had abused of alcohol and methamphetamine.
The Major, however, did not say a word. Instead, he took the map and stared at it for some time, only speaking after a couple of endless minutes.
"And you expect us to do all of that alone?"
"I guess so." Replied Giulio.
The Major thought about it for a bit more: "It's reasonable. Let's discuss the details."
Twenty minutes later, the plan was set, just on time to launch. Major De Cristoforis, understanding that they would be committing a serious act of insubordination, had ordered his soldiers to disable all the communication devices, so to make impossible for Anou to track them down or interfere. Only him would keep the contact with the rest of the task force, and with his subordinates, whom by now had rather specific orders on what each of them was expected to do. Even the pilots were instructed by him to launch them in a more convenient position.
In all of this, Giulio's company was to be the first to launch, as it was given the mission of disabling the powerplant. Thus, they aligned in front of the hatchway, waiting for its opening.
"Guys, when we'll be down there, keep one thing in mind." Started Giulio. "A good Chink, is a dead Chink!"
"Hurrah!" Shouted the soldiers.
The hatchway opened over the darkness of the jungle. Green light. Giulio jumped first. He let himself fall for a little bit, enjoying the sensation of the free fall from such a deadly height, which he found somehow pleasing and relaxing. It was his way of saluting Death, before securing his place on his bank of the Styx, by opening the parachute.
He landed in the middle of the jungle, remaining stuck on top of a tree, while most of his soldiers managed to land in meadow nearby, without major difficulties.
"Are you alright, Sir?" Shouted Sergeant Dellantonio, which came immediately, with the rest of the unit, to his rescue.
"Lower your voice!" Was Giulio's stern reply. "If I jump from here, in the best case I get a broken leg, I need some help.
"I knew it wasn't a smart idea to parachute in the jungle." Commented the Sergeant Major, shaking his head. "Corporal Zorzi, could you go rescue him?"
"Yes, sir!" Replied the girl, saluting the sergeant, then climbing the tree.
She went on, climbing the tree, then tying a rope to the trunk of the tree and tying herself to it, tried to reach Giulio.
"Are you wounded, Sir?"
"I'm fine." Replied Giulio. "Be careful, though. That branch doesn't look strong."
"Don't worry, Sir, I'm experienced."
"Well, then I guess I am in good hands." Replied Giulio.
She then threw the remaining part of the rope to her commander. "Tie yourself to it, then reach me here."
He did so, then slowly reached the girl, who cut off the parachute.
"Thanks." Said Giulio, as they begin to move back to the trunk.
"You're welcome." Replied Martina.
All of a sudden, however, they heard a loud noise of wood breaking and fell down right after, being only saved by the rope, which however, made them hit violently the trunk of the tree.
"Shit!" Exclaimed Giulio.
"Are you fine, Sir?" Asked the young corporal, while on the ground, all the soldiers gathered around the tree, worried.
"I am, but the amount of noise and all those animals escaping will reveal our position."
"We'll be quick, then. We just came half-way down, after all."
As soon as the two reached the ground, the march resumed. Much for Giulio's irritation, they had nearly 20 minutes, while as he feared, that small rescue operation had scared several birds who slept on those trees, who flying away, caught the attention of the Chinese guards of the base, who immediately sent out a few recon drones.
Luckily, they managed to elude them and advanced through the jungle, with their infrared glasses on, in the direction of the fence of the base, while Giulio was already contacted by Captain Mariani, who was by no means happy to learn of their delay. Yet, they now proceded quickly and silently accompanied by a light rain and soon reached the fence of the base.
"The safest way is by climbing those trees." Suggested Sergeant Dellantonio.
"Seriously?" Asked Giulio, examining the fences and the area around.
"I'm afraid so, sir." Added Corporal Zorzi. "There are too many sensors on the ground. We would be detected immediately.
Giulio took a long breath. "Fine then, let's play Tarzan for a bit more."
Thus, they went on climbing some nearby trees whose branches reached those of other trees inside the fence, allowing them to bypass it. In this, they still had to put down some sentinels with their knives, but still managed to go unnoticed. So, while from the North they could hear already the battle raging between their comrades and the Chinese, they opened a passage for the rest of the unit and headed towards their objectives.
In order to speed up the operation, Giulio decided to divide his force, sending two squads (20 men), under Sergeant-Major Dellantonio to the powerplant and anoter one (10 men) to open the passages in the fence, while he took the remaining two with him, to the command centre.
Sneaking inside the base with his men, including Corporal Martina Zorzi, Giulio took them to a storage, close to the command centre, where he made his soldiers change the uniforms and wear Chinese ones.
"Are you sure this will work?" Asked Martina.
Giulio shrugged his shoulders. "We can only try, after all it's our first time."
"And I hope it won't be the last." She concluded, taking her clothes off.
"If you need any help..." Started Giulio, wanting to tease her.
"Maybe on one thing." She replied.
"Of course."
"Could you please turn to the other side?"
Some of the soldiers were still changing the uniforms, when they heard the door opening...
"Everyone in hiding! Turn off the lights and close the door at my signal!" Whispered Giulio, taking his knife and hiding behing a box.
Two Chinese soldiers entered the storage. They were talking between themselves and seemed to be searching for clean clothes and K-rations. Giulio took off his knife, put on the infrared glasses and signalled to his soldier. The door was locked and the lights shut...
Giulio killed the first, closer to him, before he could even turn and the other right after, before he could even raise his gun, by cutting his throat. Thus, when the lights were turned on again, he found himself with the hands stained of their blood and the two corpses near him, with their faces contracted in the last expression of terror. He looked at the two: privates, surely in their 20s, likely recruits who came from the civilian life. These, he realised, were the first two kills in his life.
Soon after, his comrades disabled the powerplant by inserting a virus in its operative system. As soon as this happened and the entire base was in the darkness, he and his twenty soldiers, disguised as Chinese, entered the command centre:
"I'm here to protect the General, where is he?" He asked in Chinese to the guards at the entrance.
"Third floor, centre of command or fourth floor, office." Replied a Chinese soldiers, who not being able to see his face, assumed he was a Chinese officer.
"Where is he now? I know where the fuck he stays."
"I don't know, Sir!" Exclaimed the soldier.
"Fucking idiot. You others, with me!" He muttered, driving his soldiers inside.
The building was still completely dark, but he knew it was a matter of minutes, before the emergency power generator would start working, making their disguise fall. Thus, he drove his soldiers upwards through the emergency stairs without saying a word. In all of this, he kept the communication with his subordinates to the minimum possible and had forbidden the soldiers to talk between themselves. The only few times he had something to say, he would do it in Chinese, then gesturing for his soldiers to understand.
The third floor was packed with Chinese soldiers controlling the corridors, as they were clearly fearing an attack at the heart of the base. Thus, as soon as they got there, the young nobleman signaled to his soldiers to lock all the accesses to the floor, while he, along with Corporal Martina Zorzi and her squad, would go after the command room and all the high-ranking officers. It was then, however, that troubles started...
"You are not Chinese!" Exclaimed an officer, who saw them entering. "I recognise your gestures. You are Europeans!"
"Hai ragione, bastardo!"* Replied Giulio, in Italian, right before raising his automatic gun and firing at will on the officer, killing him. "Take cover!" He then shouted, as the Chinese began to flood that segment of the corridor.
"The aims remain the same! Block the accesses and now clear this place. A good Chink..." He threw a grenade in the corridor, causing many casualties. "Is a bloody dead Chink! Now, Zorzi, with me!"
Thus, the battle between the Alpini and the Chinese raged in those still dark corridors, while the Europeans tried to block the entrances and Giulio to reach the command room, a task that was now made harder than he hoped.
Finally, the emergency generator activated, making well visible the floor covered with bodies and blood and the walls also stained with it. In the middle of this, Giulio prepared to broke inside the command room.
"Like in the drilling. We blow the door; I go first and you cover me."
"Giulio... I... I am not sure." Muttered Martina, putting her hand on his arm and holding his sleeve.
"Martina, you can do it. It's like the exercise." Replied Giulio, taking her hand. "Now get ready, I am going first, don't worry."
The girl took a long breath, then entered the formation, right behind her commander. Giulio then placed the bomb on the lock of the door, blowing it, then he kicked the door and with the other five soldiers broke inside.
"Now it's with us. Alpini, avanti!" He shouted as he did it, firing as soon as he was inside.
Inside the command room were the top commanders of the base and the commander of the local detachment of the Chinese intelligence, along with other officers, operators and intelligence agents. All of those, as they saw the Europeans breaking in, opened fire and managed to take down a European soldier, but the others were quick in taking coverage and returning the fire. The Chinese were well determined to defend their superiors and whatever secrets might have been in the base, giving to Giulio and his men a hard time, but eventually the Europeans, in spite of their inferiority, managed to take down most of them and force the others to surrencer.
"You throw all of your weapons to this side of the room and remain seated over there. Corporal Zorzi, you and your unit will guard them, while I inspect the rest of the platoon.
"Sir, yes sir!" She replied.
Giulio went then to inspect the rest of the floor, where combat had ceased. He found out that the engagement had claimed the lives of four more Europeans, including an NCO, while leading to the elimination of all Chinese enemies. However, there was now a new problem: the soldiers from the lower floor were now storming their position, seeking to liberate their superiors.
Thus, he decided to call to his position the rest of his platoon, with orders to clear the building from all Chinese soldiers. In the meantime, the plan seemed to work: with the power and the communication down, the defenders were now in disarray, allowing the Alpini to begin the sabotage operations across the base, while Anou and his force could break through the fortifications of the base. This whole situation allowed Giulio to receive his reinforcements quickly and focus on the prisoners he had got.
"Well, well, well." He started, as he walked through the officers and operators he had captured. "What an interesting group we've got here: who's in charge?"
Nobody replied, but he let his eyes fall on an old General, who looked at him with disdain. "You are the highest-ranking officer here, so I assume it's you, and you must be the commander of the Rocket Force units." He added, pointing at another Lieutenant General.
None of them replied. So, he punched one of the two in the face, breaking him a tooth.
"Seize their documents." Commanded them Giulio. "We'll make them talk."
While outside the fighting was raging between his unit and the last defenders of the command centre, he began the identification of each officer: he realised he had captured all the commanders of the base, plus the head of the local intelligence base, with his deputy commander.
"Sir, there is a call from Major De Cristoforis." Intervened his unit's radio operator.
"Galahad here." Replied Giulio, on the radio.
"Congratulations for the success, Lieutenant." Replied the Major. "I've been in touch with General Anou and it looks like we've got a serious problem now."
"What is that?"
"The National Guard isn't landing and apparently the Chinks will carpet bomb this place and then send over a brigade from Nanning."
"A carpet bombing? Are they insane?" Asked Giulio, appalled.
"This is what our intelligence claims. General Anou wants us to evacuate the base and head to the border."
"This is even more insane!" Protested Giulio.
"This is not up to you to evaluate, Lieutenant." Cut short the Major. "Will reach you there in ten minutes. Gather all useful prisoners and materials. Dispose of all the rest."
"Right." Replied Giulio, with a sigh. "Yes, sir."
He then looked at the prisoners: they were looking at him, waiting for something. Some of them, in their eyes, expressed anger, others fear, others just resignation. They all knew he was about to take an important decision; so he did: "Corporal Zorzi, the orders were clear: execute all the prisoners except for the intelligence officers and those ranking above Brigadier General."
"But sir, this is a war crime."
"Do not question my orders." Cut short the nobleman. "I've been told to dispose of anything and anyone we could not carry."
While the corporal and her unit executed Giulio's criminal order, he went to the archive with another sergeant of his unit, to search for sensitive materials.
"What exactly are we looking for, sir?"
"Sensitive materials of all sort, military, scientific, whatever. Our tech experts are already emptying the database, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was stuff kept in paper." Explained Giulio throwing away some files he found to be useless.
It was during this frenetic search that his eyes fell on a box on top of which was hand-written, in Latin characters "GEASS". Without really knowing what to expect, he opened it, finding it filled with documents of all type. As he moved them, at its bottom, he also found a big, old book, with its cover in leather and the pages in parchment.
"Sergeant, look at this!" Called Giulio, then reading the title loud: "De Potestate Regum, by Friar Giovanni da Montecorvino, Archbishop of Khanbaliq."
"About the Power of Kings?" Asked the Sergeant. "Is it right? Why is a treaty on politics here?"
"It's not a treaty on politics." Replied Giulio, analysing the book, with a malicious smirk. "It's a grimoire. And those are... Dossiers."
"What?"
"The Chinks have been experimenting something."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"But I do." Told him Giulio, putting everything back into the box and standing up. "I'll take this with me, set everything else on fire and if anyone asks, we have never found this."
Soon after, Giulio re-joined his battalion and the rest of the troop to evacuate the base, which they had by then reduced to a huge burning camp. Thus, with the mission accomplished but now without the possibility of being rescued and having to run away from the Chinese, the Europeans took the jungle, heading to the Vietnamese border, hoping not to be intercepted. They were also taking with them the officers captured by Giulio, along with other members of the Chinese Intelligence that they had managed to identify during the operations and several Gygabites on sensitive information about the Chinese forces in the region.
During this long march, however, Giulio's only thought concerned the documents he had rescued from the archive. What was this "Power of Kings"? What would it do? The few pages he had seen talked of how it would enable its users to exert absolute power over any human being, but how? Anyhow, he had decided to keep everything for himself and not hand it to his superiors: he would rather study those documents himself, than handing an unknown power to the European State.
Thus, the Europeans marched into the forest for several hours, with the Chinese after them, who tried to mobilise as many troops they could to stop and encircle them. It was only after the sunrise that General Anou finally authorised a stop, on top of a hill, already close to the border. From there, they could see the Chinese fortifications only a few kilometers ahead of them and hear and see the European forces striking at them.
"Thank God!" Said Giulio, as he let himself fall against a tree, feeling the exhaustion, as the effect of the drug went away.
"Chocolate?" Asked him Captain Mariani, sitting next to him.
"Thanks." Replied Giulio, accepting some.
"General Anou is fucking insane." Continued the Captain. "It's unbelievable that he just made the whole force march together."
"Well, seems to have worked out." Replied the young nobleman, while eating all the bar of chocolate. "Sorry." He then added, noticing what he just did.
"Never mind. We had to leave behind many exhausted soldiers, the march was slowed and we will likely to be surrounded by the Chinks, as we're just too close to them to go unnoticed. You call it working?"
"Fine, I'll just take back what I say." Replied Giulio. "Plus, we may be on top of a hill, but there's no bloody visibility here."
As soon as he finished his sentence, a fighter jet passed at a low altitude and full speed above their heads, with its deafening sound.
"Tell me it was one of ours." Said the Captain, with a resigned tone.
Giulio shook his head. "I'm afraid it was Chinese... I've learned to recognise them by the sound of their engines."
"Great." Said the Captain. "I think I've got some brandy left; do you accept it?"
"Sure, do you want some methamphetamine? I always keep some."
"Good. We'll need it." Cut short the Captain.
Their fears were to prove tragically right, as just as they had stopped to recover energies, the Chinese had started an encirclement manoeuvre. They had made of rescuing the prisoners and the information an absolute priority, along with the elimination of a brigade-size force. For this reason, the Eunuchs had send all the way from Peking their finest General: the young Li Xingke, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Ceremonial Guard.
NOTES
Dear readers,
Apologies for delivering this chapter a day later than usual, but as I traveled yesterday it became impossible for me to post it. I hope you are enjoying those last Vietnam-war-inspired chapter, as we get into the most action-oriented part of this first story. I'll take the opportunity to thank all of those who have been following and reading this story so far and please, feel free to leave any questions, opinions etc.