Advanced Wars: Chaotic Ultimatum
Chapter 5: Battle Memorial
"Colin! Hurry it up! We need to get to Orange Star as soon as humanly possible!"
"Yes sir! Sorry sir!" Olaf was seeing red. Now that the grieving process was over, Olaf felt a deep-seated hate towards Black Hole for taking Grit's life. Deep down, he knew he was being hard on Colin, and he wished he could have explained why, but it was beyond him. Other than Olaf, Grit had been Colin's complete idol, and telling him that Grit was dead was something the Olaf could not bring himself to do just yet. He was snapped out of another anger-driven daydream by Colin's voice. "Sir, are you okay? You seem upset about something." Olaf looked at him for a moment… then closed his eyes and sighed.
"Yes Colin, I'm okay. I'm just a little stressed because… we aren't making very good time walking through these woods! Let's just keep moving. I'll be fine."
"Right sir!" Olaf sighed again and tried to keep from glaring. He knew he couldn't pick on Colin, especially since he would have to break the news to him eventually. "Sir, when will Commander Grit be meeting up with us?" That was it. Olaf knew he couldn't keep it from Colin any longer.
"Well Colin… you see, Grit won't be joining us. I didn't want to tell you this yet, but I'm afraid that… Grit is-" Suddenly, a shot rang out, causing the two to yell in surprise. "Take cover! Colin, do you have the binoculars?" He was already pulling Colin behind a nearby boulder.
"Yes sir, they're right here."
""Give them to me now!" Olaf grabbed the binoculars and slowly peered over the rock, focusing them on where he thought the shot had come from. Sure enough, he saw a small group of recon units in the nearby trees.
"Is it Black Hole sir?" Olaf zoomed in on one of the units. One look told him the answer.
"Yes Colon. There's a black, spiral-like insignia on the side of one of the units. Black Hole must have stationed look outs along the land route to watch for us."
"What course of action should we take Commander Olaf sir?"
"We don't know what kind of forces we're up against yet Colin. We need to scope out the situation using recon units, but they already know we're here, so they'll probably expect that. This is bad for us. We can't advance until the situation is safe, but we're pressed for time." Olaf pondered on the bad situation, while Colin looked around for some sort of answer. It started to rain, which caused Colin to look up. It was a good thing he did.
"Sir, look! I think our problem is solved!" Olaf looked up at the sky too, and saw more than rain. He saw fog. "Now we can conceal the units in the trees and still scope out the situation!" Olaf showed one of his rare smiles.
"Good work Colin, this is perfect! First, what I want you to do is send a few recon units in to do some spy work. That way we can get a good idea of what types of units we're dealing with."
"Yes sir!" Colin was already off to arrange it. A few minutes later, about 10 units were scattering themselves around the area where the enemy had been sited. Colin returned to Olaf's side.
"They're moving in sir. We should know what we're dealing with soon." Sure enough, before Olaf could respond, one of the recon units radioed in.
"Sir, this is bad. The number of units is small, but it seems most of them are neotanks! We don't have that kind of firepower with us!" Olaf grabbed the receiver.
"Hold your position for the moment soldier."
"Yes sir!" Olaf put the receiver down, a look of intense concentration on his face.
"They have neotanks? This could be bad for us." Olaf was really worried. He hadn't expected Black Hole to station anyone to wait for them. If he had, he would have brought more firepower, but all that was available were the infantry and a few recon units. There were plenty of supplies, but without a proper base available, it would take an unnecessary amount of time to build more units, and by then it would be too late.
"Sir?"
"What is it Colin? I need to concentrate on this battle. We'll need all the resources we have if we even stand a chance of surviving this."
"Well it's about that sir. I gathered basic intel on our surroundings. It seems there are a few abandoned bases in the nearby area." Olaf's head shot up.
"Are you sure Colin? This isn't the best strategical area for bases. It's too far from the Northern Coast, where Black Hole normally comes from." Colin nodded.
"I'm sure sir. I had the buildings checked out. They're pretty weathered, and it's obvious they haven't been used in a while, but they'll suit our needs." Olaf was still puzzled. What would bases be doing in such a non-aggressive area? Suddenly he remembered. The bases were real alright, he had used them himself, way back before they had even known about Black Hole. The bases were abandoned because they hadn't been used since the battles between Blue Moon and Orange Star. Now that the two were allies, there was no need for them… until now. Olaf chuckled at their good fortune.
"Good work my boy!"
"Thank you sir! I also have one more bit of intel that might be useful."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"Well sir, Black Hole's units… they don't seem to be advancing. I don't think they're here to attack us, only to keep us from advancing. That means that even though we are pressed for time getting to Orange Star, we don't have to worry about a time limit before they get to us, as of now." Olaf grinned and slapped Colin on the back.
"Brilliant work Colin! You are shaping up to be a fine CO indeed!" Colin blushed and mumbled a thank you. This was the ultimate compliment to Colin, who both admired Olaf and wanted to live up to his great leadership in battle. "Now, the only problem is those neotanks. With firepower like that, there's no way we can take them head-on. That means we'll have to use… long-range combat." Olaf looked at the ground. Long-range had always been Grit's specialty.
"It's too bad Commander Grit isn't here sir. He's the best at long-range combat." With the concept of a battle at hand, Olaf had totally forgotten that Colin didn't know yet, and that he had intended to tell him before the situation had arisen. Olaf sighed and turned to Colin.
"Colin, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I can't keep this from you any longer. Commander Grit is… gone." Colin's blank expression told Olaf that Colin didn't understand. "He was… killed in an attack on the coast yesterday." Colin's eyes widened. He turned and looked away from Olaf. This was so Olaf couldn't see a single tear falling from his face onto the ground, but Olaf saw it, and he knew how Colin felt. "Colin, I know how you feel. Grit was like a brother to me, and losing him is very hard to accept, but-" Colin whipped around, his face filled with determination, and not a single tear on his face.
"We have to win this! To avenge Commander Grit sir! Let me lead the attack, I won't let either of you down!" Olaf was surprised for a moment. The boy had the heart of a CO alright. He had intended to allow the command of Blue Moon to fall to Grit first, after he retired, but this was no longer possible. Olaf wasn't upset about this anymore (it had been hanging in the back of his mind for a time), because he felt that he could entrust Colin now, a young boy perhaps, but a boy with the makings of a true leader. He stared at Colin for a few more seconds, and gave in to his instincts.
"Colin, there is no-one I would trust more with this task."
"Thank you sir! I'll make you proud!" Colin took command, and Rockets were made. Colin began leading them into the forested areas. Olaf thought about how putting Colin in charge would affect things. Sure his inexperience made his units less powerful, but Colin was able to make more of them. Even so, he knew Colin would have a hard time winning this. Once the neotanks came under fire, they would start advancing quickly. If Colin's forces didn't take out the neotanks before they reached him, it would be game over for them. Neotanks moved quickly too. Olaf pondered… and suddenly an idea hit him.
"Movement…that's what it comes down to! How long it will take for Black Hole to move to us, but we don't have to move at all! It's simply a matter of making sure they have a hard time moving…" Olaf contacted Colin on the front line immediately.
"Colin, when all of your rockets are in position, I want you to tell me immediately. I have a plan that will help us win this battle!" Colin responded at once.
"Yes sir! But what's your plan?"
"You'll see my boy! You'll see!" Olaf prepared to put his plan into action. Minutes later, Colin came on the line.
"We're in position Commander Olaf sir!"
"Good, good! Fire at will! I'm putting my plan into action as we speak!" Colin obeyed.
"All units fire at will! This is for Commander Grit!" Missiles began spiraling through the air. 6 of them hit a neotank, which exploded. More missiles hit more neotanks, which also exploded. At this point, Black Hole was moving in quickly. "Whatever Commander plans to do, he'd better do it quickly! The missiles gave away our locations. Once they move in and spot us, we won't stand a chance!" Colin felt a sudden chill on the back of his neck. Something cold had landed there. Colin looked up and smiled. For the second time today, weather had saved them, but this wasn't just any weather. It was… "Snow! Commander Olaf is using his CO power to make it snow! Ground units have trouble moving in the snow!" Colin contacted Olaf. "Sir! That was brilliant! Ingenious! Absolutely-"
"Enough Colin, I get the idea!" Olaf laughed "I've been saving that one just in case! Thought it might help you out! It seems your impressed, but don't forget why I did it! I bought you some time, use it wisely!"
"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Colin turned back to the task at hand. Through a pair of binoculars, he saw the neotanks still moving, but they were going much slower now. "Continue firing! Let's use this to our advantage while we can!" By now, the neotanks were being greatly reduced, and some had even begun to retreat. This was futile, as missiles flew in every direction, taking out the cowards trying to flee from the battle. It went on in this way, until finally; there was only one neotank left, while Colin's rockets hadn't even been touched. "Finally, the last one! On my command!" Colin was about to give the command to fire, when a gruff voice came from behind.
"Wait Colin!" Colin turned to see Olaf joining him on the front line. "You've done very well boy. Nevertheless, I think I'd like to take this last one if it's alright with you."
"Of course sir!" It had stopped snowing a while ago, and the ground was becoming easier and easier to travel on. Using this to its advantage, the last neotank turned tale and began driving madly away into the forest, trying to escape the inevitable. Olaf glared at it. "So it's cowards like this that make up the Black Hole army… you take away life and freedom as you please, and then you run away when it's your turn. You make me sick!" Olaf's eyes narrowed at the pitiful lone vehicle. "For Grit! FIRE!" Every rocket with ammo left in it fired, causing an explosion that took out not only the neotank, but the surrounding woods as well. It was over. They had won.
"We did it sir! Victory!" Olaf turned to Colin and patted his shoulder.
"WE is right Colin. You did a great job today. Grit would have been proud." Colin looked down at the ground and blushed again.
"Th… Thank you for saying so sir. That means a lot to me."
"Don't mention it Colin. Now, let's move on! We do have a limited amount of time you know!"
"Yes sir! Troops, lets move on!" As they resumed their journey to Orange Star, Colin and Olaf were smiling. And they weren't alone. At that very moment, from the seclusion a wooded hill about 30 yards behind, was a lanky figure looking through a pair of powerful binoculars and grinning along with them.
"Nice victory. That was some fine shootin' on Colin's part. And Olaf; just as resourceful as ever! This is still a big war though, and I'll be needed in the future. Better stay low until they need me. I'll be of more use if Black Hole doesn't know I'm still… aw shucks! They're movin' again already? I better not fall behind. Orange Star, here I come!" And there went the man known as Grit.
