It's been over 3 months since the last update, and for that, I do apologize. I've been busy with graduate school and with working on a story that I hope to polish enough to get published. Despite that, I've gotten this chapter done to my liking and, at least for those living in or west of the United States' mountain time zone, managed to get it out before the first half of January was over. It won't be 3 months until the next update, though I can't guarantee it will be out quickly.
Well, onwards!
Update 3/27/2013: Well. I was busy with grad school, and I was taking a break to work on my side-projects (original fic and programming a Fire Emblem-style tactics game), but I recently felt inspired to continue this story. Contrary to what I said above, it's almost another 3 months since the last chapter, but I'm working on a new chapter now and I'll try to get it out before the 15th of April.
Field Training IV: Unit Repair 1
North Jefferson City – Ruined Mega-mall Complex
Sasha's Division – 97th Mechanized Battalion, A Company, 1st Platoon
December 14, 2:20 AM
Lieutenant Nemorov was patrolling the parking garage when the gunshot happened.
The garage had taken some shells, but not enough that there was a danger of structural collapse. A few of Nemorov's men were injured, and third squad was being sown back together after the tanks had hit earlier, but there were no deaths so far. In the meantime, the Bowlheads' artillery were slowly pulling back, keeping out of range of Grit and Sasha's forces, but there were always a couple that stayed back to fire at the rotunda despite such action meaning certain doom. Seemed as though Olaf had been wrong about their spirit breaking.
Speaking of Olaf, he was still being treated in the pit. A few shells had gone off a little too close, and a second medical team was down there now. Nell was still nowhere to be found.
Nemorov was just about to report in to Sasha when-
*pffft*
A ringing erupted in his left ear, drowning out his hearing. Dorogaia fell, a deep red blossoming from her right side, and Private Dityatev dropped to his back, blood spurting from the side of his mouth.
'Snipers. Bullet source?' Nemorov's voice in the Comnet was steady in his shock. Once again, he had danced with death. He reached absently to the side of his head, feeling a wetness on his ear, then dropped to the pavement, crawling toward Dityatev. When no medic was attached to a squad, the team leaders held a few first-aid packs filled with Emeraldine. Galya, as the squad leader, had some for herself, but not Dityatev. Nemorov removed one and placed the gel across the side and front of Dityatev's mouth to stop the bleeding.
He inspected the damage. The bullet had gone in his soldier's mouth and out through his cheek, taking out a few teeth and ripping his face but otherwise leaving him unharmed. It was something surgery could fix, but he needed to stop the bleeding.
'Still searching. The snipers were at different positions. There were two shots against your third squad outside.' Sasha sounded stressed.
Nemorov reached out through the Comnet. He could not find Sergeant Pervaia's presence, nor that of the other soldier who had been shot. He hoped they hadn't been hit in the head.
Another two presences disappeared from the Comnet. 'Sergeant Ignatova. Status.'
'It's all clear in the south. The snipers must have gone around.'
North and west. The directions that were supposedly under their control.
'Sasha here. We've located one of the marauders. Spetsnaz will handle it.'
'They do not mean to survive...' None of it made sense to Nemorov. It would be one thing if the Bowlheads intended to sneak in and assassinate Olaf, but there was no way they would make it into the site, not with his troops and Sasha's armor holding the area. The plan didn't make any strategic or tactical sense.
Well, it wasn't his business to think about that. It was his business to keep his soldiers alive. Here, though, there was nothing they could do but stay in cover and try to take advantage of Sasha's research into where the shots were coming from.
Another set of gunshots. Nemorov almost wished he was part of the main assault again. At least that way he could tell himself he was doing something. Here, his only sniper was out of commission, and when he went back to the ledge to look through his binoculars, he still saw nothing in the blinding snow.
It was at least half an hour before all of the snipers were killed or driven off. Six of his soldiers were dead, and another fifteen were wounded. That was almost half of his force.
'Pull back, Lieutenant. You did fine.' Sasha voice made him feel a little better, but some of his soldiers were still dead.
'They hid in thermal-shielded pockets around the city. Several buildings had them built in case of our invasion.' Sasha's fatigue weighed down the entire Comnet. 'Pull out, Lieutenant. Our leader is safe. The Bowlheads are pulling back. Armored will handle it from here.'
'Have we captured Nell?' Nemorov was still nervous. The Bowlheads knew the area; doubtless there was a passage leading out of the mall that they hadn't found.
'She's still missing. We found several tunnels leading away from the mall, along with a subway line. We're searching the passages now.'
'Permission to join the hunt, Colonel? Sergeant Vdovin will take the wounded to the nearest aid station.' Nemorov desperately wanted to help them search.
'If you feel up to it, then I could use more soldiers in the underground. I'll send you the routes through the Comnet.'
Nemorov glanced at Vdovin to make sure he heard, and Vdovin nodded. The long night was about to get longer, but Nemorov didn't care. If they captured Nell before she got away, his comrades' deaths would not be pointless.
Orange Star Command Post, Alara Region
4:55 AM
Gordon Tebowski was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when the APCs came to a halt outside the forward base.
"Alright, it's pile-out time," announced Sergeant Emilia "Lead" Hartgrove, making no motion to initiate said pile-out despite being seated near the now open door. "Briefing's at 0515, so make yourselves comfy here."
Gordon's fireteam leader, Eric "Pound" Pentz, was already off the APC, followed by Annie "Ember" and her light machine gun. Pound looked back at the rest of them. "Alright, guys. It's a windstorm out there, so you've got half an hour to practice freezing your ass off before we do it for real."
Before Gordon even stepped out, he found one what they meant. A gust of wind caught the side of his nose as he cleared the opening, bringing a feeling like he'd dipped it in cold water. There was no rain or snow, but the ground was like frozen mud, and he wouldn't blame anyone describing the base camp as such either. The tents weren't even insulated, and the command room was just another large tent.
"They've seriously got HQ equipment in that cheap ol' tent?" That was Rainy, the grenadier and last member of his fireteam. "Man, even the brass don't got it good here."
Gordon saw Tayless and Folger still sticking close together, staying away from Deuce, their fireteam's LMG user. Lead and Boss stayed in the APC talking while the rest of them stared at the camp.
As the other APCs pulled up, many of the soldiers disembarking from them had a similar reaction, standing outside the camp and talking and pointing.
Where's the commander here? Gordon didn't want to look cold, so he resisted the urge to hug himself, but he was starting to shake a little. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He hadn't joined the army just to freeze to death in the mountains.
Early morning training was second nature to him – hell, 4:30 AM was his wake-up call long before Sergeant Nasty and his Thousand Sirens. This time of the morning always had a surreal feel to it, but it was extra strong today.
This would be his first "proper" combat, after all.
The human mass started to move into the camp, and Gordon followed. No chance of a hot meal here; one deadfaced combat engineer handed them out small shots of coffee, bags of beef jerky, and the usual preserved veggie-fruit gel cups. Gordon ate the food in silence, but snuck a few strips of the jerky into his bag – if they were stuck out in the field for a while, it'd be better than the ration bars.
"Atten-hrumph!" That sound marked the start of the briefing, probably; Gordon stiffened up with all the others. The makeshift auditorium was just a half-sunken podium in front of a half-destroyed billboard advertising some kind of crackers.
A mustached officer with an irritating presence stood up on the podium, facing the squads. "At ease. Right, you're all here. I am Captain Jerry Stoneham, commander of the 19th Armored's Charlie Company. I'll be in temporary command of the 25th Infantry elements in this area for the duration of the engagement. Lieutenant Vena, you have the podium."
"S-sir!" Gordon's platoon commander stumbled up to the podium as Stoneham stared him up and down. Vena looked up at his, avoiding his gaze, then Stoneham laughed and stepped down from the podium, leaving a flustered Vena to speak.
"Alright. Our objective is the Blue Moon HQ across the three rivers to the east. Captain Stoneham has a couple tank groups fighting up front, but we've been pushed back across the bridge and we need to buy time for the tanks to regroup and resupply. Our job is to advance to the first river and support the heavy weapons squads that are currently holding the bridge. If an opportunity arises, we'll cross the bridge and hold at the village between the first and second river until the tanks are ready to move."
Stoneham waved a bit with his hands. "The Lieutenant and I will be in contact from the forward base. We also have a special guest... a trump card, you might say." Vena's eyes widened. Apparently he hadn't been told all the details.
Stoneham continued. "Code name Moses. Sadly, he's not here to say hi right now, but he'll be watching over you all with his staff up high. I've got a good feeling about this one. You deploy at 0600. Anything else to say, Vena?"
Vena shook his head, so Stoneham smiled, a fierce glint in his eye. "I apologize for all the secrecy, 25th Infantry. Rest assured, it'll all make sense in the course of things. Dismissed!"
"The hell was all that Moses stuff about?" muttered Rainy. "Hey, Bowski. Ever heard of it?"
"I don't think I'd get his message even if I did."
Rainy laughed. "Well, whatever. I'm glad that Vena's got someone watching over him. He's kind of new, if you couldn't tell. This Stoneham guy looks to know what he's doing."
"Captain Stoneham, if you will." Rainy jumped as Stoneham clapped a firm hand on his shoulder, as if out of nowhere. "Don't you worry, I'll give the Lieutenant some pointers."
"Sir," Gordon stuttered, saluting.
Stoneham returned the salute. "I'm looking for your squad leader. She slipped away right after I finished talking."
"No idea, sir," Rainy answered.
"I see. Well, dismissed." Stoneham slipped away into the crowd.
"Yikes." Rainy looked around. "He's good."
"How long have you been with the squad?" Gordon asked.
"I just joined 'em two weeks ago. Lead, Pound, Boss, and Ember were the originals. Man, it's been nasty both before and after I joined. Let's hope this one doesn't go ass-up."
Gordon remembered back to when he first met Lead. Jeez, how did Levi deal with you people, she had said. Looking at Rainy's suddenly stony expression, he decided not to ask. Instead,
"This Sto- Captain Stoneham doesn't seem like the type to make mistakes like that."
"Man, you don't need to screw up to get shot up. Sometimes the screw does it for you." Rainy sniffed at the air. "Weather's a bad omen. The Moonies are more used to this."
Gordon couldn't argue. It was becoming difficult to appear unbothered by the cold. "We don't really have time to do more than digest. No point hanging around here."
"They don't exactly have a mess hall here. Usually they ask us to keep busy, but it's like they don't even care."
"More energy for the fight," Gordon's throat and stomach tightened as soon as the word entered his mouth, "...then."
"Or the long walk to the fight." Rainy walked after him, though. "Well, maybe we'll find a nice heated basement around here."
Orange Star Command Post, Alara Region
6:30 AM
David Carroll felt in over his head this time. Perhaps it was the lack of comforts around the camp. Perhaps it was something else. His instincts screamed at him that there was something amiss, that someone he didn't want to face was nearby. David figured it was just a holdover from his dream. His sleep up until half an hour ago had been fevered, restless.
The infantry reinforcements were crossing the river just east of the HQ. At this rate, they would reaching the first contested crossing within an hour. At that crossing, Blue Moon's tanks were assaulting the bridge, shelling his heavy infantry squads from afar. The mechanics working on the tanks had better be as good as Stoneham said.
Speaking of Stoneham, he was there in the HQ again, hovering over David as he worked. David blamed the Captain for his lack of concentration, but perhaps it was the dreams that had done it to him. He couldn't even remember what they had been.
"Today's the big day, Advisor." Stoneham spoke suddenly. "We lose this battle, and we'll be mighty sunk."
"News from the capital?" At breakfast, that had been all the junior officers could talk about.
"Still no word on Nell, but they're closing in on the Jefferson Tower. The final walls are broken. There's fighting now in the innermost city, building to building. Can't see them lasting two more days."
To David, it seemed like it wouldn't matter anymore what they did here, but he didn't say that aloud. Besides, the soldiers here were counting on him. "So, if that's going on, why's this place so important?"
"If the mainland's smart, they'd best be sending us backup about now. They'll be coming in from the coast, but if things keep up, we might not even have that left by the time they arrive." Stoneham puffed on his cigar. "The Moonies won't have much firepower left after the fighting at the capital. You won't have to worry 'bout them coming down here."
"This area's pretty well-defensible." David could see the idea behind it. "Keep Blue Moon focused on driving us out of here, and that'll help... who's holding the coast right now?"
"Last I checked, it was CO-Major Sami."
"Take some of the pressure off her."
"Which will give her some breathing room to break Blue Moon's supply lines."
Figures. "You all have a backup plan already, don't you? For a moment I thought you were talking doom and gloom on me."
"Well, the whole thing was Sami's idea. With Nell out of action and no word from the top brass, she's the best strategist left on the continent," Stoneham said.
"Gutsy. Even at the edge of defeat, we're gonna keep attacking."
"It's exactly what Olaf doesn't expect us to do. Based on the speeches our spies caught on tape, it sounds like he's expecting us to go all belly-up when the capital's taken. It'll be a real shocker for the bloke, won't it?"
A beeping noise came from the console, and David focused back on the screen. "There's been a report from the mechanics. Sounds like the repairs will take a little longer than they thought. Some of the tanks are barely holding together."
"Damn. Can't be helped, I suppose." Stoneham leaned against some electronics. "We'll have to hold on a little longer then. The infantry should make it to the river in time to relieve our troops there."
"This is just phase one of the operation. We can't risk taking too long." David suddenly got an idea. "Stoneham. Those tank groups were from the same company, correct? Do they usually work together?"
He leaned forward, interested. "Actually, yes. Why do you ask?"
"Think they're familiar enough with each other that they could operate as a platoon?" David turned to face Stoneham.
"Well... perhaps. I'm not sure." Stoneham looked doubtful.
"The enemy has lots of heavy weapons. We wouldn't even need any tanks if the enemy didn't have two platoons of them. It's the infantry we need to get rid of their anti-tank squads across the river." David tried to hide his worry. "I have a plan."
Battlefield
7:15 AM
It was dark, windy, and rainy as Squad 3 moved through the woods towards the front lines. Since they'd left the HQ, Lead hadn't stopped complaining to her squad.
"They actually told us to take our inflatable rafts across the river! The freaking river, in this goddamn weather! Can you believe it?"
"It's not like they told us to swim." Boss rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lead. It's winter, for god's sake."
"I'll bet that's the very next thing they tell us to do! When I get back, HQ is hearing about this travesty!"
"Has she always been like this?" Gordon tried asking Ember, but she didn't respond. Great. Another one like Far. Well, at least Rainy was talkative enough. Gordon sure hoped that guy would survive the battle.
Despite all the gear, Gordon thought his nose was freezing off. The rain kept getting through his hat and uniform. Why the hell wasn't it snowing? It sure was cold enough. It wouldn't bother anyone; that Olaf wasn't here to take advantage of it, after all.
Then, he heard it over the howling wind: distant sounds of gunfire. His fears didn't come true; his body didn't start freaking out or carrying him away from the sound. So far, so good. He wasn't chickening out.
"Alright, look alive, people!" Pound called. "We're about to reach the front!"
"Listen up!" Lead yelled through her comm, despite the others being within earshot. "Our task is to guard the riverbanks and make sure no Moonies come a crossin'! I'm not sure why anyone would want to try and ford hell's frozen waters, but it's a right lucky break for us!"
"Not really," muttered Ember from next to him, too quiet for even Pound to hear. "Damn it all. Less Moonies to kill. Just get me back into the action already." That was the first time Gordon had heard her speak. Okay, maybe she wasn't like Far after all.
The riverbank was hidden within the trees, which lent itself well to hiding spots. The river bent at an angle such that the battle on the bridge wasn't visible due to the trees, but Lead seemed pretty confident about what was going on there.
"Even if we could see the bridge, there'd be nothing there to see. Their tanks aren't gonna just roll out in the open for our heavies to take potshots at. Nah, they're gonna hide like we are, at least 'till they get impatient."
"Or until we freeze to death." Gordon pulled his helmet on tighter. It didn't help much against the cold.
Orange Star Command Post, Alara Region
7:35 AM
"Tank platoon reorganization complete. 1st Platoon is moving out for the river."
"Excellent. Moses out." David scrolled his screen back to the bridge area. The enemy tanks were holding back, shelling from across the river, taking care not to draw too much fire from his heavy infantry.
The infantry were holding fine – David's threat lines allowed them to avoid the shelling. If Petrine had infantry in the area, it would be too hazardous to break cover so readily, but the tanks were all she had for the next half hour. Then again, Petrine's heavy infantry would soon be there. Between her heavies and her tanks, they'd force a breakthrough at the bridge. Well, unless David did it first.
He wasn't looking forward to that part. Without a Comnet, he wouldn't be able to coordinate evasion across all of the units. If he could create a network between the soldiers like a real Breakcom, he might even be able to keep them absolutely safe in many situations, but as far as he was concerned, he'd be useless to the soldiers once the real fighting started.
"Just concentrate on keeping our tanks alive," Stoneham advised. "Tanks are big, bulky, and can't take cover, but there's gonna be fewer guns trying to tickle 'em. Your power can keep 'em out of harm's way. Trust the infantry to do their jobs."
"Kind of wish I was out there myself," David muttered. The firefight at the gas stop floated unbidden into his mind, which only made him feel worse. Even if he'd been a monster there, at least he'd been useful.
"A little late for that." Stoneham leaned back. David realized he hadn't seen the Captain sit down all day. "Just focus on the battle. All this wander-minding gets us nowhere."
Blue Moon Forward HQ (Coral Fortress), Alara Region
7:50 AM
'Bashmet here. They're bringing their tanks up earlier than we expected.'
'What a strange enemy commander. And still no Comnet signatures. His infantry are dancing around our shots... they've only taken a few injuries so far.'
Bashmet scratched his head. 'So it's an evasion ability of some kind. He can probably see where we're going to attack. We can't handle them with so few troops. If we pull back now-'
'Then our heavy infantry will not be able to retreat quickly enough, and they will be overrun. I cannot approve that course of action.'
Bashmet thought that it didn't really matter, that the heavy infantry would buy them more time to defend the Coral Fortress, but he didn't send that thought. Petrine didn't approve of falling back under any circumstances. Perhaps he'd been naïve to think she'd approve it just this once.
'Very well. I'll tell the heavy infantry to speed their advance.'
'We will also send all of the infantry down through the river. That way, we can attack them from behind. Tell them to line up with the tanks as the tanks cross the river.'
That made more sense. Petrine must be planning to use her OF Power. 'Very well. I'll start the advance. We should be ready within 10 minutes.'
'Excellent. At 0800, start the advance.'
Battlefield
8:02 AM
"This is Lead! Command called and said that tanks are clashing on the bridge!"
Gordon snapped out of his trance, then felt ashamed when he realized he'd spaced out. "The tanks are ahead? What about us?"
"Enemy infantry are rushing into the water! Wait for a clear shot before you fire, people! Don't let them know your exact positions!" Lead was talking a mile a minute. "They're Comnet-linked to each other, so if one knows where you are, all the others do too! That's an advantage we do not have!"
Gordon couldn't see anyone out on the dark river. The water was half-frozen, flurries of slush slowly drifting down the water. A few gunshots sounded out nearby. He couldn't tell which side was shooting.
Lead's voice screeched into his ears again. "Just got a call from Stoneham! The enemy OF's Power is charged and at the ready!"
"OF Power? Whassat mean for us?" Rainy squeezed off a few rounds towards the river.
For a moment, the night sky was illuminated, and under that, Gordon saw the enemy in the river. A squad of soldiers in thermal wetsuits surfaced next to the riverbank, pulling their rifles out of watertight packets.
It was several seconds before Gordon comprehended he should be pulling the trigger. In that time, though, he saw it would be no use. As his squad's bullets flew towards the enemy, a glowing wall of light appeared in the air, forming a shape similar to a castle's ramparts. The bullets smacked into the wall and disappeared.
"Well, I'll be..." Rainy dropped for cover as the enemy, no longer worrying about cover or concealment, climbed onto the bank, firing up at them.
"We're falling back!" Boss yelled. "New orders from HQ: retreat west and get away from the enemy! A squad from the north will come down to support us!"
Gordon was ashamed of how fast his legs moved as he ran.
Orange Star Command Post, Alara Region
8:03 AM
"Her power, Fortress Wall." Stoneham spat. "Lasts for about half an hour, maybe less if we throw enough ammo at 'em. In that time, all her squads are protected from oncoming fire, but only on one side. If we attack them from two sides at once, we could pin them down until it passes."
David looked at the battle on the bridge. "They were prepared for this, but they only have a couple platoons. Pull back from the bridge."
Stoneham didn't seem to like that idea. "We can't afford to let them bring up their heavies."
"We can't afford to send our infantry in the river to flank them. They'll be torn up by the enemy's other tanks."
"If we let the enemy pour across the bridge-"
"Then we can attack them from multiple sides."
"Not with their infantry moving through the river!" Stoneham grimaced. "Her heavy infantry are strolling up too."
"But they won't be able to catch up in time if we fall back. Trust me, Captain. I know what I'm doing here." This time, he actually meant it. If Petrine waited, she'd waste her chance. If she attacked, she wouldn't be able to use her power to its fullest. Either way, it was her loss for relying so heavily on that power. The rivers and roads didn't help her out; her Comnet ability only strengthened natural cover, of which there was none there.
The battle was already his. He knew that much, but there was another reason he was pulling the soldiers back. He still felt something odd off of that infantry unit in the south, like he didn't want to put it in the line of fire. For some reason, he didn't want to know why.