Chapter 17:
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
2 hours after the siege.
"I didn't expect that your base was actually my castle, Lieutenant." Commented Shoutmon.
"Neither do I..." Replied Raymond with surprise.
After gathering and loading their wounded and POWs in SA 330 Pumas by the RAF for evac, the rest of the soldiers followed the transport helicopters by ground vehicles and arrived at Shoutmon's castle.
The castle stood on a rocky hill, covered by several small forests. At 200 meters high and stretching at 1000 meters in lenght, the enclosing walls and massive loop towers gave an imposing but safe feeling to the castle. It was the citadel for the city of Parth Goedwig, the capital and the only city in the Forest Zone.
Once in the castle, the structures had an European and medival style. A large stone paved courtyard occupied the central part of the castle, surrounded by multiple buildings, each with their own utility. At the end of the courtyard stood proudly the king's personal residence, the Rhosyn Galon.
The castle had its own courtyard, closed on the outside by a monumental iron gate, which is framed on two sides by low walls and tall fences. The main building consisted of two floors, all filled with large rectangular windows, framing the main body of which the façade includes a central fore-body with four columns, surmounted by a triangular pediment. The rear façade of the main building is supported by a strong basement on the terrace for compensating the slope of the ground, with monumental staircases with multiple ramps.
Though it was Shoutmon's residence, it also acted as a military headquarter and secondary hosptital since the beginning of the war.
While Raymond, Itami and Yamaki followed Shoutmon to his residence, they took quick glances in the bustling courtyard. Military land and air vehicles were placed alongside the surrounding buildings. British troops of different jobs ran back and forth, most of the time in groups where they carry ammo crates, sandbags or wounded soldiers on stretchers.
Once they neared the residence, they were met with a worried looking Lilymon and a middle-aged military officer.
"Welcome back, your majesty!" She bowed down politely. "Sorry for the trouble but these soldiers thought the castle was empty and they needed a base to evacuate and reinforce some of their forces."
"You don't need to be sorry." The red dragon held his hand up sheepishly. "I'm actually quite impressed and proud that you took some initiatives." He stated happily, earning him a genuine smile from the fairy digimon. Shoutmon returned the smile before meeting the military officer.
"Major Ramsey, commanding officer of B company, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment." The Major offered his hand, to which Shoutmon shook it in response. "I hope you don't mind us crashing unexpectedly in your domain, your majesty." He added with a guilty smile.
"As long as we're on the same side, I'm fine."
"In that case, you don't mind us using a part of your castle as our headquarters, then."
"There's enough space in my home, Major."
"Thank you, sire." Ramsey said gratefully before turning at the two lieutenants. "You must be the chaps of the previously sieged village."
Raymond and Itami simply nodded quietly.
"Well, I have bad news and good news for you both. Which one would like to hear?"
The two officers looked at each other for a second before Raymond spoke out their opinion.
"Let's stomach the bad news first." He replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"Very well... The bad news is that camp Green Zone has been completely overrun and destroyed. All 500 american troops in there were either killed or captured." He started, surprised looks from the group stared at him. He coughed a little bit before he went on "The reinforcements that the JGSDF sent has been pushed back by enemy forces and the tank support was ambushed, all tank crewmembers are KIA. We were sent as a relief force for you but with the recent loss of our only main base in this zone, we were ordered to "make" another one. The imperials had cut off all major routes except the one to the Village of Smiles."
"That means that the imperials broke through our offensive..." Stated Raymond, slowly realizing the situation they were in.
"Correct. It also means that we are now at the fore-front of the imperial's counter-charge." Informed the Major. "Intel suggest that the assault force is between 2,000 and 4,000 digimon."
"So what's the plan now?" Asked Itami while rubbing the back of his head.
"For now, we'll just have to boost up our defenses and hold our grounds until we receive reinforcements. Now gentlemen, I'll leave it to you to share the info with the rest of your men and meet me here in 4 hours."
"Yes, sir." They both saluted and went off to their respective soldiers.
"You're kidding, right?" Asked nervously Flamedramon after he heard the news.
"I'm afraid no. We'll just have to wait here and hope for the best." Raymond looked at the team leaders, waiting for another complaint from them. None spoke up. "With that said, get yourselves some rest and shower. We'll be staying at the right wing building, the 3rd floor. There is enough room for the whole platoon. These are dorms that constist of 6 to 7 beds per room, a small dorm but it's big enough to walk around." He announced as he passes around bedroom keys to the NCOs. "We'll have another team leaders' meeting in 6 hours, so there's plenty of time to get some sleep. Welcome to your new home, Marines."
Rhosyn Galon headquarters.
"Did we receive any news from the RKs by any chance?" Asked Itami with a hint of hope in his voice.
"For now, no. But we did send a reinforcement request at them by comms two hours ago." Informed the Major.
While the two officers discuss in front of the white board, where maps of the zone and military codes were sticked on, Raymond sat on a chair in the corner of the briefing room, staring at the ground blankly. Unbeknownst to him, his hands were beginning to shake on their own. His heartbeat quickened as he feels lightheaded and his vision blurring.
"Raymond?" Asked a voice with worry. "Raymond!"
The lieutenant snapped his mind back to reality, feeling himself being shaken by someone. Itami had shaken him for several seconds, looking at his friend with concern.
"You okay, son? You seem to have black out for a second there." Questionned Major Ramsey.
"Yes, sir. Do you mind if I go outside to get some fresh air?" Raymond asked as he stood up from his seat.
"Sure but Itami is going to accompany you for the time being then. And that's an order." He imposed sternly, sensing that the Marine officer is starting to brake.
Raymond reluctantly gave a salute at the Major and walked out of the room with Itami behind him. Raymond walked outside at a rapid pace, Itami was pratically running after him. As he reached the front gates of Shoutmon's residence, his legs gave out and he dropped on the ground harshly. Itami urgently ran to his side and tried to put the Marine on his feet. He then heard that Raymond was puking out saliva and tears started to fall from his eyes. Raymond's consciousness soon fade out.
"God damnit... Medic! I need a medic now!" Itami quickly shouted as several soldiers rushed at him and help the Marine.
Dukeman walked out of the medical room and let out a sigh while almost every Marine in the platoon waited for him in a tense silence for the news.
"The LT's fine. We do not know the cause of this 'incident' but Doc speculates that he might be breaking down. " He informed grimly.
Some Marines looked worried while others breathe out of relief that their platoon commander is still fine.
"So what are we going to do, Sarge?" Asked a Marine.
"First of all, you grunts better piss off or else he'll get sick even more..." He said jokingly. "And second, just do your jobs and everything will be fine. Oorah?"
"Oorah, staff sergeant." They all replied and went in separate ways.
"Um... Staff Sergeant Dukeman?" Called Guilmon behind his back.
"What is it, Corporal?"
"Are we allowed to pay a visit to the LT?"
Dukeman just looked at the red digimon with mild surprise before letting a small smile.
"Go ahead, Guilmon. You have 5 minutes."
"Thanks, Louis."
Entering the room quietly, Guilmon spotted Stephen sitting on his bed, tying his combat boots on and was about to put on his kevlar plate carrier until he noticed Guilmon in the room.
"Aren't you suppose to get some rest until the next meeting?" Stephen inquired.
"The same could be said for you." Shot back the digimon with a sly smile.
Stephen chuckled and dropped his plate carrier on the ground.
"Touché. You got me." He replied while raising his hands in a mock surrender.
Guilmon frowned and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. They sat in silence, not a word has been spoken. Then Guilmon wrapped his arms around Stephen in a warm hug and placed his head on the human's shoulder. The embrace prompted Stephen to laughed lightly and hug the digimon back.
"Some things don't change in you, huh?"
"Hey, I like hugs. And if it makes my friends happy then I'm happy." Stated Guilmon with a childish grin.
"Good thing we know each other or else your girlfriend is probably going to kill me."
"That'll probably never happen, Ray." Renamon fazed in the room with a smirk on her face.
"Hi there." Stephen greeted nonchalantly.
The fox digimon sat on the other side of the bed and took out a chocolate bar from the admin pouch on her plate carrier.
"Here, you can have mine." She gave the chocolate to Raymond, who accepted it gratefully.
"Never thought I'll see the day that Renamon would give out a chocolate bar." Commented Guilmon with humour and all three of them laughed.
They talked about various topics, their coversation made them forget all the combat stress they had since the war. Renamon and Guilmon had to leave once Dukeman called them out. With one final wave of goodbye, and a hug from Guilmon, the two digimon left him in the room alone. Stephen had a smile on his face before sighing and decided to sleep for the rest of the night.
The next morning
Rapid footsteps, followed with soldiers shouting and distant gun fire could be heard on the other side of the room as Raymond put on his helmet and picked up his rifle quickly.
Rushing out of the room, he was pushed around accidentally by several British soldiers, who kept on running down the hallway. Hearing an explosion, that shook the building, he took off at a full sprint towards the sound of the explosion.
Once out of Rhosyn Galon, he bumped into Dukeman,who has been looking for him.
"What's the sitrep?" Demanded Raymond.
"We've been hit by imperial air force before three infantry companies showed up and are currently bombarding us with their artillery."
"What's our objective, then?"
"Major Ramsey wants us and several elements of the Fusion Fighters to hold the left flank, located at a small fortification on a nearby hill named 'Olive Hill Fort'."
"Why does he wants us there?" Raymond asked with mild confusion.
"He said that the Fusion Fighters apparently have some artillery themselves and I presumed we are escorting them." Responded Dukeman before they both ducked on the ground from a nearby air attack.
"Is everyone ready?"
"I sent 3rd and 4th squad with the mortar team to the fort to hold it while 1st and 2nd squad is waiting for the Fusion Fighters. Recon squads are on the watchtowers to provide us cover fire. Both LAVs are lock and loaded and they'll provide us the firepower we need to rush to the hill."
"Good thinking, Staff Sergeant." Commented Raymond before going in the lead M-ATV.
Olive Hill Fort.
The fort was several stone buildings surrounded by Hesco Barriers and four plywood scout towers at the corners of the fortification. The towers were reinforced with sandbags and barb wires. The fortification had two entries, one on the back that led to Parth Goedwig and one on the right that led to the castle. Both entries had small trenches digged on each sides, reinforced with sandbags and machine gun emplacements.
As soon as the 3rd and 4th squad arrived, they were being pinned down by enemy light armour and waves of infantry charging at them. With the mortar team deployed and the LMGs set in the towers, the Marines were quick enough to repel back the enemy.
Giving a light tap on the M16A4's lower receiver, Flamedramon got out of his cover and fired several quick bursts to take three Commandramon out. Right beside him was Cyberdramon, who spit out tracer rounds at the ongoing charge.
"Fuck! At this rate, we'll get overrun soon." Complained Cyberdramon as he got down to cover to reload his machine gun.
"Not on my fucking watch!" Flamedramon took a frag grenade out of his plate carrier and threw it 100 meters ahead.
The small explosive detonated and launched two digimon up in the air before they turned in data particles in mid-air.
"Hostiles coming in at a hundred meters from our perimeter." He radioed in to the mortar team.
"100 meters, 5 rounds, fire for effect." Replied Guilmon.
The distinctive whistles of the mortar shells prompted Flamedramon to look up at the sky and follow the trace of smoke with his eyes. The H.E rounds pounded ground and digimon all along the right flank of the fort.
"Good fucking effect on target, enemy repelled, fire at 200 meters." Reported the blue dragon.
"Roger that, 200 meters, 5 rounds, fire for effect."
"Keep up the good work, Guilmon!" Cyberdramon exclaimed at his friend.
"How are the wounded, Doc?" Asked Flamedramon to Naval Medic, Cpl."Doc" Ryan.
"Brits are fine for now." He replied back.
"1-3, this is 1-1, we're inbound with the artillery." Informed Dukeman.
"Roger that, road is clear for now."
Looking back at the front entry point, several M-ATVs, MRAPs and 2 LAVs drove in and immediately stopped to deploy the Marines and Fusion Fighters out. Flamedramon ran up to Raymond and gave him a quick salute.
"Welcome back, sir. Hope you're feeling well now."
"Thanks, Sergeant. What's the status now?"
"Hostile foot mobiles are trying to overrun this fort but we are holding them off so far. I have several British wounded who needs to be evacuated ASAP."
"Take your squad and evacuate them, we'll continue from here." Ordered Raymond.
Flamedramon nodded and called his squad to help the wounded get in the vehicles. Raymond calmly walked to the Hesco Barriers and examined the battlefield. After some quick thinking to come up with a plan, Raymond called his second-in-command.
"Dukeman! Get Cruncher 1 to guard the main entry point and Cruncher 2 to the left flank to give us suppressive fire."
"Yes, sir!"
Raymond then looked around him and spotted the radio specialist.
"DD! With me now!"
The specialist followed the officer as he walks along the defensive walls while examinating the enemy movement. Soon he heard the Bushmaster Chain guns of both LAVs firing, gunning down any enemy digimon who got close to the defensive perimeter. The M240 LMGs on the vehicles spewed out 7.62mm rounds at the infantry and aerial digimon.
"Are the Fusion Fighters finally in place?" Asked Raymond, noticing that their artillery hadn't fired a single shot.
"Yes, sir."
"Then why haven't they fire a single shot?" Raymond asked frustrated. Darrack simply shook his head and shrugged.
Raymond swore under his breath and stormed off to the backlines where the artilleries were suppose to deploy. Nearing the mortar team, Raymond and Darrack were witnessing Guilmon and a MetalGarurumon arguing.
"Danger close, you stupid dog! Have you ever heard of that!" Shouted angrily Guilmon.
"I know what it means, lizard, but my orders are clear! We will fire at Bravo 4 grid 1378." Growled back MetalGarurumon. "Now, corporal, I advise you to go back to your hole or I'll report you for insubordination." He threatened.
Guilmon was about to step forward and lash out at the mechanical digimon until he heard the stern voice of Raymond yelling at him.
"Stand down, Guilmon, you're way out of line!"
The dino digimon growled and went back with the rest of his teammates. MetalGarurumon looked at the digimon with a smug smile. Suddenly, he felt something hitting his snout violently.
"Read me the coordinates again and point me at the map the corresponded coordination." Raymond sternly demanded after shoving a map at the digimon's snout. "Come on, tell me where the coordinates are located."
The digimon gulped and examined the map.
"Just half a klick above the trenches." He replied nervously.
"Yeah that's right. Where MY men are at." Raymond ripped the map off of his snout and pointed his pistol at his right eye while glaring at him. "If you dare open fire at my Marines, I'll personally blow an eyeball out of your eye sockets, am I fucking clear, you stupid fuck?"
MetalGarurumon hesitantly nodded and Raymond pulled out the pistol.
"Good. Now under MY orders, your team will fire at Bravo 5 to Charlie 5 on grids 1 to 6. I want 3 rounds of high explosives and clusters if you have any. Did you get that?" Ordered Raymond.
The cyborg digimon quickly nodded and ordered his team to deploy. Satisfied, Raymond turned back to the frontlines with Darrack just behind.
With that problem resolved, large smoke streaks came out of the fort and pounded the enemy force. Whistles of artillery projectiles filled the sky, sounding the impending doom of the Imperials. After each strike, slowly, the enemy waves were pulling back. The smoking craters separated the assault force in two and the retreating force left behind those who were close to the fort. The morale amongst the enemy was at a breaking point.
Under artillery cover, a British infantry platoon was able to join up with the Marines to boost up the defenses. Though retreating, the imperials did not stop on the offensive as firefights continued on during the night.
Ammo and soldiers were being exchanged between the two fortifications in the form of heavily armoured vehicles. With the imperial infantry force decimated and out of the fight for the rest of the night, the joint defense force were dealing with the aerial force who conducted hit and run tactics at the two bases.
After a long and heavy fighting during the night, dawn came over and basked the landscape with its warmth. The early morning fog was preventing enemy operations and so the coalition use the moment to finally breathe.
Along the Hesco barriers, several Marines and British Paratroopers were sleeping with their backs against the barriers. These soldiers had been fighting non-stop the whole night as the Olive Hill fortification was the Imperial's control point. Raymond was casually observing the frontlines in the wooden outpost through his binoculars. Beneath his feet were countless bullet casings littering the floor due to the previous firefight. Next to him, sleeping behind cover and sandbags was Sergeant Flamedramon, his M16A4 leaning against him.
Raymond sat down on one of the ammo boxes, took off his helmet and examined carefully his M4A1 rifle. Sadly for him, his rifle could no further serve him as it was broken beyond repair. A round pierced through the upper receiver, destroying the barrel and piston inside. The lieutenant let out a sigh and unclipped the rifle from his plate carrier's straps. He picked up another rifle, a L85A2, given to him by a British Paratrooper as a remplacement for the mean time. He did a quick inspection on the new assault rifle before gently waking the blue digimon and ordered him to wake the other soldiers.
After a couple minutes later, Raymond ordered the NCOs of his platoon for a team leader meeting.
"As you may notice, we'll be stuck here for a while and our numbers are getting shorter." He started while looking at his tired subordinates. "Some fireteams and even squads do not have enough men or lost their leaders. That is why I take upon myself to fuse some squads together." He took out a small note from his admin pouch. "1st and 2nd squad will take fireteam Alpha and Bravo from 6th squad respectively. 3rd squad will take over 5th squad and 4th squad will act as the assault team for the mortar team. Sergeant Grant, you'll be acting as the 2IC of 3rd squad. Sergeant Flamedramon, Cpl. Guilmon will be your 2IC. Any questions?"
Dukeman raised his hand. "What about Recon squad?"
"Recon squad has only a change in command, Sergeant Renamon is the squad leader. Any others?"
After a short moment of silence, he concluded the meeting. "Alright gents, inform the men of these changes and get ready for another fight. Oorah?"
"Oorah, Lieutenant!"
Meanwhile back at the castle, Kuribayashi was sleeping soundly on the ground against a corner of the medical room. Near her was combat medic Kurokawa, who was sleeping on a table, her head resting on top of her kevlar helmet. She suddenly woke up when she heard loud footsteps running pass the door. She rubbed her eyes and looked around hazily. She then yawned and picked up her helmet and her Howa Type 89 rifle. Walking up to the sleeping Shino Kuribayashi, she called her name a few times before hitting her head lightly with her helmet. Kuribayashi jumped in surprised and glared at her friend.
"Wake up, sleepy head, we've got lot of work to do." Informed the medic while they both put their combat armour.
"I know, I know..." Shino said with a tired tone.
An hour as passed without a single noise, the morning fog slowly dissipated and the sun now shun brightly above the valleys and plains. However the moment of nature and peace was short lived once the fog was completely gone.
The Imperials resumed their assaults, their long range units were suppressing the enemy while the main infantry force charged in. With the craters left from the other day, the imperial foot soldiers used them as trenches once the humans' heavy guns opened fire.
Kurata and Kuribayashi were carrying a wounded paratrooper on a stretcher, going as fast as they could towards the medical station. Upon arriving, the station was filled with the cries and moans of wounded soldiers. Digimon physicians and human medics were working non-stop, doing their best to treat the wounds and ease the pain.
"Oi, you two, put him over here!" Called loudly a combat medic, pointing at a nearby medical bed.
They carried the wounded over the bed. While Kuribayashi took out the soldier's body armour Kurata gave the medic the necessary informations on the soldier.
"He's CAT Alpha. Multiple chest wounds, an amputee on the left foot and 3rd degree burns on his left arm."
"Alright, thanks lad." The medic patted his shoulder before shouting. "I have a CAT Alpha! Chest Wounds, Amputee and 3rd degree burns!".
Several Digimon and medics came to him and quickly started to treat the wounds of the paratrooper. Just as they leave the room, Takeo and Shino turned their heads to another room once they heard a defibrillator and shouting going on. Looking over, they saw a severely wounded paratrooper covered in blood and bandages. A medic was charging up the defibs before shouting "Clear!" and applied the devices on the wounded's chest, sending electric shocks. The medical staff desperately tried to bring the paratrooper back to life for a few more minutes before hanging their heads in sorry and sadness, he didn't make it. The room was filled with a grim silence, some of the digimon medics shed a few tears before envelopping the KIA in a body bag.
Shino whispered a small prayer for the now deceased soldier while Takeo saluted when the body bag exited the room. It was a small habit, honoring the dead, they picked up since the beginning of their intervention, realizing that the death toll would get higher the deeper they went in enemy held territory.
A red mist exploded once the bullet hit its target. Renamon pulled the bolt back, turned it and pushed it back in, inserting a new bullet in the sniper rifle's chamber. Aiming down the scope, she picked another target and slowed down her breathing. A second later, she pulled the trigger, the rifle kicked up a bit, followed by her target's head jerking up when the bullet impacted its skull. Each shot she fired was an imperial dead. Her quick reflex and keen eyes along her deadly precision allowed her to take out imperial leaders in short time.
"Jesus Christ, if we keep this up they'll run out of officers to order their troops around." Roach said, impressed.
"Isn't that what we are trained for?" Asked amusingly Renamon after taking out another digimon.
"I'm just quite surprised they haven't lost morale yet." Replied Roach while inserting another magazine in his SR-25 DMR.
Roach took up his fire position and opened fired at the general infantry. Their suppressed rifles gave the enemy a hard time to pinpoint the origin of the incoming shots.
Looking down at the scope, Renamon searched for any potential officers until she stopped at a Musyamon. Her cold gaze was trained on the digimon, the crosshair aimed at his head. Waving his sword around, she assumed that he must be an officer by the way he spoke and stand out. She held her breath and slowly pulled the trigger. In a blink of an eye, the bullet penetrated the samurai's helmet and into his skull, a large cloud of blood erupted out, however he did not die. Screaming in pain and a bloody gaping hole on his left eye socket, he immediately glared at Renamon across the battlefield and yelled orders at his troops.
"Roach, we've got company." She warned him. "Samurai digimon, my 12, 300 meters, behind a trench line."
"The one with the ugly gaping hole?"
"That's the one. He's an officer and he's pissed."
"No shit. Nice shot though." Complimented Roach before firing repeatedly his rifle.
"Take out the Commandramon on his left and then aim for the head." She informed him.
Roach quickly took out the soldier digimon with three shots to the chest before he aimed at the samurai demon. He fired at a quick session, managing to pin the officer down. With the Musyamon pinned, Renamon used the opportunity to re-insert a bullet in the chamber, aimed for the head and pulled the trigger. This time, the shot exploded Musyamon's jaw apart and died right after.
"Looks like that did the trick." Roach pointed out as the hostile troops panicked and started to pull out.
"To all units, cease fire! Cease fire!" Renamon heard Raymond's order through the radio.
A minute later, the firefight ended. The coalition force stopped firing while the enemy scrambled and retreated. From their watchtower, Renamon looked at the retreating force then at the landscape below them. The grass field was filled at every inch with craters inflicted by the two armies. Scattered equipment and pools of blood could be seen throught the darkened mud holes and craters. Through the hellish landscape, several wounded imperials were crying for help, left behind by their comrades. She heard the castle's main gates opened and a small convoy of British transport vehicles drove out.
The vehicles fan out in a scattered way and troops started to pour in the muddy ground. However, these soldiers were not sent to kill the survivors but instead help them. Military medics and a handful of Marines and Paratroopers assisted them and carried the wounded on stretchers to the vehicles.
The extraction of enemy wounded proceeded for half an hour later as more and more digimon cried out for help. The soldiers on the ground worked tirelessly on extracting every single wounded out of the battlefield.
From the balcony of his residence, Shoutmon observed the unusual scene of respect and solitude through a pair of binoculars. Behind him were Knightmon and Dorulumon, who looked at the scene as well.
"How perculiar, don't you think, sire?" Asked Knightmon.
"Indeed. For an army that claims to be aggressive and cold-blooded, they have a great sense of honour and respect for the enemy. If only the Imperials would show the same." The king replied before lowering the binoculars from his eyes.
Noticing the sudden change of expression, Dorulumon asked "Something on your mind, Shoutmon?"
"Oh? Not really... Just wondering if the end of this war would come soon now with the help of the humans." Shoutmon answered with a tired voice. "All those years of fighting and bloodshed will be over soon. I can feel it." He added with a small smile of hope.
"We all do, Shoutmon, we all do." Dorulumon stated with a glimpse of hope in his voice.