EDEN (The Union Series) (18 page)

I cursed, ducking as
low as I could into the grass.

'This is the attack
you feared?'

I spared Yulia a
glance. 'I don’t think so. I think this is part of their feint.’

‘There are many of
them,’ she observed warily.

I noticed that
several members of the section were also lifting their heads to see the
advancing enemy force through the smoke.

‘Get your fucking
heads down,’ I snapped, pointing my finger at them like a gun. ‘You should damn
well know better!’

The section ducked
quickly, remembering themselves.

That’s the problem
with recce sometimes
-
too many
heroes.

I switched to the
platoon net. ‘Blackjack-One-Zero, this is One-One-Charlie, sighting …’

I dropped a crosshair
onto the assembling force so that the platoon commander could see their
location from wherever he was.

‘Send.’

I described what I
could see: ‘I have one enemy dropship company dismounting, with one half moving
into the forest.’

Whilst I described
what was happening, I raised my head just a fraction above the grass, using my
wizard kit to draw a blue line with an outstretched finger that separated the
ground between us and the Loyalists. Happy that the line was a good hundred
metres away from my section, I lowered my head again, taking cover in the mud.

Yulia was busy
telling her superiors of the impending attack, but I took little notice of her
jabber as I navigated my wizard menu. I instructed the saucers to engage
targets east of the line, making it clear that anything to the west of it was
friendly.

The saucers responded
in seconds, moving with lightning speed to engage the new targets with their
cannon blazing. The ground shook with a mighty sonic boom as one of them passed
directly overhead, creating a sudden blast of air that flattened the grass around
us and caused the smoke to swirl.

The few remaining
dropships shot rearward, speeding back over the river whilst spraying Vulcan
fire toward the saucers. The Loyalists couldn’t afford to lose any more of
their prized aircraft.

'Let’s just sit here
and let the robots do the work, eh?' Skelton suggested with a smirk as a string
of explosions sounded ahead of us.

‘If only we could …’
I agreed, still waving my arms through menus as I called up another railgun
fire mission.

‘Thunder-God, fire
mission received! Be aware I have only one barrel to spare! Wait!’

I slapped at the
water. ‘Shit!’

Yulia looked worried.
‘What is wrong?’

‘There’s only one
barrel available to me,’ I explained, shaking my head in exasperation. ‘The
others are tasked to engage a more important target elsewhere.’

‘Tell them to give
you more.’

‘I send the fire
missions,’ I replied gruffly, ‘I don’t decide which ones they prosecute. The
gun line takes fire missions from all over the battlefield, not just me.’

Yulia fell silent.
Regardless of the quality of the FEA and the Guard, she remembered how things
were done in a conventional army. She had probably once used artillery against
us, I surmised.

I looked over the
grass again, watching as the Loyalist troops scattered. Their terrified shouts
and screams were just audible over the noise of the attacking saucers.

The airstrike didn’t
last long, though. The saucers jerked away from the Loyalist force just as a
volley of smart missiles screamed across the river toward them. I watched as
they were chased away from their target by the missiles, followed shortly after
by a hail of Vulcan fire. Presumably the Loyalists had set up some form of
hasty air defence on the far side of the river, I decided, though I couldn’t
identify anything.

We watched in dismay
as half of the Loyalist force began to disappear into the forest, leaving the
other half in the open. Instead of waiting there, though, they began to advance
toward us, sweeping across the marshland like an army from times of old. They
were running, I saw, anxious to keep moving in order to make themselves
difficult to hit by artillery.

‘Thunder-God, shot three-zero!’

A single railgun
shell was in the air, thirty seconds away. Devastating as it was, it wouldn’t
be enough to prevent the Loyalist advance.

The Loyalist plan was
simple, I decided, if only slightly flawed. The main force was in the open,
tasked to sweep in to where my section had defended, in the mistaken belief
that we were part of a much larger force. A smaller group, complimented by heavy
weapons carried by the suits, was using the forest to move under cover into a
position from which it could provide fire support.

The main flaw was the
fact that their fire support group would risk firing back across the river at
their own side - not that they probably cared much.  

Either way, I wasn't
going to remain where I was. I knew exactly which way the Loyalist forces were
going - directly into the side of the home bank force. I didn't want my section
to be the only thing sat between the two large units, neither one of which had
any concern for our safety.

'Puppy,' I hissed,
and waited for him to look up at me. 'Prepare to move!'

'Roger. Prepare to
move!'

Just as my message
was passed along the section, the single railgun round detonated. Even at such
a distance, the sound of the detonation had to be cut by my headphones, but a
quick glance told me that it had been virtually ineffective, missing the
Loyalist force entirely. I quickly used my wizard kit to adjust the fire.

I beckoned to Skelton
and Myers, then set off again, following the stream back toward the forest.

As we fought our way
up the stream, Mr Barkley updated me on the FEA response to the Loyalist
crossing. It seemed that they had decided to turn their home bank force to face
the Loyalist company, which was exactly what we were worried they might do. By
diverting their attention away from the river, they risked missing another much
larger crossing.

‘I’ve tried to
explain to their headquarters that the move may simply be a feint, but they
aren’t having it,’ the boss said gloomily. ‘So we’re just going to have to roll
with it. I’ve called for additional assets, and I’m trying to push for orbital
artillery in case this larger Loyalist force does materialise. There is a large
reserve still in the forest at least, including entire companies of
Presidential Guard, but the FEA are holding them back. See if you can persuade
your liaison officer to task a company from their reserve to strike at the Loyalists
in the forest, then create a hard shoulder to keep the remainder in the open.
Once they reach the FEA home bank force, we’ll hit them with everything.’

‘Understood! Yulia!’
I called back as we waded through the water. ‘How far away are your reserves?’

‘They are close.’

‘Can you get them to
rendezvous with us, just on the edge of the forest here? They will need to be
quick!’

She gave a set of
instructions over her net, before giving me a nod. ‘They will be there.’

Back to the contents page

Butchery

The FEA platoon was
already waiting for us as we returned into the forest, huddled closely together
like a pack of frightened animals. A sea of visors watched us warily as we
approached through the trees, silhouetted by the marshland burning behind us. A
few of them jumped as another shell exploded nearby, though whether it was
fired by the Loyalists or our own battery, I didn’t know. Somebody whimpered
quietly.

‘This lot are
bricking it,’ Myers observed.

He was right. They
looked absolutely terrified, not that I blamed them, they were virtually
children. Their chests were heaving, clearly their platoon commander had run
them ragged in order to meet us so quickly.

‘Is this it?’ I asked
Yulia, sweeping my arm across the disorganised rabble.

‘This is all we could
provide.’

I frowned at her, just
as Makito arrived beside us. ‘You mean all you have at your disposal is a
platoon of fresh recruits found in the school playground? Where are the
Presidential Guard companies? You must have tens of them sat around doing
nothing!’

More shells detonated
in the marsh, causing the platoon to cower. They were much closer this time,
presumably the Loyalists were trying to hit the FEA force that had destroyed
their dropships, not realising that it had been merely a section of Union troopers,
who had already withdrawn.

Yulia shrugged,
almost apologetically. ‘I can’t speak for my superiors. They say that they need
as many soldiers as possible to attack across the river. If this force really
is your feint, then we will need to hold some back anyway.’

‘I know,’ I said,
throwing up my arms in disbelief, ‘but this is ridiculous. What on earth can we
do with this lot? Where is their platoon commander?’

Yulia pointed out two
soldiers, walking toward me with purpose. One was a young man, not much older
than me, with the same look of terror upon his face as the younger soldiers
around him. My eyes widened when I realised that he was an officer. Beside him
was an older man, perhaps in his early forties. I recognised him to be the
Guard officer that had spoken with Yulia in the headquarter tent. My eyes
flicked to the rank insignia on his chest and the eagle on his shoulder,
identifying him as a major.

‘This is Major
Bhasin,’ Yulia introduced, exchanging a respectful nod with him. ‘He is an
advisor sent by the Presidential Guard to help the FEA, and he has brought this
platoon with him. Major, this is Lance Corporal Moralee, the leader of this
Union section.’

Major Bhasin ignored
me at first, instead turning to give Makito a warm bow and a handshake, as if
he knew him well, before regarding me with disdain. Lowering his head only
slightly in acknowledgement, he spoke in his own language, ‘We have been
ordered to meet with you here.’

‘Good,’ I replied,
and took a knee beside him, gesturing for him and Yulia to follow suit. We were
on the battlefield, not a parade ground, so I didn’t want to stand around
waiting to be shot by a sniper hiding out in the marsh.

‘What do you want the
lads to do?’ Puppy asked, cutting in before I started my brief.

I cursed, all this
liaising with the Guard was causing me to forget my primary job as section
commander.

‘Sorry mate,’ I said.
‘Push them to the edge of the forest. Adjust the railgun fire if you can, and
see if you can get Wildgoose into a decent position, just in case we have to
fight too. With this lot in charge that’s looking more likely.’

The three guardsmen
fumed as I turned back to them, understanding exactly what I had said. Beside
them the FEA officer looked like he wanted to cry.

Whilst Puppy pushed
the section outward, I explained to Major Bhasin and the FEA platoon commander
what I knew - that a group of heavily armed Loyalists were moving along the
edge of the forest into a position to provide fire support back into the marsh.
The major didn’t appear to enjoy being briefed up by a Union trooper, fidgeting
impatiently as I briefed him.

‘This is not a problem,’
he said once I was finished. ‘We do not have more time to talk, we must move.’

The translation
provided by my headset didn’t appear to convey the irritation I picked up from
his jabber. As far as he was concerned, I was wasting his time by talking.

The major barked a
series of commands to the platoon commander, and seconds later they were off,
fanning out into a line, before setting off along the edge of the forest to
meet with the enemy. Once a sufficient gap had been left between him and the
FEA platoon, the major rose to his feet and followed. I noticed several other guardsmen
emerge out of the forest to join him, clearly his bodyguard.

‘What does he need
his bodyguard for,’ I asked Yulia as I watched them go, ‘the Loyalists or the
FEA?’

Yulia tilted her head
in puzzlement. ‘I don’t understand?’

I gestured toward the
platoon. ‘It doesn’t look like they’re that happy with their predicament.’

‘The Guard are
rounding up new soldiers across Edo and the Bosque, whether they want to go or
not. We all have to fight.’

I said nothing,
watching as the platoon of child soldiers disappeared into the undergrowth.

Yulia followed my
gaze and sighed. ‘It’s easy for you to look down on us. Most of your people have
lived in luxury, while we must suffer.’

‘Luxury?’ I laughed
bitterly. ‘No. My family are poor, like most families in Europe these days. I
was conscripted when I was young, just not as young as these kids.’

‘Your people are
poor?’ Yulia cast me a doubtful look. ‘Then why do they allow the people of
Paraiso to be so rich?’

I shrugged. ‘God only
knows …’

Yulia sighed again,
sadly. ‘The world is a strange place.’

‘Isn’t it just.’

I turned to watch the
last of Major Bhasin’s bodyguard disappear amongst the trees. ‘Does he even
have a plan?’

‘Of course he does,’
Yulia replied. ‘He will use the FEA platoon to halt the Loyalist advance
through the forest. The remainder of the Loyalists will die out in the marsh.’

I looked at her
dubiously.

‘The soldiers in our
platoons have no military experience,’ she conceded, ‘but they are brave. Major
Bhasin must work with what he has.’

‘Well let’s hope so,’
I said, before speaking on the section net to Puppy. ‘We’ll split into our two
fire teams. Keep yours along the edge of the marsh, so Wildgoose can use his
rifle. Priority targets only, and only when it goes noisy. I will stay with the
platoon in the forest.’

I saw Puppy give me
thumbs-up, understanding his task. Wildgoose’s weapon was best suited to open
ground like the marsh, and coupled with the long range of our launchers, it
made us more effective than an entire company of FEA soldiers. It wouldn’t be
used until the fighting began, though, otherwise we would quickly become singled
out as a target.

I tapped my helmet. ‘Charlie
fire team close in!’

Myers and Skelton
picked themselves up and ran over to join me, and as soon as they were ready I
headed off after the FEA platoon, followed by Yulia and her bodyguard.

I tried to keep us
far back enough not to be drawn into the inevitable contact with the Loyalists,
but close enough to report on the FEA progress to Mr Barkley.

‘God knows what
they’re up to,’ the platoon commander said when I told him about the state of
the advancing FEA platoon. ‘They should have several battalions of Presidential
Guard in reserve. They’re not the best, but they’re a million times better than
what the FEA have to offer.’

‘Maybe they’re saving
their best for the river crossing?’

There was a pause on
the net as Mr Barkley considered that. ‘I don’t think so. I’ve only seen a
single Guard company planned for the crossing, and that’s happening very soon.
It looks like they’re just holding it all back somewhere … we’ll worry about
that later. Right now I need you to observe the initial engagement on your end
of the river, mess it up a little and then withdraw back to me.’

‘Mess it up?’

‘You know what I
mean. Do what you do.’

I wasn’t sure if I
was meant to be insulted, but I considered the conversation over anyway.

It wasn’t long until
the first crack of gunfire sounded in the forest. The screams of rifle magnets
echoed between the trees as we took cover in the undergrowth.

‘Major Bhasin reports
that the platoon has made contact,’ Yulia informed me. ‘There are at least two,
maybe three power suits in front of them.’

I quickly relayed the
message on to Puppy, telling him that Wildgoose was clear to fire. With the
battle now raging in the forest, it was unlikely that the Loyalists would
notice the single sniper rifle picking off targets out in the marsh. Creeping
through the mud and the grass like an animal on the hunt, with his partner
Holland giving him protection, Wildgoose would seek out priority targets
amongst the advancing enemy, killing commanders, signallers and weapon
specialists.

‘Be aware that you no
longer have any artillery or aerial assets,’ the platoon commander warned over
the net. ‘I’m concentrating everything we have to assist the crossing on the
left flank, which is going in now.’

Mr Barkley was right
to take everything from me; the FEA would need everything they could get to
cross the river safely. They needed to go on the offensive, and they couldn’t
do so without fire support. It didn’t matter for the soldiers in the forest
anyway, I couldn’t call in artillery too close to them, because the blast
radius was far too large.

The noise of the
battle intensified, and stray rounds whizzed through the trees, causing us to
duck.

‘What’s going on
now?’ I asked.

Yulia was
concentrating, listening in to the conversations being spoken over her own net.
I imagined it was quite difficult to listen to their communications, especially
since there seemed to be a regular FEA command structure with a Presidential
Guard hierarchy working alongside it.

‘The platoon
commander is finding his task difficult,’ she said finally. ‘Major Bhasin is
trying to advise him.’

Something exploded
amongst the trees, causing everyone but me and Yulia to jump.

‘What’s the problem?’

‘The suits,’ Yulia
explained. ‘They cannot destroy them.’

‘They’ll just have to
use a smart missile or a guided grenade,’ I said. A rifle or mammoth was no use
against a suit at any range over twenty or so metres, each dart losing too much
of its power after it left the barrel.

Yulia’s lips
tightened. ‘They do not have them.’

‘Are you shitting
me?’ I spluttered.

‘No. They are not
equipped with such weapons. They are being kept for the crossing.’

I couldn’t believe
what I was hearing. ‘You can’t send a platoon of troopers into battle without
missiles and grenades!’ I pointed out toward the noise of the battle. ‘That’s
not a bunch of Paraiso villagers for you to shoot at - that’s a fully equipped
platoon!’

Makito bristled,
whilst Yulia shook visibly with rage. Crouched close by, Myers and Skelton
looked to both of us as we argued, like spectators at a tennis match.

‘We work with what we
have,’ she shouted. ‘That is it! Those soldiers will die, but they will do so
to hold back the enemy long enough for us to cross the river!’

‘My arse,’ I spat. ‘You’re
sending them in to die so you can keep your precious Guard out of harm’s way!’

‘What is the
difference? Where is your army? They stay away so they don’t get their hands
dirty, and they send you in on your own instead!’

‘Yeah, but I know
what I’m
fucking doing!
What chance do those poor bastards have? It’s no
wonder your major needs a bodyguard!  If I was one of those kids I’d shoot him
and run!’