Battle Earth X (22 page)

* * *

A day had passed and Taylor and Jafar stood before Reiter once again.

“One day, Taylor? One day? Do you know how long it takes to develop an idea and experiment and trial? I’ve barely begun to draw up some ideas.”

“Come on, Doc, you work fast. You’re famous for it. We need a solution; you must have a few ideas. Throw them at us.”

He shook his head, muttering under his breath, but went over to a display console and activated it so that a projection displayed before them.

“I have thoroughly tested the 50CMG against these new armours and have come to the conclusion that they possess the appropriate operational requirements.”

“No shit, Doc, they’re fucking cannons. That ain’t the problem.”

“No,” he replied, “We have the right weapon. I cannot at present substantially reduce the weight of the weapon, without compromising its effectiveness. And so we are left with just one choice; to find diverse ways of making it operationally viable to men and women like yourself in the field.”

“Okay,” Taylor replied. He sounded suspicious, “But we already decided it isn’t viable to use as a personal weapon in combat.”

“No, it is not. So then we must surely stop looking for complicated solutions to our problem, and start looking to far more primitive and proven ones.”

“A retrograde step?”

“Not exactly, Colonel. Think of the weapon you carry on your side that you now know as your Assegai. It is a useful weapon in combat, yes?”

He nodded. “More than useful.”

“And yet for all the technological marvel contained in that weapon, it is for all intents and purposes little more than a sword or small spear, is it not?”

“Yes, Doc, but come on; stop talking in riddles.”

“Riddles? This is no riddle. I am merely trying to make your simple minds understand some simple logic.”

Taylor looked carefully at the plans projected before him. The principal image showed a simple metal tripod with the gun mounted atop it.

“What is this primitive crap?”

“A tripod. A simple device yes, but one that enables the use of heavy weapons by mobile infantry forces in the field. This is not my invention. It is nothing new or revolutionary. But why reinvent the wheel? You need the ability to take heavy ordnance into combat by foot. Using a three-weapon fireteam, where two men carry the weapon from shoulder to shoulder and another carries the tripod, you have your solution.”

Taylor rubbed his chin as he thought it over.

“There are surely other ways to solve your problem, but they will take time, and resources we may not even have. This method will enable you to make use of current weaponry. Tripods are an elegantly simple solution to a big problem. I can have a handful of prototypes built within a day, and full production within a week. It requires nothing more than steel and simple machinery.

“This is your answer? You have nothing more?”

“Overall, I think this is the best solution to your problem. However, I am working on a revision to your shields that would enable them to be used as rests for the 50CMG and allow quick deployment in close quarter battle.”

“Go on.”

He walked across the room to where a shield lay clamped in a work unit. At the top, a section had been cut out in a U shape, approximately thirty centimetres wide and deep.

“This simple modification will allow the wielder to deploy a rest for the 50CMG that will make it immediately combat effective.”

Taylor laughed. “A shield with a barrel shape cut in the top? Doc you really are working on some primitive levels here.”

“Yes I am, Colonel. Time is of the essence, more important than anything else. I want you to have a useable means of operating these weapons and defeating these hideous monsters before you have to face them again. You keep us all alive, protect us all, Colonel. I am well aware of that fact. I would not recommend second-rate equipment. This is my recommendation to get the best kit into the field as quickly as is possible.”

Taylor nodded his head, thinking about it a little longer. He thought of the Juggernauts and how vicious they were. He remembered how much he would give to have had an effective way to take them down.

“Do it,” he stated.

“You are sure you want to proceed? You have not sounded too keen, Colonel?”

“If this is the only way we can get it done right now, then very well. I want three of your tripods and three of these modified shields by morning, can you do that?”

“I believe so.”

“Then do it, and we shall find out if your old ideas still work in today’s war.”

* * *

Once again Kelly found he was in a dug out. The snow had begun to settle, and the temperatures seemed to be dropping every day. He had sat there for hours and was starting to feel numb.

“We’ve been here for too long, Kelly. This doesn’t feel right,” said Becker.

The Captain sat next to him.

“I’m surprised you aren’t in one of those tanks,” he replied.

“I command tank platoons, but now I must do it from here. Would I rather be in a comfy commander’s seat than slumming it our here with you? Damn right I would.”

“And yet here you are.”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“Here they come!” Berlin shouted.

They grabbed their rifles and took up positions. Kelly raised his rifle to use the scope to look ahead for the enemy. They could see nothing beyond the thick tree line. It was their greatest asset in almost every situation. But now he could feel his heart pounding as he waited for the enemy to come into view. He told himself they knew what was coming because they had observed it for days, but he also knew there was plenty of room for variables they did not understand. He tried with all his will to slow his breathing and calm his heart rate.

The first vehicle finally rolled into view. It was a six-wheeled vehicle that was fully enclosed. It looked of heavyweight construction but without substantial ammo to its payload.

‘What do you think they’re carrying?” Becker asked.

“Who knows? Looks like your average transport, maybe some kind of fuel or ammunition. But they seem to move everything by air. The only land vehicles we see are heavy tanks and the like.”

“What are you saying?”

“That I don’t like this.”

“What do you mean, we’re seconds away from hitting these fuckers?”

“Think about it, Captain. We barely ever see a land vehicle, and then we start seeing them on a set schedule and route within twenty klicks of where we have been hitting them?”

“Why are you questioning this now when we’re just about to hit them?”

“But I’m not sure. I’m not sure this is safe.”

“Too late, Kelly. We came here to waste these sons of bitches, and we’re gonna do it. We’re seconds away from sending them to hell!”

Becker raised his rifle and took aim at the lead vehicle. He knew he probably couldn’t damage the armour, but it was the signal for his tank crews to engage the enemy.

“Becker, no, you could kill us all!” Kelly pleaded.

It was too late. Becker squeezed the trigger, and two shots glanced off the lead vehicle.

Oh, God!
Kelly thought.

A moment later they heard the thunder of two of the tanks opening fire, and the lead enemy truck ignited into a ball of flames. It veered off the road and crashed into an embankment.

“Yeah!” Becker shouted.

They watched in horror as a dozen Mechs spilled out of the burning wreck and came out shooting. Becker ducked back down for cover as pulses smashed into their position.

“I told you not to do this!”

“This was your mission, Kelly!”

Kelly couldn’t think of any words to say as he ducked back in the trench for cover. Finally, he decided he had no choice now but to get up and join in the battle. He put his rifle on the edge of the trench and took aim at the nearest Mech. He fired two shots that met their target, but ducked down as pulses smashed into the top of the trench where he had been moments before.

As the fire settled down, he looked back over the trench. Their tanks continued to fire and strike the vehicles in the column, but he could see more than thirty Mechs advancing up the hill to their position.

“We can’t stay here!”

“We have to complete the mission!”

“No, Captain, we have to survive to fight another day!”

They heard an explosion and looked over the embankment. One of their tanks was engulfed in flames, and they all knew the crew could not have survived. A moment later, three pulses struck their position from a fighter strafing them, and Kelly saw at least a few of their people be engulfed in their fire.

“Goddamn it!” Becker swore and slumped back down into the trench, throwing down is rifle, ‘This is fucked!”

“Yes it is!” Kelly replied, “It is, and remember out strategy. We are compromised, so let’s get the hell out of here!”

As he said it, a fighter strafed their position, and they ducked down for cover. Pulses smashed into their position, and Kelly felt the burn of fragments from one of them embed in his shoulder. He cried out in pain but told himself it wasn’t there. He knew whatever injury he had must wait.

Kelly climbed up to the edge of the trench and could see another of their tanks was burning now, and more than fifty Mechs were approaching up the hill.

“If we stay here, we die!”

“I won’t leave my people!” Becker screamed.

Kelly smacked him across the jaw, which hurt him as much as Becker.

“They die whether we go or not,” he added, cradling his shoulder and wincing in pain.

Becker didn’t know how to respond. He looked to Berlin who was the only soldier he seemed to trust.

“We have to go, Sir. We fight at a place and time of our choosing. This is their ambush, their time. We stay here and we lose.”

Becker shook his head. “Our greatest fucking victory is actually our greatest fucking embarrassment. Go!”

Berlin grabbed Kelly and hauled him out of the trench while Becker relayed the command across the comms. Breaking radio silence was a last resort, and Kelly at least appreciated that Becker was now taking the situation seriously. They rushed out of the trench and back down the other side of the hill giving them cover from the advancing enemy. Fifty metres of running, and they reached the line of vehicles they had positioned for their return journey. They never expected them to be needed so soon. Kelly climbed into the driving seat of his truck.

“You think you can drive with that shoulder?” Berlin asked.

“I can drive a lot better than I can I can hold a rifle, right now.”

She understood and climbed into the back of the vehicle. He fired up the engine as Becker leapt aboard, and he put his foot to the floor. The wheels spun as the vehicle roared forward, and those behind them quickly followed suit.

They tore through the forest road at a rapid rate, and it wasn’t long before they saw enemy vessels overhead tracking their position. They fired randomly through the canopy of the forest but could not accurately pinpoint the location of the vehicles.

“Get on that gun!” Kelly hollered.

Berlin was quick to respond and climbed into the seat of the anti-aircraft gun that had been reinstalled on his vehicle.

‘It’s fucked,” Becker said, “It’s all fucked.”

Berlin ignored him and squeezed the trigger on the guns. Their roar was deafening as shots pierced the canopy and riddled the enemy vessels with fire. The first blew and scattered into flaming pieces as the others broke off their pursuit. She finally took her finger of the trigger and looked back to Becker. He was a mess.

“Kelly, stop the truck!” he yelled, “Stop the truck!”

Kelly hit the brakes, and the vehicle slid to a halt. The others in the convoy were forced to do the same. He got out and stood beside the bed. He saw that Becker couldn’t even move through the shock.

“We have to go back. Those are my people,” he cried.