Battle Earth IV

Chapter 5

“Damn fine work out there!” shouted Phillips as they lumbered out of the aircraft.

The crowd of nearby troops clapped as they disembarked, but they wondered why. They had done nothing more than their jobs, same as everyone else. General Schulz was also awaiting them, but Dupont was nowhere to be seen. The General strode forward with a broad smile across his face and reached out to shake hands with Chandra and Taylor soon after.

“Glad to see I chose the right soldiers for the job,” he exclaimed.

Taylor smirked at the General trying to claim credit for the mission, but he let it slide. One thing he had learnt during the war was that it didn’t pay to piss off those in charge. Then he turned to see Parker and Jones and was reminded of why his disobedience to Command had all been worth it.

“Please form up your Company, Major,” ordered Schulz.

Chandra looked confused for a moment but turned and bellowed the command. They were all fatigued and wanted nothing more than to sit down in the warm with some hot drinks. She could see the crowd was freezing from awaiting their arrival.

Silly bastard, she thought of Schulz. Making us all suffer, just for his gratification.

She took up her position at the forefront of the Company, alongside Taylor and Jones. They were all that remained of the command staff. They watched in amazement as the General stepped up onto a small podium, and a smile stretched across his face at the attention he was garnering. The crowd had already been silenced by the loud shouts of the officers as they formed up. Silva’s booming voice had carried across the whole landing zone and drowned out all others. Schulz placed his hands behind his back and stood tall as he finally unleashed his carefully selected speech.

“I want to thank Major Chandra and the 2 ^nd Inter-Allied Company for their continuing efforts in this struggle. Not one among them owes anything to this land, or to my own homelands. And yet, they have given everything to keep them safe. Now they continue to help in every way they can to allow this continent to recover!”

He took a deep breath and an extended pause to allow his words to filter through before continuing. Taylor could see him wallowing in his own self-importance, but it was nothing new.

At least he doesn’t want my ass behind bars anymore, thought Taylor.

“No one can doubt the commitment and sacrifices that these fine soldiers have given in duty to the people of this planet. In recognition of their services, President Moreau will be unveiling a monument in their honour. Major Chandra, it is my pleasure to request the presence of your company for this ceremony at 1000 hours tomorrow.”

Chandra stared at the General in shock. It appeared as if Schulz was expecting to see some gratitude from her, but she couldn’t help but feel that it was a pointless publicity stunt they were being drawn into when there was real work to be done. She strained to smile in response.

“Thank you, Sir,” she replied.

Schulz looked put out by her short and passive response, but he would not let it ruin his moment of glory.

“I am sure you are all eager to get some rest. Well done to all of you. Thank you all for your continued service!”

He began to clap and was soon joined by all who were present. Taylor could not help but feel sorry for all the personnel around them who had been drawn into Schulz’s plan. They deserved credit as much as the Inter-Allied did. Chandra saluted before turning and dismissing the troops. Schulz saluted them as they left, in a gesture that was so blatantly staged. Taylor stepped up to Chandra’s side as they finally plodded on.

“Will we never be rid of him?” he asked.

“Not likely. He’s always miles from the action.”

Taylor nodded in agreement.

“Schulz aside, that was good work today, to complete a mission without losing a single soldier. I was wondering if we’d ever see the day.”

The Company stood formed up beside a podium and what was some kind of monument still under wraps. Chandra paced up and down the line as they awaited the arrival of the French President and the other officials who were to honour them that day.

Opposite them stood a hundred strong youth marching band in gleaming dress uniforms. She looked back at her own troops and could see they had done their very best to look presentable, but there was no hiding their well worn and fatigued combat uniforms. She could see rips in fabric; cuts and scrapes on faces where shrapnel had left many scarred.

She smiled at the stark contrast of her battle-hardened unit to the gleaming presentation that had been set up for then. She preferred them that way. They presented themselves as they were; the few who were tough enough and lucky enough to have survived the war.

The Drum Major lifted his baton, and the band’s silence was broken as the brass and drums rang out around them. Chandra turned to see a motorcade approaching with French armoured vehicles at the forefront. Every vehicle proudly flew the French tricolor in a colourful entrance. She turned and looked in astonishment at the absurdity of the event.

Within a fifty metre radius was nothing but an impeccable parade display, but it was just one pocket of perfection amongst the ruins of the city that lay all around them. Beyond that lay massive cranes stretching up into the skyline. Only two buildings over five storeys high had survived the brutal struggle for the city, and they could see for kilometres.

Taylor caught sight of Chandra turning as she marvelled at the sights around them. They both knew they had been there before, but it was hard to recognise much of the city any longer. Chandra drew the Company to attention as the vehicles drew near, and they watched as the cheery President waved from his car.

On one hand, Taylor felt sorry for the French leader for having lost so much of his country, but on the other hand, he looked at the man’s impeccable clothing and well fed stomach and scowled at how little he had put into the war. Chandra could see the look of disgust on his face and strolled over to whisper beside him.

“Major, I know you’re not one for authority, but let’s not fuck this up, you hear?”

“He’s gonna stand there and talk about our shared struggle to free these lands. What did he ever do?” snapped Taylor.

“We all have our part in this, not all of it is holding a rifle and fighting on the frontline,” she replied.

He nodded in agreement and could feel some of the anger seep away.

“I’m just sick of it all, those bastards, Schulz and Dupont. They toss us about as assets, and then want to take all the glory.”

“Hey, this here is for us, don’t you forget that. The President has a responsibility to the people of this country, and he is clearly fulfilling that. Cut the man some slack, you have no idea what his part was in this war.”

Chandra saluted as the car drew to a halt and watched as President Moreau leapt out and up towards the podium. The two Majors stared in astonishment for a moment. They had never met the French President, but they knew from news feeds that he was a much older man than the one who was about to address them. Commander Phillips approached them in full number one dress.

“Sir, that, that isn’t the President,” stated Chandra.

“It is now, Major. President Moreau passed away a week ago from a heart attack. The government decided in the interest of the people that his son should take over to allow the population to have someone they can relate to.”

“That ain’t very democratic,” replied Taylor from the sideline.

Chandra turned and smiled to see that Mitch had crept closer to listen in.

“No, but what else were they to do? Not like they could start an e-vote and have it done by the weekend. Communications in this country are still an utter shambles.”

“What’s he like, this new President?”

“Driven. He’s a high roller and vicious to boot. He’s got balls and has no problem walking over people to get ahead.”

“Sounds about right,” replied Taylor.

“But maybe not the right man for the job. These people need somebody with empathy. Somebody who can hold them together, not drive them apart,” whispered Chandra.

“I’d hold your tongue, Major,” replied Phillips. “We’re soldiers, not politicians. The two don’t mix well.”

They fell silent as Moreau stepped up to the podium, without introduction from the speaker who stepped aside speechless. The President lifted his hand, and the band quickly faded off into silence. He looked out across the lines of British and American soldiers and to the civilians who had gathered for the ceremony. Only a hundred Parisians had turned out for the event, but many soldiers from European armies were scattered amongst them.

“Men and Women of France, and of the world, we gather here among the ruins of our fine capital city not to mourn our losses, but to celebrate our victories! The soldiers of the Second Inter-Allied Company have served the world and given everything they had to make this land free!”

Whistles and clapping burst out from the audience, but Taylor felt nothing. He didn’t ask for any praise for what they had done. He didn’t want any medals or awards. He turned back to look at Eli’s face. As he glanced at her with wide eyes, she noticed and turned to meet his. She smiled before turning as she blushed. The President lifted up his hand again and nodded in acknowledgement, as if he himself were being applauded for the victory.

“It is my pleasure and honour to reveal this monument to the world. It stands as an eternal reminder of the sacrifices made by these fine men and women.”

He pointed for the men waiting on the ropes next to the covered monument that stood ten metres high. The soft cloth rolled off the hard stone, and they looked in awe at what lay beneath. The base was of a thick stone column and atop it was a character stood with one foot on the body of a fallen alien. Taylor instantly recognised that it was a homage to his defeat over Karadag. The statue of him was thrusting an Assegai into the air triumphantly.

“St George slaying the Dragon,” whispered Chandra.

“What?” asked Taylor who was still in a daze.

“That’s what you have become, the people’s hero. That’s you.”

Taylor went silent. He was humbled by the towering figure of himself. Clapping rang out from the Company behind them and was soon joined by everyone in attendance. He turned to see the troops were alive with excitement, but he could not help feel that it did them an injustice.

“Why’ve they got to choose me? Any soldier who fought in this war has reason to be up there.”

Chandra laughed. “People need something positive to hang on to. It’s a David and Goliath story which is symbolic of our entire struggle.”

“I never wanted to be on no statue,” he snapped.

“It’s not about you, Mitch. People need hope, and you just happened to have become the poster boy. Let them have this, they need it.”

He turned and looked back at the imposing figure of himself towering over them all.

Is this what I am destined to be? A celebrity? He asked himself.

The day continued with the same surreal display of celebrations. Lights and music blared out, but Taylor could not help but look away into the desolate wasteland of the city. He felt overwhelmed by it all. It was too soon to be celebrating among the ruins that were the final resting place of so many fellow soldiers. Taylor’s ears suddenly twitched as he heard the ring of a communicator nearby. He turned to see Phillips pull out the device from his pocket.

“Excuse me, Gentlemen,” he said as he turned away and took a few paces to answer the call. Taylor watched intently as he could see the Commander’s face turn from the pleasant festivities to the calculating officer he had been throughout the conflict. He spoke for little over a minute before quickly pushing his way to the podium. Taylor tapped Chandra’s shoulders and pointed to the commotion.

“Guess that’ll be for us then,” she mused.

The Commander reached the centre podium and leaned in to mutter a few words to the President before stepping forward with a megaphone in one hand.

“Can I have your attention, please!” called Phillips.

The loudhailer spread for miles out across the open desolate ground.

“The Second Inter-Allied command staff are to report immediately to me at HQ. The rest of the Company is to gear up and assemble at landing zone alpha in thirty minutes. Transport is en route. Get moving!”

Sighs rang out among the ranks as they quickly broke formation and headed for the convoy of trucks trundling towards them.

“My sincerest apologies to President Moreau and everyone else who has made it here today. On behalf of the Company, I’d like to thank you all for your tremendous support, and the manner in which you have honoured the fine men and women of the Inter-Allied today. Thank you and good luck with your continuing efforts.”

The Commander turned and whispered a few words to the President, shook his hand, and leapt from the podium. Taylor and Chandra were awaiting him with Jones rapidly approaching. The Commander pointed for them to follow as he rushed past them.

“What’s going on, Sir?” insisted Chandra.

“I don’t have much yet. All I know is there is a situation which your team is being requested for.”

“Sounds ominous,” she replied.

“If it wasn’t, they’d not be calling for you.”

“Always we land in the shit,” muttered Taylor.

“You said it, Major. In the shit situations is where you have proven to excel, so get used to them.”

Taylor laughed at the notion.

Phillips quickly scanned the information as Taylor and Chandra stood calmly before him. He shook his head as he read further and finally looked up with a sigh.

“Time is not on our side here, so I’m going to be brief. Not like I have a wealth of information to pass on anyway. There is an ongoing incident here, in Dijon.”

He pointed to the city that they could see was around three hundred kilometres southeast of Paris. Yet more ground they were utterly unfamiliar with.

“Police who were returning to the area found one of their precincts occupied by remaining enemy forces. Along with members of the Gendarmerie, they have surrounded the complex and initiated a siege.”

“Then why do they need us?” asked Chandra.

“This is more than they can handle, Major. After the terror attacks fifty years ago, many such buildings were reinforced as protection from bombs and high explosive projectile launchers.”

“And I’m guessing they didn’t stay to defend these fortresses during the war?” snapped Taylor.

“That’s just the thing.”

“Ah, great,” whispered Chandra.

“When the mass hysteria set in, and the roads turned to shit, many key members of the local authorities took shelter in a bunker built beneath the city, along with anyone too frail to make it the distance. As far as we know, they’re still down there. We can’t bomb this building, as we simply have no idea what it’d be willing to withstand.”

The door to the HQ room burst open. They quickly turned to see Captain Jones in full combat attire with the two Majors’ equipment hanging from each arm.

“We’re ready to move,” he stated.

Chandra grasped her gear from Jones. The immense weight that included the exo suit hulked to the ground with a resounded crash. She turned back to Phillips as she began to gear up.

“Anything else? Enemy strength? Casualties?”

“Sorry. The emergency distress call was cut off in what is reminiscent of the jamming we saw during the war. Local forces say they have surrounded the facility but had sustained casualties and were unable to make progress.”

“Great, we’re going in almost blind,” she replied.

“You should be used to it by now,” said Taylor.

Chandra nodded as she gritted her teeth. It wasn’t a helpful comment, but it didn’t make it any less true. She turned to Jones and quickly snapped out her orders.

“Be ready for lift off the second we reach you.”

Charlie nodded and quickly rushed out of the room to make final preparations. She looked back to Taylor and could see that he was equally as unimpressed with their intelligence and going into yet another blind operation.

“Commander, we may punch above our weight, but what happens if we come across enemy resistance beyond the stragglers we have seen so far? With no intelligence and restrictions in our air support, we could be left to die.”

“I won’t let that happen, Major.” He paced a few steps but turned back.

“The truth is this country is a God damn mess. They’re too few troops and workers to get everything done. Now that the war’s over, few are interested, and many are stuck trying to rebuild their own countries. The only reason you and me are here is because the UK remained relatively untouched by the whole affair.”

“We’re not the only team like this, are we?” asked Taylor.

Chandra watched in astonishment as the Commander shook his head in response.

“No, but you are the most successful. Enemy resistance is being found all over in the lands which were the fighting grounds of this war.”

“That’s half the bloody world,” she said.

Phillips nodded.

“Taskforces have been set up all over to try and deal with them. There are two other units like you in France alone. Some have had it a lot worse.”

“How much worse?” Taylor asked.

“Enough to cause some of those units to be withdrawn from service and have to be replaced. The war may be over, but we are still burning through troops.”

Taylor moaned. “You’d think it was time the French Army took over the job in its own country,” he spat.

“That may well be so, but there are too few of them left as it is. This country needs our help just as much as ever. After all, what was the point in fighting, if we were just going to leave them to the wolves at the very end?”

“I thought we were fighting for our survival, not for France.”

“That’s enough!” shouted Chandra.

Phillips could not bring himself to discipline Taylor for his outrageous behaviour. Not only did he support Mitch’s opinion, but also fully appreciated the fact that they were the ones having to do the fighting.

“We know everything there is to know. Every second we waste here now puts further lives in danger. With your permission, Sir, we’re moving out.”

“Good luck, Major, to both of you and all of the Company.”

Taylor nodded as a thank you. He had calmed once it became apparent there was nowhere left to vent his anger.

“Let’s move,” said Chandra.

The two officers pulled on their helmets and rushed out of the room to find the copters loaded and ready to go, just as Chandra had requested. Jones stood on the entry ramp to one, beckoning for her to join him.

“I’ll see you on the ground!” shouted Taylor.

He split off and rushed for one of the other copters where he could see Parker waiting for him. Even before his foot was through the door, the engines were roaring to life. He leapt into the craft and slumped in a seat that had been left for him. Parker rested down beside him as the thrusters lifted them off the ground.

“Guess this is the same as last time?” she asked.

“Pretty much.”

He looked to the rest of his platoon who barely seemed to care for further information, but he was going to tell them anyway.

“Listen up. We’re going in hot, hotter than our previous mission. As to be expected, we’ve got barely any intelligence for the area and little understanding of what faces us. All we do know is that civilian and local forces are on the ground and having a hard time. Air support is unfeasible due to friendlies held up beneath the enemy positions.”

“Beneath them?” asked Clark.

“Some kind of bunker, and that’s all we know.”

“Great. So we can’t flatten it, we have multiple civilians involved, and a dug in enemy?” replied Lam.

“You got it,” replied Taylor with a smile.

It was a short journey to Dijon when they were in the air, but it was yet another tedious trip in a post-war environment that seemed more miserable and desperate than the hardships that preceded it.

“Landing in five!” called Rains over the intercom.

Taylor opened his mouth to speak but was instantly silenced as their copter took a heavy impact, jerking them harshly.

“Incoming, incoming!” Rains shouted.

Their copter took quick evasive action and banked heavily as the engines roared to full power. Taylor felt his heart stop at the realisation that this was already not going to be half as simple as he’d hoped.

“We’ve got pulses incoming. I can’t shake ‘em!” Eddie called out.

A second later, the ship rocked again even harder, and a hole ripped through the fuselage. They were fortunately at a low enough altitude that they stayed in their seats.

“This is echo five, we are going down. I repeat, going down.”

Taylor could feel they were descending quickly, and Eddie was having a hard time getting the nose up as they plummeted towards the ground. He looked around at the other marines and could see there was little fear in their faces. No one cried out in fright or panicked. They knew their fate was out of their hands. They expected to hit the ground at any minute, but then the copter rocked back as thrusters kicked in. It was not enough to slow their descent completely, and just a few seconds later they crashed through the outer wall of a vast industrial complex.

Taylor grasped the grab handles tightly beside him and held Parker with his other hand as their transport smashed down to the ground and slid fifty metres along the ground, smashing everything aside in its wake. Sparks flew several metres high either side of them until they finally rocked to a sudden halt.

They looked around at each other in astonishment, not one of them had been injured. They could do nothing for a moment but remain in their seats in shock and disbelief. Eddie leapt into the cabin with a smile on his face.

“Well, holy shit, that ain’t the most graceful manoeuvre of my career.”

Taylor and Parker began to laugh reservedly until the rest joined them. The Major got to his feet and reached forward to shake Eddie’s hand.

“Damn fine flying, Lieutenant.”

“Really? Where’d you learnt to fly?”

“Joking aside, you just saved our asses.”

“I’ll remind you of that.”

“I’m sure.”

Taylor strode to the door and hit the release button, but it didn’t respond. He lifted his leg and kicked with the force of his exo-suit, and the door burst from its mechanism and slid out across the concrete floor outside. He coughed for a minute as thick dust filled his mouth. As it cleared, he looked out across the plant floor and could see the body shells of hundreds of cars and the wake of many more that they had trashed.

“Eddie, the insurance companies will love you.”

The Lieutenant reached the door and jumped out with the Major to walk among the wreckage. He spun around, marvelling at his work until a broad smile appeared on his face once again.

“It’s okay. They’re French cars, so they were scrap to begin with!”

Taylor chuckled as he leapt from the door and landed with a heavy thud on the hard floor.

“As for my baby, look at her!” shouted Eddie.

“Any chance of salvaging the work you have done?” he replied.

“Salvaging? Fuck yeah, you think I’m gonna leave this marvel of technology for the locals?”

Taylor tapped his intercom.

“Major Chandra, please come in.”

There was no reply for a moment, and he quickly repeated his request as the troops flooded out of the crash site.

“This is Chandra. We thought you were goners, Major.”

“Close to it, but we’re still standing.”

“Any casualties?” she asked.

Taylor shook his head in surprise. “Amazingly, no. We’re ready to continue on mission.”

“Got it. The other bird went down hard. We’re at the crash site now. Two dead, eight wounded.”

“Fuck,” Taylor whispered to himself.

There was silence for a moment as Chandra stepped out of earshot of the troops, so she could talk more privately.

“Mitch, this mission must go on. With defences like this, there must be something damn important down there. We’ll be a little while here attending to the wounded. You’ll have to get yourselves to Dijon. We’ll be with you ASAP.”

“Got it.”

“And, Mitch, watch your arse. This is not the Troyes mission. Maybe that drew us into a false sense of security. We’ve already lost people over this, so let’s not loose anymore, hey?”

“I hear you.”

“Good luck, Major, we’ll see you shortly, over and out.”

He turned and looked up to see that Eli had been stood behind him listening.

“In the shit as usual, then?”

He nodded as he lifted his Mappad and identified their location in relation to the city.

“Alright, everyone listen up!”

Taylor looked out to see they were already awaiting his orders as they marvelled at the wreckage of the copter they had crash-landed in. The fuselage had been ripped apart when it crashed through the car production lines and machinery. He looked at the twisted wreckage for a moment and turned back to them.

“Major Chandra is assisting at the other crash site. We’ve got two dead already, and this fight hasn’t even started yet. For now, we’re on our own. We’re about forty kilometres out from our destination and without transport. This mission does not stop because we hit a complication.”

None of them showed any sign of surprise by his orders. He could see in their faces that more than anything they wanted their pound of flesh for the losses they had already suffered.

“Parker, find us suitable transport that’ll get us all to Dijon ASAP.”

“Not gonna be easy.”

“Appreciated, do what you can.”

“On it,” she replied.

She nodded to her platoon to follow her as they headed for the nearest exit in search of wheels.

“Eddie, you’re gonna have to come with us. You got gear with you?”

“Armour and a rifle, but nothing like the shit you use.”

“It’ll do, gear up and be ready to move.”

“Always wanted to join the Marine Corps,” he jested.

Taylor nodded in gratitude as the pilot’s laid back and lax attitude seeped away and was replaced by a professional soldier.

“Sir?” asked Lam.

“Go.”

“Even if Sergeant Parker can find a vehicle, how are we going to make it through on the ground? It’s taken us days to clear some roads.”

“True, but civilians are clearly getting through to Dijon. We’re north east of the city, and the roads we’ll be using must have already been made passable.”

“And the bird?” asked Williams, pointing to the crashed copter.

“We’ll leave it to recovery crews. We can’t destroy something so valuable. I doubt anyone will come looking for it yet. Remember, we aren’t in hostile territory anymore. These are free lands.”

“Could have fooled me,” snapped Lam.

Taylor nodded. “I know. But remember, there’s a big difference between fighting an insurgency and a war. If anything, this is what we did have experience of before the war started.”

Rains leapt from the wreckage with his body armour half on and a rifle in hand. His bandana was still firmly around his head, and Taylor could already tell it would be futile to ask him to remove it.

“Alright, outside now. Let’s see what Parker has got us.”

They marched out of the complex to find Parker’s platoon stood around an articulated car transporter. Thick dust and dirt coated the polymer body of the cab, and they could see rust bubbling down much of the steelwork of the frame of the trailer.

“Jesus, you couldn’t find anything smaller?” yelled Rains.

Parker spun around.

“It’s the only thing left on site that works, or at least we hope works. Looks like it hasn’t been used in a few years.”

“Few years? Shit, I haven’t seen one of these in a long time,” replied Eddie.

She stepped aside to reveal two of her unit working on a side panel of the truck. A few seconds later, the engine fired up. The bodywork shook as the old engine rattled on its mounts.

“Jesus, that thing even going to make it?”

“It’s fuel cell driven by the old b-cells, Lieutenant. The reason we can get the fuel, is it’s the only thing nobody else would want around here. The old building heaters run off it, but that’s about it.”

“I’d call it a stroke of luck, but that would be pushing it,” Taylor grinned.

“Improvise and overcome, hey, Major?” she replied with a smile.

He turned to his platoon and gestured forward.

“All aboard!”