The command post was just a rough dugout, burrowed into a small hill. It was braced with heavy logs, three of which were torn off and splintered where a shell had come close to taking out the army HQ. Thompson’s staff was small, fifteen officers for an army of over 18,000. He didn’t have strength to spare for much tail…he needed all the tooth he could get. Anyway, it wouldn’t have helped much anyway to fill headquarters with personnel with no staff experience.
The comlinks were going crazy. Every officer in the center of the line was calling for support. They’ll just have to hold on with what they’ve got, Thompson thought grimly. He was down to two battalions in reserve, and he was going to hold onto those to counter any enemy breakthrough.
The Arcadians were sorely pressed, no doubt. But it wasn’t coming free for the federals. Merrick’s troops were catching hell in the open valley as they pressed their attack against Thompson’s outnumbered but entrenched forces.
“Captain Kebble, report.” Will looked over at the aide, who jumped up from the readout she was focused on and snapped to attention. Will waved his hand, motioning for her to relax. “Just give me a summary, Jul…Captain.” Will agreed with Warren that the army needed to operate more formally, but he was still retraining himself.
“Yes, sir.” Juliana Kebble wasn’t a veteran, but she took well to soldiering. Her mother and father had been murdered early in the war by federal forces under General Quinn. There had been a lot of atrocities in the early months of the conflict, and that had infused significant bitterness into the rebel cause. The federal forces had actually behaved fairly well since Merrick was able to purge Quinn and some of the other officers, and now it was actually the Arcadians who were committing most of the brutalities. Will Thompson punished any of his troops participating in atrocities against federal troops or sympathizers in the population, but some of the fringe groups were ferocious, especially to those they viewed as collaborators.
“General, the entire line is holding, but we are hard pressed at virtually every point.” She started to move toward him but paused and glanced back at her ‘pad one last time before she resumed. “The worst spot is virtually dead center, and it looks like the enemy is prepping another assault. Colonel Horace just reported, and his scouts have identified at least three fresh enemy battalions forming up.
“Damn.” Thompson was talking to himself, but it came out louder than he’d intended.
“He has requested that reinforcements be deployed to deal with any localized breakthroughs.” Kebble stood at ease…sort of. At least she wasn’t rigidly at attention. “He has 20% casualties already and all his troops are in the line.”
Shit. This time Thompson kept his mouth shut, and just thought it. “OK, Captain. Com Captain Bronte, and order him to detach his two best companies. I will lead them up myself to plug any gaps.”
“Sir…” Kebble looked horrified, but she wasn’t sure what to say.
Thompson smiled involuntarily, though he tried to hide it. “Don’t worry, Captain. I’ve been in worse places than this. But if I’m right, we need to hold this line with what we’ve got. The hammer blow is still going to come on the left.” He could see she wasn’t convinced. Oh well, he thought, it can’t be helped. This is the decisive point right now…it’s where I belong. “Now go com Captain Bronte. And keep this place running until I get back.”
He hopped up out of the dugout, jogging toward the rear where the two reserve battalions were stationed. It’ll feel good to get back to some small unit tactics, he thought. Just like old times.
“We will clear that rabble off the ridge in twenty minutes. I doubt I will lose a man.” Richard Gravis was an arrogant ass, but he was also the commander of the Directorate forces. Merrick listened to him prattle on as long as he could stand before he interrupted.
“General Gravis, we have the enemy at the breaking point in the center.” He was frustrated. Merrick was the theater commander, which by any interpretation of regulations meant he was in charge. But Gravis steadfastly refused to follow his orders, making all sorts of arguments about jurisdiction and chain of command. “He will have to move forces off the ridge shortly to reinforce his center. We must be patient.”
“You have been patient for far too long, General Merrick. My forces were sent here to end this outrageous rebellion once and for all.”
Merrick took a deep breath. He was angry, so angry he could barely control it. This little shit was worse than Quinn, he thought, and that was saying something. “General, if you attack before the enemy reinforces the center you will suffer needless casualties.” He took another breath, trying to maintain his calm as he tried fruitlessly to get the Directorate general to listen. “We must preserve our forces. Whatever you think, this rebellion will not be crushed today. No matter what happens in the battle.”
“General Merrick, the fact that your forces have been unable to achieve a knockout victory is immaterial. But my troops are going to attack now, and we will destroy the rebel army…and with it, the rebellion.” Gravis stepped back and gave Merrick a lazy salute before he turned and walked away.
“God damned fool.” Merrick spoke under his breath, but he didn’t really care if Gravis heard him or not. The armored infantry would probably break through on the ridge. The rebels didn’t really have anything to face them. But Gravis was going to have more trouble than he thought; Merrick was sure of that. He’d faced this army before, and he knew they weren’t going to just roll over. Not even for powered infantry. Not for anyone.
“Here they come.” Kyle Warren had moved forward, much farther than prudence allowed, and he could see the armored troops moving on the position. “Sloppy.” Warren had served under Erik Cain and Darius Jax, and he was sure either of them would have had a stroke if their troops looked like the ones approaching his position.
“Sloppy yes, but there are a lot of them.” Ed Calvin was lying next to Warren looking through his ‘scope. “They’re bunching, that’s for sure. Should make a good target.”
Warren was sprawled on the ground, peering into his own ‘scope. “That sure looks like Marine armor though.” He took his face from the ‘scope and looked at Calvin. “Your snipers don’t have atomic-powered mag rifles. They’re going to have to hit them in the vulnerable spots to even penetrate.” He let out a deep breath. “Remind your people to focus and make every shot count.”
“Yes, sir.” Calvin had lowered his own ‘scope and angled his head to return Warren’s gaze. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to the command post, sir?”
“I don’t need a minder, Major.” Warren had to suppress a smile. He thought about Erik Cain, who was not an officer easily convinced to stay behind at headquarters. The example Cain had set was a commander ready to jump into the middle of the maelstrom, and Warren had followed in those big footsteps.
“Sorry, sir.” Calvin sounded a little chastised, but he still pressed the point. “But we need you, and we can’t risk losing you in the first skirmish. You need to be more careful this time.” Warren had been wounded twice in the first battle, not far from the very spot they occupied.
Calvin was technically insubordinate, but Warren understood his motivation…and he was right. It was irresponsible to take crazy risks when he had almost 7,000 troops under his direct command. “I want continual updates, major.”
“Understood, sir.”
Kyle turned and headed back toward the rear. He was about halfway to the command post when he heard the shooting start. He had to resist the urge to spin around and rush back up to the front line, but he forced himself to continue. Calvin was a good officer – he’d handle things.