Soul at War (13 page)

"I think
this is phase two," he said and pressed the digi-com control on his
lapel. "Tekoa, Burns." There was a pause as we waited for a
response. Vague shapes could be seen moving amongst the vegetation
and I took the binos from Tekoa and had a look myself. True enough,
troops were moving into some kind of formation.

"Burns
receiving go ahead Tekoa."

"Sir, we
have movement to the west, possible mobilisation of the enemy
forces."

"Received. Stand-by."

I
scanned the horizon trying to catch a look south and north, but the
ramparts blocked my view. Then I passed the binos back and tapped
my lapel.

"Shap,
Brand."

"Brand
receiving, go ahead."

"What
can you see?"

"Give me
a moment, Shap." I watched the forest shifting like a red tide as
the lines were strengthened by medium strength armour. I looked at
the dead ground between us and began to wish it were a few miles
longer.

"Brand,
Shap. Forces concentrated to the west, small movement in the north,
nothing on the south."

"Shap
received. Keep me informed." Suddenly the klaxon began to wail into
life and the civilian population began to hurry from their homes to
the church. Troops scaled the ladders and took up their
posts.

"I
suppose you'd best get to the north wall," Tekoa said with an air
of defeat in his tone. He held out his hand. "Good luck." We shook.
"It's been a pleasure."

"We're
not finished yet, Will," I replied. "I am in no rush to die just
yet."

"I am.
Somebody might take my place." I heard him laughing as I walked
away.

CHAPTER 12

The
tanks came at us first. A good number of the north wall troops had
been pulled and sent to the western gate but of the men I had left,
a great number of them were from the reserves and hadn't seen
combat yet.

"Wait
until I give the order," I shouted over the rumbling machinery.
They were a lot bigger this time, armed with hull mounted siege
cannons designed to do the maximum damage to the wall. No troops
walked alongside them, they just plodded along the field skirting
the wreckage of their fallen comrades. I tapped my lapel and called
up Wulfgar who came jogging, his two aides struggling to keep
up.

"What do
you suggest?" I asked him and pointed to the mammoth vehicles. He
scratched his chin thoughtfully, and then waved one of the aides
away to one of the ramparts. He came back carrying a slender tube
with a sharply pointed missile sticking out of one end. Raising it
to his shoulders, he took aim and I began to move the nearest lads
back.

The
rocket hissed loudly as it left the weapon. Wulfgar jerked
backwards as it spun downwards towards the nearest tank, piercing
the front armour with a puff of black smoke. There was a moment or
two before the hatch blasted up into the sky and the sides blew
outwards in a flash of white fire. I must have looked too pleased
because when I indicated the rest of the tanks, he just
shrugged.

"That
was the last one," his aide said.

"We
don't have any more?" I asked as my heart sank.

"Nothing."

"What
about the mortar crew?"

"Out of
rockets. They've taken up weapons and are manning the south wall.
All we have left are the anti-air missiles and we can't risk
wasting them."

"No, no.
I understand." I looked at the advancing line, their course
unaltered by the loss of one of their own. "Our rounds will never
pierce that kind of armour," I said to myself. Wulfgar turned and
began to walk away, his tired aides taking up pace behind. I looked
at the lads and sighed. They were looking at me, wondering what the
hell we were going to do.

At that
point a young boy came running down the wall with a box in his
hands. When he reached me he fell to his knees and tried to catch
his breath.

"What is
it?" I asked, taking the box from him. It was a detonator
switch.

"Tekoa,
Shap."

"Shap
receiving, go ahead."

"That
surprise we were talking about." I looked at the box, the boy still
unable to speak. Then I looked at where the tanks were on the field
and noticed them approaching a line of holes dug in the ground. My
spirits lifted again and I pulled back two troops from one of the
firing posts, stepping up to get a better view.

"What
are we going to do, sir?" One of them asked.

"Watch."
I waited until they were right on top of the line, and then flicked
the safety cover to one side. The weakest point of a tank is its
belly and as they began to pass over the holes I thumbed the
switch. In a moment the field was a blaze as the explosives melted
the steel underbelly of the great machines, spilling the contents
of their fuel tanks. Most of the vehicles flipped over with the
force of the blast. The rest ground to a halt as the tracks were
fused together from the super-heat. Munitions began to detonate
inside the burning hulls, shredding them from the inside. Rounds
whizzed past overhead, striking the wall but having no effect. Most
of the line ducked down quickly, the others watching the spectacle
with awe and a few began to clap and applaud.

"Shap,
Tekoa."

"Tekoa
receiving. You're welcome."

With the
tank attack broken, the remaining vehicles began to turn and move
away from the wall. The entire northern field was a mess and would
be virtually impassable by track or foot. Patches of fire and
random explosions would keep even the hardest veteran at
bay.

"What
now sir?" Somebody asked from the line. I looked to the west and
tapped the digi-com.

"Shap,
Tekoa."

"Tekoa
receiving."

"ARC
forces withdrawing. Do you require assistance?"

"Hell
yes!" I called up fifty of the troops, leaving twenty to man the
wall with orders to radio in if the enemy attempted to
cross.

"On me."
I shouted and we began to double-time it down the wall to the
western gate.

As we
hit the third rampart, the wall exploded beside us, throwing three
troops backwards in a hail of stone and blood. Machine gun fire
struck the wall like rain, rounds ricocheting this way and that and
another of my men went down, his head shattered by stray bullets.
We pressed on and dared not to look over the wall, heads down and
jogging as fast as we could manage.

The man
behind me tripped, his leg catching on a fallen stone. The one
behind him didn't have time to move out of the way and slammed into
him, bowled over just as a tank shell detonated where their heads
would have been. Realising their near-death experience, they
quickly got up and carried on, heads even lower this
time.

"Tekoa,
Shap. Move it, this gate is going..." There was a loud crash and a
screeching of metal on metal as we reached the gate. Tekoa had
turned some of his men round, directing grenades down into the
entrance. A tank fitted with cutting torches had managed to breach
the already crippled doors and now men were pouring in behind
it.

"BREACH!" Tekoa shouted over the digi-com. "WEST GATE IS
BREACHED!"

I
ordered the men down the ladders and together we ran for the
nearest red brick house. Already ARC soldiers were taking shots at
us, but most went wide and tore up the farmland behind us. At a low
wall I dropped down, five men either side of me. The rest had split
up, dividing themselves up amongst any cover they could find. The
battle had turned now; we were into the final stages. Like Frakes I
began to realise we wouldn't make the five days. But that was no
reason to let them win easily.

Rising
up we let loose with a furious barrage, taking six ARC troopers
moving away from the tank. Grenades from the wall dropped down
around it, blasting one of the tracks off and killing several
straggling soldiers. Another landed on the roof just as the hatch
opened, killing the driver and setting the surface of its armour on
fire.

From the
breach the troops surged in, splitting into two. Some went east and
began to fire at the anti-air troops. The rest used the tank hull
as cover, blasting away at our positions. We rose again, my shotgun
bucking in my hands as I felled a red uniform running towards us
with a tube charge in his hands. The charge detonated, slinging mud
and grass at us. Someone next to me hurled his own grenade but as
it left his grip his arm was severed at the shoulder and he went
down screaming. I fired again, killing two and wounding another.
The men on my left concentrated their fire to the front of the tank
wreckage and managed to finish another three.

"When
they come at us again, we're going over," I shouted. "Those behind,
take up covering positions. When we drop, let 'em have it!" The red
line surged again and with a loud cry we jumped over the wall,
firing from the hips. It was a bloody clash. Two on my left went
down, another on the right was decapitated. We had the advantage
though and we pressed it. When my weapon was empty I gave the order
and we dropped to our stomachs and dug in.

Rounds
thundered over our heads as those behind us met the remaining men
head on. Bodies dropped around us, tumbling down like felled trees
and one landed inches from my face as I slid shell after shell into
my shotgun. I signalled the rear line to cease-fire as the last of
the ARC troops went down.

"Up and
forwards!" I shouted, charging the tank husk. Two red shapes leapt
from behind the turret. One had his leg blown off by those on my
left, the other jumped and landed on the man next to me. Knives
were quickly drawn and three others managed to prize him off,
slitting his throat.

Pulling
the pin from a grenade, I clambered up the side of the enormous
machine and dropped it into the hatch. The rest of my team got out
of the way just as it detonated. Flames licked out from the slits
and the munitions ignited, shredding the remains like
foil.

"SEAL
THAT DOOR!" I shouted. As we rushed towards the gaping hole, six
enemy men strode through it, firing in all directions. I dropped
two as they came in, then ducked back behind the tank's track
covers. Two more of my men were killed outright but the rest
quickly dispatched the remaining four ARC troopers in a haze of
cordite and blood. The air was clogged with the stench of burning
metal and death.

Suddenly
the tank I was leaning against jerked backwards. We only just
managed to get out of the way when an agricultural tractor appeared
through the smoke, it's front fitted with a huge ram. It was
shoving the wreck back towards the gate, forcing it to plug up the
gap. Sparks flew from the grinding parts of the tracks as they
refused to budge, but the entire mass of steel was eventually
shoved into place. When I saw Green behind the wheel, I showed
nodded in affirmation.

*

With the
breach sealed, we hunted down any remaining ARC troops and ordered
them to surrender, to no avail. They uttered not one word. We
repeated the request to a group who'd barricaded themselves inside
a barn. Nothing. Eventually every last one died fighting, which
seemed a senseless waste of men.

Tired
and drained of morale, the remaining twenty-eight troops who'd
followed me from the north wall made for the nearest building - the
University. All sides reported a total withdrawal of ARC, and then
began to tally up the dead and wounded. It wasn't good news and in
the end I pulled the digi-com out of my ear.

By the
end of the third day the fight had left the survivors and it began
to show. People marched like zombies, faces a picture of despair.
Others cried to themselves where ever they were, sobbing into their
hands. As night crept in, I couldn't help but feel it would be the
last one most of the people here would see again.

"They
know the end is coming," said Walker who I'd met leaving the
University. We stood in the pale moonlight sharing a tin mug of tea
that he'd managed to scrounge from the kitchens. It tasted bitter
and stewed, but we agreed it was the best brew we'd had in
months.

"Anything on the radio?" I asked, passing the mug
back.

"Nope.
But we've got one of the security staff constantly sending, so if
there is anyone out there at least they might hear it."

"Then at
least there's a chance. Maybe the Avalon has managed to get into
range."

"The
chances are slim, but right now I'll take what's on offer." He
sipped from the mug and I rooted around in my belt kit, found a
small vial of amber liquid and uncapped it. Taking the mug I poured
in a generous measure and passed it back. Grinning, he held it up.
"Here's to a hero's death."

"Here's
to death, either way. May it be swift and painless." We clinked
beverages together and sunk them. The fifteen-year-old scotch went
down my throat like acid. Walker looked up at the stars.

The
University had taken on a new role since the attacks had begun.
With its extensive medical study facilities and seemingly endless
dormitories, it had quickly become the billets for every soldier,
volunteer and security staff member. A makeshift medical bay had
been erected on the ground floor to cope with the endless stream of
injured troops that were coming in faster than they could patch up
and send back out. The staff were civilian, students who had
trained there before the invasion. Most had to rely on the more
experienced teachers there and found themselves in one hell of a
baptism of fire.