The Major stared at the civilians as they rolled on to the centre. At first she could not believe her eyes, but she quickly came to realise the significance of the people’s homes. They had seen towns and cities left in ruin, and their populaces displaced as little more than refugees.
“I don’t like this at all. We can’t defend a city.”
“I appreciate that, Captain. Let’s get some more information before we come to any conclusions.”
It wasn’t long before they reached the city centre. The cafes and restaurants were full. The populace lay about socialising while the war raged around them. They approached a large police station where a number of officers sat outside drinking coffee. Among them was the Mayor, recognisable by the chain around his shoulders. The troops looked on in disbelief. They had expected to find another abandoned city, but instead they found a vibrant and trendy locale that continued on as if nothing had happened.
“Bring us up to the station, Captain,” said Chandra.
She observed that a number of people turned to look at their tanks rolling down the street but cared little for them, and they were not at all surprised. The six vehicles rolled up to the Mayor and came to an abrupt halt. The man turned to glare at them in offense. Chandra could see that he was about to speak, but she cut him off as she stood up on the vehicle and bellowed.
“I am Major Chandra, and you are?”
The group of officers turned to face Chandra as the Mayor stared as if he was surprised by her presence.
“Legrant, the elected Mayor of the city of Amiens.”
She looked back at the combined troops of her company in astonishment. It was as if the population were living on a different planet. She could not wait to hear an explanation any longer.
“Mr Mayor, are you aware that a war rages across your country, and that it is rapidly approaching your city?”
She expected a shocked or concerned response from all who had stopped to hear her out, but they merely stared back as if they were waiting for something else.
“If you stay here, you will die, all of you!” she balled.
The street went silent, but they seemed more offended by her presence than the threat looming over them.
“Major, we are not leaving our city. The cities before you have been destroyed because you chose to fight over them. We will not fight.”
“Then you will die.”
“Towns, cities and countries have been conquered throughout history. They survive and go on. We will not follow the same fate as Paris.”
Chandra shook her head in disbelief as her comrades gasped and laughed at what they were hearing.
“This enemy, they don’t want to capture or enslave our people. They want to end us. They want this planet for their own and all of us all removed from it!”
“You don’t know how these creatures think, Major! You assume! You have seen troops with guns and assumed they were hostile. We could just have well thought the same about your presence here.”
Chandra turned back to look at her troops as Captain Jones climbed aboard to see what the commotion was about.
“Major, what the hell’s going on here?” he asked.
“The people don’t want to go,” said Becker.
“What? But the Mechs will be heading this way.”
“They know that, Captain. They feel that if they don’t show resistance then they will not suffer under the invaders.”
“Do you believe that?” asked Jones.
“Not for a second. This enemy will stop at nothing to eradicate us.”
“Then why have they not done so on a larger scale with more catastrophic weapons?” asked Becker.
Chandra thought for a moment, never having given the idea a moment’s notice.
“Maybe they will yet, Captain. All we know right now is that they will destroy anything in their path, and we could be looking at tens of thousands of deaths here, maybe even hundreds of thousands.”
“You are sure they cannot be convinced to leave?” asked Jones.
“I believe that until they have witnessed the brutality of the enemy first hand, they will not be convinced.”
“We cannot force them to leave, not with a hundred troops and six tanks,” said Becker.
The three officers went silent, deep in thought, until they all came to the same realisation.
“We must stay.”
The Major turned and jumped from her vehicle. She confidently strode up to the Mayor with her rifle slung casually across her back.
“Mr Mayor. We have been tasked with the defence of France and the protection of all within it. We will not, and cannot, leave you here to die. If you refuse to leave, then we have no choice but to stay here to defend you.”
“That is utterly unacceptable, Major! We have chosen to stay out of this war, and we will not have you drawing us into it!”
Chandra paced quickly up to the Mayor until she was up in his face and beyond his comfort zone.
“You’ve not seen the horrors befall those who cross paths with these bastards. You have no god damn idea. If you stay here, you will die. By staying, you force us to stay and likely die with you. Are you that naive and bloody stupid?”
Legrant said nothing, turning his gaze away from the Major. She climbed back up onto the tank and stood up to address the hundreds of civilians who were watching.
“In the coming hours or days an invading force will reach this city and leave no one alive! If you do not leave, you will almost certainly die here!”
The crowds mumbled between themselves but appeared to pay little attention to her statement. She turned and looked back down at the Mayor. She was disgusted by the man, and she knew that he was responsible for blinding the city’s people to the threat that bore down upon them.
“I can’t force you to leave. But know this, the death of every man, woman and child here will be on your hands. My Company will give their lives to defend you, but I beg you to do the right thing. We’re taking up position on the main bypass to the city. I pray you change your minds before morning.”
She turned to Becker. The soldiers still could not believe what they were hearing. They had been posted to Amiens as a safer location, but they all knew that the enemy would reach it soon enough. Chandra watched the ignorant mob and thought, what a bunch of fucking idiots.
The Major could see that her troops wanted nothing more than to head east to the safety of the bases in Germany. She could no longer even keep count of the men and women that had been killed under her command. The vehicles circled around and headed out towards the south perimeter and the main road into the city.
“Are we really doing this, Major? You would die for that bastard?” Becker asked.
“He is a bastard, Captain, but we aren’t fighting for him. Hopefully, when the populace see firsthand the horrors that await them, they will soon turn tail and run.”
“So we get our arses shot off in the hope of that event?” Jones asked.
“Possibly. The Commander sent us up here, and he won’t forget us. We’ll likely either await re-enforcements, or retreat further west when the time comes.”
“And the people of the town?”
“We’ll follow our orders, and that’s all there is to it, Captain Jones.”
“So all of that was just for show?” asked Becker.
Chandra looked across at the Captain, studying his face. She could see the relief in his eyes that he did not have to call the shots.
“I’ve done what I can to reason with them, as I am sure other authorities have. Ultimately, we cannot force them to leave. However, I will not put the Company in jeopardy because of their idiotic decisions.”
Becker nodded. None of them liked the idea of leaving civilians to die, but neither did they want to be held to ransom by them. It wasn’t long before they reached an ideal choke point on the dual lane road. It was a sharp bend where they could deploy under the cover of tall trees and brick buildings.
An hour later the officers were once again sat beside a stove awaiting a brew. The military had long been using heating elements for rations, but Jones had always despised them when combined with tea. They sat inside the ground floor of a brick building that was some form of printing company. They could hear the clatter of equipment crashing together as the troops in the other rooms stacked anything they could find against the windows. Captain Becker walked into the room to see Chandra, Jones and Friday.