“How long do we stay here, Major?”
“For as long as we can! Captain, you’re in charge here!”
“Where are you going Major?”
“I am getting our men back! Monty, Lieutenant Green, form up the platoon!”
She lifted her rifle and rushed forward as her unit formed up. The police who had previously stood against them scattered for their vehicles to flee the city and help any that they could. Chandra could not help but think their idiocy may have killed them all. She charged through the doors of the police precinct to find it a flurry of activity. The Major grabbed the arm of a policewoman who was rushing by in a panic.
“Where are the holding cells?” she barked.
The woman’s eyes were wide with fear. Chandra shook her and she began to mumble.
“In the basement.”
She pointed to the stairs. Chandra released her grip and rushed for the doors. They charged down the steps so fast they could barely maintain their footing. The officers on duty had already fled, and the dozen prisoners were yelling for help. Chandra rushed along the line of cells trying to identify her two companions, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“God damn it!”
“Where the fuck are they?” shouted Monty.
“That bastard Legrant must have moved them!”
She stopped for a moment to think.
“What do we do Major?” Green asked.
“Release the prisoners, then we move out.”
“These are criminals,” stated Blinker.
Chandra spun around to confront the Private. “No, none of these people have been convicted. These are holding cells, not a prison! We are not leaving them to die!”
Blinker nodded, feeling more than a little sheepish for questioning the Major. The platoon rushed along the lines opening the cells. The occupants didn’t stop to thank them. Chandra rushed to the stairwell without a further word. She reached the foyer and caught a glimpse of Legrant rushing for the door. She intercepted him, hauling him back against the sidewall.
“Where are my men?” she exploded.
“I, I…”
“Well? Speak up!”
“They are at the Marmotte Station.”
“Which is where?”
The man hesitated. She could see the fear in his eyes and his unwillingness to speak.
“Where?”
“To the south.”
She pulled him back and threw him against the wall again. The man winced in pain as his back smashed into it, and the air was taken out of him.
“You have just condemned two fine men to die. Why?”
An explosion blasted out down the street, closer than any other. The ground shook beneath them. She knew that it was the sound of Becker’s tanks engaging the enemy.
“Major! We have to get out of here!”
She glared at Legrant with a bitter hatred.
“I pray we never meet again, for you will not survive. Get out of my sight!”
The Mayor scurried off as she raised her rifle and stepped out of the precinct to see the tanks rocked back as their guns roared. The rest of the Company had taken cover in nearby buildings, but the incoming enemy had not yet come into range.
“What do we do now?” asked Green.
She continued to stare down the road past the tanks to the south. She could just make out the outline of a column of enemy vehicles approaching in the distance. Captain Jones and Private Walker now lay far behind enemy lines, if they were alive at all.
“There’s nothing left for us here but death and destruction,” she whispered.
“What was that, Major?”
He could barely hear her words over the sound of the gunfire.
“Immediate withdrawal, spread the word, we pull out now!”
Green nodded in relief, but also sadness in the realisation that they had to leave men behind. He ran along the edge of the buildings shouting the orders as the Major leapt onto Becker’s tank. She knelt down and yelled.
“Get us the hell out of here, Captain!”
The troops flooded across the street and clambered onto the vehicles as they reversed back to the square, so as to not expose their flank or rear armour. As they got to the turning point, Yorath and the last of the troops reached them and clambered aboard. Energy pulses smashed into the ground around them, but they were still far enough off that the fire was inaccurate and harassing at best.
The six armoured vehicles rotated on the spot. The Major turned and gazed down the southern road in the direction of Jones’ reported location. She hated having to leave him there, but more than anything, she despised Mayor Legrant and his people for being the cause of such a pointless loss.
“Where is the Captain?” Friday shouted.
Chandra turned to see him calling her from the other side of the vehicle as they rocked forward and began to gain speed going easterly. She shook her head, and he understood immediately.
“What did they do to him?”
She looked up at the saddened Captain.
“He’s being held a few kilometres to the south, right behind that enemy offensive.”
Friday sat back against the armour of the vehicle, knowing that all hope was lost.
“Why are we leaving him?” Yorath asked.
“Because any other path would have us all dead before midday,” countered Chandra.
The young Lieutenant reached forward aggressively to argue with the Major. Captain Friday grabbed him by the chest plate of his armour and threw him back.
“Don’t believe for one second that any of us want to leave Jones or Walker behind. We’ve fought alongside them longer than you have been in this war. Let it go!”
Chandra rested back against the turret of the vehicle and slumped as her vision blurred. She could feel her eyes water just slightly, and a single tear trickled down her face. She could think of nothing but the sorrow of their loss. The column reached the open road, passing civilians as they desperately tried to load up vehicles and leave. None of them had any sympathy for the town’s people as explosions continued to erupt across the centre.
Chapter 7
“Give me an update, Major.”
Taylor stood at a large display screen on the sidewall of the research centre. He was looking at a display monitor with General White sitting with many other high ranking officials. They both knew that such programs should take months or years to complete, not the days that he had been given.
“The first dozen suits are complete, Sir. We have been liaising with suitable manufacturing plants across Europe, but it’s taking time.”
“That’s one luxury we don’t have, Major.”
No shit, thought the Major. We’re the ones fighting this damn war.
“General, these factories are predominately civilian firms that are used to working to deadlines in months and years.”
“I fully appreciate the problems, Major. We are getting production moving domestically, but it’s all taking time.”
“Any news on the enemy’s manufacturing progress?”
“Not much. What we do know, is whatever they are doing, it’s big. Our armies are suffering enough at the hands of these bastards. We cannot afford for the enemy to gain an even greater advantage.”
“I don’t see we can do much about it, Sir. Our armies can barely hold the Mechs back as it is.”
The General turned to listen to news that was being handed to him. He was heavily distracted until he looked up at the other officers in the room with a morbid expression.
“Gentlemen, we have reports of substantial forces having left Tartaros and heading for the coast of Florida at high speed. The invasion of the United States has begun.”
White turned to the Major.
“Mitch, we’re going to do everything we can to fight on our shoreline. The armies in Europe have shown remarkable resolve, but let us not be under any illusions. At present, we are losing this war. Whatever the enemy is building will almost certainly be a game changer. You are well placed to do something about it, and have the best equipment available to you.”