Thick warm blood gushed down over her hand. If she had closed her eyes, she could not have told the difference between their blood and her own. The beast spun in anger and struck her with the back of its hand. The strike felt as if it almost broke her neck and threw her onto her back. She looked up from the ground as the creature took a few wobbly steps towards her. It finally collapsed onto the hard and cold ground beside her.
“Major!” shouted Monty.
The soldier rushed to her side with his brother close behind. He outstretched his hand and hauled her to feet. Blood gushed from her nose and trickled out from her mouth. She saw Monty looking at the wound and instinctively drew her hand across her face, looking down at the smear of blood on her skin. The blood tasted sour in the cold morning, and worse than it normally would.
“Jesus, Major, that’s some hard core shit,” exclaimed Blinker.
Captain Friday arrived beside her and looked down at the body of the creature with the Major’s knife still imbedded up to its hilt under the jaw. He looked up at the Major to investigate her injuries.
“You ok?” he asked.
She nodded. Chandra was still in shock from the attack. Her instincts and muscle memory had taken over her actions to save her life, but now she was starting to realise how close she had come to death.
“Thank God he didn’t have armour.”
Chandra nodded in agreement.
“Every time they get close to our troops, they rip us apart. These new suits have given us a lot more strength, but we need weapons that can handle hand-to-hand combat.”
“Shit, you really want to do that again, Ma’am?” snapped Blinker.
She quickly turned around to oppose the Private. The blood on her face had already begun to congeal in the cold morning chill. She could never stand tall over any of the men, but her presence was enough to command respect.
“Uhh… sorry, Ma’am.”
“No, you’re right. I wouldn’t want to do it again, and certainly not against one of the fully armoured bastards. But were it a choice, we wouldn’t fight them at all! Fact is we have to do whatever we need to. The next time we get into hand-to-hand, I want to be prepared.”
“Guess we better get on to Reiter,” mused Friday.
“He’s probably thought of it before us, Captain. Let’s see what he has to offer. Do a last sweep of the site, and be sure none of them live. We move out in five.”
They were on foot to return to base. Vehicle patrols to the west of Ramstein attracted too much attention from enemy air and artillery support. Neither side had launched any noteworthy offensives since the destruction of their facility in Poitiers. Chandra thought to herself as she peered around the valley. They’re in disarray. For once they aren’t moving forward. We could break them here.
The return to Ramstein was without incident. They passed four other allied units, and each one of them from another nation. Was this what we needed? Chandra asked herself; a common enemy to ally the Earth’s people together for the first time in its history. Then she remembered the loss of Charlie Jones and the Frenchman behind it, Legrant. The Mayor of Amiens, where they had been betrayed. She still harboured a bitter hatred for the man and prayed to never see him again, for she didn’t know if she would be able to restrain herself.
As the Company approached the western Perimeter of Ramstein, they could all make out the outline of Taylor waiting for them in front of the trenches. Behind him lay dozens of armoured vehicles and many more troops. His crutch had gone. His injuries had healed quickly, but he still showed the scars of the beating that Karadag had given him. The marine Major was smiling as they drew near.
“Good to see you back with us!” shouted Chandra.
She strode up to Mitch until she was close enough to speak privately.
“You cleared to come back?” she whispered.
“I figure so.”
“You figure?”
Taylor’s smile grew wider.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Without you there might not have been one,” she replied.
“You trying to kiss ass, Major?” he jested.
The two of them laughed as they turned and led the Company through the defences and into the safety of the base. It was already a hive of activity. Just a few weeks earlier, they had rushed across abandoned and desolate districts of the base to reach the western perimeter. Now it was littered with military vehicles and soldiers.
Ramstein was no longer an Air Force base. Its airfields had been lined with armoured vehicles. For the first time in decades, the base was truly alive. The hangars were over spilling with troops using them for accommodation. Tens of thousands of troops now occupied the base which was previously just a few years from closure.
“General Schulz still making you work at HQ?” asked Chandra.
“Just as an advisor. You know things have run a hell of a lot smoother since he took command.”
She nodded in agreement.
“Dupont still bitter about it?”
“Of course.”
“Well, we’re on German soil now, so it’s only right and proper they oversee the defence.”
“Commander Phillips is also still on board and assisting, along with leaders from most nations around here that I can think to name. A day with them could never be described as fun, but it is interesting.”
“Whoever thought it could work?” she asked. “The military minds of all nations coming together in a joint cause?”
“It isn’t all plain sailing. Dupont is still bitter, and rightly so. He has lost his country and many of his people.”
Chandra stopped and turned back to look at her Company. The troops came to a halt without command. They looked weary. The war had been reduced to a slog over the western border of Germany with no significant progress for either side. It was a meat grinder. They knew the brass would think that a good thing. All intelligence would suggest that the human forces significantly outnumbered the enemy, so much so that they could afford like-for-like losses.
“Good work! We kicked some arse today! Get some chow. At 1500 hours we take over guard duty at the western gate. Until then your time is your own!”
A restrained cheer rang out. It was a relief to the troops to be given a rest, but none of them were under any illusions concerning their situation. Captain Friday paced up to join the two Majors.
“We got any news on re-enforcements?” he asked. “We need to get back some way to battalion strength if we’re going to stay effective.”
“We’ve got no such luck, Captain. UK forces are amassed, but I have little idea on their intentions. You won’t be seeing any more yanks this side of the Atlantic anytime soon. Word is your boys are having a rough time of it.”
“Any news on that front?”
Taylor turned to his friend with a grim expression.
“The invasion has been widespread across the coast. As far as I can tell, New York has been hammered. Maine, Phili, Massachusetts and Delaware are mostly under enemy control. Most of the fighting right now is happening in Pennsylvania and Virginia.”
“How about DC?”
“Last I heard there were a couple of divisions fighting it out there. God knows how long they can keep it up.”
Friday sighed. The thought of such vast warfare on their own soil was something they could barely comprehend. Chandra stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it, Captain. Invasion is nothing new to the rest of us. The game isn’t over.”
Friday still shook his head in disbelief.
“We should be there,” he muttered.
“No,” snapped Taylor. “We should be wherever the fight is, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“Major!”