An hour later, Chandra returned hitching a ride on a Jeep along with Jones. They found Taylor sat with a mug of coffee staring aimlessly out towards the raging battlefield.
“Good to see you back in proper gear!” she shouted.
He turned and leapt to his feet.
“What are our orders? Am I to be arrested again?”
“Schulz knows you’re with us, but he doesn’t know the circumstances of how. There’s not much he can do about it, right now. He can’t spare the people, or time to sort you out, and doesn’t even have anywhere to keep you. His orders are that you are to remain under my custody and may carry a weapon, but have no privilege of rank until a full investigation and tribunal is possible.”
“Jesus, what a fucking asshole!”
“Give the man some credit. He’s letting you walk free, and that’s all that matters, right now. For the foreseeable future, you will remain as my consulting officer.”
Taylor shook his head in astonishment.
“I guess it’s better than prison.”
“Look, as far as the Company is concerned, you’re still a Major, and they will take your orders, no matter what. As long as you stick with me, and we maintain that capacity publicly, you’ll be fine.”
“Alright, and my weapons?”
“Gear is still tight. We are to beg, borrow and steal whatever we can get. I believe Suarez has a spare rifle, and that will have to do.”
“A rifle, you’ve seen what those creatures can do? We barely survived when we faced them the first time with gear like this!”
“All I can say is be thankful we are alive, and not at the front,” she said as she gestured towards the front lines which Taylor had been so fixated on.
“They’ll get to us eventually,” replied Taylor.
“I have no doubt, but that time is not now. Let’s get some rest while we can. We have rations being brought up within the hour.”
She stepped forward and strode past the trench onto the next where the other platoons were set up. Taylor quickly rushed to her side and paced along with her.
“There’s word Reitech gear’s being issued, you know anything about that?”
“Only the same rumours you do,” she snapped back.
The two of them turned as they heard vehicles roaring towards them. Two trucks were racing over the mottled ground away from the front lines. They could already make out a dozen or more wounded on each of them.
“Christ, they’re getting murdered out there,” Chandra said.
“Tiered fighting, there’ll be a lot more before it’s over. This is a war of attrition now.”
“Aren’t all wars?” she replied.
Chandra strode away, leaving Taylor watching the trucks of wounded pass by. It was a demoralising sight for the rest of the troops to have to witness. They could make out the blank and lifeless expressions of many of the casualties. Others screamed in agony as medics worked on them deeper inside the vehicles.
The troops of the 2 ^ nd Inter-Allied watched for two days as the wounded were ferried back from the front, and the artillery and bombardments drew nearer. They could tell the enemy was now just two kilometres away, and so they waited anxiously each day to see if they would have to fight. They could only hope the losses on the enemy side were as significant.
“Giving ground every hour doesn’t seem like the best move,” mused Campbell.
“It’s a solid tactic. It may seem like we are giving up ground and losing a lot for it, but you lose troops however you fight. Think about it, you set up one big wall, and if there is one breach in that wall, you are finished. Spread your forces in deeper layers, and each breach by the enemy is less significant. They get further and further away from their resources and can never bring everything to bear against one target.”
“And the troops at those front tiers? Are they expendable?”
“In a way, yes, but soldiers fight, and soldiers die. Sacrifices have to be made.”
“Not always wisely, though. It wasn’t so long ago you said Schulz had no care for the soldiers in his command, has that changed?”
“Probably not, he is a bastard, but that doesn’t make him wrong.”
Taylor could hear a few vehicles heading towards them from the east. They had gotten used to seeing trucks transporting troops forward and casualties back, but he stood up beside the trench to look out. He didn’t recognise the trucks. They weren’t military issue.
“What the hell is this?” he asked.
Three trucks rolled towards their position. They were similar in size and layout to a regular army truck but of distinctly civilian usage. Chandra walked up to him and watched out of curiosity as they drew up to a halt. They half expected to be asked directions for somewhere, but could not understand why. It was a peculiar thing to see such shiny civilian vehicles in their warzone. The driver of the first leaned out and shouted.
“Major Taylor here?”
“You’re speaking to him.”
The passenger door on the other side of the truck opened, and they heard someone jump out. Seconds later, the passenger strode into view, and they were relieved to see it was Doctor Reiter.
“Major, I am glad to see you are no longer behind bars.”
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me of it,” jested Taylor.
“I hear the brass have been keeping you busy?” asked Chandra.
“Most certainly, Major, but I am sorry to see that you are no longer reaping the benefits of my work. I was sad to hear of the removal of the equipment from your Company and protested most vehemently on the subject.”
“We’ve been fighting an uphill battle since. Your equipment gave us a fighting chance, but we’ve lost some good people these last weeks.”
“Then you’ll be glad to know that I am here to rectify that. I am returning all of the Reitech equipment which was issued you.”
“Shit, are you serious?” asked Taylor. “Has General Schulz authorised this?”
Reiter shook his head and smiled.
“The General may decide what equipment he issues from the factory, but what equipment I build for myself and my testing, is to do with as I please. Your people remain the best test bed for my creations.”
“We’re getting it all back? Everything we had from you?” asked Chandra in amazement.
Reiter nodded. Taylor turned back to the trenches.
“Form up, and collect your gear!” he yelled.
A cheer rang out down the line as the troops hopped out of their trenches with an enthusiasm none of them had seen in a long time, not since before Taylor’s arrest. Reiter gave a hand signal that was answered with a number of his assistants opening up the sides of the vehicles and hauling box loads of equipment to the edge of their trucks. The Company, who were desperate to get their hands on the gear, mobbed them.
“I can’t thank you enough. Your timing couldn’t be better.”
“Yes, I can see,” mused Reiter as he saw explosions erupt in the distance. “Now, last time we spoke you aired a concern about close quarter combat, and your lack of effective equipment at such ranges.”
“Yeah, when those Mechs get close, they tear our guys apart,” replied Chandra.
“Well, the return of your suits will go a long way to improving your strength and torso protection. However, I have a number of devices I believe will suit your needs. Follow me.”
The quirky scientist led the two officers to the last truck, signalling for two of his assistants to lower boxes from the side with the robotic lifter. He flicked the catches and threw open the lid.
“The shield technology, you got it working?” asked Chandra.
“The targeting issue, yes,” he replied
He lifted out a pair of protective glasses that appeared little more than shooting glasses, but with tiny power cells added.
“With this targeting device, you can aim and track your weapon independently, and in doing so, allow you to use it singlehandedly, providing you have the power of the exosuit to support the weight, of course. This will enable the use of the shield, as I predicted, to stand up to a number of pulse impacts.”