“Good timing!” called out Jack, as he and his group emerged from the top floor and joined them out on the low battlements. Each pointed their weapons over the edge and fired at any enemy that came close.
“Okay, Commander,” said Xenophon sarcastically. “We’ve secured the tower, what now?”
Roxana smiled and nodded towards the approaching enemy forces on the other side. The odd impact from a rifle or carbine round bounced off the wall ineffectually.
“Well, I’m surprised we’ve got this far already! I suggest we dig in and hold them off until Rexor and the rest make it to us.”
“When? You mean if?” laughed Glaucon.
From their raised position, they could just about make out the glowing shapes of the body shields as the two large formation of fighters met all around the tower. It looked like they had met head on, and both sides were trying to outflank each other. Rexor and his group were still fifty metres from the tower, and it seemed they were pinned down by heavy weapons fire. Jack turned around and called out.
“Two groups are moving in from the left. They’re between Rexor and us. I think they are trying to outflank him. What do we do?”
“If we stay here, we’ll hold the objective, but Rexor and his team could end up cut down. It looks to me like they are content to leave us here, so they will finish him off and then come looking for what’s left of our force.”
Roxana nodded in agreement and lifted her carbine to check the state of her ammunition. She was already down to less than a half, and the enemy had not even started their main assault yet.
“Alright, here’s what we will do. I will stay with the long-range weapons and help defend the turret. Xenophon, Glaucon, Tamara and Jack, you will climb back down and work your way behind their team. Do not assault their positions unless you have the advantage, but try and catch them in a crossfire. If you can break them up, it will give Rexor a chance to break out to the tower.”
Glaucon and Xenophon nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing on the plan. They were already moving to the steps when Roxana grabbed Xenophon’s arm.
“Grab the ammunition from the ones downstairs, you’ll need it.”
He smiled and then disappeared out of view.
The small group moved down the tower and did their best to keep in the shadows. Glaucon was the only one of them carrying a heavy weapon, so he stayed further back, constantly on the look out for enemy movement. At the bottom, they found the semi-conscious bodies of the enemy, still panting from a mixture of exhaustion and probably the drugs they had been induced with. It took seconds to strip the magazines from their weapons, and they were on their way. The sounds of the main battle were coming directly ahead, and it sounded terrible. A mixture of gunfire, shouting and the crump and flashbang grenades rumbled through the streets. They made it to the damaged outer wall of a ruined home and stopped. Jack kept low and glanced through the gaping hole in the walls and out into the street. He watched for a few seconds before slipping back.
“There are dozens of them, looks like a melee.”
Xenophon pointed to the right but said nothing. They moved around the building and picked their way past the wrecked vehicles until they were in a position right behind where the red team should actually be. A number of cracks and explosions made them drop to the floor. They came from behind, but it was impossible to tell whether the reds had made it into the tower, of if they were simply engaged in a major firefight.
“There!” called out Glaucon.
Behind an upturned truck were about twenty member of the red team. They were behind cover and pouring fire into a similar number of blues who had been caught out in the open. Most of the rounds were bouncing from their body shields, but every now and then a shot made it through. As Xenophon and his own team took up position, a powerful blast from a plasma cannon hit the centre of Rexor’s formation. The gas charge put half a dozen fighters on the ground and disrupted their formation, making them even more vulnerable to attack. Xenophon double-checked his Asgeirr-Carbine and pulled Glaucon down to his level.
“On my command, you hit the centre of the line with everything you have. The rest of us will move out and hit them at close range. Understood?”
He nodded in agreement. Tamara and Jack were both armed with carbines and stood waiting.
“Ready?” asked Xenophon, and they nodded instantly. He turned back to Glaucon, “When you’re ready!”
He lifted his heavy weapon and rested it on the damaged wall. From their position, they had a perfect view of the rear of the red team. Glaucon aimed the weapon carefully and fired all his rounds, one after the other. He only had four left, but the effect of all four was devastating. He dropped the weapon and chased after the other three who were already charging at the team. Jack and Tamara blazed away with their carbines while Xenophon fired single shots from his own weapons. They only brought down a small number of the enemy, but the effect of being hit at close-range from behind shattered their formation.
“Get back!” shouted Tamara. A dummy round barely missed the two of them as Jack and Tamara took cover behind a metal container. More rounds clattered against it, but for now they were safe. While the gunfight continued, Xenophon rushed in, his bloodlust up. At close range, he was able to use his two Laconian weapons to perfection. His first bursts of fire cleared a path through their position, and then he was amongst them. Ducking and leaning, he avoided their clumsy attempt to shoot him while he stabbed and fired at close range.
Glaucon moved as quickly as he could, but he was forced to slow down as targets of opportunity arrived. A small group of four of the enemy had taken refuge behind a wall and were putting down considerable gunfire. Glaucon fired twice and dropped low to avoid their fire. He kept shooting, as well as moving closer to them, and could see Xenophon jumping about in the middle of the group. He seemed to be causing more confusion than casualties, but that was fine, disruption worked in their favour. He moved to the left to try and work around the group, but his left leg gave way.
“Great!” he cried in irritation, as he stumbled and collapsed to the ground. One of their projectiles had struck him above the knee and put him out of the fight. He tried to watch the rest of the training scenario, but the drug on the round started to kick in, and his vision quickly blurred.
Glaucon might be down, but there were now less than a dozen of the red team remaining. Only the handful that had turned on Glaucon were left, and they stood to try and run, only to be cut down by the renewed weapons fire from Rexor’s own advancing position. It was a devastating crossfire from all involved, and as the gunfire stopped, Xenophon found himself in the middle of the defeated red team’s position. Rexor moved out from the centre of his unit to look at Xenophon and Glaucon, both of whom were dripping in sweat. He was about to speak when a single remaining red team member lifted herself up and aimed her plasma cannon directly at Rexor. The expression on his face showed that he knew his time was up. Two flashes from the container further away was the only signal that Tamara and Jack were still in position. Their carefully aimed shots hit the woman in the back and knocked her to the ground.
“Not bad,” he said with a forced smile.
A loud siren filled the arena, and the lights on the training weapons switched off. Large flood lamps flashed on, and for a few seconds all of those involved felt almost blinded by the bright lights. From above, a round platform of perhaps ten metres in diameter was lowered. It took almost twenty seconds to reach to the ground. In the middle stood an Arcadian senior officer plus an entourage of warriors, each dressed in full combat attire. A group of medics and technicians stepped down from the platform to tend to those that had fallen and to administer the drugs to allow them to stand.