I winced as I heard the sound of a mortar opening fire, sending shells flying towards us, but we had an ace up our sleeve. A radar-guided laser cannon opened fire and detonated the mortar shell in the air, exploding it harmlessly well away from us. Ed had placed the four laser cannons in positions to intercept and destroy anything that might hit the camp — unlike the defenders we’d removed — and as I watched, other shells were cut out of the skies before they could explode. The firing intensified, but they didn’t come close to overloading the laser systems.
Ed looked over at me from his position when I entered. “If I’d been running the attack, I’d have brought along the quick-firing guns they’re supposed to have,” he said, dryly. I nodded in agreement. The only way to overload the laser defences would be to give them more targets than they could handle. It would be possible, if the bombardment was intense enough, but it didn’t look as if the enemy had brought enough mortars to accomplish that feat. “Instead, they’re just playing games with us.”
“Or forcing us to look in the wrong direction,” I said, looking down at the take from the UAV. The enemy seemed to have discarded stealth altogether, choosing instead to push forward towards our positions as quickly as they could. I hoped they pulled back before they hit the first line of defences. Unless I was deeply mistaken, a lot of them were about to die. “Keep the sensor network up and running.”
The sound of firing grew louder as the enemy came closer. It rapidly became apparent that they had their own night-vision equipment, perhaps UN-issue, because their shooting was extremely accurate. They were flitting closer from cover to cover, firing as they came, forcing our men to return fire with short, precise bursts. The fighting only intensified as they came towards the main bunkers and discovered the landmines we’d prepared for them. The explosions sent them reeling backwards in disarray and our men picked them off as quickly as possible.
“We could send out teams and harass them as they fall back,” Peter suggested, but Ed and I both shook our heads. In the darkness, the odds of heavy casualties would be too high and I didn’t want to lose more men. There were already too many men lying in body-bags and waiting for a return to the spaceport. “Or use our own mortars.”
Ed nodded and keyed his radio. “Tell the mortars that they can launch counter-battery strikes at will,” he said. I nodded, leaving him to command. We’d held them back because we needed to keep our own shells away from the point defence lasers — on a hair trigger, the UN-designed system sometimes couldn’t tell the difference between a shell coming and a shell going — but now we could use them openly. “I repeat, fire at will.”
The sound of our mortars echoed out as they opened fire, sending death and destruction towards the enemy forces. I watched the take from the UAV as the explosions billowed out in the distance, flattening trees and destroying enemy equipment, but the enemy were moving their weapons as soon as they fired a single shell. I had to admire their determination, even though they had to know that they weren’t getting anything through the defences… or maybe they just wanted to drain our energy and force us to remain on alert. They just kept sniping at us from a safe distance, having learnt the folly of a frontal attack, keeping the men awake. I yawned suddenly and cursed under my breath. No one would be having a good sleep tonight.
“Rotate half of the men off-watch and tell them to get some sleep,” I ordered, grimly. Ed nodded, sharing my concerns. A tired army was one that would make mistakes. “No drugs or sleeping machines; tell them to sleep with their boots on.”
“I’ll supervise,” Peter volunteered. Sleeping with their boots on was an old UN piece of slang, referring to having soldiers sleeping in their uniforms and body armour, with their weapons by their side. The UNPF required hours of paperwork before it was permitted, but I didn’t have to worry about that. My men would be as ready for battle as I could make them. If the fort was seriously threatened, we’d need to get them up and firing as quickly as possible. “Keep an eye on him, sir.”
“Yes, dad,” I said, tiredly.
“You should get some sleep too,” Ed said. He didn’t look any better than I did; we both looked like walking zombies. His normally clean-shaven face was showing signs of stubble and his eyes were dark circles. I rubbed my own chin and felt two days worth of growth. I needed a shower, a shave and several hours in bed, perhaps not in that order. “It doesn’t look as if they’re going to break through.”
I looked down at my wristcom. There were still five hours before local dawn. We’d have to be on alert then — dawn was a common time to launch an offensive — but before then… I could sleep, couldn’t I? The thought was seductive, overriding my sense of duty and obligation to my men; I could crawl into one of the bunkers, get a blanket, and sleep for those five hours. I cursed it under my breath, but Ed was right; I could sleep — I even should sleep.
And my mind was wandering.
“Wake me if there’s a problem or twenty minutes before dawn,” I ordered, bowing to the inevitable. “If they don’t push in an offensive, I’ll relieve you then and you can get some sleep yourself.”
I staggered down the stairs, returned to the command bunker, and curled up on the floor with a blanket. There were UN Generals who had insisted on travelling with their personal staff and bedding, but I felt I should set an example. At that moment, it seemed like a very stupid decision to me; I should have brought more bedding for myself. It was the tiredness talking…
A moment later, Peter was shaking me. “What’s happening?” I asked, blearily. I felt as if I hadn’t slept at all. “Are we under attack?”
“It’s twenty minutes before dawn,” Peter said. I stared at him, half-convinced that he was playing a trick. I couldn’t have slept, could I? I looked at my wristcom and confirmed the time, then rolled over and stood up carefully. My mind felt musty and old, but somehow I managed to pick up my weapon and follow him out of the bunker, back up to Ed’s observation post. I could see the first hint of sunlight in the distance, turning the darkness of the night sky into the dull grey of morning. “They’ve been shooting at us all night.”
I snorted. “Let’s hope they’re as tired as we are,” I said, as we stepped into the observation post. “Ed?”
Ed didn’t look much better than I did; I suspected he’d popped a stimulant or something to help him keep awake. “They’ve been probing our defences all night, but they haven’t launched a serious attack,” he reported, grimly. “I don’t think they’re going to attack us, but they’re going to be a definite presence in the surrounding area. I think that any patrols are going to have to be heavily armed and perhaps escorted by the armoured cars.”
“Probably,” I agreed, looking at the take from the UAV. I didn’t trust it completely, but it didn’t look as if an enemy force was massing and preparing to attack. They’d be foolish to launch such an assault, as tired as we were; they knew we’d tear them a new asshole. They’d be better off sniping from a distance and hitting patrols. “Still, we’ll watch and wait.”
An hour passed slowly as the sun climbed into the sky. Little happened, apart from a handful of shots fired towards us, leading me to believe that the enemy had definitely decided to fall back and avoid a conventional battle. As the sun rose higher, I made my own plans. Once the first convoy arrived, I’d go back to the spaceport with it, leaving Ed in command until I returned.