“Yes, but where did all the casualty replacements come from?”
“The schools, dumbass. All that training is suspended until this worker’s rebellion is stopped. Vehicles have been running in and out of here all night, bringing out troops and taking back the injured. Any more questions, Galen?”
“Meeting over, Chief?”
“Yes.”
Galen went back to his squad and led them over to stand in a loose formation in front of Mortinson. First and third squads joined them and Mortinson took charge.
“Fall in, dumbasses. Close interval.” They did. “All right, at ease and listen up. Ground your gear and go get all the heavy weapons and put them in a neat row beside the road. When the trucks from battalion trains get here, put the heavy weapons on the trucks and down load the tranquilizer guns. You troops will be issued pistols as well as tranq guns. Then turn in your rifles. With that accomplished, fall back in over here for the company formation. Any questions?”
“Yes,” asked a troop, “What’s going on?’
“The company commander will brief us. Now fall out and do what I told you. Fall out!”
The antitank platoon did as Mortinson ordered. The convoy of heavy-duty trucks from headquarters company came out and picked up the sniper rifles, the flamers, the rocket launchers and the machine guns. Finally Galen was ready to hand over his rifle.
“ID card, Sergeant,” said the supply clerk as Galen handed him his rifle.”
“Sure, but why?”
“We credit the value of the rifle to your account, and then deduct the cost of the tranquilizer rifle. Of course, ammunition is free.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Galen walked back to his platoon area and checked the troops of his squad.
“Sergeant, what’s with the pistols and the tranquilizer rifles?”
“It seems our mission has changed a bit. Chief says the pistols are back-up weapons, and the tranq guns are the primary weapon. Looks like we don’t want to hurt nobody.”
The mercenaries chuckled. “Like I really care,” said one.
Two helos arrived and landed behind the formation. The pilots shut down the engines and dismounted, making their way over to the formation area. They were accompanied by half a dozen snappers. Two skimmers turned off the road and parked next to the helos, hulls to the ground with their blowers shut off. Six troops climbed out of each and joined the pilot’s group. Soon they were in a loose formation, standing twenty meters to the right of the antitank platoon.
“Who’s that?” asked a troop in third squad.
“Headquarters platoon,” said Mortinson.
Three more skimmers arrived, followed by the four APCs Galen remembered from the welcome center convoy. The vehicles parked behind the formation and the crew members dismounted to form a platoon between the headquarters platoon and the antitank platoon.
“Combined maneuver platoon,” announced Mortinson, not waiting to be asked. Five fusion-powered Infantry Fighting Vehicles arrived, their nickel alloy treads groaning and thumping as the tracked vehicles rumbled down the road. They passed in front of the formation before turning off. Galen noticed the small turret on top of each IFV had a light laser cannon protruding from it, and guided missile launchers were mounted facing forward on the sides of their glacis plates. The IFVs turned smoothly and came to a halt just off the road. The vehicles dropped their assault ramps and the crews and infantry squads dismounted and formed a platoon to the left of the antitank platoon.
“Those hotshots are the mechanized infantry platoon,” said Mortinson.
The company commander’s skimmer hustled in at a good clip and slowed just enough for the Lieutenant to jump out and jog to a stop. Galen wondered if the running dismount were his signature move or if he were imitating some historical figure. The officer centered himself on the company formation and yelled, “Bring your units to attention!”
The Chiefs faced their platoons. The headquarters Chief ordered his platoon to attention, followed by the combined maneuver Chief, then Mortinson and finally the mechanized Chief. The Chiefs then faced the Lieutenant.
“Gentlemen,” began the company commander, “I have been given a somewhat irregular mission. Because you did such a good job last night, our higher-ups and the employer thinks we can put down this worker revolt all by ourselves. There are people a lot smarter than me and with a lot more rank on their collars who say it will work. They also say we need to use tranquilizer rifles.”
He paused, gazing around at all the mercenaries. Galen hoped the Lieutenant was smart enough to continue the briefing before the troops could start heckling. Finally the Lieutenant spoke again.
“I know we can do it. We’re here, were ready and we can nip this thing in the bud. And I will remind all of you, there is a lot of money at stake. Money for you. We will be some of the richest foot troops in Panzer Brigade history after we pull this off. We’re already splitting salvage from these enemy tanks, plus hazardous duty pay, plus mission bonuses. Hell, I might just retire after this one.”
Galen wondered if he’d ever get a chance to spend the money.
“As for the mission: we will gain control of the tank factory and the industrial compound surrounding it. It is imperative we do this as benevolently as possible. That is the reason for the tranq guns. Of course you have back-up weapons, those pistols, because the right to defend yourself with deadly force is a part of your contract.”
The officer paused again, gathering his thoughts. “Why not just let the Mandarins do it? We know they could. We know they would come in here with about ten thousand scrubby militia thugs supported by hobbling, ragged tanks. They would trash the place, level the towns, round up hoards of civilians and execute them and stamp out anything that resembles a rebellion. Then they would rebuild everything and re-populate the area with good little factory workers from somewhere else.”
The Lieutenant looked behind him for a moment, then back at the formation.
“The old man says we can do better. He says we can end the rebellion with a minimum of damage, and have these same people happy and building vehicles again in less than a week. So we will. I don’t have enough rank to authorize me to make a liar out of the Colonel, and neither do any of you. So we better make this mission come out the way he says.”
He paused again then said, “Chiefs. I need to see you right after this. Take charge of your platoons.”
The Chiefs saluted to acknowledge the order and the commander returned the gesture before relaxing his posture.
“Stand easy, men,” said Mortinson. “Wait here until I get back from the meeting with the Lieutenant. Go ahead and fall out but don’t go more than twenty meters away.”
“Second squad, over this way,” said Galen. He led his troops to a relatively undamaged patch of grass by the shoulder of the road. “Sit down and rest, sleep if you feel like.”
He walked to the river’s edge and sat peering across the water. The fog was gone. The river flowed slowly by, carrying a tree branch at about half a meter per second. The far bank was approximately two kilometers away, marked by an eroded drop-off bank three meters high. The grayish-brown water lapped at the bank in little wavelets, the translucent water washing over the gravel. Galen picked up a flat stone and skipped it across the water, counting six splashes before the rock sank.