Nick Thomas - Battle Earth IV

“Parker, find us suitable transport that’ll get us all to Dijon ASAP.”

“Not gonna be easy.”

“Appreciated, do what you can.”

“On it,” she replied.

She nodded to her platoon to follow her as they headed for the nearest exit in search of wheels.

“Eddie, you’re gonna have to come with us. You got gear with you?”

“Armour and a rifle, but nothing like the shit you use.”

“It’ll do, gear up and be ready to move.”

“Always wanted to join the Marine Corps,” he jested.

Taylor nodded in gratitude as the pilot’s laid back and lax attitude seeped away and was replaced by a professional soldier.

“Sir?” asked Lam.

“Go.”

“Even if Sergeant Parker can find a vehicle, how are we going to make it through on the ground? It’s taken us days to clear some roads.”

“True, but civilians are clearly getting through to Dijon. We’re north east of the city, and the roads we’ll be using must have already been made passable.”

“And the bird?” asked Williams, pointing to the crashed copter.

“We’ll leave it to recovery crews. We can’t destroy something so valuable. I doubt anyone will come looking for it yet. Remember, we aren’t in hostile territory anymore. These are free lands.”

“Could have fooled me,” snapped Lam.

Taylor nodded. “I know. But remember, there’s a big difference between fighting an insurgency and a war. If anything, this is what we did have experience of before the war started.”

Rains leapt from the wreckage with his body armour half on and a rifle in hand. His bandana was still firmly around his head, and Taylor could already tell it would be futile to ask him to remove it.

“Alright, outside now. Let’s see what Parker has got us.”

They marched out of the complex to find Parker’s platoon stood around an articulated car transporter. Thick dust and dirt coated the polymer body of the cab, and they could see rust bubbling down much of the steelwork of the frame of the trailer.

“Jesus, you couldn’t find anything smaller?” yelled Rains.

Parker spun around.

“It’s the only thing left on site that works, or at least we hope works. Looks like it hasn’t been used in a few years.”

“Few years? Shit, I haven’t seen one of these in a long time,” replied Eddie.

She stepped aside to reveal two of her unit working on a side panel of the truck. A few seconds later, the engine fired up. The bodywork shook as the old engine rattled on its mounts.

“Jesus, that thing even going to make it?”

“It’s fuel cell driven by the old b-cells, Lieutenant. The reason we can get the fuel, is it’s the only thing nobody else would want around here. The old building heaters run off it, but that’s about it.”

“I’d call it a stroke of luck, but that would be pushing it,” Taylor grinned.

“Improvise and overcome, hey, Major?” she replied with a smile.

He turned to his platoon and gestured forward.

“All aboard!”

A sign on the edge of the road read ‘Bienvenue a Dijon’. Cheers rang out along the open carriage of the vehicle as they roared past. It was some of the only French they recognised. In the war torn country, it was rare to see signs still standing. As they breezed past, they could see it had been smashed down and was now propped up by several pieces of rough timber and lashed together.

“At least they got it back up,” said Taylor.

“Doesn’t that just say everything about this situation? Civilians rushing back into a warzone before it’s been made safe. Causing more trouble than they’re solving?” Hall asked.

“Can you blame them? All they want is their lives back.”

They could barely hear each other over the wind noise. They estimated Parker must be running the truck at over a hundred kilometres an hour.

“You know if she crashes this thing, we’re all gonna die.”

“All the life threatening situations we’ve been in, and now you decide to consider the risk?” Taylor replied.

They both laughed as they soared towards the city. Their faces turned sour as they spotted two thin wisps of black smoke arising up ahead. Taylor turned back to see the grim but professional faces of all those with them. Eddie was the only one among them who smiled. Taylor wondered if he’d just not experienced the horrors they had yet, but he suspected it was more a brave face put on for the others’ benefit.

Up ahead, they caught a glimpse of a police cruiser at the side of the road with two officers stood in the road. Parker brought the vehicle to a halt. The brakes squealed and hissed and made them wonder if she’d even tried them out during the entire trip. The two cops looked in surprise as the vehicle drew up in front of them, and they could make out the soldiers on top of the trailer. They walked around to talk to the driver, but Taylor shouted down from above.

“Major Taylor, 2 ^nd Inter-Allied. We’re here to help.”

The two cops were stunned for a moment as they tried to comprehend what they could see.

“This all? You all that’s coming?”

“For now. We were shot down en route to you.”

“That was you? So much for reinforcements.”

Taylor groaned at the lack of appreciation. “If you don’t mind, we’ve got a job to do.”

“By all means, but you’re going to need more than your bunch to fight this battle, Monsieur.”

Taylor nodded with gritted teeth. He wanted nothing more than to jump down and punch the man’s teeth out, but he restrained himself.

“Parker, let’s go!” he shouted.

The truck rocked forward with just enough time for the two cops to step aside and marvel at the rusting hulk trundling past. The marines glared at the men who wouldn’t show them an ounce of gratitude or respect. Hall wanted to spit on them for their ignorance and rudeness, but he felt Taylor’s hand on his shoulder and knew he must remain civil.

“What have those fuckers been doing the whole war? Waiting for us to turn up and do all the bloody work?”

“It sucks, but look at it from their perspective. They expected their country and their government to protect them. They have lost almost everything they have. What is the upside? Would you be all cheery in their shoes?”

“I think I’d show a little fucking gratitude. This isn’t even our God damn country!”

“I hear, ya,” replied Taylor.

They passed through dozens of quiet streets, seeing only a handful of civilians here and there. Then Parker’s voice rang out from the cab.

“Major! Take a look at this!”

He stood up on the top of the trailer that stretched up over the roof of the truck, grasping the rail beside him as the vehicle glided towards the horrific sight ahead. They could see a dozen filled body bags at the side of the road and medics working a way beyond with several dozen more casualties. A number of other wounded and bloodied soldiers and policemen lay about on benches and walls all around. Parker drew the vehicle to a halt once again as they reached the bloody scene.

Taylor leapt from the high trailer, descending five metres. He hit the ground hard but balanced, and with the suit taking the impact from his joints. Several troops looked up in curiosity. It was clear they had never seen such advanced equipment before. He looked to the doctor who was busy patching up a wounded woman.

As he panned quickly across the scene, he spotted one soldier with sergeant’s stripes whose arm was bound up, but otherwise he looked okay. Mitch quickly strolled up to the man. Few seemed to care to utter a word to them.

“Sergeant, we’re here to help, but we need to know the current situation.”

The man looked up with staring eyes. Taylor could see straight into the man’s troubled mind. He’d given up and lost hope. He didn’t even try to utter a word. Mitch had no tolerance for his attitude. He could already tell he wasn’t going to get anywhere with words. He took two brisk paces forward and slapped the man hard across the face. The Sergeant’s head snapped around from the heavy-handed strike.