Comrades in Arms

The door to the command post silently opened and the officer walked in and saluted. I returned the salute the immediately returned my attention to the master display. The officer came to stand beside me.

“Reminds me of Arneb 4.”

I scoffed, “We had more troops are Arneb, Major.”

“We were still outnumbered. At least here we’re fighting on our own ground.”

“True.”

Then, in a more sober tone, “How bad is it sir?”

I shook my head, “Not nearly as bad as it seems. When the colonists first set up here, they wanted to ensure that their capital city would be heavily defended against anything. We have a full defense field, fabricators and fully independent power generation contained within the city.”

“Support?”

“Minimal. We have one regiment of regular Army, one artillery battery, a small naval contingent and no air or orbital support. Chain of command consists of you in charge of the infantry, Colonel Michaels commanding the artillery and myself commanding the naval group. I have overall command despite being outranked by Michaels since he’s Army and I’m Navy. Navy’s senior service and I’m the senior naval officer.”

“What about our opposition?”

“Oh, they have at least one division of infantry with one regiment of artillery supporting. They have air support, but the shield will be able to handle that. The good news for us is their orbital forces have withdrawn to intercept the Coalition response fleet.”

“What’s our battle plan?”

“The shield perimeter extends to about ten meters beyond the outer defense ring, but it stops three meters above the ground. I’ve had three sets of concentric trenches dug. They’re all connected to each other, though those cross trenches can be secured at will and all are rigged with mines and other assorted surprises we can arm if we’re forced to fall back. Spaced between those rings I’ve had larger bunkers dug out and I’ve placed the artillery pieces in there. I’ve yanked the cannons out of the artillery unit’s spotter craft and had them rigged as fixed emplacements. The spotters are spread throughout the higher buildings in the city. I’ve got snipers and shoulder mounted munitions similarly placed. Army will hold the trenches as long as possible, fall back as needed and finally withdraw to within the city walls. There, they will be augmented by militia and security forces. Protection of the shield generator and power supply is paramount.”

“Are we going to have to fallback through the city gates?”

“As we speak, the city’s engineers are finishing access hatches in the wall’s foundations. If you and your people have to fall back to within the walls, we’ll make sure you get there under cover.”

“We appreciate it. How long till we engage?”

“Unknown. Could be hours, could be minutes.”

“Well, I should get to the line.”

“We only need to hold until the response fleet breaks through the blockade. Once they achieve orbit, we can evacuate within an hour.” I turned and faced her directly, “Be careful Dara, we made it through Arneb, I don’t want to lose the best soldier I ever worked with.”

She gave me a smile, “I don’t intend to buy it today Commander. I still have to give you grief for transferring to Navy.” She saluted and left the room.

I glanced back at the display before keying the intercom. “This is Commander Rogue, all forces report to combat stations. Enemy forces approaching.” I walked over to my desk and picked up my rifle. I might be the commanding officer, but with thousands of lives depending on me and the rest of my fellow soldiers, I’d be damned if I was going to observe this fight from the safety of the command center. I left the room and waved my aide over. “Lieutenant Yofin, please keep me upraised of enemy movement. I’ll be on the line.” I walked out before she could protest. My comrades were waiting.