Colonel Luis Martin was standing in front of his command tent leaning over a table studying a map of his surroundings. The sounds of battle could be heard and seen in the flat plain that spread out beyond his position. There was no room to hide from the battle raging before him. He needed reinforcements to hold his position.
He picked up his comphone and pressed a button. He asked for General Clark. A voice on the other end acknowledged the call. “What’s your Sitrep, Colonel?”
“We’re under fire, General. The Pakistanis are trying to push through our lines again. I need more artillery fire to support our troops!”
“Send me the firing coordinates and I’ll pass it to the commander,” General Clark replied.
“Sending the coordinates now, General.”
A moment later, the general said artillery rounds would commence in five minutes.
Colonel Martin thanked the general and passed word to his commanders at the front lines; “All hell would break lose in five minutes! Keep your heads down!”
General Bradley Clark was Colonel Martin’s commanding officer. They were part of a regiment of 5,000 soldiers sent to the war in India from Fort Leonard Wood military base located in Missouri Province back in the United Americas Continent. The UAC was one of the largest members of the World Federation that replaced the United Nations two decades before the Plague Wars started in 2084. It was now year 2096 and the Plague Wars were far from over.
“We may need reinforcements if the line doesn’t hold, General,” Martin added over the comphone.
“I’ve already ordered two more companies to move to your position, Colonel. The Pakistanis don’t have enough soldiers left in their army to break through our lines. Let me know if your situation changes, Colonel. You must hold your line.”
“Understand, General. We will hold the line!” The call ended. Colonel Martin set down his comphone. He looked out over the battlefield and wiped sweat dripping down his face. It was already over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and it was still early springtime in India. Martin wished the fighting would stop. More human deaths have resulted from recent plagues than all the wars fought in human history. They didn’t need to fight each other anymore to kill off their species. Nature was doing it for them.
The Climate Crisis was started by man, no doubt about it. It started after the industrial revolution, picked up steam in the twentieth century and was now reaching its final climax in the twenty-first century resulting in what scientists called a sixth mass extinction level event; all caused by mankind and the burning of fossil fuels that heated the planet.
Global warming had since devastated much of the world. Land that lay along the equator was no longer habitable. It was too hot and dry for human life. Other large sections of the world that lay north of the equator to the Tropic of Cancer and south to the Tropic of Capricorn were also hotter than normal. The average summer daily temperatures rose to 120 degrees or more. Rivers had dried up. Raining seasons were no more and crops could no longer be grown. The earth in these regions had dried to a bone and turned into wastelands.
To make matters worse, Global Warming had melted most glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet resulting in a 20 foot average sea level rise. Coastal cities around the world disappeared under the water. Inland rivers and ground water turned salty. The northern permafrost regions thawed out releasing millions of tons of methane and CO2 gases. Air pollution and smog made it difficult for humans to breathe at low lying ground levels without face masks. Oxygen levels above eight thousand foot elevations were too low for humans to breathe without oxygen masks. All of this together turned the force of nature against human survival. People had died by the billions over the last fifty years.
But this did not stop the fighting among nations. It only got worse. People were desperate and now fought each other for scarce resources that might help keep them alive a little longer. The World Federation tried to stop mass genocides around the world. It sent peacekeeping troops like Colonel Martin’s soldiers to where they were needed. The UAC sent the largest armed forces it could muster to try and stop the fighting among former allies such as the European Union and parts of Asia. India requested help from the World Federation when Pakistani troops began to invade along the northern border. That was almost one year ago. Colonel Martin did not see the fighting ending anytime soon unless the war turned against them.
Black smoke rose high into the sky from burning vehicles in the distance. Artillery fire from the heavy weapons near field headquarters roared through the sky. Moments later the smart 155 millimeter shells guided by aerial drones landed in enemy lines making the ground shake under Colonel Martin’s feet from the impacts. Martin knew his troops had their armor and helmets on to protect them from the blast waves. He waited for Sitreps from his commanders on the front lines to report in. He hoped the enemy decided to retreat back across their border.
Captain Jason Hood crouching behind concrete barriers heard the first shells whine through the air over his head. The blast waves reached his lines within seconds blowing sand, debris and dark, black smoke over his position, immediately followed by large booming sounds from exploding shells that vibrated the air like drums. The shelling lasted for several minutes; then suddenly stopped. That was the sign for his troops to attack!
Captain Hood stood up in front of his soldiers and ordered them to attack the enemy who had tried to breach their lines a short while ago. Jason knew the attack was coming from drone video footage taken early this morning. The Pakistani Army was determined to invade India and try to capture the capital city of New Delhi. It was their last measure of desperation to save their people—what was left of them in Pakistan. The country had been decimated from the effects of climate change, food shortages, pandemics and diseases.
India was not much better off than Pakistan or any other country in Asia. They also suffered for the same reasons and lost more than 50% of their population, over 700 million souls, in the last twenty years. India’s military forces were in worse shape than Pakistan’s army and had pleaded for military peacekeepers from the World Federation to stop the invasion.
Captain Hood was only twenty-eight years old, but he was a survivor and came from a long line of family members who had served in the military. A natural born leader, he commanded a company of two hundred soldiers. They served under Colonel Martin and General Clark. They would all go home soon if they survived this battle and ended the war.
Jason led his soldiers across a dried-up stream that had once been a large river located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain in northern India. Pakistan was only 427 miles from New Delhi. The Pakistani Army had invaded to within two hundred miles of the capital city before World Federation peacekeeping troops reinforced by the Indian Army had finally stopped their advance and were now beginning to push them back.
Jason knew the enemy forces numbered around 40,000 troops with heavy equipment, some artillery, a few tanks and armored vehicles with machine guns, mortar launchers and troop carriers. Fortunately, they lacked air support and no missile firing drones.
Bullets passed close over Jason’s head. He could hear the whistles near his helmet. He had on his bullet proof face shield and air breather. Cool air circulated through his helmet and body armor. All UAC soldiers wore similar military gear for surviving in this type of heat and desert terrain. The gear was heavy, but necessary in the current climate of war. Without it, they would all die from heat exhaustion and air pollution. Even the civilian population needed protection from the environment. Most stayed inside their homes and wore face masks when working outdoors. If things got any worse, Jason knew humans would not survive the next decade.
“Enemy is on the run, Captain!” Jason heard over his headset. Reports started to filter in from his platoon leaders.
Jason brought up a video feed from the drones flying overhead. He could see Pakistani troops leaving the field of battle as the smoke parted on the ground.
“Keep pursuing the enemy! Stay behind the Cougars!” Jason warned his platoon leaders.
The Cougar armored vehicles were MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) capable. Only UAC Armed Forces were allowed to operate them. Each was heavily armed with a CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station) vehicle mounted weapons systems. Operators could engage targets while staying safely inside their vehicle. The CROWS supported a variety of grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and automatic weapons. It used a video camera to control the 360 degree fire control system. No Pakistani field army group would be able to stand up against the fire power of any military army equipped with Cougar military vehicles.
Jason searched for his command vehicle, a HMMWV or High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle, commonly known as a Humvee. It was a lightweight, highly mobile, diesel-powered, four-wheel-drive tactical vehicle that could carry a wide variety of military hardware ranging from machine guns to tube-launched, optically tracked, wire command-guided (TOW) anti-tank missile launchers. It helps protect its occupants in safety while dodging instruments of war—bullets, bombs and mines.
The Humvee screeched to a stop, pulling up beside Jason. The driver quickly motioned for Jason to get inside. “Jesus, Captain, you’re too close to the fire line?” he yelled.
Jason ignored the young lieutenant and commanded, “Take that road to the left! I want to see if we can outflank the enemy!”
A mortar landed a few meters in front of them blowing dirt and sand all over the Humvee’s windshield shaking the vehicle. The lieutenant swore out loud and gunned the engine. He did as ordered, muttering under his breath.
“Don’t worry, lieutenant! We’re not going to die today!” Jason smiled in spite of the look on his driver’s face. Jason knew this battle was almost over. It was the next one that had him worried.