CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

 

At 0200, in the profound darkness, the sergeant and his squad spread out and rode off in the prescribed pattern, and Dana and the rest of the platoon did likewise toward the east side of the town. They saw no movement from the town. Soon the two groups were out of contact with each other. It took perhaps twenty minutes. Dana’s squad stopped at the foot of the hill below the town. When they heard the crack of the sniper rifles, they released their raptor drones, and a few minutes later, charged up the slope just behind their camera drones. There were only a few perimeter guards, and they dispatched those quickly. As they passed by their “bodies,” they were stunned to see that they were women. They were facing a headquarters company of women. They did not stop. Their night-vision camera drone pictures on their facial displays showed them where enemy soldiers were, inside and out of buildings.

They moved down the street, dimly seeing the rapid swoop as their raptor drones dove on enemy camera drones. They rushed into buildings, seeing enemy soldiers, still surprised that their night-vision showed female outlines, but shot quickly anyway. If their uniforms still showed green on their facial displays, meaning still alive, they shot again until they showed dark blue. Anyone who was “dead” was obligated to lie down and be still. Dana’s team would shout “clear” as they cleared a building, and Dana and the others could see which building that was. It was obvious, as it had been on previous missions, that they were barely visible to enemy soldiers. Nonetheless, two of Dana’s platoon were “shot and wounded,” and everyone marked their positions. Dana called for the reserve team to rescue them. It took only eight minutes to reach the red building. Dana gave the order to the teams on the sides to enter, while he and his three men entered from the front.

The enemy was ready. The bottom floor was filled with female soldiers taking cover behind furniture and communications equipment. Dana’s platoon was well-trained, knew how to take cover and how to shoot and use their simulated grenades, and soon cleared out the ground floor with the loss of one man. They destroyed all the communications equipment, and stole all the small memory devices. Obviously, the top officers were on the second floor. His men launched sim grenades up the two stairways and rushed behind them, shooting like maniacs. The generals were there, with red sashes across their chests, and other colonels and majors, all hiding behind desks and chairs, armed with old-fashioned simulated pistols. His men rapidly mowed down the officers. Dana ordered the men to look in every corner and closet, where they found a few more and “killed” them. He had heard nothing from Sergeant Hudson or his squad, so he assumed they had come around to the east.

Dana ordered retreat. “Keep an eye out for enemy soldiers returning from the southwest of town as we retreat. My team will act as rear guard. Reserve team, pick up the dead man.” On his facial display, he could see his men moving rapidly out of town toward their parked ‘cycles. There were some enemy soldiers approaching from behind them, now, and Dana and his team turned around and sprayed them to keep them at bay. Finally, they were all mounted and moving fast towards the rear. The “dead” and “wounded” platoon members were on their stealthcycles, which were slaved to other platoon members’ ‘cycles. Dana called out for Sergeant Hudson several times, and finally heard his voice, saying he and his squad were behind and to Dana’s right, moving fast.

“Casualties, Sergeant?” asked Dana.

“One dead, Dana,” Hudson replied.

“That’s one dead, sir,” said Dana.

“One dead, sir,” said Hudson, with a note of sarcasm in his voice.

“How did that happen, Sergeant?” asked Dana.

“When we started firing, the enemy moved back out of range of our snipers, so I ordered us forward. It was a ruse, sir. They had soldiers hidden in the nearby buildings, and they started firing. We pulled back, but Allyson bought it.”

“You didn’t consider that they were trying to sucker you in?” said Dana with some irritation in his voice. He hoped the other men, listening in, would take a lesson from his dressing down of Hudson.

Hudson kept his voice flat, “It was a calculated risk to advance the mission, … sir.”

“Did you blow him up with his stealth suit?” asked Dana.

Hudson paused, then said, “Uh … no time, sir.”

“Damn it, Hudson, you just gave the enemy our technology! Go back there with your squad and pick up or destroy the ‘suit and ‘cycle, now!” Dana yelled.

Hudson said, “Yes, sir.” He and his men turned back.

Dana let the “death” drop. It was a man uselessly “dead,” and would appear in his report.