RE: [FH] Breaking News - Chronicle of Operation Colossus 3-of-6

The battle of Lasalle Plains

Krak like to operate at night. This was well illustrated on the next
day, January 14th, when the central and northern Swabian reserve forces
joined in a pincer movement on the plateau. They fell mainly on empty
territory as the Krak forces had withdrawn ahead of them before first
light, but a little further to the east they successfully cut off the
Krak withdrawal (which must have hit some snag to be so far behind the
rest of their forces). My tank was part of the force ordered to push
along the top of the plateau from the west, and secure the area. We also
had to cover the Swabian's flank as they dealt with the aliens they'd
encircled. Even as we fortified our position and the usual assortment of
traps, obstacles and mines were tossed about I couldn't help feeling we
were pretty thinly spread along the plateau and valley edge and that we
were still vulnerable to a counter-attack. I didn't feel any safer when
Irshad confirmed that Krak reinforcements, nearly all armour and
artillery, had moved into the area.

It was early evening when the Krak started counter attacking with real
force. We managed to brave out the night, mainly by hauling ass this way
and that as the holes opened up. It had been days since we'd really
slept and my eyeballs felt like they were lined with sand. I failed in
my fight with fatigue at least three times during the night. The first
time I was jarred awake when an artillery strike destroyed the
neighbouring tank; its remnants pounding down on us like hail on my
grandfather's greenhouse. The second time I was knocked awake by Todd
restocking from the ammo truck before we jerked across country to the
west. Third time was the rudest, a loud bang, like we were inside a
church bell, that threw us about in our seats, made us glad we were all
strapped in. Todd turned to me, a grin of relief on his face "Glancing
blow, just a loving peck on the cheek from your alien lovers out there."
I thanked my Lord the MDC hadn't gotten anymore intimate.

It took me a long while to settle my heart rate after that. The
slightest creak taking on ominous new meaning in my mind, as I imagined
scenarios where some critical, but unseen component had been weakened by
the strike. Eventually though the shuddering progression westward became
soothing and I dozed off. This may seem strange to those who haven't
been in such a sleep deprived state. I know some can run for almost a
week with little sleep, but I am not among them. I can manage a day or
two, with the world increasingly rite large with hallucinogenic
brightness. Then, unless I remain in constant action, my adrenaline runs
dry and fatigue claims me no matter how I struggle against it. I
remember clawing my way out of this particular slumbering coma by
holding fast to the sensation of Todd shaking my shoulder and wafting an
already warmed ration pack below my nose. I gratefully took the food
from him, trying to drag some semblance of professional dignity together
in front of his grinning visage. It was hot and tasty as far as memory
serves. One of those meals that shouldn't be analysed in detail, just
appreciated. 

After my meal I got about acquainting myself with our new position. We
were on the southern edge of the Lasalle Plains, east of Lethbrige; a
great stretching expanse before us. The wind was slowly picking up and
making the grasses ripple. The effect was to give the sense that you
were part of some great quivering desert mirage. My mind wandered back
to childhood memories of searching for crickets in local pastures. The
image was quite dashed however, when I realised the dark shapes in the
far end of the view (which had brought to mind the chitinous targets of
childhood curiosity) were Krak grav tanks, hundreds of them. Suddenly I
felt far less nostalgic and more what I fancied cavalry men of yore felt
when lined up face to face on some ancient battlefield. As this point I
wondered at my own romanticism and began to suspect that Todd may have
well intentionally added a little something to my rations to help my
nerves. I began a quick circuit of the mental exercises I used to gauge
impairment after a long day or heavy night. The whole thing quickly
became a moot point though as Irshad announced "we have the go boys,
let's move." Soon after came the order for Todd to start firing the
laser at any target that presented itself. This was a totally different
fight to the grinding, bone jarring one of a few days before when we had
assaulted the escarpments edging Vinogradov. Here we were flowing over
flat land at speed, firing on the move and dodging incoming fire with
fluid sweeps not teeth rattling encounters with terrain. The Kraks had a
grand battery of twenty odd artillery pieces lying across the low hills
marking their end of the plain. In front of them sat four brigades of
medium-sized Krak tanks (which apparently passed as light tanks for this
heavily armoured species) and two brigades of the big 'Killjoy' MBTs.
That gave me pause. Irshad must have sensed this as he murmured "Its ok
boys, we've got five divisions here with ten times the tanks, they can't
face that." 

"It's not that they can't, we f'ing now they can. It's will they." Jose
returned, making a vigorous swerve around a Krak shot as if to underline
his point. This terrain was well suited to the long ranged HEL equipped
tanks the Anglians had committed to the battle on the plain. By my
reckoning of the pulses on Irshad's holo-board we must have hit every
Krak tank at least once if not thrice over. Still they sat there and
covered their artillery, spitting fire back at us like enraged beetles.
The battle in miniature played out on Irshad's board made it much easier
to follow what was what. Units were represented by scaled markers
correct in form but tiny and painted in primary colours dependent on
their status and affiliation. 

For a long while we hung back to maximise the HEL advantage, but in the
end we were ordered to close, to destroy the artillery that was pounding
our advances over the eastern horizon. As the range closed the speeds
slowed, but the evasive course changes increased. Now we were taking the
fight right in to them, the heavier Krak tanks bogged us down fast. The
situation grew tenser with each Krak volley as their great guns were
having much more effect than our laser strikes had earlier. The sky was
darkening with a mix of thunderheads and dust kicked up by the heavy
traffic and manoeuvres, but they only served to backdrop the iridescent
fire ripping over the plain. Long neatly straight lines of laser fire
making a crazy nest of angles, dotted lines of pellet and tracer fire,
exploding warheads. The deep contrasts on the boards etched the images
onto my eyes so they glowed there even when I shut them against the
onslaught. My ears also picked up the telltale whine of our air
conditioning system labouring under the effort of attempting to
dissipate waste heat in an increasingly charged atmosphere. To my over
extended senses it seemed as if our tank whined and shuddered more
intensely with each friendly marker that shifted from soft green to dead
black on Irshad's board. We had been targeted numerous times, but all
had ended as near misses or successes for our ECM, stealthing or PDS
systems. The technology impressed me, but not nearly as much as the
instinctive feel Jose, Ben and Todd had for the systems they ran. In
this age of AI and VR I was exceptionally glad to be sitting amongst
flesh and blood.

We continued jostling in and out of short lived firefights as we crept
across the field. "Can you make that fold, bearing 310, behind the wreck
of that Phalanx?" Irshad queried.
"Yep, but we'll be open for at least 45 seconds." Jose cast a glance
round for the confirmatory nod.
"Do it." There's the nod.
"Here we go again." Todd quipped.
"Incoming top... decoys away... PDS activated." Ben's hands flicked over
panels his eyes could only be scanning peripherally as they danced
between a profusion of channels on the boards to his in front and side.
"And more, we have three more incoming...PDS has it down to one...
armour has deployed... BRACE ". The deep clang of metal on metal, then a
collective exhalation as we all realised how lucky we were to be hit by
a dud. 
"Target locks on the SAMs at 15 and 45" Todd reported, all serious now.
"Go 15's side, 45 looks like it's already a walk" advised Irshad.
The lights dimmed briefly as the taxed systems were seconded to the main
gun. The cloud of smoke and red dust that accompanied the alien tank's
nose-dive into the plain was a gratifying sight. Jose edged in behind
cover, as much as he could, before he shared in Todd's success with a
pat to his back. Jose had chosen well as the ground to either side of
our hide was torn up, but we sat untouched. Fewer and fewer friendlies
showed green on Irshad's board. I was quietly watching Irshad weigh up
our next action when flights of pale yellow VTOLs swarmed from east and
west in on the red Krak artillery markers Irshad was so intently
studying. You had to grudgingly admire the raw courage or complete
insanity of the Euri commandos fast roping down on the arty batteries.
They swarmed the positions like voracious insects. I could just make out
Euri's in close quarters with Krak monsters, who appeared from the
bellies of the immense artillery pieces. Irshad, or Todd, dialled in
closer and we got a good view of the lightly armed but numerous Euri
troopers trying to stay out of the Krak's reach, slowly luring them out
into open ground. Then a red curtain fell (or rather rose) cutting our
view, as snipers and chain guns on the VTOLs opened up on the baited
Kraks. A few of the wounded came pounding out through the curtain
obviously psychotically enraged. A decade ago when the xenowar had first
begun many had fallen to these shock attacks. Even today they were
frightening, terrifying, but no longer nearly as lethal, as we'd learned
new tricks; learnt how to exploit their rage and use it as a weapon in
our arsenal. Instead of fleeing before the charge the bulk of the Euri's
went to ground spraying the alien line with overlapping bursts of
automatic fire. In the midst of this the few commandos still on their
feet tossed grenades, and what I can only guess were small mines, in to
the path of the closing alien berserkers before they also dived to the
ground. When the smoke and dust kicked up by that manoeuvre was over, no
Krak was left standing. It took another quarter hour to dispatch of the
incapacitated, done from a distance, as these monsters are lethal even
when half paralysed or with limbs missing. As the Euris cautiously moved
further into the artillery emplacements there were many repeats of that
little play, not all as crisp, but eventually all ending in our favour. 

The swaying of the tank and staccato discussions never let me forget
that there were more than alien artillery men and hyped up Euri's out
there. A sudden punch to my middle and a rolling pressing weight on my
lungs told me that this time we were hit, seconds before a panel over my
head showered sparks in my hair. The fire suppression spray made short
shrift of it, but left the back of my neck and ears stinging where it
shot out past the rear of my head. I also had a dull ache in my ears,
though the ringing decayed fairly quickly. The boys remained all
business, patching cuts, checking panels, doing quick system checks.
Seemed as far as the inside of the tank was concerned I probably wore
the worst of it. The outside wasn't as well off, but Irshad assured me
that a little BDAR would see us back in the thick of things within a
day.

When Jose tried moving us to a safer bolt-hole, the screeching of metal
on metal and shuddering halt as we struck fast on something made me fear
that Irshad have been overly optimistic. None of the external mounts
could tell us what we were pinned on, the undercarriage sensor array
being one of the victims of the impact. Todd volunteered to crawl out
and eyeball the problem. I had to get up so he could root round in a
locker under my seat. I guessed he was the man for the job as he'd grown
up in one of the fairly isolated agro-colonies that satellited the
bigger settlements on Piscis. Necessity would've made him master of the
improvised repair. He stood up with a spreading grin, a deep rumbling
chuckle and some kind of plasma torch.
"Oh right." I stated. "Last thing we want is for you to be making us a
target by firing on them. So you're the tits on the bull." I felt silly;
my years behind a desk had dulled me more than I'd thought! 
"Hey you don't have to colour up like a beet, you figured it for
yourself, puts you streets ahead of the usual vid-star we get lumbered
with." Todd gave me a friendly pat as he ducked his head and pushed past
for the rear hatch. 
"Is that for cutting us free or shooting Krak's?" I asked nodding
towards the torch.
"Both" he winked as he put it up through the hatch and started
clambering up himself. With a grunt and a small kick he was out. I heard
him scrabble over the back of the tank. Ben tracked his progress on the
surviving surface mounts, simultaneously keeping an eye out for
unfriendlies. Todd slid off the back. We watched him move past the rear
corner and duck out of sight. Ben momentarily forgot we'd lost the
bottom array and we were greeted by a black screen. Time dragged then,
Ben flipping through external shots. Finally Todd's deep voice cut in,
the ear pieces making him sound like he was back inside with us. "Dead
wheel boss, bearing and rod are half cut. We're impaled on our own left
mid-wheel. Best option is corrective surgery I reckon" 
"Make it quick." Irshad replied.
A raw tearing noise vibrated up from beneath us. It consumed the ambient
good cheer. I tried scanning the screens from my perch up back, but
settled on inspecting my nails. My mother wouldn't have been impressed. 
"Shit. Todd you gotta get back in here, SAMs heading our way!" My eyes
shot to the vision over Ben's head; there were five Krak flitting hulk
to hulk their etched armour creating sickening interference patterns on
the surveillance pics. They were heading directly our way.
"Nearly done." Todd's voice strained over the background of noise.
"Don't dawdle, I don't know how long I can give you."  Irshad shot back.
I watched the Kraks closing. They were coming from the right, so for now
Todd must be largely out of their view. Three hulks short of us they
darted behind cover, rifle fire spewing from a crumpled form sprawled
behind the dead tank's laser turret. They returned fire, the body
strikes knocked the already wounded tanker down to the ground. Still the
body fired and continued to do so for another five Krak volleys before
falling silent. I was proud of the grit that wouldn't give in to these
invaders, wouldn't just lie down. A part of me couldn't help be
impressed by the aliens though. No panic, no waste, simple bursts until
the job was done. Their efficiency in ending the threat was clinical.
They were good at what they did; you had to give them that. 

While four sat back and covered the area, the Krak that appeared to be
in command, its armour more intricately etched than the others, moved
out, cautiously, approaching the body. Using its boot it rolled the
tanker over. Then with a quick scan of the immediate area it let its
rifle hang down its side and bent and cut the polyclad from the torso.
Grabbing the lower end of the bloodied torso the Krak wrenched. Having
rent the sternum the monster suddenly straightened lifting a handful of
entrails into the air, the lifeless body arching slightly beneath this
horrific display. Mercifully my view was broken then as I threw myself
forward, the burning hot rawness of acid and bile tearing my throat as I
vomited into the remnants of an old ration pack. I was shaking, weak,
but the image in my mind prevented me from stopping, uncontrollable
waves rolling up my guts. Ben's urgent voice was screaming at Todd, "Get
the fuck back in here now!"
"Just another inch..."
"Fucking now!!!"
Todd must have got the message as I caught him on Ben's monitor pulling
himself onto the rear ladder. Fear in his black smeared face as he
finally saw the Krak approaching. The two in the lead continued running
up in a half bent crouching lope, the bloody one that had torn the
tanker apart dropped to one knee and took aim at Todd, and the last two
stood in behind the end of a gutted MkIV Striker and fired from the
shoulder. Todd dove behind a pile of packs, shovels and crates tied
behind the rear hatch. Irshad desperately tried to buy time by playing
an APSW over the Krak positions. His efforts weren't unrewarded, one
Krak going down and the others pulled up short.
"I'm here, but I can't get clear to open the hatch. No purchase." A
frantic Todd rattled over the comms.
Irshad's brow was drenched, his gaze fixed to the screens in front, his
hips and shoulders swivelled as he moved his fire around like he was in
some first-person shooter booth. Another Krak down, but the other two
were still firing at Todd.
"Jose gun the engines, Ben cover the feeds and you get the hatch". It
took an instant to realise he meant me and then I felt all thumbs as I
sprang the harness and stumbled for the hatch. My mind was flooded, but
my fingers got it right and Todd slid down past me, shots clanged off
the hatch itself as they tried to track him in.
"Wheel's, gone, mid-left, should, be fine, if, no bounces." Todd forced
out sucking in big lung fulls as he flopped into his seat and buckled
in. He was a mess, dark with sweat, covered in smoke, grease; smudged
black, brown, grey; chunks missing from his polyclad where he'd been
clipped by shots that had passed through the packs he'd been hiding
behind. The side of his comm piece had been laid bare and it was a
wonder it had worked at all. A few shuddering lung fulls later cheery
Todd was back, checking his boards and trying to raise a banter. "Well
they could have been friendlier. Speaking of which, smells like
someone's been on a bender in here. Someone get a dodgy ration pack or
has Jose's driving finally proven too much?"
I could feel my cheeks colouring with embarrassment, but Jose saved me
with a flat "Don't ask." Beyond icily calm instruction from Irshad
that's the last anyone said for a long time.

<Continued in Part Four>