It didn’t take long for viator squad to finish their preparations. After receiving some advice from Lilly, Lucas directed team one to spread out along the right half while team two covered the left. Spreading the squad evenly along the back wall like this would ensure they had the largest field of fire and protect them from being taken out in a single explosion. Lucas elected to take up the center position between the teams. Ashten chose to place herself directly to his right while James went to the far left side of the building so the closest member of team two turned out to be Sharon. Though the two hadn’t exchanged dialog directly, Sharon met Lucas’ gaze and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement before posting up in a ready position. Lucas nodded back and layed Lilly’s body down to peer out of his own firing position.
Despite being on the ground floor the land sloped away from the back of the structure to a large street below. The slight elevation mixed with an empty undeveloped field across the street made this position an excellent spot to halt any enemy advances from the east. Lucas was busy doing some last minute weapon checks when a voice called over to him.
“What maps were you all planning on vetoing?” Ashten asked calmly.
Lucas halted his actions. “... What?”
“Back in Focal Point.”
Lucas lifted his head high enough to see Ashten. His fellow other worlder had her AI’s elbows resting on a sturdy table while she aimed her rifle out of the fortified window that would serve as her firing port. She didn’t look at Lucas as she continued to speak.
“Pheonix really wanted to veto Seaside after your game against Grand Master Gaming, but I told them you probably wouldn’t choose seaside anyway. Was I wrong?”
Lucas took a moment to reflect back on his coach’s strategy meeting the night before he was transported here. It felt like a lifetime ago, but Lucas was shocked to realize that it really had only been a week and a half since that time.
“No.” Lucas eventually responded. “Alan figured you guys would either veto the map or practice Seaside a lot after our match.”
Ashten nodded with a chuckle. “Called it.”
“Wait!” Lucas was struck with a sudden thought. “Are you just trying to get an advantage over me?”
You really should have thought of that before you responded so openly. Lilly giggled internally.
Ashten turned to stare at Lucas with an unreadable AI expression.
“I think you should tell him.” Amber said aloud.
“What are you saying?!” Ashten whipped her head away.
What was that about? Lucas pondered as he watched Ashten debate with her AI internally.
Amber and I are good friends so I think I know, but I’m not going to tell you. Lilly said smugly.
“Movement. Zero Six Zero. Eyes up!” James called out over the radio.
All idle thoughts were immediately purged as nine guns swiveled to James’ callout. A loud troop transport rumbled into view. If the transport kept on the parkway it was currently driving on it would pass viator squad on their immediate left. A second truck came into view. Then a third. Pretty soon the incoming traffic turned into a massive caravan of cluttered vehicles all speeding towards Lucas’ position.
“Those have to be ours right?” Dug couldn’t completely keep his worry out of his question.
“Viator one one this is Aeigis command, how copy? Over.” The familiar voice of General Corter called out over the radio.
“Aegis command this is viator one one. Send traffic. Over.” Lilly responded evenly.
A low buzz of background traffic could be heard along with the general’s instructions. “What’s left of the fourth infantry division is heading your way, but are being closely followed by hostile ground forces. Expect immediate contact, but check your fire. There is no room for accidents, understood?”
“Viator one one copies all. Can we expect any fire support? Over.”
“Medusas are making air operations difficult and our artillery crews have been running non-stop. I’ll get you what support I can but don’t expect much. Aegis command over and out.”
They keep getting mentioned. What are medusas? Lucas asked Lilly while he watched the approaching column of friendly transports.
The Wu Jin’s anti air vehicle. Lilly answered grimly. Our adversaries are primarily ground based, so they improvised the deadliest anti aircraft technology that has ever existed. Jets, helicopters, drones, missiles, you name it. Anything in the sky that is seen by a medusa turns to stone. The call before, ‘red sky’, signals anything airborn to clear out immediately.
The fourth infantry division was in bad shape. Bullet holes coated almost every vehicle. Many of the friendly robotic soldiers running with the column were missing limbs. Almost none of the visible human soldiers were free of injury. Lucas could see the bloodied bandages and torn uniforms that occupied every square inch of sittable space in the transports as they sputtered past his position. Gunfire, that had once been a background noise isolated to the horizon, crept closer to the second defensive line. The number of transport trucks dwindled and the armor came into view.
Armored IFVs and tanks served as the rear guard for the retreating division. Lucas couldn’t identify the APC, though it looked loosely related to the M3A3 Bradley he was familiar with back home. The tanks however, were a familiar sight. The M1 Abrams tank had yet to be replaced in this world. Scuffed and battered as they were, Lucas felt a strange sense of pride watching the three rearmost Abrams spitting fifty caliber machine gun fire to cover their retreat. However, the inspiring sight was short-lived.
A pair of rockets roared into view and struck the last abram directly in the side. The rockets penetrated the depleted uranium armor before detonating. Lucas felt the room shake slightly as secondary explosions tore the abrams to pieces.
“Contacts on the ridge! Directly east!” Amber shouted to the squad before her pilot opened fire.
Lucas turned to the right, away from the convoy, and spotted the enemy sprinting into view.
There they are. Lucas felt his breath catch for a moment as he looked at his enemy for the first time.
Lucas’ first impressions were not what he was expecting. The training drones had been extremely similar to Lilly and the rest of the AI soldiers. They were crisp and finely constructed. The Wu Jin were shabby in comparison. They were an amalgamation of scrap metal, varying in both size and stability. They were humanoid in construction, with two arms and legs, but there was no uniform height, thickness, nor head shape. Red points of light, which Lucas assumed were their eyes, could be located anywhere on the head. Some had their eyes in a normal location, but others had them on the side, top, or back of their head and moved in bizarre ways to compensate for it. The scampered, clawed, stumbled, or ran from cover to cover as they continued to fire at the fleeing soldiers of the fourth infantry division.
Another aspect Lucas wasn’t prepared for was the Wu Jin’s weaponry. It wasn’t sleek or aesthetically pleasing like the M33 Lucas carried. The Wu Jin’s standard rifle appeared to be a hunk of metal bent into the shape of a gun. It looked painfully cheap, but from the sheer volume of fire spitting out of each one, Lucas had to assume it was incredibly reliable. Captain Dunn had called the enemy scavengers, now the description made sense.
Despite the chaotic nature of the individual robot, the Wu Jin moved into the undeveloped field like a tide. The fluidity of their movement as a group was nothing short of perfection. Like their human counterparts, the Wu Jin knew the concept of fire and move. The collective brain guiding the robotic enemies timed every move so perfectly that there was never an end to the hail of gunfire peppering the fourth infantry’s retreat. The nano second team ran out of ammunition in their magazine, the team moving forward would stop and cover them. Lucas was so absorbed in watching their advance that he missed Lilly’s gentle prodding.
What? Lucas asked internally.
Those soldiers need help Lucas. She urged him. Less watching, more firing.
Not only was the rest of viator opening up on the advancing enemy, but from the tracers flying from the far left and right side of the battle Lucas assumed that the national guard units on either side of his squad had joined in already. Lucas cleared his head and immediately sighted in on the nearest robotic enemy. Lucas squeezed a tight three round burst and blew a fist sized hole directly through his target. The open field proved to be the perfect killing ground. The assault on the retreating infantry division ground to a halt as the Wu Jin turned their fire to Viator and the national guard divisions.
“Viator one one this is meteor. How copy? Over.” An unfamiliar voice spoke over the radio this time.
Lilly responded immediately. “Meteor this is Viator one one. Send traffic, over.”
As Lucas’ bullets tore the head off of another robotic soldier he had to thank his lucky stars that Lilly was able to handle the radio. Being linked in this way was extremely handy.
“Viator one one you have been gifted our services for a fire mission. Break. Be advised that we have a long list of orders and need to get everyone served in a timely manner. Over.”
“Understood loud and clear Meteor. Fire for effect, over.”
“Fire for effect, out.” Meteor repeated.
“Grid 13S ED 15667 95639, over.” Lilly rattled off without pause.
“Grid 13S ED 15667 95639, out.”
“Infantry platoon in the open, danger close, over.” Lilly described.
“Infantry platoon in the open, danger close, out.”
Lilly fell silent and waited for Meteor to direct the artillery crews. Lucas continued to lay fire down range.
“Message to observer.” Meteor’s voice crackled back on the radio. “Bravo, two rounds in effect, target number BA133. Over.”
““Message to observer. Bravo, two rounds in effect, target number BA133. Out.” Lilly repeated back perfectly.
“Shot, over.”
“Shot, out.” Lilly responded to Meteor before switching to the squad only channel. “Artillery splash in thirty seconds!”
Prone as he was, Lucas didn’t have to do much to prepare for the incoming barrage. Lucas didn’t know much about calls for fire but he knew the average artillery battalion had eighteen guns.
Two rounds per gun will be-
Before he could do the quick math in his head, thirty six high explosive rounds fell onto the field of Wu Jin soldiers. The building shook as the artillery shells ripped the robots to pieces.
“Splash, over.” Lilly reported.
“Splash, out.”
“Good effect, Meteor. Record this target. End of mission.”
“Recording this target. End of mission. Happy hunting Viator. Meteor out.” The artillery battalion signed off.
The few surviving Wu Jin not destroyed in the artillery barrage were quickly moped up and the attack stalled out. In the distance, Lucas watched the reinforcing robots stop and take cover along outside of his squad’s effective range.
That went pretty well. Lucas slid back and started to repack his empty magazines.
It did… Lilly trailed off.
Lucas frowned and felt a chill run up his spine. What?
Well that attack was mostly aimed at the retreating forces. They didn’t know where our secondary defensive line would be, so it makes sense that we caught them off guard.
But now they know where we are? Lucas surmised.
Right. Lilly nodded.
In the distance, a series of cannons boomed deeply into the sky. Lucas was ready to dismiss the noise until he realized it wasn’t coming from the friendly side of the line. Sliding quickly up to his firing port, Lilly’s threat sensors quickly picked up a half dozen dark metallic objects arcing across the sky towards their position.
“Incoming! Take cover!” Lucas shouted to his squad as he ducked under a nearby table.
The building shook and Lucas heard the terrible sound of steel and concrete collapsing behind him. The floor shook as something heavy made contact with the ground.
Lucas! Lilly shouted urgently as she realized something. That wasn’t artillery. It was a transport pod!
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