3.3 The
Camp
Major Burnside had his men split into three columns;
the diversion, the main attack body and the flankers. The distribution was fifty,
a hundred and the balance twenty to the flank. Major Burnside led the main
attack body while Sergeant Finch led the diversion with Sergeant Mitchum
leading the flankers.
The diversion column would attack first from the
north side, and then drew back hoping to lead the main enemy towards them. Then
the attack column will move in to attack the camp, while the flankers held
their position. Their secondary task was to grab as many supplies as they could
as their own was low in quantity. Once the main attack column had done their
task, they would retreat and the flankers would cover their retreat.
It all looks simple.
Sam was in the diversion column, while he took on a
three new mate onto his four wheeler. Among the mercenaries were an old friend;
James Gain, who was carrying the rapid phaser rifle with the ammo clip extended
to the carriage case he had on his back. The case holds two five hundred
charges unit inside it. Sam named his rifle; Sally in honor of his wife who had
died in the war. Sam himself was a short man with a square body frame, and was
limping on his left leg. That was why he was assigned to the vehicle. Sam had
cleared the rear space for the two new phaserners.
The diversion column had twelve vehicles with four
or five mercenaries per vehicles as they needed the fast getaway.
The camp was a distance of one mile away from their
position with the temporary perimeter enclosed with barbed wires and dugouts
with the United Continents troops, while at the rear of it was the command and
communications vehicles, with twenty four wheelers like the ones used by Major
Norris. There was also twenty of those two wheelers there parked at one
designated area. There was the storage area with troops temporary barracks
tents lined up five in a row. On the perimeter line were five long containers
which were unopened since it arrived.
More of supplies were coming in the later shipments by
the channel crossing ships. The United Continents intended to create a forward
base there to reinforce their other camps further along the beaches. .
"For the Euro!" Sergeant Finch shouted as
he drove his four wheeler with the gunner next to him manning the mounted
rotary cannon at the camp. The gunner pressed on the trigger and blasted at the
sentries post when they closed up the distance to the perimeters. There were
three assigned mercenaries with the shoulder launched missiles launcher who did
their work on the perimeter. When the vehicles reached the perimeter line, the
others on the rear of the vehicles tossed grenades to leveled more of the
sentries.
"We have a breach in the line." Sergeant
Finch heard the outcry to informed that they can follow through inside. He saw
the twenty feet wide breach and raced towards it.
"Move in and then we would make the run." Sergeant
Finch gave the new command as he turned the Four-wheeler into the breach. He
drove over the dead sentries and landed on the internal camp behind it, while
his gunner was busy shooting at the retreating soldiers at the dugouts. He
missed the sight of two of the containers side wall dropping to open up.
Sam saw the wall dropped and brake on his vehicle while
his gunners opened up with the rifles. Then he saw the vehicle next to his,
went up in flame. It was hit by the double mounted rotary cannons on movable
tripods body that moves like the long legged mantis. The gunner sits at the
rear of the cannons and manually controlled the cannons. There were three in
each container, and then the six units were stepping out on their mechanical
limbs with deadly fires from the cannons.
Sam saw Sergeant Finch vehicle was literally tore
apart by the hail of projectiles from the rotary cannons. The vehicle took
broadside fire from the cannons and toppled over on its side by the impact
power.
"Retreat!" Sam hollered out as he turned
the wheel of his own vehicle to escape the trap. He saw another five more
vehicles getting blasted with enough holes to make it looked like a cheese. Sam
drove back out of the breach wired line and headed for the planned route. It
seems to work as some of the enemies vehicles were rolling out in pursuit. He
picked up the comms to warn the Major but there was only static.
"Darn!" Sam knew then they were jammed in
their communications signal. It was everyman for himself then.
Major Burnside saw the aborted attack but his plan
did work as about ten four wheelers and ten of the two wheelers vehicles of the
enemy roared out to pursue the diversion column. That leave him with some
options, but he was concerned on the new threat posed by the tripod mounted
double cannons. He had never seen those in action so they must be new
developments. But in his mind then was what else was in the other containers.
"Major, we have to move now or lose the
advantage." His second aide in command, Lieutenant Stone advised him.
Major Burnside acknowledged and the ten of the four wheelers of his column
roared out towards the breach. There was an also convoy of five haulers with
twenty footers containers who was following suit with the other men inside.
Once they cleared the breach, the men in the haulers would attack on foot while
some would load the supplies on the containers.
"For the Euro!" Major Burnside told his
aide before he motioned to his driver to start the engine. The Major had
cradled in this hand the shoulder launched like that was used by Micheal. His
team had ten of these and they would be used to deal with the tripod mounted cannons.
The main attack team was then on their charge towards the breach, as the
shoulder launched missiles went over their heads. The missiles took its toll on
the tripods mounted cannons with only one remain standing, but its gunner was
dead.
"Move in for the kill!' Major Burnside shouted
out in his comms but he did not know it was jammed then. His next surprise was
when he saw two more containers side walls were lowered down on the third
container. Instead of tripod mounted cannons, these were two units of twenty
four mounted mini missiles launchers. The roar of the missiles soon dropped
over the mercenaries positions and destroyed all the vehicles.
"Retreat!" Major Burnside dragged himself
up and looked to his men. Most of them were dead but there were some like him,
wounded and trying to carry on the fight. He then saw the fourth container side
walls now being lowered.
"Oh my God," Major Burnside muttered to
himself. The fourth container did not hold any mechanical weapons but killers.
They were two dozen packs of hounds with remote sensors build into their neck
leash. These are the Hounds of Hell commanded by their master who controlled
them through the next leash. Their commands were to attack the wounded
mercenaries.
"God save my soul...." Major Burnside
reached for the phaser on his belt. He would do the death dishonorably than to
die with pains when his flesh was torn off.
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