Princess Rescue Inc (92 page)

Art’ur's
eyes were wide in shock as his great titans were torn apart in front of his
eyes. His men were falling in droves to the strange slug throwing thunder spears.
He frowned, turning, trying to think of something, anything to do to counter
this.

Uuôden
grimaced, knowing the battle was already lost. “My liege...”

“What?!”
Art’ur snarled, turning, enraged. He was fully ready to kill the old fool for
cowardice if he suggested they retreat.

“I
suggest we reform and try to flank them my lord,” Uuôden said simply, ignoring
the danger. “If we wheel right...”

“Make
it so,” the King snarled turning to his mount. He would fight or die; he knew
he couldn't live with the shame of leaving this battlefield with less than a
victory. To hell with the future, to hell with anything except taking one of
the bastards down with him.

<==={}------------>

“Make
READY
!” the tesserariuses called, looking over their men with fierce
glowers. The Duluth army seemed to gloat as the pipes played a mournful dirge.
Now it would be their turn, their turn for revenge. Pikes lowered as they hit
the three hundred meter mark.

“Front
rank steady!” Two hundred meters. They could hear the nervous jeers as
thousands of men banged on their shields with their swords and axes. Many
weren't dressed for war, nervous pathetic looking peasants dressed in
improvised leather, carrying sticks and banging on anything to keep their
courage up. The greenest of the Imperium's soldiers looked a little nervous to
their fellows, but set their jaws and got down to the grim business at hand.

“Take
aim!” One fifty meters.

“Second
rank forward, First rank fire!” the centurion called. The tesserariuses echoed
the call. Cracks of thunder spread across the front rank with puffs of smoke
hard on their heels. Duluth men in the first ranks staggered and fell like
marionettes with their strings cut.

“Front
rank KNEEL!” the tesserariuses called out. The front rank knelt in a carefully
coordinated and well rehearsed move to reload as the second rank came forward
and fired over their shoulders. Then the second rank knelt in well trained
order as the third came forward to take their turn to fire. When they fired the
first rank stood as the third knelt. They took aim at the mass of now
bewildered men and fired. The carefully coordinated lethal ballet began to
unfold.

Chaos
ensued on the Duluth side. The thunder of the rounds broke some as they saw
their fellows smashed to the ground or torn apart before their eyes with no
chance of hitting back.

They
turned to flee or fell to their knees begging for what mercy they could get.
Knights rode along behind the terrified footmen, trying to keep order. Their
fellows marched out in ragged lines. The Imperium riflemen and snipers began
picking the riders off. Without someone to force them forward pockets began to
slow or hang back or fall into disorder as they turned to flee the meat grinder
in front of them.

“I
think he's got a whiff of what he's up against,” Perry smiled as one of the
enemy war beasts rampaged through the enemy camp. “Too bad we don't have more
muskets,” he sighed as some of the Duluth men got wise and tried to flank the
center box.

“Can't
have that,” he said. He ordered men forward to cover the flanks. The orderly
rows of men snapped into a three sided box two men deep. Footmen slotted in on
either side of each musketeer to keep the lice off them.

“Time
for the artillery?” Ryans asked concerned. The archers were firing now; flaming
arrows were raining down all over the battlefield on both sides. Fires were
springing up here and there on the battlefield. Animals shied away from them.

“No,
they're zeroed for right where our men are,” Perry answered not looking at him.
“Wait for it,” he said. He sighed as he checked the camera feed in front of
him. A cavalry unit ran through a foot platoon. Men flew and gore sprayed from
the animals' teeth and claws.

“Crap,”
Perry grumbled, wincing at the carnage. “Scooter do something about that,” he growled
touching his throat mike.

“With
pleasure sir,” Scooter answered. Machine guns opened up in triple shot. The
enemy cavalry units began to fall. Some were falling because of the sound,
apparently a third of the Duluthian cavalry were
branacks
. They twitched
and kicked on the ground in seizures as their riders were crushed or thrown.

Off
to either side the main cavalry battle had ended in a stalemate on the left
flank and a rout on the right. The Duluth enemy was in full retreat, animals
dragging wounded and dying men behind them. Some of the predatory running
animals saw the dragging bodies and lunged at them, predatory instincts taking
over.

The
stalemate on the other flank was messy, the Duluth unit seeing the Imperium had
the range advantage had charged headlong into their lines. The battle was down
to melee fighting negating the rifle's main advantage.

Lewis
in the ultra light passed overhead, tossing bombs down into clusters of enemy
soldiers. Her ultra light nearly clipped one of the UAVs. “Lewis, knock that
shit off, I want you to ride cap. I need info more than I need you crashing,”
Ryans called.

“Roger,”
Lewis answered sheepishly. She was about out of grenades anyway, she thought.

“Real
hellion you've got there,” the general snorted. “If I was only twenty years
younger I'd give her a try,” he said with a grin. Perry snorted.

“Edfield,
report,” Perry murmured touching his mike.

“No
joy,” Edsfield’s voice whispered over the com. Their primary sniper had his own
special mission.

“Wait
then,” Perry sighed in answer. The comm. clicked twice.

Master
Sergeant Waters called in. “This is Three. The center is down to half load.
They need resupply,” he growled. They barely made him out over the battle
sounds around the noncom. Some of the arrows and cross bow bolts had reached
their lines, they were taking casualties now.

“Pull
back in an orderly retreat,” the general ordered.

“Retreat
under fire?” the Sergeant asked. “Marines don't retreat,” he growled.

“We're
not retreating, we're advancing in a different direction Sarge, and you know
the plan, now stick to it. That's an order,” Perry cut in. Two clicks answered
him.

<==={}------------>

Art’ur's
eyes narrowed as the strange gaijin carriages remained in the center, taunting
him. He'd love to have at least one of the bastards, to take them and their
interfering ways down. He pointed his sword to the lead carriage and snarled an
order to Uuôden.

Uuôden
turned, hiding his stinging eyes as he hoarsely passed on the order. He knew
his men were going to be slaughtered and could do nothing to stop it. Nothing
at all, he thought in his misery. Nothing but watch.

<==={}------------>

The
center began to pull back as casualties mounted. The retreat was orderly, the
footmen covered for the rifles with their shields the best they could. Men
helped or carried their wounded comrades off the field. They were careful to
carry any rifles along with them.

As
they fell back the Duluth army reformed. After a few minutes they moved forward
once more. Knights made a half hearted charge, only to fall back as the center
paused and turned to give them a full broadside.

“He's
moved forward, yep, the lords are moving to the front to lead,” Edfield
reported. “No joy,” he breathed. Art’ur rearranged his lines as the Imperium
did. There was a lull in the center battle as both sides moved wounded men to
the rear and got their survivors organized.

The
deadlocked cavalry fell back in disarray on both sides. The Imperium fighters
fired shots as they fell back. Many men were hanging from their saddles.

“Your
vehicles are just sitting there,” the general said concerned.

“We're
going to give them a taste of a machine gun,” Perry said as the vehicles began
to pull back. “But we've got to get them in the bag first. Have them heading
toward us so it's hard for them to change direction once the shit begins to
fly.”

“You
mean get his pecker stuck in deep before you chop it off,” Ryans said wincing.
The general flinched as well and then went back to watching the battle.

Duluth
soldiers began to chivvy up to the line. Knights rode behind them, turning or
cutting down any that tried to turn and run. They were forced into a forward
march, then grimly into a running charge. Perry winced.

“This
isn't going to be pretty,” he sighed. “All right Scooter, let her rip,” he
ordered.

The
snarl of machine guns immediately cut through the noise of the charge. Short
bursts, tearing into the enemy ranks. Then guns swept back and forth as the
vehicles retreated, cutting down the men closest and then working back through
the ranks. Men began to fall like wheat.

As
they reached the center of the field the general pumped his fist. “Artillery,
fire one!” A mortar round flew out from each gun, then down to explode into the
ranks of the men who screamed in new terror. Water's voice came over the radio,
having them adjust fire. They fired several more shots and then Perry ordered
them to fire for effect.

The
barrage was devastating. Machine guns in the front, artillery raining down from
above and now behind, the knights behind them pushing them forward, and the
Duluth footmen were caught in a sausage grinder. Hundreds, then thousands died.

“This
isn't a battle it's a slaughter,” Perry murmured disgusted.  The vehicles
paused in front of their reforming lines. Gaps opened as more field pieces
moved forward.

Each
of the field pieces was loaded with grapeshot canisters. They held their fire
however, the enemy army was disintegrating.

“My
lord we must reform. We need time. Time to get our men in order, to reform our
ranks,” Uuôden said urgently to Art’ur, knowing it was useless. At least they
were both up on war beasts, away from the men around them.

“And
retreat?” Art’ur snarled, mouth twisting in a rictus of rage on his general.
“Are you a coward?” he snarled, nearly bellowing in helpless rage.

“No
my lord, but we must do something. Our men are being slaughtered! We must pull
back and regain something! Sue for peace before our people fall completely!”
Uuôden said, pointing his battle ax to the battlefield.

“Never!”
Art’ur raged, waving his sword. “Never so long as this crown is on my head!
Never I say! Prepare to charge! Any who turn back will be cut down!”

<==={}------------>

“Target
in range,” Ryans didn't recognize the voice at first over the din of the
distant battle. Edsfield his memory finally recalled in the pause. “Clear shot.
Engaging.”

A
fifty caliber round flew from the sniper half way up the hill. It tore down range,
dropping by two meters right into the center of the King of Duluth's chest. His
leather and steel armor tore apart like tissue paper. His body was torn apart
on his mount, splashing those around him in gore. Chaos was total as his
terrified mount rode off with the bottom half of the corpse still in the
saddle. The red haired man next to him gaped but then his head was torn off by
the follow up shot.

“They're
breaking up,” the general crowed as the remaining army looked over their
shoulders to see their King fall and then threw down their weapons to run.
Knights tried to rally or stop them only to be overwhelmed or even torn from
their mounts by their own panicked men and animals. They couldn't stop the tide
if they had wanted too; it was going in the wrong direction. Those that tried
fell before it.

“This
is Six, we've got scrambled eggs. Catcher's are on,” Ryans said. He waved. A
signal man raised flags and began to wave them. Off in the distance cavalry
units and the light attack vehicles that had been held in reserve for this
moment rode forth. He caught a sight of golden hair and looked with the
binoculars. His lips pursed as he watched Deidra’s snarling beast charge across
the battlefield.

“We
didn't even get to use our own titans or war beasts,” the general sighed. He
sounded almost disappointed. “Magnificent,” he murmured shaken. “I see war has
taken a dangerous new turn.”

Perry
grimaced, turning away to hide it. “Yeah,” he said, thoroughly sick to his
stomach from the carnage. They were fortunately upwind, away from the stench of
blood and guts. The screams of the wounded and dying could be imagined though.

Already
Doc and Wanda were moving forward. He spotted the Red Cross carriages moving
forward. There were a pair of guards that were supposed to be covering the
medics but instead were immediately pressed into service. “All right people,”
Perry said clearing his throat and getting his bearings over the link. “Post
battlefield chores. Let’s secure a perimeter and round up prisoners and cover
the medics. Get litter teams out to triage the wounded. Ours first of course.
Waters see if you can catch some of the enemy officers and get them to
surrender,” he ordered. He looked over to the general who was sitting back
drinking from a glass.