The Commander could see the doubt in Taylor’s eyes. He didn’t much like his tone and questioning of authority.
“I haven’t got time for your games, Major. You’re shipping out and that’s final.”
Mitch nodded as he knew there was no merit in arguing further. After all his struggles, he felt that he was letting his friends down to leave them at the greatest battle that had been seen in their lifetimes.
“This better be worth it,” he countered.
Phillips stared at the Major. He hated his lack of respect, but could not help but give him some leeway after the brutal days he had seen.
“That’ll be all, Major.”
Taylor turned to leave but stopped and looked back at the Commander.
“I assume no actions will be taken again Captain Jones and Major Chandra for their hand in yesterday’s events?”
The Commander glared at him, and he was fuming inside.
“I do not have a choice in the matter, Major. You and your colleagues are reckless and subordinate, but you’re also some of the finest combat officers. As much I hate to say it, Major, we’re stuck with each other.”
Taylor grinned wickedly. He had the Commander over a barrel. All he wanted to do was get the job done and he didn’t need anyone getting in his way.
“Fall out, Major, you’ve got places to be.”
He nodded and strolled out from the room. He felt in part relieved that they were all okay, but also saddened to be leaving them once again. He walked out into the daylight to be greeted by Friday and the other two marines, all eager for the word. He looked to Friday.
“Captain, you’re taking charge of the marines, so I suggest you get in there to receive your marching orders.”
He turned to the other two marines, but the Captain interrupted him before he could speak.
“Where are you heading, Mitch?”
Taylor could see the concern in the Captain’s eyes. They had been good friends for a long time.
“To Ramstein. Those are our orders, and this time I want you to stick to them. You’ll remain under Chandra’s command. Good luck, Captain.”
Friday nodded and stepped past into the Commander’s vehicle. Taylor turned back to Ortiz and Campbell who were hanging on to his every word. It occurred to him that he had absolutely no idea where their troops were.
“Where’s the company?”
“Just around the corner, Sir,” replied Ortiz.
“Lead on.”
“Sir, if you don’t mind me saying, this is bullshit. We’ve lost enough already, how can we be split up now?” asked Campbell.
Taylor sighed, and their faces showed despair at losing the Major they had only recently got back.
“We’re marines. We go where we are told, fight when ordered to and die when called for. Where I am going, and what I am doing, could change our fate in this war. Stay the course, follow Chandra as you have me, and we may get through this.”
Campbell nodded, but he felt no happier about the situation.
“I don’t like it either, but we have a job to do, so let’s do it.”
The marine dipped his head, a little shamed at his doubt in their orders. He lifted his head up with a smile, pulling himself together.
“Semper fi, Sir.”
Taylor nodded in appreciation. They’d come from a long heritage of combat soldiers, but none of them could ever have predicted that they would themselves see such dire times. He gestured for the two men to lead on.
Jones stepped through into Phillips command vehicle.
“Ah, Captain, I assume the Major has sent you forth?”
“Yes, Sir,” he muttered.
“Take a seat, all of you.”
The three officers sat about the briefing table as the Commander walked around them in deep thought. They all knew that a grilling was coming. Phillips smiled as he paced around them all. They had all contravened his orders, and in doing so left them still in France.
“Captain Jones. Did I not give you a direct order to ensure that you were to ship out yesterday?”
He continued to pace around the room, speaking in a slow and steady voice.
“Did I not give you those exact orders in person?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Major Chandra, was I unclear about the time and location of your pickup?”
“No, Sir!” she exclaimed.
“Did I not specifically order you not to pursue Major Taylor?”
Chandra turned and glared at him. She knew they had done the right thing. Commander Phillips knew they had also, but he could not let them get away with breaking his orders so easily.
“And, Captain Friday, were you not posted to the western lines?”
“Yes, Sir, though our patrol was over, so we pursued the Major in our down time.”
The Commander spun around, glaring at the Captain and ready to explode. He took a deep breath and calmed himself.
“You are the officer who is least in the wrong here, Captain.”
He shook his head. He wanted to discipline them, but he knew that ultimately they had done the right thing. He rested on the back of his chair and looked up.
“I know I’ll get nowhere with this. The Major needed help. You put further troops at risk. This time it worked out, and I am glad we have Taylor back. But I cannot have my officers disobeying my orders. Without discipline, we are lost.”
“It won’t happen again, Commander,” said Chandra.
Phillips nodded. He had no doubt that they would do the same thing again under similar circumstances, but he’d have to live with it.
“Sir, what happened to our orders to return home?” asked Jones.
“Our last planes have already left. Command has instructed us to now stay and assist with the defence of Paris.”
“With what, Sir? We can’t even muster two platoons between us,” stated Chandra.
Phillips pulled out his chair and sat down with a weary sigh.
“The remnants of a company from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers are still active in the city. They fought at Nantes and all the way back to here, and they are a tough bunch of lads. The truth is, you have too many officers and they have too few. Just one Lieutenant left amongst them.”
The Commander tapped a few buttons at the side of the table, causing it to light up with a map display of their defences.
“The bridge that you engaged the Mechs at yesterday during Taylor’s rescue, it’s a solid position to defend, as you had clearly already realised. I am merging the Welsh into the 2 ^ nd Inter-Allied. I am also having any Brits still in the field hospitals ready to return to duties sent to you.”
“Sounds like a real cluster fuck,” said Friday.
“It’s far from ideal, Captain, but I can only work with what I have. I will be working with Brigadier Dupont from now on and will remain under his command for the foreseeable future. I figure that you should be able to muster a couple of hundred soldiers at that bridge.”
Jones shook his head in astonishment. They all knew they were scraping the barrel.
“And armour, Sir?”
“I should be able to get you a detachment from the German division, but it’s not going to be much. You are to be stationed at the bridge until further notice. You can take up residence in the nearby buildings. I’ll ensure supplies are brought to you.”
Chandra looked down at the map. She could see a vast amass of troops along the west and south perimeter
