“Fuck,” he whispered as she left.
Silva knew that Legrant was the last thing they needed right now. Chandra was a tough officer, more so than any, but he knew it could be enough to finish her off. They needed a reason to keep fighting, and the French Mayor was a reminder of how little they were appreciated. He considered pursuing her, but he knew it would be a mistake.
“Captain!” yelled Monty.
The two brothers rushed to their feet to greet the officer who they had all but lost hope in ever seeing again. He still looked gaunt compared to when they had last seen him and with a paler face. He smiled briefly as they rushed towards him.
“Welcome back!” shouted Blinker.
Jones nodded. It was good to be back with his unit, but he could already see that it was a shadow of its former self. Silva appeared in the doorway to their billets and stepped towards him with a smile.
“Good to have you back, Sir.”
Jones ignored the three men as he peered around at the billets and saw far fewer familiar faces than he would have expected. Many of them enthusiastically got to their feet, but he continued to look confused.
“Where is Captain Friday?” he asked.
Silva shook his head with a woeful expression. Jones’ face barely changed upon the news as if it no longer affected him.
“How?” he asked casually.
“On some bullshit mission we were sent out on.”
“Some shit never changes.”
Silva smiled, he was glad to see the Captain still had some sense of humour, despite his ordeal. He rushed forward and grabbed Jones in a strong bear hug and pulled him off his feet.
“Damn good to have you back, Sir!”
He planted the Captain back on his feet. Jones gasped to get air back into his lungs and smiled at the welcome he had gotten.
“Honestly, we’ve taken a beating, and we need all the help we can get right now.”
Chandra appeared at the doorway and looked in with both curiosity and concern. Jones could see the worry in her face, and the sign of the recent tears she had shed.
“Reporting back for duty, Major!” he shouted.
Despite her concerns, Chandra was overcome with excitement at seeing her friend among them once again. She stepped cheerfully down to see him and shook his hand.
“Welcome back. I am sorry to say there will be no time for pleasantries. The Krycenaean armies are coming down the road from Saarbrucken with everything they’ve got. We’ve got little air support and still no access to Reitech equipment.”
“So apart from that, all is good?” he jested.
Chandra smiled, and for a moment, she saw the old Jones before her once again. He was always a light in the dark, and a cheery face when all was miserable. She was reminded how much he meant to her and the Company. With Friday gone, and Taylor still detained, it was good to have him back.
“I’m attaching you temporarily to Silva’s platoon, and he will remain in command. I hope you can understand the importance of maintaining the status quo this close to combat?”
Jones nodded in agreement, but she could see the disappointment in his face that after all he had been through, he was not getting his command back. There was little she could do about it.
“Got it, Major, I’m here to help wherever it’s needed.”
“You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked.
“No place I’d rather be.”
That’s what concerns me, she thought.
“I’ve been away a long time, and I want some payback, so point me in their direction, and I’ll give ‘em hell.”
Chandra turned to Silva.
“Form up the Company, Sergeant. We fall out in ten.”
Before the Sergeant could bark his orders, a wing of enemy craft rushed overhead, strafing pulses of energy across the base. Jones did not even flinch as the others ducked for cover. Debris from a nearby building was thrown across the street and landed at their feet. Chandra turned to see Jones stood tall as if nothing had happened. She could already tell that he had lost his reason to live. He was still just a shell of the great man he used to be.
“They can’t be far now,” she said.
“2 ^ nd Inter-Allied! Form up! Form up!” cried Silva as he brushed aside debris and got to his feet.
Thirty minutes later they lay in the trenches once again. They were at the back this time, owing to their part in the earlier battle. The lines of human defences were almost silent as they watched the enemy cover the last few kilometres. Friendly artillery roared in the distance and overhead but was far enough away it seemed like little more than background noise. They could see the forest before them flatten as the huge enemy tanks rolled through what they believed to be an impassable natural barrier.
Thunder rumbled in the distance as heavy rain clouds appeared to follow the enemy to their position and water began to pepper their helmets. The ferocious bombardment before them was causing some trees to catch alight, but the rain quickly extinguished them. The tanks behind their trenches opened fire when the enemy came into range. Their guns roared as they fired one volley after another.
The troops could see the forest being torn apart for kilometres in either direction, but they could still see the slimmer of movement and rustle of trees as the enemy continued to advance.
“How can they keep coming?” asked Blinker.
“They’re like machines,” replied Monty.
Chandra could already feel the fear that was rife in the ranks. Nobody expected to be able to hold what was coming for them.
“They aren’t machines! They’re creatures just like us. They can be killed, they can be broken, and they can be defeated!” she yelled.
The Company stayed silent, hearing other officers shout similar words of encourage in languages they couldn’t understand. The trenches were five lines deep, spanning as far north and south as Chandra could see. But in all of their lines, the position they stood in seemed to be the focus of the enemy advance more than any other.
“We can’t hold here,” whispered Silva to Jones.
“Maybe not, but maybe it doesn’t matter anymore,” he replied.
Silva turned in shock to see the Captain’s deadpan face. He could see that he no longer had any reason to live. He looked down at the oncoming enemy with a hatred he had never before seen in any man. Jones was the only one among them who was not afraid. He was not tense, and he was in his element. It was in this moment that Silva realised the Captain’s purpose there. He wanted to go down fighting. He wanted to commit suicide in the only meaningful way he knew.
The Sergeant wanted to grab and Captain, there and then, and beat some sense into him, but he knew it was too late. The he began to wonder, Maybe Jones is right, and maybe there is no purpose to it all anymore. Jones turned to Silva and stared into his eyes.
“You promise me one thing, Sergeant.”
“Anything…” he replied.
“Whatever happens here, you make certain Taylor isn’t left in that cell to rot when the enemy rolls over the base? I don’t care what you have to do, and I don’t care who you have to kill. You get the Major out, you hear me?”
Silva thought about it for just a moment. The fear of death seeped away as he thought about the Major. For the first time in weeks, he thought himself thankful to be free. At least he could affect his destiny. Silva could see the fear and dread in Jones’ eyes that another one of them would be left in the clutches of the enemy.
“You have my word, Captain. You have to know that we did everything we could to get you back.”
“I am well aware of it, Sergeant, and never think I hold any of you guilty for what happened to me and
