Chandra smiled at their enthusiasm.
“Ma’am, why not, there’s no stopping us!”
She hesitated, knowing she must address the issue even though it could douse their high spirits.
“I like your thinking, I really do. But let us not forget how we have been caught out before. We have won a valuable victory here today, but let’s not stick our heads up to get them chopped off. You just keep doing what you’re doing, both of you. Get us a line to HQ, if you would.”
When she had finally made her way around them all to praise their efforts, she strode back up to Taylor who was looking down at the lifeless bodies of the creatures. Chandra could already see some of the emptiness in Taylor’s eyes that had overcome Jones. She opened her mouth to speak some words of comfort, but was interrupted by Blinker.
“Ma’am!” he cried.
The Private rushed towards her from the field they had just come from. The cable trailed behind him with the spindle in one hand.
“General Schulz for you, Ma’am.”
She snatched the handset from his hands.
“Chandra here.”
“Major, congratulations, and well done. Please convey my thanks to your troops, and Major Taylor in particular.”
Chandra turned to Mitch with a wicked smile. Schulz is realising he must live with Taylor, no matter what, she thought.
“You must excuse me, Major. There is work to be done, and a lot is changing.”
Her ears pricked up at the General’s passing comments, but he was gone before she could pry any further. A matter of minutes later, shouts rang out across the line and cheers rang out. She could see in the distance that word was being passed along the line; causing the kind of excitement she hadn’t seen in months. Soldiers rushed back and forth as the news spread. Suddenly, Yorath appeared in such a frenzy that he could barely contain himself.
“They’re coming!” he yelled.
“Who? Who is coming?”
“Field Marshall Copley, and the whole bloody British army! They’ve crossed the channel!”
“What? Are you certain?”
“Yeah, British forces north of here are pushing forward to try and bridge the gap!”
She looked north and could see a huge dust cloud that was unmistakably the sign of an army on the move.
“Bloody hell, they’ve finally done it!”
She looked around to see the troops leaping in excitement. She spun back around to Blinker.
“Get a line to command. We need orders!” she yelled.
She looked to see some new life in Taylor’s eyes.
“About time your people did some of the work,” he jested.
An hour later, they were on the move to secure the rest of Ramstein but met little resistance. By nightfall, they once again occupied the trenches which just days before they had fled from under a brutal barrage and assault from the unrelenting enemy. They knew that the next day they would be pushing forward to the enemy stronghold of Saarbrucken, but for that night they could rest in the knowledge they had struck a vicious blow to the enemy. Chandra and Taylor sat once again in a trench as they had done the previous night.
“If they pulled out of Ramstein, they must be readying their defences for our advance. It’ll be a hard fight gaining the next ground. They have over stretched themselves, but once they organise properly, we’ll be up to our eyeballs in shit,” said Taylor.
“Can’t beat a bit of positivity,” she replied.
“We did well today, but let’s not forget what lies ahead.”
“We’ll take it as it comes, as we have done everything else. With any luck, we’ll see some reinforcements before long, and get us back to battalion strength.”
“I wouldn’t hold out your hopes.”
They slept uneasily as they each dreamt of the road ahead. When morning came, they awaited their orders to once again move forward; but thirty minutes after sunrise came, they heard booming engines high in the sky. The thick cloud cover of the dreary morning hid the source of the sound, and they all knew it was not human.
Chandra and Taylor watched the skies for several minutes until huge vessels broke through the clouds and roared northeast. They counted nine ships, and each looked as large as the Navy’s most powerful carriers. The vessels were so vast that it was barely conceivable they were able to fly.
“My god, where are they heading?” asked Chandra.
“That’s the way to Berlin, and they’re opening another front right behind our armies,” replied Taylor.
“How, I thought everything they had was right here, so where are these forces coming from?”
“I have seen them before, when we first encountered this enemy.”
“The Moon?”
Taylor nodded. Though there was little fear or concern in his eyes.
“You think they are feeling the pressure we are putting on them here? Enough that they’d send in everything they had?” she asked.
“I’d bet good money on it. They underestimated the human resolve and ability to adapt and overcome. I think they expected a much easier time of it on this planet.”
“Still, this is going to cause us more than a few problems. We can’t keep moving forward while they threaten us to the east.”
As the droning engines faded into the distance, their attention was drawn to a jeep tearing along the craggy road towards them from the east. Only the driver was aboard, and there were no weapons or supplies visible. The two officers stood and waited for the vehicle. They both knew that its driver must certainly be coming to find one of them. A few minutes later, it skidded into view as the wheels locked, and it glided across the slick mud. The driver shouted out from behind the wheel.
“General Schulz requests both of your presence, immediately!” he yelled.
“You here to give us a lift?” asked Chandra.
“Sure thing, the General was quite adamant about the urgency of the matter.”
She turned and paced back to where the Company was awaiting the advance west which was clearly on hold. The re-taking of Ramstein with minimal casualties had done a lot to boost morale, and she could tell they were eager to push forward but now knew it would not happen.
“Captain Jones!” she shouted.
The Major couldn’t identify him among the troops until she could make out the outline of his back facing her. He had the look of a man that had lost all will to continue, but she refused to repeat the call she knew he had heard. He finally turned and got to his feet slowly and wearily. His face was bitter and cold. It was not a hatred of the enemy he expressed, but a lack of care for life.
“Captain, you’re in charge until we return!”
Jones didn’t even acknowledge her words, but she knew he had heard as well as the rest of the troops nearby. Sergeant Silva leapt to her side for a quiet word as she turned to leave. It was clear he shared some of her concerns.
“Major, are you sure Captain Jones is fit for this?” he whispered.
Taylor overhead the comments and interrupted her before she could reply.
“Jones is one of the finest soldiers I have ever known. He’ll handle it.”
Chandra sighed. It was an uncomfortable position she was being put in.
“There’s no doubt that Charlie should have been given more time to recover before returning to his duties, but we cannot afford such luxuries these days. We need every capable soldier we can get. He’s still the same man, after all. Remember that.”
“Ma’am, with all due respect, I am not sure he is,” replied Silva.
She stopped and turned back to look at the Captain who she had come to know as such a good friend. Perhaps he isn’t the same man we used to know, she thought. Reluctantly, she nodded in agreement that Silva
