Chapter Five
Barrington, Rear Area Field Hospital
New Avalon, Crucis March
Federated Suns
25 March 3067
His throat was so dry that it hurt as he gulped. Archer knew that the smell he was catching, the whiff of chemicals mixed with his own bad breath, meant one thing—he was in a hospital. For a moment, he didn’t want to open his eyes. He didn’t want to know how bad it was.
The last memories that he had were not good. Katya was down and not responsive. An almost fanatical pair of ’Mechs were rushing them. There was fire. His Penetrator had keeled over, baking him like an oven. It had been a long time since he had passed out due to heat build-up, but the memories of it were never fond.
There was no point stalling any longer. His eyes were caked at the edges but eventually opened. Yes, a field hospital. The white curtain blocking his view was a clue. Shifting slightly in his bed, Archer’s muscles ached but he felt all of his limbs. That was a good sign. Turning, he saw an IV bottle hanging next to him. Yes, he was alive, battered, baked, but alive.
What about Katya?
He rose slightly in his bed and was surprised that he could. The privacy curtains on either side of him blocked his view, but at the foot of the bed a nurse emerged. Wearing green fatigues under a white smock, she moved in quickly to help him to a sitting position. “Take it easy, General,” she assured him.
“Situation?” he rasped, his voice barely audible.
“Relax, sir. Some of your personnel are here. They knew you’d want a full briefing. I’ll get them.” The fact that she wasn’t hovering over him told him that his own situation was not serious. He didn’t matter anyway. Archer’s real focus was his people, his command.
Lieutenant Thomas Sherwood entered first, followed by Captain Kraff. Both men looked alright, though Archer noted that Sherwood had a bruise on his forehead that had to feel worse than it looked. The nurse returned quickly with a glass of water and a bent straw. Archer took a long drag and the water stung at his throat. He winced and was almost embarrassed by the gesture.
His voice had returned. “What’s the situation, gentlemen?”
Sherwood spoke first. “Major Gett assumed command and coordinated our extraction sir. Our losses are pretty significant, currently we show less than 32% operational effectiveness. We took one hell of a beating.”
“The Loyalists took worse,” Kraff added. “A lot worse.”
Thirty-two percent? The loss was staggering. Casualties and damaged equipment would account for a lot of that, but it still meant many good men and women dead. Killed under his command. More blood on Katherine’s hands… “What about the primary assault? Any word from the attacking force?”
“Reports in from General Sortek, Kai Allard, and General Sanchez all indicate that they have secured a strong beachhead on Avalon Island with minimal losses. Fighting was rough, but a lot less than if we had not made our diversionary attack.”
“What about Colonel Chaffee?” he asked.
There was a hesitation. The two officers looked at each other. He felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. “What is it?”
“The Colonel was badly injured,” Kraff said, minus his usual gruffness. “By the time we got to you, two ’Mechs were about to grind you both into greasy spots on the ferrocrete. It was some sort of headhunter lance; they fought right to the end. Damned fanatics.”
“How is she?” he pressed.
Lieutenant Sherwood broke in. “She’s going to pull through, but she’s pretty busted up sir. Her legs are broken—it looks like her cockpit got pretty battered up. She was lucky that her fire suppression system kicked in or she could be facing severe burns.” He paused for a moment. “She came around a few hours ago and her first question was how you were.”
Archer allowed himself a thin grin of satisfaction, if only for a few seconds. “I need to get back to duty. We have work to do. We’ve got to get the regiment back up to ready status in case the Prince needs us.”
“General,” came a voice from behind the white privacy curtain. A short muscular man stepped around the corner. It was Prince Victor Steiner-Davion. “That won’t be necessary. You and your personnel can stand down for now.”
Christifori sat up a little more and gave him a salute, which he returned. “Sir, what are you saying?”
“General Christifori, the Avengers fulfilled their mission gloriously. I came here to tell you that, and to thank you. If it wasn’t for your efforts, we would have lost many more people. Your people are tough as nails, tougher,” Victor cast a nod to the officers of the Avengers regiment.
“You’re going to be held in reserve, but I’m hoping we won’t need your troops any more. God knows they’ve done their bit for king and country, as have you. But they’ve been rebuilt and refitted a lot in the last few years. The Avengers have helped win us a signal victory in the assault on Avalon Island. It’s time for some of our other troops to finish this up.”
“Sir, my men…”
Victor cut him off. “Archer, your troops are going to need you. You’ve suffered substantial losses. Trust me when I say this, if we need you, you and they will need to be ready. I’m just hoping it won’t come to that.”
“Sir,” Archer stirred in his bed. “I was hoping to be there at the end.”
“You are there, General,” the Prince replied. “But I haven’t forgotten my word to you months ago. You’ll have to forgive my rush, but I’m needed elsewhere. When the time comes, you’ll hear from me. Until then, your orders are to get your unit patched up.” Victor glanced at his chronometer and gave Archer a short nod. Archer saluted. He understood. It took a great deal for the Prince to come to the rear area when the fighting was still going on. It was a mark
