He wasn't sure why he risked himself and his position in this. Was it an attack of conscience? Maybe, but the end would be the same and possibly worse for those who were sent into the town to die.
But it wouldn't be at his hand. He could say that much.
"What are we waiting for, Captain?" one of the men asked and opened a private comm line. "Shouldn't we finish them off?"
Davis5 lowered his rifle and checked the ammo to make sure he didn't need to reload. "They'll be finished off anyway. It makes no sense to charge after them into the fires. Let them head back."
The man knew better than to question his orders—better than Davis5 did himself, apparently. But the chances were, when it came time to submit reports on the operation, the man would probably raise questions in his report about sparing those who tried to escape the fighting.
It was a good thing he already had his story straight. There was no way his superiors would be able to question the decisions he made in the field. If they wanted to make problems, all it meant was that he would be taken off active duty while they investigated, and he would be back in combat when they didn't find anything.
Or, worst-case scenario, he would face a trial as a result of the incident and probably be demoted. Hopefully, they wouldn't give him the chair for something like this.
"Delta Company, withdraw to the defensive positions. We'll wait for word from inside if they need support, but we'll hold our positions for the moment."
He didn't need to hear them to know that they all groaned in frustration. The brief flurry of action they had seen wouldn’t be enough to sate them, and he could understand because he felt the same way. All his men, like him, wanted to be a part of the force that was involved in the attack on the town.
None of them were happy and he could tell from the body language picked up by their mechs as they withdrew to the barriers that had been set up. These were mostly massive shields cut from steel and reinforced with inertia dampeners that would allow them to absorb impacts without warping.
In theory, anyway, but they weren't infallible. They were still shields, after all, and could be circled and flanked.
Fortunately, Davis5 didn't think that was something he needed to worry about too much.
The Quadrupeds and Raptors stationed behind the barriers settled in once again while their support mechs ran to the supply chain to replenish the rockets that had been used. Of the whole troop that held the rear of the town, they were the ones most likely to be ordered into the fight. Rapid movement would bring them into firing range, and while most of the artillery was on the other side of town, they could still deal a great deal of damage if it was needed.
But the higher-ups didn't think it would be needed. They wildly outnumbered the Knights and the Auburn rebels. Of course, that kind of underestimation had proven fatal for Epsilon Company as well as their Raiders, but it wasn't that big a loss.
"Davis5, sensors detect movement and sound coming in from behind you. Please advise."
One of his lieutenants brought up the signals that had been detected on his HUD. Sure enough, there was considerable movement approaching from behind them.
"What the fuck…antelope stampede?" He narrowed his eyes to try to understand what didn’t seem to make sense at all.
"The seismic sensors detect that it's something considerably heavier," the lieutenant said.
"Elk?"
"Heavier."
"I have a feeling we'll run out of heavier animals that could stampede us from behind." There was no humor in his tone, and none of his men laughed, fortunately.
"Sensors do suggest that what is coming in from behind is not animal at all." The lieutenant sounded a little anxious, which mirrored his own misgivings.
"They can't be mechs. Our intel teams would know if the Knights had any troops in reserve," another pilot interjected.
"Intelligence could be wrong,” the lieutenant pointed out. “Or they might not be reserves for the Knights at all. Perhaps FEMA has sent reinforcements in light of the failure of our first push?"
"That's actually possible,” Davis5 responded. “The damn higher-ups don't consult us on how to properly deploy troops. They have to know that we outnumber them to the point where we don't even need to commit all our forces."
"You might want to communicate this to the incoming troops. Perhaps they are needed elsewhere on the front?"
He nodded, keyed his comm line, and tried to open a connection with the approaching troops.
"Let's see here…" he muttered and scanned the open lines for the closest troops to their position. "Alert, alert, Control. This is Captain Davis5, Control. Be advised, Delta Company does not need support in the Auburn Operation. Your support is not required at this time, over."
The reply required a little time but finally, the commander of the company keyed into the comm line. "Roger that, Captain Davis5, your message is received. Control has not received any orders to support the Auburn Operation and all forces hold their last known positions, over."
"Say again, Control. You have not ordered any troops to advance on our position from bearing five-six-eight-zero-niner, over?"
Another pause followed before he received a response. "That is correct, Delta Company, over."
"Shit," Davis5 snapped but remembered to cover his microphone for the brief profanity. "Disregard all previous messages, Control."
"Roger that, Delta Company. Out."
The captain quickly keyed into the commlinks that Delta company command used to coordinate their troops. "Delta Leader, this is Delta 5. Please respond, over."
The wait wasn't as long but still seemed to take forever before someone keyed into his frequency. "Delta 5, this is Delta Leader, over."
"We have multiple signals advancing on our position from bearing five-six-eight-zero-niner. Possible hostiles. Please advise, over."
"Roger that, Delta 5. Maintain position. Report if signals are confirmed hostile, out."
Yeah, because he would have time to report
