EDEN (The Union Series) (30 page)

‘I’ve seen enough
death in this world,’ I said at last, meeting Yulia’s gaze.

I could swear that
her eyes glistened for a split second, as though she lowered her guard just
long enough for me to see what remained of her soul, locked in beneath her hard
exterior.

‘We both have,’ she
agreed, ‘and yet, here we are.’

‘Yeah. Here we are.’

‘You wish to fight
until you die, alongside your men. It will not happen today, though. Your fight
here in the Bosque is over.’

I remembered that
Yulia expected for us to withdraw after our attack onto the burrows, which then
gave the army of Presidential Guard hidden amongst the highlands the
opportunity to sweep into Dakar to do their dirty work, whilst the FEA still
struggled to break into the city.

‘Yeah,’ I replied,
‘it’s time for you to do your bit now.’

She looked at me
dubiously, before nodding her head. ‘I must go soon. It has been interesting to
fight alongside you and your men. You are better than I had expected.’

I wasn’t sure whether
to take her words as a compliment or an insult, but I cast them aside, instead
thinking about the upcoming move to the city roof.

‘Just remember this,’
she continued. ‘No life is ever worthless. We all have an important part to
play in this world.’

My blood boiled at
the hypocrisy of Yulia’s lecture, and I was about to explode when the platoon
commander spoke up on the net.

‘All call-signs,
objective complete! Withdraw north to the rendezvous! Be aware of Loyalist
forces approaching from the east!’

Now that the initial
shock was over, the Loyalists were sending forces out from the city to counterattack
against our platoon. Like in the marsh, they probably thought that we were a
far larger force, and had mistaken us for the main FEA attack. Such an error in
judgement would cost them dearly when the first infantry companies struck.

I spoke onto my
section net, alerting every one of the need to move. Every trooper quickly
checked himself over, making sure that he hadn’t left anything behind.

Yulia noticed the
sudden flurry of activity. ‘What are you doing?’

I looked at her briefly,
and gritted my teeth as I stood. ‘Loyalists are approaching. We need to move.’

We broke and ran,
weaving through the trees in our hasty extraction from the burrows. Plants and
twigs cracked and crunched beneath our boots as we stormed through the
undergrowth, eager to leave as large a space between us and the Loyalist
counterattack as possible.

‘Why are we going
north?’ Yulia asked from behind, but I ignored her questioning, increasing my
pace instead. If she was out of breath, then she had less time to think.

My wounds burned as I
ran, as if somebody was sticking a knife into them. The quick clot administered
by my combats wasn’t designed to handle movement, and every time I moved I was
probably making my injuries worse. Something hurt inside my chest, but I knew
that nothing was wrong with my heart or lungs - if there was I wouldn’t be
moving at all. I ignored the pain, setting a fast pace as I led the way to the
rendezvous.

Our bolt through the
trees lasted for several minutes, until finally we came to a halt less than a
kilometre to the west of the city. Gunfire sounded in the distance to our
right, indicating that the first FEA units had arrived on the southern end of
the river. The battle would be intense, as the main body of the FEA took on the
Loyalists head-on, hoping to seize at least one of the many bridges before the
Loyalists destroyed them. Dropships would already be hurtling across the river,
placing out entire companies of FEA to the north of the city in their effort to
cut it off.

‘What are we doing?’
Yulia demanded again, puffing as she joined me in the platoon rendezvous. She
was as fit as me though, having spent her entire life fighting in the Bosque, it
was my section that trailed behind us, desperately trying to catch up.

‘I don’t know,’ I
lied. It was the easiest answer, and the one that took the least time
explaining. Not only did I want to keep our actions secret to her for as long
as possible, I was in pain and didn’t want to make it worse by talking to her.

I gazed out into the
forest, noticing that the sky had turned dark blue as the sun approached the
edge of the horizon.

Yulia began to grow
agitated. ‘You do know! What are we doing?’

‘
I don’t know!
’
I yelled back. ‘I received a grid to move to, that’s it!’

My section closed in,
all eyes focused onto the liaison officer. They had all heard her angry
questioning as they approached, and they all knew that if there was any time
for our allies to turn on us, it was now.

Yulia appeared to notice
the sudden hostility, and her voice lowered. ‘You are going into the city?’

I sighed, infuriated.
‘I don’t know, Yulia.’

The remainder of the
platoon arrived, quickly forming-up into a square, with each section facing
outwards. The two command groups met in the centre of the square, the troopers
facing outward, whilst Mr Barkley and the sergeant major quickly discussed
their plan one last time. Like Yulia, the liaison officer in the sergeant major’s
multiple looked around him in confusion, wondering what we were up to.

After no more than a
minute, the sergeant major stood, running directly toward me.

‘You alright?’ he
asked, looking me up and down. My combats were stained with blood, though I
doubted that he could see it in the approaching dark.

‘I’m alright,’ I
lied. I was in a lot of pain.

‘Good. We’ve got
three casualties in total, and all three are walking wounded. Not bad for a
platoon attack! It shouldn’t be long until extraction now, anyway.’

I nodded grimly,
wondering if I would make it that long. ‘No worries.’

The sergeant major
glanced over the formation, raising his voice just loud enough for our headsets
to pick it up. ‘Well done, men! Your work here is almost done. Keep your chins
up, and your eyes peeled. You know what’s coming next!’

Mr Barkley then
stood. ‘My multiple, close in!’

My section and
Corporal Abdi’s trotted over to the platoon commander, separating ourselves
from the other half of the platoon.

‘Any final
questions?’ he asked, sweeping his gaze across us all.

Nobody said a word;
we all knew the plan.

The noise of the
battle intensified, and I imagined the first dropship company crossing the
river, seizing the other end of the bridges under a hail of darts. Soon they
would be headed toward the city, and they needed all of the help they could
get. The child soldiers, armed with little more than rifles, would take
horrific casualties in the face of the Loyalists holding onto the city.

After a long pause
the platoon commander nodded respectfully, and turned to me, ‘Corporal Moralee,
lead us in, if you will.’

‘Roger,’ I winced as
I moved, beckoning for my section to follow.

We would patrol
toward the city initially, for we weren’t in a great hurry. Not only would more
running wear us out before we even started, but if we reached the city too soon,
then the FEA wouldn’t have arrived anyway.

‘You’re going in to
the city …’ Yulia repeated as we left.

I regarded her for a
second, and smiled. ‘Who knows?’

Back to the contents page

Dakar

We reached the edge of
the city just as the sun broke over the Bosque, dissolving the veil of mist
that hung over the trees and in between the hills.

It was an awesome
sight, the four great spokes, painted pure, brilliant white, arching across the
crater before they met the single towering spire at its centre. Like the blade
of a knife thrust up toward the sky, its metal panelling glittered in the
morning sun, threatening to blind us with its intensity. Beneath the spokes
that suspended the roof, the magnificent city below was testament to a time
when the people of Eden worked together toward a common goal; the creation of a
paradise world free from war and suffering. But their dream had mutated into
something awful.

The thumping of
Loyalist artillery reverberated across the city, and even from the edge of the
forest, hundreds of metres above the base of the crater, we could hear the
sounds of soldiers shouting and civilians screaming. Occasionally we heard a
single gunshot, presumably as the Loyalists tried to control the population.

‘Two priorities,’ Mr
Barkley reminded us as we looked out across the road that separated the city
from the forest, and onto the massive spoke, ‘the guns, and the vehicles. I
want the snipers to work together independently along the length of the spoke,
looking for Loyalist commanders. Corporal Abdi, take the length of the spoke.
Lance Corporal Moralee, head for the hub. Happy?’

We nodded. Yulia said
nothing, crouching near to me. I wondered if she had sent word to her
Presidential Guard masters, and when the order to execute us would arrive.

I nudged Skelton,
catching his attention, and then subtly tapped my visor with two fingers where
my eyes would be, and pointed toward Yulia.
Watch her.

Skelton nodded his
understanding.

There was a sudden string
of explosions from within the forest to the south of the crater, announcing the
arrival of the first FEA Company. Although we couldn’t see the battle, the
noise of gunfire roared as it echoed about the crater, increasing in its
intensity as more companies struck at targets around the outside of Dakar. It
wouldn’t be long until they made their first thrust into the city itself.

‘Looks like our
friends are finally getting stuck in,’ Mr Barkley observed over the net with a
dark smile, and he waved for us to launch.

My section was first
to move, bursting out of the forest and running across the road toward the
spoke. At least twenty metres wide, and designed to take vehicles, the spoke
provided us with good cover as we began to run along its length toward the
spire almost a kilometre away, our boots pounding against its metallic surface.

Searing pain spread
across my chest as I ran, but I kept going, maintaining a speed that I knew the
others could keep up with. At the rate I was going I knew that soon it would be
too fast for me, though, my wounds were rapidly sapping at my strength.

I glanced over my
right shoulder, seeing the first section of the sergeant major’s multiple
charging along the other spoke, like a mirror image of my own.

It was a race against
time - we needed to get into position as quickly as possible, so that all of
our weapons could fire at once. As soon as we opened fire, the game would be up,
and we wouldn’t have long before we had to extract from the roof.

‘Hurry up!’ I
hollered back, spurring my men onward.

Peering over the edge
of the spoke as I ran, I could see Loyalist soldiers moving through the streets
of Dakar, hurriedly preparing to repel the FEA assault. It would be a bloody
battle, but the FEA had to win. If they didn’t, then the people of Dakar would
pay the price, most likely at the hands of the Presidential Guard. Even if the
FEA lost the battle entirely, the Loyalists would be so badly weakened, that
the Guard could simply sweep them aside, before beginning their mindless slaughter.

As I passed the
midway point between the crater edge and the spire, the platoon commander
ordered Corporal Abdi’s section to stop, allowing them to spread out and
prepare to fire down into the city. Corporal Abdi would keep his men out of
view, whilst he and his 2ic searched for targets for them to engage. We had
very few smart missiles left - my section had only three - and so the targets
we engaged needed to be worthwhile.

‘That’s the main FEA
thrust into the city underway,’ Mr Barkley panted over the net. ‘They’re using
ropes to enter on the southeast edge.’ 

I squinted as I ran,
just making out the shapes of soldiers roping down the edge of the crater. I
hoped that they had plenty of fire support, because I knew without it they
would take massive casualties trying to get to the ground.

We reached the
central hub just before the sergeant major’s multiple. There was a huge, saucer-shaped
platform that surrounded the spire, with impressive views down into the city.
It provided a perfect vantage point to rain missiles and grenades into the
streets below, but I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to remain there once the
Loyalists knew where we were.

I quickly assembled
my section along the edge of the platform, giving them time to set up their
weapons as I scoured the city for targets. After only a few moments, I identified
several Loyalist railguns, firing at an angle out of the city. Massive, wheel-mounted
weapons that were designed to be disassembled and carried by dropship, they
were devastatingly powerful at both close and long range. There were four of
them - too many for our remaining smart missiles - but not for our guided
grenades.

I gauged the
distance, wondering if the tiny missiles fired by our grenade launchers could
reach the target. The furthest gun was four to five hundred metres away, even
further if you took elevation into account. I decided to stick with the
grenades, gravity would do much of the work for them, and we could save our
smart missiles for something meatier.

Yulia stood by, watching
as I gave my instructions to the riflemen in preparation for the order to open
fire.

‘You plan to attack
the city?’ she asked, looking as though she still couldn’t believe what she was
seeing.

‘Not attack it,’ I
corrected. ‘We’re helping
you
to attack it, or should I say the FEA?’

‘Why? You have
achieved your aim - the city will fall with or without you.’

‘We’re more
interested in
how
it falls,’ I replied. ‘Now do you want to help me or
not?’

Yulia looked at me
blankly for a moment, and I wondered what was going through her head. My hand
tightened around my pistol grip.

‘Of course I want to
help,’ she said at last. ‘Where do you want me?’

My hand relaxed, and
I pointed out to the edge of the platform. ‘Just go there with Skelton. The aim
is to create panic and confusion, so go for commanders and high profile
targets, rather than regular soldiers.’

‘I know what I am
shooting at,’ she replied harshly, before moving to join the section.

I wondered if she
might start shooting at civilians running around in the city, but then cast the
idea aside - her friends would be doing all that for her in a few hours, if the
FEA attack failed. Her mind must be racing for solutions to her predicament, I
thought, like how could she scupper our attack now, and get away with it?

The platoon commander
centred himself on the hub, halfway between my section and the sergeant major.
The two commanders exchanged a nod, indicating that they were happy with their
positioning, before Mr Barkley spoke up on the net.

‘All call-signs, I want
a back brief and a mark on the targets you can see.’

One by one the
section commanders dropped red crosshairs onto the targets they could engage,
ranging from the four guns I had identified, to a couple of Light Support
Vehicles being used for fire support against FEA soldiers on the edge of the
city. We had to mark our targets, because we were so spread out it was easy for
two sections to engage the same thing at once, wasting valuable ammunition in
the process. Once we had expended all of our missiles and grenades, our use on
the roof would become extremely limited. 

‘Happy with that,’ Mr
Barkley said finally. ‘Engage targets in five, four, three, two, one … FIRE!’

Grenades and missiles
rained down into the city in one single, massive volley, and at the same time,
two loud bangs echoed across the crater as the four platoon snipers opened fire
on their selected targets. I watched as a suit, marching along a street toward
the battle, collapsed to the ground, its torn knee severing the occupant’s leg.
Even though I was half a kilometre away, I grimaced at the thought of his
bloodcurdling wail.

There was no hiding our
presence up on the roof anymore, and all of the platoon rifles and mammoths
opened fire at the same time, peppering the streets with darts as each
individual trooper went for a target he had spotted amongst the buildings.

‘Don’t waste your
ammo on regular soldiers!’ I hollered over the deafening noise. ‘If you haven’t
got a decent target, search for one!’

There was no hope for
resupply, once we ran out of darts then that was it - time for extraction. Each
of our magazines held sixty-five of the tiny steel rounds, and we still had
plenty of them, but in such a large-scale attack they wouldn’t last long.

Wildgoose sprinted
behind me, quickly finding a new location to fire onto a target he had
identified. He lined himself up for the shot. With a scream of magnets and a
clap of rushing air, he fired a dart across the city, not moving a centimetre
as the shot was released. I never saw who or what he had fired at, but he
looked up from his sights, seemingly satisfied that he had achieved his kill.

Several smart
missiles launched from amongst the buildings, detonating uselessly against the
underside of the spokes. Presumably the firers had given confusing instructions
to the missiles in their haste, because there was no way they could hope to
bring the massive structures down with anything less than an explosive charge,
and if they did it would take the whole roof with it, killing hundreds of their
comrades.

Even in a short space
of time, the platoon had had a devastating effect upon the Loyalists below.
Destroying an entire gun battery, several vehicles and suits and tens of
Loyalist commanders all at once, we had created total mayhem across the city in
less than a minute. I stopped to admire our handiwork, listening to the
terrified shouts of the enemy below.

‘One-One-Charlie,
One-Zero, close in!’

I looked over my
shoulder, seeing the platoon commander tap his helmet.

‘Puppy, take over!’ I
shouted. ‘The Boss wants me!’

‘Roger!’

Ignoring the pain
that surged through my body, I ran to the platoon commander, who watched the
unfolding battle from his vantage point in the middle of the hub, while his
team joined in with the fire fight.

Just as I knelt
beside him, one of Mr Barkley’s team was struck by a dart, his body going into
spasm as one of his comrades dragged him back from the edge. A pool of blood
spilled across the metal panels like an upturned pot of paint.

‘Man down!’ the
trooper cried in anguish, and the message repeated across the platoon. There
was little chance that the lad could survive such a sudden and catastrophic
loss of blood.

I made as if to
stand, but the platoon commander placed a restraining hand on my shoulder.

‘Leave it, Andy,’ he
soothed, ‘you can’t save everyone. My lads will do what they can.’

My muscles relaxed.
He was right of course - there was nothing I could do for the stricken trooper
that his comrades couldn’t do themselves.

‘I’ve achieved direct
comms with the FEA command,’ Mr Barkley announced. ‘I’m talking via brigade to
an officer within FEA ranks who claims to know where a key Loyalist command
centre is within the city.’

‘Could be a trick,’ I
said doubtfully, wincing as a stabbing pain shot across my body.