enough , I ordered, “Delta C ompany, deploy.” I watched the extra firepower I needed fill in the gaps in my lines. Now, w ith no fewer than 63 percent of units active at any time and a continuous air patrol of eight to ten carmine and silver balloon clouds , w e were ready for anything that could be thrown at us by the local environment. The fauna didn’t stand a chance.
Now that my troops had completed the garrison I wanted, I realized jus t what garrison duty entailed. I actually worked out a simple equation — Garrisoning = Boredom. We waited for four days before a cloud of red appeared on the horizon.
The cloud showed long before o ur flyer s saw even a single fauna . I ran through my general plan. I hoped I hadn’t missed anything. The responsibility for this battle lay entirely with me. Could I deliver a victory?
My fluid pressure went into the danger zone as the fauna units became visible to my aerial scouts and eventually to me. The animals tallied 5,412 strong , w ell over five times my own combat strength. My hillock of soil and a little red dirt didn’t seem like very much now.
I watched the tactical net closely as the mass of an imals marched down on us. They were advancing just to the right leg of our crescent - shaped hill. As soon as I saw the total force I made my decision.
“Tactical command: Left - most unit hold position. All other units close up 12 percent to the unit on your left. Reposition and hold.” This would keep the right - most units from hanging out where they could be seen by the approaching fauna. “All units hold fire until ordered.”
The animals came forward with a flying wedge of colorful teddies in front. I f I didn’t have the tactical data from my flying spies, I might have made the deadly decision that I only needed to deal with a hundred or so units up front.
“Flame - thrower units , shift to the left side of the line. As the front row passes the rig ht flank I want you to create a horizontal zone of fire.
“Snipers, at the first flame, pick off as many elephant units as you can. All remaining balloons launch as soon as firing starts.
“Elephants and balloons , allocate your entire fire on the opposite side of the flaming units.
“All other units , pour fire into your assigned sector of the fire sack . Don’t stop until ordered or there are no more fauna to destroy.”
The fauna marched dia gonally across the mouth of our berm. My plan all hinged on an age - old Human adage — divide and conquer. As the lead units passed my r ight flank, Armageddon started as a flaming wall roared up from my left in the center of a company of tanks.
The burning v ehicles scattered in chaos. Our tanks poured cannon and machine gun fire into the killing zone between the legs of the horseshoe. Killing zone was too kind a word for it. Animals exploded, ammunition in damaged units cooked off, black smoke poured off of units on fire.
Normally I would not get involved in the killing end of the fight, as my program was to direct, but there were too many targets for the troops to engage, so I lent a paw. Sure, I was green, but it couldn’t hurt — besides, it seemed exciting. My M16 assault rifle prove d itself a sturdy weapon, even if it didn’t measure up to the more powerful Tommy Tank projectiles. I learned the skills quickly enough. After the first dozen bullets went anywhere but at my intended target, I found a reasonable enough proficiency. My shots rarely missed their targets, but they didn’t always register as a kill. This puzzled me until I noticed that my fellow units would hit a Tommy Tank right at the base of the weapon to register a kill. I shifted my aim and began to register more regular successes. Hitting t eddies at the base of the neck and elephants right where the tail intersected the hind legs also proved to be a kill shot .
I relayed this information back to the rest of my brigade and our kill rate went up significantly. I figure I alone felled eighteen
Now that my troops had completed the garrison I wanted, I realized jus t what garrison duty entailed. I actually worked out a simple equation — Garrisoning = Boredom. We waited for four days before a cloud of red appeared on the horizon.
The cloud showed long before o ur flyer s saw even a single fauna . I ran through my general plan. I hoped I hadn’t missed anything. The responsibility for this battle lay entirely with me. Could I deliver a victory?
My fluid pressure went into the danger zone as the fauna units became visible to my aerial scouts and eventually to me. The animals tallied 5,412 strong , w ell over five times my own combat strength. My hillock of soil and a little red dirt didn’t seem like very much now.
I watched the tactical net closely as the mass of an imals marched down on us. They were advancing just to the right leg of our crescent - shaped hill. As soon as I saw the total force I made my decision.
“Tactical command: Left - most unit hold position. All other units close up 12 percent to the unit on your left. Reposition and hold.” This would keep the right - most units from hanging out where they could be seen by the approaching fauna. “All units hold fire until ordered.”
The animals came forward with a flying wedge of colorful teddies in front. I f I didn’t have the tactical data from my flying spies, I might have made the deadly decision that I only needed to deal with a hundred or so units up front.
“Flame - thrower units , shift to the left side of the line. As the front row passes the rig ht flank I want you to create a horizontal zone of fire.
“Snipers, at the first flame, pick off as many elephant units as you can. All remaining balloons launch as soon as firing starts.
“Elephants and balloons , allocate your entire fire on the opposite side of the flaming units.
“All other units , pour fire into your assigned sector of the fire sack . Don’t stop until ordered or there are no more fauna to destroy.”
The fauna marched dia gonally across the mouth of our berm. My plan all hinged on an age - old Human adage — divide and conquer. As the lead units passed my r ight flank, Armageddon started as a flaming wall roared up from my left in the center of a company of tanks.
The burning v ehicles scattered in chaos. Our tanks poured cannon and machine gun fire into the killing zone between the legs of the horseshoe. Killing zone was too kind a word for it. Animals exploded, ammunition in damaged units cooked off, black smoke poured off of units on fire.
Normally I would not get involved in the killing end of the fight, as my program was to direct, but there were too many targets for the troops to engage, so I lent a paw. Sure, I was green, but it couldn’t hurt — besides, it seemed exciting. My M16 assault rifle prove d itself a sturdy weapon, even if it didn’t measure up to the more powerful Tommy Tank projectiles. I learned the skills quickly enough. After the first dozen bullets went anywhere but at my intended target, I found a reasonable enough proficiency. My shots rarely missed their targets, but they didn’t always register as a kill. This puzzled me until I noticed that my fellow units would hit a Tommy Tank right at the base of the weapon to register a kill. I shifted my aim and began to register more regular successes. Hitting t eddies at the base of the neck and elephants right where the tail intersected the hind legs also proved to be a kill shot .
I relayed this information back to the rest of my brigade and our kill rate went up significantly. I figure I alone felled eighteen
Similar Books
