Chapter 12: Fortification
Eric stands over the body of his LT, and closes his eyes. He stands there in silence while the infantry platoon sergeant gets accountability of the soldiers he had brought. The infantry team had lost 2 of their own. The infantry platoon sergeant joins Eric at the treeline, the bodies of the three now deceased soldiers lay side by side. The two men give a silent salute before turning around and looking at the village. "I think it is time to radio higher." Eric says as the original carnage was settling down. The infantry platoon sergeant nodded before sitting down against a rock. "Melsky!" He yells out to the soldier in charge of radio contact. "Contact higher. When you get a response, bring me the radio." Private Melsky nodded while three bodies clad in the enemy empire’s uniforms were brought over. "Sumbitches were caught in the crossfire, Sarn’t. We were able to tag em before they could run away." A specialist said as the bodies were placed near the NCOs. He then looks at another soldier. "Yo Levy, bring the POWs over." He says while lighting a cigarette. "We also caught these two POWs as they tried to get out of the area."
Five bodies now lay in front of Eric, and the two POWs were being held up, standing behind Private Melsky, a small element watching over them. When Melsky got comms up, he gave the radio over to the infantry platoon Sergeant. "Yes sir, this is Sergeant Helt." The infantry platoon sergeant says as he picks up the radio. "We have 3 KIA, enemy has 3 KIA, and 2 POW. Requesting reinforcements and command presence." As he finished giving the situation report, he noticed that two villagers were approaching. They were the cat-girl from earlier and the village leader. "Helt out." He says before Eric joins him and they walk towards the village.
The fires had finally been put out as clean up began. Mia held Samara, John, and her two nieces, breathing out in relief as she realized they were safe. Many of the other families in the village weren’t so lucky. Mia sat down against the front wall of her sisters house, calming herself by realizing that her family was okay. She then looked at the foreign soldiers. Their tactics had saved the village. Knowing that the Empire would keep sending probing attacks, she would offer them anything she could in order to keep her family safe. She takes a deep breath and began to walk down the path leading to the soldiers. At some point during her trek, Kramer had joined her. He stayed silent as he walks behind Mia, letting her digest her thoughts. As she walked up to the gates of the village, she noticed the bodies of the empire troops. She saw the crest and stopped in her tracks. She knew that crest very well. Her eyes lit up with fury as she turns to the soldiers, trying to ignore the memories burning in her head.
When the commander arrives, Eric and the infantry platoon sergeant met with him. They once more gave him the overview of what happened, while answering logistics and accountability questions. The commander took stock of the deceased soldiers. He saluted them and then turned to the staff officers that had escorted him here. "Load these men up, and make preparations for a proper send off." He commands while walking towards the village with Eric in tow. "Dryer, you will take point here. It seems we have much to discuss with the locals." Eric nods to the commander as engines roar in the background. A tank set up position on the left side of the village, pointing its cannon towards the distant mountain range, while a bradley set up on the opposite side of the village, pointing its main weapon towards "Hood Hill."
As the vehicles set up, Kamer and Mia watched the soldiers move about to their various position. Mia noticed a man that the soldiers she had met in the village seemed to defer to. "That man in the middle seems to be the one in charge." Kamer mumbles to Mia as the men walk towards them. "Is that a... leaf... on his chest?" Mia says in response. Thus far, all the soldiers they had met had some sort of diagonal crossing on their chests. She had long since surmised that they indicated rank, so she assumed that the man approaching them now was like the unit commander. The man in charge motioned to the vehicles on opposite sides of the village and said something in his language. Kamer stared at him blankly in response, confusion evident on his face. Eric steps in, rubbing his face while looking back at Mia and translated: "Is okay?" He asks, speaking like a one-year-old saying their first word.
Mia looks astonished at first, but hid her emotions quickly. She began to see these men in a new light. They were powerful, sure, but instead of trying to command the leader, they were asking if they could set up here. Kamer spent a few seconds looking back and forth between the new additions to the village before nodding. "Yes." He says gently. The commander smiles, then points to his chest. "Milano." He says, patting himself. Eric follows his commander’s lead. He pats his chest and says "Eric."
As the soldiers introduced themselves, Kamer and Mia did the same. With introductions out of the way, the two sides looked at each other in silence. The language barrier would be difficult to overcome, especially since each side needed to ensure that the topics they would discuss were understood correctly. Eric turns to Milano. He wistfully rubs his hair before coming up with an idea. "Sir, the map." He says confidently. "Show them on the map where we intend to fortify defenses and establish fortification."
Milano nods at Eric’s suggestion. He smiles at Mia and Kramer while holding up a finger as if to say "one moment." Eric runs back to the commanders truck and calls out "Hey, I need the map of this are pronto." Time was of the essence here. At any given time, the empire could launch another attack, and the sooner the battalion could coalesce forces at the village, the better.