Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 60: Bombing

Milano paused as he looked at the map in front of him. He heard the radio chatter. Mayday calls had turned to dead silence.

Esponia was overrun, with soldiers now fighting hand to hand. Last he heard before Esponia went radio dark was each encampment had been infiltrated.

Vegas had a small chunk of the city vaporized, parts of it sinking into the crater. They were holding there, but barely. Comms bled through as the fighting there was reaching a fever pitch.

"Heaven help us."

Mia sat at Eric’s chair, holding onto his placard as she ran her fingers along his name. She held her breath as she waited for news. Finally, she heard his voice over the radio.

"Sir. The time has come to use it."

She exhaled. "He’s alive." Her hands reached down to hold her bump.

Soldiers exchanged glances as chairs shifted. S2 and S3 officers were arguing over a map. Their voices faded as Eric’s voice broke the silence. Milano leaned back in his chair. He paused, reaching for his mic.

"All units, confirm condition of battle." Each report painted a grim picture. Milano sighed and looked down at the desk. He paused for a moment before grabbing the mic again.

"Skyrunner, this is command. Target mission Delta is a go. Coordinates are uploaded on your system. Strike package is as follows:

Two JDAMS are authorized."

A calm, even voice responded. "Confirmed. Time to target, six minutes."

Eric grabbed Jessica from the back of the truck and held her up as she vomited. Her body heaved painfully as he scanned their surroundings.

"Jessica, you need to snap out of it." He said evenly. "You wanted to fight, right? You wanted to build your own life? The only way to do that is to get back in the damn truck and keep firing that .50 cal. War doesn’t stop because half a city was vaporized."

Machine gun fire rattled in the background, while tanks continued counter fire. Radio traffic glared on Eric’s system as he observed the scene.

"Get back in the truck, Jessica. Get on that turrent. Do it for yourself. Do it for your future brother or sister. You’re a part of our family now. I’ll be damned if you let yourself be killed out here."

An explosion shattered the tree-line behind them, shattered branches and needles landed against the truck as he held her up. She looked into his eyes, her body trembling as she caught her breath.

"Okay. I’ll do it."

Four minutes until impact.

After getting back in the Humvee, they drove towards where the tanks and Llrathels were engaging each other. There were six tanks left, but:

There were still twelve Llrathels.

"Do we still have manpads?" Eric tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he radioed the infantry company commander.

"Negative, Master Sergeant. They are still at Hood Hill."

Eric groaned, suppressing his desire to slam his head against the steering wheel. He circled back around to park his humvee behind one of the Abrams.

"Jessica, keep scanning. I have a call to make."

She nodded as Eric got on the mic, calling Milano.

"Sir, we are currently holding the line here at the strip. If that bird doesn’t take care of that circle, we may be overrun."

Milano sighed as he heard Eric’s report. He turned to S2. "Get me arial surveillance on that unit. Find out where it is now!"

"Dryer, you’re going to have to hold for a few more minutes." Milano said quietly, finding Mia in the corner. Her eyes were red from crying and her tail flicked. "The package is still three minutes out."

"Fuck." Eric said as he dropped the Humvee back into gear. He drove towards the strip. The world broke around him as flashes from tank fire and mana charged Llathrel rounds filled the air. Bright flashes from cannon fire on both sides showed the broken carnage of hulls on fire, splintered trees, and men dead or dying.

Two minutes left.

Before Eric could arrive at the gates of the barricades leading to Vegas, he stopped the Humvee and got out of the truck. The atmosphere stood still as the battle went silent. Sound stopped working and the air seemed to rush out of his lungs.

"Impact."

A voice called over the radio, an even voice describing the death of thousands like his mission was a typical Tuesday at the office.

The shockwave that followed threatened to turn the earth over on itself as wind rushed at Eric. He held his ground as the light around him bent. Discolored streams of mana shot around the battlefield from the mountains, before rushing back to the impact point.

And the sound of shattering class echoed out, louder than the explosion that followed.

Eric stood still as he looked around, sound slowly coming back as he heard engines idle and civilians still screaming from the chaos. He looked out to the field where Llrathels and tanks still battled.

Behind him, he heard Jessica rise from the turret. Red mana circled around her as she stood up. Her eyes a red hue as she looked at Eric. "It’s back."

Eric sighed and rubbed his face in his hands. "We will discuss restraint when we get back home."

"The mana suppression circle has been destroyed." He called into the radio. "All units forward."

Hammond steadied his breathing as he stepped outside. The cool air of the outside air settled on his skin as he looked around. Bodies of men and women surrounded him as he looked down the mountain pass. Half of the mountain had disentegrated on itself. A crater shaped like a long extinct volcano remained. He sat against the wall, lighting a cigarette. "Serves the bastards right." He said quietly before hearing footsteps coming from behind him.

"First Sergeant, we have captured the last of them." A soldier reported as he walked up. "Good, take them down to the jail. Treat them for wounds if they are injured. I also want full accountability."

Bodies began to stack on top of each other as survivors of the battle grimly counted casualties. Each fallen soldier added to the weight threatening to crush the survivors. The final count:

One hundred and twenty five assigned

Eighty present

Forty five KIA.

Hammond shook his head as he read the report. The lights came flickering back on as power was restored to the camp. He leaned back in his chair as he sent his report up via the radio.

Reports came streaming in as each company counted the soldiers left. Similar numbers echoed Hammonds own. "A few good men, eh?" He said as he looked out to where Llrathels retreated and empire soldiers scrambled down the path. He locked eyes with a man who was standing at a foothill, and turned back to his paperwork. He had work to do.

After the compound was cleared and the bodies burned, Hammond retreated to his quarters. He limped, holding his thigh where a bullet had grazed him. He laid back in his bed and stared at the ceiling. A single tear streaked down his face.

Sleep wouldn’t come that night.

Eric sat with Mia back at the command room. He had left the battlefield clean up to his Charlie and Delta company counterparts, while Jessica stayed back in the Humvee. She had been too shocked to move. He let her grieve in her own way as he left the truck on so she could get air.

No one spoke as he entered the room dirty and covered in tree pines. He sat down and picked Mia up, placing her in his lap. He knew he was in front of Battalion leadership, but right now?

He didn’t care. Neither one of them spoke as she rested her head on his chest. His fingers worked their way slowly through her hair as his breathing steadied. He waited for the final reports to come in.

Milano looked at Eric as he walked in. His eyebrow arched at the lack of professionalism, but inwardly cleared his head of that thought. Now was not the time to dig on professionalism.

"Read me the reports company by company." Milano began. "Let me know if we have fuel counts, ammo counts, and what infrastructure was damaged."

The reports were read company by company, and each staff officer in the room held their heads down in shock. Mia closed her eyes as the final reports came though.

Six hundred and fifty nine assigned

Five hundred and thirty two present

Ninety two KIA

Thirty Five MIA

Shocked silence filled the room. Disbelief settled in as the numbers repeated in each staff officers thoughts. Eric looked down. His hold tightened around Mia as no one spoke.

Even Milano looked at the numbers in shock. "S-1, reconfirm with each company that these numbers are correct." Milano finally spoke, a slight tremble in his hands as he leaned back against his desk.

"We did sir."