Chapter 44: That damn armored train
Trunko
Dissatisfied writer
- Location
- Milan, Italy
Chapter 44: That damn armored train
The railway network that connected the cities of Archâtel and Schmalfeld had once been one of the busiest and most important railways in the world. Along this route the Republic and Empire exchanged resources vital for the development of their economies and the well-being of their citizens during periods of peace. Despite the strong rivalry caused by growing patriotism, nothing had interrupted the booming trade that had made many men a fortune.
That is, until the war came and with it the interruption of trade between nations. Now, the only trading that went on between the Empire and the Republic was that of lead and bullets in exchange for blood and lives, and it was an exchange that did not bring wealth and prosperity, but only pain and misery.
Now, taking advantage of the ancient railroad tracks built in the name of peace and trade, the Republicans were preparing a weapon that would help them in their offensive:
A gigantic fucking armored train.
Through the binoculars I spied Republican soldiers swarming like ants around an anthill. Gigantic wagons lay lined with iron and bolts. I saw turrets, armed with cannons big enough to be able to fight on equal terms against a fort.
I saw all of that and I did not like it one bit. Not only because this train was positioned exactly in the middle of the route that we would have to travel to destroy the enemy depot, not only because it occupied a railway station that our maps indicated was abandoned (and instead was full of Republican soldiers) but also because I knew that these weapons would be used against the Empire.
Mentally, I tried to imagine possible action plans. We were not lacking in options: we could circumvent the unexpected obstacle by taking the scenic route on foot or we could stay in the air and fly over it at full speed before the Republicans could realize we were ever there. We could ignore the target, or attack it.
The one that most appealed to me was to attack the armored train. True, my team and I were outnumbered, but we were magicians. The soldiers who were now working on the maintenance of the train were common human soldiers, without any weapons they could oppose us, except for their rifles. With a quick blitz attack we could completely knock out the train and fly away before the Republicans could even come to their senses.
It was the most alluring, flashy and fruitful option, if we could realize it.
And yet, it was not the plan we would follow.
Attacking the train would allow us to destroy a dangerous weapon, sure, but it would also alert all Republican garrisons from here to their capital. This would compromise our primary mission, preventing us from destroying the enemy depot, assuring our failure.
There was no choice. If we wanted to carry out the mission that command had given us, we had to ignore the train.
"Sir? Do you see that?" Tragen asked a short distance behind me.
"Yes, I see it." I responded laconically, still using the binoculars to try and find an easy way to bypass the train and the Republican soldiers around it.
"It's very impressive. What do we do? Do we attack it?"
I lowered the binoculars, and looked Tragen in the eye, trying to not reveal my great desire to do exactly that.
"Negative." I replied, my words cold as the blood of a lizard. "We already have a mission and an objective. Attacking the train would take too much time and would reveal our position. If only one of the Republicans manages to sound the alarm, they will send all their magicians to hunt us down and we will be intercepted before we even get to the enemy's supply depot. We have no time to spare. We will bypass the enemy position without attacking it."
"But sir!" spoke up Tragen, clearly annoyed. "These assets represent a strong fighting force for the enemy. We can't leave them unharmed!"
"I did not say that" I replied, still looking at the humongous train. "We can report when we return to base camp. But for now, we have to keep our heads down and pass without being noticed. Our mission depends on this…"
I resumed watching the area. Only a few seconds passed before a large hand grabbed my arm.
"Sir." said Tragen once again, his voice full of disappointment. "I am sorry but I have to insist. We cannot leave such a terrifying weapon operational in the hand of the enemy. It is our duty to destroy it, even at cost of our own lives!"
I looked at Tragen once more. The words he had spoken were undoubtedly courageous, but they were also lacking in intelligence.
"Tragen..." I replied with a hiss. "I agree with you on the intent: the train is a mighty weapon, indeed, and it will it will surely cause great pain and loss among our allies if it is not destroyed or stopped. If it depended on me, I would have already ordered a high-powered explosive attack on its location."
"But then, why?"
"Why? Because we already have an objective. Destroying the train will surely undermine the Republicans' efforts, but only for a week. Only until the Republicans manage to get another from the rear lines. If instead we complete the mission, and destroy the enemy supply depot, our forces will have the time to rally reinforcements and consolidate their positions, so the Republicans will no longer be able to advance. On the contrary, once our forces have strengthened enough, it will be easy for us to counter-attack and re-occupy the region. And even this train can do nothing against an entire Imperial division armed to the teeth! Also, there's another reason why we won't attack that train…"
"And that would be?"
I approached him, making sure that my ranks were clearly visible on the shoulder.
"You see these? These are Second Lieutenant Ranks. They indicate my level of authority in the army. What is your Rank?"
He looked down to his shoulders. "S-sergeant."
"Then, since my rank is higher than yours, I am still the officer in charge of this squad. And I order that we follow the original mission!"
Tragen looked at me for a couple of seconds, clearly hurt by my words. So, in an attempt to ease the pressure and reduce the damage, I tried to take a more friendly tone.
"Listen, Tragen. I know how you feel, but we cannot act on impulse. Our goal is much more important. But I promise you that as soon as we get back to base camp, I will immediately ask for an air strike against this position."
Tragen nodded, before saying. "I hope that it will still be here when we return…"
After going around the train, we proceeded in the direction of the enemy's ammunition depot, to complete our mission. Along the way, we had to change course more than once to avoid Republican patrols.
Finally, after an exhausting flight, we arrived in view of the enemy depot.
At first glance, it did not seem so different from one of our common supply depots: a large reinforced concrete building, protected by several artillery posts and anti-aircraft guns, containing all the material necessary for its owners to have the resources and the means to continue their offensive.
In fact it wasn't strange, as it was our supply depot, before the enemy captured it. I could still see, through my of my binoculars, the points where the enemy had erased the imperial symbols and replaced them with the republican ones.
"Lieutenant, do you see how many soldiers there are?" asked Hana, who was a couple of meters behind me.
I looked carefully, trying to recognize all the possible signs of enemy soldiers. For now, I saw about twenty of them, two of them with a large machine gun positioned in front of the warehouse entrance.
Nothing too worrying.
"There don't seem to be many." I replied, without taking my eyes off the binoculars. "No more than twenty."
"Then, what are we waiting for?" asked Tragen, a little behind Hana. "Let's get them!"
"Tragen, calm down!" said Hana, assuming an authoritative tone. "We must analyze the situation and prepare a plan. We cannot blindly attack like barbarians!"
"Then, what are we waiting for? Music?"
"A strategy!" I spoke up, still looking at the enemy soldiers who were garrisoning the depot. "We need to figure out how get inside and destroy the deposit without… one second!"
"Sir, what is it?" asked Hana, suddenly alert.
"Something is happening! I see a pickup truck, escorted by Republican wizards, approaching the enemy depot!"
Clutching the binoculars tightly, I watched the truck come forward along a slippery, half-broken road.
What are they doing here? I wondered. Maybe a last-minute supply run? Or maybe an inspection? Or...
However, my mind fell silent, when I saw the truck stop and two familiar figures emerged from the back, surrounded by enemy wizards.
"Sir!" said Tragen with a voice full or surprise. "These are Hauser and Egner!"
Yes, apparently, our recruits had been captured but were still alive. At least, for now.
"I don't get it." said Hana to my right. "If they are alive, why didn't they take them to a prisoner camp? Why did they bring them here?"
"Good question, sergeant." I said, looking at the two young recruits while they were forcibly brought inside the depot. "THey probably want to use them as human shields or-"
"Human shields? Sir, what is that?"
"It is an old medieval trick, invented by some German nobles who had rebelled against the Emperor Frederick Redbeard. They want to use the fact that they have imperial prisoners of war to prevent our artillery and our air force from destroying the depot…"
"What?" said Hana, her face full of shock and rage. "But… that is… inadmissible! It is a serious violation of international war rights! These republicans are surely godless!"
"It doesn't matter now." I cut her off, trying to reason with her. "Now we have a double objective: we need to rescue our fellows and destroy the supply depot."
"Sir!" said Stauffer, coming closer. "Do you already have a plan?"
"More or less." I said looking at the Republican soldiers. A good chunk of them had followed Hauser and Egner inside the building. Only a few remained outside, and none of them were mages.
Suddenly, an idea came to me.
"Stauffer, Hana, how many munitions you have got?"
"Well, sir..." Stauffer began, checking his supply of ammunition. "We have enough bullets to kill them all. If necessary, we could even hold out against the wizards.
"That will not be necessary! We just need to make some noise…"
Despite the noise of bombing in the distance, the Republican soldiers guarding the depot were quite calm and relaxed. They seemed more like reenactors than real soldiers during wartime. They chatted, joked and laughed instead of paying attention to the woods around them.
All the worse for them, because they would have no opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
I glanced in the direction of Stauffer and Hana. Following my orders, they had positioned themselves on the opposite side of us, and had collected most of their ammunition in a small pile.
I looked Hana in the eye, and nodded. It was time.
Hana nodded in turn and set fire to the gunpowder strip. Then, as agreed, Hana and Stauffer hid in the bushes.
It took a few seconds, butcharge exploded, causing a small but loud explosion, strong enough to be heard by Republicans.
I saw them extract their weapons, nervous and frightened by the explosion. Then one of them (who evidently held the highest rank) he took the lead, and ordered two soldiers to go and check what was happening. The two soldiers, although frightened, moved towards the blast, leaving only the officer and the other two soldiers.
It was what we were waiting for.
The Republican soldiers had turned in the direction of the blast, in the direction of their companions, to be able to assist them in case something happened, and they turned their backs on me, Tragen and Christel.
Maxim 9: Never turn your back on an enemy.
I waited a couple of seconds. Then, as soon as I was sure that the two soldiers who had gone ahead were too far away to support the others, I threw myself forward, driven by magic, in the direction of the officer.
Had I had a gun or rifle in my hand, the sound of the shot would alarm all the soldiers in the area (including those inside the depot) and we probably would find ourselves outnumbered quickly, but I didn't have a firearm in hand. I had my bayonet, which I now used as a knife.
The officer of the Republican army did not notice anything: I had been very silent and the shot had been so sudden that only if he had super-speed could he have noticed my attack. He only realized that something was wrong when I planted the bayonet in his back, pushing him with the residual strength of my charge. I heard him make a gurgle of pain before he fell with his face in the mud, my bayonet sinking into his back for much of it, still tight in my hands.
It was a single moment. The Republican soldiers who were with the officer went to point their weapons at me and shoot, but Tragen and Christel immeidately charged and killed them. Tragen took his knife and planted it in a soldier's chest, while Christel stuck her knife into the other soldier's mouth.
"Hey!" said a voice, most likely from one of the republican soldiers who were sent to investigate the blast. "What is happening? Ser-"
However, he could not said any more, before his sudden silence informed me that Hana and Stauffer had successfully carried out their part of the plan.
Within minutes, my team had killed as many Republican soldiers in complete silence, thus avoiding alerting the others who were inside the fort. Needless to say, that gave us a tremendous advantage.
"Schell! Schell!" I hissed while trying to keep my voice as low as possible. "We have just a few minutes before they go to check their dead comrades!"
As quickly as we could, we dragged the corpses into the bushes and stripped them of their weapons and ammunition. They would be more useful to us than to them.
We gathered at the door. "Ready?" I asked.
"Ready, sir!" responded Tragen, quickly followed by the others.
"Ready!"
"Ready."
"Ready!"
"Good! It's payback time!"
