As the fighting in the Brother-Zicom War escalated, casualties did as well. Among those men (and occasionally women) fighting in the eastern front were the United Front Volunteers, a division of nearly 10,000 volunteer infantrymen - men and women - armed with their nation's finest military equipment, shipped out to defend their ally's lands at their request. As time went on, more and more signed up to be a part of the military, hoping one day they would get picked as part of the reinforcement train that was sent in once every two weeks.
Leader of this division was then-Brigadier General Michael Referand, who graduated from the Juvian Military Academy fifth from his class of forty-five.
--**--
As another Zicom attack game, the thuds of artillery thundered through the air, impacting the ground, vibrating the very soil beneath General Referand's feet. His command post - a dozen tents planted in the ground half a mile from the frontline - was makeshift, too makeshift for his liking. His tanks hadn't been reinforced for the past month since they first arrived - eighteen of his original twenty-five Archangel tanks remained.
The arrival of the Brothers' new Nautilus all-terrain tank had been of great benefit and relief of the effort in this sector of the war. Had they not arrived so soon, the continuous waves of Zicom tanks would've completely crushed Referand's miniature tank squadron.
And not only that, but tomorrow was the day new reinforcements were to be shipped to his division of volunteers. Just a day eariler would've helped him a lot.
But the enemy was attacking now.
With just 7,000 troops and eighteen tanks, Referand was at a major disadvantage. An estimated 20,000 Zicom troops and, at the most, 100 Predator tanks, were attacking his force. Just 3,000 Brothers troops had survived the encounters since the volunteers' arrival in the war.
Outnumbered two-to-one. Not a good position at all.
Then thundering in the distance was the Archangel tank line, the tanks placed closest to the enemy, due to their short range. They were dug in as deep as possible. But instead of hearing a second salvo, he heard nothing but gunfire.
Then coming over the crest of a large slope were eighteen of the remaining Archangel tanks, charging at an incredible speed toward the next part of the large yet not-so-steep hill his defenses were located on.
"What the hell..."
And behind the Archangels came the mass, the enemy he expected, thousands of Zicom infantry charging the slope, followed by dozens of their Predator Mk. I tanks.
Not even glancing at his staff officer he spoke. "My staff car. Now."
The man didn't reply but immediately left his post and called for the general's car.
--*--
The trench was filled to the brim with the remaining volunteer infantry. They all sat there, waiting for the enemy to come closer, their yells and screams chilling all to the spine.
Referand shifted through the somewhat cramped quarters of the trenches. Artillery fire still rained down, dirt being flown everywhere, men screaming to be heard over the sounds of explosions.
The Archangels drew closer, firing sporadically into the following enemy, desperate attempts at scaring them away.
Referand stood on top of a crate. He had to inspire his men someway. Their morale was too low already.
"Men!" His yell was barely heard over the explosions. Every soldier in the trench that heard him - damn well near a thousand men - all turned toward him, listening intently. Behind him, the Archangel tanks drew closer still.
"There is no longer a comradeship between soldiers. This is a war of annihilation. If we are to survive this fight and return home to our mothers, our mothers, our wives... we must fight. These bastards have attack out allies, and they send their men to their suicide at out hands. But they believe it will end now. They believe that destroying us first will forces the volunteers out of the war, scare us from helping the Brothers at all." A pause, raising his arms to swipe at the air beside him. "Well then, I guess they're wrong."
The men cheered, and he continued. "They come, demanding territory, slaughtering our brothers and our comrades and our friends on the battlefield, the cowards they are. Before this, I respected Zicom. Now I think they are nothing more than cowards, all of them."
The men cheered again, anger in their eyes, so many watching their brethren die at the hands of their vicious enemy.
"This is the day we show them what we are made of. If we die here today, our families will know what to do. They will not back from the conflict. They will attack Zicom, and attack until they submit! We will invade their lands, we will burn their farms, we will take their guns, we shall kill their animals, we shall burn their parliament, we shall imprison their leader forever!"
A powerful cheer lit the men below him. Behind his back the Archangels were on the brink of crossing the trenchline.
"Men... comrades in arms... this is it." He turned, and his troops raised themselves as high as possible. He bellowed the words; "THIS IS IT!"
A deafening roar lit the trench as the men cheered their leader. They stood down as the tanks rushed over the trenches, and then they rose, poking their rifles over the lip of the defenses, and firing their weapons, the Brothers-issued Sta-52 LAR. Screams from the Zicom infantry filled the air, and the Archangels retaliated, and explosions took the place of where the Predators once rolled. Zicom troops fell in droves. Overhead, a single round from a YM-MP-01 hit an enemy aircraft. It lost control, crashed into another fighter, and the both locked together, plummeting to their ground until theywere engulfed in explosions.
As the Zicom infantry continued to fall en masse, Referand lead the charge. "Onward! We. Will. Show. Them. They. Are. WRONG!"
The men cheered yet again, another time, and then jumped the trench, running, recently-fixed bayonets gleaming in the suddenly-appearing sun, the men charing, screaming, and Referand charged, holding the banner high, the flag of the People's United Front waving strongly in the breeze.
The Zicom troops looked up, at the wave of enemy troops, and they broke. The remaining troops pulled back in horror and shock, the remaining Predator tanks exploding into oblivion, Archangel MBTs moving by swiftly, firing their cannons as the infantry shot the enemy troops in their backs.
And then the carnage was over. The sun was high now. And Referand looked on, his men cheering in ultimate triumph, the very recent Zicom attack on their sector pushed back, very possibly permanently.
And Referand stood on the remains of the Zicom fighter's wing, the engine, with holes all over, still attached to it's host.
He held the flag in his left hand and sang;
"When the flag is raised
the people will ask
the answer so craved
the unseen mask.
Until the past,
one man and his brothers
stood and cast
the shadow so many stand in.
And we shall sing
as the flag flies high
we shall abolish the king
and it will exist nigh.
A new age has come,
democracy will rule
monarchism will be shun
and the good shall rule."
And the men continued to cheer, victory theirs, the battle, one, patriotism and nationalism taking over, pure pride for country and for family.
--**--
Referand, as a result of his overhwhelming victory in pushing back the Zicom offensive in his sector, was promoted to Major General. But the House of Councilors looked at the casualties - a total of 9,000 of their own men (and women) had been killed as a result of the month-long volunteer assistance. Before reinforcements were sent the next day, the volunteers had come home, relieved of their special duties.
United Front troops would never again assist the Brothers in peacetime for a long time.
Leader of this division was then-Brigadier General Michael Referand, who graduated from the Juvian Military Academy fifth from his class of forty-five.
--**--
As another Zicom attack game, the thuds of artillery thundered through the air, impacting the ground, vibrating the very soil beneath General Referand's feet. His command post - a dozen tents planted in the ground half a mile from the frontline - was makeshift, too makeshift for his liking. His tanks hadn't been reinforced for the past month since they first arrived - eighteen of his original twenty-five Archangel tanks remained.
The arrival of the Brothers' new Nautilus all-terrain tank had been of great benefit and relief of the effort in this sector of the war. Had they not arrived so soon, the continuous waves of Zicom tanks would've completely crushed Referand's miniature tank squadron.
And not only that, but tomorrow was the day new reinforcements were to be shipped to his division of volunteers. Just a day eariler would've helped him a lot.
But the enemy was attacking now.
With just 7,000 troops and eighteen tanks, Referand was at a major disadvantage. An estimated 20,000 Zicom troops and, at the most, 100 Predator tanks, were attacking his force. Just 3,000 Brothers troops had survived the encounters since the volunteers' arrival in the war.
Outnumbered two-to-one. Not a good position at all.
Then thundering in the distance was the Archangel tank line, the tanks placed closest to the enemy, due to their short range. They were dug in as deep as possible. But instead of hearing a second salvo, he heard nothing but gunfire.
Then coming over the crest of a large slope were eighteen of the remaining Archangel tanks, charging at an incredible speed toward the next part of the large yet not-so-steep hill his defenses were located on.
"What the hell..."
And behind the Archangels came the mass, the enemy he expected, thousands of Zicom infantry charging the slope, followed by dozens of their Predator Mk. I tanks.
Not even glancing at his staff officer he spoke. "My staff car. Now."
The man didn't reply but immediately left his post and called for the general's car.
--*--
The trench was filled to the brim with the remaining volunteer infantry. They all sat there, waiting for the enemy to come closer, their yells and screams chilling all to the spine.
Referand shifted through the somewhat cramped quarters of the trenches. Artillery fire still rained down, dirt being flown everywhere, men screaming to be heard over the sounds of explosions.
The Archangels drew closer, firing sporadically into the following enemy, desperate attempts at scaring them away.
Referand stood on top of a crate. He had to inspire his men someway. Their morale was too low already.
"Men!" His yell was barely heard over the explosions. Every soldier in the trench that heard him - damn well near a thousand men - all turned toward him, listening intently. Behind him, the Archangel tanks drew closer still.
"There is no longer a comradeship between soldiers. This is a war of annihilation. If we are to survive this fight and return home to our mothers, our mothers, our wives... we must fight. These bastards have attack out allies, and they send their men to their suicide at out hands. But they believe it will end now. They believe that destroying us first will forces the volunteers out of the war, scare us from helping the Brothers at all." A pause, raising his arms to swipe at the air beside him. "Well then, I guess they're wrong."
The men cheered, and he continued. "They come, demanding territory, slaughtering our brothers and our comrades and our friends on the battlefield, the cowards they are. Before this, I respected Zicom. Now I think they are nothing more than cowards, all of them."
The men cheered again, anger in their eyes, so many watching their brethren die at the hands of their vicious enemy.
"This is the day we show them what we are made of. If we die here today, our families will know what to do. They will not back from the conflict. They will attack Zicom, and attack until they submit! We will invade their lands, we will burn their farms, we will take their guns, we shall kill their animals, we shall burn their parliament, we shall imprison their leader forever!"
A powerful cheer lit the men below him. Behind his back the Archangels were on the brink of crossing the trenchline.
"Men... comrades in arms... this is it." He turned, and his troops raised themselves as high as possible. He bellowed the words; "THIS IS IT!"
A deafening roar lit the trench as the men cheered their leader. They stood down as the tanks rushed over the trenches, and then they rose, poking their rifles over the lip of the defenses, and firing their weapons, the Brothers-issued Sta-52 LAR. Screams from the Zicom infantry filled the air, and the Archangels retaliated, and explosions took the place of where the Predators once rolled. Zicom troops fell in droves. Overhead, a single round from a YM-MP-01 hit an enemy aircraft. It lost control, crashed into another fighter, and the both locked together, plummeting to their ground until theywere engulfed in explosions.
As the Zicom infantry continued to fall en masse, Referand lead the charge. "Onward! We. Will. Show. Them. They. Are. WRONG!"
The men cheered yet again, another time, and then jumped the trench, running, recently-fixed bayonets gleaming in the suddenly-appearing sun, the men charing, screaming, and Referand charged, holding the banner high, the flag of the People's United Front waving strongly in the breeze.
The Zicom troops looked up, at the wave of enemy troops, and they broke. The remaining troops pulled back in horror and shock, the remaining Predator tanks exploding into oblivion, Archangel MBTs moving by swiftly, firing their cannons as the infantry shot the enemy troops in their backs.
And then the carnage was over. The sun was high now. And Referand looked on, his men cheering in ultimate triumph, the very recent Zicom attack on their sector pushed back, very possibly permanently.
And Referand stood on the remains of the Zicom fighter's wing, the engine, with holes all over, still attached to it's host.
He held the flag in his left hand and sang;
"When the flag is raised
the people will ask
the answer so craved
the unseen mask.
Until the past,
one man and his brothers
stood and cast
the shadow so many stand in.
And we shall sing
as the flag flies high
we shall abolish the king
and it will exist nigh.
A new age has come,
democracy will rule
monarchism will be shun
and the good shall rule."
And the men continued to cheer, victory theirs, the battle, one, patriotism and nationalism taking over, pure pride for country and for family.
--**--
Referand, as a result of his overhwhelming victory in pushing back the Zicom offensive in his sector, was promoted to Major General. But the House of Councilors looked at the casualties - a total of 9,000 of their own men (and women) had been killed as a result of the month-long volunteer assistance. Before reinforcements were sent the next day, the volunteers had come home, relieved of their special duties.
United Front troops would never again assist the Brothers in peacetime for a long time.
Militerized AI Veterens
