Fourth Vector Ch. 11

As Jeffries was pulled away to be attended to, another marine was able to climb up the narrow rock face of the nearby ledge while his comrades covered his ascent. As soon as he reached the top, he looked down at the rest of them. "We have three bodies up here. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Throw them down here," said Greg. "Let's get a look at the bastards."

The marine picked up the first body and heaved it over the ledge, landing with barely any noise as it rolled over a few times in the sand below. He did the same thing with the other two bodies before scampering down the ledge once more.

"Looks like thoseMuthada guys we saw a couple days ago," said Greg as he bent down to inspect the bodies. They were clothed in the same manner as the first tribe they'd encountered, and Jack had no doubt they had probably looked upon the soldiers on their way to see the clan chief.

"So now we have theMuthada making moves against our rear while theNumratha pulls us deeper into the country," said Jack. "Sounds like a trap."

"Agreed. Do you want the rest of the platoons to come out?"

"Yes, send them all. I have a feeling we'll need them. We need to pick up the pace as soon as we can. The quicker we reach theNumratha, the quicker we can recover Kat."

"Those bows of theirs may be deadlier than we expected. It went clear through the leg of Jeffries and left a nasty little exit wound," said Greg. "I have a feeling it'll be a long time before he walks again."

"Make sure the men know what they're up against. We still have quite an advantage in weaponry but the further inland we get, the more the terrain will suit the enemy, potentially leading to ambush sites. We need to be careful." Jack then took a deep breath and searched the terrain behind him. Seeing something that caught his eye, he brought his binoculars back up to his face and watched as several Andalucians appeared in the distance behind them.

"I can see them there, along that ridge," said Jack, pointing the way to Greg. "They are following the same path as we did. They look to be a good half a day behind us so it's possible this skirmish was with their scouts."

"They must have started moving as soon as we left their camp to be this close to us. That was a quick decision for them to get moving so soon."

"And with theNumratha moving as well, something about this feels too coordinated to me," said Jack. "I think we should consider the possibility that both clans may be working together."

"And if they are? When are we to do then? Especially if they decide to press an attack?"

"We hold them off as best we can. Last I checked, there were still only a few hundred warriors at theMuthada camp. I'm sure six platoons of marines can hold them off for that long, especially in this kind of terrain."

"That's just theMuthada though, Jack. We have no idea what kind of numbers theNumratha have. Or if there may be others joining in on the attack."

"We're not too far out from the coast, so hopefully we can get the rest of the platoons here in a hurry. Perhaps when they fall in behind theMuthada, we might be able to scare them off our trail so we can focus on theNumratha."

Greg started to nod. "It's the best shot we have. Come on, let's tell the rest of the platoons what we're up against. I don't want anyone else getting surprised by a shot to the leg."

The two men moved quickly ahead, stopping to talk with each platoon as they made their way to the front of the column once more. It was near three o'clock in the afternoon when they received another report from the scouts in front of the column that brought more troubling news.

"Sir, the dust cloud that we've been following from the clan in front of us has all but dissipated," said the marine scout to Greg and Jack.

"Where the hell did they go? It's not like they could've just vanished into thin air?" yelled Greg.

"We're still looking, sir, but it's possible the terrain may be different up ahead or perhaps the clan has stopped."

"Why would they stop if we're hot on their tracks?" asked Jack. "We've been gaining on them for hours now."

"Nothing that happens in this country makes sense," said Greg before turning to the marine. "What's the terrain like just on ahead of the forward position?"

"Still hilly and rocky. Not as much sand as on the coast but still jagged country to fight in."

"It won't be the easiest country to attack in either," said Greg. "Terrain of such quality will lend a considerable advantage to a defender, should they choose to attack us."

"Let's keep moving. Everyone needs to keep on high alert. Especially in a country that we know little of," said Jack.

The first sign of serious trouble came about a half hour later. The entire group of Javans had climbed to the summit of another plateau, high above the rest of the country. This area of Andalucia was part of a rocky spine that bisected the country and ran all the way to the sea in a northeasterly direction. Along the sides of the plateau, sheer faces and steep cliffs allowed for only one possible passage through the desolate country.

It was only as the front platoon started down the path on the other side that they ran into an ambush from theNumratha, finally giving reason for the lack of dust clouds on the path in front of them. At some point, they had stopped and arrayed themselves into positions for an attack, their warriors springing forth from the rock to let loose an onslaught of arrows on the front ranks.

The position they were in was extremely precarious—the descending slope from the plateau too exposed to mount a proper defense. As the arrows began to fall upon them, Jack and Greg yelled for them to pull back to the top of the plateau, where they would have a better chance at defense.

"Pull back now! Get back to the top where we can rain down fire on these bastards," roared Greg as squad after squad executed a fighting retreat as men started to fall close to the attackingNumratha.

"Come on, Vera," yelled Jack as he tried his best to shelter the blonde woman from the storm of arrows. "Stay next to me and keep yourself low to the ground!"

Next to him, Abigail hurriedly fired her service pistol as she backed her way up the plateau. In front of them, theNumratha hurriedly rushed forward, feeling brave enough to push forward their attack at the sight of a temporarily retreating enemy. The bravest of them were mowed down near the top of the plateau as several of the squads that had set up first proved to be in the best position to offer covering fire for anyone else still struggling up the plateau.

For himself, Jack found a decent-sized rock to shelter Vera and Abigail behind before he was able to offer supporting fire himself. Yet, the slow trickle of braveNumratha who kept charging up the hill soon turned into a full-fledged flood as over two hundred warriors pushed up on a position occupied by only thirty men. The flashes of muzzles were constant, the noise deafening, and the war cry of the Andalucians unrelenting as the battle raged in front of them.

Jack kept up the steady fire as some elements of the middle platoon soon joined them, finding their own cover and managing to push theNumratha back down the slope for the first time. It was at that moment, when triumph should have been near, that Jack received terrible news.

"Sir, we're under attack behind us as well!" said a marine who had just rushed over to Jack, crouching down beside him. Jack looked at the man, recognizing him from one of the squads that had the wounded man from earlier.

"We're under attack in front of us too, marine!" said Jack before getting off a few more bursts.

"You don't understand, sir! They are going to break through in the rear! We've taken heavy casualties so far and we need more men to hold the top of the plateau!"

"Shit," swore Jack, looking back behind him. He could already see the blasts of the muzzles as the rear platoon fought off the attackingMuthada from the other side. It was a good plan and for the first time, he could see the deception of both clans working together to attack on two fronts, with only his men in the middle.

However, with the situation not being so dire in the front, Jack could mount a rescue in the rear. "Okay, second platoon on me! The situation to our rear is precarious, so follow me and let's help our comrades!"

Jack left Vera and Abigail with Greg and the rest of the front platoon as he rushed about with the second to come to the aid of the rear. The short journey to the other side of the plateau felt like it took hours to cross as the sounds of gunfire grew louder still. By the rapid bursts of fire, he could tell the action here was much thicker than at the front.

Finally, he reached the edge of the plateau and looked down only to see several hundred warriors of theMuthada, nearly their entire force, attacking up the other slope of the plateau. Jack picked a suitable rock to shield behind, opening up with short bursts of fire as they began to mow the attackers down. Even with the added firepower, it was still a tense situation and theMuthada were not so easily pushed back down the hill.

If it was even possible, their war cries grew louder, and when joined with the shrieks of men struck down by bullet or arrow, it made for quite the maddening sound as the battle raged back and forth. At one point, it looked like theMuthada would push them back across the length of the plateau, so strong was their grasp of the summit right near the slope. It was only the trained accuracy and the cool heads of the marines that they were able to steadily push them back down again. Soon enough, they began to retreat, pulling back down the slope in a measured retreat.

"They're pulling back, sir!" yelled the marine at his side. "We're winning!"

"They're pulling backfor now," corrected Jack. "It doesn't mean they won't try again. Especially if they think they have numbers on their side."

The marine turned to look behind them to the front of their column. "It sounds like the battle is picking up at the front again!"

Jack turned to look and sure enough the sounds of gunfire and the sight of muzzle blasts soon caught his attention. The attacks were relentless, and despite how many of them they killed, the Andalucians kept pressing the attack.

Jack turned back to the marine and the rest of his squad nearby. "You men, come with me. The rest of the platoon stays here in case theMuthada launch another attempt. Send a runner to find me or Major Vaughn should that happen. We need to come to the aid of the front!"

Sprinting once again, Jack led the team of four men back across the plateau. The middle part of the landscape now was filled with the wounded, most of them limping or crawling away from danger to get a respite from the battle.Jack grimaced as he saw a good many of them completely riddled with arrows, their still bodies long since having stopped breathing. It was a terrible way to go.

Reaching the front of the column from a renewed attack by theNumratha with a concentrated portion of their numbers. Seemingly a much larger clan than theMuthada, theNumratha warriors pushed forward with reckless aggression and complete disregard for injury or death. They attacked like men possessed, scarcely letting one wound prevent them charging up the slope.

The battle seemed to be at its most precarious portion as Jack and the reinforcements arrived. Jack took the same spot he had before, seeing a relieved look on Abigail's face as she saw him come back and begin to pour lead into the attackers. A short period of rapid fire evolved afterward as several of theNumratha got close enough to try to engage with their short swords. After several close calls, including one where Jack downed an attacker only five feet in front of his position, the attack started to lose strength. As the bodies of the Andalucians started to pile up along the slope of the plateau, the attackers found it harder and harder to keep the attacked pressed forward with the same momentum. Soon enough, it all but fell apart.

"I think we're finally pushing them back," said Abigail as she fired a few more shots at the backs of theNumratha as they started down the slope.

Unfortunately, it seemed that as theNumratha started to melt away, several of the squads of marines near the front soon started to follow in their wake. Jack watched as two squads in particular emerged from behind their positions and started to press forward, hoping to chase what was left of the Andalucian clan all the way back to their starting positions.

Jack moved out from behind his rock to find Greg, who was taking care of a wounded man just ten feet away.

"You've got a few squads pressing forward back down the slope. We shouldn't let those men get too far ahead."

Greg started to nod. "Agreed. I wouldn't put it past those bastards to fake a retreat just to turn on any of our boys that start to go after them. Come on, let's pull them back."

After leaving the wounded man in another marine's care, the two men quickly dashed down the slope, carefully stepping over the remains of theNumratha warriors and the few Javans that didn't make it up the slope when the battle began. In front of them, about seven men were still giving chase after the retreating warriors, and Greg soon sounded a whistle to get their attention.

"Pull back! Stop attacking them and pull back to the camp!"

The men stopped in their tracks, their eagerness to keep up the attack still evident on their faces. Only with reluctance did they come back to Greg. "But, sir, we've got them on the run! They're retreating! Let's keep going and end this right here and now!"

Greg shook his head. "We're too few in number to put up an accurate chase right now, and we have too many wounded that need attention. My worry is that they might turn on us once we're off this plateau and then they can crush us with their superior numbers. The safe position right now is to wait on the plateau for reinforcements."

The man in front wanted to argue but knew better. He tried to plead with his commander instead. "But, sir, too many men have died today to let them get away. We can't just let them run after such an attack."

Greg put his hand on the marine's shoulder. "There will be plenty of time for retribution. This whole country seems to not like us. Let's tend to our wounded brothers first, get some fresh troops in our lines, and then we can keep moving. We don't intend to let these assholes just melt into the terrain without getting their comeuppance."

The marine nodded his head only reluctantly. He was a young man, prone to hotheadedness and didn't like being asked to give up the attack so easily. Jack could sympathize with the man. It wasn't too long ago that he had a very similar mentality when it came to battle.

As Jack and Greg brought the two squads back to the top of the slope, they went about setting a defensive perimeter should the clans get any further ideas about pressing another attack. Then it was time to take care of the wounded. Out of eighty-one marines that had engaged the Andalucian clans, only sixty-two were left standing without wounds. Twelve of those casualties were dead and the other seven wounded. Yet as grievous as their casualties were, it was nothing compared to that of the enemy.

"I just got word of the count of bodies," said Greg about an hour later once dusk was quickly approaching. "Nearly three hundred dead at the front of the column, which would be theNumratha warriors. At the rear, about a hundred-eighty."

Jack let out a low whistle. "A heavy price to pay with little to show for it. For theMuthada especially, that's nearly forty percent of their entire warrior force."

"They'll be hurting moving forward, that's for sure," said Greg. "Even if we don't know the true count of theNumratha, I would think they wouldn't repeat such a deadly attack again. But we'll have to see what happens."

"I'll feel better once our reinforcements arrive," said Jack before turning once again to the mound of the dead. "Were we able to capture any of the Andalucians alive?"

"Just a few actually. Our boys know how to take them down so we only have a small handful of the enemy that are still alive," said Greg. "Come over here to see them."

Greg led him to a small portion of the cliff where only those Andalucians that were still alive were getting some attention. Many of them had grievous wounds, and Jack was sure a good portion of them wouldn't live to see tomorrow. One man even had a completely severed leg although how that happened, Jack had no idea. Most of them seemed reluctant to even acknowledge the presence of the Javans, even while receiving medical care.

"My name is Commander Jack Easterbrook," said Jack to the wounded men. "I'm in charge of this force that you attacked today. Are all of you men part of either theNumratha orMuthada clans?"

As he expected, they didn't answer him. Several of them were too wounded to care, more concerned with staying alive than responding to questions. A few of them scoffed at Jack's words, turning their attention elsewhere. Only a couple of men looked like they were ready to talk, and it was to them that Jack focused his attention next.

"We don't know why you attacked us," he said while looking at those few men. "We are foreigners to your country, and we're trying to figure out where one of our friends is, someone we believe is with theNumratha clan. Why did you attack us?"

"Because our clan chief told us to," said one man simply, who had been wounded in the arm. It must have been a severe wound because it was already bleeding through the bandage that had been applied just a short time ago.

"And why was that? What purpose does it serve your clan chief to attack us?"

"Because theMuthada requested it," the Andalucian responded. "TheNumratha and theMuthada have a blood alliance. That means they will fight and die together. Whatever you did must have pissed off theMuthada. They sent word to us to lead you into the mountains so we could eliminate you at once."

Jack shook his head. "All we did was stop to offer a prayer of good fortune. How could that have pissed anyone off?"

The captive warrior shrugged his single, unwounded shoulder without offering any further words. It was Greg that turned to Jack next. "Perhaps our Swabian friend had something to do with this?"

"The envoy?" asked Jack. "Yes, that very well could be. This is somewhat worse than I thought though. Now that both clans are hostile to us, we're going to have to constantly be on guard our entire time in this country."

Greg nodded and turned to address the wounded man once more. "You there. How do you end a blood alliance? What would stop them from attacking us?"

The soldier blinked at them. "Blood alliances are sealed with the blood of the clan chiefs. The only way they end is when the clan chiefs are dead."

"Well, I guess that answers that question," said Greg. "It looks like we have to keep going until we kill both of them."

Jack grimaced at the thought. The longer they stayed in Andalucia, the muddier things were getting.

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For once, Admiral Bancroft was in a fine mood. It was still early enough in the morning that not many people were out in the Javan capitol city of Belfort. The shuffle of his boots against the pavement was one of the only sounds as he strolled along the quiet streets on his way to the Admiralty. Checking in like he usually did, he made his way to his office and closed the door behind him.