Fourth Vector Ch. 30

Trevor ran again to the right flank to find Nina in a similar scenario as Zach. After giving her the same instructions, he ran back to his lines, all the while wishing he could use his radio (fear of the Javans overhearing prevented him from doing so during battle). At the designated hour, the battle resumed.

This time, pressure went forward on all parts of the Javan defensive line. Trevor's men all moved further to their left, trying to get around the Javan defenders. Their rear was lightly defended and as the men rushed back up the hill, the going became easier.

The mortars and machine gun activity never ceased. One mortar came down too close for comfort to Trevor. It knocked him off his feet, and for a moment, he feared the worst. Slightly dazed, one of the men came to his aid to make sure he was all right.

"Are you hurt, sir?" asked the Tyrolean man kneeling next to him.

Trevor shook his head as the ringing in his ears continued. It took him an extra moment to get his bearings but he was on his feet sooner than expected.

The carnage at the top of the hill continued. This time, the Javans were feeling the same pressure, and Trevor could spot several of their bodies hunched over and lifeless.

The attack was working but Trevor had to wonder at what cost it would demand when the shooting was all over.

It ended more quickly than anyone could have predicted. With Trevor's men having made it to the flat summit, the Javan defenders abruptly broke. Their fear of being surrounded deep in enemy territory won out over their training and that was when the real slaughter began. Many of them were shot in their backs as they tried to get away. A true encirclement was never achieved though as pressure was released on the center and right flanks, enabling them to find an avenue to break out from.

Trevor estimated that no more than fifty of them were still able to move on their own strength at the end of the day, with most of the casualties coming after the line broke.

Their own side wasn't doing much better. Of the four hundred men who started the attack on the left flank, Trevor was down to two hundred and forty-six—a forty percent casualty rate. The majority of those men perished in the first wave of the attack when they tried to make their way up the hill against the fortified position. Among the dead were many that Trevor knew, almost all of them being from Amboy. He'd gone to school with them, gone to war with them, and now their bodies would return to Tyrolean soil.

The least surprising news of the day was the death of Reese Bach. His body was found amongst the men that refused to regroup on the side of the hill. Their bodies were riddled with bullets. From the entry wounds on Reese's body, it was obvious he tried to charge up the hill on his own, as if his own aura would prevent him from being hit.

Despite their falling out toward the end, Trevor took Reese's death hard. He was a reliable man, and when his twin brother was still alive, they were a few of Trevor's closest friends in Amboy. Even so, the death of Owen Bach could eventually be attributed as the cause of death for Reese. Something changed in Reese that day, and he hadn't been himself ever since. Perhaps it was some kind of mercy that he died today.

He could now be with his brother once again.

With the Javans having taken flight, Trevor directed several small groups to attempt to pick them off while the survivors moved back to the fortress to lick their wounds. It would be a few days' journey until they arrived, but since there were still hostile forces in the area, Trevor picked a new campsite for that evening.

The camp that night wasn't as rowdy as it usually was. There were those that were happy to be alive, but most of them were confined to the men that occupied the center and right flanks where casualties were relatively light. Those from Amboy that had been on the left flank were a quiet lot, no doubt mourning their fallen brethren and finding places they could bury the bodies.

That mourning hit Trevor harder than he expected. Once the adrenaline of battle had largely worn off, he stayed in his tent that evening, not bothering with his usual fire or even with dinner.

He should have expected that he would have a visitor. He could almost smell her before she arrived, Nina's pleasing scent drifting into his tent before she even spoke a single word.

She took one look at him once the flap was pulled back and something inside her softened instantly. Trevor had been sitting on the ground, his hands on his knees, and with a hollow look on his face. Wordlessly, she approached his side and sat down.

After a silence of a few moments, she finally spoke. "Are you okay?"

"No," he answered honestly. "No, I'm not."

Nina nodded. "Is there anything I can say that would make it better?"

He shook his head. "Too many men are dead tonight because of me. Too many friends. Too many good ones from Amboy are laying in fresh graves right now."

"That's not your fault," she said softly, putting her hand against his thigh.

Trevor turned to look at her. As their eyes met, a tear fell down his cheek. "It's always my fault. They were my men and now they're dead. I'm the one that has to answer for that, Nina."

He broke down completely. All the emotions at having buried friends today came rushing to the surface. He expected Nina to leave. Surely, she wouldn't stay here while he had his pathetic cry.

She did anything but. She put her arms around him and pulled him against her body. Her fingers slid through his hair and held him tightly against her bosom. It was an odd feeling for someone with such a fearsome reputation.

In moments like these, their humanity shined the brightest.

"I hate that things need to be this way," he said as his voice was muffled by her shirt. "All of our lives have changed forever. There will be no going back for any of us. We are always going to be shrouded by this carnage. And the longer this conflict goes on, the more of us that it'll take."

"It won't take all of us," she said soothingly. "As long as Tyrol is willing to fight with us, we'll carry that banner."

"Maybe someone else should lead them," Trevor muttered.

"What?" she asked. "How can you say that?"

He pulled away. "Because I had over a hundred and fifty of my men butchered today. All because we didn't recognize their flank extended further than it did. Why did they have to die for that reason?"

"You can't blame yourself for that," she said with a shake of her head. "That's how things are in battle. You do the best you can with the intel that you have and sometimes it's not good enough. We still won today, Trevor. We achieved our objective which was destroying that battalion."

"And we did so at such cost," he said bitterly. "A real leader would've found another way to win without so much death. They would have been able to reel in men like Reese Bach who—"

"Who got what he had coming to him," finished Nina. "Don't feel sorry for men like Reese Bach. He made his bed and now he's laying in it. Anyone else would have faced the same situation with him."

"I can't even dislike him in death now, Nina. We went too far back for me to remember him as he was at the very end."

"Then don't think about him any longer than you need to," she said softly. "Think of nothing, Trevor. Clear your mind. That's ultimately why you're the one in charge here. You may not think much of your leadership but it was your plan and your actions that gave us a victory today. You took a ragtag army and led them to victory over seasoned Javan marines. There's not many in the world who can say that."

"Even if I still think I'm fooling myself by being here?"

Nina smiled. "You're fooling no one. You're the best man to lead this army. In fact, you're one of the best men I've ever met. You're strong and wise and tough but inside here, you have the true heart of a leader." She touched his chest for emphasis.

In doing so, Trevor couldn't help but notice her roaming hand. She wasn't content to just let it rest over his heart. Her fingers gently raked the front of his body. When Trevor looked at her face, she was breathing heavily.

When they made eye contact, he felt the incredible tension between the two of them.

Her face inched closer to his.

"Nina," he warned, knowing that if she kept pressing forward he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

"Trevor," she whispered in return.

He blinked several times. "I thought this couldn't happen?"

She shook her head. "No more. I'm done resisting."

Before he could ask her what she was resisting, she pressed forward and connected her lips with his. For the first time in months, pleasure flooded into his body. The softness of Nina's lips and the incredible scent of her body overwhelmed his senses. His hands went flying around her as she repeated the same motion. Their bodies leaned over toward the ground in excitement as each sought a kiss that would never stop.

For Trevor, it was nothing short of explosive. The stresses and adrenaline of the day finally combined with the long repressed passion he had for the brunette general. All of those lingering stares and unanswered looks came rushing forward. Even Nina's hunger seemed to know no bounds. Her hands were making their way all across his body, quickly determining that they were way too overdressed for good comfort.

As Trevor kicked the flap firmly closed, they both sought out each other. In short order, he managed to remove her top, letting her bosom free. They looked even more impressive than they did in her tight shirts, and Nina's large bust attracted the attention of his mouth from the get-go.

"Yes, please," she whimpered as he teased her nipple with his tongue. "Don't stop, Trevor."

He heeded her pleasure-seeking cries and paid apt attention to her sensitive nubs before moving lower, kissing her abdomen and yanking her trousers down. In what pale light he had available, he was finally able to feast his eyes on Nina's body, something that had haunted his dreams since the day he met her.

She was close to flawless. She was so perfect that even her imperfections were so. She had a beauty mark on her inner thigh but even it invited a kiss from his lips until he was able to feast on her source of heat.

Nina moaned so loudly that they had to stop for a moment lest they attract the attention of the rest of the camp. She grabbed his shirt and used it to muffle her sounds as he went to work. She tasted delicious, like a sweet and tangy nectar that he couldn't get enough of. She was so sweet that he continued to eat until her first orgasm when she put that shirt to good use.

When her recovery was over, she couldn't get him undressed fast enough. Despite the ground being hard and greatly uncomfortable, she released his manhood and pulled him down on top of her. The tip of his cock nudged against her wet opening as he looked down into her eyes.

"Put it in me," she whispered, her eyes full of certainty.

Nina gasped once the tip sought entrance and her fingernails gripped into his back as he pressed all the way inside. Her body was incredibly welcoming, and she was as wet as her skin was soft. Her mouth sought his as he bottomed out, joining what was once two into one.

"Do you think we can do this the whole way without being caught?" she asked him with a coy smile.

"I'm willing to try as long as you are," he replied.

She gave her answer by thrusting her hips against him. Trevor withdrew his hips and then surged forward, making her mouth drop open.

While being no stranger to the pleasures of women, it was one of the most intense sexual encounters he'd ever had. Nina's body seemed to be tailor-made to respond to his own. Their thrusting was effortless and they enjoyed a natural cadence. Her lips melded into his and her tongue was very active in seeking out its counterpart. The best part about coupling with Nina was seeing the look in her eyes. It was obvious how much she wanted this, and he found himself questioning how he could have ever doubted that she didn't feel the tension between them.

She left him no doubt now.

Her body seized into another orgasm as the space between their bodies was coated with a fire-hot gush of juices. She muffled herself by latching onto his mouth, moaning into his and not releasing until her body was itching to resume its previous pace.

It was a pace that was vigorous and intense, and one that Trevor knew he wouldn't be able to keep up for very long. Nina seemed to sense this and for the last few minutes, their hips moved in a lightning blur of activity. It proved too much for Trevor and he soon felt the sudden urge deep within his body. He tried to pull back from her but Nina's legs quickly locked around his waist, keeping him buried within her body.

"Stay here," she moaned, her message clear. "I need you."

He wasn't sure if it was the implication of her words or the words themselves but his orgasm triggered in that moment. Rope after rope of pent-up frustration poured out of his body and into hers, all the while Nina cooed and moaned with delight.

She kissed him tenderly once it was done and she giggled when his softening cock slipped from her body.

"Goodness Trevor, how long has it been?" she asked while attempting to stem the flow from her opening.

"It's been a little while," he admitted with an embarrassed smile.

"I'll say!" Nina swiped a finger of his cum and tasted it. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head while she sucked her finger clean. "I think I could get used to this."

He couldn't help but look back with astonishment. "What happened just now? Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this but you told me that this couldn't be. What changed?"

Nina's face turned more serious as she contemplated his words. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts.

"You're not the only one that shoulders the burden of this army," she answered quietly. "I carry it with me as well, especially for those that initially called me leader, those men from Bushing. I thought getting involved with you might be seen as some kind of dereliction of that duty. In some way, I thought it would be doing the wrong thing and the men wouldn't take me seriously any more."

Trevor nodded, understanding her motivations. "So what changed?"

Nina smiled at him. "I'm not sure. There was something about seeing you just now, seeing how greatly you held yourself accountable for this army. You share the same feelings as I do, if not more so. I think I might have underestimated you before. Now I think I see you fully as you're meant to be seen."

"How is that?"

Nina sat up and kissed him. "You're the leader of this army. Everyone in this camp would march on Belfort itself if you asked them to. But you're not just the leader. You share the hardships with your men. You eat what they eat. You feel their pains and their passions. And lastly, you grieve with them as if it was your own children that died. You're no armchair general, Trevor. You're a true leader of men."

Nina let out a small laugh. "And there's something about that I find very, very sexy."

Trevor chuckled. "So what you're saying is that this isn't going to be a one-time thing?"

She tilted her head to one side. "I'm not going to answer that right now. I might just leave you hanging so you don't get too sure of yourself."

"Oh, that's just cruel, Nina."

She giggled and then kissed him again. "Well, I do have a reputation to maintain after all!"

*****

The smell of burning flesh never really got easier to handle. It was always pungent to the nose, a smell borne out of devastation and decomposition. It stung the nostrils in such a way that had no comparison. Yet everywhere the marines under Major Roland Smart went, it followed them like a steady companion.

It visited those small and formerly quaint mountain towns like a ghostly specter. Roland's flying battalion wrecked devastation on every Tyrolean town they entered. The names of such towns were important at first but they quickly all started to look the same way after repeated conquests. They were all laid out in the same way, held the same people, and protested the occupation in the same manner.

The people died in just the same manner as well.

It was cruel work, and one that was ordinarily well removed from the rules of engagement for Javan marines. Such death and destruction was usually not permitted, but the marine regiments had their rule book thrown out the window when Admiral Bancroft took charge of the operation. He allowed them the furthest possible latitude for bringing the Tyrolean revolt under wraps, and it was within this margin that Roland did all his work.

"Please, I have a family," cried one young mother as Roland and two other men entered her house. It was ramshackle like all Tyrolean dwellings.

"I'm no rebel and I have children that need me," she pleaded.

Roland shook his head. "They are already dead," he informed her calmly, something that made her scream out in despair. "And in a minute, you will join them."

He gave the signal and the two marines with him raised their weapons. Two shots entered the young Tyrolean woman's body and her screaming abruptly stopped. One of them took some food from the counter and ate it, while Roland and the other moved out of the house. The street was full of the same scenes playing out in the scale of hundreds as the entire town was put to death and the buildings set to the flame.

It was warfare at its cruelest and most base level, but Roland had no illusions things would be any different if the shoe was on the other foot. The Tyroleans were just as ruthless with captured marines, and even in their engagements, they frequently targeted officers as much as they could to deal the most amount of calamity to the existing structure.

Just this morning, Roland received a report of the near wipeout of another Javan battalion just two days before. They had been surrounded by Tyrolean rebels in the woods and attacked. The most devastating part of that news was the engagement wasn't just a nightly raid where the Tyrolean rebels succeeded the most.

It had the makings of a pitched battle fought in the daytime.

The Tyroleans were getting more daring in their attacks, which told Roland that they had numbers on their side. The rebels were turning into an army which made his work all the more valuable.

An army couldn't be supported without supplies and aid from the countryside.

Roland would burn every last town he could find to deny that support to the enemy.

As most of the town was now ablaze and the smoldering flames of the burning bodies carried the scent downwind, Roland became aware of a new arrival into town. A full platoon of marines arrived which in itself wasn't that shocking. The smallest unit that was allowed to transit the Tyrolean countryside was a platoon, and in that, it was still a dangerous undertaking.

The lieutenant from that platoon was brought to Roland, no doubt directed by Roland's own men. The lieutenant would not have been able to find him by looking for the rank insignia, which had been removed by field officers that hoped to avoid an early grave from Tyrolean snipers.

"Major Roland Smart?" asked the lieutenant with a salute.

"You found him. What do you want?" asked Roland.

"Sir, Colonel Peterson was killed last night after doing a routine inspection," said the lieutenant.

Roland's mouth dropped. "Killed? How?"

"The colonel was inspecting a nearby town thought to have been pacified. A midwife managed to get close enough to him to sneak a steak knife into his stomach. He bled out in the early morning hours."

Roland raised an eyebrow. "Not quite a glorious death for the man. Imagine being sent to the grave because of a steak knife."