Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 83: Listen for the wind

Eric sat with Mia as the atmosphere around the command room was heavy. Every officer in the room knew what those mountains being gone meant. Furtive glances were exchanged as men and women looked back and forth from reports to each other. Pens scribbled on notepads, typing on keyboards filled the room like small drums playing in the background, and low murmurs were exchanged. Eric stood behind Mia, his hands on her shoulders as they waited for Milano. 6-8 had survived another encounter with the Cartharic Empire, but now that the birds could be shot down...

Everyone had one thought:

How long would it last? What was stopping the Empire from sending one million plus troops and plowing through everything to the coast?

Before Milano entered, Eric looked up at the S-2 section. "Has ISR detected forward movement? What is the situation at Esponia?"

The colonel Eric addressed narrowed his eyes. He was not used to a Master Sergeant addressing him like he was a subordinate, but he threw those thoughts aside.

"Currently, no forward movement has been detected. So far as we have discovered... There are signs that the empire forces we engaged were a small fraction of what they actually intend to attack us with. There are five Brios systems still operational. And they have twelve Air defense systems still operational."

Eric sighed as his hands rubbed Mia’s shoulders. He looked around the room, deep in thought.

"Bring Sarah and Ryan up here. We need all the information we can get."

There was a pause as the soldiers looked at Eric with confusion.

"Now!"

A lieutenant left the room, looking to follow Eric’s orders. Eric shook his head and looked around the room. "When Generals Milano or Miher are not here, I am the one to be giving orders. I do not like wasting words or time. If I give an order, it is usually for good reason. Ladies and gentlemen, keep that in mind when I give a directive."

After Eric finished addressing the room, Milano walked in. He noticed the tension in the atmosphere as he heard the last of Eric’s words. Milano shook his head. "Master Sergeant Dryer answers to me and me only. He has proven time and time again throughout this deployment that his decisions are based off of logic and doctrine. Who here is a former operator?"

No one raised their hands.

"Who here has a medal of honor?"

No one spoke.

"Then do as Master Sergeant Dryer says. From here on out, that is an order. If I find that Master Sergeant Dryer’s orders are not being followed again, the person in question will forfeit two weeks of pay and their pass to Riemskin will be revoked."

Murmurs were heard around the room as some dissenters wanted to speak up, but they stopped.

Eric then spoke up.

"Sir, I have ordered for Ryan and Sarah to be brought here. I think that their intel will be beneficial in dealing with this new capability the empire has pushed out."

Milano nodded.

"Good call. I have also informed the Carrier that all flights are currently halted. We will not risk further aircraft loss unless absolutely necessary."

Mia then walked up to the map, her eyes narrowing. "General Milano, the empire did not have the capability displayed in your earlier engagement one year ago. Their main Air Defense systems were used primarily in combat against Dragons. Based off of what we know from how they previously used Air defense, I think they will remain in place for a few weeks if not months. They will not move forward until the main body of the Army claims more land."

Milano looked up, his eyebrows arching.

"A siege?"

Her ears twitched."Yes sir. A siege."

The room temperature seemed to plummet after her confirmation. No one spoke as they looked at the map.

"This is impossible." A lieutenant said as he slumped in his chair. "Without those mountains...."

Eric walked over and smacked the Lieutenant’s desk. "Snap out of it."

He stood in the middle of the room. "Yes, it is true that we will not survive a force on force conventional fight. But who says we have to do that? Gentlemen, its time to pull out some old doctrine that will give them hell. Every blade of grass they earn outside of Esponia must be earned.

"Sir, have you ever read about D-day? Its an interesting read. The tactics shown there wouldn’t work in a modern military environment...

But here?

I think we can use some of the tactics shown from back then."

The S-4 NCOIC spoke up. "Master Sergeant? While I agree that elevated fighting positions and kill boxes are the way to go, we do not have the mines or other supplies needed to fund such an operation."

Eric groaned. "What is the mine count, and how much of a stockpile do we have on C-4, barricades, and ammunition for the tanks?"

The NCOIC checked his notes.

"We currently have one thousand mines, two thousand units of C-4..."

"But only five hundred sabot and heat rounds in reserve."

Eric groaned as he looked towards Milano. "Sir, I think it is time we pay ’him’ a visit."

Mia smirked as she looked up at Eric. She didn’t say anything as the image of a maid flashed in her head. She loved the look of seeing that woman’s face when she saw Mia and Eric together holding Liara.

Eric noticed Mia’s smirk, but decided not to comment on it. His sanity and whether he slept on the couch or not depended on it.

Milano noticed the exchange and chuckled inwardly. "Very well. Go to Jonny’s warehouse. Purchase what is necessary. As for the rest of you."

The General began setting out orders. "We will set up a perimeter defense outside of Esponia. We will have fifty square miles to cover and track. We cannot let the Empire push towards either Hoover Dam, Vegas, or Austin. 6-8 units will cover East, 4-1 will cover west. We will funnel them into kill boxes."

He turned to Mia. "How long do you expect them to prepare before crossing the mountains?"

She paused, studying some notes she had on hand. "Sir, I think the minimum time would be roughly one month. Realistically, they will wait two to three months. They will likely consolidate forces and bring more Brios cannons. It is also believed they are working on a new production line of Llrathels. My contacts on that side informed me that Heith has been seen entering and exiting their main Llrathel facility."

When she finished speaking, Eric and Milano shared a glance. "Main facility? They only have one?"

Mia nodded. "That we are aware of. The Llrathels are a recent invention, only coming into the fray as recently as two years ago. We attributed it to a summoning that they did. One of the heroes brought the knowledge necessary to build the machines. But, that is simply just a rumor so far."

Milano paused, scratching his chin.

"Do we have a location?"

Mia pointed on the map to it. "It is located exactly 5.6 miles outside of Brishian city. There is a large military outpost there. My contacts inform me that most of their newest assets are being built at that facility...

Wait."

A mischievous grin appeared on her face.

"Will you be using that?"

Milano mirrored her grin.

"Now I know why you and Dryer fit together so well."

The room erupted with laughter. Eric pretended to study the ceiling. He held his words back as he swore a pointed glare was aimed at it.

Milano turned to the radio operator. "Initiate strike package Delta. Allocated target at these coordinates. Authorized package is 2x GBU-57 and 8x JDAM."

The room went quiet as the soldiers shared the same thought. "Isn’t that a bit... overkill, sir?" Eric said as he stopped looking at the ceiling.

"They took my mountain, I will crater their land. We will show them we can do the same to them they did to us."

No one in the room argued.

Heith sat at his office, reading the most recent reports. He groaned as he realized the amount of resources they were wasting on this small country. He looked at the map. "It is just one tiny country!" He said in fury, slashing his hands across the desk. "Why can we not take-"

His words cut out as he heard a rumble. Wind pushed outwards towards him as the glass windows all burst. A few seconds later, multiple explosions hit from just outside the capital, and his eyes widened in shock as plumes of dust and a mushroom cloud rose high into the sky.

His door was opened vigorously. "Sire! Emergency report. The Llrathel and Sraiaz facilities have been destroyed...

The mountain is gone, my liege."

The soldier delivered the report while Heith looked towards the distance. His eyes narrowed as he put the report he had been holding down. "So that is how you want to play? Very well."