The giant mushroom cloud rose over the tree line in the direction of Reshlund. Colonel Joe Tylars watched in awe and horror as the massive explosion continued to rise into the sky. He diverted his attention to a squadron of Srav fighters zooming overhead. Thankfully they ignored his tank battalion and continued on their way. The Srav invasion had come as a surprise to most Sinyans, but not to Tylars. After Emperor Yen Balestone rather rudely refused to join the Srav Federation and since Sinya was a growing industrial planet, why would the Sravs decide not to invade? Tylars was now rushing back to Etsako, the town he was stationed in, to defend it against potential landings.
“Grizzly 1 to Black Dog, we’re coming up on the town.” came a voice over the radio.
“Copy Grizzly 1,” replied Tylars, “assume formation W, take the left point.”
“Yes sir.” acknowledged Grizzly 1.
Tylars retracted himself into the turret and quickly loaded an anti-armor round into the cannon of his SAAV-4 light tank. He then looked out at through the gun sight. The tank was just coming over the hill overlooking Etsako where two Srav transports had landed and were unloading troops.
“Accelerate to attack speed!” Tylars shouted into the microphone, “Target the closer transport and wait for my signal!”
The tanks began to descend from the hill towards the town as Srav tank gunners sighting the incoming attackers. Several anti-tank shells exploded next to his tank as Tylars waited for his target to come into range. Finally it entered the range of his cannon, which was much smaller than his Srav counterparts, and Tylars decided to give the order.
“Fire!” he shouted into the microphone as he pulled the trigger.
Two months later…
SDF Supreme Commander Dak Chamblers watched the countryside fly by as his vehicle speed towards the forward lines. With the death of the Ken Trallar and the entire General Staff during the invasion, Chamblers inherited the title of Supreme Commander by default. Of course this meant he had to keep the fragmenting Sinya Defense Force united and under control, and thus he was now heading to the front line to talk with General Joe Tylars who had a long history of insubordinates. Tylars was only a teenager, but due to a lot of luck, had ended up as a general. In Chambler's opinion, he was an insolent child who shouldn’t even have been an officer, much less a general. Yet still, a lot of SDF officers raved about his war record during the Sinyan Civil War and his success at Etsako during the Srav invasion, but Chamblers could care less. After all, Chamblers thought, he was running the army not Tylars or the guys at the local officer’s mess. It was his army now and he was going to run the way he saw fit.
“Entering sector Delta 38 sir,” reported the driver, “We’re near the front line, be ready for artillery fire.”
Chamblers tightened his helmet strap.
Joe Tylars franticly shuffled through the many papers sitting on his desk. Everything from intelligence reports to simple notes was mixed up in a jumbled mess. Tylars probably wouldn’t normally care except that the SDF Supreme Commander Dak Chamblers was on his way to inspect the unit. Finally, when Tylars felt it was organized enough, he stood up and began pacing the floor of the old cabin that served as his HQ. A knock on the door startled Tylars somewhat, but he quickly regained his composure.
“Yes what is it?” he asked through the door.
“General,” reported the soldier on the other side, “Supreme Commander Chamblers has just arrived.”
“Bring him in.” Tylars replied bleakly.
There was a pause for a moment, then the door opened and Tylars jumped to attention and saluted Chamblers as he entered the room. Chamblers returned the salute and sat down in the chair set across from Tylars desk. After he was seated, Tylars likewise sat down. There was an awkward silence for some time before it was finally broken by Chamblers.
“I think you know why I’m here.” said Chamblers grimly.
“Yes sir.” Tylars replied hoping he was actually wrong with his assumption.
“You’ve have not been following policy and have damaged the SDF’s name with your actions.” began Chamblers, “Might I inquire as to why you have failed to obey orders?”
“If I feel that your orders may put my troops in unnecessary danger, then I will disregard them.” Tylars replied after pausing to think for a moment.
“Unnecessary danger you say? The way you are operating now is what is really endangering your troops. By executing unarmed prisoners you are providing a recruitment tool for the Sravs and driving people away from our cause.” retorted Chamblers.
“That is ridiclous!” cried Tylars, “Nobody will join our cause if we look weak. Besides that, I have no room to accommodate prisoners, nor the supplies to keep them alive.”
“Don’t make stupid excuses; you have more than enough to support prisoners.” Chamblers replied. There was a brief silence, than he continued. “Now if you don’t start following orders, I’ll give your command to Colonel Ergiez and demote you to Lieutenant.”
“Ergiez? That spineless fool who didn’t even have to guts to resist the crims at Stahlon?” Tylars spat in disgust.
“He should have been made general long before you.” Chamblers angrily replied, “He at least knows how to obey orders!”
“All he does is worry about keeping his prisoners comfy.” said Tylars, thinking of the fact that Colonel Ergiez was known for overly-fair treatment of captured Sravs.
“Prisoners are our only source of information.” continued Chamblers, “We need prisoners to interrogate, which usually works best if their alive!”
“My men operate as I command!” screamed a now furious Tylars.
“And you are to operate as commanded!” returned Chamblers, “It’s no longer gonna be all your way, kid. This is your final warning.”
With that Chamblers stormed out of the room and returned to his vehicle, leaving Tylars standing, fists clenched, in front of his desk.
Tylars examined the map spread across his planning table which showed the plans for an offensive aimed at the city of Stahlon. The highest-ranking officers under his command were also there to study the plan. The assault was divided into three columns; two entered the city at different points while the third was tasked with capturing a fuel depot in the outskirts. Tylars was assigned to the third column which seemed to be the one that would see the least action. Chamblers probably didn’t want him to screw something up.
“What’s the guarantee that there aren’t Srav reserves stationed near the city?” asked one of the officers.
“There is no guarantee.” replied Tylars, “We just have to pray there isn’t any.”
The sound of engines outside drew their attention away from the map for a moment, most likely the transport trucks arriving from the main base. After a moment the officers turned back towards the map.
“Where’s intelligence when you need them?” muttered the officer.
“Chamblers blames me for that.” Tylars scuffed, “He’ll find anyone to blame for his own stupidity.”
Some of the officers smirked while others shook their heads in disgust; most everyone agreed Chamblers was unfit for command. Tylars again studied his course on the map then turned away in annoyance.
“How many of our vehicle units are ready for action?” Tylars asked.
“Two of the SAAV-4’s are still in need of track repair and half of the stupid clankers are in need of engine fixes.” reported one of the officers.
“Well get the SAAV-4’s fixed first.” Tylars ordered. “Don’t bother with the clankers until later since they’ll just break down a dozen more times before we even get moving.”
The officer left the room to relay the order to the mechanics while the rest of the men continued to look at the map. Tylars had had enough of it so he went to his quarters to get some rest.
Vince Ergiez watched confidently as the country-side began to disappear and turn into suburbs. Ergiez had every reason to be confident; he was leading the main column in the Stahlon offensive, which was a grand task to be sure. It didn’t look like it would be too difficult to take the city anyway, since, according to information he had gained from one of his prisoners, the garrison was made up of the worst of Srav troops. On top of everything, Commander Chamblers had promised a promotion should the operation turn out to be a success.
“Entering the city limits now sir.” reported the driver.
Ergiez turned again to look out the window; they were now entering the city. The bodies of Srav soldiers, killed by the advance force, were strewn on the side of the road. The staff car rolled up to a command post made in the middle of the street and stopped.
“Best not get any closer to the action, sir.” the driver said.
“So right.” Ergiez agreed as he exited the vehicle.
A young lieutenant, who was the highest-ranking officer at the CP, approached Ergiez and saluted.
“Sir, our troops have reached the city center and linked up with the second column.” he reported enthusiastically.
“Good.” Ergiez replied, “I want a map of the situation.”
The young officer quickly dashed off the get a map while Ergiez lit his cigar; visions of his promotion ceremony began to creep into his head.
Tylars and his column had now reached their target: the fuel depot in the outskirts of Stahlon. It was piled high with barrels full of precious fuel. Most of the guards fled in terror at the sight of the advancing tanks, however; a few of the more experienced ones attempted to set the fuel afire. These efforts were quickly stopped as Tylars forces moved in and secured the depot.
“Grizzly 1, take your platoon and post on that hill to the east.” Tylars said into his microphone.
“Aye, sir.” came the reply.
With that, Tylars hopped off of his tank and began to direct the troops on the ground. Most soldiers quickly began to load the supply trucks with fuel drums to be taken back to base while others began searching for Sravs hiding amongst the piles of barrels. Tylars then established a command post in the depot’s only building where his men set up radios and maps to monitor the other parts of the offensive. After this was done, Tylars decided to report to command.
“This is Black Dog to Central Command,” Tylars began, “we have captured the fuel dump intact and have begun the loading process.”
“Good work Black Dog.” the less than enthusiastic officer replied, “Carry on.”
Tylars put down the mouthpiece and turned his attention back to the movement of the other columns. At the moment they were well ahead of schedule, having already reached the town center. Tylars was still studying the map when Grizzly 1’s voice suddenly came over the radio.
“General, we’ve got a whole bloody tank division approaching!” he said in a frantic tone, “We need to withdraw!”
“Negative. We have to hold them off until the fuel trucks are done loading.” Tylars replied, “Stand down until I arrive with reinforcements.”
“Yes, sir. But I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I.”
“Yahoo! I got one!”
“Incoming!”
The radio was filled with all sorts of messages, everything from victorious gloats to death screams. They were sure in the middle of it now. Tylars and his tanks had engaged the Sravs just two miles away from the fuel depot that they had they had captured earlier and were now in a heated battle. Despite the Srav’s superior numbers and tanks, the Sinyans were more than holding their own. Tylars scanned the battlefield again looking for potential targets. A brightly painted tank caught his eye; obviously it was an officer’s tank. He moved the turret into position, sighted the enemy vehicle and was just about to pull the trigger when the Srav tank burst into flames.
“Sorry about that boss!” came a gruff voice over the radio, “I couldn’t resist!”
“That’s okay Grizzly 1, nice work.” Tylars replied.
“These guys are pathetic! Either these are their worst men or Sravs just don’t know anything about tank warfare!” joked Grizzly 1.
“All their best men are busy fighting the Necasians.” Tylars commented, “These are just the leftovers.”
Tylars turned his attention back to the battlefield and began to search for more targets. He located a tank that was showing its soft side and was just about to fire when another message came over the radio.
“Black Dog this is Wolf 3. Do you copy?”
“I copy Wolf 3, what is it?”
“Our guys in Stahlon have been surrounded by the Sravs and command has ordered any remaining troops to withdraw.”
“Curses! How could command not see that this was going to happen?”
“I don’t know. All I do know is you better get yourself out of there now! Wolf 3 out.”
Tylars slammed down the microphone in disgust but quickly picked it up again. Rather than call for a full retreat, he had a different idea.
“All units this is Black Dog, fall back to the depot!” he yelled into the mic, “Don’t ask any questions, just go!”
2 days later…
Tylars shifted nervously in his seat. He was seated in a waiting room outside the makeshift office of Emperor Yen Balestone. Seated across from him, in an even more nervous mood, was Dak Chamblers. They both sat silently in worry about what may become of them after the fiasco in Stahlon. Tylars was afraid Chamblers would blame him for impeding the intelligence agency and for insubordinates. Even though he had been able to rescue a great number of embattled troops with his supply trucks, he still figured Chamblers would find a way to pin it on him anyway. On the other hand, Chamblers knew that he was responsible for launching the attack and thus, nearly all the blame could easily be placed on his shoulders.
“Alright you two, come in.” ordered a rather sinister looking man wearing black suit and thin-rimmed glasses.
They both quickly stood up and walked half-heartedly into the room. Balestone was seated at his rather large desk that was cluttered with all sorts of papers.
“Ok gentlemen, I don’t like wasting time so I’ll be brief.” he began, “Chamblers, you’re irresponsible decision to launch an attack without proper intelligence is a disgrace to the Sinyan Imperium!”
“Sir, intelligence had every reason to believe that Stahlon was poorly garrisoned!” stammered Chamblers, who was slightly taken aback by Balestone’s abruptness.
“But from whom did you get that intelligence?” the emperor shot back, “My sources state you relied solely on reports from Vince Ergiez. Is this true?”
“Yes sir, but he’s a very reliable man!” Chamblers replied as he tried to defend his position.
“Indeed?” Balestone returned in a sarcastic tone, “Ergiez has been investigated and been found guilty of criminal inefficiency!”
“What?” Chamblers said in disbelief, “Ergiez is a loyal and obedient officer!”
“You’re the worst excuse for a general I’ve ever seen!” Balestone exclaimed.
“But Sir I…” began the disgraced SDF commander before Balestone cut him off.
“Shut up Chamblers! You’re relieved of your command!” he declared.
Balestone then turned to Tylars.
“General Tylars, for your proven success on the battlefield and for your loyalty to the Imperium, I am making you the new Supreme Commander of the Sinya Defense Force.”
Both Tylars and Chamblers stood in stunned silence of a moment. Finally Tylars spoke up.
“Thank you, sir.” he began in a shaky voice, but then declared in a more confident voice: “Well, time to get to work!”