Underdogs

[Dougal MacDonald]

<Three Days Later>

Captain André De gaulle, commding officer of the Charlie Company, 212th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division was tired. They all were. This exercise was supposed to have been over by the first night. Now it had stretched into three days, and somehow the units of the 82nd had managed to hold the line into a stalemate.

Dog and Echo Companies had been decimated by the Irish and Maori Battalions, most of their officers taken out. As a result the "survivors" had been rolled into his command forming a third platoon under the command of a salty staff sergeant.

"Anyone who thought this was going to be easy is a fool," Staff Sergeant Glenn Davies said to him. "I served under General Talon in the war. He has an uncanny military mind, and is scrappy as a feral cat."

De gaulle scratched an itch from the stubble at his collar. He was filthy and tired of laying in thr dirt. "I'll give him that. He and his colonels know their craft. How they caught Colonel Mathews with his pants down was a thing of beauty. With the 506 out of the picture we're about dead even."

De gaulle peered over the edge of his foxhole. The fog had settled over the forest and had obscured everything. Latest Intel had said the 18th Cav was holding position somewhere over there. The scout and transportation unit was just there to keep them from hitting the 82nd's center.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

"What the hell?" De gaulle demanded, a ting of fear in his voice.

"Sounds like drums sir," Davies suggested.

The pounding of drums ceased as suddenly as they had started. The forest was dead silent. Then the squeal of bagpipes filled the air playing an ancient Celtic tune. It felt as if they were personally cursing his soul.

De gaulle wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his uniform, and shouldered his phaser rifle. Then came the banshee screams that seemed to come from all around him.

Then out of the fog burst hundreds of Highland warriors stripped down to their kilts. They were all carrying swords and letting out berserker screams. Their leader an older Scotsman who De gaulle dimly recalled was Colonel MacDonald leading the charge. He aimed and squeezed the trigger, and nothing happened.


De gaulle stared down at his dead weapon. Thw 82nd had employed an EM dampening field. He started to order retreat, but it was already too late. Many had already thrown down their weapons running in pure terror the others were surrendering to the Highlanders.


Ethan stared futilely into the fog from the Division's command post, Kalia standing next to him. There were no sounds of battle, and pipes had fallen silent. "I wish I knew what was going on in there."

https://youtu.be/S7PKSOAtUjc

[Kalia Lei]

"Either the jury rigged EM dampener didn't work and McD's men are done and we lost, or they won and are tying up the 212th." Kalia said as she glanced at the old fashioned 'battle map'. "I'm betting the latter." she had been given a kilt after she used part of her mechanical leg to repair the EMP's generator and was using parts of her slacks to keep the bits and pieces of the skeletal looking limb together. "Three days... and facing down half naked screaming Celtic warriors with blades and bludgeons. I can smell their piss from here. Metaphorically speaking of course." she squinted. "There... something's coming through." she pointed out.

[Dougal MacDonald]

A rider on horseback broke through the fog. Most of the horses the unit had used we transported home, bur David had held a few back in case they had been robbed of modern technology.

Like most of the Division they had all changed into field uniforms, but the cavalry woman had kept her black Stetson. Reining her sorrel gelding she saluted.

"What is it Corporal?"

"Colonel MacDonald reports that he has broken the line, and is holding nealy three hundred prisoners. He says his regiment took no casualties and requests that you send reinforcements to press our advantage."

"Granted. Tell him that the 69th and the 28th will reinforce. Order the colonel to proceed as he sees fit, but to use extreme caution. The other side is likely rallying as we speak, I don't want him to get snookered into ambush, but on the same token I don't want to miss an opportunity if it presents itself."

The Corporal saluted again, "Yes sir!" She spun her horse around and jabbed her spurs into the horse's side and it galloped back into the fog.

"Colonels Murphy and Windrunner!" Ethan shouted. The Irishman and the lanky female Narlin approached them and saluted. Ethan didn't waste any time. "Gather your regiments if you would. Your soldiers are to hook up with Colonel MacDonald here," he said indicating the location of the original objective on the map. "Time is of the essence. Instruct your Marines to only bring wirh them with the bare essentrals. Colonel Lei you will take command of the operation."

[Kalia Lei]

"Aye General. Let me guess... you're going to finish this?" Kalia reached under the table and handed him a tube. "Fly the flag General." she gave him a crisp salute. "And be careful, only working bionic legs are your's."

[Ethan Talon]

"No ma'am," He said to her serious expression on his face. He turned and tightened the girth on Jake, and shortened the stirrups before leading the horse over the Kalia and handing her the reins. "Take command of your units Colonel. I'll take the 20th and 198th, and try to flank our opponent. You are to hammer home, and we'll be the anvil. Find Colonel Sackett, and organize a cavalry charge with whatever horses he can find. If we are going to fight old school might as well do it right."

[Kalia Lei]

Kalia gave him a sly grin. "I think I can make that happen. Always sort of wanted to do a real cavalry charge... we're actually going to win this thing then." she grabbed her utility belt and snapped it around her hips. "This has been a way bigger operation than I expected but that's good... the men need to know nothing is ever going to be 'easy'." she grabbed her beret and tucked her hair underneath. "Let's get on with it then."

[Ethan Talon]

Ethan helped her into rhe saddle, "One more thing Colonel: you're a Colonel. You direct, you don't lead. This is just training, but one day this could be the real thing, and I'd hate to write your brother telling him you bravely died not doing your job."

[Dougal MacDonald]

"'ight. Now listen up lads," Dougal said to a group of officers. "Aye, an you too lass," he conceded. He pushed leaves aside to reveal the damp earth below. With a stick he sketched out the line, "Captain Mcgilvery, there are snipers positioned here lad. I need them gone aye?"

The young captain nodded his head.

"Second Battalion I need ye ta strike along the creek. First Battalion ye'll hit them along this wee ridge. There's at least a regiment there I ken that."

"Aye sir!" The two majors said with a salute.

"Until the rest of the division gets here we are outnumbered 3 ta 1, be we got the wee bastards on their heels. Let's not let them organize aye."

"Oh rah!"