… where the Mid Ranker was sitting on the floor in the barracks playing with what looked to be a two year old when Ld. Eukles walked in. “Middy?”
“Sir?” the Mid Ranker said, jumping up and saluting.
“I have an assignment for you,” Eukles said. “Your ears only.”
“Ok, you heard the man, go take a run.”
The rankers all left at a run, and, when they were gone, Eukles turned to the Mid Ranker. “Son, I want you to pick yourself three fireteams. Ld. Tomirosh is going to be running a drill on one of his new top rankers. He’s going to have a company of troops and their going to be clearing a field near their barracks. Your job will be to infiltrate and destroy. I’ll leave it to you to decide how to do it.”
“Sir! Yes, Sir! Are there any limitations on who I can pick?”
“Well, I don’t want to go. But, other than that, no.”
Eukles left and the Mid Ranker got busy with his comp. He fiddled with it for a while and then nodded, seeming satisfied, then pushed some button. Seconds later rankers started pouring into the room, and standing at attention.
“At ease,” the Mid Ranker said, “have a seat.”
The rankers sat around on the bunks and floor and the last few came in. “Gentlemen, we have a training mission. And it sounds fun. We’re going to get to take on a few of Tomirosh’s own. Just a drill.”
The rankers glanced at each other, seemingly nervously. “They’re going to be clearing some ground ‘near’ their barracks. Our job is to infiltrate and destroy this team. I’ve chosen our three teams. Any questions.”
“Sir, three teams against a company?”
“Yup. But a company with a job. They’ll probably keep one squad for the work, and use two for cover. So we’ll just have to infiltrate through that. Two squads to cover a whole work area… not a fun job for them.”
The ranker nodded and looked back at his comp.
“We’ve no idea where they will be?”
“Eukles just said ‘near’ their barracks. So a night full of scouting, then a day full of infiltration and destruction. I want everyone to get some sleep, use a sub if you have to. We leave here at 0100. I figure they’ll expect us at midnight, might as well make them wait a bit.”
“Yes, Sir!” the rankers said together, and then left. And then the screen went dark… and then slightly lighter.
0240
TL: REPORT?” appeared on the screen, text, superimposed over the figure of the Mid Ranker sitting in the darkness.
FT1: NOTHING IN SE, MOVING TOWARD SW.
FT2: NOTHING IN NW, MOVING TOWARD NE
TL: CONTINUE TO CIRCLE
0340
TL: REPORT
FT1: NOTHING IN SW, MOVING TO NW
FT2: NOTHING IN NE, MOVING TO SE
The reports continued, with the two teams continuing to circle around the base until 0810
FT1: TL, TROOPS MOVING, POSSIBLY COMPANY STRENGTH, MOVING SOUTH FROM BARRACKS
TL: ALL UNITS, CONVERGE SOUTH.
There were a variety of scattered reports but the next really interesting thing, the screen having brightened considerably with the coming of day, was when the Mid Ranker managed to get into a tree. “What a moron,” he whispered, and everyone turned to look at the top. “He has his whole company clearing the brush.”
He then turned to his comm and started typing:
TL: FT 1, TAKE POSITION SE OF CLEARING, Await fire until after FT 3
TL: FT 2, TAKE POSITION SW OF CLEARING, Await fire until after FT 3
TL: FT 3, ON ME, N OF CLEARING
TL: ALL UNITS, GET IN FIRING POSITION, HOLD FIRE UNLESS DISCOVERED. THEY CAME OUT TO CLEAR SOME BRUSH, LET’S LET THEM DO IT.
He didn’t have to move, apparently, but the screen showed false color units wandering around. The two in the south basically spread out until they covered the entire south, and much of the east and west. There were only five men in each fireteam, so the coverage wasn’t very deep…
The team in the north, on the other hand, was more concentrated around the Mid Ranker. And we watched, in kind of jerky speeded up time, as the company worked on the clearing…
TL: THEY’RE GETTING ABOUT DONE. FT 3, SET WEAPONS ON TRAINING FOUR. ALL OTHER TEAMS, USE TRAINING ONE. ATTACK ON FIRST ALERT
TL: FT 3, ATTACK AT IN ORDER… three.. two.. one.. mark.
Suddenly the screen erupted. The first thing that happened, and Illoia would not have recognized this before she was married, was that several troopers with KE devices fired a line each of shots, forming kind of a rough circle around the clearing.
As soon as they hit pretty much every suit in the defending company started giving off a loud squeal, which she knew, from painful personal experience, meant “I am damaged”. And with hardly any break regular rifle fire began from the overwatch trees, targeting several of the defenders, including the Top Ranker.
The company immediately scattered. Down to the ground, rolling over and over, running for the jungle, all sorts of action. The fire followed them, both KE and normal rifles
The Top Ranker did all those things but he also reached into his pouch and pulled something out, throwing it into the air… and the screen went blank.
In the silence before the screen came back on Illoia burst out with, “What was that?!” and then blushed, furiously, as the jungle scene re-appeared and all eyes were turned toward her.
“Pause playback,” Tomirosh said. He then looked into the audience. “Recruit?” He asked, Turning to a lad in the third row, “Can you tell us what action the Top Ranker just took?”
“Sir!” the recruit said, stepping forward and trying to shout with a breaking voice, “The Top Ranker has just deployed a hand portable NewEMP device, I presume set to practice setting. The device will disable all electronic devices, such as our laser rifles, within a limited range. Or, if set to practice setting, will inform all such devices of its use and they will pretend to be disabled.”
“And what are the advantages and disadvantages of the use of such a device during a battle such as this?’
“Sir! The use of such a device at this time in the battle will… by disabling all devices, it will stop the enemy from firing at your force for a brief moment. During this moment troops that are out of position will be able to move into a better position. As a disadvantage, your troops will also be unable to fire during that brief time. Oh, and the enemies KE rifles can continue firing, as they use no electronics.’
“Very good, recruit. You may continue, Middy.”
The jungle scene, which had been frozen, resumed, with a brief moment of respite from laser rifles. There were no troops to be seen in the clearing, but the firing started up again from the point in the woods where FT3 was and, then, from the South edge as well. As many of the troops had taken cover along the south edge this was unfortunate for them.
Illoia watched the next hour, fascinated. The Mid Ranker had turned the squealing thing off, so it was all in practical silence. It was like some bizarre dance. The soldiers rolled, and jumped, and switched hands. Finally, after an hour, one of the top rankers troops froze, and then cursed. Hopefully not an Article I violation, it was impossible to tell from that distance. But he walked, disconsolately, to the clearing and sat down, fiddling with his comp.
Then, a few seconds later, two other of the Top Ranker's troops did the same thing. And then three more. Finally, grinning, one of the Mid Ranker’s troops came into the clearing. “Good fight, lads,” he announced, his statement being answered with a raspberry from one of the sitting troops.
The view then shifted to a schematic. The Top Ranker's troops were moving off deeper into the woods on the south side, so the live view from the Mid Ranker’s position had become pretty useless.
TL: FT 1 AND 2, FIRING RETREAT SOUTHWARD.
The schematic showed this, and then it showed the Mid Ranker’s FT moving around the clearing to the east, and then moving south itself. And then sneaking up to the rear of the Top Ranker's troops.
TL: FT 3, CONCENTRATE FIRING ON ES
The Top Ranker and the beams were all visible on the schematic, with KE showing up as brief bursts, so the crowd was able to see the beams lancing out and targeting the Top Ranker, who moved like a madman. His troops started to form a circle around him but, before they could get fully in place, the Top Ranker's ‘dot’ winked out.
TL: FT 1 and 2, RESUME ATTACK
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Article 17
Article 17 is a military science fiction story with aliens and romance. It is set in a future reminiscent of Napoleon era Britain. The war was going very poorly until the military installed a dictator. This story follows one of the dictator’s great men: Cladin Tomirosh, Leader, and thrice decorated hero.
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Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
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If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’ which I try to keep up to date.
Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid
and
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations.
Arthur also has a substack, and a website. On the substack you can listen to some of his published books. Free.
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Other Stories
Article 17 is not my only story on Substack. I have another light dystopia, or cultural sci-fi. And a Sci-Fantasy, with elves and dwarves. And a Morality Play, ala Aesop’s Fables.
i couldn't really get the full measure of this as it must be a slice through some existing and established world? but the writing flows very well as a battle scene even though i have no idea who is who and what is what 😆
someone's gonna get yelled at. Someone didn't think like a soldier.