Captain Ahrens looked him in the eye and smiled painfully. What else could he do in the face of such an unfortunate situation? The answer was, of course, nothing. So why not smile? This was what it felt like to need what you can’t have.
“Well, isn’t that a fine how-do-you-do. My tanks are ‘on paper’ as well, and look at them. They’re fighting just fine.”
“They don’t look like paper to me…”
“In fact, they look as real as can be,” said Captain Meybert, pointing toward the armored vehicles technically still under repair. Captain Ahrens was now making temporary use of them after claiming he was going to withdraw them from enemy bombardment.
“Obviously, you filched them from somewhere,” said Captain Meybert, to which Captain Ahrens puffed out his chest in pride.
“I’m just keeping an eye on them. I found them over yonder.”
Of course, Captain Meybert could imagine what the report would say now: “Encountered unexpected combat while retreating and was unavoidably forced to participate in battle.”
It was a risky bit of handiwork that might lead to trouble later. Captain Ahrens felt annoyed, worried he was about to get chewed out. He didn’t see why he should be lectured and made to feel like a little boy at a time like this. He was surprised, though, when he saw the indomitable grin on Captain Meybert’s battle-hardened face.
“We’ll get you a written order from the Lieutenant Colonel afterward. That should solve everything.”
“Can she do that?”
“Of course,” said Captain Meybert, chuckling.
“The Colonel has gotten very creative with orders these days. We’ll probably be talking about this over a drink with the mages before long,” said Captain Ahrens cheerfully to First Lieutenant Tospan.
“Well, it’s up to the tanks, infantry, and artillery now,” added Captain Meybert, approaching the familiar work as if it were old hat. Their combined-arms unit, made up of tanks, infantry, and artillery, quickly got down to the business of clearing out the airborne Federation unit.
Even without the mages who formed the core of the Salamander Kampfgruppe, Captain Meybert was used to working with this sort of combined-arms unit. However, it was at this point that Captain Meybert recognized a slight deficiency in his own command, namely, that his experience was lopsided.
He grumbled quietly, careful not to be overheard by his men, as he realized how awkward it felt to be on the attacking side for a change. It was difficult to run things smoothly when you weren’t used to the process.
If they had been repelling an enemy attack, Captain Meybert would have felt right at home, but when it came to initiating support for command, he wasn’t quite sure where to begin.
The Imperial Army was famous for its expert use of interior lines… The Empire preferred to counter. As an old-school officer, Captain Meybert was particularly set in those ways. To elaborate, his experience was almost entirely on the defensive side. As a result, his experience in executing hammer and anvil tactics was comparatively weak.
He had experience attacking as artillery under Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff’s command, but his experience in taking command of the Kampfgruppe’s combined forces was limited entirely to defensive battles. And while he had brushed up on the infantry handbook, he had mostly read it from a defensive perspective.
“I guess I’ve gotten used to hiding out in my shell,” said Captain Meybert with a soft sigh. Even that thought was half escapism. After all, there was a bigger problem at stake than whether or not he was used to initiating attack, and that was that they simply did not have enough men.
The scale of the enemy force being dropped onto command was still unclear, but it was clearly bigger than their own relief unit. Under current conditions, where command was still putting up resistance, even merely containing the attackers meant they were partially fulfilling their role by alleviating pressure. However…
“The situation is going to keep deteriorating as time passes,” said Captain Meybert, shaking his head lightly as he stated the simple truth. Postponing command’s fall was all well and good, but if destruction was still inevitable in the end…well, that wasn’t good at all!
If they could keep scrambling for time, there was always a possibility that either friendly forces or a senior officer would come to their aid. Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff might even be able to get to them sooner than imagined.
But even by the best estimates, that wasn’t soon enough for right now. It came down to the same thing in the end—they didn’t have enough men. At this rate, command was in danger. Captain Meybert’s back was against the wall; he could barely think. It was risky…but maybe their only chance would be to charge in, even knowing it was a gamble.
From his vantage point as an artilleryman, the situation seemed logically hopeless. However.
“Captain Meybert! Can I leave things to you here for a little while?!”
“What’s your idea, Captain?”
“To look for another road!”
A third way. Captain Ahrens grinned majestically. A fitting idea for a modern tanker, who had inherited the cavalry tradition of yore, of flexibly and enthusiastically searching for detours upon the field.
“Another road?”
“There were still tanks and engineers left at the arsenal. I’m sure we can scrounge up something.”
Then the tanker grinned, a hint of desperation in his smile.
“Besides, if we’re borrowing tanks, we might as well borrow personnel as well. I’m sure we can work something out about the orders later, right?”
“Absolutely. I don’t see how anyone could possibly complain.”
“In that case, better to strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Shall I?”
“Be my guest,” said Captain Meybert, nodding firmly. In fact, why not take things even a step further? “Actually, don’t ask them to come with you, order them to,” the Captain added nonchalantly.
“But they’re command’s men.”
“That doesn’t matter. Remember, we’re under direct assignment to the General Staff, and have been granted authority over this operation. In for a penny.”
Captain Meybert was finally beginning to get it. When senior officers behaved recklessly, it often appeared unreasonable to others, but now that he was standing in that position for himself, he could see that what might seem unreasonable from the outside might be the only logical solution.
As a result, while in the past he had vacillated at times over Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff’s way of doing things, sometimes wondering if perhaps she hadn’t gone too far, in this moment he made a valiant effort to emulate the Lieutenant Colonel’s example, understanding now what he needed to do.
“We have the authority. That is how things stand at the moment, and that is how you should go about it.”
“I don’t really know what’s going on, but, hey, beggars can’t be choosers. Might as well use whatever we can.”
Captain Ahrens flashed Captain Meybert a virile grin.
“I’ll bring everything I can get my hands on. Until then…I’m afraid there aren’t many tanks left at this point, but I’ll leave behind the ones I snagged earlier.”
“Understood. Leave the battle to me.”
“Haste without waste. I’ll see you when I see you.”
“Hey, by all means, take your time! I’ve got this. In fact, I bet I’ll have this all cleared up while you’re gone.”
Even a man like Captain Meybert, who prided himself on being honest and serious, was able to crack a joke every now and again. A joke meant you still had some life in you.
“Now then,” said Captain Meybert as he sent Captain Ahrens off, chewing softly on the butt of a rationed cigarette. He turned his attention back toward the confounded battle at hand.
Maybe Captain Meybert really did have this in the bag, but that wasn’t stopping the enemy from going, guns blazing, as before. Unfortunately, their infantry seemed well organized. A moment later, Captain Meybert was hit by the shockwave from a shell that had landed very close by, eliciting a storm of curses.
“Cripes?!”