Free Portal Wars 1: Gehenna Dawn by Jay Allan Page A

display up. If he’d been leading
his old team, he wouldn’t have worried about the display, but he
needed to keep an eye on the cherries. If they froze, or if half of
them failed to advance, the attack could quickly turn into a
disaster.
    It looked like everyone was moving, at least
so far. The line was a little more ragged than he’d have liked, but
overall things looked OK. He shoved up the visor, finally getting a
good look forward. He’d covered half the ground to the enemy
already. There was a small gutter in the hillside, no more than a
wrinkle in the ground, about 200 meters from the Machine position.
That was the objective. If they could make it that far, they’d have
decent cover, and they’d be firing from point blank range.
    “They’re shooting at us!”
    Bear wasn’t even sure who it was until he
checked the com transponder. Private Esteban, one of the newbs from
3rd Team. “Let’s stay calm, people. Keep moving.” Bear was starting
to notice some fire too, but it was sporadic, scattered. Probably a
sentry or two who’d noticed the approaching force. He could feel
himself stooping lower, instinctively trying to make himself a
smaller target. The best thing he could do…that any of them could
do…was to keep moving.
    “I’m hit!” It was Private Slotsky from 4th
Team. He wasn’t fresh out of the Portal, but he was still pretty
raw. There was pain in his tone, and panic.
    “Keep moving, all of you!” Bear was almost to
the objective. His rifle was in his hands, and his eyes were
instinctively scanning for a good place to position himself.
“Slotsky, how bad are you hit?”
    “It’s my leg, Sarge. Hurts like hell.” Bear
could hear the fear. Slotsky had never been wounded before,
probably never had worse than a twisted ankle. “Stay calm, kid.
Grab yourself some cover and get your medkit on it. We’ll be back
for you.” The nanobots in the personal medical kit could stabilize
most wounds long enough to get an injured soldier evac’d. Assuming
there was any transport available, which there wouldn’t be unless
Bear and his men secured the area.
    Samuels halted, crouching behind a small rock
outcropping. It was only a meter and a half high, but it was good
cover as long as he stayed prone. He slammed down his visor and
gave the tactical display a quick glance. The rest of his troops
were reaching their objectives. He switched off the projection and
cranked up the visor magnification. He could hear the enemy fire
now, still sporadic but definitely getting heavier.
    “Everybody grab some decent cover and get
some fire going.” He peered around the edge of the rock, bringing
his assault rifle up and firing half a dozen rounds on
semi-automatic in the general direction of the enemy. “HHVs, I want
you guys up and firing now! Make sure you’ve got decent cover.”
He’d been careful to ensure that each of the HHV teams had one
veteran member. He had to transfer a man from 3rd Team to do it,
but the HHVs were too important to entrust solely to rookies.
    He pumped up the visor magnification to 300%
and looked over toward the left. It looked like Hemmerich’s people
were really ripping the enemy flank to shreds. He could hear fire
beginning from his own teams, scattered rifles at first, then one
of the HHVs kicking in. The enemy position was bracketed by the
fire of his two groups. The Machines’ position was untenable…they
had two choices. Launch a nearly suicidal charge against one of his
forces or withdraw and reform. Either way, Samuels was going to
take control of the hill and open the door for the rest of Jake’s
troops to assault the base.
    Never win a battle with bullets when you can
do it with boot leather. That was one of Jake Taylor’s favorite
maxims…and Samuels had learned it from him. It didn’t matter that
military boots hadn’t been made of leather for generations…the
point remained. And against an enemy like the Machines, strong and
well-armed but tactically