Alpha Centuri: The War Ch. 4

Chapter 4

Gordon related his tale to C.J and Akala as they walked home together.
“So does this mean were going into combat? There’s no way were ready.” Said C.J.
“There is no time. Besides, it’s probably not even a “mission” at all.” Akala stated. Gordon and C.J said goodbye to Akala as they got to their home. Akala continued walking to his own home down the street.
Gordon and C.J were both sore and extremely tired. As well as the shooting practices and lecture, they had been forced to do sit-ups and push-ups, more than Gordon had ever had to do in his life. The two went to bed immediately and fell asleep.

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Gordon and C.J went to CASH early the next morning. There was something concerning them. School would soon be starting again and their week long vacation would be over. If they did not attend classes, they would flunk out.
Once inside CASH they sought out Professor Wilkins, a professor who was also part of the Centurian Army.
“Hello Gordon, C.J. What can I do for you boys?” He asked.
“We want to know if you could cover up our absences at school.” They asked together.
“That’s already taken care of. The Army made sure you all could return to your classes as soon as our military services are finished.”
“Thanks.”
Then a few minutes later the rest of the army arrived and the training began. The rest of Gordon and C.J’s day was taken up by lectures, {mostly on how to ambush an enemy}, proper firing technique, and countless exercise routines.
The next day Chad announced that everyone must have a physical done before their first mission. A doctor had been brought in and examined them all. Gordon found he gained 5 pounds since his last visit to the doctor’s office, which he figured, was all muscle.
The day after Chad briefed them all on their mission. As he briefed, a map of the area was laid out on the wall. It showed the town Ugong and the surrounding plains and forests.
“This mission,” Chad started, “ It is what you have been training for. We will storm an enemy outpost here,” He pointed at a black square on the map. “And liberate the two tanks that are held there. After that, we will meet up with another troop from Waterfall City on this road.” Chad pointed to a road leading to Ugong. “From there we will surround the city and, hopefully recapture it with our tanks. Once it is captured, the Waterfall City division will stay fortified in the city whilst we return here for more training. The two tanks will remain in Ugong. We will all march the distance to avoid being detected. Any questions?” No one spoke. “Meet me outside the gates with a backpack filled with food and a blanket. I will give you your weapon there. Say goodbye to your parents and girlfriends tonight. We leave first thing in the morning.”

**********

Gordon stood outside the gate with the other soldiers. Earlier that day he had called his father via telephone and told him the news and said goodbye. He also said farewell to his mother although she did not take the news very well. He just hoped it wasn’t his last goodbye.
The ‘army’ moved out at around eleven in the morning. They marched down the road for hours. It was three o’ clock by the time the troop stopped to rest. The boys unloaded their backpacks and began to eat a late lunch.
“How far are we from the outpost?” Gordon asked C.J, munching on an apple.
“About a day or two. Didn’t you listen to the briefing?” C.J answered.
“Hey…What’s that?” Said Akala, pointing to two black dots far away in the sky.
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about this. Get Commander Chad.” Ordered Gordon. Akala came back a few minutes later with Chad and Adam. The two looked at the dots, which were all the meanwhile getting bigger. “Those are enemy scout ships. Get everyone off the road.” Said Chad to Adam with a hint of panic in his voice.
“Get off the road! Get into the woods!” Yelled Gordon to the camped army. He turned around to look at the dots. The two were now not dots, but distinguishably two planetary fighters, obviously scouts. The army hastily packed up their things and dashed into the nearby ditch on the side off the dirt road. Gordon rolled down the ditch and into a bush. A couple seconds later the two scout ships zipped overhead, flying rather low. They were definitely planetary fighters, triangular ships that could fly in a planet’s atmosphere and in space. Each was about the size of a present day F-15 jet. Once the scouts flew over, Gordon clambered back up the ditch. Chad was already barking out orders. “Hurry up! We’re moving double time now! Move!” The recruits hastily obeyed. And so the rest of the day the army did not walk down the road but jogged. By the time night fell they were nearly to the outpost.
“Don’t build any fires. Sleep off the road, in the woods if you will. Tomorrow we move out bright and early.” Yelled Chad to his troops. Gordon glumly marched into the woods and laid out his blanket next to C.J’s. Akala sat nearby, cleaning out his rifle.
“My legs hurt…bad.” Said C.J to Gordon.
“Well, Chad said we’ll be there by tomorrow. We’re gonna give the Russians a run for their money.” Gordon replied, picking out pieces of the bush he rolled into from his hair.
“Well I hope we do. I don’t want to march all this way for nothin’.”
“Chad really freaked out when he saw those fighter pilots. I guess he supposes that if they knew we are here, the Russians would send a force out here to greet us.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t stand a chance. We’re trained for stealth and surprise, not open combat.”
“Well, I’m going to sleep then. Goodnight.” Gordon rolled over, and went immediately to sleep.

*********

Chad was really cracking the whip the next day. The boys only got a small breakfast before they moved out again, at jogging pace. Yet it was only three hours before they stopped. Gordon could vaguely see the outline of what he assumed to be the outpost.
“Adam, take one half of the lot and I’ll take the other. Lead them down around the woods to the outpost. Wait for my signal to attack.” Ordered Chad. Gordon, Akala and C.J went with Adam’s group into the woods. “Take out your safety pins.” Ordered Adam. The boys did so. Gordon’s mouth went dry. He licked them.
Silently they moved through the forest until they came to the edge of the outpost. There was a barracks in the center, then next to that was the tank garage. A tower stood behind both. Adam lined is men along the edge of the woods. Gordon looked across to the other side of the outpost. In the forest at the other end, he thought he saw Chad’s face. Then, out of those woods, a rocket launcher missile hit the tower, killing the three Russians on it and decimating the tower altogether. “Gordon, C.J, Akala! The barracks!” Adam called out to them. C.J turned his rifle to the door of the barracks where Russian soldiers, clad in tan, were running out. He felled five of them in a row, then had to reload. The soldiers were obviously confused. Electron fire was coming at them from seemingly nowhere.
As C.J reloaded, Adam and Akala peppered the barracks with SAM fire. “Go! Get to the barracks!” Shouted Adam. Gordon, C.J, Akala, Adam, and a few other soldiers ran to the barracks and stormed inside. The three Russian soldiers who were left inside dropped their weapons and threw their hands up in surrendered. “Where are the keys to the tank garage?” Adam asked them. One reached into a desk drawer, grabbed the keys, and threw them to Adam. Adam then turned to a couple of soldiers who Gordon did not know. “Watch these three.” He ordered. Then to Akala, C.J, and Gordon he said, “You three follow me.” They followed him out the door and to the door of the garage. They opened the door and found themselves in a huge garage with two tanks in it. “Jackpot!” Exclaimed Adam. Chad entered through the door behind them. “Well done. Now we got to find somebody who can drive these things.”
“We can.” Said two voices behind them. Gordon turned around. To his surprise he saw two of his childhood friends, the McKnight twins, Jeff and Dave. “We can drive them.” Said Jeff.
“Yeah, we’ve driven almost everything: hoverbikes, trucks, hoverovers, anything you can think of.” Replied Dave.
“What makes these thingys any different?”
The two tanks were rectangular with a sloped front. A glass windshield was positioned on the slope. Although most vehicles had hover abilities at the time, these tanks still had treads. Two large cannons sat on either side on the top of each tank. In the middle of each cannon was a machine gun turret with a hatch for the gunner.
Jeff and Dave jumped into the driver’s hatches eagerly. Chad opened the garage doors and out rolled the tanks. All the soldiers leaped for joy and jumped on the tank to hitch a ride. The captured soldiers followed glumly behind. A gunner slipped into the machinegun hatch of each tank.
Then the tanks rolled down the road to the town of Ugong.