Redemption (The Boris Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  CHAPTER THREE

  Olaf and Danislav found themselves going over the table, looking at the organization for the proposed force to send south-west towards what had once been the Ukraine and Belarus. Even fifty years of winters with minimal repairs hadn't destroyed the highways. Without heavy trucks constantly running along them and breaking them down, the lighter traffic preserved them for the most part, and they were still more than adequate.

  That was key to Boris's military planning. With those roads mostly intact, his special logistics support concepts came to the fore. In winter, it was dogs and sleds. Now in mid-spring, the concrete and asphalt highways played a major role in his success, as did his bicycle design.

  With the breakdown of most of the oil industry, cars, trucks, and armored vehicles had to be used sparingly. New ones couldn't be built anyway, with what limited heavy industry was available. The few heavy tanks they had managed to scavenge shortly after the Fall were mostly in bunkers around Lilith's caves—that site was too important to risk falling into anyone else's hands.

  His history as a Cossack had taught Boris an important lesson about horses. Even though his artillery still used them, they ate a lot every day. That made them a logistical nightmare. The fact that they were better off-road than even wide-rimmed bicycles made up for that liability with artillery. But his infantry was trained as a form of ‘Dragoon,' mounted infantry.

  The major difference was that the ‘mount' was a specially designed pedal-powered bike. It was something that had repeatedly been used from the middle of the twentieth century AD.

  Boris's single logistics battalion was fitted entirely on tricycles with a wagon bed on the back. These vehicles could carry well in excess of a ton of supplies each with trained riders. Normal bikes were restricted, even with modifications and a trailer, to three-quarters of a ton.

  Overall, the logistical capability was a trick stolen from the Vietnamese in their wars of the 1960s and 1970s. Without helicopters to interdict the supplies, or aircraft to bomb the roads, Boris was immensely confident his logistics would be nearly impossible to cut. If someone managed to get a force across his supply lines, then his Were patrols would savage it.

  Not to mention every soldier in his forces was trained as a rifleman first.

  Olaf planned to scavenge a platoon for rear base security from the two companies being sent to the town. He would need to base troops forward if it was a Vampire trying to be clever. The Vampire could have tested the weapon hundreds of kilometers away from its base to hide where that was located. Time and distance meant little to Forsaken Vampires.

  As they would be under orders to have flanking patrols, that made sense from a logistical point of view for his force and security for the main position. Basing his logistics forward was a risk. The risk was counterbalanced by many advantages if this had been a raid to ensure a buffer zone by whatever opposition was out there. That seemed most likely, considering all the supplies they had left untouched in the cellars. Especially since they had left no guards.

  “We’ll call up the Amazon militia first,” Olaf stated to Danislav.

  Being of the old school, Danislav's jaw hit the floor. He felt that women in the infantry were a liability. They couldn't cope as well, and some of their equipment was a manifestly different shape to accommodate a differing body form. Their packs, in particular, sat on the hip rather than the shoulder.

  “Danislav, I have to prove myself to the people as a leader. Father never worries about having women in integrated positions serving. Only a few of the old hands,” he paused to grin at his foster brother, “have any issue with it. The main difference is the Amazons train harder than any other militia to prove themselves capable. I need that self-confidence in their ability.”

  The Amazons had formed to prove a purely female force could be as capable as any male or mixed force. They held themselves to a high standard in training, and their commander, Major Petrova, was desperate to get them deployed. She reported them as ready, but there seemed to be some equivocation on their ability to co-operate with other units. That was what made Danislav most nervous, especially with Olaf having only a battalion to run a Search and Destroy mission.

  Slowly, grudgingly, Danislav nodded. “And they aren’t listed on our force lists. That gives you a so-called company that you can use to strengthen your numbers.” The Amazons trained as fourteen-person squads, and only had any training with light mortars. Not the medium mortars the integrated units also had occasional practice on.

  “Also, and this is more from a strategic perspective, they will be perceived by any local townspeople as less of a threat. They will give us a better way to communicate with the locals because of this. Finally, if they have overestimated their ability in the field, I can still use them for positional defense.”

  Danislav grunted. That was true. Every adult in Boris's region was capable with gun or bow from a defensive position. Even many of the teenagers were. Hunting was a major supplement of foodstuffs. The extra meat for normal humans over the still bitter winters helped survival in the smaller villages and farmsteads. For Weres, it became a competition with the normals.

  Since many of the independent settlements surrounding Boris had no ammunition, even if they had guns, bows had made a comeback. Just about every person in the militias could make an arrow, even if the accuracy of their product was inferior. Some weapon was better than no weapon.

  In some ways, Olaf felt that it was better this way—being in command of regular forces, he would have been continuously second-guessed. Leading militia forces, they at least had some respect for his abilities. Their officers had some respect for him. He had pushed his father to treat them as auxiliaries and to call them up for training on special weapons.

  Boris had insisted on keeping the heavier weapons only in the central armories, but that was reasonable. He was, after all, the ruler and had seen how different people could react poorly to harsh situations. By controlling the heavier weapons and ruling with a light hand, he had the respect of most of his people. Those who didn't respect his rule could see the price of rebelling against it. They learned to fear the possible consequences. Especially when he took no action against those who left his lands quietly.

  Unless, of course, they took up banditry. Boris considered that rebellion if they had been from his lands. He responded firmly and violently to it. There were no survivors from bandits who had originated from his lands.

  By the end of the day, in addition to the Amazons, Olaf had chosen a company from the eastern, western, and the southern lands. All the militias in the north were already tasked to either head west or to patrol against Finnish treachery. Allies were only to be trusted so far in Boris's opinion. He'd seen betrayal too often.

  It annoyed Olaf, as one of the better Were packs was a northern militia. They were the most annoyed with the restrictions on Olaf's deployment with the reserve company. But hopefully with the pick of the newest recruit training, he'd have a heavy battalion.

  As it was, he'd have to re-organize the militia units he had coming to make the best use of the Weres. He'd only have two pure platoons of them, considering the disproportionate number of Weres who were NCOs or Officers, especially in the militias. He would be able to pull a dozen from the Amazons. The rest would be needed to be machine gunners, or carry and operate other heavy weapons.

  “Brother, are you sure about your choices?” Danislav asked once they’d gone over the plan. “You’re gonna have to spend at least a month re-training them with the unit changes.”

  Olaf only shrugged.

  “It's not like I have that much choice, Danny,” Olaf said. Danislav scowled at the use of the nickname, then shook himself. Olaf continued, “Half the militias are formed of older men and women. Useful for defense only. That single good southern militia isn’t that great at patrolling or stealth. They train almost exclusively for assaults. With the Amazons, who aren’t listed on your original list, I’ll have a battalion reinforced with an
oversized company. If I manage to poach some of the recruits that should finish training around then, I can push that up to nearly two companies. Most of our mission will be search and engage patrolling, but it doesn’t seem likely that the Ukraine/Belarus region will have much of a force left. The entire region came apart during the Fall.”

  Danislav grunted his agreement. They’d gotten a few refugees from the Ukraine/Belarus region over the years, and it was a disaster area. Every faction had taken up arms, and the country had been a war zone for at least thirty years. Although Boris hadn’t investigated it for the last ten years, it had only recently been recovering to small organized towns. Usually under one strongman or another. Most of the towns of a decade ago would have struggled to muster a platoon of men with the ability and inclination to soldier.

  “Keep it to platoon strength, minimum. You need the show of force,” Danislav said.

  Olaf had other ideas—and other plans. Squads patrolling, with platoons to support upon contact. Now was not the time to tell his brother. He might get worried enough to tell their father.

  Still, it was a shoestring operation. Olaf was going to have to act as the rapier to the other side’s hammer. Clear operational room, find out what they had, if possible capture samples, then return. Any intelligence they captured or gathered along the way would be a bonus.

  Any group that wiped out a village to test something had a brainless leader, or the leader relied on fear. The biggest bonus they could find would be if the leader of the region had rats in his woodwork. At least Olaf had a fallback location.

  There were the two companies that had been sent to fortify and man the town Danislav had found. It was now being called ‘Hope Rebuilt’ by the locals from the farmsteads surrounding it.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Father, if you let me take one of the shuttles then it will undermine the troops' perceptions of me as a leader!” Olaf shouted. The shuttles hadn't been used much for fear of attracting more attention than they already did. They were one of the few eastern European regions that produced regular surpluses.

  “Nonsense. I'll be using one as my headquarters, and I'll have three available for troop movement. Unlike you, I don't need any, but they will reduce casualties, and things have calmed enough that using them makes good sense. Everyone is rebuilding from the Fall. Showing that we have some of the highest tech available before the Fall can only protect us all, for now,” Boris shouted back at his son.

  The new manufacturing capacity would be coming online in the cave soon, and soon after, the Arkhangelsk works would go live. It would take time, but progress was being made.

  More quietly, Boris continued, “We have those manufacturing plants going live. With their ability to produce ‘Kurtherian’ tech, we need to show we can defend them from the start. Otherwise, we are a big, fat target for someone.”

  Olaf continued to glare at his father, then responded through gritted teeth. “Isn’t that convenient? So, you are claiming the fact that locking me in that flying coffin won’t protect me better than anything else you could provide?”

  “Who said anything about locking you in it?” Boris answered angrily. He knew that no Were would put up with that. Part of the reason he was sending his son was the hope that he would find a way to change to a third form.

  Olaf only snorted and said, “If it’s the C&C center, then I’ll have to be there if we face a major battle.”

  Boris raised an eyebrow, then answered in a deceptive calm, “That was a consideration.” When Olaf went to interject, Boris raised a hand and continued “But it was far from the largest one. The largest one was far simpler—we know the other side you could run into has Alien weaponry. Either that, or some form of Earth weapon I've never heard of. Whomever I would send to lead the southern force would be taking a shuttle to counter that. If you keep arguing with me, I will send someone else. And the shuttle.”

  “Besides, if such weaponry is used, you’ll be in the greatest danger.” Boris continued, pain in his voice. “You’ll have a backup command post, but if there is a weapon that can damage the shuttle, you’ll face the most danger.”

  Olaf opened his mouth, then shut it. The stormy expression on his father’s face told him the line had been drawn. He also hadn’t said the shuttle could only be used for command and control purposes.

  It had a capable sensor suite and had modifications to enable both etheric and radio transmissions.

  Beyond that, he could use it to make several trips with extra equipment for the forward base, and scout the areas around the new headquarters being established in the town that had been emptied.

  Yes. He could make this work. First, he needed to prevent his father from realizing his plans. Hardening the mulish expression on his face, he turned on his heel and stormed from the room. He heard Boris mutter, “I wish he hadn’t inherited his mother’s temper.”

  A smile quirked his face as he thought ‘if only you knew I had some of her talents for deception as well, Father.' He continued stomping down the hallway so as not to let his father in on that little secret.

  Two thoughts remained floating in his head. First, what father doesn’t know can’t hurt him. Secondly, actions taken without orders were not actions taken against orders.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Olaf was troubled. The check training had gone as well as could be expected. The Amazons were an outstanding unit overall when it came to the exercises that checked their training. However, they brought other problems. They were xenophobic towards working with male units and accepting advice from male trainers. They also were weak in an assault and refused to accept the fact that they were outmatched at that task by the western and southern companies in those exercises.

  He was going to have to get creative. He needed to break that xenophobia. If necessary, replacements for their unit might have to come from the other militia units. They had a four in five chance of being male. The Amazons needed to be able to have any empty slots filled, or he couldn’t take them.

  In any military organization, only so much divergence could be allowed. The outright hostility to men had to go, or Olaf would be forced to take action. In this case, it would be the formal disbandment of the unit. It would prove dangerous and possibly even toxic to any mixed or all-male unit it served beside with its current base.

  He decided to pit the units against each other in shield wall or phalanx formations without the spears. The last thing he needed was live weapons against each other. While the Amazons were capable, they lacked the sheer mass that was an advantage in phalanx and shield wall combat. Nor were they willing to take advice on technique from people in other units. It would also be useful as a physical conditioning and team building exercise.

  Before she had left, Gyada convinced Boris the value of such training. The regulars competed as squads and platoons using it. It had almost become a sport amongst them. One the militias rarely practiced.

  The weighted shields were just sitting there. It was time to put them to use.

  Predictably, the lower ranks in all the militia units complained. They didn’t see the broader point of the training. The things it could teach them as a unit that no other training would.

  That they could depend on the man to their left or their right. That they were stronger acting as a unit than individuals.

  After the Amazons had been trounced for several hours, he offered to even up the matchup. He would put individual Amazons into slots in the other unit's squads currently held down by women. They jumped at the chance to prove themselves.

  Then, he put them against other squads from the same southern militia in which he had not allowed substitutions. The results were interesting.

  They mostly held back, uncertain about the others around them. In a couple of cases, the reverse was true. They pushed forward too hard and too fast, creating a gap that doomed the phalanx formation. This displayed a lack of teamwork that a military unit relied on, especially for assaults. Everyone depended on those a
round them to do their job, and do it right, or it could go to hell in a handbasket even without any casualties before contact.

  With the inevitable casualties in such an action, without the trust in a unit, the assault would almost inevitably fail. It wasn't that the Amazons had no trust. It was that there had been a deficiency in their training in building the trust to the level necessary in a soldier.

  By the end of the first day, they were learning. Much more slowly, they were also developing a sense of comradery with the other units. However, watching the interactions, one of the regular officers reviewing performance thought he saw the problems.

  The first problem was, although a capable combat leader, Major Valerie Petrova, wasn't paying attention to her officers’ actions out of training exercises and assessments. The more common problem was that there was a promoted officer micromanaging things. Her issue was a disregard for the necessary management of officers and noncoms.

  All officers and senior noncoms, even in the self-forming militia, were required to be trained and assessed. Unfortunately, continuing assessment was weak in the militia in general. Practically non-existent for the independent militias. Petrova would be reprimanded.

  The assessing officer, Captain Erisov, liked a challenge. Sergeant Ivonika and Lieutenant Nimenen were shaping the unit to their prejudices. Both had been abused by men at some point in their life.

  For Ivonika, it was a private, family issue. Those involved had been executed by Boris. Nimenen had been rescued from a group of particularly vicious bandits, as had her mother. Her dislike of men could be a dangerous thing.

  For all that, they were both good soldiers, fully trained. Captain Erisov thought they could be salvaged, but agreed with Olaf that they were a substantial factor in making the Amazons undeployable. Their strong personalities and opinions were not being countered or channeled by the officers above them.