Task Force Omega - Prologue: The Breaking Point
#1 of Task Force Omega
Task Force Omega
The Breaking Point (Prologue)
"Incoming!"
The warning from one of the lookouts echoed briefly until the sound of artillery drowned it. Sergeant Fenris crouched down in the trench, making himself as small as possible. It wasn't easy to hide the burly mass of muscles and silvery gray fur that was his body in the narrow trench, not much more than a ditch. He was large for a Canidian wolf, almost as large as an average citizen of Houndmooreland or Nordfält. Not that this lower position would help him if an artillery shell got too close, but it was still the most sensible thing to do. The artillery barrage shook the ground. He heard soldiers screaming, although he didn't know if they were hit or just scared out of their wits. Many of the soldiers around him were new recruits, this being their first time under enemy fire. Fenris didn't actually remember his first time, since it blended with the countless artillery strikes thereafter, but he remembered the fear. These days he didn't feel fear anymore. Not in the same sense anyway. His spirit was broken in a way, as living with death for so long would do to you. There was no way out, no escape. He was trapped, and only death would relieve him. The first weeks in the trenches he hadn't understood why some soldiers committed suicide rather than face the danger. He'd seen a few corpses with their rifles in their mouths, big toes of their naked hind paw on the trigger. After all, wasn't death what you did your best to avoid at all times? Wasn't that the reason you fought? Now he understood perfectly. Death was a given thing here, so why suffer unnecessarily? Still, he couldn't make himself do it. His survival instinct was too strong. He'd tried to escape in every other way possible, but still he was here. At the very day the draft order arrived in the mail he jumped on the first train to Cynodia, but they had caught him at the border and taken him to a labour camp before sending him off to clear minefields. It was a wonder he hadn't blown himself up, but somehow he'd survived long enough to be sent back to a regular infantry company. His refusal to die had made him one of the senior soldiers in the company, eventually making him a platoon sergeant. He'd also refused to follow orders several times, when he deemed them stupid or suicidal, so he'd been demoted several times. And the promoted again. Right now he was a squad sergeant again. He'd gotten away lightly, probably because he was a fucking good soldier. Why only the gods knew. The only thing he really knew anything about was survival. Survival in the streets as a pup, and now survival in the trenches. It wasn't exactly easy. He'd been seriously wounded three times, but each time he'd recovered and been sent back to duty. There simply was no escape for him. At one time he even right out deserted, heading for the Cynodian border a second time, but again he'd been caught. He'd probably been shot if the felines hadn't chosen that moment to launch a major offensive. He'd been immediately sent to the front line, presumably expected to be killed, but he hadn't. Instead he had knocked out two machine gun nests in the counter assault and helped capture an enemy command post. It didn't look good to execute heroes, so the charges were dropped. A large part in survival was luck, and he had had a lot of that.
Luck only got you so far though. Sometimes you had to tweak the odds. Like now, when the platoon lieutenant shouted absurd orders all around. The vulpine officer spotted Fenris and ran up to him.
"Sergeant, we need a clear look at those artillery positions! Take your squad and establish an observation post on hill 23."
Fenris groaned inside.
"But, sir, that's in the middle of no man's land. You expect me to go there during a barrage?"
"I expect you to follow orders!" The lieutenant, a spectacled fox named Spear, looked at him with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Fenris knew that glare. Spear looked more like a timid school teacher than a front line officer, but he had a mean streak like few others. Nevertheless, Fenris tried to reason with him once more.
"Sir, my... squad... there's only four of us left. I don't have enough soldiers."
"I don't care. You are the recon squad and you will do your bloody job. Do I make myself clear?
"Perfectly" Fenris brazed himself. This was going to get unpleasant. "But I will not do it. It would be suicide." He met Spear's gaze. The glint in the eyes of the fox went from threatening to pure rage.
"How do you dare to refuse my orders? I will give you one more chance. Obey or I will shoot you myself." Spear reached for his service revolver, but before he had a chance to draw it two of the soldiers of Fenris' squad got their rifles up, pointing them directly at the lieutenant. Spear froze, probably not so much out of fear as of surprise. Then his face twisted, his jaw moved spastically. Fenris could almost see the foam on his lips.
"Sergeant major!" he screamed. "Arrest these soldiers!"
The sergant major, a dark-coloured Canidian wolf and a company veteran, came running, but then he stopped, hesitating.
"Sir," he said to the lieutenant, "This is hardly the right time for..."
"Does nobody follow order today? Will I have to shoot you all?"
The sergeant major snapped to attention.
"No sir, of course not. Fenris, will you surrender your and your soldiers' weapons?"
Fenris knew the game was up. Then again, being arrested was better than going over the top to meet certain death. He'd been here before. Still, his situation could hardly get worse.
"Alright then. Stand down, soldiers."
He threw his rifle on the ground and let his revolver belt fall to the frozen mud below. His men lay down their rifles as well.
"Could you at least let my soldiers go? They're not part of this."
"They're very much a part of this. Threatening an officer, pointing _their gun_s at me? Intolerable!"
"Well I thought so." Fenris shrugged. The he leaped at Spear's throat, fangs bared and claws in attack position. He didn't mean to kill the bastard, at least he didn't think so, but he simply couldn't hold his anger contained anymore. Damn his instincts. He hit the baffled lieutenant hard enough for them both to tumble to the ground. The fox looked completely bewildered, as if he'd never seen a furious canine before. Maybe he hadn't, at least not at such close range. Fenris wasn't sure what would have happened if the sergeant major hadn't intervened. He felt the full force of the sergeant major's boot right in the face. He rolled of Spear, half unconscious by the savage kick. Then strong arms dragged him up on his feet. His vision was blurred, both from the impact itself and from a stream of blood trickling from his forehead. He did extinguish the form of the lieutenant though, now back on his feet as well. Spear drew his revolver and pressed the barrel to Fenris' forehead.
"You know, I could shoot you right here, and nobody would care. I have the right."
"Sir," the sergeant major said. "It's better to go through the formal channels. It's certainly best for your career."
The lieutenant looked at the sergeant major. Then he lowered his weapon.
"You're probably right. But don't think you'll weasel your way out of this, Fenris. Not this time. I'll make sure you'll face a firing squad for this."
"And sir?" The sergeant major said. "We need every soldier we've got. There's no need to arrest the others."
"No need? No need? They threatened me, for the sake of the loved gods! But alright, as long as they follow my previous order, I'll let them off the hook."
Spear reached out and yanked the Cross of Honorable Service from Fenris' breast pocket.
"You don't deserve this, traitor. You're just a maggot, a disease. You're the reason we haven't won this war yet. But now you've made your final mistake."
Fenris was led away. At least he would be out of the trenches for a few days. Every moment of life counted, even if his situation was dire. But he'd done things far worse before. He hoped his lucky star was still bloody lucky enough. He needed every ounce of the luck it could bring.
Next chapter:
- The New Assignment