Attack!

After losing the ambush squad positioned southeast of the village, Lieutenant Andrew, commander of the Empire's Orbital Paratroopers, knew he was in serious trouble.

The question was no longer how to attack the village. Whether the men he had left could get out of the fight safely was uncertain.

The speed of Amber's assault had led the lieutenant to misjudge the strength of the opposing force.

Andrew believed the Federation mechanized force that had arrived as reinforcements was sizable and had plenty of armored vehicles.

With only one Holy Spirit and fewer than forty Orbital Paratroopers left under his command, he could no longer face them head-on.

Andrew immediately decided to call off the attack on the village and withdraw everyone to the ambush position in the west.

At his order, the communications soldier fired two signal flares, one green and one blue.

It was their prearranged signal for the men at the western ambush position to provide cover while the main force stopped its attack and withdrew west.

Andrew then ran up beside the Holy Spirit, which was watching the smoke. Ignoring the danger of being crushed by a mechanical leg, he pressed his palm against it.

"Command: Activate Contact Emergency Communication."

"Channel established. Connecting."

A gentle notification sounded.

A moment later, the Holy Spirit stopped moving and lowered its body slightly.

On Andrew's communications display, where every icon had shown "No Signal," the icon for the Holy Spirit light Multi-legged Combat Vehicle lit up.

The driver's voice came through in his ear.

"Lieutenant! Can you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear! Fire toward the smoke to keep them back! Cover our withdrawal to the west!"

"Understood, Lieutenant! Get everyone clear of the muzzle blast! You withdraw first. I'll cover you!"

Boom! Boom!

Before they had finished speaking, two explosions erupted between them and the smoke.

Andrew instinctively threw himself to the ground.

The Holy Spirit's driver moved the vehicle two steps forward, shielding Andrew behind it.

Boom! Boom!

Two more explosions followed, this time much closer to the attacking force.

Andrew realized at once that the enemy's indirect fire had begun.

Judging by the blasts, he estimated that the Federation had two 100- or 120-millimeter mortars.

He couldn't tell whether they were adjusting their fire or laying down a Creeping Barrage with the two mortars.

Either way, it was bad news for the Empire's attacking force.

His Contact Emergency Communication link with the vehicle had broken when he hit the ground. Once he managed to get back up, Andrew abandoned the idea of reconnecting.

He looked up at the Holy Spirit. The spherical main camera at the front of the light Multi-legged Combat Vehicle turned toward him.

Andrew flipped up his faceplate and shouted, "Fire!" as he gestured toward the smoke.

A red light flashed across the Holy Spirit's main camera, as though acknowledging his order.

Then the light Multi-legged Combat Vehicle moved.

As the other Orbital Paratroopers began withdrawing west, it worked its eight mechanical legs and took up position at the rear of the formation.

Boom!

The 120-millimeter Electrothermal-Chemical Cannon fired as soon as its autoloader finished loading a programmable high-explosive round.

At the same time, the Gauss Machine Gun mounted on a mechanical arm beneath the front of the vehicle began firing long bursts toward the smoke.

But Andrew, busy directing the withdrawal, had no idea that Amber was watching his head through a scope from behind a field ridge several hundred meters away.

Moving around the battlefield under Optical Cloaking, Amber had kept track of the attack while devoting even more attention to finding the enemy commander.

From what he knew of Empire infantry formations, a commander in a mixed infantry-and-armor engagement would either be inside the armored unit or directing the fight nearby.

So when Lieutenant Andrew leaned in to speak with the communications soldier, Amber picked him out.

The long antenna on the communications gear carried by the soldier's Exoskeleton made his role easy to identify.

Under Empire regulations, the command group of either a mechanized infantry platoon or an Orbital Paratrooper platoon consisted of a platoon leader, a platoon sergeant, and a communications soldier.

Amber figured the platoon sergeant had been at either the mortar position they had taken out earlier or one of the ambush positions flanking the village.

That made the man speaking with the communications soldier very likely the platoon leader.

Then Amber saw him press a hand against one of the Holy Spirit's mechanical legs, apparently using Contact Emergency Communication.

Afterward, the man waved his arm to direct the Multi-legged Combat Vehicle's fire.

That confirmed his identity for Amber.

The rangefinder in his scope settled at 562 meters.

At that distance, with the Gauss Sniper Rifle's muzzle velocity of 2,800 meters per second, there was no need to account for bullet drop or flight time.

Amber slowed his breathing. He activated his Exoskeleton's Sniper Mode, letting it steady him and reduce the tiny involuntary movements of his body.

As though a vehicle's stabilization system had been switched on, Amber held the crosshairs firmly on the target's head and waited patiently for the right moment.

At last, as the target withdrew west with the other Empire Orbital Paratroopers, he glanced back and went still for an instant.

Amber pulled the trigger of the Gauss Sniper Rifle without hesitation.

More than 560 meters away, the retreating communications soldier was about to approach Lieutenant Andrew with a report.

Instead, he saw a bright streak cut across the battlefield in an instant and strike Andrew in the head.

Like a balloon bursting, the lieutenant's head vanished.

Bang!

Only a moment later did the sound of the shot arrive.

Through his scope, Amber watched the headless body slump to the ground. He immediately lowered his rifle, rolled to the left, and sprinted away as fast as he could.

Seconds later, an explosion turned the spot where he had fired into a sea of flames.

The Holy Spirit's trajectory detection system had sounded an alert the instant Amber fired and marked an approximate position on the driver's tactical map.

When the driver saw that his platoon leader was dead, he first stared in disbelief. Then anger surged through him.

As if he had lost all reason, he turned the vehicle and its turret, ordered the autoloader to load a High-Explosive Incendiary Shell designed for use against personnel, and fired it at the marked position.

The 120-millimeter High-Explosive Incendiary Shell engulfed Amber's firing position in flames, and the blast wave sent him stumbling.

The Multi-legged Combat Vehicle had returned fire faster than Amber expected. If he hadn't run, he might have been roasted by now.

Isabel's voice came through his earpiece, edged with urgency:

"Keep moving! Those Orbital Paratroopers are closing in on your position!"

"What? Aren't they retreating?"

"How should I know?! The drone feed is clear: the remaining Multi-legged Combat Vehicle and infantry are all charging your position!"

Amber dropped prone in the field again and suddenly realized this was the perfect opportunity.

Without pausing to catch his breath or consider his own safety, he gave one final order.

"All units, attack! All units, attack!"

"Armored vehicles, focus your fire on that Multi-legged Combat Vehicle! Take it out first!"

Thanks to everyone for the tips and monthly votes!

I'm honestly overwhelmed.