Sovereign

“Three Gallian Brigades have been cut off by advancing CFN forces in the small city of Alfaun. The frontlines have moved approximately thirty kilometers from Alfaun in just two days, but already, MN forces have begun a counterattack to relieve the besieged Gallian Army forces, with Orlish armor of the I OEF Corps once again spearheading the attack.”

- Geopol Press

+++

Twenty Kilometers from Alfaun

June 28, 2025

I OEF Corps

C/4-5 Light Mech Brigade “Donnergrollen”

“This is some bullcrap…”

Armin’s whining was ignored by Niko as their convoy advanced through the road once more. Niko simply kept watching with his binoculars as he sighed. Right in front of them, another Löwe tank drove itself straight into a mine. He watched as a tracked recovery vehicle built from the Löwe’s chassis pulled the destroyed tank off the road, its crew merely shaking their heads on the side as they watched their tank get pulled away.

Immediately, the forward elements of their convoy advanced, with HMLVs advancing first ahead of the armored elements. While they were well-spaced as they advanced on the highway, and they were under heavy air cover, with LF-12s and AH-22s passing overhead, Niko wasn’t exactly confident of the arrangement.

“We can’t do anything about it,” Niko said. “We have to reach them quickly. We’re already eight hours late.”

“I know, but damn it, can’t they see this bullcrap?!” Armin shouted. “There’s friggin…we’re only spaced like what, twenty meters? We’re like free food here. I mean, I’ve seen enough wiped-out Larissan armor to know this is braindead!”

Niko sighed. He also wanted to spread out with their advance, unfortunately, the area was densely forested for the most part, and this was the only highway where they could advance properly in the rural terrain. Normally, they’d advance in a more piecemeal manner, platoon by platoon. But that also quickly proved stupid when the first recon teams sent hours ago were annihilated by Larissan forces.

They could do it in a more cautious manner, but then that’d also be slower. And so, Niko could only accept it when the order came in. Their entire brigade would be advancing as fast as they could and in a more concentrated manner.

It wasn’t just them, the four pincers of the advance, all of which moving through four highways leading to Alfaun, each assigned to one brigade of the I OEF Corps, were advancing in a very similar way. It was stupid. It was the height of arrogance. It was…

Well, so far, it was working.

“Look, we’ll just fight well when it happens,” Niko said as he contacted Sven. “Get the mech moving forward, will you? All units, we’re moving forward. Watch your sensors.”

“Roger!”

At once, when the last HMLV ahead of Niko’s mech moved, Sven immediately drove their LSS mech forward. It was the start of another ten-minute ride on the rough woods, with Niko and Armin watching each nook and cranny for any enemy that might ambush them. But there was nothing.

Soon, the entire convoy was driving at somewhere around forty kilometers per hour, very much speeding through the area without care. Niko kept himself in touch with the battalion’s radio communications, where he was only essentially ordered to keep up with the motorized infantry in front of him. He obeyed.

By the twentieth-minute mark, however, their arrangement proved to be a mistake. Suddenly, a shot sliced clean through the second HMLV of the convoy, stopping it dead. Immediately, the motorized infantry company ahead of him stopped on the side, the soldiers immediately dismounting, clutching their rifles as their .50 cals opened fire in the direction of the attack.

“Sven! Get us closer to the front of the convoy!” Niko shouted on his earpiece, as he ducked low while shielding himself with his hatch, using it as protection while looking around the battlefield. “Armin, prepare a sabot, quick! Any returns on the thermals?”

“I see two T-18s ahead of us, deep in the woods!” Armin replied back, as their mech crawled through the side of the road unoccupied by the HMLVs ahead of them. Sven stopped their mech right beside the fourth HMLV behind the destroyed HMLV, and Armin took his target. “It’s trying to back out!”

“Don’t let it get away!” Niko ordered. “Take the shot!”

“Firing!”

Their main gun immediately opened fire, and Niko watched as it flew straight into the woods, slamming into something that he couldn’t properly make out.

“Did you get it?”

“I don’t know!” Armin answered. “But it stopped. Wait, it’s moving again! Reloading!”

“Just keep the main gun on it!”

Behind Niko, one of his company’s mechs finally stopped and opened fire in another direction. Niko immediately pulled out his binoculars as a tower of fire rose up in the woods, and he could see the enemy tank at last—eight hundred meters away, its turret on fire. That’s good. That’s good. He then searched for the target that Armin fired a shot on, as two ATGMs from their infantry flew in the direction of the last Larissan tank.

They however failed, merely slamming into a bunch of boulders as the Larissan tank popped its smoke. That was when Niko heard the chopping noises of an AH-22 Attack Helicopter above him, and in just a few seconds, two missiles went off from its pylons.

He watched with his binoculars as the Larissan tank cooked off from behind cover after being struck. Direct hits.

“Oh come on! That was my kill!” Armin shouted from below. “Our kill I mean! Damn those flyboys man!”

“Come on,” Sven suddenly said with a laugh from below. “You got an assist at least.”

“Pfft, an assist?! I fired at it first!” Armin said. “It went straight to its turret. The…the damned ERA just…”

“Well, shoot better next time then,” Niko said with a chuckle, as he lowered his binoculars. “Good job, team.” He then pulled out his radio. “Alright, drive back into formation Charlie Company. Shit ain’t over yet.”

+++

We’re already sixteen hours late. Niko thought as he eyed the town ahead of them. Behind him, elements of C Company already began dispersing on the flat areas, as they checked the town for any hostile elements. This thing has gone bad. We’re still too far.

The road to Alfaun had been nothing but bloody for the CFN, with Niko’s company already leaving nearly a dozen Larissan tanks burning in the woods behind them alone. But now, they had finished passing through the forested areas, and they were merely only a few kilometers away from Alfaun.

Yet…

“I don’t see anything on my end, Captain,” Armin reported, as their turret stopped turning. It was already pitch black for Niko as he watched the horizon with his binoculars, the fog further obscuring things, but the attack had to proceed even with low visibility. C Company would essentially be the main spearhead to take the town, with two other companies forming on their sides, mostly made up of mechanized and motorized infantry.

The rest of their brigade’s armor was being held in reserve for now, as they had to protect their flanks from any counterattacks. And so, Niko began thinking about their attack. He positioned his platoons in a standard, spread-out formation. Collectively, they occupied a kilometer-wide area alone, sitting directly on the road leading to the town.

Together, the other companies occupied a kilometer each, so they would be spaced in a three-kilometer-wide area of dispersion. Good, but not so good. That was still quite tight for a modern engagement. Especially with the expectation that enemy artillery might begin raining down on them, and Niko wasn’t particularly optimistic about that part.

“We already called in the 22nd Aviation Battalion,” Niko said. “Just keep watching. We’ll have attack choppers coming to support us, so just…keep cool, kid. It’s gonna be fine.”

“Right…” Armin replied.

Niko on the other hand waited as his unit drove into their respective positions. He gave the horizon another scan, but again, there was nothing of any sort of hostile activity. It seemed that the enemy was either hiding well or they already abandoned this town, which wouldn’t surprise him.

Unless they didn’t.

It was two thousand meters from their position. So Niko wondered. Why wouldn’t the Larissans come out and engage them already while Niko’s assault force was still setting up? There was some treeline, and Niko knew that they could camouflage themselves and they could be dug in on some sort of foxholes or dug their tanks into entrenched positions. So they might be really determined for an ambush. But they already allowed the opportunity to pass.

Now, if there was someone trying to ambush them though, they should have seen something already even if they were holding fire.

But we still picked up nothing on the thermals.

“Captain, 1st Platoon is ready to advance,” one of his Lieutenants spoke on the radio. “Any orders?”

“Hold positions,” Niko replied. “We’re holding until the choppers arrive.”

“Copy.”

Niko went back into his binoculars. Still nothing. At this point, a more aggressive commander would have already ordered his armor to go loose. To charge forward. But Niko wasn’t that kind of a company commander. He preferred being cautious. Because caution meant fewer deaths.

But again, at the same time, they were already hours late into the relief efforts. Which meant he really had to make a decision now. He wanted to contact their battalion commander, but Niko was already assigned as the temporary operational commander for this assault. Mostly because he was the one closest to the front.

That, and he knew his battalion commander wasn’t exactly the brightest one, so Niko would really have to go with this thing alone.

The choppers are still a few minutes away. Niko thought to himself. Maybe ten minutes away. Each goddamned second is a second wasted. If that town’s empty, we can just drive through it and get back on the goddamned road. But if it’s not…

Niko took a deep breath.

Screw it, those Gallians need us.

“Change of plans, 1st Platoon, move out now. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, keep watch and advance forward in a staggered manner. It seems that the town is clear, but there might be infantry elements that can surprise us. Don’t be too confident.”

Their formation immediately advanced, and Niko’s mech followed closely. He kept himself down low on the hatch, as he watched the dark silhouettes of his company’s armored elements drive forward side-by-side with him. They drove about four hundred meters ahead, waiting for any ambush attack, but nothing.

Not a single gunfire. They continued. Two hundred meters. Three hundred meters. Some of the LSS Mechs from 1st Platoon stopped momentarily, but they moved again. Armin continued to report nothing, and Niko continued to see nothing. They advanced. Soon, they were only a thousand meters from the town.

Nothing.

They moved forward further, as they saw a few wrecks of destroyed T-96 tanks on the road. Still no gunfire. Soon, the first LSS Mechs of 1st Platoon entered the town itself, as the M8 IFVs from 4th Platoon dismounted the troops they carried closely behind. They began combing through street after street, while Niko’s mech advanced on the main road.

“Clear!” Someone shouted at the comms, and Niko breathed a sigh. There was nothing in the town. The goddamned Larissans already abandoned it. “No hostile elements spotted.”

“All units, get back to the damned road. We’re moving out at once!” Niko ordered as fell into his seat back inside the turret, drinking water from his canteen. Armin could only sag in his seat.

“Well, lucky us then,” Armin said as he looked at Niko with a grin. “They chickened out.”

“Yep, lucky us, I guess,” Niko agreed, closing the cap on his canteen. “For now, at least.”

They still hadn’t reached Alfaun after all.