RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 32: Case Yellow (Day 10 – Ironic)

RM Vol 4: War – Chapter 32: Case Yellow (Day 10 – Ironic)



BANG

The Darscen Colonel fires the last round in his rifle, hitting a young Erusean soldier charging at him with a fixed bayonet in the torso. As the poor young boy collapses to his death, the Darscen Colonel switches his grip on his Mauser Model 1935 rifle, using it as a club to bash the head of another Erusean. That Erusean thought he could exploit the Colonel's lack of ammo. He thought wrong as the Darscen Colonel is not just a helpless old man. No, he is a pissed of old man. The buttstock of the old Darscen cracks at the strike caved the Erusean's steel helmet and even his skull. Discarding his broken rifle, the Darscen Colonel bends down and loots the corpse of his enemy in a practiced manner. This is not the first time he has done the morbid act in this past hour. The Colonel forages munition and weapons from the bodies of friends and foes alike. It's an act that is unfortunately mirrored by the survivors of his Infantry Regiment.

Already low on munitions and supplies due to prior battles with the Belkans, not to mention the multiple casualties they were bringing with them on their path to surrender, the Darscen Infantry Regiment was nearly wiped out when the Erusean scums suddenly betrayed. The Darscens' ranks would have been overran by Valentines and Vicker-equipped Vren Carriers if not for the Colonel bravely leading a defensive blockade. With him was a sole Infantry Company that was at half-strength, using nothing but rifles and grenades to stop the Eruseans dead in their tracks.

The Darscens now holding the armored vehicles and bloodthirsty Eruseans back at bay are fighting an uphill battle. Yet, behind them are the injured and those who can't continue the fight due to sheer ammo shortage. The Colonel and his men can't give up, especially not when the Eruseans seem to have gone mad and are out for their deaths. The constant losses they suffered on the fields must have gotten to them. Since they also blatantly violated the Geneva Convention, they also had no choice but to kill all the witnesses. This Darscen Infantry Regiment got the short straw today and is facing total annihilation because a bloody Erusean officer just has to be trigger-happy!

Looting a fully loaded Tommy Gun with another space drum magazine, the Colonel rejoins the fight. Having retreated his Regiment back into the woods, albeit a bit too sparse for his liking, the Darsen Colonel succeeded in limiting the force deployment of the Erusean Mechanized Battalion. As what remains of the Colonel's defensive Company is holding a stretch of terrain that is otherwise inaccessible to the Eruseans' slow-ass Valentines, the enemy has no choice but to mount an infantry charge. Despite the terrain advantage, the Eruseans found themselves stuck in the open while the Darscens retreated into the forest, the Eruseans still had a distinct number advantage over the Darscen Colonel's force. Coupled with the suppressive fire provided by the Valentine Is and the escort of a few Bren Carriers, the Erusean troops should manage to flush out the Colonel's Company with a simple frontal charge... At least, that was what the Erusean officer thought. Unfortunately for the Erusean betrayers, they run into a particularly hard wall that is a very competent Darscen Colonel, something that also trickles down from the Regimental to Company level.

A military boot, not Erusean nor Darscen, comes into his view before a shadow can be seen looming over the Colonel. It takes the Colonel's eyes a while to adjust and see the telltale markings that denote the affiliation of this newcomer. Flecktarn camouflage pattern, a gun with a boxy magazine, the obvious Belkan patches on the shirt and vest... Yeah, that's a Belkan soldier, alright. The Darscen Colonel can't see their face due to their balaclava, but he can make out the large red cross patch emblazoned in the middle of their chest rig.

"Hey!" The figure shouts in Belkan. "We got a live one here! Get a stretcher!"

While the other Belkan soldiers move to take out Erusean stragglers, Belkan CASEVAC rescues the Darscen survivors and relocates them to a safe position for treatment. Being carried away with care by his former enemy, the Darscen Colonel can't stop himself from thinking just how twisted this world is. An enemy by day yet a friend by night is a thing, huh.