The Winter Tyrant

Chapter 95: Sick Puppy

The Raiders had gone on the warpath. Even with the recent operation that saw a large number of their forces decapitated.

The reality was that they had too many men for Zach and the others to counter or deter entirely.

His hands fumbled with exhaustion as he assisted with setting up the 60mm light mortar in the snow beneath cover.

And he wasn’t the only one, the, and the peltasts had been operating without relief ever since they first returned to Elysium for resupply and rest.

He damn near dropped the shell onto the ground as he struggled to keep it in his hands.

"Fuck!" Zach screamed as he managed to catch it before it hit the snow. While the mortar wasn’t primed to go off from a simply slip of his hands, it was still an action that did not help the matter at all.

He took a single moment to catch his breath before placing the mortar shell just above the tube. Looking over at the man next to him who calculated the range and distance, and the third man by their side using a drone as a precise range finder.

"Target approaching contact range of 3,700 meters eta... until interception 3... 2... 1... fire."

Zach dropped the shell down the tube, and a second later it thumped as it shot wildly into the air, while the fourth man handed him another shell from the case.

He did not immediately fire, their ammunition was limited, and their supply chain even more so.

If they did not get their hands on the foundry, they would be effectively out of 60mm shells in the span of roughly two weeks of usage at their current rate.

Luckily, the drone operator was quick to relay new information.

"Confirmed hit, mobility kills confirmed across the board, targets appear to be mostly KIA with a few WIA, your orders boss, do we send another round, or let them bleed out in the snow?"

Zach sighed heavily as he carefully placed the second shell back in the case. He shook his head and relaxed in the snow beneath him.

"A wounded hostile is more valuable than a dead one. After all... dead men don’t call for help."

The drone operator flipped up his goggles real quick and looked at Zach from beneath his visor, though his expression couldn’t be seen his words conveyed the sentiment just fine.

"You’re one sick puppy, you know that, Perseus?"

Zach laughed and shook his head as he rested in the snow.

"I’m just maximizing lethality with limited munitions. If you think I’m bad, then blame the Archon, he’s the one who taught me to think this way."

The peltast didn’t say another word, partially because he knew it was true, and he also knew that manner of thinking was necessary to survive the brave new world they found themselves in.

---

The hoarse cries of the maimed came over the radio. Despite the primitive setup of their federation, the raiders had managed to jury rig a radio tower onto the manufacturing plant’s tallest spire.

It allowed them to use communications at a limited capacity. Aidan and Jack stared at one another in grim silence, seated across from the round table.

Their numbers had suffered severely since Marcus and his men first got himself killed. Every crew numbered at least a dozen in size and strength. Sometimes more than that.

Marcus, for example had two men for every snowmobile, and he had a dozen of them. Meaning when he got taken out he lost twenty four men with him.

Then there were the five groups that accompanied Mick to the afterlife. By now the time they realized they were at war their numbers had dwindled from roughly 450-500 down to 350-400.

However, the punitive expeditions had been more costly than they ever expected. And now they were looking at a total of half their total starting force.

They had never even seen the enemy. Yet they were being watched at all times. And they knew why... The enemies had drones that blended in with the stormy skies. They were hard to track, and even harder to shoot down as the moment they noticed they were spotted they dispersed.

But the worst part was hearing the groans of the dying, knowing that there was nothing they could do, because they would just be walking into another trap.

Jack shook his head and made a comment under his breath.

"This vengeance was a stupid idea...."

Aidan glared over at the man, their brief moment of reconciliation after Mick’s death was being strained with each passing moment, and each snide remark made between them.

But Jack didn’t apologize, instead he doubled down.

"What are you getting angry at me for, you know I’m right! If we had attacked Paradise Falls from the start, we may have been able to burn them to the ground. We had the advantage in mobility and superior numbers. They would not be fighting us like this if we didn’t! But no... we had to get revenge for the others. And now look at us, if we attack them now we will end up exactly like Lorenzo!"

Aidan smashed his fist on the table, shaking the glasses on top of it, tipping them over so that their contents spilled all over their crudely drawn map of the region and the major players in it as they knew existed.

He stared Jack directly in the eyes and gnashed his teeth.

"And what were we supposed to do! Those fucking bastards aided the enemy, we know they did! Were we supposed to continue as things were, and allow them to continue assassinating us! This is the reckoning that they have brought upon themselves."

Jack sighed and shook his head, he knew this wasn’t worth talking about, not at the moment.

"You’re right... we couldn’t have continued on the way things were. But leaving ourselves exposed to the enemy has made us even weaker than if we just stayed here in the foundry and gained intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities. Now, even if we figured out their exact numbers and armament, we likely don’t’ have enough men to sustain a siege."

Aidan was about to speak, but he caught himself, he knew that Jack was right. He just couldn’t admit it.

"And what would you have us do? Sit here and wait for them to surround us?"

Jack didn’t say anything, not for a long time. He looked at the map which now became increasingly stained with the red wine as it pooled over their own location.

He looked away towards the nearby fireplace and sighed.

"I will be taking my men, and whoever is willing to follow me, and leaving the ruins of this city behind. As uncertain as things may be out there, it is better than waiting for death here. Face it Aidan, Paradise Falls will win this. Especially now that we have ensured the surviving populations of those settlements will run to them."

He didn’t say another word, he simply walked off, already know exactly how Aidan would react to this.

Aidan, of course didn’t let Jack down as he throw a glass at the man, narrowly missing the back of his head and shattering against the wall.

"You fucking coward! You’re going to run away! Fine! Go, we don’t need those who would undermine this brotherhood from within, anyway! You better pray that Paradise Falls wins this, because if they don’t I will post a bounty on your head that will ensure no matter where you go, you will never be safe!"

Jack didn’t buy into the bait, he simply left Aidan to stand there alone in his rage. And by the dawn of the next day, he and his men were gone. And had taken their share of the "spoils with them."

Leaving Aidan down by another eighty men. The rest had stayed behind. There were now 220 men left in the Raider’s federation. And they were stuck in the foundry without any form of resupply.

They were cut off, surrounded, and had completely dismantled their entire economic system because they were betrayed by those they had extorted.

Aidan knew it, but he could not admit to it. The men whom had stayed behind had believed it was safer in the foundry where they still had warmth and supplies.

But this was short sighted thinking. Anyone with a semblance of foresight had left with Jack.

The room felt larger after he left. Not quieter... just emptier.

Aidan stood there for a long moment, staring at the door as if expecting it to open again. It didn’t.

The fire crackled behind him, casting long shadows across the walls as the last of the spilled wine continued to seep across the map.

The men who remained avoided his gaze. No one spoke. They had all heard it. They had all understood what it meant.

They just weren’t ready to admit it.