“Hurry up!”

The Major’s shout was filled with anxiety as he was looking around. The chaotic movement of soldiers had enveloped the military base and was the result of commanding officers being caught off guard by the enemy. They assumed that they had at least a few days to slowly end preparation before starting the whole thing. However, somehow and once again the beastmen made the proactive move as if they knew the plan from the beginning.

“Fucking traitors…”

Muttering curses, the major tried to think over the new information in an attempt to understand how it would affect his mission. That only led to a new wave of abusive language as the situation was bad. It wasn’t critical to the point of abandoning the mission but was bad enough to make the chances of return almost non-existent.

All forces for the upcoming attack were gathered twenty miles (32km) behind the front lines in the open field. No one bothered with making any fortifications as the main purpose was to attack, not to defend. Completely relying on the existing trenches and troops, the general staff only provided a few patrols of dirigibles to be sure that the military base wouldn’t be noticed by the enemy’s aircraft before the start. Moreover, not to be too visible or noticed beforehand, dirigibles didn’t fly closer than ten miles (16km) to the main line of fortification. Such precautions had to be enough not to attract unwanted attention. At least on paper. However, they failed.

The beastmen not only attacked the closest to the base point of defense but also managed to break through it in no time. The problem was that they started to move to the sides, clearing the trenches and widening the gap. That was the last message from the soldiers there before the telegraph’s cable was cut off. The bigger problem in this situation was the very same fact of the absence of any fortifications. That led to a quick response, once again signaling a complete loose of initiative, which was the direct way to the catastrophic consequences.

The only hope that the major had was the quantity of troops they managed to accumulate for the operation. Even if the current situation deteriorates to the point when they wouldn’t have enough strength to make a deep breakthrough, it would be still more than enough to return the control over captured positions. On the other hand, such an outcome would make a return way for the squad a real lottery.

“In the war, the sacrificed are meant to be made… Hope they will achieve at least something to make all my efforts worth it.”

Gazing around, he returned his gaze to the squad that was quickly loading the boxes with ammo and supplies into the dirigible. The latter, being the scout version, wasn’t big. The cabin was made of three small rooms – the control center, the storage in the middle, and the engineering room that were almost encircled by a narrow pathway from the sides to ensure the ability to observe the surroundings.

The balloon itself was made from a metal rigid frame, which was covered by tough fabric with anti-piercing properties. Filled with nonflammable gas invented by Colonel Carrey, it was painted in a mixture of gray and light blue colors to be less visible in the sky. The segmented structure only increased the survivability of such airships, turning them into armored skydiving machines of war. This one wasn’t like a real dreadnought that carried tens of heavy bombs and could boast multiple shooting posts. Still, it wouldn’t go down with ease. And seeing the confident look on Mason’s face, the major finally managed to calm down his nerves and speak.

“You know the plan. Good luck everyone!”

Ignoring the responses from the group, the major swiftly turned around before heading to the parked car with a driver, who was patiently waiting for his high-rank passenger. Hoping inside, he paused, watching a long line of cars, which were constantly moving. Along them, the non-stopping mass of soldiers were walking under the watchful eyes of their sergeants. They had different expressions. Some were joking and laughing, while others were too focused on praying. Some were pale as death, too scared of future battle. Some had empty eyes, burned down from the inside from the terrifying experience they had, which turned them into broken parodies of form selves. There were many more others that the major had seen already after so much time. Sighing, he muttered silently.

“If only those furry bastards never attacked, nothing of this would be needed. No sacrifices, no deaths, no broken fates, nothing…”

“What, sir? Can you repeat, please?”

“Nothing… To the staff. Now, go!”

Rotating the starting lever a few times with accustomed movement, the driver made the engine come to life with a roar. Checking the level of crystallized fuel through the special glass meter and temperature range, he nodded before finally pressing the pedal. The car responded with a small delay, but soon as if in an attempt to catch up, began to accelerate at a faster pace, soon disappearing in the endless rows of trucks and soldiers. At least Robert had lost track, being distracted by Raphael’s question.

“Why hadn’t you picked the machine gun?”

Turning his head, Rob looked at the younger Olos brother with a question in his eyes. Seeing that the latter immediately started to explain.

“I mean, you are huge. The machine gun is also huge… and powerful. Perfect match… Obviously,” he added, noticing the absence of any agreement in Rob’s eyes.

“How would I use it in tight places? Who would hold the bullet belt so the machine gun wouldn’t jam? How would I aim without bipod? How would I carry so much ammunition?”

“Not saying that we are already on the verge of weight. Maybe it would be a good idea to dump one idiot to carry something more useful, but your brother will not be happy about it,” Mason added, leaning out from the control room.

“Hey, it is a good idea… Does nobody can see it? Garold?” Raphael turned to the dwarf, who was carefully checking a long rifle with scope.

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“Yes, as I said, useful weight instead of the idiot,” nodded the pilot, hiding inside.

“Raph, you picked the wrong person to ask,” agreed Robert with a smile.

“Do you seriously ask me whether the god-sent rifle with its beauty of precision skill-based shooting has to be replaced with a crude parody that trades everything just for the sheer number of bullets and is mostly meant not to kill, but to suppress the enemy’s ranks? Are you…”

“Okay, I got it, got it,” Raphael had interrupted the dwarf, before adding, “It’s just much cooler. Big guy, big gun, multiple enemies around. Bang, bang, bang…”

“Hard pass,” Robert instantly declined such a scene, imagining that he would not last even ten seconds in such a situation.

“Stop messing around and move your asses. Mason is already starting engines. Rob, I need your help with a shovel and toborium,” surprisingly, Jack’s voice was focused and serious as if he finally switched his fooling mood off, “Task for others – check the weapons and fill as many magazines as you can. Raphael, and Leonardo, set aside empty boxes – we will drop them later. Oh, and a friendly reminder from our dear pilot – go to the toilet right now because you may not have the ability to do it. Miss Carrey, better leave your extra shit on the ground… I mean, stuff, of course, don’t need to roll your eyes. Just a slip of the tongue, no offense.”

Either they will have sex or a tribunal for killing a squad mate. I bet on the former…

Smiling at this thought, Robert hastily climbed inside the cabin, he went to the back only to find a strange, closed stove, a shovel, a huge box with crystals, and multiple odd machines that together combined in a working engine. Leaning from the small window, Rob found a huge pair of propellers. A few more were located along the bottom of the ballon, moved through a system of spindles and gears.

“Let’s fucking go. The freaky snails are faster than us!”

Alice’s voice sounded quite irritated, and Rob understood the reason. Despite the alarm, which had put in motion the whole military base, it was already almost four hours after the interruption of the briefing. It took time for the major to find out what was happening, change the plans, find the truck, get the supplies, and finally drive to the dirigible only to find out it was in the middle of service, getting ready for the upcoming operation.

On the other hand, it gave time for everyone to go through a basic plan. Jack created a few routes and explained the task of each one. Mason even taught Rob how to fuel the engines, which, frankly speaking, appeared to be very easy with temperature and pressure being the most crucial things to control. Still, it was indeed slow as it could be, creating pressure from anticipation. Just Alice happened to be the first to break.

“You’ve heard the real lady! Mason, start the thing,” Jack wasn’t himself if had not tried once again to prick on Margarete Carrey.

“Yes, captain!”

There was a stream of hot air from the tiniest gaps in the machine before the engines released a whistling sound and started to move the dirigible up. Robert didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy the sight as Mason’s orders made him busy with putting more crystals and watching over the parameters. Still, from time to time he gazed through the window down to the ground, partly mesmerized by what he was seeing.

It wasn’t the mass of military equipment as Rob had controlled over two hundred of machines, which were much deadlier. It wasn’t the view from the skies as having multiple drones to observe the battle from different angles and heights he had seen a lot. No, it was more like the energy in the movement of thousands of soldiers. Following the routes, it seemed much more chaotic than what he was accustomed to. Livelier. Real. Knowing that all this mass had a single purpose – to kill the enemy – made all scenes both epic and terrifying as an unknown part of this enormous war machine wouldn’t be alive quite soon. Grandiose picture in its terrible essence.

On the other hand, it made him feel a sense of belonging with a ting of pride, being a part of this machine. He had heard enough stories about beastmen’s deeds not to see them as nothing more than targets. Robert couldn’t buy bullshit about innocent soldiers who just followed the orders as the very same soldiers were doing these atrocities, and not the politicians themselves. There could be logical reasons why they were doing it, like propaganda, fear of punishment, or silent inaction, but he didn’t care. It felt different from times in his medieval war when the knights stopped the bloodshed of civilians relatively quickly, being a real power struggle instead of direct genocide, coming from aggressive invaders. Both aliens and beastmen had a similar approach in wiping out every single soul if possible. Moreover, it became a personal thing as losing comrades-in-arms couldn’t leave him without a desire for revenge.

Therefore, such a mixture of emotions, while looking at the real army from above couldn’t leave him calm or indifferent. Robert wasn’t the only one in awe as others were expressing their thoughts aloud, sounding really alike. Nevertheless, it didn’t take much time before the reaction was subsided. Such numbers of troops, taking into account the distance, would need many hours to reach their destination turning the march into a monotonous and uninspiring act. Their squad had enough time to see it with their own eyes, as Jack had decided to follow the main force until two-thirds of the way before changing route.

Still, Rob couldn’t help but spare another glance downwards to armed masses, which were slowly turning into endless rivers of soldiers and machines. This river would soon turn into multiple small streams to cover more space, but not now. Raising his sight, Robert glanced at the massive airships that were flying not too far from them. He could see the busy movement on them, while the crew was readying their war machine for the upcoming battle.

Yeah, falling from such a height would be deadly… At least there are no rodents here. Those all-eating bastards are a real plague. Rations, boots, they even managed to gnaw my rifle’s butt!

Returning his look to the complex machinery around him, Robert sat directly on the floor, not willing to bet on the durability of the retractable chair that was located on the wall. Closing his eyes, while conjuring the coin, he started to do what most soldiers were familiar with – patiently wait right after the hast preparations that were made in an insane rush.

There was another heated discussion from his squad mates in the next room, but Rob was too lazy to join it. It was not about the mission, so all formalities were dropped, while Jack and Mason were exchanging different arguments about which region could boast the tastiest gastronomy. Alice went even further, directly insulting anyone, who disagreed with her. The wartime mixed the subordination in the army in a funny way, when off-topics were quite informal, while any commands were executed without delays. Of course, not all officers were like that, and Robert had seen some, who even during the battles were demanding a respectful tone. Such idiots mostly died fast, as keeping a distance from their soldiers was a good way not to be saved in the time of a need. Obviously, nobody liked assholes.

The quarrel continued to escalate once again, when Margarette decided to add her own comment. Luckily, the pilot was still paying attention to his main responsibility of controlling the aircraft, reminding him about it with a loud shout right in the middle of the discussion.

“Rob, we need to go higher. Do you remember what to do?”

“Yes, senior lieutenant, sir, I do,” opening his eyes, Rob stood up. Looking around at the sky, which was steadily starting to be covered with more and more clouds, he muttered.

“I hope it will hide us from being noticed too early.”