Wasteland War

The lumbering tanks rolled forward, flanked by vast numbers of grey uniformed infantry. Above them, fighter jets roared across the sky jubilantly. Further south, Denson was sitting in the command vehicle, a camo painted van with many antennas and a radar dish on its roof. All the battlefield information was at his fingertips.

He watched as the tanks rolled forward on the display screen, expectantly waiting to see if an ambush would commence, or if there were any other unplanned events. So far so good, they were claiming more and more ground for themselves, and when the enemy forces did show up, he had air support at the ready, and the tanks and infantry would likely be able to hold their ground.

‘Artillery units, take cover in the forest to the east, primary army group alpha move to the assigned location and dig in.’

‘Commander.’ Came an officer’s voice over the voice channel. ‘There’s no sign of the Timberwolves anywhere. Was our information reliable?’

Denson of the Iron Army, put his elbows on the table in front of him and clasped his hands together tightly. ‘We don’t have access to Satellite pictures, as they are still jamming the receivers in this area. Get me a spyplane circling the destination area.’

At that moment a loud boom rumbled across the battlefield, shaking the ground beneath.

‘Sir, army group alpha is being shelled! The front line reports no visual contact.’ Came the officer’s voice.

Denson felt himself begin to sweat. ‘Patch me through to special unit Roving Fist, I want to know where the artillery is hitting us from and I want their coordinates sent through to ours.’

Meanwhile, north of the battlefield, behind a rugged mountain range, General Tobias watched on his own command screen. He pushed his glasses up the ridge of his nose. ‘Retaliator squadron, engage enemy air units, keep an eye out for surveillance aircraft, I want him blind. All tank divisions, break cover and engage.’

General Tobias’ tanks rolled out from behind the mountain. Gunfire and explosions filled the air as both armies began to trade shots. Light flashed back and forth on the ground, and above the battlefield, jets raged through the skies, as air combat came into full swing.

Meanwhile in the Iron Army command vehicle, Denson shouted orders through the intercom. ‘Special unit Roving Fist, have you identified the enemy’s artillery location?’

The reply came swiftly. ‘This is Roving Fist, visual contact for Timberwolves artillery confirmed. Patching coordinates through to Long Fist artillery column.’

‘Excellent’ said Denson. If he could shell the enemy’s artillery from the cover of the forest, they would have the firepower advantage. Artillery hit hard, but it was also one of the most fragile components of their army. From deep in the woods, a resounding thump bellowed across the battlefield as the artillery fired a volley towards the coordinates given. Meanwhile, losses were being reported from the tank divisions of army group alpha as the battle raged on.

Denson knew who he was up against. The Timberwolves were an almost legendary nomadic army, led by general Tobias, their mastermind. Since the event known as the apocalypse, it was near impossible for loners to survive, and since the Timberwolves had ample access to mobile resource processing vehicles, as well as easy to deploy production equipment, they had everything they needed to be self-sustaining. Anytime the Timberwolves ran into isolated people, they were drafted in to the army. Tobias had won many battles through cunning and strategy, but it was rumored that his primary goal was actually to seek peace, finding some place the Timberwolves could settle down. But so far, the world had simply proved too dangerous. There were many nomadic armies roaming the wastes, one of which was Denson’s Iron Army.

The Iron Army did not have the mobile infrastructure that the Timberwolves had, and they relied on capturing cities and exploiting the existing production facilities to build their war engine. Denson had been particularly happy with their most recent capture, the city of which had included an air force manufacturing plant. But it seemed that the Timberwolves had their share of aircraft to match theirs.

This was not the first time these forces had clashed, and Denson thought of Tobias as his rival and equal. He too had a long history of military successes, but he had never won a battle against the Timberwolves, and he had encountered them at least 3 times. He hoped to subdue their armed forces, and claim the mobile production equipment for the Iron Army, the make of which had been lost to the apocalypse.

He had known Tobias in the military academy before the apocalypse. They had both excelled in most of their subjects, but Tobias had always had a slight edge on him. He recalled the graduation day on a winter morning, their breath steaming as they lined up outside.

-

‘How do you think you went in the simulations Tobias?’

Tobias looked at Denson wryly. ‘Piece of cake, I finished the whole scenario in about half an hour.’

‘Half an hour? I just scraped through in an hour and a half. I lost about half of my army but managed to hold the chokepoint. I thought I did well. But half an hour, that’s insane. How did you do it?’

‘The assault has several weak points, and if you switch from defending to aggression, you can nullify the whole advance.’ Whispered Tobias. ‘I’m expecting to be sent to the forward guard.’

‘The forward guard? Wow. The elite of the elite. I don’t know where I’ll be stationed, I hope it’s somewhere good.’

‘You should be proud; you’ve come a long way for someone from the backwater provinces.’ Said Tobias smugly.

Denson hated to have his origins rubbed in his face so callously. Even coming from Tobias, it still stung. Tobias was normally careful not to bring it up, but Denson knew it was something he was judged on, even from his closest friend in the academy.

‘You wait Tobias, ill rise through the ranks and show you just what backwater province men are made of.’

-

Of course, neither of them had expected the apocalypse to happen. It had changed everything. The army had at first descended into chaos, before fragmenting into rival factions. Now the known world was basically controlled by these splinter groups. Only those with the talent to lead, as well as the strength to stand tall in a messy, broken world were respected enough to be followed. Denson had needed to show grit and determination to be accepted as the leader of what would come to be known as the Iron Army. He received reports every so often that told him what had become of his old rival, Tobias. Most of the forward guard had assembled into what became known as the Timberwolves, but they had also received a large influx of civilians, which Tobias had managed to shape into the backbone of his army.

Things had not been so easy for Denson. He remembered the days when bandits and raiders constantly ravaged the stores they so carefully tried to build up. These were they days when he had proven himself, crushing the rogue units with minimal losses, showing his battlefield expertise and knack for grasping the weaknesses of all kinds of foes. They went from food rations and scarcity, hunger a familiar daily presence, to a strong, well fed and deadly force. Now if only he could take the mobile production from his old rival, the civilized world would be a safer place.

Denson, had more than proved himself, but thinking back to those days still caused him to doubt. Was he still just a backwater nobody, or did he really have what it took to be in command of possibly the world’s greatest nomadic army? He could only wonder what Tobias thought of him now.

‘Roving Fist, good work spotting the enemy artillery.  I need you now to find a way to flank the Timberwolves main thrust, and sabotage the mobile carriers that are resupplying those air units. It’s a tough job, but I expect you to be able to do it. Army group alpha is holding their ground, but that might not last. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Tobias has an ace up his sleeve.’

Meanwhile, in the Timberwolf command post, Tobias was busy on the voice communications line. ‘We’ve taken a great loss losing our forward artillery, so I need the Destroyer tank division ready. The frontlines might be at a stalemate now, but if we don’t break through to their backlines soon its going to be a bloodbath for us.’

The reply was swift. ‘Destroyer tank division is ready to crush, kill and destroy. Let us loose.’

Tobias smirked. Let’s see what they think of this new technology, he thought to himself.

‘Destroyers engage.’

It was at that moment that Tobias received the report about a new sighting in the sea to the west.

Denson was in the process of ordering the spyplane to land to avoid a loss, when an officer from the western front reported to him.

‘Sir, we have just sighted several battleships coming in from the western sea, there also appears to be 5 transport ships with them, it looks as though they are setting a course to land on the western shore.’

‘Can you tell me what army they are from?’

‘Negative, we have never seen them before, and their flag does not match any in our database. Their opening fire, we’re being hit… multiple casualities-‘

Denson checked the radar and visual feeds of units on the western shore, and saw that there was indeed a huge army coming in from the sea. He opened a long-distance comms channel and attempted to contact them.

’This is General Denson of the Iron Army. Incoming units please identify yourselves.’

There was static before a reply came through. ‘This is General Arturos of the Platinum Legion, stand down and order all units to surrender, any resistance will be crushed.’

Just then he saw a channel of communication open from the Timberwolves. His hands trembled ever so slightly. Tobias was contacting him? After all this time? But he realized on the other side of the mountain range, the western shore continued, and Tobias would no doubt have seen the incoming force. Wiping newly formed beads of sweat off his brow, he decided to receive the comcast.

‘Benson, it looks like there’s a new player in this crazy game were playing. Look, I know what you came here for, but I think now is the time to set aside our differences and work together. Have you seen what they’ve got coming in from the ocean there? If we continue our fight, we’ll both be swept away. We need to work together. We can settle things after this is done, is that okay?’

Benson considered Tobias words. Clearly neither of them was prepared for this new incursion. If they continued to fight, they would be fodder for this new foe. And what did they have in common? They had both originated from the same nation. Both of them had brought order to a country that had descended into infighting and backstabbing. They were the two main powers. Whoever these men were from the sea, they had come at a moment of weakness for them both. He decided to put aside his grudges.

‘Tobias, call a ceasefire. Let’s deal with this new threat, together.’