— 18 —
Going north to the Crag Mountains and the Crageen was too risky. A single man armed with dynamite could make the roads impassable to softskinned vehicles that relied on wheels. Bull also felt that the central route, going northwest, was far too likely a route. The enemy would expect him to go that way. No, the lower route, going west first, then north to the wreck made more sense. He would have some cover from the forests and maybe some trouble, but the rest of the route was perfect. Bull started to tell Ennis his decision when he noticed that the young corporal was watching him intently. A slow smile played across Bull's lips. He would see just what kind of a gambler Corporal James K. Ennis really was.
"Did you bet on this one, Keith?" Bull asked the corporal, using his favored middle name.
"Me? Bet?" Ennis exclaimed in mock innocence.
"I hope you put your money on the lower route, through the forests," Bull told him.
"Damn!"
"How much did you lose?" Bull inquired.
"Fifty credits!" Ennis replied. "I was certain that you'd take the central route straight through."
"Make that one hundred credits," Bull said. "You know what I said."
"You didn't say anything about gambling, sir!" Ennis complained.
"No," Bull agreed. "I said that the next time you were wrong, it'd cost you." His corporal sighed. "You can pay me later," Bull told him. "Now, did you make up the overlays for the lower route, or were you wrong twice?"
"No sir!" Ennis replied, displaying the roll of overlays in his right hand.
"That's good. My officers will be relieved." Out of the corner of his eye Bull noted that those officers had arrived. He shouted down to them, "Ah, gentlemen! I'm glad to see you're prompt."
Lieutenant Dyer smiled, knowing that Bull was joking with them. "Ready when you are, sir!" Dyer told him.
"At least, we'll be ready as soon as you tell us where we're going, sir." Lieutenant Peyton amended.
"We're taking the lower route: first west, then north," Bull told them. "It's unlikely that we'll meet any resistance on that route, but if we do, the infantry section of this combat team—correction, this combat group—will be well able to neutralize it. Jebbitt and his men never did understand that tankers could let you pongoes do some work from time to time."
Lieutenant Peyton groaned. His feet were still recovering from the last maneuvers of the war. A skimmer could carry a man to a battle, but when it finally came to it, an infantryman fought on his feet.
"Never fear, Sergeant . . . uh, Lieutenant Peyton," Bull reassured him. "I am going to do my best to avoid making you work." His tone became more serious. "As you know, we're going to clear the way for Sergeant Major Ogren and the relief column in the softskinned vehicles. Our Slammers are dying out there, gentlemen. Now, if you'll look at your overlays, you'll see that our route is left at the first tee junction, at Plains, then a jog south to Smithtown and a wide arc north to Tooey, Regarra, and finally the wreck itself. Starting with the junction, those are phaselines Orange, Aqua, Red, Amber, Gold, and Iridium respectively. If we have to, we can switch to the central plains route at any of several points along the route. Let's get going."
While his officers gathered up their gear, Lieutenant Bromley looked at the overlays again. Slammers did not normally use phaselines, relying on instant computer displays to show the locations of all known enemy and friendly troops. Phaselines had been used extensively in the twentieth century by commanders not so equipped, to keep track of the progress of their sub-elements. Without the satellites to spot for them, the Slammers were reduced to such primitive techniques. Each phaseline was drawn across a particular landmark, normally a town, and was used to let Bull know where his sub-elements were located.
"A question, sir," Sergeant Beirne said. "What formation are we going to use?"
Lieutenant Bromley hadn't yet decided which of two possible formations he was going to use. The open terrain suggested either skimmer recon with hovertank follow-up, or the hovertank shield formation. The danger of using skimmers for recon was that they were scantily armored and easily neutralized if surprised at a distance from the tanks. But the stealth and maneuverability of the skimmers gave them the ability to travel almost unnoticed. Choosing the tank shield formation would protect his valuable skimmers but not give them the capability of searching out potential ambushes.
If Bull chooses to use skimmer recon, turn to section 23.
If Bull opts for the tank shield formation, turn to section 24.