Hordes of gunbikes revved towards the bullforts. These were motorcycles with two machine gun turrets around either side designed for ground-based combat and meant to be more nimble than the already agile bullforts. Of course, they were far weaker than bullforts and it would take a large number of them to actually damage a platoon of the tanks. They were far more useful for acting like piranhas to take apart slower regular tanks than the more maneuverable bullforts. They were quite popular among unprofessional armies and rebels in situations very similar to the war this simulation was based in. Professional armies hardly ever used them in modern warfare since the inception of the bullfort. While they could take down bullforts with skilled drivers, they were not optimized for handling them.
The crew of Melbourne's bullfort fleet was quite talented. The drivers swerved around expertly to run over many of the gunbikes while the machine gun turret operators swiveled and burned through the rest.
"Road clear, Captain Acliate!" exclaimed the driver of the bullfort he was sitting in.
"Good job, Sergeant!" exclaimed Melbourne, looking out to see the structure of the docking hub growing massive before him. "How close are we to the docking hub?"
"One kilometer to go, sir!" said the driver.
As they progressed through the final stretch, several more waves of enemies attempted to intercept and were quickly crushed before they finally arrived.
"Captain Acliate, this is as far as we go!" said the driver after they had parked in a hidden location on a bluff overlooking the facility.
"Excellent driving, Sergeant!" said Melbourne. "I will set this place up as a temporary command post and have scouting done around the perimeter."
Melbourne set up his command laptops as infantry piled out of the bullforts and secured a perimeter with ballistic shields set up. As he mentally prepared himself to order the engagement of the assault, he analyzed his resources and current mission objective through the Aclito.
[Forces:
Command Posts: 1
Squads: 12
Mortar Artillery: 12
Bullforts: 6
Bombing Drones: 8]
[New Mission: Capture The Docking Spire
*Defeat all enemies around the perimeter and within the spire to secure the asteroid against any more reinforcements.
*Reward: +10 XP, +2 Intelligence]
Melbourne sent a silent drone up to conduct an aerial scouting sweep. As it flew, his squad command screen was gradually populated by a 3D map with red dots based on the last updated time.
The docking structure was a large hexagonal facility that curved upwards into a point towards the ceiling of the asteroid habitat. On the top was a tiny roof usable as a watch tower. The base included an elevator that reached up into a docking station and three docking bays that allowed direct access to ships for delivering large payloads such as industrial mining equipment and other vehicles. In this case, the payloads dropped in by the Astroman Rebels included many soldiers, gunbikes and a few stolen tanks and bullforts.
Melbourne's intelligence on the situation was that the rebels had acquired the base and were moving troops in while the space station outside, tethered by an elevator, was still under Martian control. The troops aboard the space station were cut off from the asteroid but had so far managed to hold their ground against a relentless space-based invasion. They could not get troops into the base to attack from within because the elevator only had a carrying capacity large enough for a single squad which would be demolished as soon as they exited the elevator.
"Alright, men!" announced Melbourne to his company as he walked outside the command bullfort. The soldiers immediately stood in a formation at attention. "Our objective is simple! The docking hub we are overlooking has been taken over by Astroman Rebels and we need to take it back to keep enemy reinforcements from continuing to swarm into the colony! The other three docking hubs are secure by Martian forces and this is the only point of entry from space! As soon as we secure this fortress, other companies can sweep up the rest of the rebels causing trouble within the colony! Our first order of business will be to set up an array of artillery around the perimeter of that spire building! I need all squads spread out around the field and prepared to take out those enemy bullforts! I will send all squad leaders data about where I think the best location for them to set up camp would be! Get out there and give 'em hell boys!"
Melbourne took the laptop and started assigning squads to different locations set around the spire along the bluffs, ordering them to take the most stealthy approach they could. As squads arrived at their destinations and their mortars were set up, their icons on Melbourne's Squad Command Screen would show a square with a blue mortar drawing while the individual dots marking the location of each squad member continued to show. After about thirty minutes, the 12 squads were in place and the mortars were set.
Melbourne conducted another aerial sweep with a scouting drone and promptly drew lines with his fingers from the mortars to points on the map where vehicles and troopers were most heavily concentrated. The program sent messages to the squad leaders with measurements to prep the mortars to fire at those locations.
Explosions broke the peaceful silence as fireworks arced into the sky through a giant parabola and collapsed in brilliant explosions upon the ground.
Red dots on the Squad Command Screen disappeared rapidly as Melbourne ordered more mortar strikes based on drone data.
Twenty enemy bullforts came rolling out of the spire, more than mission command had expected the Astromans to have.
Melbourne redirected mortar fire to the bullforts as he released the eight bomber drones from his six bullforts to wreak havoc upon the perimeter forces.
As the smoke cleared, surviving Astroman rebels climbed the bluffs to be met with suppression fire from combat rifles and snipers who were well fortified in the positions Melbourne had sent them to. As some of the forces got uncomfortably close, Melbourne's troops would throw grenades to take out large numbers. There were a few isolated incidents of knife fights occurring, but at the end of this wave, none of Melbourne's company had fallen.
By the time the bombs from the drones had been depleted, Melbourne guided one of them into the hangar bay of the spire tower to take a tally of the entire enemy arsenal of bullforts. Four bullforts remained within to defend the troopers in the interior. This telemetry was given to Melbourne before an enemy sniper aimed and fired at the drone, causing the screen to go black.
[Bomber Drones: 7]
Looking down upon the field below, there were no more enemy vehicles and only a few scattered infantry fleeing to fortify within the building.
"Alright, let's get our people and bullforts down there and mop up as many of these guys as possible." announced Melbourne over the intercom as he used the Squad Command Screen to order every squad to converge on the spire.
After the squads were descending the bluffs they had just valiantly defended, Melbourne commanded the bullforts to descend along a road into the same area. The fields around the majestic building became the site of a pitiful massacre of Astroman Rebels as they were shot in the back trying to duck into cover.
Three of Melbourne's six bullforts took position around one hangar bay entrance as the other three moved to the opposite side.
"Drivers!" announced Melbourne over the intercoms. "Please fire your chaff cannons into the hangar bays to produce smoke and wreak havoc on all enemy electrical gear before entering."
"Sir, yes sir!" announced six voices in unison over the radio, including the one Melbourne could hear right next to him.
Melbourne ordered all squads into separate manhole entrances while the chaff cannons fired, choosing infrared on the Squad Command Screen to command them to turn on infrared vision.
"Drive forward and focus all cannon fire on the four enemy bullforts fortifying the interior!" commanded Melbourne over the bullfort intercom.
The tanks sped in and dismantled the enemy tanks before using machine guns to mow down the massive numbers of enemy infantry congregated around them still wheezing from the smoke blocking their vision.
Tank fire was joined by infantry fire as Charlie Company's infantry units slid down ladders into the chamber and eliminated the last remaining Astroman rebels on the level.
As the smoke cleared, Melbourne had his drones sweep the area for any survivors not of his company. Satisfied at finding none, he ordered eight squads to guard the room and the other four squads to search the upper levels of the spire for any more enemies.
After about thirty minutes of waiting, Melbourne finally got the message that all enemies had been eliminated from the reports from the four squads.
[Mission Complete: Capture the Docking Spire
*+10 XP
*XP: 115/200
*+2 Intelligence
*Intelligence: 24]
"Good work, Charlie Company!" exclaimed Melbourne over the Mic. "Your deeds today will be remembered in the history books of Sol for centuries to come! With this docking spire secured, other companies from our battalion will be able to mop up any remaining rebel forces while we prevent any breach of security!"
From the torus station connected to this docking spire, an elevator appeared inside the spire holding a Lieutenant Colonel. As Melbourne walked out of the command post bullfort, the Colonel walked up to him with a smile and shook his hand.
"Good job, cadet! You have passed the second test with flying colors, proving that you have the potential to lead an entire company of soldiers to success over an entire theater of a military campaign. Your appropriate points will be added to the tallying of your final score. You have earned an escalation of authority and will command an entire fleet and division of soldiers as a virtual Colonel to take out the rebel stronghold asteroid called "Astroprime". For now, cadet, it is time to rest. Give your mind a break. You have earned it!"
The virtual visor lifted off his head and Melbourne returned to the real world. Other classmates are already awake, many looking disoriented.
Lieutenant Colonel Kara smiled broadly at Melbourne as he woke up and went out of her way to speak with him.
"Congratulations, Cadet Spaceman Acliate!" she whispered proudly. "You have gotten the highest score ever recorded in over twenty years so far!"
Melbourne glanced at the leaderboard and found his name at the top of the list, with a score of 8,632 points. The second highest score so far belongs to Logan Indri, coming in at 3,976 points.
"What?" demanded Logan in outrage. "How can this no-name loser get more than double my score? That's infuriating! Professor, he cheated! He must have!"
LTC Kara patted him on the shoulder. "Now, now, Mr. Indri, his biometrics were scanned the whole time and he never showed any signs of abnormal behavior nor was there any way to tamper with the test once placed inside and unable to interact with the hardware." A chime on her laptop signaled the awakening of the final tester.
"C'mon, they must have given him a super easy trial. I got the Albokan War. That was the bloodiest war in Martian history. That's why he got a better score, I swear it!"
"Silence, Cadet!" warned Kara. "Don't make me tell you a third time."
Logan shut up reluctantly.
"Hopefully my abnormal score doesn't give Lieutenant Lavender or anyone else clues about my enhancements." thought Melbourne in a hidden regret over using the Aclito to aid him in the games.
"Alright, class, that concludes today's Strategic Assessment. I hope you all found the games very enlightening about what it is to lead squads and companies. You should all have had unique experiences based on unique battles from real world history, but the war would remain the same for each progression in the test. Tomorrow afternoon, you will come back and complete the final Strategic Assessment, analyzing your talent for handling entire divisions and fleets of soldiers in a prolonged battle. Now, I have kept you here for hours. It is time for your Induction Week to continue with basic drill and ceremony classes. Return to your homeroom teacher and you will be led to your final activity for today."