Perma-Death War is Hell III - The End of the Beginning

[Scott Tortorice]

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Sergeant Walter Meier just got some good news and some bad news. The good news: his bravery at Keepsake Bay had been noted and he was now a newly promoted Staff Sergeant, with his own squad of three men to command.

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The bad news: he now was given the mission of taking, once and for all, the docks from control of the Brownpants. No excuses would be accepted. It was do or die time.

HQ was confident that the Brownpants were on the verge of breaking. The countless days of assault and counter-assault had taken a tremendous toll on both the morale and material of both sides to be sure, but Graycollar HQ suspected the Brownies were closer to breaking seeing how they suddenly withdrew from the Eastern District without warning and fell back to the docks. The scent of weakness was in the air.

Well, whatever the reason, Meier had his orders. There were only two ways out of this war: with a total victory or in a body bag. He'd prefer the former but recognized that the odds supported the latter. With a deep breath, he ordered his - his! - three men through the gate and into the heart of the docks and the Brownpants defenses. "Attack!"

The dusk attack seemed to surprise the Brownies as their reaction was slow and half-hearted. It was good enough to plug one of his men through the heart - what was that corporal's name? Branson? Brenson? Something. But the enemy soon began to turn and run with little prompting from Meier and his remaining two guys!

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Meier kept shooting regardless, using his expert marksmanship skills to nail the bastards as they turned tail and ran. It was only when his magazine ran dry and forced him to cease fire that it occurred to him that no one was shooting back. They had taken the docks! He did it!

An officer bringing up the rear growled at Meier and reminded him that the war wasn't over yet. "Don't just stand there with that stupid look on your face, sergeant. Get your men moving after them!"

Meier saluted and barked at his remaining two guys to get going. They scaled the fencing at the southwestern edge of the docks and proceeded to advance. While there was some token resistance, as soon as a Graycollar IFV showed up and started barking at them with its autocannon, the Brownies ran again.

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Staff Sergeant Walter Meier never did get the see the end of the Battle of Keepsake Bay. As he participated in the final assault upon a picturesque part of town known as the Villa, he caught a round while leading a charge up a grassy hill.

The Battle for Keepsake Bay ended shortly thereafter. The Brownpants retreated from the area, leaving the exhausted Graycollars in control. The total casualties for both sides amounted to a staggering 8,960 over the course of the multi-day battle.

The Battle for Keepsake Bay was over, but the war raged on. Before the last of the dead were counted, the still living already knew their next stop: the tropical hellhole known as Vigil Island.....