CHAPTER 33

   Replacing another unit in line was a text book operation. Lolita had practiced it more times than she could count and she had also done it for real, up in the Hurt, on many occasions. It was a simple exercise when you actually had a line to replace, in open or wooded terrain but, here in the city was an entirely different matter. Doing it with units that not only lacked practice but, did not even know of such operations, was what the army termed a 'clusterfuck.'
There was also the little matter of calling the two hundred and eleventh infantry division an actual unit. It was kind of stretching that description. When Lolita began having to actually interact with those guys, she quickly discovered that the unit designation was really little more than a blanket description for a host private little armies that had little in common, almost no standardization, and severely lacked in training and material. Some of them were brave, no doubt about it, particularly when defending their homes but, brave did not always get you what you wanted. Lolita had started to hear a saying in her own ranks, that being, “he fights like an Orc.” It usually meant someone who was both suicidal and stupid. That adequately applied to many sub-units of the Two-Eleventh.
Then there was the other kind and they were far more common. Most of them would barely fight at all. Offensively they were useless and when defending ground they would give way at the first real sign that the enemy meant business. The only good news there was that the ones who would drop their weapons and run, never to be seen again, had already done so. As Lolita had discovered, her interpreter and guide, the guy that Josh called 'Tonto' had belonged to just such a unit. Josh had even said that Tonto's unit looked about as professional a military force as could be. They all wore uniforms, had standardized weapons, knew how to parade properly, had supplies, and were physically fit enough to run very quickly as soon as they encountered the first Orc. Only a few like Tonto had remained.
Lolita took the time to ask her guide about this. He seemed a bit ashamed but, seemed honest as he told her, “I was not in that family. I had the option of staying.”
“Family?” Lolita was both confused and shocked, “you telling me every guy in your company was related? That's fucking insane? What happens if it gets wiped out?”
“That is exactly why they fled,” Tonto explained without a hint that he thought it was unusual. “They had wealth. Fortunately for me, I was friends with many of them and able to get into their militia. I knew, as did they, if their family were all killed then it would have an adverse effect on our neighborhoods. They could not afford to take many casualties. It would mean that many of our most skilled technicians would be gone. We would have no hope of training new ones. The elves,” he spit at that point, “they would never help us with something like that.”
“What the fuck?” It was all Lolita could think to say about that. Despite the fact that Tonto spoke perfect English, she was still not so sure she understood what he meant.
The same was not true of Tonto. Her response got a smile from the guy who then replied, “W-T-F, I hope to one day have a cell phone.”
Now Lolita wanted to laugh, “fat lot of good it'll do you here.”
“Not here,” Tonto explained, “one reason why I jumped at the chance to join your unit was because I have heard many things of America. I have heard some of these stories since I was a child. I admit that for many years I thought them only stories. I did not believe them. Now after meeting you in person, I think otherwise.”
Since his childhood? Lolita had to chew on that one because she did not see how it was possible but, then again, she had already seen so much shit over here that rated a, “what the hell?” Maybe she would even see if it was possible for Tonto to do what he wanted but, that was only if he survived and, as of right now, she thought all of their chances were pretty low. If the Dell never got reopened then, even that much was moot. Nobody was going home under those circumstances.
With the thoughts of having to remain in this hell hole, firmly in her mind, Lolita performed every mission as if it were the most important ever. Stopping this attack became the single most important thing ever. It was not like Lolita was just doing a job but, more like she was the one who was having to fight for her very home. It also made her frustrated when the people who actually lived here would act like complete dicks when it came to defending their property.
Delta company had to clear a building and it was not of enemy forces. The militia that occupied it had no urge to leave, despite being told to do so by their own superiors. Lolita asked Tonto about that and he said, “you cannot blame them, this is their home.”
The building had been shot to hell in the past few hours and, while it was not quite rubble, just yet, it was only a few more staff blasts from being so. That led Lolita to pointing out, “you mean it was their home. It's a pile rocks now.”
Tonto tried to explain, “they think you are coming to claim it.”
That did not wash with Lolita, “what the hell would we want with this shit hole for?”
“Maybe not for you, maybe for someone else,” Tonto tried explaining.
This led Lolita to pointing out, “the fighting just reached here. They didn't start out here! Who was in it before them?”
Tonto corrected her, “no, they have been here since the attack began.”
It was another one of those 'what the fuck' moments that left Lolita wondering if the two eleventh even knew where all their units really were. If these guys didn't exfil and get redirected to knew positions then there would be a gap somewhere in the line. The Orcs had proven themselves to be very good at exploiting those as well.
Tonto was very adamant in explaining, “you have to understand, it is all they have. They know that if they leave, they will never get it back. At that point it does not matter if the Orc kill them or not, they will still die.”
That was insane and, Lolita did not have time to worry about that either. She had her orders and wondered if she was going to have to fight a war with her allies in order to carry them out. In the end there was nothing she could do about it either. She ignored the militia and moved her people into the best unoccupied positions that she could. If there was a hole, somewhere else in the line, it was not going to be her problem for the time being. She had enough on her hands as it was. She was barely able to make the time line but, she did it.
When Colonel Hogan came by, she did let him know about the situation and, oddly enough, he was halfway sympathetic when he told her, “we're all having those problems Lieutenant. Don't think you're special. You just be ready to do your job.”
When Lolita considered what Hogan had told her, she realized the guy had pretty much reached the same conclusion that she had. Maybe that was bothering him as much as it was her? In the end, it mattered very little when First Brigade launched it's counter attack. It started with very little fan fare and almost no light. Raiding parties of paratroopers slithered up to enemy occupied buildings and announced the attack with a barrage of grenades that hit targets that had been conclusively identified as enemy strong points. They did not get them all but, they did make some sizable fire free corridors for the attacking companies. The Orcs seemed completely unprepared for the attack.
The Orc had been on the offensive in this part of the city. They had not done much in the way of defense. There were no mines, obstacles, and very few booby traps to clear. The enemy even seemed confused by the fact that the humans were coming at them instead of the other way around. Still, the bastards would not run, they never did. They backed into their cubby holes, dove behind piles of rubble, and fought for every single room. They also had a few surprises of their own, like the huge, backpack sized, hand grenades that they would fling into rooms and corridors when they thought an attack would come from that direction. They also took a sizable amount of fire to bring down once they were cornered. Many would try and rush the troopers with their axe heads when they were out of ammo. They did anything but surrender.
As Delta company cleared their building, Lolita thought that the uncompromising defense was actually a blessing in disguise. The absence of prisoners meant she did not have devote any resources to guarding or processing them. Lolita was not even sure she would know what to do with a live Orc if they got their hands on one. What the hell did those things eat? Did they drink water? Did they need medical attention? Most important of all, how did you even communicate with one? Did they even know how to communicate? No one really knew so, a hail of bullets generally solved all of those problems.
Unfortunately, the lack of a prisoner issue was the only bright spot. Delta company cleared their building and, it was actually easier than Lolita had thought it might be. 'Easy' was a relative term though. By the time that Lolita was fairly certain that they had neutralized the building, the Orc had apparently reached the same conclusion. Nearby enemy occupied buildings began pounding away at Delta with massed volleys of staff blasts. It was also very clear that the Orc were rushing up reinforcements.
A counter attack finally came. It was not unexpected either. The Orc followed one of their dinosaur creatures but, this time, it did not go quite as expected for them. The paratroopers had brought shoulder launched anti-tank missiles and it only took one. The rocket easily penetrated the spiked looking armor, on the creatures back, and turned it into a pile of gore in the middle of the street. The Orcs, that were right behind it, still kept coming but, they had lost their cover and soon found themselves in a cross fire. They were ripped to shreds and, even if not a single one of them turned and ran, none of them made it to their objective.
Lolita felt like celebrating their victory but, there was no time. One enemy attack would be followed by yet another, and another after that. From the distant sounds, it was clear that most of the battalion was dealing with these same kinds of  attacks. Lolita began to get worried and it made her wonder, “do these fuckers ever run out of soldiers?” It was starting to become clear that the contest would come down to just that. Would the Orc run out of bodies before Lolita's company ran out of bullets. That point was made ever so clear when they used their last grenades and did not get any more. At least the bullets were still arriving in considerable volume but, fighting in an urban setting without grenades was like trying to do so with one hand tied behind you back.
By the time that the sounds of war began to slack up, Lolita had become seriously worried. She also realized that they had not gone anywhere near their first days objective. After taking their first building, they had spent the rest of the time just defending it. When Lolita got the butchers bill she also found out that she had lost over a quarter of her company in the process. Over half of those had been KIA's as well. The supply situation was even worse. She finally had to send a report back to battalion that her company was, effectively, offensive incapable. To Lolita's surprise, Hogan did not send back a snarky, ass hole, reply. All she got back, by runner, was a simple, “acknowledged, hold in place.”
Lolita realized that she wished Hogan would have chewed her ass. The fact that he didn't meant only one thing. She told Josh, “I think the whole five-oh-sixth just ran out of fucking gas.”
The acting first sergeant sorrowfully replied, “and their ain't a filling station in sight.”