Author Notes:
It's official, Volume 4 of RM is finished! Well, you still have six chapters to go if you are reading on Webnovel or Scribblehub, but you get my point!
Vol 4 is so freaking massive that I reckon it's enough to be a standalone story hahaha, but honestly, I hope you all have been and will feel that the long ride is worth it. I can't say that the entire experience is smooth sailing, it sure has its ups and downs, but at the very least, it does deliver a slice of another world to you, my lovely readers. I can guarantee that much.
It's been seven long years. This cheers is for yet another seven long years!
Cheers!
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117 (Discount available for newcomers!)
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Heartbreak117
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://www.webnovel.com/book/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system_31596105108346205
https://www.webnovel.com/book/my-soul.-occupied-body---please-the-other-me...!_35377211308783905
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2271569/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich/
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"Control, Cable 1-5. I got eyes on the Polanian convoy. Relieving Cable 1-2 now. Over."
"Copy that, Cable 1-5. Cable 1-2 is off the clock; maintain contact with the convoy. Out."
The brief radio conversation took place at a remote UAV base somewhere in Belkan-controlled Polanian territory. The base itself is heavily camouflaged and protected, occupying what used to be an aeronautic clubhouse with its own dedicated runway. On paper, the base is nothing but a tertiary logistic airfield. But in fact, this base is one of ONI's primary assets for deploying aerial recon sorties to monitor both Polanian and Rusviet movements in Polania. Ever since the Belkan seizure of Western Polania, this UAV base has been one of many investment ventures the Reich undertook for both tactical and strategic reasons. And, given the fact that the Reich now has a near-constant surveillance network over most of Polania because of bases like this one, it's considered that the investments are well-spent.
"Oh... Goodness gracious, my back!" Bemoans a female UAV operator, having just finished plotting an auto-return course for her Barracuda UAV.
Judging from the earlier conversation, this female operator is the one holding the callsign of Cable 1-2. Having been sitting at her control terminal for so long, this thirty-something-year-old lady is once again fighting her bodily nemesis.
Stretching her arms and back on her seat, the female operator complains.
"Seriously, can't Control get us better chairs or something? With how much we're supposed to sit still on a daily basis, you would think they would have better padding for the chairs and save on the healthcare expenditure for crooked backs in the future."
"You say that, but the way I see it, you just want a more comfier chair so that you can sneak in some sleep whenever the drone is on autopilot." Says the male coworker, Cable 1-5.
The male operator is a few years younger than she is. In fact, of the six UAV operators assigned to this container module of the base, Cable 1-5 is easily the youngest. A fresh graduate of ONI's in-house training program. You would think that he is gonna be more easy-going considering his younger age, but no. Cable 1-5 is a stickler for the rules due to his experience of being trained from the bottom up in ONI. This is unlike his other five older coworkers, who are Air Force personnel transferred to control the ONI UAVs.
ONI has a stricter disciplinary system, to say the least. Anything more will risk breaking the NDA and whatnot.
"I'm just saying, I don't want to spend the rest of my good years being an old lady with a bow for her back." Cable 1-2 replies with a smile and a wave of her hand before leaning over her seat to take a look at the other operator's screen. "You may wanna zoom out for a bit. There's no need to see the white in their eyes just yet."
"Roger that... And don't we all have access to the common area. You literally are allowed to take a break there as long as you notify your replacement to take over, you know?" Cable 1-5 replies as he tunes the optic on his Barracuda drone to pan out for the full picture of the Polanian convoy that has been leaving Kraków.
"My replacement is not exactly an ONI graduate like you are. She needs more time in the boiler room before she can handle the surprisingly tedious nature of being a recon UAV operator. By the way, that convoy still maintains the same heading, right?"
"On track to Katowice as before, why?" Cable 1-5 asks, after checking the convoy's bearing.
"You may wanna check the radar." Cable 1-2 suggests, pointing at an MFD by the corner of 1-5's terminal.
The screen shows multiple air contacts approaching from a vector that no other Belkan aircraft would use. Given their bearings, they will soon intersect with the convoy's path.
"Shit, I'm gonna call it in." Cable 1-5 says before activating his microphone. "Control, Cable 1-5. I got a Flight of Bogeys inbound from the East. Presumably heading for the convoy of interest. What's our order? Over."
"Cable 1-5. Prior instruction still stands. Maintain visual contact with the convoy. Out."
"Understood..." Cable 1-5 mutters.
Seeing a frown on the young man's face, Cable 1-2 interjects. "Well, spill it?"
"Spill what?" Cable 1-5 glances at the older woman.
"You're frowning, and that means you've got something on your mind." 1-2 gestures at her eyes.
"... If the approaching aircraft are what I think they are, then the convoy down there will find itself in a heap of trouble."
"Alright, and?" Cable 1-2 nods before beckoning for more details with her hands crossed.
"Casualties will be high. Civilian casualties, I mean. Given what we know of the convoy's composition from the briefing and the actual state of the convoy that we have seen so far, I don't think they can weather a persistent air raid."
"Ok... So, what are you gonna do about it?" Cable 1-2 holds an interested gleam in her eyes.
After some seconds of silence, the male operator takes a deep breath before sighing. "Nothing."
"Nothing? And with such finality too." The woman next to him says. "I admit, I didn't expect you to be that cold. There are kids and women in the convoy, and your drone has nearly a full tank and a decked-out loadout. Are you sure you don't want to at least try and spare the children?"
"You don't have to test me. Our order is clear. Observation only." Cable 1-5 replies with an emotionless tone.
"Good. Because I would hate for my entire unit to be viewed under Section One's microscope." Cable 1-2 gives 1-5 a few encouraging pats. "And I hope you will still be able to hold this steadiness given what's about to happen next. There's a reason why this job posting has mandatory psychological counseling."
Cable 1-5 nods slowly, offering no more words as the aerial radar blips soon merge with that of the convoy. On the camera feed, the Polanian convoy soon notices the approaching threat from above as the entire formation disperses, with unarmed vehicles taking evasive action while those with mounted weapons turn their guns upward. The Bogeys are none other than the Rusviet Polikarpov I-16 single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft. They come bearing nothing but death and destruction to the lumbering convoy.
"Control, this is Cable 1-5. Confirmed Rusviet aircraft engaging the convoy now. Over."
"Affirm, Cable 1-5. Maintain observation status until further notice. Out."
Cable 1-2 and 1-5 watch through the zoomed-out video feed as two I-16s dive and chase the convoy down, guns blazing. The main armament of these I-16s is four ShKAS machine guns: two in the upper cowlings, two in the wings, each capable of outputting a veritably insane 1800 rounds per minute. This means a single I-16 can dispense a total of 1.43 kilograms of bullets each second, making it one of the more deadly gun-range combatants of the contemporary era. Of course, if you put the Rusviet I-16 against something like the Belkan-export Bf-109K, much less the jet-powered Phantom, then it's hopelessly obsolete in 1939.
But against the thin-skinned Polanian convoy below, 1.43 kg of bullets per second is a true nightmare. The two I-16s, with the innate advantage of being flyers, perform a strafing run from the rear to the front of the convoy. Although many vehicles have followed orders and dispersed to the sides of the road, not all of them are quick enough to escape a rain of bullets that mercilessly puncture their thin roofs. Blood splatters and body parts fly everywhere as the Rusviet armor-piercing incendiary bullets tear apart the unprotected occupants of the helpless vehicles. Just like an action movie, a couple of vehicles even burst into flame when their fuel tanks are struck. A fully occupied bus has all of its windows turn red with the blood of its passengers. The dead driver, with his body slumping over the steering wheel, sends the bus uncontrollably rolling over in a roadside ditch before the whole vehicle starts burning up.
After earning some kills in the strafing run, the two I-16s regain altitude as machine guns and rifles fire wildly behind them in deterrence. It's only after taking losses that the Polanians realized that they had bolted and welded their steel armor plates wrongly on their vehicles. They should have mounted them on the roofs instead of the sides, for air attack would be coming from above. But now, it's too late to regret, and the nightmare is not yet over.
Since the I-16s come in a Flight, there are two more aircraft that have yet to conduct their attack runs. And they too are diving down on the disarrayed convoy. Much like the previous attack, these two I-16s start out with a strafing run. However, unlike last time, they specifically target the military vehicles like gun-trucks and half-tracks. The fire rates of their ShKAS machine guns are more than enough to overwhelm the bolt-action rifles and limited-traverse machine guns the Polanians have to offer. No improvised armor the convoy has can withstand the degradation brought on by countless 7.62 armor-piercing bullets. Black market half-tracks are clearly no match for ludicrous firepower, it would seem. Worse, these two I-16s come carrying rockets. More specifically, they have a total of twelve RS-82 high-explosive rockets.
After suppressing the AA fire, the two Rusviet pilots level their aircraft to carefully aim at targets that are either large or grouped up together. The RS-82 is notorious for its inaccuracies, so when the pilots fire, they fire in salvos of two to compensate for ballistic drift-off. When the rockets go off the rails, most land close to their intended targets, dealing damage via fragmentation and shockwaves. However, a couple of targets are hit directly, erupting into balls of flame and ashes. After that rocket run, the I-16s join the prior aircraft at an altitude beyond counterattack. The Polanians can only look on in total helplessness as the Rusviet Flight retreats without even a scratch on their paint job.
The air attack has forced the Polanian convoy to an absolute standstill as they work to catalogue the damage and save what they can. There's no audio, but Cable 1-2 and 1-5 can somehow hear the scream of a Polanian running out of a burning wreckage with flame engulfing his or her body. There's no making out the gender when the fire has long blackened the identifying features. Yet, it's not the burning figure that causes the most mental damage to the Belkan UAV Operators; it's the scene of a kid crawling out of an overturned truck while missing an arm that causes Cable 1-2 to look away and Cable 1-5 to softly curse.
"Goddamn it."
"... As morbid as it sounds, this may not be the last time you see something like that." Cable 1-2 sighs. "That hurts me worse when I have a kid back home as well."
"My condolences..." Cable1-5 offers.
"It helps when I know that I am contributing to the collective effort that will ensure my kid is not being subjected to the treatment on the other side of that screen." The female operator says. "Keep my words in mind, so that this job is made a bit more bearable."
"... I will."
The pair then fall into contemplating silence as they watch the Polanians try to save the kid by providing first aid. It's unknown if the kid will ever survive such traumatic injury.
Then, their radio comes to life.
"Cable 1-5, this is Control. Priority dispatch. Over."
"Control, Cable 1-5. Awaiting instruction. Over."
"A Rusviet motorcade is pursuing the convoy. You're tasked with bombing out the bridge the Rusviets will use to catch up to your observation target. Your battlenet is updated with the appropriate data. Be advised, you are not allowed to engage the Rusviet motorcade. I repeat. Do not engage the Rusviet motorcade. Your order is only to bomb the bridge, then return to observe the Polanian convoy. How copy? Over."
"Control, Cable 1-5. Wilco. I will only destroy the bridge before returning to my prior posture. Over."
"Make haste, Cable 1-5, that Rusviet motorcade has an ETA of 15 minutes to that bridge. Out."
Cable 1-5 then gets to take control of the Barracuda UAV and scan for the marked bridge that needs to be taken care of. "... That seems like a good old steel bridge. You think a single GBU-100 is enough to collapse it?"
"Better be safe than sorry and drop two." Cable 1-2 suggests after leaning in for a look at the target profile. "We want that bridge gone before the Rusviets ever lay eyes on it, just to be safe."
"Good idea. Well, time to see how fast the Barracuda is gonna be at this height."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Lasing target..."
"Pickle. Pickle."
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Elsewhere, in a clandestine meeting location.
The mercenary convoy carrying the Revolutionary Command Council and Jankowski stops upon being intercepted by military vehicles with a dash of green paintjob. The green vehicles belong to none other than the DMZ Rangers, people who both protect Europe's largest natural conservation site and the tourists and whatnot from the more dangerous wildlife here.
"To the people sitting inside those trucks, I am Josip Broz..." Says a middle-aged figure in a dark green outer coat with a wide-brimmed hat on his head of well-combed hair. "But you may call me Tito! If you are who I think you are, then the Park Rangers are pleased to welcome the most influential honored guests of the Polanian Revolutionary Command Council!"