Battle Earth III Read Online Free PDF Page A

shoulder.
    “There he is.”
    She brushed past Mitch to confront the Commander. He could already see that she wanting something from him and wasn’t in the mood to accept anything less.
    “What can I do for you, Major?”
    “Glad you asked, we need to talk, now!”
    She led the Commander back to their bunkhouse where she knew they would get some privacy. The Company was busy getting chow, and nobody would dare invade their space. Phillips was already restless by the time they reached the room, and he didn’t like being led around. When they were finally shut inside the dorm room, the Commander opened his mouth to talk but was cut short my Chandra.
    “The enemy are taking prisoners, and we think we know where. Captain Jones is almost certainly among them.”
    Phillips shook his head. It was clearly something he had heard before and had been the subject of much pressure from those around him.
    “I have already heard this from the mouths of other officers who want to rush headlong into enemy territory to get them back.”
    “You knew and have done nothing?” shouted Taylor.
    “What can I do? We have been losing ground since the day this war began, and we are lucky to ever hold on to anything for long. We have endless lists of dead, wounded and MIAs. General Schulz will not risk any more troops to pursue this. I am guessing you already know this, as you would only be coming to me if you had already failed with him.”
    “Damn straight!” snapped Taylor.
    “What do you expect me to do?”
    “I don’t give a damn who’s in charge of this base. Your responsibility is to us. We have people out there left to the mercy of the enemy, and that includes at least two of your own. I expect you to do whatever you must to get them back!” shouted Taylor.
    Phillips looked insulted and put out by Taylor’s sudden lashing out.
    “Must I remind you of the chain of command, Major?”
    Chandra stepped forward. She could not take anymore.
    “Don’t give us that shit. We’ve been getting our arses blown off since this war began while you sat comfortably at command. We don’t expect you to pick up a weapon and join us, but we do expect you to give us the support we deserve.”
    Phillips gasped as he lowered his head in shame. He knew it was wrong to leave troops behind, but he had treated the losses as pure statistics. He looked back up and spoke softly.
    “If I help you, the General will have my balls.”
    “And if you don’t, soldiers will die. We are going to find Jones, and any other prisoners, with or without your help. Without you, we go in blind and will likely pay a high price for it. With your assistance, we may just pull it off.”
    The Commander knew he was between a rock and hard place, but they had made a solid case. As much as he stuck to the rules, he despised both Schulz and Dupont.
    “Alright, to hell with it. With the way things are going, there’s probably little they can do to me anyway.”
    Taylor smiled as he patted the Commander on the shoulder.
    “You’re doing the right thing, Sir.”
    “I hope so.”
    “What intel do you have on this?” asked Chandra.
    “We know prisoners are being kept in a facility in Metz in small numbers. What we don’t know is why.”
    “What have we been doing since they arrived here?” asked Chandra.
    Phillips looked up to the Major dumbfounded.
    “We have studied them. We have tried to understand our enemy,” mused Taylor.
    Phillips nodded in agreement.
    “You really think that’s what they are doing? Studying our soldiers?”
    “I’d be amazed if they weren’t,” replied Chandra. “Something tells me that this invasion has not resulted in the blitz success which they had hoped for. We are starting to slow their advance and adapt to better fight them. They may now be looking for every avenue to exploit.”
    “That would explain it. From what we can tell, they have only taken military personnel from the front lines.”
    “How many prisoners do you figure