Brian Park was pissed. He knew his injury wasn’t serious, but it would not permit him to walk comfortably for a few days. With the help of the medic, he crawled behind the Armored Personnel Carrier for cover. Then Beckett uttered those words, [i]“Right, Sarge, gonna need you to drop your trousers!”[/i]

“Fucking A,” Park spat out. “My luck. I get zapped in the fucking ass!” He attempted to push his assault vest out of the way and unbuckle his trousers. Then he wiggled them down to his thighs so the medic could access his southern posterior. “How bad is it doc?” The question hung out there and then Park, also known as the Riddler uttered, “you got my dick buried in the dirt here.”

While Kasey Beckett worked on Sergeant Brian Park, the exchange of fire along what was now known as Phase Line BOSTON continued with increased fervor. This fight would become known as the [i]Battle of Boston[/i. Dieter Vogel processed what was happening quickly. He served as a squad leader and platoon sergeant in the Bundeswehr. It was an easy transition to fall into the position of squad leader here on this distant station, wherever the hell they were. Vogel called the platoon commander, Warrant Anderson on the radio. “Anderson, this is Vogel, Park is Whiskey India Alpha, assuming command of second squad. Edwards is now assistant squad leader. Identified underground access ports in field of fire. Covering these locations in case the Salvesh use them. Also, pass up the chain. See if we can get a map of the underground rail system, Vogel, out.”

“Roger that, Vogel,” Anderson responded and relayed the information up to Captain Otto who then relayed to the Battalion Main Command Post. The Battalion Main then relayed it to Brigade Main which then relayed the information to General Strafford and the Grathik overlords. The Grathik were very accommodating. They uploaded a data packet to the 1EMIB main frame computers. The Brigade S2 section (Intelligence) then began disseminating the images to the Battalions and then down to company and platoons. The Brigade S3 (Operations) then issued orders to subordinate units regarding how they would handle this newly discovered access point.

While the exchange of information and ideas flowed up and down the chain of command, the medical evacuation crew were getting a workout in the Bravo Team sector or 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry. Two medics helped Sergeant First Class Brian Park move into the back of their hover ambulance, a standard medical evacuation variant of the same APC used by the platoons. There were four other soldiers, all Park recognized from the company. An American Special Forces NCO, he worked with in the Philippines several years ago. The man, he knew as Staff Sergeant Dwayne Hastings lost his left arm in an explosion about twenty seconds before he took shrapnel to the ass. The man was sedated and unable to speak. A second soldier was a former French SAS NCO and the other two were British; a Royal Marine commando and a Paratrooper from 1Para. Brian lay on a stretcher on his stomach watching Dwayne. He hoped the man would pull out, although he couldn’t imagine what the Grathik could do for a lost limb.

The ambulance moved about ten kilometers to the rear where the French soldier and the British Para were offloaded. The remaining three were then moved to an ambulance transfer point another five kilometers to the rear. They were then loaded onto another ambulance bound for the Brigade Support Area and a Field Hospital. The BSA was located about eighteen kilometers behind Phase Line BOSTON. The ambulance crew were a pair of Italian females from Bravo Company, 145th Forward Support Battalion (FSB). The FSB operated a field hospital for soldiers requiring surgery. The young women were very attractive to Sergeant Park. He felt  embarrassed with his ass exposed for everyone to see. He would spend the next several days in the field hospital. First to have shrapnel removed from his butt and then to recover before sending him back into action.

“Vogel, this is Anderson, over,” the platoon commander called over the radio.

“Anderson, this is Vogel, go ahead, over,” Feldwebel Vogel responded.

“Continue observing the access points. Be prepared to lead a reconnaissance of the underground. Battalion has uploaded a PDF file with a map of the subway system. Upon order to move in, the panzer platoon behind the company will cover our position, over.”

“Roger that, be prepared to conduct reconnaissance of the subway. Vogel, out.” Feldwebel Vogel then let the squad know they should be prepared for a reconnaissance of the subway system. For now, keep up fires and watch the access point.

Vogel then turned to Kasey Beckett, “how is Sergeant Park? How was his injury? Will he be back anytime soon?”