Seaforth's Ladies Read online

  Seaforth’s Ladies: Revised Edition

  Characters and Story Copyright 2018, 2020 Sandy Addison

  Background and Technical Information Copyright 2016 By Clockwork Goblin and Warlord Games

  Permission has been granted to the Author to use this material to create fiction works within the setting.

  Image and Logo Copyright 2016 By Clockwork Goblin

  Cover Art By Scott P. 'Doc' Vaughn

  Published by Sandy Addison at Smashwords

  Smashwords Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Why a Revised Edition

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  About Sandy Addison

  Other books by Sandy Addison

  Connect with Sandy Addison

  Acknowledgements

  The author wishes to thank Cliff A and Matt O for their long-time support and editing help with both this and other projects. One could not ask for better brothers both actual and figurative.

  As I continue to explore what it means to be an independent writer in the 21st century, one of the unexpected pleasures has been meeting and working with other creative people. The first was Kira Omans (www.kiraomans.com) the narrator of the Seaforth’s Ladies audiobook. I chose Kira to narrate the original Seaforth’s Ladies because of all the potential narrators I had to choose from Kira was the only one with attitude, and someone like Alex needs attitude.

  The second was Scott Vaughn (www.warbirdsofmars.com) the artist who created the wonderful cover for the revised edition. I’ve been following Scott for a number of years on Patreon and it was because of his Dieselpunk story Warbirds of Mars, that I approached him for my first commissioned cover. Like Kira he was a pleasure to work with, charged very reasonable prices for commissions and kept to his schedule.

  Finally, a big thank you goes to Chris Hale (www.clockworkgoblinsminis.ca.uk) at Clockwork Goblin for allowing me to play around in his sandbox. If you ever make it out to Vancouver Chris; the first round is on me.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my mother Jean Addison. While she and Alex are of a similar stature Alex is very much her own person. Though it worried me as to just how close their characters might be. When I was describing Alex and her background to my mother. When I described Alex’s habit of carrying a pair of brass knuckles and that it came from growing up in Steveston (where my mother also grew up); er reply was a very matter of fact ‘sounds about right’.

  A Note regarding the Rank Spellings

  As some readers may already know Lieutenant is pronounced as Leftenant within the British Commonwealth. As one of my ex-military friends put it. “Our officers do not manage toilets.” In an effort to write a legitimate ‘Canadian Accent’ where Lieutenant is spoken by a non-American character, I’ve written it as Leftenant. In all other instances I’ve written it Lieutenant.

  Why a revised edition?

  Generally, I was very happy with how Seaforth’s Ladies turned out. Yes, there were some grammatical hiccups here and there, but this is an independently published book, and with editing costing an arm and a leg, such things are to be expected. I was spurred to go back to the story when I was editing the audio book with Kira Omans, and some of the questions she was asking. It was then that I realized that Seaforth’s was a great little story for people who were already familiar with the Konflikt ’47 universe, but less so for someone coming to the story without knowing about the game. What did a Grizzly look like? What did a Thor? How did the war end up going on until 1947? It was then that I realized that I needed to add a lot more of the background that had gotten me interested in writing stories inside this universe in the first place.

  This revised edition is an attempt to make Winnie’s and his crew’s story more accessible to the general public and hopefully inspire them to find out more about the world of Konflikt ’47 as a whole.

  Prologue

  From Walking into Germany: A Fighting Woman’s Story by Sarah May (1955)

  In the spring of 1947, my personal goals were to stay alive, keeping my fellow crewmates alive and a grim determination to continue to grind the German’s down and to finally win this war. While ‘grind’ wouldn’t be the word of choice for many soldiers (certainly not Sergeant Mackenzie), I believe it best describes how the allies were winning. Even before defying my parents, to join the army I had taken an active interest in the war’s ‘big picture’. And the most amazing thing I’d taken from the war so far, was how much the allies had pushed back the Germans despite the lack of decisive victories.

  I mean they tried, but time after time neither the Western Allies nor the Soviets were able to replicate the German victories like Norway, France in 1940, or early Barbarossa. Those early, battles of manoeuvre, successes made the German Army into a legend. While the allies could beat the Germans and push him back, we could never achieve a 100% victory. Take the Russian ‘victory’ at Stalingrad for example. They had that German army surrounded dead to rights, yet Jerry was, once again, with skill and sheer luck able to break through and get the army out. The Germans lost thousands of men and almost all of their equipment and were forced to retreat thousands of miles. Yet because the 6th Army survived the propaganda victory went to the Germans.

  I think that’s why President Roosevelt decided to go ahead with the nuclear attack on Dresden in March of 1944, before the Rift was fully understood. Here was a weapon that with a single use, or perhaps two or three, would end the European War; in a matter of weeks without millions having to die. That it instead gave the Axis the tools to fight us to a standstill and caused the great fracture of the alliance is what, I believe, broke Roosevelt, and caused him to decide not to try for a fourth term in office.

  Looking back if there was ever one date that demarcated one era from another, both for the world and myself, I believe that date would have to be February 29, 1944. The day that the United States tested the world’s first nuclear device in Los Alamos New Mexico. Not only did it mean that the United States had a powerful new weapon, but it was also on that date that a tear, a rift, in the fabric of reality formed and stabilized in the next several days. Unfortunately, the realization of what this Rift meant wasn’t kicked up the chain of command in time, and Dresden was consumed in nuclear fire; with the same results as at Los Alamos. A tear in dimensional space. So now America and Germany both had access to their own Rift; and both were being contacted by group(s) unknown who said that they wanted to help them win the war.

  Many have criticized the US for not capitalizing as quickly on the possibilities that Rift Tech offered them, as their German counterparts. I think it’s fair to point out, that at the time, the allies were winning the war both in Europe and the Pacific. Whereas, the Axis powers were definitely losing, and needed something new to try to turn the tide. And, while we didn’t know this at the time; the Germans were not getting exactly the same signals as the US was. Many of the technologies Jerry was being supplied with were easier to implement quickly. This combined with the willingness to put aside any ethical scruples resulted in the eve
nts in the Summer of ’44.

  The impact that Rift Tech could have in those early days had no greater demonstration than what occurred on both the Western and Eastern fronts in late July of 1944

  On the Western Front; Operation Cobra had achieved its objective. A large breakthrough had just occurred, and Patton’s Third Army was positioned to exploit the hole that the First Army had made in the German lines. In a perfectly timed maneuver, the Germans let loose the first of their Rift Tech weapons: The Zombie soldiers of the Totencorps.

  When seeing obviously dead German soldiers coming toward them, many American troops broke and ran. Battle ready men fled in terror, not willing to believe that they were facing the dead. Those that did believe broke even faster, not wanting to face the ‘next great evil’ that the ‘Satanic Germans’ were going to unleash. For several days after the counter attack the number of psychological casualties outnumbered the physical wounded by more than 10 to 1.

  At the Army and higher command levels, the reports from reputable officers and NCOs were viewed with disbelief. Not knowing about Rift Tech yet, rational men started to look for rational answers. Some sort of ‘fear gas’, mass hallucinations, or just plain old cowardice were all brought up as explanations. It caused General Patton to fly into a rage against his men, believing that they were all cowards. However, when Old Blood and Guts himself finally saw the ‘Zombies’ in action he was also hospitalized for ‘battle exhaustion’. The line was only stabilized by a young artillery officer who believed what he saw, but was ‘too busy to be scared’. He was able to convince his commanders to bring down the fire of every artillery piece in his Corps on a Totencorps attack and blew them into a million pieces. It was then that everyone realized that while Jerry might have had some new tricks, the Allies’ massive advantage in firepower could still prevail.

  A week later it was the turn of the Soviets to face the Totencorps. Like the Western Allies the Russian’s offensive was stopped dead in their tracks just inside the Polish boarder. Stalin and the Soviet’s high command response was swifter and more brutal than what occurred on the Western Front: they simply shot the men who fled. While this allowed them to get their offensive back on track faster, they had to do so without a lot of their best troops.

  All through this time, the Americans had been playing the fact that they had, not once but twice, created rifts to another dimension, pretty close to the chest. Right from the start, only the very top of both American civilian and military leadership were being fully briefed; with the American allies only given the bare minimum of information based upon a ‘need to know’ basis. However, once the Germans had started showing the ‘Dresden Rift’ off in their newsreels the American’s hand was forced. They confirmed to the world that the rifts were real and that something was coming through. However, they refused to confirm that any technical information had been gained from the rift with everyone but the British. This policy did not sit well with Stalin; who thanks to his spy networks in America, the UK and Germany probably had the most complete picture of the potential of Rift technology in the world. The Great Leader demanded American transparency on the issue. When he didn’t get it, Stalin condemned the United States, stating that their direct intervention was no longer needed in Europe. The war against Germany was now to be a strictly European affair; though the Soviets still demanded the supplies they were getting from Lend Lease continue. When the Western allies called what they thought was Stalin’s bluff in June with the invasion of Normandy, both London and Washington were stunned to get formal declarations of war from their former Ally. What had been a conflict between the Axis and a unified world had turned into a three-way battle for both the world and control of Rift Technology.

  With the war taking on new dimensions, the race of technological advancements, which had always been heated throughout the war, became a complete inferno. Soon walkers, tanks on legs effectively, were being fielded by all nations still fighting in Europe. As were elite infantry units equipped with some form of power armour. However, all the major combatants were also starting to utilize Rift Tech in unique ways. The Germans; being the most desperate, created the most horrifying advances. Along with the already mentioned Totenkorps the Nazis started to mix human genetic material with that of various animals, creating the Schreckwulfen werewolves shock troops, and the vampire inspired Nachtjager terror squads. The Americans, inspired by their comic book superheroes, chose to enhance their volunteers in more subtle ways. Creating super soldiers that still appeared to be ‘mostly’ human. Thanks to their spy network the Soviets were able to steal both of these technologies creating their own hulking Ursus Bearmen, and Siberian Ice Ghouls, along with their propaganda winning ‘Daughters of the Motherland’. Which in a perverse way I had to be grateful for. Without those female soldiers, I doubt I would have ever been able to crew Winnie.

  The British decided to take their ‘steel not flesh’ doctrine, that they had since the start of the war, literally. Perfecting and then shrinking Turing engines to the size of a cricket ball the British started producing Automated Infantry, AIs or Alfreds for short. These eight-foot steel men started to replace the regular soldiers within the British and Canadian armies in early 1946. The Turing machines were also used in communications, allowing for a fast, encrypted communication net to be dropped over their entire battlefield. This allowed for even better coordination of their already formidable artillery along with armour, air support and other army assets.

  Larger weapons were also deployed onto an already deadly battlefield. Tesla lightning guns are now being used alongside gravity cannons, force field projectors and magnetic rail cannons. Despite all these new and powerful weapons, all is still dependent upon the same Poor Bloody Infantryman, armed with a rifle, to take and hold the needed ground as they did at the start of the war. Only now he’s got a lot fancier backup.

  While it is easy to focus on all the changes Rift Technology had made on the battlefield, it is important to also note how it was being used on the home front. Thanks to their genetic experiments the United States had started to mass produce whole new lines of antibiotics and antiviral drugs, saving hundreds if not thousands of lives every day. They also produced an effective and safe contraceptive injection that women around the world welcomed. The Turing engines allowed for the creation of automated factories and mining facilities that opened up new lines of war production in the British Empire and Commonwealth. This allowed the Western Allies to keep up with the demands for new weapons and ammunition on all fronts of the war.

  The German setup synthetic fuel refineries that not only allowed them to stay in the war, but also to reinvigorate their Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine; making them effective fighting forces again. The Soviets got a hold of the plans for the Turing automated factories which allowed the Russians to replace the supplies lost due to the cancellation of Lend Lease. So, they were able to continue with as heavy a tempo of operations as they had before attacking the Western Allies.

  Overall, this meant that the European battlefields of 1947 were far more complex and deadly when compared to those eight years before. Yet as I said before in some ways nothing had really changed. Young men, and a growing number of young women, still had to go out into that hell and fight. They weren’t doing so just as regular infantry; but as modern knights in power suits that would have been the stuff of science fiction just three scant years ago. They were also manning tanks and walkers with more firepower than a platoon of tanks had at the start of the war. Yet still we went forth and with every fight, every battle, and despite the German’s throwing surprise after surprise at us we kept moving forward. I knew we were going to win this.

  It just took a lot longer than even I expected.

  Chapter One: Counterattack

  As was their standard operating procedure, the German attack started with the screaming terror of the Moaning Minnies crashing down on the Seaforth’s position. As the rockets hit, the quieter but just as deadly crump of the German 80mm mortars cou
ld also be heard as they hit with their usual deadly accuracy.

  When the artillery bombardment had started, Alexandra ‘Alex’ Mackenzie had the unfortunate luck of being outside of her walker. She'd been making a much-needed call of nature at the first sound of the incoming rockets. Alex paused only long enough to pull up her pants before grabbing her captured StG44 and leaping into a nearby slit trench that her walker, Winnie, had dug just for this emergency. Only when she was in the relative safety of the narrow piece of dug earth did she take the time to do up the lower part of her uniform.

  Her luck continued to be bad when, just as she finished, another body landed on top of her, pinning her in place.

  “Williams! What the fuck?” said Alex; as she wriggled to get out from underneath the much larger man.

  “Sorry Sergeant,” said Williams as they both tried to occupy a space only meant for one person. Williams was a recent replacement, and while he wasn’t lacking in courage, there was still a small town, United Church innocence about him. So, when his hand accidentally grabbed Alex’s breast he immediately removed it with a quick ‘Sorry Sergeant’. Unfortunately, that was the hand that was also supporting his weight so he once again landed on the petite NCO.

  Alex knew it was impossible, but she was sure that Chantal and her other crewmates were laughing it up right now. “Stop squirming you idiot. That’s an order!” she said knowing that the only way she was going to get out of this without cracked ribs was by taking charge.

  “Yes Sergeant,” said Williams in a deflated voice.

  Alex listened to the artillery. Moaning Minnie attacks were intense but not continuous. The initial blasts in the area were done for now. They could now risk pieces of themselves being above the edge of the trench.