The Swiss Prefer to be Neutral

Part 2

Hauptfeldweibel Kilian pushed back the hatch of his Entpannungspanzer 65 tank and looked over the field in front of him, his eyes filled with approval. It was littered with the remains of the Ch'i flyers and dozens of Ch'i bodies that were strewn in various positions. Already his men were moving out and finishing the survivors with swift slices to their beak like protrusions, before removing and tagging their weapons.

Above, a small squadron of the Schwebeflug weapon platforms was passing back and forth across the sky, looking for incoming Ch'i ships, unfortunately the sky was clear. For nearly a month now Ch'i had thrown everything they had at this pass, but Kilian had kept it clear with no causalties and he intended to continue to do so for as long as it took, or until he was dead.

As soon as he hit the ground he offered a small prayer to the sky and kissed the earth, as he had done in each of the thirty seven battles he had won so far. Perhaps mother Switzerland was keeping him safe, or perhaps it was the distrusting leaders in Bern, the capital, who had ordered that the alien technology be reverse engineered as quickly as possible, but whichever it was, he knew that he was a key part of the last free army on earth.

Standing back up, he gave a last signal of thanks and nodded approvingly at the energy shield that still crackled high above them. It stretched from border to border and rose 100 kilometres into the air. It had only been supposed to last for a day or so, but the tech boys at headquarters had thankfully kept it going all week so far, maybe if they could keep it up for longer then they'd manage to win this war after all.

He'd hoped to get some food, but as he moved back towards the command post the sound of distant thunder signalled the start of another attack in the distance and he turned and raced back to his tank. Perhaps they wouldn't hit here, but if they did then he and the entire Swiss third would be waiting for them and they would stop them, as they had on countless over attempts.

High above Bern the barrage continued for long minutes, until at last it faded and the lights in the President's cramped office flickered back on. President Schneider-Ammann looked to the radio operator, who was squeezed into the corner and listening closely to his headphones. He turned around, seeing the President's distressed expression and pulled the headset down a little.

"Sir, they focussed on one area of the shield but..."

He listened again. "There was no damage, it held."

The men around the table exhaled, unaware that they had even been holding their breath, but the President seemed unsatisfied.

General Wille was the first to speak. "Sir, we can begin to push back in the north if we move up the third and fifth to the point where we will..."

The President stopped him with a deadly look. "How long can the shield continue to hold?"

The General shuffled through his notes, looking for the report that had been prepared. "The engineers understand the technology more clearly every day. Already, we have maintained it for nearly forty two days and it is stronger than it has ever been. We see no reason why it should..."

A raised hand stopped him again. "They will get through eventually, they will find a weekness in it, or it will collapse. We need to be prepared, we need to have a plan."

General Guisan cleared his throat. "Sir, with respect, what more can we do, but hold out and hope to find a way to sue for peace. The rest of the world is... it's gone sir. We lost contact with the Chinese last night and the Norwegians had hoped that moving North would allow them to be spared, but all indications are that we are the last functioning part of the human world."

The President slumped back in his chair and fished around in his coat pocket, eventually finding a packet of cigarettes and pulling one free. "We had a plan at one time, what happened to it?"

The two Generals looked to the third who had said nothing since the bombardment had ended, but now sat forward. General Herzog had pushed hard for the plan at the time, but until this moment the President had given no sign he would approve it. "Sir, the plan would require the deactivation of the shield. The country would be unprotected from the moment that it was deactivated and there would be no way to establish a new one."

The President nodded. "So the engineers cannot build one?"

General Wille looked uncomfortable. "Nein, they understand how to maintain and we are even making improvements to expand the range, but many of the parts are made from metals that we still do not know how to identify and the core is... well, we do not know."

The President nodded. "Very well, so this would be all or nothing, the final stand of the human race. Tell me the plan again, I wish to know every detail."

Wille and Guisan exchanged looks, but General Herzog wore an evil smile, he had not expected this from his President and now it seemed there was a remote chance that he might be allowed to enact his plan.

If it worked then it would save the world.

If it failed, then they were all dead.