Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #17 August 2015 | Page 65

will start as soon as the tower comes down. First and
third platoons together, second behind as support. Use
the levy to secure the camp and block these paths to
the north. Cavalry covers the open area to the south
and protect the guns. Quartermaster to follow us in
with fresh rounds. Presuming of course that the tower
comes down.”

toward the position of the rebel cannon.
“But you won’t be able to hit the gun, the tower
is in the way for you as well? Your shots will hit the
tower.”
Lieutenant Engler smiled. “That, Sir, is my target, twenty feet tall, made of local brick and the rebel
gun is hard against its base and trapped behind those
gabions. My intention, Sir, is to bring down that tower
and drop the whole ruddy lot onto of the rebel gun.”

Captain Charterhouse looked at the picture of
the fort and tower then looked up at Lieutenant Engler.
“Eight shots you say, care to put a wager on that?”

His smile grew wider. “Eight rounds General,
my men will have the tower down and that cannon out
of action in eight rounds.”
General Summerby considered the map. “If you
can take out the Rebel cannon we can advance across
this distance and be at the town wall at the walk. Within fifteen minutes of the tower coming down we can be
breaching the wall.”
Lieutenant Houseman interrupted. “Twenty
minutes Sir, unless you want to leave the Ironsides
behind.”
The general grunted. “Twenty minutes then, we

The artilleryman grinned. “Ten guineas it is.”
Both men shook hands while everyone else
chuckled, then the officers got down the serious business of planning an attack on the town. Thoughts of
shambling corpses and attacks in the dead of night forgotten. They had an enemy in sight, a plan, a company
of British infantry and one of the British Navy’s finest
Land Frigates.
The rebels were about to find out what it meant
to defy the Empire and perhaps also pay the price for
whatever unholy deeds they had performed to cause
the dead to walk.

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