I. CHAPTER 4: PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE OF PALAYAN

***The outskirts of the city of Palayan…***

As there was a threat of an enemy attack, the Imperial Guard 3rd Company sent patrols to provide reconnaissance and early warning capabilities to their command center at the old capitol ruins. One of these three-man groups was tasked with patrolling the west-southwestern approaches into the city. Opposite them were a detachment of Philippine Republican border guards watching their side of the boundaries, and the Filipino soldiers were sympathetic to the Orientals, they were also giving them signals about the Ilocanos.

“Tangos flying in with three Black Hawks spotted on their way to this direction,” the corporal leading the group said to his companions, who were taking notes. He was reading the Filipinos’ Morse signal via a faint phone light a few kilometers away. “Other Filipino outposts report another big group penetrating our territory from other directions, supported by armored vehicles.”

“My god, sir,” one of the soldiers blurted out. “Can’t we call this an invasion force already?”

“We’ll have to wait for more reports to say it is,” the corporal replied, reading other reports from other of their patrols. “But if it is truly an invasion force, then why are these creeps all heading to the direction of Palayan instead of a more widespread advance? After all, Gapan is more of a problem to them than a relatively undefended and ruined border city.”

“And what’s going on with the 1st Regiment? Isn’t this region their area of responsibility?”

“The Black One got mauled in Lingayen, trying to save our asses, after all,” the corporal noted. “They must’ve been recuperating their losses. Besides, we can’t let other units know of our presence here. Not until we secured the dragon.”

“R-Right…I’m sorry, sir.”

The corporal then picked up his gear and ordered his group, “It’s fine. Any case, keep your eyes peeled. We need to delay those Ilocanos for as long as possible—”

His orders were interrupted when a Black Hawk darted past their positions, knocking off their buri straw hats that were part of the Oriental military’s uniform. Almost instinctively, everyone dived for cover, but later tried to ascertain the enemy force they were facing.

“Susmaryosep…God help us!” the corporal could only quip as he watched an approaching group of Bradleys from his infrared binoculars, and the Ilocano soldiers that rode atop each armored behemoth rolling towards them.

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In Palayan itself, the sounds of the massacre could be heard. As the population were alerted to the battle, the drone operators embedded within the 3rd Company of the Imperial Guard were already returning from their reconnaissance bearing video evidences of the Ilocano incursion. The operators, as well as the leaders of the 3rd Company were horrified while they reviewed the footage. Everything was clear: a huge army of Ilocanos in Black Hawk helicopters and Humvees were charging from Cabanatuan to Palayan.

To claim that it is a ‘simple’ raid is an understatement.

At once, the Imperial Guard sprang to action. Using the available soil and debris around the capitol ruins, the soldiers made impromptu sandbags. The destroyed structures favored their defense, for they could turn every corner and passages into killing zones. And finally, the relatively flat terrain offered no hiding spot for the attackers, so the Ilocanos would be exposed to the Guards’ counter-fire as the former approached the defense lines.

Nevertheless, though the Imperial Guard knew of the upcoming battle, and were preparing accordingly, they were still underpowered. For one, they only had light crew-served weapons with them, such as the squad machine guns. A few brought along anti-armor munitions, but its quantity put their ability to resist the armored charge in jeopardy. And worse, the 3rd Company platoons were incomplete; the 1st platoon was holding the North Imperial Highway (the former North Luzon Expressway part that fell under the empire’s territory), so the road to Manila remained open as they escorted the Dragon to the capital city (per original plan of theirs).

These were the dilemma that faced Sergeant Roman. Under his direct command were the 2nd, 3rd and 4th platoons of his company; to remain in Palayan would mean certain death. But if they abandoned their positions, the Ilocanos could capture the Dragon. While they planned for such contingencies, they never factored in a full-force enemy attack. Sergeant Roman knew they had to distract the pursuing enemy somehow.

“Dragon 1, this is dragon base, over,” the sergeant sent his coded message for the fourth time.

“Dragon base, this is Dragon 1, over,” came the reply, finally.

“Dragon 1, is Dragon Lord available? Over.”

“Negative, dragon base. What’s your status, over?”

“Tangos flying in with birds and turtles. Avoid grass. I repeat, avoid grass. Over.”

Dragon 1 didn’t reply for a few seconds. Sergeant Roman thought something was blocking his transmission, and was anxious the Ilocanos might’ve decoded his message. However, Dragon 1 did return, though there was another voice on the radio. “Dragon base, this is Dragon Lord. Tangos coming in, over?”

The sergeant recognized the voice of Captain Spitz. “Dragon Lord, it’s positive. Buzz birds confirm visuals on tangos, with birds and turtles. Do not touch grass, over.”

“Dragon base, you can fly to the cave. Over.”

The sergeant was taken aback by their captain’s suggestion, yet he understood where his superior was coming. The Lingayen debacle changed their view on the duty and responsibility to the emperor, as well as to their comrades. However…

“Sir,” Sergeant Roman took a deep breath, and dropped all coded messages. “With all due respect, you know the sentiments of the guys. If you ask me, I’m sure we all have the same answer to your orders.”

“Sarge…”

“Cap, we are the Imperial Guard, the emperor’s last line of defense before the emperor himself. And we seek redemption after our failure at Lingayen. The Guard does not retreat, nor do we surrender. Our lives were already offered to our liege, and his master, the Almighty God. This will be our graves, sir. We will fight the enemy here.”

There was a deafening silence on the other side of the two-way radio. The sergeant smiled, sighed, and said to the person listening, “Marcel, you’ve come a long way. I can still remember you getting picked by your peers because you are the smallest in your batch.”

“Sarge, please stop,” came the voice from the radio. “Withdraw to the rendezvous point—”

“Marcel, we have talked about this before,” Sergeant Roman reiterated. “If something happens, we will stand. Everyone agreed to this.”

Another round of silence. Finally, the captain said, “You have your orders, Sergeant! Hold off those stinking Ilocanos. To our enemies listening to this transmission, come and get us, creeps!”

With a poignant smile, Sergeant Rico Roman saluted his superior for one last time. Then, once he closed the transmission, he shot at the equipment, ensuring it won’t fall into enemy hands.

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***On the other side of the radio…***

Captain Marcel Spitz ended his transmission with silence as well, and the corporal with him asked if he was okay, for he looked shaken. However, he reassured the soldier that he was fine, adding, “Ilocanos are heading to Palayan, as of the moment. Turn off the radio until we reached the North Imperial Highway. I’ll come back to the house to fetch the empress, her family and Count Sey.”

“Yes, sir!” the corporal saluted him. However, the man asked, “But, we let the neighbors update their social media about Her Imperial Majesty’s presence here. Didn’t we jeopardize the mission, sir?”

“The Ilocanos heading to Palayan is our indication that they haven’t just yet,” Marcel replied. “Though, we can’t stay here for too long; I’m sure the goons in Manila already saw the posts, and is ratting us out to the Ilocano command as of the moment. Not to mention, the intelligence services of the Imperial Guard might be working wonders to divert the creeps to Palayan; so, we can’t afford to waste their efforts by remaining here. Tomorrow, the regent will surely declare that a coup-de-etat is happening, and we don’t want to get caught outside the capital city. This is our final shot to do the last will of our true emperor, before Duke Aguinaldo destroy us…and this country.”

“We’ll stand with you, Sir!”

“Good, now get that engine warmed up,” the captain ordered. “Let’s not waste the sacrifice of our friends in the 3rd Company, and the intelligence services. Let’s get away from this god-forsaken place, before the stinking creeps swarm it.”

At once, the corporal hopped unto the car and brought it to life. Meanwhile, Marcel headed back to the house of Pau and Ayan; his lips drawing a smirk, and his heart jumping for joy. After all, it was a great excuse not to take part in the horrific battle that was about to happen…

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***The city of Gapan, a few miles south of Palayan and Cabanatuan…***

It was not a weekend, and the streets of Gapan was busy with vehicles and people returning from work, as the war hadn’t reached those parts of the country just yet. However, the office employees and workers were greeted by the sight of military tanks and soldiers marching along the roads that led to the Imperial Army base nearby, at Camp Ramon Magsaysay. As confusion and frustrations (because of the heavy traffic) reigned, the commanding officer of the 1st Regiment, Imperial Army, Major General Juan Ariza, observed the repositioning of his regiment back to their home base.

“…”

The order to reposition was urgent, and immediate, thus, Gen. Ariza and his men were neither prepared nor planned measures to ease the traffic their movement caused. As the commander tried to reach Imperial headquarters in Manila, there came conflicting reports of an Ilocano attack along the borders they abandoned, an ongoing military coup-de-etat, and an unknown force marching through the North Imperial Highway. While he and his lieutenants pondered on what they received, another order from Manila came.

“Sir!” the radio operator handed him a transcript of the order. “The Chief of Staff says it’s urgent.”

“Another urgent, and vague order?” the general didn’t hide his ire. “And we’re still trying to free the traffic so we can reposition our tanks on Camp Magsaysay!” Nevertheless, for all his complaints, he still read the order. A tense air of silence slowly formed as his deputies watched their commander turn pale, and cold sweat formed on his forehead.

“Is there anything on the order, sir?” one of his sub-commanders asked.

“T-The Imperial Guard…” Gen. Ariza muttered. “W-What are they doing here?”

“Imperial Guard, Sir?”

“Yes,” the general handed them the paper. “According to Manila, the Imperial Guard has mounted a coup-de-etat against the imperial government, and is looking for a fake candidate to the throne in this area. They are searching for a look-alike of the missing Lady Pauline Maria, Baroness of Lemery, and the appointed successor of Arthur Valiente, according to rumors. The orders of the headquarters are to apprehend any Imperial Guard sighted, or shoot them dead if they resist.”

“Why would the Guard do that?” the others exclaimed.

“I’m also lost as to what’s going on,” Gen. Ariza admitted. “However, I wanted to steer the regiment away from the politicians. Let them squabble; we’ll remain here and appease Manila.”

Author's Notes:

Susmaryosep - is a Filipino swear word.  It is actually the names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and is often exclaimed by surprised Filipinos.

The Black One - in this story, the 1st Regiment, Imperial Army is nicknamed the 'Big Black One,' as I drew their patch with a big black number one on it.

Creeps - Ilocanos are often disparagingly called 'cheapskates,' which in Filipino, translates to 'kuripot.'  The term creep is a play on the word.

North Luzon Expressway - is an expressway that connects the capital region of Metro Manila to the northern provinces of Luzon.  It is often abbreviated to NLEX.

Ramon Magsaysay - is a Philippine President, from 1953 to his untimely death in 1957.  Under his term, the Philippines was said to have its 'golden years.'  He was a populist leader, opening the Malacanang Palace to the people in the belief that they co-own it.  Considered the greatest Philippine President, the Nobel Prize's Asian equivalent was named after him.

Another note, Camp Ramon Magsaysay is the largest military reservation in the Philippines, which is actually located in the city of Palayan, the towns of Sta. Rosa, Gen. Tinio and Laur in Nueva Ecija, and the town of Dingalan in the province of Aurora.