Finally the heavily armoured monster slumped against the far side wall and collapsed into a heap. Taylor got to his feet and moved cautiously towards the daunting thing. He guessed they must have fired a couple of hundred rounds into the target. Despite not knowing how many were necessary to destroy the beast, it was becoming quickly apparent that they were facing a vastly superior enemy.
Reaching the end of the corridor, Mitch peered around the corner, finding nothing but the bodies of two more civilians. He looked down at the lifeless armoured suit, most of their rounds had bounced right off the thick armour. The suit was in many ways crude and industrial, riveted and bolted together. He could see a handful of entry points where their bullets had penetrated, all in the thinner joint areas and the mirrored section. A blue liquid seeped from the holes in the suit, he had no idea whether it was blood or some fluid from the suit. Gunfire rang out from the other end of the floor from Wilson and his marines. The Major spun around to look at his men who were anxiously waiting for orders.
“Whatever these things are our rifles can only penetrate their armour at the joints and at that mirrored section. When you face another, choose your targets carefully. Our grenade launchers will hopefully do more damage, but we can’t risk their use here, a breach in the structure of the building could be detrimental. Sergeant Silva, send runners out through the building, we are getting the hell off of this rock.”
“Sir, what about the Prime Minister?”
“I’ll take the men of Alpha here, less any runners you need. Set your watches for a fifteen minute countdown, anybody not at the boat by then gets left behind.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Taylor stormed back the way he’d come. Silva peeled off three of the marines as they went, the rest following after the Major. He’d not been without communication links since his blackout training years before. He continued onwards at the head of the marine unit. Based on the size of the vessel that breached the building and the size of the thing that attacked them, he speculated that there would likely be no more than ten intruders in the building.
Minutes later the Major stormed into the hallway before the blast doors of the Prime Minister’s bunker. His command staff stood with their rifles ready to fire, they were highly-strung and ready to shoot. He walked straight past them and up to the camera beside the doors.
“This is Major Taylor, get these doors open!”
Seconds later the huge blast doors slid open and he went into the bunker. The occupants were in shock, having watched civilians being gunned down on camera.
“Prime Minister Olsen. The colony has been compromised, we cannot defend it any longer with the few troops we have, I have orders to evacuate you immediately!”
Olsen did not answer for a few seconds, still traumatised by the incident.
“The Prime Minister will not leave his colony, this is our home!” Kelly shouted.
“It’s not up for discussion, those are my orders. There’s space for anyone here who wants to join us. Sir, please come with us now.”
Colonel Visser reached for his handgun, but Taylor lifted his rifle and took the officer in sight. His marines moved into the bunker beside him, outnumbering the guards in the room.
“You cannot remove the Prime Minister without his permission!”
“You do what you have to do, Colonel, but I’m working on orders from General White. The colony will be overrun in the next few minutes, if we do not go now we may never make it out!”
“And what about the people of this colony?”
“What we can do for them is get you out and to safety, Prime Minister. Your death will not help them in any way. Sir, come with us.”
The Prime Minister staggered forwards, the walk of a man who had lost everything. Visser released his grip on the pistol on his belt and relaxed.
“Colonel, Commander, you coming or not?”
“Sorry, Major, but I have a sworn duty to protect this colony,” said Kelly.
The Colonel nodded in agreement with him. “You get the Prime Minister to safety and make sure you give them hell, we’ll do what we can here.”
The Major turned and led Olsen out of the bunker.
“Form up, we’re moving out!”
The marine unit rushed to the elevators that would take them right up to the docking area of the Deveron. Gunshots echoed around the building. They could not tell whether it was their own marines or the other soldiers stationed there, but they could no longer concern themselves with it. They crammed into the elevators. Taylor kept the Prime Minister close at all times.
It was a thirty-second journey to the upper floor, but it felt much longer. As they approached the top floor they could hear the sound of gunfire getting louder. It quickly became apparent that their fellow soldiers were already engaged in combat outside the docking bay.
The doors slid open and Alpha platoon burst out into a warzone. Eight marines lay dead or dying on the floor, the rest were battling ferociously against five of the armoured attackers. The beasts made no attempt to use any cover. The room had tall ceilings and was a broad open docking area. A few crates on the bay floor were all that provided cover against the onslaught of the beasts.
Taylor left the elevator firing repeatedly. Within seconds of them arriving, his half of Alpha platoon brought down a creature. Seconds later they were joined by Charlie who came up from the stairs. Almost a hundred marines fired repeatedly. Five more of them were hit as the metal beasts toppled to the ground.
Looking around at the docking bay area, Taylor was astonished at the hardship they’d faced. Even when outnumbering the invaders substantially they had taken severe fatalities, including many others wounded. He could smell burning and was drawn to the smouldering on his shoulder. One of the enemy shots had skimmed his shoulder and upper arm protection. It had burnt it down to the layer of his compression suit.
“All aboard! Immediate evac!” he shouted.
Taylor took Prime Minister Olsen’s arm personally and pulled him across the docking bay. The marines hauled their fallen and wounded comrades onto their shoulders dragging them through the docking doors of the Deveron. They were met by Captain Reyes who was armoured up and limping from a shot that had skimmed his leg.
“Get us the hell out of here, Captain, and make sure you man the guns, we’ll need everything we’ve got to make it off this rock!”
“All aboard, Major?”
“We can’t wait any longer Captain!”
Reyes hit his intercom as the marines rushed in through the narrow docking corridor.
“Ensign, prepare for lift-off in twenty seconds!”
“Come on, marines! Move your ass!” shouted Taylor.
The last men leapt aboard as the engines fired up and the Captain shut the docking door and released the corridors. Taylor followed the hobbling Captain to the elevators that led them directly to the bridge. He looked out at the colony, a surprisingly peaceful sight considering the slaughter going on within the structures.
“If they wanted us all dead why didn’t they just carpet-bomb the colony?” asked Reyes.
“No idea, Captain. Right now, I don’t care. Put everything to the engines that you’ve got, we need to move!”
“Already done, Major.”
They quickly soared to a height and were well on their way to Earth. It was fortunate that the Deveron was one of the fastest space-going vessels in usage, as no civilian craft could come close to matching its performance.
“Sir, we’ve got four ships closing on us fast!” called the Ensign.
“Have we got gunners in position?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Tell them to fire at will!”
“Captain, whatever you have, mines, bombs, anything, you need to use it,” said Taylor.
“Sir, I’m having problems tracking them, I can barely make them out on screen!”
The Major and the Captain looked at the live feed of the ships closing in on them, barely more than a glimmer in space.
The chameleon technology they used was both magnificent and frightening to watch. The rail guns began to fire, the first few hits did little to deter the attackers but moments later one was hit hard and erupted, its chameleon skin flicking off and they watched silently as it scattered into space in a thousand pieces.
A beam of light surged from the lead vessel and struck their hold, violently shaking the ship. An emergency red beacon began to flash as it become apparent that they had a breach.
“Take them out, Captain, now!”
“Deploy mines on a scatter pattern, everything we have!” shouted Reyes.
Seconds later the enemy craft were enveloped by a scattershot of mines which erupted on impact. The craft were obliterated, leaving nothing more than unrecognisable residue. The bridge crew erupted with ecstasy at their victory.
“Seal that breach, get repair crews down there immediately! We’ll need to be patched up for entry into Earth atmosphere in six hours!” Reyes ordered.
“That it? We free and clear?” asked the Major.
“It would appear so, Sir.”
“Good, keep me notified of any contact on the scanners.”
Chapter 4
Arriving back on Earth was not quite the victory parade that any of them had imagined, but it was a relief to be back in a hospitable atmosphere and amongst a sizeable military force. They landed outside the Military Hospital where medics were waiting them to help them. They had fourteen killed and nineteen wounded. Major Taylor walked down the ramp to be met by General White as the medical orderlies carried and assisted the injured. The General smiled at seeing the Prime Minister with the Major.
“Good work, Major. As you can imagine we need an immediate debrief, have your men get food, and then re-supply immediately. The base is on Alert One, all combat troops to remain armed at all times.”
“Good work? We’ve come back with our tail between our legs, Sir.”
“You made a tactical withdrawal in the face of superior odds, Major. Now please, follow me, both of you.”
Taylor nodded to Captain Friday to carry out the orders he’d overheard and proceeded to follow the General, climbing aboard his command car with the Prime Minister remaining at his side. Riding through the base the atmosphere was a far cry from what they’d known before departing. There was no larking about, no games being played, no fitness training. A serious tone had swept across the men and women of the base. They all went about cautiously with a weapon close to hand.
General White’s driver pulled up outside the briefing hall where he’d first heard about the troubles just over a week ago. The last thing he expected was to be returning there with news of an alien invasion and a number of his company dead or wounded. Taylor had always hoped he would handle himself well in a combat situation, but this was not a real test of the theory.
Reading combat reports he’d found many accounts of officers freezing under pressure or getting their men pointlessly killed. His first real test had been in far from favourable circumstances, despite carrying out his mission exactly as ordered. It was not what he would call a successful mission. Losing men and women he had trained with weighed heavily on him. He wanted to swear he’d not lose another, but he also knew it was not how a war could be fought.
Security outside the briefing hall was higher than ever, but not just with base personnel. Security from the UEN forces as well as Eastern soldiers and plain clothed security guarded the perimeter.
“What is this, Sir?”
“An emergency gathering. We’ve got all the major key players here.”
Mitch had hoped for something a little more low key, but he knew it was too much to hope for. He stepped off the jeep, still wearing his full armour and with weapon in hand. He’d ordered his men to stay in full battle attire until the end of the mission. They had witnessed enough of the unexpected to be caught with their pants down.
He threw his rifle back into the jeep, content in the knowledge that he was in a safe position. He still maintained a handgun on his body, in keeping with the base security condition now in place. None of the security guards, in uniform or not, made any attempt to question him on entry, knowing rightly not to stand in the way of General White.
The room had been hastily set up in a round table layout. Unlike the crowded briefings he was used to, less than fifty people were in there. They were deep in conversation, but went silent upon his entry. The General led Taylor right up to his own seat and addressed the room.
“This is Major Mitch Taylor, from the mission previously discussed. Major, before you are Presidents, Prime Ministers, Generals and envoys from all the major countries and joint forces in the world. We will take a full briefing later, but please, give us a concise overview of the enemy.”
Taylor looked around the room as they all stared back at him. He had addressed crowds on a regular basis in his career, but faced with the cutting silence and having to address the most powerful men and women of the planet, was daunting. His mouth was dry, but finally he found his words.
“The unidentified enemy made no attempt at communication, nor responded in any way in the attempts we made. They attacked relentlessly. Their smaller ships use a type of chameleon camouflage tech. Their ships, both large and small, are faster than anything we have in space. Their soldiers wear heavily armoured suits which stand over two metres tall and use some kind of energy weapons which burns through the best of our armour at close range.”
He looked again at them all, but there was no response, no questions.
“Our small arms could only damage the enemy in a few number of weak points. Based on what I have seen, they intend to conquer our entire civilisation. I saw no mercy, no intention to enslave our people or take hostages. They are coming for us.”
The room was still eerily silent as everyone tried to digest the difficult information they were being dealt. Finally the President of the United States stood up.
“Thank you, son, you’ve done a fine job. I’d hope we’d not need you for further combat duties, but I am sad to say it is almost certain that we will. Be sure to provide the General with any recommendations on equipment and I will do my best to get it supplied on an emergency basis.”
“Thank you, Mr President.”
“That’ll be all, Major, please see to your wounded and be ready for a full debrief when I am done here,” General White ordered.
Taylor saluted and strolled back out of the room, leaving the Prime Minister with the rest of the delegates from around the world. Stepping out into the daylight he was greeted by a most unexpected sight, Captain Charlie Jones.
“Major, you look like hell!”
Neither man saluted the other. They were beyond the point where either felt it was necessary. Their countries’ regulations did not strictly require it of foreign personnel either. Instead the Major outstretched his hand in friendship. The British Captain studied his burnt armour in surprise.
“What are you doing here, Captain?”
“Additional security detail for Brigadier Dupont of the EUA. So they gave you a hard time I hear?”
“They? Haven’t we got a name for them yet?” asked Taylor.
“Well our intelligence is still lacking. The word ‘aliens’ is floating around the base, but none of the top brass is keen to entertain the notion. Many are still holding onto the idea of it being some terrorist or extreme faction on Earth that is trying to flex its muscles.”
“Not a chance, you should have seen them, Charlie. They resemble nothing that exists on Earth or any of our bases and colonies.”
“Word has it there’s a far larger force en route for us, any idea how long they’ll be?”
“Based on what I’ve seen, we’ve got a few days at most until their main force gets here.”
“Christ, so we could be war before the week is out?”
“Sorry, Charlie, but you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got a number of wounded that I need to call on before the General starts his debrief.”
�
��Of course, good to see you made it out.”
Taylor nodded and continued on to the General’s jeep. He climbed aboard, much to the surprise of Sergeant Gibbons.
“Take me back to the hospital, Sergeant.”
The man tried to turn and argue with the Major, but when he made eye contact with Taylor it became clear that it would be folly. If nothing else, the officer looked ready to strike him if he didn’t do as ordered.
Visiting the wounded was a painful experience for Taylor, not only having to see men he considered friends in pain, but to know that many more would follow them when they went back into action. He could see that many officers and politicians still believed that they could avoid war, but he knew already that it was a conflict they could not avoid.
The rest of the day was spent in a briefing room with General White and several other staff. They went over the same events time and time again. The reality was that he did not have much more to say than he’d said hours before to the worldwide delegates. There was nothing he could say to them to convey the spine chilling evil that the enemy invoked. At every opportunity the interrogators tried to find a way to support their theory that they were mere humans with advanced and experimental technology.
Finally Taylor was released to go back to his quarters to rest for the night. The base was still on high alert and that meant guard duties for all units on base, with double security at the entry points. He staggered into the officers’ block. The tall apartment building housed all the officers of his battalion. Their individual homes were a decadent luxury compared to the accommodation of the rank and file. He tapped in his security code to the entry pad and went into his hallway. He stopped abruptly to at the sight of the lights being on. Even if he had left them on, they automatically shut off an hour after leaving the room empty.
The Major’s hand reached quickly to his handgun and drew it into a two-handed grip. Adrenaline flowed through his body and his heart pounded. After the frightful slaughter he’d witnessed on the Moon colony, the thought of his own home being invaded was deadly. He took the bend around the hallway leading to his living room, quickly snapping around the corner with his pistol held ready to fire.
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