For a moment Taylor thought it was going to be some kind of escape craft about to zoom out from the palace, but it was not to be.
"Oh, fuck," he said.
A vast twenty metre-wide domed turret raised out from it. A huge double barrel cannon protruded from the crown of the structure, and several lighter weapons were mounted in ball joint swivels. It looked indestructible to their small arms and began to pan and track.
"Run!" Taylor hollered.
They scattered in all directions as the main guns opened fire, and two fiery balls of energy smashed into the ground where they had been standing. They blew several metre wide craters into the surface. Taylor jumped and rolled behind one of the columns as sustained gunfire landed all around him. Two marines from the Guam lay dead from the opening salvo, and another was wounded and trying to crawl for cover. Taylor went to step out to go and help, but a dozen impacts hit the column near him and forced him back into cover. He could only stay and watch helplessly as the wounded woman was riddled with gunfire and finally killed.
The big guns fired again and struck two of the columns. They burst from the impact and instantly killed the three marines huddled behind them. Stone fragments peppered Taylor, and the leg of one of the men landed near him. He looked up above them to see missiles impact on the hull of the Guam as she returned fire at the ground defences. Taylor opened a channel to the bridge. Song was in a far more flustered state than he had last found her.
"Captain, we've got a problem!" he yelled. Gunfire still hammered their position, and he looked around the corner. Cannons were taking aim at where he stood.
"Oh, shit!"
He ran to the edge of the walkway and took a leap over the edge, not even knowing what was there. The impacts struck at his back. He was blasted further forward and felt stonework smashing into him. As he was falling, he realised it was into a huge pond and fountain. He hit the water hard and tumbled from the impact of the blast. It was half a metre deep, and he only came to a standstill when he crashed into the base of the fountain. He quickly shook his head and tried to get his bearings, suddenly remembering the screen and what he was trying to do before he jumped.
"I'm on it," stated Song before he even had time to ask.
He looked up. Three small turrets on the underside of the bow of the Guam stopped firing and swivelled around to acquire the new target. It took just two seconds for them to start firing with a salvo of missiles and heavy guns. Taylor looked back to the turret atop the palace and smiled, as it took hit after hit. Part of the roof caved in, and the carapace of the turret was penetrated, but the bombardment didn't stop. Missiles soared through the gaping hole, and an explosion burst out from inside the structure. Half of the dome was blown clean off.
Jones rushed to the edge to see if Taylor was okay.
"They hit the ammo!"
"That's how you get shit done, Lieutenant!" he replied.
He got back to his feet and was dripping wet. He took a run and jumped back up to the walkway beside Jones. A dozen marines lay dead, but not one of his Immortals had been harmed. The rest of marines looked scared and wary of moving forward. Taylor jumped into a sprint towards the palace entrance without another word. It didn't matter whether they would follow him or not. His Immortals were by his side, and nothing would stop him now.
He glanced back. The rest of the marines were turning to face troops that were arriving at their backs, and he was happy to leave them there to deal with it. They soon reached small arms range of the palace entrance, and two-dozen rifles opened fire on them. They advanced as a shield wall, and gunfire was absorbed over every shield. Taylor felt a shot brush off the side of his helmet just as they reached the doors and smashed into the stonework. They each drew out grenades and tossed them through the nearest windows.
With his back against the wall, he watched a dozen Cholan fighters attack the Guam. Its defence systems blew two out of the sky and kept tracking the others, but it continued to take a beating from the ground.
"She can't last forever," said Jones
"Then let's not waste any more time."
Explosions rang out, and glass smashed out across the ground around them as the grenades detonated. The power of the blasts blew two Cholan bodies out of the windows. Taylor checked the doors, and despite their size and heft, they weren’t built for defence at all. He fired a burst into the centre where the two doors met and locked. He then fired at two of the windows and threw a grenade through each. The second after the explosion, he smashed his way through like a raging bull. The doorways gave way under the power of the impact and swung open, crashing back into the walls as far as they could rotate.
A wounded Cholan tried to reach for his rifle, but Taylor quickly put a single shot into his head. Jones and Babacan rushed in and opened fire at soldiers coming through two doorways ahead of them. A vast and lavish staircase was in the centre of the lobby. It split off and curved back on itself to reach up to the next floor. Several Cholan soldiers rushed in from either side of the base of the stairway and were cut down. Taylor knew they had to head up the stairs.
"Babacan, Hariz, Bailey, on me, rest of you deal with them!"
He went forward, firing at the Cholans still trying to fight their way in. With a single leap, he cleared two steps and was rushing up the tall flight. He took the bend where the stairs went back on itself, but was amazed to find no opposition. He carried on up into a large open room with a domed ceiling. Every inch of the dome was painted with what appeared to be religious art. Sculptures lined the walls, but the centre was empty.
Taylor stopped and looked down at the floor plan map on his console for just a second before choosing which arch to take. He pointed to lead the way and ran into a broad corridor. He froze on finding a Cholan captain and five of his men waiting for them. He almost pulled the trigger out of instinct, but their weapons were on the ground, and they were kneeling down empty handed.
"Please, accept our surrender," said the Captain.
He looked terrified by Taylor.
"Your Emperor, where is he?"
The Captain looked down as if ashamed and not wanting to answer.
"Either you lead us to him, or I’ll gun you down right here and now. I cannot spare the people or time to take prisoners who will not cooperate. When this is over, you will have your job once again if you do so. Don't, and you won't survive the day."
The Captain saw he was serious. It was clear he recognised Taylor, and his reputation was achieving exactly what he needed.
"His Excellency, Emperor Kuyok is in the throne room of this palace."
Taylor smirked as if not believing the man. He raised his rifle and took aim at the Captain.
"Where is he really?"
"I assure you, the Emperor would consider it a lowly thing to abandon his throne in the face of the enemy."
"Then he's a fool."
"Like you ever run from a fight," Alita murmured.
"To fight another day, damn right I have. I'm not a fool."
He carefully studied the Captain and tried to calculate if he was being led into a trap, but somehow he believed him.
"Get up. Lead the way," he said.
They went forward with the Captain and his men as shields. They were led through several large and lavish rooms decorated with weapons and armours thousands of years old. They finally arrived at the five metre tall golden doors of the throne room.
"Can't be this easy," said Alita.
They cautiously went forward, the barrel of Taylor's rifle at the back of the Captain's head. As they approached the vast doors, to their surprise, they parted and slowly opened to allow them in.
"What the hell?" Bailey asked.
"It's a trap," said Alita.
"Maybe."
They stopped and waited. Thirty metres at the far wall they could see the Emperor sitting on his throne as if it were any other day, just as the Captain said he would be. There was absolute silence in the inner sanctum of the palace. Only the di
stant sound of the heavy weapons of the Guam still bombarding the ground could be heard. Through the doors the only other sign of a life was a single Cholan warrior standing a metre away from the Emperor. He was a bodyguard and dressed in a powered suit not unlike Taylor’s.
The Emperor wore the crown of a King and was lavishly clothed in purple and gold. To Taylor he looked like a circus clown, but there was no doubt they were a wealthy people.
"Colonel Mitch Taylor!" a voice called.
It had come from the Emperor, but projected artificially through some hardware. It reverberated round the room and sounded deep and imposing. Taylor smiled.
Well, that might intimidate some people, but to me it is just the sound of a little man in a high tower.
"I'm Taylor!" he yelled back.
His voice carried strongly along the long throne room with no artificial aid at all.
"Step forward, and let us discuss this as friends," the response came.
Taylor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked to Alita, and she seemed just as surprised. She was shaking her head to tell him not to do it.
"Call a ceasefire and we'll talk!" he replied.
"Agreed!"
He tapped his console and brought up the Guam once again. Song appeared on the screen and said nothing, waiting for him to speak.
"Cease fire."
"What?" she asked, as if she thought she had heard something crazy.
"Just do it," he replied and opened a channel to all forces.
"This is Taylor. Cease fire and hold your positions!"
They heard the gunfire stop just a few seconds later. He could see Song carefully studying her scanners and looking in amazement.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"Not yet. Anyone fires a single shot, then you return it tenfold, but you do not start the fight, you hear?"
"Yes, Sir," she replied, sighing in relief. She replied with a whisper for just him to hear.
"Colonel, we're not in good shape. I've got multiple breaches, and half our weapon systems are down. Engines are damaged. I am amazed we are even still in the air. If this fight resumes, we will be finished in a matter of minutes."
"Understood. Hold fast."
He ended the communication and pushed past the Cholan Captain.
"Don't do it," pleaded Alita.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"But I do worry, all the time."
He smiled and reached out, brushing his hand across her cheek. It brought her a few seconds of comfort before he broke contact and carried on into the room. He deactivated his shield and advanced with his rifle lowered in one hand to his side. He didn't trust the Cholans one bit, but it was worth some risk to save those he had brought with him. Two metres inside he stopped cautiously. Now he could see more than twenty Cholan officials standing either side of the room, and a number of security guards and officials lurking beside them. He counted twelve that could be a threat, not including the bodyguard next to Kuyok. The Emperor spoke once again.
"What is it you want to achieve here, Colonel Taylor?"
"Do you lead your people?"
"I do."
"Then it was you who gave up on the Alliance, and you who ordered the attack on those who remained within it?"
"I did, but only for the good of my people. You must understand that, and you would have done the same for your people."
Taylor shook his head.
"Then you know nothing. You are a danger to the freedom and survival of the Alliance, and you lead your people into an alliance with the worst scum in the universe. The Morohta are a disease, an infestation, and any one who supports or enables them is no better."
The Emperor could see he was getting nowhere and tapped a control on the armrest of his throne. Taylor heard the doors at his back begin to close. He looked back to Alita.
"No!" she screamed, trying to make it through, but the doors slammed shut as she crashed into them. Huge buttresses swung into place and sealed the room like a vault. Alita looked back to the Cholan Captain with disdain.
"How do we get in?"
He did not respond.
"How!" she shouted at him.
"There is no way."
She looked to Bailey.
"Can we blow our way through?"
Bailey smashed the underside of her fist into the walls and shook her head.
"I've never seen anything like them. We're gonna need more than a few breaching charges to get through this. Bring the Guam's guns to bear and maybe we could put a hole in it, but short of that, we're stuck."
Alita turned to Babacan as if expecting to hear something different, but he had nothing. She spun around and smashed both her arms into the doors. She began to wail.
"Trust in the Colonel. Lord Jafar always did," Babacan added quietly.
"I trust him. I really do, but I also fear for him."
***
Taylor looked around the room from one face to another. Most were part of some type of court to the Emperor and officials of all sorts. They looked like yes men to him, and he knew their will could be broken easily, but he was also wary of just how many potential enemies he had been locked in with.
"You have no authority here," Kuyok stated.
He waved towards Taylor, and twelve soldiers stepped out from the sidelines as a barrier between him and Taylor.
"Detain him!" Kuyok ordered.
As they raised their rifles, he raised his left arm, and they stopped. They saw he was holding a grenade. He twisted the priming cap with his thumb and watched them look at one another in a panic. They had no idea how to deal with him.
"You just made a big mistake," replied Taylor.
He tossed the grenade, and it landed at the feet of the soldiers. He leapt off to one side and rolled until he was behind the cover of a pillar. Bullets landed all around him. The explosion rang out, and he looked back; three had been killed by the blast. The others had taken shelter behind similar pillars nearby. The Emperor's bodyguard stood in front of him with a shield similar to Taylor's, but Kuyok refused to move.
"Fool," Taylor muttered.
He looked for another grenade, but there were none left. He knew they were so terrified now in the sealed confines of the throne room that a decoy would be enough. He pulled out the suppressor for his rifle and launched it towards the opposite corner of the room. As they panicked and rushed for cover, he stepped out from the other side of the column and rushed forwards. Two Cholans were in plain sight from where they had sought cover.
Taylor fired two shots at them, and they died instantly. He was on top of their position in seconds when a rifle barrel appeared from behind cover. He didn't even slow down but grabbed hold of the barrel and rushed past, launching the Cholans off their feet and slamming them into the wall behind him. Taylor fired a three-shot burst into the soldiers. They were dead before they even had enough time to reach the floor.
He leapt into the opening between two pillars to find the remaining soldiers had lain down their weapons. The other officials knelt beside them. Taylor couldn't believe they had give up so easily, but he was relieved.
"Fight him!" pleaded the Emperor.
Kuyok's cool demeanour had gone. He kicked out so that a footstool was launched down the few steps leading to his throne, and he was up on his feet beside his bodyguard.
"Fight him, you dogs!"
But they looked up to Taylor as their new master.
"Somebody get that door open, now!" Taylor ordered.
One of the high-ranking officials rushed to the entrance of the room with a soldier in tow. No one else made a move. Taylor watched cautiously, but to his surprise, they did exactly as he had said. They punched in codes to wall-mounted devices either side, and sure enough the doors parted.
His three companions came rushing through and instantly pinned the two Cholans to the inner walls. They froze with shock to see Taylor standing before the dozens who had surrendered to him. He knew all was not done yet but was glad to
have someone covering his back. He went forward, and the Cholans separated so that he had a direct path to the throne. As he drew nearer, the bodyguard came down the steps and met him halfway. The Emperor grinned wickedly.
"This is Tuin, the greatest warrior the Cholan Empire has known in seven generations."
Taylor didn't look impressed, but the Emperor seemed confident, which at least made him take the situation a little seriously. Tuin drew out a long and curved single-handed blade that sizzled with fiery energy.
"Don't do it, Mitch. We're so close now," Alita begged him.
But Taylor couldn't help himself. He wasn't sure if he was doing it as a matter of honour or simply for the challenge, but he was already impressed that the Cholan had stood by his Emperor, and was willing to stand against Taylor when all others had given in. He threw down his rifle and drew out his Assegai. With his powered and armoured suit, the little Cholan came close to the size of Alita without her armour on. Meaning Taylor still stood as a giant in front of him.
"You would die for him?"
Tuin simply nodded.
"Well, okay, then," Taylor replied casually.
"You know you can stop anytime? You don't have to die for that bastard."
But Tuin just stared at him with a blank expression. Taylor couldn't tell if he was being studied or had scared the alien. He raised his shield and took a fighting stance. As he did so, the Cholan rushed forward with such blinding speed it shocked him. Tuin jumped as if he intended to barge Taylor, but instead placed one foot onto his knee and leapt over him into a flip. As he did so, he slashed with his blade. The sword sliced deep into the backplate of Taylor's armour and came close to penetrating. As it drew up towards the back of his head, the tip just slashed lightly into the back of his neck and base of his ear.
Taylor grimaced from the pain as he spun around and swung a little clumsily with his Assegai, but the Cholan was already beyond his reach. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Alita raise her rifle and take aim at this new threat.
"Don't you dare!" Taylor yelled angrily.
Alita sighed in despair but lowered her weapon, as she knew Taylor wanted her to. He turned back to Tuin and could see he was being circled now. The confidence of the alien was admirable, and he could see now that it was founded in reality.
Battle Beyond Earth: Insurrection Page 5
