"This doesn't look good," said Jones.
Alita looked more uneasy than any of them as Taylor approached the huge winged beast and monstrous Barbarlar atop it.
"I am Colonel Mitch Taylor of..."
But he was rudely interrupted by the bellowing voice of the Barbarlar looming over him from a distance of two metres. Steam vented from the Ejdar. It bore its teeth and looked as if it wanted to eat him whole.
"You fired upon my ship. Explain yourself."
Taylor smiled and refused to be seen to be intimidated.
"Don't give me that honourable savage bullshit," he went on.
He strode forward and to the left side of the beast, reaching out to stroke its head. As he did, the Ejdar's jaw swung around as if to bite, but he had long seen it coming, pre-empting the beast by delivering a powerful hook with his right hand. It struck the creature on the nose. The sharp impact caused its head to crash to the ground, and it stumbled back slightly, throwing its rider. Coskun crashed to the ground beside Taylor, and the Ejdar retreated a few steps from them both.
Many of the Barbarlars raised their weapons, and Taylor's army did likewise, but he looked back at them with his hand raised.
"No!" he yelled.
He turned back to the Barbarlar whose ego had been badly bruised.
"Some beasts only understand a firm hand. Clearly, you need the same treatment."
"How dare you dishonour my leadership!" Coskun howled.
"I don't even know your name, and I don't care. I sent Lord Jafar here to negotiate peacefully. I gave you the carrot, and now I will give you the stick."
Coskun didn't understand the analogy, but Taylor's deviance only angered him further. He reached for the huge Bardiche slung over his back and appeared ready for a fight.
"If that's the way it has to be," stated Taylor.
He drew his Morohta hammer from his back, and it crackled with energy as it powered up.
"Stop!"
The voice was so loud it carried through the arena and caused everyone to turn and look. It was Jafar, with his two Krys warriors. The two were armed with pistol and axe, while Jafar stood empty handed. They had emerged from a stairway leading beneath the arena. Nobody said a word as he approached Taylor, but Coskun looked at him with both disgust and a little concern. Sarik rushed forward to Taylor's side as he approached.
"You knew my orders," Jafar said.
"And he followed them, but only so he could come back with a force strong enough to get this done the right way," replied Taylor.
Jafar nodded. "Thank you."
"Now if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to."
Taylor raised his weapon and turned back to Coskun.
"No," Jafar ordered firmly.
Taylor froze and couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"This savage imprisoned you."
"Yes, but look, he also commands the respect of his people. We need them, and you know it."
"Which is just what I am about to do."
Jafar shook his head.
"They will never accept you as their leader, and they will not except me if it is you who puts me in charge of them. I must do this myself."
Jafar sounded weary, but also determined.
"And if he kills you?"
"Have some faith in me, as I do you, my old friend. I have more than a little fight left in me yet."
"Did he not already defeat you in single combat?" Sarik asked.
Jafar looked back at the enemy leader to weigh him up once more.
"Yes, but not in a fair contest."
He reached out and grabbed hold of Taylor's hammer, though the Colonel didn't seem eager to release his hold.
"You sure about this?" he asked his oldest living friend.
Jafar nodded, and that was all Taylor needed to know. He let go, and Jafar strode forward to meet Coskun. Taylor and Sarik retreated to their own lines.
"Think he can win?"
"Yes," Sarik replied without hesitation.
Taylor sensed he would have said that no matter how he felt.
"You want to be humiliated a second time?" Coskun asked in a loud voice that carried far enough for most to hear.
Jafar stood still and weighed him up for a moment. He could see the same toxin poison device on Coskun's arm, and had no doubt he would try and use it again. Then he addressed the crowd himself.
"I call your Lord a cheat and a liar. He would not give me fair contest, but now I shall have it!"
Coskun laughed, but Jafar continued.
"I challenge your leadership, a fight in the ancient manner of our people. No weapons, no armour, nothing but what nature has given us!"
He threw his hammer back towards Taylor, and it slid to the ground a few metres from the Colonel's feet. Taylor didn't quite understand his reason, but noticing a glimmer of fear in Coskun's eyes, he knew Jafar was doing the right thing.
"Nothing can be a more fair contest, would you not agree?" Jafar called out to the crowd of Barbarlars.
Many of them began to roar and cheer with excitement at the prospect. Coskun knew he had no choice but to go along. He sighed and threw his Bardiche to the ground, unclipping his armour until both of them stood in nothing more than thin clothing. They stepped towards one another and well away from the equipment they had left behind. Each took up their fighting stances. Coskun was bouncing up and down on his feet as if to intimidate and show off his youthfulness, but Jafar advanced like the heavyweight he was. Taylor had once known him to be an agile fighter, but in his age he had become a tank.
Coskun jabbed quickly to Jafar's face as he neared. The shock drove his head back a little, but it was not enough to stop him. He carried on forward and took another two to the face and seemingly showed no intent to parry or evade at all. He closed the distance and drove a deep uppercut into Coskun's stomach and followed it with another. The Barbarlar keeled forward, but Jafar hoisted him back upright and head butted him in the face. Coskun was thrown back, and blood poured from his face. He looked around at the crowd, his own people. They were silenced in shock. He knew he had to defeat Jafar or suffer humiliation for the rest of his life.
"You old fool," Coskun snapped.
He rushed forwards as if in a rage, but redirected and spun to deliver a backhand into the base of Jafar's spine. The impact jarred his spine and stunned him for a second, and in that opening, Coskun leapt onto his back with his arms wrapped around his throat in an attempt to choke him. The hold was too firm to break, so Jafar reached up and took told of Coskun's head and drove his thumbs into the Barbarlar's eyes. Coskun held on for as long as he could, but finally let out a cry of pain and his grip slipped. Jafar pulled him over his head and slammed him down back first in front of him.
Jafar raised his leg as if to stamp on Coskun, but he rolled out of the way and back to his feet. Once again they were both standing and opposing one another. Coskun looked desperate now. It was obvious to all that he did not have the strength to beat Jafar. He looked around and noticed his Bardiche just a few steps to his side. He quickly dashed and rolled across the ground and was up on his feet with it in both hands in a split second.
Nobody seemed bothered to try and intervene even though they all knew he was breaking the rules of the challenge. Jafar saw Taylor's hammer was a long way back, and even if he could make it, he didn't want to lesson his victory in the eyes of the Barbarlars. He glanced at Taylor and nodded. The Colonel knew exactly what he was saying. They needed the Barbarlars on board, and only an act of outstanding combat prowess was going to achieve it.
Coskun came at him now with a large horizontal swing that could cut any Krys in two. Jafar leapt back and voided the strike by millimetres. His enemy kept the blade in motion, swinging it about his head for the same strike, and still coming forward. Once again Jafar narrowly avoided it by maintaining the distance. But as the blade came around, Coskun took two large steps forward and brought it down for a massive vertical strike that Jafar could not
back away from in time.
He did the only thing he could. He stepped forwards into the attack and crossed his forearms to parry the shaft of the Bardiche at the centre of the weapon, stopping it dead. Coskun could barely believe his eyes as Jafar took hold of the shaft and ripped it from his hands. As he did so, he took a pace back and pivoted the mighty weapon around at its centre point and struck Coskun in the face with the butt. The impact was so severe it dislodged his jaw. But Jafar did not stop there. He kept the blade in motion and took hold of the shaft as it past around his head and struck Coskun at the neck with the giant axe blade.
The razor sharp heavy blade cleaved through his neck with almost no resistance. The Barbarlar Lord's head was launched five metres through the air, rolling to a halt while his body stood upright. It toppled slowly like a falling tree before the triumphant Jafar.
Taylor couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't think Jafar still had it in him, and yet he should have know, for he himself knew how deadly the Krys Lords could be. He began to clap in respect and applause of his friend. Nobody made a sound, and Taylor's applause began to echo until the rest of his troops joined in. The Barbarlars joined in the sentiment as they struck the ground with the bases of their weapons. Jafar let them do so for a full two minutes as he got his breath back. His wound was once again throbbing, but he wouldn't show it.
"Silence!"
Jafar’s deep roaring voice brought everyone's attention.
"I am Lord Jafar, leader of the aligned Krys worlds. I have defeated your master in fair trial and claim this world my own, and therefore, one of the aligned worlds. You fight for me now. Do you swear your allegiance?"
Nothing happened for almost a full minute as they digested what was being asked of them. A few took a knee, lowering their weapons to the ground to submit to him. The rest of the Barbarlars in sight soon followed. It brought a smile to Taylor's face.
"That's how you take charge," said Jones.
"Fucking right," replied Taylor.
The marines began to cheer and whistle. Taylor could see it wasn't for what they would gain as an ally, but for Jafar's triumph, and the realisation they had completed the mission without a single loss of life or shot having been fired. Jafar strode triumphantly up to Taylor with Coskun's Bardiche still in one hand and the Barbarlar's blood dripping from its blade.
"The celebrations of a new Lord of Erzurum are a thing of legend, although I have never witnessed them myself. It would be an honour for you all to join me in these celebrations, and a great insult to them if you did not."
Taylor shrugged.
"Guess we're in then," he said and smiled.
Chapter 7
Taylor threw back a huge drinking horn that was as large as his arm. The contents of which were far from tasty, but the effect of which was starting to dull his senses enough that he didn't mind. He sat back and looked up at the night sky. It was cooling quickly now, and fires had been lit around them for light and heat, a practice he had so often enjoyed in life, but rarely been able to experience.
"Did everyone in your age drink this heavily?" asked Lieutenant Hartley as he took a seat on a fallen tree beside Taylor. He too carried a drinking horn, but had barely touched its contents.
"Yeah, I guess so," he replied pleasantly.
"Does it help?"
Taylor's face turned from joy to concern, looking at the Lieutenant he could see he was still struggling with all they had to endure.
"I guess that's for you to decide, but if I can give you any advice, then it is to find all the joy you can in this life."
"How, and where?" he asked as if at a loss.
Taylor shook his head as if he had no answers himself, but then he looked up and saw Alita a few metres ahead. She was deep in conversation with Jones and several others of the Immortals. But as he gazed upon her, she locked eye contact and smiled back. It reminded him to heed his own message, and so pointed to the whole group who were merrily laughing and joking with one another.
"That's something. Doesn't matter how or where you find it, in a joke, in love, in a drink, in combat. You need something to enjoy."
"Combat as well?"
Taylor nodded and sighed.
"I'm not saying it's a walk in the park, and I know we have faced some terrifying things together, but you cannot deny it feels good to win. To vanquish an enemy, to complete a mission, and best a worthy foe."
"And you take pleasure in that? In death?"
Taylor nodded.
"If I didn't, I would have gone crazy by now."
The young officer fell silent for a moment, dwelling on those thoughts and feelings. Taylor took another drink.
"What does that make us, though?" he finally asked.
Taylor spilt some of the drink as he lowered the horn and wiped it from his chin with his cuff. He knew he was seen as primitive compared to what humanity was today, and he simply didn't care.
"Good at our job."
A loud shriek rang out from an Ejdar, and they looked up. Coskun's impressive mount soared into view with its wings outstretched so that it was gliding smoothly through the air. It swooped past just twenty metres overhead. Taylor could see Jafar was riding it. The Barbarlars around them began to shout in a primitive language. It was clear they approved. Taylor just shook his head and took another drink. As he lowered it, he found Jones approaching.
"Who'd have thought it? It's like something out of a dream."
"I've seen enough crazy things and had enough surprises to last a lifetime that it just doesn't shock me anymore. I'm not sure what does surprise me now."
"I am sure there are things worse in this life that we are yet to face...Bolormaa for instance.
"You really know how to lift the mood," replied Taylor sarcastically.
They laughed, clashing their horns together and downing what they had left.
"More!" Taylor shouted as the festivities went on.
His vision was starting to blur, but he was feeling more relaxed than he had done in a long time. With Jafar, Jones, and Alita it was almost feeling like his old life again. He felt himself hit someone substantial; he had stumbled into a Barbarlar. Far from offended, the alien took his drinking horn from his hands and gave him a full one. Taylor took it gladly and smiled, as he let the night roll on and forget all his troubles.
* * *
Taylor awoke to find he was flat on his back and in a comfortable bed, the least likely position he expected to find himself in. He tried to get up, but his head was throbbing, and his body felt five times heavier than it should. With a grunt, he collapsed back down flat.
"What the fuck?"
He rolled and let his legs fall off the bed, using the motion to pull his body upright into a seated position on the side of the bed. He was in his quarters aboard the Guam and in nothing but his underwear. There was no sign of the clothing and armour he had been wearing the day before. He staggered to the wardrobe and dragged out the only other uniform he owned, pulling it on before making his way to the bridge. He swayed from one side to another and literally bounced off a few of the walls.
"Damn that's some brutal shit," he said as he got his footing.
He staggered onto the bridge. Jones was liaising with Song.
"Welcome back," said Jones.
"How?"
"How what, Colonel?" Song asked.
"How are you not hit by this?" he asked Jones.
The Lieutenant laughed in response.
"Because the rest of us took a taste of the Barbarlar liquor out of friendship. I think you nearly drank the bar dry."
Taylor shook his head.
"What is it with your generation and a need to consume volumes of intoxicating substances that would numb the most robust of creatures?"
He had no answer for it, but his aching head made him wonder the same.
"Where are we?"
"We have just made the jump to Ares."
Oh, shit!
A few seconds later a comms channel was open
ed, and the President appeared.
"Mr President," Song acknowledged.
Oh, no, he thought.
"Colonel Taylor, is he aboard?" Isaacs asked.
Taylor staggered into view.
"Just about still alive," he replied, trying to make light of it all.
"Once again you have plucked victory from disaster, Colonel!"
His sharp tone and loud volume reverberated through Taylor's eardrums and only served to hurt him more. He nodded a few times in agreement before sitting back against one of the bridge consoles to rest his weary body.
"I can see you need your rest, Colonel. Please do not let me keep you from your bed. Report at 0900 to me personally aboard Ares 4. The Alliance is keen to see their hero, and we will be sure to parade him appropriately."
"Great," muttered Taylor.
The signal ended, and Song looked at him accusingly.
"Colonel, you just blew off the most powerful person in the Alliance."
"Yeah? Didn't seem all that bad to me."
"This is his way, Captain," added Jones.
"What way?"
"A blatant disregard for authority. Pig headedness. He is everything a superior officer hates, and everything he needs all at once. Every day of his history is like that. Nobody likes it, but everyone has to accept him eventually."
"Thanks," replied Taylor.
He staggered off the bridge and back to his room. He opened the door and found Alita waiting for him inside. She was lying on his bed wearing nothing but her panties, yet he collapsed beside her and barely recognised her presence.
"It seems we have found something that can beat the mighty Colonel Taylor," she joked.
"That stuff's hardcore. Be sure to find some more. Next time I want to drink to forget, it is sure to do the trick," he replied, as he fell into a semi dream like state, responding in muted tones as she went on.
"Is that what you do, drink to forget all the things you have seen, and the people you have lost?"
"Yes," he mumbled.
"I hope I mean that much to you some day."
Battle Beyond Earth - Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 31
