“So what’s it gonna be? Will you fight?” she asked.
He nodded slowly as she leaned in close and kissed him, pulling back to look into his eyes.
“Make those bitches pay, Mitch.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he replied.
He then turned around and strode back towards the bridge. He was starting to get back to his old self as he picked up pace, understanding that the knock to the head had knocked him off his game. It had made him doubt himself in ways that he should know better than to do, but he’d needed something or someone to break him out of it. He looked around to check if Alita was still behind him. He wanted to be sure he hadn't just imagined her presence. Crazier things had happened. Thankfully, she was keeping pace and smiled as she saw him look back. They felt the ship rock from an impact, and they both crashed into the same bulkhead. Taylor shook his head with disgust.
"Enough of this shit," he snarled and carried on even faster than before.
He stormed onto the bridge to see a flurry of light and explosions ahead. The battle was in full swing, and they found themselves at the very centre of it. Jones turned around with a stunned and relieved look on his face. He didn't even know what to say.
"What's our status, Jones?" Taylor asked.
"Not good. We're taking a lot of fire. Resolution is still in the fight, but I don't know how long for."
Taylor looked at a console beside the Captain's chair to see the map for himself. Their fleet still outnumbered the Morohtans, but it was a bloody and closely fought battle. Fighters zipped back and forth, and the trails of missiles and gunfire littered the space all around them in such a vicious spectacle that some ships vanished entirely from view behind the wall of fire.
"What do we do?"
Taylor surveyed the scene for just a moment, and Jones waited, hoping that he had the answer. Finally, Taylor looked up, and Jones saw a new confidence in his eyes. The Taylor he knew was back.
"That vessel," he said, pointing to a frigate size ship that was unloading on the Resolution, "Target their bridge. All weapons, fire when ready."
The crew looked to Jones for a moment for confirmation.
"What are you waiting for? Do it!"
A few seconds later the gun batteries opened fire simultaneously and hit the enemy ship with everything they had. The first salvo stopped almost all of their weapon systems, and the tactical officer looked to Taylor as if to ask what next.
"Again," he ordered.
A second salvo smashed the enemy ship and tore through the hull either side of the bridge. The engines cut out; the vessel plunged into darkness and rammed into a passing enemy vessel. It caused it to break in two and then erupt in a massive blast. Taylor looked as surprised as any of them.
"I guess the Indy really is up to the task," he said.
Jones was smiling back. "That's about..."
Taylor cut him off as he saw a wave of assault craft heading for the Resolution.
"Target those ships, now!" he bellowed.
They all knew too well what a boarding action could be like. Taylor had lived a lifetime of them, but none were quite so terrifying as those undertaken by the Morohta.
"Fire, now!"
Once again the guns flashed to life, and two of the four enemy ships were blown apart. Taylor watched anxiously as the other two soared towards the ship.
"Come on!" he yelled.
They were getting too close, and there was nothing more they could do. The craft were closing the last hundred metres when one of the port gun batteries of the Resolution spun around and quickly snapped a burst of fire. It engulfed the two craft, and both were blown apart and impacted on the surface of the battleship's thick hull. Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. Their screens flickered, and Vega appeared. He looked unscathed and brimming with confidence.
"Nice of you to show up, Colonel," he stated.
"We were hit pretty hard as we came through the jump."
The Admiral soon changed his tone on seeing Taylor's bloody face and the damage and patched up crew around him.
"Captain Wilcox?"
Taylor shook his head. "Out of action."
"Will he make it?"
"No idea."
Vega took a deep breath and finally responded in a serious tone.
"Colonel, I want your honest opinion."
"Anything, Admiral."
"Your assessment, do we keep fighting here?"
Taylor was surprised both by the question and the fact that he would ask it in front of both their crews.
"I don't see what choice we have."
"We can withdraw. Repair and re-supply, and get help from the rest of the Alliance."
"And leave Earth?" Taylor was shocked.
"You've seen it out there. We are giving as good as we are getting, but it'll cost us dearly to stay here any longer. Haven't we lost enough already?"
"If we leave, we lose Earth. Isn't that more than we can afford?"
"I understand your attachment to this world, Colonel, but there is more to this war than one planet. We are talking about the survival hundreds of worlds. Worlds that will need our help, too."
Taylor looked past him to the view of Earth. It broke his heart to think of having to leave her to an enemy once more, but even as he was watching, a massive impact finally obliterated the defence grid. A battle still raged between the fleet in orbit, but they were barely holding on, and at a terrible cost. Dozens of hulks were floating in space. Several were burning up as they hit the atmosphere, but even as it was happening, Taylor was shaking his head.
"No, I won't leave. Not again. I can't and I won't."
He saw that Jones was torn on the issue.
"You think we should stay in this fight, Jones?"
The Captain shrugged. He wasn't any more certain of what to do now than when he was left in command of the ship.
The Independence was rocked again by another impact as everyone waited for his response, almost as if Vega was subordinate to him and so hung on to his every word. Taylor looked back to Earth, and the battle still raging in orbit many kilometres away. It seemed within his grasp now. They had suffered horrific losses, but so had the enemy. He looked around at the faces of the crew and could see they would follow him, no matter what. They just wanted some certainty in their lives.
"I won't leave Earth," he stated once more, "Not again. I can't do it. If we accept defeat here, we accept defeat, full stop."
"But if we stay we may lose any hope of winning at all. We weren't ready for this fight, and..."
"We never are ready, because that bitch Bolormaa is always one step ahead of us. If we run, she'll only hunt us down. We can win this fight. We can do it. We must stay the course, and we must stick at it. Earth is worth fighting for, trust me."
Flashes ignited in the displays behind the Admiral as the battle raged on.
"I don't know what the right answer is, Colonel. I wish I did, and because of that I will bow to your experience. You have been down this road before. The only thing I know for certain is that Earth is still free, and you are still alive. That says a lot. Lead the way, Colonel, and we will follow."
It was a hell of a responsibility, and Jones was surprise, but also relieved that it wasn't put on him.
"What do you want to do, Colonel?" Vega asked.
Taylor looked at Earth again, and then to the battle in orbit and pointed right at it.
"That's where I'm going. Cut a path to Earth, and destroy anything that stands in our way."
"Very well, good luck, Colonel," said Vega. He then vanished from their screens.
A last devastating volley burst out from the battleship and blew apart one of the primary Morohtan vessels. The guns still fired as they came about and hit at the remaining enemy vessels. They were little more than stragglers now who refused to admit defeat. Another single impact struck the Independence, but she shrugged it off with ease. It brought a smile to Taylor's face, as he was used to facing such powerful vessels, but not being
aboard one. Jones leaned in close so that he could whisper to Taylor privately.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" he asked.
"No more than you do."
"I doubt that. How is it you always know what to do?"
"Ever thought that I don't? Maybe I just make shit up as I go. Or maybe I just look for the fight and take it head on."
"No, that’s not true, you wouldn't still be alive if you did."
Taylor shrugged. "Sometimes it feels that way."
"He knows what he's doing," Alita joined in the conversation.
"I hope so."
"Sir, I am getting reports of multiple engagements on the surface," said one of the crew off to Taylor's right side. He didn't even know their name, or have much time or care to ask.
"They've already attacked the surface?" Jones asked, running across to the woman who had announced it. He pressed a few buttons and brought up five projected screens for them all to see. Each was a major city, but Taylor only recognised one - Paris. His face turned a few shades paler as he became distraught at the sight. He thought back to how much he had given to free the French city, and all those that were sacrificed along the way.
Scores of enemy craft soared across the skies in every newsfeed. Some bombed from the air while others descended to the surface to deploy ground troops. He couldn't believe how quickly it was all happening. The Morohtans couldn't have been in the Solar System for more than a few hours, and already they had boots on the ground.
"Bolormaa..." he spat.
"She has come for revenge," said Jones.
Taylor nodded in agreement.
"If only we could have killed her. She was in my grasp. So close," replied Taylor.
"And she knows it. She underestimated you. She underestimated all of us. She toyed with us, and she paid for that mistake. Now we have to pay for that bitterness she will be feeling. She played with you once. I wouldn't bank on it again. The next time you see her, you’d better be ready."
That was a sickening thought.
Why does it always have to be me?
But he knew why. He put his neck out once and had forever been targeted because of it since. It went right back to the days of Karadag. In that one moment when he defeated that Krys Lord, it sealed his fate. He couldn't run from his past, and it wouldn't let him forget it. He hated that, but more than anything, he hated the burden it placed on all those he loved, and the price they paid for it.
Taylor looked to the displays either side of him. The front half of the bridge was displayed as though he were on an open deck and standing on the bow of a warship of old, when they still travelled on oceans. It was both useful and terrifying in equal measure. Dozens of ships had taken up formation around them as they made the run for Earth. He didn’t need to say another word.
Everyone knows what they have to do. The tactics are simple. Sweep the enemy from the atmosphere. I only pray it will be as straightforward as it sounds.
A few kilometres passed quickly when the Resolution opened fire. She was the largest and most powerful ship of the fleet, and with the longest range guns. A second and third salvo had left the barrels of her guns before the first had even met their target. Everyone watched intently and expectantly to see the effects of the first wave of fire. They impacted on the largest enemy vessel and blew holes in her hull, but seemed to have little effect on the bombardment she was unleashing on what remained of the fleet defending the planet.
A few moments later as they were drawing nearer, they began to see the flash of explosions where another battle raged on the far side of the world, undoubtedly another attack on the Earth defence fleet. At first Taylor thought they should have known it was coming and been better prepared. On the other hand, he knew just how bad it felt to be blindsided, even when you thought you were ready for anything. He said nothing but looked for Alita. She had settled back out of the way. The look on her face told him all that he needed to know. She had every faith in him, and because of that, so did he.
He took a few paces further forwards so that he was right up against the display screens that were the height of the wall of the bridge. He was studying the second largest vessel in the enemy fleet and could see smaller craft coming and going from it. He didn’t quite recognise the pattern of the ship or of those it catered to, but they were undoubtedly of Morohtan origin. They were like black shadows, swallowing up all the light and life around them.
“That has to be some kind of carrier,” he said.
No one responded.
“How long until our guns are in range?”
“Sixty seconds,” replied Jones.
The Captain had taken up position on the tactical console and muscled in on the man who was supposedly operating it. The fleet defending orbit was badly beaten and losing even as they approached.
“Come on, you bastards, time for a little payback,” Taylor muttered to himself.
Jones and several others overheard him. The Captain smiled at the sentiment, but Taylor turned back to the screens. He didn’t feel the need to smile about anything at that moment in time.
“How long!” he yelled.
“Twenty seconds.”
“Target that vessel, and give them everything we’ve got!”
“Will do, but we’re running dangerously close to bingo ammo.”
Taylor was amazed to see that Jones wasn’t exaggerating, and then he remembered the rush they had gone through before. The ship wasn’t ready when they left port, and still they were suffering the consequences of it. He went over to Jones to see the figures for himself without alarming the crew any more than he had to.
“What do we do if we run out?” Jones asked.
“What we always do. Take this fight to the ground and beat them into submission with our own two hands.”
“I’m not sure it’s really the time and place for that.”
“Yeah, well, then hope we don’t run empty.”
“We’re in range.”
“Fire, everything we have, and take those bastards down!”
The weapon systems of the Indy opened up in an impressive salvo. As the first wave of fire hit, another three ships of the fleet joined in. The Resolution was still targeting the most powerful ship in sight, which was now returning fire with just as much ferocity. Taylor rushed forward to the screens to watch as their gunfire and missiles slammed into the Morohtan carrier. They hit a docking bay hard and blew out one of the four engines.
“Again!”
Volley after volley soared out from their ship. Taylor understood from Jones’ expression exactly what was the problem. They had little left to throw. Wave after wave of fire ripped into the carrier until finally several flashes ignited, and the lower hull blew out. It lost power as it began to be pulled into the Earth’s atmosphere. The crew cheered excitedly as they watched several other enemy vessels suffer a similar fate under the combined fire of the fleet, but they were silenced by a call from the navigational officer.
“Sir, I’m getting jump signatures.”
Everyone looked to the officer and prayed it was friendlies, but they could see in the woman’s face that it wasn’t.
“What is it?” Taylor insisted.
She could hardly speak for a few moments before finally she found her tongue.
“Sixteen Morohtan vessels, Sir.”
Gasps rang out across the bridge.
“Bring us about. Ready all weapons. Let’s take this fight to them!” Taylor yelled.
Chapter 2
"Incoming missile!"
They all knew it must be significant to warrant such an announcement. Everyone grabbed on to whatever they could to brace themselves for impact. Taylor looked over at Alita holding on with her only good arm and took hold of her with one of his. She closed her eyes as the impact struck them and rocked the ship harder than anything it had taken so far. Several of the crew were thrown from their seats, but were better prepared than when they were savaged upon their arrival in the system.
<
br /> Taylor looked to the crew as if waiting for some news of detrimental damage, but somehow they managed to get through it without anything serious.
"Bring us about and engage the enemy!"
There was still a sizeable enemy presence visible before them.
"We're getting penned in!" Jones shouted.
Between a rock and a hard place!
Taylor watched as the ship slowly came about to face the new threat, but within seconds, he noticed something separate from the vast but battered defence grid. He looked closer. It was a frigate that had remained docked and hidden from view until now. Jones saw him looking intently and followed his gaze until he too looked upon it. Before either of them could say a word, the comms officer yelled out, "We're being hailed by the Forbin!"
Neither of them had heard of it before, but they knew it had to be the ship they were watching with their very own eyes in that very moment.
"Put them through!"
A weary and pale-faced French Captain appeared before them with a terrified look upon his face. Neither recognised the man, and he looked just as surprised to see Taylor as they were.
"This is Colonel Taylor of the Independence. What can we do for you, Captain?" Taylor asked hurriedly.
"Colonel...we..." he stuttered as another man stepped in front of him. It was unmistakeably, Isaacs, the President of the Alliance.
Taylor's eyes widened in surprise, for it was the last man in the universe he would have expected to see.
"Sir, what the hell are you doing here?" Taylor snapped even as they continued to be rocked by enemy fire. Before he could respond, Taylor turned away and yelled at Jones, "Keep firing!"
Although he could tell they were throwing everything they had at the enemy. He looked back to the President who had been waiting for him.
"Colonel Taylor...we..." he began.
Taylor interrupted him, "Why are you out here? You're in the middle of a damn war zone. Don't you know you have to stay safe if this Alliance is to stay together and remain organised? What were you doing on the grid?"
"I was unveiling a memorial to those killed in the last attack on the..."
Battle Beyond Earth: Revenge Page 2
