“Heard you were in the shit,” said Taylor.
“Aren’t we all?” replied Jones.
“Everywhere is in a complete mess. All we know for sure is Kelly still holds the CP. We are to retreat to his position and hold.”
Jones knew he was trading one desperate situation for another, but he was glad to at least be back on his feet and not huddled down in a corner. Taylor turned to see the two aliens looked down at their fallen kin with some curiosity, but they appeared to show no sadness for their deaths. He turned and led the troops without a single word.
It took them fifteen minutes to reach the CP as they worked their way through corridors filled with debris and the dead from both sides. As they approached Kelly’s position, they heard cheers ring out and stopped as they heard the trampling of heavy steps. He lifted his hand to stop and then turned and whispered for them to take up positions.
A few seconds later, a dozen Mechs took the bend up ahead and were running at a sizeable pace away from the CP. Taylor ducked down at the first sight of them, expecting some new attack, but then he realised; they were running away.
“Now!” he ordered.
He lifted himself up and opened fire, basking in the bloodshed around him. He’d not let them escape to fight them again in another hour or another day. A few of the creatures tried to raise their weapons and fight, taking cover in the edges of the hallway, but they didn’t stand a chance.
Taylor had for a long time wondered how it felt so emotionless to kill the enemy, even something to enjoy. He knew he would never feel this way if they had been human, and yet the aliens were feeling more human as every day went by. The two aliens stood at his side, and fighting with him only made that feeling stronger. He stopped firing and turned to look at their faces; and watched to see that they were engulfed in the slaughter as Hall and Parker beside them.
Before the last body had hit the ground, Taylor was stepping over the body of the first. He was striding quickly towards the CP, and the yells and shouts of excitement and celebration were growing louder. They reached the atrium that led to the Command Centre and found Major Achen stood there.
“Whoa, hang on! What the hell are they doing with weapons?”
He was gesturing towards the two aliens behind the Major and had his rifle ready to use.
“They’re with me. Get used to it.”
Taylor tried to step past, but Achen mirrored him and continued to block his entry.
“You may go to the Commander, but they stay here!”
Taylor shrugged his shoulders and accepted that the Major was right. He turned back to Eli.
“Sergeant, hold here. Take up defensive positions, and be sure nobody picks a fight with our new friends.”
Achen stepped aside and let Taylor pass. He stepped through into the CP to see it was littered with casualties, but many of them smiled through their pain and celebrated with the others who were still standing. Kelly turned form the comms desk with a huge grin spanning across his face.
“Schulz has arrived! The enemy is in full retreat!”
“I thought he didn’t have much in the way of combat ships?”
“They don’t know that, do they?”
Taylor strode forward with a laugh and shook Kelly’s hand in friendship.
“We made it, Major. You did it.”
“I didn’t get Demiran, Sir.”
Kelly looked puzzled.
“His craft was hit leaving the station and was last seen out of control and heading far away.”
Kelly smiled. “Good, we got rid of the bastard and survived, all in one. General Schulz is coming aboard imminently, and your presence is required at Docking Bay Charlie. You’ve got ten minutes.”
Taylor turned and quickly made his way back to his troops who were waiting uncomfortably outside. Parker was sat against a sidewall and staring at the two aliens. He panned around the atrium and could see that most of the humans glared at them and kept weapons close to hand. The creatures stood in a relaxed fashion with their visors still back, and their heads bare for all to see. Mitch couldn’t have believed he could ever trust one of the aliens in anyway, let alone with his life, but he knew he was alive because of them. He stepped up to their position. They towered a good half metre over him.
“What are your names?”
The two creatures look at him in surprise, as if it was the last thing they had expected in the world.
“Our leaders use no names for us.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
The other stepped forward and answered.
“Names in public are for Lords and those wealthy enough to deserve it.”
Taylor had always thought of them as a faceless enemy, and yet he never realised how close he was to be correct.
“Jesus Christ,” replied Jones.
Taylor looked back at them and felt some pity for how they lived.
“You must have names which you use for each other?”
They nodded in agreement.
“Then I would know your names, and they shall be used from this day forth.”
“Then I am Jafar, and this is Tsengal.”
“Alright, I am Major Mitch Taylor, and from now on you are serving with the 2nd Inter-Allied Battalion under the command of Colonel Chandra. I am her second in command.”
Chandra stepped into the room as he spoke and heard her name, but she was too shocked at the sight of the two aliens to ask for clarification. She’d heard about their presence from others in their Company, but she hadn’t believed it until now. As obscure a situation as it was, she could see Taylor trusted them, and that was enough for her. She stepped forward to involve herself in the conversation.
“I hear you saved Taylor’s life?”
“Only after he had saved ours,” replied Jafar.
“You have given yourself to his service, but will you follow me? Will you fight for Earth, and abide by our chain of command? I will not, and cannot, have anyone in this unit who is not here to fight for everyone amongst us.”
“We are at your will. All we ask is the opportunity to fight beside you.”
She sighed as she thought about their proposal. It was the first she’d ever spoken to one of the creatures, and it scarcely seemed believable what they were asking. Yet she looked into their eyes and could see they were not so different to a human. It was a culture clash, and just as she’d had many times back home in previous years.
“Your support is appreciated. You must expect that your presence amongst us will come as a shock to many, and you will not be accepted lightly. Continue to prove yourselves and fight for our cause, and you’ll be well on your way. One thing is for certain, you can’t stay looking like that.”
They looked down at their armour and then to the troops all around them. Their blackened armour and bloody red ornamentation was in stark contrast to the human forces. She reached forward and tapped the armour. It felt like the armour of a tank.
“Sergeant Silva!”
He rushed to her position.
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“These boys are joining us. I want them in uniform.”
The Sergeant looked puzzled for a moment.
“Vehicles paints. Get them sprayed up to match our disruptive patterns, and whack some insignia on them. They’re in this Battalion now.”
“Yes, Ma’am!” he replied.
He turned to the two creatures. The hulking Sergeant was used to towering over all those under his command, but the huge creatures belittled the proud man. He had to look up to make eye contact.
“Follow me!”
“Schulz is arriving any minute, and we should be there,” said Taylor.
“Christ, nobody mentioned it, let’s move!”
* * *
The two entered the docking bay just as Schulz’s shuttle was on an approach to land. Taylor could see Eddie lying about on a storage crate to their side.
“Rains! You survived, you son of a bitch!” Taylor called over
to him.
Eddie turned with a pained smile but was clearly exhausted.
“Kato make it?”
“He’s with the medics, right now. Hurt bad, but I think he’ll make it.”
“Good.”
“More than I can say for my new gal.”
Taylor looked puzzled.
Eddie nodded and gestured towards the wreck of a copter. There were several holes in the fuselage, the cockpit was smashed, and half of the undercarriage was destroyed. Taylor shook his head.
“How on Earth did you get out of that? Better still, how did you even land it?”
“She’s my gal. She was always gonna get me through this.”
“Pipe down!” a shout came out from one of the officers who had arrived ahead of Schulz to welcome him. Taylor turned in scorn to glare at the officer who stood triumphantly on the docking bay as if he’d won the battle, when in reality, he’d only arrived a few minutes ago.
The shuttle came to a smooth landing, and Schulz was first out of the door to a roar of excitement and cheering. Taylor wondered why anyone bothered, or was it just expected? Few of the Inter-Allied there showed any emotion at all besides being a little bored.
General Schulz quickly made his greetings to Kelly and the other officers, and then headed right for Taylor, ignoring Chandra who stood at his side.
“I hear you have two of the enemy elite troops, bodyguards of one of their leaders? Well done, you must have them transferred to the MPs immediately. They could be very useful.”
Schulz tried to turn and leave before Taylor could utter a word, but he was forced to stop upon the Major’s response.
“Negative, Sir. They stay with us.”
The General glared at him in astonishment, but he also knew he must be more careful with Taylor than their previous confrontation in France. He opened his mouth to speak, but Taylor jumped in before any words were spoken.
“They have already been welcomed into the Inter-Allied and have proven their worth among us. They fight with us, and they stay with us.”
Schulz wasn’t sure whether he was more surprised at Taylor’s insubordination once again, or the fact that he was defending alien forces.
“Are you trying to tell me they are fighting by your side against their own?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Chandra interrupted as she could see the situation was going sour.
“They not only saved two officers’ lives, but proved invaluable in the defence of this station, Sir.”
Schulz thought about it for just a moment, leaning in close to Taylor so that his entourage could not hear.
“While you keep fighting and getting results, you’ve got a certain leeway, Major, but make no mistake, this is on you. If they fuck up, if they kill our own, or if they compromise a mission in anyway, it’s your balls on the line.”
Schulz leaned back and smiled as he looked into Taylor’s eyes with arrogance.
“Always is, Sir,” replied Taylor.
Mitch thought they had overcome at least some of their differences, but Schulz appeared to be back to his usual unlikeable self.
It could be worse, thought Taylor.
The General continued on until he reached a small podium that had been set up for him so that he could address the gathered crowd. Most had fought the initial attack and defence of the station, but those who hadn’t, stood out like a sore thumb with their pristine uniforms.
“Today we took the first step in reclaiming our solar system. Earth is ours once more, but we will not stop until this solar system is totally ours once again. It’ll be another eight hours until we can get the rest of our forces ferried here. Until that time, I want you to take some rest, and ready yourselves for tomorrow. For tomorrow, we go to the Moon and drive the alien bastards from the colony that rightly belongs in human hands!”
Clapping echoed around the spacious docking bay until Schulz called it to a close.
“I want all command staff to meet in thirty minutes in the newly established CP at Hall 2B, floor six. From there, we can thrash out our intentions for tomorrow. Have your troops rest easy, but I want watches set by all units throughout our stay here. Thank you all.”
Thirty minutes later, Taylor and Chandra stood alongside more than thirty other officers as Schulz hashed out his plan. It was simple, but there seemed no other options.
“I know this isn’t the most complex plan in the world, but we have little intelligence to go on. However, we have Commander Kelly along, and he and his people are intimately familiar with their former homeland. We strike the Lunar colony with everything we have. We use overwhelming force and strength of number to bring this battle to a close. By tomorrow evening, we’ll either be celebrating our victory or heading for Earth with our tail between our legs. The latter is not an option!”
“Sir, the Parliament building?” asked Kelly.
Schulz nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Commander Kelly has rightfully asked for the honour of re-taking the administrative capitol. However, he will need an additional battalion to support his efforts, do I have a volunteer?”
Taylor turned to ask Chandra, but her hand was already raised. It sent a shiver down his spine to know she was right there with him.
“We’ll do it, Sir.”
Schulz looked quickly at Chandra and then straight on to Taylor. He was surprised the Major did not voice any objection.
“Commander?” he asked Kelly.
“It’d be an honour to have the Inter-Allied covering our backs.”
“Alright, Inter-Allied will breach here, half a kilometre west of Kelly’s forces, and they will encircle the Parliament buildings. They may not mean much to our enemy, but to our people they are vital. You all know what you have to do. You have until 0800 hours. Catch some rest.”
Chatter rang out throughout the room as the officers dispersed. Kelly quickly pushed through them to catch Taylor on the way out of the CP.
“Major, may I have a word for a moment?”
Taylor turned back to Chandra for clarification.
“It’s alright, I’ll see you back at our post in a little while.”
Taylor followed the Commander around a corner to a quiet spot. Kelly didn’t appear to present any threat to him, but curiosity made Taylor’s mind run wild with what he might have to say. They were finally out of earshot of the passing troops, and he whispered carefully.
“When you hunted Demiran down, I know Lieutenant Perera was involved too. I know you both got to that docking bay, and I know he didn’t make it out alive. I also know his actions earlier were counterproductive to our operations and insubordinate.”
Taylor sighed and tried to answer, but Kelly cut him short.
“Perera hated you. We both know it. All I want to know is if his death could have been avoided. Are you a man I can trust, and are you the man that your reputation would imply?”
“I hope so, Sir. Perera did not die at my hands, but only because I was unable to defend myself in that moment. He’d have gunned me down, there and then.”
“Then I am sorry. Sorry that one of my own could do such a thing. Please let us put this all behind us. You have already convinced me of your worth. Pull this mission off, and you will gain the respect of my people.”
“I wasn’t looking for it, Sir. I never have. I have tried to do everything I can in this war and continue to do so. If people don’t like me, that’s their problem, not mine.”
Kelly smiled. “You’re a true warrior, Major. I am only glad you are on our side.”
Kelly turned and left Taylor. He was glad of the Commander’s support. He’d almost been stabbed in the back once that day, and the last thing he needed were enemies on his own side.
Taylor got back to their billets for the day. They’d had been allocated a sports facility, consisting mostly of open halls and with little furniture. Many of the troops had already set up their beds and were relaxing, playing cards, or chatting with their comrades. He was glad to see
that the newly enlisted troops to Inter-Allied were mingling with the hardened veterans as if they’d never been apart. Chandra was busy looking over her Mappad when he strode up to her. She looked up with a grim expression.
“Final casualties for us, thirty-three dead. Twenty-eight wounded.”
“It could have been a lot worse,” he replied.
“I wonder when this is all over if this will even resemble the unit we started in any way.”
“We’re still here, aren’t we?”
She nodded in agreement. “For now.”
Taylor could see that the Colonel was sitting amongst her own gear and in the same room as the rest. There were no luxuries afforded the officers that day.
“All this worry for our own good, and you volunteered us to assist Kelly without a moment’s thought?”
“It didn’t need any further thought. We’re going to the Moon tomorrow, whether we want to or not. If we’re at the centre of the assault, it’ll boost the morale of all who join us. We also need this bitter animosity resolved between your marines and the Lunar colonists. It’s almost led to your incarceration and death, and maybe you won’t be so lucky a third time.”
Taylor hunkered down and took a seat on Chandra’s bed beside her.
“You know we need to promote Grey before this mission is over. He’s proven more than capable, and as a Company commander, he needs greater authority. And let’s not forget, when Suarez returns, we want the better man in command.”
“Where is the Lieutenant? I haven’t seen him since a few days after we reached Paris,” asked Chandra.
Taylor laughed at the idea that she hadn’t even noticed his absence.
“General White wanted a volunteer to head back to the US and assist with the training of newly enlisted troops. He thought one of the Immortals could do wonders for recruiting and training.”
“And you sent them Suarez?”
“Hey, I did exactly what was asked. I wasn’t about to give up anymore than I had to.”
Battle Earth IV Page 18
