“What now, Colonel?” Sommer asked.
Taylor shook his head as if he weren’t sure.
“The next target, the next hill. We fight until it’s over,” he said wearily.
Sommer looked exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally. He could understand why. Even as they watched hundreds of the enemy run, while as many more were cut down where they stood, it seemed there was an insurmountable number.
“Do you have any family out there?” Taylor asked.
Sommer nodded.
“Are they worth fighting for?”
It was clear that he didn’t even need to ask as her eyes lit up.
“That’s what I thought,” added Taylor.
“I get you, Sir, I really do, but we have been fighting for seven days now without rest. Stims can’t keep us on our feet for much longer. We are starting to make mistakes, all of us.”
“If we had a choice, then great. I’d be sitting on a beach with my feet up and a Margarita in hand watching the world pass me by. But that isn’t the life we live, is it?”
“She is right,” added Babacan.
That surprised Taylor enough that he actually gave the Lieutenant’s words some serious thought. Finally, he nodded in agreement. He felt the fatigue himself, but he would never admit it. Turan had clearly overheard them.
“We can take it from here, Colonel.”
Taylor nodded in appreciation.
“Any word of Zaya?”
Turan shrugged.
“Twelve hours off the line so we can rest and recuperate. Sommer, I’ll leave this to you. You know what to do.”
“Where are you going?” Babacan asked.
“To find out what answers they have for me.”
“And I am coming with you.”
He was not going to accept no for an answer, and Taylor was glad to have him along.
“Good work here today, all of you. Keep it up. We can win this war if we just stay strong.”
He turned and left with Babacan close by his side. He opened a comms channel to Dart.
“I need a lift, you willing and able?” Taylor asked casually.
For a moment he imagined he was talking to his old pilot, Rains. Dart wasn’t as wild as he was, but he reminded of him a little.
“Two minutes, Colonel.”
Taylor shook his head in amazement.
“Was he waiting because he thought you might want him, or because he knew you would need him?”
Taylor was surprised by just how vocal and expressive his alien friend was, but he knew just what he meant. It brought a smile to his face.
“A well oiled machine as we have; everyone knows their part,” he replied.
“You want to get back to the President?”
Taylor nodded in agreement.
“If she had any answers, would you not be the first to know?”
Taylor nodded once again as he groaned.
“Yeah, but it’s time to shake things up a little. Give a few people a push in the right direction.”
“Even if that thing Zaya left behind was a tracking beacon, how can it be of any use now? They will be long gone.”
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”
He was still shaking his head at how human Babacan had become. He was becoming as inquisitive and annoying as Jones could be, and it was a bitter reminder of the Captain’s loss.
They soon heard the engines of Dart's ship just before it came into view. He must have been waiting for their signal. Taylor wanted to think it was consideration that had led him to be on standby to help him, but he knew it wasn't the case. Everyone was wary about how close they had come to losing him, and he could see that in their eyes. It was the realisation that he was as mortal as the rest of them that seemed to shock them the most.
"They don't believe in me anymore, do they?" Taylor asked.
"They want the Dusmus Kahraman, or whatever is the same thing."
"And they don't seen me as that anymore?"
"They are shaken, but they will recover."
Taylor could tell he was lying. It was out of character anyway, and it was clear in Babacan's eyes that he didn't believe what he was saying.
"Bullshit. Question is what are you bullshitting me about? Is it that you don't think I am that man? Or you think they won't recover?"
Babacan shrugged.
"That's a big help," said Taylor sarcastically.
Dart's assault craft landed before them. It came down hard and fast, as though he had landed urgently with the sort of priority and desperation that Taylor couldn't see a reason for. He stepped on board to see Dart reaching for a firearm.
"What is it, what's wrong?" he insisted.
There was urgency in his tone as he got up, but Taylor stepped aboard in a casual fashion and waved him off.
"I thought something was going down?"
"It always is, but nothing that requires you to pick up a weapon. If the time comes that you need to do anything but flying, you know we're really in the shit."
"But it wouldn't be the first time with your pilots, would it?" he asked as he slipped back into his seat.
Taylor smiled.
"You know, just occasionally things don't go to plan," added Taylor in jest.
"So where to, Colonel?"
"You know where. I need answers."
"And you think you will get them this time around?"
"You don't know till you try."
The ramp sealed shut, and the engines roared as Dart got them in the air.
"You know I get it that you are used to flying with your own pilot, but I can be here for you just as she was," added Dart.
"No, Lieutenant Hariz is a lot more to me than just a pilot."
"I understand that, Colonel, and you know that's not what I meant."
Taylor nodded in appreciation as the pilot looked back to see the expression on his face.
"Yeah, I get you. You're a hell of a pilot."
"Thank you, Sir."
"So tell me. No bullshit, why were you waiting at my beck and call?"
He looked uneasy.
"You know I demand honesty amongst all those I serve with. I give it, and I expect it back. So who was it that told you to do this?"
He groaned before finally giving up the name. "President Caron asked me personally to keep an eye on you, and be ready to help should you ever need it. She made it quite clear that I had no choice."
"She understands how important you are," added Babacan.
"That's right. The President made it pretty clear, that if I didn't ensure your safety, there would be hell to pay."
"It’s hard to imagine what she could do to reprimand you."
He looked into Taylor's eyes with all seriousness. "She said if I let you die, I'd never fly again."
Taylor laughed. "And that was enough to make you risk it all to hang onto my heels?"
"If I can't fly, life isn't worth living. It's what I was born to do."
Taylor accepted that the pilot was wholeheartedly telling the truth.
Maybe he isn't so different to Rains?
As he looked at the well-kept and regulated uniform of Dart, he shook his head and glanced across to Babacan. Just like his old friend Jafar, it was close to impossible to read his thoughts from his expressionless face.
"What are you thinking?" Taylor asked bluntly.
Babacan shrugged as if his mind were blank.
"Oh, come on, spit it out," insisted Taylor.
"Bolormaa is toying with us, isn't she?"
Taylor agreed with him, groaning at the reality of it.
"We made her suffer, and we made her bleed, and now she wants the whole universe to know that she is still the boss."
"Isn't she?"
Taylor grimaced and almost coughed as he tried to find his words.
"If it was as simple as that, then we would never have gotten close. This war isn't as one sided as she wants us all to believe, that much is certain."
"It
still seems one sided to me. We are fighting on her terms."
"For now. But we are still going strong. She hasn't been able to beat us yet, and Zaya will come through for us. I know he will."
"Why?"
Taylor rested back as he put his mind to the task of understanding how he could trust the creature.
"Two reasons, one because Zaya had the chance to let me die. He didn't have to do a thing, just sit back and let it happen, and yet he chose to help, and two, the fact he did that shows he needs me, and he knows it."
Babacan grunted as if not completely convinced.
"Oh, come on, you know that's true. She played her shitty little games, and she got burnt, didn't she?"
"And yet look where she is now, and look where we are."
Taylor sighed. Babacan was right. He had to keep telling himself they still had a chance to win, and that Bolormaa wasn't so close to victory, and yet it was always in the back of his mind just how badly off they were. He hadn't felt the loss of so many that he held dear since he awoke in this new life, and found everyone he had known was dead. It really was starting to feel like that situation all over again. Yet this time he was tormented by the fact they may still live, and yet seemingly he could do nothing to get them back.
"Do you think they are still alive? Alita and William?" he asked softly.
Babacan was a strange one to ask that, and the fact wasn't left on his Krys friend.
"Yes," he replied confidently.
That surprised Taylor. "Why?" he whispered.
Taylor's hope hung by a thread, and Dart listened in eagerly, too, as Babacan went on.
"Because Bolormaa wants to make you suffer. Killing them would not be enough for her."
"Suffer? How can I suffer any more?"
"Because their deaths would allow you to move on," added Dart.
Taylor turned sharply, realising the pilot had been listening in. At first he looked angry, but he soon calmed himself.
The man is only trying to help, and also, he is probably right.
"He is right, and so are you," added Babacan, "You did make her bleed, and now she will punish you for it. She wants to show the world how weak and powerless you are in the face of her greatness."
"Am I? Am I weak and powerless?"
"No," he replied sternly, "but she will do everything she can to make you and the universe think that. But that does not make it true."
Taylor groaned.
"Why does it have to be so difficult? Why is it that these genocidal maniacs always make me their personal target?"
"Because you beat one of them once, and each one that follows has something to prove," added Dart.
Babacan nodded his agreement.
"So I am destined to be the target of whatever big bad is on the warpath in any given time?"
"So long as you are breathing, I guess, yes," said Dart.
"Well, fuck," replied Taylor.
Though he began to smile. They were behind him even in spite of the weakness and doubt he had shown.
"What's funny?" Babacan asked.
"It's just, however bad I feel about all this, it must be eating Bolormaa up inside. She feels so insecure that she has to prove herself in this way. She could have killed me like she killed Irala, but she knows that would only elevate me in the eyes of the Alliance. She doesn't know what to do with me," he said as he began to laugh.
"I do not see how this helps our position," stated Babacan.
"Don't you see? She is a fraud. She isn't the all-powerful leader of the universe that she wants to be seen as. I am a threat to her, in life and in death, and she just can't find a way to silence me either way."
"But how is that an advantage?"
"You kidding? We needed some weakness, and this is it. She is petty, and conscious of her reputation like no other I have ever met. We have cut her more deeply than any sword ever could. We spent all that time trying to find a magical weapon that could destroy Bolormaa, and yet we never needed to kill her. We just have to take her down a few pegs."
Taylor's face was lit up with a new lease of exuberant life, as though he had just awoken a new man.
"I still don't see how this helps us?"
"I'm not sure either, Babacan, but trust me, it's something. Bolormaa is smart, but she might just be the most superficial and self-conscious enemy I have ever faced. There is a way to exploit this, and believe me I will find a way. No, she won't have killed Alita and William, of course not. She will need to find a way to use them against me."
"That is a bad thing, is it not?"
Taylor shrugged. He wasn't going to let anything or anyone ruin his new mood.
"This is it, final approach!" Dart called out.
They passed into the docking bay of the Independence.
"You know this ship used to be mine, now I am not so sure," said Taylor.
"The President sure has made herself welcome, and I don't blame her. She's the finest ship in the fleet. Rumour has it that Lord Jafar has been working aboard with the new President."
"Rumour? A rumour like that is dangerous skuttlebutt, the sort of shit that shouldn't be spread around."
Dart looked a little sheepish. "Aye, aye, Sir," he responded quietly.
They were soon on the deck, and Taylor hit the ground at a good pace. A wave of determination had overcome him. Although as he took a few steps off the ramp, he came face to face with the one man he never wanted to see again; a man he once knew as a friend, but now knew as a murdering worm - the clone of Charlie Jones - CJ. Taylor strode towards him as if to pick a fight. Three Krys warriors backing up CJ looked upon him with an equal level of disgust, but as they were about to clash, they found none other than Jafar stepping between them and holding them back. Despite his age, he was still strong enough to hold both of them at arm's length.
"Stand down, both of you," he ordered calmly.
Taylor and CJ ignored him and glared at one another as they struggled to get free.
"You should be put down like the dog you are!" Taylor spat.
"Enough!" Jafar roared.
Neither of them could break free of his grip, anyway. It made Taylor feel sick to see the face of his best friend again, but to know that he was nothing more than a murderous clone.
"You aren't him!" Taylor yelled.
"No, I am better," he replied smugly.
That only angered Taylor further as he struggled to break free of Jafar's grip. Finally, he stopped and looked into the eyes of his old friend.
"How can you let him live? After all that we have been through. Charlie was your friend, too, don't you remember?"
"Of course I remember. Like it was yesterday."
Taylor could see he really meant it. The conflict in his eyes was clear.
"Then why go on like this?"
"Because we need all the help we can get, and that man there is loyal, and a good fighter. What more could you ask for?"
Taylor groaned. Jafar was right to some degree.
"Maybe so, but I still don't trust him."
"Like I care," replied CJ.
His comment wasn't quiet or hidden. It was deliberately said for all to hear.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance," replied Taylor.
"You'll get your chance soon enough, but you aren't going to like how it ends."
Jafar turned and struck him across the face with the back of his hand. It was a hard blow, but not nearly as hard as he could have delivered if he had desired. CJ's face snapped to one side, and his lower lip split open.
"I won't have this fight between you. I won't accept it from either of you. If we are going to find some way to win this war, it needs to be together," he stated fiercely and looked back to Taylor.
Taylor couldn't stomach it. He wanted blood, he wanted payback, and he wanted the insult of Charlie's face being on such a creature brought to an end. He shook his head at Jafar.
"This won't end well. That is an abomination."
"Maybe, but no
more so than you."
Taylor frowned as he waited for some explanation.
"You should have been dead hundreds of years ago. This is not your lifetime, and how much of your body do you think is what you were born with? You are as much a creation of the war effort as he is. A monster that humanity brought back at their greatest time of need."
"I am nothing like him," snapped Taylor.
He knew he had to back down, but still he glared at CJ.
"This isn't over. I don't care what you have done in the past day, week, or year. I know who and what you are, and I will not stop until everyone knows it. I just hope that it isn't too late."
CJ smirked as if he was challenging Taylor to try. Finally he left, leaving everyone on the deck under no illusion that there was unfinished business between CJ and Taylor.
"There is too much at stake in this war to let this feud go on," stated Jafar once CJ was aboard his ship and the ramp shut.
Taylor glared at the vessel as if he expected some recourse from the clone.
"That man, that thing, he could be the end of all of us."
Sommer couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned to Turan to see if he could provide any insight into the scenario, but he knew nothing more than she.
"There are many necessary evils in this world, Mitch. Never forget that you are one of them, and so am I," he replied.
Taylor took in a deep breath as he thought over the words of wisdom that his old friend was trying to impart.
“Maybe we are, but we aren’t him. We aren’t anything like him. I don’t know how you can stand the sight of him.”
“CJ is a blunt instrument, a weapon that we need.”
Content that CJ had finally gone as he watched his craft lift off the deck, he looked at Jafar right in his eyes.
“No, he isn’t.”
Neither would change the other’s mind.
“He saved your life, didn’t he?” Sommer asked from behind him.
Taylor groaned.
“Yes, but so did Bolormaa once upon a time. It doesn’t mean anything. It suited their goals and ambitions in that moment in time. Mark my words, this is a mistake, and if I get a chance, I am going to end that mistake before it can do any more damage.”
“You will do no such thing,” roared Jafar, “CJ is a representative of the Alliance.”
Battle Beyond Earth: Survival Page 2
