* * *
“Jones!” Taylor shouted in amazement.
He rushed forward towards his friend. The Captain lay secured to a table and looked weak. He turned his head at the sound of his name but didn’t seem to recognise Taylor.
“Hey, it’s Mitch. Are you okay?”
“Mitch? No, it’s not you. Leave me alone. Why won’t you make this stop?”
He started to strain against his restraints as though in panic, but they were made of steel and wouldn’t budge. Taylor drew out his Assegai and cut his bonds, but Jones didn’t even try to get up. He stopped straining and lay there as if unable to move.
“William, it really is me. We’re here to get you out of here.”
Jones just looked past him to investigate the others and scowled as he saw Kaytun.
“I don’t like her. Where is Hariz?”
“She’s gone. She was taken, same as you.”
“Taken?”
Taylor reached out to put his hand on Jones’ shoulder to comfort him, but he recoiled from the physical contact. He sprang up and leapt off the table, running for the corner and putting his back up against it as if he were a cornered rat.
“Whoa, easy now,” said Taylor.
He didn’t know what to do. His friend didn’t seem himself at all.
“What have they done to you down here?”
Jones was shaking his head as though he either didn’t know or didn’t want to say.
“They sure have done a number on you, haven’t they?”
But still no response came.
“Colonel, we need to find a way out of here,” said Kaytun.
Taylor seemed lost. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jones.
“Come back to us, William. We need you now more than ever. I need you. Alita is missing. Zaya is missing. Irala is dead.”
The names didn’t seem to mean anything to him.
“What is wrong with him?” Turan asked.
“Can’t you see?” Kaytun said, “He’s been tortured. He is a mess.”
“But I see no wounds.”
Jones was pale and sweating profusely. The look in his eyes would suggest he had been tortured, and yet Turan was right, there wasn’t a mark on him, aside from where he had fought against his restraints.
“There is more damage that can be done to a man than just the physical side,” said Taylor.
All his hope seemed to fade away, realising that he may have found Jones, but he may never be the man he used to be ever again. Taylor approached him again, but as he drew near, Jones lashed out and struck him across the jaw. He tried again, but Taylor closed in and took hold of him so that he was locked in his grasp.
“Get off me! You’re not Taylor! Taylor is dead!” he screamed.
Now it really dawned on Taylor just how bad the situation was, and it almost made him want to weep. It never occurred to him that if he found William and Alita they would be anything but as he remembered them. That only worried him more as he wondered what state Alita was in.
“William, I really need you to get your shit together. We have to get you out of here, but we can’t do it if you don’t settle down, my friend.”
He fought to get free. Taylor held on, but Jones managed to get enough room to drive his elbow up into Taylor’s chin. It was a hard strike that snapped his head backwards and caused him to lose his hold on Jones. The Captain rushed forward as if to escape through the open doorway, but Babacan punched him square in the face. The impact knocked him out cold, and he collapsed to the ground.
“What did you do that for?” Taylor protested as he tried to wipe the blood from his nose.
“This is better for everyone,” replied Babacan.
He was right, but it just didn’t feel right. He looked down at the lifeless body of Jones sprawled on the floor. He couldn’t believe it had come to this.
“This is just what Jafar said Bolormaa would do to us, and to me. She doesn’t want to kill me, not yet. She intends to make me suffer for every minute of my existence, and my friends will pay the price worst of all for that.”
“Then she is a fool,” said Babacan.
Taylor didn’t get his meaning, but he soon elaborated.
“She should have killed you. She should have killed us all, because we won’t stop until we end her. She thinks she is making our life hell. She picked the wrong fight.”
Taylor appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn’t wholly convinced. He’d never felt so alone with so many of his friends lost or missing.
“Do you think she intended for us to find Captain Jones?” Kaytun asked.
Taylor gritted his teeth as he thought about the prospect.
“Maybe. Maybe we found him earlier than she had in mind, I don’t know. All I do know is she is screwing with my family, and I’ve had enough. That man down there, that Captain. He is one of the best men, no the best, that I have ever known. And that’s no short order. And now look at him? Reduced to a scared mess that doesn’t even recognise his friends. She is trying to break our willpower so she can prove to the universe that she is the Supreme Being she tells everyone she is. Well, she just made a big mistake. Because if she thinks that this will break me, and break us, then she doesn’t understand us at all.”
Babacan was nodding in agreement.
“She is a tyrant, and tyrants must be deposed. This isn’t going to get any easier, but I won’t be terrorised by a despicable monster like her. We are gonna make Jones right, whatever we have to do. But this war is gonna cost us all a lot. I know you volunteered for this, but that doesn’t mean you have to see it through. I made myself a target, and you shouldn’t have to pay the price for it.”
Babacan looked unimpressed.
“What?”
“You said we were family, are we still?”
“Of course.”
“Then we fight this together, no matter what,” Kaytun added.
“And you think you are up for this? This wasn’t even your fight until a few days ago.”
“It was always my fight, whether I fight it on my homeworld, on Earth, or out here with you. Bolormaa is an enemy to all of us. President Tuin understands your importance to this war, and that’s why he sent me.”
* * *
“Any news from the Colonel?”
Minn shook her head. Sommer looked anxious.
“You want to go after him, don’t you?”
“If something has happened to the Colonel, we must do everything in our power to help him.”
“Yes, but that’s the problem, isn’t it? We don’t know what has happened down there. We have nothing to go on, but soon a relay drone will be in place, and I hope the signal will be powerful enough to reach them.”
“And if it isn’t?”
There was no response.
“Sir, I am getting readings from our surveillance drone.”
“Put it on screen!”
A video feed flashed up, and they could see three ships approaching the drone.
“Do they know we are here?”
“Negative, Captain, they are heading for the surface.”
“Taylor…” said Sommer.
“We don’t know anything yet. This could be routine.”
“Well, they’re gonna have a pretty good picture that is isn’t when they see the wreckage that you left behind.”
Minn wasn’t sure what to do.
“Weapon systems?”
“Negative, Sir, but life support is operational again.”
“That won’t do us any good if we don’t live long enough to use it,” replied Sommer.
They watched the screen as the ships approached, in the knowledge they would be powerless to defend themselves, but as they drew nearer, Sommer stepped up closer to study the screen.
“Those aren’t Morohtan ships…” she declared.
“No, they are Krys,” said Minn.
“Have they come to give assistance?”
“Those markings, I have not seen them before.”
/>
There were golden circles with a red bar running vertically on the prows of each of the vessels.
“What are they?”
“Sorry, Sir, there is nothing in the system.”
“Something isn’t right,” said Sommer.
“Sir, unidentified ships have locked onto the drone. What do we do? Do we hail them?”
“And give our position away? No, not until we know what they are doing here.”
Lights flashed on one of the ships, and a pulse hit the centre of the camera feed shortly after.
“We have lost the drone, Captain.”
“They aren’t here to help us. Activate the relay drone. We need to reach out to Taylor, now!”
“But, Sir, it will…”
“Just do it!”
* * *
“Taylor…Colonel Taylor…come in.”
His eyes lit up on hearing Sommer’s voice over his comms. The signal was weak, but good enough that he could just about make out what she was saying.
“This is Taylor. It sure is good to hear from you.”
“Likewise, Colonel, but I haven’t got good news. What is your status?”
“We landed hard and have no transport out of here. We have suffered a number of casualties, but we have located Captain Jones, and he is alive.”
“That is good to hear, Colonel, but you have…”
Static replaced the already weak signal.
“Sommer? Sommer?”
Nothing came back.
“Shit! Babacan, try and get the Tusk back. We need to know what their status us. I don’t fancy hanging around this hellhole any longer than we have to.”
“How are we going to get off this world?” asked Kaytun.
“Sommer knows we’re stuck. She’ll find a way. But just in case she doesn’t, let’s keep investigating this bunker. With the atmosphere the way it is, I am betting they’ve got some transport capacity beneath the ground.”
“And you think you can fly a Morohtan vessel?”
Taylor shrugged.
“Babacan, I really have no idea, but anything beats sitting around here.”
He leaned down, picked Jones up, and threw him over his shoulder. They carried on and followed the trail of bodies that Turan’s platoon had left behind. They went through several rooms full of machines and computers of all shapes and sizes. It appeared to be a laboratory, but he had no idea exactly what for, and nobody seemed to provide any useful answers along the way. He speculated that it was all geared to the torture and interrogation tactics used on Jones or others.
Finally, the room opened out into an open hangar. It wasn’t completely sealed to the elements. One side was fully open into a canyon, but sheltered well by the mountain on the far side. It kept the hangar concealed and protected from both the atmospheric conditions and anyone snooping around.
“It’s amazing anyone can find anything on this world barely worth hiding,” said Taylor.
One ship was on the docking bay floor and looked large enough for ten of them. The area was rather barren.
“Looks big enough to take us,” said Taylor.
Kaytun approached the hull to investigate.
“This hasn’t flown in weeks. It’s in the middle of repairs,” she quickly responded.
Taylor stepped around to see for himself, but there were parts everywhere. It looked more like it was there to salvage parts from than to fly again.
“Think you can fix it?” he asked rather enthusiastically.
“If I had a few weeks, and someone who knew anything about this tech, maybe.”
Taylor nodded in agreement. He already knew the answer and didn’t know why he even bothered asking it in the first place. They heard the roar of engines from multiple ships making their approach.
“Thank God, Sommer must have got the message.”
A few moments later, five Krys assault craft passed through the opening and came in to land.
“Well, what do you know? Looks like your kinsmen have come to lend a hand.”
Turan looked suspicious, and as they turned for landing, he noticed the identification symbols on the fuselages.
“Balcans,” he said.
“Who are they?”
“Their kind would never come to your aid.”
“Why the hell not? We’re allies.”
“Because they hate humans, and specifically they hate you.”
Taylor was taken aback.
“What did I ever do to them?”
“Karadag, he was one of theirs.”
The name sent a shiver down Taylor’s spine as he thought of the Krys Lord, the first he was ever to encounter.
“You’ve got to be kidding?”
Turan was deadly serious.
“Jafar has unified the worlds, they wouldn’t go against him surely?”
“For a chance at killing the greatest villain in their history, yes, they would.”
Taylor hated the word, or even the thought that is what he might be, but he didn’t have time to argue.
“There has to be some mistake.”
“The ramps dropped down on the first, and a wave of Krys soldier poured out with guns blazing.
“Cover!”
They scrabbled to find any they could, but it was thin on the ground on the empty end of the deck. Many took cover behind the hulk of the Morohtan vessel, and Taylor jumped in beside the cockpit. He laid Jones down to rest out of sight. Over a hundred Krys soldiers were on the deck and more on the way. Pulses flashed overhead, and he ducked back as one skimmed past his face. It brought back a wave of bad memories for him, as he just froze and remembered the seemingly never-ending war against the Krys.
“What do we do?”
When Kaytun didn’t get a response, she shook Taylor. He slowly snapped out of it and looked either side of him. Turan’s people were engaging the incoming Krys, but the Cholans had not.”
“Colonel, we have an alliance with these people. We can’t fire on them!” yelled Kaytun.
“Fight or die!” Turan declared as he let out a burst of fire.
Taylor just couldn’t help but think back to the first Krys war and the opening days of the fighting. The clash with Karadag, he remembered how weak they felt and seemingly how immortal the enemy were. It was consuming him, the fear, the dread, and the loss he felt. He thought of all of the faces of those he had lost, friends and comrades. So many and over such a long period that he was starting to forget their names. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. It had paralyzed him.
Kaytun rose up to fire but was struck by a pulse on the crown of her helmet. She collapsed back onto Taylor and landed in his lap. It was enough to wake him up. Embers of the pulse had burnt into the Lieutenant’s face. She was wincing in pain, and he helped her back upright.
“You okay?”
“I am fine, but we need you, Colonel. We are going to have to fight our way out of here, and we need you to do it.”
He nodded in agreement and looked over at the advancing enemy. It was painfully reminiscent of his old life. Their armour was a little sleeker and modernised, but it took him back to so many bad memories. He ducked back down as fire landed all around him.
“Turan, these Balcans, they’d really defy Jafar, just to get at me for something that happened hundreds of years ago?”
“I fear it may be worse than that. If they are willing to defy Jafar, then they may attempt to depose him.”
“And they are powerful enough to do that?”
“Not alone, no.”
Taylor nodded in relief, but then it dawned on him what Turan was saying.
Civil war!
He rose up to see that the Krys were now closing quickly. They were certainly close enough for him to use his sidearm, the only ranged weapon he had left. He fired three shots at the nearest one, but they bounced right off. A burst from Kaytun finished the same creature, but Taylor ducked back down and holstered the pistol, knowing it would be useless.
He drew out his las
t grenade, primed it, and launched it over the aircraft. He didn’t even need to aim. Anything up ahead would find plenty of targets. He drew out his Assegai and activated his shield.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting back in this fight, Kaytun. You cover from the left. I’m going right.”
He shifted along the length of the hull until he was close to the right-hand wall. Turning back, he realised Babacan and Turan’s platoon had come with him. They were each ready for close combat. He peered around the corner to see the horde of Krys warriors advancing.
“Just like old times,” he said, smiling to himself, but when he turned back to see who was fighting beside him, he realised that wasn’t quite the case at all. He was leading a whole unit of Krys against other Krys. It was a bizarre scenario, but one that he would have to think about later if they could get out alive.
“Once we get out there, we don’t stop. Time is something we don’t have. If we can engage enough of them, we’ll stay safe, but we’re gonna have to close that gap pretty damn fast. So that’s the plan. Don’t stop until they’re dead, or we are.”
None of them seemed to have a problem with that. It never ceased to amaze him just how little care the Krys seemed to have for their own lives. They were the most dedicated fighters, and that made them both great allies, and a terrifying enemy.
"This can't be of Bolormaa's doing," he whispered, "No, she would want to do this herself."
That's what he had to keep telling himself. He could deal with the thought of fighting the Krys, but not them and the Morohtans together. That was a recipe for failure. He looked down at his Assegai. It was the only weapon he had that would do any good now. He still carried the Bilgunn's hammer on his back, but he needed the cover of his shield if they were to cover the distance without being gunned down.
Battle Beyond Earth: Survival Page 8
