“He is not himself, tell me you see that?” she asked Babacan.
The alien wouldn’t accept it.
“He is exactly what we need him to be, no more, and no less.”
They got up to join him. Gunfire still rang out from outside the building and the rooftop, but it was faint now. Taylor pointed to two of the Krys soldiers.
“Take the roof, sweep and clear.”
They rushed off without a word.
More than fifty of the enemy lay dead in that one room alone, including three Morohtan warriors. Taylor looked pleased with his work, more than he should in Sommer’s eyes.
“Come on,” he said.
He didn’t even pick up the rifle hanging by his side and stepped out the front door of the building empty-handed. A squad of friendlies rose up from the ruins of the building on the far side. They were from their Regiment, but Taylor didn’t recognise any of them.
“Colonel, how did…” asked a Sergeant that seemed to be leading them.
“How isn’t important. I am here now, who is in charge here?”
“I am, Sergeant Ness.”
“Where is the rest of the Regiment? Where is your platoon leader?”
“We are spread pretty thin, Sir. We’re across several klicks from here to the eastern side of the city. The lines are a mess at present. We lost contact with everyone yesterday. It’s been every squad for themselves ever since.”
“Sounds like a real cluster fuck.”
The Sergeant didn’t seem bothered or surprised by his antiquated and coarse language, and that spoke volumes.
“Yes, Sir, without a doubt…Sir…are you back with us for good?”
Taylor noted the look of hope on the man’s face. They had been through some hard days of combat.
“That’s right, Sergeant. I should never have left, but I am here now. You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve only just got back. I am not exactly clued into the situation on the ground here, and I have been unable to reach anyone in the Regiment, nor General Greer.”
“It’s as I said, Sir. Communications have been down for a while now. Our radios can’t transmit or receive anything beyond about ten metres. It’s like they are being jammed by something.”
“They sure are. Simple rule of war, hit the enemy communication lines. It causes chaos, and that’s just what they’ve got.”
“I can’t say how thankful we are that you came, Sir. We thought we were on our own here. Last ammunition drop was a day ago, and we haven’t much left to throw at them.”
They heard the sound of engines roaring in the sky ahead and looked up. Dart’s Krys vessel flew by and dropped three canisters. They landed in the street nearby, and Taylor strode over. He prised open the first, reached in, and pulled out a box of ammunition, tossing it to Ness. The Sergeant couldn’t believe it. He almost came to tears.
“It’s a miracle. We thought we were going to die here.”
“There aren’t any miracles in life, Sergeant, only hard-earned results. You did well to hold this position, and I am proud of you all.”
The light dimmed as the sun lowered in the sky and cast them into a long shadow from a nearby building. It was the perfect opportunity to move under the cover of darkness, but Ness and his squad were exhausted. It looked like they hadn’t slept for days, and he didn’t want to leave them. Not after all they had been through.
“Take as much ammo as you can carry. We are bedding down here for the night. I’ll send runners out to liaise with other units in the area.”
“You’re staying with us?” Ness asked in astonishment.
“Sure, you look like you could do with a little help. I am guessing you haven’t slept in days?”
He shook his head.
“No, Sir, and the stims are all out. We’re running on empty.”
Taylor reached in and pulled out ration boxes from the drops Dart had made. He threw them to the Sergeant.
“Get some food in you, and rest up. My platoon will take all watches tonight.”
The Sergeant opened his mouth to protest.
“No questions, bed down for the night, and in the morning we’ll talk again.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“No, thank you, Sergeant.”
The squad moved back into the cover of the building they had fought from, and Turan gestured towards one of his squad leaders to follow them in and provide security.
“Looks like they had a hell of a time of it here. We should never have been spread this thin. It begs the question where the Army is, as well as the Marine elements who were here when we left.”
“They must be engaged in other parts of the city,” said Sommer.
“Or they’re dead,” added Turan.
“They can’t be, not all of them.”
“Why not? This city was overrun when we left it.”
“No chance. These aren’t some pussy militia we are talking about. They are our own. We recruited and trained them better than that.”
“The best can still die.”
“No, the whole city and suburbs are in a mess. You saw it out there when we made our approach. No, they’re still out there, still fighting.”
He took a seat on a wall outside the nearest building. It was hard to find enough of it left intact to take his weight. He noticed a plaque on the floor beneath some rumble and picked it up out of curiosity. He shook off the dirt. It was an elementary school inauguration plaque from over a hundred years ago. He looked up at the ruins of the building behind him. It was indeed the school that the plaque had come from, although little of it was recognisable anymore. He looked up and down the street; much of the architecture around them was in a similar state of disrepair.
“Not much left of the city, is there?”
“They’re just buildings, Sommer. They aren’t the soul of this place, the people are. We’ll protect them and clear this place up.”
“And you think life can just go back on as normal, even if we can beat them?”
Taylor looked insulted that she even had to ask.
“Do you know nothing about human history? We have gotten through no end of hardships to go on living a normal life. This is just another war. Another page on the history books in a hundred years’ time. The only question is, whose history books? Ours, or theirs?”
Engines roared overhead, and two Morohtan fighters stormed past.
“Come on, it’s time to get under cover.”
He stepped up with a groan and walked into the school.
“This’ll do for the night.”
“And in the morning?”
“The fight goes on. It always does.”
The light faded fast, and Taylor soon made his way to a hole in the wall of the seventh floor so that he could look out across the city. If not for the bombing and collapse of the buildings around them there would be little view. The moonlight and odd explosion as battles still raged on lit up the city. He couldn’t sleep more than the two hours he had already had. He’d slept enough the night before and was used to running on empty now.
Footsteps rang out from behind them. Whoever it was they were trying to be quiet, but he could still hear. He spun around and drew his sidearm and took aim, only to find that it was Turan.
“You should know better than to creep up on me,” he said, holstering his weapon. Turan sat down beside him with their feet dangling off the edge of the ruined building.
“You cannot sleep either?”
“No, not with this much on my mind.”
Taylor heard the muted sounds of friendly banter between several of the others on the floor below, but he couldn’t make out the topic.
“What are they discussing? Anything interesting?”
“They say there is a battery farm a few blocks west, and they joked about going to get a pig.”
Taylor laughed.
“What is funny?”
“Don’t you remember our talk about bacon?”
Turan nodded along, but it seemed as tho
ugh he would say anything to please him.
“And I suppose Sommer told them no?”
Turan nodded.
“Yeah, well, that figures. Nobody should be breaking camp right now. We have no idea what is out there.”
Turan didn’t respond, and as they sat there in silence, Taylor could not let the thought of the pig go away. He smiled, thinking about the whole scenario.
“Hog roast? Are you kidding me, I’d kill for that right about now,” he joked.
Turan didn’t seem to appreciate the sentiment.
“You’ve never had hog?”
“No.”
“Damn, you have no idea what you are missing.”
He shook his head as he contemplated the idea of going himself.
“You are thinking of going?”
“It’s not the smartest move ever, but that has never stopped me. What do you think?”
Turan shrugged. “If you think it is a wise idea.”
“That’s a big help.”
Taylor knew it was a stupid idea, but it was a thought he could not let go. He needed something good in life to hold onto, and a tasty meal seemed like a small ask.
“Ah, fuck it,” he said as he stood up.
Turan joined him.
“This is gonna have to be small and quiet.”
“I can be that.”
Taylor groaned. “All right, then, just you and me.”
He picked up his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and headed for the stairway. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they soon found the way blocked by Sommer.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“Wherever the hell I like,” snapped Taylor.
He didn’t appreciate her getting in the way, particularly after she had hesitated during the fight that day.
“You’re going after that farm, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I am, what of it?”
“You know that is crazy, right?”
“What is crazy is this whole goddamn war. Lieutenant, you need to learn to take some enjoyment before it’s too late. Sometimes that can be in taking the life of an enemy, and sometimes chewing on some tasty meat, but I fully intend to keep on living, and you should learn to do the same.”
“And if you get ambushed out there?”
“It’s dark. Things have calmed down out there, and it’s only a few blocks. If we’re not back in one hour, send a squad after us.”
“For the record, Sir, I don’t approve of this.”
“Yeah, well save that for the day we have the luxury of keeping records.”
“Sir, if you are going to go out there, at least take a squad with you.”
“I’ve got him. I’ve survived worse than a quick run like this, Lieutenant. Don’t worry about me.”
She didn’t look happy at all but knew there was nothing she could do to stop him. She stepped aside and sighed as they left her. They passed through several more on guard duty, and others trying to get some sleep in any space they could. They stepped out onto the street where they had been earlier that day, followed the road north to the first western turn, and veered off. Somehow Taylor had expected to see something different on the next street, but it was more of the same; abandoned cars, knocked out vehicles, and the bodies of both sides littering the streets.
“We’ll have to clear these bodies pretty soon, or we’re gonna have trouble,” said Taylor.
Turan just groaned in response.
“You probably think I am crazy coming out here in search of food?”
“Humans rarely make sense to me.”
Taylor was surprised by the way he spoke. Turan was cold towards him as if he was offended or upset in some way.
“So what is it? You miss home? You wish you could have gone back with Jafar?”
“I should be with my people, yes.”
Taylor shrugged it off. He wasn’t getting much of a conversation, so he gave it a rest as they navigated their way through the ruins of the city. He expected to hear gunfire any moment as some hidden enemy force opened fire, but it never came. They soon found the farm. It was well marked on the building, and remarkably still standing, with little damage.
“Well, what do you know?” Taylor marvelled, “I can almost smell the bacon.”
The absurdity of the situation was not lost on him. They were trying to survive a war on a scale of which not even he had ever known, but they needed something to keep their minds from the dire situation they found themselves in.
“Never had pork? Well, you might be in for a surprise,” he declared, turning to address his friend, but he was surprised to find Turan right up in his face.
“Yes, you might,” he declared.
His voice was deeper and more of a growl than the way Turan spoke. It struck Taylor as odd, but before he could realise why, Turan smashed him in the face with the stock of his rifle.
* * *
Sommer couldn’t settle and looked out of the open doorway of the building once again, waiting for some sign of Taylor. She was counting down the seconds so that she could send out a party to find him. She heard some conversation and Turan’s name. The Lieutenant himself was approaching from inside the building.
“When did you get back? Where is the Colonel?” she demanded.
Turan looked confused.
“I should imagine he is upstairs where we left him.”
“Don’t mess around. You left with him almost an hour ago to go on some stupid ass food run.”
Turan’s face was blank.
“No, I did not. I have been here the whole time.”
“Then who left with the Colonel?”
Turan’s face turned to a look of dread.
“He went alone, with just one other who looked like me?”
“What the hell is this, what does it all mean?” Sommer asked.
“It means the Colonel is in grave danger. Come on!”
Turan burst out of from the building at a running pace. A dozen from his platoon followed, and Sommer desperately tried to keep up. She had no idea what was going on, but she wasn’t giving in.
* * *
Taylor wiped the blood from his mouth and spat out the rest as he circled what appeared to be Turan.
“You son of a bitch,” he said as he drew out his Assegai. “You are not Turan!”
The Krys who looked like Turan flickered as though it was a hologram, but Taylor knew it was not. He had felt the impact of its fist. The creature glimmered, and seconds later he found himself standing off against Cakir.
“I said I would find you, Taylor.”
“Finding me is all too easy. I don’t hide, but you have another think coming if you think you can beat me.”
Cakir laughed as several other Krys soldiers stepped out from the shadows of nearby buildings. There were a dozen of them, all dressed and equipped as the elite bodyguard of a Lord, just as Jafar and Tsengal had been. Taylor knew his odds were slim, but he was ready for the fight, no matter what.
“What’s wrong, scared you couldn’t beat me by yourself?”
He lifted his Assegai, but a whip seemingly appeared out of nowhere and lashed it out of his hands. He reached for his pistol, but that met the same fate, and a third lash cut the sling of his rifle and caused it to drop to the floor.
“I am going to treat you like the dog that you are, Taylor.”
* * *
Sommer put in everything she could to keep up with the others. Something had gone horribly wrong, but she didn’t want to consider for a moment that Taylor could be dead. They heard the roar of engines and looked up to see a rough glimmer of movement of a trail, as a cloaked vessel vanished into the night.
“Taylor!” Sommer cried.
Turan looked around in every direction for some sign of him. He found Taylor’s equipment and instantly recognised the unique Assegai lying roughly on the ground amongst a pile of debris. He picked it up and looked to Sommer. Both of them were distraught, and neither had an idea of what to do.<
br />
“He’s gone,” declared Turan in disbelief.
Chapter 9
Taylor felt the lash, and sparks flew as an electrified whip clashed over his back. He felt the blades cut into his flesh, and he heard and smelt his flesh searing from the heat of it. He groaned, but he would not cry out. The lashes struck one after another until he was close to passing out when they finally stopped.
He began to laugh, but he didn’t even know why. He wanted to be defiant, and it was the only way he could think to do so and so not cry out from the pain. One more lash was struck across his back. It clipped the back of his neck and brought him to silence. It jerked his head up, and he caught sight of Cakir sitting on a throne above him and the pit he was tied up in. Ten metre-high walls were all around, and the Krys lord well out of his reach, even if he could get free.
A large iron grating to a circular tunnel appeared to be the only way in and out from the ground. There was little else to tell him where he was, but there was blood on the dirty floor, and it wasn’t his.
“I promised I would find you, and I have. That is something you are going to learn about me in the coming days and weeks, Colonel. I never fail to do what I say I will, unlike you.”
Taylor smiled.
“Pretty low to draw me out from my people and then not do your own dirty work.”
“You are not worthy of my own hand.”
“Too bad Karadag was, what was he to you, your daddy? Uncle?”
“Not that it is any business of yours, but he was my father’s mentor!”
Taylor smiled once again. He was already getting to Cakir.
“Ah, so the daddy you never had. I knew this had to be about daddy issues.”
Cakir pointed to whoever was behind him, and he once again felt the lash. It hurt like hell, and he wished he were anywhere else, but he refused to show it to them. Cakir rose up from his throne as if to address a crowd, and it became clear that Krys lined the upper arena as if to watch a show.
“Mitch Taylor, no trial is needed for the universe to understand your crimes against the Krys people, and the day has finally come for you to be punished for these crimes!”
Battle Beyond Earth: Survival Page 13
