Battle Beyond Earth: Survival

by Thomas, Nick S.

  The creature charged at him once again as if to do just the same, but Taylor hunched down, stepped into his path, and delivered a brutal punch into his stomach. Cakir gasped from the strike as he keeled over. He turned to strike back against Taylor, but Taylor had never been so determined. He had been waiting for this moment and took hold of Cakir's arm, striking him to the side of his head. He delivered a swift kick to the side of the Lord's leg, and he went down hard, but Taylor didn't let up. He punched him over and over in the head until the blood flowed, and Cakir was unable to fight back. He was savaging the Krys Lord like a wild animal would.

  He finally stopped when he decided Cakir had had enough. He stood up and walked about the arena, looking at the shock on all their faces.

  "You fools, Cakir is no Lord. He is a whiny little bitch who thinks he can play King. No Krys Lord would be defeated so easily. You are an imposter, a fake! You are not worthy of leading your people. That job belongs to the Krys who rightfully rules, Lord Jafar!"

  Suddenly, Cakir drew out a small pistol that had been concealed within his clothing and fired at Taylor without warning. Sparks flew as the shot hit Taylor and electrified him. He shook violently and collapsed to the ground. Taylor was on his side looking towards Cakir. His eyes were still open, and he was just about conscious, but unable to move.

  Cakir looked relieved, but his face soon turned to panic as he looked up at the faces of the crowd above. He wanted nothing more than to end Taylor while he could not respond, and yet he knew he couldn't. Not without losing the respect of his entire people. Taylor smiled at the thought of the spot he had put the Krys leader in.

  That's right, you bastard! You're finished!

  * * *

  "Hey, Captain, it’s good to see you back up and around!" Dart called out enthusiastically, as Jones strode past him to climb aboard the Krys vessel with Sommer in tow. He didn't respond or even make eye contact as he stepped up the ramp. He was like a zombie. The pilot grabbed Sommer's arm to stop her as she went past.

  "Is he okay?"

  "Not really, but he will be. Don’t worry."

  "And you are taking him back down there, back into the fight?"

  "It might be the only way to get him back, and God knows we need him. The Krys want to go back to their homes and join the fight there, now that Taylor isn't around to command them. The Captain may be the only one who can stop that from happening."

  "You are playing a dangerous game," he said with concern.

  "Aren't we all?"

  She climbed aboard, and Dart followed them. He had to walk past Jones to reach the cockpit and rested his hand gently on his shoulder.

  "Hey, Captain..."

  Jones’ hand was on his like a flash and twisted his arm into a lock.

  "What do you want from me?"

  "Whoa, easy now," he groaned, as he felt his arm almost snap out of its socket, “Come on, watch the merchandise. I can't fly without my arm, Captain."

  "Captain Jones, this is Lieutenant Dart, you remember, don't you?"

  Jones held on firmly, and then he noticed the artificial legs from the joints visible at his ankles.

  "What is this? You are not Lieutenant Dart."

  "Most of him, a lot has happened since you have been gone."

  "Let him go, Jones," pleaded Sommer.

  Jones released his hold on him, and Dart squirmed in pain as he tried to get feeling back into his arm.

  "Nice to know I am appreciated," he snapped before climbing into the cockpit.

  Sommer kicked Jones in the leg hard enough to get his attention.

  "Hey, he lost his legs saving your ass, so show a little appreciation."

  Jones' face was blank as though it meant nothing to him, or he just couldn't process the information. Sommer wondered if he even believed everything she had told him, and that worried her. It was a mistake to take him back into combat, and yet she was all out of ideas. Dart fired up the engines, and they were soon on their way back to Earth. Jones stared out of the window as they approached.

  "It feels good to be back, doesn't it?"

  Still she got no response. All she could think was that she wanted Taylor to be there. She'd had enough of it all, and she didn't envy Taylor for all he had to manage.

  "Where is Taylor?" Jones asked as if he had heard her thoughts.

  "That's what we're trying to find out."

  Not another word was spoken until they made their descent towards the city.

  "Is Taylor here?"

  Dart was now beginning to understand just how far gone the Captain was, and that wasn't lost on Sommer.

  If he can see it this quickly, so will the others.

  "Jones, we need you to step up until we get Taylor back. In fact, you have to step up now so that we even have a chance to get him back!"

  She was desperately trying to find a way to get through to him. In his present state, he would be useless to them.

  "It is important that you know what is at stake here," she went on.

  Jones didn't make eye contact with her.

  "Taylor is gone. The Regiment is falling apart, and the war isn't going so well. It's made all the worse by a revolt amongst the Krys, and we aren't sure Lord Jafar can handle that. You have to step up, because if you don't..."

  "What?"

  "You can't give up now. We have come way too far to see it end like this."

  Jones said nothing as Dart brought them in close, and the door slid open.

  "It's pretty hot out there!" Dart yelled.

  Fire strafed past them, and several rounds ricocheted off their thick armour. Sommer was quickly on her feet. She grabbed Jones and hauled him to the door, jumping out with a firm hold on the Captain, so he had no choice but to jump with her. As they hit the ground, she realised just how out of it he was. He didn’t seem interested in anything at all, not even the danger they were in. She heard an explosion overhead. It was Dart’s ship smashing into the side of a building as it recoiled from a blast against its hull.

  “Come on!”

  Jones didn’t move. He stood upright and watched the craft crash into several floors of the tower block as if he was just curious. Sommer grabbed him again and hauled him to the far side of the square they had landed in, taking shelter in the doorway of the nearest building.

  They both watched as Dart wrestled for control. The explosion had done nothing but leave scorch marks on the hull. They heard the engines roar as they went to full, and it burst out from the structure. Parts of the building collapsed in its wake as it raced into the distance. Sommer was relieved as she watched him escape, and his voice came over her comms.

  “Good luck, Lieutenant,” he said calmly.

  “And to you, you lunatic,” she responded.

  He was gone from view in seconds as he pulled up and banked out of view through the remaining towers around them. The building Dart had smashed began to creak and Sommer could see it beginning to cave in. She pushed Jones down into the cover of the small wall they were kneeling beside, burying her head as low as she could. It gave way and collapsed into the square. The ground shook beneath them. She quickly sealed her helmet and did the same for Jones.

  The structure of the building toppled and crashed, sending debris and dust all around to such a degree it blotted out the sun, and they were left in a thick fog. She stayed down low, waiting for it to settle, and that took some time. All the while she heard the thunder of artillery and air strikes in the distance. Jones was still stone faced and cold as though he didn’t understand what was going on.

  Oh, boy, is this going to work? What have I done?

  She would give anything to have Taylor there to tell her what to do, but that wasn’t a luxury she had. The dust finally began to settle, but she didn’t recognise their surroundings anymore. She looked down at her Mappad to see her target location.

  “Come on, it’s not far now, Captain.”

  Jones wasn’t moving.

  “Don’t make me kick your butt.”
>
  “Why?”

  His face was almost blank of expression as if he couldn’t comprehend any of what was going on.

  “Because we have work to do, come on!”

  She hauled him to his feet and went onwards. It was like dragging dead weight around. She had to find some way to break him out of the prison that was his own mind, but she wished she knew how. She followed her route as best she could amongst the ruins of the city, and it quickly became apparent they were going towards the sound of the nearest gunfire. She retracted her faceplate, and once more was able to breath freely, though it didn’t smell good at all. Death, decay, and heavy ordnance mixed with brick dust and the nose tingling burning of electrical fires.

  “God I hope they are still okay.”

  She noticed Jones was not following her. He had stopped a few metres back and was just frozen there.

  “What? What is it? Come on!”

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and turned to counter it, but she was not fast enough. A Morohtan warrior crashed into her and pinned her against the wall of the alleyway. She dropped her rifle from the impact. It seemed unarmed and was bleeding profusely from a gut wound.

  “Son of a bitch,” she said, holding onto its arms. It pulled itself free and struck her to the face, but she once again took hold of it.

  “Little help?” she shouted to Jones.

  He didn’t move at all.

  “Captain Jones!” she screamed.

  She tried to reach down for her Assegai, but she felt another blow smash her face and knock her head back into the wall. A single gunshot rang out, and blood splashed over her face, forcing her to shut her eyes. She felt the creature go limp and collapse. It then released its hold on her, and she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Jones stood there with his rifle still held at the shoulder from where he had fired the shot.

  “It took you long enough,” she said, gasping for air.

  He nodded in agreement, but as she picked up her rifle, she knew there was hope for him yet.

  “Come on, Captain. Keep moving.”

  He followed her through several streets until they came to faces they recognised. Sergeant Ness was dug in at the tail end of a massive defensive position extending as far as the eye could see. It was like an almost endless maze of trenches that had been dug into the ruins and rubble of ten square blocks. Shots flashed in the distance, and they could just make out the shapes of Amitad soldiers trying to charge the dug in troops and a tower standing at the far end.

  “It’s good to see you back, Lieutenant,” said Ness.

  “I guess you found the General?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Good news. This is Captain Jones.”

  The Sergeant saluted him, but he didn’t respond and looked out into the fight in the distance as if mesmerised by it.

  “Is he okay, Sir?” Ness asked.

  “Not really. Turan, where is he?”

  Ness pointed toward the tower that was at the centre of the action.

  “Of course, where else?”

  “That’s where it’s all at, the north eastern most point of the lines. Lieutenant Turan and the rest of your people went right for it to support General Greer.”

  “She is inside?”

  “As far as I know.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she moved out towards it.

  “Sir, wouldn’t it be best for you to stay here and let things die down a little before trying to reach them?”

  “For who, me or them?” she asked and carried on.

  They jumped into the trench works and followed it towards the tower. Wounded were being cared for all along the line, and others rearming to go back into the fight. Some were on raised firing platforms and engaging the enemy at a distance. The trenches were almost twice as tall as she was, and it felt awfully close.

  “I never thought I’d see the day we’d fight like this again,” she said.

  “You think things would ever change that much?”

  She was surprised to hear Jones say so much.

  “Yes, actually. Damn right, I am surprised. We went for hundreds of years without any serious wars, and now look where we are, knee deep in it. Honestly, this place is such a disaster zone, I couldn’t tell you which city it was if it weren’t for this box on my arm telling me.”

  In all honesty, though, she was just glad to hear him talking, and would say and do anything if it meant getting him back to half of what he used to be.

  “Do you remember much about your rescue?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t remember Colonel Taylor coming to get you? I wasn’t there myself.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why were you not there with him?”

  “The Colonel left me aboard the Tusk to guard the vessel. We had no idea what to expect on the desolate planet where we found you. Taylor expected for us to walk into trouble at any moment, and boy did we!”

  “He always does.”

  “Ain’t that the truth? Taylor told me you struck him when he first found you. It has to feel good to get one free one in on the Colonel, right?”

  “I…I don’t remember.”

  She could see he was wracking his brain for answers, but he couldn’t remember any of it.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m just trying to help you tie things up.”

  “I…I don’t remember. Just pain, lots of pain, and I can never go back there. I would rather die.”

  He really meant it, and that sent a shiver down her spine. She wondered what could be so bad it would have him in such a morbid state of mind, but another part of her didn’t want to think about it.

  “Taylor would never have stopped looking for you, you know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course. That is why I am here.”

  “Because you would never give up on him either?”

  “Yes.”

  “I knew I had the right man for the job.”

  “I am sorry, Lieutenant. I will go where you go, but…I cannot be…”

  “Taylor? Nobody expects that, Captain.”

  “No, I cannot be the man you need me to be, not anymore.”

  “Just take it easy. We’re almost there. You’ll be among friends once again. And don’t worry, we are going to get the Colonel back.”

  “You know that he is alive?”

  “Of course he is.”

  “But you don’t know?”

  “What could have killed Taylor? After everything, he is unstoppable.”

  “We all think that until the day that we are not.”

  She was getting through to him, but he was still a hollow shell of what he was. She put on a brave face as if to be impressed with his progress, but at the same time was terrified that she was throwing gas on a flame.

  “Bolormaa does not have Taylor?” he asked, as if just remembering the things she had told him.

  “That’s speculation at best. A Krys rebel who fancies himself a Lord came for Taylor while he was trying to bust you out. He seems to want a piece of Taylor just as bad as that bitch Bolormaa does.”

  “Taylor can handle the Krys. He always could.”

  “Yes, but not by himself. We have to find him.”

  “And if you do not find the man that you remember, just like me.”

  She stopped and slapped him across the face. It landed harder than she expected, but she made no apologies for that.

  “I know you’ve had a hard time of it, and you have gone through hell, but you can come back from that, if you want to.”

  He seemed to give it some thought before shaking his head.

  “You don’t know. You weren’t there. You haven’t seen it.”

  “Seen what?”

  But he just shook his head once more.

  “If you knew, you wouldn’t ask.”

  “I get that I don’t know what you have been through. I hope I never do. But what I do know is what lies ahead of us. You can wallow in this misery
until the day you die, or you can buck up and help us with this war. Help us find Taylor first, and we might just have a chance.”

  “Taylor cannot win this war. He cannot win against her.”

  She slapped him once again, but this time there was a shameful look on his face as though he already regretted what he had said.

  “Captain or not, I won’t have you talking that way about the Colonel. Now, come on!”

  She grabbed is arm and pulled him on towards the source of the fight. At the base of the tower they found a med station set up. The cries of the wounded couldn’t be drowned out by the gunfire raging from every floor above. An enemy fighter zipped past overhead, but someone on the rooftop launched a handheld missile and knocked it out of the sky even as they watched. It crashed down a few hundred metres away into a ball of flame.

  Sommer saw Jones was gone. He had walked halfway into the med centre and just stood there, looking at the wounded as if he were in a daydream. She rushed to him and tried to pull him away, but he wouldn’t move.

  “Captain, come on!”

  He wouldn’t shift or even speak.

  “Damn it, don’t go anywhere!”

  She turned back to the tower and rushed inside, leaving him there. The sound of automatic gunfire raging from two sides of the structure was almost deafening. Drones carried ammunition back and forth, and she had to step over two dead bodies to carry on to the next room and reach a flight of stairs. Finally, she noticed one of their squads.

  “Where is Turan and Babacan?” she demanded.

  “Third floor!” She hit the stairs running, but as she reached to the second, she stopped. She had seen General Greer through a door. The General was on a radio with a rifle in hand. Sommer couldn’t believe it and rushed in to address the General.

  “Sir, what are you doing here?”

  “Not now, Lieutenant,” she yelled and continued to give coordinates for an air strike.

  Sommer waited impatiently for her to finish.

  “Sir, you need to get to safety. It is far too risky for you to be here.”

  “Negative, Lieutenant. I have lost too much ground already. This is where we stand, and this is where we hold them.”

  “With all due respect, Sir, that is crazy. We need you to keep things together around here, and how are you going to do that if you’re dead?”