Battle Earth I

Chapter 3

Ten days later.

Taylor put his beret on and headed for the door. Stepping out onto the parade ground, Lieutenant Suarez had already gotten the company assembled as ordered. For days they had continued their regime of fitness and combat training. Not another word had been spoken to the Major regarding the urgent assembly with the other officers.

As Mitch walked towards his finely presented unit, a jeep rode into view. Before he could get out a word to the company he recognised the stars below the windshield of the vehicle. It was the General’s car. Suarez ordered the men to attention as the vehicle stopped beside them and the General leapt out in an enthusiastic manner. They’d never seen a General move so fast.

“Taylor, with me, now!”

The General had not even broken his stride. He led Mitch around the corner of the assembly building of the drill square, out of sight and hearing of all who were formed up.

“Sir, what can I do for you?” asked Taylor.

The General turned and took a good look around the area to be sure they were alone.

“This is privileged information, you hear?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“The vessels that were dispatched to the Ares colony have been receiving readings of something heading for us. Now we don’t know what it is, but it’s big. Some experts are saying it’s coincidental, but I don’t believe in that crap. Official word is that the Ares colony is experiencing communication faults and assistance is en route.”

“Sir, that is not at all what we were led to believe.”

“Agreed. Whatever is heading our way will be passing the Moon colony first. Now, it’s a big colony but has limited military deployment. No order has gone out for us yet, that means my hands are tied. However, that does not stop normal procedure. I am despatching your company to the Moon colony for a training exercise.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Let me be clear, officially this is a training mission. Unofficially, we just don’t know what to expect. Be sure to take a full armament of live ammunition and all the gear you’ll need. I pray that this is all just a misunderstanding, but let us make sure we are ready for anything!”

“Yes, Sir, I’ll get on it!”

“I have already cleared you for departure and the stores have been ordered to give all that you ask, they are aware that this is a live fire exercise. You report only

to me directly on this, get going ASAP!”

The General nodded in gratitude, he was glad to have officers who he could rely on. He strode off leaving Taylor stood considering his situation. He understood the General would only ask it of him if there were serious danger to the colony. On the other hand he knew that a single company was a meagre force to defend anything.

Walking back to the drill square he stopped in front of his company, the men eagerly awaiting some news. The General’s vehicle was already coasting into the distance. He looked around, nobody but his unit in sight.

“Stand easy and come forward!”

The men looked surprised not to be dismissed as per regulations and norm. They huddled around in a circle around the Major. He turned, looking at all their faces.

“We are deploying immediately to the Moon colony. That much is no secret. However, officially we are on a live fire training exercise. Unofficially, I want every one of you on guard and ready to fight. The General has entrusted us with a mission and we will get it done. I want you formed up in one hour, full kit, including counter pressure suits, masks, the lot. Ammunition is on its way. That will be all. Get to it!”

The men initially looked a little dazed, but they quickly snapped out of it as the Sergeants began barking their orders to get the men moving. Suarez moved up to the Major with a puzzled expression on his face.

“What the hell’s going on? A few days ago it was high alert, now officially a training mission?”

“Top brass hasn’t got a clue what is going on and nobody is keen to give them answers. The General is concerned that we don’t sit idle if a threat exists.”

“Fine, but one company? If there is any major military threat, what could we even do?”

Taylor turned to him, more than irritated by his constant questions and petty nature.

“A damn sight more than scientists and civilians, that’s for sure. Now, kit up, we’ve got a job to do, Lieutenant!”

Suarez straightened himself realising how foolish he was being. Not only that, he was questioning the orders of his superiors. He saluted quickly before rushing off to gather his equipment. Taylor stood and watched as his company scattered to fulfil their tasks. He was not at all comfortable with their orders.

Through the minor combat and policing actions which the Major had participated, they had always done so with substantial intel. He had little idea what to expect on the Moon colony and that concerned him. Training for immediate deployment was a regular part of their training, so Taylor was glad to see that the entire company was formed up with its gear in thirty-five minutes. They were ready before their transport had even arrived.

The Major paced up and down the square, looking out at his company. They sat about with their equipment stacked in lines, impatiently waiting for the vehicles. Taylor turned to see Sergeant Eleanor Parker walking up to him. He stopped pacing in surprise. He’d always found it difficult to be her superior when they had slept together after more than one operation. Not only that, but she was supposed to be recovering from a broken arm sustained in training.

Parker was shorter and slighter than any marine in the company, but she carried herself tall and proud. Her brunette hair was tied back perfectly and out of sight, her uniform immaculate and with no sign of the arm brace she’d been wearing until the day before. Her blue-grey eyes were piercing, and it was quite clear what she wanted. She quickly saluted and jumped into her request.

“Sir, requesting permission to rejoin the unit for operational duty!”

“Sergeant, you are not cleared from medical leave for another seven days.”

“Sir, that’s Doctor’s recommendations, not orders. I am ready to get back to it. If you have a mission to do you’ll need me back.”

Taylor looked around the lines of marines. He knew that Parker wasn’t fully recovered yet, neither did he want to see any harm come to her. Despite this, he hated the idea of leaving a fellow marine behind. He also knew that she was a useful asset to her platoon.

“Sergeant, no bullshit, can you do your job?”

“Yes, Sir!”

“Alright, fall in, your platoon leader will fill you in on the mission details.”

She could not help herself from grinning. She was so happy she could have leapt up and kissed him. For a moment Taylor thought she might even do so.

“That’ll be all, Sergeant!”

Parker saluted the Major and immediately heaved her equipment onto her shoulder and joined the rest of the unit. Taylor looked again across the platoons under his command, they were visibly uneasy. No one was being straight about what was expected of them. There was little he could do to remedy that, he knew nothing more himself. Before he could think of any words to calm his troops their buses pulled into view.

“Load up! Let’s go!” Taylor shouted.

He watched as his men poured into the vehicles in an efficient and an enthusiastic manner. He commanded five platoons. Four of them were infantry units compromising of forty-one men, and his own sixteen-man command platoon. A Lieutenant led each platoon, with additional officers in his HQ unit. They’d seen more action than any other serving unit in the U.S. military, but that was still nothing compared to the wartime experience of veterans of bygone wars.

The buses coasted on through the base until they could see the assembly area in view. He knew that it would soon be needed for major operational duties, and yet the area was almost empty. A few copters and transports lay unattended and work crews went on leisurely about their jobs. An Achilles transport craft was being loaded and was the only sign of serious work in sight. Taylor could already make out the unmistakeable figure of Eddie Rains guiding in his fellow copter pilots as they loaded up the Falcon shuttles in the cargo bay. The Achilles class transports were the military’s main means of transport into space. They could carry up to two hundred and fifty men, and five shuttles.

Thirty minutes later their kit was stowed and they were lifting off. UEN forces did regular training exercises on the Moon, but only a hundred regular troops were stationed there at any time. A further six hundred civilians were part of a colony defence force, citizen soldiers. Taylor knew that his force would effectively double the strength of their numbers, but it was still a fraction of what would be needed against a sizeable enemy force.

Taylor stood on the bridge with his command platoon as they made their break into orbit. The ship was crewed by twenty-four Navy personnel. He grinned as he watched Eddie look in astonishment at their operating procedures. He had no love of their disciplined and machine-like way of working. Captain Reyes commanded the vessel, the Deveron.

“It’s an eight hour run, Major, you’re welcome to make full use of all the facilities we have to offer.”

“Thank you, Captain. I only ask one thing of you. It’s important that we discuss our operation en route to the colony. The details of our mission remain top secret. Anything that your crew hear or see must not be repeated to anyone.”

“Understood, Sir, those are our standard operating procedures. Loose lips sink ships and all that.”

Taylor nodded in agreement and gratitude. He turned to his command staff and signalled for them to follow. He stepped briskly off the deck and straight to the briefing room where all his officers and NCOs were gathered. He was immediately drawn to the sight of Eleanor. He’d not seen her in weeks due to her medical leave, and he could do nothing but admire her, even in her BDUs.

“Quite honestly, we have no idea what to expect. What I can tell you is that it is vital that we remain on guard and armed at all times. That will mean being armed and armoured during all hours that you aren’t sleeping.”

“Won’t that raise some eyebrows with the civilians?” asked Silva.

“It will indeed, Sergeant. Over half a million people live on the moon and they’re not used to seeing soldiers in full battle attire. Therefore, officially we are on a training exercise. Our mission entails the practice of colony-wide security and urban navigation and planning.”

“It’s a bit of a flimsy argument,” said Parker.

“It is, but it’s the best we have. The government has been ordered to comply so there’ll be little in our way other than strange looks and the odd probing question. Stick to the story. All that matters is that we stay on duty and on guard.”

“Sir, I have to ask what everyone is thinking. Around a week ago you were called to an emergency meeting, which clearly involved the threat we are now facing. We are being asked to take up defensive measures when we don’t know what we’re defending against,” said Lieutenant Wilson.

Taylor looked at the officer. Wilson led Alpha platoon, a capable leader, one of his best.

“You’re right. I will tell you what little I know, because it is of vital nature to this operation. The meeting regarded a message received from an Ares colony shuttle. It alleged that the colony had been attacked by an unidentified and well-armed enemy force.”

“What are we talking about here? Aliens?” asked Wilson.

“We simply don’t know. What little description we have describes an enemy with technology superior to what we are accustomed to. Top brass isn’t willing to jump to any conclusions, and few are willing to entertain the idea of other intelligent life.”

“So what, a Chinese force trying to muscle in on the colony? They’ve been working against the UEN for long enough,” said Suarez.

“Possibly, but at this stage we don’t know. We have little information to work on and we cannot risk panic by informing the colony of any impending danger.”

“What danger, Sir? Why is an attack on Mars relevant to our Moon?”

Taylor dropped his head. He couldn’t beat around the bush any longer. He had been tasked on a highly secretive mission, but he could not ask his marines to step into danger without giving them a heads up. He looked back up, staring at each and everyone in the room.

“Okay, Wilson, this is why. Ships were despatched immediately to the Ares colony. As you know it will be months before they can arrive and begin to make sense of what has happened. However, they have picked up signals that something big is heading for Earth.”

“What the fuck does that mean, Sir?” Silva asked.

“Some are saying it’s a coincidence, an asteroid that’ll pass us by. The General does not believe in coincidences and believes we may have trouble. Nobody is sure of anything at this stage and troops cannot and will not be deployed anywhere until there are some rigid facts.”

There were so many questions that the officers and NCOs wanted answers to, but clearly no one was able to enlighten them any further.

“I know this puts us in the shit, but we’re marines, it’s what we’re paid for. Our job remains the same. We are to remain on active duty on a permanent rotational basis. All personnel when on duty are to maintain combat attire, as well as full pressure suits and breathing tanks. Keep a full load out of ammo and be ready for anything. When we face the unexpected, we can never have enough ammo. That’s all I have to say and the only intel we have to go on.”

“One last thing, Sir, the colony is a sizeable city, we are one company, we’ll be spread a bit thin?” asked Wilson.

“We’ll focus our efforts on the economic centre of the colony only, which includes the government buildings, police headquarters and all key officials. Shuttles will be kept on hand to allow us fast deployment as and when needed. Now, that’ll be all. We’ve got hours to kill, no mission to plan and no training to be done. Your time is your own.”

It was a long and boring journey to the Moon. After the start of their first trip the excitement of being in space and the views from the ship died down. The Major sat on the bridge as they made their descent to the Moon Spaceport. With none of the problems that the Earth’s gravity and atmosphere presented, vessels came and went at ease. Mitch had in some ways been hiding from his men. They wanted more answers than he could give, and he was sick of repeating the same story.

It would be a lie for Taylor to say he wasn’t scared. Through his intense training and multiple missions on Earth, nothing worried him more than the unknown. In their age of communication and technology, he’d never had to go into a situation as blind as this. Whatever worries he had he couldn’t express them, it was his duty above all else to maintain his composure for the benefit of his marines.

“This is it, Major, final descent, you’ll be on the ground in three minutes,” said Reyes.

“Thank you, Captain, what are your following orders?”

Reyes turned to look at Taylor as if shocked at the question.

“We’ve been ordered to stay for your duration, Sir.”

That bothered Taylor, but said nothing in response. The only reason that the Deveron would be tied up was if the General wanted to be sure they could be evacuated at short notice. It was becoming ever more clear how dangerous the General thought their situation could be. With this in mind, it was more worrying than ever that nobody else appeared to be acting on the information.

“Thank you, Captain, I’ll be down below.”

Taylor leapt to his feet. He didn’t want the crew to see his concern and confusion in the situation. His training was now kicking in, they were about to hit the ground and the only thing he needed to concern himself with was being ready for action. A minute later he was pulling his armour over his compression suit beside his command staff and making final preparations.

“Remember, those are civilians down there, we are there as an emergency measure only, I don’t want to cause any more concern than we’re already doing. Stay sharp, stay calm, and be ready for anything!”

The Major pulled on his webbing with spare ammunition and the oxygen tank to his back. The magnetic gravity generators first used on the Moon, as well as the oxygen processors, had done wonders in developing the potential for the community. However, as soldiers, they had to be ready for anything. A serious breach in the colony could require them to need both air and their suits.

“Let’s move!” shouted Taylor.

He slipped his pistol into its thigh holster, picked up his rifle and strode for the doors of ship. The broad ramp down to the docking bay allowed them to disembark five men wide. The Major was surprised to see that not a single official was present to meet them. For a moment this concerned him, until he had to remind himself that as far as the colony was concerned their presence was only in a benign training capacity. He turned back to his men, who looked just as shocked to find a relatively empty docking bay, the only presence being crews and mechanics.

“Get the birds out, were heading for the LZ immediately!”

The Moon colony was an ugly one, an almost endless expansion of grey structures. There were few windows on the buildings, for without a substantial atmosphere they were always at risk of being struck by space debris. The few small windows that existed were so thick that they distorted any view.

“God, why would you come here by choice?” asked Silva.

“Not our problem, Sergeant.”

The fifteen-minute wait for their shuttles was an anticlimactic start to their arrival. For all the mystery of the danger they had been discussing, they half expected to be walking into a battle. It seemed that life went on as usual about the colony. Aside from the stations built on two of the LaGrange Points, the Moon had been the first and only real colony set up outside of Earth. Mars would likely soon follow, as well as many other moons of the Solar System, but not for a few decades.

Travelling across the Moon city was at least a stress free and easy experience. Most people utilised the solar powered tram network to navigate and commute the area. There was no traffic, no congestion. Having no roads kept things simple and with so little air traffic they had very basic operating procedures for transport.

It was just a ten-minute ride to reach the Civic Centre of the city and the government’s own parking facility. No one wore compression suits or oxygen tanks on the colony, unless travelling out of the structures or craft for a specific purpose. They relied on living within atmospherically controlled buildings. Vehicles docked only with sealed dual entry gates and few people ever went outside their artificial environment.

To the marines it was a foreign sight, no crashing seas, mud-ridden fields or craggy mountains. It was not their natural habitat and the more they looked around the less they wanted to be there. Knowing that exposure to the elements could quickly kill a man and that their personal oxygen tanks would only allow survival for half a day or less made it an inhospitable place.

“That’s it, Major, not much to look at!” shouted Rains.

Taylor looked through the cockpit screen at the Civic Centre. It was merely a larger version of the ugly buildings that surround it. The shuttles were a bulky and cumbersome transport compared to the fast attack copters that Rains was used to. He didn’t like them anymore than Taylor liked the colony.

Minutes later their shuttles docked with the building and Taylor stepped out with his company at his back. Everyone they passed looked at them open mouthed. To see a fully armed and armoured marine was unknown to them outside of the news. Just fifty metres into the building they were met by a sharp-suited man who was certainly an aide to someone important.

“Major Taylor!”

“What can I do for you?”

“Sir, I am James Dallah, the Prime minister has asked me to attach myself to your unit during your stay.”

“Good, then you can put out a message for me.”

Taylor tried to continue his stride through the building but the arrogant Dallah put his hand out and stopped the Major. Taylor looked up in disgust at the arrogant little man, but he knew he could not risk a political incident at this stage. Had it been back on base he’d have struck the man down where he stood.

“Dallah was it? Don’t ever touch me again. Get the Commander of UEN forces to a meeting with me, and make it happen within the hour!”

James looked up at the Major who was an imposing figure, and at the endless stream of fully equipped marines behind him. He nodded, but before he could answer the loudspeaker running through the building rang out.

“Major Taylor, please report to the Prime Minister’s Office immediately. Major Taylor to the Prime Minister’s Office.”

“Guess word travels fast,” said Suarez.

“I will lead you to him, please follow me, Major,” said Dallah.

Taylor turned to his men.

“Captain Friday, take up positions throughout the facility, make sure we have men on every floor and at all entrances. Price and Kwori with me.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Major followed the snivelling ministerial aide through the corridors of the building as his marines scattered throughout. The Captain was a quiet man, but eminently capable in any situation and had Taylor’s full confidence. Dallah led the Major and his men into an elevator and up several floors to what were clearly the most elaborate facilities of the building, which was not saying much.

Taylor was continually amazed at how Spartan the Moon colony was. As a marine he was used to roughing it, but his officer’s quarters could only be described as luxurious compared to what he was seeing now. Dallah opened the doors to the secretary’s office that led to the Prime Minister’s office. Two policemen were posted outside and armed with handguns, a lax security compared to what their Earth officials would expect.

Taylor nodded to his two marines, signalling for them to take up positions outside beside the policemen. The guards looked uneasily at the armoured marines. It was their colony policy to not have military personnel in state buildings, let alone with the kind of hardware they were carrying. The Major could see that the officers were desperate to interrupt and stop him entering with a rifle slung across his chest, but they were under orders not to.

Dallah pulled open the doors. The Prime Minister was stood looking out of a thick porthole across the colony. Two men were sitting at his desk, both wearing military uniform. Taylor went through into the office in full battle attire. The Prime Minister turned to greet him, but surprisingly was not at all shocked by his hardware. He nodded to Dallah to shut the door and leave.

“Major Taylor, this is Commander Kelly of the Moon Defence Force, and Colonel Visser of the UEN. I have called you here because we have just received some troubling news, but it would appear you were better informed than any of us,” said Prime Minister Olsen.

“Information has been withheld from us, Major, and that is unacceptable,” said Visser.

“Gentleman, you can complain all you like, but I am a soldier, not a politician. My only concern is the safety of the colony and its people, so let’s cut to the chase.”

“You think you can come in here and treat is like dirt?” shouted Kelly.

“Calm down the lot of you,” said Olsen.

“Major, we’ve just been informed by the UEN President that a large object, which appears to be a space vessel, is on a direct path to us and Earth. Also that they have lost contact with the fleet sent to investigate what they called an ‘incident’ on Mars. What can you tell us?”

“Clearly you now know as much as I do. I suggest you call all soldiers and territorials to arms, we may well have a fight on our hands.”

“A fight? With who and why?”

“I honestly don’t know, Colonel. Whoever is on the way has already attacked a civilian colony and has made no attempt at communication. We can only assume that they will continue with hostile actions.”

A light began to flash on the Prime Minister’s intercom. He quickly tapped the open channel button for hands free.

“What is it?” he snapped.

“Sir, I have a General White on the line for you.”

“Put him through!”

“Prime Minister, I am Major Taylor’s commanding officer and will be your contact from now on.”

“Go on, General.”

“What we suspect to be a vast ship heading your way is a concern, but no longer our first concern. It appears that a smaller vessel has split away and is heading for you at a far greater speed.”

“What are you saying, General? Give it to us straight.”

“Information is still sketchy, but it would appear the main vessel is coming for Earth and this smaller ship to your colony. As a military man, I’d have to say that it is typical of an attack vector.”

“We are talking about a mass scale attack, by who?”

“We simply don’t know. We have not seen anything like the size of these ships before. Nor are we aware of any technology which would allow vessels to travel that fast, not even our fastest craft.”

“I am lost for words, General.”

“Then let me tell you the only thing you can do. Break open your weapons, ensure every man and woman who is capable is armed and ready. We don’t know what to expect, but we do know it’s hostile and bearing on us quickly!”

“Even with your Major’s men we could not muster a thousand soldiers, surely not enough for any kind of defence. What about evacuation to Earth?”

“Negative, with the size of your population and time we have, you wouldn’t be able to get out more than ten percent of the colony. Based on our last estimates, you’ve got about six hours.”

“Christ, how could it come to this?” Kelly asked.

“Thank you, General, I’ll assemble our forces immediately.”

“Good luck, Prime Minister.”

The line switched off and Olsen looked at the others with utter shock about his face.

“Sir, we have to start now,” said Taylor.

“Yes, yes I understand. Form all troops immediately, I’ll leave the details to you men.”

“Commander, Colonel. You surely have a lot of work ahead of you, with your permission I should see to my own men and get them ready.”

“Get to it, Major,” said Kelly.

Taylor rushed out of the room, nodding to his two marines on the way out to follow him. He didn’t even break stride to say a word to them. The Major was shaking his head in dismay. It was obvious that this sort of threat existed days ago and the authorities did nothing. In that time they could have deployed several divisions to the Moon or evacuated the entire colony to the safety of Earth. He tapped his intercom.

“Taylor to Deveron, come in, over.”

“This is Deveron, over.”

“I need a direct line to General White, can you organise that for me?”

“Sir, he is already waiting to speak with you.”

“Put him through.”

The Major continued to stride through the vast Civic building as he was put through to the General.

“Major Taylor, you’re about to be hit by a shit storm, we both know that. We also know that if you are faced with any serious force you’ll never hold out.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Your orders are simple, your number one priority is Prime Minister Olsen. He knows a tremendous amount about Earth’s governments, its workings, strengths and security. He is a major asset to any enemy. You are to protect him at all costs. If possible, in situ, if that proves impossible, evacuate immediately. If there is any risk of him falling into enemy hands, you put two in the chest and one in the head. Do I make myself clear?”

“Absolutely, Sir, and the rest of the civilians?”

“You have your orders, Major. Protect the Prime Minister, bug out if need be. The most valuable assets to us are the Prime Minister’s life and the men at your command!”

The Major looked around to be certain that no one other than his marines could hear as he was horrified at what he was hearing.

“Sir, you want us to leave the civilians and UEN forces to die?”

“Taylor, get this into your head. Big shit is going down, potentially world changing. Tough times call for tough measures, you do what you have to do, more importantly, what you’re ordered to!”

“Affirmative!”

“Okay, keep me in the loop, over and out.”

Taylor reached Captain Friday and Lieutenant Suarez who had set up a command post in one of the quiet offices of the ugly and utilitarian building. He pulled back a chair and slumped into it with a sigh.

“What is it, Sir?” asked Suarez.

Taylor looked up at his officers, five of his command staff were present.

“Shut the door.”

Captain Friday did as ordered, in his usual silent and efficient manner.

“We aren’t here to safeguard the population. Our orders solely revolve around Prime Minister Olsen. His protection is our only concern. If we cannot protect him here, we are to pull out evac him to Earth immediately.”

“And just leave everyone behind?”

“Fact is, Suarez, if it gets to that point, there won’t be much we do can for them.”

The room went silent. None of them could believe that they were being asked to leave civilians behind in the case of disaster.

“I know it sucks, but it’s our job. Now, I want the Deveron docked on the roof of this building. Officially it’ll be there to act as a static gun defence, which will at least in part be true. It will also be ready for an immediate bug out should we need it. We’ve got a few hours, get the men on rotation and make sure everyone gets at least a couple of hours kip. With any luck there’ll be no fighting at all, but let’s be prepared for the worst.”

Hours had passed with little rest for any involved. Major Taylor stood beside the Prime Minister as they watched the hulking vessel approach. The communications officers continued to put out signals in multiple languages, as well as light and sound communication. They had received no response. Mitch tightened his grip around his gun, he had a bad feeling about what they were about to face.

The Prime Minister and all other key command staff were in the emergency command and control centre that was built below the surface of the Civic Centre. It was intended to be a centre for use during environmental disasters or internal threats to the safety of officials. All watched open mouthed at the monitors as the huge vessel soared towards them.

The vessel was the size of a city. You would be hard pressed to explain its actual shape with so many protruding structures that appeared to be fins and aerials. The finish of the vessel was harsh and industrial, as if it was bare ironwork in a factory. It was an ugly ship in every way, but no less imposing. It was elongated with vast engines at its rear and an aggressive and ugly prow resembling a hammerhead shark.

“They’re three miles out, Sir.”

“I don’t want anyone showing any aggressive action at all, let’s not provoke a war,” said Olsen.

They watched in amazement as a huge door opened on the mouth of the vessel, though it was small in scale to the ship. The space glimmered as camouflaged ships poured out in their dozens.

“Look at that, the way they blend into space,” said Kelly.

“Yes, a chameleon camouflage technology, something we never managed to develop to an operational standard. You don’t use such devices when you come in peace,” replied Taylor.

“Easy, Major, let’s not jump the gun.”

“Sir, our comms are being jammed, we’ve gone dark,” said Visser.

“Prime Minister, this is an attack, do not let them invade unopposed!” shouted Taylor.

“Major Taylor, must I remind you who is in charge!”

“Gentleman!” Kelly shouted.

They turned to see the craft descending on their colony. It was impossible to make out the total number as their camouflaging technology meant that they were difficult to spot and count, but it was already at least fifty.

“We must find some way to make contact,” said Olsen.

“Can we access any of the video feeds, Commander?” asked Taylor.

“Only from cameras in and on this building which are connected directly, all others are jammed along with comms.”

They heard a loud striking noise as one of the unidentified vessels landed against the side of the civic building. There was silence for several seconds as every person in the room anxiously awaited their next action.

“I need to investigate that personally, keep the blast doors shut and only open them when I return!” Taylor ordered.

“Major, this could be a first contact situation, I must be there!”

“Sit down, Prime Minister! Everything we know and have seen so far suggests the actions of a hostile force, you will go nowhere near them until I am satisfied!”

Olsen dipped his head. He was angry for being put in his place, but he knew how foolish he was being. It was potentially a very exciting time and he was letting it get the better of him.

“Alright, Major, investigate, but do not in any way show aggression.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Major hit the large button that opened the broad blast doors and stepped out. The foot-thick doors sealed behind him. In front of him stood Lieutenant Wilson and the whole of Alpha platoon, as well as half of his command section.

“Alpha with me, the rest of you, do not let anyone pass but me, I don’t care who they are!”

Taylor took his rifle firmly in both hands and led the platoon directly for the area where they’d heard the ship land. A moment later they could hear heavy cutting equipment being used and a few screams of panic as staff members ran in fear of the harrowing sounds. Their civic building was being breached. Taylor had no idea who the enemy might be, but he knew firmly that they were not the actions of a peaceful people.

A thud rang out as a section of the thick outer wall fell in and collapsed onto the floor. Taylor got up to a jogging pace, making his way as quickly as possible to the breach. Before they could arrive, the strangest sounds began pulsating around the rooms. The marines could hear screams from the vicinity of the breach. At a corner up ahead they saw a person hit with some kind of red energy which appeared to burn into their flesh causing them to drop to the ground in agony, clearly fatally hit. Taylor turned to look at his men who had a mix of shock and fear about their faces. He could hear several heavy footsteps coming down the corridor towards them.

“Wilson, take half your men back the way we came and flank their position, we’ll hold up here.”

“Rules of engagement, Sir?”

“Shoot the bastards, all of them!”

Wilson nodded and quickly peeled off half the men from their group. Taylor signalled for the men to take up defensive positions. He had just over twenty men and no cover at all in the long corridor. All he could do was bring all their weapons to bare and hope that they could destroy whatever came around the corner.

Just a few doors were open along the corridor, but they were of little use as the rooms were all enclosed. If they couldn’t take them in the open then they’d have no choice but to run. The marines took up position like a musket block from an 18 ^ th century war, bunched up and with no shelter.

The tension was like nothing they had ever experienced as they awaited an enemy they had never seen and knew nothing about. The footsteps were a walking pace but loud. Taylor held his carbine at the ready, a high power, sixty-round capacity assault rifle. They had two machine gunners with them with the BRUN light support guns. The back mounted ammunition with direct feeds to the weapons not only made them a formidable sustain fire weapon, but also balanced them rearward so they could be fired from the hip and on the move using the helmet-mounted sighting system.

The time for wondering was over. A huge metal clad monster came into view. It was almost as tall as the ceiling. They could see little but metalwork. The lower body tapered strongly into a form of sprung legs that made it walk more like the pre-historic dinosaurs. Two arms extended from its upper body and held a huge cannon dwarfing anything the marines could carry. No head sprouted from the top of the armoured suit, only a mirrored dome in the centre of the shoulder line. They could only imagine that whatever was inside was peering through the mirrored section at them.

Taylor looked once more at the imposing metal beast standing over the body of its latest victim. He gave no orders and just pulled the trigger. A split second after firing the first round he was joined by the other marines. The iron beast was slowly knocked back by the mass of fire. It tried to turn its weapon to fire but the cannon was struck by multiple hits. One shot fired off, burning through a sidewall.

Finally the heavily armoured monster slumped against the far side wall and collapsed into a heap. Taylor got to his feet and moved cautiously towards the daunting thing. He guessed they must have fired a couple of hundred rounds into the target. Despite not knowing how many were necessary to destroy the beast, it was becoming quickly apparent that they were facing a vastly superior enemy.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Mitch peered around the corner, finding nothing but the bodies of two more civilians. He looked down at the lifeless armoured suit, most of their rounds had bounced right off the thick armour. The suit was in many ways crude and industrial, riveted and bolted together. He could see a handful of entry points where their bullets had penetrated, all in the thinner joint areas and the mirrored section. A blue liquid seeped from the holes in the suit, he had no idea whether it was blood or some fluid from the suit. Gunfire rang out from the other end of the floor from Wilson and his marines. The Major spun around to look at his men who were anxiously waiting for orders.

“Whatever these things are our rifles can only penetrate their armour at the joints and at that mirrored section. When you face another, choose your targets carefully. Our grenade launchers will hopefully do more damage, but we can’t risk their use here, a breach in the structure of the building could be detrimental. Sergeant Silva, send runners out through the building, we are getting the hell off of this rock.”

“Sir, what about the Prime Minister?”

“I’ll take the men of Alpha here, less any runners you need. Set your watches for a fifteen minute countdown, anybody not at the boat by then gets left behind.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Taylor stormed back the way he’d come. Silva peeled off three of the marines as they went, the rest following after the Major. He’d not been without communication links since his blackout training years before. He continued onwards at the head of the marine unit. Based on the size of the vessel that breached the building and the size of the thing that attacked them, he speculated that there would likely be no more than ten intruders in the building.

Minutes later the Major stormed into the hallway before the blast doors of the Prime Minister’s bunker. His command staff stood with their rifles ready to fire, they were highly-strung and ready to shoot. He walked straight past them and up to the camera beside the doors.

“This is Major Taylor, get these doors open!”

Seconds later the huge blast doors slid open and he went into the bunker. The occupants were in shock, having watched civilians being gunned down on camera.

“Prime Minister Olsen. The colony has been compromised, we cannot defend it any longer with the few troops we have, I have orders to evacuate you immediately!”

Olsen did not answer for a few seconds, still traumatised by the incident.

“The Prime Minister will not leave his colony, this is our home!” Kelly shouted.

“It’s not up for discussion, those are my orders. There’s space for anyone here who wants to join us. Sir, please come with us now.”

Colonel Visser reached for his handgun, but Taylor lifted his rifle and took the officer in sight. His marines moved into the bunker beside him, outnumbering the guards in the room.

“You cannot remove the Prime Minister without his permission!”

“You do what you have to do, Colonel, but I’m working on orders from General White. The colony will be overrun in the next few minutes, if we do not go now we may never make it out!”

“And what about the people of this colony?”

“What we can do for them is get you out and to safety, Prime Minister. Your death will not help them in any way. Sir, come with us.”

The Prime Minister staggered forwards, the walk of a man who had lost everything. Visser released his grip on the pistol on his belt and relaxed.

“Colonel, Commander, you coming or not?”

“Sorry, Major, but I have a sworn duty to protect this colony,” said Kelly.

The Colonel nodded in agreement with him. “You get the Prime Minister to safety and make sure you give them hell, we’ll do what we can here.”

The Major turned and led Olsen out of the bunker.

“Form up, we’re moving out!”

The marine unit rushed to the elevators that would take them right up to the docking area of the Deveron. Gunshots echoed around the building. They could not tell whether it was their own marines or the other soldiers stationed there, but they could no longer concern themselves with it. They crammed into the elevators. Taylor kept the Prime Minister close at all times.

It was a thirty-second journey to the upper floor, but it felt much longer. As they approached the top floor they could hear the sound of gunfire getting louder. It quickly became apparent that their fellow soldiers were already engaged in combat outside the docking bay.

The doors slid open and Alpha platoon burst out into a warzone. Eight marines lay dead or dying on the floor, the rest were battling ferociously against five of the armoured attackers. The beasts made no attempt to use any cover. The room had tall ceilings and was a broad open docking area. A few crates on the bay floor were all that provided cover against the onslaught of the beasts.

Taylor left the elevator firing repeatedly. Within seconds of them arriving, his half of Alpha platoon brought down a creature. Seconds later they were joined by Charlie who came up from the stairs. Almost a hundred marines fired repeatedly. Five more of them were hit as the metal beasts toppled to the ground.

Looking around at the docking bay area, Taylor was astonished at the hardship they’d faced. Even when outnumbering the invaders substantially they had taken severe fatalities, including many others wounded. He could smell burning and was drawn to the smouldering on his shoulder. One of the enemy shots had skimmed his shoulder and upper arm protection. It had burnt it down to the layer of his compression suit.

“All aboard! Immediate evac!” he shouted.

Taylor took Prime Minister Olsen’s arm personally and pulled him across the docking bay. The marines hauled their fallen and wounded comrades onto their shoulders dragging them through the docking doors of the Deveron. They were met by Captain Reyes who was armoured up and limping from a shot that had skimmed his leg.

“Get us the hell out of here, Captain, and make sure you man the guns, we’ll need everything we’ve got to make it off this rock!”

“All aboard, Major?”

“We can’t wait any longer Captain!”

Reyes hit his intercom as the marines rushed in through the narrow docking corridor.

“Ensign, prepare for lift-off in twenty seconds!”

“Come on, marines! Move your ass!” shouted Taylor.

The last men leapt aboard as the engines fired up and the Captain shut the docking door and released the corridors. Taylor followed the hobbling Captain to the elevators that led them directly to the bridge. He looked out at the colony, a surprisingly peaceful sight considering the slaughter going on within the structures.

“If they wanted us all dead why didn’t they just carpet-bomb the colony?” asked Reyes.

“No idea, Captain. Right now, I don’t care. Put everything to the engines that you’ve got, we need to move!”

“Already done, Major.”

They quickly soared to a height and were well on their way to Earth. It was fortunate that the Deveron was one of the fastest space-going vessels in usage, as no civilian craft could come close to matching its performance.

“Sir, we’ve got four ships closing on us fast!” called the Ensign.

“Have we got gunners in position?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Tell them to fire at will!”

“Captain, whatever you have, mines, bombs, anything, you need to use it,” said Taylor.

“Sir, I’m having problems tracking them, I can barely make them out on screen!”

The Major and the Captain looked at the live feed of the ships closing in on them, barely more than a glimmer in space. The chameleon technology they used was both magnificent and frightening to watch. The rail guns began to fire, the first few hits did little to deter the attackers but moments later one was hit hard and erupted, its chameleon skin flicking off and they watched silently as it scattered into space in a thousand pieces.

A beam of light surged from the lead vessel and struck their hold, violently shaking the ship. An emergency red beacon began to flash as it become apparent that they had a breach.

“Take them out, Captain, now!”

“Deploy mines on a scatter pattern, everything we have!” shouted Reyes.

Seconds later the enemy craft were enveloped by a scattershot of mines which erupted on impact. The craft were obliterated, leaving nothing more than unrecognisable residue. The bridge crew erupted with ecstasy at their victory.

“Seal that breach, get repair crews down there immediately! We’ll need to be patched up for entry into Earth atmosphere in six hours!” Reyes ordered.

“That it? We free and clear?” asked the Major.

“It would appear so, Sir.”

“Good, keep me notified of any contact on the scanners.”