Battle Earth IX

Chapter 13

“He did that for you?” Taylor asked as they rushed through empty corridors to find their way back. He had nothing but his sidearm in hand and prayed they would not meet any Mechs.

“Yes, he owed me a great debt. One he has now paid.”

“He knew we couldn’t win?”

“Yes,” Jafar replied.

“You knew we could not beat him?”

“Erdogan is the most dangerous of my people to ever live in many generations.”

“So that’s a no?”

Jafar didn’t respond. It was a terrifying thought to know that one day he would surely have to face Erdogan once again. Taylor had never felt so outclassed by any opponent in his life, and he had fought some of the best.

“Next time we face him, we go in prepared and able to win,” he added.

They carried on room after room and corridor after corridor. Jafar seemed to know where he was going, and Taylor simply had to trust him. Finally, to his surprise they reached some of their Company and the Mastiff they had come in on. Parker rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around him, but as he held her firmly, he noticed Jones over her shoulder.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he let her go. Then he noticed Coco standing with him.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he added.

“Good to see you, too, Colonel,” she replied.

“Our boat is totally out of action. We aren’t getting out that way,” said Jones.

Taylor saw they hadn’t taken many casualties and so could already tell they weren’t going to be able to fit everyone aboard.

“You send out a pick-up beacon?” he asked.

“Yes, we’re awaiting pick-up.”

Taylor looked down at the watch on his datapad.

“Jesus, we’re cutting it a bit fine.”

“Time you head off. We’ll wait for the boat.”

Taylor didn’t want to agree, but he knew there was little more he could do.

“We can cram in about forty of your people. It won’t be comfy, but it’s a start.”

“Much appreciated, and I would ask that you please take my wife with you.”

“No, I will stay with you,” she insisted.

Taylor could see the concern in her face, but he could also see the determination in Jones’. One way or the other, she was going with him.

“Please no,” she pleaded, “I just got you back. I can’t lose you again.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” he replied, “Now, we will get off this boat, but I want to know my wife and son are safe at the first opportunity. We may have to go out into the black to get a lift, and you don’t even have the gear. I need to know you are safe, and I don’t have to worry about you any longer. You are going with the Colonel. You will be safe with him.”

She opened her mouth to protest but could see in his eyes that it was no good. Finally, as a tear dropped down her cheek, she nodded in acceptance. He turned around to Taylor.

“Get her to safety, both of them, you promise me?”

He looked deadly serious. Taylor stretched out his hand in friendship to confirm it, and Jones took it.

“She will make it. You have my word.”

He looked at his datapad once more before looking to the others who eagerly awaited his word.

“Let’s load up. We’re out of here!”

Cheers rang out as they rushed aboard the Mastiff.

“You know you look like hell, Mitch,” Jones joked.

He nodded in agreement.

“So did you get him?”

Taylor shook his head.

“Losing your edge?”

Taylor smiled. He leaned in close.

“Erdogan is like nothing we have ever seen or faced. You get your ass off this hulking piece of shit ASAP, you hear?”

Jones was surprised at how defeated Taylor looked, and he was starting to understand how serious their situation was.

“We’re about to enter a new phase in the history of humanity, and I want you there for it,” he added.

He turned, took hold of Coco, and led her into the Mastiff. She pulled free and looked back one last time, blowing a kiss to Jones as she continued to weep. Taylor pulled her along once again inside the ship. He put her into one of the bays and strapped her in before heading back to the pilot’s cabin.

“We ready to go?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Then take us out.”

“Aye, aye, Sir.”

Taylor looked around to see the pilot flew via a series of cameras that showed all angles of the exterior of the bullish craft. He fired up the engines as the doors sealed shut. They were crammed shoulder to shoulder throughout. A few moments later, they lifted off from the deck and soared out through the gaping hole they had created.

“Any news on the fleet?”

“Yes, Sir, whatever that alien did to interfere with the enemy systems, we have regained full communications.”

“And how are they doing?”

He did not respond.

“Well, come on, tell me.”

As they broke free of the enemy vessel, he could see some of the extent of it to himself. There were floating hulks of vessels all around of both human and alien construction. A few battles still raged between those craft still able to fight, and he could see several hundred vessels approaching from Earth’s atmosphere.

“Is that all that made it?” he asked in horror.

The pilot nodded. Taylor shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it now; just hope Jafar and Aysen’s efforts had worked. He looked at Earth and was simply in awe of its beauty, despite all of the horror going on at ground level. From space, it looked picturesque.

“Are we really leaving?” the pilot asked.

“Leaving or dying,” he replied.

He looked up to Parker.

“Get Dubois a suit.”

“Will she need it?”

“No idea, but let’s play it safe.”

“How long?” he asked Jafar.

“Any moment now.”

Taylor took a deep breath as he prayed for the plan to work. He closed his eyes and looked away.

“Sir, I’m getting some readings… what the hell is that?”

A beam of light ten metres wide surged from Erdogan’s ship. He looked up in time to see it. For a moment, they all thought it was a weapon. But the light stopped and expanded out into a huge sphere that began to spin. It looked just like the entrance of a space gateway, only without the framework.

“Have you done it, is that it?” he asked Jafar.

Jafar nodded.

“That’s it. We’ve got a way out of here!”

A few cheered, but most realised that survival meant leaving Earth, and that was a terrifying thought. He tapped his communicator.

“Jones, come in, Jones.”

“Colonel? What’s happening?”

“We’ve got our way out of here. What’s the ETA on your ride?”

“Gunboat just offered us a ride. It’s en route.”

“Good, get the hell out of there now. We’re getting out of here.”

“Affirmative, over and out.”

Jones looked back to those who remained with him. Five of them were firing back down a hallway at Mechs advancing on them. The rest eagerly looked to him for the order to leave.

“That’s it. Boat is incoming, but we can’t get aboard. We’re making a jump for it. Let’s go!”

None of them moved, as they couldn’t believe the time had finally come.

“Come on, go!”

They rushed several rooms over to the breach and looked out to space. They saw the ship approaching. A fast and agile gunship with limited stowage capacity.

“It’ll have to do,” he said. He took the leap and used his boosters to accelerate towards the incoming vessel, which banked and came to a standstill ready for them.

As he floated through space, he looked at Earth just as Taylor had and marvelled at its beauty. “It was worth fighting for, wasn’t it?” he asked through his intercom. Nobody responded, but he knew they felt it too. The large side door opened on the gunboat ahead, and Jones was first through and turned to wait at the door to see everyone safely aboard.

“Come on, come on! Come on!”

The last of them was through. He hit the door shut button and felt the artificial gravity systems take effect. He rushed through onto the bridge to find the Captain awaiting him.

“Glad to give you a ride, Captain Jones.”

“Much appreciated. Now let’s get a move on.”

“With pleasure.”

He looked out to see the fleet approaching the jump gate.

“It’s really happening? We really did it?”

Pulses and missiles continued to race before them as the two sides continued to duke it out. He could see the Mastiffs towards the rear of the fleet, but they were a distance off.

* * *

“We’ve got incoming!”

Taylor looked at the scanners at a single craft soaring towards them. It was small for a Mech craft, not a lot bigger than the Mastiff they were flying aboard.

“They’re not firing on us?” asked the pilot in surprise.

“No,” Taylor replied, “They mean to board us.”

“What? Why?”

“Because they value whatever we have aboard more alive than dead.”

“What, you?”

Taylor shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter, but count yourself lucky. They shoot us out of the sky, and we’re finished. They board us, and they got a hundred plus angry marines ready to kick some ass.”

The ship rocked as they felt the enemy vessel crash into them from above and then clamp onto their hull.

“All right, let’s great ready to deal some pain!”

He grabbed a rifle from a rack nearby and holstered an Assegai from the same source. It felt good to know he was once more facing an enemy he knew he could beat. He knew now that were he ever to face Erdogan again, he had to be a lot smarter about it, but right now, he was happy to take an easy fight.

Sparks flew from the ceiling above, and they parted out as much as they could, waiting with rifles held at the ready. Taylor grabbed a shield from the rack and waited, now still and calm. Twenty seconds was all it took them to cut through the upper hull, and a two-metre square section of the hull collapsed down and landed between them.

All was silent for a moment until a small metal object dropped through the breach.

“Grenade!” Parker shouted.

They ducked for cover, and Taylor looked away and sheltered behind his shield. The cabin lit up with a blinding flash, and their shields only provided a little cover. Taylor was slightly disorientated, but he had been saved from the worst of it. He was quickly up on his feet in time to see the first Mech descend through the hole and land in the middle of them.

There was no safe way to use projectile weapons and so dropped his rifle and advanced on the first creature, drawing out his Assegai. It carried close quarter weaponry as he was now becoming familiar with.

“Come on, you bastard!” he yelled.

He slammed into the Mech with his shield and drove it back against several of his comrades, who stabbed it in the back. It dropped dead without him having to do a thing. He turned around to see another Mech descend into their Mastiff, and one after the other they dropped in.

It was a futile attack, for the weight of numbers aboard the Mastiff swamped the attackers, and it was a killing frenzy. Within a minute, Taylor was coated in blue blood, and he was fully indulging in the pain and suffering he could inflict. It felt good to be winning once again.

Over twenty Mechs had fallen to the bloodthirsty forces of Taylor and his Inter-Allied when finally they stopped coming. Taylor climbed up on to the pile of Mech bodies and stood below the centre of the breach.

“Is that all you’ve got!” he screamed.

No response came. Then finally the clamps of the ship above began to release. Taylor pulled out a grenade and armed it before launching it up through the breaching door way. They saw a flash above them; the grenade blew just seconds after they had broken loose.

“That’s right, that’s what you get!” he screamed again.

He looked over to Parker and could see she did not share his faith.

“You’re not invincible,” she said.

“We’re the Immortals, and we always will be!” he yelled for all to hear.

A few of the marines around him placed sealing pods over the breach that rapidly plugged the hull. But as they did, they felt the ship rock. A pulse had struck it. The flood of excitement vanished when they realised how vulnerable they were. Another two impacts rocked the ship but seemed to have no effect. The Mastiffs were tough, but they all knew they could only take so much.

Taylor rushed over to the pilot to look out across his viewing screens.

“I thought they wanted you alive?” he asked.

“Yeah, well, we just proved to them that ain’t gonna happen. Guess they reverted to plan B. How long till we reach the gateway?”

“Three minutes, Sir.”

“That’s a long time to be taking such a beating.”

He looked on the screens at a dozen alien craft on their tail. One of them blew up without warning.

“What the hell was that?” Taylor asked.

“Looks like our guardian angel,” replied the pilot.

* * *

“Come on, take them out!” Jones hollered.

They were hot on the tail of the craft chasing Taylor’s Mastiff.

“We’re running low on ammunition,” the ship’s Captain said to Jones quietly.

“This is all you got?”

“We’ve been fighting since this began. We’re the only ones left out of a squadron of five. I know you’ve been fighting hard, but so have we.”

Jones was sympathetic, but he looked back to the screens and saw enemy pulses pounding the Mastiff. They fired a burst of cannon fire and launched missile after missile, which knocked out six of the Mech ships, but as they targeted the last of them, gunfire strafed their vessel. Jones was thrown onto his back and many of the standing crew were launched across the bridge. The Captain was thrown against a console, and his head cracked on the edge. He was briefly knocked unconscious with a deep bleeding cut across his forehead. Warning lights flashed, and a fire broke out on the bridge.

The crew quickly contained it, but the Captain looked to Jones in horror.

“Weapon systems down, and we’ve got multiple hull breaches. We’re losing fuel. We’ve got power for now and that’s it,” said the pilot.

“How long until we get to the gateway?”

“Two minutes, Sir!”

“Get me a direct line to that Mastiff!”

Sparks flew out from many of the consoles, and they could all see they couldn’t take much more. Another pulse struck the hull and blew a hole through. The pulse struck three British paras and killed them instantly. Another pulse tore a hole in the far side of the hull.

“We can’t survive going through the gateway, can we?” Jones asked.

The pilot looked around and shook her head, “I don’t believe so, Sir.”

“Get me a link with that ship!”

A moment later Taylor appeared before him.

“Good you’re okay, Charlie.”

“Yeah, sort of, you?”

“We just need you to keep doing what you’re doing. You’re the only thing cutting us a path to the gateway.”

Jones dipped his head.

“What is it?”

“Weapon systems are down, and we’ve got multiple breaches.”

Taylor was knocked aside from several more pulses striking their ship and almost lost his footing. Jones looked out of the cockpit. There was just one Mech ship firing on the Mastiff.

“What are you saying, Charlie?”

“We can’t make it, but you can.”

Taylor looked stunned. It was the worst thing he had heard in years. His stomach churned, and he felt worse than he had at the prospect of death at the hands of Erdogan.

“No, don’t tell me that! You’re gonna make it.”

“We’re out of time, Mitch. You’re out of time. You can’t take much more of this.”

Jones looked over to the pilot.

“Put us on a collision course. All power to the engines, and give us everything you’ve got.”

The pilot wept but did not argue. They all knew they had no chance left anymore.

“Changing course, all power to engines. We’re gonna nail these sons of bitches, Sir.”

“Don’t do this, Charlie.”

He was close to tears himself. “I’ve lost too many friends since this began. Don’t let me lose you.”

“Twenty seconds to impact, Sir,” said the pilot.

The gunfire continued to smash into the Mastiff.

“We can take it. Don’t you worry about us,” added Taylor.

Coco had heard his desperate words and appeared beside the Colonel.

“What are you doing?” she pleaded.

“I need you and our son to live. I need you all to live. This is the end for me, but you can keep on living for us all. I love you Coco. And Mitch, you better look after her, you hear?”

Taylor nodded in agreement, but Coco collapsed into tears. They all wanted just a few more seconds to say a few more words, but there was no time left. The gunship plunged into the Mech craft and vanished in an explosion that erupted as the two collided.

The screen Taylor and Coco were watching went black. They were speechless as they were left in horror. Neither of them could believe what they had just seen. She collapsed into his shoulder, and he could do nothing but wrap his arms around her as she shook from crying. He couldn’t find a single word of comfort, as he could find none to console himself.

Taylor looked up. Parker was staring the two of them. She had been there the whole time and shook her head in disbelief. A few moments later the screens flashed with bright light as they entered the gateway. They knew they had made it now, but they could feel little relief as their hearts sank at their losses.

The journey through the gateway wasn’t long at all, but it felt like a lifetime as they licked their wounds. Coco didn’t let go of Taylor the whole time. Finally, they came out the other side, and the screens returned to normal. Once more they could see the blackness of space and the fleet before them.

The gateway closed behind them, but they could see three Mech ships on a direct collision course with the Washington. The flagship was still burning and had been badly beaten in the battle. Taylor looked at the enemy vessels and forgot Jones for a moment.

“Set a course for the Washington. Get us there now!”

The pilot did not hesitate. The enemy vessels plunged into the Washington, barely slowing down.

“We can’t fight every battle,” Parker said.

“No, Eli, but look at them. A couple of hundred ships left to fight for the human race. That’s it. That’s all we saved. Now we have to protect what is left.”

They raced for the Washington and were less than a minute behind the Mech invaders.

“Put us in right here,” said Taylor, pointing to a particular area on the ship.

“What, why?” asked the pilot.

“Quickest way to the bridge. It’ll be where they’re heading.”

The pilot asked no more questions. Taylor looked down for a moment at Parker. She was now comforting Dubois, and he was appreciative of the fact.

“You look after her, you hear?”

“We can’t stay here. It won’t be safe.”

“No, you’re coming with us all the way. You just stay safe.”

She knew he was showing concern more for Dubois than her, and agreed as a result. The pilot brought them up alongside an access door of the Washington, and Taylor opened the doors leading to the entry point,

“We haven’t got access codes, have we?” Silva asked.

“Access codes?” Taylor asked, almost raising a smile.

He pulled the pin on two grenades and dropped them down the boarding tunnel. An explosion rang out, and without even checking, he leapt out and into the tunnel. He didn’t say a word to the others, knowing he didn’t need to. A hundred and thirty Inter-Allied personnel were at his back, and he was more determined than ever.

When he went after Erdogan, he was fighting for himself; now he was fighting for the survival of the human race. He knew the ship’s layout well, after having spent plenty of time aboard, and led the boarding team quickly towards the bridge.

“Did we really just do this?” asked Silva, “Jump into an unknown system?”

“Unknown, but a damn sight safer than where we came from.”

It was hard to disagree.

They heard gunfire and screaming up ahead, and Taylor knew they had come to the right place. He did not slow down nor show any caution. He advanced with determination and his shield held before him. He took a turn into the main access corridor to the bridge and found himself facing the backs of a dozen Mechs. Taylor squeezed the trigger on his rifle and kept it down as he advanced and strafed the Mechs.

Eight were cut down by the time his magazine ran dry, but he did not stop. Taylor rushed for them and drew his Assegai. He leapt at the first one, crushing its own weapon against its body with his shield. Taylor drove his weapon deep into the creature’s chest. Without breaking stride, he continued on, spun under a Mech’s pulse cannon, and stabbed to the leg. He drew the Assegai out and thrust it through the armoured faceplate as it keeled over.

Silva rushed the other Mech beside him and stabbed it a half dozen times. By the time he had finished, Taylor’s Assegai lay embedded in the final creature. Still he did not stop. He strode aboard the bridge, finding many of the crew huddled inside with small arms. They looked terrified.

“Who is in charge here?” he yelled.

Admiral Huber stepped up from behind the operations table.

“Well, well, Colonel Taylor. This is no surprise at all. The whole World falls apart, but somehow it’s always you still standing. Thank you.”

Jafar and Silva paced in beside him. Taylor turned back to them.

“Organise hunting parties to sweep the vessel and assist the marines aboard.”

Silva acknowledged, rushing off to carry out the orders. Taylor turned back to see Huber was still stunned.

“So, you are in charge of this fleet still?”

He nodded.

“Then I guess you are humanity’s new leader. All of our lives are in your hands.”

It was a lot to take on board, and Taylor couldn’t believe he was even saying it. He stepped up closer to Huber.

“Are we safe?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are we safe? Any sign of Mech forces in the system?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t had time to check.”

Taylor waited for him to do so. He turned around to the crew. “Get a display of the surrounding area up, and let’s see what we’re dealing with.”

The whole bridge lit up, becoming a giant 3d display screen. Several planets could be seen before them and a number of moons.

“And what are our numbers, Admiral?”

“Ships?”

“People,” Taylor answered him, “This isn’t about fighting personnel. It’s about people, so how many did we save?”

Huber turned to his ensign.

“I want reports from all ships immediately…number of souls aboard.”

The ensign relayed the command, and they all stood and waited. It took almost fifteen minutes for the reports to come in, and they remained mostly silent until that time. Huber looked at the report and ushered Taylor over to see it too.

“You need to address the fleet,” he whispered to Huber.

The Admiral looked surprised. Addressing civilians was an alien concept to him.

“Sir, this is the human race now. They need leadership. They need hope.”

Huber opened a channel to the fleet.

“This is Admiral Huber, commander of the fleet…I…I…I want to commend you all. You have made it. We have made it. Initial reports suggest we number three million souls across two hundred and eight vessels. This was our mission, and what I can tell you is, mission successful!”

Cheers rang out from the bridge crew, but Taylor could not join in. He had lost too much to feel any sense of hope. Huber looked to him for answers, and he only glared back. It was Huber’s job now, and he knew it. He went back to the comms to address the millions of humans now clinging to his every word.

“We are three million. We are the survivors. We are the resistance! Together we will continue onwards. Hope, hope is what we have now. Remember that.”

He ended the transmission, for he was at a loss for words.

“Well done,” Taylor said.

“I’m not the man for this,” he pleaded, his voice barely audible.

“You are our leader now, Admiral. None of us ever could have seen or wanted this, but we do what we have to do. I have faith in you.”

He tapped the Admiral on the shoulder and walked off the bridge. As he reached the corridor outside, he found Parker and Dubois sitting amongst the dead Mechs. Parker appeared relieved and joyous that they had both survived, but Dubois looked like she’d just lost everything in her life. Taylor knelt down beside her.

“Sergeant Dubois…Coco.”

She looked up to him.

“He did this for all of us, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Charlie Jones was the finest man I ever knew, and will remain so in our memories. We have survived to tell his story, and you have survived. You are the future. You are carrying his child, the child of Charlie Jones and Coco Dubois. Just imagine what a soldier he will make.”

She looked horrified.

“No, not a soldier, never a soldier.”

Taylor remained silent, for he knew he would win her over yet. He knew any child of Jones could be nothing but a fighter. He stooped in closer and embraced her like a sister. He couldn’t yet come to terms with the loss of Charlie, but it gave him hope that there would be another Jones.

He got back up and strode onto the bridge. “I want to address the fleet,” he stated.

Huber didn’t know how to take it, so simply agreed. Taylor’s presence was terrifying. He was coated in blood and dirt, and his reputation was well beyond celebrity status. Huber opened a channel.

“This is the Admiral speaking. I have here with me Colonel Taylor of the Inter-Allied Regiment. The Immortals. He’s asked to speak a few words, but first I would like to personally thank him for his efforts. Colonel, please go on.”

Taylor took a deep breath. He couldn't believe what had happened in so few days. They had seemingly been sure footed on Earth one morning and in another star system by the end of the day.

Where the hell do we go from here? he asked himself, but he knew he couldn't show so much doubt and fear to those who relied on him.

“This sucks. You know it does. I know it does. But suck it up. This is the life we have been given. It is our duty now to protect the human existence. The enemy threw everything they had at us, and yet here we are, still here. Earth is our world, and let me promise you, we will take it back. Remember that. Everything we do from now on is to get our homes back. Fight for it. Fight with everything you have got.”

His voice faltered slightly, but then he spoke with clarity and conviction, remembering all those they had lost.

”There is hope. There is always hope.”