Battle Earth VII

Chapter 11

Taylor stood over Rains as he powered up Adrienne, and they began to lift off the ground. The ship shook a little, and her engine exhaust ports crackled in a way that made Eddie grit his teeth and wince.

"Never thought I'd see the day where you wanted me to fly a coffin to war," he said.

"She ain't so bad. She's got character, you have to admit."

"Oh, yeah, character certainly, just no positive qualities. This is one old girl falling apart at the seams. She should be laid to rest at a junk yard, or maybe donated to a trailer park."

Taylor smiled. Rains’ whining always entertained him. He turned and looked to the other copter crews that had come to his aid, now sitting as passengers the same as the rest of them. They carried carbines from their craft but had no armour to speak of.

"Your job is to guard this bird wherever you go, got it?"

They looked as suspicious of the ship as of Taylor, but nodded in acceptance.

"Yes, Sir."

Silva and Parker stepped up beside him. They were now clearly looking to him for answers.

"We'll split what we have into three squads. I'll take first, Silva, second, Parker you get third. I'll leave it to you to organise."

"Yes, Sir, but what about the mission?"

"What about it, Silva?"

"You got any idea how we're gonna find this Armand?" asked Parker.

"I know someone who can help. Just waiting to hear back."

"Bit of a long shot, don't you think?" asked Silva.

"You should be used to it by now. We lived on long shots during the war."

He shrugged. It was hard to disagree.

"Sir, we're coming up on the border. What do you want me to do?" asked Rains.

"Stay well away from the north and Belgium, cross near Saarbrucken, and remember, this is a civilian transport. Follow no military protocols, and give no implication of them either. That shouldn't be too hard for you."

"No, Siree."

"You think they'll just let us cross over?"

"There have been open borders here for a few hundred years, Parker. Until war is declared, I see no reason for that to change."

"Apart from France departing the UEN?" asked Silva.

Taylor shrugged. He could only hope they'd make it through.

Rains looked back at them.

"What's our story for being here?"

"University sightseeing."

"War's breaking out, and you think that story will hold?"

"That war hasn't broken out yet. As far as most people are concerned, this is just the usual strife in the World. Until it hits their doorsteps, they won't pay it much heed. If they do thermal identity checks as we pass by, I want it to look right we having this many aboard and little cargo."

"Sir, we got a call coming in," replied Rains, "It's anonymous and secure."

"Put it through to my pad."

Taylor lifted up the device and accepted the call. A projection appeared before them of a UEN officer they all recognised, Lukas Becker. But gone were his Captain’s pips, replaced with a single one wrapped with a laurel.

"Major?" asked Taylor, "Congratulations on the promotion."

"And yours, Colonel, but shall we get down to business?"

"Certainly."

"You are the last person I expected to hear from at this time, and your recent stints in the World news have not endeared you to many hearts. And yet, out of the blue, I get a request from you that is most bizarre, and to fulfil would be a complete breach of my duty. Would you like to expand any further?

"I wish I could explain it all in a way which would make some sense and you could believe, but honestly I can't. You know me Becker, and you know where my loyalties lie. What I am telling you, is the information I need from you is vital in maintaining the defence of Earth from future conflict."

"And what of this conflict growing now?"

"It's all linked. I know it's crazy, all of it, but you'll just have to trust me."

Becker shook his head. They both knew it was asking a lot.

"You want the location of a high ranking government official of my country, and I can only imagine that means you want to either kill or kidnap him, because it surely is not for a conversation."

Taylor nodded in agreement. "It's not about loyalty to one’s country any more, Becker, but loyalty to Earth and the human race."

"And if I do this for you, and my involvement is ever known, it will be the end of my career; the end of my life. I'll be behind bars till the day I die."

"I promise you that if we do not succeed in getting hold of Armand, your life will be over soon enough, anyway."

"You're expecting a lot of faith, based on little information or fact."

"Yes, and that's all I can tell you at this point. You know I'd do anything to protect this world. You know me. I'd only come to you with such a big ask if there was no other way."

"And if I say no?"

"I can't force you to help, but if you don't, well... I guess we're fucked."

Becker looked away as he thought about it. Taylor could see Parker watching anxiously to his side.

"Come on, Major, you're our only hope," Silva pleaded.

He finally looked up to address Taylor.

"Colonel, a lot has been asked of me, by you and many countless others over the last few years, but nobody has ever asked me to betray my country. I'll give you the information you ask for because I trust you, but do not let me regret it, or God help me, I will claw my way out of whatever hell I am imprisoned and chase you to the end of the galaxy."

Taylor smiled back. "Glad to see we understand one another. There'll come a time where we stand beside one another in combat again, Major. Sooner than you think, I suspect."

"All right. Councillor Armand is currently at an isolated schloss in the mountains near Mittenwald."

"Schloss?" asked Parker.

"Like a castle or something?" Silva joined in.

"Yes, that kind of thing," replied Becker, "I have heard of this facility in the past year. Nobody I ask about it seems to know exactly what goes on there. Clearance is required to go there. Clearance from above my grade."

"What are you saying this place is?"

"Honestly, Colonel, I do not know. It is simply called Schloss Mittenwald, despite being a number of kilometres from the town. I am not entirely sure what it used to be before this title. Little attempt has been made to hide its location, only what goes on inside."

"Do you know anything about it at all?"

"Sorry. Any contacts I ask about it have nothing more to add, but many are suspicious about what goes on there.”

“Why?”

“Ships regularly visit the Mittenwald, but nobody has any idea why, but…”

“But what, Major?”

“…I don’t know. I hear strange things about the place, rumours, and each time different. Nobody seems to know for certain, but I don’t like the sound of the place. I’d avoid it at all costs.”

“Negative. If Armand is there, that’s where we’re heading. Thank you for this, Major. But I must now ask you forget it all. At some distant day in the future we may we meet and answer all of each other’s questions, but until that day, protect yourself. We never had this conversation. You do not support the ideals of Mitch Taylor, and you don’t go looking into this Mittenwald place, you hear me? I’ve lost enough friends over the years. You stay safe.”

“I hope you are wrong about the Councillor. I pray that you are wrong, Colonel. But if you are correct, then good luck, and may we meet again in happier times.”

The transmission ended, and Taylor dipped his head, feeling the heavy burden placed upon them all. He turned and looked to see that most of the marines had heard the conversation and were looking to him for answers.

“So here we are, at the point of no return. We cross that border and we’re enemy combatants. It’s gonna be dangerous, no doubt. You know what we’re after, and you have some idea of how vital it is. Are you still with me?”

“Sir, yes, Sir!” they screamed.

It was all he needed to hear. He turned back to Rains who already knew what he was about to ask.

“We’re passing over the border now. I have submitted our flight logs and declared our intentions.”

“Think they’ll buy it?”

“A few weeks ago, sure. Now, we can only hope.”

Taylor looked out of the cockpit at the border, but there were no unique characteristics dividing the countries, much like crossing a state border back home. They all waited silently. Taylor half expected to be shot down, but as he held his breath, they passed over without any drama.

“Welcome to Germany!” yelled Eddie.

It was a small relief.

“How close can you get us to this schloss?”

“Area is a popular tourist destination, so I reckon with the flight path we put in, we can get within a few klicks before they start asking questions.”

“Good, then set a path for a location that does not draw attention. You can divert to the schloss at the last possible moment, and bring us in low.”

“That’s it? That’s the great plan?”

“Can’t say we had months to plan this one, Eddie. We’re doing what we have to do to get the job done.”

“Which means putting my ass in the firing line, as usual?”

“Damn right, but you only have to get us there. It’s the rest of us who have to go down and get the job done.”

“Hell, yeah, I just do the flying.”

The rest of the journey seemed to take hours. They sweated it out, expecting to be shot out of the sky at any moment. In reality, it was a short journey, even in the old hulk barely managing to stay in the sky.

“You know if it was anyone else, we’d say you were crazy?”

“I wish I was, Eli,” he replied dryly.

More than anything, he wished he had the support of the Inter-Allied troops that fought beside him during the war, but this day, he commanded just a single platoon.

“You’ll be taking Corporal Riley with you as your second-in-command,” said Parker.

Taylor looked over, and the Corporal nodded in acknowledgement. Taylor hadn’t seen him since soon after Demiran’s fall in North Africa. Riley’s skin was as dark as a human could be, and he stood a good head height over the Colonel. Taylor had known him since he was a fresh recruit and had never paused to share a word with the man. He bore a scar along the line of his chin and reaching up to his mouth, with burn marks still healing on his cheek. Gone was the rookie Taylor had known, replaced by a hardened veteran the likes of which Inter-Allied had become famed for.

“We got much of a plan?” asked Silva.

Taylor rubbed his forehead as he thought it over, but he couldn’t lie to them.

“We’re going in with no intel, and no idea of what we face. I can’t say there’s much of a plan beyond get in there and seize Armand. Fire only if fired upon. I don’t want to kill a single human, but I will if I must. As you all must. Powers operate on this World the likes of which none of us fully understand. All that matters here is we get Armand, you get me?”

They all nodded. The tone had changed now. They were bearing down on a kind of war none of them had ever wanted and had long forgotten they had ever trained for; war against humans.

“ETA two minutes, Colonel! You sure you want to do this, now? Once we start this, God knows what kind of hell we’re gonna bring down on ourselves!”

“That’s beyond our control now. I figure we got about thirty to forty minutes before any reinforcements come our way. It’ll be the last thing they expect, so we can only hope they aren’t prepared for it.”

“And if they are ready and waiting?”

“Let’s just hope they ain’t.”

The last few moments passed quickly as they banked hard and headed for the Mittenwald schloss. Twenty seconds later a transmission came in. It was in English but with a strong German accent.

“Unidentified transport, you are approaching controlled air space of the UEN armed forces. Please alter course immediately.”

Rains turned, looking to Taylor for answers.

“Tell him anything to buy time.”

“This is the Adrienne. We’re experiencing some problems with flight controls and cannot alter course. We’ve got nothing but students on board and are looking for a safe place to out down if we can.”

The line went quiet for a moment. They all waited for the response, which finally came.

Adrienne, you are cleared to pass over Schloss Mittenwald at your current course and put down two klicks east of our position. Local emergency services will aid you on arrival.”

“Uhhh, thanks Mittenwald, appreciate it.”

Taylor smiled. He knew no other pilot could have sounded as confused and convincing as a civilian in distress, but Rains’ acting himself pulled it off perfectly.

“Thirty seconds!”

“On your feet!” cried Taylor.

The marines jumped at his order, but they looked no less keen to do what needed to be done.

“Remember this is like every other mission we ever did. We’ll get it done, and we’ll get out alive!”

They felt the reverse thrusters kick in and splutter as they began to slow. A voice came over the comms again.

“Adrienne, continue on your current course, or you will be fired upon.”

They came to a hover, and Taylor pulled open the door.

“Another day in the Corps!”

Without another word, he leapt from the door into the open air. As he began to free-fall, the first thing that struck him was the beautiful scenery, vast cavernous valleys along the southern border of Germany and over into Austria. They were jumping into combat, and yet all around them seemed at peace. He looked up to see the others were close behind him, but as the last marine was at the door, a missile soared up from a hidden location below.

The Adrienne took evasive action, but the missile clipped the side of the hull and exploded. Taylor watched in horror as the ship soared off into the distance with smoke pouring from her.

“Rains get out of there!” he screamed down the comms.

There was no response. He saw the ship vanish between two peaks in the distance and could only hope for the best.

“Good luck, Eddie,” he whispered.

His boosters kicked in, and he looked down. He was descending gently to the top of a rocky outcrop beside a vast structure. Dust bellowed out around his feet, and he could see the building before them was far from what he had expected.

From a distance it appeared to be hundreds of years old. Up close, it was of modern materials and only designed to appear the way it did to fool those from afar.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” said Silva, “Hell of a place to live.”

They looked up. The wall was almost twenty metres high. Only half of the marines had hit the ground, but Taylor was already leaping back into the air with his boosters. He landed down on the edge of the roof, and an automated gun rotated to take aim at him. He turned quickly and fired. The domed mount jammed, and he put a few more rounds through it to be certain.

“Charges!”

“Two of his squad slapped magnetic charges down onto the steel roof and took cover. The explosion rocked the rooftop below their feet. Taylor jumped to his feet to see a metre-wide hole burrowed in the roof.

“Damn, that’s serious armour!” Riley called out. Two more explosions ripped through the rooftop further along, and Mitch looked up just in time to see Parker jump in through the breach without any fear or hesitation. He wanted to be with her, but he knew the mission must come first before all else. He leapt forward and into the hole. As he hit the floor, a pulse struck his chest armour, and another zipped past his shoulder. He responded quickly by lifting his rifle and firing two shots at his attacker.

The dust was settling. They had jumped right into a guard station where an operator manned security feeds throughout the building. He looked down at the lifeless body of the man. It was the first human life he had ever taken. Taylor had never thought for a moment about striking a man, or even shooting those who deserved it, but shooting to kill one left him cold and feeling a little sick.

It was in this moment, he truly realised this was the sort of war he’d read so much about; the wars that had turned men crazy, and yet he’d always wished for. Riley landed beside him and was as fixated on the body as he was.

“Is this is what it’s come to?”

“I wish I could say otherwise, but we must do what we have to do.”

He stepped up to the console and looked at the screens that displayed cameras all around the facility.

“Goddamn place is huge,” said Riley.

“Yep.”

“Shit.”

Taylor looked at where Riley was pointing and spotted the unmistakeable outline of a Mech standing guard in one of the corridors. It was fully kitted in the armour they had seen during the war but carried a weapon resembling the Reitech equipment they used.

“They really are using Mechs?”

“Yeah, and that’s just the start of it. Come on, Riley.”

He rushed out the corridor, half expecting to find a line of Mechs, but it was quiet.

“Where are the guards?”

“We’re not at war, remember. I bet they only got a skeleton crew guarding this place. Let’s seize the opportunity while we still can.”

He started a countdown on his watch of thirty minutes. Thirty minutes to find a single man within a complex they had no plans for or idea of his location. He heard an explosion in the distance and knew it would be Silva breaching on his right flank. He carried on forwards as an alarm sounded. It rang out through the entire complex.

As they reached the end of the corridor, it opened out into a hangar bay with a number of small aircraft laid up within a fully enclosed and sealed space. It was hidden from the air.

"That's the Councillor's ship."

He instantly recognised the lavish vessel he had recently travelled aboard. It was a relief to see some evidence of Armand's presence. It wasn't that he didn't trust Becker, but the information he had to offer seemed vague and bizarre.

A few mechanics were working on a ship nearby and turned to look at him and the others. But it wasn't Jafar they stared at, obviously used to Mechs, but him. They made no attempt to draw weapons. They simply ran.

"Nice to see it's not just me they fear now," stated Jafar.

Taylor rushed to Armand's ship and up the ramp to get on board. There was not a soul in sight. Reaching the cockpit, he knew it was an opportunity to ensure it stayed grounded. He targeting the cockpit console and fired a half dozen shots through the controls until they were completely fried. He left the ship as quickly as he had entered it and was surprised to see all was still quiet.

"I don't like this. Where are the guards?"

As he said it, a shot flew past his head and ricocheted off the hull of the ship.

"Careful what you wish for, Sir!" Riley yelled, as they leapt for cover.

Taylor advanced across under the cover of the ships and other equipment until he reached the doorway where the shots were coming from. Without sticking his head out, he armed a grenade and tossed it around the corner. He heard screams of panic, human screams, as the explosion rang out. He lifted his rifle to take the bend.

One soldier lay dead and another incapacitated beside him. Riley reached Taylor's side and was as shocked as the first casualty they had inflicted.

"How do we know these are the bad guys?"

"We don't, but they're fighting for them. Right now, it's collateral damage that we'll just have to live with."

The wounded soldier tried to reach for a pistol, and Taylor quickly responded with a shot to his head just beneath the helmet rim, killing him instantly.

"I didn't sign up for this."

"It's precisely what you signed up for and what we trained for. When in the Corps, did we ever train for alien invasion? No, we trained to fight our own kind. It ain't pretty, but it’s what it is."

"What was the point of fighting if we were just gonna go back to fighting each other? We could have a world war on our hands if this continues."

"That's out of our hands now. We may be fighting humans, but this is as much a war started by the Krys as the last two. You don't have to like it. You just have to win."

"At what cost?"

"Enough questions. We get through this, and we might actually have a hand in what's going on and how to stop it."

He looked up and could see a junction up ahead.

"What I wouldn't give for a map of this place," he muttered.

They had no choice but to continue on, as he knew the other two squads would be doing. Gunfire echoed down through the junction they were approaching. Parker had found trouble, but there was no time to turn and help. He carried on at a steady pace with his rifle held at the ready.

The floor began to slope down and then turn as the gradient increased. They were going deeper now into the complex that must have been built into the rock of the mountain.

No way out now, you bastard, Armand.

They seemed to go about ten metres down until it levelled out. Taylor froze when a wall of Mechs met them. As they lifted their weapons to fire, he found an open doorway beside them and leapt in. The others were quick to follow, but the last was hit hard by two shots and stumbled as he came through. Jafar got a hold of him and hauled him inside. Taylor had only a brief second to look back and see the shots had hit his armour and the side of his leg.

"You have to stay on your feet!" he ordered the wounded marine.

Riley took a quick look at the wound. "It's gone right through. You'll be fine."

They were in some kind of scientific workshop or laboratory.

"Take cover!"

Even over the sound of the alarm, they could hear the lumbering steps of the heavily armoured Mechs. It was a moment of nostalgia Taylor could have done without. He turned to see they were boxed into the room and could only hope there weren't too many coming for them. He jumped behind a metre-high metal workbench and lifted his rifle to the ready. He expected the Mechs to enter at any moment, mercilessly and without fear as they always had done, but what happened next was not what he was expecting at all. A flash grenade was launched through the entrance, and he had just enough time to yell, "Grenade!"

He ducked down for cover. The room was filled with light, and despite his best efforts, he was still hit by the shock of it. His ears were ringing, as he brought his rifle to bear but wasn't quite recovered. He fired two shots at the first Mech coming through the door, but they didn't come close to their target. Shots hit the top above him, and he was forced to duck back down.

His eyes were stinging and his vision blurred. His hearing was equally impaired, and he could taste the coarse chemicals that made up the grenades they had so often practiced with in training exercises before the war. He coughed and tried to get some air back in his lungs, but his mouth was dry. He looked up just in time to see a rifle barrel.

A burst of gunfire rushed over his head, and the rifle was dropped and fell over onto him. He could then see Jafar firing repeatedly. Mitch put his elbow up onto the worktop and hauled himself up with everything he had and brought his weapon to bare.

Erratic gunfire was smashing the doorway where the Mechs were trying to get through, and as many rounds were hitting them as were striking the wall. He got the last remaining enemy soldier in his sights and let rip with a burst of shots that riddled its body armour and all finally went still. His hearing was starting to come back, but it was met with the rather unnerving alarm buzzer going repeatedly. He tried to shake off the drowsiness, but it wouldn't budge. He got to his feet and almost stumbled over again. Jafar grabbed a hold of him and held him upright. He looked around and could see he'd been closest to the blast and was glad to the others were in far better shape than him. He gratefully took Jafar's arm to support him.

"Riley, lead on," he muttered.

Jafar hauled him over the bodies of the dead Mechs. When he got into the corridor, he started to get his balance back.

"Whose clever bloody idea was this?"

"That'd be yours, Sir," replied Riley.

The Corporal took the lead and was quickly engaged in gunfire at the next turn that Taylor was glad to sit out from. He looked at his watch. Five minutes had passed, and they were making slow progress.

"We have to keep moving forward!"

He looked in through a doorway to another room and could see exactly what they needed, a few Reitech shields. They seemed to be experimental models, but they'd have to do.

"Get those damn shields in there and drive forwards!"

Three marines each grabbed one of the devices and rushed to Riley's aid. They passed him, advancing as a steel wall down the corridor. Shots bounced off the thick armour. Mitch was finally getting back to normal, slammed a new magazine into his rifle, and rushed out to join the rest of them. They passed three Mechs who were smoking on the floor but more were still firing up ahead. They reached a bend and could hear someone shouting.

"Human, good, I want one alive."

"Why?" Jafar asked.

"Because it's about time we got some information on Armand's whereabouts."

"And they would give it to you?"

"I intend to be persuasive."

He looked out and saw the human was an officer working with two Mechs.

"Advance, but keep him alive!"

The shield bearers rushed out and stormed down the corridor. One struck a Mech with a barge; another used his shield to drive the Mech's weapon up and out the way, firing several shots into its legs. It collapsed, and he put one through the faceplate.

Taylor was in quickly, but the officer had already thrown down his rifle to surrender.

"Armand, where is he?"

The man shook his head. Taylor drew out his pistol and fired a shot through the officer's foot. He screamed and collapsed in agony, but Taylor wasn't done with him. He grabbed him by his helmet, unclipped the straps, and ripped it from his head.

"Armand, where is he?"

"I don't know!"

Taylor spun his pistol around and clubbed the man's jaw with the grip, causing blood to spew out across the wall he was lying against. Riley was shocked, but he did nothing to stop the Colonel.

"I'm running out of time, and I'm willing to do whatever I have to here. I don't want to kill you, but your life is not more valuable than our task here. Tell me where we will find Armand, and I promise you no more harm will come to you."

The man coughed out blood and turned to look at the crazy expression in Taylor's eyes, realising he wasn't kidding around.

"Live or die, your choice."

"Conference room at the lowest level."

"What's he doing there?"

"I don't know!"

"There must be another way out from this place!"

When he didn't get a response, Taylor lifted the pistol, once again threatening a strike.

"There is, there is!" he cried, "There’s an access corridor from beneath the compound. It leads to emergency escape shuttles in a hidden area of the mountain to the east."

"How long does it take to get there?"

"From here, five minutes, maybe. Please, I don't want to die."

"And I don't want to kill you. Do not make any more attempts to harm me and mine, and you'll make it out of here alive."

The man seemed surprised.

"But you’re Taylor, the Butcher. You don't leave your enemies alive!"

"Then don't be my enemy."

It was yet more evidence of the distain and resentment that was being felt towards him. He could only think it was as a result of carefully targeting campaigns against him, as well as Weaver's idiotic schemes. He was now starting to wonder if Weaver had been one of the enemy agents like Armand, but it didn't bear thinking about.

"How do we get to the conference room?"

"Just carry on the way you were going. It'll take you there."

"And this secret landing pad?"

"Only accessible from a room marked as Storage 24B, or through the outside landing doors which are completely hidden until open."

"Then we’d better move. I won't kill you, but neither can I let you spill the beans."

Taylor smacked the man across the head with his pistol, knocking him unconscious.

"How can we make it before Armand flies outta here?”

“We run, Riley, and we hope,” replied Taylor. He jumped forward and carried on at a pace far beyond safe when they were in such proximity to the enemy.

He lifted up his comms unit. “Eddie, are you okay?"

“Yep, just about!”

“Bring Adrienne around to the east side of the mountain, ASAP!”

“Got any co-ordinates on that?”

“No, I don’t. Just do it, and be ready to give pursuit!”

“In this piece of junk?”

“We’re running out of options. Armand might be leaving shortly from a hidden landing area on the east side. You must not let him leave. Just make it work!”

“You got it,” he responded wearily.

“Any craft they have will outpace the Adrienne, surely?”

“Sure will, Riley.”

They carried on deeper into the facility, finding no resistance for several minutes. They finally arrived at a broad atrium that was clearly the entrance to something important; the conference hall they had been looking for. He could see two Mechs guarding the door, but they did not have time to take cover. Taylor’s rifle opened up, as did several others beside him. The two Mechs frantically tried to return fire and got off a few wild shots as they were bombarded by a salvo from the marines. There was a keypad security system to get in, but the doors didn’t look all that strong. Mitch fired a few shots into the pad and then the centre locking mechanism before getting his fingers through a small hole he’d blasted.

The door began to open ever so slowly when out of nowhere Jafar came thundering in against the other door, bursting through with little resistance at all. The steel door was launched into the room. The rest of them were left speechless.

“Come in!” he called.

They rushed through the breach and could immediately see a doorway at the far side of the room. It had been left open in haste.

“We can’t be far behind, go!” Taylor ordered.

As he passed along the length of the table, he noticed a number of documents scattered across it, the kind only kept in hard copy for security reasons. He wanted to stop and take what he could but knew they did not have a moment to spare.

The door ahead led to a square corridor of three metres wide. It ascended relatively gently in an almost straight line.

“Faster!” He got to a sprinting pace, knowing Armand wouldn’t have a suit on that would allow the kind of pace they could manage. He hoped it would be enough. As they were reaching the top, they could see evidence of daylight and could hear an engine power up.

“Shit,” Taylor muttered.

They reached the very top and broke out into the landing zone. It stored just three small high-speed shuttles. One of them had got a metre of the ground. Mitch looked to the two spare craft in the hope of taking one, but could already see bullet holes through the turbine housings.

“Rains! Stop that ship!”

“With what, Colonel?”

He lifted his rifle and took careful aim at Armand’s ship. It was beginning to gain forward momentum. He squeezed the trigger and fired off three well-aimed shots at one of the two engines. He lowered his rifle and watched in hope. The pulsing engine spluttered and began to die. He knew he had done it.

“Nice shooting!” Riley said as he reached the landing pad beside Taylor.

“It’s not enough. He’s still getting away.”

Engines roared above them, and the Adrienne lowered down twenty metres from the rock edge. The side door was open and one of Eddie’s fellow pilots at the door.

“Come on, jump!”

Riley looked over the edge. It was a several thousand-metre drop. He knew the boosters on his suit should keep him safe, but that wasn’t enough to make him feel sick to the stomach.

“Uhhh… Colonel,” he began to hesitate.

He turned around. Taylor had gone back a way to get a run up.

“What? D’you wanna live forever?”

He ran, using the power of his suit go forwards into the wide doorway of the ship and landed rather ungraciously. He tumbled over into a roll, coming to a rest on one knee.

“Come on!”

“Oh, what the hell,” muttered Riley. He took a running jump and launched out into the sky. He had underestimated the distance slightly and struck the lower edge of the entrance to the hatch. Taylor jumped forward, sliding across the deck on his front. He came out slightly over the edge and took a firm hold of one of Riley’s arms. He looked down just for a moment at the rocky crag below and realised how close they had come to death, but it was too late to go back now.

Taylor hauled Riley on board. The others were already leaping in, having learnt from his experience. Taylor yelled into his comms.

“All aboard, after that bastard!”