Battle Earth VII

Chapter 8

"It is the second day of fighting at the Gafsa prison, and Spanish forces now occupy the northern sector and claim to have executed up to fifteen hundred alien prisoners. Meanwhile UEN forces continue to gain in number and dig into their positions. Casualties on both sides are now numbering in the hundreds, and there seems little hope for a ceasefire."

Taylor, Jafar, and Ryan sat around the conference table fixated on the news. They had talked most of the night over what to do with the information they had and still not come up with an answer.

"You think Armand will come gunning for us?" asked Ryan.

"No, not yet. Right now we're a US vessel on peacetime operations. He can't touch us. At least not until we go after him."

"So what now, then?"

"We need to find someone who will listen to us. Someone who can spread the word."

"Who do we know who we can trust?"

"Those who fought with us in the wars," he replied.

"Like who?"

"We'll start with Dupont."

"I thought the guy hated you and you hated him right back?"

"Yeah, but when you start running out of friends..."

He put the call through, and Dupont answered personally. He clearly knew who was calling and smiled as he answered. It was a slightly sleazy smirk. Taylor didn't know how to take the man anymore. He seemed to have humanity’s interests at heart, but they simply rarely got on.

"Colonel Taylor, you must be in some real trouble to be calling on me?"

"You got it, General. You know how the World is turning, and I know it was your boys who took Spiteri."

"Come on, Colonel, that's a little farfetched."

"I know because I was there. I saw their uniforms and tussled with them personally."

His face turned from a smile, realising Taylor wasn't bluffing.

"But I don't care about any of that. What I care about is stopping this damn war before it blows up in all our faces."

"That's out of my hands. France wants the aliens dead, and nobody should stand in her way."

"Not at any cost?"

"You've obviously got something to say, so get on with it, Colonel."

He took a deep breath and tried to find a way of making it sound believable.

"We have reason to believe alien programmed or cloned humans have infiltrated governments, certainly in Europe, and probably elsewhere, and are pushing all sides to war, in an attempt to destabilise the World ready for another attack."

Dupont burst out into laughter, and Taylor didn't blame him. It did sound absurd when there was no first-hand account or evidence backing it up.

"Colonel, I'm glad to see you still have a sense of humour, but I really do have work to do. Thank you for the entertainment, though," he replied and ended the call.

"Figures," said Taylor. "I guess if we can't convince one side, we'll just have to work the other."

He put a call through to General Schulz and was met by one of his staff he did not recognise.

"Please put me through to General Schulz. I have important news."

"I am sorry, but the General is extremely busy."

"I'm not wasting anyone's time here. It is vital I am put through to the General."

"The fact you got through to his office at all is only a courtesy due to who you are, but any information you have can be relayed when the General has time."

As Taylor began to speak, he saw Schulz appear in the corner of the screen. He must have heard Taylor's voice and decided to investigate. He said something in German to his officer before taking over the comms himself.

"You have something important for me, Colonel?" he asked bluntly. "Please be short and to the point."

"Yes, Sir. The simple fact is, humans working for the Krys have infiltrated elements of government in Europe and elsewhere and are pouring petrol on the flames of war."

"And you have evidence of this?"

Taylor shook his head.

"Colonel, I have countless dead and wounded, and a war on our hands we could never have expected. Please do not give hope where there is none."

"You don't believe me?"

"How can I? Even if it is true, who are they? How can we find them, and how would it make any difference here? We're at war now, once more. Now please, I have much business to attend to."

And just like that, the conversation was over again. Ryan pointed to turn his attention to the news that had still been running but had been muted. It was a map of Europe showing some evolution of borders. Mitch put the sound back on to hear it was the drawing up of borders by the European Alliance. He could see it already included Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania.

"They're heading for another World war."

"You have chosen the wrong side," stated Jafar.

"I wasn't aware we had chosen one," replied Taylor.

"You will not see harm come to the prisoners. So you are with the UEN."

"And should we not protect prisoners of war?"

"You assume they are all like me and Tsengal. They are not."

They turned their attentions back to the news as they caught sight of an alien soldier. Narration continued over the images.

"As the Spanish forces have pushed further into the Gafsa facility, we are getting reports that escaped prisoners are fighting alongside German soldiers. This video captured by one of the networks aerial drones appears to show exactly that, but representatives from the UEN have denied to comment on the matter.”

Taylor looked more closely and could see the creature. It was wielding a Reitech weapon. He froze the image and zoomed in. In the background, he could just make out another of the Krys armed the same, and a human standing behind that.

“They’ve really done it,” he whispered.

“How? How can they have gone from guarding the prisoners to fighting alongside them in such a short space of time?”

“It’s not that big a leap,” said Taylor. “These are people willing to fight to protect those prisoners, and once the camp was invaded, they’d take any help they could get. Think about it. Prison buildings being torn apart, and the detainees fighting for their lives, taking up arms beside the humans fighting for them is logical. On top of that, I bet the German UEN never expected it to go this far. I bet they haven’t been able to muster troops quick enough to get there in support. That’s why the air support went in so hard.”

“Okay, well what do we do now?”

Taylor shrugged.

“We could go home. The US won’t want a part in this if it can be avoided. We could go home and forget all about it,” he stated cynically.

“After this, I can’t believe you’d let this go.”

“Those are our orders.”

“Like that’s bothered you. Let’s say we stay, which side do we take?”

“I’d say that at least is pretty clear. Armand is UEN, UEN forces are enlisting Krys to fight with them. Enlisted armies of Krys, where do you think that is leading?”

“Agreed, so we’re on the wrong side of the border.”

“I’m not so sure. Local government here has been opposed to any pro-alien standpoints. Looks to me like the borders are still being drawn up. God knows which side Belgium will end up on.”

“Well, we need to know.”

“Agreed. Monitor all local news networks, and try and get a feel for which side both public and government opinion is swaying. At present, we are an American vessel with no allegiance to either side, none that is implied anyway. The minute we pick a side, let’s make sure we’re in the right place, hey?”

“So we just wait?”

“For now, yes. We should be fine. We could all do with some rest. Double the number of guards on duty, and ensure you have enough crew ready to fly this boat at a moment’s notice. If the need should arise to get the hell out of Dodge, I want it to be an option.”

Taylor welcomed the rest, but long before the sun had risen, Ryan woke him. He groaned briefly until he remembered the seriousness of their situation.

“What is it?”

“Announcement from the Belgian President, regarding their membership to the UEN and their standpoint on the conflict.”

“This is what we have been waiting for.”

He rushed to the conference room, still wearing the clothes he had slept in. He sat down at the table and realised what was lacking. Every time he had been through such troubles, he had his close friends to hand, those from 2^nd Inter-Allied. Now he was heading for another war and so few remained at his side.

The Belgian President was announced in Dutch, which meant nothing any of them. But as she stepped up to the podium, she began her address in English. The screen gave her name as President Mertens.

“Welcome to all of you. I have gathered you all here today, following emergency discussions on recent troubling matters. After considering all the evidence before us, and with our nation’s best interests always at the centre of my concerns, I hereby announce our departure from the UEN and our condemnation of their failures, as well as recent recruitment of former enemy combatants. Following discussion with President Jacques, as of 0900 today, Belgium is a member of the European Alliance and will do everything in its powers to bring an end to alien inhabitation of Earth.”

“So, we are on the right side of the border,” said Ryan.

“I wouldn’t be too hasty to say it,” added Taylor.

“What? Are you not watching this?”

“I am. But Belgian is still a country strongly divided, on this as much as anything in their history. The Germans will know this and will be eager to replace the government with one in support of their needs. Of any nations bordering them, this is the easiest to draw to your cause with the right person at the reins.”

“Sir, I’m getting reports of incoming aircraft from the German border, dozens of them,” said a voice over the intercom.

“No, not this soon? They wouldn’t invade, would they?”

“We got this announcement today, but I bet they’ve been discussing it since all this began. Somebody close to the President wants her out the way, and I bet you a task force has been waiting to move for some time.”

“And the Belgian armed forces?”

“Won’t be able to respond this fast, but we can.”

“No way,” replied Ryan.

“Why not? We’ve picked a side, but they don’t trust us. We have an opportunity here to make a difference. We get the President to safety, and we could steal a victory out from under the UEN.”

“Are those your orders?”

“They aren’t orders. The crew must decide for themselves here. Gather all those who aren’t on duty, and have those who are kept on an open channel to this room. It’s time we set this to right.”

Twenty-one gathered in the room moments after being called. Taylor knew they had no time to waste.

“There are a thousand things I could and should say to you all, give you some explanation. But time is not on our side. In short, the UEN are becoming an enemy who must be stopped, but the US doesn’t seem interested. The Belgian President is soon to be in trouble, and she could be a valuable ally. I’m going to do everything I can to protect her, but you must decide for yourself. I know I have provided little explanation, but you know the UEN is allying with alien POWs, and you know the kind of man I am. So what’ll it be?”

None of them responded, but they all looked to Ryan to do so for them.

“We’re always with you, Colonel. Lead the way.”

“Break out weapons and armour. Remember, we can’t go stomping through the streets armed to the teeth. We’ll drop in from the roof of the Parliament building and get her out and over the border into France.”

“And what about the German forces en route?”

“We can only hope the Belgians scrambled a few fighters that slowed them down. If not, they’ll already be there. Either way, we have to move fast. All agreed?”

“We’re with you.”

“Get us in the air!”

They were lifting off within twenty seconds, and the crew were rushing to gather equipment. He was quickly reminded that he was in command of a ship’s crew, and not experienced marines as he was used to. Even worse, he was coming to realise it was all too easy.

When have I ever been able to see the whole picture like this?

The pieces seemed to be coming together too easily, but there was no more time to think on it.

The Deveron was soaring across the skies to the government headquarters from where the President had made her speech. But as they drew nearer, they could make out other craft approaching from the north.

“Identify those craft,” said Taylor.

He was on the bridge beside Ryan. Every one of the crew was now equipped in Reitech gear, but he knew few of them were experienced in using it.

“I need your three best marksmen.”

“My five best are at the main door at the lower level. Take whichever you need.”

“We’ll be jumping onto the roof. You be ready to pick us up.”

“That’s the plan? And what about the Germans?”

“Keep ‘em busy?”

“Keep ‘em busy? Only way I got to keep them busy is let them blow holes in us.”

‘Relax; this is one of the finest vessels the US has ever built. You’ll be fine.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“Those are German ships,” said an Ensign.

“They haven’t fired on us. Don’t provoke them,” said Taylor.

He patted Ryan on the shoulder before pulling his helmet on and rushing out the door. Jafar was awaiting him and passed him his rifle. They hurried to the lower hull of the ship where the five men were waiting just as Ryan had said. They looked scared to death. Guarding the ship was the closest they’d ever come to combat. They were Navy seamen, not marines.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Sure, Jafar, why, you’re not?”

“You always told me to look at things from all angles. You are making a lot of assumptions here.”

“Facts are a luxury in this business. You know that.”

He turned to the others. You three, Waters, Malok, and Hughes, you’re coming with us. Stay close. He had to look at their nametags to remember their names; a fact he wasn’t proud of.

“You jumped before?” he asked them.

They shook their heads.

“Set your boosters to auto, and they’ll control our descent. When we hit the ground, you just follow me and Jafar, and keep an eye on our backs, you hear?”

They felt the reverse thrust kick in as the Deveron came in towards their location. Taylor hit the door switch, and it slid open, letting the fresh air pour in.

“This is it. Keep your eyes open and your weapon at the ready!”

He leapt from the edge the moment the ship came to a near halt in the sky. They were on the roof in a heartbeat, and there was not a sign of life.

“Get moving!” he shouted down the intercom to Ryan.

He looked around in surprise, and something didn’t feel right at all. The sound of engines roared beside the building, and two ships lifted up into view before turning and soaring into the sky.

“Something’s wrong.”

“What?” asked Malok.

“A Presidential building with not a single guard in sight. No, something is wrong here.”

“Colonel Taylor!” a voice called.

He turned to see Armand stepping out onto the roof from a nearby stairs.

No, can’t be. He played us all along.

Now he knew why everything had fitted together so well in his head. It had been a carefully calculated plan to get him at his most vulnerable.

“You’re a great fighter, Colonel, maybe even a great leader, but not the smartest!”

Troops poured out from the stairs behind him and from two other locations at their flank until over a hundred fully equipped soldiers encircled them.

“Oh, shit,” he whispered, “When I shout, follow me, and do as I do.”

“I can’t say getting the President was important, but capturing you was an opportunity which I couldn’t pass up, and you fell for it from day one,” said Armand.

“Getting identified and recognised for who you are part of your plan as well?” he yelled back.

“Irrelevant now. Your only evidence is dead, and now I have you, too.”

Taylor opened up his comms channel and left it open.

“So you are from Red 1?”

“Sure am, along with all the loyal soldiers you see around you. I thought we had an opportunity with you, Colonel. I thought you might be convinced to join the winning side, but clearly you’d rather die a martyr.”

“You’re gonna regret killing Tsengal because I’m not gonna kill you quick or easy.”

“Big words for a man at the end of his days.”

Engines roared overhead that gusted over the rooftop, kicking up dust around them all. The Deveron flew overhead and slowed to a crawling pace.

“Now!” Taylor shouted.

He hit his boosters and launched up into the air. The others followed suit and were hurled up into the sky up and over the ship. Taylor landed smoothly on the roof and Jafar beside him. He turned to see Waters rocketing towards him. He reached out and took hold of the sailor, grabbing him as he passed. Malok hit the deck hard but was okay. Hughes was coming in hard and fast. He hit the hull of the ship and slid along it. Taylor leapt after him and managed to get a hold on his leg but was pulled over the side. He thought he was going overboard but felt Jafar’s iron grip around his ankle. As he was pulled, he called into his comms.

“Go!”

The engines roared. Gunfire zipped past the ship but could do nothing against its armour. Taylor got to his feet in time to see Armand standing on the rooftop at an absolute loss.

“Sooner or later, I’m gonna kill you,” Taylor said to himself.

A hatch slid open as they rolled in, and the turbulence began to get unbearable. He quickly got on his comms.

"Ryan, can you catch those two ships?"

"Bet your ass, Colonel."

"Do it!"

They felt the Deveron bank and go to full burn. Taylor brought up the ship’s forward display screen on his Mappad. It only took them a few minutes to reach the two craft that were at a cruising speed and apparently in no rush. One was a small gunship and the other an armed transport.

"Ryan, knock the engines out on that gunship and bring us alongside the other."

"Sure about this, Sir?"

"No, but do it anyway."

The tracer coming on screen followed the crack of gunfire. The first volley narrowly clipped the aft of the gunship, and as they began to take evasive action, the second struck their engines. Their power was knocked out instantly, and they began to lose altitude. Taylor watched and waited to see if the crew would bail out. They did, and he gave a sigh of relief. He didn't want to see them dead.

"They are the enemy?" asked Jafar.

"Maybe, but they are also human. We kill only if we have to."

He looked to the other three who looked terrified.

"We have any explosives aboard?"

They shook their heads.

"Grenades?"

"No, Sir," replied Hughes, "We only carry what is necessary for the protection of the Deveron."

"Yeah, well, that's all fine and dandy when things go to plan. We'll just have to improvise.”

"Ryan, we need to get aboard that ship, can you use the docking gear?"

"Airborne?" he asked.

"We need you to get that transport locked, even for just twenty seconds. Give us enough time to get aboard."

"I'll give it a shot."

The nose of the Deveron dipped as they came up under the transport that was half her size. They were at full burn now, but they couldn't outrun the Deveron.

"Just bear in mind, Sir, that we're in German airspace, not a place we want to be, considering."

"Got it, Ryan. We'll be quick."

Magnetic clamping arms extended from the Deveron as they came in close and took a hold on the hull. Taylor could see an access door now. He lifted his rifle and fired a dozen shots at the hinges.

"Do the honours," he said to Jafar.

The alien leapt onto the roof of the Deveron and got his grip inside the damaged door. With one big heave, he ripped it from the hull, and it flew off into the distance.

The two ships rocked as the transport shook violently.

"Sir, they're onto us. We can't keep them locked like this for long!" Ryan called over the comms.

"Let's move!"

He leapt out onto the roof and jumped up into the ship. Jafar and Hughes got inside with him, but as the other two were getting out onto the roof of the Deveron, the seal broke from the docking arms. The transport banked hard to get away from their ship. Malok was thrown overboard, but Waters managed to stay safe.

Hughes looked in horror as his crewmate descended rapidly.

"He'll be okay. The suit will get him down safe!"

"Safely into enemy territory, Sir!"

"We've got bigger things to worry about, right now! You stay here."

He readied his weapon and rushed up the ramp where he found Jafar already firing his weapon. The body of a soldier lay between him and them. It made him sick to see a human dead at their hands, but he knew it was unavoidable. He took up position beside Jafar and peered around the corner carefully. Three German soldiers lay in wait for them. One was using President Mertens as a human shield. The other two held rifles at the ready. All were equipped as they were.

"I am Colonel Mitch Taylor of the 2nd Inter-Allied Battalion, United States Marine Corps. Lay down your weapons!"

"You have no authority here!" one shouted back.

"Think about this. You're kidnapping a head of state!"

"We're at war, and we are under orders to detain President Mertens!"

"At war? Belgium declared independence from the UEN, a voluntary union!"

"And sided with those who are trying to kill us!"

"Do you want to die here?" he asked.

No response came.

"Because the only options here are we kill you, or you kill us and that ship out there blows you out of the sky. Handover the President and leave with your lives!"

"That's not happening!"

Taylor shook his head.

"Remember, you wanted this, not me!"

He pulled out a magazine from his webbing and threw it around the corner as if it were a grenade. He heard them shout in German and duck for cover. In that moment, he leapt out and fired two shots into one of their rifles. The rifle was smashed in two as the rounds penetrated his chest armour.

Jafar fired the next two shots doing exactly the same. Only the man holding the President remained. He still held a pistol beside her, but now it was pointed at Taylor.

"Nobody else has to die here. We're taking the President whether we have to go through you or not. Hand her over and you can survive this."

"And if I give her to you, what stops you shooting us, anyway?"

"That's Colonel Taylor," said one of the men.

He could see they all knew his name even if they didn't recognise his face. For once his fame was working in his favour. He lowered his weapon and relaxed his body language, although he knew Jafar and Hughes had him covered.

"You must know this is wrong."

He could see in the man's eyes that he'd made up his mind.

"The President is coming with us or not at all. Those are our orders, and I am following them!"

His pistol turned towards the President. As the barrel touched her head, a shot zipped past Taylor from the barrel of Jafar's weapon, hitting the man just off centre between the eyes. Blood burst out from the exit wound and sprayed across the wall behind him. His body slumped, and the President remained frozen in fear.

Two more soldiers went for their pistols, but Taylor's rifle was up in a flash.

"No!" he shouted.

It was too late. The guns were in hand and being raised towards him. He fired at one, and Jafar took the other. They didn't stand a chance. But as one of them dropped, two shots rung out from his gun and hit the ceiling above. Sparks flew out and the lights cut out. Cries of panic came from down the corridor to the cockpit, and Taylor knew they were losing power and altitude.

"We gotta get out of here!"

He grabbed the President firmly and threw her rather unceremoniously onto his shoulder, hauling her back towards the hatch they had come from. The ship shook violently as the crew fought for control, but they were plummeting fast to the ground. Hughes was at the opening but frozen stiff. Taylor booted him out and leapt after him. He held on firm to Mertens as they fell. He could just about hear Hughes screaming and Waters alongside him.

Taylor looked around the sky for the Deveron, and then from out of a cloud it burst and soared towards them, plunging deep below where they were falling.

"Hit your boosters!"

The ship's nose lifted and came to hover a hundred metres below them. They fired the boosters and descended onto the hull. Taylor landed hard, and his knee buckled out as he hit the deck, but he put all his effort into maintaining his grip on the President. They fought the wind to get back to the opening and leapt inside. The hatch shut behind them, and he took a deep breath in relief.

"Get us the hell out of here, Captain!"

"Give me a direction, and we're gone, Sir."

"Paris!"

The engines roared once again as he took a moment to reflect on what had just happened.

"I underestimated Armand," he said.

"But we survived," replied Jafar.

"Just about."

He turned his attention to Mertens who was only partly recovered from the shock of all she had been through.

"Colonel, I thought you were for the other side."

"So did I, but let's just say I was wrong."

"Thank you. You've done me a great service, but I fear it will do little to keep my country free."

"One step at a time."

"You killed those men back there to save my life."

"And if I could have avoided it in any way, I would have."

"I know."

It brought a sombre tone to them all, Taylor above all else. Those were soldiers he could well have been fighting alongside in the wars. He told himself it was necessary. He'd killed the Krys without quibble, but this was entirely different. Killing humans left him feeling sick to the stomach.

He got up to his feet and helped the President up. "Come on, let's get to the bridge."

As he said it, an explosion rang out, and the Deveron rocked.

"We're hit," Ryan said over the comms.

Another explosion ignited, and they began to drop from the sky.

"We're going down! Get off the ship, Colonel!"

Taylor punched the door release, and it slid open above them. They all knew what they had to do. He grabbed hold of the President and jumped, with the others close behind. Seconds later, the ship crashed to the ground below them. They had exited at a hundred metres above the ground, in time to save them.

Debris and dirt erupted into the sky around them as they descended down on the crash site. The hull had buckled over a rocky riverbank edge, and Taylor could already see a gaping hole that had been torn in the starboard side.

It had all happened so fast, and none of them could believe their eyes. A few bodies of the crew were strewn across the grassland beside the wreckage where they had been thrown out through the damaged hull. Dust filled their lungs, and a sickly electrical burning smell filled the air. Taylor looked around. He didn't recognise where they were at all, but it was nowhere near civilisation. They all looked to him for answers, and all he could think was,

Oh, shit!