Battle Earth VIII

Chapter 12

They were coming in for their final run to the Nassau, and Herbert still stared at Taylor. He knew what the glare was for. Erdogan. Taylor hadn’t told the others, and they both knew it was a big deal. Taylor told himself it was a problem for another day and did his best to believe it.

“We’re gonna have to head for one of the landing bays, no other way in!”

Taylor shrugged. “Whatever you gotta do, do it, Spears. It’s as good a place to put down as any!”

“Going in hot without any fire support or armour, Colonel?”

“Got a better idea, Captain Grey?”

They both knew he was making it up as he went along, but neither could see any other options. They were down to improvising and overcoming all that was presented to them.

“This isn’t going to be pretty,” Spears whispered quietly.

They took a sharp turn into one of the open landing bays. There was only emergency lighting on and it cast long shadows. They could see glimmers of movement below, but nobody fired. It was clear no one had yet identified them as friend or foe, but Mitch couldn’t bear being stuck in the metal coffin any longer.

“Put us down!”

Spears obliged, and they descended quickly to a bumpy ride and slid to a halt.

“Nice…” stated Grey.

“Hey, you want to fly next time, be my guest,” cracked Spears.

Herbert was first at the door and punched the release switch. His face was still covered in his own blood, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. He was eager and raring to go. He leapt out first and Taylor was close behind.

“What are we looking for?” asked Grey.

“Wherever all hell is breaking lose. That’s where we’ll find Jones.”

That wasn’t much to go on, but he got the idea. Taylor was still surprised nobody had started shooting at them. There was still a little movement further on down the bay, but the lighting was too low for them to be made out.

“We’re in luck.”

Grey shook his head. “You call us lucky, Colonel? I call us mugs.”

Taylor got going, hoping in desperation that some of his marines were still alive. Although he was with comrades there and then, the closest of all his friends were somewhere deep inside the vessel and in God knows what state.

“You think they’re still alive?”

“Of course, Jones, Jafar, Parker, Silva? They wouldn’t go down lightly."

They all wanted to believe it was true, but none of them were immortal, no matter how much the World called them such. The room narrowed to a corridor barely a few people wide, and as they approached, they heard footsteps from a merging corridor. Taylor stopped and rested easy while the others held their rifles ready to fire. A few German marines appeared at the corridor merging with theirs and heading the same direction.

“You! Stop there!”

They did as Taylor had ordered, to everyone’s surprise.

“Where are you heading, marine?”

The man looked uneasy, but looked at Taylor’s rank and clearly felt compelled to answer.

“We’re still fighting on F23L, Sir. They’re dug in, and we haven’t been able to shift them. We have been drafted in from the Bremen to assist.”

As he was about to finish, Taylor drew his pistol, put it to the man’s head, and grabbed him into an arm lock. The rest of his marines seemed too shocked to respond when Grey and several others jumped into view with rifles held ready to fire.

“I am Colonel Mitch Taylor of the Inter-Allied Regiment. This fight is over. It is over because I said it is. And any man or woman who decides to stand in my way will be killed, like all others who do so! Lay down your weapons and return to your ships!”

It was a gutsy approach, but he could only hope his fearful reputation might mean something. Not one of the marines had even raised a weapon to fight back. They had no will to fight. Taylor could see they were utterly demoralised by the war already and had no willpower to fight.

“Turn and walk away is all I ask!”

He holstered his pistol and let the marine go.

“Thank you,” the man replied, “We will not interfere.”

Taylor watched as they turned and left with weapons still in hand. It gave him hope that humanity might yet unite once again.

“How on Earth did you pull that off?” asked Grey.

“Some of us have it, Captain, and some of us don’t,” he replied smugly. “Come on, let’s move.”

They knew where to go now, and Taylor was rushing through the corridors and ramps without any concern for his own safety. Herbert was starting to wonder if anything mattered to him in life besides their Regiment.

“You know what he did back on that defence platform?” he asked Grey.

“I got some idea. Doesn’t sound smart to me, but what do I know? I wasn’t there, and I didn’t know the options he faced. Have faith in the Colonel. He’s seen us through this far.”

“It’s not faith in the Colonel I lack; it’s faith in our ability to handle what’s coming next.”

“What do you mean?”

“Erdogan.”

Grey’s face turned to stone at the name.

“You saw him?”

“A hologram, yes.”

“Then he’s here, and we’re in deep shit.”

Grey spoke nothing more of it, knowing they must focus on the task at hand, but he could not let the feeling go at the back of his mind that they were in for a world of hurt like they had never known before.

Erdogan? Taylor thought. How could we ever be so stupid to think he wouldn’t come for us? If Earth is really the paradise they seek, why would they not come?

Shadows appeared ahead of them, and it made Taylor tighten his grip on his rifle. He stopped for a moment and took aim, but the figures continued to run towards him. He could see no weapons. Then they came into view, and he could see it was two pairs of medics. They were carrying stretchers with wounded. He looked down and both casualties were German marines. It brought a little smirk to his face, as he knew who was the cause. But it soon dissipated when he thought of the casualties their own side must have suffered.

They passed on through corridor after corridor and descended many levels until they heard gunfire. They knew they were getting close. Taylor just prayed there were enough left to save.

“Stop right there!” a voice boomed.

He could see an officer at the head of a platoon.

Don’t make me do this.

His own battle-hardened troops were far better armoured than their opponents and quickly took up positions. Taylor sighed; he was wary of announcing his presence and not getting the response he wanted, but he thought it was worth a chance one last time.

“I am Colonel Taylor of the Inter-Allied Regiment, European Alliance. You are ordered to stand down!”

“Taylor? We’ve been fighting Taylor the last hour, so who the hell are you?”

The officer stepped forward to address him and looked down at his uniform with Jones’ name.

“What kind of trick are you playing here, Captain? Taylor is in there, and it’s our job to capture him, alive if possible.”

Taylor could see the man was a Captain of the Nassau’s Marine detachment. He was now looking with more interest at Taylor’s nametag.

“Captain…Jones. You are with them. You are under arrest. Lay down your weapons!”

“Listen to me!”

“There is nothing to listen to, Captain. You are under arrest!”

“Arrest? This is a war, you fucking idiot. You ain’t arresting AWOL idiots.”

“Take aim!” ordered the Marine Captain.

Without hesitation, Taylor ripped his pistol from its holster and fired three shots from muscle memory. The room went silent again, and all they could hear was the distant gunfire. The Captain fell forward into his arms, and he lowered him to the floor. A few shots were fired from the German side, and Taylor could do nothing but lift his shield and wait it out while his own side returned fire. Gunfire zipped back and forth for two minutes until all was silent once again, and he got to his feet.

“Why?” he asked himself. “Why fight back now? It’s over.”

The German marines had been cut down where they stood, but their presence had gained attention, and more troops were flooding towards them from another corridor. Taylor turned back to his own people.

“I never wanted to kill a human in these wars, but by God I will not let a single man stand before us and those we care for. Follow me!”

He rushed towards the sound of the incoming troops, and as they came into sight, he could see they were a mix of German marines and Mechs, but it did not slow down his pace. He drove his shield forward, and with Assegai in hand strode at the enemy without any fear at all.

Shots ricocheted from the shield, and he was in amongst the enemy within seconds. He was in his element now. He was fighting to save Jones and Parker, and all those he cared about, and nothing would stop him. He barged the first with his shoulder so hard, the man was thrown into the two at his back. Taylor ducked under the next rifle before him and drove his Assegai up through the man’s armour.

His shield drove up against a Mech, forcing it back against the sidewall of the corridor and thrusting three times into its torso. He stepped past it, and it dropped down dead behind him. Grey and the others were not far behind and cut their way through their attackers as if there was no resistance at all.

When Taylor finally reached the last soldier of the column, he drove his Assegai deep into the man’s stomach, and he collapsed onto the Colonel’s shoulder. It was only with this last death he finally realised what they had done. The man dropped from him and slumped down dead. He told himself it was necessary to defend those he loved, but it didn’t make him feel any easier.

“Come on, we aren’t far away now,” said Grey.

Taylor looked down as his hands. They were covered in red blood, human blood. He could smell the iron of the blood mixed with the salt of his own sweat. He’d tasted his own blood more often than he would like, and it never tasted good. He felt a hand at his back; someone was dragging him along. Herbert was at his side.

“We’re almost there now, Colonel.”

He started to walk under his own power and understood what he was saying.

Parker, he thought. She was close now; he could feel it. They took a turn ahead to find they were at the back of a defensive wall of German marines.

“What should we do?” Grey asked.

The marines were still oblivious to their presence and clearly trying to deal with the hellish situation Jones had created for them.

“Kill them all,” he ordered.

Automatic gunfire opened up. The marines were cut down where they stood until the last few lay own their weapons to surrender and were given mercy. Taylor stepped forward to their position without any care for his life at all. He turned his comms onto the tannoy and yelled out for everyone to hear.

“This is Colonel Taylor of the Inter-Allied Regiment. This fight is over. Lay down your weapons, and no further harm will come to you.”

With that, he stepped over the barricade and towards the defenders. Many of them stood up in amazement at him striding towards them.

“Can’t be,” one of them muttered.

Then he found Parker. Her left arm was in a sling and her face bloody from shrapnel. Tears came to her eyes as she spotted him. He ignored all others and leapt over them, taking her in his arms.

“You’re alive. I can’t believe you’re alive,” she whispered in his ear.

“Made it, you dog.”

Taylor turned around, and there was Jones. He had glancing wounds on both arms, a bandage wrapped around his head, and blood trickling down one leg, but he was still on his feet.

“You’re gonna need a new set of BDUs,” he stated.

“I figured as much.”

He looked around at the dozens of dead and wounded around them, some their own and others enemy who had gotten into hand-to-hand. A mound of dead Mechs formed an improvised barricade on one flank.

“Did you do it? Did you disable the weapons?”

“Sure did, Eli.”

He looked over to one flank where German soldiers battling from a corridor had stood up with their weapons lowered.

“It’s over!” Taylor shouted.

“What now?”

“Get to the bridge, Parker, and let the World and this fleet know the deal.”

Jafar strode up and joined the group.

“Still alive as well, you ugly bastard?” asked Taylor.

He seemed confused, not understanding the humour.

“Met a few of your sort aboard that thing. When I could have done with you most, you were not there.”

“On your orders,” he replied sternly.

Taylor could not disagree.

“Come on, let’s end this for good.”

He headed for the bridge. Ten of his unit, including Jones and Parker followed, while the rest stayed and took care of the wounded. As they strode through the ship, not a single one of the crew dared intervene. They were covered in dirt and blood, theirs, other humans, and alien. They looked liked death itself rolling through the battleship.

They finally reached the bridge and found two guards on duty in pristine uniforms. They reached for their weapons, but Taylor hollered in a booming voice, “Don’t even think about it!”

It was enough to make them stop at the terrifying sight. Jafar standing at Taylor’s side was what topped it off and make them think twice.

“Stop him!” A voice shouted from inside the bridge.

Taylor stepped aboard. A German Admiral was frantically looking around the room and expecting someone to act on his order. He wanted to say something but could not find the words.

“I am commandeering this vessel in the name of the European Alliance. I am Colonel Taylor, and you will consider me Captain of this vessel and Commander of the fleet. The Admiral is to be detained immediately!”

Herbert stepped forward and obliged. Nobody said a word as Taylor stepped up to the communications officer.

“Get me a direct line to here,” he said, showing the man the codes on his Mappad. The officer looked fearful but did as ordered. A few moments later, General Dupont appeared to them in his own quarters. His head was lowered into his hands, and it was clear he had been waiting for a call for sometime. He looked up in surprise at the bloody Taylor and his comrades who stood before him.

“Taylor? What the hell is going on up there? I am told you destroyed the Earth Defence Grid?”

“Long story, General. Short one, it had to be done.”

Dupont shook his head, knowing there was nothing that could be done now.

“I have taken command of the Nassau and ordered its crew to stand down. The fleet should do the same shortly.”

Dupont opened his mouth to speak, but the signal cut out and went to static.

“Where the hell did he go?” asked Taylor.

“I’m getting interference, Sir.”

“Well sort it!”

The room went silent for a moment before the XO piped up.

“Colonel, we’ve got incoming. Lots of them!”

Taylor rushed to his side. There were dozens and dozens of artefacts on the scanner, and not far from Earth.

“What are those?”

“Ships, and not ours.”

“We’ve got an incoming transmission!” the comms officer said.

“From who?”

“Unverified, no idea, Sir.”

He was abruptly interrupted by a hologram appearing in the middle of the bridge, and Taylor’s heart sank. It was Erdogan.

“I am Lord Erdogan. I am here to claim Earth in the name of the Krycenaean people. Lay down your weapons, and you will not be harmed. Fight, and you will die.”

The transmission ended. Taylor knew a war was upon them at the weakest point humanity had been in a hundred years.

How on Earth can we win now when we are divided and weak?

“That’s it, Mitch?” asked Parker. “No deals? No negotiations?”

“Hey, at least he’s honest,” replied Taylor.

“More than we got from his predecessors,” added Herrera.

The room went quiet, everyone speculating as to what it could mean.

“Can you get me an open message to the fleet? This one and the EA?” he asked.

The comms officer nodded. “What’s left of this fleet, yes, Sir.”

“Do it!”

“You’re on,” he replied.

Taylor coughed, not expecting it to happen quite so quickly as it did.

“You all know who I am,” he began. “Recently, we have fought one another; the reasons of which no longer matter. You heard what Erdogan had to say. He wants Earth for himself. Will you stand by and let that happen, or will you fight for what is rightfully ours? Stand with me. Let our fleets stand together and end this while we can. Erdogan is the greatest among them, so this can be the end of these wars forever!”

He took a deep breath, thinking about his next words.

“Those who would fight form up beside the Nassau and fight alongside us. Those who would not, leave now and take no further part in this.”

He gestured for the officer to end the transmission and hoped for the best. Parker leaned in close and whispered to him. “What do you know about ship combat?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know what to do other than fight.”

“Weapon systems, what have we got?”

“Still trying to restore power, Sir. Systems are minimal at best.”

“Fighters?”

“At a quarter capacity.”

“Launch everything we’ve got.”

Taylor knew they were already facing a losing battle.

“Let’s see what we’re facing. Put it on screen.”

A projection flashed up, and they could see a vessel several kilometres wide that was ten times that in length. It was an ugly vessel, with the aerodynamics of a brick, and yet more intimidating than most of what any of them had ever seen. It reminded Taylor of the K’til that he had fought so hard to destroy. More warships than he could count surrounded it.

“What can we do against this but lay down and die?” asked the comms officer.

Taylor resented his negativity but understood where he was coming from. The distance was closing rapidly now, and all Taylor could do was pray for a miracle. He turned to Jones for some snippet of advice, but he could see the look of loss in the Captain’s eyes. It was hopeless, and they all knew it.

Fighters swarmed out in front of them as a number of vessels joined them, and the EA fleet approached their flank.

It's not enough, not near enough.

He thought back to the first time Erdogan had appeared to him and Herbert and wondered if it had all been for nothing with this new enemy.

If we barely survived the previous wars, how can we win against the greatest of the alien Lords?

They were questions he had no answers to.

Lights flashed on the screen, and two of the smaller vessels ahead were blown apart. The crew watched as the enemy vessels hammered the fleet with beam weapons and pulses, and without any noticeable return from their own side. A pulse from the capitol ship soared towards them, and a few of the crew screamed for someone to do something, but there was nothing they could do. It ripped into the hull of the Nassau and was followed by three more impacts. A siren sounded out as emergency lighting flashed.

“We’ve got breaches on twelve floors, and we’re losing power!”

He saw several other lights zoom towards them at a slower velocity and crash into the hull.

“What the hell was that?”

“Boarding craft,” Jafar said calmly.

“We’ve got enemy combatants on board. Alert all marines to sweep and clear!”

He picked up his shield and rushed to the door. He stopped beside one of the marines standing guard as they passed by and tore his rifle away from him.

“Give me that!”

The man barely put up a fight as Taylor took it from him and carried on down the corridor.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” asked Parker.

“One of those breaches hit forward of here about two floors up, and we’re gonna do what we do best.”

He stopped and put his hand up to her chest to stop her in her tracks.

“You’re wounded. I’m not gonna stop you coming, but you stay at the back, you hear?”

She grunted.

“Did you hear me, Sergeant?” he bellowed, desperately.

The breach was just one of the many problems facing them, but at least it was one he could deal with. They rushed down a ramp to a level where they could already hear gunfire. They found two of the crew carrying one of their wounded. They pointed back in the direction they were coming from. Taylor carried on with his weapons held at the ready. He’d been fighting humans and their Mech allies for so long, he was looking forward to getting stuck into the real deal.

Pulses flashed up ahead, and Taylor rushed right for them. Jafar and Jones were beside him. One of the pulses struck his shield, and he was relieved to feel it be absorbed as they were intended to do, and he carried on without noticing the blast. He fired on full auto, emptying twenty or more shots into the first Mech in utter overkill. He didn’t even release the trigger and simply panned the weapon across to turn it on the next.

The magazine ran dry, and Taylor quickly let go of the rifle and drew out his Assegai. It was still coated in dry blue blood that began melting as the weapon quickly heated up. He approached the first Mech, dropped down, and slid on his knees until he reached it. His shield drove high into the Mech’s weapon and his Assegai drove into its groin.

He pulled out the weapon, spun around at a tremendous speed, and drove it into the next; and then smashed the other off its feet with his shield. Taylor felt like he was back in the last war. It felt good, remembering what he was fighting for, but as he drove his Assegai into the last Mech soldier still standing, he was overwhelmed at how empty he now felt.

The enemy he had always been warned about was upon them, and it was beginning to feel like the first day of the first invasion all over again. He cast his eyes around to see that between them they had cut down twelve Mechs for the loss of one of their unit.

“You okay, Mitch?” Jones asked.

He didn’t even notice the question.

“You okay?” screamed Jones.

He wasn’t. His confidence and cool-headedness was gone. His head was spinning like it would after a few dozen beers, and he was feeling just as sick. Jones shook him and finally punched him on the nose. It was a shock enough to make him snap out of it.

“You need to get back to the bridge. We need you there!” he pleaded.

Jones turned to Jafar.

“Take him back to the bridge, and Parker, you go with him!”

There was no more debate to be had, and Taylor obliged. Jafar grabbed his shoulder and hauled him off like a little school kid, with Parker following close behind.

“Erdogan, he came to me as a hologram before.”

“What did he say to you?” asked Jafar.

“Does it matter? We know why he’s here. He’s here to take this world, and we’re powerless to stop him. We’re a crippled race just waiting to be mopped up.”

“What about the defence grid?”

“Nothing left of it, Eli. We destroyed it.”

“You what!”

He understood now. Erdogan was not the egocentric power hungry fool he had faced before, but a very smart and calculating one. He never had a choice between his friends and his planet. He had but one choice, and Erdogan had made it for him.

“Goddamn it,” he muttered to himself.

They stepped back onto the bridge, and all attention was now turned to him. Despite being his enemy until moments before, they now looked to him as the miracle worker and saviour he had a reputation of being. He strolled onto the bridge in a stunned state with blue blood still trickling from his weapon.

He looked around and could see the crew wanted answers from him, but he had none.

“What do we do, Colonel?” asked the XO.

Taylor didn’t even respond; he knew it was over. Another two impacts ripped through the ship, and they were being pulled into the Earth’s atmosphere. They were losing power. They were already dangerously close from when the EMP had first struck.

“We’re going down, mayday, mayday, mayday!”

Taylor didn’t say a word, for he knew there was nothing more he could do. He turned to Parker and wished they could survive it, if only he could have another day with her. The panic of the crew around them came to a silence as the battleship began to burn up in the atmosphere. The fact they now only had the atmosphere to contend with and not Erdogan’s fleet at least brought some relief.

“Escape pods?” Taylor cried out, almost begging.

“We’ve lost half of them, and most of the others haven’t got enough power to launch,” replied the XO.

“Then what do we do?”

“Hope for the best, Colonel. Hope for the best.”

It was the answer he was expecting but not the one he wanted to hear. As they passed through the atmosphere, the camera views all around them showed nothing but flames and chunks of the hull that were torn from the ship. They could see the odd crewmember sucked out from breaches and were at least safe in the knowledge they were at the core of the vessel.

Taylor was sitting on the floor and felt Parker crawl up to him. Tears were streaming from her eyes. It was a horrible sight, worse than anything he had seen that day.

“We’re gonna make it, Mitch. We have to. We can’t die here,” she insisted.

She was the only reason he wanted to live, and that alone was enough for him to get himself to his feet.

“What power do we have left?” he asked.

“Not a lot!” yelled the XO. “Everything we have is going to the landing thrusters to slow our speed.”

“Negative, put all power to the engines, and get our nose up!”

“Sir, we haven’t got enough power to get us back in the air!”

“Just do it!”

“I will not!”

“We cannot slow our speed enough to safely hit the ground, so we need to skim the water,” Taylor said calmly, but with stern authority.

“Skim the water? We’ll hit it like a brick.”

“Raise the bow. All power to engines!”

“This isn’t a copter, Colonel. It’s a battleship. Sir!” he pleaded.

Taylor drew out his pistol, rushed across the bridge, and grabbed the XO by the head. He had no idea if his crazy plan had any chance of working. All he knew is their current trajectory would result in certain death.

“Do it now!” he demanded.

“You’ll kill us all!” cried the XO.

Taylor fired without any hesitation. The bullet passed through the XO’s head and blood sprayed out across the bridge. He went limp and collapsed to the floor. He turned his pistol on the next crewmember he could see.

“Lift the bow, and put all other power to the engines!”

The crew quickly obliged, and they felt the ship soar forward.

There’s life in the old girl yet, he told himself.

Further warning lights flashed on the flight console, and a voice rang out. “Warning, collision imminent! Warning, collision imminent.”

“No shit,” Taylor muttered to himself.

The bow was beginning to rise, and they had got over the Atlantic, but they were still plummeting like a brick. Taylor told himself they were going to make it. They were going to make it because he wanted another day with Parker, and because he didn’t risk it all not to save her and Jones and all the others.

He turned to look back at her. Parker was sitting against the Captain’s chair and holding on tight. A smile came to her face when she saw him looking back at her. Taylor had felt helpless many times throughout the wars, but never so much as now when he could literally do nothing more to affect their survival.

“I love you, Eli!” he called out, barely loud enough for her to hear.

A moment later they crashed into the ocean and were thrown off their feet. Taylor smashed into the ceiling of the bridge and was just conscious enough to feel the impact as he once again hit the floor. As he felt blood trickle down from his skull, he could only think of the mountain that lay before them. He couldn’t tell if he was dead, dying, or just stunned, but as he passed out, he had one thought.

Now we’re in the shit.