Battle Earth VIII

Chapter 1

Taylor sat inside the remnants of a stone building that had recently been demolished after having clearly stood for hundreds of years. He couldn't make out what it used to be, as there was little left to identify. A road sign lay across the rubble beside him; it was in German and meant little to him.

"Damn thing nearly took my fucking head off," he stated.

Grey grunted in response without even looking up at him. He'd just heated water on a stove and was busy pouring the hot liquid into a mug.

"Not one of you can go a half hour without a cup of tea, can you?" Taylor continued. "Random road sign could have killed me, but no never mind, your tea is more important."

"Huh?" he asked, as he finally finished making the tea and looked over in surprise, having clearly not listened to a word.

"No matter," responded Taylor. "I don't know why you insist on boiling the water yourself. Our flasks will do the job in ten seconds without all the fuss. And you still carry tea bags around with you? You're an anachronism, Captain."

He smiled in response.

"Dear Colonel, there is far more to enjoying a cup of tea than merely pouring it down your throat."

Grey lifted the mug to his mouth, and Taylor could not help but be amused by the look of content and concentration on his face as he did so. But as the folded edge of the mug met with the Captain's lips, a cry rang out from nearby.

"Incoming!"

Before either of them could react, an explosion ripped through an adjacent building and sent dust and debris hurtling through the air. In the moment of silence after the blast, Taylor looked back to Grey who sat precisely where he had been and still holding his mug. He was covered in a thick grey cloud of dust, looking in disgust at his freshly made beverage floating with dirt. Taylor couldn't help but laugh.

"Shit!" Grey swore, throwing down the mug in disgust; his further expletives drowned out by a barrage that engulfed their position, forcing him to jump for cover. He landed down in a crater they had expanded into a trench.

"See, you could have drunk it by now if you'd used the flask!" yelled Taylor.

"That's a big help!"

Explosions hit all around their position but to little effect with the deep dugouts they had created. Taylor looked at his watch and counted the minutes to when the firing stopped.

"Three minutes."

"Same shit, different day," replied Grey.

He stumbled out of the trench; satisfied in the knowledge the attack was over, shook as much dust off as he could and picked up his mug, looking at it in disgust.

"Have to start all over again."

Taylor ignored him and carried on with his own train of thought. "That sign must have been blown a few clicks to have got here, this side of the border."

"Yeah, or it was dragged here by a vehicle a few years back, or collected as a memento from whoever occupied this place. Maybe they stole it and put it up on display in their office?"

"Now you're just making shit up."

"Well there are few certainties here, aren’t there? Except for the fact they bomb us for three minutes every six hours, which seems pointless in itself as they aren’t following it up with anything."

Taylor stood up tall over the wreckage as Grey continued to curse and tried to wash out his precious mug. "You spoke too soon."

Grey looked up and was surprised to see Taylor's face was deadly serious.

"Down!" he shouted. He jumped down onto Grey, causing the mug to fly from his hands. A second after they hit the scattered debris, an explosion erupted above them on one of the remaining walls. As the dust settled, the two rolled over into their trench once again, the gunfire intensifying.

"That's no artillery," said Grey.

"No, an armoured column."

"I don't see how that's our problem."

"It is once they’re on top of us."

Taylor crept to the edge of the trench to look over cautiously at the wide expanse before them. The small town they had occupied was in the middle of a broad flat plain, with little cover except for the remains of the buildings and those defences they had dug themselves. Grey joined him. As they looked out, a couple of marines jumped in behind them.

"We got half the German army coming down the road, Colonel!"

He didn't respond but studied the scene around them. A dozen armoured vehicles had come up over the crest a klick ahead, and more were pouring over.

"Never thought I'd see it," he muttered.

"What?" Grey asked.

"A conventional army coming at us, a human army."

"I don't think that's all it is," replied Grey, studying the incoming forces.

From between the vehicles, they spotted Mechs swarming over the crest towards them and using the vehicles for cover.

A volley of their own guns thundered across the plain and hit the incoming forces. Three tanks burst into flames, and the bodies of Mech soldiers were thrown into the air.

"How can they not see this is wrong?" asked Grey.

"God knows how many humans on that side are even still actually human. There are forces at work here which are forcing us to fight each other."

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"What do you do when someone attacks you, Captain?"

"Fight back."

"Sure, then you have your answer."

"But... those are people, not aliens."

"And now they're the enemy, and they'll blow your head off if you don't do the same to them first. Remember that, Captain. They might all as well be Krys as far as we're concerned."

A burst of shots rushed over their heads, forcing the two of them to duck down.

"A broad daylight attack, they're getting pretty ambitious, aren't they?" yelled Grey.

Taylor looked back at the sweeping advance heading their way.

"Maybe they got a right to be."

He turned back to see Jafar had reached their position, but he had not heard him coming, though it was hard to hear anything over the gunfire.

"You see that, mate," said Grey to him. "A few thousand of your kind, and they're coming for you."

"They're coming for all of us," replied Taylor. "All right, get the RATs ready."

Jafar looked confused by the term.

"Reitech Anti-tank. Latest baby in the arsenal," replied Grey, turning away to radio in the orders.

Jafar looked over to the next trench as the orders were relayed and could see one of the troops lifting up a shoulder-mounted weapon. It looked like little more than a pipe with handles.

"Reiter's latest toy," added Taylor. "I'm told it'll take out all but the heaviest Krys armour from half a klick, so God knows what it'll do to our own vehicles."

"I've been waiting to see these in action all year," stated Grey.

Taylor could see the genuine excitement in his face, and it amused him that in the face of such danger he could be so. "Fire when ready," ordered Taylor. "Fire when ready," relayed Grey over the comms.

They watched intently just far enough above the trench edge to get a view without becoming targets themselves. The closest RAT fired, and a burst of blue light flashed out the rear tube that was hot enough it scorched the ground around the user.

The projectile soared across the potholed and dusty battlefield and struck the front armour of one of the incoming tanks almost centre at the hull. The light seemed to pass right through the armour and blast the turret clean into the air. It hurtled off into a number of the Mechs, wreaking further destruction as the tank ground to a halt and smoke began pouring from it when it caught fire.

"Holy shit!" yelled one of the nearby marines.

It was a relief the equipment they had been issued with actually worked, but a horrific sight to endure when they all knew fellow humans were inside the tank; humans they had so recently fought beside. They all still failed to comprehend how mankind could stand with the enemy, but there seemed little they could do but fight back now.

"Fire at will!" Taylor ordered over the comms.

Pulses of the RAT launchers continued to soar across the battlefield as quickly as they could be reloaded. They seemed to make light work of the armoured vehicles, and yet still they came. Taylor took aim at the first Mech he could spot and fired. The target vanished between vehicles and smoke as he pulled the trigger, leaving him no idea if the shot had met its target. He moved onto the next and could see the rest of the Regiment were doing the same.

A moment later they caught a few dozen Mechs in the open where their covering vehicles had been destroyed and all hell was unleashed on them. Those that were in plain sight were cut down in seconds, but the armoured advance continued. As vehicle after vehicle was disabled, he wondered how the crews could muster the courage to continue on.

"They aren't stopping!" Grey shouted.

They could hear their comrades’ rate of fire of increase rapidly as the defence became more desperate. The artillery fire at their backs continued smashing the enemy advance, but they knew that they'd be under the guns soon enough. Mitch slammed in a new magazine and kept up the fire at the Mechs that were rushing towards them. They seemed as unstoppable as ever. A vehicle ahead swerved, and as it was struck, a dozen Mechs came out from behind and stormed forward to their position. He turned his rifle on the nearest and gunned it down while his comrades tried frantically to do the same.

Four of the creatures reached the edge of the trench, and Mitch pulled the trigger as one came at him gun at the ready, to find the last round he had glanced off the alien’s shoulder. He pulled his shield from the trench side to cover himself just in time as a burst of automatic fire struck. Before he could reach for his Assegai, the beast jumped on top of him. The weight forced his shield to smash down onto him. The impact shocked his head and only his helmet saved it from being crushed.

Unable to respond, Taylor felt a hard wrench. The alien soldier tried to prise the shield from him like it was ripping a shell of a turtle. He held on firm and was lifted and thrown up into the air, but because the creature held on, he couldn't keep hold and was launched out of the trench towards the enemy assault.

Mitch hit the ground hard and rolled several times until he came to an abrupt halt and crashed into the legs of one of the Mechs. It stumbled slightly as it lost balance and rolled over just narrowly missing landing on his legs. To his side he could see the bodies of several fallen enemy soldiers and tracers zipped overhead. He knew he had just a few seconds to get to his feet, and he did exactly that.

As he jumped up, he drew his Assegai but could not help but feel naked without a rifle or shield. He quickly glanced in all directions to get his bearings and stopped when he saw a rifle being aimed at him. His instincts kicked in, and he leapt to the side and rolled as the gunfire flew past, but he’d leapt into the path of another danger, a Mech soldier. He ducked as it swung its rifle toward him with all its crushing weight, but he was done being on the defensive.

As Taylor arose from his crouched position, his Assegai too drove upwards into the stomach of the Mech armour. The creature groaned in pain and again swung at him, but he leapt back out of the way. Then it came right back, and he plunged thrust down into the faceplate of its armour. The strike caused the beast to immediately freeze where it stood and then to topple over with the weight of the Colonel against it.

For a moment Taylor felt glad to have survived once more, but then he remembered the danger they were in and the realisation he stood out in plain view on the open plain. He was almost in a daydream and still stunned, but his hearing was coming back. He could hear his people yelling from the trench.

"Get back! Colonel, get back!" they screamed.

Finally, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and it yanked him around hard. He was met by the face of Jafar which first made his pulse pound, as the sight of an alien up close and personal always did, but Jafar said nothing. His alien friend only studied him until he finally snapped out of it and stood up. He turned back to the battlefield to look at the result of their work and the terrible devastation.

"Colonel, get to cover!" Grey hollered.

Taylor shook his head and looked at the wreck of the armoured vehicle that had reached the farthest point. It was just twenty metres from where he stood. As he began to pace towards it, the pitch and volume of the Captain's voice increased, but he ignored them. Jafar followed out of curiosity. They both had to navigate through a trail of bodies. When he reached the vehicle, Taylor felt a large hand grasp his ankle. He looked down in horror to see a Mech clinging to life and still trying to fight.

The creature tried to pull him off his feet, but a gunshot cracked behind him finished the creature for good. Taylor turned and nodded in gratitude to Jafar who had responded with lightning reactions, and he could see Grey was now out the trench and close behind them.

"This isn't safe," he stated.

"Relax, Captain."

"I'll relax when we're not standing in no man's land in full view of anyone who wants to blow our heads off."

"Where's that British resolve and confidence?"

"I'm confident in the defence of our trenches," he muttered.

Taylor ignored him and carried on to the twisted wreck of the vehicle. It was a medium tracked main battle tank he was plenty familiar with. Seeing the wicked damage on one of what used to be one of their own was a painful reminder of the battle for Brest when it had all begun. Ammunition had poured out through a gaping hole in the side, but the wet rack had stopped it from exploding. Smoke bellowed from the commander’s hatch, and the driver's hatch was nowhere to be seen. It had most likely been blown clear.

The smell was acrid and as even more unpleasant than he had remembered it. A mix of burning metal with scorched electrical systems. All of that with the smell of burning grass where it still kindled. He stepped up to the tank, expecting to see the remains of a driver, but as he leapt atop the vehicle he stopped, surprised when he found the driver's compartment filled with electronics that were now all but destroyed.

"What is it?" asked Grey.

"That's why they came at us till the very end. There's no one driving 'em."

Grey looked confused and jumped up onto the hull to see for himself. Taylor could see he knew exactly what he was looking at, and it was starting to make sense.

"Remotely driven armoured fighting vehicles, not ever seen them in my life time," he stated. "They were banned by most nations over a century ago."

"Yeah, well I guess the rules went out the window some time back," he replied.

"Begs the question what else they'll be willing to throw at us?"

As he said it, a missile trail soared towards them.

"You spoke to soon!" yelled Taylor. They both leapt from the wreck, and the missile struck the turret. The explosion was near deafening as debris flew over them. Taylor looked back up to see specs in the sky closing in on them like a flock of birds. The ground rippled around them as automatic fire rained down on them.

"Cover!"

Taylor rushed to his feet and sprinted for the trench, gunfire erupting all around them. A bullet ricocheted off his shoulder armour and clipped his cheek and chin, cutting it badly as he rolled into the trench beside his comrades. They were already returning fire. He reached for his rifle, which was just where it had been left when he was tossed out of the trench, and slammed in a new magazine as quickly as could be managed.

As he took aim, he could see what was coming at them now, six rotor mini drone copters with an array of weaponry. They appeared to have little armour but were small and fast enough to be far from easy to hit. He squeezed the trigger, and the first shot went between two of the rotors and found no target. He followed it with a three-shot burst, and when one of the shots hit the hull of the drone, it dropped out of the sky. He lifted up his arms to protect himself as it dropped and smashed over his arms and helmet, along with several others that had been hit. As he got back up, he could see the body of a fallen man beside him. He grabbed the man's shield and took it as his own for cover.

He looked up from the shelter of the shield and could see dozens of drones circling them like vultures. Their trench provided no cover at all from the aerial attackers.

"We need to move!"

"No shit, Captain!" he replied. He looked up over the trench. The whole line was under attack in a similar fashion, and out in the distance a new wave of armoured vehicles was approaching.

"Fall back, back to the town!" he yelled down the comms.

He was the first out the trench with his shield held high as it took impacts. He looked back for just a second to be certain the rest of his unit were following suit. As he turned back to watch where he was going, one of the drones swooped in low so that it was level with his head. He lowered his shield and quickened his pace. A few light impacts glanced off his shield, but then he felt a larger one as he smashed into the drone, and it was thrown underfoot.

He kept up the pace to get further into the buildings of the town that were rather more intact than the outer areas they had left. He could see an old bank up ahead with thick walls and rushed for the door that was halfway off its sliding mechanism. A dozen or more of the Regiment rushed through with Silva last through the door. Parker was nowhere to be seen, but he had to hope she had made it to safety.

Taylor looked up, relieved to see the floor above were fortunately still solid. He turned back to peer through one of the windows and caught sight of several drones hot on the trail of some of his unit. One was holding his shield back to cover them the best he could, but shots were landing all around their position. Taylor rushed back to the half open door, took quick aim, and fired a burst at the cluster of drones.

One burst into flames and smashed down into the ground. The others banked sharply and came for him, but now they were right where he wanted them. They could only approach head on in the narrow corridor of attack he had left them. He held his shield firmly before him and his rifle at its side, using his helmet targeting to remain safe.

The shield absorbed a few shots while he blasted the drones out of the sky. As the last one fell, it launched another missile that smashed into the centre of his shield. The impact launched him into the building more than ten metres where he hit a support beam with his back and then crumpled to the ground. Mitch blacked out for just a few seconds as he landed and then turned to see Silva reaching for him. He coughed and spluttered; his lungs were filled with dust that had gathered on the floors of the abandoned bank.

His mouth was drier than ever now and coated in a thick layer of dirt and soot, making his voice coarse and husky. His head pounded, and he wanted nothing more than to rip his helmet off. He could feel his brain throbbing, and his skull dripping in sweat that now lined the helmet.

"You got a thing for acrobatics, Colonel. Should have joined the air force," said Silva.

"That's a big help," Taylor groaned.

Silva helped him to his feet, and he looked up. The half open doorway was now just a gaping hole and with no door of any kind in sight. A small fire had started beside it where the interior had ignited, and several of their unit were trying to put it out. It had quietened down outside now with only infrequent gunfire.

"Those things were banned under the Graz Convention a long time ago," he stated.

"Yeah, well I guess no one told the Germans."

"I still don't understand why they're fighting us, Sir," said Acosta.

Taylor barely knew the Private who had come over with Silva but had never seen combat with any of them, being too young to have fought in the last war.

"They are probably thinking just the same about us," replied Taylor.

"Yeah, well it ain't them getting invaded, is it?"

Taylor knew he had been an aggressor in their land before this had happened, but he couldn't bring himself to try and explain it to the young Private who was eager and loyal, but far from smart. Silva leaned in close to the Colonel.

"Why is it we always end up slap bang in the middle of the action, no matter where it might be?" he whispered.

Taylor smiled in response. "Because that's our purpose in life."

They heard a rustle of steps and raised their weapons in readiness, but were met by Sergeant Parker who rushed in through the doorway. Her face was cut in several places from debris, but she looked happy to have found them all.

"Well that's new," she gasped.

"Indeed, but I doubt it'll be the first surprise we see from the UEN," replied Taylor. "You heard from Dupont yet if we're getting the support we need?"

"Yes, Sir, that and more. Two divisions are deploying to the area presently. We are to redeploy to Meaux immediately."

"Meaux? Christ, that'll take us out of this war."

"I spoke to the General personally, Sir. Sounds like they've made some progress in regard to the Krys agents and want you there."

"And so they order the whole Regiment back?"

"Come on, Colonel," added Silva. "We're two hundred strong, might as well be your personal bodyguards. Hell you need it."

He looked around to see the news sat well with all who heard it.

"These two divisions, they’re actually here?" he asked.

"Ten klicks out and with plenty of armour," replied Parker.

"And our ride out of here?"

"Already put down half a klick west and awaiting us."

"Then we wait till relieved. I ain't giving ground just to save a few minutes."

"The General was quite adamant that we were to redeploy immediately."

"Yeah, well he ain't here," replied Taylor dryly.

He tapped on his comms unit. "Everyone, stay put and keep a keen eye. And tell Captain Grey he's got time to brew up."

Several of the marines around him smiled.

"Acosta, gather up three of those drones as complete as you can find. I want to take 'em back for Reiter."

"He still working with us?" asked Silva.

"Bet your ass he is. We lost too many to these things, but it could have been a lot worse. I want to make sure next time we encounter them, they do not cause us so much trouble. Reiter will have a way."

"Hell, all you need is nets," said Acosta.

Taylor turned in surprise to hear the Private speak out and inject into their conversation. At first he took offence at it, but was then keen to hear what he had to say.

"Go on..."

"Those drones are hard for us to hit with a rifle round, Sir, but they ain't all that tough. Fire a net up, and you'll take them down easy."

"Where's this coming from?" asked Silva.

"When my daddy used to go fishing, he didn't harpoon each fish one at a time, he cast a net and made the job easy."

"Nets? Sure you don't mean your granddaddy?" jested Silva.

"He learnt with his pops and his before him, okay. He liked it that way."

"All right, all right," interrupted Taylor. "It's not a half bad idea. You can take it to Reiter when we get back."

"Me? No, Sir, I was just passing it on to you."

"You have a good idea, Private, then you better be prepared to act on it."

"Yes, Sir," he muttered nervously.

"We've got an armoured column coming up the road!" shouted one of the troops on guard outside.

Taylor lifted his comms. "Grey, cancel that brew. We're moving out!"

He took a little amusement in knowing just how the Captain's face would look at that moment before heading for the door. The first sight that struck him was that of five bodies of fallen comrades. They were loaded onto mechanical mules ready to move, and several others wounded beside them. Mitch wanted to tell them they were going home, but they no longer had one.

"To the boats, lets go!"