Battle Earth X (11 page)

“Moon Defence Force!” Reynolds shouted.

“Sir, they’re friendlies,” he added.

“We don’t know that.”

“Was it you shot down that Krys fighter back there?” Kelly shouted.

“Affirmative!”

Kelly got to his feet and clambered over the tree, carrying on in the open for all to see clearly. He held is rifle low but did not drop it, and held is other hand up to show he was no threat.

“Put your weapons down!” a voice ordered.

He was starting to pinpoint the location now by sound but could still not see it.

“Put ‘em down!”

He stopped in his tracks and stood calmly head on towards where the voice was coming from, a few metres to the right of the gun barrel.

“If you are fighting the Krys, then we are allies.”

“Put your weapon down!”

“And I put my weapon down for no man nor alien!” Kelly bellowed in return.

They all waited for a response. Reynolds looked around cautiously from the cover of Kelly’s truck, but he could still see nothing.

“Did you hear me?” Kelly asked, “Shoot me, or come out!”

Kelly still made no attempt to neither raise his rifle nor move.

“Ball’s in your court!”

Finally, he saw a few branches shake, and part of the tree seemed to get up and walk into the road. A man wearing a camouflage ghillie suit made of part man made materials and part local foliage stood before him. The man was so padded out and bulky he looked like a gorilla. Kelly said nothing and waited for the man to pull back his hood and reveal his face. As they did so, Kelly was shocked to see it was a woman inside.

A woman as tall as he was with her hair tied back and a both curious and suspicious look on her face. Her voice was so deep, and her body so tall and strong, it was hard to notice she was a woman.

“Corporal Berlin, of the…well not sure anymore. We have no unit. We are on our own.”

“Commander Kelly, formerly of the MDF.”

“You can’t carry on this way, Commander.”

“I’m not a Commander anymore. Call me Kelly.”

She looked back past the tree to the line of vehicles in the distance.

“Still look like a Commander to me,” she replied, “I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to pass. Turn your vehicles and go back the way you came.”

Kelly shook his head.

“Guessing you got a few friends back there.”

She did not respond.

“And I am guessing if you were asked by a stranger to walk to your death, you’d not agree and start walking? No… not a chance.”

He could see she was starting to understand, but she had strict orders, and she was sticking to them.

“No, you wouldn’t do it, would you? I have a few hundred people here, and every one of them a fighter. So here’s the deal. We either keep going the way we are going, or you fire on us.”

She shook her head.

“I cannot allow you to continue, Commander.”

Taylor began to walk forward. As he did so, he let go of the rifle slung at his side and held both hands up as to not appear any threat. He walked cautiously and carefully towards the woman whose rifle was now carefully trained on him.

“Whoever you are, you want to fight the bastards who have invaded this world. We do, too. We aren’t running from a fight. We’re regrouping and establishing a guerrilla movement. However many people you have, honestly tell me you can’t use more?”

He kept creeping forwards and was now just a few metres from the woman. Because of her ghillie suit, he could see no insignia or rank. Her accent was German, but that was hardly a surprise.

“Stop right there, or I’ll shoot!” she yelled.

He kept moving forward.

“I won’t. I can’t, just as you can’t shoot me. We’re the same. We want the same thing, and we’re in this together,” replied Kelly.

He finally reached the barrel of her gun.

“Whoever you are, put it down, and let’s do this together. I’m not here through any accident. I know the location of the bunkers in these forests. I was briefed when I was relocated here. All I want is a chance to fight these things. I know you want the same. Don’t make us fight each other now. We’re at the end of days. All we have left is our will and our raw determination to go on fighting and killing those things.”

He took one step closer so that the barrel of the gun pressed against his chest.

“Let us do the only thing we have left to do in this world. We don’t want your sympathy; we don’t want your charity. We’re fighters. Let us fight.”

The woman was shocked and frozen as she clung to her rifle. She was clearly a hardened veteran and a tough soldier, but she came close to tears as she began to quiver a little. She turned back to the trees where she knew her people were.

“Lower you’re weapons. These are friendlies!”

A number of the trees rustled, and three more soldiers stepped out into the open.

“Corporal Berlin of the… I don’t even know anymore, Commander.”

“Kelly.”

“Commander Kelly.”

“Just Kelly. Maybe I was a Commander one day past. Times change, we change.”

She nodded in agreement and looked back to her people. “Clear the way, let them through!”

A few trees around the gun barrel were pulled back to reveal a heavy tank carefully concealed within. They connected up a winch on the vehicle to the fallen tree and hauled it out the way in seconds.

“Pull on forwards, give enough space that all your people can get through. Then wait for me. You’ll need me with you to avoid this down the road.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, I’m just the first line of defence. You’ll have to convince my superiors yet.”

Kelly strode back to his vehicle and waved on for the other vehicles to join them. Reynolds stepped into the vehicle as he did, sighing a great sigh of relief as he sat down.

“How did you know she wouldn’t fire?”

“If they didn’t, there was no hope to this anyway,” replied Kelly.

“Hope? You told me…”

“Yeah, I tell you what you need to hear, Captain. Be it a lesson for you, sometimes those you are responsible for need you to say or do certain things. It isn’t always easy, but it’s the price of command.”

“And if I didn’t want command at this level?”

“Hard luck and tough shit.”

"I'm getting reports of some serious shit going down!" Rains shouted out.

Their craft passed through the landing bay doors only to find it lined with civilians who had flocked there to try and get off the ship. Anything that could fly had already left, and they now stood about like lambs awaiting the slaughter.

Rains brought them in quickly, and the civilians quickly parted as they came in to land. As they put down, they saw a pulse soar past their position. Taylor opened the side doors, and screams rang out from all around them. Taylor knew he didn't need to say a word to his own people; they knew what to do. He jumped out from the copter and into the crowds of desperate and terrified people.

He could already hear the screams of pain beyond those of just panic as the Mech pulse cannons fired. He could see the flashes of light above, but the civilians blocked their line of sight.

"Everyone down on the ground! Down on the ground now!"

He grabbed the nearest woman and pushed her down and began doing the same to those around her while continuing to yell, "Get down!"

The civilians gradually began to comply, but they still cried and wailed. As they did so, he caught sight of one of the first Mechs and took aim. It saw him in the same moment and began to pivot and train its pulse cannon on him, but he had already squeezed the trigger and let out a controlled burst into its head.

"Wait!" he heard a voice cry.

He looked around and saw a young man running towards their ship in a desperate attempt to reach safety. As he got halfway, a pulse struck him in the back and passed through his body with no resistance at all. It then brushed off the thick frontal armour below where Eddie was still sitting in the cockpit.

The man dropped to his knees. There was a hole through his body big enough to put a fist through. He was already dead when he collapsed to the deck. Taylor saw particles of another pulse brush past him where a shot had struck his shield and burst on impact. It was all the motivation he needed to turn back towards his enemy.

There were still civilians all around him and nowhere for him to take cover. Neither could he easily get through them while as many pulses were hitting them as were coming towards his own people.

Only way is up,
he thought.

Taylor took a quick step forward and fired his boosters so that he was launched forward over the crowd. He aimed himself at one of the Mechs like a rocket with his shield tilted forwards. The creature had no time to respond. He struck it head on and went crashing head over heels, as it too was knocked onto its back.

Taylor tumbled but managed to stop at a kneeling position and fired his rifle from the hip at the Mech who was trying to get back on its feet. His first two shots hit the knee joint of the armour, and the Mech dropped face first to the deck. He fired another three shots into its back. He quickly righted himself and turned to face the next enemy but stopped dead as a pulse cannon was placed against his chest. He had no time to react as the weapon fired.

The blinding blast projected Taylor through the air. He could feel several impacts on falling upon Mechs either dead or alive, but much of it was a blur as his body went limp from the impact. He felt dizzy as he rolled over a body and landed flat to the ground. He tried to get up, but he was disorientated and half blind.

Even though he was almost deaf, he could still hear a little of what was going on. Gunfire was almost constant from weapons on both sides. He got up to one knee but felt an impact against his chest. It smashed him back down onto the deck. He tried to get up, but as he raised a few centimetres off the ground, a Mech foot pressed down onto his breastplate and forced him back down.

His armour was all that stopped his chest from caving in. He reached for his rifle, but it was gone. The sling must have snapped when he was thrown. He tried to reach across for his Assegai, but he was unable to put his hand across his body for the heavy foot on his chest. The only option left to him was his sidearm. He pulled it from his holster and tried to take aim, but his vision was blurred. He desperately tried to focus, but suddenly the barrel of a pulse cannon struck his pistol and launched it out of his hand.

The impact nearly broke his fingers, and pain surged up his arm. He had nothing left now. He couldn’t reach a weapon, and he was pinned in place. He looked up, watching the enemy weapon pan across and point directly at his face.

“Screw you, you alien scum!” he bellowed.

It was his last moment, and he knew it, but he wouldn’t close his eyes. He wanted to see and witness his end. The light in the barrel of the cannon began to brighten as it gained power, and he knew he had just one second left and no way to avert death.

To his amazement, the Mech standing on him suddenly launched to one side and the weight came off him. The creature was barged out the way. The impact forced him to roll over onto his side, and he took a deep breath in surprise. As he rolled over, he could see Jafar stabbing his attacker multiple times.

Yet again saved by one I call a close friend, but an alien, nonetheless.

Taylor tried to catch a breath, but he still felt weak.

“That was foolish,” said Jafar.

He couldn’t help but agree. He had let desperation take hold of him and acted beyond what his training and knowledge would have otherwise allowed him, and paid a price for it. He looked down to see the front plate of his armour was smouldering. It was the thickest plate on their suits, and it had only barely stopped the penetration. He could see Parker and several others chasing down the last remaining Mechs in the room. Jafar reached down and offered him a hand. It was such a human gesture that it brought a smile to his face. Jafar was not unceremoniously hauling him to his feet, but offered assistance.

Taylor took him up on his offer and was helped upright. His head was pounding and his neck stiff. His arm still ached, despite the doctors having said it would be completed healed by now. He knew he hadn't given it the correct rest to heal. He heard a hive of activity and turned to see Rains’ ship swamped with people trying to climb aboard. He could sympathise, but it wasn't helping.

He picked up his rifle from the deck and fired a single shot that made them all freeze.

"Get down from the ship!" he boomed.

They stayed frozen, and he could see many were trying to decide whether to do as he said.

"Now!" he shouted.

Most of them slid back off the wings down to the landing bay deck, as he pushed his way to the ship and jumped up for a better view across them all. A couple of hundred people stood before him, and he knew their dead lay at their feet also.

"Take us out of here! Help us!" one of them yelled.

"Listen to me! Now! This craft is not going anywhere unless I say it does. It remains here because it needs to, and every second you hold me and my people up, the more of you will die out there."

"Take the children at least!" another screamed.

Taylor shook his head.

"The children?" he asked, "You think a child's life is worth more than any one of yours or my people? A child cannot fight for years to come. We're fighting for our survival today, tomorrow, for weeks, and months. Right now, the most valuable human being is the one who can carry a weapon and use it effectively. You have my word that I will do everything I can to protect you and the rest of the civilians on this ship. In return, I ask you stay here and not interfere with my people, my ship, my pilot, or me! Have you got that?"

A few groaned but nobody argued with him. He didn't like talking to them that way, but he knew the only thing that mattered now was time.

"Let's move!"

He jumped down from the ship and raced for the nearest exit. He quickly passed Parker who looked at the deep hole in his armour with disbelief.

"Lucky," she whispered.

"Damn right," he replied.

He carried on without breaking stride. Up ahead they could already hear almost constant gunfire from both enemy and friendly weapons. He had no idea what kind of numbers they were facing, and he had only a single platoon at his back, but he knew he had to head for the heart of the fighting and get stuck in.

"King, come in, what is your location?" he asked over the comms.

Nothing came back.

"They're jamming us again," replied Parker.

"Fuck sake. Every time we find a way to get around it, they screw us again."

Ahead they could see a line of bodies. Many were civilians, but amongst them were Chinese marines who must have come from the Lo Yang. Taylor shook his head as he noted their equipment. No body armour, old rifles. They were equipped no better than he had been the day of the first invasion. He remembered that time and how invincible the Mechs felt. There were just two fallen Mechs among the dozens of dead humans.

"They never stood a chance."

"And yet they came anyway, Eli? Stupidity or devotion to helping these people?" he asked. He could hear a heavy sound like a giant hammer striking an equally large anvil. They approached cautiously and turned a bend to find a Mech smashing itself against a large doorway, trying to breach it. Taylor instantly jumped into the corridor and fired a burst at the creature. His shots bounced off, and it turned towards him. It was one of the Juggernauts, but he knew it was too late to turn back.

He rushed at the giant Mech, and it appeared unarmed. But as he closed, it raised its arms. Lights flashed from pulse weapons running the length of his forearms.

"Shit!"

He held out his shield before him, absorbed the shots, and kept going. He charged full force into the creature, but it was like running into a brick wall. He stopped dead against it. He felt the Mech grasp the shield and knew he could not hold on. He let go and pulled out his Assegai. The Mech raised the shield to strike him with it like a club.

"Get down!" Parker screamed.

He ducked down, and half a dozen rifles opened up on full auto. The Mech was bombarded with fire. A couple of the shots appeared to penetrate and hurt the alien a little, but it did not stop it. Taylor could see the shield was about to come down on his head. He leapt forward between the legs of the Juggernaut, and the shield crashed down on the floor where he had been kneeling.

The alien spun around to continue its assault against him when a second wave of fire struck its back. Enough of the shots penetrated its thinner rear armour for it to spasm as the impacts were felt on its body. The creature tried to strike down to Taylor, but it was taking a continuous barrage of fire. Taylor could do nothing but hide in front of it or risk being hit by friendly fire. He watched as more than a hundred shots struck the beast, and finally it collapsed onto its back.

He was now able see his own people, and Parker shaking her head in disbelief at how much it had taken to bring the monster down.

"Hate those things," she stated.

"Everyone does," he replied.

Taylor banged on the door that the creature had been trying to breach.

"This is Colonel Taylor of the Inter-Allied Regiment."

"Who?" a scared female voice cried.

"We're from the Washington, and we're here to help you."

"We could just leave them be. Looks like they're as safe as they could be," said Parker.

The door unlocked and slid open. Inside were two women and a man. A pulse in the flank had clipped one of the women, and she sat squirming from the pain.

"Can you help us?" the uninjured woman asked.

"That's what we're doing," replied Taylor.

They tried to lift the wounded up towards the door.

"What are you doing?"

"You said you would help us?"

"And we are, by removing the threat. We cannot get you off this ship yet, and neither can we get you to the medical bay while the enemy still roams the ship. That wound looks pretty well cauterised to me. Safest thing you can do for now is seal this door back up and wait this out."

"But we..."

"But nothing," Taylor responded sternly, "All I need from you is information. You're the closest survivors to the enemy we have seen yet. What can you tell me about them?"

They looked dumbfounded.

"Come on, you know what they are. You must have seen them on the news. What are we dealing with? What kind of numbers have you seen? Do they have human agents among them?"