Battle Earth III (20 page)

Taylor strode out of the room without a fear in the world. He shot down a passing Mech without breaking stride or raising his shield. He walked like an invincible hero who hunted an inferior being, but none of them wanted to face the creatures’ leader who Mitch was so eager to find. The marines quickly followed behind.

Taylor could see a crossroads up ahead. Movement on the opposite corridor, which opened out into the same area, quickly drew his attention.

“Karadag,” he spat.

He could recognise the shape of the beast from any distance. Taylor had grown to fear the leader who had almost killed him once, but now he was more driven than ever to rip him apart. He lifted his shield and rifle and quickened his pace. Karadag lifted his right arm and tapped a few commands. Taylor heard a vast blast door smash down behind him. He turned quickly to see one of the marines had been sliced in half by the sheer force. Only Eli and Jones had made it through before the rest of the platoons were cut off.

Taylor stopped and looked at the sight with anger, but he couldn’t bring himself to show weakness in the face of the enemy. He turned back to see that Karadag stood awaiting him with a guard either side of him.

“Three on three! Seems a fair fight!” he spat.

Before he could speak another word, he saw Jones leap forward into a sprint.

“Come on, you bastard!” he yelled.

“Jones!” cried Taylor.

It was too late. The Captain had already gained too much speed for them to support him. He fired rapidly on the move, but Karadag skilfully leapt aside. One of the Mechs was struck as it tried to respond to Jones’ charge. Charlie didn’t break stride and continued to rush for the enemy leader in a furious charge, leaping to barge Karadag with his shield.

The enemy leader moved aside and grasped Jones’ shield as he did so. He used his bodyweight and rolled to toss Jones into a nearby wall at high speed. Taylor watched in despair as the alien quickly lifted his stunned friend from the ground and smashed the hilt of his weapon into the Captain’s face. Blood sprayed from his head as his body went limp and was tossed aside.

“No!” cried Taylor.

Karadag turned and confidently righted himself from the other side of the room as if to show his physical superiority. Taylor relaxed his shoulders and lifted up from his hunched position. He unclipped his rifle sling and threw down his rifle.

“What are you doing?” yelled Eli.

Taylor didn’t respond. He stared at Karadag with a murderous gaze. She could tell that he didn’t just want to succeed in their mission. He wanted to make the alien pay. Taylor slowly drew out his assegai and saw the arrogance in the alien’s face. He could see that Karadag truly appreciated close combat and that he had no doubt of success against the Major. Eli turned to him in despair.

“You can’t do this. He’ll kill you,” she whispered.

For a moment he ignored her and eyed up his opponent. Karadag turned and gave some signal for his guard to stay put as he advanced slowly and confidently forward. Taylor admired Karadag for his acceptance of single combat, but it didn’t stop him hating the creature anymore. He turned back to Eli.

“This is my fight. I came here to end this.”

“No, we came here to end this. You can’t fight him alone,” she pleaded.

“You find a way out of here, Sergeant, and that’s an order! I’ll finish this, one way or another.”

Tears once again streamed from her eyes as she realised Taylor had already accepted that he would die there.

“I told you to go, move!” he yelled.

She lowered her rifle and moved across to the left corridor of the intersection. She looked back one last time to see Taylor and Karadag staring each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. She finally continued onwards and prayed for it all to be over.

* * *

“We’re getting fucked here!” yelled Blinker.

Energy pulses smashed into the walls and floor all around their positions as they tried their best to return fire against the increasing Mech forces.

“Just keep firing, Private! We have to give Taylor as much time as we can!” ordered Chandra.

Monty leapt up to take a shot, but as he did, a pulse smashed into his shoulder and threw him back behind the cover. She watched in horror as smoke poured from his body armour, and she could see shards of hot metal burning into the skin of his face. He let out a cry in agony as his brother reached his side, hauling him in against the counter they were using for cover.

“You’re okay! You’re okay!” he screamed.

He hadn’t even looked at the extent of his brother’s wounds, but he knew the fact he was breathing was to be considered a rarity after taking a hit from the enemy weapons. He looked down to see that his brother’s armour had taken the worst of the impact, but the round had burnt a chunk out of his neck and collar and top of his shoulder.

“Jesus Christ!” cried Blinker.

Chandra wasn’t sure if the Private was yelling in concern for his brother or thankful that he had survived the impact. She lifted herself up and continued to fire. She could see yet more Mechs flooding into the vast room, more than they could handle alone.

* * *

Taylor leapt into a sprint and rushed at his opponent. He had seen Karadag’s fondness for voiding right against incoming attacks and fully calculated it into his first attack. As he approached with his shield high, the enemy leader rolled just as he had predicted. Taylor dug his heels in and used the power of his suit to re-direct with a quick spin to his left and smashed the shield in Karadag. The alien was caught off balance and tumbled over onto his face.

The remaining guard lifted his weapon to aid his stricken leader, but automatic fire ripped through the intersection and dropped the creature before it could get off a round. Taylor turned to see Eli stood at the corridor entrance with a smoking gun. He smiled in return; she truly was everything he could have ever wanted. As she acknowledged his appreciation, Karadag pulled out a throwing dagger and launched it at the Sergeant.

She responded quickly by lifting her weapon as she spun, and the huge blade embedded in her rifle. She held it up to see that the blade had penetrated right the way through and had come within a few centimetres of her face. She threw the weapon down and glared at the creature with scorn. Taylor watched as Eli drew out her assegai and looked at Karadag with the same contempt and disgust that he shared.

Taylor smiled yet further. He already knew that they were now unstoppable. Parker rushed forward aggressively and leapt towards the beast. Taylor jumped in beside her and thrust forward with his weapon. Karadag frantically cut across his body and parried the two weapons and spun with a hard swing against Taylor. He lifted his shield at the last moment, and the huge two-handed blade crashed into the thick metal.

Mitch felt the impact through his entire body and was only thankful that the exoskeleton suit saved his body from crumpling. The impact had carved a deep groove into the shield with a channelled dent that surrounded it. Taylor could already tell that it had buckled. He pushed upwards with the shield and drove his sword up towards the beast’s torso.

Karadag kicked the Major’s arm aside and lifted to make a heavy vertical stride that would have smashed Taylor to the ground, but was interrupted by Eli. She jumped forward and hit Karadag with all her force behind the shield that sent him staggering back. She knew that such a strike would have killed a human being, but it only appeared to make him angrier.

The two marines stood awaiting their enemy’s next move, but he circled them and cautiously tried to search out their weaknesses.

“Major Taylor, why will you not just die?” he growled.

The deep booming voice echoed around the huge empty crossroads.

“I might well ask you the same question. We never wanted this war. We never came looking for you. Look what you have done. You want to systematically erase our species!”

“Yeeeeesss...” he replied.

Eli shook her head in disgust. He was proud of the fact.

“What are you doing with all these people here? Thousands of them...” she replied.

Karadag turned and looked down at her as if she was a lesser being, although it amused him to sicken her further with an answer.

“Those suitable are being re-programmed. They should make adequate soldiers in our armies.”

“What, humans? They’ll never fight for you!” she spat back.

Karadag let out a slow, deep bellowing laugh that was meant to insult her as much as it was for his own entertainment.

“Humans? All these thousands of years, and look how little distance you have come.”

“We seem to be kicking your ass well enough,” replied Taylor.

Karadag’s eyes lit up a fiery red as he screamed out and swung his huge weapon down against the Major. It was a careless and uncontrolled strike that he easily avoided, thrusting his assegai into the beast’s arm. Karadag gave out a short scream in pain before kicking Taylor in the chest and launching him across the room. He then turned his attention back on Eli as Taylor sighed in pain, trying to get some air back into his lungs.

“A woman in your army? Is that how little understanding you have? You accept weakness?”

She leapt and used her boosters to launch her into the air as she screamed and thrust for Karadag’s face. He parried it aside, but she continued the assault with a barrage of attacks as she descended. In her wild frenzy, she left herself open, and Karadag thrust the back shaft of his two-hander into her stomach, throwing her back. She tumbled along the floor until she came to a stop just two metres from where Taylor was struggling to get to his feet.

The two marines got up together and looked into each others’ eyes. It was in this moment that Taylor realised he didn’t want to die there. He nodded to Eli, and she could already see his thoughts.

“Let’s do this,” he stated.

They both turned and strode in time towards the arrogant alien leader. Parker parried his first strike as Taylor attacked, and they for the first time fought in harmony. Karadag could barely respond in time to the flurry of attacks, and they could see the worry in his eyes. In a panicked attacked, he cut down with all his force against Eli, but she parried with both hands supporting her shield. Taylor leapt forward and smashed the bottom edge of his shield onto Karadag’s leading knee.

The creature’s leg buckled under the power of the blow, and he fell down onto the injured joint. Eli jumped forward and thrust her assegai into his stomach. The brutal weapon pierced his armour without any resistance. His head lifted, and his jaw opened as he let out a screech in pain. He looked back down and lifted his weapon to try and strike, but Taylor thrust forward also.

Parker and Taylor pulled out their swords and continued to stab Karadag repeatedly as he dropped his sword, and they saw the energy in his eyes fade. He collapsed down heavily on the hard floor as pools of blood spread all around him. Eli breathed a sigh of relief, but Taylor paced forward and knelt down beside the head of the dying leader. Karadag spluttered as he tried to speak a few words.

“It isn’t over, it’s never over...”

His voice faded, and his head slumped. Neither of them was in doubt that he was dead. Taylor turned to see Parker leap onto him with a hug.

“We did it!” she cried.

He pulled her back to see her body armour was badly battered from the fight, but that she was okay. She wiped the blood from his face, and he winced at the pressure on his broken nose and bruised face.

“Remind me I never want to go into boxing,” he jested.

She smiled as tears streamed down her face.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

* * *

Chandra looked at Blinker with a look of surprise as she heard a volley of weapons fire in the distance that she knew not to be of enemy origin. She leapt up to see friendly troops engaging the Mechs from the far corridor where they had come from.

“It’s Wittman!” she cried.

The soldiers who had been huddled behind cover jumped to their firing positions with a newly found confidence. Having others come to their aid was something the Inter-Allied were beginning to forget. They leapt out from cover and advanced on the Mechs, firing as they did so. Chandra turned to see that Eli had joined in from a side corridor, and she could make out the shape of Taylor firing one-handed and with a fellow soldier over his shoulder.

The human forces closed quickly on the Mech forces and with continued fire quickly overcame them. Chandra turned in surprise to see Jones slung over Taylor’s shoulder, and the damage they had all taken.

“Is it done?” she asked.

Taylor grinned in such a way that she already knew the answer.

“Then what are you waiting for? Get your arses out of here!”

She turned to Wittman and the others.

“We’ve got minutes until the enemy descend upon us, and we’re done for. Let’s move it!”

They quickly got up to pace and followed the route they had come in. She rushed up beside Jones.

“Mitch, is he alive?” asked Chandra.

“I think he’ll make it! Next time he wants to commit suicide, he can do it on your watch!”

She looked over in despair at the unconscious body of the Captain who both of them had come to know as a great friend. He was a casualty of war that wasn’t reflected in the casualty reports. They rushed out of the vast building to find little more than a scattering of Mechs and drones that opened fire. One of Silva’s platoon was hit and killed, but the rest quickly returned fire without breaking pace.

Campbell hauled the body of the fallen soldier onto his shoulders. Now knowing what they did, they could never leave a comrade behind, no matter the stakes. The exhausted Taylor rushed to the front of the troops even with the weight of Jones on his shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to get free of the enemy lines.

The two Companies poured aboard the three craft while under continuous fire by the oncoming Mechs. They could tell the enemy was far from ready for the lightning strike they had made, and now there was little available to stop them escaping.

“Eddie! Get is the fuck out of here!” yelled Taylor.

The ramps were still lifting as the craft took off. Several pulses smashed into the craft Rains was piloting, but they did little more than shake the vessel. After getting just thirty metres off the ground, Eddie put all power to the rear engines and soared to full speed. They all knew once they had reached full speed that nothing the enemy had could catch them.

“Jesus Christ, Major, you trying to get me killed?” asked Eddie.

“Mighty fine job you did here, Lieutenant. I’ll be sure to make the General aware of your work.”

“Fuck that, you keep me alive and get me a beer, and I’ll be good.”

Taylor smiled. He stepped back into the transport bay and looked down in sadness at the body of the fallen soldier. He noticed Monty and knelt down beside the man.

“Some good wounds to brag about back home there?”

“Yes, Sir,” he responded with gritted teeth.

Taylor patted him on his good shoulder.

“Damn fine soldiering, Monty.”

They arrived back on base within hours to a hail of applause by an entire division that had assembled to greet them, along with detachments from a dozen countries. When they hit the ground and disembarked, Chandra could see that Wittman had over a dozen dead and almost as many wounded. It saddened her to see what a price it had cost them, but they were welcomed back as heroes, nonetheless.

General Schulz and his staff awaited them and saluted as they paced down the ramps. Taylor smirked as he was amused by the amount of kiss ass he knew he had earned from the man who had sent him to prison. Though he looked past to Dupont who still glared at him with disgust and refused to salute.

“Major Chandra, Major Taylor, welcome back!”

They could see the General was desperately awaiting news. They could have transmitted it soon after breaking free of the enemy blocking zone, but they were less than eager to send the news ahead and let their superiors take the glory. Schulz lifted up his hand for the troops to silence themselves and listen to Chandra. He beckoned for his aide to go forward with a microphone that had been linked to speakers all around the base.

“Major, please tell us the news.”

“Thank you, General, but I must let Major Taylor have this duty, for he has earned it more than any of us.”

Schulz begrudgingly accepted. She could see that his hatred of Taylor had waned to little more than a mild annoyance, but it still pained him to see Taylor stealing the spotlight. She passed the mic to Taylor who coughed to clear his throat. He looked out at the eager faces of all the soldiers who awaited the news. Line after line of troops watched him with eager eyes; so many faces that reminded him of all those they had lost on the road to this point.

“I can confirm that as of 1500 hours today, Karadag, the leader of the enemy army on Earth, is dead, witnessed by myself and Sergeant Eli Parker of the 2nd Inter-Allied Battalion...”

The roar of clapping and whistles cut off his speech as the troops could not restrain themselves. They could hear the celebrations ring out across the base. There was not one among them who could not leap for joy at the news. After several minutes of ecstasy, they finally quietened and waited for him to continue.

“We did this together, not as a nation, an army, but as a race. We stood together as the human race. I can guarantee you that this war is not over, but I can also assure you that I will not stop fighting until it is!”

General Schulz stepped forward and raised his hand to ask Taylor for the microphone. He handed it over without question. He didn’t like the man, but he liked speaking publically even less. Schulz picked up the mic and turned back to the troops with a smile.

“This is General Schulz, Commander of the joint European armies. I want to thank you all for your continuing efforts. We believe that our actions today have broken the spine of this invading force. I have already had confirmation that Russian, Swedish and Danish troops are already well on their way to assisting in the Battle for Berlin. That fight is no longer our concern.”

He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath for dramatic effect.

“We can drive our enemy into the sea, and I fully intend to do it. At 0500 hours we advance east, and we keep advancing until we reach the sea!”