Battle Earth X (25 page)

Oh, shit,
thought Taylor.

He dropped the web round magazine from his rifle and slammed in a fresh regular one. He reached down for his shield and took up a stance ready to fight them, but he knew they were in deep trouble. As they were about to fire, they heard an almost deafening roar overhead as a gateway opened within the atmosphere, and a Krys vessel appeared before them.

The three aliens looked up in amazement just as they did. The ship was coming down almost right on top of them. As it did, hundreds of Mechs leapt out as its descent slowed and came down to land as Taylor's people did using assisted boosters. They landed around their position and had them completely surrounded. The aliens before them looked to Taylor as if he were the cause of it.

"You see those things? Those are my enemy!"

The creatures looked confused.

“Those are the reason we are here! We have been fighting them for years now, and we just lost our world to them!”

“But you fight alongside one?”

“He’s a one in a million. They’ve come here to make us extinct. They are not our allies!”

He holstered his Assegai and picked up his rifle. The rest of his unit opened fire at the incoming troops.

“Kill them all!” he screamed.

Kelly’s truck rolled into the hangar as it had a dozen times now. A crowd had gathered to greet them and cheer them on just as before. Their return was always a time for celebration. But as his truck came to a halt, the crowd could see the sombre tone on their faces. The cheering stopped when Kelly got out and climbed onto the hood to address them all.

“Today we lost friends, brothers in arms. We failed because our enemy outsmarted us. Mourn our friends who fell, but celebrate those who made it back. This is a war, and no war can be won without losses. The party goes on tonight all the same. We celebrate their lives, and we celebrate another day we are still alive!”

A few at the back started breaking out the drinks, but many stood stunned at the news. Kelly couldn’t bring himself to say anymore. He knew they led a limited existence that would end bloody, but that didn’t mean he had accepted the fact deep down. He climbed down and felt his back and legs tremble and feel weak. He was getting old, and there was no getting over that fact.

“You can’t win them all,” Becker said, passing Kelly a beer.

“That was my mission. My plan. It failed, and yet you offer me a drink?”

“We’re all dead. We just don’t know it yet. I’m alive right now, and that’s a fact I consider worth celebrating, don’t you think?”

Kelly laughed. It broke his sullen mood, and he was thankful to Becker for that. He was beginning to relax when a voice over the intercom rang out.

“We have incoming at the rear entrance. Armour and infantry.”

Kelly’s face turned to stone. He reached into the back of his truck, grabbed his rifle, and rushed out to the exit of the hangar.

“Everyone to your positions!” he ordered as he ran.

He got to the guardroom and found Engel supervising two of the guards observing the security screens.

“What is it? How many?”

“Sir…they appear to be…”

“What? Appear to be what?” he asked insistently.

“Human.”

Becker arrived at Kelly’s side in time to see an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle roll into view with three soldiers sitting atop it.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“They yours?”

“That vehicle right there is 1
^st
Armoured Division out of Hannover. Last I heard they were fighting a hundred klicks north of here. I didn’t think any of them would have made it.”

“Armoured Division? That’s light hardware for an armoured division?”

“Recon elements, it’s probably all that made it out.”

He smiled and rushed out to greet them.

“Captain!” Kelly shouted.

He stopped in surprise.

“Caution, always. We don’t know yet they’re who you think they are, or their intentions.”

Becker’s face turned more serious.

“We let you in without opposition, did we not?”

“And you were lucky we were who we said we were. It was a terrible breach of security, if you think about it.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.”

He carried on to the main doorway and hit the open switch. The metre-thick blast doors slid open before Kelly could reach him and say another word.

“You know the 1
^st
?”

“One or two, not many.”

“So how do we know who they really are?”

“Relax, Commander. You’ll live longer.”

Kelly knew Becker’s carefree attitude would get them in trouble some day. He had no choice now but to wait and watch, as the vehicle column rolled into their base along the same path he had taken. It was some relief to him that they clearly knew the same route he did, but he still felt uneasy about strangers entering their compound at such a dangerous time.

Eight vehicles rode in. Many had troops atop them. They all looked exhausted and demoralised. Several of the vehicles had substantial damage caused by pulse weapons; and a couple of them were missing one or two of their wheels and yet still moving. They drew to a halt, and the troops clambered off, and others disembarked from inside the armoured transports. Not one of them said a word, but a man who was clearly their leader stepped up to Kelly and Becker. Becker showed no signs of recognising him, and he bore no rank on his uniform at all. Of if he did, it was concealed beneath the thick winter coat he wore. He did not salute nor say a word as he studied Kelly for a moment, and the Commander did likewise.

Finally, he paced up and wrapped his arms around Kelly to embrace him as a friend, despite the fact he had no idea who he was.

“Major Klein, honoured to meet you,” he said, “1
^st
Armoured.”

“Commander Kelly, formerly of the MDF, and presently of the newly founded Dragons.”

Klein looked at him with a strange expression on his face.

“Dragons?”

“That is what we call ourselves. We have come together from so many places that we have decided to throw off old names and start anew. We are united as one now.”

“Then will you have us? We have nothing more than what you see here. Will you let us in, and fight what’s left of this war together?”

Becker couldn’t believe their luck, but Kelly was still suspicious of any strangers coming into the camp. However, he looked around at the faces of Klein’s people. He recognised the grim despair on their faces and knew exactly how it felt.

“Will your people stand beside mine and give it their all? Will they fight to the very end, to make the enemy suffer, until their last dying breath?” Kelly asked.

“You can be assured of that.”

“Then welcome to the Drachenburg!”

There was no excitement at the prospect, only relief as Klein embraced him once again.

* * *

Taylor roared and rushed forward, leaping into the air towards one of the Mechs descending from the ship above. He fired a burst of rifle fire and struck it with his shield, causing it to tumble head first into the ground. He landed on one knee and saw another of the Mechs coming down right on top of him. He slanted his shield across his body and down the ground, held his rifle out beside it, and emptied the clip into the creature. Its lifeless body smashed into his shield and slid down the ground. He shoved it aside and got back to his feet.

“Mitch!” Parker shouted.

He looked over to see she was pointing directly above him. He looked up and saw three Juggernauts descending towards him on a triangular steel rig with thrusters built in. He rolled out of the way as it smashed to the ground, and the beasts were released.

Taylor let go of his rifle and drew out his Assegai, knowing it was the only weapon he had that was worth using now. The three Juggernauts all turned their attention to him, almost as if they had been programmed to seek him out personally. He circled them and watched their every move. He knew he was playing with fire now because he had barely survived against one of them.

Where are you, Jafar? I need you now!

One of the Juggernauts finally rushed at him, and he spun out of the way, but the beast lightly clipped his shield. As he spun, he tried to thrust with his Assegai, but the strike went wide. In the open ground they now fought, he was finding out just how fast they were in a straight line.

“Taylor!” he heard a voice yell.

It was Jafar. His deep tone was unmistakeable. He looked over. Jafar was brandishing one of the 50CMGs, and Abbot stood before him with one of the modified shields supporting the barrel. Taylor quickly ducked down, watching and listening as Jafar pulled the trigger. The gun was horrendously loud compared to anything they used as infantry. Shots ripped through the first Juggernaut and cut it down quickly. The other two quickly responded to the danger as their programming forced them to do so. They rushed towards Jafar.

The Atlantis aliens watched the situation unfold without moving. It was as if they did not fear the battle before them at all and only viewed it out of curiosity, trying to understand the history that had led to this point. Most of all, Taylor could see the one who had spoken to him watching Jafar bravely take on the Juggernauts and risk his life for Taylor.

Jafar struck down another with the heavy weapon, but it jammed as it overheated from the sustained fire. He let it drop and drew his Assegai as the last Juggernaut smashed into him and sent him flying. Taylor rushed on over to help. As he approached the Juggernaut, Jafar leapt up and struck the creature with a wild swing that hit it so hard it staggered back. As it did so, Taylor thrust his Assegai into its back.

The ferocious creature straightened and then swung around to try and reach him. He ducked under and turned in the same direction it was turning and stabbed again. It let out a scream in pain and tried once more to reach for him, but this time Jafar got a hold of the creature and stabbed into its head. It quivered and finally dropped dead. Taylor stepped aside in time to save from being crushed by the corpse.

He nodded in appreciation to Jafar who wobbled a little, and it was clear he was still weak. Taylor took a hold of him as he dropped to one knee. He looked over to the Atlantis aliens who still watched him above all else. They seemed utterly oblivious to the battle. Pulses ignited around them, and yet somehow they were not hurt. He was not sure if they were invincible to the weapons in use, or merely mesmerised by what they saw.

Taylor looked around. The other 50CMG was still blazing away but finally jammed. The crew got to their feet and drew their Assegais and joined in the battle. He saw Abbot get hit by two pulses and another two of Parker’s platoon struck down as she rushed past and engaged their attackers in hand-to-hand.

Hundreds more Mechs descended from the sky and more Juggernauts with them. Taylor knew it was far more than they could handle on their own. He looked back to the mysterious aliens who still watched the battle while their two robots stood idle like statues.

“They are the enemy!” he screamed, “Will you do nothing?”

The three looked at each other as if trying to find consensus. They eventually looked back and began walking towards him. Still they showed no concern for their own lives. A pulse rushed towards one and past through and struck the ground with no resistance at all, neither any damage.

‘They’re holograms,” whispered Taylor, “Just like Erdogan had been when he taunted me.”

He looked down at Jafar, who was down on one knee once again and clearly wounded badly.

“I do not know who they are,” he said, “But if you must give them my life in return for their help, you do it.”

Taylor shook his head.

“Not a chance in hell.”

He helped Jafar back to his feet and stood before the three aliens approaching them. He didn’t know whether to stand in defence or offer his hand in friendship. Either way, he could tell they were far more technologically advanced than either race and should be respected as such. They stopped before him and carefully studied him and Jafar once again. The one who had spoken before addressed him again.

“These animals that invade our world. They are not your allies?”

“No, Sir,” replied Taylor, “They are as far from allies as you can possibly get. We are fighting for our lives, and hopefully fighting to return to our homeworld some day.”

“And this creature who fights with you. You trust him?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Because he is my brother. He has been my brother since I met him. He has been through every hell I have been through, and been there every time for me.”

“And you would risk your life for him?”

“I would. I would for any one of my people you see here.”

He looked around at the battle still on going. His people were cutting down Mechs at an alarming rate, but more came to fill their place. He looked back to the three aliens, and they were still studying him. He pulled off his helmet and dropped it down by his side so they could get a better look at him. The air was putrid compared to what he was used to, but it was still nice to feel natural air on his sweaty face.

“All I want is for my people to be safe. We don’t want to take anything from you, but we will take everything we can from our enemies until the very last one of us still draws breath. You seem to hate them as much as we do. Will you let them carry on ripping up your planet?”