Battle earth box set 1.., p.39
Battle Earth - · Box Set 1-6, page 39
“Want me to stay in the air?”
“No, I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention. It that a field there?”
Taylor pointed to a square area of greenery just over a block from the police station.
“Looks like a kid’s park, Sir.”
“Alright, you can wait for us there. Keep the hatches battened down, and be ready for anything.”
Taylor stopped and looked to the empty co-pilot seat and then back to Eddie.
“They were busy with the Moon runs. I was all they could spare.”
Taylor smiled. For all of Eddie’s rebellious image, he was one of the most loyal and dependable pilots the Major had ever met.
“Good luck, Mitch.”
Taylor nodded and went back to his troops. All ten marines wore the identical new equipment as provided by Reiter.
“We’ll be dropping onto the roof. I want to be in and out as quickly as possible, got it?”
“Yes, Sir!” They shouted.
“Let’s do this.”
The marines stood up and took hold of the rails above them as the thrusters reversed. Eddie brought them in on a sharp and rapid decent until they came to a hover a hundred metres over the roof. Taylor reached forward and hit the door release. It quickly slid back and let the breeze of air rush in.
Mitch didn’t say another word, and he simply jumped from the door. The others quickly followed him. They hit their thrusters on the way down and came to a surprisingly soft and cushioned landing. The suits took the impact from their legs.
“Ortiz, Ryan, stay put, the rest with me!”
They reached the roof fire exit, but it was locked from the inside. Taylor lifted his leg and smashed it into the door. To the surprise of them all, the door flew from its hinges with ease and down the steps below. Taylor turned to Silva with a grin, they’d never felt such power before. The Major lifted his weapon and rushed down the stairs.
They arrived at the first line of offices to find nothing but empty cubicles and abandoned computers. Taylor rushed along the corridor with his rifle readied at the shoulder. He reached the stairwell he was looking for and charged down it. The building was seven storeys high, and he knew that the cell blocks would be on the ground floor.
Footsteps echoed out down the long stairwell as the marines rushed to where they prayed they would find their missing friends. They reached the ground floor and found the reception area. Taylor noticed a map and quickly identified the cell block.
“This way!”
As he turned, he saw the door of the cell block area lying in the hallway. It had been ripped off. As they grew nearer, they could see that the wall around the door had been demolished in a size that was about right for a Mech.
“No, can’t be.” Taylor rushed to the doorway as the others tried to keep up.
“Sir, hold on!” shouted Silva.
The Major came to a quick stop at the demolished entrance and looked in with despair. Silva reached his side and saw what had caused him to stop in his tracks. They could see inside that one of the doors had been ripped away, and a pool of blood lay in the middle of the cell.
Two of them slowly stepped through the rubble to investigate. There was no sign of life or any way to know if Jones had been there, but Taylor knew it was the right place.
“We don’t know for certain if this is where they were, Sir. They might have escaped.”
“No, they didn’t escape from here. They were taken.”
The other marines poured into the room and stared down at the bloody mess. They all thought it was evidence of the two soldiers’ demise, but no one wanted to say it.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Taylor.
“What is it, Sir?” asked Silva.
“They were taken from here, not killed.”
“They could have been taken for execution.”
The Major turned to Silva with a grim expression. “Why? They aren’t trying to hide anything. They may well still be alive.”
“But we have no way of finding out their location, Sir.”
Taylor nodded. He’d hope they may be alive, but he knew that this was not the day when they would be found.
“Sir, we should get the hell out of here before they come calling again.”
Taylor looked down at the pool of blood. He looked over at a Private.
“Get a sample of that blood.”
“Uh, Sir, how?”
“Get a piece of cloth and rub it in.”
The marine looked foolish for asking for what was such a low tech solution. Taylor turned back to Silva as the man did as he asked.
“Today’s search may be over, but I won’t give up on Jones and Walker.”
“No, Sir, I’d expect nothing less.”
Taylor’s disappointment was obvious to them all. He hated losing any of those he fought alongside, but to not know was even worse. Images of the torture of his friend went through his head until he finally asked himself, what would they want with Jones? He turned to Silva.
“Why would they take them prisoner? What use would they have for them?”
“We don’t know if they were taken prisoner, Sir.”
“Come on, Sergeant, all the signs are there.”
“If it was me, Sir, fighting an unknown enemy, I’d want to know them a little better.”
“You think they’re studying them?”
“Maybe, Sir.”
He turned to see the Private folding a bloodied rag into his pocket.
“Our time is done here, nothing more we can do, so let’s move out.”
* * *
“Sir, you think this is going to work?” asked Lewis.
The comms officer watched as his Commander pulled on his dusty armour once again. Kelly shook his head, not knowing how to answer.
“You must have some faith in the plan, Sir?”
Kelly strapped the armour down and rested back again a desk. He looked up at the young officer.
“I can’t say with any certainty, none of us can. What I can tell you is that we will choose the battleground for this fight. If we die, it will be on our own terms on our own soil, and not skulking down here waiting for those bastards to break down the door.”
Martinez came from the conference room where he’d relayed the Commander’s plans to the other officers.
“Sir, we’re ready to go, but...”
“But what, Captain?”
“Well, Sir, I don’t think you should be in this fight, Sir. You’re our leader, and an asset we cannot afford to lose.”
“We cannot afford to lose any asset. I will fight alongside those who I ask to fight for us.”
Martinez nodded. He understood it was no use arguing further. Kelly could see some excitement in the man’s eyes. They were advancing to face a most deadly enemy, but he knew the Captain believed as he did, that it was better to face them than to wait to die in the pits they had been forced to live in.
“Have all the orders been issued?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Communication reels issued?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good, it’ll be chaos once we get up on the surface, so we’ll need to stay in contact. Lewis, you’ll be managing communications through the exchange. If any lines fall, you will have to send out runners. I have already allocated three to you.”
He pointed down to two boys and a girl. None of them could be much more than fourteen years old. Lewis opened his mouth to question the responsibility and risk being placed upon them, but Kelly’s glare stopped him.
“Everyone must play their part. They can die just the same as the rest of us, so let them have their chance to help save themselves.”
Martinez strode up to the three runners and patted one of them on the head. Lewis recognised that it was the Captain’s son. It was yet another sign of how desperate their times were. He turned to Kelly as the Commander picked up his grenade launcher.
“Sir, if you were to fall?” Lewis asked.
“In the event of that occasion, Martinez will receive an automatic field promotion to take over my command. Be sure that is noted.”
He turned to the Captain.
“You may not be the highest ranking, but you would be the best man for the job.”
Martinez nodded as he considered the tragic circumstances which would have to arise for him to receive such a promotion, and the horrific responsibility that would come with it.
“Send out the word. We advance immediately.”
He slung his weapon over his shoulder and took to a quick stride out of the room with Martinez close behind.
“How many troops do we have, Captain?”
“Under our personal command?”
Kelly nodded.
“A little over two hundred, Sir. Captain Morris and Lieutenant Perera will be accompanying us. The other companies will approach as ordered.”
“Good.”
“Sir, why the Parliament building? It means nothing to the enemy.”
“But it means something to us, Captain. It’s been the symbol of our government since the colony was established here. It’s as good a place as any to take the fight to the enemy.”
“You think we can take and hold ground against them?”
“I reckon so, yes. Did you put out the order for masks to stay on at all times?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good, a breach is more than likely when this battle gets underway.”
They walked through the colony tunnels passing hundreds of civilians who lined almost every passageway. Nobody cheered them on. They watched the bleak journey of the troops who marched to what could likely be a quick and brutal butchering.
“There is little hope left in them,” said Martinez.
“Can you blame them?” replied Kelly.
“Do you believe there is any hope for us?”
“Of course. Humanity has lasted this long, so we could well weather it.”
“I didn’t mean our race, Sir. I meant us, our colony, and our people.”
Kelly turned to look at the Captain as they continued through the corridors. The Commander’s eyes told him everything he needed to know. They all knew there never much hope once they had fled below the surface.
Ten minutes later they reached the access shaft. It would take them up into the basement of the parliament building via the Prime Minister’s underground bunker. It was the most robust building of any on the colony, and it could only be accessed by Kelly and a handful of other officials. They reached the lower entrance to the bunker, and Kelly activated the doors with the retinal scanner and key code.
The vast doors prized apart, not having been opened in decades. The command centre itself was still fully lit but abandoned. After the attack on the building during the first day of the invasion, the Commander had thought it prudent to avoid any further usage of the facility. They passed through the centre with the other two units at their backs.
A broad and long flight of stairs led up to the surface. As they reached the very top, Kelly lifted up his hand for the column to stop. He waited a moment for the sound of the troops to silence, and then moved cautiously towards the security doors that opened out into the parliament structure. They were hidden to anyone on the inside, but mirrored windows allowed vision from the stairwell.
Kelly peered in through the glass with Martinez at his side. They looked into a storage room that was still lit like most of the building. There was no sign of movement. Huge transport cases and shelving were stacked through the room, but there was plenty of space to move. He drew back and nodded to Martinez. Kelly reached for the keypad and punched in the code. The doors opened and they went in.
It was eerily silent, so much so that Kelly couldn’t believe they could get off so lightly. He lifted up his weapon in readiness, but the others didn’t sense any threat. Two dozen of the soldiers poured into the room with many more following. As they got a third of the way in, they were halted by the shock of two Mechs arriving at the archway at the far end.
“Cover!” yelled Kelly.
He fired a grenade from his weapon and leapt for shelter. The shell missed, but it was quickly followed up by others from his company. The Mech pulse weapons surged balls of fire down the room as they all jumped for cover. The first two enemy soldiers were quickly blown apart but more flooded in.
Pulses of enemy fire filled the room as more of the creatures poured in. Kelly leapt up to fire but saw one of the enemy weapons trained on his position. He quickly ducked back down as the pulse blasted though the crate above him. It crashed into six of the soldiers at the top of the stairs. Four were killed instantly, and the other two were tossed aside.
The intensity of gunfire increased as more and more of the Commander’s men got a foothold and lay down a blanket of fire. He knew that if they were to make any progress, they had to get out of the room. Once again he lifted himself up and brought his weapon to bear. He fired quickly as rifle and grenade fire smashed into the Mechs’ position, obliterating the last of them.
It was silent once again, and the troops stared at the fallen creatures. There were a dozen dead Mechs littering the entrance. Kelly looked around to see that they had taken more than double the casualties themselves.
“What do we do, Sir?” asked Martinez.
Kelly was momentarily stunned. He had just led many fine men and women to their deaths. It had to be done, he told himself. He believed in his actions, but he also knew that the responsibility for every life would fall on him. He turned to him with a surprised tone.
“Advance, there will be many more casualties in this war before we see an end to it, Captain. I want the access corridors to the building secured and defended immediately, and the Parliament swept for the enemy.”
Martinez turned back to the troops. Many looked in horror at the devastation around them, but they regained focus upon the officer’s shout.
“We’ve got a job to do! Let’s move!” he barked.
The Moon defence soldiers poured into the room from the stairway. Each unit looked on with morbid curiosity at the dead enemy and with sadness at their fallen comrades left where they fell.
Kelly and Martinez reached the foyer of the Houses of Parliament. The two led from the front like leaders had not done for many hundreds of years. Martinez could not tell if Kelly did so to inspire his men, or because he no longer cared for his own life. Perhaps it was a combination of these elements. The Commander stopped and called the column to a halt. The two other company commanders quickly reached him.
“This junction feeds every route into the Houses of Parliament. You have your orders. Get to it.”
The two officers nodded and quickly rushed on to set up defensive positions on the routes in.
“It’s time to sweep this place. I want it fast and efficient. No team operates with less than twenty men. NCOs, you have your allocated floors. Move out!”
They quickly broke apart as they swarmed to the various staircases. Kelly spoke to Martinez.
“This will be base command for now. It’s as central as can be and not easy to breach from the air.”
Down the long access corridors they could already hear the rage of gunfire and pulse weapons. The other companies were fighting to gain ground in the surrounding buildings. Kelly knew he had a hell of a fight on his hands. Martinez stepped forward so he could speak privately with the Commander.
“Sir, are you sure you’re ready for these losses? We may do some major damage to those bastards, but what of the price we’ll pay?”
“It is the price of our survival, Captain. I never sought out combat, never wanted to see it. But this has been put on us, and we must deal with it. Don’t be under any illusions, we are going to take heavy losses in the ensuing battle. We only have to hope we can do worse to them.”
Chapter 10
Eddie Rains put down the copter on the landing ground just outside Reiter’s research facility. The mood was sad amongst the marines aboard. None of them had faith that the two missing soldiers were alive, except for Taylor. The Major was unwilling to accept that he had lost them yet. He knew that he needed to cling on to whatever hope he had left of seeing his friend again. As they got up to climb out of the aircraft, Sergeant Silva patted the Major on the back in condolence.
“You did everything you could.”
Taylor stopped and turned to the Sergeant who was every bit as good a friend as Jones.
“No, Sergeant, I have barely begun. We are going to get the Captain back if I have to go to hell and back. I didn’t leave Parker behind, and I’ll be damned if I will Jones.”
The Sergeant nodded. He knew there was no point in arguing with the Major. Moreover he liked the enthusiasm and stubbornness that Taylor had always possessed. He took his hand away and walked on. Taylor followed to see that Major Chandra awaited him on the deck. He shook his head, but she already knew from his body language that they had failed.
“I am sorry, Major, sorry we could not do more.”
“Far from it, Taylor, we need you to continue just as you are. General White is waiting for us in the conference room.”
Taylor righted himself and strode forward. A new mission was exactly what he needed to pull himself up from such a dire and miserable mood. Minutes later the two Majors stepped into the room to see two conference calls set up with White and Dupont. Both the General and the Brigadier stared at the exoskeleton suit he wore and the vast weapon slung on his side.
“So this is the new equipment?” asked White.
“Yes, Sir.”
“I hear great things.”
“I’d have provided you a full report, Sir, but urgent matters called.”
“No trouble, Taylor. Major Chandra has already submitted a preliminary combat report to us, and it is all we need to move forward.”
Taylor turned to the Major and gave a quick nod in appreciation of her assistance.
“Major, I am sure you are both now familiar with Brigadier Dupont.”
They turned to see that Commander Phillips was stood off to his side.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Major, you are clearly aware that I have lost all but the last few kilometres of my country. However, I have not yet lost my people. France has been occupied before. We will fight on in this war.”
