Battle Earth IV (19 page)

“Between you all, you can field approximately six thousand troops and will make up the initial raid to take L2 in what is to be known as Operation Phoenix.”

Chandra smiled.

“He’s pretty confident of victory, then?” she whispered.

“I fucking hope so, or it’ll be our asses left for dead up there,” replied Taylor.

* * *

Taylor slumped into bed after a half day of planning for the operation. He was exhausted from seemingly doing nothing but sitting and listening. Just a few minutes after lying down alone, there was a knock on the door. He knew Parker wouldn’t have stopped at the door.

“Come!” he called as he sat up.

To Taylor’s surprise it was Commander Kelly who stepped through. He was alone, and it put Mitch’s guard up. His hand instinctively closed towards his pistol, but he stopped short of taking the grip in hand.

“I didn’t come to squabble, Major.”

Taylor looked down at his hand held next to the pistol like an old gunslinger.

“You’ll forgive me, Commander. Our last meeting was not a friendly one.”

“Appreciated, and I want that resolved. Tomorrow we go to war together. Schulz may still be in command, but you will also be accountable to me. Will that be a problem?”

“Not unless you try and get me and mine killed.”

“The General tells me that you volunteered for this offensive, is that correct?”

Taylor nodded.

“It means a lot. My soldiers believed you only interested in Earth. It will go a long way to mending fences with them to see you join our side.”

“I was never not on your side, but I had my orders just like everyone else.”

“And you always follow them?” he replied.

Taylor smiled. “I’m sorry we left you to fend for yourselves, and I am sorry we could not help further. What more do you want me to say?”

“Nothing, that is quite enough. You’re a hero here on Earth, so take your place among us as the same. If you can be half the soldier you have been through this war, then we’d be foolish not to have you with us.”

Taylor nodded in agreement.

“That’ll be all. Good luck tomorrow, and thank you for joining us.”

“And to you, Sir. It will be an honour to serve with you.”

* * *

“Good morning to you all!” shouted Chandra.

She stood before the Battalion formed up in front of the four Achilles frigates. Their assault copters were loaded, and everything was ready for their departure. The ground was quiet now as they all awaited the final order to depart.

“I would have greatly preferred to have many weeks to get this battalion in order. However, you are all experienced and more than competent soldiers. From now on, we are a family. It doesn’t matter if you were here from the very start or joined yesterday! Today we embark on the only space based military assault in the history of our race, so let’s do it right!”

She stopped as she listened to a message coming through on her intercom.

“This is it. We have been ordered to embark on Operation Phoenix. Load up and move out!”

There was no cheering or excitement amongst them. They all wanted to see an end to the enemy, but few wanted to engage them in combat again. The troops swarmed to the boats in silence. Chandra turned as she caught sight of a soldier approaching at her flank. It was Commander Kelly. His worn old uniform had been replaced by the same new camouflage patterns; something that kept them uniformed even if the pattern served no purpose where they were going. Despite his clean new gear, the same grizzled veteran lay beneath.

“Glad to have you with us, Colonel!” he shouted, approaching with his hand forward to shake hers.

“Sir, it’s an honour to be a part of this enterprise. I know there is still ill will towards some of my Battalion for their service on your colony at the start of this war. I pray that now that can be put to rest when we strive forward together.”

Kelly looked over and nodded to Taylor.

“I think we have put that to rest, Colonel. There’s no time or energy left to worry about what has been. We want our colony back, and anyone who is willing to assist us to that end will be eternally our friend. L2 will be a major stepping stone to getting our homes back. I wish you every luck.”

“And to you, Sir,” replied Chandra.

She turned and followed Taylor to the frigates awaiting them. They boarded the Deveron together, and Taylor felt a tingle run down his spine as he stepped aboard once again. It was a stark reminder of their last visit to the Moon which had been his first experience of the harrowing enemy. He thought back to Reyes and was glad to see the Captain’s ship continue on after his loss. Chandra was last aboard, and she took one last look to be certain they were ready to leave before hitting the door switch. Chandra looked around to see that the corridor was empty of all but Taylor.

“All are aboard and gearing up.”

“Good, let’s join them. There are too many uncertainties in this mission. I want compression suits on before we’ve left the atmosphere and kept on, as well as masks and tanks kept to hand.”

Taylor nodded in agreement as they turned and made their way to the store rooms to gather what they needed. The ship lifted off just seconds later but was so smooth they barely noticed.

Ten minutes later they were ascending from Earth’s atmosphere and felt the gravity reduce in the moments before the gravity generators got to full strength and balance.

“I never thought we’d see the day when we went to war in space,” said Chandra.

“The day was inevitable. I just would have seen it more likely as a fight between humans. The existence of these creatures still seems unreal.”

“I think it’ll be a long time before any of what has happened sinks in,” she replied.

They went silent for a moment as they each reflected on the last year that had seen more bloodshed than they could ever have imagined.

“Do you think they’ll be ready for us? On L2?” asked Taylor.

“No. I would be, but this enemy, they seem arrogant. We have caught them off guard countless times because of their underestimation of the human race, and its ability to adapt and survive. One day they may learn, but I think right now we still have a good chance of getting this station without too much of a fight.”

“I bloody hope so. Without it, we’ll have a hard time ever getting the Moon back. We’re gonna have to use mostly civilian freighters as it is.”

She sat back and sighed.

“Maybe we were stupid to not prepare ourselves for this whole eventuality. Look how many times in history great civilisations have been destroyed by such an invasion by an unknown enemy. What did we ever do to prepare for this? We have few military spacecraft. No defence systems, nothing.”

“I don’t think it’d have made any difference,” replied Taylor. “We barely got by in this war with everything we had. Whatever happened, this was always going to be a war fought on our own soil.”

She looked and smiled. “Not for much longer.”

It felt like a long trip to reach the station when it was in reality just a few hours. Sat in their full gear and with weapons at the ready made them all anxious, but it was necessary the Colonel had said. None of them doubted her after knowing what a danger the enemy could pose. Eventually, Lieutenant Ryan called for the Colonel over the intercom. She was loathed to leave the troops during their journey unless it was necessary. She paced uneasily up to the bridge, knowing the news could only be that the fight was imminent.

Chandra stepped out onto the bridge with Taylor at her side. Before them was a projection of what they were approaching.

“We’re coming up fast on the target, Ma’am.”

“What are your orders?” she asked him to verify.

“To drop you off a mile out and hold to provide support,” he quickly replied.

“Good. Watch out for anyone trying to escape. I don’t want any of those bastards getting free and clear of here.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“How long do we have?”

“We’ll be at the drop off co-ordinates in fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

She lifted her comm. and immediately called out her orders.

“We’re dropping in fifteen. All Inter-Allied are to emplane. All pilots to their craft.”

She turned back to the Lieutenant. The young officer seemed unfazed by the impending danger they faced. It was a confidence that she admired and could already see that he had followed in Reyes’ footsteps.

“Good luck, Lieutenant.”

“And to you, Ma’am, I wish you a quick victory and that you all stay safe.”

* * *

“We’re good to go!” yelled Eddie.

His words resounded around the copter of soldiers who sat in silence awaiting the battle which would ensue.

“Let’s get going!”

Taylor and Chandra smiled at the pilot’s easy going nature. He always calmed the situation with his relaxed personality at just the right moment. A second later, their engines fired up, and they raced from the docking bay out into the blackness of space. The only thing visible before them was the lights of the station. She pulled her helmet over her head and replaced the helmet on top.

The mask was close fitting and sealed to her compression suit at the neck line. The face was completely visible through the large transparent faceplate. The others quickly followed suit; the thought of asphyxiation in space was a fearful one for the Earthers who had never had to consider such a natural danger.

The two officers could see through Eddie’s cockpit and onwards as a light flashed up ahead.

“What the hell is that?” asked Taylor.

They could see the light getting closer, and it was joined by another.

“Incoming!” Eddie shouted.

He reacted quickly, and the copter banked heavily and narrowly avoided the pulse that burnt the surface of their fuselage.

“You said L2 had no defences!” Eddie said.

“It didn’t!” shouted Chandra.

“Fuck, this ain’t gonna be a walk in the park,” replied Taylor.

He turned and looked out of a porthole to see dozens of other craft flying in formation with them. A second later, one of the pulses crashed into a copter and blew the engines off its structure, sending it tumbling out of control. Chandra strained herself to watch the stricken ship.

“Looks like they’ll be alright,” stated Taylor. “The support ships will pick ‘em up.”

Chandra slumped back down with a sombre look about her face. Taylor could see that she was beginning to remember what the war had felt like, and she didn’t like it one bit. They banked hard several times as they approached and were soon at the station unharmed. Just as they were about to land on the superstructure a porthole was lit up by an explosion, and one of the copters blew up at their flank. Taylor took just a quick glance to see remains of the craft drift past them and narrowly miss Rains’ cockpit.

“That one of ours?” Chandra asked.

Taylor nodded solemnly.

“One of Jackson’s! Looks like there are survivors.”

She looked out of her window to see several soldiers floating in space as they zoomed past. At least a good number seemed to still be moving, and she took solace in knowing they could survive long enough to get picked up, providing they saw victory that day. Chandra shook her head at the losses before they’d even reached their target.

“If they’ve gone as far as fitting defences, you can be damn sure they’re ready to give us a hard time on the ground,” Taylor said.

“There is no ground anymore, Major. We left the sensibilities of firm ground sometime ago,” she replied.

He smiled in response, but he wasn’t at all amused. The idea of space travel never sat well with him. Fighting in the uncertainties of space was something he’d have avoided at all costs, but that was not for him to decide.

“This is it!” yelled Eddie.

The engines rushed into reverse thrust, and the copter rocked as it landed with a solid clunk, latching itself to the outer structure of the station. Chandra leapt to her feet.