Battle Earth IV (5 page)

Morbid curiosity overcame the Major, and he turned and strolled across the rooftop, looking out across the rest of the devastation. Just as he reached the centre of the roof, he felt the floor under his feet shake. Before he could respond, it gave way beneath him. Taylor collapsed through a gaping hole that he had created and quickly crashed into the next floor down. The weight and bulk of his body and equipment made him to smash through the floor.

Black ash and dust filled his throat and chest as he continued to descend through floor after floor. The entire internals of the structure had been destroyed by fire. The weak floors were providing just enough cushioning to slow his fall but enough to hurt like hell.

Finally, after he broke through the fourth floor, he landed hard on a solid surface, and the wind was taken out of him. His back plate took the worst of the impact, but it jolted his body. His ass went numb from the landing, and his helmet lashed against the ground, stunning him for a moment. He shook his head to clear the dust, but it only served to clog his windpipe further as a soot cloud arose around him.

As he regained his composure, he could hear the faint sounds of his comrades shouting and calling for him. He tapped his intercom, but it did nothing. The impact had destroyed it. He reached for his rifle that had been slung on his back, only to realise it was long gone. He looked up through the breach he had created and saw the smashed weapon hung by its broken sling on the sixth floor.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Taylor sat up and tried to wipe his eyes with his hands, but they were just as dirty as his face. His gear was so coated in the black soot that he blended in with almost perfect camouflage to the ruined structure. He looked around at his surroundings, but there was little to see but more debris and black walls in what used to be an office compound.

A faint mechanical sound rang out to his other side, and Taylor snapped his head around just in time to see the wall cave in just ten metres away. His heart stopped as he recognised the towering height of what was coming through the breach when part of the floor above collapsed between them. A single Mech was visible through the falling dust.

“Shit,” he whispered.

Taylor rolled over several times to his side until he came up against a desk that hid him from the creature’s view.

Where the fuck did that come from?

He reached down for the pistol he always carried, but it was nowhere to be found; another item lost during his fall. His eyes grew wide at the realisation that he was in real trouble.

Looking down, he could see that all he had on him was a single frag grenade and his Assegai. He took a deep breath and held it as he listened intently all round him. The creature stepped slowly around and had clearly not discovered his position yet. He peered out over the top of a workstation just enough to get a glance of what he faced. The creature was almost as filthy as him. Its armour had been damaged through fighting, but not enough to impede its ability.

He could still hear the cries of his comrades outside, and he prayed they would stop. Just as he thought it, they did.
Please no,
he thought. He hoped they were onto the situation rather than silenced by any of the creature’s allies. He could hear the steps of the huge creature growing nearer and knew he was running out of time and space. He slowly crawled along the table edge until he could turn a corner and be out of sight. Taylor could hear that he had turned the bend just a few seconds before he would have been found.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, realising he had no choice but to take on the beast in close combat. They were too close for the grenade to be used without a serious risk of hurting himself. The explosion would be more than capable of tearing through most of the room. His sweaty hand reached for the hilt of his Assegai, and he slowly drew it from its sheath.

The heavy steps of the creature stomped closer; almost in tune with his heart that was now calm. He had accepted what he must do, and the fear was draining away. His back was against an office divider, and he was down on one knee. His head was turned awaiting the sight of the beast. The barrel of its huge weapon came around the corner first, and he knew it was his opportunity to strike.

Taylor leapt up and thrust his Assegai forwards. The creature tried to turn its hulking weapon around, but the Assegai punctured into the main body of the cannon. The alien responded by striking him to the chest with a forceful push, launching him two metres back and onto the top of a desk.

He looked up just in time to see the cannon being trained on him. The creature pulled the trigger, but the weapon did nothing. He smiled in relief; his strike had disabled the fearful thing. The angry creature threw it down and rushed towards him. The hulking beast was twice his bulk, and like a rhino bearing down on him. He rolled off the table just in time as it crushed it before him.

Taylor ducked under a swing from the creature and thrust up against the clumsy Mech into its rib area. It spasmed in pain as the Assegai was forced in all the way to its hilt. He tore it out as thick blue blood spewed out from the punctured armour. He could see the energy fade in the beast, and it dropped down on one leg. He spun the Assegai around, and took it in both hands above his head with the dripping tip pointing to the ground.

The beast tried with all its energy to reach for him, but he thrust down into its faceplate with all his force. The cutting torch style tip needed little pressure to penetrate the thick armour, but it made Taylor feel better to release his anger. The beast went immediately limp and slumped backwards. He wrenched the Assegai from the corpse, and thick blood clung to the entire length of the blade.

 
“Fucking disgusting,” he exclaimed as he spat on the body of his vanquished foe. He stood and peered at the lifeless hulk with some satisfaction. Weeks of slogging labour had made him forget how much he enjoyed killing. A thunderous drone rang out from an adjoining room, and he turned just in time to see the thin wall smashed through by three armed aliens. They trained their weapons on him before he had a moment to react. He stood tall and stared them down, for he did not want to die cowered down in a hole.

“Alien scum,” he spat.

A massive explosion erupted before him and at the feet of the creatures, and the Mechs collapsed through a vast hole. Dust and debris showered Taylor. He turned away as the smoke once again filled his lungs. He looked in surprise at the breach as gunfire erupted in the floor below. Automatic weapon fire from his comrades tore the creatures apart.

The Major paced forward and looked down through the gaping hole, just in time to see the last rounds puncture the aliens’ armour and render them lifeless. He watched as Eli stepped up and laid a boot on a beast’s body before firing a final round through its faceplate. She looked up and smiled as she made out the dusty silhouette of Taylor.

“Thought we’d lost you there for a minute!”

“Outstanding,” he replied.

Taylor leapt through the breach and used just a fraction of boost to soften his landing.

“Let’s get the hell out of this shithole.”

“I figure we’ve blown our way in this far, we might as well use this to work round that blocked alley.”

“Lead the way, Sergeant,” he replied.

Ten minutes later they were huddled behind a solid foundation wall.

“Fire in the hole!” Parker shouted.

She lifted an arming device and punched down the trigger. A small explosion rang out, and they turned to see that a two metre wide hole had been punched through the outer wall and out into an open shopping street.

“We’re in business,” said Taylor.

They strode out into the daylight. At the far end of the road, they could see the rubble pile blocking the main street that Chandra was trying to clear.

“Alright, we’ve done it. Send the route back to Major Chandra. How long do you figure it’ll take to walk the distance?” he asked.

“I figure about twenty-five minutes, now we’ve got a clear route.”

Parker stopped and looked at Taylor and the state he was in. The thick black soot and dust clung to every part of his body and equipment. She suddenly burst into laughter at the sight of him. He looked down at the mess, thought back to the near death experience, and could do nothing but laugh as well.

“You lot saved my ass back there. Another second, and I was a goner.”

“Nothing you haven’t done for us, Major,” replied Lam.

“We were wrong to think this was over. The enemy didn’t surrender, and they didn’t sign any treaty. We’ve been walking around as if they were gone for good,” mused Eli.

Taylor lifted up his hands, looking at the congealed blue blood staining them and running down the metal forearm bars of his exoskeleton. He had lost the stomach for war so quickly, but in just one small action, he was reminded of the bloodlust they had all built in the war.

“Guess we need to find you a weapon, Sir,” said Clark.

The Major looked down at his hands once again and suddenly felt naked at the realisation that he was without a gun.

“Reiter won’t be happy you lost his toys,” joked Parker.

“We came way too close today. We’re trying to rebuild this country before we’ve even finished fighting.”

He lifted his hand to activate his comms unit, and then remembered it had been destroyed on impact.

“Get Chandra back on the line. It’s time we took this seriously and got some troops up ahead of the work. I want these lands purged of the infection of these Krycenaean bastards!”

Taylor had arrived back at their staging ground for just a few seconds when a jeep roared into view as if an urgent message was to be delivered. It was a sight they had gotten used to under the enemy jamming systems. He paced up beside Chandra who had also turned to find the meaning of such urgency.

“What do you think they need us for now? Another heap of shit I’m sure,” whispered Taylor.

She turned and looked at the filthy Major. “You met some resistance, I hear?”

Taylor turned with a puzzled expression. “You don’t seem surprised?”

“It was bound to happen soon enough. The real question is were those Mechs stranded here, or were they stationed here?”

The jeep slid to a halt, and the driver leapt out to address them.

“I guess we’re about to find out,” replied Taylor.

The German Sergeant quickly saluted and immediately blurted out his message.

“Ma’am, your presence is urgently requested.”

“By whom?” she calmly responded.

“General Schulz. He wants Major Taylor also.”

Taylor’s eyes widened at the prospect. He couldn’t imagine any reason why Schulz would want to see him, other than incarcerating him once more. Schulz had tried to ease the conflict between them, but Taylor firmly believed it was only to ensure the morale of the troops stayed high.

She nodded in agreement and turned to Captain Jones.

“Get a party together to start work the other side of this blockade, but I want you to personally scour the buildings. Be prepared for ambush. Take Yorath’s platoon with you, but be certain to leave protection at both sites.”

“You expect more trouble?” he asked.

“Most certainly. We’ve got lazy since we drove their forces back. Let’s keep everyone safe. This country has a chance to rebuild, so let’s not allow anything to get in the way of that, not least our own negligence.”

She turned back to the driver. “You ready?”

The man nodded and ushered them quickly into his vehicle.

The two Majors sat in the back of the jeep as they tore through the streets. There was little traffic going east. As the wind rushed through the open topped vehicle and they hit the open road, the two of them were able to speak without their driver listening in.

“I don’t like this at all. Schulz has fucked us before, what makes you think he’s honourable enough to trust?” asked Taylor.

“He isn’t. He may be a bastard, but he isn’t stupid. Now that the fighting is over, he’ll have the whole of your Marine Corps on his arse if he dares touch you. Think what your President would have to say if he learnt that one of its greatest heroes was being arrested?”

“It didn’t stop the bastard before.”

“We were at war. Times have changed,” she replied.