Battle Earth VII (20 page)

“Oh, shit,” he whispered, “When I shout, follow me, and do as I do.”

“I can’t say getting the President was important, but capturing you was an opportunity which I couldn’t pass up, and you fell for it from day one,” said Armand.

“Getting identified and recognised for who you are part of your plan as well?” he yelled back.

“Irrelevant now. Your only evidence is dead, and now I have you, too.”

Taylor opened up his comms channel and left it open.

“So you are from Red 1?”

“Sure am, along with all the loyal soldiers you see around you. I thought we had an opportunity with you, Colonel. I thought you might be convinced to join the winning side, but clearly you’d rather die a martyr.”

“You’re gonna regret killing Tsengal because I’m not gonna kill you quick or easy.”

“Big words for a man at the end of his days.”

Engines roared overhead that gusted over the rooftop, kicking up dust around them all. The Deveron flew overhead and slowed to a crawling pace.

“Now!” Taylor shouted.

He hit his boosters and launched up into the air. The others followed suit and were hurled up into the sky up and over the ship. Taylor landed smoothly on the roof and Jafar beside him. He turned to see Waters rocketing towards him. He reached out and took hold of the sailor, grabbing him as he passed. Malok hit the deck hard but was okay. Hughes was coming in hard and fast. He hit the hull of the ship and slid along it. Taylor leapt after him and managed to get a hold on his leg but was pulled over the side. He thought he was going overboard but felt Jafar’s iron grip around his ankle. As he was pulled, he called into his comms.

“Go!”

The engines roared. Gunfire zipped past the ship but could do nothing against its armour. Taylor got to his feet in time to see Armand standing on the rooftop at an absolute loss.

“Sooner or later, I’m gonna kill you,” Taylor said to himself.

A hatch slid open as they rolled in, and the turbulence began to get unbearable. He quickly got on his comms.

"Ryan, can you catch those two ships?"

"Bet your ass, Colonel."

"Do it!"

They felt the Deveron bank and go to full burn. Taylor brought up the ship’s forward display screen on his Mappad. It only took them a few minutes to reach the two craft that were at a cruising speed and apparently in no rush. One was a small gunship and the other an armed transport.

"Ryan, knock the engines out on that gunship and bring us alongside the other."

"Sure about this, Sir?"

"No, but do it anyway."

The tracer coming on screen followed the crack of gunfire. The first volley narrowly clipped the aft of the gunship, and as they began to take evasive action, the second struck their engines. Their power was knocked out instantly, and they began to lose altitude. Taylor watched and waited to see if the crew would bail out. They did, and he gave a sigh of relief. He didn't want to see them dead.

"They are the enemy?" asked Jafar.

"Maybe, but they are also human. We kill only if we have to."

He looked to the other three who looked terrified.

"We have any explosives aboard?"

They shook their heads.

"Grenades?"

"No, Sir," replied Hughes, "We only carry what is necessary for the protection of the Deveron."

"Yeah, well, that's all fine and dandy when things go to plan. We'll just have to improvise.”

"Ryan, we need to get aboard that ship, can you use the docking gear?"

"Airborne?" he asked.

"We need you to get that transport locked, even for just twenty seconds. Give us enough time to get aboard."

"I'll give it a shot."

The nose of the Deveron dipped as they came up under the transport that was half her size. They were at full burn now, but they couldn't outrun the Deveron.

"Just bear in mind, Sir, that we're in German airspace, not a place we want to be, considering."

"Got it, Ryan. We'll be quick."

Magnetic clamping arms extended from the Deveron as they came in close and took a hold on the hull. Taylor could see an access door now. He lifted his rifle and fired a dozen shots at the hinges.

"Do the honours," he said to Jafar.

The alien leapt onto the roof of the Deveron and got his grip inside the damaged door. With one big heave, he ripped it from the hull, and it flew off into the distance.

The two ships rocked as the transport shook violently.

"Sir, they're onto us. We can't keep them locked like this for long!" Ryan called over the comms.

"Let's move!"

He leapt out onto the roof and jumped up into the ship. Jafar and Hughes got inside with him, but as the other two were getting out onto the roof of the Deveron, the seal broke from the docking arms. The transport banked hard to get away from their ship. Malok was thrown overboard, but Waters managed to stay safe.

Hughes looked in horror as his crewmate descended rapidly.

"He'll be okay. The suit will get him down safe!"

"Safely into enemy territory, Sir!"

"We've got bigger things to worry about, right now! You stay here."

He readied his weapon and rushed up the ramp where he found Jafar already firing his weapon. The body of a soldier lay between him and them. It made him sick to see a human dead at their hands, but he knew it was unavoidable. He took up position beside Jafar and peered around the corner carefully. Three German soldiers lay in wait for them. One was using President Mertens as a human shield. The other two held rifles at the ready. All were equipped as they were.

"I am Colonel Mitch Taylor of the 2nd Inter-Allied Battalion, United States Marine Corps. Lay down your weapons!"

"You have no authority here!" one shouted back.

"Think about this. You're kidnapping a head of state!"

"We're at war, and we are under orders to detain President Mertens!"

"At war? Belgium declared independence from the UEN, a voluntary union!"

"And sided with those who are trying to kill us!"

"Do you want to die here?" he asked.

No response came.

"Because the only options here are we kill you, or you kill us and that ship out there blows you out of the sky. Handover the President and leave with your lives!"

"That's not happening!"

Taylor shook his head.

"Remember, you wanted this, not me!"

He pulled out a magazine from his webbing and threw it around the corner as if it were a grenade. He heard them shout in German and duck for cover. In that moment, he leapt out and fired two shots into one of their rifles. The rifle was smashed in two as the rounds penetrated his chest armour.

Jafar fired the next two shots doing exactly the same. Only the man holding the President remained. He still held a pistol beside her, but now it was pointed at Taylor.

"Nobody else has to die here. We're taking the President whether we have to go through you or not. Hand her over and you can survive this."

"And if I give her to you, what stops you shooting us, anyway?"

"That's Colonel Taylor," said one of the men.

He could see they all knew his name even if they didn't recognise his face. For once his fame was working in his favour. He lowered his weapon and relaxed his body language, although he knew Jafar and Hughes had him covered.

"You must know this is wrong."

He could see in the man's eyes that he'd made up his mind.

"The President is coming with us or not at all. Those are our orders, and I am following them!"

His pistol turned towards the President. As the barrel touched her head, a shot zipped past Taylor from the barrel of Jafar's weapon, hitting the man just off centre between the eyes. Blood burst out from the exit wound and sprayed across the wall behind him. His body slumped, and the President remained frozen in fear.

 
Two more soldiers went for their pistols, but Taylor's rifle was up in a flash.

"No!" he shouted.

It was too late. The guns were in hand and being raised towards him. He fired at one, and Jafar took the other. They didn't stand a chance. But as one of them dropped, two shots rung out from his gun and hit the ceiling above. Sparks flew out and the lights cut out. Cries of panic came from down the corridor to the cockpit, and Taylor knew they were losing power and altitude.

"We gotta get out of here!"

He grabbed the President firmly and threw her rather unceremoniously onto his shoulder, hauling her back towards the hatch they had come from. The ship shook violently as the crew fought for control, but they were plummeting fast to the ground. Hughes was at the opening but frozen stiff. Taylor booted him out and leapt after him. He held on firm to Mertens as they fell. He could just about hear Hughes screaming and Waters alongside him.

Taylor looked around the sky for the Deveron, and then from out of a cloud it burst and soared towards them, plunging deep below where they were falling.

"Hit your boosters!"

The ship's nose lifted and came to hover a hundred metres below them. They fired the boosters and descended onto the hull. Taylor landed hard, and his knee buckled out as he hit the deck, but he put all his effort into maintaining his grip on the President. They fought the wind to get back to the opening and leapt inside. The hatch shut behind them, and he took a deep breath in relief.

"Get us the hell out of here, Captain!"

"Give me a direction, and we're gone, Sir."

"Paris!"

The engines roared once again as he took a moment to reflect on what had just happened.

"I underestimated Armand," he said.

"But we survived," replied Jafar.

"Just about."

He turned his attention to Mertens who was only partly recovered from the shock of all she had been through.

"Colonel, I thought you were for the other side."

"So did I, but let's just say I was wrong."

"Thank you. You've done me a great service, but I fear it will do little to keep my country free."

"One step at a time."

"You killed those men back there to save my life."

"And if I could have avoided it in any way, I would have."

"I know."

It brought a sombre tone to them all, Taylor above all else. Those were soldiers he could well have been fighting alongside in the wars. He told himself it was necessary. He'd killed the Krys without quibble, but this was entirely different. Killing humans left him feeling sick to the stomach.

He got up to his feet and helped the President up. "Come on, let's get to the bridge."

As he said it, an explosion rang out, and the Deveron rocked.

"We're hit," Ryan said over the comms.

Another explosion ignited, and they began to drop from the sky.

"We're going down! Get off the ship, Colonel!"

Taylor punched the door release, and it slid open above them. They all knew what they had to do. He grabbed hold of the President and jumped, with the others close behind. Seconds later, the ship crashed to the ground below them. They had exited at a hundred metres above the ground, in time to save them.

Debris and dirt erupted into the sky around them as they descended down on the crash site. The hull had buckled over a rocky riverbank edge, and Taylor could already see a gaping hole that had been torn in the starboard side.

It had all happened so fast, and none of them could believe their eyes. A few bodies of the crew were strewn across the grassland beside the wreckage where they had been thrown out through the damaged hull. Dust filled their lungs, and a sickly electrical burning smell filled the air. Taylor looked around. He didn't recognise where they were at all, but it was nowhere near civilisation. They all looked to him for answers, and all he could think was,