Battle Earth: 12 (7 page)

“Fucking alien spy,” one muttered.

Taylor turned and squared off against the Army corporal who had said it.

“I didn’t see you out there fighting for our freedom today. Apologise.”

“I’m sorry, Colonel. I didn’t see you there,” the man replied before sniggering slightly as his friends joined in.

“No,” added Taylor, “Don’t apologise to me, to him,” he said, pointing to Jafar.

The man looked absolutely stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing.

“Oh, yeah, I’m gonna apologise to one of them,” he replied and laughed once again.

The three of his friends found the whole situation hilarious before Taylor reached forward and grabbed him by his uniform. He held him in place and punched him in the face. He was careful this time as to go light, remembering the power of the Reitech suit and the trouble it had gotten him into before.

The Corporal recoiled before the blow, and would have dropped to the ground, were Taylor not holding him up. He clenched his nose as it gushed with blood. His friends leapt up as if to defend him but stopped when Taylor drew his pistol with his free arm and held it up at them.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Silva shouted.

“Stay out of this!” Taylor ordered.

He looked back to the soldiers who had their hands up and showed no signs of a fight.

“His name is Jafar, and you can bet your ass he’s done a whole lot more in this war than all of you put together. You don’t have the right to question his loyalty. None of us would even have made it this far without his help, so what’ll it be?”

The soldier was locked in his grip and still cupping his bloody nose.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, okay!” he yelled.

Taylor finally let go and holstered his pistol.

“Jesus, Colonel, no need to make such a big deal of it.”

“No need to make such a trivial deal of what Jafar has done, so don’t, and I won’t have to.”

They carried on to the bar while dozens around them stood silently and stared at the Colonel. As they reached the bar, they found drinks being handed to them before they could even say a word. Music soon started up, and everyone went back to their drinks.

“Walk with me,” Taylor said to Jafar.

They headed out of the group and to a quiet spot where Taylor found an ammo crate to sit on and enjoy his drink. Jafar stood waiting for him to speak. He finally grew impatient and spoke first; something he rarely did.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

Taylor took a deep breath; thinking over what he was going to say, and at last came out with it.

“Our plan is to kill Erdogan, right?”

Jafar nodded.

“What about after he’s dead? His armies will be leaderless, but what happens to the Krys?”

“Erdogan took over from Demiran, Karadag, and several other Lords from what I understand. That’s more than half of my people. They will support whoever kills Erdogan and shows himself strong enough to take his place.”

“I will kill Erdogan, but I cannot lead his people.”

Jafar looked confused and waited for him to go on.

“You can. You’re the only one who can. You understand both sides. A human will be as distrusted among them as you are amongst my people. You are the only hope.”

Jafar looked amazed by the proposition.

“So what do you think?”

“I do not know what it is to lead. I am a soldier, not a leader.”

“You and me both. You think I ever wanted any of this? Sure I can lead a few dozen or even a few hundred men. But do you think I ever imagined the responsibly that has fallen on me on all of this? I figure I was just the right guy in the right place to get the job done. And when this is finished, that guy will be you. Do you think they would accept you?”

“If whoever kills Erdogan names me as the head of my people, they will accept it.”

“You don’t look convinced?”

“I was born and bred to fight, same as the rest of my race. What do I do when I become their leader and there are no more wars to fight?”

“Don’t you worry about that, there will always be a war to fight. You don’t need to go looking for them. So will you do it?”

“I would not want it, but I will do it if it is what you wish.”

“You aren’t my slave, you know? I’d like to think you’re my friend. I ask this because not only do I believe you can do it, but we need it.”

“Then I shall do it.”

“Then let us destroy Erdogan together and see an end to this for good.”

Taylor woke in his own bed, or as close as to his own as he had. He felt rough for a moment. His body ached and he could barely move, but he sat up, realising he must have slept for a long time. He was remarkably fresh in his head, and only stiff from the many hours he’d been asleep. It was an experience he had long forgotten. For a moment he looked over to see if Eli was there, and then remembered she was gone.

He looked at his watch, and it was the early afternoon. He didn’t even remember getting into bed, but he was glad of the rest. He remembered what Rains had said to him. They were damning words, and they had hit hard. He knew he had a duty to be the best he could be, so took some moments for himself. He showered and dressed slowly. When he stepped out of his quarters, Irala was waiting for him.

“So you finally learnt about privacy?”

“I chose to honour your wishes, yes.”

“So what can I do for you?”

“You’re getting reckless,” Irala replied quickly.

“I don’t see it that way. I might have pushed it a bit hard the last few days, but now I’m rested and ready to go back out there.”

“You want to kill Erdogan. Nobody can understand that better than I.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“You are valuable to us all, and so is your unit.”

“And?”

Suddenly, frenzy came over many in the camp, and Taylor could hear someone calling his name as they made their way towards him through the crowds. It was Silva and he stopped before Taylor.

“What is it?”

“Major Moye, Sir.”

“How is he?”

Silva looked stunned and shocked and finally replied.

“He’s bad, real bad. Come on, I’ll take you to him!”

Taylor rushed on after Silva and was soon at a hospital bed where Moye lay. He was breathing slowly and barely conscious. General White sat beside him in his wheelchair.

Taylor looked to the General who only shook his head. Mitch strode up beside the Major and looked down with a smile. Moye looked into his eyes and smiled in acknowledgment.

“How are you?”

“Not so good,” replied Moye, and as he coughed, blood spewed out.

Taylor looked up to see Irala had joined them.

“Can you help him? You have to help him!”

“They already have,” White said, “He’d be dead if they hadn’t intervened.”

“So he’s gonna make it, yeah?” Taylor insisted.

He felt a hand on his and looked down to see it was Moye’s.

“It’s my time, Taylor. But it should have been yours.”

Taylor couldn’t work out what he meant.

“Ain’t none of our time to die,” he replied.

Moye shook his head.

“The Mechs that we fought, they were like him,” he said, pointing to Jafar. He was standing at the end of the bed. “They were tasked with finding and killing you,” he added.

“How do you know this?”

“Because they told me, Taylor. They captured me. My people got me back, but at a great cost.”

“They were coming after me? Just me?”

Moye went blank and took a few more breaths before finally passing away.

“Shit… rest easy, my friend,” whispered Taylor.

He looked to White.

“That true what he said? That they’ve got teams hunting me down?”

“We’ve only got Moye’s word, but I’d have no reason to disbelieve him. He was an honest man, and while you hunt Erdogan, why would he not hunt you?”

Taylor had never given it so much as a thought. He’d always had the notion of Erdogan as an almost undefeatable foe who would never need to resort to hunting him down. Then he realised what that meant.

“He fears me? He fears me,” he stated.

It was a concept that he’d never contemplated, but it was strangely reassuring.

“He knows you’re onto him, he has to,” added White, “The fact you were close on his tail on that last mission cannot have gone unnoticed. That’ll put him on guard, but it has also rattled him.”

“Yeah, he’s rattled. He can see there’s a chance he can lose this now. For all the armies he has in the universe, he can’t threaten us here, and he can’t protect his assets from our lightning attacks.”

“I guess he tried the obvious choice, attacking us here. Now he’s trying the next one, kill you. He knows how valuable you are to our cause.”

“But this would go on without me,” replied Taylor.

“None of us could have come this far without you, Colonel. Something tells me that you have a vital part to play in ending all of this.”

“I won’t hide from him.”

The General shook his head.

“None of us would ever ask it of you. You are vital because of the work you do and what that means to everyone around you. We take you off the frontline and keep you safe, and all of that is lost. We have to keep risking your life to maintain what hope we have.”

Taylor looked at the body of Moye and then to White.

“I want information on where the Major encountered this enemy force. Where, when, every detail you can get me.”

“You’re going after them?”

“If they’re hunting me down, they’ll find me eventually, General. I’d prefer that happened at a time and place of my choosing.”

“We’ll have to run this by Admiral Lasure.”

“You can run it by him, but that’s what I’m doing.”

“You know you have a serious problem with authority, Colonel?”

“Yes, Sir, but just as you say, I was made this way for a reason, ain’t no way I’m changing.”

‘Then you’d better speak to the Admiral yourself. You may have placed him there, but he has proven himself up to the task.”

With that, he turned and left with Silva and Jafar at his side. When he got outside the hospital, he found Morris and King waiting for him.

“Is it true?” King asked, “Is there some kind of special unit chasing you?”

“Chasing us,” replied Taylor, “They know what a bunch of ultimate badasses we are and figure they can’t take much more of it.”

They all laughed for a moment, but it was cut short as King continued.

“Seriously, Mitch, they are coming for you, aren’t they?”

Taylor nodded. “Bet your ass they are. And we’re going to find them before they find us.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Form up the Regiment. We move out at 1500 hours. We’re going hunting.”

Taylor left them and headed for the HQ. Only Jafar continued on with him, but as they got halfway, Irala appeared beside them.

“You know how irritating that gets? Just appearing out of the blue?” Taylor asked and continued onwards.

“You told me,” Irala replied bluntly.

“Well you didn’t seem to get the message.”

Irala appeared to completely ignore the topic.

“You intend to go after this new enemy, this force that was established to hunt down and kill you?”

“Will nobody let this go?” Taylor asked.

“We cannot agree with this course of action, and neither will we support it. We will recommend your Admiral denies your request to do so.”

“Good luck with that,” said Morris.

Irala looked back at him in surprise.

“Good luck telling the Colonel what he can and can’t do. Say what you want, we’re going after those bastards.”

Taylor carried on regardless and went straight to the secure comms room of the HQ and patched in a call to the Diderot, only to find it answered immediately by Lasure, as if he had been awaiting the call.

“Colonel Taylor, I know why you’re calling.”

Taylor nodded.

‘Then you know what I need. One sizeable vessel and a couple in support, will you provide them?”

Lasure shook his head.

“You know I have all the respect in the world for you, Colonel, but I cannot support this. I will not pave the way for you to go to your own death.”

“Have you that little faith in me?” Taylor asked in amazement, “Do you not remember how you got to be Admiral? I had faith in you, Sir, and I made sure the right thing was done when it needed to be. I don’t ask for much right now. Only that you trust in me.”

Lasure thought about it for a few moments. It was an uncomfortable silence, but Taylor knew he could not refuse him.

“I’ll do this, Colonel, but only because I owe you. I do not support this action and do not believe it is in the best interests of this fleet. I will give you one frigate, the Baron, and two light destroyers, The Margot and Intruder. They’re good ships with good captains. Far from the best we’ve got, but they’ll serve you well.”

“Thank you, Admiral, and don’t worry. I’ve survived a lot worse. Erdogan thinks he can take me out, and I intend to prove him wrong. I get this done, and then we finish him for good.”

“I’ve heard that too many times, Taylor. I’ll believe it when I see his lifeless body with my own eyes, but go, and good luck, my friend. Lasure out.”

The transmission ended, and Taylor strolled out of the building with a smile on his face.

“I can’t believe anyone could be so happy about heading out to face their hunters,” said Morris.

‘They killed Moye, and they intend to kill us all. It’s time for a little payback.”

He turned to Silva.

“You know the deal. Have everyone formed up at landing zone G for 1430.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Time passed quickly, and Taylor soon found himself formed up in front of his unit before an operation, as he had been so many times before. And just as always, they waited for his words of inspiration. But this time he felt no enthusiasm for the task at hand, only an iron will to overcome it to get to Erdogan himself.

“I’m sure many of you have heard what we’re doing here! Somewhere out there is an elite fighting force that has been tasked with hunting me down and killing me. Me! The enemy sees me as that much of a threat. What they don’t see is that I am just the driving force of you lot. Every one of you is as capable a fighter as I am. They think this is an easy task. I want to prove them otherwise!”

They cheered in support of his words.

“I don’t know what to expect with this enemy force, but they are superior fighters than most of what we have faced before. Have your wits about you at all times, and be ready for anything! Load up!"

Taylor was last aboard and made his way through to Rains’ cockpit as he always did.

"The Admiral snubbing you this time?" Rains asked.

"How do you mean?"

"We usually travel in style, not aboard that old hulk."

"The Baron? What's wrong with her?"

"She's fifty years old, Colonel. She's a relic of a bygone era."

"Aren't we all?"

Rains shrugged.

"She got jump capacity?"

Rains nodded.

"She was one of the first upgraded as a favour to her Captain, apparently."

"Well then, what's the problem?"

Rains went silent as they lifted off of the surface and headed for their expeditionary fleet. He soon caught sight of the Baron and could see what Rains was complaining about. It was an antiquated hulk. Broad and flat nosed. Its boxy shape was in stark contrast to the upgraded engines that had been supplied by the Aranui.

"Looks like she's packing some serious armour."

"Oh, yeah, sure, she might as well be an upscaled Mastiff. All armour, no manoeuvrability."

"Sounds like my kind of style," joked Taylor.

Rains saw he couldn't shake Taylor, so he gave up. It wasn't long before they came in to land on the Baron, and yet Rains was still shaking his head as their landing gear touched down. Taylor stepped aboard to find the Captain awaiting him and giving a formal greeting to come aboard. Taylor saluted as he stepped down the ramp and then reached out to shake the Captain's hand casually. He'd never met him before, but he was in his fifties at least, and two parallel deep scars ran down his face from his forehead and across both cheeks. He was a burley looking man, standing a few centimetres taller than Taylor and rivalled his broad shoulders even when Taylor was in armour.