Battle Earth IX (4 page)

"Yeah, and maybe if I'd not gone up there, Washington would be a wasteland right about now, along with a dozen or more cities around the World. I did what had to be done. I'm not saying it was the perfect solution, but it was the best of a bad bunch."

"You have single-handedly opened up the doors for this invasion which could be the end of us all!"

"Well you pompous, arrogant, naive asshole!" Taylor yelled.

"Enough!" White boomed.

He looked to the General. His face was fuming.

"General Gomez, the last thing we need right now is to be arguing over what might have been. And you, Colonel, you may be a valuable asset, but that does not make you above the chain of command or beyond common courtesy. What is quite clear is that we need to go forward, and that will not happen while we stand here having a pissing contest."

They all now looked to White for answers.

"As you are all well aware, the enemy comms jamming caused us some serious issues. We still have direct feeds operational to DC and most of the East Coast bases. National Guard in New York is taking an absolute beating, and the marines in Norfolk are having it just as bad. We do not expect either location to hold beyond the day."

It was a shock to Taylor. He'd spent so long fighting on foreign soil that the prospect of American cities being fought over was utterly alien to him. He knew such battles had been fought before, but he had never been in such proximity that it felt so real.

The General opened his mouth to speak, but before he got another word out, a warning light flashed, and a siren sounded throughout the room. They all looked around for answers, but the live update information on the map before them displayed the danger. More than a dozen enemy vessels were approaching, and the base defences that had come so close to firing upon Taylor and his unit were already lit up. Missile trails and tracers lit up the map as the fight played out like a video game.

"Sir, troops and armoured vehicles are descending from incoming targets," stated one of the officers at a console beside the table.

"In what number?" White asked.

"Hard to tell, Sir, but we have detected well over three hundred Mechs to the east perimeter and more closing in from the south."

"I want everyone on base able to walk armed and at their stations immediately!"

He looked back to Taylor.

"How many men have you got with you?"

"A few hundred."

"Will they fight?"

"Always."

"Then we need you. Head to the southern perimeter and do what you do best."

"Yes, Sir," Taylor replied with a smile.

The situation sucked and Mitch was well aware of it. But heading out to fight Mech warriors was a relief after being confined to petty arguments in the stuffy Command and Control Centre. He pulled on his helmet and strode out of the building to find the Lieutenant who had driven him there still waiting beside his vehicle.

"You got a weapon?"

"I can draw one, Sir."

"Then do it now. I'm taking your ride."

Taylor threw his rifle in through the open-sided light vehicle and climbed in before the Lieutenant could argue. Mitch stamped on the gas, and the jeep raced forward, but he couldn't hear the almost silent engine over the screams of marines nearby and explosions igniting around the complex. He remembered the way back to where he had landed, and only hoped to find his comrades still in the vicinity. Pulses soared through the sky and smashed into buildings around him. He could see one coming right for him almost in slow motion. He quickly snapped the steering to avoid it.

The lightweight unarmoured vehicle went up and on its side wheels and to the apex of tipping. Taylor leaned out and used his bodyweight to keep it from rolling over. The vehicle crashed back down onto the ground, and he held onto the steering for dear life as the rear end fishtailed a little before coming back into line. The little jeep wasn't built for this. It was a light, fast utility, and the last thing he wanted to be in when the firing started.

Another pulse as large as his vehicle smashed into the ground in front of him, creating a half-metre deep crater. His jeep dropped down into it and then ramped up and out the other side, launching the wheels off the ground. As he landed, he could see airborne Mechs descending around him. He picked up his rifle with one hand, rested the barrel over the front cowl, and fired on full auto at one that landed next to him. Three shots penetrated its armour before he rammed the creature.

The thick rail design construction caused the jeep to initially knock the dead Mech to the ground and then ramp over it, lifting two side wheels off the ground once again. He took a bend up ahead and slid around the corner where he found a line of troops dug in at a five-metre high wall with towers every twenty metres. Turreted heavy weapons on the towers were firing as quickly as their autoloaders would allow them. He brought the jeep to a halt and immediately heard his name being called. "Taylor!"

He turned. Parker was crouching in the doorway of a building to his right. He jumped out of the jeep and had gotten only three metres from it when a pulse struck it dead on. The explosion launched him into the air, tossing him into the building where Parker was positioned. He landed hard but quickly huddled up beside her for protection. He looked back at his vehicle, and nothing more than a few twisted pieces of roll bar and a single wheel were still recognisable.

"You okay?" screamed Eli, grabbing him and looking over his body for injuries.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, trying to regain his senses.

"Guess we came to the wrong place!" she yelled.

"I figure we're exactly where we need to be," he replied dryly.

She couldn't help but smile at his optimism.

"Where is everyone?"

"Scattered. King is up on that wall helping with the defences. Jones is keeping an eye on the Nassau crew and marines we brought back. Last I saw, Silva was with him. Most of my platoon is here with me."

"Which way is Jones?"

She pointed, and he rushed on without another word. He took a corner and found Jones standing guard over the German marines and sailors as if they were POWs. They had their backs to the wall, blocking their line of sight from the southern wall and providing some protection.

"Guess we're bolstering the defences?" he asked Jones.

"You got it."

He looked over at the German weapons stacked at a far wall. Taylor immediately strode up to Sergeant Lang.

"You've seen what we're up against," he looked around and spoke up to address them all, "I'll be frank. We took some losses up there against UEN forces. Losses we could not afford. But you lot stood with us when we needed it most. The Inter-Allied Regiment is not an EA Regiment, not a UEN Regiment, nor an American Regiment. We stand for the defence of Earth, no matter which nation you come from. I am gonna make you all a onetime offer. Right now you are prisoners of war. You may continue as such and hope we win this war while you sit it out in a cell. Or you can join us. Take up your weapons and join the Regiment. What do you say?"

"You would have us?" Lang asked in surprise.

"You all showed you could handle yourselves up there. I need fighters. You want to live. I think it's a more than fair deal. The sailors among you will be reassigned to whatever craft of ships when we get them. But I expect every one of the personnel under my command to take up a rifle and use it. So what'll it be?"

Lang looked around to his comrades for their approval but could already see they were of one mind. He turned back to Taylor and simply replied rather succinctly, "Yes."

"Then welcome to the war. You will all retain your rank, and for now, Sergeant, you will command your comrades as a platoon under my Company."

"Thank you," he replied, following it with a salute.

"Grab you weapons, and get your asses in this fight!"

They rushed for the horde of weapons and gear as Jones stepped up beside Taylor.

"Sure this is a good idea?"

"We can't take prisoners, and we need all the help we can get. We won the last wars because humanity stood together. If we can't do it this time, what hope is there?"

Jones wanted to disagree, but as he did so, an explosion erupted above. Taylor looked up; a Mech ship was hurtling out of control towards them.

"Cover!"

He leapt down against the wall of the nearest building. The craft plunged into the upper floors, sending bricks and masonry falling down all around them. Mitch felt several bricks smash into his helmet and jolt his neck. He got up; the dust was settling, and the rest of them were getting to their feet. He looked around for the remnants of the craft, and there was a hole in a two-storey complex opposite where it had penetrated right through. He raised his rifle with suspicion.

A moment later his suspicions were confirmed. Three Mechs leapt through the breach and landed amongst them. Taylor's finger squeezed the trigger of his rifle as the first creature landed, and a line of automatic fire strafed mid section. The weapon the Mech carried was cut in two, but the shots didn't seem to penetrate its armour.

The weight of fire cut down one of the other creatures, but the unarmed one now rushed at him like a raging bull. He kept firing but only got a few shots off. It barged him with all its weight and sent him hurtling back through the wall he had been using for cover just a few moments before. Taylor's shield was ripped from his arm as he burst through the wall and landed firmly on his back.

He was staggering to get to his feet when the wall gave way further, and the creature stormed through to continue its assault against him. His hands were empty, so he reached quickly for his Assegai. As it bore down on him, it was riddled in the back from gunfire and fell hard before it was able to reach his position. He took a deep breath and sighed in relief, and then looked down at the creature that had proven so difficult to kill. Its armour appeared a little thicker and a different construction to what he had seen so many times before.

Jafar stepped through into the room and reclaimed his weapons. He tossed the dead creature over so he could look at it from the front. Taylor could hear the gunfire nearby had come to an end, but he was more than a little curious and concerned about the fallen enemy.

"I opened up on this one, and it did fuck all, what's the deal?" he demanded of Jafar.

His alien friend looked as surprised as he did and bent down to take a closer look.

"What's the deal?" Taylor asked impatiently.

"I have not seen this before."

"Not seen it? Well that's a big fucking help. A burst in the torso from a Reitech rifle did nothing; we need to know something, as this is gonna be a big ass problem."

Jafar raised his rifle and fired a point blank shot into the creature's sternum, and then knelt down to look at the impact. His fingers passed over the surface.

"The bullet has impacted and stopped."

"These are high AP rounds, how can that be? Must be some new tech."

"Is it such a surprise that the enemy would improve over time its weapons and equipment, just as we have?"

Taylor shrugged his shoulders. It made sense, but he still didn't like hearing it.

"How about the other Mechs out there? Same?"

"It took many shots to take them down."

"Casualties?"

"A few."

Taylor stepped back out through the hole he had been thrown to hear the sound of war was now all around. Explosions and volleys of gunfire were especially frequent towards the south wall, and pulses continued to smash their positions from the enemy ships above, providing brutal ground support. One of the German sailors lay dead, and a marine was wounded, as well as one of their own being patched up. They looked to him for something.

"They've up armoured, up gunned, and upped their game. If we want to win this war, we're gonna have to do the same, just as we always have. But right now, we have to survive."

As he said it, a pulse struck the ground only a metre from him, and he looked up at more Mechs descending from the sky.

"Incoming!" he yelled.

They all scattered for cover, and Taylor leapt partially into the hole he had been thrown in before. He took aim and fired several shots into one of the Mechs, killing it instantly. But as he took aim at his next target, he noticed the new armour pattern once again. He fired several shots, but none seemed to penetrate.