Battle Earth IX (8 page)

"Colonel?"

Taylor hadn't even noticed Heath calling his name.

"Colonel Taylor?"

He snapped out of his concern for his friend and turned to the General; he looked far from impressed by his lack of attention.

"Think you can handle that, Colonel?"

"Yes...yes, Sir."

"I need everyone under my command at one hundred percent, Colonel, so get your head in the game."

He simply nodded in return.

"Then you all know what to do. We're in this for the long haul. Dig deep. We need everything you have got to give. Keep your people together. Keep the morale high, and keep up the fight. That will be all."

Taylor turned and left with Jones. It immediately struck him as strange that his friend did not enquire about what was discussed with the Generals after having missed the entire briefing. His mind was elsewhere. Mitch stopped and put his hand out to stop Jones, who would have gone on not having noticed otherwise.

"Come on, spit it out."

"What?"

"You’ve got some news, Charlie. It's obviously a big deal. Let's hear it."

"Coco, she's okay, and so is our unborn child."

It was the last thing Taylor was expecting to hear, and he didn't know what to say.

"I know, still can't believe it myself."

"Well...that's great," replied Taylor.

He tried to be convincing, but he couldn’t hide the overwhelming feeling he had, that it was the worst timing in the world, and Jones could tell.

"I know. I know what you're thinking, and don't think I don't feel it too. But those are the facts of it, and now we just have to deal with it."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"About what?"

"Your wife is the middle of a warzone, and you're the other side of the World."

"I know that, but she told me to stay. Coco said I had to stay here, and keep doing what we're doing."

"And you don't have a problem with that?"

"Of course I do, but I don't see how I can help. Over there is a war zone, over here is a war zone. Let's grind these bastards down and break them over these walls, and then worry about it."

Taylor was surprised he wasn’t rushing off to be by Dubois' side, but he was glad of it.

"So what's the plan?"

"Heath has allocated us an area to defend. It doesn't really get any more complex."

He looked out for the ride that had got them there, but the mule was nowhere to be seen. The crude and utilitarian flatbed transport was luxury, compared to having to walk after the long days they had experienced.

"Great," muttered Taylor.

He stopped for a moment and looked around at their surroundings, realising they were in the remains of downtown Baltimore. A few storefronts made up part of a wall nearby. Cars and brickwork had been piled high beside them, and the whole lot filled with concrete and other materials.

"Looks like a wasteland fortress."

"You know why?" asked Taylor, "Because it is."

He could see the command post had been built from the remnants of a subway station. The city was a continuous layer upon layer of walls, trenches, and barricades. Paths were no wider than a few metres, and the walls every block or two made sure no armoured vehicles could pass within the city limits. Gun towers lay camouflaged within the upper floors of the last remaining floors of tower blocks.

"You know how often in history a fortress like this has ever held out?"

"I know."

"Fortresses like this exist to hold long enough for reinforcement on the ground. Think that kind of aid is coming?"

"We can only hope."

They carried on back to their own unit on foot. Everywhere they looked, troops were digging in, improving defences, or ready and awaiting an attack.

"You have to know this is the worst we've ever had it, Mitch?"

"Yep."

"They hit us when we we're at our weakest, and they hit us harder than ever before. You really think digging in like this is the way?"

"What else can we do?"

"What you normally do when facing vastly superior numbers and firepower. Fall back. Don't take them head on."

"A guerrilla war?"

"Yes," replied Jones.

"The day we do that is the day we accept we have already lost."

Jones said nothing more of it as they continued on. Half the troops they passed were fresh and clean and had clearly not seen action yet. The other half looked like they'd been through several months of combat, not the last few hard days.

"And if this city falls?"

"What about it?"

"Stalingrad, you know your history. You know what happened to the Germans who survived that fight."

Taylor nodded. It sent a shiver down his spine as he remembered what he had read of those events from so many years ago; starvation, and brutal and bitter bloodshed followed by long and painful deaths in prisoner of war camps, with the most atrocious of conditions.

"And if you think they had it bad, you have no idea what this enemy will do to us."

Jones knew all too well, and that made Taylor hold his tongue. Not another word was spoken until they finally found their own ships and people in sight.

"This is it, this is where Heath wants us to stay."

"And the birds?"

"Nowhere safer for them to go than where they are."

Jones shook his head. They both knew it was another sign of bad times. Taylor carried on to towards King and a Grey who stood chatting beside one of the craft. The few hundred troops of Inter-Allied were scattered about, mostly doing little more than resting their weary legs.

"All right, gather around!" Taylor ordered.

Most stayed put and only those further out wandered into hearing distance.

"Our orders are simple! We hold this ground!"

It came as little surprise to any of them.

"For many of us, this means fighting on home soil. But let's not forget we have fought this enemy as one, as one race. So don't think of these as foreign lands for those from across the water. This is Earth. This is your homeland. It doesn't matter where we fight because it's all ours, and that's how it's gonna stay. So who's ready to give those bastards hell?"

He got a few cheers, but it was nowhere near the enthusiasm he wanted.

"I said who wants to give these bastards hell?" he boomed even louder.

Every man and woman of the Regiment roared at the tops of their voices, to the extent it brought most passersby to a standstill.

"Nobody ever won a war by being mopey bastards. They won it by being the go getters, the life takers, and the ass kickers you were all born to be!"

Another roar of excitement echoed around the walls either side of them. Taylor was at least satisfied he had riled them up enough.

"This is our land. This is our castle. Take up positions, and be ready to defend it with every fibre of your being!"

With that, he turned and walked away to a cheer from the troops. He headed for the group of officers who stood awaiting him with Jones at their centre.

"Little over the top, don’t you think?”

Taylor shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s what they wanted to hear.”

Jones muttered something under his breath, and it was clear Taylor’s speech had not been his idea of inspiring the troops. Yet he didn't want to admit that it seemed to work.

"Incoming," a voice shouted from the walls above them. The call was being repeated every twenty metres through the base as Taylor rushed up onto the barricade. Hundreds of alien vehicles were approaching. Those tracked were stopped at the lines of traps and barricades that had been built, but skimmers and aircraft continued on.

Huge gun emplacements along the length of the wall opened fire when the first enemy targets came within a kilometre range. Taylor watched, hoping it be enough to bring them down, but even he could see it wouldn't be. A few of the ships exploded, but many more continued on. Pulses from the enemy vehicles soared towards their wall, and Taylor could only duck down into cover and hope for the best.

Thunderous vibrations shook their position, and Taylor felt a little sick from the volcanic like eruptions shaking him about. Two more volleys struck their position before they heard the craft soar overhead. Two were struck by ground weapons and crashed down into the defences and erupted on impact. Taylor got to his feet and looked out across the plain. It was utter chaos, thousands of Mechs advancing on the city and drones out ahead of them in skirmish lines.

He could see swarms of enemy craft on the horizon. He looked across the wall to those standing with him. Jones stood shoulder-to-shoulder with US Army personnel. They were speechless. The battle had only just begun, and yet they could see little hope of victory in sight. No one said a word, but Taylor knew he must. He turned and looked at all the stunned and distraught faces of who fought with him.

"You see them!" he shouted.

It grabbed plenty of attention, as no one else had anything to say.

"You've fought them before! You've beaten them before! You think you're scared? Every army they have sent to this world has been destroyed. So it’s no wonder how they feel."

Many of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"And here we stand, still alive, still fighting. We are what broke all who came before them, and now they face us? They aren't to be feared. The Krys soldier is nothing better than you. He fights without thought or conviction. He fights because he is told to. You fight because it is your duty, and don't you forget it!"

He looked to Jones who still shook his head, but he continued anyway.

"We can beat these bastards! You can beat them. Run them into the ground and finish this once and for all. Erdogan and his armies are all that stands between the peace we have fought so hard for. Let's not give in at the final hurdle!"

He looked back over the wall. The Mech forces we advancing rapidly now, and the gun towers were taking aim and preparing to fire.

"Do not fear death, for it will come to us all one day. Fear defeat! Are you ready to beat these alien bastards?"

Cheers rang out across the line as the gun emplacements opened fire. He didn't need to say another word as troops rushed to the walls to take up positions. The multi-layered platforms gave them three battlements, and Taylor stood atop the highest. Only Jafar stood taller two metres to his side. Taylor gestured for him to come closer, and he quickly obliged. Jafar looked calmer than any of them.

"No bombardment, an immediate assault? Why would they do that?" Taylor asked him.

"Because they are confident of victory," he quickly replied, without pausing for thought.

"They think they're gonna just roll over us?"

Jafar nodded.

"Well, they're welcome to think it, but we ain't going down without a fight."

"So you would die rather than admit defeat? And yet you always ask me why Mech warriors advance without care or caution or regard for their lives. You seem surprised their morale is so hard to break, when you encourage the same in those you command."

Taylor had to think about it for a moment. What he said made perfect sense, and yet it had never occurred to him before. He looked back at the enemy troops advancing. Many were carrying large shields, not unlike they themselves used.

"This Erdogan, he isn't like our enemies of the past. He is not blindly arrogant."

"No," Jafar agreed.

"He's justifiably arrogant," Taylor added with a smirk.

He took aim with his rifle and watched as the first web rounds launched off from nearby marksmen. He was out of the ammunition himself, so simply left others to it. He stopped for another moment and looked at the spectacle before him. Mech warriors advanced in loose formations. Many clung to hovering armoured vehicles that were spaced ten metres or more apart and mixed among them. Their advance against the walls of Baltimore appeared archaic in tactics, and yet there they were, still moving forward.