Battle Beyond Earth: Retaliation Read online

What now?

  His back straightened and his fists clenched, as if he expected to have to defend himself, but the man reached forward with his hand over the bar in friendship.

  “Do you mind if I shake your hand?”

  He took it in surprise.

  “You’ll never pay for a drink here, not you or any of your unit.”

  “Appreciated, but you won’t want to extend that offer, or you’ll be out of business by tomorrow. This lot will drink you into poverty.”

  The man laughed.

  “No, no, you won’t,” he replied confidently, “I work this bar because I love it. I always get to meet new people, but I own another twenty on these islands and across the water. The name is Kai Hale.”

  The man passed him a huge glass filled with fruit and straws. It looked silly to him, but he took it gladly. He was just relieved to not be faced with bitter and twisted bureaucrats.

  “So what brings you here? Don’t you have men and women to train and a war to organise?”

  Taylor sighed as he took a sip of the drink. It assaulted his taste buds with an array of flavours. It was like nothing he would ever order of his own accord, and yet it was soothing and instantly made him feel better.

  “Yes, I do, but some asshole thinks it better to imprison us here. Keep us away from what we do best.”

  “Why?”

  Taylor sighed once again, and the man laughed.

  “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  Taylor took another sip.

  “So why are you being so nice to us? Forgive me, but it’s not a treatment we are used to right now. For all our hard work, it’s like we get a mouthful and a kick in the ass if we’re lucky.”

  “You are the reason I am alive and kicking today, Colonel.”

  Taylor was curious and let him go on.

  “It is a story that goes back a long way. Many generations ago my family were living in France and about to have a child, when the siege of Paris was at its worst.”

  I’m not quite sure when that was. I remember fighting over it more than once, but it doesn’t matter.

  “The city was falling. The hospital was being overrun. Not many were making it out, but it was you and your Immortals who fought to get out every last civilian you could. They saw you that day; saw you in person. Helping people to leave the city. Had it not been for you, I would never have existed, nor my parents, nor many generations before them.”

  The war in France was such a haze now. He remembered fighting there early in Krys wars, and many times throughout.

  I wonder if such a story passed down over generations is even close to accurate, but I’m glad to at least to find someone who appreciates my efforts.

  Hale was shaking his head.

  “Of all the people I could ever have expected to walk into my bar today, I would bet on anyone but you, Colonel. What an honour,” he said and poured a drink for himself. He saluted Taylor with it and knocked it back.

  “So you’ve been sent here as a punishment?”

  Taylor nodded, and the man laughed.

  “Well, what a prison it is. Sand, sun, and sexy women everywhere you look. Kickback, Colonel and enjoy yourself. You deserve it.”

  He was calmer, but he could not relax. He was still furious about how they had been treated.

  “This is about Reno, isn’t it?”

  Taylor shrugged.

  “Okay, okay, I know I shouldn’t pry into military decisions. Sad times I know. All I wanted to say is I know in my heart that you would have done whatever necessary to save as many lives as you could. I know this, and I bet a lot of other folks do.”

  “You see; we have plenty of fans.”

  Alita took a drink from Hale, and they clashed their glasses together. It was far from a good situation, but at least they could enjoy some time away from the frontline. Several more of the Immortals gathered around. They looked uncertain and uneasy as if awaiting orders to move out at any moment. He needed to get morale back up.

  “I know none of us asked for this, but I’ll be damned if we didn’t deserve it. Let’s make the most of it. Now get some drinks down you and enjoy this sunshine while we’ve got it. That’s an order!”

  A cry of excitement rang out, and they rushed to the bar to join him.

  Chapter 9

  “It’s not a bad life, is it?”

  Jones sipped from a straw and leant back down onto his sunbed, wearing nothing but shorts. Taylor was dressed the same beside him but didn’t even acknowledge his words. He was deep in thought. So much so, he didn’t even feel the blistering heat on his skin. He wanted back in the fight, and lying around was crushing his soul.

  “I said it’s not a bad life, is it!”

  “I heard you the first time,” he finally responded calmly.

  “I bet you never thought you’d get a chance like this when you were hunkering in the ruins of France or fighting the Krys on some foreign world?”

  “Actually I’ve been here before.”

  “Really? Doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”

  It was true and he knew it. But his time there with Eli Parker had made it special.

  “It’s not that I dislike this place. It’s that I can’t sit around idly and enjoy myself when a sword hangs over our heads.”

  “Seems like there ain’t nothing hanging over us right now,” added Alita.

  “Of course there is. There always is. Bolormaa is out there and no end of her supporters.”

  He sat up and looked uncomfortable before finally getting to his feet.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “To get a drink.”

  He wandered back towards the bar. Kai was waiting for him with a big smile. That somehow lifted his mood. It had started to feel like he was the enemy in all this.

  “Another of the same?”

  Taylor nodded and took a seat beneath the shade of the bar.

  A screen behind Kai was on with some news anchor. It didn’t bother him until he saw a religious cult like ceremony. It didn’t look like anything he had ever seen before. People were holding burning torches and stood atop a mountainside, wearing clothing resembling the likes of the Amitads. It was then he spotted a few of the symbols the aliens wore on the clothing of the people.

  “What the hell is this?”

  ‘That? Some crazy whack jobs. Don’t worry about it,” he said as he slid a drink to Taylor.

  “It looks worth worrying about, can you turn the sound up a little?”

  But Kai shook his head.

  “You don’t want to see that, Colonel. It will only rile you up.”

  “And so what if it does?”

  “Don’t make this any worse than it needs to be. The Alliance will need you before long. No need to go looking for trouble.”

  Taylor looked suspicious, and he was starting to see that there was a lot more to Kai than there first seemed.

  “So you aren’t just a friendly face?”

  He could tell Taylor had seen right through it.

  “You’re here just to spy on us and keep us in order? Fuck me, and here’s me thinking we actually had a few friends in the world.”

  He picked up his drink and walked away from the bar, but Kai ran after him.

  ‘Wait!”

  Taylor did not stop, so Kai caught up with him and pulled him around. Taylor did not need to say a word. He just gave a murderous glare into his eyes.

  “Nothing I told you was a lie.”

  “And why should I believe you, or even care?”

  “Because there are still plenty who care about you, Colonel. It’s true that I was told to keep an eye on you. Keep you calm and comfortable, but it’s not the reason I did it. That story about my family, that was all true. I swear on my own life that it was.”

  Taylor looked back. Jones and Alita were on their feet and ready to come to his aid, but he nodded for them to stay where they were.

  “Colonel, I never meant to mislead you. Please, come
and take a seat. I will tell you anything you want to know. Or everything I can.”

  “Why? Why would you do that for me?”

  “Because I respect you, and because I know the world needs you. I am just a helping hand along the way.”

  Taylor’s suspicions seemed to melt away. For some reason he believed Kai. Maybe his story was true. Either way, Taylor was curious enough that he wanted to go back to the bar where the news story was playing. The two of them took a seat once more, and Kai turned up the volume. Taylor watched in horror as human beings on screen prayed and worshipped. Not to a god, but to Bolormaa herself. He could hardly believe what he was seeing as a reporter interviewed one of them.

  “We’re here to spread the word of peace. Peace amongst all nations in the universe. Bolormaa is the most magical of beings, a God in her own right. Whatever gods may or may not exist in this lifetime, we live and breathe in a day when we can reach out and talk to one of them. Bolormaa and the Morohta are clearly an ancient and highly evolved culture that we must have so much to learn from.”

  “Can you believe this crap?” Kai asked as the reporter retorted.

  “But how can you explain the violence we have seen from the Morohta? They are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, maybe more.”

  “The Morohta did nothing more than any one of the races in the Alliance would have done, and have done. Defend themselves. Now it is clear that we have awakened a long dormant culture. And what have they awoken to find? Cultures that have been at each others throats, and even upon meeting one of them for the first time, they were attacked. Look at the mercy of the Morohta towards the Cholans. They did not exterminate their culture and lay waste to their lands. They accepted them and sided with them to protect against the rest of us. The warmongering races of the Alliance, with a savage animal at the helm.”

  “I presume you are talking about Colonel Mitch Taylor, who has been so prevalent during the war so far?”

  “This is no war. This is a misunderstanding, and the sooner we can prove to her magnificence Bolormaa that we want nothing but peace and prosperity, the safer we will all be. It is futile and suicidal to walk any other path.”

  “Turn it off,” Alita said, stepping up beside him.

  Kai obliged and shut off the transmission.

  “You should know better than to listen to your critics. How many times have you told me that?”

  He nodded as he sipped in his drink.

  “Yes, until such time as those critics become dangerous.”

  She laughed.

  “Dangerous? They are nothing more than new age hippies looking for the latest trend.”

  “And yet they have gotten their agenda onto the international stage.”

  “You think anyone will believe them?”

  “Yes, I do. People will cling onto any hope of peace they can get. Any chance of getting passed the death, destruction, and misery this war will bring. Look at it.” He pointed to the view out to sea.

  “Wouldn’t you want to hold on to any hope of living with this day-to-day than going back onto the frontline?”

  “You don’t?”

  Taylor shook his head and grimaced.

  “No, no, I wouldn’t, but maybe you shouldn’t listen to me as much as you do. I am not a model citizen. I am not the thing to shoot for. Hell, I don’t even know what I enjoy in life anymore. Anyone else in the Alliance would be ecstatic to have a vacation here. I’m fucked up in the head, you hear? I serve a purpose. I am a warrior, nothing more.”

  “That’s not true,” she said, laying a hand on his forearm, and he felt the warmth of her touch, “I know it’s not true, or you would not be able to love like you do.”

  “Love?”

  “Yes. Love.”

  “You are sounding like one of those lunatics on TV.”

  She wouldn’t let it go and pointed out to their people enjoying the sun on the beach.

  “You love them, as comrades. You love me, and you cannot deny it. Maybe not as much as you loved Eli and Coco, but enough to make it worth fighting for.”

  He felt a little ashamed. He could tell she knew how strong his feelings remained for the women he had lost and left in his own time. But her hand still remained on his arm.

  “Don’t feel bad about that. It is what makes you human and everything that you are. Every flaw and weakness mixed in with strength. You don’t know how to do things in half measures. You love, live, and fight with everything you have to give. It is what makes you so unique. You aren’t like any officer I’ve ever known, or any leader. You live down here with the rest of us. You slog through the mud and then throw it to the top. I doubt there ever will be anyone like you. We believe in you, and that’s what matters.”

  It nearly brought a tear to his eyes, but he would never let that happen. So he threw back his drink and slid the glass across the bar to Kai for a refill. He got up and grabbed Alita, lifting her up and kissing her with such passion and emotion. He had no shame or care in the world for who was watching or what they thought. It was as if he had just been shot with adrenaline. He pulled back, but still held her in his arms.

  “You still believe in me?”

  “Always.”

  That’s so much what I needed to hear. I’ve always gone with my gut, but sometimes I’ve stood back and wondered if I had really done the right thing.

  “You make tough calls. Decisions you are forced to make because you lead from the front and then have to live with the consequences. That makes people uneasy. You rub peoples noses in it, who cares? So some religious fanatics want to burn you at the stake? Are you going to let them?”

  “No,” he murmured.

  “No, you’d have their heads if they dared try. So buck up! We’re stuck here for a little while, but you know it won’t be for long, and for God’s sake let’s fight back. It doesn’t have to be with bullets and blades.”

  * * *

  “I am Sienna Mitchells and welcome to ANN. We have a special here for you tonight. The debate rages on whether we should continue to prepare for war against the Morohta and their Queen Bolormaa, or should we submit and seek peace? Here tonight we have a very special guest joining us from Hawaii, Colonel Mitch Taylor himself. Considered by many to be the most important officer in the Alliance, and a proponent of defence and aggression. Also joining us tonight is Jonathan Weir, a representative from the PAAC movement. That is the recently founded Peace At All Costs organisation we have been hearing so much about. So, Colonel, we have heard a lot recently from Mr Weir and his peers. What do you think of their attempt to seek peace with Bolormaa?”

  Taylor looked stern and confident. He was glad he didn’t share a room with Weir. He already wanted to rip his throat out before they’d even shared a word.

  “Bolormaa is a bully. We know this because it is not the first time that factions within the Alliance have encountered her. Well-documented accounts from the Aranui outline her cruelty and violent nature in detail. She wants nothing more than to destroy us. Whether than means our absolute destruction, or submission into slavery, I cannot tell you. But I guarantee that you will not like what comes next if you bow down to this bitch.”

  Sienna opened her mouth to condemn his obscenity, but she could not get a word out as Weir leapt into the fray.

  “And how do you know this, Colonel? Have you met the Queen? Have they explained their agenda? Have you ever given the Morohta the chance for peaceful discourse? No, you have not.”

  “Actually, I believe my good friend Lieutenant William Jones, who first encountered the Morohta, did indeed approach peacefully and without ill will. And yet he lost many friends to the Morohta that day. What would you say to the families of those service men and women who lost their lives?”

  “I would say I am so very sorry, and that we are doing everything we can to ensure that such a loss of life is not seen again in our lifetimes. Something that remains impossible while you continue to wage war.”

  Taylor could barely
believe what he was hearing, but Sienna finally joined in with the conversation. She was clearly improvising a little, and that was hardly surprising. It had quickly become a more heated debate than she was accustomed to.

  “Okay, so we have a number of citizens who have questions for the both of you.”

  She pressed a few keys, and a man in his fifties was projected before them.

  “This is Willie Pollard from Texas, and he has a question for Mr Weir.”

  Willie was grey for his age and seemed to stare down Weir for a moment before addressing him.

  “You are attacking a war hero that has defended this country and this world with his blood, and even his own life. What have you ever given up? You trumped up loser! Go and get a job, and leave good folk to do what they do best. You don’t even deserve to…”

  The signal was cut off.

  “Well, I have to apologise for that caller’s behaviour…” began Mitchells.

  But Taylor had heard enough.

  “Hey? Do you want to hear people’s views on this show, or do you just want to paint your own picture?” he demanded.

  Mitchells looked uncomfortable.

  “I am sorry, Colonel, but we cannot allow hostile callers on this programme.”

  “You want to talk about a subject that people feel passionate about. You are happy to have me insulted by a religious fanatic, but the opposing argument gets shut down? I hardly think that is fair and balanced reporting, do you?”

  She stuttered as she tried to find her words, but Weir came to her rescue.

  “Come on, Colonel. Let’s not make this personal. We differ politically. I respect you as a man and for all the work you have done, but that doesn’t make you right in this. You have gone off the reservation, and somebody needs to rein you in. You are running us into oblivion.”

  Taylor shook his head in despair.

  “And you know Bolormaa will accept you and all your cronies? You think she will thrown open her arms and live in peace, do you?”

  “No, we do not know. Just as you do not know that she wants to destroy us. What we believe is that peace is worth a chance, more than a chance. It is worth fighting for, even worth dying for if necessary. How many more lives have to be lost before you understand that?”