Battle Earth VII Page 18

  There was no response. He saw the ship vanish between two peaks in the distance and could only hope for the best.

  “Good luck, Eddie,” he whispered.

  His boosters kicked in, and he looked down. He was descending gently to the top of a rocky outcrop beside a vast structure. Dust bellowed out around his feet, and he could see the building before them was far from what he had expected.

  From a distance it appeared to be hundreds of years old. Up close, it was of modern materials and only designed to appear the way it did to fool those from afar.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” said Silva, “Hell of a place to live.”

  They looked up. The wall was almost twenty metres high. Only half of the marines had hit the ground, but Taylor was already leaping back into the air with his boosters. He landed down on the edge of the roof, and an automated gun rotated to take aim at him. He turned quickly and fired. The domed mount jammed, and he put a few more rounds through it to be certain.

  “Charges!”

  “Two of his squad slapped magnetic charges down onto the steel roof and took cover. The explosion rocked the rooftop below their feet. Taylor jumped to his feet to see a metre-wide hole burrowed in the roof.

  “Damn, that’s serious armour!” Riley called out. Two more explosions ripped through the rooftop further along, and Mitch looked up just in time to see Parker jump in through the breach without any fear or hesitation. He wanted to be with her, but he knew the mission must come first before all else. He leapt forward and into the hole. As he hit the floor, a pulse struck his chest armour, and another zipped past his shoulder. He responded quickly by lifting his rifle and firing two shots at his attacker.

  The dust was settling. They had jumped right into a guard station where an operator manned security feeds throughout the building. He looked down at the lifeless body of the man. It was the first human life he had ever taken. Taylor had never thought for a moment about striking a man, or even shooting those who deserved it, but shooting to kill one left him cold and feeling a little sick.

  It was in this moment, he truly realised this was the sort of war he’d read so much about; the wars that had turned men crazy, and yet he’d always wished for. Riley landed beside him and was as fixated on the body as he was.

  “Is this is what it’s come to?”

  “I wish I could say otherwise, but we must do what we have to do.”

  He stepped up to the console and looked at the screens that displayed cameras all around the facility.

  “Goddamn place is huge,” said Riley.

  “Yep.”

  “Shit.”

  Taylor looked at where Riley was pointing and spotted the unmistakeable outline of a Mech standing guard in one of the corridors. It was fully kitted in the armour they had seen during the war but carried a weapon resembling the Reitech equipment they used.

  “They really are using Mechs?”

  “Yeah, and that’s just the start of it. Come on, Riley.”

  He rushed out the corridor, half expecting to find a line of Mechs, but it was quiet.

  “Where are the guards?”

  “We’re not at war, remember. I bet they only got a skeleton crew guarding this place. Let’s seize the opportunity while we still can.”

  He started a countdown on his watch of thirty minutes. Thirty minutes to find a single man within a complex they had no plans for or idea of his location. He heard an explosion in the distance and knew it would be Silva breaching on his right flank. He carried on forwards as an alarm sounded. It rang out through the entire complex.

  As they reached the end of the corridor, it opened out into a hangar bay with a number of small aircraft laid up within a fully enclosed and sealed space. It was hidden from the air.

  "That's the Councillor's ship."

  He instantly recognised the lavish vessel he had recently travelled aboard. It was a relief to see some evidence of Armand's presence. It wasn't that he didn't trust Becker, but the information he had to offer seemed vague and bizarre.

  A few mechanics were working on a ship nearby and turned to look at him and the others. But it wasn't Jafar they stared at, obviously used to Mechs, but him. They made no attempt to draw weapons. They simply ran.

  "Nice to see it's not just me they fear now," stated Jafar.

  Taylor rushed to Armand's ship and up the ramp to get on board. There was not a soul in sight. Reaching the cockpit, he knew it was an opportunity to ensure it stayed grounded. He targeting the cockpit console and fired a half dozen shots through the controls until they were completely fried. He left the ship as quickly as he had entered it and was surprised to see all was still quiet.

  "I don't like this. Where are the guards?"

  As he said it, a shot flew past his head and ricocheted off the hull of the ship.

  "Careful what you wish for, Sir!" Riley yelled, as they leapt for cover.

  Taylor advanced across under the cover of the ships and other equipment until he reached the doorway where the shots were coming from. Without sticking his head out, he armed a grenade and tossed it around the corner. He heard screams of panic, human screams, as the explosion rang out. He lifted his rifle to take the bend.

  One soldier lay dead and another incapacitated beside him. Riley reached Taylor's side and was as shocked as the first casualty they had inflicted.

  "How do we know these are the bad guys?"

  "We don't, but they're fighting for them. Right now, it's collateral damage that we'll just have to live with."

  The wounded soldier tried to reach for a pistol, and Taylor quickly responded with a shot to his head just beneath the helmet rim, killing him instantly.

  "I didn't sign up for this."

  "It's precisely what you signed up for and what we trained for. When in the Corps, did we ever train for alien invasion? No, we trained to fight our own kind. It ain't pretty, but it’s what it is."

  "What was the point of fighting if we were just gonna go back to fighting each other? We could have a world war on our hands if this continues."

  "That's out of our hands now. We may be fighting humans, but this is as much a war started by the Krys as the last two. You don't have to like it. You just have to win."

  "At what cost?"

  "Enough questions. We get through this, and we might actually have a hand in what's going on and how to stop it."

  He looked up and could see a junction up ahead.

  "What I wouldn't give for a map of this place," he muttered.

  They had no choice but to continue on, as he knew the other two squads would be doing. Gunfire echoed down through the junction they were approaching. Parker had found trouble, but there was no time to turn and help. He carried on at a steady pace with his rifle held at the ready.

  The floor began to slope down and then turn as the gradient increased. They were going deeper now into the complex that must have been built into the rock of the mountain.

  No way out now, you bastard, Armand.

  They seemed to go about ten metres down until it levelled out. Taylor froze when a wall of Mechs met them. As they lifted their weapons to fire, he found an open doorway beside them and leapt in. The others were quick to follow, but the last was hit hard by two shots and stumbled as he came through. Jafar got a hold of him and hauled him inside. Taylor had only a brief second to look back and see the shots had hit his armour and the side of his leg.

  "You have to stay on your feet!" he ordered the wounded marine.

  Riley took a quick look at the wound. "It's gone right through. You'll be fine."

  They were in some kind of scientific workshop or laboratory.

  "Take cover!"

  Even over the sound of the alarm, they could hear the lumbering steps of the heavily armoured Mechs. It was a moment of nostalgia Taylor could have done without. He turned to see they were boxed into the room and could only hope there weren't too many coming for them. He jumped behind a metre-high metal workbench and lifted his rifle to the
ready. He expected the Mechs to enter at any moment, mercilessly and without fear as they always had done, but what happened next was not what he was expecting at all. A flash grenade was launched through the entrance, and he had just enough time to yell, "Grenade!"

  He ducked down for cover. The room was filled with light, and despite his best efforts, he was still hit by the shock of it. His ears were ringing, as he brought his rifle to bear but wasn't quite recovered. He fired two shots at the first Mech coming through the door, but they didn't come close to their target. Shots hit the top above him, and he was forced to duck back down.

  His eyes were stinging and his vision blurred. His hearing was equally impaired, and he could taste the coarse chemicals that made up the grenades they had so often practiced with in training exercises before the war. He coughed and tried to get some air back in his lungs, but his mouth was dry. He looked up just in time to see a rifle barrel.

  A burst of gunfire rushed over his head, and the rifle was dropped and fell over onto him. He could then see Jafar firing repeatedly. Mitch put his elbow up onto the worktop and hauled himself up with everything he had and brought his weapon to bare.

  Erratic gunfire was smashing the doorway where the Mechs were trying to get through, and as many rounds were hitting them as were striking the wall. He got the last remaining enemy soldier in his sights and let rip with a burst of shots that riddled its body armour and all finally went still. His hearing was starting to come back, but it was met with the rather unnerving alarm buzzer going repeatedly. He tried to shake off the drowsiness, but it wouldn't budge. He got to his feet and almost stumbled over again. Jafar grabbed a hold of him and held him upright. He looked around and could see he'd been closest to the blast and was glad to the others were in far better shape than him. He gratefully took Jafar's arm to support him.

  "Riley, lead on," he muttered.

  Jafar hauled him over the bodies of the dead Mechs. When he got into the corridor, he started to get his balance back.

  "Whose clever bloody idea was this?"

  "That'd be yours, Sir," replied Riley.

  The Corporal took the lead and was quickly engaged in gunfire at the next turn that Taylor was glad to sit out from. He looked at his watch. Five minutes had passed, and they were making slow progress.

  "We have to keep moving forward!"

  He looked in through a doorway to another room and could see exactly what they needed, a few Reitech shields. They seemed to be experimental models, but they'd have to do.

  "Get those damn shields in there and drive forwards!"

  Three marines each grabbed one of the devices and rushed to Riley's aid. They passed him, advancing as a steel wall down the corridor. Shots bounced off the thick armour. Mitch was finally getting back to normal, slammed a new magazine into his rifle, and rushed out to join the rest of them. They passed three Mechs who were smoking on the floor but more were still firing up ahead. They reached a bend and could hear someone shouting.

  "Human, good, I want one alive."

  "Why?" Jafar asked.

  "Because it's about time we got some information on Armand's whereabouts."

  "And they would give it to you?"

  "I intend to be persuasive."

  He looked out and saw the human was an officer working with two Mechs.

  "Advance, but keep him alive!"

  The shield bearers rushed out and stormed down the corridor. One struck a Mech with a barge; another used his shield to drive the Mech's weapon up and out the way, firing several shots into its legs. It collapsed, and he put one through the faceplate.

  Taylor was in quickly, but the officer had already thrown down his rifle to surrender.

  "Armand, where is he?"

  The man shook his head. Taylor drew out his pistol and fired a shot through the officer's foot. He screamed and collapsed in agony, but Taylor wasn't done with him. He grabbed him by his helmet, unclipped the straps, and ripped it from his head.

  "Armand, where is he?"

  "I don't know!"

  Taylor spun his pistol around and clubbed the man's jaw with the grip, causing blood to spew out across the wall he was lying against. Riley was shocked, but he did nothing to stop the Colonel.

  "I'm running out of time, and I'm willing to do whatever I have to here. I don't want to kill you, but your life is not more valuable than our task here. Tell me where we will find Armand, and I promise you no more harm will come to you."

  The man coughed out blood and turned to look at the crazy expression in Taylor's eyes, realising he wasn't kidding around.

  "Live or die, your choice."

  "Conference room at the lowest level."

  "What's he doing there?"

  "I don't know!"

  "There must be another way out from this place!"

  When he didn't get a response, Taylor lifted the pistol, once again threatening a strike.

  "There is, there is!" he cried, "There’s an access corridor from beneath the compound. It leads to emergency escape shuttles in a hidden area of the mountain to the east."

  "How long does it take to get there?"

  "From here, five minutes, maybe. Please, I don't want to die."

  "And I don't want to kill you. Do not make any more attempts to harm me and mine, and you'll make it out of here alive."

  The man seemed surprised.

  "But you’re Taylor, the Butcher. You don't leave your enemies alive!"

  "Then don't be my enemy."

  It was yet more evidence of the distain and resentment that was being felt towards him. He could only think it was as a result of carefully targeting campaigns against him, as well as Weaver's idiotic schemes. He was now starting to wonder if Weaver had been one of the enemy agents like Armand, but it didn't bear thinking about.

  "How do we get to the conference room?"

  "Just carry on the way you were going. It'll take you there."

  "And this secret landing pad?"

  "Only accessible from a room marked as Storage 24B, or through the outside landing doors which are completely hidden until open."

  "Then we’d better move. I won't kill you, but neither can I let you spill the beans."

  Taylor smacked the man across the head with his pistol, knocking him unconscious.

  "How can we make it before Armand flies outta here?”

  “We run, Riley, and we hope,” replied Taylor. He jumped forward and carried on at a pace far beyond safe when they were in such proximity to the enemy.

  He lifted up his comms unit. “Eddie, are you okay?"

  “Yep, just about!”

  “Bring Adrienne around to the east side of the mountain, ASAP!”

  “Got any co-ordinates on that?”

  “No, I don’t. Just do it, and be ready to give pursuit!”

  “In this piece of junk?”

  “We’re running out of options. Armand might be leaving shortly from a hidden landing area on the east side. You must not let him leave. Just make it work!”

  “You got it,” he responded wearily.

  “Any craft they have will outpace the Adrienne, surely?”

  “Sure will, Riley.”

  They carried on deeper into the facility, finding no resistance for several minutes. They finally arrived at a broad atrium that was clearly the entrance to something important; the conference hall they had been looking for. He could see two Mechs guarding the door, but they did not have time to take cover. Taylor’s rifle opened up, as did several others beside him. The two Mechs frantically tried to return fire and got off a few wild shots as they were bombarded by a salvo from the marines. There was a keypad security system to get in, but the doors didn’t look all that strong. Mitch fired a few shots into the pad and then the centre locking mechanism before getting his fingers through a small hole he’d blasted.

  The door began to open ever so slowly when out of nowhere Jafar came thundering in against the other door, bursting through with little resistance at all. The steel door
was launched into the room. The rest of them were left speechless.

  “Come in!” he called.

  They rushed through the breach and could immediately see a doorway at the far side of the room. It had been left open in haste.

  “We can’t be far behind, go!” Taylor ordered.

  As he passed along the length of the table, he noticed a number of documents scattered across it, the kind only kept in hard copy for security reasons. He wanted to stop and take what he could but knew they did not have a moment to spare.

  The door ahead led to a square corridor of three metres wide. It ascended relatively gently in an almost straight line.

  “Faster!” He got to a sprinting pace, knowing Armand wouldn’t have a suit on that would allow the kind of pace they could manage. He hoped it would be enough. As they were reaching the top, they could see evidence of daylight and could hear an engine power up.

  “Shit,” Taylor muttered.

  They reached the very top and broke out into the landing zone. It stored just three small high-speed shuttles. One of them had got a metre of the ground. Mitch looked to the two spare craft in the hope of taking one, but could already see bullet holes through the turbine housings.

  “Rains! Stop that ship!”

  “With what, Colonel?”

  He lifted his rifle and took careful aim at Armand’s ship. It was beginning to gain forward momentum. He squeezed the trigger and fired off three well-aimed shots at one of the two engines. He lowered his rifle and watched in hope. The pulsing engine spluttered and began to die. He knew he had done it.

  “Nice shooting!” Riley said as he reached the landing pad beside Taylor.

  “It’s not enough. He’s still getting away.”

  Engines roared above them, and the Adrienne lowered down twenty metres from the rock edge. The side door was open and one of Eddie’s fellow pilots at the door.

  “Come on, jump!”

  Riley looked over the edge. It was a several thousand-metre drop. He knew the boosters on his suit should keep him safe, but that wasn’t enough to make him feel sick to the stomach.

  “Uhhh… Colonel,” he began to hesitate.

  He turned around. Taylor had gone back a way to get a run up.

  “What? D’you wanna live forever?”