Battle Earth IV (22 page)

The Lieutenant knew he had been unprofessional and unhelpful and so felt uneasy, but Taylor could still see the hatred in his eyes.

“Right, let’s get on with what’s at hand.”

He quickly studied the map of the station and could see that it was a vast area to have to cover.

“We’re gonna be spread a little thin. If they were going to set charges to blow this place, you can bet your ass it’ll be either at the energy and grav generators here, or the central engineering quarters here. Those will be our focus points, as well as the command centre and guarding of the prisoners.”

“Is it wise to leave so much of the station unguarded?”

Taylor looked to the Asian man but couldn’t identify his rank from an insignia that he did not recognise.

“Sorry, but I do not believe we have met.”

“Colonel Chen.”

“You fought with the MDF?”

“A hard struggle.”

Taylor could see the Colonel had no qualms about being under the orders of a less ranked officer. Mitch’s reputation still gained him immense respect from most in the military fraternity.

“The incoming forces must have departed the Moon within minutes of our attack, meaning they probably have some idea of our strength. With that in mind, I can guarantee they’ll be hitting us hard. If we split our numbers, this station could be overrun, and we’d have nowhere to run.”

Mitch studied the map once again before pointing out a number of points.

“I want these corridors sealed off, anyway you can. That’ll close off all ancillary districts of the station, leaving us with only a third of the floor space to cover.”

“Nothing we do will keep them contained for long,” replied Perera.

“No, but time is not on their side. General Schulz is on his way. We only have to hold until he gets here.”

“We’ve got four access points to cover, Colonel Chen. I’d like you here, at hall 14B. The MDF will take the crossroads at the end of hall 86E. Captain Nichols and the Royal Greens will take the engineering levels. 112
^th
Mechanised, under Major Achen, will cover the corridors leading to the command centre here, and the prisoners themselves.

“Where will you be?” asked Chen.

“We have to be ready for anything. 2
^nd
Inter-Allied will remain fluid for rapid deployment to any breaches, and to provide assistance to any and all locations needing it.”

“Trying to be the hero again, everywhere at once?” asked Perera.

Taylor righted himself and took a few quick steps up to the Lieutenant. Perera stood tall in defiance, taunting the Major. Taylor without warning struck the man with a hard punch to the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Mitch had been careful not to use all the power his suit afforded him, which would have been enough to break the man’s neck.

 
“This is not a pissing contest. It’s not a game, and I don’t have time for it. You don’t like me because of what has already happened and I cannot change. Well here’s some news for you. You didn’t have it worse than everyone else. Man the fuck up, and start acting like god damn soldier!”

Mitch loomed over the Lieutenant, whose nose was bleeding and jaw clearly sore. The man was still stunned and humbled before him.

“There is no room for fighting each other. It will hinder our forces and is an uncertainty none of us can afford. The next insubordinate comment will earn you a place in the brig, where you will sit out this fight and hope there is still someone standing to deal with you after. Now, do I have your allegiance?”

Taylor was sick of trying to pander to some of the MDF troops. He knew he had no other option but to no longer give them a choice. The man begrudgingly nodded in agreement. Mitch offered out his hand to both help the man up and in a gesture of good will. Perera accepted, knowing he had little other choice. He could see in Taylor’s eyes that the Major would just as soon shoot him in the head if he continued on his current path. Mitch wrenched the man to his feet and quickly turned back to the others who were still shocked at the sudden violent outburst.

“You know where you are to be. We have to assume that our communications will be jammed. Tap into the station’s cabled comms so that we can maintain contact at all times. I also want all platoons to assign a runner to pass on messages, should we lose all contact due to power outage or damage to the station’s systems.”

He looked at the map one last time.

“You haven’t got long. Get those access points sealed up and build what defences you can, that’ll be all.”

The officers scattered to go about their business. Kelly strode back into the room with a paler face than usual, looking in surprise at Perera’s bloody face as the Lieutenant passed him. He didn’t interfere or ask after the man. He knew he must leave Taylor to resolve any issues between them. Mitch was the only one left at the table awaiting the Commander.

“Schulz is going to make all haste, but the best we can hope for is six hours until they arrive. For now we’re on our own.”

Taylor nodded, but he had already accepted their predicament. He outlined the plans to Kelly in just a few minutes, and they both stood silently staring at the projected map and lost in thought.

“It’s a simple plan, as good as can be made,” Kelly finally stated.

“Thank you, Sir. I’d like you to stay in overall command here. You’ll be able to direct everything from this position through the hard lines and runners.”

“Alright, thank you, Major. Please go on and continue with the preparations.”

Mitch picked up his rifle and quickly jogged out of the command centre to find several of his troops waiting for him. Ninety minutes later, they were as prepared as they could hope to be. Taylor and Chandra were side by side in a corridor junction. The Battalion had been spread out across three floors and multiple points in order to act as intended.

“Sure it was wise to split our own and spread them so thin?” asked Chandra.

“We need rapid response teams, and we have the most capable troops for the job.”

She nodded in agreement, but she didn’t dislike the idea any less.

The loudhailers fitted throughout every room and corridor crackled as Kelly came on to give his last few words to them all before the battle would begin.

“This is Commander Kelly. Within the next ten minutes, we will face whatever the enemy can throw at us. All we have to do is hold. We have nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. This station is absolutely essential to winning this war and driving the invaders from our solar system. It must be defended at all costs.”

He took a deep breath as he realised he may well be asking them all to fight to their last dying breath.

“A lot is of expected of us all here today. The human race is depending on us to get the job done. Most of you here have lived your whole lives on Earth. I very much appreciate the efforts and sacrifices you are making. But let us not forget, this is not about taking the Moon Colony back. It is about driving this enemy away for good. It is about ensuring they no longer threaten any of our homes ever again!”

The intercom went silent for a moment.

“I have just received word that the enemy craft are entering firing range in three minutes. Be ready for anything. Stand your ground, and remember what we are all fighting for. Any breaches or enemy engagements are to be immediately reported. Let’s keep a tight lid on this, good luck to you all!”

The tannoy system fell silent, and the corridors went utterly silent as the soldiers reflected on his words. Finally, Chandra looked to Taylor and broke the silence.

“All that we have survived, and now we find ourselves locked up in a tin can with nothing around us but space. I don’t like fighting when there is no escape by land or sea.”

“Agreed, but I remember you being eager to get into space.”

She chuckled.

“Eager to kill those bastards, certainly. Let’s not let it end up here, okay? If I’m gonna die in this war, I want it to be of firm ground.”

“Amen to that. Why on Earth anyone ever wanted to live on the God damn Moon is a mystery to me.”

The two of them had each attached themselves to a platoon of Jones’ Company. The Captain waited on a floor down with the other two platoons in readiness for the rapid deployment which they expected to need. The Commander’s voice came over the tannoy once again.

“Enemy targets have entered firing range. We have incoming fire!”

In the confines of the station, they could neither hear nor see any of what was going on. They wondered whether they’d want to see it, or if it was worse to have to wait to see the fate of themselves and their friends. Mitch finally broke and couldn’t withstand it any longer. Eddie was out there fighting alongside so many other pilots and Navy personnel he called friends.

“Fuck this, I want to see what’s happening!”

He leapt to his feet, and Chandra did not have the heart to stop him. Mitch made it down two corridors with several troops in tow before finally reaching an area with portholes giving a view to the outside world; light pulses from both the enemy and friendly weapons. Before he could identify any of the lightning fast battle in front of him, he was drawn to an object approaching their position at rapid velocity.

His eyes widened as he realised it was an enemy craft heading right for them on a deliberate path. He turned quickly with just enough time to warn those around him.

“Incoming!”

He leapt a few steps away from the window to take cover, but the explosion he had expected never came. He stood up in surprise as a loud clang rang out as something clamped onto the hull of the station. A small blast vibrated the corridor around them. A large plate of corridor burst inwards just ten metres away from the Major.

“Breach!” he yelled.

He turned back to Lam stood beside him.

“Get the Colonel here, now!”

He turned back and took up position in the ribbing of the corridor wall. He raised his rifle just as he saw the faint but instantly recognisable silhouette of a Mech infantryman appearing through the dust cloud created from the breach. He waited just a second for it to step into the open, and then he took a deep breath.

Here we fucking go again,
he thought.

Footsteps pounded down the corridor, and it only intensified the rapid pounding of Taylor’s heart he always felt when a fight was about to begin. The creature up ahead turned quickly in his direction as it heard the troops approaching. Without hesitating, Mitch squeezed the trigger and loosed off a volley of shots, riddling the creature with bullets.

Before the beast had hit the deck, another two had advanced past it, and Taylor heard the rapid fire of weapons beside him. He’d prayed their fleet outside was still in the fight, but he no longer had the time to think of them. A light pulse rushed down the corridor between the troops huddling in against the ribbing of the corridors that provided them with some useful cover. Two more of the creatures were killed before Taylor’s eyes as he continued to pour fire down the corridor.

He could see they had a solid defence, and his people were more than capable of holding. It was his opportunity to get back to Chandra and check on any news. Just after a pulse flew past his position, he rushed out and quickly dived around the corner where Chandra was waiting.

“I’ve already had word sent to Jones to box them in the other end!” she shouted.

“So they are jamming us?”

She nodded in response.

“Are the hard lines still working?”

“For now. Do you think you can hold them in that corridor?” she asked.

“No problem, but it’s not this breach I’m worried about. It’s the next one and the one after.”

Chandra dipped her head and sighed at the desperation of their situation, and Taylor could already see she knew more than she had said.

“What is it?”

“We already have two other breaches.”

“Christ, I bloody hope Schulz gets a God damn shift on! How are the other breaches holding?”

“So far they’re holding. But Mitch, I don’t know how many more of these we can take. Info is still sketchy on the enemy strength, but clearly what we have in the air isn’t enough to hold them off.”

Taylor thought back to Rains for a minute. He knew the pilots and Navy personnel were their first line of defence, and so would be getting it the worst. Part of him hoped they had beaten a hasty retreat and saved themselves from the bitter onslaught of the aliens, but more than anything he prayed they had stayed. Corporal Hall rushed up to stand between the two officers and blurted out his news before they could ask his purpose.