“Can’t I?”
Jones looked even angrier before looking at Taylor’s face to see the cheeky smirk on his face.
“You know when a joke is too close to reality, it isn’t funny at all,” Jones said quietly.
They felt the craft lift off, and they both turned to the small screens on their pads for a view out of the pilot’s seat, but as the docking bay doors opened and they flew out, all they could see was the same haze that they had seen before. They could only just make out the two Aranui vessels ahead of them.
“After all we did to get that damn spear. We lost so many lives, almost lost you, and now look where we are.”
“I hear you, believe me.”
“Bolormaa herself could be down there, right now, did you ever think of that?”
“No chance.”
“Oh, really? And you know that how?”
“There is one weapon in the universe that can kill you, and the enemy have it, would you go within ten thousand klicks of it?”
Jones nodded in agreement.
“Unless she’s cocky enough that she thinks we don’t pose a threat.”
“Sadly for us, I don’t think she is that stupid.”
The craft began to rock violently as they passed into the atmosphere of the planet. It grew darker now, as if little light managed to reach the world.
“This looks welcoming,” said Jones.
Their craft began to shake even more. It became so bad that Taylor thought they might just drop out of the sky. He gripped the edge of the armrests tightly and hoped for the best.
“This isn’t normal, is it?” Babacan asked.
Jones couldn’t help but smile. “Normal? I wish I even knew what that was anymore.”
Finally, they felt the landing gear hit the surface. It was a rough landing, far harder than any of them but Taylor was used to, and even he looked worried, but he was glad to at least be on hard ground. He activated his mask, hit the door release, and stepped out. Heavy gusts of wind blew across the surface, kicking up all kinds of dirt and debris. The sky swirled around as if it were painted on and forever changing. Deep hues of purple, green, and blue, it was like some kind of horrible trip. He looked down at his pad and surprisingly the air was breathable, but he dared not raise his mask and have the skin taken off his face by the debris being carried in the air.
“Nice place,” said Jones.
They went forward to meet Irala. They couldn’t see a single piece of his flesh. He wore some kind of fully encased armoured suit, and even his eyes were covered with a mirrored narrow visor. He was clad in steel like armour with no end of articulations. It moved as freely as his body, not like the rather simpler construction that the rest of them wore. The Guardians with him were armoured and armed more heavily than Taylor had seen before, as well. It was clear they expected a fight, and yet that made him wonder why his old friend had come in such a small number.
“Follow me, and stay close,” said Irala.
They went onwards for half a klick, following some kind of map that Irala had projected before him. They could see almost nothing of their surroundings. The enemy could be walking in parallel with them within talking distance, and they wouldn’t know. The strong winds meant that they could hear little else.
“Remind me to never come on holiday here,” said Jones.
“If any of us ever experience a vacation again, I’ll be fucking astonished,” replied Taylor.
“Keep that to yourself though, hey. They need to know there is hope.”
“There is always hope, just sometimes is so small and so far beyond reach that I cannot see it.”
Jones understood that whatever had happened on Kapteyn had beaten him down. He suspected it had something to do with Alita, but he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. Taylor wasn’t the steadfast man he usually was.
They reached the target on Irala’s map. It was a cavern opening in the side of a rock face, three metres tall and almost as wide. It did not look inviting at all. They switched on their flashlights, both on their weapons and on the sides of their helmets. They knew they couldn’t risk night vision. The Morohtan weapons shone so bright that it would blind them at first sight.
“Going into a creepy cave with a few guys, and where there is almost certainly a superhuman monster that wants to kill us, what a heart-warming notion.”
Jones’ sarcasm finally made Taylor smile.
“What the hell, we all have to die some place.”
“And a cave seems okay to you? I was thinking more on a beach, drinking wine and surrounded by beautiful women.”
“Not your wife?”
“Her, too,” he replied with a smile.
Taylor stopped beside Irala.
“You don’t think you can beat a Prince, do you?”
Irala did not respond, and although he could not see the alien’s face, his lack of response told him a lot.
“If we encounter one, we take it together. Maybe between us, and with a little help, you never know. Alita killed one, after all.”
But even he was starting to question if that had just been a fluke, and he was well aware that she had the spear to do it, which they did not possess.
“Are any of your people down here?”
Irala shook his head.
“We left twelve Guardians to defend the Pauri Tao.”
“And you think that was enough?”
“It was enough to not draw attention.”
Taylor knew he was right, and yet that didn’t make it any less infuriating that the plan had failed. The cave soon descended well below ground. Taylor checked the air to see it was still breathable and wouldn’t be harmful for a few hours. He released his helmet and took in a welcome breath. The air smelled awful, but it was still better than being cooped up in the helmet.
After a while the ground finally levelled off and opened up into ten separate spurs.
“What the hell is this? A maze?” Jones asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s fucking great!”
“It is a very complex network that only a few know. It would take the Morohta some time to navigate them and find the Pauri Tau.”
“We can only hope that is the case.”
“Look,” said Irala.
They studied the ground at the entrance to one of the spurs to see the prints of what they had feared, a Prince.
“Well, you didn’t think they’d send second rate soldiers for this, did you?”
“That is what worries me, Colonel. If this is as important as we think, why wouldn’t she send the best she had after it? I would.”
“I have given up trying to figure out what Bolormaa wants and does. I am not even sure she knows herself.”
“She is very intelligent.”
“Oh, I know that, but does she know what she really wants?”
That made Irala think.
“I wish I had the answer for you.”
“Don’t we all.”
“It’s this way,” said Irala.
He began to move when Jones piped up, “Hang on, don’t you want to take this thing from a few directions?”
“You want to be down here alone?”
Jones shook his head.
‘Then we’ll stick together,” replied Taylor, as he gestured for Irala to go on.
The spur was wide enough for just three men to stand side by side, or one Guardian. Jones understood now why they came in such few numbers, but he still didn’t like it. They went on through a seemingly never-ending series of tunnels. Each of them was mapping it along the way, so they could at least find the way back out again.
Gunfire rang out, and they quickly came to a halt. They listened, but they could only hear the sound of Morohtan weapons.
“No Guardians?” Taylor asked quietly.
“That is strange,” said Irala.
He kept moving forwards, as that was the only thing to do. They soon reached a crossroads and a trail of dead Morohtan warriors. A few of them
were smouldering from gun wounds, and others cut to pieces. Three had been hewn in two.
“What the hell did this?” Jones asked.
Taylor suddenly felt very uneasy, and he felt his wound flare up once again. He winced in pain.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, I’m okay,” he replied as he shrugged it off, “This isn’t your people, Irala, your Guardians?”
Irala shook his head.
“Then what?”
It was obvious he did not hold the answers. Taylor was glad to see the enemy dead, but he hated not knowing why. None of them wanted to take a step further, but they knew they must. As they carried on, they found more bodies along the way. No Amitads or primitive creatures, only Bolormaa’s finest warriors, and yet they had been cut apart, with seemingly no casualties on the side of whoever had done it.
“We aren’t far away now,” said Irala.
As they made the final part of the journey, they only found more bodies and trails of blood. Finally, the spur opened up into a huge underground cavern. The broken parts of Guardians lay scattered all about. It was fifty metres high and glistened with light that somehow came through holes in the ceiling and bounced around. It created an eerie scene with long shadows. In the centre of the canyon was an Aranui manufactured vault, but that was not what drew their attention.
Two Morohtan Princes stood either side of it, as if squaring off against one another. They seemed completely oblivious to their arrival. One wore the glistening jewel armour that Taylor was accustomed to seeing. He carried a vast two-handed hammer with a long spike on the back. The other was all in flat matt black with only his eyes shining bright. He carried an equally dark shield and a recurved blade in his other hand. They appeared to be arguing with one another and looked aggressive in their body language.
Taylor ducked down and signalled for the others to do the same. They watched for just a few moments as the heated discussion continued. Neither seemed to make an attempt to go for the vault. They spoke in their own language. It sounded brutish and coarse to Taylor, but he didn’t understand a word of it.
“What are they saying?”
“They both want the spear,” replied Irala.
“Aren’t they on the same side?”
“The hammer bearer, Bilgunn calls the black one, Zaya, a traitor…he says he will take his head to Bolormaa.”
Taylor smiled as he looked back to Jones. “Dig out the popcorn. This should be good.”
Jones didn’t look convinced as Irala continued, “The black one says he will take the other’s head, and Bolormaa’s after it.”
“My God,” said Jones.
“What?”
“It’s a schism. They are turning on one another.”
They waited and watched as it unfolded. Only a few more words were spoken.
“Zaya is trying to convince the other one to join him against Bolormaa.”
A few more harsh words were shared before Bilgunn lifted his hammer and charged forward. Zaya lifted his shield and took the full power of the impact. Taylor and the others cupped their ears in pain as the impact resounded through the cavern like an earthquake. Light flashed on the shield as the energy sources of the weapons clashed. They swung at one another with a bitter hatred. Hammer and blade clashed one after the other in an almighty battle.
It was a revelation to watch, and Taylor could not help but admire their skill. It also felt good to be the one watching for once.
“However this ends, we are still going to have one to deal with,” whispered Jones.
“Unless they kill each other. One can always hope. Stay here,” he added as he crept off along the outer perimeter under the cover of jagged rocks.
“Taylor, where the hell are you going?”
But he was already gone, and he couldn’t say it any louder.
“Bloody hell, what is the fool doing?”
They turned back to the clash of steel. They seemed of equal skill, and neither could land a blow after dozens of strikes. Jones looked for some sign of Taylor, but he couldn’t spot him. The fighting went on for another minute when Zaya slipped his sword beneath the grip of Bilgunn and drew back swiftly, cutting both of his hands off in one clean strike.
Blood poured out from the Prince’s severed hands, and it was a shock to them all. He recoiled back slightly and spat some final insulting words before Zaya spun around and decapitated the Prince’s head. Zaya seemed completely calm as he stepped back over to the vault and placed a device on the lock. It blew it off with ease. He reached in and drew out the spear before stepping back towards the tunnel where Jones and the others were hiding beneath a rock shelf. Zaya stopped ten metres short of them. He retracted his helmet and stood casually in full view.
“You are too late. The Tamir is mine.”
Irala stood up and stepped out to face off against him.
“The Pauri Tau, you mean, that belongs to us,” stated Irala. He stood confidently in front of the creature with his Guardians at his back. Zaya began to laugh.
“Irala,” he said.
Jones couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
How does this creature know the Aranui Councillor?
“I won’t let you take it. We need that weapon.”
“You cannot stop me, but you can die trying if you wish.”
“I do.”
Zaya smiled in response, but before he could close his helmet down, he heard something approaching from behind. He turned quickly to see Taylor flying through the air towards him. He carried Bilgunn’s hammer in both hands, and it was heading right for his head. There was no time to respond. The hammer struck a devastating blow, and the Prince crumpled down into a lifeless pile as Taylor tumbled over him. The rest of them were too shocked to find any words.
Taylor got back to his feet and lifted the huge hammer up as he went back to the Prince. He kicked him with it to see if he was still conscious. He didn’t respond. Taylor leaned down and prised the Pauri Tao from his hands.
“There you go. That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
Jones stood there staring at him. He was speechless at first, but then he spoke, “You must have balls of solid steel, Colonel Mitch Taylor!”
“Someone has to.”
“All right, then, let’s get out of here.”
Taylor leaned down beside Zaya and listened for a pulse.
“Yeah, will do, but let’s take this one along. He’s still alive.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Why? You know how dangerous these things are.”
“And if we leave him, then he’ll only come looking for the spear somewhere along the line.”
“So finish the job now. Kill him while you can.”
Taylor shook his head.
“A Prince who wants Bolormaa dead? No, that’s something we can use, and I have a whole lot of questions I want answered.”
“He could kill us all.”
“Then let’s make sure he doesn’t.”
“I cannot recommend this cause of action,” said Irala.
“Well, you don’t have a choice. You needed us here because you fucked up with the spear,” he said as he held it up high, “This is my mission now, and I say we take him. Restrain him and have your Guardians carry him to our ship.”
Irala looked displeased.
“Don’t question me on this,” Taylor warned.
Irala seemed to be tense and reached for a weapon, but Taylor just lifted the hammer.
“Don’t do this.”
Finally, he backed down.
“Right then, what are you waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of this shithole.”
Chapter 11
Taylor looked in on the creature, Zaya, through one-way glass. He was chained at every limb with ground anchors that they would only use for aircraft. His eyes were open now, but he seemed to show no emotion at all, as if he were waiting for something or someone. He still wore his armour, for they could not work out h
ow to get it off him. He had been stripped of all the weapons that they knew about. They lay in a vault behind Taylor, along with Bilgunn's hammer. The doors behind him opened, and Jones stepped in with Admiral Vega.
"So this is one of Bolormaa's Princes?"
"Is, was, we’re not really sure, Admiral," replied Taylor.
"Either way, we can use him. Friend or foe, I am sure Bolormaa will want him back. That is a valuable commodity, and an unexpected bonus. Well done, Colonel."
"I’m glad to know someone thinks so."
"Councillor Irala does not agree with you keeping him alive?"
"You could say that, Admiral."
"Yeah, well, if his people had all the answers on how to beat these things, we wouldn't be in this mess today, would we?"
That brought a smile to Taylor's face.
"You must have a thousand questions for him, do you think he will answer them?"
"There’s only one way to find out."
"Just don't take any chances. He's a caged animal and will take every opportunity to get out, or lash out."
"I've dealt with his kind before," said Taylor.
He hit the door release and stepped inside. He still wore his armour but had removed all weapons. The door shut behind him, and they were left in complete silence. The creature looked into his eyes as if studying him. Taylor had never gotten time to study one of the creatures so closely, as he had always been focusing on surviving against their brutality.
"Taylor," the creature finally said.
"You know me?"
"I have heard the name. Bolormaa thinks you are a great champion of your people, are you?"
"I took you down, didn't I?"
"Not with honour, not in a fair fight."
"Honour? I'm not sure your kind even knows what that is. You butcher civilians for fun, and you wage war for what, I don't even know. What does Bolormaa actually want from war?"
There was no response.
"Your name is Zaya, isn't it?"
The creature blinked as if to acknowledge him.
"It seems like Bolormaa wants you dead, so that's something we have in common."
Battle Beyond Earth Box Set Page 75