Battle Beyond Earth Box Set

by Nick S. Thomas

“Jones, come in!” Taylor shouted on the radio.

  “Taylor, where the hell are you?”

  “I’m on the tail of this thing. It’s after Bailey. Make sure everyone stays well clear of the arena and out of sight.”

  “Why, what are you gonna do?”

  “Something stupid.”

  Jones shook his head, knowing there would be no arguing with the Colonel. They were drawing near to their position now.

  “You heard the Colonel!’ Jones relayed the command.

  He was already worried. Taylor was about to do something crazy. He was closing fast now.

  "Come on, clear out!"

  He saw Bailey rush into view on his flank, and that meant they were out of time. The creature stormed into view behind her. It was spitting flaming balls of fire at her. He raised his rifle to fire, knowing it would do no good. Five shots zipped over Bailey's head before a second burst struck her squarely in the back. She let out a cry of pain. She was winded and crashed down to the floor face first. Her helmet landed so hard it bounced a little on impact. The creature slowed its pace as if closing in on its wounded prey, and Jones heard the sickening sound of her crying in agony from the burning residue biting into her flesh.

  The massive beast seemed to stop for a moment as it stared down Jones. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't leave Bailey there as she writhed in pain, but he failed to think of any way of even hurting the gargantuan monster. An explosion rang out from behind it, and then another.

  "Hey, you ugly motherfucker!" Taylor shouted over a loud hailer.

  Jones cringed at the thought of what the Colonel was about to do. He watched the horrifying creature turn away from him to face this new threat.

  "Yeah, you! Come at me, bitch!"

  The monster surged towards him, and Jones seized his opportunity to rush to Bailey's aid. Smoke was pouring off her armour as the flaming acid like residue was eating through it.

  "Help me get it off," she squirmed.

  Jones reached for one of the clips of her armour but felt it burn through his own glove, and he winced in pain.

  "Hold still."

  He drew out his Assegai and used it to cut away the clamp on her torso armour. She threw it off across the floor as it continued to smoulder. She was on her knees and reeling from the pain. As she leaned forward, he could see where the flames had torn through her uniform and burnt into her skin.

  "I'm okay," she said, as she still grimaced and tried to hide the pain as best she could.

  They heard what sounded like an explosion. Part of the inner stadium blew apart as the creature smashed its way through the structure to get out into the arena. They followed its path to see Taylor running out into the middle of the arena.

  "What are you doing?" Jones gasped, watching as the creature stormed towards Taylor. He was shouting into his comms unit as he ran, but Jones wasn't hearing anything. He began to panic, thinking Taylor might be trying to reach him and ask for help. He moved forward out of the cover of the stalls to the edge of a seating area, raised his rifle, and started firing at the beast. His shots glanced off and didn't seem to be noticed by the creature.

  "Taylor!" he screamed in desperation as he lowered his rifle; there was nothing more he could do. As the creature neared the centre of the arena, and realised Taylor couldn't run fast enough to outrun its weapon, it came to a halt. It then drew back, as if taking in air to power its flame weapon, and then reached forward to fire. Jones could see no hope of Taylor surviving it and was utterly distraught. As the first spit of flame vented from the huge barrel of the cannon, a whistling sound rang out from overhead. Something was descending on them at a great velocity.

  Jones had just enough time to look up and see the cause of the noise crash down from the skies and strike the creature. It ignited on impact, and the shockwave launched him back over several seating areas and through a shop stall. He smashed into a worktop and fell down onto the floor. He quickly recovered and rushed back to see what was happening from the cover of a large pillar. Another four large calibre shells struck the creature one after the other. The first had flattened it to the ground, but the second and third punched though its thick armour. Then the fourth blew it apart, and the fifth levelled it completely.

  The explosions scattered debris across the whole arena, and a shard of its leg was flung towards Jones. He ducked down as it struck the pillar and crashed down in front of him. He was shaking and looked down at his body to check that he was still in one piece. He didn't want to get up, didn't want to accept the possibility that Taylor might be dead. He heard some scraping on the floor. Bailey was crawling over towards him and pulled herself up on a side rail.

  "The Colonel called in a bombardment on his own position?" she asked.

  Jones nodded. "It sure looks that way."

  "He's crazy."

  Jones nodded once more as they both stood up to look at the carnage around them. The enemy monster was unrecognisable. It had been reduced to a pile of rubble in a shallow crater that looked like a junkyard. He looked up above. The skies were clear, and he began to pace down the steps to the arena. Patches of Napalm like fluid still burned amongst the wreckage. He kicked part of it out of the way as he stepped onto the pitch.

  “Taylor!” he yelled as he began running out to the centre. There was movement up above as many of their platoon moved out of cover, in the hope they might find their beloved Colonel still alive. Bailey was just few steps behind him and looked as distraught as he did.

  “He must have called in the Indy,” said Bailey.

  “Yes, for guns of that calibre,” replied Jones.

  He couldn’t believe Taylor had done it but now understood that it was necessary. Nothing they had was coming even close to scratching the mechanical monster. Despite the gunfire in the distance, it was surprisingly quiet in the stadium, as the thick outer walls blocked out so much sound. Jones looked around in every direction for some sign of Taylor, but there was nothing.

  “Where did he go? He couldn’t have had time to get off the pitch.”

  That only made Jones more concerned. He imagined Taylor’s body destroyed beyond belief amongst the almost unidentifiable wreckage. He kept turning and looking in every direction when he heard the sound of a mechanical device slide into operation. He lifted his rifle and saw a man arise from the ground on some hidden elevator just ten metres from where he was standing.

  “Taylor?”

  It was undeniable. The armour on his left shoulder and helmet were badly burnt, and his face black and smoky. He rose up smoothly on a small elevator until it stopped at ground level, and he stepped off calmly onto the pitch.

  “How?”

  “Haven’t you ever seen a star enter the pitch on one of those?” Bailey asked.

  Jones shook his head and shook it further in disbelief as Taylor smiled at him, revealing his gleaming clean teeth beneath his filthy skin.

  “You called in that strike?”

  “I sure did.”

  “And you knew about that elevator?”

  “I kind of hoped but wasn’t sure till I reached the edge of the pitch,” he said, pointing to where he had run from the creature.

  “You cut it a bit fine, don’t you think?”

  “Did you have any better ideas how we were gonna take down that…thing?”

  “Nope. I thought the Juggernauts were bad enough.”

  “It’s hard to name a thing far worse. You always think a Juggernaut will be the meanest and nastiest thing you’ll find.”

  “Kraken,” added Bailey.

  Jones smiled. “They come from the sea.”

  “Yeah, but they’re big, mean, and damn terrifying.”

  “Krakens? I like that,” Taylor said.

  Jones wanted to argue, but he didn’t have the energy.

  “Whatever. Let’s just hope that was a one of a kind.”

  “Not likely.” Taylor lifted up his rifle, “You know, these felt like they could take down an elephant a few weeks
ago. This is a painful reminder of the dark old days.”

  “These aren’t dark days?”

  “No, no, Bailey, they sure are. They’re just different. I figure it’s a cruel turn of fate that sees a man have to face something like this more than once.”

  “No argument there. I’ve had enough of this for a lifetime,” added Jones.

  Taylor turned his attention to Bailey as he walked around to see the wounds on her back. She seemed to be ignoring them as best she could.

  “Are you able to go on?”

  “She shouldn’t,” Jones snapped.

  “I’m in this fight, and while I can still walk, I can shoot, Colonel.”

  Taylor appreciated the sentiment, but they didn’t have much choice, anyway.

  “Come on, we have wasted long enough with this fucking ugly piece of shit.”

  They carried on to the far side of the stadium. The rest of the platoon joined them and left the wreckage in their wake. Taylor was more amazed than anything else that they hadn’t suffered a casualty at the hands of such a horrifying and powerful war machine. The prospect of facing another was one he tried to not think about.

  “Let’s get back on track.”

  They reached the doors to the stadium and stepped outside. Friendly troops were pouring past with rapid speed as if completely ignorant of the deadly battle they had fought inside the stadium. They heard gunfire well ahead of them.

  “The guys and girls must have made some progress. Come on, let’s not let them have all the fun!” Taylor shouted and excitedly upped the pace.

  Jones didn’t know how he found such enthusiasm and drive in the worst of situations, but like the rest of them, he really appreciated it. Taylor was the motivation they could never find within themselves. They carried on with a new enthusiasm. More than anything it was a relief to still be alive. Rushing towards the enemy soldiers seemed like nothing at all after what they had dealt with. Jones soon caught up with Taylor who seemed to go on as if nothing had happened.

  “So that plan, calling in a bombardment on your position, you think of that before or after you found Bailey and I?”

  “Before.”

  “That could have killed us all, you know that?”

  “Maybe, but we were dead anyway if we didn’t find some way to kill it, and how many more lives would it have taken if it had gotten out here?”

  “There was nothing left to lose? That’s what you’re going with?”

  “Sometimes it’s the truth. Better one platoon than several companies or more lost.”

  “But you are more valuable than that, more than one platoon, one company, maybe even the whole Regiment

  “You’re wrong, Jones.”

  “No, I’m not, and you knew it.”

  Taylor shook his head disapprovingly. They reached a turn in the road, and it veered around to a crossroads. To the north their people were pushing forwards against the enemy, but as he looked to the east, he noticed they had finally reached the edge of Greer’s troops. They were dug in along the side of the street while hordes of Gurvs rushed to attack them.

  “If Greer is alive, that’s where we’ll find her,” said Taylor.

  “Has no one been able to reach her yet?”

  “It’s a complete mess. Comms are jammed up with a hundred people asking for support. We need to get through to her in person.”

  He opened a channel to his Regiment, “This is Taylor, carry on as ordered. My platoon is breaking off east. Do not slow down. Keep the pressure on, Taylor out.”

  He was confident that they all knew what to do, and were capable of it.

  “Come on, let’s move!”

  Taylor headed on down the road to the east. They reached a hundred metres when they were in range and fired on the move to help clear the street.

  “I never thought I would see the day one of those foul things walked on Earth!” said Jones.

  “I wish I could say the same, but this was always coming.”

  They emptied two full magazines each, and yet there seemed a never-ending stream. Few even noticed them on the flank as they pushed on in a frenzy to besiege those dug in along the street. As they neared the fighting, Taylor peeled off in through the open doorway of a mini market. It was quiet inside, and he carried on through to the back door and into the alleyway behind them. A single shot struck the wall beside him as he emerged into the light. He recoiled back before realising it had come from a friendly unit.

  “Friendlies coming out!”

  They advanced to find four soldiers defending the side street. Three Gurvs lay dead in front of them.

  “Nice work,” he said.

  He didn’t want to reprimand them for almost taking his head off, as it would do no good.

  “Colonel Taylor?” asked one of them.

  He was in shock and awe, and that brought a smile to Jones’ face as he looked at Taylor. “You see, famous wherever we go.”

  “Yep, I’m Taylor.”

  “Thank God, we might get through this yet.”

  Taylor sighed, thinking of the pressure that was mounting on him.

  “General Greer, is she here?”

  “She was hit not so long ago.”

  “Hit? Is she alive?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t had contact from anyone for a little while. It’s chaos here.”

  “Where can I find the General?”

  “Probably at the med station.”

  “Where?” Taylor insisted, his tone growing angrier and more urgent.

  “You haven’t come here to help?” another asked.

  “We have, but we must reach the General. Our people are encircling the enemy as we speak. Just hold the line, and you will make it through.”

  He could see they were utterly terrified. It wasn’t surprising. He doubted any of them had seen combat before.

  “Please just tell us where the aid station is. It is imperative that we reach the General.”

  “About three blocks that way.”

  “Just follow the medics,” said another.

  “Thanks. You hold on. Help is here; trust me. Keep doing what you are doing, and we will all get through this.”

  They seemed doubtful of his words. All the hope that had gripped them upon seeing Taylor was already lost. Jones felt for the Colonel. It seemed as though the whole world relied on him to pull off miracles. They ran towards the med station, but Jones said nothing until they were out of earshot.

  “Poor kids, they didn’t deserve this.”

  “None of us did, Jones.”

  It wasn’t long before they found the trail of wounded heading for their destination. The few medics they had were struggling to even carry the wounded, but they couldn’t afford to stop and help. Gunfire raged at the frontline, which wasn’t so far behind when they reached the aid station. There were no vehicles or craft getting the wounded out, and the dead lined one side of the street under covers.

  They looked up and down, horrified that there must be a hundred dead and even more casualties at the one crossroads they were at. A large restaurant was being used as the main hub of the station, and screams rang out from inside from the worst of the wounded as the medics did what they could to save them.

  “Colonel!” a soft voice called out.

  It was Greer. Her neck and right arm had recently been wrapped with bandages, but it was a poor and rushed job that she may have even done it herself. He rushed to her side.

  “Here, help me.” She was trying to lift her body armour from the ground to put it back on.

  Taylor took a hold of it and helped her get it over her head and tied down.

  “They hit us pretty hard.”

  “Are you okay to keep going, General?”

  “Better than you, I think.”

  She was looking at the scorch marks all over his armour and the holes and dried blood where shrapnel and fire had ripped through.

  “It’s just superficial, no problem.”

  Jones couldn’t hel
p but chuckle, as he could see Taylor was being serious.

  “Hey, what are you doing!” cried a voice.

  They all turned to see Bailey stripping the armour off a dead body, and one of their comrades about to strike her.

  “Halt!” Greer yelled.

  They all froze.

  “He has no use for it anymore. Let the living take what they have to. Ammo, armour, guns, boots if they need it!” she declared.

  Several of the wounded glared at Bailey as if she had committed some great sin, but as she turned around to pull it on they saw the horrific wounds on her back.

  “Wait!” a medic called out.

  He rushed to Bailey, drew out a spray, and coated her wounds with it. She gritted her teeth and tried to hide the pain, but she couldn’t help but squirm.

  “It’ll help, trust me,” said the medic.

  “Yeah, great,” she replied sarcastically and pulled on the armour.

  It was clear that it still hurt like hell as she clamped it down tight.

  “Desperate times call for desperate measures, don’t they, Colonel?” Greer asked.

  Chapter 7

  Boom! The ground rocked under their feet, and they were showered in debris from the building across the street. Screams rang out, as those helping to recover the wounded were themselves added to the casualty lists.

  "It's bad, isn't it?"

  Taylor knew the General was talking about more than just their situation.

  "If it's bad with our assistance, you don't want to imagine what else is going on in the world."

  "I don't even know what to say or do," she said quietly.

  "There must be plans in place for this event."

  "Yes, and they're useless. They fell apart within an hour of the enemy entering the atmosphere. Nobody could have envisioned such a severe assault. Not with these sorts of numbers. The Joint Chiefs are all confirmed as dead. The President is dead. Last word we got from Europe was much the same. This is a targeted approach to take down our systems of government quickly and efficiently. Many key ranking officials were struck in the first wave. The attack on my motorcade was likely no random attack. I was lucky to survive."

  "This is no way to fight a war. They’re savages," said Jones.