* * *
"Sir, we have an unauthorised takeoff confirmed from docking bay 4. I am receiving reports that...a Morohtan is aboard. They are saying it is Zaya."
"What the hell is going on?" Fortier demanded.
No one answered him.
"Target that ship, and prepare to fire!"
"Aye, aye, Sir."
"Captain!"
Caron was trying to address him.
"Not now," he snapped, turning back to the viewscreens of the craft as it soared towards the atmosphere.
"Captain Fortier, I must speak with you!" she demanded.
He scowled at her with an angry expression.
"I have a prisoner loose and an unexplained departure..."
"It is not unexplained, Captain."
He was silenced.
"What the hell do you know about that ship?"
"That is Lieutenant Hariz, and she is acting on my authority. You will not fire on her."
He looked conflicted.
"Sir, much longer and we will not have a shot."
Caron was shaking her head.
"Stand down!" he finally ordered.
He walked over to the future President's side.
"Ma’am, you and I need to have words about how this ship is run," he said, gesturing for her to follow him, but she wouldn't. She stood her ground.
"Perhaps we do, but there are bigger issues at hand, and I intend to see them through."
"You've set free the most dangerous prisoner in the Alliance. Do you know what you have done?"
She said nothing.
"All we can do now is hope."
Fortier looked furious, but he knew there was nothing more he could do or say.
Chapter 11
The automatic gunfire was unrelenting as another wave of drones poured out from the elevator and collapsed over the wreckage and bodies before them. Taylor's platoon had built a sizeable defensive line from office desks, tables, and ammunition crates. The corridor led to the lobby where the elevator was situated. It was narrow enough that they stood shoulder to shoulder and were still two ranks deep. All of the crates of ammunition lay behind them, but most of the boxes were empty. Magazines littered the floor where they had rushed reloads to stay in the fight.
The last of them dropped, and there seemed another brief, but welcome hiatus as the elevator once again shut. Taylor loaded a new magazine in and then looked across to see several of them smiling back. Despite everything, their morale remained strong. Even Jones seemed relaxed, but that began to worry Taylor.
Has he accepted our fate, that we going to die here?
They each made their final preparations as the lights of the elevator flashed, and the next wave began their descent. They were just throwing drones at them now, wave after wave. It was exhausting both their energy and ammunition. Taylor lifted his rifle onto the barricade ready to engage the enemy once again. He looked either side of him at the determination on their faces. Four were still bleeding from various wounds, and yet kept fighting. Another only had the use of one arm, but he had his weapon propped on the barricade to support it.
“You know nobody is coming, don’t you?” Jones whispered.
“All I know is that we’re in here, the enemy is out there, and that we’re still alive,” replied Taylor defiantly.
Jones wasn’t convinced. The elevator was drawing near, but a loud echo rang out as if something was shaking violently.
“What the hell?” Taylor asked.
As the elevator doors opened, a doorway in the wall beside it was flung open. It revealed a hidden stairway, and from it came dozens of drones. Taylor didn’t need to say a word as they all opened fire. Shots landed all around them. They were cutting down the drones in ridiculous numbers, but there seemed no stopping them. Babacan lifted his Hydra onto the defences and opened fire. It was deafening in the confined space and louder than everything else they were firing combined. He didn’t even ease the pressure off the trigger as he panned back and forth, mowing them down. After almost twenty seconds of unbroken firing, the gun finally ran empty and spun to a halt, with smoke pouring from the barrels.
It cleared the way, and no more came from the open doorway, but there was a glimmer of movement as one drone tried to get back up. Babacan took the empty gun in both hands and launched it at the enemy soldier, crushing its head on impact. He looked around and located a rifle lying next to the defence. The woman carrying it had dropped dead, and so he claimed it as his own.
“The next wave isn’t going to be so easy,” said Jones.
He looked at the open doorway leading to the stairs and could already hear the echoes of feet hammering down the stairs.
“You were right to bring us down here,” said Jones as he put in a new magazine.
Taylor was taken aback and wondered if he had really heard what he thought he had.
“That’s right. I’d never choose to come into a place like this, never. But I was wrong. We’d long be dead by now if you hadn’t made that call.”
Taylor leaned in close to whisper more quietly.
“I don’t think dead is how they want us, and that’s what worries me.”
Jones squinted as if trying to understand what he meant.
“Notice how little fire has come our way. Me and you, I mean?”
“Hell, no. We’ve taken plenty.”
Taylor gestured towards the others. Two lay dead on the ground, and many of the others were wounded.
“It’s as we thought. They didn’t come here for Phillips or to kill us. They want us alive.”
“You mean they want you alive,” replied Jones, “It’s about you for Bolormaa, of course it is.”
It wasn’t the sort of attention Taylor wanted.
“They’re dying because of me?”
“No, if it wasn’t for you, we’d all be dead and buried, so don’t talk like that.”
He tapped Jones on the shoulder as a sign of his thanks and in friendship, and then addressed the others.
“It’s an honour to be with you all! I bet you think this is the end. That I am going to start talking about death? Well, fuck that! There is still fight in us yet.”
The pounding of feet on the stairs was getting louder. They could hear wild screams and fierce cries. It was not drones this time.
“Amitads,” muttered Jones. He leaned in close, “Still think they want you alive?
“They’re just more lambs to the slaughter. More fodder for our ammunition.”
“Well, it’s working. It won’t hold out much longer.”
“It’s not over yet, lads, so don’t be ready to pack it all in. Let’s give ‘em hell!”
They all raised their weapons in readiness, as the sound grew even louder, like war drums hammering towards them. The filthy creatures stormed into view and shrieked as they fired randomly and charged like raging animals. Taylor was the first to open fire and dropped the first creature. They were picking their targets carefully and using single well-aimed shots to down their targets where possible. Taylor had fired just five shots when he ran empty. He dropped his rifle, ripped his pistol from its holster, and kept firing, but the Amitads just kept coming.
The magazine soon ran empty as the bodies began to pile up. Their attackers were now scrambling over the bodies of their dead and the drones that had come before them. It was a grim reminder of the Krys war for Taylor, but as he saw Babacan fighting beside him, it didn’t feel so bad. He slammed in the next magazine and emptied it just as quickly. Then the third magazine in, his last one, and it was empty as quickly as the others. He slipped it back into his holster, drew out his Assegai, and activated his shield. Half of those beside him had run empty, too, and were following suit.
“Come on!” he roared and jumped over the barricade. He smashed his shield into the first one he came to and pushed it back into their own line, simultaneously stabbing one that he passed, and then another. Finally, he stopped, and the creature on his shield was thrown back against t
he rest. Another Amitad flew past him and landed on them, too. Babacan was with him. He had come out with bare hands, and only then did he draw his Assegai.
There was near silence for a moment as the creatures climbed up and prepared for the next attack. Taylor felt his blood lust building. He couldn’t feel it against the drones, but now he had something living and breathing to fight, it was different. With a roar, two-dozen Amitads rushed at them.
They were no match for the well-armoured and skilled fighters under Taylor’s command, and yet they kept coming. Their Assegais drove deep as they butchered the enemy, but even then he heard a few cries as enemy blades found their targets. Bailey was cut across the leg just above the knee, and another slashed across the face. It was enough to spur Taylor on to fight even more fiercely. He drove his Assegai deep into the stomach of the last of them and pushed it off.
“Is that all you’ve got!” Taylor roared.
They heard it echo through the stairway shaft ahead of them. He looked around; they stood amongst a mound of bodies now.
“It stinks here,” said Jones, “The next time you want to make a last stand, can we please do it in the fresh air?”
Nobody said a word for a moment. It was the last thing any of them had expected to hear, but Taylor began to laugh, and the rest of them broke into laughter with him. It was all they could do to get through the situation.
“Anyone got any ammo left?”
“Few rounds,” one answered, but he was the only one.
“There is nowhere left to go. This is the best place to fight them. So we stay, and we fight,” said Taylor.
“We wouldn’t want to make it easy for them,” added Jones.
“Colonel Taylor!” a booming voice called out from the stairway.
That silenced them. He took a few paces forward.
“Wait!” Jones said, but Taylor didn’t even hesitate. He climbed over more bodies to reach the stairs and stepped into the centre so that he could look up through the empty shaft. There were hundreds of Amitads waiting on the levels above, and a Morohtan warrior amongst them who called out, “Colonel Taylor!”
“That’s me!’
The warrior looked a little larger than most and wore what looked like a crown. He could only assume it was some kind of officer or leader.
“I am Nergui. This is over, Colonel, but you can still save your people!”
“What do you care?” he demanded.
“We do not, but if you come freely, we will let the rest live! Refuse and we will kill you all!”
Taylor smiled. He didn’t trust his enemy one bit.
“Give us a moment!”
He stepped back over the bodies and up to his people who were filthy dirty. They were all covered in dirt and blood, some of it their own.
“You’re not considering it?”
There was real concern in Jones’ voice, but he only smiled and slowly shook his head.
“Are you crazy? They won’t keep to a deal like that. They’ll come for you the minute I am free and clear. You were right. They did come here for me, and I am sorry for that. I am sorry I got you all into this, but the only way any of us will get out of this alive is by killing them. That is as simple as it is.”
“Then why did you ask for a moment?”
“You kidding? A moment’s grace to take a breath and recompose ourselves; that’s worth its weight in solid gold fucking bars right about now!”
“So you lied?”
“Damn fucking right I lied, which is no less than that scum deserves.”
"So what's the plan?"
"I don't see that anything has changed. There is nowhere to run. They can't flank us, so we fight where we stand."
"You have one minute!" Nergui roared.
That only made Taylor angry. He didn't much appreciate ultimatums. He drew in long breaths of air to calm his pulse and be as ready as he could be, watching the seconds count down on his pad.
"Ten seconds! What is your answer?"
"No!" Taylor boomed.
A few seconds later, they heard the thundering of feet from the Amitads coming down the steps towards them. As the first appeared, it was hit by a single shot, as were the two after it, but the rest met no opposition. There was no ammunition left to throw at them. Taylor ran forward and engaged the first. He thrust under his shield and into its lead leg. The creature dropped to one knee, and he rammed the Assegai through its mouth and out the back of its head.
Without withdrawing the blade, he pushed the dead creature onto the one behind it, burying the tip of the Assegai into its eye socket. Finally, he drew out the weapon as they both dropped dead. Babacan kicked the one beside him, and it flew back with immense speed and smashed into several others. Jones weighed in on the other side, and before they knew it, they were embattled in an all out melee. They were fighting like lions. Just one of their own fell as they fought on for almost ten minutes. Bodies were stacking up, and that was slowing the enemy’s advance. Then they stopped coming.
"Do you think they have lost the stomach for it?" Jones asked, panting heavily.
Taylor staggered back into the centre of the lobby as they formed up in readiness. Fatigue was setting in now.
"They'll be back. They always are."
He took a knee and tried to draw in breath. The old wound from the Ertnii blade pulsated as if it felt the enemy presence. He gritted his teeth as he tried to put it aside.
'Bing.' The sound they had gotten to know so well, the elevator.
"You'd think they'd have gotten the message by now," Jones joked.
A few of them laughed, but they soon stopped as the doors opened. It was not Amitads, nor drones. Two Juggernauts stepped out into the lobby, and Nergui was at their backs. In the confined spaces, they knew the Juggernauts would run rampant.
"Surrender now, and your friends will be left alone," said Nergui.
"Yeah, right, I wouldn't trust you as far I as could throw you," snarled Jones.
Taylor smiled, appreciating the sentiment.
"My orders are to bring you in, alive, if possible. If not, it will be my pleasure to end you here today."
He seemed as confident as any Morohtan Prince, and that made Taylor concerned. If he was even half of what one of them were; then they were in for a world of pain. The three paced closer as if studying their prey, or perhaps they were toying with it. Taylor holstered his Assegai and drew out the Bilgunn's hammer he still carried on his back. He needed something that packed a punch for this fight. The Juggernauts looked all but ready to charge when a hail of gunfire rang out from the stairway, and five bodies smashed to the ground in the middle of the stairway. Nergui turned just in time to see a Prince land amongst the bodies.
Taylor's eyes widened in amazement and shock, but he soon realised it was Zaya, the last thing he expected to see.
Zaya quickly got his balance back and stormed into the room. He thrust his sword through Nergui with one brutal thrust that ripped out through his spine. He tossed the body aside and turned to one of the Juggernauts. He grabbed it by its head, snapped it over, and then decapitated the creature with a quick swing of his blade. The other rushed at him in desperation, but Taylor leapt forward and struck one of its legs with the hammer, causing it to crumple. The Juggernaut lost balance and crashed hard into the wall beside Zaya. He merely turned and drove the blade into the wounded creature’s neck to kill it instantly. He had dealt with the Juggernauts with the ease at which the rest of them defeated the Amitads. It was an impressive sight, but no less terrifying.
Taylor stepped back to the others and stared at Zaya as if waiting for his next move, but nothing came.
"What are you doing here?" Taylor finally asked.
"Saving your life. Now come on, let's move!"
"Get the wounded. We're getting the fuck out of here!" Taylor shouted.
They rushed into the elevator to find they were even more cramped than before. They had left the dead behind, but Zaya was far larger than several o
f the marines, and he had to stoop so as to not hit the roof. Taylor was pressed up against him as the doors shut, and he stared at the creature’s blade that was dripping with blood, suspicious of his intentions.
"How did you even get out?"
"I was set free."
"How? Nobody would have let you go."
"There was just one."
Taylor sighed with frustration, knowing exactly who it was.
"So what, you came down here to save us?" Jones asked.
"Yes," replied Zaya bluntly.
"What is the world coming to?" he asked rhetorically in amazement.
The elevator slowed, and the doors opened to reveal a sea of bodies.
"Jesus," said Taylor.
"This was your doing?" asked Jones.
"Move!" Zaya ordered as if he had taken command.
Nobody was arguing with it, as he had given them all a chance to survive. They swept back through the lobby. A new wave of Morohtan warriors was approaching in the distance, and it appeared they would have to fight their way out. The bombardment had stopped now.
"Do you have some genius plan to get us out of this?"
As Taylor said it, one of their assault transports came in to land right in front of the building. It blocked the enemy’s view and gave them enough cover to embark. The ramp lowered a few metres from the front door of the building. Taylor ushered the rest of them through as they helped the wounded on board. Zaya waited beside him.
"Are you coming?"
Zaya seemed reluctant.
"What? Is it too much to ask you to swallow your pride? This lone world thing ain't working for you, is it?"
Zaya wouldn't admit it even if he did believe it.
"Come with us, and we'll take down the bitch together!"
He didn't say another word as he climbed aboard and left Zaya to the decision. As he headed for his seat, Alita looked back at him from the cockpit. She was beaming with excitement for seeing him. As he slumped back into his seat, Zaya climbed aboard and squeezed in to what space was left. It was usually reserved for the Aranui Guardians.
"Wheels up, let's go!"
They heard gunfire peppering the hull, but the small arms fire couldn't scratch the thick armour. The engines roared, and in seconds they were at the height of the Newman Building. They could see the carnage all around from the Indy's bombardment, but also thousands of troops, drones, and vehicles that were en route to join in the fight.
Battle Beyond Earth Box Set Page 97