Battle Beyond Earth - Box Set (Books 6-9)

by Nick S. Thomas

  “They don’t even know we are here.”

  Turan sounded almost disappointed that they weren’t getting a straight up fight. They reached the enemy barricade, and Taylor almost choked at what they could see. They were at the entrance to some sort of bunker network, and all hell was breaking loose. Several dead Cholans lay on the ground, and the rest of Kaytun’s platoon were dug in around containers and enemy craft on the far side. More than a hundred of the enemy were engaged in a firefight with them, and more still were pouring from the bunker. Many were in plain sight and completely exposed from their position.

  “Well, I’ll be damned, a turkey shoot,” Taylor said with a smile.

  He lifted his rifle and took aim, knocking them down one after the other. His grin widened as he killed more and more, and the Krys were only too happy to follow suit. They killed two dozen before the enemy even realised where they were. Shots skimmed the cover beside Taylor, and one bounced from his helmet as he ducked down to reload.

  “Kaytun, this is Taylor. Come in.”

  He slammed in a new magazine and waited for some response, but still nothing came.

  “This damn planet, why the hell would any living thing ever choose to come here?”

  “Because it is the perfect hiding place,” replied Babacan.

  Taylor nodded in agreement. His alien friend had put Dart down against the defences to keep him safe. Taylor put his hand on the pilot’s shoulder to comfort him. Dart looked up with a smile. He was putting on a show now, but he saw the pain and fear in his eyes. He was pretending to still be drugged out of his mind.

  “We are going to get you out of this, I promise.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I said I will; do you trust me?”

  Dart nodded slowly.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “You’re the best damn pilot I have right now, and I’ll be damned if I am gonna learn to fly myself. You are going to make it out of this, and not only that, you will be back in the cockpit before you know it.”

  “You are full of crap, you know that, Colonel?”

  Taylor smiled. “That’s the spirit!”

  He primed his rifle and rose back up to take a new target. A number of the enemy were repositioning to take them on but were being hit in the crossfire from Kaytun’s platoon and getting pinned down. The vast blast door to the bunker began to slide open, and moments later a flood of Amitads poured out like the raving psychotic lunatics that they were. There were hundreds of them.

  “Fire!” Taylor yelled.

  He took aim and started knocking them down as quickly as he could, but there were just too many. They couldn’t afford to be overrun. There weren’t enough of them, and Dart wouldn’t survive the infighting. He fired with fast and accurate double taps as he went from one to another, and was on his next magazine in no time. They were butchering their attackers, but they had closed half the distance already. They didn’t care about death or pain.

  “Keep knocking them down!” Taylor cried, but he knew he didn’t have to say it.

  His magazine was empty in no time, and still the savage creatures rushed forward over the bodies of their fallen comrades. There was no time to load another magazine. They were closing too quickly. He let his rifle drop by his side, drew his pistol, and kept firing, but there would be no stopping the Amitads. There were too many of them. As his magazine ran empty, he holstered the weapon, drew his Assegai, and activated his shield. He gritted his teeth, readying for the melee and onslaught that would follow.

  The horde was just ten metres away when they were hit by a salvo of gunfire. It was enough to obliterate the first three ranks, and the rest were mowed down with brutal efficiency. Taylor watched the Krys platoon advancing towards the enemy and firing with everything they had. Their heavy weapons were blowing holes in savage enemy warriors and punching through into the ranks before them. Fifty were killed in the opening salvo, and their advance was halted in their tracks. They kept coming but were killed quicker than they could cover the ground.

  "Well, I'll be damned."

  The Krys advanced under a hail of gunfire until finally their magazines ran empty, but they didn't stop there. They barely even broke stride as they drew Assegais and rushed at the remainder of the Amitad horde. Taylor was impressed to say the least. He gave out a loud war cry and rushed forward by their side. He didn't need to give any orders. Everyone knew what to do. He reached the enemy first; crashing into the creature with his shield at such speed and power, it was smashed to the ground. He thrust his blade into the nearest before spinning and going onto the next like a man possessed. All thoughts and fears of death seeped away now as he buried himself deep with enemy dead.

  Taylor thrust into one after another, parrying off their blades and cutting his way through the enemy, but the Krys were by his side all the way. It took a few minutes to reach the end of the enemy horde. Not one had turned to run. They fought to the end. Taylor thrust his Assegai up into the jaw of the last one. His blade drove up through its head and exited through the top of its skull. For a moment he held the dead creature there in front of him.

  They wore no masks or protection for their bodies, but he could see small pipes entering their nostrils to provide air.

  They are hardened creatures if they can withstand the battering of the extreme weather conditions of the planet. But their skin is like sandpaper, so perhaps they don't even notice.

  He put his other hand on the creature’s body and let it slump to the ground. His focus turned to the movement up ahead. The remaining Morohtan warriors were retreating through the same entrance from where the Amitads had come to their aid. Huge blast doors covered the entrance, and they creaked into motion even as Taylor was watching.

  "Come on, before we're stuck out here!"

  Babacan had gone back for Dart and was loading him onto his back.

  "Come on!" yelled Taylor.

  His voice didn't carry far in the extreme weather, but Babacan could tell what he meant. He looked back to the doorway. The last squad of enemy soldiers were in the doorway and almost free and clear.

  "Oh, no you don't," said Taylor.

  He slammed a new magazine into his rifle and picked up the pace, firing as he ran. They returned fire, and he felt a shot bounce off his thigh while another clipped his knee at the join in his armour. He winced in pain, but it was nothing more than superficial damage. He hunkered down low so that his shield would provide more coverage and kept firing. The doors were closing slowly, but there the incoming fire was increasing, and it only got worse as a weapon turret rose out from the structure of the bunker and took aim.

  "Oh, shit!"

  He leapt to one side and rolled into cover. Two shots hit the ground where he had been; blowing holes half a metre thick into the hard surface. He rose up to take aim at the turret, but as he did, it ignited into flames and burst apart. He turned back to see a Krys with an anti-tank rifle on his shoulder. Taylor didn't say a word. He rushed back out from the cover and made a rush for the door. It was already halfway shut. He drew out a grenade and launched it as they ran. It went right through the opening, bounced off one wall, and vanished inside. The explosion rang out, and a dead warrior launched out through the doors, but they continued to shut.

  "Run!" he yelled, looking back to the others. He reached the door and threw another grenade in and waited for the blast. Seconds after it rang out, the first of the Krys soldiers stormed through the breach without any hesitation. He heard gunfire echo out from the opening as they continued to pour in. It was far from an ideal breach, but time was the one thing they didn't have.

  Kaytun and the survivors of her platoon were rushing towards them as Babacan ran though, the last of Turan's platoon.

  "Come on!" Taylor called out to Kaytun.

  They still had no idea what was on the other side of the door, but anything was better than dying of oxygen starvation outside. The Cholans rushed through the gap, and Taylor leapt in after them. His rifle scra
ped across one of the doors as it finally closed and claimed it from his shoulders as he made it through. He felt he had escaped the jaws of death, but only just.

  He looked at the faces all around him. Most were just relieved to be inside. Kaytun slipped her helmet off, and he looked down at his Mappad, amazed to see that oxygen levels were normal. He slipped his mask back and took in a deep breath. It smelt bad inside, damp and putrid, but it was a huge improvement over a dwindling air supply and a stuffy helmet.

  “You okay, Kaytun?”

  She nodded, but she was pretty shaken up.

  “We didn’t expect to encounter so much resistance. We lost too many out there.”

  Taylor nodded in agreement.

  “We always do.”

  Turan and three Krys were investigating the long hallways ahead of them when gunfire rang out from a side door. They hit the wall before Turan threw a grenade, though. He was in through the doorway just a second after the explosion, and the echo of gunfire rang out through the vast hallway before he appeared once again. Taylor didn’t know whether to be impressed or appalled with the way Turan did things. He was fearless, but also reckless, just as he had known the Krys to always be.

  “What are we doing here, Colonel?” Kaytun asked.

  Taylor wasn’t even sure anymore.

  “We came looking for leads to Zaya, Hariz, and Jones, and that’s just what I intend to do. We sweep and clear, and keep an eye out for any communications equipment. We need to reach the Tusk. Just because we have air down here, doesn’t mean I want to stick around any longer than we have to.”

  She shouted a few orders in her mother tongue, and they went onwards in support of the Krys. Babacan was the last to reach him as he brought up the rear. Taylor looked over his shoulder to check on Dart. He was pale and weak.

  “This isn’t really going to plan, is it, Colonel?”

  Taylor shook his head and smiled at Dart.

  “It sure ain’t, but you’re still alive, and there’s a lot to be said about that in these times.”

  They carried on after the others. Gunfire and explosions rang out as they swept through the bunker network. For once Taylor didn’t have to lead the way, and it felt refreshing. Unfortunately, that gave him all the more time to dwell on all the bad things he was feeling and experiencing.

  “What do you think is down here?”

  Taylor really had no idea, but he was glad to talk to the pilot to keep him conscious.

  “Has to be something of interest.”

  “How’d you figure that? It doesn’t look like much to me.”

  “Just look at this place. Why in hell would anyone ever come here, except to hide something or someone? It’s shit. That’s all there is to it.”

  Taylor noticed a glimmer of movement and turned to face it, but he was too late, and a Morohtan crashed into him. It seemed to be unarmed and not geared up for a fight. His pistol flew from his grasp, but gunshots rang out, and the creature dropped down dead. Dart had drawn the pistol from his shoulder holster and defended him.

  “Not bad,” said Taylor.

  “Hey, I’m legless, not dead, Sir.”

  Taylor smiled, though he doubted the pilot’s humour about his wounds would last after the effects of the drugs wore off. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose so much of his body, but as he began to think back, he wondered how much of his body was truly his anymore. He knew many parts had been replaced to bring him back from the horrific injuries inflicted by Erdogan in his final battle with the Krys warlord.

  “You know, Dart, we make it through this, and they’ll fix you in no time. You’ll be as good as new,” he replied as he picked up his pistol.

  “You’re getting sloppy in old age, Sir,” Dart joked.

  “You’re not wrong about that.”

  He looked through the opening where the creature had come from, a narrow doorway on the far side with no lighting. Curiosity wouldn't allow him to go on without investigating. The sound of gunfire still rang out like music to his ears as Turan led the sweep and clear.

  "Wait," a voice said.

  Kaytun had come back for him. Taylor looked confused about her intentions.

  "You are too valuable, Sir. Let me," she stated.

  That is not what Taylor expected to hear, but he didn't agree.

  "No, I never ask any who serve me to do something I wouldn't do myself. You can come with me, but you aren't my shield."

  He activated the torch on his rifle and another on his helmet and stepped through with her and two of her Cholans troops. Babacan had to duck and squeeze to fit through the opening, especially with Dart still on his back. Somehow Taylor expected to find something different, but it was just another empty corridor. At the far end was a sealed door.

  "It has to be something good, don't you think?" Kaytun asked.

  "It's something they tried to hide certainly. I don't think that Moro was trying to find us. I think it was trying to escape."

  "Escape where?"

  Taylor shrugged.

  "Your guess is as good as mine, Babacan."

  They carried on cautiously as if expecting to be struck by a trap at any time, but it never came. They reached the sealed door. Taylor knocked on it, not so much expecting an answer, but to test its thickness. It was like knocking on the hull of a ship, thick steel.

  "Whatever is in there, they sure wanted to keep it safe."

  Taylor drew out a small demolitions charge, looking at it as if completely unconvinced it would do any good against the thickly armoured door, but there seemed no other way inside. Babacan put Dart down and took a run at the door. Taylor barely got out the way as his Krys friend stormed towards him. He crashed into the door at immense speed, but bounced right off.

  "Colonel, if I may?" Kaytun asked.

  He wasn't sure what to expect.

  "Be my guest."

  He stepped back as if expecting her to use some kind of weapon, but instead she drew a cable out from a datapad on her arm and pushed it onto the lock of the door. It seemed to be magnetic and clamped on securely.

  "You really think you can hack a Morohtan lock?"

  She didn't respond and looked supremely confident. Taylor was willing to give her a chance, especially as he was all out of ideas. She pressed a few keys and worked through something on the pad.

  "It is not going to work," said Babacan.

  Kaytun smiled and shook her head.

  "Just give me a moment. It's not like you had another plan to get inside, is it?"

  Babacan didn't look impressed, but he was silenced.

  She fiddled with it for thirty seconds while they all grew more anxious when some mechanism inside the lock clicked and began to turn.

  "Well, I'll be damned," said Taylor.

  They listened with anticipation to the mechanisms of the huge internal locks open. Taylor lifted his pistol, expecting to have to use it, and the rest did the same.

  Let's just hope this isn't Pandora's box. I wonder if trying to get inside is the best idea.

  The locks finally slid open and the door unlatched. It was a vast swing door, something which seemed antiquated to all of them. It struck open a few centimetres, enough to get a grip on the rim. Taylor leaned forward cautiously and took hold. He tried to pull, but it was too heavy.

  "Here, help me," he said to Babacan.

  They each got the best grip they could.

  "On three; three, two, one!"

  They heaved with all their strength, and finally the vast metal door swung open, crashing into the wall beside it. Taylor sighed in relief as the strain was taken off, but then noticed the look on Kaytun's face. He looked inside himself, and his eyes widened.

  "I don't believe it...we did it..."

  CHAPTER 5

  "Lieutenant, why haven't we got power back to life support yet?" Minn asked.

  "I am sorry, Sir, but we're having trouble restoring power to the capacitors. Our crews are working as fast as they can."

&nb
sp; "Well, tell them to work faster. If they don't get it done soon, we won't make it out of here. Make sure they know the stakes."

  From the look on the Lieutenant's face, they all knew the stakes. She was pale and terrified at the prospect they all faced.

  "Remember, it's not just about us. We have people down there on the ground. People that are relying on us."

  "Yes, Sir."

  She stepped back to her Captain's chair and slumped down into it. She tried to hide her despair and concern, but it was tough. The display screen still showed the planet Taylor was on, but she had no information at all about what was going on down on the surface. She wanted to hope that it was all working out just fine, but her gut told her it wasn't.

  "Sir, we have engines operational."

  She nodded in gratitude.

  That's something, at least.

  She was still looking at the wreckage of the enemy vessel when it struck her that someone must surely come looking for them, just as she was trying to do for Taylor.

  "Deploy a surveillance drone, and move us onto the far side of the planet," she ordered.

  The crew didn't seem to understand her purpose, but she glared at them with such a look they dared not disobey her. She watched the drone deploy as they got underway, and she took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

  Something is wrong.

  She’d had no word from Taylor, and they were in no position to defend themselves if the enemy came looking for them She was anxious, and more than a little scared, but did her best to keep a brave face for the crew.

  How did I ever end up in this job?

  She watched as they made their way around the planet, already feeling better that they were at least making some distance from the site of the obliterated enemy vessel.

  “Why can’t we still reach the Colonel?” she asked.

  The weather conditions are blocking our transmissions, Sir,” the response came.

  “Not good enough. Send a relay beacon into the atmosphere. I want to know what is going on down there.”

  She had her suspicions that Taylor and his people had got themselves into trouble, but if they had, there would be little she could do about it. She had a handful of marines aboard and Sommer’s platoon. She began to wonder why they even came out without support vessels but then remembered that they were way off mission, and that no one was coming for them. It was a terrifying prospect to know that it all came down to her to keep everyone alive. It was a pressure and responsibility she had never known, and she was starting to wish she had never jumped at the opportunity.