She rushed to the clear glass windows that looked down towards the surface and smiled as the elevator exploded. The cable was cut, and it began to collapse towards the atmosphere. She’d never wanted to deal out pain so much in her life, nor imagined that she would enjoy it so much. She looked back to see the Krys tearing the cultists apart. Some were literally taking limb from limb. One took an arm from one and beat another with it. They were humans, and yet she felt no sympathy for them at all.
The room soon fell silent, and only Altan was left alive. He was standing defiantly beside Jones, but he seemed to make no effort to take him hostage. One of the armoured suit-wearing figures, who they did not realise was Taylor, approached the Prince.
“An impressive display, if it were not mere humans that you had to fight,” declared Altan.
Taylor strode up and stopped three metres short of the Prince. Jones couldn’t make out who it was, nor understand why he was not afraid of the creature beside him.
“You would risk your life to save these people, and now it will cost you yours,” said Altan.
He pulled out what looked like a small staff, but it extended out to three metres in length. Two electrified blades sprung out at each end. Taylor didn’t look impressed and drew out his Assegai, but didn’t even bother with his shield. The Prince rushed at him with a deafening scream. Taylor remained calmly where he was until the final moment, a split second before his head would have been cut in two by the mightiest and quickest of cuts.
In that final moment, he leapt aside and cut down against the weapon with his own and split it in two. In a second motion, he flicked his weapon back towards the creature, activating the extension of the Assegai that caused it to shoot through Altan’s neck. He retracted the blade, and the Prince slumped down gargling and trying to breathe.
Taylor stepped up to the creature’s face that was now reduced to the same height as his, and he released his helmet visor for the creature to see him in full view. Its eyes widened in horror and surprise. It tried to say is name but finally drew its last breath and died.
Jones couldn’t work out what would have surprised the Prince so much, as he could only see the figure from behind, but then it turned around, and to his relief he saw was the Colonel himself.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“You don’t half get yourself into some trouble. I leave you for a few weeks, and look what you manage.”
Jones nodded in agreement. ‘This planet, you’ve never seen anything like it, it is a new kind of hell.”
“And yet it seems humanity managed to survive down there.”
“They may look human, but I think any humanity left in them has long vanished. The best thing that could happen to that world was it if was cleansed of all life.”
“That bad, huh?”
“You have no idea. We came here with the whole of Turan’s Company.”
Taylor looked back at the remaining survivors in horror.
“I should never have left.”
“You had to, and we both know it.” He picked up a rifle from one of the bodies and headed for the cell doors.
“Stand back!”
With one shot, he blew off the lock and swung open the primitive steel cage door. Roworth was the first one out, and he recognised Taylor instantly.
“I can’t thank you enough, Colonel Taylor.”
“Your ship, Captain, can she still fly?”
“Sure can.”
“Good, then let’s get the hell out of here, and as far as you are concerned, you never saw or heard from me. That goes for your whole crew. I was never here, none of us were. But we’ll hitch a ride back with you. I need to speak with Nilsson.”
“You can’t. You can’t be seen there.”
“I’ll figure it out, Jones,” he said and turned back to the others.
“Set this place to blow. I don’t want to leave a single thing for the enemy!”
He followed Jones and Roworth towards their craft.
“Have your docking bay doors opened, and let my man Dart inside.”
“What the hell is he flying?”
Even as Jones asked, the cloaking device shimmered and deactivated to reveal the ship outside the windows beside them.
“That? What the hell is that? That’s the size of a rowing boat.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes size counts in ways other than you would think,” Taylor smiled.
“I just can’t thank you enough, Colonel. I thought that was the end of the line for us,” added Roworth.
“It’s you, isn’t it, that’s been causing all this chaos we have heard about lately? Raids on targets, or all races, including Bolormaa’s people, let me guess, the rest are all bogus?” Jones asked.
Taylor nodded in agreement.
“It’s genius, and those suits, just how? I have so many questions.”
“And I wish I could give you answers, but right now you are better off not knowing.”
Jones looked back to Sommer who had just caught up.
“You see, sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
She still didn’t agree.
“That was some badass moves back there, Lieutenant,” said Taylor.
“Yeah, well I learned from the best.”
They stepped aboard the old vessel.
“Wow, I love the décor, makes me feel right at home,” said Taylor, looking at the aging interior and open panels where work had never been finished.
“She isn’t pretty, but she’ll outlive us all,” Roworth replied proudly. Babacan stooped and squeezed in through the corridors to make his way to the docking bay where Dart was coming aboard.
“How did they even capture you, Captain?” Jones asked.
“Jump drive jamming. I’ve not ever seen anything like it. It must be fitted to that station somewhere. Once we couldn’t go anywhere, a few shots, and we had no choice but to surrender.”
“Yep, well don’t worry about that now,” said Taylor. He and Babacan split off to head for the docking bay.
‘Where are you going?”
“This hardware, nobody can know its origin. It stays locked away, and you are all sworn to secrecy. And you better make absolute certain your crew knows it,” he said to Roworth as he was leaving.
The Captain reached the bridge and leapt eagerly into his chair. The rest of the bridge crew took up their positions.
“The Colonel…he took a hell of a risk coming to our aid, didn’t he?” he asked Jones.
“More than you know. You saw the way he took down that Prince. A few weeks ago the Prince would have torn Taylor apart. I don’t exactly know what has changed, or how, but it is for the better. You truly have no idea. Had it been anyone else that had come to our assistance, they would have failed.”
“Are these Princes really that powerful?”
“Believe it, not like anything you have seen before. A hundred fully armed marines would not defeat one.”
“But Taylor can, alone?”
“He can now! Don’t ask me how.”
He still couldn’t believe what he had seen, but he was just glad to be alive. He turned back to see Sommer behind him. Her face was as stone, as if she had just seen the devil.
“I am sorry I struck you,” said Jones.
She didn’t reply and continued to look blankly into the distance.
“I…I killed all those people. Maybe thirty human beings, dead by my hands.”
“And it was necessary.”
“I know, but that’s not what bothers me.”
“Then what is getting at you?”
“That I enjoyed it. In that moment when I saw them running for their lives, I wasn’t content to let them live, even knowing that they could do us no more harm. I took their lives because I wanted to.”
“Good.”
That made her snap out of it. It was clearly not the response she had been expecting.
“You made the right call, and I would have done exactly the same. So would Taylor. We aren’
t going to win this war by playing nice.”
“Damn right,” said Taylor as he strode onto the bridge with Babacan. Both were out of the armour they had been wearing.
“It was you in that hulking monstrosity?”
Babacan smiled at her in response as if loving every minute of it.
“Are we ready to leave this hellhole?”
“We are, Colonel,” replied Roworth.
“Then get us the hell out of here.”
Roworth nodded to one of his crew, and they separated from the station. They pulled back twenty metres when Taylor lifted up a small remote and clicked the button on top. Five explosions erupted across the station, and it broke apart. The bridge crew erupted into a cheer of both happiness and relief.
“Get us home, Captain.”
CHAPTER 10
“Home, or as close as we’ll get,” said Jones as he marvelled at the station that they had spent so much time aboard.
“I didn’t think we’d ever see it again,” said Sommer, “I wanted nothing more than to feel wind and smell fresh air for so many months, and now I’d give anything to go back to that place.”
Taylor was surprised at just how much their time on Hajander had affected them, but he didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t even know what to say if he did. But more than anything, he was impressed that Jones had stayed strong throughout. Turan stepped aboard the bridge and saluted to Taylor, even though there was no need.
“Thank you,” he said firmly.
“No problem,” said Taylor as he slapped the alien on the shoulder.
“Now remember, when we land, I am not here, and I never was. I never left that station. It is vital to the war effort that all of you protect that secret, do you hear?”
“You can trust in my crew to do their part. I don’t think there is a man or woman here who isn’t grateful enough to go to the ends of the universe for you, Colonel. You remember that when you find yourself in need. Anytime, anywhere, the Attila is yours, and so is her crew,” said Roworth.
“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate that.”
They soon came in to land, and as they stepped out, they all cheered. It was indeed worth celebrating, but to Taylor it was bittersweet. He didn’t want to be celebrated on his return. He only wanted to walk among friends. But as they left the ship, he had to remain. Jones was the last one to go.
“I knew you’d come,” he said.
“Just like I knew you’d come for me.”
“But I didn’t really succeed, did I? It wasn’t me who rescued you from that asshole Sarik.”
“You would have given a few extra minutes. Don’t think I don’t know what to you did for me.”
“But I should have been there. I shouldn’t ever have let that bitch Bolormaa do that to you.”
“You were there for me, like a brother.”
Jones nodded, but it was clear that he still felt a little disappointed in himself.
“Don’t ever let yourself feel shit for giving it your very best.”
“Why? You do. You gave Bolormaa your best. It wasn’t enough, but you never let it go.”
“Yeah, well, it’s time to change that.”
“With that suit of yours?”
“Damn right.”
“It’s not tech that wins a war. It’s the people behind it.”
Taylor smiled. “That’s what I said to the man who designed it, before he made me eat my words and show a little humility.”
“Colonel Taylor showing humility, what has the world come to?”
The two of them laughed together, and for a moment they could believe everything was back to normal.
“Good luck out there, Will.”
“I’ll be seeing you soon enough,” replied Jones as he finally left.
Taylor was left on the bridge as the others went off to celebrate, or go about other work, as was the case for Rogers. It was a rare moment of peace for him to reflect, and he never liked that. Not since having lost Alita. He sat alone for what felt like an age when he heard some steps and spun around. Rogers was approaching with a bag of equipment slung over his shoulder. He threw it down beside Taylor as if expecting him to know what to do with it.
“Another deception of yours.”
“Yep, but this one you are going to like,” he said. He opened the bag to reveal two sets of fire suits, along with respirators and helmets.
“You want to walk among your people once more, no reason you can’t do that. We just have to organise the switch between you and Bradley so that it is a clean change over. The Sergeant has agreed to be confined to quarters for twenty-four hours. Frankly, I think he will be glad of a break. He’s not had an easy time of it.”
“Not had an easy time?” Taylor gasped, “He’s been playing a role while the rest of us are out their busting our asses and risking our lives. Come on!”
Rogers didn’t look impressed.
“What?”
“Admiral Nilsson, he isn’t out there taking on the enemy and fighting the good fight, risking his life. Do you think he has it easy? The President of the Alliance doesn’t fight with her own hands, do you think she had it easy?”
“All right, all right, you win, I get the point.”
“Being you is easy, you were born that way. Playing the part for a marine who only ever signed up to be a marine isn’t easy at all, especially when you’ve got people like…”
He stopped and hesitated, as if he was holding something back.
“Come on, spit it out. What’s going on?”
“CJ, he’s been hassling Bradley. He knows he isn’t the real Taylor.”
“And?”
“And he’s kept the secret, apart from a few trying times when he’s been drunk.”
Taylor grimaced. He was brewing over with anger.
“That thing, he needs to be destroyed.”
“And yet he is one of the most valuable assets the Alliance has, after you, of course.”
“You might think so, but he will betray us when it suits him.”
“Possibly, but the risk is worth it for what he has done, and continues to do for us.”
Taylor didn’t want to hear it, but he knew to some degree he was right.
“Anyway, in about five minutes a fire drill is going to start in this sector, and two floors above and below. We will get into gear, get into character, and make this work. You follow my lead as we make our way round the officers’ quarters. At such time, you will enter your own quarters and pass over this equipment to Bradley. He will return with me to the Attila and stay here for the remainder. You will remain in your room until after the fire drills are completed, and then carry on as yourself. Remembering, of course, that you are still wounded and recovering from those wounds.”
Taylor groaned as Rogers reached into the bag and passed him the equipment. He begrudgingly took it.
“Do you want to have this time or not?”
He didn’t respond, but he started pulling on the equipment, and just as he finished, the alarm sounded as if by clockwork.
“You really signed off on all this? I thought you’d want to keep me locked away?”
“I wouldn’t ever have approved of this. After we left this station, I didn’t want you to return until the deception was complete and finished, but I am also not blind to the things that we have all been through of late. More than anything we need you at your best. You are at that best when you thrive off those you love.”
Taylor’s eyebrows rose.
“Yes, love, not just the love that you have for Alita, but the love you have for your friends.”
Taylor zipped up the suit, pulled on the gas mask, and put on the helmet. Rogers was right, but he wasn’t comfortable talking about it.
“Okay, then, let’s do this,” said Rogers. He quickly put on the same equipment and led the way. They passed a number of similarly equipment crew, as well as a number of others begrudgingly going along with the fire drill. After a few minutes, they found themselves outside
Taylor’s quarters. They looked around both directions to be as careful as they could be before Taylor stepped inside.
Rogers heard movement behind and turned to look, but there was nothing there. He was jumpy, and that is what he put it down to. He was breathing heavily; all too aware of how dangerous this was to his mission and the Alliance on the whole. He kept telling himself it was necessary to keep Taylor in the best mental state that he could be, but still that didn’t make it feel any better.
It felt strange for Taylor has he stepped into his own room to find someone else inhabiting it that looked exactly like him. Bradley leapt up to attention and saluted him. He just passed it off, taking the helmet and mask off and handed them to him.
“I have to say, Colonel, this job has been nothing like I imagined it,” said Bradley.
“Yeah, well, not much is ever what it first seems in life.”
He stripped the fire suit off and handed it to Bradley, opening the wardrobe to get a fresh uniform. He soon realised he was far too dirty to put it on and walk the corridors. He slumped down on the bed as Bradley put on the fire equipment.
“Do you think it will all be worth it in the end, Sir?” Bradley asked.
Taylor began to think back to everything he had seen and done over the past few weeks. He nodded in agreement.
“Damn right, it will,” he replied.
And that made him think more about the Sergeant’s part in it all.
“It was a brave thing to do, to do what you have done here,” he said.
“Well, I thank you, Sir, but it is just part of my job as a marine. I know acting is not my thing, but my job is to adapt to be whatever the Corps needs me to be, and right now this is it.”
Taylor smiled. That was exactly the philosophy he followed and professed to others.
“There is no glamour in the work you are doing, but that isn’t the nature of what we do, is it?” he replied.
Battle Beyond Earth - Box Set (Books 6-9) Page 36