“It also will likely cost him his life, but if you are asking for me to condemn a man for fighting the enemy in the best way he sees fit, I will not. To do that would be hypocrisy at its very worst. I accepted Taylor for who he was, because he does the same things. Those big chances have paid off more times than not.”
“But he isn’t Taylor, is he? The Colonel does what he thinks is best for the Alliance and our survival, not for his own benefit, not to fulfil his own agenda. Do you?” he asked, looking to Taylor.
He couldn’t agree. He knew he had screwed up when he went after Alita, and that made him question what he thought about CJ, too.
“You aren’t seriously backing his play? CJ is a monster.”
“He used to be certainly, back in another life time, but…”
“But what, you know what he did. Just look at him. He is a disgrace, and a mockery of a great hero.”
“We cannot blame people for the face they are born with,” said Rogers.
Jones didn’t look convinced and waited for Taylor to weigh in. Taylor took a deep breath as he prepared himself to say what he’d never wanted to.
“Since he has come back, he has done nothing worse than I have. Now I don’t really know his reasons for what he does. I have no idea what those motivations are, but beyond being pissed at me, I hate to say it, but he has done a lot of good.”
“And when he tried to kill you?”
Taylor shrugged.
“Plenty of people have tried to kill me, yet I am still here, and some of them I now call friends.”
“So that’s it, we just forgive and forget?”
“That would be my advice,” added Rogers.
“Never,” snarled Jones.
“None of it matters now, anyway. CJ isn’t even able to walk or talk, and he may never do so again,” replied Rogers.
“And we may not live even long enough to see if he does. Right now we have one thing to think about, and that is Bolormaa. Nothing else matters, not him, not Alita, not anyone.”
Jones was surprised to hear him mention her name, especially in such a passing manner, but before he could reply, he went on.
“It doesn’t matter who said or did what, or what happened a year ago, or an hour ago. We have one job to do right now, and we cannot afford to fight over what we can’t change.”
“Who we trust and put our faith in, is that not important?”
“Have faith in yourself. That is what matters right now.”
Jones groaned, accepting what Taylor had to say, but it was clear that it only silenced him for now. It changed nothing of how he felt, and there was animosity in his eyes for the fact that Taylor had begun to accept CJ was one of them. Taylor moved on. It was a problem for another day. Though it made him sad to think their relationship was being strained so much at a time when he had so few friends.
“One focus, Bolormaa, and nothing more until she is dead, or we are, how about that, Jones?”
He reluctantly acknowledged his approval.
“So what now?” Taylor asked Rogers.
“Admiral Vega is preparing to make the jump with any vessels that are capable of doing it.”
“Good, make sure our retreat is broadcast in enough places that Bolormaa hears of it.”
“Already done, Colonel.”
That was the moment Taylor realised this wasn’t a proposal being brought to him. It was a decision that had been made way over his head.
“The Admiral is a good man, and he will see this one through to the end, no matter what.”
“Earth, is that is where we are going? Just be sure you know what the stakes are. If we lose, we practically hand her the keys to the whole planet,” said Jones.
“Yes, so let’s not fail.”
“We’ve not exactly got a great track record against her, have we?”
“And still we will go. I won’t shy away from this fight any longer.”
“So why can’t we take it away from our world, for heaven’s sake? Fight her in some distant system where she cannot revel in her victory, if that is the way this ends.”
“Why? What good would it do? She will go and do as she pleases, no matter.”
“But that doesn’t mean the Alliance needs to see you fall at her hands. Save them from that,” he pleaded.
“Why? So they can go on living a lie? We aren’t winning this war, and you know it. The only hope we have is a few tricks. We cannot win in open war, and I will not shy away. If I am unable to win, then that should not be a secret that is kept from anyone.”
“Ask for help, I beg of you. We still have allies that would come.”
“Who? Jafar battles Bolormaa’s forces on his homeworld just like our people do. The Cholans have already given all that they have to give, and the Aranui don’t give a damn. That ship sailed the moment Irala was killed.”
“Why? How can you know that others wouldn’t care among his people as he did?”
Rogers was nodding along in agreement. Taylor felt pained for having to explain it.
“The circumstances that led to my friendship with Irala were unique, and quite frankly, he was nothing like the rest of his people. A diamond among the rough that we were lucky to have.”
“There must be more like him?”
“Maybe once there was, Jones, but there are only a few hundred of his kind left. Can you ever blame them from retreating from this war? They are almost extinct.”
“And we will be if this doesn’t work.”
“Maybe. The same could be said of the human race many times over, and we are still here. God has not given up on us yet.”
“Oh, shit, Rogers, not that again,” protested Taylor.
“You cannot explain the things you have accomplished and survived, Colonel, and yet you are quick to denounce my faith. Just because you have none, that does not mean the rest of us are lost, too.”
“Lost? I am not lost, not yet. I’m still standing, still fighting, and still pushing forward.”
They all fell silent as they realised that none of them were going to agree on anything. Finally, Rogers’ comms unit broke the silence. He answered it to hear Vega.
“Have you got Taylor on side?”
Taylor just smiled, understanding fully how little input and choice he had in it all. He was being steered by committee.
“You’ve got me,” replied Taylor.
There was silence for a moment as the Admiral tried to think of a way to justify their actions, or at least not get on his bad side.
“You know you would never have accepted my orders on this, Colonel. You needed to be coaxed, and I am not ashamed to admit it.”
“It’s a fine plan, Sir, and if we are going to go down in this fight, we might as well do it in view of somewhere that actually matters.”
“It all matters, Colonel, every territory of the Alliance. Every world, every moon, every station, and every colony, all of them.”
“Yeah, okay, whatever you say, Admiral.”
No one was willing or able to argue with Taylor. They were simply relieved that he wasn’t bucking against the plan. He didn’t like being told what to do, but it was a pleasant change to have someone else making the plans for once.
“Are you ready to make the jump?”
“We will be in a matter of minutes, Colonel. There is no time to waste. We cannot afford to be caught napping by Bolormaa, but it is imperative that she thinks she has gotten the better of us.”
“Hasn’t she?”
“Yes and no, she doesn’t hold all the cards just yet. We’re going home, Colonel. You are going home. Back to Earth, and let that be a reminder to you of exactly what we are fighting for. I know you don’t care for these off world colonies, but you must surely care for your world.”
“You’re damn right I do. I would give my life for it.”
“So would we all, so let’s pray that is not a necessity. We’re jumping shortly, Vega out.”
“Okay, so it’s on, a final showdown where
all this began for you,” said Jones.
Taylor took in a deep breath as he remembered back to the first days of the war, and Karadag. The Krys Lord had seemed unbeatable all those years ago, as Bolormaa did now. He tried to tell himself that it was no different a situation, but he knew it was very different. Karadag was nothing compared to this new threat.
“It’s got to feel good, hasn’t it? To see Earth once again, and to remember what you are fighting for?” Rogers asked.
Taylor wasn’t entirely convinced.
“I always knew what I was fighting for. I never needed a reminder. I knew the day I started fighting, and I have known it ever since. It is the only certainly in life I can remember.”
“So how are we going to do this?” Jones asked.
“Reel her in, and then we go at her with the AR2 suits, that’s about it, isn’t it?”
“How many do we have?”
“Two,” said Rogers.
“What?” That statement shocked Taylor.
“Since the incident with CJ, Rivers has withdrawn one of the suits we had, and the one CJ had is a wreck.”
“And so CJ screws us once again,” said Jones.
“Doesn’t he know how important this is?”
“I told him, and I made it quite clear, Colonel.”
“And?”
“Rivers thinks that we can make our stand just as well with two suits as three. And he believes that even if we fail, there is still hope.”
“Well, I am glad someone does.”
“The odds aren’t exactly stacking in our favour, are they?”
“They never do, Jones. They never do. That is a certainty,” replied Taylor.
Vega’s voice came over the intercom once again, and they knew their time was up. Taylor was eager to see Earth once more, but also hesitant to go. Once they arrived, it was a countdown until the confrontation he had always hoped to avoid.
“All hands prepare to jump in three minutes!”
“Will she take the bait?”
“Of course she will. She wants Taylor. We’re lucky she hasn’t come to us yet, but the moment she hears where he has gone and why, she will close in to finish it. Or so she thinks.”
“You sure seem to think you know a lot about how she thinks.”
“That’s my job, information, intelligence, and analysis. And anyway, she isn’t exactly hard to understand. I don’t know exactly what drives her, but what she wants is easy to see for all.”
“And yet with all that intelligence, what have you achieved with it?”
“More than you probably realise. It’s easy for a soldier on the front line to think he is doing the lion’s share of the work, but behind the scenes the war machine never stops.”
“That’s not much of a relief.”
“No, it isn’t, but I also fight, too, and I will stand with Taylor against the creature.”
“You? I should be the one to do it.”
“You have no experience of the AR2 suits.”
“It can’t take much,” he said as he looked to Taylor for support.
Taylor didn’t look accommodating.
“Seriously? After everything we have been through, you are going to bench me now on the eve of the most important fight we have ever known?”
“If I could, I would have you there. But Rogers has more than earned this. These suits are as much his work as they are anyone else’s.”
“I am not sitting this one out,” he snapped.
“No, I didn’t expect you would. You will be there. There will be more than enough work to be done, I am sure.”
Jones turned his attention to Rogers.
“You think you are up to this?”
“As much as any man can be.”
“A chaplain, you are taking a chaplain with you to the final battle?”
“I have long given up that duty,” replied Rogers.
“I wouldn’t question the resolve of a man of such faith. Back in the Krys war, what made them a terrifying enemy is that they had absolute faith. Unwavering faith. Do you know how powerful that can be, Jones?”
“They still die as easy as any other.”
“Yes, but I have no fear of it,” replied Rogers.
“Not fearing death is not a good thing. Fearing death can keep you alive at least as well as a lack of fear.”
“You have your ways, and I have mine.”
Vega’s voice rang out once again.
“Prepare to jump in five, four, three, two, one, jump!”
In the moment they made the jump, Taylor made his way to the nearest viewing window. It was pitch-black; as the glass had dimmed for their jump, but moments later he felt the shift in gravity as they arrived at their destination. The window began to fade into translucence. It was as tall as a man and five metres wide. The light refracting from the Earth flooded into the corridor, and Taylor basked in the view of his world.
He knew that on the surface a war raged on, but from this far up it looked as peaceful as ever.
“Do you know the number of times I have had to abandon Earth?”
Neither of them spoke as they let the Colonel take it all in.
“Too many, that is a fact. Never again! Too much has been taken from me in this lifetime, and the last. But one thing has remained true. This world. This Earth that so many call a paradise. It is ours, and I’ll be damned if anyone is going to take it from us again.”
CHAPTER 8
“This is where it will happen.” Taylor walked around the oval-shaped sports court with seating all around.
“You want an audience?” Rogers asked.
Taylor shook his head.
“No, I want space to manoeuvre. Bolormaa is fast, and I do not want to get boxed in. This is the largest open space on the ship.”
“Yeah, and it also has no cover once you are out here.”
“This is not going to be a gunfight, Jones.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because she is too hung up on the glory she thinks she will revel in by defeating the Colonel in personal combat.”
“Yep, and do you know what else this arena has?”
They both shook their heads.
“Cameras, lots and lots of cameras. You are going to broadcast this to anyone and everyone you can, including the enemy. Open channels.”
“You are that confident we can win?” Jones asked, “But what if we fail? You want us to fail before the eyes of the whole Alliance?”
“I don’t care about that. I just want her focused on me.”
“I don’t think there is any worry that she won’t be, is there?”
“She is determined, but not stupid, and she won’t take any risks if she sees any chance of failure,” replied Rogers.
“That’s about right. You said CJ gave her cause for concern with the AR2 suit.”
“That’s what was reported by Lieutenant King.”
“And you have reason to trust her?”
“She may serve with CJ, but she was appointed by trusted officials and officers within the Alliance. She is not one of them.”
“What are you getting at?” Jones asked Taylor.
“Bolormaa won’t come at me straight, not until she is confident that she can defeat me.”
“If the suit was able to stand up to her, she’ll want to see it depleted before making her move,” said Rogers.
It was clear that it was all finally clicking and coming together in Jones’ head now.
“You are going to use what she knows against her. The weaknesses of the suit she already knows, that is your plan?”
“Bolormaa knows more than we would like, but the one thing she doesn’t know is that we have more than two of the AR2s.”
“One more, let’s not get carried away.”
“One should be enough, Jones. The suit was developed with the intention and capability to allow a good fighter to overcome Bolormaa singlehandedly.”
“Yeah, okay, I get that, designed for it, and th
ey are wonderful and all, but one man against her, are they really that good?”
“The AR2…” began Rogers.
Taylor interrupted.
“The truth is we don’t know. When working at its peak performance those suits are something of a marvel. Could we say they are up to the task of facing her, we don’t know, but it’s the best shot we have, so we have to try.”
“And we are throwing in everything on that gamble?”
“If I had another way I’d take it, but you know we don’t. It’s all we have.”
“Sure we do, we could take her on at a distance. Blow her ship to high hell, or reel her in and take her out as she comes to board.”
“You know we have tried that more times than I can remember. She will not be defeated lightly, and I will not be happy that she is dead until I see her killed with my own two eyes.”
“That is a pretty tall order.”
“I don’t see it that way. We will never truly be rid of her until the day her body can be paraded on TV for all to see. Even the fear that she may still be alive will be enough to keep the threat alive. And let’s not forget her sons. Without her death confirmed, they could just as easily go forward in her stead and continue her bloody campaign against the free peoples of the Alliance.”
“That’s deep,” said Jones.
“I’ve had a long time to think about it, and I have known her kind well enough in my lifetime. There has to be total victory, or nothing at all.”
“You better be damn sure you can win if those total absolutes are the only future we have.”
“Trust me, Jones, I get it, I really do.”
“And yet you don’t even look scared. You faced her before, so how can you not be scared?”
Taylor took a deep breath as he thought about it. It had never really occurred to him. The first time he had seen Bolormaa it made him feel nauseous. It was a terrifying experience, and he felt that again as he and Zaya prepared to face her, but now all of that was gone. He was as relaxed as he ever was.
“I guess I have made my peace with whatever happens now. There is nothing to be scared of. Not death, not defeat. I will face her, and give all I have to give. There is nothing more to it.”
Battle Beyond Earth - Box Set (Books 6-9) Page 54