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

by Nick S. Thomas

  “There has to be more to it. You can’t be that confident based on one piece of extra tech?”

  “There is more, but it is not for anyone’s ears who need not know,” said Rogers.

  Jones looked pissed off to be left out, although he could understand why. Taylor strode out of the arena without a word, and they could do nothing but follow and try to catch up. He led them down a narrow corridor and finally pulled open a strong security door. He stepped into a small armoury room. The two AR2 suits were hung up either side of the cramped little room, and a technician was attending to each of them as final checks were made.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yes, Colonel. Both suits are in full working order and at maximum power,” replied the woman.

  “Good. Leave us,” Taylor ordered sternly.

  The technicians grabbed their gear and left promptly, shutting the door behind them.

  “You know I will fight her with you? AR2 suit or not,” said Jones.

  Taylor nodded in appreciation.

  “When this goes down, when Bolormaa is aboard, she will know who is where, at least for you and anyone else.”

  “That’s right, the AR2 suit is near undetectable to any scanners,” added Rogers.

  “Now Bolormaa knows your face and how important you are to me. So you will be the one to lead her here.”

  “I’m the bait?”

  “For want of a better word, yes. We need to do this on our terms and in our time. We need to control the scenario from start to finish. It’s our only chance.”

  “Do you want me to fight, or to welcome her with open arms and show her the way?”

  “Whatever you think will work. We know what she wants, but she can still be unpredictable. You do whatever you have to do to get her here.”

  “And if she comes with more than just herself?”

  “I am sure she will. She would be a fool to board this vessel without support.”

  “And yet that is precisely what you did when you went to her.”

  “Yes, because I had no choice.”

  “No, she demanded it, and what if she does the same again?”

  “Then we tell her where to stick it. I took her offer because I had too much to lose, but now things are different. Every man and woman in this fight is prepared to die for what we are doing here, and she needs to know that. We will not do this on her terms. If she wants to meet me in combat, it will not be on her ground, but here, on ours. Among our dead.”

  “We probably don’t have long now. She has to know where we are by now, and she must be getting impatient. She will want to see an end to this,” said Rogers.

  “And one way or another, she is going to get it.”

  “I don’t like this at all,” declared Jones.

  “No, I understand, but isn’t it just a little relief that we might finally be able to put an end to it all?’

  “Not really, I’d rather keep fighting this war my whole life than roll the dice now.”

  “Except the Alliance cannot keep fighting this war forever, we are depleted in nearly every aspect,” said Rogers.

  “You really think that if this works, the war could be over tomorrow?”

  “I think it is vital that people hold on to the hope of that possibility,” replied Rogers.

  “We’ve come this far. We can go just a little further.”

  He stepped out of the tiny cubicle like room and sealed the door shut. They heard the huge security bolts slide across inside as the blast door sealed, and Taylor once more went on without another word, but they could both see he was making his way towards the bridge.

  “Good luck, Sir,” said an officer as Taylor passed them.

  Taylor nodded his approval.

  “Good luck, Colonel, make her pay!” another crewmember yelled.

  Whistles rang out and were followed by clapping as he passed the excited crewmembers. No one was under any illusion about what was to come. He could see as much worry as there was hope on their faces, but still they cheered in support. He appreciated the sentiment, but it also made him sad to think that he knew almost none of their names, and many if not all of them would not live through the next fight for him to ever have the chance.

  All he could smell were cleaning products, and that is when he noticed how spotless every part of the ship was. And then he passed two of the crew polishing a control panel. It struck him as strange this late in the day, but then he smiled at the show of pride they had in their vessel and one another.

  They soon reached the bridge, and stepping aboard they felt the tension inside. Nobody said a word. They were all on edge. More so than the rest of the crew, they had witnessed the last fight first hand. They knew what was coming.

  “And so we are here once again, Colonel,” said Vega.

  “Yes we are, and let’s be sure to get the job done this time, Admiral.”

  “It wasn’t through want of trying that we didn’t,” he replied.

  “I know, I know. But this time it is different. This time it all comes to an end. Bolormaa knows where to find us. She knows there will be no running now, and no tricks.”

  “Are you ready for her?”

  “As ready as I have ever been.”

  The Admiral stepped up closely to speak more personally and privately.

  “You know a few words from you could go a long way. You can see they are on edge, and who could blame them?”

  “What would I even say to them? I am not great talker, you know that.”

  Vega recoiled with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “You may not be a skilled orator, but what you do say resonates with the men and women who fight this enemy. I have seen first hand the effects you can have. You do yourself a disservice, Colonel.”

  “Maybe, but what could I possibly say to them in this dire time? It is the beginning of the end. Look at us, in orbit over our besieged homeworld. We might have pretended to run back here, but we both know there is more truth in that than anyone wants to admit.”

  “Is that such a bad thing? A cornered animal is a dangerous thing, and so is a man who is fighting for his home. You must see the sense in that.”

  He knew that all too well, and also that the Admiral was playing on that fact. He was doing his best to psych him up, and he couldn’t deny that it was helping. Vega put his arm over Taylor’s shoulder and turned him around to look out at the view of Earth.

  “You see that? The world you fought for, the world you gave everything for. As far as you were concerned, it was the world you died for.”

  “I remember,” he said, and he flashed back to the moment Erdogan’s blade pierced his body. He felt the pain, a wound that had never truly healed, psychologically if nothing else.

  “That is what we are fighting for, and don’t you forget it. We are right here beside you. The whole Alliance is with you,” said Vega.

  Even as he said it more ships were jumping in. A fleet was assembling close to the size of what they had managed at Ares 4. It made him wonder why they hadn’t had more back then, but he already knew the answer. The war raged on at Earth, and everything that could be spared, was. But this was the final stop. This was where it was all going to come to an end, or not.

  “Well?”

  Taylor looked around the room at the anxious faces of the crew. By all accounts they had been the lucky ones in the last battle, and that only served to make them relive it once more. They had no idea what Vega would be willing to do should it come to that. Somehow he knew that they would support the Admiral in that decision. There was not one among them who would not give up their lives to destroy Bolormaa and rid humanity of her for good.

  “Sure,” he replied.

  The Admiral signalled for one of the crewmembers to open a channel.

  “This is the Admiral speaking. First I want to thank you all for being here today. At a time like this, one might question whether orders should be followed. You might ask yourself if running is a better option tha
n fighting, and I would not blame a single one of you for thinking it. And yet you are all here today, ready and willing to face the evil that overshadows all our lives. Just remember, none of us stand alone, and none of us ever will. None know that better than Colonel Mitch Taylor, who is here to offer a few words.”

  Vega pointed to Taylor to go on, but he hadn’t had time to give it any thought, and was frozen for a moment. Everyone waited silently to hear what words of wisdom he might have to offer. For a while nothing came, and Vega wondered if he was too overcome by it all.

  “Earth…many times in my life I have wondered if I would ever see my homeworld again. When I first joined the Corps, the prospect of living anywhere but on this beautiful world seemed like a distant dream, and not a good one. Going into space was a terrifying experience in itself. I never believed man was supposed to leave this world. We weren’t made for it, weren’t ready for it, and not capable of it. That is what I grew up thinking. And I will be honest, I still can’t say I like it, not having my feet on firm ground, with fresh air to breathe…”

  He took in a deep breath even as he said it, but his nostrils were assaulted by the same cleaning fluids he had noticed in the corridors of the ship, and that made him smile.

  “Don’t fear what is about to come. Know that you have done everything you can, and will continue to do so. Humanity has survived some of the most extreme threats that one could imagine. Beyond what most could ever imagine. We will not fade into the night this day. That is not who we are. Humanity weathers these things. We live in horrifying times. Ones that I would not wish on any man, but they are our days to live, so that generations to come do not have to endure such hardship. I fought a war like this once before, and I ended that war knowing peace had been won.”

  He took a pause and could see Vega and Rogers nodding along in agreement.

  “You might ask if I wonder if it was all worth it, knowing now what was to come? A few hundred years of peace, and the survival of the human race, was it worth it? You’re damn right it was! Bolormaa comes here to destroy not just our will, and our freedom, but our very existence. But I say no. You will not take our freedom. You will not take our lives, and you will not take our Earth!”

  Cheering rang out across the bridge, and one of the crew brought up screens from the bridges of a dozen of the major ships before them. The crew were alive with excitement as they cheered and hollered. Others shouted Taylor’s name. Vega clapped slowly and smiled at him. The applause went on for several minutes when it finally died down to a level that Taylor could even hear his own voice.

  “Stand firm, do your jobs, and remember what you are fighting for…good luck to you all, Taylor out.”

  The transmission stayed on for a few moments more so that they could see the applause of the crews. It was both heart warming and bitterly sad all at the same time, as many would not live to see another day. That was the closing thought that Taylor could not bring himself to share.

  Even if we can win here today, so many of them will not live to see it.

  “So much for not being much of a speaker,” Vega said as he approached.

  “I can’t plan a speech, and I can’t read from a screen, but I can speak from the heart.”

  “Well, that is what matters most, is it not?”

  “Even if what comes from the heart is absolute crap?”

  “They believe in it, and if a few thousand believe, and only a handful does not, does that not make it as good as true?”

  Taylor smiled. He’d not thought of it that way before, but he was right, just as he had played on the Dusmus Kahraman myth to better his own agenda.

  “Are we ready for this now? Is the fleet ready? Has everything been done that can be?” he asked.

  “There is nothing left to do but wait. New ships arrive to join the fleet all the time. The longer the wait, and stronger we will be.”

  “I am not sure that will make any difference now, Admiral.”

  “This fight will be decided aboard my ship, that is what you said, do you still believe it?”

  “I do, and it will be an honour. I can’t think of a better place to be.”

  “Except down there, on your own soil,” Vega looked back to Earth.

  “Enough blood has been spilled there, and continues even as we speak. I would not have the blood of Bolormaa taint the ground of Earth. If anything is holy to me, then it is that.”

  “And yet Erdogan fell there.”

  “Not by my choice.”

  “It amazes me, Colonel, that after all you have seen and been through, you still care so much. I wonder if you even know anyone that lives on Earth anymore?”

  Taylor shrugged. He could think of a few names of those he had met there, but it was true, he had no friends there.

  “But I would, if it were not for Bolormaa.”

  “If it were for Bolormaa, would the Alliance have ever brought you back? Why would you bring a fighter back at a time of peace?”

  “You are saying that even with the technology to bring me back, nobody would ever have bothered to do so.”

  “Nobody likes a killer when there is no war to fight.”

  “Maybe I should never have been brought back. Maybe I would have hated it here if it had not been for the war.”

  “You think so?”

  “I saw what life was like when I was brought back. Soft and boring.”

  “A quiet life doesn’t have to be boring.”

  “Maybe, but can you imagine a single scenario, where me being woken up in a life like that wouldn’t have me behind bars in under twenty-four hours? There is more to life than a quiet existence.”

  “You think a drunken punch up on a Friday night is a good way to live?’

  “Damn right it is. Man wasn’t made to live a boring life. That isn’t to say I like killing or being surrounded by death, but neither do I want to live in some pacifist paradise where touching someone is enough to get you removed from society.”

  “And you think that is what we had before Bolormaa?”

  “I know it is. I have seen it.”

  “And so Bolormaa broke us out of that cycle.”

  “I suppose you could look at it like that.”

  “Then you don’t think her arrival was entirely a bad thing?”

  “Well, it wasn’t for me, but was for most people, sure.”

  Vega laughed, but Taylor didn’t see the funny side.

  “I have to be honest, Colonel. You’re not really what I expected. Your perspective on life is…unique.”

  “You ever looked back into history a few hundred years and thought a character’s personality or actions were just a little weird?”

  “Sure, all the time.”

  “Precisely. This isn’t my time, or it wasn’t supposed to be.”

  “Says who? I beg to differ. You are here, and you are needed here. I can’t think of a better time for you to be in.”

  “And I suppose you think I can just be dug back out when each new problem strikes, like some kind of fire axe. Break glass only in case of emergencies, is that it?”

  “I’d never have said as much, but I know it’s what a lot of people are thinking. You’re pretty handy in a tight spot.”

  “You seem to be forgetting that I am only human. I won’t be around forever. Hell, I might not even make it till tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, well, if I was a gambling man, I’d be willing to bet more than I could afford to lose on your chances of making it through. Some greater power protects you. Something we can’t see or don’t understand, and I don’t envy you for it. You get to live, but you pay a price higher than I think any man could withstand.”

  “And what is that?”

  “To see everyone you ever knew and ever loved fall, while you remain.”

  That cut deeply, and almost brought a tear to Taylor’s eye. It was the reality of his existence that nobody ever put into words; even though it was as clear as day to everyone around him.

  “I guess
we all pay a price in this life, and that is mine.”

  “And what a life you have led. I wouldn’t want it, but I can’t imagine you have many regrets.”

  “More than you can imagine, too many to fret over.”

  The bridge fell silent, and they all knew that it was a waiting game now. The worst part was that nobody knew when Bolormaa would come. They couldn’t rest, but many of them wanted to.

  “Why don’t you try and get some sleep?”

  “I’ve had more sleep than anyone here, and more than I have had in a long time. I am ready for this now, or as ready as I will ever be.”

  “Then at least rest. Go to the garden that you take so much pleasure in.”

  It wasn’t all that appealing now he was so close to Earth. The smell of the countryside and the song of birds came to him as though he were down there.

  “There is nothing you can do until the fight begins. You will be notified just as soon as anything changes.”

  He looked to Rogers and Jones, and they both were in agreement, a rare sight indeed.

  “I’ll go, but you inform me of any changes. Anything out of the ordinary, and I do mean anything,” stated Taylor.

  “Of course,” replied Vega.

  “I mean it, a curious engine signature, Alliance transponders that don’t authenticate, any unusual signals. I don’t care if it is a mild curiosity, any change, and I want to know about it immediately. Let’s not fool ourselves. We might think we have set this up the way we want it to go, but Bolormaa is no fool. We can guide her all we like, but what she does we will never know until we see it.”

  “You have my word, Colonel. Anything at all, you will be the first to hear of it. I know how important this is, and I know what needs to be done. You aren’t talking to a rookie here,” groaned Vega.

  He was old, but there was strength in him yet. His voice croaked as though he was going to lose it at any moment, but Taylor had a sense that should it come to it, he would fight like a lion with nothing but his own two hands.

  “Go on, go!” said Vega in a friendly tone.

  Taylor smiled in response and walked off the bridge. Vega was being kind. More than anything right now he needed to relax and be calm. Rogers and Jones followed close behind. They both knew where he was going, even though they hadn’t overheard his conversation with Vega. They wouldn’t leave his side, and there would only be one place he would go. Not a word was spoken until he reached the artificial park where he took so much solace. It was the perfect place to relax and think. That wasn’t always a good thing for Taylor, but when he faced the likely possibility of imminent death, he was glad to have those moments to think about everything in his life, while he was still living.