He looked to White.
“That true what he said? That they’ve got teams hunting me down?”
“We’ve only got Moye’s word, but I’d have no reason to disbelieve him. He was an honest man, and while you hunt Erdogan, why would he not hunt you?”
Taylor had never given it so much as a thought. He’d always had the notion of Erdogan as an almost undefeatable foe who would never need to resort to hunting him down. Then he realised what that meant.
“He fears me? He fears me,” he stated.
It was a concept that he’d never contemplated, but it was strangely reassuring.
“He knows you’re onto him, he has to,” added White, “The fact you were close on his tail on that last mission cannot have gone unnoticed. That’ll put him on guard, but it has also rattled him.”
“Yeah, he’s rattled. He can see there’s a chance he can lose this now. For all the armies he has in the universe, he can’t threaten us here, and he can’t protect his assets from our lightning attacks.”
“I guess he tried the obvious choice, attacking us here. Now he’s trying the next one, kill you. He knows how valuable you are to our cause.”
“But this would go on without me,” replied Taylor.
“None of us could have come this far without you, Colonel. Something tells me that you have a vital part to play in ending all of this.”
“I won’t hide from him.”
The General shook his head.
“None of us would ever ask it of you. You are vital because of the work you do and what that means to everyone around you. We take you off the frontline and keep you safe, and all of that is lost. We have to keep risking your life to maintain what hope we have.”
Taylor looked at the body of Moye and then to White.
“I want information on where the Major encountered this enemy force. Where, when, every detail you can get me.”
“You’re going after them?”
“If they’re hunting me down, they’ll find me eventually, General. I’d prefer that happened at a time and place of my choosing.”
“We’ll have to run this by Admiral Lasure.”
“You can run it by him, but that’s what I’m doing.”
“You know you have a serious problem with authority, Colonel?”
“Yes, Sir, but just as you say, I was made this way for a reason, ain’t no way I’m changing.”
‘Then you’d better speak to the Admiral yourself. You may have placed him there, but he has proven himself up to the task.”
With that, he turned and left with Silva and Jafar at his side. When he got outside the hospital, he found Morris and King waiting for him.
“Is it true?” King asked, “Is there some kind of special unit chasing you?”
“Chasing us,” replied Taylor, “They know what a bunch of ultimate badasses we are and figure they can’t take much more of it.”
They all laughed for a moment, but it was cut short as King continued.
“Seriously, Mitch, they are coming for you, aren’t they?”
Taylor nodded. “Bet your ass they are. And we’re going to find them before they find us.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Form up the Regiment. We move out at 1500 hours. We’re going hunting.”
Taylor left them and headed for the HQ. Only Jafar continued on with him, but as they got halfway, Irala appeared beside them.
“You know how irritating that gets? Just appearing out of the blue?” Taylor asked and continued onwards.
“You told me,” Irala replied bluntly.
“Well you didn’t seem to get the message.”
Irala appeared to completely ignore the topic.
“You intend to go after this new enemy, this force that was established to hunt down and kill you?”
“Will nobody let this go?” Taylor asked.
“We cannot agree with this course of action, and neither will we support it. We will recommend your Admiral denies your request to do so.”
“Good luck with that,” said Morris.
Irala looked back at him in surprise.
“Good luck telling the Colonel what he can and can’t do. Say what you want, we’re going after those bastards.”
Taylor carried on regardless and went straight to the secure comms room of the HQ and patched in a call to the Diderot, only to find it answered immediately by Lasure, as if he had been awaiting the call.
“Colonel Taylor, I know why you’re calling.”
Taylor nodded.
‘Then you know what I need. One sizeable vessel and a couple in support, will you provide them?”
Lasure shook his head.
“You know I have all the respect in the world for you, Colonel, but I cannot support this. I will not pave the way for you to go to your own death.”
“Have you that little faith in me?” Taylor asked in amazement, “Do you not remember how you got to be Admiral? I had faith in you, Sir, and I made sure the right thing was done when it needed to be. I don’t ask for much right now. Only that you trust in me.”
Lasure thought about it for a few moments. It was an uncomfortable silence, but Taylor knew he could not refuse him.
“I’ll do this, Colonel, but only because I owe you. I do not support this action and do not believe it is in the best interests of this fleet. I will give you one frigate, the Baron, and two light destroyers, The Margot and Intruder. They’re good ships with good captains. Far from the best we’ve got, but they’ll serve you well.”
“Thank you, Admiral, and don’t worry. I’ve survived a lot worse. Erdogan thinks he can take me out, and I intend to prove him wrong. I get this done, and then we finish him for good.”
“I’ve heard that too many times, Taylor. I’ll believe it when I see his lifeless body with my own eyes, but go, and good luck, my friend. Lasure out.”
The transmission ended, and Taylor strolled out of the building with a smile on his face.
“I can’t believe anyone could be so happy about heading out to face their hunters,” said Morris.
‘They killed Moye, and they intend to kill us all. It’s time for a little payback.”
He turned to Silva.
“You know the deal. Have everyone formed up at landing zone G for 1430.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Time passed quickly, and Taylor soon found himself formed up in front of his unit before an operation, as he had been so many times before. And just as always, they waited for his words of inspiration. But this time he felt no enthusiasm for the task at hand, only an iron will to overcome it to get to Erdogan himself.
“I’m sure many of you have heard what we’re doing here! Somewhere out there is an elite fighting force that has been tasked with hunting me down and killing me. Me! The enemy sees me as that much of a threat. What they don’t see is that I am just the driving force of you lot. Every one of you is as capable a fighter as I am. They think this is an easy task. I want to prove them otherwise!”
They cheered in support of his words.
“I don’t know what to expect with this enemy force, but they are superior fighters than most of what we have faced before. Have your wits about you at all times, and be ready for anything! Load up!"
Taylor was last aboard and made his way through to Rains’ cockpit as he always did.
"The Admiral snubbing you this time?" Rains asked.
"How do you mean?"
"We usually travel in style, not aboard that old hulk."
"The Baron? What's wrong with her?"
"She's fifty years old, Colonel. She's a relic of a bygone era."
"Aren't we all?"
Rains shrugged.
"She got jump capacity?"
Rains nodded.
"She was one of the first upgraded as a favour to her Captain, apparently."
"Well then, what's the problem?"
Rains went silent as they lifted off of the surface and headed for their expeditionary f
leet. He soon caught sight of the Baron and could see what Rains was complaining about. It was an antiquated hulk. Broad and flat nosed. Its boxy shape was in stark contrast to the upgraded engines that had been supplied by the Aranui.
"Looks like she's packing some serious armour."
"Oh, yeah, sure, she might as well be an upscaled Mastiff. All armour, no manoeuvrability."
"Sounds like my kind of style," joked Taylor.
Rains saw he couldn't shake Taylor, so he gave up. It wasn't long before they came in to land on the Baron, and yet Rains was still shaking his head as their landing gear touched down. Taylor stepped aboard to find the Captain awaiting him and giving a formal greeting to come aboard. Taylor saluted as he stepped down the ramp and then reached out to shake the Captain's hand casually. He'd never met him before, but he was in his fifties at least, and two parallel deep scars ran down his face from his forehead and across both cheeks. He was a burley looking man, standing a few centimetres taller than Taylor and rivalled his broad shoulders even when Taylor was in armour.
"Welcome aboard the Baron, Colonel. It is an honour to have you and your unit aboard. I am Captain Barclay at your service."
He spoke with a deep throaty voice, but also a well educated one. It was clear he had gotten the finest schooling in Britain and sounded like an older, gruffer version of Jones. He turned his attention to Jafar who made his way to Taylor's side. Taylor was expecting trouble and opened his mouth to speak, but Barclay got out ahead of him.
"So this is your alien ally we have heard so much about? Sergeant?"
The Captain strolled over and offered his hand in a surprising gesture. Jafar looked to Taylor as if unsure how to react. Taylor simply nodded for him to continue. He took Barclay's hand and shook with a firm shake. "Jafar," he added.
"I've heard a lot about you, Sergeant. Can't say I ever imagined I would call one of you an ally, but you've more than proven yourself to us all. It is an honour to have you aboard."
Jafar was as shocked, as was Taylor.
"I presume you will be eager to set off?" Barclay asked.
"You have the reports from the attack on the French cruiser the Tourville?"
Barclay nodded.
"A good friend of mine was aboard that vessel, and he died protecting her. Major Moye. But from what he told us before he died, that attack was meant for me. He said there was an elite task force sent after me. They breached the vessel and killed a number of personnel before bugging out."
"They retreated?" asked Barclay in amazement.
"You're just as surprised as I was to hear the news. Have you received the action reports and location information?"
"We have."
"Then take us to the location of the battle. It's time the hunters became the hunted."
"Very well, Colonel. Will you accompany me to the bridge?"
Taylor followed on as the Captain led the way.
"What is your plan for hunting this enemy task force?"
"They want to find and kill me, so I'm going to give them a chance."
"You're going to use yourself as bait?"
"Yes, why not? They'll surely find me eventually. That's a great heap of shit I don't need hanging over me."
"Eloquently put, Colonel, but I get the idea. How do you intend on announcing your presence?"
"I've got a few ideas."
"Coordinates are plotted. We're ready to jump on your orders, Colonel."
"In your own time, Captain."
Taylor watched the bridge crew as they went about their procedures, turning his attention to the four metre-wide display of the space for a last few moments before they left. There were dozens of Navy vessels stationed in orbit of Ony, and he could see that production of a defence grid barge was well underway. The jump gateway then opened before them and obscured their view. The two escort destroyers passed through the gateway first, and they soon followed suit.
"I've never got used to it. This kind of travel," stated Taylor.
"It certainly makes life easy," replied Barclay.
"Yes, and immensely unpredictable. How can you plan for defence when the enemy can be on you with no warning at all?"
"Then be thankful that they have such limited access to the technology."
Taylor agreed. "Yes, for if they ever manage to reverse engineer it, we're in more trouble than you can imagine."
The three ships passed safely through the gateway the other side, and it closed up behind them. Within seconds, they were struck by light debris they could see floating about space before them.
"Looks like they had a hell of a fight."
They could see the debris of one of the smaller support vessels and a number of fighters, as well as debris that Taylor could only imagine came from the Tourville.
"They had a rough time of it," said Barclay.
"Yeah, and I don't see any sign of damage to enemy craft."
"They must have hit them hard and fast."
Taylor tried to imagine what could have done it, and Barclay was quick to pose the question.
"What did this? A large vessel would have torn them apart, but how could lesser craft get the drop on them? I'd expect a few enemy losses at least. The Tourville is a powerful vessel with a fine crew."
Taylor nodded in agreement.
"Send out teams to investigate the wrecks. Let's try and get an idea of what went on here."
"It's all in the file," replied the Captain.
"No, the crew of the Tourville who survived have no idea how it went down. When they were struck, it happened hard and fast. The bridge crew were taken out and all recording equipment destroyed. All we know at this stage is that the Tourville was boarded with little resistance. Let's avoid that happening a second time around."
Barclay started sending out his orders to have the crews prepared.
"So what now?” he then asked Taylor.
"We sit and wait. Learn what we can."
"You expect they'll come back this way?"
"I would. Investigative teams would be easy pickings, and they must know there's a chance I would have come along to see it for myself."
"So what is stopping us from suffering the same fate?"
"The fact we know they're coming. I need to know everything we can about this attack. Next time they come for us, I want to know exactly how they're gonna do it. Let's shoot these bastards down before they have another chance at this kind of devastation. Almost two hundred crew lost their lives aboard the Tourville, and countless more from her support vessels."
"Sounds like we could have done with a little more support."
"Damn right, Captain. I need somewhere to go over the last recordings of these vessels, if you can salvage them."
"I'll have them with you within the hour. You may use my quarters while you are aboard."
"Thank you, please have Captain Morris and Sergeant Jafar sent up to me."
The Captain acknowledged and showed him to his quarters before leaving him in peace. The Captain's quarters were spartan to say the least. The only decoration in the room was a single picture of his family secured to the wall beside his desk. The room looked like it saw little use, and Taylor liked that about the Captain. He could already see he was a man loved by his crew, and that was a valuable asset.
Taylor, Morris, and Jafar had been going over the few reports they had received from the Tourville when Barclay entered.
"We've recovered the last recorded data from the Lampo. A small destroyer, it was the hulk we saw when we first arrived. We also managed to salvage a little data from one of the fighters. It's not much, but it's all we can get."
"Thank you, Captain. Please join us so we have a fresh pair of eyes on all of this."
Taylor brought up the new information and projected it onto the table. He took them to the point in time thirty minutes before the attack. They had the ship’s technical logs but no video information at all. He went through the info minute by minute until he reached the point three minutes bef
ore the attack began.
"What is that?"
"Power fluctuation. Primary power loss for a brief period and secondary power kicked in to take up the slack," said Barclay.
"What would cause it?"
"All kinds of things. Work being done by engineers, a failing electrical component."
Taylor brought up the log from the fighter and matched up the time codes until he stopped and pointed at a similar power fluctuation.
"What are the chances of that? Happened at the exact same moment, to the second. What are the chances, Captain?"
Barclay looked confused as he studied the two.
"The odds of it happening are incredibly slim, unless the cause was the same for both."
"What would be the effect?"
"Not a lot, a brief power fluctuation. Lighting and life support can be interrupted for a second or two."
Taylor shook his head as he tried to figure it out.
"Weapons systems?"
"Nothing that would be noticeable."
Taylor looked back over the data from the Lampo.
"What's this?" he asked Barclay.
"Proximity scanner sensors. Looks like they failed during the power flocculation."
"Moye seemed to think the Mechs just came out of nowhere. One minute they were fine, and next they had Mechs swarming through their vessel. No one could work out how they made it in without being spotted."
"The cloaking technology we used to see with Karadag, they could have used it to get nearby with smaller craft. Maybe get in undetected?"
Taylor looked to Barclay for answers. His face suddenly turned white as it all fitted together in his head.
"If the proximity scanners were damaged or tampered with, then boarding craft that were invisible by sight or scan would be able to breach the hull without warning. You'd never even know where they'd latched on unless you could get visual confirmation. They could hit anytime."
Taylor quickly lifted his comms unit.
"This is Colonel Taylor. Calling all hands to arms. Prepare to be boarded!"
Barclay looked at him in horror.
"You don't think?"
"Yes I do. This was the perfect bait to get us right where they wanted us. They were never hitting us with force, but with stealth. Spool up the gateway, and get us the hell out of here!"
Battle Earth: 12 Page 6